grow, cook, eat, arrange with Sarah Raven & friends

September is a turning point in the gardening calendar, a month in which we’re preparing our plants - as we are ourselves - for the colder months.

Sarah and Josie join forces this week to share the key jobs you should prioritise at this point in the year - from focusing on your edibles to deadheading your dahlias. September is also the time to plant out your biennials before the cold sets in, start forcing bulbs, and take cuttings of your tender perennials.

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Mustards (Hardy Mustard Mix): https://www.sarahraven.co...

From the first November blooms to the last flowers in May, narcissus can quietly carry your garden through the whole of spring. 

In this week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Tom Stimpson joins Sarah as they unpack what they found on a whirlwind narcissus trip to the Netherlands – from finely bred, climate‑resilient varieties to pots that brim with scent on the coldest days. 

They share their favourite tried‑and‑tested daffodils for pots, borders and cutting, and the key characteristics they now look for.

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If grey squirrels have ever stripped your pots overnight or raided a carefully planted bulb lasagne, there are ways to protect your perfectly composed pots.

Sarah is joined by Josie Lewis this week to share what’s actually worked at Perch Hill after years of trials – from cleverly laid thorny rose prunings to beautiful pot toppers that protect bulbs and earn their keep. 

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We’re stepping once more into Tom Stimpson’s tiny town garden to see how he coaxes months of colour from the smallest of spaces. 

In this episode, Tom shares the mini bulbs that have truly earned their keep in pots and window boxes – from long-flowering iris and species tulips to cheerful muscari and dwarf narcissus. 

Together we explore simple planting “recipes”, clever table‑top displays, and a low‑maintenance watering approach that lets the weather do most of the work. 

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If you love the idea of beautiful pots that don’t need replanting every five minutes, perennials in a container can be the perfect solution, and just as stunning as a bed or a border.

Tom Stimpson returns to discuss trusted “banker” perennials for containers – from long-flowering hellebores and acers underplanted with geraniums, to hydrangeas, heucheras and beloved agapanthus. 

You’ll hear exactly which combinations have stood the test of time in Tom’s garden as well as at Perch Hill, and how to get colour from winter through to late autumn.

In this episode...

We’re approaching the perfect moment for bulb planting, and if you’re looking to force bulbs for a lovely indoor winter, then look no further than the sage advice of Tom Stimpson.

In this episode, Sarah and Tom - our Head of Horticulture - share their favourite bulbs to force indoors, and how to pot and water them, plus a few simple tricks to keep them flowering for weeks on end. 

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When cancer enters a life, it carries a profound impact on the places in which you seek comfort, which is why the human-centred gardens at Maggie’s centres are so unbelievably important.

In this powerful episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Sarah talks to Dame Laura Lee from Maggie’s, about how beautifully designed, garden-centred spaces are changing the experience of cancer care for patients and their families. 

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If you’ve ever let your vegetable garden wind down after summer, there’s a whole season you’re missing out on. 

This week on ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Sarah breaks the year into two simple seasons and shows you exactly what to sow now so you can keep picking right through the grey months. 

From hardy salads and herbs to kales and chards, she shares 12 tried-and-tested crops that genuinely thrive in a UK winter. 

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Stepping out into the garden with a sketchbook in hand is a novel, powerful practice which, given time, can transform the way we look at plants we think that we know like the back of our hand.

In this week’s podcast episode, Sarah is joined by artist and gardener Matthew Rice to explore how drawing becomes a kind of “recorded looking” that deepens our relationship with flowers and gardens - from choosing the right subjects and materials to capturing the feeling of a border in full swing.

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The National Garden Scheme is a national treasure, raising millions for charities and giving access to gorgeous gardens for those who need them most.

It’s a joy this week to be joined by former GP and National Garden Scheme CEO Dr Richard Claxton to explore how 3,200 gardens – from stately homes to hospital rooftops and new-build backyards – are transforming health and access to green space across the UK. 

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We’ve learned from years of unpredictable weather patterns that the climate is demanding more of our plants than ever before, and while some struggle, others quietly thrive throughout it all.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Josie Lewis to explore which plants are quietly thriving through late frosts, heatwaves and torrential rain with a practical, down-to-earth shortlist of resilient perennials, shrubs, grasses and ground covers to help your garden cope with an increasingly unpredictable climate.

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What Pam Corbin doesn’t know about preserves, isn’t worth knowing. She’s an oracle on all things jam - hence her apt nickname, ‘Pam the Jam’.

For the home cook, and for those with a kitchen garden worthy of capturing its fruity goodness, this week’s episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ with Pam is a perfect entry point to creating your own jams.

She and Sarah share the secrets behind turning seasonal fruit and veg into beautiful jars of low‑sugar jams, compotes and chutneys that actually taste of the fruit, not just the sugar!

There are few flowers more quintessential than the rose, and it’s safe to say that there’s a perfect rose for everyone’s tastes. 

This week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ delves into the world of roses, with someone whose love for a great rose knows no bounds: Josie Lewis.

Whether you’re looking for a rose with a particular colour to combine with the beauty of your existing garden, or you’re more pressed by scent and structure, we hear which are the absolute best roses to grow, and how best to tend to them for healt...

This Christmas might feel a while away, but if there’s one way to prepare right now for a more stunning and sustainable tree, it’s with alliums.

Sarah’s love of alliums is well-documented on the podcast, but this week she’s recalling some of the most show-stopping varieties with which to decorate this Christmas, and the joys that they’ll bring as ‘colour baton-carriers’ in spring.

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Biennials – plants which flower in their second year – may often be overlooked by us gardeners, but between their value for money, wonderful scent, and versatility they’re among the best plants to sow and grow in any garden.

Sarah makes the case for brilliant biennials in this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, exploring how she came to appreciate their beauty, and which varieties are best for all aspects of your space.

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Every garden space deserves a chance to be transformed into a beautiful space which breathes, rather than constricts, and Pollyanna Wilkinson is a master of such designs.

Polly joins Sarah this week to share her no‑nonsense methods for transforming everything from boxy new‑build plots to tired, inherited gardens into layered, soulful spaces. 

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Chelsea is upon us, and among the beauty of all the show gardens lies a very special offering from Arit Anderson and Parkinson’s UK.

She’s planting with purpose in a garden which promises to reflect every Parkinson’s journey in a beautifully poignant way, and on ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, she walks us through the planting ethos and careful design behind one of Main Avenue’s great sights for 2026.

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In this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Sarah Raven welcomes renowned garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith to uncover his visionary new garden for Tate Britain and how he’s reimagining it for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. 

They explore his bold, foliage-rich planting, ingenious water features, and a remarkable new memorial garden at Badminton that promises to be one of the RHS’s most ambitious show gardens yet.

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Watch the full video episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/_T97COq6blM

Throughout Mary Berry's life, the garden has played a charming role, from her wartime childhood plot to a brand-new garden started in her 80s - it’s an essential ingredient in her life.

This week on ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ Mary kindly joins us to explore a lifetime of gardening, how it’s inspired her new book, and how gardening can bring joy, structure and wellbeing at every stage of life.

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Sissinghurst is one of the country’s crowning gems of National Trust gardens, and a place in which Adam was brought up, around the beauty curated by his grandparents.

This week on ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, we’re delving into the centuries of legacy which led to a spot perfect for Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson to create the poetic space we know and adore today, and how their vision is being revived today for generations to come.

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The magic of growing your own food is hard to overstate, and while some lament the labour necessary, it takes far less time and space than many imagine.

This week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ once again features the remarkable Huw Richards, fresh from the release of ‘How to Grow Food’ - his new book which dives into the detail of how anyone can grow a kitchen garden in real spaces, with a planting schedule that fits around busy lives.

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The sunnier months in April present a fresh opportunity for gardeners to sow some of the fastest-germinating seedlings, bringing a productive garden closer than you might think.

We return to Josie Lewis this week for an episode all about what she’s sowing in mid-April, how to prick out and pot on seedlings, and the simple tricks they use to keep plants growing hard and healthy at this most promising time of year.

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There’s something uniquely calming about a garden washed in cool pastels – soft tones that feel like frosty mornings and freshly laundered linen. 

Moving us onto the 4th and final palette in Sarah’s colour system, we explore the washed palette in this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’. She takes you through the colour combinations, productive plant families, and tips for crafting a soothing, contemplative feeling in your garden.

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A comforting garden can feel as soft and familiar as your favourite cashmere jumper, and in this episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Sarah shares a palette which achieves exactly this feeling.

In the latest of the Colour Guide Mini Series episodes, Sarah shares how to create a mood using the comforting palette, the key plant families and varieties, plus how to sequence them through the seasons, so your borders feel gentle and soothing from early spring to late autumn.

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For many, the garden should be a peaceful place where its colours invite you in and envelop you in their earthy tones, and that’s the role of Sarah Raven’s velvet palette.

In this episode of the Colour Guide Mini Series, Sarah moves us to her next, and perhaps favourite palette of the four. She talks through their calming colours, and the flower families that help keep that tranquility in your garden through a reliable planting succession.

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Seeds sown in March are the great givers of colour and fragrance in a cutting garden or container, from spring right through to autumn.

This week, Sarah is joined by Josie Lewis to walk through 12 of the most trusted plants to sow now, how to fill your beds, pots and vases, and feed the birds from a single month’s sowing.

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The garden is a welcoming place for all, particularly for newcomers when guided by the gentle eye of Milli Proust, and under the instruction of her calming new book.

Milli joins us once again, this time to share the inspiring journey that’s led up to her most approachable book to date, and some of the easy-to-understand frameworks to create an effortlessly beautiful garden.

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The luminous palette - a rich, stained glass collection of citrus, scarlet and pinky-purples - is the first of Sarah’s colour combinations that we’ll walk through in depth for this episode of the Colour Guide Mini Series.

Sarah explains the six key colours, which ones to use together throughout the year, and the flower families which she considers the most prominent and productive as they pass the colour baton through the year.

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Colour is best when it’s tangible, and if you’re planning a patch in your garden then this episode of the Mini Series is perfect to help you bring your plans to life.

In this episode of the Colour Guide Mini Series, Sarah dives into the practical side of using colour as the backbone of your garden design - from using candles to visualise colour combinations, to the ‘bride, bridesmaid, gate crasher’ structure that’ll help guide you towards an ensemble that works in harmony.

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Each colour palette in the garden creates a unique atmosphere, and you don’t need intricate knowledge of the colour wheel to combine them cohesively in the garden.

In this episode of the Colour Guide Mini Series, Sarah talks us through why her colour palette system works to create stunning arrangements which work with each other, rather than against each other, and how to transition between palettes within neighbouring spaces.

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Welcome to the first in a brand new miniseries of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, as Sarah delves into the world of colour, and how to use each colour palette to its absolute maximum potential in the garden.

In this week’s first episode, Sarah shares how the colour system used at Perch Hill came to be, the theories behind mixing certain palettes, and the difference between calm and chaos when combining colours.

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In this episode, Sarah is joined by YouTube phenomenon Huw Richards to talk about his journey from smallholding childhood to seven-acre experimental plot, and the ideas behind his hit book Veg in One Bed. 

They’ll also cover exactly what to sow in late winter, and what’ll perform best when sown later – from chillies and aubergines to peas, onions and tomatoes. 

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From their resistance to deep snow and hard frosts, to long-flowering habits, hellebores are quietly spectacular plants that earn their keep in pots, borders and shady corners.

This week we’re diving into one of the true stars of the winter garden, focusing on the new varieties that bring a renewed perspective on one of the winter garden’s most generous providers, and how to keep them looking their best in the garden or in a vase.

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March 2026 marks the release of perhaps Sarah’s most personal book to date, drawing from childhood love, family influence, and the evolution of one’s own gardening tastes.

In this week’s ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ Milli Proust joins us to discuss Sarah's new book, ‘A Year of Cut Flowers’, blending the memoir and the method to trace her family’s historic love of flora, and how it drew Sarah into the world of cut flowers.

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The dream garden of low‑maintenance abundance is all about picking the plants that need hardly any input, just the lightest touch of editing, and they’ll give you months of shifting colour.

In the third episode in this theme with Arthur, we dive into the self-seeding annuals and biennials that bring abundant colour to the garden with very little effort. 

From forget-me-nots and violas to cerinthe, cosmos and quaking grasses, they share their favourite ‘volunteer’ plants, how to manage them, and simple ways to use them in borders and cut-flower arrangements for a truly low-maint...

For months of scent throughout the sunnier months, there are a whole host of nostalgic stalwarts and surprising new picks that are impossible to ignore.

Every garden deserves a perfume as captivating as the 12 plants at the top of Josie and Sarah’s list this week, as they laud the dozen best flowers to sow for unbeatable aroma from April through to October.

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Every year, we venture out to the Netherlands in search of the most captivating dahlias, each worthy of a spot in your garden to liven up the late-summer months.

Tom Stimpson joins us again on the podcast to share their current ‘cream of the crop’, from reliable classics like ‘Molly Raven’ and ‘Adam’s Choice’, to gorgeous growers like ‘Strawberry Cream’ and ‘Princess Nadine’. 

Join us for an episode packed with garden inspiration for any colour palette, and a glimpse into how we choose our standout favourites from a field of hundreds and thousands.

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Shane Connolly is a master of many arts, and one that he exhibits throughout the year is how to use sustainable floristry to create a sense of charm often reserved for the tiniest of tables.

That’s why he’s in such high demand - we talk through his exciting, varied year of arranging in this week’s podcast, with a look at the festive season, and a few tips to serve your own arranging in the festive season, taking inspiration from Shane’s wondrous wedding displays.

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Whether you're nurturing a bustling city plot or a country border, there’s a spot in everyone’s gardens, pots and borders for beautiful, productive perennials throughout the year.

Following on from last week’s episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Arthur is with us again to focus this time on perennials that are light-touch and bountiful for those of us putting together a low-maintenance garden.

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The ideal garden for our busy daily lives has a border bursting with colour, without the need for hours spent toiling to achieve it.

This week’s episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ is the perfect antidote to fussy flowers - Arthur Parkinson returns to laud the best self-seeding perennials for a low-maintenance garden brimming with lasting impact and scent.

You’ll hear inspiring ornamentals and edibles to sow, how best to maintain their beauty with minimal effort, and which varieties are most tolerant of tricky soil.

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