BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast · Immediate Media

In Conversations at Kew with Frances Tophill and Adam Frost

December 30, 2025·54 min·5 clips

Frances Tophill left her job at M&S to become a gardener after waking up to rain on the window.

This live-recorded episode features BBC Gardeners' World presenters Frances Tophill and Adam Frost in conversation at Kew Gardens. Hosted by a magazine editor, the discussion explores their personal gardening journeys and current projects. The setting at the renowned botanic gardens provides a backdrop for their reflections on the horticultural world. Frances Tophill recently published a book titled "A Wildflower Year," based on her collection of pressed flowers and research into their folklore and uses. She also released a children's gardening book called "How to Grow a Garden," illustrated and set in a botanic garden. Adam Frost has been on a live tour discussing his life and the connection between garden design, music, and personal history. He explains he creates playlists to design gardens, focusing on atmosphere over purely visual elements. The hosts play a quick "love and hate" game about garden features, where Adam Frost expresses a strong dislike for large, plastic outdoor chess sets. Frances Tophill champions the color yellow in the garden, challenging its unpopular reputation. Both presenters share their gardening inspirations, with Tophill crediting her mother's nature walks and Adam Frost recalling his two grandmothers, "tidy Nan" and "scruffy Nan." Frost names Geoff Hamilton, a former Gardeners' World host, as a major professional mentor who set his "moral compass." A surprising moment comes when Tophill confesses that as an apprentice, she and others planted the last 50 tulip bulbs in a single pit, which accidentally created a stunning display. Adam Frost recounts a prank from his own apprenticeship where colleagues tricked him into scrubbing a waterwheel they then turned on, soaking him. The conversation touches on the Latin names for plants, with Tophill explaining their practical value and the stories behind common names. Both reflect on the unexpected impact of their television work, with Tophill becoming emotional when recalling a young woman inspired to become a gardener by seeing her on screen. Adam Frost notes he feels most useful when doing practical projects, like designing gardens for NHS hospitals. They discuss how the show's audience grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering viewers an escape. The tone is warm, conversational, and often humorous, with a strong sense of camaraderie between the hosts and the live audience. The style is informal and anecdotal, blending personal stories with practical gardening insights. This episode is ideal for fans of Gardeners' World who enjoy behind-the-scenes stories and the personal histories of its presenters. Listeners seeking highly technical horticultural advice or a structured interview might find the relaxed, meandering format less engaging.

As heard by us

A warm Kew conversation about how plant names carry stories.

Recorded live at Kew Gardens, it is a warm, easygoing talk about gardening and the stories tucked into plant names. The setting does a lot of the work.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you like your garden talk live, loose, and full of plant names.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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