Finding the Format
I use ‘notes’ on my phone - a lot. It’s like having a scrap of paper and pen in your pocket. A quick look just now and I see I have 1,322 notes - I do need to empty my pockets!
However one note is a bit precious. It’s called radio ideas in a folder called Garden. I started it while I was still working at the BBC and I usually added to it on my tube journey to and from White City. Scrolling though the hundreds and hundreds of words on that note are names of people I think I’d like to talk to, ideas for programmes, words to describe the podcast I would like to make: curious, community, collaborative, plant talk.
There have been quite a few moments of serendipity along this journey. Volunteering to plant some bulbs in Regents Park in Autumn 2021, I got talking to a fellow volunteer. For some reason, I felt able to tell her about my very tiny seed of a podcasting idea. She was encouraging and a few weeks later I went to her flat and played her a rather random collection of clips. But this was crucial - my first bit of proper feedback - which was - this is a rather random collection of clips but I love the sounds. My thanks to the journalist Catherine Horwood who was that kind person. She was the authorised biographer of the British plantswoman, garden designer and author, Beth Chatto and I would really recommend her biography which is called Beth Chatto: A Life with Plants . It would make a great Christmas present for a gardener.
The other real breakthrough came from a conversation between two sisters. I had worked with Lynne in Manchester on a daily programme called Five Aside on what we now think of as the ‘old BBC Five’ which back in the day combined sport and children’s radio in the same schedule. There was actually a programme called Wiggly Park which featured a slug called Nifty. Sorry I digress. Lynne revealed that she could plant up any hanging basket thanks to the training she received from her mum. She also told me that her sister was a professional garden designer. So I decided to record a conversation with the two of them.
During the chat Lynne talked about a peony that her mum grew in their garden that she was never allowed to touch, or even go near and certainly not allowed to pick! She wished she knew what it was.
Suddenly I too wanted to find ‘that peony’ , so I sent the clip of Lynne to an expert who I thought might be able to help! They responded and the idea had begun to germinate. I will return to this episode and the wonderful generosity of the grower who helped me.
I wonder how many of us date our first steps in gardening to memories about specific plants. Amongst my earliest gardening memories are collecting walnuts from the tree at the end of garden (if the squirrel hadn’t got them first) and the smell of marigolds mixed with tomatoes as we would pull up plants at the end of the growing season.
I’d love you to join me on this journey as I prepare to start the podcast. All the content is free and if you like it do share this blog with a friend so we can build our plant story community ahead of the launch!