Film and photography Ellen Hancock
Words Holly Nicholas

Almost a year has passed since the start of our gardening podcast and film series, How My Garden Grows. Hosted by lifelong gardener and journalist Francine Raymond, we’ve had the pleasure of exploring some of the country’s most inspiring outdoor spaces, from pint-sized plots filled with lush foliage to one of Britain’s best-loved gardens.

The series began last August, with a visit to Phil Gomm’s small but mighty garden in Whitstable, layered with a multitude of leafy climbers, perennials and exotic splashes of colour. Autumn’s arrival was marked by a visit to Francine’s own garden, and a lesson in making the most of the season’s glut of stone fruit. (Greengage Martini, anyone?)

Earlier this year we visited the inspirational Granby Winter Garden, a community-led indoor garden created from two derelict Victorian houses in Toxteth, Liverpool. Then it was off to Nottingham, to meet Arthur Parkinson, his nan, and his wonderful brood of hens.

In May Francine took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of Great Dixter, where we met its current cohort of nursery scholars and learned about the site’s incredible biodiversity. A trip to Norfolk rewarded us with a tour of Jane-Ann Walton’s fabulous garden, home to its very own auricula theatre.

We were lucky enough to visit Andrew Salter’s riotous garden on two separate occasions: once in darkest November, and again in late summer, when zinnias, rudbeckias and snapdragons threatened to outgrow his barn.

We travelled to rural Suffolk during August for Francine to visit a garden she first viewed over 20 years ago. Stay tuned for our heatwave episode, and join us next month for more green-fingered explorations of the UK’s wildly varied gardens and the brilliant people who nurture them.

Is there a garden you think we should visit? Let us know at info@themodernhouse.com