Australian landscape architect and garden designer Timothy Mitchell joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener podcast to talk about his early memories of plants, transforming tennis courts into a meadow of flowers and designing gardens en plein air.

They also dive into finding beauty in Australian native plants, building a dry climate garden that actually works, letting a garden evolve naturally over seasons, and why the most alive gardens are always being edited, observed and mulled over.

They recorded this episode in Tim and his partner Lucy's backyard, surrounded by the antiquing of plants moving from summer to autumn and a view of Mt. William/ Wil-im-ee Moor-ring as the backdrop.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction
01:35 Early memories of gardens and plants
05:00 Choosing a life in landscape design
09:00 Gardeners and landscape architects
13:45 Designing public places
16:00 Transforming a tennis court into a garden
18:30 Starting a garden from scratch
19:00 Finding beauty in Australian plants
22:40 Building a dry climate garden
27:45 Letting a garden grow naturally
32:00 Trees, time and looking after nature
38:30 What makes a garden feel alive
45:30 Learning by watching plants
49:45 Quick-fire garden questions
56:45 The gardens that stay with us
59:35 Final thoughts and outro

Show notes:
Follow Timothy Mitchell on Instagram or visit website

Follow The Sentimental Gardener on Instagram and Facebook

Visit The Sentimental Gardener website

Get Sentimental Gardener emails in your inbox

Get bonus content + episodes on Sentimental Friends

Original music: Hayden Schueler of Vereya Gardening

Audio mix: Tom Dowding

Producer and editor: Cass Dowding

Are you an Australian native plant fanatic? Well you're going to love this episode!
Cass Dowding chats with Ben Clark, co-owner of Kuranga Native Nursery, about growing up surrounded by the bush in Warrandyte, followed by an early obsession with plants, to building a family business around Australian native plants.

Ben shares how he first came to Kuranga as an apprentice, what happens behind the scenes in the nursery he now owns, and why the nursery has become such a loved destination for native plant buffs.

They also talk about Kuranga's expansion to a second site at Warrandyte, running the business with his wife Alexa, raising kids around the nursery, and the joy of dispersing native plants into gardens across the state, and maybe Australia!

Show notes:
Follow Kuranga Native Nursery on Instagram and Facebook
Follow The Sentimental Gardener on Instagram and Facebook
Get Sentimental Gardener emails
Get bonus episodes on Sentimental Friends

Theme music: Hayden Schueler of Vereya Gardening
Audio mix: Tom Dowding
Producer and editor: Cass Dowding

Hannah Moloney was born for this! 'This' is creating what she calls "a good life for everybody": people, animals, ecosystems and communities alike.

From climate-justice cabaret to gardening, activism, writing and community projects, Hannah's work is all about connection, resilience and finding better ways to live together. She's also a presenter on ABC TV's Gardening Australia and the bestselling author of the newly released Why We Garden — Even When We Don't Have To.

In this episode, Cass and Hannah talk about early memories, sentimental plant stories, permaculture, activism and what Hannah discovered after interviewing thousands of gardeners about why we still feel drawn to plonk things in the ground and help them grow.

Host: Cass Dowding
Guest: Hannah Moloney

Episode show notes at The Sentimental Gardener

Original Music: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening
Audio Mixing: Tom Dowding
Editing and Producer: Cass Dowding

Tim Pilgrim, garden designer and author of Wild by Design, joins Cass Dowding for a conversation about naturalistic gardening, learning through doing, and what it means to work with a place rather than trying to control it.

Based in Central Victoria, Tim shares how his approach to garden design has evolved over time — shaped by observation, trial and error, and a deep connection to landscape. From early memories of planting and time spent in significant Australian gardens, to designing spaces that feel full, layered, and alive, this is a conversation about letting gardens find their own rhythm.

Together, Cass and Tim explore how naturalistic gardens respond to climate, seasonality, and change — and how shifting away from control can open up something more meaningful, both in gardens and beyond.

Tim also shares his three sentimental plants: osteospermum (daisy), paper daisy, and Nepeta 'Walker's Low'.

Join other garden and plant lovers getting podcast updates in their inbox — join here

Credits:
Music: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening
Audio support: Tom Dowding
Produced and edited by Cass Dowding

See https://libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy/ for privacy information

Award-winning production designer Fiona Crombie joins Cass Dowding for a conversation about memory, storytelling and the gardens that stay with us.

Best known for her work on films including The Favourite, The King, Cruella, Mickey 17 and Hamnet, Fiona reflects on the gardens of her childhood, from Sydney bushland to her grandmother's garden in Brisbane, and the plants that still carry a deep sense of home.

Together, Cass and Fiona explore how gardens helped shape the emotional world of Hamnet — from wild, useful planting to hidden foraging spaces, orchards and one unforgettable tree. It's a gentle conversation about beauty, atmosphere, creativity and the way nature helps us tell stories.

Fiona also shares her three sentimental plants: wattle, gardenia and pawpaw.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

01:55 Earliest Garden Memories

07:33 What a Production Designer Does

10:34 Discovering the Gardens of Hamnet

14:27 Designing Through Collaboration and Discovery

16:24 Finding the Tree

21:44 Creating the Gardens of Hamnet

28:51 Building the Henley Street Garden

30:57 The Knot Garden and the New House

35:03 The Hidden Foraging Garden

35:58 Designing the Globe to Feel Like the Inside of a Tree

40:10 What Stayed With Fiona After Hamnet

42:51 Three Sentimental Plants

45:52 Quick Fire Questions

49:39 Cass' Reflection

51:43 Credits and What's Next

Join other garden and plant lovers getting podcast updates in their inbox and Substack writing in regular newsletters — join here

To become a financial supporter of the show and help us spread more stories of the joy of a life in gardens — join here

Credits:

Music: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening

Audio support: Tom Dowding

Produced and edited by Cass Dowding

See https://libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy/ for privacy information

The story of The Sentimental Gardener.

Cass Dowding swaps roles and takes the guest seat as is asked all the questions she asks her guests.

Guided by brilliant host Chloe Foster, author of The Rookie Gardener, host of 3CR Gardening Show and Horticulture educator, Cass opens up about starting a podcast, how gardens contained and plants helped her process her grief and what grew after.

From dreams of being a dancer, to finding a career in midwifery and nursing to how motherhood made her face what's really important, Cass' story is a winding journey of a life filled with finding the thing that brings life and joy ... which is now plants! And gardens. And people who garden!

00:00 Introduction

02:16 Childhood Garden Memories

08:29 Career Path: Ballet to Nursing

12:42 Covid, Motherhood and Change

18:44 Grief and Becoming a Sentimental Gardener

22:27 Cancer, Anxiety and the Garden

24:02 Writing and Discovering Garden Stories

27:39 How the Podcast Began

33:51 Finding Confidence and Voice

44:29 What Surprised Me About Gardeners

46:53 Three Sentimental Plants

55:37 What Gardens Teach Us About Life

1:00:29 Why Gardening Brings Belonging

Other Sentimental Gardener podcat episodes mentioned in this episode:

• Fleur Flanery on what the landscape says about us, The Australian Landscape Conference and a million trees
• Sandra Schwartz on the study of greenspaces
• Hayden Schueler on being a closeted gardener, Japanese topiary and caring for other people's gardens
• Chloe Foster on her book The Rookie Gardener, prickly grevilleas and growing gardeners

Join other garden and plants lovers getting podcast updates in their inbox and Substack writing in regular newsletters - join here

To become a financial supporter of the show and help us spread more stories of the joy of a life in gardens - join here

Credits:

Music: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening
Audio support: Tom Dowding
Produced and edited by Cass Dowding

See https://libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy/ for privacy information

Cass shares what's coming in Season 2 ... returning March 2026

Annie Winter, gardener, and Cass share laughs, tangents, and heartfelt reflections in this Christmas Special recorded in The Winter Garden.

Can they cover everything they want to talk about? Most likely not! But along the way, you'll hear:

• How their friendship began (it started with a "no")
• Behind the scenes of starting a podcast and dealing with imposter syndrome
• Gardens where they felt the 'whoosh' this year
• Reflections on this season's incredible guest stories
• Listener stories that made them cry
• One lucky listener winning a $50 voucher from Kuranga Native Nursery

Stay until the end for a hilarious outtake!

About Annie's garden: Annie's garden opens in January 2026 for Global Gardens of Peace fundraising event. Read more in Garden's Illustrated, Galah magazine, The Design Files and Studio Home Unearthed.

Follow The Sentimental Gardener on Instagram and Substack: @the_sentimental_gardener
Follow Annie on Instagram: @annmaree.winter

And go to the website www.thesentimentalgardener.com for show notes and other stories.

The Sentimental Gardener is a gardening podcast (that's not really a gardening podcast) hosted by Cass Dowding.

Produced, recorded and edited by Cass Dowding. Mixed by Tom Dowding
Theme music by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening

Hosted on Libsyn Five. See https://libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy/ for more information.