Loving Your Garden - Better Gardening Podcast
Loving Your Garden is a Facebook Group set up by broadcaster Rod Whiting during the first Covid lockdown in April 2020. It has quickly grown to nearly 450 thousand passionate and inspiring gardeners, thanks in no small part to knowledgeable and expert members like John Stirland. John has more than fifty years of experience in horticulture and you can now access his knowledge and that of our members as we link our podcast to LYG’s fortnightly live feed. Each week, we’ll discuss the jobs to be done, plant suggestions and answer your questions. If you love your garden and aspire to be...
Dahlias Made Simple: Growing, Feeding, Cutting and Storing with Kim O'Brien
Dahlias are bold, flamboyant, sometimes slightly outrageous - and one of the great stars of the late summer garden.
But they can also feel a little intimidating. When do you plant them? Which varieties are easiest to grow? Do you have to lift the tubers every winter? How do you support them, feed them, protect them from pests, and keep them flowering into autumn?
In this episode, Rod Whiting is joined by Dahlia expert Kim O’Brien - Head Gardener at an RHS-funded garden in Cambridgeshire, flower grower, floral designer, BBC local radio gardening expert, re...
A Journey through a Garden Designer’s Own Garden – with David Stevens
Take a walk through the personal garden of multi-award-winning designer David Stevens.
In this episode of Loving Your Garden, I’m joined by Boom Radio’s gardening expert John Stirland as we explore multi-award-winning designer David Stevens' own 100-foot suburban garden — a space full of ideas, inspiration, and practical lessons for gardeners of all levels.
From clever use of space and planting for year-round interest, to working with soil, structure, and light, David shares how he brings together design and plantsmanship to create a garden that feels both natural and constantly evolving.
Alon...
Before You Plant Anything This Spring...
...Be sure to listen to this relaxed conversation with two fabulous gardeners: my co-host, John Stirland — Boom Radio’s gardening expert — and horticulturist, broadcaster and RHS judge, Martin Fish.
It was a real pleasure to reunite this former BBC TV gardening double-act and spend half an hour chatting about Spring gardening in Martin’s Lincolnshire spread, with the birds providing the background soundtrack.
We begin with the problem many gardeners are facing after a wet winter — moss in the lawn — before moving on to dividing herbaceous perennials...
What Experienced Gardeners Wish They'd Known Sooner With David Stevens
In this special seasonal edition of the Loving Your Garden podcast, John Stirland and I sit down to reflect on the gardening year just gone – and look ahead to what comes next.
As is customary at Christmas, we're joined by the renowned garden designer David Stevens (22 Chelsea medals, including 11 Golds) for a relaxed, thoughtful conversation about how gardens evolve over time – through trial and error, changing seasons, and growing confidence.
From drought and erratic weather to winter interest, shrubs as the backbone of a garden, moving plants (yes, even at the “wrong” time), and choosing trees fo...
Growing Wildflowers The Easy Way - With Dr Ana Attlee
Struggling to get wildflowers growing in your garden? You’re not alone! 🌿
Gardeners are often surprised at how challenging it can be to grow wildflowers successfully, so we've been chatting to Dr Ana Attlee, co-founder of Seedball, to find a simpler solution to creating a haven for wildlife.
In this podcast, horticulturist and broadcaster John Stirland joins Loving Your Garden Founder Rod Whiting, along with Ana, to share a simple, proven method for growing wildflowers - perfect for beginners or anyone looking to attract more bees, butterflies, and birds to their garden.
Ana explains how t...
Summer's Done - Autumn's Here Early!
It's been an interesting Summer! It started with drought, then the rains came, and as the nights begin to draw in, it's turned unseasonably cool. Signs of Autumn are already showing, certainly in my East Midlands garden (UK). After a relatively quiet spell, the transition to Autumn is a busy time for gardeners and our resident horticulturist, John Stirland, suggests some jobs to consider, such as creating a compost pile and scarifying the lawn. Twenty minutes in John's company is always an education and never a minute wasted, so enjoy!
💬 Got a question for John? Or fancy sen...
Hot Tips for Cool Gardens - With Multi-Award Winning Designer David Stevens
As the sun turns up the heat, so do the challenges in our gardens. In this summer edition of the Loving Your Garden podcast, I’m joined by our resident horticulturist John Stirland and award-winning garden designer David Stevens for a lively and practical chat about gardening through the warmer months.
We explore clever ways to keep your plants happy during hot, dry spells, how to water wisely, and what to plant right now for colour and resilience. Whether you’re battling parched borders or planning a summer refresh, this episode is pack...
Lush Lawns & Palm Trees - In Cheshire! With Steve Fives
This might just be our best episode yet from LYG HQ!
Steve Fives is officially Loving Your Garden’s most engaging member – with more views, comments, and conversations than anyone else in the group… including me, and I run the place!
Steve’s garden is something you have to see to believe, so if you’d rather watch this episode, head over to our YouTube channel: Watch on YouTube
But don’t go just yet – Steve’s also a brilliant speaker, and this conversation on creating lawn envy is well worth a listen. He explains how...
Spring Into Action: Gardening Tips with John Stirland & Martin Fish (Pt 2)
With UK gardens bursting into colour, this is a beautiful time of year — but it’s also a busy time, preparing the garden for the seasons ahead.
In the second half of our conversation with Gardener and Broadcaster Martin Fish and our own John Stirland, we cover:
Pest control, notably slugs and snailsGrowing your own foodContainer gardeningGetting the best from rosesEffective wateringPeat-free compostPlus, an important Health and safety tip for keen gardenersThanks to Martin Fish for his time. Martin has an excellent Facebook site and YouTube Channel called Pots & Trowels - links here...
Spring Into Action: Gardening Tips with John Stirland & Martin Fish (Pt 1)
The new gardening year is well underway, and our Loving Your Garden Facebook group is bursting with colourful spring blooms and a real sense of excitement as our gardens awaken from their winter slumber.
So, what better time to get stuck into those all-important early-season jobs? To help us on our way, we’ve called on two seasoned pros — our resident horticulturist John Stirland and his long-time friend, RHS judge and fellow horticulturist Martin Fish, who many will remember as John’s TV co-host.
In this two-part special, John and Martin share expert...
Growing Cut Flowers With Roz Chandler
If you've resolved to growing more cut flowers in '25 then you'll find Roz Chandler from Field Gate Flowers an interesting guest. Roz talks about starting her cut flower farm 15 years ago almost by mistake and now runs a successful business growing, displaying and teaching floral horticulture. She has some useful tips for starting a cut flower garden and we also get around to discussing peat-free compost including the two brands Roz swears by and how climate change will have a major impact on how we garden (see Chapters for specifics).
Now that we have fan mail...
Better Gardening tips in 2025...With Two Badly Disguised Santas
It's become a thing for multi-award-winning garden designer David Stevens to drop in over Christmas with our resident horticulturist John Stirland over a glass of sherry for a gardening chinwag. The result is always educational as these two stalwarts trade wisdom and a few laughs. The wisdom includes suggestions for Winter interest in an all-year-round garden, some garden design tips, a discussion about gifts for the gardener who has everything, and the one garden tool that neither of our experts could do without.
To watch the video of our podcast, visit our LYG YouTube channel: https://youtu.b...
Eight Steps To Your Dream Garden With David Stevens
11 Times RHS Chelsea Gold Medallist (and LYG member), David Stevens, has designed a few gardens in his long career (understatement). Enough to earn him 26 RHS medals and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Garden Designers. In this short video (link below), David outlines 8 key steps to consider before embarking on a garden makeover that will save you time, effort, and tears. He finishes by outlining a postal design service* that makes his knowledge and expertise surprisingly accessible.
*Promo
David Stevens Website: https://david-stevens.co.uk/
David Stevens Email: gardens@david-stevens.co.uk
You can watch this interview with accompanying images on ou...
Is Bamboo REALLY The Plant From Hell?
Recent press reports would have you believe Bamboo is the devil incarnate but does it deserve its bad reputation? While it's certainly true some varieties can be highly destructive, are gardeners right to shun it at all costs?
Who better to ask than Tony Churley who's been growing varieties of Bamboo for the best part of forty years? Both John Stirland and I have had bad experiences with Bamboo so we didn't give Tony a free ride. Still, he puts up some strong arguments for the plant, how to buy the right varieties, how to contain it effectively...
John Stirland On Why Those New Plants May Not Be Thriving, Plus What The National Garden Scheme Can Do For You
Firstly, apologies for our silence over the past few weeks, we've been busy creating a brand new YouTube channel and subscription newsletter (links below) as well as overhauling our Facebook group to accommodate the massive new growth of 'Loving Your Garden' - now 378 thousand members.
Now that we're back into the routine we've re-commenced series 4 with a gardening clinic - hosted by myself and our resident horticulturist John Stirland with the added pleasure of the company of Barbara Stalker, Assistant County Organiser for the National Garden Scheme in Cambridgeshire. Barbara makes a strong case for the excellent...
The Secrets And Pleasures of Herbaceous Perennials With Rosy Hardy
It's always a pleasure and a privilege to be in the company of one of the UK's foremost plantswomen, Rosy Hardy. With countless RHS gold medals to her name, Rosy has become a leading authority on Herbaceous Perennials and this is pure gold for any gardener that is looking for a new dimension to their garden. If you're in a rush, go to our chapter page and choose your topic of interest but to be honest, you'd be better staying for the whole conversation to catch every last morsel of knowledge!
In association with Magic Mind...
No Wildlife, No Garden With Mary Porter
It’s always a pleasure to welcome our favourite Nature Watcher Mary Porter onto LYG. Spring in the UK is a great time for an update from Mary whose knowledge and experience of the natural world is much appreciated by all of us at LYG and to listeners of her regular spot on my Boom Radio show. This is a lovely chat about the current state of our wildlife and how we can encourage more creatures into our gardens, both for the good of the environment and our mental-wellbeing.
In association with Magic Mind - Mental Pe...
Ugly Lawns No More With This Prep Plus Removing Troublesome Tree Stumps
In association with Magic Mind - Mental Performance Shots
They have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases with code LOVEGARDEN20 at checkout
You can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/lovegarden
We have a double bonus for you in our latest episode with John Stirland laying out some solid tips for getting your lawn into top shape for Summer and with guest Ed Zamo dropping into Rod's Summerhouse with a professional take on...
Growing From Seed With Tom Sharples
There is nothing so satisfying than adding food to your dinner plate that you've grown from seed. While many gardeners are well-equipped to sow and propagate both vegetables and ornamentals, most others prefer the convenience of potted and plug plants. However, with the costs of plants and food now a significant factor, growing from seed is an attractive option.
Tom Sharples has devoted almost half a century to the seed industry and recently retired as Senior Horticultural Manager at Suttons Seeds. Following on from John Stirland's practical advice for seed-sowing earlier in the year, Tom shares his knowledge and...
Late Winter Pruning With John Stirland
Deep Joy! Winter's last hurrah is nearly upon us, at least if you're in Northern Europe, and it's time to finish off the Winter pruning. Our resident horticulturist John Stirland covers the basics and answers member questions on specific plants including Philadelphus, Fig, Ceonothus, Honeysuckle, and roses. As ever, John covers a lot of ground with lots of snippets of really useful information so it's worth listening through the whole half hour.
If you've not yet visited our LYG Facebook site, here's the link:
https://bit.ly/3oIzVr9
You'll find a friendly community of gardeners...
It's Seed Sowing Time!
Our resident horticulturist John Stirland kicks off season 4 of Loving Your Garden - Better Gardening Podcast with a masterclass in seed sowing. John is in full flow here with oodles of great advice on growing plants from seed as a new gardening year gets underway. John also takes questions from our LYG site members. It's best to sit back and enjoy the full episode but if you're tight for time, our chapter guide may be helpful.
If you've not yet visited our LYG Facebook site, here's the link:
https://bit.ly/3oIzVr9
You'll find a fr...
Three Top Gardeners Drop In For A Festive Chat
You'll need to check out the Loving Your Garden site to see our festive guests in their Santa gear but you can hear the fun in our season finale as horticulturist, gardening writer, broadcaster and RHS judge, Martin Fish, and multi-award-winning garden designer, David Stevens join John Stirland and LYG founder Rod Whiting for an end of season chat over a tipple or two.
Have a pen and paper handy as we discuss a busy gardening year, highlights & failures (yes, professionals have them too), and plans for the New Year with lots...
Growing Happy Healthy Houseplants with Jane Perrone
We borrowed our guest's phrase 'happy, healthy house plants' this week as it aptly describes a nirvana that many of us struggle with. Jane Perrone is a gardening writer and podcaster whose articles many will have read in the Guardian, Financial Times, and The RHS Garden Magazine among many publications. Jane's passion for houseplants shines through in our chat this week, dealing with the essentials of light, watering, and feeding as you might expect. But, also with sound advice on checking the soil or substrate of the plants we buy, rather than assuming they come fully equipped to survive ou...
John Stirland's Autumn Almanac (With Apologies To The Kinks!)
It's been a while since we checked in with our resident horticulturist John Stirland who's forgotten more than I'll ever know about gardening so it's nice to talk about getting ready for some Winter colour, Autumn feeding, and pruning as well as lots of other topical chat, and answers to member questions that you'll doubtless find useful.
Check out the chapter tab if you want to save time and pick specific topics.
Thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators:
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group: https://bit.ly...
Making Sense of Peat Free
There's been a noticeable increase in discussions on the LYG Facebook site about the forthcoming ban on the use of peat products in UK gardens, due to be enforced from the end of next year. To help us make sense of it all, our guests this week are Jonathan Whittemore from Johnsons of Whixley, a Yorkshire-based plant wholesaler, and Ruth Goudy, garden writer and owner of Kiln Farm Nursery and Garden Centre in Suffolk. Jonathan also chairs the Ornamental Management Committee of the Horticultural Trade Association and has played an active part in the RHS peat-free trials. Ruth is a l...
Autumn Splendour With Rosie Hardy
It is a delight to have Rosy back to chat about what can, with the right planting, be a spectacular time of year in the garden. Rosie and her husband Rob supply a vast number of herbaceous perennials from their nurseries at Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants in Hampshire, UK https://www.hardysplants.co.uk/.
Rosie is also a multi-award winning plantswoman and currently Vice-President of the RHS.
We talk about the best herbaceous perennials for Autumn interest, how and when to divide the plants, and also the importance of getting your Spring flowering perennials sorted now...
Late Summer Revival With John Stirland
Our Gardening maestro John Stirland is in great form as we consider plants that will add a little lustre to a flagging garden at this time of year. Flowers, shrubs, and trees all feature in our suggestions for adding some late seasonal interest, so it's worth having a pen and paper to hand as we go. Just a heads-up that we'll get another perspective on Autumn colour with an old friend of LYG, Rosy Hardy from Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants, in mid-September, so do subscribe to be sure not to miss her outstanding advice.
Thanks to our...
A Summer Catch-up With Three Gardening Stars Plus The Latest On The UK Peat Ban and A Look At Composite Decking
It's not every day you get to chat with one of the UK's top plantswomen, a renowned garden designer and the Gandalf of gardening but that was my pleasure when Rosy Hardy, David Stevens and John Stirland all gathered by Rosy's plant stand at the Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show. It was a delightful conversation about Summer gardens that I'm sure you'll find informative and entertaining.
There's also some bonus clips from this year's annual Glee Garden and Leisure Show at the Birmingham NEC where I took a closer look at composite decking and checked in a...
A Good Year For The Roses!
Everybody says it's been a great year for so many plants but especially roses so it's a good time to dwell on the ubiquitous rose: conditions, care, suggested varieties, and member questions answered by LYG's resident horticulturist John Stirland.
We do discuss a couple of varieties so I've attached a link to pics of the roses we discuss but, frankly, there are so many varieties, it really is a question of personal taste.
Roses mentioned in the podcast visible on LYG page (link below)
Tess of the D'urbervilles, Simple Life, Scent From Heaven and Gertrude J...
Here Comes Summer!
By now, the heavy work is likely done and we can start finessing, ready to relax and enjoy our gardens. If only! Of course, there's always something to be getting on with and, this week, we look at pruning and pest control. Meanwhile, John answers a variety of member questions that commonly arise at this time of the year.
You'll find a host of experienced gardeners on our LYG Facebook site but if you'd prefer to ask John direct, you can email rod@rodwhitingcommunications.co.uk and we'll respond in the next podcast.
We do reference a pr...
Attracting Wildlife To Your Garden With Mary Porter
As gardeners, we're closer than most to nature and we have a good understanding of the role we play in attracting wildlife into our neighbourhoods. But, with many species in a progressive decline over recent decades, that responsibility becomes ever more critical. Mary Porter has dedicated much of her life to wildlife promotion and protection and we're delighted to have her as a guest to LYG as Spring brings fresh challenges and opportunities for us to do our bit.
Thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators:
for a free quote and advice on any project...
Landscaping - The foundation of any great garden with Jan Prodger
We put so much effort into finding the right plants for our garden, we sometimes miss the bigger picture of creating the right framework for all those expensive trees, shrubs, and flowers. The cost of good quality landscaping can be offputting but, like any good investment, it can pay off many times over. Our chat with professional garden landscaper Jan Prodger from Ace of Spades Garden Maintenance and Design gives a good insight into points to consider, and appreciation of the benefits of effective landscaping.
Ace Of Spades Lanscaping:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057294406100
Getting the Best From Herbaceous Perennials with Rosy Hardy
There are few better qualified to talk about herbaceous perennials than 24-time Chelsea gold medal winner Rosy Hardy from Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants and we're delighted to have the benefit of her knowledge once again to discuss this garden essential.
We talk about seed sowing, plant breeding, and popular plant choices for '23. We also discuss how to use herbaceous plants effectively in your garden and Rosy makes some interesting points about colours and shapes.
We also discuss Peat Free which Rosy has long been a proponent of. However, we do talk about the extension of the...
All Year Garden Design With Professor David Stevens
Step away from the Garden Centre! Well, just for a moment as multi-award-winning garden designer and LYG member David Stevens gives you some valuable tips on using colour, texture, and shape of both foliage and flowers to keep your garden looking its best all through the year, including Winter.
Once again David is a rich source of knowledge as he joins resident horticulturist John Stirland and LYG founder Rod Whiting for a look ahead to the gardening year now that the long Winter is finally over.
You'll need a notebook as we discuss plants of all types...
Winter's Last Hurrah! Spring Preparation With John Stirland
It's not terribly inviting outside, where I am at least, with snow falling and low temperatures set for the next few days. However, that hasn't stopped me from planting a good size Amelanchier Lamarckii and having a wee tidy up of some borders. This is the thing about March and whatever the weather might throw at us, gardeners gotta garden!
And that's the theme of this week's podcast with horticulturist John Stirland answering LYG member questions and discussing jobs to be getting on with from sowing (we talk about artificial lighting for plants), first cuts for lawns, finishing o...
Vegetable and Herb Gardening In Containers With Maggie Stuckey
Given reported supermarket shortages of fresh salad and veg plus exorbitant prices, there's never been a better time to consider growing your own, if you don't already.
Our guest this week is an American garden writer who grew up on a farm in the Deep South of the US and has written many books about growing your own veg - Maggie Stuckey.
Maggie and our own John Stirland are of like minds and spend half an hour putting the case for container gardening of veg and herbs to a sceptical podcaster. Do they succeed? You'll need to l...
All Set For A Successful Gardening Year!
All gardeners know how good it feels at the start of a new gardening year, especially for UK gardeners coming out of Winter. To start off Season 3 of our LYG podcast, horticulturist John Stirland has some timely tips for jobs we can be doing including Winter pruning, transposing deciduous plants, and seed sowing, as well as answering member questions.
Just a heads-up, LYG Live is now broadcast on Sunday afternoons at 4 pm (UK time) so if you'd like the benefit of John's advice, you can join us live on our Facebook Group site, URL:
https://www.facebook.co...
Hints & Tips On Using Colour In Your Garden With David Stevens
It's always a pleasure to spend time with multi-award-winning garden designer and LYG member Professor David Stevens who rounds off series 2 of our podcast with some great tips on using colour to enhance your garden. As ever with David, there's always much more for the gardener than the headline topic and you'll need your notebook as he talks about colour blending and specific plants. We also discuss some of the plants in David's own garden so below is a link to some photographs to lend context: https://www.facebook.com/groups/574905686709417/permalink/1207884166744896
Time for a wee seasonal b...
Soil Improvement In The Peat-Free Era with Daniel Suggitt from PlantGrow
I had the pleasure of a tour around Bardney Manor in Lincolnshire recently courtesy of owner Samantha Wright and discovered a pile of lovely rich soil which she'd had delivered ready to start a very ambitious project - more of which later. Anyway, after further investigation, it transpired that the soil was in fact PlantGrow, a soil improver made up entirely of plant matter from a process of bio-digestion.
A quick phone call to General Manager Daniel Suggitt and we had ourselves a podcast guest. Given how peat-free is becoming quite the topic as the deadline for th...
Forty Minutes Of Gold With Houseplant Guru Joe Bagley
If houseplants are your Achilles heel then this will be time well spent as we chat with Joe Bagley from ukhouseplants.com looking at position and light, potting, feeding, and general care tips as well as advice on specific plants including orchids.
Joe's website has become internationally recognised with more than three million hits from people seeking out his encyclopedic knowledge of houseplants and their care.
As we cover a lot of ground, you may find our chapters page helpful on this podcast.
As ever, we're grateful to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators:
f...
