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 reading, micro reviews. The Well-Tempered Garden, by Christopher Lloyd, paperback edition published 2014 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson https://amzn.to/2UVFJNX Home Ground, by Dan Pearson, published 2011 by Conran Octopus https://amzn.to/2V0L8mB Using #betwixtmas to plan the garden for the coming year – a chance to think about making provision for wildlife. Interview with Kate Bradbury 08:42 Plant memories 11:16 What are gardens for? 16:05 The buddleia incident BARRATT HOMES/RSPB https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/kingsbrook-housing/ BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE https://www.discoverwildlife.com 22:21 Planning wildlife into built environments 24:15 The Bumblebee Flies Anyway – what's in a name? 26:09 Lawns, are they really so bad? NHS Insect bites and stings advice https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insect-bites-and-stings/ 33:08 Placing an economic cost on "environment services" 34:06 What hope going forward? Review of Kate’s latest book, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway: a year of gardening and (wild)life https://amzn.to/2K9wF2U, on the Gardens, Weeds & Words blog, here: http://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/gwwblog/the-bumblebee-flies-anyway Kate’s previous book, The Wildlife Gardener, available here: https://amzn.to/2zY1cvH Hydrangeas with better wildlife value It’s true, the ubiquitous mophead Hydrangea macrophylla has a flower head packed with sterile florets, which offer no food for pollinating insects. But those with the flower structure known as “lacecap”, where small, tightly furled fertile florets are surrounded by a thing ring of their sterile counterparts, are much richer in nectar. These include varieties of paniculate hydrangea, such as Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ or ‘Limelight', the climbing hydrangea Hydrangea anomoloa subsp. petiolaris, and the impressive oakleaved hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, with its wonderful autumn colouration. Varieties of Hydrangea arborescens, including the popular ‘Annabelle’, are also worth including in your pollinator-friendly plantings. With thanks to Richard Chivers for providing his Welsh tones for the reading. You can find Richard’s acclaimed blog at sharpenyourspades.com, and the gent himself lurks on social media here: Twitter https://twitter.com/spadesharp Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sharpenyourspades/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC06vTxaTwjpmrjIfMODoTAA That’s it for 2018! Thank you for all your support and lovely messages. Looking forward to bringing you more slow gardening radio and conversations with creatives and plant-inspired makers next year. website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB
