As the nights draw in and the days get colder, our gardens can seem a little drab. So Alan Gray is here to share his top plants at East Ruston Old Vicarage this October, many of them specimens he's been propagating. Get ready for plenty of plant inspiration and serious FLOMO*. *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Hardenbergia violacea Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins' Ricinus communis Eucomis pallidiflora subsp. pole-evansii Ricinus 'Blue Buddha' Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' 'Persicaria...

Time for Part Two of our latest apperance by Talking Dirty favourite Dan Cooper AKA The Furstrated Gardener. This week he continues with some of the plants adding colour to his shady containers, from Coleus to Oxalis. Plus a few special Christmas decorations from Dan Cooper Garden! PLANT LIST Oxalis 'Plum Crazy' Oxalis spiralis vulcanicola 'Sunset Velvet' Coleus 'Lord Falmouth' Coleus 'Burgundy Wedding Train' Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Wisley Tapestry' Dahlia 'Edith Jones' Dahlia 'Dilys...

This week Talking Dirty favourite Dan Cooper returns to the podcast with some of the top performers in his garden this year, including some great choices for shade and container planting. PLANT LIST Dahlia 'Ryecroft Blackberry' Dahlia 'Night Silence' Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins' Dahlia 'Christopher Taylor' Persicaria 'Painter's Palette' Boehmeria sieboldiana Boehmeria macrophylla var. rotundifolia Canna x ehemanii (syn iridiflora) Pilea matsudae 'Taiwan Silver' Begonia palmata 'Tye Dye' Begonia...

This week Steve Edney returns with a special treat - a tour of the jungle garden he's created with fellow plant lover, Louise Dowle. Their plot is packed with inspiration and some very special plants! PLANT LIST Clerodendrum trichotomum Eucalyptus pauciflora Betula utilis var. jacquemontii Pseudosasa japonica Euphorbia stygiana Griselinia littoralis Begonia luxurians Euphorbia x pasteurii Euphorbia x pasteuri 'John Phillips' Euphorbia mellifera Plectranthus fruticosus 'Ellaphie' Pseudopanax...

In part one of our latest podcast with Steve Edney of No Name Nursery, we get a glimpse of some recent purchases. Plus great foliage plants, and one of many Cannas he's grown from seed this year. Next week, we take a stroll around his garden at home for jungle inspiration! PLANT LIST Chlorophytum saundersiae 'Starlight' Dahlia 'Jomanda' Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins' Canna 'Whithelm Pride' Aster × frikartii 'Mönch' Aster x frikartii 'Wunder von Stäfa' Aster amellus 'Forncett Flourish' Cuphea 'David...

If you're keenly pouring over seed catalogues and dreaming of what you're going to grow, Alan Gray (East Ruston Old VIcarage) and Thordis share their thoughts on what to sow now and why in this Talking Dirty Special. PLANT LIST Papaver rhoeas 'Amazing Grey' Papaver rhoeas 'Shirley Poppy' Eschscholzia californica Briza maxima Ammi majus Visnaga daucoides syn. Ammi visnaga Hordeum jubatum Nigella papillosa 'Delft Blue' Scabiosa stellata Agrostemma githago Borago officinalis Tropaeolum majus...

This week Jimi Blake of Hunting Brook Gardens returns with more summer sensations from his plot, including Agastaches and Lilies. Plus reminiscences from his recent adventures in Romania. PLANT LIST Phymosia umbellata Agastache 'Fleur' Agastache 'Kolibri' Melianthus major Lobelia × speciosa 'Hadspen Purple' Agave montana Hydrangea aspera 'Koki' Hydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate' Lilium 'Scheherazade' Lilium 'Miss Feya' Lilium 'Chocolate Event' Lilium 'Red Velvet' Lilium leichtlinii Lilium 'Red...

The Talking Dirty Podcast returns and with it one of our favourite guests. Jimi Blake of Hunting Brook Gardens brings some dazzling Show and Tell from his gorgeous Irish plot and we start wiht a focus on Dahlias and Salvias. Next week further floral wonders from his garden. PLANT LIST Salvia greggii 'Royal Bumble' Dahlia 'Cornel Brons' Dahlia 'Sylvia' Dahlia 'Danique' Dahlia 'Copperboy' Dahlia 'Ambition' Dahlia 'Purple Flame' Dahlia 'Burlesca' Dahlia 'Downham Royal' Dahlia 'Cornwall...

Talking Dirty may be taking a break for Maternity Leave, but Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis couldn't resist having a planty catch-up! Before regular podcasting resumes, the pair chat about the horticultural glories at EROV this year and what Thordis has managed to grow alongside her forays into Motherhood! Weekly episodes hopefully resuming in due course... PLANT LIST Agave montana Nolina Puya Bigelowia nuttallii Ipheion Eremurus Kniphofia Agapanthus Papaver...

This week something different for our Talking Dirty Podcast as Alan Gray shares exciting news about East Ruston Old Vicarage. To help tell the story Alan and Thordis are joined by 'horticultural greats' Barbara Segall (Award-winning Garden Writer) and Paul Rochford (Joseph Rochford Gardens). And while this week's podcast is about the garden rather than specific plants, we couldn't resist sneaking a few in... PLANT LIST Quercus ilex London Plane (Platanus x hispanica) Agave...

If growing your own and living off the land are passions and aspirations, then this week's Talking Dirty Podcast is especially for you. Homesteader Liz Zorab joins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old VIcarage) and Thordis from her four-acre plot in Wales to share some of her favourite varieties plus ground-breaking methods like her Food Forest. Plus find out why Thordis and Liz are FLOMO*-ing over the same plant! *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Leycesteria...

East Ruston Old Vicarage - home to Get Gardening's Founding Father Alan Gray - is back open for 2023 and celebrating a very special year! As the garden marks its Golden Anniversary, Alan and Thordis talk about plants of the moment, plus propagation tips and FLOMO*! *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Pelargonium 'Lord Bute' Pelargonium 'Purple Unique' Pelargonium papilionaceum Pelargonium 'Babylon' Rosa 'Colombian Climber'  Narcissus 'Candlepower' Narcissus 'Rip van...

As the garden at East Ruston Old Vicarage reopens for 2023, Alan Gray and Thordis sit down for a chat about how the garden is evolving in its 50th year, plus plants of the moment, from Magnolias to Violets and some top propagation tips from Alan's potting shed. Next week Daffodils, Pelargoniums and lots of FLOMO*! *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Magnolia 'Caerhays Belle' Magnolia 'Genie' Clematis florida 'Sieboldii' Cyclamen hederifolium 'Silverme Pink' Anagallis monellii...

Last week Tim Fuller of Norfolk nursery The Plantsman's Preference wowed Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis with Ferns, Ivy and wonderful winter foliage. This week - in part two - we turn our attention to flowers, from bulbs to shrubs, most of them amazingly scented. PLANT LIST Sarcococca confusa Sarcococca ruscifolia Sarcococca saligna Sarcococca hookeriana 'Winter Gem' Lonicera standishii 'Budapest' Tellima grandiflora Lonicera × purpusii 'Winter Beauty' Anemone...

If you're in the market for interesting plants to bring greenery to your garden in winter then look no further than Tim Fuller's latest appearance on Talking Dirty. The South Norfolk-based Nurseryman (The Plantsman's Preference) brings along an amazing array of Ivy, Ferns, Cyclamen and Arums to form a foil to your winter and spring flowers. Next week he's got more of a floral focus in part two and lots of scent to tempt your olfactory senses! PLANT LIST Pittosporum 'Irene Paterson' Linnaea...

There are few houses that aren't home to an Orchid. But with 28,000 species, distributed in about 763 genera, the world of Orchidaceae goes far beyond Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium. This week we're joined by Cambridge University Botanic Garden Glasshouse Team Leader Luigi Leoni, and Orchid expert Phil Gould, to see some of the plants wowing the crowds at the moment and share amazing stories behind them. Plus their FLOMO*s for not only the Botanic Garden, but private collections at home. FLOMO =...

This week Talking Dirty is 'Grasping the Nettle' as Tamsin Westhorpe returns to talk about her new book. Tamsin, who gardens at family plot Stockton Bury in Herefordshire has spent her life caught up professionally and personally in horticulture in almost every way imaginable - from working in Parks and Gardens, to Magazine Editor and everything in between. Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis giggle their way through her riotous stories and indulge in good old planty chat as...

After last week's Snowdrop extravaganza, in part two of his Talking Dirty appearance, Brian Ellis is wowing Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis with a whole host of Winter Garden plants...ideal bedfellows for this extensive Snowdrop collection. From Arums to Eranthis, Hellebores to Hamamelis and Heuchera, there is SO much inspiration for your garden! Our thanks to Dorset Perennials for allowing us the use of their picture of Brian's FLOMO plant. You can find it on their website...

It's peak Snowdrop Season and here on Talking Dirty it looks like we've all caught the fever! Alan Gray has quite the collection at East Ruston Old Vicarage, while Thordis is enjoying her first forays into growing these delightful plants in her small suburban garden. So this week Galanthophile Brian Ellis is back on Talking Dirty to share some interesting varieties and the stories behind them. And next week he'll share great companion plants in the border, from Eranthis to Corydalis,...

This week we're heading to the allotment as Rekha Mistry (author, Instagram star and Gardeners' World presenter) joins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis to talk about her new book 'Rekha's Kitchen Garden'. Whether you've caught the Grow Your Own bug or not, Rekha is such a joy, as she shares the lessons she's learned and the varieties she loves to grow (plus the tasty dishes she creates with them!) PLANT LIST Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) Calendula Tagetes patula Borago...

In the second part of her latest appearance on Talking Dirty, award-winning garden writer Val Bourne has some fab Fern advice, including choice plants to grow. Plus an array of things on the wishlist for 2023. *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten' Achillea 'Moonshine' Polypodium cambricum 'Richard Kayse' Asplenium scolopendrium syn Phyllitis scolopendrium Polystichum setiferum 'Plumosodensum' Adiantum raddianum 'Ultragracillium' Adiantum...

One of our Talking Dirty favourites is back! This week award-winning Garden Writer Val Bourne rejoins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis to talk about Rose varieties and pruning, the Apples she's picked for her garden in the Cotswolds and - of course - a few choice Snowdrops! Next week even more wonderful plants and FLOMO* *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Galanthus 'Wasp' Galanthus plicatus 'Diggory'Prunus armeniaca Galanthus elwesii 'Mrs Macnamara' Galanthus...

Time for part two of our chat with award-winning garden writer Barbara Segall. After focussing on her new book 'The Secret Gardens of the South East: A Private Tour' last week, this time we've got Show and Tell from Barbara's garden in Suffolk. And - as a Herb expert - you'll be unsurprised to hear she's got some choice Herbs to share! PLANT LIST Sarcococca Salvia rosmarinus Albiflora Group Salvia rosmarinus 'Sudbury Blue' Salvia rosmarinus Prostratus Group Salvia rosmarinus 'Foxtail' Humulus...

Our first guest of 2023 is award-winning garden writer Barbara Segall. Her new book 'The Secret Gardens of the South East: A Private Tour' is out now and packed with inspiring plots. Alongside telling the story behind the book, Barbara shares Show and Tell from her own garden. More of that next week, plus FLOMO. PLANT LIST Ilex aquifolium Ilex latifolia Ilex × koehneana 'Chestnut Leaf' Ilex aquifolium 'East Ruston Gold' Miscanthus nepalensis Malus transitoria

It's a new year and before we get back to our regular podcasts, Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis thought they'd share some of their thoughts as we start a new gardening year, including what excites them about 2023. PLANT LIST Arum italicum subsp. neglectum 'Miss Janay Hall' Rosmarinus officinalis 'Severn Seas' Rhaphiolepis Dicksonia antarctica Fuchsia procumbens Euphorbia mellifera Phlebodium aureum 'Blue Star' Coniogramme emeiensis Eragrostis curvula 'Totnes Burgundy' Agave...