Pots & Trowels The Gardening Podcast · Martin Fish, Jill Fish, Sean Riley

Joy of Forests and Trees, Northumberland Road Trip & Sowing Sweet Peas

·33 min·2 clips

Acer griseum peels cinnamon bark, and the Katsura tree smells like caramel and burnt sugar.

1. Pots & Trowels The Gardening Podcast focuses on Northumberland gardens, castles, trees, and autumn planting advice. 2. Martin, Sean, and Jill lead the episode, with Martin explaining trees, Sean handling questions, and Jill describing the trip and tea stops. 3. The episode asks what Northumberland can teach gardeners about trees, castles, and seasonal jobs. 4. Jill describes Northumberland as a favourite short-break destination with coastline, beaches, woodlands, and moors. 5. The hosts compare Alnwick’s water features, poison garden, and Japanese flowering cherries with the castle’s restored medieval interiors. 6. Chillingham Castle enters the discussion as a different kind of historic house, filled by Sir Humphrey Wakefield with antiques and curiosities. 7. Jill and Martin describe the Chillingham formal garden with parterres, yew hedging, box hedging, conifers, and herbaceous borders. 8. The wild cattle of Chillingham are mentioned as isolated, creamy-coloured animals that have never left the estate. 9. Howick Gardens and Arboretum is linked to the Earls Grey, the 1926 fire at the hall, and the gardens created from around 1920 onward. 10. Martin lists the arboretum’s six collection regions: China and the Himalayas, East Asia, India and Pakistan, North America, Europe, and the Southern Hemisphere. 11. The hosts say Howick covers about 65 acres, crosses both sides of a road, and uses a bridge to connect the sections. 12. The episode notes that Howick’s autumn colour is still developing in October, with snowdrops, daffodils, and seasonal openings through late November. 13. The Earl Grey tea story includes a blend made to suit Howick’s water, bergamot added to hide a lime taste, and the tea never being registered. 14. Barbara Haynes’s mushroom question brings a practical answer: the fungi are usually growing on decaying organic matter or dead roots. 15. Sean advises not to eat unidentified fungi and suggests removing nuisance growths to the dustbin or compost heap. 16. The sweet pea discussion gives two sowing windows, September to December or late winter, and recommends small pots, multipurpose compost, and a cold greenhouse. 17. Martin’s tree section turns to Acer griseum, Acer davidii, sorbus berries, birch bark, and the scent of the Katsura tree. 18. The conversation stays informal and local, with digressions into tea preferences, busman’s holidays, and the hosts’ own garden experience. 19. Gardeners interested in autumn trees, Northumberland, and practical planting advice. 20. Skip if you want a tightly edited show with minimal travel chat.

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