episode 196 | show notes & advice
episode description
Even in smaller, urban gardens and balcony spaces, you can breathe life into them with charming pots and bulb lasagnes
Curating her own balcony garden with that vision of city-bound colour in mind, Jemima Bowker returns to ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’ this week to share with Sarah how she’s taking on the challenge of small space gardening for the autumn months, with fantastic tips aplenty for those of you doing the same.
In this episode, discover
- The small space gardening solutions that Jemima and Sarah suggest to maximise your limited spaces, like hanging window boxes and plant theatres
- Tasks that you’ll want to do as we transition into autumn, and when to start planning your bulb displays
- Sarah guides Jemima through the art of creating stunning bulb lasagnas, with tips on selecting complementary varieties and planting in layers
links and references
Order Sarah’s new book - A Year Full of Pots
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Flowers
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Veg
Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook | Sarah Raven
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website
Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Episode 196 advice sheet
Setting the scene for small-space gardening (1:35)
To start the episode, Jemima gives us a better idea of the space in which she’s working, sharing the challenges of transitioning from summer to autumn gardening.
Sarah and Jemima make mention of ideas to gain back some space, whether through a simple bracket to hang pots outside your balcony, or a more elaborate and ornate plant theatre.
The art of the bulb lasagne (15:00)
Sarah and Jemima dive into how you can create compelling bulb lasagnas, guiding us through the process of layering different bulb varieties to achieve a stunning display.
They share some standout selections of tulips, narcissus, and iris reticulata, with mention of some more complementary combinations to pair flowers that bloom together and share colour palettes
Shade-loving varieties for North-facing balconies (23:20)
Jemima has two balconies, one sunnier than the other, so we direct our attention to more shade-tolerant plants. There’s a pittosporum which is covered in a vibrant flush of green leaf in spring, and it’s so low maintenance - the tolerance of dappled shade and heat alike makes it one of Sarah’s new favourites.
