The Future Of Gardening ...

Summer's here! Time to get out in the garden. Roma Agrawal explores Sussex's wild botanical paradise Wakehurst (Kew Gardens) to discuss the science behind biodiversity, carbon capture, and the healing power of nature.

Ed Ikin, Wakehurst's Director, and Lorraine Lecourtois, Head of Public Programmes, guide us around the 500 acres of diverse landscape, which houses the world's largest seed bank.

Meanwhile, over in America, Nigel Palmer gives 5 top tips to improve your garden, all inspired by his experience as an aerospace engineer.

Episode Highlights

"Why does nature matter? Why should we invest in nature? ... So much is about the long term, so much is about the future. We talk about net zero by 2050. Well, if we make the wrong decisions now, we might be net negative by 2055."

“To stand in a landscape and just think about how you are connected to everything in the world around you really does change your perspective on design, and how we should create with nature rather than onto it.”

"In engineering we use models to explain the world around us, organise it into systems and predict results. I take the same approach with gardening. I think about nature and the growing of food as a complex non-linear system where soil, minerals, biology and plants all depend on one another."