The Garden Log

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The Garden Log is an award winning podcast from Ben Dark, Head Gardener at an English country estate. Episodes begin with a review of events in the flowerbeds, meadows and woodland, before moving on to discuss horticultural matters more generally.Ben is an ever-curious host who does not take himself, his job or gardening too seriously. A half-hour spent in his company is a half-hour spent far away from the myriad concerns of modern life.

Recent Episodes
  • Hellos and Goodbyes
    Oct 18, 2022 – 05:55
  • How to keep plants alive (and other mysteries)
    Jun 16, 2022 – 34:00
  • Pine riots, wolf-vines and the joy of other people's gardens: A gardening podcast
    May 20, 2022 – 39:58
  • Underrated shrubs, sweet perfumes and the art of the Garden Room: A petal strewn podcast
    May 12, 2022 – 32:34
  • #100 Perfect mistakes, rhubarb, rollercoasters, tulips and timeslips: A gardening podcast
    May 5, 2022 – 30:47
  • #99 Wildflowers, Tyrants and Sweet Magnolia: A Gardening Podcast
    Apr 26, 2022 – 36:49
  • #98 [On Location] The good, the mad and the hyggeligt: front gardens of Hellerup
    Apr 1, 2022 – 34:19
  • #97 Of oligarchs, snowberries and other shade lovers: A gardening podcast
    Mar 18, 2022 – 31:36
  • #95 Rose pruning with King Midas: A gardening podcast
    Feb 10, 2022 – 32:18
  • #94 Sowing Eupatorium, seeing Sorbus and reverting Picea + The Grove, the wind, the snow and the seagulls
    Jan 28, 2022 – 27:51
  • #93 The surprising speed of Arum italicum: featuring Proust’s Asparagus, Mahonia x media and the Aucuba fertilisation frenzy of 1865
    Jan 19, 2022 – 26:58
  • #92 [On Location] Life in the Ruins: Mutant brambles and runaway figs in the deserted village of Campo di Brenzone
    Nov 8, 2021 – 38:16
  • #91 [On Location] Kitchen Garden Confidential
    Oct 26, 2021 – 36:50
  • #90 [On Location] Bernstorff Slotshave 1: A good walk foiled
    Oct 14, 2021 – 28:25
  • #89 Copenhagen: city of roses (A gardening podcast)
    Aug 2, 2021 – 29:36
  • #88 Goodbye to all that
    Jun 30, 2021 – 32:05
  • #87 Acer griseum, Crocus chrysanthus, frost reports and water fountains: a gardening podcast
    Mar 12, 2021 – 32:44
  • #86 New discoveries, old adversaries and very strong coffee: A gardening podcast
    Jan 11, 2021 – 33:18
  • #85 Russian sage, British mud, almond puddings: A gardening podcast
    Dec 21, 2020 – 27:44
  • #85 How to rehabilitate an olive, revive a flowerbed and restore a rockery
    Nov 20, 2020 – 28:14
  • #83 Hard edges, cold winds and twelve thousand little droplets of hope: A gardening podcast
    Sep 28, 2020 – 24:47
  • #82 Scything for beginners, rose pruning for experts and lawn mowing for everyone
    Aug 10, 2020 – 27:51
  • #81 Yellow trees, purple trees and Isabella Trees + naked calendars, shredded perennials and a new vegetable garden.
    Jul 5, 2020 – 26:36
  • #80 How to choose bog plants for dry gardens, plant a wild urn and massively amplify astrantias
    Jun 10, 2020 – 40:19
  • #79 The economy of beauty: tree ferns, aconites, thermopsis and frost
    May 15, 2020 – 31:55
  • #78 Creative weeding, lily beetles and impossibly clashing shades of tulip
    Apr 28, 2020 – 31:11
  • #77 How to argue about tulips, judge front gardens and appreciate euphorbia
    Apr 9, 2020 – 32:28
  • #76 How to make a very new tree look old and beautiful, plant a heather canyon and measure a life in rosebuds
    Mar 11, 2020 – 32:47
  • #75 How to select hardy geraniums, fake the wild look and survive two storms in a week
    Feb 19, 2020 – 32:55
  • #74 Training figs, burying barns under clematis montana, and cutting back hybrid hellebores: A gardening podcast
    Jan 31, 2020 – 24:14
  • #73 Twenty-three thuja, two-hundred-thousand worms and one almighty disaster - happy new year everybody!
    Jan 14, 2020 – 30:44
  • #72 How to lift dahlias, grow summer fruiting raspberries, naturalise scilla and be a horticultural vigilante
    Dec 9, 2019 – 31:43
  • #71 Gardeners’ wages, frozen toes and martagon lilies: A horticultural podcast
    Nov 19, 2019 – 24:37
  • #70 Agapanthus and autumn flowering snowdrops
    Nov 6, 2019 – 30:52
  • #69 Hot tea and rainclouds: a week in an English garden
    Oct 23, 2019 – 26:26
  • #68 Slug life, magnolia death and a ground elder invasion: A gardening podcast
    Oct 1, 2019 – 30:15
  • #67 Three-thousand true blue pansies, playing with epimedium and finding the right path for candelabra primulas: A gardening podcast
    Sep 24, 2019 – 25:54
  • #66 The trouble with dahlias, meadow mowing and stylish underplanting for the stylish gardener
    Sep 4, 2019 – 26:13
  • #65 Planting a pagan yew grove, playing the delphinium blues and preaching the wallflower gospel: a gardening podcast
    Aug 23, 2019 – 25:13
  • #64 High summer meadows, the hottest day on record and falling in love with a saxifraga: A gardening podcast.
    Jul 30, 2019 – 29:09
  • #63 Poppies, roses, wood sorrels and willow herbs: A gardening podcast
    Jul 18, 2019 – 24:01
  • #62 Acanthus out, clematis up, lawns in a horrible yellow mess: A gardening podcast
    Jul 9, 2019 – 30:27
  • #61 Spent delphiniums, silver ragwort and prehistoric planting: A gardening podcast
    Jul 2, 2019 – 23:40
  • #60 Adventures in the cosmos hole: red thread, ranunculus, obelisks and chalk
    Jun 25, 2019 – 22:08
  • #59 Houttuynia (tastes like fish) bracken (gets stamped on) and Uvdale Price (is full of regrets): A gardening podcast!
    Jun 18, 2019 – 28:09
  • #58 Pitching for TV, the cool green cave and fighting the orange fire: a gardening podcast
    May 30, 2019 – 26:17
  • #57 A week in the garden
    May 24, 2019 – 24:25
  • #56 Potting lemons, splitting day lilies, paranoia, drunkenness and burning down the Hyde Park Pagoda
    Apr 11, 2019 – 29:19
  • #55 How to take risks, unwrap ferns and apply for gardening’s most prestigious job
    Mar 20, 2019 – 24:06
  • #54 Molasses lawn-soup, foaming scilla and how to hire a pliant gardener
    Mar 7, 2019 – 25:52
Recent Reviews
  • Denver1601
    Smoldering passionate gardening
    So I don’t think he’s always talking about gardening? Oh dear! But then some of us get pretty worked up when we walk into a garden center, or open a Fall bulb catalogue!! If you aren’t a passionate gardener you may not get absorbed. Me? I totally get it. He makes the listener visualize what he’s experienced that week. I was relieved to get the damned moldy acanthus ripped out. I love this podcast. It’s a bit exhaustive. But Ben covers a lot of territory. I recommend a glass of wine with this podcast and dim the lights.
  • nicccccknnnamme
    Men-centric ?
    So far I have only listened to one episode. I like the poetic language and interesting commentary. As a professional gardener who is also a woman, I was a little put off by the consistent references to other gardeners and garden helpers who are all male... :/. I may listen to another episode and see how it goes, but that was my initial reaction. Thanks.
  • trinity river dog
    A Breath of Very Fresh Air!
    Working on several of our properties up in the mountains of Northern California, I found and have exhausted several wonderful podcasts centered on organic growing and sustainability. But podcasts entertain and educate me as I lug wheelbarrows of various soil types, operate the tractor, reconfigure the greenhouse and pot up hundreds of seedlings from some known donors last fall taken. Some are from my crops as well as mystery plants. It is all an adventure and I love it, but I need input from many sources and it took a dreadful exploration into less engaging US offerings before Ben appeared. From his first droll sentence, I was captivated. I’ll pursue the funding route for his podcasts because he is infinitely worth it. I owned and ran a great, conservation-based whale watching company on California’s Monterey Bay for many years and the Brits were some of my favorite passengers. I will say about Ben’s podcasts what they often said about our cruises: “Brilliant!”
  • nuageetsoleil
    Lovely to listen to.
    I recently found this wonderful podcast full of detail, helpful hints, humour and delightful ambiance. An absolute treasure of a find. Enjoyable at every turn. A great host with a calming, reassuring voice. Heartfelt thanks!
  • Long Winter Farm
    Comforting
    Garden narrative at its best. Thank you for the hope of spring and the promise of hardwork.
  • Markcross1000
    Fantastic
    Absolutely fantastic
  • WMGardener
    Wonderful gardening chat and chuckles
    I love listening to Ben’s adventures in the garden and the library while puttering around outdoors myself. Definitely worth a listen!
  • ZaliZat
    Wonderful, Relaxing, & Funny
    This is an all-round wonderful gardening podcast. It isn’t a how-to podcast (though, I do occasionally pick up a thing or two), it is really like listening to that one friend who always has (true!) stories to tell about the week, but in an incredibly good-for-podcast voice. Ben has an incredible turn of phrase that regularly makes my husband and me crack up. He paints an extremely beautiful word portrait of life as a head gardener.
  • Local Milk People
    Terrific Voice & Art Of Storytelling
    Ben has a wonderful way of telling stories about gardening and a fantastic sense of humor. I have replayed many of his episodes more than I care to admit and sometimes I use his podcast to fall asleep because of his soothing voice. Also I find myself laughing loud and glad only the dog heard me.
  • Taylepo
    I love this podcast for so many reasons!
    It’s informational, interesting, witty and calming. Ben is the best to listen to in the morning and at night - easy listening to ease into the day and fall asleep to, I just can’t get enough. I hope this podcast never ends!
  • MoreGardeningPlease
    I can’t stop listening!
    This podcast is so inspirational! As I listen to it during my corporate day job, I dream, plan, soak up, and take notes of the information. Each episode creates a monumental urge to get working in my own garden. The cadence of his voice is the perfect remedy for daily stress. This podcast is descriptive, witty, explorative, and I eagerly await each new episode.
  • Pet Chaser
    Soporific
    This is the perfect podcast for gardeners with insomnia. His soothing voice and interesting, but not too interesting, content puts me right to sleep. I really appreciate this podcast!
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