Gardens, weeds and words

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. With Andrew O'Brien.

Gardens, weeds and words is a leisure podcast hosted by Andrew O'Brien: gardener, blogger, podcaster, with 42 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Andrew O'Brien: gardener, blogger, podcaster hosts Gardens, weeds and words, a leisure show with 42 episodes published.

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  Episode #1

  S04 Episode 1: Le jardin merveilleux. With Margot Reverdy

  Aug 17, 20261 hourS4

  Episode Summary: In the Season 4 premiere of Gardens, Weeds & Words , Andrew Timothy O'Brien explores the fluid boundaries where gardens refuse to stay contained – bleeding into thoughts, literature, and everyday conversation. Featuring a reading by Milli Proust from May Morris's 1893 work Decorative Needlework , Andrew discusses the "witchy," free-flowing arts-and-crafts legacy of May Morris before diving into a captivating conversation with French illustrator Margot Reverdy (co-founder of the illustration studio, Swindler & Swindler ). Margot opens up about her mental space Le Jardin Merveilleux , how gardening helped her transition into adulthood and heal from an eating disorder, the mechanics of drawing hundreds of thousands of digital lines, building a straw-and-wood house in the Drôme Valley, and why pink is officially her new black. In this episode: 00:00 - Intro: The uncontained garden 02:05 - May Morris, George Bernard Shaw, and natural dyes (Reading by Milli Proust) 06:30 - Meeting Margot Réverdy & the story behind her name 10:24- Arts & Crafts in daily life: From Wordsworth covers to Sainsbury's salad dressing 12:22 - Inheriting irises and a love of seasonal blooms from a grandmother 17:50 - Working as a botanical maximalist in a line-driven world 21:58 - How gardens offer sanctuary, grounding, and an escape from urban asphalt 28:55 - Gardening on chalk and gravel in the south of France 32:14 - Being self-taught and leaning into the joy of applied art ** 49:35 - Andrew's garden coaching programme , with a discount code GWW15 for listeners to the podcast Links & References: Margot Reverdy / Swindler & Swindler: web: https://swindlerandswindler.com social: @swindlerandswindler May Morris Archive: V&A Museum / Ashmolean Museum Milli Proust: web: https://www.milliproust.com social: @milliproust Garden coaching, with Andrew Timothy O'Brien: click here for more information, or to book a free discover call. Andrew's book, To Stand and Stare. How to garden while doing next to nothing is now out in paperback.

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  Episode #504

  S03.5 Episode 4: What your garden wants from you

  Apr 15, 202535 minS3

  Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E04 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack 00:40 spring settling in, and it's been a warm, dry start 02:34 what your garden wants from you, the last in my series of readings on how to find yourself in a state of harmony with your garden reading 08:00 'Cow Parsley' from Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds , read by Milli Proust interview 10:52 Jack joins us to talk about the impact of his book five (now six!) years on, how practical it really is to incorporate weeds purposefully into our gardens, and whether a gentler, more natural approach to planting has any cut through beyond the garden media. 12:08 Did Jack's pro-weed stance feel like a lonely position to be adopting back in 2019? 13:28 The effect on Jack's garden design practice 13:54 The manifesto approach to writing your first book 14:42 Has there been a noticeable change in the attitude of gardeners towards weeds since the publication of the book? 17:50 Has there been any trickle down to the general public from a wilder look embraced by top garden designers at shows like Chelsea? 22:54 A plant in the wrong place? Weren't they here first? But gardening is largely about declaring what we want to grow and where. How does Jack find a middle ground? 25:25 Managing a weedy population – regular culling 26:22 Jack's wildflower meadow and help with weeding 27:15 Practical steps with embracing weeds – where do you start with becoming wild about weeds? 29:22 A weedy through-line – how weeds flow through all of Jack's work *** Thank you to Milli Proust for her delightful reading from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds , published by Lawrence King in 2019. My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing , is published by DK Life, and is available here I'm ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. substack: Bramble & Briar website: www.andrewtimothyobrien.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB

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  Episode #503

  S03.5 Episode 3: the picture perfect garden

  Feb 13, 202518 minS3

  Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E03 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Winter conditions in the garden. 01:17 A weed for every situation reading 02:18 from Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds , read by Andy Wain 04:15 When to start sowing seeds – a flurry of mild debate 05:28 What instinctively feels right for us in the garden? 06:09 How do you want your garden to look and feel? The third instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden. Q1. How do you want to feel when you're in your garden? Q2. ...and what's getting in the way of this right now? Q3. What do you like about you garden? Q4. What do you dislike about your garden? Q5. What aspects of gardens and gardening do you find visually appealing? Q6. ...and how do you think you might incorporate these into your garden? Q7. What stories do you want your garden to tell? *** Thank you to Andy Wain for his spirited reading from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds , published by Lawrence King in 2019. My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing , is published by DK Life, and is available here I'm ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. substack: Bramble & Briar website: www.andrewtimothyobrien.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB

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  Episode #502

  S03.5 Episode 2: What we want from our gardens

  Nov 6, 202421 minS3

  Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E02 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Autumn is settling in and, if we're honest, we start to spend less time actively gardening. More time for the soil to grow what it really wants, more time for us to start dreaming next year's garden into being. In this episode, we hear how weeds have evolved to depend upon us making room for them to exploit, with another reading form Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds . And I bring you the second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden. Garden soundtrack 00:40 How we could use our gardens more all year round 02:00 Essential kit for experiencing a soggy garden 03:20 Assessing the garden in autumn, and making a habit of showing up 04:20 What the weeds are getting up to, and how humans and weeds go hand in hand reading 05:55 from Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds , read by Rose White 08:29 Purpose and intention in the garden – weedy, or not so weedy? It's up to you! 09:23 What do you want from your garden? The second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden. 18:48 A special quality to gardening at this time of year – read more on Bramble & Briar , my publication on Substack (you can listen there, too) On lazy clouds, and the softness of November , Andrew O'Brien, on Bramble & Briar *** Thank you to Rose White for reading so beautifully from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds , published by Lawrence King in 2019. (You can order Rose's own book of her poetry, Songbird , here . 10% of all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the charity BEAT Eating Disorders ) . My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing , is published by DK Life, and is available here I'm ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB

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  Episode #501

  S03.5 Episode 1: Wild About Weeds

  Aug 30, 202422 minS3

  Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E01 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Shamelessly pinching the title from Jack Wallington's fabulous 2019 book for this episode – which is only fair, as it's the jumping off point for this whole mini season. We're looking at how we can understand our gardens – even enter into a state of harmony with this space around our homes – but I don't think we can even begin without getting to grips with the whole subject of weeds, what they're trying to tell us about our soil, and how we can learn from them. We salute summer as it reaches its peak and, just as quickly, begins to pass the baton on to the next season, and enjoy a reading from the introduction to Jack's book. 05:14 What I love about the garden in summer 10:59 A reading from the introduction to Wild About Weeds , by Jack Wallington 15:20 The first in my series of readings on understanding your garden *** Thank you to Milli Proust for reading so beautifully from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds , published by Lawrence King in 2019. (Milli's own book, the wonderful From Seed to Bloom (Quadrille, 2022) is available here) . My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing , is published by DK Life, and is available here I'm ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB

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