Back in March, The Organic Gardening podcast visited Head Gardener Ashley on a beautiful day in Horatio’s Garden London & South East, not only to discover more about the charity and how we garden the organic way, but also to treat listeners to a little audio tour of the sanctuary. 

To listen to The Organic Gardening podcast, please click here 

The podcast is all about helping everyone to garden more sustainably and organically, with advice, tips and interviews all featuring from the UK’s leading organic gardening organisation, Garden Organic. 

Long hosted by Sarah Brown and Chris Collins, this particular episode was slightly bittersweet being that it was Sarah’s final appearance. Naturally, it was an enormous shame for everyone to see her go, but fortunately listeners were given the perfect pick-me-up thanks to Chris’ visit to see Ashley in our London garden.

As well as asking questions about the charity, our mission to support everyone affected by spinal injury, the story behind our sanctuaries and what each horticultural haven is designed to offer to people adjusting to life-changing injuries, Chris was also keen to lead listeners virtually through the garden. 

Ashley was only too happy to share the garden with the podcast’s audience, pointing out various interesting plants and features of the garden, which was designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. The intriguing greenery factored into the flowerbeds is often the first thing to engage people exploring the garden, in turn prompting them to ask questions of Ashley and join him for horticultural therapy sessions. 

To listen to The Organic Gardening podcast, please click here

The two also travel to the greenhouse, which as Chris states is every gardener’s dream! Stacked with thriving seedlings, it’s one of Ashley’s favourite places to spend time in, whilst patients frequently share their love for the space too.

The pods and garden room are talked about too, with Ashley explaining that people spending prolonged periods of time in hospital really value having these private places; somewhere they can enjoy a view to nature whatever the weather, as well as spend time with a few friends or family members. 

To listen to The Organic Gardening podcast, please click here

The episode is well worth a listen, as is the rest of the series, so if you’d like to discover more, simply follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! 

We’re enormously grateful to the team for featuring Head Gardener Ashley and Horatio’s Garden. Hopefully they’ll all be back for another visit soon!