what do you want to hear?
There are millions, MILLIONS of new gardeners around these days! Gardening is as hot as you wish the center of your compost pile were, and it’s so fun to tuck in those ear pods so you can learn and do at the same time. Here’s my list of the best podcasts to listen to in 2022, and why I like them.
Recorded by the BBC, this is a popular podcast that sees a host of experts answering questions directly from a live audience, or it did before the pandemic. GQT on BBC pivoted nicely with virtual audiences and seems to be sticking with that for a while. Information, and “dubious horticultural humour" are at the finger tips of experts with perfect British gardening names like Pippa Greenwood and Bob Flowerdew; real questions with great answers that are not always agreed on by al the panelists, which makes it all the more fun!
Production Quality: Very high
Type of Gardening: ALL— ornamental, veg, indoor
Style of Delivery: Nice pace with humor (or humour, in this case)
Average Length of Episode: 40 minutes
2. Joe Gardener
The Joe Gardener Show, with Joe Lamp’l. Joe gets great guests and is genuinely enthusiastic about learning from them. A strong bent for vegetable gardening, but a variety of other topics too. A keen gardener from a young age, each episode of Joe’s podcast is dedicated to tips to grow and care for a particular species of plant.
Production Quality: Very high
Type of Gardening: Mostly edibles
Style of Delivery: Only occasionally humorous, but a good pace, plenty of ads
Average Length of Episode: 50-60 minutes
Produced by BBC Radio Ulster and hosted by David Maxwell and Cherrie McIlwaine, this podcast is, in a word, charming. David greets his panel and the call in guests conversationally, talking about the weather. You feel like you get to know the people involved. There is great information on ornamental and edible gardening alike, and interesting guests on occasion, but a lot of the show deals with questions.
Production Quality: Professional, except for the amusing occasional disconnect with callers and panelists (“Averil? are you there, Averil?”)
Type of Gardening: Ornamental and vegetable
Style of Delivery: Charming Irish accents, and although David sometimes needs to reign in chatty folks who call in, I think that’s part of the fun.
Average Length of Episode: 60 minutes.
Hosted by experienced gardener Margaret Roach, A Way to Garden is a fun and insightful podcast into gardening in a small rural town. Margaret has impressive guests on a wide variety of topics, and her buddy Ken Druse is a frequent flyer. Wonderful information here, with a smattering of fun.
Production Quality: There is clearly produced by a radio or production team, but the editing isn’t tight.
Type of Gardening: All sorts, with interesting topics such as deer control, heirloom seeds, and garden gifts included. She does the occasional episode on cooking, which isn’t really gardening last time I checked.
Style of Delivery: The pace is good, but there is a rush at the end of every episode, and she doesn’t always formulate questions clearly.
Average Length of Episode: 30 minutes to conform to a radio format
I know, bold move putting my own podcast this high on the list, but I think it’s a good product because I inject a bit more humor than most gardening podcasts have. Plus, I have AMAZING guests! Plus, it’s mostly ornamental gardening, which is a bit unique.
Production Quality: Quite amateur because it’s all me. But good effort!
Type of Gardening: Ornamental with the occasional expert on vegetable and things I am no expert on.
Style of Delivery: Humorous, and I probably talk too fast.
Average Length of Episode: 40 minutes
Christy Wilhelmi is the delightful host of this podcast that concentrates on edibles. Based in Southern California, Christy interviews guests on lots of different topics skewing toward homesteading and permaculture.
Production Quality: Good, although it seems basic (no team)
Type of Gardening: Edibles
Style of Delivery: Good, and well-paced. Christy is likeable and has a fun sense of humor.
Average Length of Episode: 30-45 minutes
This podcast is hosted by Tom Christopher, and it deals predominantly with gardening ecology. Tom’s tag line is Join us every week for a different perspective on how to make your personal landscape healthier, more beautiful, more sustainable, and more fun. The only part of that I would dispute is the last word. Great guests almost every week and great information, though!
Production Quality: High; this is an edited radio show
Type of Gardening: Ecological gardening
Style of Delivery: Slow and dry. Great information, but I play it at 1.25 speed and don’t miss a thing unless his guest is a fast talker.
Average Length of Episode: 30 minutes to conform to a radio format
8) On the Ledge
This is a must-listen podcast for anyone looking to learn more about houseplants and how to make them thrive. Hosted by Brit Jane Perrone, who is an established authority on houseplants.
Production Quality: High
Type of Gardening: Houseplants
Style of Delivery: Everything sounds better with a British accent.
Average Length of Episode: 45 minutes
9. Plantrama
The subtitle to this podcast is Science, Art, & Dinner. Ellen Zachos is a forager who adds another layer of interest to the ‘dinner’ category, and she and her co-host C. L. Fornari are very knowledgeable gardeners who choose a variety of topics to discuss, and go into great detail about a single question sent each week. There is almost always some sort of recipe discussed. The ladies are enthusiastic and inspiring about food!
Production Quality: Fine, but not highly professional
Type of Gardening: Edibles and ornamental
Style of Delivery: Slow pace — I always listen at 1.25 speed.
Average Length of Episode: 30 minutes
This podcast used to be one of the funniest gardening podcasts I listened to when host Danielle Sherry played off of Steve Aitken’s laconic sense of humor. The levity is less natural with new host Carol Collins but I still love the podcast’s concentration on a certain category of plants (‘native spring flowers’, ‘best trees for shade’, ‘overlooked vegetables’, etc) and I alway learn something from their picks. Added bonus: you can go look at the show notes for a quick review on any plants that weren’t familiar to you.
Production Quality: Very good, as this is produced by Fine Gardening Magazine
Type of Gardening: Mostly ornamental, with some vegetable
Style of Delivery: They aren’t arguing anymore, but it’s conversational and only a little forced.
Average Length of Episode: 50 minutes