What if gardening doesn't make you happy? Gardening isn't always the simple "cure-all" it's often made out to be. We get into the realities behind the wellbeing narrative — from overwhelm and pressure to the deeper emotional connections we form with our outdoor spaces. It's a thoughtful, honest conversation about what gardens really give us… and what they sometimes don't.

Benny's Insect of the Week: Gooden's Nomad Bee

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Links

The Psychology of Gardening (The Psychology of Everything) - Harriet Gross

Garden Lovers Reading Retreat

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If you enjoyed this week's episode with Harriet, you might also like these conversations from the archives:

Episode 314: Nurturing Growth, Inside and Out
In this episode, Sarah looks at the emotional side of gardening and how our outdoor spaces can shape identity, wellbeing, and resilience — a thoughtful companion to today's discussion about the psychological weight and reward of tending a garden.

Episode 286: Natural Happiness
This episode explores the relationship between nature and wellbeing, questioning what we really mean when we say gardens make us "happy," and how that experience varies from person to person — closely linked to today's reflections on the limits of gardening as a cure-all.

Rebecca Wynn Kelly works at the intersection of sculpture, ecology, and myth as a "species architect" exploring how we might reimagine our relationship with the land. Rooted in West Wales, her work blends habitat creation with storytelling and folklore to ask who—and what—we build the landscape for.

Benny's Insect of the Week: The Batman Overfly

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Links

Rebecca Wynn Kelly – Artist

Instagram – Rebecca Wynn Kelly

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If you liked this week's episode with Rebecca Wynn Kelly, you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 53: Garden Design for Every Species
In this episode, John Little explores how gardens can be designed with wildlife at the centre, creating layered habitats that support a wide range of species. It's a natural companion to today's conversation about building for more than just human needs and thinking like a "species architect."

Episode 301: The Wheel of the Year
In this episode, Rebecca Beattie discusses seasonal cycles, folklore and ritual, and how reconnecting with the rhythms of the year can deepen our relationship with the land. It offers a thoughtful extension of today's themes around story, place and ecological connection.

This week, we dive into the hidden world of water with author Stephen Rutt, exploring the landscapes we so often overlook. From chalk streams to peat bogs, we trace water's strange and vital journey through our environment—and why it deserves far more of our attention.

Benny's Insect of the Week: The Yellow-Legged Mining Bee

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Links

The Waterlands - Stephen Rutt

Stephen Rutt on Instagram

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If you liked this week's episode with Stephen, you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 352: Peat, Politics and Horticulture
In this episode, Sarah explores the importance of peatlands, from their role in carbon storage to their impact on water systems, making it a natural companion to today's conversation about wetlands and the movement of water through the landscape.

Episode 322: Garden Wildlife Ponds
This episode looks at how introducing water into the garden can support biodiversity, offering practical insights into creating and maintaining ponds — an ideal follow-on from today's discussion on the value of water in both wild and cultivated spaces.

Horticultural legend Pam Lewis began her garden at Sticky Wicket in Dorset decades ago, and revisiting her early writing shows just how ahead of the curve—and fearless—she was in championing wildlife-friendly, sustainable gardening. We sat down to reflect on her years in the garden and how the horticultural world has changed along the way.

Benny's Insect of the Week: Asiraca clavicornis

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Books

Sticky Wicket: Gardening in Tune With Nature - Pam Lewis, 2007

Making a Wildflower Meadow - Pam Lewis, 2015

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If you liked this week's episode with Pam, you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 194: Gardening for Wildlife
In this episode, Sarah explores how gardeners can better support biodiversity, sharing practical ways to create spaces that welcome and sustain wildlife — making it a natural companion to today's conversation about gardening in harmony with nature.

Episode 285: No Mow May
This episode looks at the impact of letting lawns grow wild through May, highlighting how small changes in garden management can have big benefits for pollinators and biodiversity — an ideal follow-on from today's discussion on working with, rather than against, the natural world.

What does it really take to run a small, sustainable nursery? This week on Roots and All, I'm joined by nurseryman and designer Ben Preston of Cliff Bank Nursery for an honest conversation about the realities of the job—from growing in sand and selling bare root plants to why local nurseries matter more than ever, and why it's truly a labour of love.

Benny's Insect of the Week: The Orange Ladybird

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Links

Cliff Bank Nursery

Instagram: @cliff_bank_nursery

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If you liked this week's episode with Ben, you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 284: The Organic Nursery
In this episode, Sarah speaks with Sam Frings about building and running an organic nursery, exploring the challenges of growing plants sustainably, maintaining ethical practices, and creating a resilient small business — making it a perfect companion to today's discussion on the realities of nursery life.

Episode 175: Seeking Rare Plants
Nick Macer of Pan Global Plants joins Sarah to share his passion for unusual and hard-to-find plants, discussing plant sourcing, selection, and what it takes to run a specialist nursery — an ideal follow-on from today's conversation about plant choice, diversity, and the role of small growers.

What if Britain's fields were hiding a secret psychedelic past in plain sight? In this episode of Roots and All, I'm joined by historian and publisher Robert Dickins to explore the surprising story of our native mushrooms—from how they grow to the cultural and legal forces that have shaped our relationship with them. It's a fascinating glimpse into a little-known side of Britain's natural and social history.

Benny's Insect of the Week: The Orange Ladybird

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Links

Psilocybe Pickers by Robert Dickins - Psychedelic Press, 2025

About: Robert Dickins, PhD, is a historian and publisher, whose works examines the social and literary history of psychoactive substances and altered states of experience. He is the author of Cobweb of Trips: A Literary History of Psychedelics (2024) and Psilocybe Pickers: A Short History of Bemushroomed Britons (2025), and is currently researching the connection between tripping and gardens for a forthcoming project. He is on the steering committee for Breaking Convention, Europe's largest psychedelic conference, and has been publishing in the psychedelic space for almost 20 years. He lives in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire.

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If you liked this week's episode with Robert, you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 371: Wild Edibles
In this episode, Sarah explores the world of foraging and our relationship with wild food — from what's safe and sustainable to pick, to the deeper cultural connections we have with the plants and fungi around us, making it a perfect companion to today's discussion of Britain's overlooked natural history.

Episode 136: In Search of Mycotopia with Doug Bierend
Doug Bierend joins Sarah to delve into the rich cultural and historical world of fungi, exploring how mushrooms have shaped human societies and imaginations — an ideal follow-on from today's episode on the hidden stories and significance of psychedelic species.

Small spaces, big wildlife. Writer James Canton joins me to discuss his book Renaturing and his two-acre North Essex project, showing how subtle, thoughtful interventions can revive biodiversity — a great companion episode to Randal Plunkett's conversation about large-scale "V-wilding."

Benny's Insect of the Week: European Orchard Bee

Links

www.essex.ac.uk

Renaturing: Small Ways to Wild the World by James Canton

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Episode 373: V‑Wilding with Randal Plunkett
Randal Plunkett joins Sarah to explore his large‑scale "V‑wilding" project at Dunsany Nature Reserve, where a hands‑off approach lets ecosystems recover and challenges mainstream ideas about restoration — a great complement to today's discussion on working with nature at different scales.

Episode 322: Garden Wildlife Ponds with Pete Case
Freshwater Habitats Trust expert Pete Case dives into the world of garden ponds — why they matter for wildlife, how to create and maintain them, and how even modest water features can support biodiversity, making this a practical and inspiring complement to today's episode about working with the land you have.

https://rootsandall.co.uk/podcast/episode‑193‑growing‑under‑protection/In this episode, I'm joined by Beth Gregg, founder of Claverton Cloches, who's on a mission to revive the beauty and practicality of Victorian cloche gardening. We talk about cloches of all shapes, sizes, and materials, how they can extend the growing season and protect crops, and explore the history, design, and sustainability behind them — and why sometimes the smallest structures can make the biggest difference in the garden.

Benny's Insect of the Week: Daffodil Dung Fly

About

Beth Gregg is a passionate advocate of cloche gardening and the founder of Claverton Cloches. Her love affair with the romance of the English garden, particularly the ingenuity of historic kitchen gardens, led her to explore the power of the humble cloche as both a practical and beautiful growing tool.

In her own garden, Beth uses cloches extensively to extend the seasons and create microclimates. She ripens chillies and tender crops outdoors in lieu of a greenhouse, overwinters flowers for early cutting in late spring, and protects delicate young plants from frost, wind and hungry garden visitors. For her, cloches are not ornamental extras, but transformative tools - simple structures that can dramatically improve yield, resilience and timing in the garden.

Inspired by antique Victorian designs, she went on to found Claverton Cloches in 2020, reviving traditional cast-iron and glass forms for modern gardeners who value both beauty and productivity. Her work celebrates the quiet practicality of historic garden craft, and the idea that functional objects in the garden can, and should, be deeply beautiful.

You can explore Claverton Cloches at www.clavertoncloches.com

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If you liked this week's episode with Beth you might also enjoy this episode from the archives:

Episode 142: Growing Under Cover with Niki Jabbour
Canadian gardener and author Niki Jabbour joins Sarah to share her deep‑dive wisdom on using crop covers, season‑extending techniques and protected structures to grow productive, weather‑resilient vegetable gardens — even in challenging climates. From practical crop‑cover strategies to prolonging your growing year, this episode is full of hands‑on insight for gardeners looking to get more from their space.

Episode 193: Growing Under Protection
Horticultural expert Guy Deakins joins Sarah to explore what "protected growing" really means — how to create successful micro‑climates in the garden, the benefits and pitfalls of sheltered environments, and how protection can boost plant health and productivity. It's a thoughtful complement to our discussion about cloches and ways of supporting plants through design and environment.