Podcasts about Capability Brown

In this episode host Claire Bown talks with Geraldine Collinge, Chief Executive at Compton Verney, about their bold approach to creating genuinely engaging cultural spaces through play, accessibility and joy.Geraldine shares how this unique 'art space in a park' in Warwickshire brings together a historic Robert Adam mansion, 120 acres of Capability Brown landscape, and six distinctive collections ranging from Chinese bronzes to British folk art. She explains how Compton Verney's core values - particularly their inclusion of 'fun' - guide everything from exhibition design to community engagement initiatives.Listen to discover their multisensory approach to gallery spaces that incorporates touch, smell and sound, doubling visitor numbers to their Naples collection. Learn about their 'play first' philosophy that encourages visitors of all ages to engage meaningfully with art through creative exploration, and hear about their 97% discounted community passes that are breaking down barriers to access. Geraldine also shares insights into how they're connecting art and nature through immersive experiences like 'Breathing with the Forest,' creating what she describes as a restorative experience that ultimately delivers on their promise: giving visitors 'a day full of joy.'The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support the show on Patreon and find more resources at thinkingmuseum.comSHOWNOTES https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/Breathing with the Forest (now closed) - https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/whats-on/breathing-with-the-forest/What we do - https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/our-story/what-we-do/Geraldine Collinge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldinecollinge/ ‘The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums‘ is now available worldwide through your favourite online platforms and retailers. Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengagerThe Art Engager book website: https://www.theartengager.com/Support the show with a simple monthly subscription on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheArtEngager

Dennis Greaves took a week off from Nine Below Zero in 1980 but otherwise kept his nose firmly applied to the grindstone. They broke up in 1983 when he formed the Truth, who broke up in 1989 when he rebooted the old band. He looks back here at the first gigs he ever saw and played – a world with the attractive scent of spilt beer and tobacco – stopping off at various points, among them … … why blues and R&B flourished in South London, police and villains drinking together at the Thomas A Becket and the folklore of the Old Kent Road. ... the great advantage of never having a hit. … taking his parents to see Chuck Berry in 1972. ... the lasting appeal of R&B in a world of processed music. … what he learnt from Glyn Johns when he produced them at Olympic Studios, “the man who invented phasing with Itchycoo Park”. … buying singles at A1 Records in Walworth – “Progressive, Reggae, Artists A-Z …” … seeing Blackfoot Sue and Scarecrow on the pub circuit, and the Groundhogs and Rory Gallagher at the Rainbow. … Pete Townshend watching Nine Below Zero from the wings - “you remind me of us in the ‘60s”. … seeing the Jam 11 times – “900 people in a 400 capacity venue!” … “getting gyp is good as you learn how to control an audience.” … 2am service station food and how touring has changed in 45 years. ... performing in the pilot for The Young Ones in 1982. … “the song you should study for A-Level Pop”. … memories of Mylone LeFevre, Capability Brown, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, BB King, Muhammad Ali, Henry Cooper, Uriah Heep, The Little Roosters, Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Greg Lake, Love Sculpture, Free, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Alvin Lee, Dr Feelgood and Charlie McCoy playing Lady Madonna on the harmonica on the Val Doonican Show …  … and the greatest record ever made! Nine Below Zero tickets and tour dates here: https://www.ninebelowzero.com/tourHelp us to keep the conversation going by joining our worldwide Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dennis Greaves took a week off from Nine Below Zero in 1980 but otherwise kept his nose firmly applied to the grindstone. They broke up in 1983 when he formed the Truth, who broke up in 1989 when he rebooted the old band. He looks back here at the first gigs he ever saw and played – a world with the attractive scent of spilt beer and tobacco – stopping off at various points, among them … … why blues and R&B flourished in South London, police and villains drinking together at the Thomas A Becket and the folklore of the Old Kent Road. ... the great advantage of never having a hit. … taking his parents to see Chuck Berry in 1972. ... the lasting appeal of R&B in a world of processed music. … what he learnt from Glyn Johns when he produced them at Olympic Studios, “the man who invented phasing with Itchycoo Park”. … buying singles at A1 Records in Walworth – “Progressive, Reggae, Artists A-Z …” … seeing Blackfoot Sue and Scarecrow on the pub circuit, and the Groundhogs and Rory Gallagher at the Rainbow. … Pete Townshend watching Nine Below Zero from the wings - “you remind me of us in the ‘60s”. … seeing the Jam 11 times – “900 people in a 400 capacity venue!” … “getting gyp is good as you learn how to control an audience.” … 2am service station food and how touring has changed in 45 years. ... performing in the pilot for The Young Ones in 1982. … “the song you should study for A-Level Pop”. … memories of Mylone LeFevre, Capability Brown, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, BB King, Muhammad Ali, Henry Cooper, Uriah Heep, The Little Roosters, Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Greg Lake, Love Sculpture, Free, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Alvin Lee, Dr Feelgood and Charlie McCoy playing Lady Madonna on the harmonica on the Val Doonican Show …  … and the greatest record ever made! Nine Below Zero tickets and tour dates here: https://www.ninebelowzero.com/tourHelp us to keep the conversation going by joining our worldwide Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'm joined by author Molly Williams and illustrator Jessica Roux, the brilliant minds behind Jane Austen's Garden: A Botanical Companion to Her Novels. Together, we explore the plants, flowers, and gardens that shaped Austen's world and how they feature in her beloved works.We delve into the influence of Capability Brown, the fascinating world of Floriography—the secret language of flowers—and how gardening in Austen's time was not just a pastime but a political rebellion against the French. From the grand estates of Pride and Prejudice to the wild, romantic landscapes of Sense and Sensibility, we uncover the deeper significance of nature in Austen's novels.Watch the video on YoutubeBooks & Oracle Deck Mentioned:

Debs, in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England is the listener who sets the first question for discussion -  “You often say we are part of nature and not separate from it. To that end, with balance, it's ok for humans to alter land. So restoring it back to how it was before man even walked the Earth may be a red herring. I've heard you say when we are trying to look after a section of land, are we aiming to turn it into what it was, what it is or what we want it to be? So planting trees everywhere, maybe even where trees wouldn't normally be found, may be destroying rare biodiversity. It may also become a monoculture, with some things dieing out as we are only thinking of the canopy, not the understory and other kinds of habitats. Maybe with the correct management from humans biodiversity could increase more than if we died out and left nature to do its own thing?”Stuart kicks off the chat by pointing out that humans have really done a number on the landscape. Apparently, habitats are all over the place, literally. You get the driftwood from the destruction and a lovely patch of what might eventually be woodland if we keep our fingers crossed. The countryside's current look? Yeah, that's courtesy of 10,000 years of human tinkering. And to keep biodiversity afloat, we can't just sit back and do nothing—we need to roll up our sleeves and get involved.Stuart reckons Debs hits the nail on the head about tree planting. Unfortunately, we seem to have mastered the art of doing it all wrong. He then goes on to clarify that rewilding isn't just a fancy term for sitting on our hands.William chimes in, pointing out the environmental wreckage visible from aerial images. His book, featuring aerial maps of the UK, seems to suggest fields dominate the view—fields and more fields.Stuart raises the important point that, pre-humans, biodiversity was thriving. If we don't give nature a helping hand, that biodiversity might just wave us goodbye.Finally, Stuart pops the big question: What's the endgame when we meddle in nature? He reckons we ought to aim for greater biodiversity and, yes, it's perfectly fine for us to step in.William throws in the idea of thinking long-term about biodiversity. He mentions Capability Brown, the landscape gardener who never actually saw the fruits of his labor mature. But he had a long-term vision, and that's something we should all aspire to.Ray, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA - “Here's a challenge! What 3 words would you use to describe each other?”Stuart sums up William in three delightful words: Unguided, as if he missed the memo from the wisdom club; Doubtful, because a healthy dose of skepticism is apparently his thing; and Creative, which could be either a compliment or a polite way of saying "a bit out there."On the flip side, William describes Stuart with: Contradictive (yes, he just invented this gem), Focused, like a dog with a bone, and Ridiculous, because why not add a splash of absurdity?If they ever revisit this exercise, they'd probably choose completely different words.Stuart quips to Ray, “Please, spare us from such questions in the future—it was sheer torture!”What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to ⁠thepeoplescountryside@gmail.comSign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Accessibility For All Disabilities And Abilities: change.org/ImproveTheOxfordshireCountrysideAccessibilityForAllDisabilitiesAndAbilitiesExtreme 8 All-terrain Wheelchair Fundraiser: justgiving.com/wildmanonwheelsThis podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice. Help us to spread the impact of the podcast by sharing this link with 5 friends podfollow.com/ThePeoplesCountrysideEnvironmentalDebatePodcast , support our work through Patreon patreon.com/thepeoplescountryside⁠. Find out all about the podcast via this one simple link: linktr.ee/thepeoplescountryside

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your hosts are Oz Austwick and Sinead KimberleyIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 28th November 2024. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: Download The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey - https://rubbercheese.com/survey/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sineadwaldron/Sinead Kimberley is the Senior Client Success Manager of Rubber Cheese and has a background in digital marketing, engagement software and all things client satisfaction. She guides clients through the various stages of their project, ensuring they have the information they need when they need it, as well as being the link between our developers and clients. https://rubbercheese.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/thatmarketingbloke/ Oz Austwick is the Head of Commercial at Rubber Cheese, he has a somewhat varied job history having worked as a Blacksmith, a Nurse, a Videographer, and Henry VIII's personal man at arms. Outside of work he's a YouTuber, a martial artist, and a musician, and is usually found wandering round a ruined castle with his kids. Transcription:  Oz Austwick: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Oz Ostwick. In this episode, Sinead and I are going to talk a lot about the third Annual Rubber Cheese website Visitor Attraction survey. So, firstly, I just want to say, hi, Sinead. Sinead Kimberley: Hello. Oz Austwick: Sinead's been struggling a bit with a cold and I dragged her onto the podcast anyway, so I should apologise to her, but she'll be great. Sinead Kimberley: She always is, always fun to join. Oz Austwick: I'm gonna start by asking you a couple of questions. We're not gonna do the icebreaker thing that we do with guests, but when Paul and I host an episode, we like to talk a little bit about where we've been, what attractions we've been to. So how about you? Where have you been recently? Sinead Kimberley: I've been to Stockholm, in Sweden, actually. That is not an attraction in itself, although it's beautiful there. But we did try to go to a few attractions, so we tried to go to the Paradox Illusion Museum. We very excitedly got to the front, asked for two tickets and they said they're completely fully booked for the entire day, and we couldn't get in, which was surprising. I kind of didn't really factor in that it would be a numbered visit thing. I thought, “just, it's open, come and have a wonder.” But I guess the structure of it is you have to have so many people in a room to be able to enjoy the paradox of it. So it made sense in the end. Oz Austwick: Yeah, I guess. It's interesting, isn't it, that wasn't clear? Sinead Kimberley: Our research was essentially looking. We knew we wanted to go there. Oz Austwick: Yeah. Sinead Kimberley: What's the address? And can Google get me there? That was my research. Oz Austwick: Okay, so really can't really blame them for that, then. Sinead Kimberley: No, we cannot blame them. But we had a similar thing as well where were also trying to go to an escape room because were there to visit friends. So we didn't want to go to all the museums we've kind of already seen, although they have some incredible ones there, the Vassa being one of them. Very similar, I think, to Mary Rose Trust. They've got a massive ship that sunk pretty soon after coming out of the bay and the King wasn't very happy about it, but we thought, we'll go and just try and escape room, just to kill a couple of hours. And I looked for every escape room I could find in Stockholm that we could physically get to. And then once you go into one of those sites, you then pick the Room, then the day, then the time. Sinead Kimberley: And you have to go room to room in each of these websites to see if they've got any availability on the day you want and time you want. And I really wished. And maybe this is a thing that exists that I just don't know about, but I wish there was one place I could go and just say, I want to go to an escape room in Stockholm on this day, roughly this time. What is available? Because I gave up after about half an hour of searching through every single one. Different rooms, different places, it was impossible. So we didn't go in the end. Oz Austwick: That's quite interesting because I suspect that trying to book for half an hour is probably quite a lot. I guess most people probably wouldn't last that long. But not being able to search for something by availability seems a bit odd that you have to say, I want this specific room. And then you have to go into it and say, “Oh no, that's not available.” And then you have to go and find another one and go into. Yeah, it would be really nice to be able to look at something like that and just say what's actually available. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. And I feel like I'm not that big on the. I don't have that many brainwaves, so I imagine someone's already done this. If anyone knows and can point me to it.Oz Austwick: Certainly interesting. And maybe there's a lesson there for people who are listening that are working in attractions that can. If somebody wants to come, can they search by when it's available or do you have to pick a day and look to see if there are any times free? Maybe that's something we'll talk about because we're going to talk about our report and I think maybe that booking process is something that might crop up again. So did you actually make it anywhere at all or did you just give up and not visit anywhere? Sinead Kimberley: We went to a chess bar in the end, so they had a very swanky, very kind of trendy feeling Chess bar. And apparently some very famous chess player was going to go there and have a tournament against somebody from YouTube. I'm not in with all the YouTube stuff, so I don't know who it was, but my husband and friend played chess for about three hours and me and another friend drank wine instead of any visitor attraction. Oz Austwick: Sounds like a pretty ideal attraction to me. It's interesting, is it? Because there are definitely quite a lot of Scandinavian, maybe Swedish chess players. And where's Magnus Carlsen from? Is he Swedish? I know he's Scandinavian. But when he's. He's the best, he's the best player out there at the moment. But I know there are a number of quite famous YouTubers. Anna Kramlin is. Sinead Kimberley: Yes, that was the one. Oz Austwick: Was it? Okay. Oh, she's. She's brilliant. Sinead Kimberley: I think she was going to be there. Oz Austwick: She's got an amazing YouTube channel where she just travels around and plays people at chess. She goes to America and plays chess hustlers in the park and she's an international master, I think. But her parents are both grandmasters at chess and every now and again her mum just comes along and she's this lovely softly spoken lady who just sits down and utterly destroys people at chess. Brilliant watching. So, yeah, I very much doubt Anna Cramling is watching this or listening to this podcast, but if she is, good for you, Anna. Keep it up. Yeah. So where have I been? It's a bit of a cop out because this is something we do quite often, but we live a few minutes drive from Petworth, so we quite often go and park up and go for a walk around the park. Oz Austwick: And we say park, it's thousands and thousands of acres and it's absolutely lovely. It's a bit like stepping into Pride and Prejudice and going for a walk around and seeing the herds of deer just grazing in the landscape. And it's a Capability Brown thing. And you see the house on the hill overlooking, it's absolutely beautiful. We go there a lot. The kids love running around and my teenage daughter, it's a bit special to her because she's got a very serious boyfriend at the moment. They've been together for almost a year and that was where they went for their first date. They went for a walk around the grounds at Petworth and it was absolutely delightful. All very Jane Austen. Sinead Kimberley: That's a lovely first date. Oz Austwick: Well, this isn't it, you know, I mean, at that point I'm going, “Well, yeah, he's okay, he can stay, we like him”. And he came up and introduced himself and shook my hand and I'm just like, wow, okay. Is this what dating's like now? Because it's. I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that back in my day. But yeah, it's a lovely place. Can't recommend it enough. You need to either be a member of the National Trust or pay for your parking, but there's usually a coffee van in the car park so you can have a nice coffee and walk around a lovely estate. So it's pretty much perfect for me. We should probably talk about the elephant in the room, or rather the elephant that isn't in the room. And I'm sure I'll get in trouble for calling Paul an elephant. Oz Austwick: But he's not here today. He's off at the Historic Building Parks and Gardens event, which is an absolutely new one for me. I've not even heard of it before. So we hope you're having a lovely time, Paul, and thanks for letting us loose with the podcast. So what else is going on in the world of visitor attractions at the moment? Sinead Kimberley: ASDC, is it coming up? Oz Austwick: ASDC, yes, the Association of Science and Discovery Centres have their big annual event soon and there's something really special happening at it this year, which is we're going to record an episode of Skip the Queue live on stage. We're not going to broadcast it live because there's a distinct possibility we'll mess it up and we'll have to do bits again. But we are going to record it and it's going to be really interesting. And that one's going to be hosted by Paul, which is probably why he's letting us loose without him. And, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's going to be quite interesting to get out and about because I've been out to record on site and nobody else has managed it yet. So this will be Paul's first on site recording. Sinead Kimberley: That'd be very cool and hopefully I'll be able to join you for the event at least, as the audience.Oz Austwick: Yeah, I certainly hope. Yeah, that would be great. So if you're listening to this and you've got a venue and you'd like us to be there, please do let us know. We'd love to come and see you. I had an amazing time recording at Trentham Monkey Forest, so if you've got monkeys, then let me know. I'd love to come and meet your monkeys too. But it's probably fair to say that the. The annual survey and the report has taken up a lot of our time recently and we're actually able to talk about it now because it's been released. We know that some of you came along to our launch webinar, but a lot of you didn't. So we'd like to talk about some of the really interesting things that are in the survey. Oz Austwick: I guess it's probably reasonable to start off by talking a little bit about how it's different this year compared with previous years. And there are a few things we've done differently. There are a few subjects that we've brought into the survey to ask people about that weren't in there before. So the use of AI and sustainability. I know we're going to talk a little bit more about sustainability later. That's something that Sinead's quite focused on. But one of the major things is that we've introduced some multi site operators into the database of attractions that we use to produce the report and I think that's probably changed the way the report looks a little bit, wouldn't you agree? Sinead Kimberley: Definitely. I think it's compared to the reports before there are sections of it that maybe look a bit more complex because you've got different tabs you can move between and you can see the data both with all of the data we have. So with the multi sites and without. So if you are maybe a smaller attraction the without might be more interesting for you to have a look and benchmark yourself against. But I think it's really interesting to see how very different the results are. If you look at our normal kind of attractions that we get survey results from compared to when you look at the multi sites. In nearly every single one, the biggest tech within whichever category is usually completely different between the two different kind of data sets, which I thought was really interesting. There's very little crossover really. Oz Austwick: It really isn't it? And the question you need to start thinking about at that point is the tech different because multi sites need different tech or is it different because multi sites actually have the financial ability to be able to say this the absolute best. So that's the one we're going to use. And I don't think we can say for sure one way or another at that point. We can say that the biggest, most successful venues tend to use these things but we're not really in a position where we're able to say and this is why. So I think that's quite interesting. I think there were a lot of discussions when were trying to produce the report about how we use this data because there are definitely different types of multisites out there. Oz Austwick: There are those relatively small local groups where you get maybe two or three local museums that all used to be run by the same council and now are run by a charity. But then you've got some of the multi sites that have some of the biggest and most famous venues in the country that all have their own websites but the decisions are clearly made at a group level and then you've got the massive multi site operators with hundreds and hundreds of venues where they're all done through the same site, the same website. And the question is, then, is that, say, 600 venues or is that one website? And that makes it a really difficult thing because if we look at it and say it's 600 or so venues, then that's 600 venues, all using the same technology. Oz Austwick: But if it's one website, that's only one website using that technology, and that hugely changes the way that it's reported. So I think you're absolutely right to look at it, look at both and see how it applies to you as an attraction. And if you're unsure, drop us a line, talk to Sinead, talk to me, talk to Paul. We've got a huge amount of information and we've put what we think is the most important things out there in the report. But there's a lot more we can talk to you about and we'd love to, because, you know, we're kind of sick of talking to each other about it, wouldn't you say? Sinead Kimberley: Not just yet. Not sick of you just yet, but I would say when it comes to, as well, coming to talk to us, I think one of the areas that, I mean, I can be useful in and that I'd love to have conversations with my clients in the ones I'm not already talking to about it, is sustainability. And this is one where Oz is probably sick of hearing me talk about constantly. But I think the thing that I find most interesting, if you look at sustainability on its own, you can maybe see it as something we should be doing, but is very hard and, like, how do you do it? Well. But the report looks into how it links really well with performance as well. Sinead Kimberley: A lot of what makes something sustainable also makes it highly performing load faster, and that ultimately gives you a better user experience on the website. So for those who are maybe kind of grappling with how do we make something sustainable in an industry that can find this very difficult because of the nature of what you're doing? Looking at it more from that performance perspective, I think helps maybe give it a little bit momentum, a bit more enthusiasm towards doing something that will have material benefits for you later on, as well as making you a bit more kind of conscious and environmental in the website. So I thought putting those two things together was really interesting in the report. Oz Austwick: Yeah, I think that's a really interesting point, isn't it? It's not just about ticking a box for sustainability. ”Oh, look at us. Isn't our website brilliant?” And it feels a bit like just patting yourself on the back for the sake of it. Almost everything you do to make your website more sustainable is making you more successful and your site more efficient and hopefully making you more money as well. So I think that's definitely something to bear in mind. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. And I think the activities that you can do to make it more sustainable and therefore more highly performing and a better user experience, they're reasonably simple. So we have a lot of our customers at the moment are going through that process with us of our team, reviewing the site, checking where can we make those quick wins to boost you up the kind of score. And so in the report, we talk about the average attraction being at F, which is the worst score along the whole score grade, that kind of data shows us. And it doesn't take a whole heap of stuff to get you even just above that average line. But mostly kind of C, B, A, they are all achievable to get to those kind of grades with things that you would. Sinead Kimberley: If you went to look at your site after we have made changes to make it more sustainable, you'll notice it loads a little quicker, hopefully, but you won't really notice anything else that's changed. So a lot of it is the smart little tech things you can do in the background that, you know, we didn't know were possible, maybe when the sites were built originally or, you know, we've just not heard about, we're focusing on something else perhaps. So I think that was. I hope people can see how easy it can be to just get both of those quick wins, the sustainability and the performance, without changing too much. You know, the design team are not going to be unhappy after we've kind of had a go with that. Oz Austwick: Yeah, and I think it's, it's probably worth saying that one of the reasons that I think sustainability has been a conversation that people have backed away from having is that it feels like it's going to be really complicated. And the reason it feels like it's really complicated is because it's quite technical. But if you're talking to someone like you and the team of developers that you work with, then this is really simple stuff for them. Being able to look at a list of things that are causing your site to not rank very well, sustainability wise. They can say, “Oh, well, we can do those three really quickly. That's only half a day's work to get that fixed.” And that can have a huge tangible difference to the site, definitely. Oz Austwick: Okay, so moving on from sustainability to very much a related subject is the booking process. We've talked a bit about trying to make the site more efficient and make it load faster and therefore make it more sustainable. That does feel very much like it's connected to the booking process, because one of the things that seems fairly clear, looking at the report, is that people are still expecting their visitors to go through a lot of steps and that hasn't really changed year on year. We've said before that if you reduce the steps in your booking process, it will make you more money. And we can see that really clearly from the reports we've done in the past. And yet the average is still really high. Oz Austwick: It's seven steps to be able to book a ticket and that feels like we're making people do a lot. Sinead Kimberley: I think if you look at other industries as well, they have really run down that avenue of reducing the steps. If you look at Amazon, it's scarily easy to go, just “Buy now”. Admittedly, they've taken details earlier on in the process that are slightly different, but any new site that I go on to where I'm trying to buy something or I'm trying to kind of plan something, even if I can do everything on my phone and even when it comes to, say, Apple Pay, if I can just do two clicks and my payments done, I don't need to put in, you know, manually enter my details and things like that. I feel more happy after that experience. I don't feel like I've had to go and find my purse and get my card. Sinead Kimberley: I haven't had to go and remember whatever detail it is, or checked, you know, my husband's details, if he's coming along with me or anything. And the easier you can make it, I think the better. I know we've got a few colleagues who have children and Steve in particular will tell me how on a Thursday evening, he sat on the sofa, maybe after putting the kids to bed. After dinner, you're a bit tired, you've had a full day of work, you want to just go, “Oh, I need to do something on the weekend”. You pick up your phone and find where you want to go, quickly book it, get back to the TV or whatever other relaxing activity you were doing. And the quicker you can do that, the more it takes stress out of what is potentially a stressful thing as well. Sinead Kimberley: Not even thinking about when it comes to obviously, the more sales that you get because you're then somewhere they think of as easy to go to, easy to book. Oz Austwick: Yeah. Sinead Kimberley: So, yeah, I think the survey highlighted that really, really well. Oz Austwick: Absolutely, yeah. I couldn't agree more. And I love this idea of Apple Pay or Google Pay being more used because A, that allows you, as an attraction, to get that data without having to specifically ask for it. But also as a visitor, the amount of times I've got my phone out and I've literally, I've been out and about, I've been doing something, maybe I've taken one of the kids to a swimming lesson or, you know, I'm sitting at the back of a concert waiting for my daughter to come on and do her bit and I think, “Oh, I'll just book that thing.” And it says, “Oh, you've got to put your car details in.” Oz Austwick: I've lost count of the amount of times I've been stood in a car park with my phone balanced on the back of the car trying to find a credit card so I can. I don't want to do that. Sinead Kimberley: How many times have you put the phone down? You've not even carried on that booking. Because I'll do it later, if later comes.Oz Austwick: Yeah, I mean, if later comes, definitely. Sometimes, without a doubt, I would much rather be able to just say Google Pay and give it my fingerprint and let it do it for me. And I think the question we need to be asking ourselves as an industry as a whole is why are we asking for this information? And there's a really interesting thing in the survey which I think highlights that we're asking for information from people that A, we don't need. And you and I, we both know this. We talk to people who book things and it annoys them all the time. And people are asking for information so they can market to us and get us to come back. They can upsell, they can sell more things to us. Oz Austwick: But we've got some really clear data looking at where traffic to your website comes from. And the absolute lowest source of traffic to a website to a visitor attraction website comes from email marketing. So we're literally putting people off buying tickets to a venue to get information from them so that we can market to them and get them to come to the venue again. And the numbers just don't hold up.Sinead Kimberley: Don't make sense, no. For the bigger venues, at least hundreds of thousands of pounds, you could get more in revenue if you were to remove some steps. And yet we hold on to those steps for potentially email marketing, which is not where you're getting your hundreds of thousands of pounds back from. In the end, it doesn't add up, but I think it maybe goes into what we spoke about a while ago, where you do what you've always done, you don't think about the why. Why are you asking for the information? Why are we doing this? Why? You know, is email marketing still the big thing that we are trying to do all the time? Oz Austwick: Yes. Yeah. There's a huge amount of perceived wisdom within the industry. And even now, going to events and listening to people talk about how you should market your venue, and it's all really arbitrary. It's like, this is clearly what you should do, this is how you should do it. And there's no justification for that. There's no reason behind it. There's no proof that if you do it this way, this is what will happen. And I think that's one of the things that the survey now, in year three, is becoming more and more able to show you that these things are changing. We've got actual trends, we've got figures, we've got data that is indisputable, and we can see how that data is changing over time. Oz Austwick: So we can look at the fact that in year one, when we knew how many people have tested their site for mobile optimisation. That doesn't tell us an awful lot. It just tells us that some sites have and some sites haven't. But now we've got three years worth of data, we can see that this is still a really important thing and it's getting more important every year. And so we know for a fact that if you aren't testing your site for mobile usage, then you're probably suffering, I think. Sinead Kimberley: Was it 80% of visits to the site are on mobile? Oz Austwick: Yeah. Sinead Kimberley: So if you've never tested that. Oz Austwick: But yeah, it's something ridiculous, like less than 20% of sites have actually bothered to test the mobile version of their site to see if it works the way they think it works. And that's an easy win for you. Get a small group of people together, get it tested, run them through the process and find out if it's. If it's good or not, and look at the steps. And I think it's probably worth mentioning that while we're talking about taking steps out of your booking process, what we're not looking at doing is putting all of those complex decisions into a fewer number of steps. So we don't go from having seven steps to book a ticket to three steps to book a ticket, but those three steps are now infinitely more complex. Oz Austwick: We're actually saying, look at the questions you're asking and say, do you actually need to ask Them? Yeah, like you said, you know, if I want a toaster, I can buy a toaster from Amazon in maybe two clicks and if I buy it from someone else that accepts Google Pay, maybe it's three clicks. But I'd really like to be able to take my kids out for the day without having to go through seven or eight different clicks and then fill in different ages for all of the kids and, you know, putting everybody's names and I just, I'm not interested. I'd much rather.Sinead Kimberley: If they welcome me at the door by saying, hello, Sinead, it's nice to see you. Is this Adam who you mentioned? Carry on. But I don't think that's in many attractions. Oz Austwick: No. And I would much rather get an email with my tickets in it with a little link in the email saying, we'd love to know a little bit more about you. If you fill in this form, we'll give you a free coffee. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. Oz Austwick: And then I'm like, oh, great. Yeah, okay. And I've already got my tickets. It's not going to put me off. But I think that does link beautifully into the subject of discounts because that's something we asked about and we featured in the report and I think it's quite a surprising result, wouldn't you say? Sinead Kimberley: Definitely. Oz Austwick: We know for certain that discounts make more sales.Sinead Kimberley: By quite a substantial margin. It's kind of double the number of sales if you have discounts versus if you don't. Oz Austwick: And I know there are a lot of people out there, people running attractions, people who are involved in the industry, who feel really passionately that you shouldn't offer discounts, that it devalues what you're offering. And yet the numbers don't necessarily agree with that. Sinead Kimberley: No. And I think I can understand having a concern that when we're saying how the data from our survey revealed that. I think it was maybe might have to correct me on these later, But I think 2.9 thousand sales via discounts versus 1.2000 sales or something. So it's quite a substantial difference if you are offering a discount versus not. And then my worry if I kind of take myself out of my role is if the price per ticket is a lot lower, what's my ultimate kind of revenue at the end of that? Have I sacrificed revenue? Am I taking in ultimately less because of the discount? But I don't think anyone is really proposing, you know, 50% discounts on a ticket. Sinead Kimberley: So really from that data, the revenue would be increased by discounting, which feels like opposite things to hold in your brain at the same time, but it is enticing people. I think sales work in every other industry, we know they work. We love sales. You see it and there is a bit in your brain that just reacts to it. Even if you're not interested, you might notice it more. And so I think to ignore it entirely without checking it or testing just feels like maybe not thoroughly investigating it enough based on the data we've seen, at least. Oz Austwick: Absolutely. And the data is really clear, just like you said, that the number of sales that are made is just so much higher when you're offering discounts. But what we're not able to show in the survey is what sort of discount people are offering, what level of discount they're offering. And we know really very clearly that every attraction is different and the way your audience reacts is different and the way you interact with them is different. So we're not saying go and knock 50% off your ticket, we're saying have a think about discounts and look at what you can offer and test it and see if it works for you. Because it's clearly working really well for some people. Hugely well. Sinead Kimberley: And I think on that kind of knowing your audience and seeing how you think they will actually react to this. I think if I think of any place where I've been and if I felt like I got a good deal, I don't have to think I know, stole my ticket. But if I feel like I got a good deal and I then also have a lovely experience there, I have a lot more reason to go and try and recommend that to a friend or go back even again, because I feel like I got treated well essentially in a considered way of maybe what I would find beneficial. Sinead Kimberley: And if that starts with my interest being piqued by a discount and then it goes on to me actually now being part of that audience that maybe I wouldn't have been otherwise, that also has a knock on gain rather than if I saw a price that I saw no discount to, no benefit to, then I wouldn't maybe go in the door in the first place. So you don't just miss that first discounted sale, you might miss the next full price sale of a ticket. Maybe. So there's so much to think about, depending on the audience that you're looking at. Oz Austwick: Absolutely. And I guess I kind of fall into the group where if I'm going to go somewhere, I'm probably going to go there. If you offer a discount or not, I'm probably still going to go. Getting my family to a venue is quite a big job. You know, logistically it's quite tricky. There are a lot of us and we go out a lot, so going somewhere, we tend to travel a little way to get to somewhere a bit special. And we'll have made the decision before I go to book the tickets, but if I can book the tickets and I say, “Hey, I've saved 20 quid doing this”, then in my head what I'm actually thinking is I can spend 20 quid when I get there. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. Oz Austwick: Maybe we don't have to buy a picnic from a supermarket on the way and save money that way. Maybe we can eat on site. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. Oz Austwick: So I don't know for sure, but I strongly suspect that my overall kind of purchase value is more when somebody offers me a discount up front. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. Oz Austwick: But again, you know, test it. Your mileage may vary. Sinead Kimberley: Yeah. Oz Austwick: So I guess, I mean, we've talked about this for quite a long time now and I think that we probably shouldn't go on too much but to stress, you know, if I can give you anything to take away from this discussion. It's a, that you really need to get hold of this data and look at it and see how it applies to you and test it, you know, look at what people who are making success out of their venue are doing and see if you can do the same thing. Oz Austwick: But also come and talk to us. We'd love to talk to you about this stuff. There's so much data and there's so many ways you can look at it and we're really able to break it down in a really granular way to say, “Oh, this is what animal based attractions are doing. This is what aquariums or this is what historic homes are doing, this is what theme parks are doing, this is what museums are doing.” We can do all of that. We can't put all of that data out there. Sinead Kimberley: No, it'd be very long. Oz Austwick: Yeah. I mean, it would be ridiculous. And I strongly suspect that our designer would leave when, in fairness, I might too, if we had to make a report that was five times as long as the one that we've done. But, you know, if you're a client of ours and you want to talk about how you can do better, you know, hit up Sinead, drop her an email. If you, if you're not a client and you want to talk, then talk to Sinead, talk to me, talk to Paul. We'd really love to kind of go through this with you and help you be more successful. That's kind of why we're doing it. Sinead Kimberley: Exactly. I think that on the just talking about it as well, if it's one of those things where it feels very big and you're thinking, I've got 300 other things I'm meant to be doing, how am I meant to go and look at sustainability and reducing the steps and all of these other things, I think you can almost maybe be led as well by what people are increasingly doing, which is looking at the user experience and getting information from whoever is using your site. Because I was really happy when I saw the increase this year in people who are testing the site. And if you even can't get to that point where you can't do a big user experience testing thing, go and talk to all of the partners you're working with. Sinead Kimberley: Because the vast amount of knowledge in the kind of community that's formed around all of these attractions, us included, particularly for our clients, even just asking us, you know, go internally and let me know how people experience booking on the site. Partners, I think, will be happy to help have a look at that. Even if it's only a small sample of feedback points that you get that you can maybe incrementally just try and change slowly. But I think opening up that question, however big or small you're able to do it, will mean that by the time we ask you these questions next year, you're that slight step forward from where you want to be. And you don't just look at the report and think, oh, again, I wish were further up. Sinead Kimberley: I wish we could benchmark ourselves closer to the average or the higher end of the results we're getting. So, like Oz said, just come and have a chat about it. We might say, it's brilliant, it's perfect, there's nothing you could improve. Or we might, say, make the CTA bigger. Small things or big things. Just start the conversation about it, I think, and start thinking about it. Oz Austwick: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's probably fair to say that as an organisation, we. We're really trying to put our money where our mouth is when it comes to visitor attractions. So if you follow Robert Cheese on Instagram, you'll probably have seen that Sinead that I, that Steve, our project manager, that Paul, we're all going out and visiting attractions and actually trying to experience that booking process as a visitor. And you may well be surprised if you give us a bell or drop an email and say, we'd really like to talk about our website, we can say Great. Because when I booked tickets to come and see you, this bit was really difficult. And there's definitely some personal experience in there as well. So, yeah, talk to us. Oz Austwick: And if you want to talk to me, I'll come to you happily, as long as you make me a coffee. I'm a sucker for a coffee. So do we have any Calls to Action? Sinead Kimberley: Talk to us. We're not needy, honest. But please talk to us. Oz Austwick: We are a little bit needy. Oh, I know what it was I wanted to say Sustainability Action Group. We're very aware that sustainability is of growing importance and yet it's relatively new. And this is something that we're going through ourselves. We're currently reworking our own website and we're helping a of our clients to do those. So what we're trying to do is put together a group of people who are all kind of going through the process together. And this isn't us saying we're the experts at this and we'll help you do it. We've got the technical expertise and we can help with that, but we're all going through the process. Oz Austwick: So if you want to go through that process and you want to improve the sustainability of your website, then we are putting together a group of people that want to work together and share their wins, share the things that haven't gone as well for them, and hopefully we can all lift each other at the same time. Drop me an email or reach out to us on social media and we'll get you involved if you want to do that. So before we wrap it up for good, I want to ask you the question that we ask everyone that nobody's asked you yet, which is, do you have a book recommendation? Sinead Kimberley: I do. And not to keep banging on about sustainability, but I will keep banging on about sustainability. Oz Austwick: She really will. Sinead Kimberley: Just ahead of Black Friday and all of that madness. I love the visit attractions versions of Black Friday because you're not selling a thing, you're selling an experience when you have your tickets that I love. Keep doing that. But I read a book recently by Patrick Grant, who is in the British Sewing Bee, and his book was called Less. And he has made my life very difficult because now I'm not allowed really to buy things because of my what I've done to my brain. But essentially the book looks at how to buy what you need and look after it and not constantly just need, need more and more. Sinead Kimberley: And the way he describes pots and pans and jumpers from his gran and all of these other lovely homely feeling things really made me think about where you put your money and what you're getting back out of that. And so when it comes to, for example, when were in Stockholm, were thinking, what do we want to do? We don't want to go shopping. We do want to go and try and do an escape room. We want to go into the Paradox Museum. We want to go do something, experience something. I feel like it makes sense to put the money there rather than buying another thing that you don't really need. And so maybe ahead of Black Friday as well. Sinead Kimberley: I think I'll try and keep that in my mind when I see all of those Amazon sales with things that I definitely want but don't necessarily need right now and try and look instead at experiences you can get from it. So, yeah, I think read that book or listen to it on BookBeat or any of the others that are available. But yeah, it really opened my eyes a little bit to the free Black Friday things you're seeing around you, I think as well. Oz Austwick: Amazing. I mean, I've not read it, so I will definitely. I'll get a copy and have a read. And if you're listening to this and you want a copy for free, get onto Twitter X and be the first person to say, I want a copy of the book Sinead has recommended and we'll stick one in the post to you. So thanks so much for talking to me for agreeing to come on when you're not feeling 100%. I really appreciate it. I've had a lovely time chatting and maybe we should just attack Paul. What do you think? Sinead Kimberley: Yeah, might as well. He's not here to argue.Oz Austwick: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, SkiptheQueue.fm. The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Help the entire sector:Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsFill in your data now (opens in new tab)

This month on DIG IT Peter Brown and Chris Day discuss the latest news in the world of gardening, what's on's and as the winter kicks in, a look at those gardening tasks to keep your garden looking its best this month and beyond.Friday 8th November Final Gardeners' World programme of the season.15th November RHS Glow 2024 Rosemoor. 20th November RHS Glow 2024 Harlow Carr Garden22nd November RHS Glow at RHS Wisley and at RHS Hyde Hall26th November NGS Annual Lecture ‘Gardening for the future with Fergus Garret, Garden Museum, London. Fergus reveals how vital biodiversity can thrive in anybody's cultivated garden patch, using evidence gathered from the world-famous garden he looks after. Go in person or available live streamed.Plant mentions: Lotus (water lily), Sea buckthorn, Magnolia, Dianthus, Violas, Wisteria, Picea, Pinus, dog friendly plants, sunflowers including the variety ‘Teddy Bear', Tulips, Narcissus, Crocus, Alliums, Snowdrops, planting of bare-root hedging, shrubs and trees, Philadelphus, Dogwood, Hazel, Raspberry canes, Strawberry runners, garlic, Padron peppers, Wild service tree (sweets and beer tree), Microgreens, Cress and Amaryllis.Product mentions: Sainsbury's peat-free mushrooms, electric heron fence for ponds, Woughton Orchard in Milton Keynes, lawn blower, secateurs, loppers, composted bark, autumn lawn food, grease bands for fruit trees, cloches, horticultural fleece and clay pebbles in saucer, NewsRBG Kew scientists crack down on illegal sale of ornamental plants.Edimentals see rise in popularity.Sainsbury's becomes first UK supermarket to introduce peat-free mushroomsNick Hamilton's new book, The Right Jeans is published.The new Government's All-Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture GroupLibDem MP Sarah Dyke seeks to speed up ban on peat farming with 10-minute billRoger Ward from Golden Grove Nurseries champions the use of slow growing and compact forms of conifers in new build gardensMonty Don to design a dog-friendly garden at Chelsea 2025 in conjunction with the RHS and BBC Radio 2.National Trust appoints Sheila Das as Head of Gardens and Parks.Will Armitage appointed as the new HTA President.Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl dies aged 89.Capability Brown's Berrington Hall gets a floral makeover including a wisteria walk.Climate revamp for Great Fountain Garden at Hampton Court Palace.RHS issues call for urban planners to take garden provision more seriously.Otters raiding garden ponds becomes a problem in Cumbria.The Orchard Project celebrates 15 years restoring 700 public orchards.Sunflower trials at RHS Hyde Hall's Floral Fantasia.North Wales bid to bring back rare ‘sweets and beer' tree.DIG IT Top 5: Top selling Herbs of the yearNo5 Coriander, No4 Curly Parsley, No3 Chives, No2 Common Rosemary and at the top spot Garden Mint (spear mint).Our special thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Step into the heart of an ancient woodland as we explore Ashenbank Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest rich in history and teeming with wildlife. Woodland has stood here for centuries, but this haven is under threat. A proposed tunnel project, the Lower Thames Crossing, could harm the irreplaceable ecosystem and ancient trees here. Jack, leader of our woods under threat team, explains what's at stake and the challenges and strategies involved in trying to maintain a delicate balance between development and nature. A decision on whether the project goes ahead is due from Government in May 2025. We also meet estate manager Clive, who delves into Ashenbank Wood's history, tells us more about why ancient woodland is so important and shows us the unusual approach of strapping deadwood to trees. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Today I am at a site of Special Scientific Interest in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is teeming with extraordinary wildlife, and I'm told you can stand in the shadows of gnarled veteran trees and even spot some shy dormice, rare bats, and woodland wildflowers if you're there at the right time of year. But it is also a site under threat. National Highways propose to build a new tunnel linking Essex and Kent under the River Thames, and many feel that that will create a threat to the trees and wildlife here. So I've come not just for a walk, but to chat to experts and the first is the man responsible for coordinating the Woodland Trust response to big infrastructure projects and to chat to him about how infrastructure and nature can live hand in hand.  Jack: So I'm Jack Taylor, I'm the programme lead for the woods under threat team at the Woodland Trust.  Adam: Brilliant. And we're at Ashenbank Woods?  Jack: We are indeed.  Adam: Good, OK, sorry, yeah *laughs* I know I should sound more sure, we are at Ashenbank Woods.  Jack: I think its full title might be Ashenbank Woods SSSI, site of special scientific interest.  Adam: Oh right yes, yes. And we're going to see a bit later a colleague of yours, Clive, who will tell us more about the details of this woodland. But the reason why I wanted to talk to you first as we walk through, what is a lovely, actually dappled, dappled bit of woodland here is about your role in protecting places like this from development because, so what, what is your job?  Jack: Yeah, it's beautiful. That's a good question *laughs* what is my job? I I suppose the the base of it, the basis of it, the foundation really is about trying to protect ancient woods and ancient and veteran trees from forms of development, but also from other threats outside of that as well. So non-development threats like air pollution, pests and diseases, deer overbrowsing. Most of my work does focus on working within the development sector and trying to protect against those development threats.  Adam: Right, and you're the project lead.   Jack: Yeah.  Adam: When I first saw that, I thought you meant you're the project lead for this woodland, but you are not. You are the project lead for all development threatening woodlands throughout the UK. This is an extraordinary, I mean that's quite a job.  Jack: Yeah, it's it's a lot. There are a lot of threats to have to deal with across the UK because we're always building always sort of growing as a nation. We always need sort of new forms of infrastructure and new sort of housing. We recognise that. But all of that does come with the added impact of having threats on our ancient woods and ancient and veteran trees, so we have a team of myself and my my wonderful team of four as well.  Adam: Alright. Yeah, it's not big.  Jack: No, it's not big, but they they are enthusiastic and they're great at what they do.  Adam: So this is quite a political area because we've got a new government which has promised to improve lots of things, get the country working, build lots of homes. I think, I think the Prime Minister only recently talked about, you know, we're going to get spades in the ground, we're going to be doing stuff. Well, is it your job to stop all of that, I mean, or how do you balance what needs to be done for the country and what needs to be done to protect woodlands?  Jack: Yeah. So it's so none of this is really about stopping development from from happening and we we have to be sort of quite clear that that's not what we're set out to do as an organisation. It's about trying to ensure that where development is happening. It's not going to impact on our most important and our most valuable woods and trees and that's why we do have a focus specifically on ancient woodland, but and then also on ancient and veteran trees as well, because we know that for the most part, there are lots of really valuable woods and wooded and wooded habitats and trees that are plenty sort of valuable and important. But we know that ancient words and ancient and veteran trees are likely to be our most important sites. We have to focus on protecting those. So we do have to object to some developments where we think the harm is gonna be too great, but we're never really looking to stop them from happening, unless the harm is too great.  Adam: OK. Which way?  Jack: Umm, I think right.   Adam: OK. So one of the things I've noticed before, I mean, when I was following the HS2 debate, was politicians were going ‘it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. We'll cut this down, we're going to replace them. I tell you what, we'll do you a deal, we'll plant two for every one we cut down.' On the face of it that sounds reasonable?  Jack: OK. Yeah, not to us.   Adam: Why not?   Jack: Well, I think if you're, if you're looking at ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees, you're looking at something that is an irreplaceable habitat. There is no sort of recreating that habitat in in one space again, once it's been lost and the reason for that is these things take centuries to evolve and develop to create those sort of vital links between animals, plants, fungi, the soils as well. So ancient woodlands are especially important for their soils. So you can't really just take those soils and put them elsewhere because once that happens you completely disturb the relationships that have built up over centuries within them. And ancient and veteran trees, so you're talking about trees that for the most part are going to be centuries years old. How do you how do you replace centuries of development creating these wonderful sort of niche habitats for different parts of our ecosystems?   Adam: And is it, you said quite clearly that it's not your job or the Trust's job just to stop development, just to sort of blanket go, ‘hey, stop building' so is it about going, ‘don't build here' or is it about saying, ‘if you're gonna build here, this is how to do it with the least amount of impact'? What's the sort of your approach?  Jack: Yeah. In some cases it is about saying not, not building here. It depends what we're dealing with, I suppose so it's different if you're dealing with, say, housing developments or leisure facilities as opposed to something like rail infrastructure or road infrastructure, which is quite linear in nature, so they can only really go in one place to deliver its purpose, whereas housing is not as locationally dependent.  Adam: I see. So you feel you've got a better argument if it's a housing project, cause you can go, ‘put it somewhere else', but the train journey from A to B has to sort of go through this area. You're you're on a loser there are you?  Jack: Well, sometimes, but there are there are ways of of getting around sort of kind of impact. I mean it doesn't have to go absolutely sort of A to B in one way. You can think very carefully about the design to try and minimise impact on ancient woods. You can also look at alternative solutions, engineering solutions like tunnelling for example, so HS2 is a good example of that. The Phase One section which is going ahead between London and Birmingham, they actually put in a tunnel under the Chilterns, which saved about 14 hectares of woodland saved these three really good prime areas of ancient wood. And of course the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty came into that in a way, and they were trying to protect that also. But that was one solution to stop wildlife and nature being harmed.  Adam: Right. So that's, was this, were you involved with that?   Jack: Yeah, yeah.   Adam: Amazing. So how difficult was that to get that that project through and try to avoid the destruction of all that woodland?  Jack: Well, a lot a lot of destruction still is happening from High Speed 2. So about 20 hectares of ancient woodland has been destroyed at this stage now. A lot of the sort of preparation works for the Phase One section, that London to Birmingham bit, are now complete. So it it was difficult, but it it the way in which we were involved is we really brought ancient woodland to the table and put it at the forefront of considerations and and gave it a voice I suppose. It's not that it wasn't being looked at at all, but not nearly to the degree that we thought it needed to be looked at. And so we sort of kind of introduced that idea of well look, there's ancient woodland here, you need to be thinking carefully about the design and, you know, you think you're talking about halving the impacts on ancient woodlands from from our sort of kind of involvement and involvement of other conservation organisations in there as well.  Adam: So a lot of it is trying to say, to make the argument, but also to raise the profile of that argument,   Jack: Sure.  Adam: To bring, population and say this is actually a loss. You know, cutting it down is is a loss. So how much harder or easier has it got for you to make that argument?   Jack: Well, do you know, interestingly, I I would probably say that projects like High Speed 2, where there is such a big argument around the ancient woodland has raised the profile of ancient woodland itself. That's one of the sort of silver linings of that project for us, it's put sort of ancient woodland on the map in terms of habitat that needs to and is worthy of protection. So I think a lot of people now understand ancient woodland a bit better and what it is. There's still lots of awareness to do, you know, people just think of ancient woodlands as bluebells, big large oaks and it's not quite there. I mean, they're all so kind of varied in their nature and geographically across the country, but it's got people thinking about them.  Adam: So that was something of a success, although I know more complicated than just ‘yes, we won that'.   Jack: Sure, yeah.   Adam: Any areas you feel you really lost that, you know, keep you up at night, you go, that was that was a failure and you know, we've lost that woodland?  Jack: Yeah. I mean, there've been, there've been some over the years. Back in 2012 a a large quarry was built on an area of woodland called Oaken Wood in Kent, probably taking about out about 30 to 35 hectares of ancient woodland which is massive, massive amounts, I mean, you're talking about in the region it's like 40 to 50 football fields and and and we're actually dealing with another threat to that woodland from an expansion of that same quarry. So yeah, you know that that one is one that gnaws gnaws at us, is that, you know, we don't want to see that happening anymore.  Adam: Are you getting more optimistic that you know the public are more on your side that this is at least something that plays in policymakers' decisions now?  Jack: I I actually think the public have always really been on our side. I think if you ask the the general public, they would probably say to you, we do not want to see ancient woodlands subject to any loss or deterioration, whatever the cause.  Adam: Yeah, I think you're right. But they also say, yeah, but we like cheaper housing and want better transport links so.  Jack: Yeah. Well, I mean the Lower Thames Crossing, which is going to be affecting this site that we're in now, Ashenbank Wood is sort of a prime example of that the the intention of that project is to relieve traffic congestion on the existing Dartford Crossing.  Adam: Which I think actually I can hear in my headphones this, although we are, I mean it looks beautiful, there's quite a lot of background traffic noise. So we can't be that far away actually from from transport, from big roads. So explain to me you say this this particular site, Ashenbank Woods which is a site of Special Scientific Interest, so it's not just any old woods, this is a really special place, is under threat. What is the threat here?   Jack: So the threat here is partially there will be some loss to the wider SSSI ancient woodland in the area when you're losing sort of kind of, Ashenbank Wood itself is not going to be subject to much loss, although there is a cycle route diversion going through the woods that might impact on some of its special features.  Adam: Oh one second just, we've we've just turned off the path, we're just, oops crawling under some trees. I don't quite know why we've come, we we seem to have chosen the most difficult route. Well, it is beautiful because we've come off the path right into a magic dell.   Jack: There we go.  Adam: Oh, look, there's obviously some, I think, probably some kids have built a sort of camp, tent out of fallen branches. OK, so sorry so I understand that this is under threat from development, the the development plan though is what? What are they trying to do here?  Jack: So so what they're doing is they're building a new crossing further to the east of Dartford Crossing, but that's going to involve connecting...  Adam: A river crossing, a tunnel?  Jack: Yes a river crossing.   Adam: But it's a tunnel.   Jack: Yeah, it's a tunnel.  Adam: Why would that? That's that's great, surely?  Jack: Well, the tunnel goes under the Thames. But in order to connect the A2/M2 to the to the sort of tunnel portal, they're going to be going through a lot of ancient woodlands as a result. So just down the way Clay Lane Wood is one that's going to be heavily impacted by by the proposals, you know several hectares of ancient woodland loss there, but in terms of our wood itself, you're you're gonna have impacts on some of the veteran trees from some of the works that are required in here. But you're also sort of increasing the traffic around the area on A2/M2. And as you can hear, there's already quite loud background noise from the traffic. If that becomes louder, it further reduces the suitability of this habitat for a lot of species.  Adam: Right. So what are your, what are you doing?  Jack: Well we're campaigning against it for one thing. So we've been campaigning against it since 2016, trying to bring those bring those sort of impacts down as far as possible. At this point in time, I would probably say that it's unfeasible, that it could go ahead without causing loss or damage to ancient woodland and veteran trees, and that's something that we have to oppose as an organisation. So we're working with other environmental NGOs, conservation orgs like RSPB, Buglife, Wildlife Trust, CPRE to to oppose this scheme.  Adam: So, and if people want to keep an eye on the sort of campaigns you're running, and the sort of live issues around the country, where can they get that information?  Jack: They can go along to woodlandtrust.org.uk/campaigns and they'll be able to find out about what we're doing in terms of campaigning for protection of ancient woods and veteran trees. We've got a really great campaign at the moment, all about protecting ancient and veteran trees and we're stood in in front of one of these at the moment, we call them Living Legends.   Adam: Right OK, what a lovely link, because I I was gonna say you've brought me to a stand. It looks like a sculpture this, so what, so let me just briefly describe this. I mean, it's a hollowed out tree. There's, it almost looks like there's 3 or 4 bits of different trees supporting each other, and you can go hide in the middle. I mean, there's, I'd, I couldn't spread my arms in the middle, but I mean almost, you know, there's probably, I don't know, 4 or 5 foot wide in the middle. It's most extraordinary. What is this? What's going on here?  Jack: So I would probably say this is an ancient ash tree. As trees sort of grow older, they they have to sort of kind of allow their heartwood to to rot away because that's what keeps them sort of stable and secure and in doing so that creates really important habitat for wildlife. And so this is what has happened to this ash tree effectively, its heartwood has sort of rotted away, it's still got this kind of all important surrounding ripewood to be able to support the rest of the tree.  Adam: That's extraordinary. So the the, the, the wood at the centre of the tree, the heartwood has gone?  Jack: Yes, yeah, yeah, cause it it's not it's not really useful for for trees at that sort of point. It's it's no longer the part of the wood that's carrying the sort of the water and nutrients up the tree. That's what the sort of outer ripewood does. So the heartwood decays away as they as they grow older.  Adam: And that's just ash trees is it?  Jack: No, that's that's pretty much all. Yeah.  Adam: How ignorant am I? OK, fine. OK. I didn't realise that that happens to all trees. And it looks like that would cause an instability problem, but this looks actually fairly fairly stable, it's fine.  Jack: It it's it's actually it's actually the other way they do it because it allows them to remain as stable as possible. And I I mean this one it doesn't, it doesn't look in the best sort of structural condition does it, but they need to do that for their sort of physiological condition because if they have if they're trying to support too much sort of heartwood then it affects the trees energy balances. And I mean that there's actual sort of scientific things here between the kinetic and the potential energy in a tree and why why they do this but all old trees do it and in turn it creates this amazing habitat, so you can see all these little holes in the in the sort of kind of inside wood and the decaying wood as well, where insects have sort of burrowed into it, where birds would be, woodpeckers, you know would be would be accessing that as well.   Adam: Yeah. Amazing   Jack: Amazing structures, aren't they?  Adam: And so I'm going to meet now, one of the people responsible for actually managing woods such as Ashenbank, and he's waiting for me a bit further into the woods.  Clive: OK, I'm Clive, Clive Steward, I'm one of the estate managers for the Woodland Trust working in the South East.  Adam: So what is important about this site? What makes this wood special?  Clive: What makes this site special is that it's ancient woodland or partly ancient woodland, but it's also managed as a wood pasture or has been managed as a wood pasture in the past, and because of that habitat it has lots and lots of old trees and old trees is very important in terms of what they support in terms of dead and decaying habitats.  Adam: Right, so well we're standing by this extraordinary ash tree, I mean, it's extraordinary that there's an ash tree at all, given ash dieback, but it's extraordinary for all sorts of other reasons. But is ash a big part of this woodland?  Clive: In terms of its name, Ashenbank, you you think it should be but but it's it is a component of the site but it's not, the majority species is not ash.   Adam: What is this site then?  Clive: So mostly sycamore and we're in the northern part of Ashenbank where we've got a lot of sycamore and we've got some really big old sweet chestnuts, but there are lovely old oak trees and hornbeam trees.  Adam: Right. And so when we talk about ancient woodland, it's always worth, I suppose, explaining a bit about what we mean because clearly will go, well, that's old. But old for trees can be a whole different sort of thing. So how, what, what, what do you mean when you're talking about ancient woodlands?  Clive: Well, when we say ancient woodland ancient woodland is defined as areas which have been permanently wooded since 1600AD. That's the sort of the the the date.  Adam: Oh right, I didn't realise it was that precise.  Clive: Well, it well, yes, it's roughly when big old estates used to produce maps, so they discovered paper and started drawing maps of what they owned but prior so before this this, the assumption is that if it's wooded then it would have been wooded ever since the Ice Age retreated but managed by mankind for for thousands of years.  Adam: So we're, we're assuming actually that ancient woodland is all it's probably been here since the Ice Age?  Clive: Yes. Yeah.  Adam: So that's why I mean that's it's worth I think pausing on that because it's why when we're talking about ‘oh, we'll have to destroy a bit of woodland for a tree, for a road' sorry, we're talking about taking away a bit of the landscape, which has been there since the Ice Age probably. So that's quite a big deal to have done that.  Clive: Yeah, yeah. It is. It is. Yeah. The the other part of Ashenbank, which is the bit we're in is a more recently wooded area, probably about 200 years old. I have a a map here which is not good for a podcast, but I can show you a map.  Adam: Go on go on, we can describe this. Hold on. I'll hold the microphone and you can describe what we're seeing. So go on, yes.  Clive: So we have a a map here of Ashenbank Wood dating from 1797, which shows the woodland it used to be. I have another map showing the wood as it is today. So here's a map from a couple of years ago, but we're we're actually up here, which in the 1797 map shows fields. And now, now, now it's woods. So so basically, what's happened this Ashenbank used to be owned by Cobham Hall, which is a big estate to the east of Halfpence Lane, so this used to be partly of Cobham Hall Estate and in 1790, as many of these big old estates houses used to do, they used used they they employed a landscape architect to make their their grounds nicer as it were. So it wasn't Capability Brown, but it was a chap called Humphrey Repton who worked on this site from 1790 to about 1880, when he died 1818 when he died. And he landscaped the estate and the view from the house over to here looking west to what is now Ashenbank Wood was obviously important to him. So they actually planted a lot of these big old chestnuts which we walked past, which date from 200 years ago.  Adam: Which is very nice and we often hear about cutting trees down and looking at old maps going ‘oh, we've lost all that wood', here's an example of the reverse to actually that's a good nature story.  Clive: Yeah, yeah, definitely it is. Yes. As you get older, as they get older, these trees there are microhabitats which develop rot pockets, branches fall off, they they rot, big holes develop and that that's these microhabitats which are home to what's called saproxylic species.   Adam: OK, that's a new word, saproxylic?  Clive: Saproxylic. So saproxylics are are basically insects and beetles and flies which only exist in dead and decaying wood. So if these big old trees weren't around, they've got nowhere to live.  Adam: Right, which is why it's useful to have deadwood on the ground. It's not so, it looks untidy, but actually that's often the richest place.  Clive: Indeed. Yeah, yes, but often, but often these insects and beetles are actually in the living tree, not in the in the horizontal, dead and dying stuff. And it's the living trees, which are are why this habitat is so important.  Adam: But I thought you said you said they're living in the living trees, but but saproxylic means they're living in the dead trees?  Clive: But within these big old trees, there are these rot holes and pockets and little microhabitats within the tree...  Adam: Yes, which are dead and that's where they live?   Clive: Where they live yeah that's right.  Adam: Right OK. Yeah, very interesting. OK, very interesting. Now, there's also, I knew I was told, but I'm completely confused by, an idea that I'm told that goes on here of strapping deadwood to live trees. Did I did I misunderstand that?  Clive: No, no, you you didn't misunderstand it. No.   Adam: OK and you're going to show me where this is ?  Clive: Yep. Shall we shall we go, we'll we'll walk there, have a look.  Adam: Alright. Brilliant. So you've taken me to this tree, a very substantial tree, but next to it, this is the a bit of, what, you better explain, because this is really odd and I don't really understand what I'm looking at.  Clive: Right. Well, going back to 1999 when High Speed One was being built, they took out three hectares of Ashenbank Wood along with lots of other woodland in the area. And fortunately, somebody had the idea of of suggesting that we could save some of those big trees they felled and reerecting them against living trees to help them degrade and and become part of the habitat.  Adam: So I mean to describe this, we've got a very big tree. What sort of tree is this?  Clive: So you've got a big, big oak tree.  Adam: That's a big oak, and next to it is 6, 12, I don't know, 30 foot, 40 foot high dead tree, bit of bark. But it's it's not like a small, it's a 40 foot bit of bark which you have propped onto the living tree. Why is it better to have done that than just to leave it on the ground?  Clive: Well, it's about these microhabitats. So I mean, it's not just propped up it's actually strapped to it, so it's actually quite secure.  Adam: It is secure, that's y your health and safety hat on.  Clive: We had to make sure it was strapped up, but vertical dead or decaying wood is equally as important as horizontal, dead and decaying wood.  Adam: OK. Is it different? What, does it do different things?  Clive: The wood doesn't but it attracts different insects and species so that that that's why so. But in most in most woodlands you'll see deadwood as being felled trees which are lying or windblown. You don't often see dead vertical trees.  Adam: I've never seen that.  Clive: Well, they're often well, they're often felled and taken out for firewood or something but they are important as as a sort of microhabitat for these saproxylics. That that's purely why.  Adam: So the saproxylics which are insects which live on deadwood prefer, some prefer the high rise living of the vertical tree rather than the low level bungalow type living. But what what sort of, do you do, don't worry if you don't know, but do you know which insects prefer living vertically?   Clive: I I don't know that.  Adam: You don't. Somebody will, somebody will.  Clive: Yeah somebody will. But if you look at that tree, you'll see that it's a there's a there's a U-shaped crook 2/3 way up and in that there's there's a there's a hole which has probably got water in it. So water gathers from rain and that's that that little microhabitat will be, something will live in it. And if that was horizontal, it wouldn't be there.  Adam: Right, yes, yes. Well that I think this must be, I mean, we've been doing this for a few years. I've never seen that. So that is amazing. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. So I know that the history of this site goes back quite a long way, not just the natural history, but the human history as well, and am I right in saying there's quite quite a lot of sort of Bronze Age heritage here?  Clive: Well, we've got a Scheduled Ancient Monument which has been dated to between 2000 and 1500 BC, which is a big burial mount and it is scheduled and it's, you know, English Heritage monitor it and we have to make sure it's free of trees and it's there to see.  Adam: Right. Wow. And it's interesting you talk about it's there to see because we came and parked in the Woodland Trust car park. Free parking, as is normal in Woodland Trust places, first time though a full car park. We are here midweek during the day. I was surprised to see it's full so talking about visitors, this is clearly a, I mean have I just come at a weird time, have they all come to see the Woodland Trust podcast being made, it's right, it's a popular site. That always feels like contention to me because I know you want to encourage people to come, on the other hand, coming in a sort of, destroys a bit of what we see. How much of a problem are the level of visitors?  Clive: Well, we basically have a path network through Ashenbank Wood which we maintain, we mow, we make sure it's open and safe. So most people walk on those those paths which steers people around the the wood, as it were, so and we we don't stop people from walking off the path but most people don't cause it's, you know, nettles or brambles or whatever. It's difficult to do.  Adam: Right, yes. And keeping dogs on the lead and everything. You've been with the Trust for a long time, haven't you, really. What sort of change have you seen in the the the debate around the natural world in your time here?  Clive: That's a big question.  Adam: Have you, I mean, sort of, it assumes you have seen a change, you might not have seen a change. I mean I the reason I ask it is because it feels to me it's gone up the political agenda, that it's not just, you know, people dismissively talking about crazy tree huggers and let them onto their own thing. It's become more mainstream. Do you think that that's it's become more optimistic, do you think it's become more pessimistic, do you think, you you know, it's become more informed, I suppose?  Clive: Well, I think there's a growing recognition that ancient woodland is a special habitat, but it hasn't quite gone far enough to get total protection. But I think there's a growing realisation that ancient woodland is special and we need to look after it. And I think the politicians probably do understand it, but maybe can't quite make that move to legislate against total protection.  Adam: Yeah. And I think that's part of the Living Legend campaign that the Woodland Trust is organising, isn't it?  Clive: Definitely is. Yeah. Yeah, very much so.  Adam: Well, there were two websites we talked about today. So if you want to get involved in a local campaign, search for ‘Woodland Trust campaigns' and you can find out more about the attempts to get better legal protection for ancient and veteran trees by searching for the Living Legends campaign and of course I hope you get a chance to visit Ashenbank Woods yourself. So until next time, happy wandering.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you are listening. And do give us a review and a rating. If you want to find out more about our woods and those that are close to you, check out the Woodland Trust website. Just head to the visiting woods pages. Thank you. 

Who defines paradise, and who gets to live in its verdant incarnation on Earth? This is the question animating Olivia Laing's new book, The Garden Against Time, which ranges across the history of the English landscape, from John Milton's writing of Paradise Lost to Laing's own restoration of a walled garden. Alighting on the heartbreaking pastorals of 19th-century poet John Clare and the queer visions of 20th-century artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, Laing pulls strands of history, literature, and resistance from the green blur that, for now, still surrounds us, even as it deceives us. Landscape architects like Capability Brown—so named for his capability to impose his will on any vista—were, as Laing writes, able “to fake nature so insidiously that even now those landscapes and the power relations they embody are mistaken for being just the way things are, natural, eternal, blandly reassuring, though what has actually taken place is the seizure of once common ground.” The author of five books of nonfiction and a novel, Olivia Laing joins Smarty Pants this week to explore both the powers that shaped the garden as we know it, and the power it has to change how we treat the earth, and ourselves. Go beyond the episode:Olivia Laing's The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common ParadiseListen to John Clare's “I Love to See the Summer Beaming Forth” on our sister podcast, Read Me a PoemIn the essay “Jane Austen's Ivory Cage,” Mikita Brottman looks over the ha-has of Mansfield Park to see who else might be enclosed alongside the gardenWe have visited stately houses and their grounds twice before on Smarty Pants: with Adrian Tinniswood, who discussed the history of the country house after World War II, and with Hopwood DePree, who was attempting to restore his crumbling ancestral pile Tune in every (other) week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek and sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Society.Subscribe: iTunes/Apple • Amazon • Google • Acast • RSS FeedHave suggestions for projects you'd like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bunny chats to Her Grace, The Duchess of Rutland, Emma, in her gardens at Belvoir Castle.  Emma talks about her life and gardens, including how she won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music to study opera singing, before changing direction and training as a land agent.   Emma has completed many ambitious projects at Belvoir, including recreating the Capability Brown scheme for Belvoir Castle which was Brown's final scheme, plus creating The Engine Yard, a retail village next to the castle, complete with a small hotel. Emma also explains how she has managed to bounce  back from her breakdown, which was triggered by the break-up of her marriage. Emma also talks about the hugely successful podcast ‘The Duchess', that she started, where she would chat to other chatelaines of English country houses. #theduchess #bunnyguinnesspodcast 

Today Bunny Guinness is in the gardens of Badminton House, with Her Grace, The Duchess of Beaufort. In this episode Bunny talks to Georgia, Duchess of Beaufort, about the gardens. Hear about the stunning tulip planting Georgia has been in charge of, to give the garden more spring appeal. Georgia Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, married Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort in 2018. Georgia is the grand daughter of the novelist Anthony Powell, she studied classics at Oxford University, before becoming a columnist and obituarist for The Daily Telegraph.  Georgia, a keen gardener, is cataloguing the plants in the amazing gardens of Badminton House. There are many as Mary, Duchess of Beaufort, was one of Britain's earliest distinguished women gardeners. Mary got into horticulture as she was trying to find a plant to ease her melancholy. She then began seriously collecting plants from many countries in the 1690's, introducing more than 1500 plants, including Pelargonium zonale. Mary Somerset commissioned Everad Kickius to illustrate her choice exotics, and these are in her two volume florilegium which is still in the library at Badminton. Georgia is arranging for high quality prints to be made of a selection of these, so that they can be more widely appreciated.  These fine gardens have been enhanced by a range of designers, including Charles Bridgeman, Capability Brown, Russell Page, and François Goffinet. Georgia's husband's mother, Caroline, was a keen and knowledgeable gardener, as is his step mother, Miranda, both who have put their stamp on the stunning gardens.  In addition, the Badminton Estate are now working with the Royal Horticultural Society to create a new flower show in the historic grounds of the house in 2026, alternating with RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival which will become a biennial event in two years.  To see what the garden looks like, Bunny Guinness's YouTube ‘How the new Duchess of Beaufort is shining a light on the gardens of Badminton House.' Is up now…  For more episodes like this please subscribe. 

Beyond the Monarchy and the Church, there is only one building in Britain which is designated with word 'palace': Blenheim Palace.This UNESCO World Heritage Site is beyond any doubt one of the world's greatest, and most famous buildings. It was built to commemorate a famous battle 320 years ago: the victory in the Battle of Blenheim led by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, in which the army of Louis XIV was beaten in what was France's first major military defeat in half a century.Queen Anne was delighted by the outcome, and granted Churchill both the land and the funds to create a grand house which, from the start, was planned as both ancestral home and national monument.Three centuries later, the house and gardens — designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Capability Brown respectively — are just as magnificent today, and one of the most visited buildings in Britain, with as many as 6,000 people a day visiting.Keeping a great house like this running is no easy feat, as Blenheim's director of operations Emily Spencer explains in this episode of the Country Life Podcast. "It's an ongoing battle," Emily explains of the need to balance restoration, conservation and the needs of visitors, from the £40 million project in place to keep the building standing to towing visitors' cars out of muddy fields.But the efforts are all worthwhile, Emily adds."The second you step across the landscape, it's everything — it all has such a power over you."Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Emily SpencerProducer and editor: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via PixabaySpecial thanks: Adam Wilbourn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Generated by Tailor.Get your own personalized daily podcast! Sign up for freeOn this episode, we explore some of the latest apps and AI tools that are transforming the way we learn, design, and analyze data. We discuss Loop English, a new app that helps users learn real English for the business world; Mockreate AI for Figma, a plugin that uses AI to generate realistic text and data for designs; VoiceAI, a platform offering transcription, translation, and analytics capabilities; and digital artist Daniel Ambrosi's unique use of photography and AI to create surreal landscapes. Tune in for insights into the cutting-edge of technology and creativity. Music: Mosaic [Electro] by Hardcore Scm. Licensed under: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/News articles cited in this episode:- Machine learning: could ChatGPT become just another tool for Australia's year 12 – like Wikipedia? https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/09/chatgpt-ai-chatbots-in-schools-australia-measures-benefits-impacts- ET Startup Awards 2023 | Corporate India has Davos, now startups have Domlur https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/corporate-india-has-davos-now-startups-have-domlur/articleshow/104266363.cms- To attend or not to attend: We asked 52 founders whether events are useful or a waste of time https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/08/founder-event-survey/- AI-powered grill cooks perfect steak in 90 seconds - but costs $3,500 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12590309/AI-powered-grill-cooks-perfect-steak-90-seconds-costs-3-500.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490- Mockreate AI for Figma https://www.producthunt.com/posts/mockreate-ai-for-figma- AI and the landscapes of Capability Brown – in pictures https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gallery/2023/oct/09/ai-and-the-landscapes-of-capability-brown-in-pictures- Loop English: Business Talk https://www.producthunt.com/posts/loop-english-business-talk- VoiceAI https://www.producthunt.com/posts/voiceai

While discussing Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt and the garden that our main character was restoring, Capability Brown's name came up! Today, here's a tidbit about him, his life, and his contribution to the landscapes of England. The sources for today's episode include: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/who-was-lancelot-capability-brownhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Brown https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/capability-brown-landscape-design-england Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/tnstrumpets!Subscribe to our email list to learn what we're reading next month, for fun extras, and more!Follow us on Instagram @tnstrumpetsFollow us on Twitter @tnstrumpetsFind us on Facebook facebook.com/tnstrumpetsAnd subscribe to us on YouTube!And join us next time for our discussion with Maureen Lee Lenker! 

Another special & extended episode where I break from routine and feature music from artists both Prog-Scure and famous. In each episode of this series, I'm playing one half (one full side) of outstanding and influential albums throughout rock ‘n' roll history, regardless of sub-genre. In this episode, hear diverse artists including Affinity, Capability Brown, […]

Having grown up exploring the Scottish countryside, Carol Adams' interest in forestry grew into a horticulture qualification. Around eight years ago, this brought her to Trentham, a 725 acres estate in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. With influence from Capability Brown, the gardens have seen many evolutions over the years, most recently, the likes of Tom Stuart-Smith, Piet Oudolf, and Nigel Dunnett who have created a sustainable and contemporary planting scheme, with sometimes accidental biodiverse benefits. [They] “hadn't originally intended to create the biodiversity and the ecosystem service that we have but it transpires that it has achieved that and the way that has changed the way we look at the estate and how visitors interact the estate. It's not purely about us being a beautiful contemporary garden [...] it's become more than that", Adams explains.The River Trent corridor gives the garden both benefits and challenges; it allows otters to establish, but also Japanese Knotweed. But ultimately, creating the biodiversity at Trentham has been a collaborative effort, and Carol has been working with local groups and organisations as well as students to help identify species. One such species is the water vole, which the garden recently introduced. “There weren't water voles regionally to repopulate at Trentham. [...] it wasn't going to naturally happen. It needed an intervention, so we committed a business spend and we had to look at it as a business case. Why would we reintroduce water voles to Trentham? What were the pros and cons?”Adams also gives advice about where to start when rewilding a garden or even a cityscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us for an episode of virtual time travel to visit Hatfield Forest, Essex and explore over 2,000 years of rich history. As we journey through this outdoor museum, we chat to Tom Reed, a Woodland Trust ancient tree expert, and Ian Pease, a National Trust ranger, who explain why the wildlife and cultural value of these trees makes them irreplaceable. Discover why ancient trees are so important, what makes a tree ancient, how people have lived and worked with them through the centuries and the urgent need to better protect them. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive. Adam: Well, today I am off to Hatfield Forest, which is the best-preserved medieval hunting forest in Europe, which has a very rich history stretching back, well, a very long time, some 2,000 years or so. Now, the forest itself is actually managed by the National Trust, but the Woodland Trust works very closely with them. In particular, the reason I'm going there is to look at and talk about ancient trees, their importance to people and landscape, and of course, how old you have to be to be ancient. Ian: My name is Ian Pease, and I'm one of the rangers here for the National Trust at Hatfield Forest. Adam: And so how long has your association been with this forest then? Ian: Well, it's getting on for 30 years. Adam: You're looking good on it. Ian: Thank you. Thank you. [Laughter] Adam: That's very cool. Now look I have met you by this extraordinary, well, is it a tree or is it two trees? Inaudible just describe where we are standing. Ian: So, we are standing just to the left of the entrance road as you come into the forest and this is a magnificent hornbeam, er and although, like you say Adam, it looks like it's two trees it is actually one. Adam: How do you, how do you know? Ian: Well, it's done what's called compartmentalise. So, what happens when trees get to this age –and this tree is without a doubt probably around 700 years old – is the heartwood falls away and you're left… Adam: The heartwood's in the middle? Ian: The heartwood, the heartwood in the centre falls away, and what you're left with is the living part of the tree, which is the sapwood and what you can see there is that what trees do, trees are very good at adapting when they get older. And they are generally very good at adapting throughout their lives. So, what has happened here is this tree has stabilised itself by compartmentalising, so sealed off these two halves to stabilise itself and you can also see what we call aerial roots starting to come down from the canopy which gives the tree the rigidity and strength. Adam: So, where is that? I can't see, let's have a look, what do you mean? Ian: Yeah, so let's have a closer look. Adam: I've never heard of aerial roots. Ian: You can see these structures… Adam: Yes, I see. Ian: …these structures are what we call aerial roots. Adam: Yeah, they do look like… but they're not in the ground, they're in the air. So where are they...? What function are they serving? Ian: Well, they're basically supporting the tree and what's happened here, this is an old pollard, so originally, they'd have been what we call bowling in the top there, and the roots would have gone down into that sort of composted material that was captured in the bowling, and as that's gradually fallen away that's what you're left with at the top there. Adam: So, these roots are supporting the tree as opposed to bringing it nutrients or anything? Ian: Well, they are supplying nutrients for it from this compost material… Adam: Oh, I see, which is still there. Ian: You can still see some of it there. What's happened obviously is as the trees aged, it's fallen through. Um and you can see the compartmentalisation on the edges there. A sort of almost callous effect. Adam: Well, amazing, well look I gotta get a photo of you by this which I will put on my Twitter account. Do you have a Twitter account? Ian: I haven't, but I've got Instagram and Facebook. Adam: I'm sure we'll put it on all of those things so you can see what Ian is talking about. Fantastic, well look, this is just the beginning. And you said it was the ancient way, the ancient tree way? The road? Ian: Er no this isn't the ancient way. This is, this is the vehicle accessway into the forest. But having said that Adam, there is stagecoaches who used to travel from the east heading to Bishop… sorry, heading down to London, would cut through Hatfield Forest to cut out Bishop Stortford. Adam: [laughter] Okay right. An ancient cut-through. There we are. Ian: That's it. Adam: There we are. Not quite up-to-date traffic news, [laughter] but if you're a time traveller, that's a bit of traffic news for you. Look, my first visit here, we've come on an amazing day, I'm very, very lucky. What would you suggest I look out for here? Ian: Well certainly if you go for a walk through… what I, what I sort of advise people to do is to go for a walk around the lake area to start with because that way as you go down to the lake area you go through the medieval landscape. And what's nice about the lake area is you've got the 1740s landscape, so that's the Capability Brown heart to the forest. He was employed here in the 1740s before the National Trust had the forest. It was owned by the Houblon family, and he developed, formed the lake down there and built a shell house next to the lake. So, you could almost go on a bit of a time travel, you know virtual time travel, by walking through this wood pasture where we are now amongst these stunning ancient trees. Take yourself into the 1740s and walk around the lake and then and then go from there. Adam: Brilliant. I'm heading off to the 1740s, what a fantastic bit of map reading that will be. Thank you very much, Ian. Really, really nice to see you. Ian: You're welcome, you're welcome. [Walking noise] Adam: Well, I'm just walking out actually, into a bit of open field here. Ooh look wild mushrooms… must avoid that. Don't want to trample on those. And beneath one of these trees is Tom from the Woodland Trust, and he is going to be my guide to the rest of this amazing forest. [Walking noise] Adam: So, Tom, I assume? Hi! What an amazing place, amazing place isn't it? Tom: An amazing place Adam, hi, nice to meet you. Adam: First of all, this is an unusual forest in terms of the Woodland Trust because it's actually the National Trust, but you sort of… this is a joint project or, explain the relationship? Why this is different? Tom: So, the National Trust and the Woodland Trust are both really passionate about seeing the protection of ancient and veteran trees, are interested in studying them and knowing where they are. So, when… we're here today because the National Trust and the Woodland Trust have been working together, well, for quite a few years actually, we've been working together to map ancient and veteran trees to our Ancient Tree Inventory. And also, in the past year and a half, we've also been working with the National Trust on a project called the Green Recovery Project, which was a Challenge Fund that we, both organisations, were working on. This was actually one of the sites, in fact, I was here just six months ago where I got to see first-hand some of the restoration work that was being done to some of these trees, some of the historic pollarded hornbeams for example. We got to see how they are now being managed and cared for here by the Trusts. Adam: And it is an amazing place. I mean we're lucky to be here on a great day. Oh! You can hear… we're near Stansted, so you might hear an airplane in the background there. Oh, but we've come out of this lovely, sort of, bit of woodland into this amazing open area here and it's, it does feel a very mixed sort of landscape doesn't it? Tom: Absolutely, I think if, if you're walking here with your dog or just on a fun day out, you might just think to yourself ‘ah this is a field or some nice trees here'. But actually, when you stop and look around you can see these living links to the past, and what we, walking through here is a medieval landscape where you've got a mixture of ancient trees, we can see some decaying oaks in the background over there. We've actually just walked past some large hornbeam pollards. So, these are trees that were working trees, hundreds of years ago that were managed as part of this landscape to provide timber for those who manage them, worked and lived in the area. So, to be able to walk past trees like that and, you know, to touch them – these living monuments – is just a real privilege. Well, we've got a mix here, we've got a mix of young trees, mature trees, ancient trees, and this area that we're stood on now is called, referred to as wood pasture because it was historically a wood landscape, where you had both a mix of livestock agriculture and also tree management as well. Adam: Well look, it's amazing just to our left there's two lovely trees, and I… I don't know what they are… but they're so lovely two people have stopped to take photos of them and I mean just a measure of how beautiful some of these, this landscape is. What… just a quick test… do you happen to know what that tree is? Tom: Yeah. So, we've got two, sort of, mature hawthorns there, so erm elsewhere in the forest there are actually some much older hawthorns… we have some ancient hawthorns here that would be several hundred years old. These are probably mature, probably over 100–150 years old… Adam: And they got lovely sort of red, red splattering over them. It just looks like someone's painted that, it's quite, quite an amazing sight. So, you talk about ancient trees. So what? What classifies a tree as ancient then? Because if [laugh] these were young and they're like 100 or something. So, what's ancient exactly? Tom: So, it's a great question. So ancient trees are those that are in their third and final life stage essentially. So, the sort of, the age at which we call different species ancient is different because different species have different life expectancies, and they have different growth rates. So, for example, if we look at yew trees, we make all those ancient from around about 400 to 500 years plus. If we look at hawthorn, for example, we would say they're probably ancient from around about 200 years of age. So, it does vary depending on which species you are referring to, but essentially the ancient phases, the third and final life stage… and very few trees actually live old enough to become ancient. It's only sites like this where the trees have been retained where, you know, these trees not been disturbed, they've not been felled, there's been no development here. So, these trees have survived in the landscape and been allowed to survive and that's why we can enjoy them today. So yeah, that's what an ancient tree is. Adam: And I mean, obviously there's almost a sentimental reason you, you don't want to destroy something which is 700 years old. But from an environmental perspective, do ancient trees offer the environment, do they offer animals something more than a younger tree does? Tom: Absolutely. I mean, I like to think of ancient trees as being like a living oasis for wildlife essentially. So, these are areas where you've got a huge variety of habitats both, you know, within like the tree structure, in the roots, in the canopy, even within like the heartwood and the hollows. So, ancient trees offer huge benefits for wildlife. Adam: But sorry, you're saying that's more… a 700-year-old tree would offer more environmental benefits than a 100-year-old tree. Is that what you're saying? Tom: Yeah, if you are comparing trees of the same species. Adam: So why is that? What is happening in that period that offers that benefit then? Tom: So, the reason really is owed to the decaying wood habitat. So as a tree ages, you get natural decay that's often caused by special heart rot fungi that can decay the tree. So, as it's standing it's decaying slowly over time, and by – that decaying wood – it kind of creates a load of microhabitats, so you get huge benefits for invertebrates. In fact, the site we're on today is one of the top ten sites in the UK for rare invertebrates because of the decaying wood habitats that are here. If you imagine a decaying tree with hollows and cavities and water pockets… imagine if you're an invertebrate, you know, you're such a small organism and you've got this huge ancient tree with all this variety of habitats. I mean you've essentially got… your whole world is in this tree, it's a whole universe of habitats. So, that's why they're important. Adam: So, it's quite poetic, isn't it? In its decay… the very fact it's decaying offers new life. Tom: Absolutely, exactly. So, they become, you know, just… they just transform into these oases for wildlife and it's owing to the decaying habitats that they have. Adam: And what's the oldest trees that you've got around here then? Tom: Yeah. Well, so some of these trees may well be in excess of 700 to 800 years of age. Adam: And are they yew? Because yew trees tend to last the longest don't they? Tom: Yeah. So, a lot of the oldest trees on this site will be pollards. So pollarding is where you cut the branches of a tree above head height. This was a historic, sort of, tree management practice – essentially the people who used to live and work here wanted to farm their livestock, and in order to make sure that they didn't, sort of, graze on the trees that they also used to harvest timber from, they were able to cut the tree above head height, typically above two metres in height. And what that does is quite two things. For the people managing these trees, it means that they can easily harvest the timber because in absence of power tools… imagine they were using hand tools and as the tree gets cut back it regrows into sort of finer, smaller stems that can be more easily harvested. Adam: And that's the sign of pollarding, isn't it? If you're a tree detective and you see these, sort of, small stems all coming up it's a sign it's been a pollarded tree. Tom: Absolutely, typically it will have, like, a fluted form cut around about two metres at head height and you'll see like a typical pollard knuckle, which is where you see all of these stems converging on the same point. But pollarding does actually bring some benefits to the tree as well and that's why some of the oldest trees here will be pollards because it has the effect of almost stabilising the tree. It means that the tree doesn't get too top-heavy and then collapses and dies. Instead, it keeps the trees more typically smaller and if they're regularly cut that keeps the tree in that stable form. So even the sort of the trees here which are, you know, extremely hollow, they look like, you know, how are they even still standing, because, like, what's supporting them? Because they're being managed as pollards. And then, you know, there are some sites where pollarding has stopped, you know, for example at Burnham Beeches is a site where you can see a lot of the pollards have not been pollarded for a long time and they've started to become top-heavy now, so and that presents a risk that you get greater wind loading and then they fall. So going back to what we were talking about the Green Recovery project that we are working on with the National Trust. And like I said, I was here six months ago, and we got to see some of the tree management here and we got to see some pollarding essentially. So, they were sort of cutting back the… some branches in the canopy to basically continue the pollarding management to try and replicate what was being done hundreds of years ago to make sure that these trees can survive for many years to come. Adam: Amazing that. Ian. Ian promised me some time travel. He pointed me towards the Capability Brown landscape. Do you know which way that is? Tom: Yeah, that would be straight back down the track. Adam: I was going to say, it's going the other way. Okay, but do you think we should head this way first? Tom: Yeah. Well, I mean, we can. We can go. Adam: I'm going with you. I'm going with you and will… I'm definitely going to see the Capability Brown later, but you lead me on. Tom: We can certainly make our way back there. Adam: So, tell me about where we're heading. Tom: So now we're just, we're walking through a sort of former medieval landscape. So, we've got a variety of trees here, we've got some oaks, we've got hawthorns, we've got field maples, we've got hornbeams. And if we're walking here, we can just see the sheer variety of trees in the landscape. So, when I'm walking through this landscape and I can't help but think about, you know, the people who were working here and living here and the way that this, the site, was managed. We can hear overhead planes are leaving Stansted Airport and I can only imagine what those people would have thought about that [laugh]. And it just, it just makes you think about the changes that this landscape has seen. And erm obviously the reason that we have ancient trees here is because this part of the landscape has remained unchanged. So, whilst there's been a lot of change around this site, this area has survived and that's ultimately enabled these trees to survive as well. Adam: Now you look after a lot of woodland. What separates this from lots of the other things that you've got an association with? Tom: So, I suppose what's really interesting about this site is that it's a former forest and then when we think about forests, people typically think about trees and they probably picture woodland, but actually… Adam: That's fair enough, isn't it? Tom: It's fair enough, but forest actually has a very different meaning in terms of the medieval sense. So, a forest was essentially an area of land that was subject to special hunting laws and these new areas were preserved really for the royals and, well, the royals and their sort of associates to hunt deer and enjoy riding through the landscape and they liked this kind of open landscape where the trees were kind of scattered. So, when you think of forests, like people typically think of dense woodland, but actually, it's more like this. It's big trees in a sort of sparse landscape where deer are allowed to run around, and the royals could be… were there on horseback sort of chasing them and hunting them. It was sort of a sport for them. And in a lot of sense, the commoners, if you like, were kept away from sites like this. An erm, but then the kind of, the legacy has been preserved. Adam: And it's interesting, isn't it, that because we think of these as natural places, they are natural places, that's what's important about them. But they're not unmanaged. It's not like the hand of man has not had a role in shaping this has very much been a man-made, a man-shaped environment. Is that fair? Tom: That's absolutely fair, yes. If I was… what's interesting when we look at ancient tree distribution more generally, there is a clear link between humans and where ancient trees are. So, for example, you might find ancient yew trees often in a churchyard setting, coz often…, well, ancient yews were respected by sort of earlier civilizations, the early Christians, even before that, the Druids respected ancient yews, which is why they've kind of been retained and associated with places of religious worship, you know, so there's always those kind of links between where humans have been and where ancient trees are now. And it just shows that really throughout history we've respected our trees, you know, other civilizations and cultures have respected these trees and you know, now we need to respect them too and continue their legacy. Adam: And I suppose one of the things that's striking for me is that although we are near Stansted, although it hasn't taken me long to drive from London, as far as you can see, you can't see anything. It's sort of trees for as far as you can see. It's a remarkable oasis in a rather heavily developed part of the UK. Tom: Absolutely. You know, to be able to come to this site only like an hour away from London is quite remarkable really, that places like this have survived. It's like a living outdoor museum almost. You know, you can go up to some of these trees, put your hand on them and these were the same trees that were being worked on over 500 years ago. You know… how many elements of nature can you say that about? You know, it's a remarkable privilege to be able to go and visit trees like that. That were managed hundreds of years ago. Adam: OK, now there is a suitable bench almost shaped fallen branch, so maybe we can head over there for a sit down and a chat. Tom: Sounds good. Hey, got some good sort of… at the top of the tree there, you've got something called retrenchment which is basically where the tree is dying back essentially. Adam: Right. Tom: So, over time like the canopy sort of reorganises itself. And then the tree kind of grows downward eventually. So, trees don't grow infinitely up and up and up, they tend to get… they die down and they get broader over time. Adam: So that's the sign of a change in its lifestyle… life stage sorry? Tom: Absolutely. Adam: So, we can see some sort of dead branches at the top that means it's coming into another stage, it's probably going to thicken out a bit. Tom: Exactly. Yeah. So, what I mean… what's happening essentially as the tree reaches a sort of theoretical maximum size… eventually, the tree can't transport that water from the roots. That kind of hydraulic action becomes limited. It can't pump water to the very top of the tree and so it, kind of, stops investing in those branches. It's grown to a good height, it doesn't need to compete with other trees around it, so it starts to reorganise itself. And those branches at the top start to die back and instead the tree invests in some of those like low… what were lower branches and they become more dominant, and the tree becomes broader in profile. The trunk becomes much wider as well. So, it's a typical sign of an ancient tree that they will typically have a large girth for their species. Like the trunk will have a large circumference for its species. That's like a key sign. Adam: Alright, look, this isn't… I can't quite sit on this one, but this is a very very pleasant place to stop. So, one of the big projects from the Woodland Trust is this Ancient Tree Inventory and I think you're sort of… you're in charge of that. So, what is that? Why is it important? Tom: So, the Ancient Tree Inventory is a citizen science project. So it's something that anyone can take part in and essentially what it seeks to do is to map ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK to an online interactive map that everyone can, sort of, see, use, and enjoy. It started as a project called the Ancient Tree Hunt and essentially it was just to get ancient trees on the radar really, to get people inspired by them, to get people out there recording them. And in that project alone they mapped over 100,000 trees. But since then, it continued under the name of the Ancient Tree Inventory, and we're continuing to map trees on a daily basis. So, we have a network of volunteers around the UK who are more expert volunteers who are called verifiers, and what they are doing is going out and checking trees that members of the public have added. So, if people have been on a walk and have seen a big tree or a tree that looks like it's old – might be ancient, might be veteran – they add it to the map, that gets recorded as an unverified tree and then one of our volunteer verifiers comes along, they'll visit the tree and they'll assess whether they think it's an ancient tree or a veteran or a notable. They'll also maybe take some extra measurements of the tree, they'll check that it's been recorded in the right place and that the species has been identified correctly, things like that. Essentially what we're trying to do with the Ancient Tree Inventory, as well as raising awareness about ancient and veteran trees, is also, erm, our role in terms of research and understanding their current distribution. But also, from their protection point of view, the Ancient Tree Inventory is actually a really useful resource for the likes of people doing environmental impact assessments. So, we get a lot of requests for data from ecological consultants, from arboriculture consultants, even the local authorities that want to know where are the most significant ancient and veteran trees in their county or on a particular site, so that that can then be used to help inform, you know, planning decisions and, you know, we'd like to think that that is going to grow more that when, for example, there's a development or, you know, some sort of proposed change to an area that people will consult the Ancient Tree Inventory and they'll consider, sort of, changing plans if ancient or veteran trees are going to be harmed. We really just want to make sure that there is no loss… further loss of ancient and veteran trees essentially. Adam: And what sort of protection do ancient trees have? Do they have… like a listed building you get listed protection so you can't mess around with it. You can't knock it down, can't alter it. Does a 700-year-old tree get the same protection as a 700-year-old piece of brick? Tom: Well, I'm afraid to say the answer to that is no. So, none of the ancient trees, don't have any legal protection in the UK. As you say, some of our most treasured monuments and buildings benefit from scheduled monument status, but for ancient trees which may be of, at least the same age if not older, they don't have any protection. In fact, I remember on a recent visit to a churchyard where we went to see a really remarkable ancient yew tree, I think someone jokingly said at the time that the wood in the beams of that church are probably more protected than the wood in the trunk of that ancient yew tree. And that, kind of, really opened my mind to that whole debate on making that comparison between built heritage monuments and ancient trees. And we really want to see ancient trees be more considered as features of our cultural heritage, archaeological heritage, you know, they really are these living monuments and we need to look after them. Adam: Do you get a sense that public opinion is swinging in that direction to support ancient trees? Tom: Yeah, I think it is. I mean, you know, based on my role of working on the Ancient Tree Inventory, I've the fortune of speaking to members of the public about their ancient trees. And we do get lots of concern expressed to the Woodland Trust about, you know, what's happening to ancient and veteran trees in their area. But there is actually something that we're doing at the moment at the Trust which is our Living Legends campaign that launched earlier this year. So, we're actually making an attempt to gain stronger protection for ancient and veteran trees. We have a petition that's live at the moment and the campaign has a lot of different activities happening at the moment, but one of the headline things anyone can do is sign our petition where we're calling for stronger legal protection, for that to be reflected in policy so that there is basically legal protection to stop any harm to the trees. Adam: Okay. So, if someone's interested in being a volunteer and, sort of, adding to that inventory, how do they go about it? Tom: Yeah, so anyone can take part in the Ancient Tree Inventory. All they need to do is go to the Ancient Tree Inventory website where they'll be able to register, and they'll be able to create a free account. Essentially that means that when you sign into your account, you can just record the trees. The main things that you'll need to record are things like, you know, where the tree is so you take like a grid reference. Erm, if you can record the girth of the tree – so, this is the circumference of the tree – of the trunk itself… Adam: So, you need a long tape measure? Tom: Yeah, we typically suggest having a tape measure around about 10 metres where you can often get like a surveyor's tape from your local hardware store for example. And you can measure the trunk, normally about one and a half metres from ground level for consistency. You're really looking for the narrowest girth of this trunk. So, if the tree has like a big, sort of, burr, or if there's like a low hanging branch, then just record underneath it to try and get the narrowest measurement. So that… and that's essentially the most technical elements. If you can just record as well the species of the tree, whether it's on public or private land, do make sure to record some photos as well. The key things that we're really interested in looking at with a tree when we're assessing whether it's ancient or veteran is our veteran features or decay features. So, these are the kind of decaying wood habitats, for example, if the tree is hollowing, if the tree has decaying branches… so the tree behind me here has some deadwood in the top of the crown – this is what we call retrenchment. And any other kind of deadwood cavities, water pockets, holes, that sort of thing is all great to capture, both in the record itself, but also in the images too. Obviously, the more that people can tell us about trees, the more we know. And then it makes it a much more valuable resource. So, we always encourage people to submit as much information as they can. Adam: And if I mean like me, I'm very bad at spotting tree types. If you don't, if you see an old tree and you think I wanna record that, but I don't know what sort of tree it is, is that a problem or can you just go look, here's a photo, you'll probably know better than I do? Tom: Yeah. So, it is possible to record the species as unsure. It might be that you know that it's an oak, but you're not sure if it's pedunculate or sessile, so you can just record it as oak. We have a network of volunteer verifiers who are sort of ancient tree experts who will check… Adam: Check your homework for you. Tom: Yeah, exactly. Adam: And if you can't spot the tree type, there is actually a Woodland Trust app, isn't there? Tom: Yeah, that's right Adam, we have a… the Woodland Trust has a species identification app that you can use as well. The good thing is that for our ancient trees, most of the time they are actually native. So, the common native species are typically going to be, you know, oaks, beech, ash, hornbeam, yew trees. So, you know, these are species that most people are quite familiar with cause they tend to be native. Adam: We should do a podcast on that, sort of, how to spot the top five native UK trees. An idea for another podcast… you may be dragged back into this. Fantastic. Tom: Sounds good. [Pause] Adam: So, we've been walking through a beautiful sort of woodland glade, a very covered area. And what is typical of this particular site is that you do come out into so many different landscapes and so we've come out into this very open area, all of a sudden with this extraordinarily large lake. I think there's something suspiciously like a tearoom next door which might attract my attention in a moment… and a couple of seats finally to sit down. So, Tom, now… It's a beautiful place. I mean we're, we're... The weeds rustling in the wind, framing the lake in front of us… There's some ducks and some rowing boats and this is a wonderful place. But I… the feature here is ancient woodland, so is there a way of sort of measuring the value of a particular tree? Do you… is it very just sort of thumb in the air, sort of thing, in the wind… or is there a more scientific approach you can take? Tom: Yeah, I think there are lots of ways in which different people value their ancient trees and so one acronym we tend to use to capture, sort of, the main themes of why we value our ancient trees, can be thought of as ABC. So that stands for aesthetic value, biological value and cultural value. There is also historical value, which I'll talk about in a moment, but think about, sort of, aesthetic value and why our ancient trees are important, you know, can you imagine, sort of, walking through the landscape that we're walking today without the ancient trees? They do provide, like the character of this site, you know, walking and seeing these big hollowing living monuments – they're almost like sculptures. And, you know, not just on these sorts of sites, but if you think of what would our churchyards look like without our ancient yews? Or what would our hedgerows look like without those old hawthorn trees? Or what would our, sort of, the Highlands of Scotland look like without those, kind of remarkable lone standing-proud alders, and rowans and hollies that are like really typical of that landscape? So, because ancient trees form, like, a really important part of the overall character of our landscape that's one way in which we value them. The other way, of course, is biologically, so they provide immense habitat variety for wildlife and a single tree can support thousands of species and that's owing to the decaying wood habitats that they have. So as a tree ages it naturally hollows, starts to break down, you get hollowing in the branches, in the trunk, you get hollowing around the base of the tree – what we call buttressing. All of these create pockets and habitats and even microhabitats for wildlife, so it can be used by a range of organisms from birds to reptiles, to mammals like squirrels, badgers. For example, with birds, as well, owls will use them, they will actually use the cavities found in the canopies of ancient trees, they make their nests. Same for woodpeckers, which will use decaying wood to make their nests and bore for invertebrates. And of course, the invertebrates themselves – the opportunities provided to invertebrates by ancient trees is remarkable. There's a special term to describe invertebrates that depend on decaying wood, and that word is saproxylic. So, saproxylic invertebrates are those which depend on this decaying wood for a part of their life cycle. And then there is also the cultural value that we place on our ancient trees. Adam: So, that's the C. Tom: That's the C in our ABC. Adam: So, tell me about the cultural values. Now actually… that must be a hard thing to measure? Tom: Absolutely so, it's not always clear, in fact, that some trees you may walk past and not know that that tree has been, or you know what it's seen in its life and how other people in the past have interacted with it. For example, ancient trees in the churchyards, so it is often that you find ancient yew trees linked with former sites of religious worship because the… our early ancestors, the druids, and the sort of, early Christians had a… they saw, essentially, ancient yew trees as a deity, they worshipped them, they respected them. And as a result, those ancient yews persisted in that landscape. Adam: The cultural aspect, there's a cultural aspect, but there is also, it doesn't run from the alphabet [inaudible] ABC H, there's an H isn't there? A historical reference here, because these trees have been around for 700 years, 1000 years – kings and queens will have wandered under these trees, important decisions would have been made. Historic really, really historic decisions would be made. And under the boughs of these trees. Tom: Absolutely. And so, there are some trees around UK which we refer to as heritage trees that have… that we know have bared witness to some important historical moments. Or that well-known historical figures that visited those trees. For example, we have the Queen Elizabeth Oak or we have the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree which is thought to bear witness to the start of the trade union movement in the 1800s, and we have the Ankerwycke Yew that bared witness to the signing of the Magna Carta by King John, under that very tree. And it's still there today, a tree that is over 2,000 years old has, you know, such important historical values – irreplaceable in fact. That is probably the one word that we would like people to associate with trees – is the word irreplaceable. Because if that tree was to be lost, you would lose all of that historical reference. Adam: Fantastic. You know this site well, I mean you've come a long way to see me today, so I'm super pleased and very grateful for the guide. But I know you love this place, don't you? Tom: Absolutely. I need no excuse to come here. I think it just feels like walking back in history essentially. And there's just an amazing variety of trees. Yeah, I could just spend the whole week here. Adam: I think my family might miss me in a week, but who knows? They might not… they might not notice. But they're certainly not going to notice for the rest of day, so I'm going to take the rest of the day here. Thank you very much. Well, my thanks to Ian from the National Trust and Tom from the Woodland Trust but most of all, I suppose, thanks to you for listening. Now do remember if you want to find a wood near you, well, the Woodland Trust has a website to help. Just go to woodlandtrust.org.uk/findawood. Now you can find a wood near you. Well, until next time, happy wandering. Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners, and volunteers and don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes, or wherever you're listening to us, and do give us a review and a rating. And why not send us a recording of your favourite woodland walk to be included in a future podcast? Keep it to a maximum of five minutes and please tell us what makes your woodland walks special. Or send an email with details of your favourite walk and what makes it special to you. Send any audio files to podcast@woodlandtrust.org.uk and we look forward to hearing from you.

Featuring music from Arco Iris, Atila, Baumstam, Blank Manuskript, Capability Brown, Crossfade, Dakota, Eggs And Dogs, Fischer's Flicker, Galaad, Heavy Water Experiments, Iron Claw, Leprous, Little Free Rock, Moongarden, Ovrfwrd, Papa Zoot Band, Scardust, plus “Spotlight Sets” devoted to Aelian and Thieves' Kitchen. Do you enjoy Prog-Scure? If so, perhaps you might consider helping me […]

Lancelot "Capability" Brown, landscaper to the rich and famous in 18th-century England, died in 1783. He advocated vistas that were "simple, uncluttered and restrained."

Visit Audley Ends attractions and gardensEnjoy a day out exploring the spacious grounds and estate of one of England's grandest mansions, Audley End.  Whether you're exploring the servant's wing, state rooms, stables, kitchen garden or beautiful grounds, you'll discover what life was like at a Victorian country house.Whether you're exploring the servant's wing, state rooms, stables, kitchen garden or beautiful grounds, you'll discover how a what life was like above and below stairs at a Victorian country house.Wander the glorious state rooms, reflecting the taste of the third Lord Braybrooke, who redecorated many of its rooms in the Jacobean style in the 1820s. Make yourself at home and feel free to play the piano, play with the toys in the nursery or step into Lady Braybrooke's private apartments, lit for her return from an evening party. Explore the Service Wing including historic kitchens, a dairy and laundry rooms to see what life would have been like for the Victorian servants that worked there. Take a stroll over to the stable yard to meet the horses and find out the story of the estate at work and play.Wander the award-winning gardens, remodelled by Capability Brown. Marvel at the formal, beautifully restored parterre and cloud hedge before admiring the organic kitchen garden. Wander through the acres of parkland to discover the peaceful Elysian Garden, Temple of Concord and memorial to the Second World War Polish resistance soldiers.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1713 Death of Henry Compton, Bishop of London from 1675 to 1713. Although Henry played an important role in English political and religious circles, his main passion was plants — especially scarce and exotic plants. It was said that Henry relished staying on the fringes of Charles II's court because it gave him more time to devote to his plants and gardens. One of his closest friends was one of the earliest English parson-naturalists, John Ray, who published the first account of North American flora in his Historia Plantarum (1688). Since Henry's role overseeing the Church extended to the American Colonies, Henry was able to get his hands on all the new plant discoveries from the new world. Henry even personally sent a man named John Banister to collect plants for him in Virginia. John is most remembered for sending Henry the Magnolia virginiana and Dodecatheon media. Tragically, John died at 38 after falling from a cliff while exploring the area above James River.  Between his involvement with the top plant explorers and nurseries of his day and his special relationship with the Tradescant family, Henry was able to fully stock his garden at Fulham Palace. This Tudor country house was home to England's clergy for over a millennium. When he was alive, Henry's garden was reputed to have a greater variety of plants than any other garden in England. It featured over 1,000 exotic plants and tropicals, making it one of his time's most popular, envied, and essential gardens. Henry's kitchen garden always grew a great crop of his favorite vegetable: kidney beans. In 1686, even William Penn's Pennsylvania gardener was keen to swap seeds and plants with Henry Compton. History records that Henry felt guilt about the amount of church money he had invested in plants. His collection of trees was also particularly exciting. Henry grew the first Liriodendron tulipifera (the tulip tree), Liquidambar (American Sweetgum) used as a veneer or satinwood in furniture, Acacia, Mahogany, and Maple trees in England. The garden designer Capability Brown found a special inspiration after touring Fulham, and it was there that he first saw the cluster-pin, the ash-maple, the cork oak, the black Virginian walnut, and the honey locust. Henry also grew the first American azalea grown in England, Rhododendron viscosum. Henry even managed to grow the first coffee tree in England with the help of his heated "stove.". In 1698, the Governor of Virginia personally sent Henry a Magnolia virginiana for "his paradise at Fulham." Three hundred years after Henry planted the first Magnolia virginiana grown in Europe at St. Anne's Church, a new tree was planted in the exact same spot to honor the botanical work of Bishop Henry Compton. The Arnold Arboretum at Harvard propagated the Magnolia sapling, and it was hand-delivered by Vi Lort Phillips, a member of the International Dendrology Society. The tree was planted on the 19th of May in 1992 and is already forty years old this year (2022).  St. Anne's Church was special to Henry. He consecrated the grounds in honor of Queen Anne because he had tutored both Princesses Mary and Anne when they were young.   1893 Birth of Miroslav Krleža, Yugoslav and Croatian writer, poet, and cultural influencer. Miroslav's nickname was Fritz, and he is often credited as the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. Miroslav believed that Serbs and Croats were one people suffering from two national consciences, which inevitably pitted them against each other. Today three hours west of his hometown of Zagreb, a celebrated statue of Miroslav stands in Opatija above the city's famous Slatina Beach. During WWI, Miroslav wrote in his diary at the Croatian Botanical Garden in Zagreb. The relaxing gardens edge the city railroad tracks before blending into the native grass and forestlands that feather the countryside. Although Miroslav found the garden suitable for writing, he dismissed its beauty and criticized it as a "boring second-rate cemetery."  Miroslav served in the same regiment as Yugoslavian communist dictator Tito during the war, but the two men didn't become lifelong friends until 1937. Tito protected Krleža from pressures in his party. Tito once told him, I know you're an old liberal and that you disagree with me on many things, but I wouldn't want to lose you.   In 1938, Miroslav wrote On the Edge of Reason - an instant classic about human nature, hypocrisy, conformism, and stupidity. Miroslav once wrote, There is no justice even among flowers.   1908 Birth of Herbert Rappaport, Austrian-Soviet screenwriter, and film director. Born in Vienna, Herbert first studied law before finding work in the movie business. In 1936, he was invited to help internationalize Soviet Cinema, and he spent the next four decades working as a filmmaker in Russia. Herbert once wrote, I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some.   1944 Birth of Manny Steward, American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. He was known as The Godfather of Detroit Boxing and trained 41 world champion fighters during his long career, including Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, and Wladimir Klitschko. He once wrote, My favorite hobby is being alone. I like to be alone. I also like dancing, fishing, playing poker sometimes and vegetable gardening – corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, I have a big garden every year.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Gardener's Palette by Jo Thompson This book came out in 2022, and the subtitle is Creating Colour Harmony in the garden. Jo Thompson is one of Britain's leading garden designers, and this is her second book, which was written in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society. Well, the title of this book says it all - palettes - masterfully proven gorgeous color combinations for your garden. I've found that the most challenging job about palettes is not picking them but sticking to them. And it's usually when we get into times of color droughts in our garden or hit an excellent garden sale that we break with our palette, and then the garden can slowly devolve into something a little wild and wooly.  That said, if you feel you're ready to make a change and take a more disciplined approach to what you plant in your flower garden, then Jo's book will be a fantastic resource. Jo is a color master - a purveyor of color palettes. She serves up 100 palette options and then identifies the plants you should be scouting to make your palette a reality. The photos in this book are incredibly inspiring and beautifully illustrate why the colors work so well together in a garden. Garden's Illustrated recently shared Jo's top five favorite color combos. Her picks included the following: Tutti Fruitti is bright magentas, and fizzing oranges delight as they catch the eye. Sherberts offers mouthwatering sherbet colors work softly with each other to create a feel that at the same time both look backward and forwards, bringing with their soft tones both familiarity and excitement. Wine, peach, and coral is a combination of colors that work together and create surprising harmony due to the surprising tones that they share deep within their petals. Pink is a garden classic. This shade resonates in the memory. Soft and pretty, elegant, a color that stops us in our tracks. Green & White: Green and white is the freshness of morning light, the elegance of midday light, and the serenity of the light in the evening. A gentle palette that is timeless in its appeal.   This book is 388-pages of 100 different palette options for your garden, along with beautifully inspiring images, plant selections, and Jo's personal design preferences and tips. You can get a copy of The Gardener's Palette by Jo Thompson and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $40.   Botanic Spark 1907 Birth of Robert Heinlein, American science-fiction writer. Robert is remembered for his classic book, Stranger in a Strange Land (1961). Robert wrote many wonderful euphemisms, like this humorous quote, Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.   But Robert also appreciated the power and beauty of nature. In Time Enough for Love (1979), Robert wrote, Money is a powerful aphrodisiac. But flowers work almost as well.   In The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1988), Robert wrote, “Butterflies are not insects," Captain John Sterling said soberly. "They are self-propelled flowers."   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

This week I feature songs about truth. Capability Brown does an Argent tune, we learn more about the Beatles' scruffs, there's a rare long version of Bluebird and more. Next week LIVE at 5 central on RadioFreeNashville.org is my salute to Juneteenth and want to include best wishes to all the dad's on Father's Day, to African-American music appreciation month, celebrated since 1979 and initiated by then President Jimmy Carter and the Summer Solstice occurs next week.

The Alnwick Castle Podcast goes to London in this episode, as our host Daniel Watkins speaks to Sheree Bellingham about Syon House, the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Sheree takes us through the history of Syon, from its time as a religious institution, to Georgian restoration works and landscaping by Capability Brown, to its use by a young Princess Victoria. We talk about Syon on film - including Netflix's smash hit series Bridgerton, which used the house as a location - and hear a particularly gory story involving Henry VIII.(Please note that the conversation between Daniel and Sheree was recorded remotely, so there may be some background noise or differences in sound quality.)Syon House is open to visitors on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from March until October. Please visit www.syonpark.co.uk for more information.If you enjoyed this episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, please leave us a five-star rating wherever you get your podcasts, subscribe so you don't miss an episode, and tell your friends to listen!

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events   1830 Birth of Thomas Edward Brown, late-Victorian scholar, schoolmaster, poet, and theologian from the Isle of Man. Thomas was published under T.E. Brown, and here's a little excerpt from his poem called My Garden.  A GARDEN is a lovesome thing, God wot! Rose plot, Fringed pool, Fern'd grot— The veriest school Of peace; and yet the fool Contends that God is not— Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool? Nay, but I have a sign; 'Tis very sure God walks in mine.   1833 Birth of Richard Watson Dixon, English poet, and clergyman. Richard was the son of the clergyman, Dr. James Dixon. He's most remembered for that lyrical poem that begins. The feathers of the willow Are half of them grown yellow Above the swelling stream; And ragged are the bushes, And rusty now the rushes, And wild the clouded gleam.   But today, I thought I would share an excerpt from his little-known poem called The Judgement Of The May. Come to the judgement, golden threads upon golden hair in rich array; Many a chestnut shakes its heads, Many a lupine at this day, Many a white rose in our beds Waits the judgement of the May.   1890 Birth of Christopher Morley, American journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet. Christopher also produced plays and gave college lectures. And in addition to all of that, He wrote little sayings, like The trouble with wedlock is that there's not enough wed and too much lock.   And he also wrote Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.   And then finally, here's a Christopher Marley quote on spring. April prepares her green traffic light, and the world thinks: Go.   1921 Birth of Mavis Lilian Batey, English Codebreaker and garden historian. Mavis served as an English Codebreaker during World War II, and her unique skillset broke the German enigma code, which allowed the allied forces to stage their D-Day invasion. Mavis became a champion for forgotten, yet historically significant, English gardens. She also helped establish garden history as an academic specialty. In 1955, Mavis and her Codebreaker husband, Keith, settled on a farm in Surrey. It was this property that sparked Mavis's passion for landscape history. After moving to Oxford, Mavis and her family lived in a fantastic park designed by Capability Brown. The park was also home to a garden designed by William Mason in 1775. Mavis recalled, We lived in the agent's house right in the middle of Capability Brown Park. But it was William Mason's garden that really got me. We had to cut our way into it. It was all overgrown and garden ornaments were buried in the grass. I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden. Someone had tried to say something there.   Mavis Batey used her wit and determination to become a force in numerous conservation organizations and missions. In 1985, Mavis was honored with the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal for her invaluable work, preserving gardens that would otherwise have been lost to time.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Magical World of Moss Gardening by Annie Martin  This book came out in 2015, and Pacific Northwest magazine said this about Annie's book: Instead of eradicating this deer-resistant, pest-resistant, rootless, stemless, wonder of a plant, Annni Martin tells us how to encourage and cultivate it.   Well, mosses are near and dear to many gardeners' hearts, and there have been many gardeners who try to grow and cultivate moss to no avail. And that's because moss has some special requirements. Annie writes, In my own garden, I feel angst when mosses is dry out and I obsessively respond to my compelling desire to give them a rejuvenating drink.  And as they begin the saturation process, I regain my own glowing state. As I watch leaves swiftly unfold and colors, magically intensify.   In addition to being mesmerizing, there are many reasons to pursue moss gardening. There are also many environmental benefits. Moss can be a lawn substitute - depending on where you live and your garden set up. If you have a shady property, you should definitely look into mosses as an option.  Mosses are super carbon sequesters. They're great at erosion control and flood mitigation - and they have a built-in filtration system, which means that moss can help reclaim land in locations where cleanup is needed. Now, if Annie's name sounds familiar, it's because she is a moss expert. Her nickname is Mossin' Annie, and she's the proud owner of Mountain Moss Enterprises. I appreciate books like this because you have a true subject matter expert acting as your guide. Annie will help you identify dozens of Moss species, and she'll teach you how to propagate moss successfully. (This is something most gardeners want to know how to do).  Finally, Annie is a master when designing and installing moss gardens. This book is 240 pages of down-to-earth advice on mosses in the garden. Whether you're an experienced gardener or a newbie, you will feel extra confident about utilizing moss - the tremendous green ground cover - with Annie as your guide.   You can get a copy of The Magical World of Moss Gardening by Annie Martin and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $13.   Botanic Spark 1821 Death of Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader who ended up ruling over much of continental Europe Last year was the 200th anniversary of his death. One account of Napoleon's final moments reported that,  [He died during a terrible thunderstorm that] shook the house to its foundations and would have alarmed everyone but for the all-absorbing tragedy of Napolean's departure.   In 1815 after his stunning defeat in the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was forced into exile in the south Atlantic on a little island called St. Helena. A few years before his death, Napoleon became convinced that he was dying of stomach cancer. His doctor Francoise Antommarchi ("Ahn-toe-MAR-she"), the man that would take his death mask, prescribed, among other pursuits, gardening - specifically digging in the garden. And so, on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon briefly took up gardening — and he loved it. Naturally, Napoleon wanted everyone around him - except the ladies - to join him in the garden at Longwood. There, he grew every type of vegetable that thrived on the island. Napoleon installed grottoes, alleys, and paths. And he transplanted trees and improved the soil with manure. When he worked in the garden, history tells us that Napoleon wore a loose-fitting dress and a straw hat. And at one point, Napoleon actually shot Count Bertrand's goat because it was eating his plants. In 2021, the historian Ruth Scurr wrote a short but delightful biography of Napoleon told through the lens of his interest in gardening and naturalism, and it's called Napoleon: A Life Told in Gardens and Shadows. Ruth believes that gardens were important to Napoleon all through his life. But at St. Helena in particular, he was especially motivated to garden after his doctor pointed out that he could create sunken paths to avoid the watchful gaze of his guards: British soldiers. Naturally, it was mostly Napoleon's people who did most of the digging. And although Napoleon's experiment with gardening was fleeting, Longwood House still grows a variety of plants planted by the emperor himself. Now in her book, Ruth also tells a touching story about Napoleon's brief return to Malmaison after his defeat at Waterloo. Malmaison was soothing to the emperor, and it was a place full of memories of his beloved Josephine. Her gardens were filled with fragrant roses and colorful blossoms like Dahlia's long after her death. The painter Pierre Joseph Redouté was a favorite of Josephine Bonaparte and Marie Antoinette. Still, Redouté's paintings of Josephine's flowers at Malmaison are among his most beautiful works. In Ruth Scurr's garden biography of Napoleon, she wrote: The 26th of June [1815] was a very hot day. Napoleon spent it at Malmaison reminiscing about the past. He walked up and down with his hands behind his back in what had once been his personal garden, just outside the library. He also lingers among exotic trees that Josephine has always insisted on planting herself. There were honey locusts, cedars of Lebanon, apple trees, and tulip trees. He visited Josephine's grand greenhouse and remembered there how she checked her tropical flowers every day. It was indeed a grand greenhouse.    Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

The history of the English garden reveals more than expected about the past and its people. This series explores the theme of gardens as places of work, rest, and leisure.     In this talk historian John Phibbs delves into the work and world of the original landscape gardener Capability Brown, from the agricultural revolution to his iconic landscapes. The history of the English garden reveals more than expected about the past and its people. This series explores the theme of gardens as places of work, rest, and leisure.     In this talk historian John Phibbs delves into the work and world of the original landscape gardener Capability Brown, from the agricultural revolution to his iconic landscapes. This talk was recorded live at Hampton Court Palace in 2015.  For more information on the history and stories of our palaces visit: www.hrp.org.uk/history-and-stories

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1619 Birth of Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. In 1660, Jan planted a hedge, now known as Van Riebeeck's Hedge, to mark the border of the Dutch East India Company settlement in Cape Town, South Africa. The hedge was made up of native wild almond trees (Brabejum stellatifolium). Today, parts of the hedge still live in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Bishopscourt. The Van Riebeeck Hedge is not considered a National Monument in South Africa.   1752 Birth of Humphry Repton (no ‘e' in Humphry!), English landscape designer. Humphry was trained and molded by the great Capability Brown. Yet as he matured, Humphry began to forge his own path in his approach to design and led a transformation of English gardens that was all his own. He designed over 400 gardens, and his picturesque landscapes are known for their gently rolling vistas, attractive clumps of trees, terraces, and homes nestled in amongst shrubs and foliage. Humphry wanted landscapes to bring out “the natural beauty” and minimize “the natural defects.”  Like many successful modern landscape designers, Humphry put a great deal of energy into planning his designs. He painstakingly created these gorgeous red leather portfolios for his clients.  His red books, as he called them, showcased his design ideas. Humphry's clients could see his pastoral watercolors depicting the current state of their property. Then they would lift a flap of paper and see what their property would look like after Humphry improved it. It was a kind of popup book for their property. Today Humphry's red books are regarded as impressive works of art - and many have been preserved in public and private collections.  Humphry Repton coined the term landscape gardener.  He had the term carved into his pinebark business cards. In 1818, Humphry died, and per his request, he was buried in a rose garden. Humphry used these words for his epitaph: Unmixed with others shall my dust remain; But moldering, blended, melting into earth, Mine shall give form and color to the rose. And while its vivid blossoms cheer mankind, Its perfumed odor shall ascend to Heaven.   1816 Birth of Charlotte Brontë, English novelist, and poet. Charlotte was the oldest of the three Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë) who survived into adulthood. Their novels became classics of English literature. The sisters published their first collaborative work called Poems under the pseudonym of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.  They wanted to hide their gender to help sales, so the sisters kept the first letter of their first names: Charlotte was Currer, Emily was Ellis, and Anne was Acton. Still, only two copies of Poems were sold. Emma Emmerson wrote a piece called The Brontë Garden. In it, she revealed: The Brontës were not ardent gardeners, although… Emily and Anne treasured their currant bushes as ‘their own bit of fruit garden'. While they may not have been avid gardeners, they knew enough about growing flowers for Charlotte to write: Emily wishes to know if the Sicilian Pea (Pisum sativum)and the Crimson cornflower are hardy flowers, or if they are delicate and should be sown in warm and sheltered situations. In her writing, Charlotte could be a little glum about flowers. In Villette (1853), Charlotte wrote, I like to see flowers growing, but when they are gathered, they cease to please. I look on them as things rootless and perishable; their likeness to life makes me sad. I never offer flowers to those I love; I never wish to receive them from hands dear to me. In The Professor (1857), Charlotte wrote, In sunshine, in prosperity, the flowers are very well; but how many wet days are there in life—November seasons of disaster, when a man's hearth and home would be cold indeed, without the clear, cheering gleam of intellect.   1838 Birth of John Muir, Scottish-American naturalist, conservationist, and author. John Muir was known by many names: "John of the Mountains,” “Father of Yosemite,” and "Father of the National Parks.” John's work to preserve Yosemite resulted in a famous picture of himself posing with President Teddy Roosevelt on Overhanging Rock at the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite in 1903. There's a fun little story about John and Charles Sprague Sargent, the director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard, that was featured in a 1915 article. The two men had gone on a fall trip to hike the mountains in North Carolina. John found the scenery so inspiring that when they got to the top of Grandfather Mountain, he began to sing and dance and jump around, while Charles just stood there.  This must have been a common trait among the botanists and academics John knew because he once wrote, In drying plants, botanists often dry themselves. Dry words and dry facts will not fire hearts. John is remembered with these words. The mountains are calling, and I must go. Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Royal Gardens of the World by Mark Lane  This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is 21 Celebrated Gardens from the Alhambra to Highgrove and Beyond, and the illustrated cover is spectacular. This book is a celebration of Royal Gardens, and Mark does a brilliant job of sharing the history, the plantings, and the evolution of each garden. And in addition to all of that, he highlights some of the key plant or signature plants of these spaces and then shares all the behind-the-scenes details about how these gardens were designed and laid out. Now the gardens that are profiled are located primarily in Europe and Asia. But as Mark points out in his introduction, Many more Royal Gardens are waiting to be visited and researched, and each tells its own story.   Mark says, I am simply the interpreter and the messenger. Sometimes the story focuses on restoration, others follow the lives of the main protagonists and other still simply chart the course of history. It's also worth noting that history is not isolated. These gardens are a response to events occurring throughout Europe, Russia, the Far East, and elsewhere And Marriages between members of Royal households in turn introduced different ideas and creative passions which were reflected in their gardens.   Now, as you can imagine, entire books have been written about each of these gardens individually, but Mark's intention here is to celebrate the art of gardening through some of the finest garden jewels that have ever been created. This book is 240 pages of a five-star book on Amazon about Royal Gardens, their history, their fantastic designs, and their signature plants. You can get a copy of Royal Gardens of the World by Mark Lane and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $25.   Botanic Spark Today, April 21, is the National Day of Sa'di ("SAH-dee"), the Master of Persian prose and poetry who was born in 1210. Sa'di lived in Shiraz ("SHE-raz"). In his lifetime, and through the 19th century, Shiraz was a center for growing grapes and great wines. (Shiraz wine is from Shiraz.)  Shiraz was also a center for learning, literature, gardens, and poetry. The poet, Hafez, was also from Shiraz. Now, although he was born and raised in Shiraz, Sa'di spent much of his life traveling. And over three decades, he met and interacted with people from different places, with different customs, traditions, and languages. And his constant traveling led Sa'di to a place of acceptance and love for all humanity. Sa'di once wrote these poignant words of understanding: Sa'di once wrote these poignant words of understanding,  I bemoaned the fact I had no shoes Until I saw the man who had no feet.   And there was a common Persian saying that goes, Each word of Sa'di has 72 meanings.   Today, Persian scholars believe that Sa'di is Shakespeare-like in terms of his understanding of the human condition, and in various literary ways, he shared his insights. Now you might be surprised to learn that Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Sa'di fan. Emerson felt that study's work was biblical in terms of the wisdom that he was trying to impart. In fact, Emerson wrote about Sa'di, and one of his verses went like this. The forest waves, the morning breaks, The pastures sleep, ripple the lakes, Leaves twinkle, flowers like persons be, And life pulsates in rock or tree. Saadi! so far thy words shall reach; Suns rise and set in Saadi's speech.   In terms of a legacy, Sa'di's best-known works are Bustan ("Boo-ston") (The Orchard) and Gulistan ("Goo-luh-ston") (The Rose Garden). Now there's a very old copy of the Gulistan that features a beautiful painting of Sa'di in a rose garden, and I shared it inthe Facebook Group for the show.  Now I wanted to end the show today with a little something from The Rose Garden or The Gulistan because, in that book, Sa'di is led to a garden by a friend on this day, April 21st, back in 1258. And that's why today is National Sa'di Day. It's the day he was brought to a garden. And so there is a verse that is a favorite among gardeners from The Gulistan or The Rose Garden, and it goes like this. If... thou art bereft, And ...Two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com To say that Neil McDonald is interested in skate history is a little like saying Capability Brown liked to dabble in the odd bit of gardening. Neil is a journalist, author, curator and archivist who is obsessed, to an awe-inspiring degree, with the tales and intricacies of skate history. It's a fascination he explores through his essential Science Versus Life Instagram account, and which he is developing on the grandest possible scale with his forthcoming history of UK skateboarding. For me, Neil's reverent take on the power and importance of skate history makes him more akin to a legitimate cultural curator. It's why I kept using the word archivist during our conversation, and why I think his work is so important and much more than the mere ‘scanning of old skateboard magazines', to paraphrase his Insta bio. Why? Because this stuff matters. It's important, like any history is important. It's how we define ourselves as a culture, and how we safeguard the uniqueness of these activities many of us have based our entire lives around. With Science Versus Life and his forthcoming book, Neil is doing nothing less than trying to preserve and present the entire pre-digital history of British skateboarding and, by extension, youth culture in this country. As you might imagine if you've listened to the show for a while, this mission is right up my boulevard, and I enjoyed our chat very much indeed. Hope you do too. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support.

In the first episode of 2022, Ed and Charlotte set out to discover who the mystery man is taking Hollywood by storm. They talk to Londoner Alexa Jago who has produced a BAFTA-nominated mockumentary about Gatsby Randolph's astonishing rise to celebrity status. How did he do it? Find out by listening in to her and to Gatsby himself, all the way from LA. See the trailer on YouTube here. We chat to writer of epic historical blockbusters Kate Mosse about her eagerly anticipated latest novel The City of Tears, the second in The Burning Chamber series. It's a gripping family saga set over 300 years and ranging from France to South Africa. Kate also tells us why women, from Hilary Mantel to Maggie O'Farrell, make such brilliant historical novelists. And we transport you to Compton Verney, a beautiful grand house in Capability Brown parkland in Warwickshire, which is staging a fabulous exhibition of portraits painted by people who took part in the Sky Arts Portrait of the Year series. Expect to see a host of famous faces from Graham Norton to Michaela Cole. Exhibition 19th February. Book here. Produced by Audio Coast

In this edition of Open Country, Helen Mark explores the landscape at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. The 2000 acres of parkland were landscaped by Capability Brown, and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The grounds are also home to a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and earlier this year a colony of rare bees was discovered in its ancient woodland - surviving descendants of indigenous honeybees which were previously thought to have been wiped out. There are also 12,000 acres of farmland, where a new project is underway to try and make the estate carbon neutral. As dusk falls, Helen winds her way though Blenheim's illuminated trail, where more than a million sparkling lights and lasers light up the winter landscape. Produced by Emma Campbell

Episode Description:  On this very special festive episode of the podcast, our Duchess is joined by her daughter Eliza to speak about their historic home: Belvoir Castle. In the show, the Duchess reveals all about her own background, we learn about Belvoir's ‘forbidden place', the ladies discuss the chilling ghostly encounters they've had in their home, and we hear why it's so magical to spend Christmas in a castle.  Top Quotes: "I've felt, from every woman I've met through making this podcast, such a great sense of passion and duty." - The Duchess "On that very sofa in this room, Winston Churchill was sat when he heard of King Edward VIII's abdication. Aunt Hersey always remembered the tears rolling down his cheeks." - The Duchess "One of the unique things that has happened with covid is that people have reconnected with their big house on the hill. We've had this huge surge in people local to us reconnecting with Belvoir again. That has been very special." - The Duchess "Christmas is so magical here because Belvoir is a party place. So, on occasions when you have the castle full of friends and family, it really twinkles." - The Duchess About the Stately Home: Belvoir Castle is a 16,000-acre estate in Leicestershire, it's history dates back to the 11th century in 1067. Crowning a hill, the Castle's turrets and towers rise over the Vale of Belvoir. Belvoir Estate has been passed down through 36 successive generations and an unbroken line of Dukes of Rutland for nearly 1000 years. James Wyatt, the iconic architect, designed the remodelled  Castle built between 1801-1832 for the 5th Duke and Duchess of Rutland. Today, Belvoir Castle is said to be one of the finest examples of Regency architecture globally. In addition, the gardens have undergone several major changes over the centuries – the latest being a two-year restoration programme by the present Duchess to bring the lost plans of Capability Brown to fruition in 2016. About the Host: Emma Rutland, The Duchess of Rutland, did not always stride the halls of stately homes. Born Emma Watkins, the Duchess grew up the daughter of a Quaker farmer, in the Welsh marsh countryside. She trained as an opera singer in the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a successful interior designer before meeting her future husband David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, at a dinner party. Their marriage in 1992 would transform Emma Watkins into the 11th Duchess of Rutland, thrusting her into the world of aristocracy, and handing her the responsibility of one of the nation's great treasures: Belvoir Castle. While simultaneously running the day to day operations of the castle, and raising five children, The Duchess became fascinated with the history and importance of the other stately homes of the UK. Join The Duchess as she embarks on a wonderful journey through time, to learn more about the incredible homes that have defined Great Britain and, most importantly, meet the other extraordinary women who work tirelessly behind their doors to preserve their history and magic for future generations.  Resources: https://www.onefineplay.com/ (https://www.onefineplay.com/) https://www.belvoircastle.com/ (https://www.belvoircastle.com/) https://www.emmaduchessrutland.com/ (https://www.emmaduchessrutland.com/)

Today, Lucy Branch talks to Laury Dizengremel, the international portrait sculptor, who is a finalist in the Emily Williamson campaign. Laury has had a full career and is the creator of many public sculptures including Capability Brown, Tony Byrne the Olympic Boxing medalist and Sir George Carteret in St Peters, Jersey. Laury discusses her creative journey, her drive to become a successful professional and her love for her craft. Join us and BE INSPIRED BY SCULPTURE. You can find images of Laury Dizengremel's work and a transcription of the interview at Sculpture Vulture Blog - SCULPTURE VULTURE Please support the show by buying one of Lucy Branch's novels about the dark side of the art world. Her 2021 New Release is Restoration Murder This podcast was brought to you by Antique Bronze

If you were to describe the perfect garden then you'd probably include a birdbath. They're part of our horticultural landscape and yet the birdbath has an indistinct history. Any investigation into where they came from will immediately take us to the ancient gardened spaces of Persia where the introduction of water in rills and splashing fountains would surely have drawn the attention of any birds. There are also the courtyard pools that captured and stored rainwater in the venerable buildings of Asia and the Roman Empire. But in these cases, any bird daring to take a bath would probably have been kept as a pet or captured to be eaten.

Hilary Barber RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) returns to talk with Frances about the history and art of garden design.  The variety of style and taste is of course endless, but there's something for everyone here, and there are plenty of suggestions of spectacular and inspiring places to look up and maybe visit one day.Hilary also offers some helpful tips for overwhelmed newcomers to garden planning.Gardeners and gardens mentioned:Capability Brown landscapes (e.g. Blenheim, Chatsworth, Stowe & many more)Westonbirt Arboretum, nr. Tetbury, Glos.The Palace Gardens at Versailles, W of ParisMonet's Garden - Giverny, NW of ParisPiet Oudolf prairie gardens - Bury Court, Surrey; also one of the designers of The High Line, NYC;& the Lurie Garden, Millennium Park, ChicagoChristopher Lloyd - Great Dixter, nr. Tenterden, KentVita Sackville-West -  Sissinghurst, nr. Tunbridge Wells, KentBeth Chatto -  Gravel Garden, nr. Colchester, EssexCésar Manrique - Cactus Garden, Lanzarote  Derek Jarman – Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, KentBotanic Garden, BristolPoison Garden, Ainwick Castle, NorthumberlandBook: The Story of Gardening, Penelope Hobhouse---Recorded April 2021Music: Frances

Today we celebrate an English writer who loved gardens and created a one-of-a-kind grotto as a clever way to connect his home and garden. We'll also learn about a writer who created a space he called Tao House Garden. We hear an excerpt about the haves and have nots - when it comes to gardens. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about philosophy inspired by the garden. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a writer who loved yellow roses but was not complimentary when it came to the poinsettia.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Curated News Little Garden Retreats | Houzz | Sarah Alcroft   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events May 21, 1688 Today is the birthday of the British poet, critic, gardener, and satirist Alexander Pope. Known for his poetry and writing, Alexander Pope is less remembered for his love of gardens. Yet Alexander was a trailblazer in terms of garden design and originality. He designed the impressive Palladian Bridge in Bath, and, along with the great Capability Brown, he created the Prior Park Landscape Garden. Alexander once famously said, All gardening is landscape painting. Inspired by the gardens of ancient Rome, Alexander’s garden featured both a vineyard and a kitchen garden. But the most memorable feature of Alexander’s property was his grotto. The grotto came about because a road separated Alexander's home and garden. To connect the two, Alexander cleverly dug a tunnel under the road. The tunnel created private access to the garden and inadvertently became a special place all its own: Alexander’s grotto - a masterpiece of mirrors, candles, shells, minerals, and fossils. Alexander described the thrill of finishing the grotto in a letter to his friend Edward Blount in 1725: "I have… happily [finished] the subterraneous Way and Grotto: I then found a spring of the clearest water, which falls in a perpetual Rill, that echoes thru the Cavern day and night.  ...When you shut the Doors of this Grotto, it becomes… a camera obscura, on the walls [are] all the objects of the river, hills, woods, and boats… forming a moving picture...  And when you… light it up; it affords you a very different scene: it is finished with shells interspersed with pieces of looking-glass in angular forms... when a lamp ...is hung in the middle, a thousand pointed rays glitter and are reflected over the place." Over time, Alexander's home and grotto became a tourist destination. Visitors were stunned by the marvelous grotto that connected the villa and the garden. They had never seen anything like it. Alexander himself knew the place was special, and he once wrote, "Were it to have nymphs as well – it would be complete in everything."  After Alexander died, the new owners of his property were so annoyed by the attention that they destroyed both the garden and the villa. Today, plans are underway to restore the grotto to its former glory.   May 21, 1922 On this day, the Pulitzer prize was awarded to Eugene O'Neill for his play "Anna Christie." Remembered as one of America’s greatest playwrights, most people are unaware that Eugene O'Neill was also a gardener. After becoming a Nobel laureate in literature, Eugene used his Nobel prize money to buy over 100 acres in the San Ramon valley. There, Eugene built his hacienda-style Tao Home and Garden in 1937. Taoism influenced both the home and the garden.  A Chinese philosophy, Taoism focuses on living in harmony with the Tao or “the way.” Tao House Garden features paths with sharp turns and walls that are blank. Today, the National Park Service is working to restore the home built by the "father of American theatre” - now a National Historic Site. The entire property was designed to promote harmony and deter bad spirits. Visitors often comment on the peaceful nature of the site. Fortunately, the O’Neill family garden designs were well chronicled. Eugene’s wife, Carlotta O’Neill, designed the landscape, and she wrote about the gardens in her diaries. Carlotta especially loved white- and pink-blooming flowers. After raccoons kept killing their koi, Carlotta turned the pond into a flower bed.  Incredibly, there was just one other owner of the property after the O’Neills left in 1944. But during the seven years, the O’Neill’s lived in harmony at the Spanish Colonial Style Tao House, Eugene created some of his most famous plays such as "Long Day's Journey into Night" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten," among other works that made him an American literary icon. In the 1980s, the intimate courtyard garden was restored with cuttings from the original Chinaberry tree along with magnolia, walnut, and cherry trees. There are pots of geraniums and garden beds filled with birds of paradise, azalea, and star jasmine - Eugene’s favorite plant. The orchards and idyllic gardens around the house are beautifully sited on a hilltop over the San Ramon Valley and offer impressive views of the valley and Mount Diablo. The property is as spectacular today as it was when the O’Neill’s lived there - calling to mind a quote from A Moon for the Misbegotten, where Eugene wrote, “There is no present or future--only the past, happening over and over again--now.” Today, the Eugene O’Neill Foundation hosts an O'Neill festival in the barn on the property every September. The annual play is professionally acted and produced. You can bring a picnic dinner and eat on the grounds.   Unearthed Words Each of us has his own way of classifying humanity. To me, as a child, men and women fell naturally into two great divisions: those who had gardens and those who had only houses. Brick walls and pavements hemmed me in and robbed me of one of my birthrights; and to the fancy of childhood, a garden was a paradise, and the people who had gardens were happy Adams and Eves walking in a golden mist of sunshine and showers, with green leaves and blue sky overhead, and blossoms springing at their feet; while those others, dispossessed of life's springs, summers, and autumns, appeared darkly entombed in shops and parlors where the year might as well have been a perpetual winter. ― Eliza Calvert Hall, American author, women's rights advocate, and suffragist from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Aunt Jane of Kentucky   Grow That Garden Library Philosophy in the Garden by Damon Young  This book came out in 2020, and I love how the publisher introduces this book: Why did Marcel Proust have bonsai beside his bed?  What was Jane Austen doing, coveting an apricot?  How was Friedrich Nietzsche inspired by his ‘thought tree’? In Philosophy in the Garden, Damon answers these questions and explores one of literature's most intimate relationships. The relationship between authors and their gardens. Now for some writers, the garden is a retreat, and for others, it's a place to relax and get away from the world. But for all of the writers that are featured in Damon's book, the garden was a muse and offered each of these writers new ideas for their work. As someone who features a garden book every day on the show and loves to feature garden writers who found their inspiration in the garden, this book is a personal favorite of mine. This book is 208 pages of authors and their gardens. And the philosophies that were inspired by that relationship. You can get a copy of Philosophy in the Garden by Damon Young and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $8   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart May 21, 1955  On this day, Truman Capote’s first musical, House of Flowers, closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 165 performances. House of Flowers has nothing to do with flowers. The plot centers on an evil brothel owner, Madame Fleur, and her attempts to murder the fiancé of her star girl, Ottilie. Madam Fleur has her men kidnap the young man, seal him in a barrel and toss him into the ocean. Truman’s House of Flowers was the first theatrical production outside of Trinidad and Tobago to use the instrument known as the steelpan. Today, most of us remember that Truman Capote wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But he also wrote the introduction to his friend CZ Guest’s garden book called First Garden: An Illustrated Garden Primer. CZ Guest, born Lucy Douglas Cochrane, was an American fashion icon and garden columnist. She authored three garden books and three garden planners. In 1990, she came out with her own line of organic fertilizer, insect repellant, tools, scented candles, and soap - all of which were sold at Bergdorf-Goodman and Neiman-Marcus. Writing about CZ, Truman affectionately wrote, "There, with her baskets and spades and clippers, and wearing her funny boyish shoes, and with her sunborne sweat soaking her eyes, she is a part of the sky and the earth, possibly a not too significant part, but a part." Truman Capote is remembered for this famous garden saying: "In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the breaking of new blooms." In 1957 for the Spring-Summer edition of the Paris Review, "I will not tolerate the presence of yellow roses--which is sad because they’re my favorite flower." Finally, Truman could be funny. In his play "Truman," throws away a Christmas gift of a poinsettia, dismissing it by saying, “Poinsettias are the Robert Goulet of botany.”   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Today we celebrate a remarkable English naturalist and artist. We'll also learn about the man known as the Rocky Mountain botanist. We hear a journal entry about bloodroot. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about place and how location, location, location is just as important to gardens as it is to real estate. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a Landscape Gardener that broke away from the style used by his mentor Capability Brown - and he even coined the term “Landscape Gardener.”   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Curated News How to Find Native Plants Near Me | Native Backyards | Haeley    Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.

Today we celebrate the Landscape Architect who had an affinity for boxwoods. We'll also learn about a passionate orchidologist who shared some advice back in 1972. We salute the English WWII code breaker who became a one-woman force for garden conservation and restoration. We’ll hear a verse about the Hyacinth - one of my favorite spring bulbs… so fragrant! We Grow That Garden Library™ with an indispensable book about saving seeds. And then we’ll wrap things up with the story of a Washington gardener whose garden advice was relatable, gentlemanly, and humorous.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” It's just that easy.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Curated News Want a 20-second distraction from 2020? Here are some mesmerizing pictures from 1800s seed catalogs  | Massive Science | Max G. Levy   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There’s no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you’d search for a friend and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events November 12, 1957 Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Arthur Shurcliff. After receiving his degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, Arthur discovered the field of Landscape Architecture. Although the field was beginning to take off thanks to the Olmsteds, Charles Eliot, and the Chicago World's Fair, there were no formal degree programs for the field. As a result, Arthur cobbled together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard. All his life, Arthur had a lifelong love for the outdoors. He especially enjoyed camping, canoeing, scenery, and sketching. Looking back on his pursuit of Landscape Architecture, Arthur reflected,   "All led me away from mechanics toward scenery, toward planning and construction for the scenes of daily life..."   In terms of his career, Arthur will forever be remembered for the work he did at Colonial Williamsburg. The project at Williamsburg was funded by John D. Rockefeller and the mission was a total community restoration. The scope was enormous. Arthur had over 30 years of experience when he started work on the project on St. Patrick's Day in 1928. In addition to his Landscape Architecture skills; Arthur leveraged his training in engineering, his meticulousness, and his personal energy, and charm. It wasn't just the buildings that needed restoration; it was the land, the paths, the streets, the gardens, and green spaces. Arthur wrote about his daily quest to uncover the past. One entry said:   “Wednesday morning saw me in the old-fashioned gardens in the heart of the town. These old places… now gone to decay are filled with a kind of golden glory which is lacking in the new gardens. The old lattice trellises, ruined box hedges, and even the weed-grown paths seem to have the glamor of the sunshine from the olden days.”   Every aspect of the town was fully researched. When it came to garden plans and plant selection, Arthur insisted that authenticity was paramount. For example, Arthur’s team actually searched for original fence-post holes to determine the colonially-accurate backyard.  It’s no wonder that it took Arthur 13 years to finish the project. Arthur’s signature plant was the boxwood which he called Box for short. Williamsburg required boatloads of Box and Arthur wrote,   “In replanting Williamsburg places much use should be made of Box… even allowing it to dominate the parterres and bed traceries… Generous use of Box in this manner [will define the] display and [help with the] upkeep of flowers especially in the dry season...”   Arthur’s passion could get the best of him. The woman who lived at the St. George Tucker House, wrote this entry in her diary in January 1931: “Today I was asked to go over the yard with Mr. Arthur Shurcliff… I found him a very alarming person! Somehow the idea of changing the yard and garden is much more repellent to me than changing the house, and this is such a terribly enthusiastic man!”   And, when Arthur returned in May, she wrote,   “[He came] down like a wolf on the fold again today. He rushed in and out... with charts and plans for all sorts of alarming ‘landscapes’ in our yard. He has boxwood on the brain.”   Luckily for Arthur, his charm counteracted any hesitance caused by his exuberance. When Colonial Williamsburg was revealed to the public in 1934, Arthur’s Colonial Revival style gardens — complete boxwood — caused a sensation. Soon, Revival Garden design appeared in suburbs all across America. Once the restoration was complete, Arthur Shurcliff had redefined Williamsburg. By reclaiming the past, Colonial Williamsburg found a path forward. And, thanks to Arthur’s incredible efforts, Revival Garden design took its place in 20th Century Landscape Architecture.   November 12, 1972   On this day The Greenville News shared an article called Orchidist Finds Hobby Versatile. The orchidologist was Gilbert L. Campbell. During six years of collecting, Gilbert amassed more than 300 plants - in addition to a library of orchid reference materials. Orchid lovers can grow orchids all year long indoors in their homes. When Gilbert’s passion outgrew his house, he built a greenhouse and in a short time, he built a second greenhouse. Gilbert said,   "Some orchidologists do grow their flowers in their homes... [but I advise against it. Growing an orchid is like being a fisherman. 'Some fishermen may be content to sit on the bank and fish, but most want to get out in a boat on the lake. It's a lot easier to grow orchids in a greenhouse [due to temperature and humidity control]. ”   As for why Gilbert had two greenhouses, his answer was simple: the cool greenhouse was for cymbidium orchids and the “medium” temp house was for the cattleyas. To show how significant the role temperature plays in growing orchids, the difference in temp between Gilbert’s two greenhouses was about 10 degrees. Gilbert reported that,   “A medium house has a minimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees and a cool house has a minimum of 45-50 degrees.”   Finally, Gilbert advises plenty of fresh air. Gilbert’s orchids are moved outside in summer and on balmy days throughout the winter. Gilbert says:   "Orchids, like people, do best in a spring-like fresh-feeling atmosphere… Beginners should start with a few mature plants. Orchids like dry roots, so they should be watered thoroughly, then allowed to dry out."     November 12, 2013 Today is the anniversary of the death of the World War II hero and garden historian and restorer extraordinaire Mavis Batey, who died at the age of 92. Mavis broke the German Enigma code, which allowed the Allied forces to stage their D-Day invasion. In the back half of her life, Mavis became a champion for forgotten, yet historically significant, English gardens. She also became a garden historian and writer, writing books on Jane Austen and Alexander Pope. In 1955, Mavis and her code-breaker husband Keith settled on a farm in Surrey. The property sparked Mavis’s passion for Landscape history. After moving to Oxford, Mavis and her family lived in a fantastic park designed by Capability Brown. The park was also home to a garden designed by William Mason in 1775. Mavis recalled:   "We lived in the agent's house, right in the middle of a Capability Brown park, but it was William Mason's garden that really got me. We had to cut our way into it. It was all overgrown, and garden ornaments were buried in the grass. I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden: someone had tried to say something there."   Mavis Batey used her wit and determination to become a force in numerous conservation organizations and missions like the Garden History Society, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. In 1985 Mavis was honored with the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal for her invaluable work preserving gardens that would otherwise have been lost to time.   Unearthed Words If you plant spring bulbs, I hope you remember to include hyacinths. The hyacinth is in the asparagus (Asparagaceae) family. Native to the Eastern Mediterranean, they grow throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. Nowadays, the hyacinth is mainly grown in Holland.   If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, And of thy meager store, Two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. — Saadi, Persian Sufi poet, in Gulistan (The Rose Garden), 1258   Grow That Garden Library The Seed Garden by Lee Buttala, Shanyn Siegel, et al.  This book came out in 2015, and the subtitle is The Art and Practice of Seed Saving. The Seed Garden won the American Horticultural Society Award for Excellence In Garden Book Publishing and it is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to save seed that is true-to-type and ready to sow in next year’s garden. This comprehensive book is a collaboration between the esteemed Seed Savers Exchange and the Organic Seed Alliance. Readers will learn the invaluable tradition of saving seeds for more than seventy-five best-loved vegetable and herb crops―from heirloom tomatoes and beans to lettuces, cabbages, peppers, and grains. I love the photos in this book - they are beautiful and relatable. The plant profiles are nicely laid out and the seed saving instructions are crystal clear - providing a thorough master class level presentation of the art, the science, and the joy of saving seeds. This book is 350 pages of indispensable and clearly written advice for growing plants and saving seed - and it’s a beautifully illustrated resource to boot. You can get a copy of The Seed Garden by Lee Buttala, Shanyn Siegel, et al. and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $22.   Today’s Botanic Spark November 12, 1993 Today is the anniversary of the death of Washington Post columnist and gardener Henry Clay Mitchell. Henry wrote mainly about gardening and miscellaneous aspects of his daily Washington life.  Pragmatic and humorous, Henry’s garden advice struck a chord with his readers. His weekly garden advice was compiled into two bestsellers named after his column Earthman. A southerner and a gentleman, Henry found tranquility and restoration in his garden. Like most of us gardeners, Henry had his favorites. Of the Japanese Iris, Henry wrote,   “[It’s] a fine flower for anybody who thinks nothing can be too gaudy, too overstated, too imperial. I have known rednecks who adored it.”   A dog lover, Henry recognized his garden didn’t exist in a bubble but was fully part of the natural world. Henry reflected,   “Squirrels eat a lot of bulbs -- they are in heaven when they find the cyclamen and crocuses -- but they keep the garden interesting for the family dog... And besides, the squirrels are more attractive than the cyclamen probably would have been anyway."   And, Henry's obituary in the Washington Post shared his love of gardening:   “Gardening was a part of his life almost from the time he was born. When he was a small boy, he would pick up autumn leaves or pluck the petals from tiger lilies and admire them when his mother took him walking. He had a garden from the time he was old enough to work in it. He could rattle off the Latin names of perhaps 3,000 plants. He said, he learned about gardening because he was "passionately fond of flowers." The failure of such projects as grafting a carnation onto a prickly pear cactus left him undaunted.”   And, if you have a steadfast love your garden - warts and all - you’ll feel a kinship with these words by Henry from his 1992 book One Man's Garden:   It is agreeable to waddle about in one's own paradise, knowing that thousands of others have better gardens with better thises and thats, and better grown too, and no weeds at all… To know this and grin as complacently as a terrier who just got into the deviled eggs, and to reflect that there is no garden in England or France I envy, and not one I'd swap for mine: this is the aim of gardening — not to make us complacent idiots, exactly, but to make us content and calm for a time, with sufficient energy (even after bitter wars with bindweed) to feel an awestruck thanks to God that such happiness can exist. For a few days, of course.

This week I’m speaking with Sir Roderick Floud, author of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’. The book charts the economics surrounding English gardens since the seventeenth century and talks about private gardens, public spaces, professions related to gardening and the often eye-watering amounts of money spent on achieving a bigger and better gardens. Sir Roderick calculates the cost of yesteryears’ gardens in today’s money and it’s worth reading the book alone to find out how much the likes of Capability Brown earned or the amounts spent on the gardens of Versailles!  Paperback edition of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’ out on 5th Nov. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster Flies About Roderick Floud “Roderick Floud has been a pioneer of two new kinds of history: using statistics to study the past and the history of human height and health. The economic history of gardens is his third innovation.  He has taught at the universities of Cambridge, London and Stanford, has written or edited over 70 books and articles and is the long-standing editor of the Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain.  He has also led London Metropolitan University and Gresham College London and undertaken many other roles in the university world, such as President of Universities UK, receiving a knighthood for services to higher education.” - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/123901/roderick-floud.html?tab=penguin-biography What we talk about: Public parks Charles II and his popularisation of garden making Why were extravagant gardens built? Were these gardens worth the huge sums spent on them?  Technological advances that were later applied outside the world of horticulture Trends around people growing their own fruit and vegetables Trends in the numbers of people employed as gardeners How gardeners wages over the centuries compare with those today  Economic trends on the horizon related to gardening Links: An Economic History of the English Garden - Roderick Floud Paperback out 5th Nov 2020. Pre-order here

This week I’m speaking with Sir Roderick Floud, author of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’. The book charts the economics surrounding English gardens since the seventeenth century and talks about private gardens, public spaces, professions related to gardening and the often eye-watering amounts of money spent on achieving a bigger and better gardens. Sir Roderick calculates the cost of yesteryears’ gardens in today’s money and it’s worth reading the book alone to find out how much the likes of Capability Brown earned or the amounts spent on the gardens of Versailles! Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster Flies About Roderick Floud “Roderick Floud has been a pioneer of two new kinds of history: using statistics to study the past and the history of human height and health. The economic history of gardens is his third innovation.  He has taught at the universities of Cambridge, London and Stanford, has written or edited over 70 books and articles and is the long-standing editor of the Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain.  He has also led London Metropolitan University and Gresham College London and undertaken many other roles in the university world, such as President of Universities UK, receiving a knighthood for services to higher education.” - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/123901/roderick-floud.html?tab=penguin-biography What we talk about: Public parks Charles II and his popularisation of garden making. Why were extravagant gardens built? Were these gardens worth the huge sums spent on them?  Technological advances that were later applied outside the world of horticulture Trends around people growing their own fruit and vegetables Trends in the numbers of people employed as gardeners How gardeners wages over the centuries compare with those today  Economic trends on the horizon related to gardening Links: An Economic History of the English Garden - Roderick Floud Paperback out 5th Nov 2020. Pre-order here.

Another unscripted & extended “flying by the seat of my pants” episode where I break from my normal routine and play both Prog-Scure and “not in the least bit Prog-Scure” bands, and episodes in this new series include only epic tracks. In this episode, hear epics from Arlekin, Black Bonzo, Capability Brown, Dog Soldier, Easter […]

The Nature Garden team returns with a mix of garden and nature related stories, tips and reports:Tom Pattinson is creating 'green gold' from waste, Steve Lowe reveals a mysterious 'message in a bottle' and an exciting Capability Brown story.  And Tom Cadwallender explores the beautiful nests of pied flycatchers and rather different abodes of tawny owls.Join the two Toms, Steve and your host, Carl Stiansen, for a wander down the garden paths and country lanes of Northumberland.Support the show

Featuring music from Alan Reed, Armed Cloud, Buon Vecchio Charlie, Dug Dug’s, Eden (CA), French Lick, Human Zoo, Lady Lake, The Merlin Bird, Queen, Raw Material, Space Debris, Sunchild, Tommy Bolin, Without End, and Zenit, plus “Spotlight Sets” devoted to Capability Brown and Issun. Do you enjoy Prog-Scure? If so, perhaps you might consider helping […]

Today we celebrate the Italian botanist who introduced coffee and bananas to Europe and the botanist who described new varieties of mums from China on this day in 1822. We'll learn about the man who could see the capabilities of a landscape In the botanist who wrote encouraging letters to one of his students. Today's Unearthed Words Feature sayings and poems about the winter mindset. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that helps you encourage different types of wildlife into your garden. I'll talk about a garden item you'll use every spring if you like to grow plants from seed and then we'll wrap things up with a cute little story that involves loganberries. But first, let's catch up on a few recent events.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Curated Articles The Scent Of Fear – The Aphid Alarm Pheromone Great Post on The Scent of Fear – the aphid alarm pheromone via @Entoprof "Aphids, when perceiving a threat to their neighbors by a predator or parasite, flee the scene rapidly, by flight, if winged, on foot if not, or even by leaping from their host-plant to the ground below. "   A Growing Concern: Is It Ever OK To Steal Plant Cuttings? | Life And Style | The Guardian A growing concern: is it ever OK to steal plant cuttings? "At Potted Elephant, the thief cut tendrils of Philodendron, Variegated Monstera and Scindapsus from live plants in his greenhouse – some from Jarrell's personal collection of rare plants."   Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1617  Today is the anniversary of the death of the 17th-century Italian botanist Prospero Alpini. Alpini introduced coffee and bananas to Europe. Alpini was also the first person to make observations about sexual differences in plants. The male and female flowers of the date palm, for instance, are borne on separate plants. This knowledge allowed Alpini to become the first person to fertilize the female flowers of the date palms artificially. Date palms were popular garden plants in Roman gardens. The fruit is very useful and is the basis for syrup, alcohol, vinegar, and liquor. The genus "Alpinia", belonging to the order Zingiberaceae (Ginger Family), is named for Alpini. Alpinia is also known as the ginger lily. Ginger lilies are perennials and the blooms have a gardenia fragrance. Ginger lilies are a wonderful cut flower.   1822  On this day in 1822, Joseph Sabine ("Suh-BEEN") gave a presentation to the London Horticultural Society. He was describing some new varieties of Chinese chrysanthemums. Eleven different kinds of mums had been imported two years earlier, in 1820, and had been thriving in the society's garden at Chiswick. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus, renowned Swedish botanist, combined the Greek words chrysos, meaning gold with anthemon, meaning flower. Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora) is the birth flower for November. In Japan, the highest Order of Chivalry is the Imperial Order of the Chrysanthemum. And National Chrysanthemum Day, aka the Festival of Happiness, has been celebrated in Japan since 910. Chrysanthemum Day is always celebrated September 9th - the ninth day of the ninth month because, in terms of numerology, that day, September 9th, is regarded as an auspicious day. Now, when Joseph Sabine described the Quilled Pink Chrysanthemum in detail for the London Horticultural Society, members had only heard about the Quilled Flamed Yellow variety. The Quilled Pink was exciting. Sabine, would not even recognize modern mums. Although some mums still look like their sister flowers, daisies, mums are being bred to be showier. Regardless of their appearance, mums belong to the Compositae, or daisy, family. And, there's another highlight for Joseph Sabine. He was serving as the Secretary of the Horticultural Society and is remembered for sending David Douglas on his 6-month expedition to North America. Douglas named the Digger Pine, Pinus Sabiniana, in honor of Joseph Sabine.   1783  Today is the anniversary of the death of the renowned landscape gardener Lancelot Capability Brown. In the 1730s, Lancelot ended up at Stowe, working for the great William Kent - the eminent painter and Landscape Architect. The garden at Stowe was a landscape garden with lots of straight lines and formality. The end result was a garden that looked like a painting with an 11-acre lake. The main area of the garden was the Elysian Fields ("uh·li·zhn"); 40 acres featuring buildings and monuments that flank two narrow lakes called the River Styx. The monuments in the garden honor virtuous men of Britain. The time Lancelot spent with Kent at Stowe transformed not only the land but also Lancelot - from a gardener to a Landscape Architect. It was his big break, and it gave him the confidence to set out on his own. After Stowe, Lancelot traveled all over England. When working for clients, he would stare out at the blank canvas of a new project and seek to find the "capabilities" of the Landscape - removing worker's cottages or older gardens when he felt the need to do so. It earned him the unshakeable nickname of Capability. Capability Brown's skill of seeing landscapes and then creating them made him very popular. Everyone with means wanted a Capability Brown landscape - they craved his signature look, his garden designs, and garden temples. What everyone essentially wanted was beauty -  and Capability created beautiful gardens. For 19 years, Capability served as the King's Master Gardener. Today, at least 20 Capability gardens still exist and are under the care of England's National Trust. When Lancelot died, the English writer Horace Walpole, sent word to the noblewoman Anne FitzPatrick that, "Lady Nature's second husband," was dead. He also sent a poem about Capability to the poet and gardener William Mason: "With one Lost Paradise the name Of our first ancestor is stained; Brown shall enjoy unsullied fame For many a Paradise, he regained."   1946  The botanist Edgar Anderson wrote to his student Charles B Heiser Jr: "Oh stamp collecting, when will taxonomists ever take any interest in being biologists? Once, when I traveled with E.J. Palmer, I went to a good deal of trouble to get a whole sheet of lily pods, and he threw it away because it made such a nasty looking specimen, and he wasn't certain what species it belonged to anyway." It turns out, this was just one of many letters that Edgar wrote to his student. In 1972, Charles wrote a lovely tribute about Edgar called "Student Days with Edgar Anderson or How I Came to Study Sunflowers." Charles sifted through the many letters he had received from Edgar during his lifetime - they filled up a folder over two inches thick. Over the years, Edgar was an encouraging mentor to Charles, writing, "What an incredible gift good students are…" and "if you are tired of [Helianthus] and don't want to look at 'em any more for a while, why by all means put them aside. Don't let anybody's advice, including mine, keep you from what you are happiest doing." Sunflowers or Helianthus Annuus ("HE-LEE-ann-thus ANN-you-us") are native to North America. When the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, saw sunflower for the first time in Holland, he fell in love with them and had them brought back to Russia. The Russian public loved sunflowers as well -  but not just for their happy flowers.   Unlike other cooking oils, the oil from sunflower seeds was approved for use during Lent by the Russian Orthodox Church. By the early 1800s, two million Acres of sunflowers for planted in Russia every single year. Ironically, over the next century, immigrants from Russia would bring sunflower seeds with them when they immigrated to the United States. The Russian hybrids had bigger blooms than the original American varieties.  Now, most gardeners attempt growing sunflowers at some point, so if you find yourself wanting to give it a try, here are some tips to consider: First, sunflowers really do need a ton of sun. Don't be stingy with the sunshine and put them in part shade. These are plants that really appreciate all the rays they can get. Second,  Sunflowers follow the sun; they exhibit a behavior known as heliotropism.  In the morning, the heads will face East, and then the heads will move to track the sun throughout the day.  As they mature, they're tracking movement will become less pronounced as the stem loses its flexibility in order to support the large, mature bloom. Third, don't be surprised if you find a few sunflowers reseeding themselves in your garden after your initial planting. It's a lovely surprise and a little memento from that first batch of sunflowers. Finally, once the seeds ripen, the birds will begin to visit, and you'll notice more activity from species like goldfinches -  they love sunflower seeds. If you feel inclined, you can dry some of the seed heads to share later with the birds during the cold months of winter.   Unearthed Words Here are some words about the winter mindset: Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. — Victor Hugo, French poet, and writer   Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. — Victor Hugo, French poet, and writer   The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to Literature, summer the tissues and blood.  — John Burroughs, American naturalist, and writer, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866   Winter blues are cured every time with a potato gratin paired with a roast chicken. — Alexandra Guarnaschelli ("GORE-nah-shell-ee"), American chef   Keep your faith in beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone. And then you will find that Duty and Service and Sacrifice—  all the old ogres and bugbears of —  have joy imprisoned in their deepest dungeons! And it is for you to set them free — the immortal joys that no one —  No living soul, or fate, or circumstance— Can rob you of, once you have released them. —  Reverend Roy R. Gibson, Poet & Critic   Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it. — Richard Adams, English novelist, Watership Down   To many forms of life of our northern lands, winter means a long sleep; to others, it means what it means to many fortunate human beings - travels in warm climes. To still others, who again have their human prototypes, it means a struggle, more or less fierce, to keep soul and body together; while to many insect forms, it means death. — John Burroughs, American naturalist, and writer   Grow That Garden Library Wildlife Gardening by Kate Bradbury The subtitle to this book is: For Everyone and Everything (The Wildlife Trusts) An easy-to-follow gardening guide endorsed by the Wildlife Trusts and the RHS to help you encourage different types of wildlife into your garden. Kate Bradbury is an award-winning writer who specializes in wildlife gardening. She is the author of The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, she works on BBC Gardeners' World magazine and regularly writes for the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian to name a few. What I love about Kate's book is that she breaks it down by groups of species, and each chapter explains what they require to thrive, what their role in the garden is, and how they contribute to the garden ecosystem. Chapters cover pollinators, birds, and amphibians, wasps, flies, and so on - some will be your favorites, while others will be new to you. Kate offers many plant suggestions. And, don't forget that your garden is a shared space. It's for you AND these other species. Kate hopes you are able to observe the habitats in your garden throughout the year. Ultimately, this is a book about creating a space that's as much for you to relax in as it is for the other species you welcome into it, and about getting to know the wildlife around you. You can get a used copy of Wildlife Gardening by Kate Bradbury and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $13.   Great Gifts for Gardeners Ladbrooke Genuine Mini 4 Hand-held Soil Blocker - Most Popular Soil Blocking Tool! $33.99 Genuine Ladbrooke "Mini 4" soil blocker is the most popular size worldwide. Part of the unique Micro / Mini / Maxi "nesting system" for starting seeds and transplanting starts. (Mini 4, Micro 20, and Cubic Inserts sold separately.) Essential organic gardening product; easy to use and reusable for years. This eco-friendly system saves on plastic pots. Most popular size - makes four - 2" soil blocks. Zinc coated steel will last for years. It is made by Ladbrooke - makers of the highest quality products! Note: these are utilitarian gardening tools. Cosmetic blemishes and water bathing marks made during manufacturing are natural, and in no way alter the functionality of the tool.   Today's Botanic Spark When I was researching Edgar Anderson,  and reading Charles Heisler's tribute to him. I ran across a little story that involved loganberries. Loganberries (Rubus loganobaccus) grow on vines known as brambles. They smell like raspberries, but they are tart and they have a slightly sweet taste. Loganberries are named for their California creator, James Harvey Logan, who came up with the idea to cross a Blackberry with a raspberry. Sadly loganberries don't have a long shelf life which is why you don't see them in the grocery store very often. If you decide to grow them, most people keep the berries on the vine as long as possible - which makes them more flavorful. Anyway, this talk on loganberries brings me back to Charles Heisler's tribute to Edgar, which was titled "Student Days with Edgar Anderson or How I Came to Study Sunflowers." Charles ended his tribute to Edgar with this adorable little story that included Loganberries among other things and it reminds us that botanists are people too. Charles wrote: "I haven't told you anything about [Edgar's] music sessions. He played the recorder. Nor about the square dances at the 'Barn.' Nor about his cooking. I think one of the worst dishes I have ever eaten was his spam covered with bread crumbs soaked in Loganberry juice —  perhaps because he raved about it so. I hope [to have given you] some insight into the character of Edgar Anderson, teacher, and botanist. The latter is the title he chose for himself and his later years at the Missouri Botanical Garden."

Today we celebrate the French admiral and explorer who had a female botanist posing as a male valet on his voyage. We'll learn about the botanist who is remembered by the State Flower of California and the Landscape Architect who restored the entire Landscape of Colonial Williamsburg. We'll learn about the Spanish rose breeder who is remembered for cultivating the white Nevada rose,  We'll hear some prose about November from three of the country's top naturalists. We Grow That Garden Library with a fabulous old book about growing your own herbal tea garden, I'll talk about potting up some Paperwhites and Amaryllis and then we'll wrap things up with the codebreaker who also cracked the code on preserving England's garden history.     But first, let's catch up on a few recent events. Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic | @Pinkvilla Finally, a horoscope I find myself wholeheartedly agree with - Cancer, Libra, Virgo: THESE Zodiac Signs love nature and find gardening therapeutic. That said, to borrow a phrase from Ratatouille, "Everyone can garden."        Someone keeps stealing my compost, and I have no idea why they want my rotting food  | @billy_penn @amandahoovernj Good Lord. As Compost Services are introduced in new areas of the country, thieves need to understand the contents are only golden if you're a plant.          This is Australia’s most popular indoor plant. |  @bhgaus @Bhg   A delicious choice, mate! The Monstera deliciosa appears in most Australian homes.        The mesmerizing sculptures you can see at The Savill Garden | @SurreySculptors @surreylive  Yes, to all of them! The Savill Garden is hosting the @SurreySculptors 25th Anniversary Exhibition. Take a load off and scroll through the 60 pieces of Art in the Garden! Thank you to all the Artists, Excellent Post @surreylive      Now, if you'd like to check out these curated articles for yourself, you're in luck - because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So there’s no need to take notes or track down links - the next time you're on Facebook, just search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Brevities   #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of the French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who died on this day in 1729. On Bougainville's expedition, a woman named Jeanne Baret joined the crew after posing as a valet to the expedition's naturalist: Philibert Commerçon. Commerçon had terrible health, and he likely needed Baret to help him.   Baret herself was actually a botanist in her own right.  When the ship stopped in Rio de Janeiro, it was Baret who ventured out into the tropics and returned with the lovely tropical vine that would be named to honor the expedition's commander: Bougainvillea.       #OTD  Today is the birthday of Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, who was born on this day in 1793. When the German poet Adelbert van Chamiso ended up in the San Francisco Bay area, and he wrote about the California poppy, which he named Eschscholzia California after his friend Johann Friedrich Von Eschscholz.   In return, Eschscholz named a bunch of plants after Chamisso - a little quid pro quo. In 1903, the botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon put forth a successful piece of legislation that nominated the golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) as the state flower of California.        #OTD  Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Arthur Shurcliff who died on this day in 1957. Shurcliff's path to Landscape Architecture was not clear cut. His dad had been a successful businessman, and Arthur was supposed to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a Mechanical Engineer. But after receiving his degree from MIT, the field of Landscape Architecture was making waves thanks to the Olmsteds, Charles Eliot, and the Chicago World's Fair. Since no formal degree programs existed at the time, Shurcliff cobbled together his own curriculum at the Lawrence School of Science at Harvard.  All his life, Shurcliff loved being outside. He enjoyed camping and canoeing. He loved scenery and sketching the landscape.  Looking back on his decision to pursue Landscape Architecture, Shurcliff remembered, "All led me away from mechanics toward scenery, toward planning and construction for the scenes of daily life..." In 1904, Shurcliff opened his own firm. Shurcliff designed recreational spaces in and around Boston like the  Rose Garden, the Washington Garden at old North, and the park Back Bay Fens. But, Shurcliff will forever be remembered for the work he did at Colonial Williamsburg.  It was the first time an entire American community was to be restored. John D. Rockefeller financed the project. Shurcliff had over 30 years of experience behind him when he officially started the project on St. Patrick's Day of that year. He didn't just bring his Landscape Architecture skills; he brought everything he had; his training in engineering, his meticulousness, and his ability to get things done through his personal clarity, energy, and charm. The project would use every bit of knowledge, skills, and expertise that Shurcliff had acquired. It wasn't just the buildings that needed restoration; it was the land, the paths and streets, the gardens, and green spaces. It required tremendous research to restore it all. Shurcliff insisted that wherever possible, original items and authenticity was paramount. For example, Shurcliff's team actually went looking for "fence-post holes to ascertain the outlines of a "typical" backyard" - this was a true restoration in every sense of the word.  It took Arthur Shurcliff 13 years to finish the project. But, once it was done, Shurcliff had redefined Williamsburg; helping it to lay claim to it's past and ensuring that Colonial Revival garden design found legitimacy in 20th Century Landscape Architecture.         #OTD  On this day in 1972 that The Greenville News shared an article called Orchidist Finds Hobby Versatile. The orchidologist was Gilbert L. Campbell. At the time the article was published, Campbell had been collecting orchids for six years, and he had amassed a collection of more than 300 plants in addition to a library of orchid reference materials. Campbell recalled, "My first orchid was a gift,' and it led him to visit a commercial orchidologist in Newberry for more information. Orchid lovers grow orchids all year long, and his passion led him to add greenhouses to help with his hobby.  Campbell said, "Some orchidologists do grow their flowers in their homes... but he advises against it. 'Growing an orchid is like being a fisherman,' he says. 'Some fishermen may be content to sit on the bank and fish, but most want to get out in a boat on the lake. It's a lot easier to grow orchids in a greenhouse.' He cites temperature and humidity control as one major benefit of growing the tropic blooms "under glass."  As for why Campbell had two greenhouses, his answer was simple. "He has the two, he says, because he needs a "cool" house for his cymbidium orchids and a "medium" house for his cattleyas. In "orchidese" this means a temperature difference of 5- 10 degrees. A "medium" house, he says, has a minimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees, and a "cool" house, a minimum of 45-50 degrees. Campbell also advocates fresh air for the plants, which he moves outside in summer and on balmy days throughout the winter. "Orchids, like people, do best in a spring-like fresh-feeling atmosphere," The two things which cause growers the most difficulty, he believes, are proper watering of plants and placement for best performance." When a plant ceases to function properly, it is vulnerable to insects and disease," he notes, adding that his constant problem, snails, crops up periodically. To help combat problems, he makes these recommendations: For the beginner, start with a few mature plants. Orchids like dry roots, so they should be watered thoroughly, then allowed to dry out."       #OTD    Today is the anniversary of the death of the Spanish rose breeder Pedro Dot who died on this day in 1976.  As a young boy, Pedro learned about plants from his father, who was a highly regarded gardener and plant breeder. The estate where his father worked, grew roses and the Marquise of the estate funded Pedro's early work in hybridizing. Dot is remembered for his white rose, which came out in 1927. It was called Nevada and is named for its color.  Nevada is the Spanish word for "snowy."  The British rosarian, Peter Beales, called 'Nevada' one of the best-known semi-double shrub roses.  The American horticulturist and professor, Dr. Griffith Buck, taught horticulture at Iowa State University, and he created over 80 cultivars of rose.  When Buck wanted to name one of his roses after Pedro Dot, he reached out to his son. He wrote: “I wanted to name a rose after Pedro Dot, a famous Spanish rose breeder who supported me in my breeding. I wrote to Pedro’s son, telling him that I would like to name this rose for his father. I told him I knew his father was very proud of being a Spaniard who was also proud of being a Catalonian. His son replied, “If you are going to name it for my father, why don’t you name it in Catalonian and call it ‘El Catala.’” “ which I did.”       #OTD On this day in 1972, the Greenville News shared that the American Rose Society had chosen Pat Nixon to be their patroness. "Mrs. Richard M. Nixon recently accepted an invitation to become the first patroness of the American Rose Society on the invitation of Dr. Eldon W. Lyle, president of the group. She was presented with a brass gilded vase of 24 porcelain roses to commemorate the occasion. The Garden Party roses were created by Mrs. Oscar Tilleaux."         Unearthed Words "Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable, the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street or road by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese.  Both are warnings of chill days ahead, fireside, and topcoat weather." - Hal Borland, Naturalist   "The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry.  The stalks hum, the loose husks whisk skyward in half-playing swirls, and the wind hurries on... A tree tries to argue, bare limbs waving, but there is no detaining the wind." - Aldo Leopold, Ecologist "It is autumn; not without  But within me is the cold.  Youth and spring are all about;  It is I that have grown old." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Autumn Within     It's time to Grow That Garden Library with today's book: Herbal Tea Gardens by Marietta Marshall Marcin Create your own herbal tea garden! This inspiring guide covers everything you need to know to grow herbs and use them in homemade tea blends successfully. Providing plans for 22 themed tea gardens, Marietta Marshall Marcin offers expert tips for growing and harvesting a variety of common herbs. Clear directions for more than 100 recipes include Flu Brew, Double Green Digestive, and Women’s Energizing Tonic. Before you know it, you’ll be creating enticing herbal teas to suit every occasion.     At the beginning of the book, Marcin shares the Chinese legend of the tea plant. The White Buddha known as Ta' Mo would sit in his garden near the place and meditate through all the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The White Buddha would meditate unblinking and unsleeping. Finally, after many years, His attention wavered, his chin dropped, and his eyes closed in sleep. When the White Buddha awakened - Perhaps a day or year later - he was so angry with himself for neglecting his meditation that he took out a knife's life, sliced off both his eyelids and threw them on the ground. The Saint's eyelids took root in the fertile soil and grew into a tea bush, the symbol for wakefulness.   I love to find books like this for you - oldie but goodies that are so affordable on the used book market. You can get a used copy and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for under $2.       Today's Garden Chore Now is the perfect time to pot up some Paperwhite or Amaryllis bulbs for forcing this winter. Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) and Amaryllis (Hippeastrumspp.), make great gifts and to your holiday décor. One of my favorite Christmas mantles over the fireplace featured a row of these large silver goblets that I used to pot up Paperwhites.  Along the feet of the goblets, I strung Christmas lights, and on top of the mantle, I had laid a sheet of moss. It was such a gardener's holiday mantle.     Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart   #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Mavis Batey, who died at the age of 92 on this day in 2013. Mavis Batey is remembered for her work with the Enigma research team. Mavis broke the German Enigma code, which allowed the Allied forces to stage their D-Day invasion. In 1955, Mavis and her husband settled on a farm in Surrey. It was here that Mavis began learning about Landscape history.  After Surrey, the Bateys moved to Oxford and lived on a park designed by Capability Brown. The park was also home to a garden designed by William Mason in 1775. Mavis recalled: "We lived in the agent's house, right in the middle of a Capability Brown park, but it was William Mason's garden that really got me. We had to cut our way into it. It was all overgrown and garden ornaments were buried in the grass, but I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden: someone had tried to say something there, I knew at once it wasn't just an ordinary derelict garden: someone had tried to say something there."   It wouldn't be the last garden Mavis Batey saved. In 1986 Mavis was honored with the Veitch Memorial Medal for her work, preserving gardens that would otherwise have been lost to time.      Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Featuring music from The Allman Brothers Band, Anton Roolaart, Artcane, Aunt Mary, Billy Thorpe, Bröselmaschine, Capability Brown, Chaneton, Cooperativa Del Latte, Dawn, Dimension X, Elder, Iskander, La Tulipe Noire, Myrath, Neonfly, Road To Jerusalem, Seven Seals, The Souls Of Inspyration, Thoughts Factory, and Wilson And Wakeman. Do you enjoy Prog-Scure? If so, perhaps you might […]

Cardiff Castle (Welsh: Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort. The castle was commissioned either by William the Conqueror or by Robert Fitzhamon, and formed the heart of the medieval town of Cardiff and the Marcher Lord territory of Glamorgan. In the 12th century the castle began to be rebuilt in stone, probably by Robert of Gloucester, with a shell keep and substantial defensive walls being erected. Further work was conducted by The 6th Earl of Gloucester in the second half of the 13th century. Cardiff Castle was repeatedly involved in the conflicts between the Anglo-Normans and the Welsh, being attacked several times in the 12th century, and stormed in 1404 during the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr. After being held by the de Clare and Despenser families for several centuries, the castle was acquired by The 13th Earl of Warwick and Comte de Aumale in 1423. Lord Warwick conducted extensive work on the castle, founding the main range on the west side of the castle, dominated by a tall octagonal tower. Following the Wars of the Roses, the status of the castle as a Marcher territory was revoked and its military significance began to decline. The Herbert family took over the property in 1550, remodelling parts of the main range and carrying out construction work in the outer bailey, then occupied by Cardiff's Shire Hall and other buildings. During the English Civil War Cardiff Castle was initially taken by a Parliamentary force, but was regained by Royalist supporters in 1645. When fighting broke out again in 1648, a Royalist army attacked Cardiff in a bid to regain the castle, leading to the Battle of St Fagans just outside the city. Cardiff Castle escaped potential destruction by Parliament after the war and was instead garrisoned, probably to protect against a possible Scottish invasion. In the mid-18th century, Cardiff Castle passed into the hands of the Stuart dynasty, Marquesses of Bute. John, 1st Marquess of Bute, employed Capability Brown and Henry Holland to renovate the main range, turning it into a Georgian mansion, and to landscape the castle grounds, demolishing many of the older medieval buildings and walls. During the first half of the 19th century the family became extremely wealthy as a result of the growth of the coal industry in Glamorgan. However, it was The 3rd Marquess of Bute who truly transformed the castle, using his vast wealth to back an extensive programme of renovations under William Burges. Burges remodelled the castle in a Gothic revival style, lavishing money and attention on the main range. The resulting interior designs are considered to be amongst "the most magnificent that the gothic revival ever achieved".[2] The grounds were re-landscaped and, following the discovery of the old Roman remains, reconstructed walls and a gatehouse in a Roman style were incorporated into the castle design. Extensive landscaped parks were built around the outside of the castle. In the early 20th century, The 4th Marquess of Bute inherited the castle and construction work continued into the 1920s. The Bute lands and commercial interests around Cardiff were sold off or nationalised until, by the time of the Second World War, little was left except the castle. During the war, extensive air raid shelters were built in the castle walls; they could hold up to 1,800 people. When the Marquess died in 1947, the castle was given to the City of Cardiff. Today the castle is run as a tourist attraction, with the grounds housing the "Firing Line" regimental museum and interpretation centre. The castle has also served as a venue for events, including musical performances and festivals. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/allthingsplantagenet/support

Right now is the perfect time to bring some nature indoors.  Why buy something manufactured to look like nature, when some of the most impactful pieces can be found right in your own garden? I love to bring in some of the bird's nests from my garden. I place them on top of a stack of books, in a crystal bowl or on a bookshelf. They add wonderful, texture and interest to help ground your interior for winter. Adding leaves and berries to ledges and to your arrangements accomplishes the same thing. And, an interesting branch placed on a mantle, suspended from the ceiling or propped in the corner of a room,, adds an attractive seasonal form; a natural element, that costs nothing, but brings a part of the garden, of the woods or the forest, into your home.     Brevities #OTD  Today is the birthday of the Father of Plant Anatomy, Nehemiah Grew, who was born on this day in 1641. Grew was an English botanist and was the first person to illustrate the inner structures and functions of plants in all their wondrous intricacy.    If you've ever seen a Nehemiah Grew drawing, you'll never forget it; you're probably able to spot them a mile away. But, if you've never seen a Nehemiah Grew drawing, imagine an etch-a-sketch drawing on steroids. The lines are impossibly thin. The level of detail is staggering. For instance, Grew's drawings of tree parts cut transversely look like elaborate Japanese fans. This is because Grew was one of the first naturalists to incorporate the microscope in the study of plant morphology.   It was his use of the microscope that allowed Grew to give the first known microscopic description of pollen. Along those same lines, Grew was also the first person to analyze the ridges, furrows, grooves, and pores on human hands and feet. He published his incredibly accurate drawings of finger ridge patterns in  1684. Palm readers owe Grew a debt of gratitude. (Just kidding.... or am I?)       #OTD   Today is the birthday of John Chapman who was born on this day in 1774. You may never have heard of John Chapman, but you've probably heard of his nickname; Johnny Appleseed. Chapman was born in Massachusetts and the street where he was born is now  called Johnny Appleseed Lane. As a young man, Chapman became an apprentice to an orchardist named Crawford. The image most of us have of Chapman, traipsing through the country planting one apple tree at a time is off base. Chapman actually traipsed through the country planting entire apple orchards, then he protected the orchard by building a fence around it, and then arranging a deal with a neighboring farmer to sell trees from the orchard in exchange for shares. It was a genius setup. During his life, Chapman had a special regard for and relationship with Native  Americans who regarded him as a medicine man.  At the same time, Chapman wanted early American settlers to succeed; he often acted as a one-man welcome wagon; showing up at door with a gift of herbs as a gesture of support. For his part, Chapman was an expert in more plants than just apple trees; he was one of our country's first naturalists and herbalists. Chapman used many herbs for healing like catnip, hoarhound, pennyroyal, rattlesnake weed, and dog-fennel. In fact, dog fennel (Eupatorium) was also called "Johnny weed" because Chapman planted it believing it was antimalarial. Whenever you hear Eupatorium, you can deduce that the plant is closely related to joe pye weed. Unfortunately, dog fennel was not a good thing to spread around; it's a noxious weed. The Johnny Appleseed Center on the campus of Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio holds the largest collection of memorabilia and information on Chapmen. In 1999, seedlings from the last-known surviving Johnny Appleseed tree were transplanted into the courtyard around the museum.     #OTD   Today is the birthday of the botanist Oakes Ames who was born on this day in 1874. What a great name for a botanist, huh?  Ames was trained as an economic botanist, but his specialty was orchids. He had his own orchid collection as a kid, and you know what they say about orchid lovers; once you're hooked, you're hooked. The author, Norman MacDonald, wrote in his 1939 book The Orchid Hunters: "For when a man falls in love with orchids, he'll do anything to possess the one he wants. It's like chasing a green-eyed woman [being consumed by desire] or taking cocaine. A sort of madness..." Ames was a Harvard man; he spent his entire career there. His work on the Orchidaceae  was foundational to the study of orchids. His effort culminated in a seven-volume work on the Orchid Family. For his dedication, in 1924, Ames won the gold medal of the American Orchid Society.  Today, Ames is recognized for his biggest contribution to the world of orchids; the Ames Orchid Herbarium (now part of the Harvard Herbaria) featuring 3,000 flowers in glycerine, 4,000 specimens that are pickled, along with 131,000 standard specimens, in addition to a magnificent library.      Unearthed Words  'I grow old, I grow old,' the garden says. It is nearly October. The bean leaves grow paler, now lime, now yellow, now leprous, dissolving before my eyes. The pods curl and do not grow, turn limp and blacken. The potato vines wither and the tubers huddle underground in their rough weather-proof jackets, waiting to be dug. The last tomatoes ripen and split on the vine; it takes days for them to turn fully now, and a few of the green ones are beginning to fall off." - Robert Finch, Nature Writer     Today's book recommendation: The Pursuit of Paradise by Jane Brown Brown's book was released back in 2000. The subtitle is: A Social History of Gardens and Gardening. Brown covers the trends and beliefs about gardening through history from the water gardens of Persia to the future of gardens. The major influencers in gardening are referenced; like Capability Brown and Vita Sackville-West. The chapters are set up by the type of garden through history: from the secret garden and the military garden, to small gardens and formative gardens. If you are an explorer of garden history, this is a fantastic resource for your garden library. You can get used copies for less than $2 using the Amazon link in today's show notes.       Today's Garden Chore Preserve some of your herbs in salt. Even though September is flying, the herb garden is still going strong. Preserving herbs in salt is fun and easy and a very old practice. Now, you can use salt to preserve tender herbs, like basil and cilantro, work great with a salt preservation. Jump on Amazon and order a couple boxes of kosher or sea salt - and you're all set. You have some options for using salt to preserve. The first is the layer method;  just alternate layers of your herb with salt and refrigerate. The second method is to grind the herbs with the salt and then lay the mixture on a sheet pan to dry. Then pack the salt in a glass jar and refrigerate. Herbed salts make great holiday gifts and there's oodles of recipes online.     Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart   Today is the anniversary of the death of the novelist and horticulturist known as the Pink Lady Cora Older who died on this day in 1968.  Before Apple became associated with Cupertino, there was Cora Older and her husband, newspaper editor, Fremont. They were part of San Francisco's high society, entertaining guests like the poet Carl Sandburg and Lincoln Steffens the muckraking journalist. Cora grew hundreds of pink roses in her garden which is how she became known as "The Pink Lady." During World War II, in August of 1942, the journalist Elsie Robinson wrote about Cora Older and the challenge faced by women dealing with the harvest alone in her column called "Listen World". I thought you would enjoy learning a little bit about Cora through this tremendous story. "Keeping the home fires burning is a cinch compared with keeping the home crops plucked these days, as those of us who have ranches and farms can testify. Where, oh where, are the hordes of jobless lads who used to come ambling around when the peach was on the bough and the berry on the thorn? I can tell you exactly where they are - Uncle Sam has gobbled them up, to the last calloused palm and freckle. So what do we do for "hired hands?" Mrs. Fremont Older knows the answer. Cora Older, widow of America's great and beloved newspaper publisher, and plenty of a writer herself, is lean, lithe and possesses enough spunk to run a dozen unions. Take this summer for instance, maybe you've been getting your suntan at the nearest beach. Not so Cora. During sizzling July and August weeks she has been climbing the hundreds of apricot and prune trees which spread across her big ranch at Cupertino, picking the fruit herself with the occasional and temperamental aid of a 64-year-old handy man. And It you don't think picking 'cots on a July afternoon is some job, you've a lot to learn, stranger. To Cora, however, there was no alternative. There was the fruit, such a harvest as the west has not seen in many a year. Golden floods of apricots, purple piles of prunes, but nary a man to pick them i n or deliver them to the dryer. So what? So if a man could climb a tree, she could. And did. Let the typewriter rest for a while, let the roses go ungathered - Cora Older was going to tackle her Victory harvest. It's an epic, that battle with heat and weariness, human cussedness and old Mother Nature. I hope she puts it into a book.     Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Now is the perfect time to play doctor in the garden. Look for the sick or injured. Look for plants that haven't thrived, plants with disease, and plants riddled with pests. You don't want to leave any diseased plants in your garden over the winter. If you are able to do only one fall garden chore, taking out the sick and infirm is what you want to do. All these babies get dug up and escorted out of my garden. Generally I say that nothing green or brown leaves the property, but these are items I don't dare chop and drop, or compost - these sick plants go out.     Brevities #OTD  It’s the birthday of Lancelot Brown who was born on this day in 1716. Lancelot ended up at Stowe working for William Kent - the eminent painter and Landscape Architect. Stowe was commissioned in the 1730’s. The garden at Stowe was a landscape garden. Lots of straight lines and formality. The garden looked like a painting with an 11 acre lake. The main area was the Elysian Fields; 40 acres featuring buildings and monuments that flank two narrow lakes called the River Styx. The monuments honored the virtuous men of Britian and Greece. The time spent with Kent at Stowe not only transformed the land, it transformed Lancelot from a gardener into a Landscape Architect. It was his big break.  After Stowe, Brown traveled all over England as a freelancer. Brown’ skill and his nickname came from seeing the “capabilities” of the landscape. He became so popular that everyone with means wanted a Capability Brown landscape - they craved his garden designs and garden temples. What everyone wanted was beauty and Capability delivered just that: beautiful gardens. Today, at least 20 of his gardens remain and are in the care of England’s National Trust.   #OTD  Today is the birthday of Agoston Haraszthy who was born on this day in 1812. Haraszthy's family wasHungarian nobility. In 1840, he immigrated to the United States.Back home, Haraszthy had gotten hold of a book that reported the Wisconsin territory offered the finest land in America. So, he went there first. Since Haraszthy’s dream was to make European wine in America, he quickly discovered Wisconsin was not the place for that. In short order, Haraszthy made his way to San Francisco with the gold rush. But San Francisco was not a fit with the grapes. It was foggy and cold. But then, Haraszthy found the Sonoma Valley in 1857. Sonoma Valley was called the "Valley of the Moon" by the writer Jack London and it turned out that Sonoma was the perfect place to grow purple gold. After a dozen years of searching Harazethy had found a place suitable for growing European grapes - which were more delicate and more finicky than North American wild grapes. Giddy and hopeful, Haraszethy built a white villa for his wife and six children on a property he named Buena Vista or Good View. Then he went to Europe and collected 100,000 cuttings of 300 varieties of grapes; There were the rare white grapes of the Pinot Chardonnay, the green Hungarian grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, and the white Riesling grapes of the Rhine and Moselle river region, just to name a few. There is an old saying that the God of wine, Bacchus, loved the hills. Well, Haraszethy loved them, too. He was the first vine dresser to grow his grapes on the mountain sides in California. In fact, Haraszthy brought many european growing methods to his estate - which included growing the grape plants closer together. This was something other growers found unwise. But Haraszthy knew that growing grapes in close proximity stressed the vines, which in turn, made better tasting grapes. Haraszthy also performed a green harvest - something no one had ever done before. Today the technique is known as dropping fruit which means doing an initial harvest of some of the grapes; the fewer grapes on the vine - the better the flavor of the remaining grapes. That year Haraszthy also brought in a team of Chinese laborers and they worked to dig out the first wine caves in the state. The most impressive accomplishment included a 100-feet-deep stone wine cellar built on the side of a hill. In 1863, Haraszthy incorporated his vineyard as the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society Thanks to investors, Haraszthy purchased an additional 4,000 acres making Buena Vista the second largest vineyard in the state. In 1866, a vine disease swept through the area. Haraszthy and his unique growing methods were blamed for the small tasteless grapes and the brown, dying vines. The disease was actually Phylloxera - an aphid that attacks vine roots and causes grapes to harden on the vine. It wiped out Buena Vista. Haraszthy filed for bankruptcy. With his vineyard and his reputation in tatters, Haraszthy went south to Nicaragua. He planted a large sugar plantation and he planned to make and sell rum. But, on July 6, 1869, as he was reaching for a vine and crossing a river on his property, he apparently fell and was eaten by an alligator. Today, Haraszthy is considered the father of California Vitoculture or Wine-Making. In 1946, a plaque to Haraszthy was dedicated in the plaza of Sonoma. In March 2007, Haraszthy was inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame by the Culinary Institute of America.     Unearthed Words Quinnipeague in August was a lush green place where inchworms dangled from trees whose leaves were so full that the eaten parts were barely missed. Mornings meant 'thick o' fog' that caught on rooftops and dripped, blurring weathered gray shingles while barely muting the deep pink of rosa rugosa or the hydrangea's blue. Wood smoke filled the air on rainy days, pine sap on sunny ones, and wafting through it all was the briny smell of the sea.”  ― Barbara Delinsky, Sweet Salt Air     Today's book recommendation: Deer-Resistant Design by Karen Chapman This fantastic book came out this summer - It's a fantastic resource. If you are a deer-plagued gardener, you're going to want to get this book. Instead of relying on fencing or chemicals, Karen is proposing another way: making intentional selections for deer resistant plants. She showcases real home gardens across North America from New Jersey to Texas. Each homeowner shares their top ten deer-resistant plants. It's a book of best practices - proven selection for a lush, deer-defying garden. what a brilliant idea!   Today's Garden Chore Consider installing more pathways in your garden. It's helpful to have a main walkway through the garden. Along the path you can add focal points like statuary or containers. You can add interest and intrigue with tall plants like cup plant or lovage. The paths provide structure and function in the garden. I remember when I installed a path along the garden in front of my front porch; Best thing I ever did.   Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart Today in 1962, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin shared a story about the first tulips. Most of us have heard this fascinating part of botanical history, but back in 1962, this story would have been a revelation to most people. Here's what it said: "The first time tulips were mentioned in Europe was in 1554, after a botanist found a few specimens near Constantinople. Six years later, another botanist brought some of the bulbs to Holland. From about 1600 to 1650, Europe underwent a 'tulip-mania," with bulbs being sold for as much as $2,200 each."       Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Ground cover roses.   I had someone ask me about them recently. They are fantastic for a rose that has a low spreading habit. But, they are really not a classic ground cover in terms of their ability to crowd out weeds.   I used to grow this rose called "The Fairy" which is a pink rose - it blooms all summer long. It's a ground cover rose and it would amble over this brick garden wall that I had, and I absolutely loved it. It sent out these long tentacles like an octopus and all the way down the arms were these beautiful pink blooms. It's a great rose - tons of thorns - but it didn't stop the Canadian thistle or any other weed that decided to make its home among the branches.       Brevities   #OTD  On this day in 1738 King George the third was born.   He's the King who appointed Capability Brown as the royal gardener and planned for the redesign of the Richmond gardens and Kew in 1764.       #OTD It's the anniversary of the death of Dr. Nathanial Bagshaw Ward, who died on this day in 1868.   Ward developed the first terrarium in 1829.  When he accidentally grew a fern in an insect jar. It was quite by accident. A fern spore had gotten into the jar;Ward was using to observe insect behavior.  When the jar was sealed, the spore grew into a fern plant. Ward suddenly realized that if plants were enclosed in airtight glass cases, they could survive without watering for long periods of time. That's how the Wardian case came to be.   Wardian cases were very simply constructed; they were made  out of wood and glass. They looked like little portable greenhouses that could be put on the deck of the ship.   They had to sit on the deck of the ship, not placed down below in cargo, because Wardian cases needed the sunlight to hit the glass in order to create the perfect microenvironment for plants.   The cases were an enclosed system. The side flaps, that would open to allow plants to be placed inside, would close before starting the long voyage. They would get nailed down and then get tar paint applied over any seams to seal the case. The plants inside would be in pots or there will be soil on the bottom of the case. There would also be a series of battens to prevent the plants from rolling about inside the case.   It was a game changer for plant explorers. The plants lived on the ship in the cases for 6 to 12 months.   Prior to the Wardian case, salt water and sun killed most plants on their way back to England.   With the Wardian case, plantation crops like tea, rubber, and sugar - as well as medicinal and ornamental plants - could be moved among the botanic Gardens of the British Empire       Today's Unearthed Words are by Sarah Martha Baker who was an English botanist and ecologist.  Baker studied brown seaweeds and zonal patterns on the seashore. Her family had a house on an Island which was the backdrop to her first introduction to seaweed. Baker had noticed that different kinds of seaweed lived in different tidal limits. Baker’s theory was that the seaweed boundaries were determined by competition; faster-growing seaweeds taking control in areas with deeper water while slower-growing seaweeds were found in shallower water and had the advantage of being more resistant to drying out. Academically, Baker also had a passion for art. Before pursuing botany she studied for a time at the Slade School of Art; her scientific illustrations were excellent. Tragically, she died young at the age of 29 and her personal story remains a bit of a mystery. The Times indicated in her obituary that she was highly gifted and highly strung and that she worked herself to death. Five years before she died, Baker was invited to lecture at the University College in London in 1912 - a rare honor for a woman or an artist.  Her Quaker Sunday school class recalled her telling them,  "The universe is always singing, And we must learn to listen, So that our heart may join the universal chorus."     Unearthed Words Today's Unearthed Words are by Sarah Martha Baker who was an English botanist and ecologist.  Baker studied brown seaweeds and zonal patterns on the seashore. Her family had a house on an Island which was the backdrop to her first introduction to seaweed. Baker had noticed that different kinds of seaweed lived in different tidal limits. Baker’s theory was that the seaweed boundaries were determined by competition; faster-growing seaweeds taking control in areas with deeper water while slower-growing seaweeds were found in shallower water and had the advantage of being more resistant to drying out. Academically, Baker also had a passion for art. Before pursuing botany she studied for a time at the Slade School of Art; her scientific illustrations were excellent. Tragically, she died young at the age of 29 and her personal story remains a bit of a mystery. The Times indicated in her obituary that she was highly gifted and highly strung and that she worked herself to death. Five years before she died, Baker was invited to lecture at the University College in London in 1912 - a rare honor for a woman or an artist.  Her Quaker Sunday school class recalled her telling them,  "The universe is always singing, And we must learn to listen, So that our heart may join the universal chorus."       Today's book recommendation: Paradise Under Glass by Ruth Kassinger Paradise Under Glass is a witty and absorbing memoir about one woman’s unlikely desire to build, stock, and tend a small conservatory in her suburban Maryland home. Ruth Kassinger’s wonderful story of the unique way she chose to cope with the profound changes in her life— her children were growing up and leaving the nest, a dear friend died, and she had to confront her own health issues.   Kassinger wrote, "Gradually, it occurred to me that adding a conservatory onto our house was just what I needed. Warm and humid, beautiful, ever-green, peaceful and still, a conservatory would be the perfect antidote to the losses and changes of middle age.  It would be my personal tropical paradise where nothing unexpected lurked in the landscape. I was determined to have one."     Today's Garden Chore Plant your peony high.   The most important thing to remember is not to plant them too deeply. If you do that, they may actually fail to flower. So, if you have a Peony that didn't flower this year, that's probably why. They need to be lifted up in order to set those flower buds. The roots should only be about 2 to 3 inches below the soil line. It may feel odd to have them sitting up that high, but peonies have to experience a chill in order to attain dormancy and to set their buds.       Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart   When I was researching Katherine Esau, I discovered that she was born in Ekaterinoslav in the Ukraine. Both she, and her hometown, are named after Catherine the great.  One of her former students described her as having a stately, elegant demeanor reminiscent of Ingrid Bergman's in the film Anastasia. Although she came across as very dignified, she was apparently very relatable and funny. Don't forget she was studying plants viruses. She once gave a lecture titled "The Saga of Vladimir-the-Virus and the Sad Fate of Norman-the-Nucleus". And here's something I found particularly charming about Katherine Esau: Many of her lectures began with her signature opening, "Once upon a time..." and her students referred to them as "Esau's Fables."       Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Chatsworth House, the historic home of the Cavendish family, is a vast estate that once spanned 35,000 acres. At one point, Chatsworth employed a staff of 40 people to maintain it - including two... The latest in science, culture, and history from Smithsonian Channel.

Special Guest: Cathy Brown, Founder of Capability Brown and Operations Director of Employee Ownership Association Join us for a shorter show than usual finding out what Cathy Brown, former Exec Director if Engage for Success is up to...talking about employee ownership. Host: Jo Dodds Listen live here (archive available)

On the bicentenary of Humphry Repton's death Helen Mark finds out all about the landscape gardener and his red books. Humphry Repton is the last English landscape designers of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. He created over 400 designs across Britain and Ireland and it was Repton who coined the phrase 'landscape gardener'. His trademark was the red book in which he kept detailed designs and sketches. However, as Helen discovers in Norfolk where several of his designs are, the red book for his very first commission Catton Park is missing. She meets Gill Renouf, Chair of Friends of Catton Park, can she shed any light? And just how important were these red book to find out Helen goes to Sheringham Park, Repton's favourite work designed towards the end of his career and talks to Sally Bate, Vice Chair of Norfolk Garden Trust. Finally, onwards to Cromer, Northrepps where Helen meets Simon Gurney who has something very special to show Helen -the red book for Northrepps which Simon has been using to restore his Repton landscape. So maybe with all this focus on Humphry Repton on his bicentenary year which the Garden Trust is leading, perhaps the mystery of the missing Catton Park red book might finally be solved. The producer is Perminder Khatkar.

Long ago a path was created by the passage of feet tramping through endless forests. Gradually that path became a track, and the track became a road. It connected the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of the Welsh island of Anglesey, across a land that was first called Albion then Britain, Mercia and eventually England and Wales. Armies from Rome arrived and straightened this 444 kilometres of meandering track, which in the Dark Ages gained the name Watling Street. Today, this ancient road goes by many different names: the A2, the A5 and the M6 Toll. It is a palimpsest that is always being rewritten. The myriad people who use this road every day might think it unremarkable, but, as John Higgs shows, it hides its secrets in plain sight. Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island, but an acutely observed, unexpected exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and flair, and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising. Watling Street is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Chaucer, Dickens and James Bond. Along this route Boudicca met her end, the Battle of Bosworth changed royal history, Bletchley Park code breakers cracked Nazi transmissions and Capability Brown remodelled the English landscape. The event was hosted by Scott Wood & Conway Hall

In this episode of the National Trust Podcast, we’re at Stowe. We marvel at the unbroken views and ornate temples of this Capability Brown inspired landscape, while digging into the past to understand the people and the politics that have given Stowe its distinctive style and character

Richard Wheeler, National Specialist in Garden History for The National Trust, discusses English landscape designer Capability Brown with Iszi Lawrence. Featuring snippets from Richard's sell-out Members' lecture in October 2016, the fifth episode of Membercast is a wide-ranging ramble through the 18th century and the many aspects of life that impacted garden design. With great thanks to Blenheim Palace for hosting Iszi and Richard. The British Museum Membercast is a monthly podcast made available to ‘all studious and curious persons'. Comedian, podcaster and super-fan Iszi Lawrence (The Z List Dead List) presents snippets from exclusive Members' lectures at the Museum, artfully woven together with interviews and her own musings. Please share your comments and feedback about the podcast! You can talk to us on Twitter @britishmuseum using the hashtag #membercast or email friends@britishmuseum.org

Alan visits Croome in Worcestershire – the first landscape that Capability Brown got his capable hands on. With a diverse history – from a secret RAF base, to a home for Hare Krishna devotees, Croome’s seen it all; and we hear about the challenge of restoring it back to Brown’s 18th century vision. How can you take inspiration from the evergreen shrubbery and transform your garden into a winter wonderland? And what is it about Croome that attracts all kinds of feathered friends? We'd love to know what you thought of this series to help us make more of them in the future. Please let us know in our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardens-survey PLANTS AND TREES IN ORDER OF REFERENCE Daphne – Daphne odora Portuguese laurel – Prunus lusitanica Common holly – Ilex aquifolium Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis Sage – Salvia officinalis Winter jasmine – Jasminum nudiflorum Guelder rose – Viburnum opulus Witch hazel – Hamamelis Heather – Erica Common broom – Cytisus scoparius Pine - Pinus

On the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability' Brown, garden writer Anna Pavord talks about his work and his legacy. Author of many books , her most recent is called Landskipping. She is interviewed by Ian McMillan, presenter of Radio 3's The Verb and judge of the Proms Poetry competition.

Dr Oliver Cox shares his passion for England’s greatest landscape designer, Capability Brown, in an interview recorded for the tercentenary celebrations of Brown’s birth. In discussing Brown’s achievements and how he has been perceived over the generations Dr Cox offers a preview of his talk on 18 September during the tenth Alumni Weekend in Oxford. Dr Cox continues by explaining his love of Oxford, where he has completed three History degrees and is now employed as the inaugural Heritage Engagement Fellow at TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. He describes the Thames Valley Country House Partnership – an organisation he created to link entrepreneurs in the heritage sector with researchers at Oxford – and even talks about appreciating Brown’s landscaping while competing in the Blenheim Palace triathlon.

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is heralded as the Shakespeare of gardening who in the eighteen century designed an estimated 170 landscapes including Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and Highclere Castle. To mark the 300th anniversary of his birth, Helen Mark discovers how his naturalistic landscapes changed the face of the countryside in the eighteenth century and continue to endure today. She visits Wrest Park in Bedfordshire to identify the trademarks of a classic Capability Brown landscape and finds out how these gardens became the height of fashion for the ruling classes, and how Brown turned himself into a brand. Helen also visits Brown's grave in the village of Fenstanton and finds out how they're marking his life through music and literature. Producer: Toby Field.

Join the head gardeners of Stowe and Compton Verney to explore the challenges, changes and rewards of protecting and preserving Capability Brown's landscapes in his tercentenary year.

Capability Brown, born 300 years ago this year, changed the landscape of Georgian England.John Wilson visits Chatsworth House in Derbyshire where the Duke of Devonshire describes what it's like to live in a Brown design and Head Gardener Steve Porter explains how Brown shaped the estate.At the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library Fiona Davison shows John Capability Brown's original accounts book, and Ceryl Evans, Director of the Capability Brown Festival, paints a picture of his background and influences.Garden designer Dan Pearson discusses Capability Brown's influence on him, and his impact on our appreciation of the English landscape.Performance poets Joe Cook and Aliya Denton share their poems inspired by Capability Brown, and Anisa Haghdadi from Beatfreeks explains how she's working with Warwick Castle to engage young people from diverse backgrounds with Brown's work and explore the socio-economic context of it.The Duchess of Rutland and her Estate Manager Phil Burtt describe the work they're been doing at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire to reinstate Capability Brown's long lost plans for the landscape there.

I know. I know! It’s been far too long since episode 117. But fret no more, Unfinished Business fans, we’re back and back for good, every two weeks with some brilliant guests and some good old fashioned conversations. This week, I’m joined by Sean Johnson and Drew McLellan to talk fat and fitness, cruises and coach trips.

Gareth Barlow discovers how country estates and farmland were designed to work together.

This year, 2016, is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability Brown’, a garden designer who changed the landscaped of the English Countryside.  Some of the rarely-opened Capability Brown landscapes are opening to the public as part of the NGS.  Carol Evans, festival director spoke to Ken Crowther about his work.

Is the idea of a pristine landscape an illusion, given that over thousands of years human activity has almost everywhere left its mark? Bridget Kendall asks the gardener Gilly Drummond, the land artist Danae Stratou, the archaeobotanist Dorian Fuller, and the historian William Beinart. (Photo: Blenheim Palace Park where English landscape architect Capability Brown created a 150-acre lake and planted more than a million trees to make perhaps his finest artificial landscape © Blenheim Palace)

Professor Peter Wilson discusses his new book The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History. Meanwhile, garden historian Sarah Rutherford pays a visit to the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire where she explores the work of the great landscape designer Capability Brown. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Actress and singer, Toyah Willcox, takes Clare Balding for a walk in rural Worcestershire. The theme for this series of Ramblings is 'self-improvement' and for Toyah - who has always had problems with her joints, including a recent hip replacement - walking is the perfect exercise. She says it helps her keep her weight down and remain active. Clare met Toyah at Croome Landscape Park, a National Trust Property famous for its stunning grounds designed by Capability Brown. Unfortunately Toyah was injured - 97 pantomime performances over Christmas had taken their toll - but, crutch in hand, the ramble went ahead. By the end of the walk, during which Toyah discussed her serendipitous route into show business and forthcoming performance in a 'bawdy' show called Hormonal Housewives, she actually felt better. Proof, she said, that walking is one of the best ways to remain healthy. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Ann Leone examines how writers have used landscapes to aid in the telling of stories throughout literature, offering a "voice" that can subvert or complement what readers learn from other characters. Through this lens we see how the gardens of Versailles play a powerful role in French novels and how Capability Brown adds to the drama of Jane Austen. Thus readers can discover new meanings that they may not have unearthed otherwise.

Lancelot Capability Brown laid out the grounds of this grade one listed mansion house in the heart of Warwickshire not far from Stratford Upon Avon. This Talking the Walk takes us on a stroll round the lake with John Schumann - the head groundsman who took over from his father 30 years ago - and historian John Phibbs who has made a particular study of Capability Brown's work. When you 've done the walk why not visit the house which is now an art gallery housing the Peter Moore's Foundation collection.