the happy garden podcast

What a mix! Billy idol, the world snail racking championships and a ticket giveaway for Kew Gardens. What more could you want? Well if you want more, more, more, then there's also a slot on carnivorous plants, a bit of poetry and a bit of singing. Oh and Paul from Buglife joins us for a chat about which insects you'll see in your gardens in July. It's a nice day for some... light weeding!

It seems the ants are talking to the skies! Buglife Paul tells us why it is vital that the ants successfully fly and Monty and Alan have their say with us too. We also meet Paul Wood AKA The Street Tree. We hear about Paul's new book and some of the guided tree walks he has coming up. Darren attempts some poetry - which Mollie promptly stops and we also tackle an interesting problem about a bird nesting in a hanging basket - to water or not to water... Press play and come and join us!

Gardener's World presenter and author Mark Lane joins Mollie for a chat about his new book The Future of Gardens, a fascinating look in to how tehnology could transform the way we garden. Darren gives us a guide to looking after our gardens in this heat too! Essential advice from choosing and positioning plants in your garden, to watering and pruning in a heatwave. Lots of your gardening questions answered too!

If you've never been to Gardeners World Live, let Mollie and Darren bring the show to you!

Mollie chats to Simon Akeroyd, author of 30 gardening books and previously a garden manager for the National Trust. Simon is sharing tips on how to increase your house's value by up to 20%, simply by making your garden space look attractive to buyers, and it doesn't have to costa fortune to do so! Loads of advice on the subject from Darren too who has spent over 30 years making gardens look beautiful for homeowners. Lots of gardening chat and giggles along the way too.

Meet Lorraine from Caley Bros mushrooms. They won gold at Chelsea and are running workshops at Gardener's World Live at the NEC in June. Why are they called brothers when they are two sisters? Find out! We hear from Adam Frost too as Mollie nabs 5 minutes with him at Chelsea and we also announce the lucky winner of the GWL tickets.

After a month apart, Mollie and Darren are reunited to bring you this week's episode! After a 4 hour delay while Mollie tried to sort the technicalities of the podcast equipment out, they are back in the swing of things. Mollie chats to David Austin on the gold award winning stand at the Chelsea Flower Show. Hear his reaction when she confesses to him that it was her who fell in to the rose display at Chelsea last year! Hear a chat with Chris Baines at Chelsea too as he was the special guest of the RHS this year honouring his wildlife garden in 1985. Lots of laughter as always.

Mollie sits down for a chat with Nick Bailey, designer of this year's headline show garden at Gardener's World Live at the NEC in Birmingham in June.