The Garden Log

Ben Dark

The Garden Log is an award winning /gardening/history/botany podcast from Ben Dark

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105 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes105

Newest first

Oct 22, 2018 · 26 min
New plants for new borders, camellia sasanqua and next year's hottest wildflowers
October 2018. A wet sunny week full of plants and talking about plants. We plan the new borders for 2019 and start sourcing herbaceous and woody material
Oct 15, 2018 · 28 min
Chilean guava, bulb migraines and hot benches - its season two of the Garden Log
Season two. The Garden Log celebrates its first birthday with wit, wisdom and a day trip to Hampton Court.
Sep 27, 2018 · 27 min
#43 How to prune lavender with a tractor, plant a disease resistant elm and effectively ruin your lawn
In this episode we cut back on the lavender, discuss favourite plants and tragically find out why its never a good idea to rush things in the garden.
Sep 13, 2018 · 30 min
#42 Melianthus cuttings, luxury weeding and the orchid factor
September arrives with cold mornings and new smells. We start propagating next year's superstars, indulge in luxury weeding and discuss why now is the time for new gardening projects. Thirty minutes of horticultural reflection and comment. Contentment guaranteed
Sep 6, 2018 · 29 min
#41 How to batter your hedge, break your mower and grow cabbages with George Orwell
In this literally groundbreaking episode of The Garden Log Ben experiments with home remedies for powdery mildew, cuts hedges, talks about flowers and drives into a fox hole. The Garden Log. A podcast for people and plants
Aug 30, 2018 · 31 min
#40 Attack of the box tree caterpillar, bright plants for brick walls and other gardening nightmares
This week the Garden Log is infested. Not that we let it stop us creating a beautiful new border or taking a trip to Oxford. No crying please, lets all talk about flowers
Aug 22, 2018 · 27 min
#39 Sacrifice and scarification: A gardening podcast
In this episode of the Garden Log we drop in on a suave french landscape architect, rip out some grass, laugh in the face of ugliness and soak our eyes in beauty. Not since Eden have plants and people been in such perfect harmony.
Aug 15, 2018 · 26 min
#38 Wisteria's summer prune, ordering spring bulbs and heaps of steaming compost
In this episode wisteria is tamed, lawnmowers are ridden like chariots and rain falls like an upturned river. Also, advice on how to steal ideas and a discussion of the horticultural tasks that every good gardener should master
Aug 9, 2018 · 22 min
#37 Under the old oak tree: Forget-me-nots, enchanters nightshade and beetles everywhere
In this cheese-wine charmed episode of The Garden Log we talk meadows, short lived perennials, lilly-beetles, and acorns. We also pay a visit to a National Trust garden and travel back in time to meet a Victorian head gardener
Aug 2, 2018 · 23 min
#36 Scything meadows, cutting dahlias and battling Cthulhu weed
This hottest day of the year coincides with the wildflower orchard's annual hay cut. I harvest dahlias for garish, smile-inducing vases of midsummer joy and we discuss whether its possible to imbue certain flower beds with a profound aura of cosmic dread. All in a weeks work on The Garden Log!
Jul 28, 2018 · 27 min
Decorative grass, Edwardian fuss and sun-bright pots of summer zinnia
In this episode we go garish for a garden fiesta, learn how to use ornamental grass to soften harsh borders and go scrumping for black mulberries. All this and more in the latest episode of Britain's most addictive gardening podcast.
Jul 20, 2018 · 30 min
#34 Mashed wallflowers, orange echinacea and the Willow of Babylon
In hazy midsummer Ben Dark tells stories about trees and recommends some border-filling plants for mid-summer swaps
Jul 13, 2018 · 31 min
#33 Hot rocks, head gardeners and hydrangea vines
In this hot episode of Britain's favourite horticultural podcast we labour in desperate pursuit of beauty. Also, tips on how to NOT boil your plants, which bacopa is not worth the seed price and staying safe with cycads. Have fun gardeners!
Jul 5, 2018 · 27 min
#32 Weeds, wounds and weddings
In this episode we learn the subtle art of deadheading, learn when not to weed and eat some wild carrot. All in a week's work for The Garden Log
Jun 15, 2018 · 28 min
#31 Wisteria standards, insect shoes and the woeful washing-line tree
Welcome to episode 31 of the garden log. This week we are firm but fair to wisteria, we are filling our boots with ants and we are dissing some bugle. An unmissable feast for your horticultural imagination
Jun 7, 2018 · 30 min
#30 The hairiest flower bed in London
In this episode we visit a disgusting flower bed, learn how to start a hospital for orchids and wax on about oriental poppies. Also, aphid control, plant buying and Derek Jarman thegardenlogpodcast@gmail.com
May 31, 2018 · 28 min
#29 Bad choices, royal molluscs and tree fern tips
In this episode we review some gardening mistakes I made in the first half of 2018.
May 17, 2018 · 23 min
#28 Sharp hedges, red beetles and perfect compost
In this episode we lean how to pop lily beetles, prune box hedging and mix the perfect compost
May 10, 2018 · 27 min
#27 Globe flowers, half-eaten hydrangeas and planning a cut-flower garden
Tonight I'm gonna garden like its 1979. We take a nostalgic tour of that decade's eccentric gardens and root up some tree stumps with a big digger
May 3, 2018 · 30 min
Top class grass and brilliant Bartzella
In this episode we reveal the scientific secrets of the perfect croquet lawn and chuck a load of plants in on the compost heap for being the wrong shade of white. Also, weeding, feeding, reading and seeding. Spring is here. Gloves on, headphones in - time for another episode of The Garden Log! thegardenlogpodcast@gmail.com