This week one of the nicest men in horticulture is back on The Talking Dirty Podcast. Joe Whitehead is Head Gardener at Burghley House on the Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire border. He talks Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis through some of the changes which have been going on in the garden, and shares his favourite shade plants of the moment. PLANT LIST Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea' Paulownia tomentosa Cornus kousa 'Milky Way' Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii Dodecatheon meadia syn Primula meadia Lonicera involucrata Tulip bakerii 'Lilac Wonder' Tulipa sylvestris Lunaria annua 'Che ..read more

Time to return to one of our happy places. The garden at East Ruston Old Vicarage on the Norfolk coast is bursting with plants at every time of year, but in April seed-sowing is underway in earnest and there are treasures to behold everywhere you look! In this week's episode the garden's owner Alan Gray shares just some of what's going on with Thordis. PLANT LIST Tulipa 'Yellow Crown' Tulipa sprengeri Amaranthus cruentus 'Hot Biscuits' Amaranthus cruentus 'Velvet Curtains' Anemone coronaria 'Bordeaux' Smyrnium perfoliatum Tropaeolum tricolor Tropaeolum pentaphyllum Tropaeolum hookerianum Plumb ..read more

With a spring in our step we bring you the March Special of our Talking Dirty series on the garden at East Ruston Old Vicarage. From the Magnolias Alan Gray wakes to see out of his bedroom window, to the Tulips he's been spending a pretty penny on, here are some of the highlights from the garden this month. PLANT LIST Magnolia 'Caerhays Belle' Magnolia 'Genie' Magnolia × soulangeana Rosa 'Rambling Rector' Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate'  Rosa 'Mme. Alfred Carrière'  Rosa 'A Shropshire Lad' Dahlia 'Hollyhill Serenity' Narcissus 'Jetfire' Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' Tulipa sprenger ..read more

Time for Part Two of our latest episode with Talking Dirty favourite Val Bourne. The award-winning garden writer has alredy shared some of her favourite Prunus varieties. This week it's all about spring plants like Pulmonarias and Violets, plus a bit of rose inspiration...and Trillium chat to boot! PLANT LIST Pulmonaria 'Shrimps on the Barbie' Pulmonaria saccharata 'Leopard' Pulmonaria rubra Pulmonaria 'Diana Clare' Viola odorata 'Christie's Wedding' Viola odorata 'Baroness Alice de Rothschild' Viola odorata 'Sulphurea' Helleborus argutifolius Narcissus 'St Patricks Day' Narcissus 'Golden Echo ..read more

This week one of our Talking Dirty favourites is back! Val Bourne is an award-winning garden writer and grows all manner of treasures in her 1/3 acre Cotswolds plot. This week - in part one of her latest appearance - she shares some of her favourites Prunus and the Scilla you must grow, plus those to avoid! And as usual her coversation with Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis meanders via a host of plants from Geums to Ferns. Next week Roses, Trilliums and Violets...plus FLOMO* *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Geum 'Totally Tangerine' Geum 'Prinses Jul ..read more

This week Alan and Thordis are excited to bring you a joyful special focussing on Hepaticas with their chief cheerleader, John Massey of Ashwood Nurseries. His book, 'My World of Hepaticas' (with Tomoo Mabuchi), is a veritable treasure trove of information (and downright divine photographs!) In this episode of Talking Dirty, we meander through the different species (including which should tolerate a garden situation) and discuss everything from botany to John's anecdotes from years tracking them down in the wild. And of course, we detour via several other plants as well. It wouldn't be Talking ..read more

In the latest of our series looking at Alan's garden - East Ruston Old Vicarage - month-by-month, we're focussing on some fab February plants. From the Edgeworthia hardly any one can grow to Alan's latest purchases and plans for the shade planting around his north-facing front door. This is an episode packed with plants and plans! PLANT LIST Edgeworthia chrysantha Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Red Dragon' Galanthus 'Alan Gray' Polystichum setiferum ‘Green Lace’ Eranthis hyemalis 'Dooze' Galanthus elwesii 'Daphne's Scissors' Tulipa sprengeri Tulipa orphanidea 'Flava' Galanthus plicatus 'EA Bowles' G ..read more

Tim Fuller of Norfolk nursery The Plantsman's Preference returns with beautiful flowers, fab foliage and serious FLOMO*! *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Buxus sempervirens 'Elegantissima' Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Beauty' Buxus sempervirens 'Aurea Pendula' Gaultheria mucronata syn. Pernettya mucronata Ilex aquifolium 'East Ruston Gold' Vinca minor Vinca minor 'Azurea Flore Pleno' Vinca minor 'Multiplex' Vinca minor 'Blue and Gold' Vinca minor 'Aureovariegata' Vinca difformis Greystone form Vinca major Vinca difformis subsp. sardoa Cyclamen cilicium Ipheion 'Rygel' Ip ..read more

This week Tim Fuller of Norfolk nursery The Plantsman's Preference stuns with some inspiring Ivies, plus Primulas, Snowdrops and more! PLANT LIST Salvia nemorosa Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' Galanthus nivalis 'Alan's Treat' Galanthus 'Mother Goose' Galanthus 'Treasure Island' Galanthus plicatus 'Golden Fleece' Galanthus 'Wandlebury Ring' Galanthus 'Günter Waldorf' Galanthus gracilis Muscari filiforme Arum italicum subsp. italicum 'Marmoratum' Arum italicum subsp. italicum 'Tiny' Arum pictum 'Primrose Warburg' Arum italicum subsp. neglectum 'Monksilver' Arum 'Curtis Giant' Pulmonaria mollis Pulm ..read more

This week Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis chat to Anya Lautenbach AKA Anya, The Garden Fairy. A passionate propagator, Anya is famous for making her garden from seeds and cuttings, and sharing her propagation tips with her million followers on social media. And now those skills are being captured in her new book 'The Money-Saving Gardener'. From the healing power of gardening to the plant which has her captivated at the moment, this is a feel-good look at the power of plants. PLANT LIST Meconopsis betonicifolia (syn. Meconopsis baileyi) Myosotidium hortensia Zaluzianskya ovata ..read more