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Not Just a Garden

Ep58: A Good Ol' Chit-Chat With... Ash Whiffin

Season 4, Ep. 58

Curator of Entomology Ashleigh Whiffin from National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh was on Gardeners' World 2025 episode 26 where she showed us the transformation of surrounding land from lawn to floral diversity. She joins us for a Good Ol' Chit-Chat and we find out about how Ash became curator, the intriguing world of forensic entomology (not necessarily for the faint-hearted☠️), the ingenuity of leafing mining insects, the lesser known migratory habits of marmalade hoverflies, and how bee-flies aren't quite as cute and cuddly as we first thought.


Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/


  • National Museums Collection Centre
  • Butterfly Conservation website
  • Ash's butterfly Get Ready With Me
  • Illustrator Ed Harrison
  • National Museum of Rural Life
  • National Museum of Flight, East Lothian


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