515 - The Plant Review: Waxcap Wonderlands, ancient apples, and your questions answered

SPEAKER_1 (0:03)

I'm walking down the path in my garden, and I have a suggestion for you on how you could help with global warming. With a large lawn, I found a simple way of making a big difference. I sold my ride-on mower and bought a top-of-the-range Crest robotic lawnmower.

It runs off rechargeable batteries and uses cutting-edge technology to mow and maintain a lawn this size. The petrol mower has gone, and with it, the emissions.

I actually don't know why I didn't sell the ride-on sooner. With the Crest robotic lawnmower, the lawn is actually looking better. The tiny grass cuttings fall into the grass roots, helping to fertilize the grass. And the family doesn't have to put up with the noise and fumes from the ride-on. And I've freed up more of my time to spend with them and in the garden. It's an easy step, and you could also be making that change today. Ask for Cress in your local garden machinery dealer, or visit cress.com.

Gareth Richards (1:06)

Today's episode is focused on the latest edition of The Plant Review, which is an RHS magazine aimed at those who want a deeper dive into the world of gardens, plants and horticultural history. I'm here with its editor, James Armitage. Hi James.

James Armitage (1:19)

Hi Gareth.

Gareth Richards (1:20)

For those that don't know, can you give us a bit more of an overview of what is the Plant Review?

James Armitage (1:25)

Well, if you don't know it, you're missing a treat.

It's the RHS quarterly publication, so it comes out seasonally with seasons devoted to plants. And you might think, well, hang on, isn't all horticulture devoted to plants? But the Plant Review focuses on one particular way, which is the aspect of sort of becoming obsessed with plants, plant fever and what's out there to grow. What do I need to get my hands on? What haven't I heard about? Proper nerd amassing just loads of information about plants and putting it all in one place. So that's what the Plant Review is about.

Gareth Richards (1:59)

It really is a broad church, isn't it? Are we going to hone in on a couple of articles from this month's edition?

James Armitage (2:04)

Well, we'll be speaking with Jassy Drakulic about ancient lawns and what you might find in them. A fascinating article about Lady Thornycroft, Blanche Ada, Lady Thornycroft. So we'll talk about her life in gardening and her apple legacy on the Isle of Wight.

And in this quarter's Plant Review, we received a letter that provoked some thinking from me. So I'm going to put the question from that letter to you, Gareth, and see what you think.

Gareth Richards (2:28)

OK. Excellent. Right. I look forward to that. And we'll end today's episode with more of your gardening questions answered with help from Melissa Mabbitt.

All this coming up on Gardening with the RHS with me, Gareth Richards.

James Armitage (2:40)

And me, James Armitage.

Gareth Richards (2:44)

How old's your lawn? Just think about it for a second. If your house is 100 years old, your lawn could well be 100 years old too. And, you know, you look at trees, for example, that are 100 years old, and we really marvel at their ancientness. But how often do we look down rather than up and look at the plants beneath our feet?

James Armitage (3:03)

Not very often. And so in September's The Plant Review, we have a great article about ancient lawns and what we can find in them. And one of the writers of that article is RHS plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic. And Jassy joins us now. Hello, Jassy.

Jassy Drakulic (3:16)

Hello, James. Hello, Gareth. Thanks for talking to me about this weird and lovely topic.

Gareth Richards (3:20)

Yeah, it's quite an unexpected one for The Plant Review, isn't it? And we always think about lawns as being beneficial to wildlife and leaving them to grow longer for pollinators. But you've taken lawns and biodiversity in quite a different angle, haven't you? Talking about ancient lawns. But first off, can you tell us what you mean by an ancient lawn?

Jassy Drakulic (3:38)

Well, there isn't any hard cut off for how old a lawn needs to be to be ancient, unlike an ancient woodland or an ancient tree, for instance. But around 100 years is a pretty old lawn. And if it has been managed in a really gentle way, the complexity of the life in that lawn will be quite established and diverse by now.

So yeah, an ancient lawn could be very old, but it's also about how it's been treated. So if you only have a 50 year old lawn, but it has been treated in this really gentle way, non-intensively managed, it could already be quite a vibrant lawn community.