Series 3 - Final Episode!
And suddenly I am recording the last episode of series 3!
Kate Picker in the sky on the Castlefield Viaduct and Simon Pitkeathley on the ground beside the proposed Camden Highline in photos taken in 2024.
The podcast has shared 20 plant stories and offshoot episodes that have taken us from New York to Norfolk and the Loire to Louisiana.
I have stood in a field asking what do daffodils do in July? I have crouched down to look at the most delicate snowdrops and gazed up at a magnificent tulip tree. I am so grateful to everyone who has shared their stories in this series. And also to everyone who has listened and supported the work with virtual coffees or joined plant plugs to give a weekly coffee.
The last episode is a bit special for me. When I began the podcast I wondered if I could find a way to bring together not just the audio and the plants but my background in BBC charity appeals. And it has happened this week, thanks again to serendipity.
I was looking at the website of Claire - The Garden Editor, who it turns out has been listening to Our Plant Stories since it started! On her website was a line saying her garden was twinned.
Now I had never heard of garden twinning. Our loo was twinned with one in Mozambique but a garden? So I did a bit of digging and found the charity offering this was Ripple Effect - formerly known as Send a Cow. I had done a couple of appeals for Send a Cow when I was the Radio 4 Appeals producer so I knew about the work it did and I thought it was great.
So if you listen on Tuesday you will hear Claire on why she decided to twin her garden and just to say there’s a very solid reason to that decision. You will also hear Anne Hatton from the charity and Lucy who lives in rural Kenya - who has benefited from the twinning. It felt so good to be back working with a charity that is telling its story. I really hope you may be inspired too and help to spread the word.
The other reason that this episode feels special is because a podcast gives you the freedom to return to stories whenever you want to. Back in November 2024 I visited the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and the proposed Camden High Line in London. I said then that I intended to go back - 12 months on.
Now regular readers will know I am a bit obsessed with Highlines. They are complex both to build and maintain but they offer a calm space in a city. Check out Richard Hayden on the New York High Line. When I first contacted my interviewees from 2024 - they both said they were waiting on developments in the case of Manchester and still ‘wading through treacle’ in London.
However I persuaded them to talk about these things because it is part of the story and it’s a chance for us to applaud their tenacity. So we will keep returning to this story; putting people and plants up close to trams and trains is a challenge most gardeners don’t encounter!
As you read this blog on Friday morning, I will be on my way to the Garden Media Awards - the podcast is nominated in the Radio Broadcast or Podcast of the Year award. Being nominated is amazing, winning would be incredible, though having listened to the other finalists, my money is on - the Hortweek podcast: The End Of Peat which does seem a very pertinent subject.
But I shall enjoy every moment - we have come a long way since that first peony episode with Lynne trying to track down the peony her mother grew. And I am excited for the stories that are already starting to emerge for series 4. Remember if you have a plant story which you would like me to dig into just email me sally@ourplantstories.com
Do keep an eye on this blog and you can share the journey till the podcast - series 4 arrives in Febuary 2026!
Have a lovely weekend
Sally
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