Episode four: microgreens

Colin Walker has been growing succulents for 50 years, and he just happens to be the president of the British Cactus and Succulent Society. I interviewed him this week to find out about his two specialisms, Aloes and Agaves, and also found out about his penchant for putting succulents in odd containers such as teapots - and why cat litter can h ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 58: indoor ferns32:51

28d ago32:51

32:51

Ferns. Love them, hate them, want them to go away and stop taunting you with their crispy leaves? This week I am attempting to give serial fern killers hope by discussing some tips and tricks to keep ferns happy, interviewing someone who's got their fern game sorted, and naming some of the species I find just that bit easier to keep alive. Visi ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 57: quick wins for indoor edibles30:31

1M ago30:31

30:31

I've come to a bit of a standstill this week: I don't know if it's the heatwave the UK has been going through, the pressure of making a weekly podcast or England's exit from the World Cup, but it's left me feeling rather weary. So I thought I'd dedicate this episode to some really quick and easy projects for indoor growers that take two to five ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 56: James Wong's houseplants - part two31:45

1M ago31:45

31:45

I had so much fun and fascinating stuff to chat about with expert botanist and houseplant maverick James Wong that I am bringing you another chunk of our chat this week. If you haven't yet listened to part one of my visit to James Wong's flat, please do so before you click play on this. The show notes at janeperrone.com will fill you in on all ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 55: James Wong's houseplants - part one43:54

2M ago43:54

43:54

British-Malaysian botanist James Wong is sparking a one-man houseplant revolution. With no outside space to garden, for the last 18 months James has been focusing all his horticultural energies into many fascinating plant experiments inside his small London flat. If you follow James on social media where he's @botanygeek, you can't fail to have ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 54: Streptocarpus and other Gesneriads49:09

2M ago49:09

49:09

Regular listeners to On The Ledge podcast will have heard me waffle on many times about how much I love Streptocarpus. The name may be easily confused with a throat infection (it actually refers to the plant's twisted seedpod) but this genus is an under-appreciated gem of the houseplant world. It's a member of a wider family called the Gesneria ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 53: begonias, carnivorous plants and more with Mike Clifford26:13

2M ago26:13

26:13

Behind an unassuming bungalow near Poole in Dorset, Mike Clifford's garden may measure up to just 65ft long, but it's absolutely packed full of wonderful plants, both in greenhouses and outside. Mike - @mikesrareplants on Twitter - is a huge fan of all kinds of tropical plants, but he's got a particular penchant for big-leaved plants such as th ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 52: online houseplant buying tips and tricks34:48

2M ago34:48

34:48

Buying plants online is ridiculously easy - a few clicks and some fancy foliage plant or flowery specimen is on its way to you in the post. But it's a process that's fraught with potential problems. I recently did an interview for the BBC* about problems with online garden centres, but it was such a short chat that I really didn't get the chanc ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 51: Matthew Biggs45:31

3M ago45:31

45:31

This week's episode sounds a little bit different - as it's half term and I have a relative staying who is sleeping in my office where I usually record the podcast, I headed out to the potting shed for the intro and Q&A. I hope you enjoy the early morning background noise of birds singing! Matthew Biggs (@plantmadman on Twitter) is a legendary ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 50: the Chelsea flower show 201847:48

3M ago47:48

47:48

The Chelsea flower show is the world's most famous gardening event, but houseplants are starting to make big inroads into this fixture in the horticultural calendar. I visited the show to check out the indoor gardening displays in the Great Pavilion, and met up with friend of the show Alys Fowler. Here's a summary of all my Chelsea interviews: ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 49: houseplants and Instagram with Kimberley Aston40:29

3M ago40:29

40:29

Whether you're a hashtag natural or tend to get your #Monsteramonday mixed up with #philodendronfriday, Instagram is a bit of a jungle for houseplant lovers: fun to negotiate but sometimes rather confusing. I talk to Kimberley Aston aka @kingstreetjungle, who's a houseplant lover of the Instagram generation, and one of the faces behind smash hi ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 48: The Temperate House at Kew Gardens32:26

3M ago32:26

32:26

One of the best ways of learning how to care about your houseplants is to find out more about how they live in their native habitats. If you can't go and visit them in the wild, a trip to a botanic garden such as Kew in London is the next best thing. The Temperate House at Kew is a huge Victorian glasshouse that's home to thousands of plants fr ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 47: propagating succulents29:45

4M ago29:45

29:45

One of the many satisfying things about succulents is just how easy they are to propagate: this week I take a look at how to propagate succulents from existing plant material, aka cuttings (take a listen back to On The Ledge episode 36 for information on sowing from seed). Most succulents can be propagated from cuttings, but it's useful to know ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 46: Matthew Pottage29:19

4M ago29:19

29:19

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Episode 45: plants and interiors with Emilie Fournet29:17

4M ago29:17

29:17

So, you've ended up with a home full of houseplants, but how do you display them to make the most of their best features? I talk to North London-based interior designer and houseplant enthusiast Emilie Fournet about statement plants, why the fiddle leaf fig is the plant of the moment, how to match pots with plants, and when it's absolutely OK t ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 44: houseplant trends at the Garden Museum1:18:54

4M ago1:18:54

1:18:54

When Alice Vincent asked me to take part in a panel discussion at the Garden Museum about houseplant trends past, present and future, I couldn't have been more excited, and when I heard my fellow speaker was Catherine Horwood I nearly bit her hand off. This week you can hear the discussion that took place.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 43: Summer Rayne Oakes of Homestead Brooklyn36:52

4M ago36:52

36:52

It all started with a single fiddle leaf fig. Now Summer Rayne Oakes has hundreds of houseplants in her Brooklyn apartment, plus a chicken. Yes a chicken! I talk to Summer Rayne about how it all began, how to keep maidenhair ferns alive, the cool things you can grow in a vivarium, and why chickens and Calatheas don't mix in this week's show.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 42: Behind the Seeds with Mohamed Osman37:24

5M ago37:24

37:24

Jane Perrone talks to Mohamed Osman, who began to create an indoor jungle in his apartment in Cairo while recuperating from a heart attack.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 41: the Maranta group - Maranta, Calathea, Stromanthe and Ctenanthe32:35

5M ago32:35

32:35

The Maranta group, aka the prayer plants, all share an incredible plant superpower: they can open and shut their leaves. They're also one of THE houseplants of the moment, because they all have intricately patterned leaves that the current generation of houseplant fans just love. This is my rundown of the four clans of Maranta, plus I answer a ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 40: cats and houseplants34:24

5M ago34:24

34:24

I have heard from so many cat owners who find their pets just can't stay away from their plants: either they're chewing them, or pulling them out of their pots, or finding some other way to destroy that cool jungle vibe you've been cultivating. So this episode is dedicating to giving cat owners some help in keeping cats and plants equally content.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 39: Matt Candeias, In Defense of Plants podcast36:12

5M ago36:12

36:12

I talk to Matt Candeias, host of botanically brilliant podcast In Defense of Plants about everything from why we're both serial Begonia killers to why his family have finally stopped buying him moth orchids for his birthday.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 38: Perrone's kitchen houseplant tour22:27

6M ago22:27

22:27

I blabber on about houseplants every week on On The Ledge, but I thought it was about time I gave you a room-by-room account of the houseplants I own. I start this week with the kitchen, where I have more than 25 plants on the go at the moment.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 37: kokedama28:35

6M ago28:35

28:35

I talk to florist and planting designer Carolyn Dunster about the ancient Japanese art of kokedama and answer listener questions about aphids and a 'crying' Alocasia.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 36: houseplant sowalong special31:25

6M ago31:25

31:25

In early January I made a resolution for 2018 that I would grow as many houseplants from seed as possible. Fast forward a month and a half and I'm devoting a whole episode to the topic of growing your own houseplants from seed. I look at what you need to get started; what water, compost and containers to use; how to sow and what to do once your ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 35: hydroponics34:25

6M ago34:25

34:25

Lots of listeners have asked for an episode on hydroponics, so I called up Kevin Espiritu of epicgardening.com to get the lowdown on what hydroponics is, how it works and what you need to get started. Plus a listener question about an unhappy fern.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 34: Isabel Hardman35:14

7M ago35:14

35:14

In her day job, Isabel Hardman is immersed in the serious world of politics, but she's also a botany nut. That's why she set up the #wildflowerhour weekly chat on Twitter. I chat to her about why houseplants bring her contentment, why living next to Kew gardens is a nightmare, and why I am responsible for her growing houseplant addiction.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 33: Q&A special31:03

7M ago31:03

31:03

I'm tackling questions about how to divide Alocasias, whether golden pothos can hang as well as climb, and more.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 32: the venus flytrap28:48

7M ago28:48

28:48

Venus flytraps - Latin name Dionea muscipula - are fascinating, fun, but infuriating when they just won't stay alive for long. I turned to Tom Bennet of Tom's Carnivores for some excellent advice on the conditions they need.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 31: The Tradescantia group24:07

7M ago24:07

24:07

The Tradescantia group isn't some kind of sketchy set of illuminati figures worthy of a Dan Brown novel, it's a group of houseplants with a plethora of different names: inch plants, spiderworts, purple heart, teddy bear vine, and more*. Find out how to look after them, which ones to choose and what to do when things go wrong, from spider mite t ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 30: New Year's Resolutions29:44

8M ago29:44

29:44

What's on your houseplant wishlist for 2018? I share my plans for the coming year, and pass on plant-related resolutions from listeners and other gardening podcasters, including Ben Dark of the Garden Log podcast, Peter Donegan of the Sod Show, and Isabel Hardman of the Wild Flower Half Hour podcast.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 29: Christmas houseplants25:23

8M ago25:23

25:23

When days are short, gloomy and cold, there's a lot to be said for fixating on your indoor plants. And Christmas is a great excuse to treat yourself to some new plants: be it something traditional such as poinsettias and Christmas cactus, or something a bit more, well, trendy, like terrariums and succulents.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 28: Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, the Houseplant Guru26:32

8M ago26:32

26:32

Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is the Houseplant Guru: she describes herself as being a little obsessed with houseplants although I know that she’s under-exaggerating for effect! I chatted to Lisa about her huge plant collection, why there’s no such thing as a black thumb, and why feeding sick plants is a bad idea.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 27: buying houseplants20:27

9M ago20:27

20:27

The thrill of buying new houseplants quickly turns to horror when the plant promptly drops all its leaves once you get it home. Jane Perrone gives her top tips for taking care of newly-bought houseplants, from the shop to your shelf. And a question about a floppy Aloe vera prompts a bit of a singalong...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 26: old houseplants27:36

9M ago27:36

27:36

Houseplants come, houseplants go, but there are some that stick with you through thick and thin. I've talked to people about the longlived leafy friends: where they came from, how they kept them going and what they mean to them.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 25: watering22:47

9M ago22:47

22:47

It's easy to overwater houseplants, especially at this time of year when many of them are having a rest, temperatures and light levels are lower and less water's required. In this episode, I look at a few of the thorny issues around watering, such as whether it's better to water with rainwater or tap water, what temperature the water should be, ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 24: Prick cactus shop and Gynelle Leon40:16

9M ago40:16

40:16

On The Ledge heads for the big smoke to talk to Gynelle Leon and find out more about her fabulous cactus and succulent shop, Prick.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 23: Mr Plant Geek, Michael Perry31:31

9M ago31:31

31:31

My guest this week is Mr Plant Geek, aka Michael Perry. We discuss the big trends in houseplants, why we should be growing cacti from seed, and why mainstream media still haven't latched on to indoor gardening. Plus a Q&A on a ponytail palm with an identity crisis.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 22: Q&A special18:54

10M ago18:54

18:54

All those nagging houseplant questions - why is my succulent leggy and wan? What kind of Monstera do I really have? Why is my Pilea looking peaky? - are answered in this Q&A special.

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On The Ledge

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Episode 21: Alys Fowler31:20

10M ago31:20

31:20

Alys Fowler is a gardener and garden writer who I first met when she became the gardening columnist at the Guardian, and I was gardening editor. Her new book on houseplants, Plant Love, is out now - I visited her at home to talk about why top-selling houseplants are like tights, how Instagram has made variegated leaves popular and why propagati ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode 20: Margaret Roach31:16

10M ago31:16

31:16

Margaret Roach of awaytogarden.com has a garden of two-plus acres in New York state, yet she still manages to find time for houseplants. We find out about her obsession with caudiciform (or "fat") plants and compare notes on begonias and clivias.

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On The Ledge

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Episode nineteen: fungus gnats27:57

11M ago27:57

27:57

Fungus gnats float about your houseplants in clouds and ruin the cool indoor jungle vibe you’ve been aiming for. I find out what they are, what they do and how to eradicate them from your plants.

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On The Ledge

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Episode eighteen: preparing succulents and cacti for winter14:16

11M ago14:16

14:16

Well, autumn is here which means it's time to start getting your succulents and cacti winter-ready. It's also time to start preparing the Christmas cactus for flowering, so I explain how it's done, and answer a question about a mushy cactus... sounds serious.

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On The Ledge

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Episode seventeen: Seeking Pilea peperomioides - why everyone wants the Chinese money plant24:25

11M ago24:25

24:25

Instagram is awash with it; but where do you lay your hands on a specimen of the Chinese money plant, Pilea peperomioides? Despite the Chinese money plant’s superstar status, the story of how it came to be so popular isn’t so well known. I find out more about this fabulous plant from Dr Phil Cribb of Kew Gardens, who helped track down its origins.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode sixteen: grow your own avocado plant12:55

11M ago12:55

12:55

If you've blown your houseplant budget for the year on a beautiful Boston fern or a towering Euphorbia, this week's show will help you get your new plant fix without spending a penny. Although they grow to 20 metres tall in their native central America, avocados make surprisingly good houseplants - a little like a bargain basement fiddle leaf f ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode fifteen: Cactus with Dan Torre29:45

12M ago29:45

29:45

In this week’s show I explore the world’s love-hate relationship with cacti, find out why one Australian state banned them altogether, and ponder whether this plant family could actually be the answer to the world’s food shortage. And question of the week is back, we’ll be finding out what fool proof plants are best for a newbie houseplant grower.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode fourteen: balcony gardening with Alice Vincent33:46

1y ago33:46

33:46

This week I want take a look at that inbetween space for plants - the balcony. It’s not quite indoors, but not really outdoors either - the spot where houseplants and herbs, bamboo and begonias meet. And who better to talk to than Alice Vincent, who writes about urban gardening for the Telegraph and is also the author of book How To Grow Stuff, ...…

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On The Ledge

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Episode thirteen: James Wong38:44

1y ago38:44

38:44

Ethnobotanist James Wong has got some really thought-provoking things to say about why we grow the houseplants we do - think of the ubiquitous spider plant and umbrella plant - and predictions about where houseplant horticulture may be headed next.

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On The Ledge

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Episode twelve: Robin Stockwell, the Succulent Guy32:15

1y ago32:15

32:15

My guest this week is The Succulent Guy, Robin Stockwell, the man credited with making succulents sexy. I talk to Robin about his legendary - and enormous - globe of succulents, why you shouldn’t get an Agave mixed up with an Aloe, and why there’s transatlantic difference of opinion about size among Sempervivum breeders.…

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On The Ledge

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Episode eleven: plants for bathrooms, feat. Tillandsias38:01

1y ago38:01

38:01

This week's show takes a confessional turn from the start when I admit I have NOT ONE PLANT in my bathroom. It's mainly because I lack a windowsill in there, but this really is no excuse. I talk to plantsman Robbie Blackhall-Miles about the plants that fill his two bathrooms, and find out more about Tillandsias or air plants from Graham Sigswor ...…

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Episode four: microgreens

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On The Ledge « » Episode four: microgreens

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Episode four: microgreens