The Plotting Shed
AUTUMN 2023 SERIES STARTS SEPT 22nd . Each podcast covers an aspect of gardening or design or is about something we think you'd like to know. All the podcast topics can also be found at PlantPlots.com. PLUS - Watch our videos on YouTube: Read this amazing book "I Want to Like my Garden" by Rachel McCartain available on Amazon books. We'd also love you to tell us what you think too - just email rachel@plantplots.com. You can also make a donation to help us make more and better podcasts too - our thanks if you have. Thanks for listening. PlantPlots.com
Episodes
142 episodes
Brilliantly simple design tips for gardens that are on a slope
What to do if your garden is on a slope, whether its and upslope or downslope, gardens don't have to be made flatter to become better!Brilliantly simple design tips to help you understand how you can create a functioning but beautiful g...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 10
•
19:06
Front Gardens - are not a small version of the back garden
Front Gardens are so important, yet are often left as uninspiring gardens. But the front garden is what you and your visitors walk past to get to the front door - so the garden should say something about you!So, this week's episode is d...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 9
•
18:01
How to design Odd Shaped Gardens
Life would be so much easier if gardens were regular shapes, but more often than not now gardens come in all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes.So how do you design a garden in one? Well, there are some easy tips and hints to help you ...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 8
•
22:48
How to design a rectangular or square shaped garden
Gardens come in all shapes of rectangles - these can be long narrow rectangles, wide shallow shaped gardens or perfectly square spaces.So what makes for an interesting design in a regular box-shaped garden?
•
Season 10
•
Episode 7
•
22:56
How does a garden become family-friendly?
What does family-friendly mean in design and layout terms? Most gardens have to be multifunctional spaces, providing space for little people to boom about in BUT that the adults can relax and enjoy themselves in.So what should you consi...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 6
•
20:13
Garden Styling - How to Choose the Right One
You may think of garden styles as Cottage, Mediterranean, Contemporary, Minimalist etc but it's actually much simpler than that. But before you lay the styling out, you need to understand how each of these 3 main styles works and then decide wh...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 5
•
19:39
How do you choose the design layout for a garden?
The key principle when you are faced with lots of decisions is to break these down into simpler decisions. And that is really all design is about, asking simple questions, the result of which will help you understand how you need your garden to...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 4
•
26:06
Why does everyone think having a beautiful garden means more work?
I am a lazy gardener, I want to spend time enjoying being in the garden, not fussing over the jobs and chores I think I need to do. If you are like me, then listen in, and I will give you the best tip for making looking after your garden le...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 3
•
20:34
If you're going to design your garden - Don't do this!
Designing a garden can be daunting, especially if you don't know much about design, plants or gardening. But you can design your garden well, if you follow some simple steps. The first one is eliminating negatives, you need to und...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 2
•
21:55
You don't need to become a gardener to have an amazing garden
What makes a garden truly amazing? The truth is nothing - it's a choice; Does the garden amaze us? Creating an amazing garden isn't then an impossible dream!If you want to know how you can transform your garden from ordinary to am...
•
Season 10
•
Episode 1
•
24:36
What's wrong with Orange!
Absolutely one of the best colour combinations in a garden is green .... and orange!So why do so many gardeners shy away from orange-coloured plants in their gardens? Bright colours are brilliant, but there is a way to use bold colour combi...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 10
•
15:15
Gardening's going 'Up the Wall'
If space in the garden is limited, vertical gardening is a must, but how can you get it 'right'? What are the best plants to use and what are the pitfalls and problems to consider before you put your plants on the wall?
•
Season 9
•
Episode 9
•
19:58
Are your garden boundaries barriers?
All gardens have boundaries, but these can often feel like barriers. Personal security is an issue, but if your boundary becomes a barrier, you will always lose more than you gain. So what makes a boundary a barrier and how can you blur the edg...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 8
•
20:52
Trend-setting ideas for 2023
How to Become a Plotting Shed Pioneer. This week Rachel challenges you to rethink your gardens, made simple changes to your gardening habits and set the trends for everyone else to follow. The aim; to do less but enjoy more (and be good for the...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 7
•
21:02
Transform your idea of a garden layout - go reverse!
Most if not all garden design is based around a similar format, we create space in the middle of the garden and plant round the edges - but does this make for the best and most interesting gardens? Or are we simply creating an empty space in th...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 6
•
11:59
Become a garden referee - you'll be happier if you do!
OK, what's a garden referee? Well, it's all about your relationship with your garden and how a few simple changes to your perception of gardening can transform your relationship with your garden. Allowing you to enjoy more but do less.&nb...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 5
•
22:28
It's time to think about lawns!
The lawn can be a glorious thing, but most lawns aren't. This week Rachel challenges the idea of what a perfect lawn is and discusses how big or important the lawn really is in the garden. And asks whether we need to change our idea of what a p...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 4
•
24:24
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023
I went to Chelsea and had a lovely day wandering around the flower show and this is what I think you need to take from this yearGardening is in an evolution revolution - so listen in, and learn how simple changes to your garden will ben...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 3
•
24:38
What's best - a landscape gardener or garden designer?
You've decided to get the experts in, so what's best for you? A landscape gardener or a garden designer - in fact, what's the difference between them?And what questions do you need to ask them to make sure your new garden is right for you?<...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 3
•
21:00
Help - I just don't know where to start!
Creating a new garden can be overwhelming, there are so many decisions to make about layout, styling and the materials to use. And then there are plants - how on earth can you choose plants when your horticultural knowledge can identify a rose....
•
Season 9
•
Episode 2
•
26:24
Why garden design goes wrong
How can you create a beautiful garden design if you haven't got a clue about gardening?Welcome back to the first of this season's podcasts. This week Rachel talks about prepping your garden thought process. Understanding what you need...
•
Season 9
•
Episode 1
•
22:47
How your garden can tap into the Internet of Life for free
The buzzword for many gardeners is low maintenance - but we have the wrong concept of what low maintenance should mean. The best low-maintenance garden is one where the plants look after themselves. This week, Rachel looks at the wood-wide ...
•
Season 8
•
Episode 9
•
23:37
Garden design; what everyone should think about .... but don't!
Gardens don't exist in a photograph or a moment in time. Picture-perfect gardens are not real, all gardens create work. Large gardens create a lot of work, so how do you ensure the design itself doesn't create unnecessary maintenance o...
•
Season 8
•
Episode 8
•
22:27
