Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost in Conversation
I know from many years of making radio, that if people are passionate about their subject, then there is very little the producer needs to do except allow them to share that passion. Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost are most definitely passionate about plants and gardens and the hour and a half that I and an audience at the British Library, spent in their company, just flew by. They were taking part in an event organised by library as part of an exhibition: Unearthed - The Power of Gardening. I am thrilled that, thanks to the British Library and Poppy and Adam, I can share that conversation, recorded in July, with you here on the Our Plant Stories podcast.
With Poppy and Adam after the conversation, having got my books signed!
Both Poppy and Adam have recently published books about their gardens and I love that Poppy describes herself as a ‘garden assistant’ and Adam describes self-seeders as like fairy dust - “you let them do their magic”. So during our conversation they talked about creating those gardens but this is also about something deeper: our gardens as ‘safe spaces’ - there for us when the world outside can feel a little daunting or difficult.
Poppy and Adam also talk about our connections to nature, foraging, compost and soil, tomatoes - I truly think that there is something here for everyone who is sensing, seeking or cultivating a connection to plants.
Things to listen out for in this episode
1. Finding Safe Spaces in Gardens
How our gardens can offer healing and belonging.
2. Embracing the Magic of Wildness
The sweet-spot of allowing our gardens to go a little wild whilst still being the gardener
3. Uncovering the Secrets of Soil
The secret to every successful garden but add in some fabulous compost advice too.
4. Connecting Through Foraging
Childhood adventures (some a little more dangerous than others!) and gathering nature’s free food.
5. Passing on the Joy of Growing Plants
How do we share our knowledge with our children and our communities. And how do we keep the our passion for plants - nurturing our own love of them even if they have become our ‘work’.
One of the questions from the audience was about how we can encourage children to garden and Adam was telling us about an amazing guy in Norfolk who is doing work on this. I have done a little bit of digging and I can tell you that the charity which was founded by Matt Willer is called The Papillon Project - do take a look at their work here. And if you want to listen to the conversation that Adam had with Matt then here’s a link.
The Books
I loved reading both their books and there are many pencil marks in the margins of both!
Poppy’s book is called A Wilder Way - How Gardens Grow Us
Adam’s book is called For the Love of Plants
I do hope that you enjoy this episode with thanks again to the British Library and to Jon Fawcett who invited me to be a part of this conversation.