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Where would you go to see great landscape architecture, and is there any difference between that and a good garden? James thinks there is, and his definition is not going to win him friends. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back on mailbag duty. Hannah in Dorset is starting a Masters in Landscape Architecture and wants to know where to go and look. Corinne in Dublin asks which single gardening problem they would magically abolish forever. Sarah in Manchester wants to know whether garden magazines are still worth buying, or whether we are all just addicted. And Bruce and Felicity Summers need a golden tree for their golden wedding, after the silver birch they were given for their silver one gave up in the drought. Also in this one: five unbroken minutes on the cornet, an etymology lesson nobody asked for, three wishes from a genie who lives in a brass instrument, a full costing of the James and Joe house band, and Joe's appearance on the cover of Sea Angler, which he is thinking of turning into wallpaper. James's phone dies with one question to go. Joe carries on regardless. TIMESTAMPS00:00 The two rules01:39 James invents a theme tune04:18 Should James learn the cornet?05:03 Where the word Cornetto comes from07:55 Three wishes from a genie09:48 Where to see great landscape architecture10:55 King's Cross and Coal Drops Yard12:30 Garden designer or landscape architect?16:52 Why the High Line works19:19 One gardening problem solved forever24:53 Gardening on TV is always wrong26:13 Are garden magazines worth buying?33:06 Getting a job from a magazine photo36:51 A golden tree for a golden anniversary38:45 James's phone gives up To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTSJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] No dead plants. No dull questions. Jekyll the gnome is still up for grabs.

What's the point of a wasp? Or a midge, a horse fly, a tick, or a chicken mite the size of a full stop that gets into your ear while you're cleaning out the hens? Cue a deep sigh. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift agree that biodiversity is a good thing. They are less sure about the bits of it that bite. So this week they go looking for the point of the creatures nobody puts on a tote bag, and find out whether "it's food for something else" really is the answer to everything. Along the way: the strip of village green James is quietly annexing, a hedgehog spotted at four in the morning under circumstances Joe would rather not detail, five wasp stings at a French bottle bank, the spider lobbed out of a bedroom window at midnight, why Robert the Bruce means James has not killed a spider since, a squirrel with a mohican on Hampstead Heath, deer being repelled by motion-sensored water pistols, parakeets that may or may not be Jimi Hendrix's fault, and a piranha that bit back after it was already dead. No conclusions were reached. Several were nearly reached. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Cold open01:41 Summer's over, back to proper gardening03:19 Letting a patch of village green go wild05:32 What is biodiversity, actually?08:24 What's the point of wasps?11:47 Stung five times at the bottle bank16:08 The spider in the bedroom17:48 Robert the Bruce and his spider20:55 Bitten by a squirrel25:27 Chicken mites, the worst thing in the garden30:00 Ticks, long grass and Lyme disease33:46 Deer numbers and eaten roses37:56 Parakeets and invasive species44:47 Bitten by a piranha To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTSJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] No dead plants. No dull questions. And no spiders out of the window, apparently.

Is jungle planting a bloke thing? And more importantly, does a man who wants a garden that requires no gardening actually deserve one? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift throw the horticultural handbook out of the window again, this time for a full mailbag. What starts as a reasonable question about exotic planting ends up somewhere near cacti societies, edible hostas, whether Walter Raleigh really brought back the potato, and a gnome doing something regrettable in a nightclub. Along the way: why James's curves are superior to your wiggles, the wall he wants built in the shape of his own signature, a listener who drove from New York to Florida listening exclusively to this podcast until her sat nav gave up in protest, and the one garden ornament James never wants to see again (it involves a Jack Russell, and it is not the end you are expecting). This week's questions come from Mrs Lang Shani on jungle planting and gender, Colin in Cardiff and his paved yard that looks like a car park, Gillian on curves versus straight lines, Nina in Melbourne on what gnomes get up to after dark, and Carmilla on the one garden trend that should never come back. Fair warning: one listener gets told, live on air, that he does not deserve a garden. We stand by it. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro06:17 Is jungle and exotic planting a bloke thing?14:47 Exotic planting in small city gardens18:10 Why aren't there more women designing at Chelsea?19:52 Low maintenance planting for a paved yard26:31 Curves or straight lines in garden design?38:54 Garden trends that should never come back ASK US A QUESTIONTo ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com. Answer well and you are in with a chance of winning the most coveted prize in horticulture, our gnome, Jekyll. THE GARDEN COLLECTIVEFor ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. ABOUT OUR HOSTSJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. SEE US LIVEYeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Holt Farm, Blagdon, Somerset. 17 September 2026.The Garden Museum, London. 10 November 2026, city gardens versus country gardens, with an audience vote. FOLLOWInstagram: @jamesandjoegardenThe Garden Collective: garden_collective_www.jamesandjoegarden.com Only two rules apply. No dead plants and no dull questions.

How much of your garden is actually yours? And how much of it belongs to whoever's peering over the fence? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift take on garden privacy, and immediately disagree about whether it's a problem worth solving. James has just come from a client who cut his hedge DOWN so he could ambush passers-by from his wheelchair. Joe once lived next door to a flat that held naked Sunday afternoon parties, and has never fully recovered. Along the way: why retirement flats facing the road always sell first (people want to see a bit of a mugging), the fortress garden problem and why building one leaves you with an expensive shady box, the one screening trick that actually works (move the plant closer to you, not closer to them), and why sitting down is the cheapest privacy money can't buy. Then there's sound, which turns out to be the harder half. Acoustic fencing at Horatio's Garden in Scotland, the futility of arguing with a flight path, and a doomed attempt to coin a name for a quiet garden. Pianissimo gardens, anyone? Plus: Ken. Ken is retired, bored, owns a small yappy dog and a stepladder, and has seen Joe on the telly. Ken's wife Meg cooks anchovies with alphabet spaghetti and plays Slade at volume. Joe is not allowed to move house. Good luck, Joe. With a nod to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, and the tale of the cattle that ate every single tree James had planted the day before. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome 01:15 Remembering Dolly Parton and Tim Curry 03:24 Southport Flower Show, Mr Motivator and Anton Du Beke 06:10 How private should a garden be? 08:18 Why fortress gardens don't work 09:10 The screening you can never clip 10:54 Joe's naked neighbours in Hackney 13:28 A prisoner in your own garden 16:28 The screening trick that actually works 16:55 Sit down: the cheapest privacy there is 18:58 Cutting noise with an acoustic fence 23:00 Aircraft noise and why you stop hearing it 25:22 Meet Ken and Meg, the neighbours from hell 38:59 Is a leylandii hedge ever a good idea? 42:46 The cattle that ate every tree Catch us live at the Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Holt Farm, Blagdon, Somerset on 17 September 2026. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_ Contact us: [email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com No dead plants and no dull questions.

An RHS judge is coming to lunch on Saturday. You have one afternoon. Do you tidy the garden, or cook something delicious? Cue a deep sigh — the answer turns out to have almost nothing to do with gardening. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back in the mailbag, answering the questions that scare the wits out of the other garden podcasts. This week yours send them from a medieval drawbridge to a Babylonian palace by way of a French ski slope. Somewhere in the middle of it they settle the burrata question, acquire a new job title, and Joe decides — live, with no warning whatsoever — precisely which plant represents Arsenal Football Club. Also featuring: why a lawn burnt to a crisp is now the most sustainable thing you own, the correct number of concealed hori horis to carry into a castle, the deluxe half-day tour of the Garden of Eden (compost heap included), a signed fig leaf, James's genuine career ambition to be a professional washer-upper, and a two-dishwasher system that he is convinced cannot mathematically work. This week's questions: Jane — an RHS judge and his wife are coming for lunch. Tidy the garden, or cook? Jackie in Ontario — as an Arsenal fan, which flower would Joe choose to represent his team? Buffy in Maine — one afternoon in any garden in human history. Where are you going? Rocco — if you weren't in garden design and broadcasting, what would you have been? Chapters: 00:00 The two rules 02:12 James attempts the theme tune 04:26 Gnomes, and where to catch us live 06:56 Jane: an RHS judge is coming to lunch 14:13 Jackie in Ontario: which flower is Arsenal? 19:25 Dear Lords of Landscape 21:39 Buffy in Maine: one afternoon, any garden in history 28:05 Rocco: what would you be, if not this? 31:23 The two-dishwasher problem 34:51 James becomes an Olympic downhill skier 36:06 Goodnight from Joseph See James and Joe live: Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Somerset — 17 September. Advice for young and old gardeners, mostly in the form of mistakes they have already made on your behalf. The Garden Museum, London — 10 November. City gardens versus country gardens, with a proper audience vote. Send us a question and you could win the most coveted prize in horticulture. Not a Chelsea gold medal — the gnome. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_ Contact us: [email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com No dead plants and no dull questions. See you back in the garden.

Are hanging baskets a joyful party in a basket… or a drought-stricken relic dripping brown water onto your pint? This week James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift end up on opposite sides. Joe declares the hanging basket dead: unsustainable, un-waterable, a whole summer of annuals frying fifteen feet up a wall. James wants to make them BIGGER. Big enough to grow an oak tree in. Big enough to have a snooze in. Along the way: the Badminton show garden that won Best in Show on hanging baskets alone, the Hanging Basket King of Lincolnshire and his immortal sales line, a Chelsea judge dressed head to toe in cricket kit, olive oil tins from Hackney kebab shops, hanging basket semaphore in the style of Nelson at Trafalgar, and an entirely unnecessary digression about a prog rock album called Hanging Baskets of Babylon. Plus: what's actually surviving 40°C in France, and the definitive answer to "when is a hanging basket not a hanging basket?" Team hanging basket, or team absolutely not? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 00:00 The least sensible gardening podcast on the planet02:23 40°C in France: what's surviving and what isn't05:22 This week's topic, chosen by our eight researchers06:36 The Badminton garden that won Best in Show08:14 Alpine strawberries, French beans and a bad idea10:21 The Churchill Arms, and why pubs do it best10:46 The Hanging Baskets of Babylon12:18 Drip systems, brown water and your pint13:13 Prog rock digression: 22 minutes of drum solo15:16 The Hanging Basket King: "it's a party in a basket"17:42 Joe's case: the hanging basket is dead18:13 James's case: they're simply not big enough19:00 Nappies, moss, coir and why foraging is illegal20:25 When is a hanging basket not a hanging basket?21:13 Bras, colanders, kitchen sieves and olive oil tins24:38 Le jardin volant: napping in a flying garden28:13 Tumbling toms, pulleys and basket semaphore29:46 The verdict: pubs yes, restraint no31:31 Send us your questions To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. JOIN THE GARDEN COLLECTIVE For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] Our only two rules: no dead plants and no dull questions.

Which garden plant is most likely to achieve sentience first — and should you be locking the letterbox? Cue a deep sigh. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back with a mailbag full of your questions, and this week they manage to answer nearly all of them while agreeing on almost nothing. In this episode the pair dive into: – Whether fungi have already quietly taken over the world, and whether the oak tree is the brains of the operation while the mycorrhizal network is just the delivery driver (Joe objects on behalf of delivery drivers everywhere) – The bindweed that comes in through the letterbox, up the stairs, round the banisters and drags you out of bed by the ankle. Joe is on holiday. Joe would now like to go home. – The first jobs that made them: Joe's circular wildlife pond in Maida Vale, and the trellis James built in the shape of a queue at a bus stop — while wearing a kilt – How to actually catch a house fly. Clap ABOVE it. James claims an 80% strike rate. Joe does not believe a word of it. – Why a fig is the only non-vegan fruit, and what exactly happens to the wasp – And what really goes on when RHS judges disappear into the dark room for moderation. Spoiler: it's Biscoff, mid-judging ice creams, and at least one judge with a Haribo dummy hanging out the corner of their mouth. Plus the plant they secretly despise — although one of them bottles it completely at the last moment. Questions this week from Kip Guy, Lin Guns, Annalisa Wells, Venetia and Jem. Catch us live at Yeo Valley Festival, Somerset, on 17th September. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. THE GARDEN COLLECTIVE For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. FOLLOW US Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] Send us your weird and wonderful garden questions for the chance to win our treasured mascot, the Garden Collective gnome, Jekyll. Our only two rules? No dead plants and no dull questions.

Is a nap in the garden the highest form of horticulture? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are prepared to argue yes — provided you've had a decent lunch first. This week the boys abandon anything resembling actual gardening to become world experts in the ancient art of the garden snooze. Joe declares himself "a world expert in snoozing" and plays his Joker; James counters that he can drop into a perfect ten-minute kip on command, even at the wheel (parked, he insists). Between them they cover the lot: the three-chair sleeping technique with proper lumbar support, why you ring the speaking clock so it looks like you're still on a sales call, and the correct way to lie in a Mexican hammock so you don't end up a banana in a banana skin. Along the way — the caravan Joe emerged from mid-Chelsea to a baffled crowd, the foundation he left on James's hotel pillow, Salvador Dalí's plate-dropping nap trick, Winston Churchill's daytime pyjamas, Phil "The Cat" Tufnell asleep on a bar stool, and Ellen MacArthur's iron rule: under 20 minutes or over two hours, anything in between is fatal. Plus the grand launch of the James & Joe Napping School (paid, obviously) and a jingle that may or may not now involve a 64-piece orchestra. No dead plants. No dull questions. And absolutely no staying awake. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected]

You send us the questions no other garden podcast will touch — and this week you've properly outdone yourselves.James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift dig into the mailbag and hand out perfectly unreasonable answers to: what your next botanical tattoo should be (and where Joe's swift tattoo has been hiding for 35 years); whether putting on a show garden is only for the well-off; the most desperate bribe a designer ever slipped James on judging day; which Gardeners' World presenter would build a veg patch first if they were all marooned on a desert island — and, more importantly, which one you'd eat first; whether it's ever acceptable to take a saw to your neighbour's tree for a better sunset; and the single most offensive garden trend currently dominating social media.Two rules, as ever: no dead plants and no dull questions. Get yours in for a chance to win Jekyll, the most coveted prize in horticulture.To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comAbout our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected]

Is the only reason anyone has a garden now… to throw a party in it? This week James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift take on the great British garden party — and James goes full grumpy old codger about outdoor kitchens, outdoor rugs, and the terrible idea that a garden is just an extra room with a bar in it. Joe, of course, is having none of it. Along the way: the impossible dilemma of balancing a cucumber sandwich, a cup of tea AND shaking the King's hand at a Buckingham Palace do; James eating his way through Le Manoir as a wandering MC; watching England on a bedsheet in the middle of a Welsh woodland; Joe's straw-bale 60th that turned into a festival; the perils of the damp fire pit and the friend who set his hair alight on a Green Egg; Arne Maynard's amphitheatre; a Japanese roof garden with motion-sensor music; and, inevitably, James's unstoppable march towards pop stardom. Tell us about the best garden party you've ever been to — and the worst (the one that ended in A&E). To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected]

Question Time is back! Which means James and Joe are once again diving headfirst into your gardening dilemmas—with absolutely no guarantees that the answers will be sensible... This week they tackle one of gardening's biggest myths: does spending more money on a plant actually improve its chances of survival? (Spoiler: one very expensive fern says otherwise.) They also discuss whether black fences and Japanese-style charred timber are timeless or just another passing trend, debate the pros and cons of keeping a garden journal, and help a listener navigate the diplomatic nightmare of sharing a holiday garden with a sister who loves bargain-bin begonias. Plus: Why expensive plants sometimes die the fastest. Joe's YouTube milestone... almost. James unearths his gardening notebook from 1990. Should gardeners embrace winter hibernation—or keep pottering all year round? A surprising amount of chat about reading glasses, tree ferns and Kellys. As always, expect plenty of laughs, questionable accents, gardening honesty and the occasional ripping up of the rulebook. And don't forget... if you've got a gardening question, send it in. It might just feature in the next Question Time! If you're enjoying the podcast, we'd love it if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts—it really helps more gardeners discover the show. Happy gardening! https://www.thegardencollective.uk/the-james-joe-garden-show/ This is an important Public Service announcement: we will not be here next week as we are shaking things around.. Nothing too dramatic but we thought we would up our game. Thank you to all of you who tune in to listen to us burble on every tuesday - see you on 28th July. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: / garden_collective_ Contact us: ⁠[email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When temperatures soar and the football takes over the TV, what better way to settle one of gardening's biggest debates? In this week's episode, James and Joe take a tongue-in-cheek trip around the globe, comparing Britain's gardens with some of the world's greatest horticultural traditions. Inspired by the World Cup, they imagine gardens going head-to-head in an international knockout tournament—complete with unlikely winners, controversial refereeing decisions, and plenty of laughs along the way. From the elegance of Japanese gardens and the grandeur of France's formal landscapes to the bold planting of Brazil, the colourful displays of Canada's Butchart Gardens, and the unique character of gardens in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, the pair explore what makes each country's gardening style distinctive. Along the way they ask whether British gardening has influenced the world a little too much, and whether every country should embrace its own landscape, climate and native plants instead of copying traditional English designs. With Britain emerging from a sweltering heatwave, the conversation naturally turns to gardening in a changing climate. James and Joe discuss the importance of planting more trees, designing gardens for shade, choosing drought-tolerant plants, and why establishing young trees has never been more important. It's a thoughtful discussion wrapped up in their usual mix of humour, personal stories and gardening wisdom. As always, there are plenty of entertaining detours—from cricket, banana splits and AI translation to Roman topiary, Christopher Lloyd's love of bold planting, and even the possibility of launching their own international Gardening World Cup. Whether you're cheering on your favourite football team or simply looking for inspiration to make your own garden more resilient this summer, this episode is packed with ideas, laughter and plenty of horticultural debate. Which country would lift the Garden World Cup? You'll have to listen and decide for yourself. 🌍🌿⚽ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, James and Joe tackle the big questions: Do TV gardeners ever actually retire, or are they just doomed to keep trundling on forever? We dive into the absurdity of professional aging, campaign for Dame Carol Klein, and address the existential crisis of a "bent" cucumber. Plus, we offer some much-needed relationship counseling for a couple caught between a wildlife meadow and minimalist paving. In this episode: The Retirement Myth: Why self-employed creatives—and TV gardeners—don't "retire" in the conventional sense. The Campaign for Carol: Why it’s high time for Dame Carol Klein. Rebel Plants: James and Joe name their favorite "free-spirited" plants that refuse to stay where they’re put (spoiler: it involves Seseli and Foxgloves). The Cucumber Straightener: A Victorian relic or a show-stopper? We weigh in on the "polite society" of show bench vegetables. Relationship Counseling: How to manage a garden when your partner wants a concrete jungle and you want a wild meadow. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠[email protected]⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Garden lighting is a divisive subject, and James and Joe are owning the controversy this week. From the "feral" beauty of a well-lit tree to the absolute horror of bright, cold security lights that turn your backyard into an office complex at midnight, we’re ripping up the rulebook on how to light your space effectively. We discuss the delicate balance of creating drama through light and shadow, the importance of "warm white" over harsh blue LEDs, and why James thinks the future of garden lighting is actually… solar-powered path lights that make your garden look like a runway. Plus, we dive into the circadian rhythms of local blackbirds, the perils of "carefully" sexing hedgehogs, and why you should never, ever light a tree at 3:00 AM. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠[email protected]⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another listener Q&A! As always, James and Joe are answering your most urgent (and slightly unhinged) gardening questions. This week, we tackle the "elephant in the room": what is the official etiquette for bathroom breaks when you’re working in a client’s garden? (Spoiler: It involves a lot of "feral weeding" and shed-related anxiety). We also dive into the ethics of urban gardening—is it botanical cruelty to cram 30 cosmos into a tiny window box?—and take on a listener’s challenge: for every new plant you buy, you must purge one household item. Plus, we discuss the efficacy of paying a witch on Etsy to save your wedding day weather. In this episode: The Bathroom Protocol: How to handle the lack of facilities without ruining your client relationship. Urban Gardening Ethics: When does "abundance" cross the line into plant torture? The One-In-One-Out Rule: James and Joe try to decide which household junk to bin for their latest plant haul. Witchcraft & Weddings: Should you demand a refund from an Etsy witch for a rainy wedding day? Reality TV Dreams: Which reality shows would James and Joe actually survive? Got a question for the next Q&A? Drop it in our DMs. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠[email protected]⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices