Can you be a good gardener when it’s cold, wet and utterly miserable? And would anyone in their right mind eat a marmalade sandwich in the bath? Cue a deep sigh.
It’s Question Time, and James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back with your weird and wonderful garden questions. First, a listener has written them a theme tune. There’s just one problem: she wants them to sing it.
Then it’s winter kit (agricultural waterproofs held up with baler twine, technical trousers you can hear from the other end of the garden, and James’s dream of owning a pair of combinations), a mad scientist’s laboratory in Bridport where Joe breeds the terrifying Quercus horribilis, why a fresh bag of farmyard manure might be the best smell in the garden, exactly what percentage of their lives they spend thinking about their gardens, and which garden designer has had the most influence on gardening. James also has a theory about the indoor toilet that may change how you look at your back garden forever.
This week’s questions:
Hannah: Winter is coming. How can I be a good gardener in the cold and wet?
Hallie Mae: Which two plants would you combine to make an even better plant?
For the Record 1983: Why is a new bag of farmyard manure the best smell in the garden?
Gillian Moorhead: What percentage of time do you think about your garden?
Stephen Farr: Which famous garden designer has had the most influence on gardening, for better or worse?
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:40 A listener writes us a theme tune
05:11 How to garden in the cold and wet
08:18 The best waterproof trousers for gardening
11:52 Long johns, combinations and layering up
15:54 Biscuits and sandwiches in the bath
16:58 Which two plants would you combine?
20:59 Could you breed an evergreen rose?
24:17 Why does farmyard manure smell so good?
30:43 The voiceover line Joe couldn’t say
31:43 How much do gardeners think about their garden?
36:58 Most influential garden designer ever
42:06 How the indoor toilet changed garden design
44:19 Central Park, Birkenhead and Frederick Law Olmsted
47:04 Is everyone a garden designer now?
Got a question? Send it in for the chance to win the most coveted prize in horticulture (no, not a Chelsea gold medal).
To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com
About our hosts
James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.
Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.
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Remember: no dead plants and no dull questions. See you back in the garden.
