The Underground

Exploring the future of garden care.The underground podcast is a place where the disparate worlds of horticulture and marketing collide. Kate Turner, the Gardener Guru and Phil Wright, co-founder of creative agency WrightObara, team up to discover the trailblazers and innovators shaping the future of garden care in the UK.With content that’s as relevant to start-ups as it would be to established players, we look to cover the hottest topics and trends you need to know. From plants to products, environmental concerns to legislation, we’ll dig deep to bring you the inside story.

The Underground is a leisure podcast hosted by The Underground Pod, with 89 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

The Underground Pod hosts The Underground, a leisure show with 89 episodes published.

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  Episode #3

  Green-fingered to clean-fingered: meeting the changing garden customer | Natalie Boynton & Ed Hill

  Sep 29, 202621 minS7

  What does the next generation of garden customers actually want from us? Recorded at Glee 2026, Kate Turner is joined by Natalie Boynton, Sales Director at Happy Plants, and Ed Hill, Managing Director of The Horti House, for a conversation about a customer who may look very different from the traditional green-fingered gardener. Natalie introduces the idea of the affectionate “plonker”: someone who wants gardening to be accessible, straightforward and easy to enjoy. From hanging baskets you can simply put on a hook to plants designed for balconies and rented homes, is the industry doing enough for people who want the result without first becoming gardening experts? They discuss whether plant care information has become unnecessarily complicated, how houseplants helped make plants part of lifestyle and interior design, whether garden centres can offer too much choice, and why giving customers confidence may matter more than giving them every piece of horticultural information. The conversation also explores the changing role of garden centres, the importance of knowledgeable staff, and how better use of technology, AI and customer data could help retailers understand and support the people coming through their doors. Plus, Natalie and Ed answer our Glee question: what could the garden sector learn from outside the industry? A thoughtful conversation about making plants easier to buy, easier to understand and relevant to a changing customer.

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  Episode #2

  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: Why Grow Your Own Matters More Than Ever

  Sep 22, 202637 minS7

  What happens when growing your own food becomes about much more than what ends up on the plate? Recorded live on stage at Glee, Phil Wright and Kate Turner are joined by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef, broadcaster, author, campaigner and the man behind River Cottage. Hugh takes us back to the childhood experience that first sparked his fascination with growing, and explains how that relationship with food eventually helped inspire River Cottage. The conversation explores why growing food can be an act of self-reliance, how it changes our relationship with what we eat, and why Hugh believes growing organically and looking after the life within our soil is more relevant than ever. We also hear about his High Fibre Heroes, the connection he sees between the microbiome in our soil and our own gut health, and why even growing a small amount of food can make a difference. Towards the end of the conversation, Hugh is joined by Max Mancroft from Seed Revolution. They discuss their River Cottage organic seed range, the opportunity to make growing from seed feel simpler and more appealing, and why a packet of seeds might just make a rather good present. Finally, Hugh and Max answer our Glee question: what could the garden sector learn from outside the industry?

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  Episode #1

  Houseplants, Chelsea and Knowing Your Worth, with Gemma Haigh

  Sep 1, 202650 minS6

  Gemma Haigh’s route into horticulture hasn’t exactly been conventional. After starting her career in museums and heritage, she turned a lifelong love of plants into The Plant Parlour, working across houseplants, content creation, design and interior landscaping. She also created a Houseplant Studio for the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, inspired, perhaps unexpectedly, by the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us. But this conversation goes well beyond houseplants. Gemma joins Phil and Kate to talk about why industries driven by passion can become comfortable with expecting people to work for very little, the difficulty of putting a proper value on horticultural expertise, and whether women face additional barriers when trying to make a career in the sector. They also discuss caring responsibilities, the treatment of women online, why follower numbers and genuine expertise aren’t the same thing, and what brands should be looking for when they work with creators. And, returning to plants, Gemma explains why climate change could start to blur the distinction between what we think of as an indoor plant and an outdoor plant. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about plants, careers, expertise and what it takes to be taken seriously in horticulture. In this episode: How an overflowing garden led Gemma into houseplants Creating a Houseplant Studio at RHS Chelsea Flower Show Why passion shouldn’t be used as an excuse for poor pay Whether horticulture properly values professional expertise Women, caring responsibilities and career progression The difference between influence, entertainment and genuine authority Why brands need to think harder about who represents them How our changing climate could change the way we grow houseplants

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  Episode #1

  How to Survive Glee: The Garden Industry’s Best Tips

  Aug 17, 202637 minS6

  Glee is one of the biggest dates in the garden industry calendar. It’s also three very long days of walking, talking, networking, discovering new products and trying to remember who said what by the time you get home.So, ahead of Glee 2026, we’ve delved back into Season 1 of The Underground and brought together some of the best Glee survival advice from our guests. And between them, they’ve clocked up a lot of exhibition miles. We hear tips from garden centre leaders, suppliers, marketers, PR professionals, journalists, growers and industry organisations on how to get more from the show, whether you’re exhibiting or visiting. There’s plenty of practical advice: comfortable shoes, hydration, planning your meetings, taking useful notes, making time to explore every aisle and following up properly afterwards. But there are some bigger lessons too. How do you make the most of chance conversations? What should an exhibitor actually be trying to achieve? Why should your product packaging be able to sell the story without somebody standing beside it? And why might staying until the very last bell lead to a customer relationship that lasts ten years? You’ll also discover the importance of yoga, a good breakfast, emergency plasters, strategic coffee consumption and, apparently, the correct way to end a conversation. Featuring advice from Alan Roper, Boyd Douglas-Davies, Debi Holland, Elaine Gotts, Ellen Mary, Fran Barnes, Guy Jenkins, Jane Hartley, Jane Lawler, Kate Ebbens, Kimberley Hornby-George, Linda Petrons, Matthew Mein, Megan Warren-Davis, Michael Perry, Simon Taylor, Steve Harper, Toby Thomas, Vicky Nuttall and Will Scott. The Underground is the official podcast partner of Glee 2026.

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  Episode #6

  The Future of the Garden Industry: One Year On

  Aug 10, 202631 minS6

  With Glee just a month away, we’re heading back to Birmingham, as well as the conversations we recorded there last year. At Glee 2025, we asked every guest who joined us one simple question: What’s one change you’d love to see in the garden sector over the next five years?The answers gave us a fascinating snapshot of where the industry thought change was needed. We heard calls for more young people to discover gardening and horticulture, better training for people entering the industry, greater support for independent garden centres and much more ambitious use of digital technology. Our guests also talked about sustainability, peat-free growing media, water conservation, online retail, AI and how garden centres themselves could evolve. There were plenty of big ideas too, from turning garden centres into evening destinations to rethinking the way plants are merchandised. A year on, and with the industry preparing to come together at Glee again, it feels like the perfect time to revisit those conversations. Which ideas are beginning to happen? Which challenges are still with us? And if we asked the same question at Glee this year, would the answers be any different?Featuring voices from across garden retail, horticulture, suppliers, marketing and the wider garden sector.

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