My usual night time ritual also almost always includes a gardening show on YouTube. Three years ago in December I decided that I really wanted to learn to garden and to garden in a manner that could not only be decorative and lovely but could also feed my small family (all of two of us) during the spring and summer. My goal was to learn what to plant, when to plant it, what sorts of plants liked to grow together, how to create proper soil, and how to harvest and store my crops.
Though I gardened as a child (mostly just watching my mother work while I played in the mud) I did very little gardening as a young woman, and though wishing I had might bring up a bit of regret, I knew that wishing wasn't going to get the job done. So, like any typical urbanite, I turned to the internet, and specifically YouTube. What I found were a LOT of horrible how to gardening videos posted by weekend warriors with a lot of opinions on everything from the apocalypse and planning for it to psychic communication with houseplants; none of which answered my questions about gardening specifics in any enjoyable way. I gave up for a time and went back to watching my other favorite kind of show - historical documentaries (I am SO boring, I know).
I am not sure how it happened, but after a time I came across a show called Tudor Monestary Farm which was a BBC production that covered a group of experimental archaeologists and a domestic historian by the name of Ruth Goodman (who has since become one of my historian hero's). I was absolutely taken with the show as they not only explained, but showed step by step gardening methods, planting styles, and plant types that were common during the Tudor era!
After this I started seeing a whole list of amazing British gardening shows with amazing gardeners, horticulturalists, medical herbalists, MD's, historians, ethnobotanists who all had amazing things to say about gardening, health, and herbal medicine, it was like finding the living messiah of gardening bliss!!!
So, in spirit of the promise of spring, growing things, and gardening, I wanted to share my top list of shows that I return to again and again for gardening advice.
- The Edible Garden (Episodes 1-6) with Alys Fowler. I think this woman is absolutely dear, she is a spunky red headed urban gardener in the UK who shows you that it IS possible to grow food, flowers, AND raise chickens in a small space.
- Life in a Cottage Garden (Episodes 1-6) with Carol Klein. I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE Carol Klein! Sure, her hair may be a bit funky and her tattered leather jacket makes me want to buy her a new one, but this amazing horticulturalist boasts over 30 years of experience and a love and enthusiasm for gardening that I have not seen before! She simply exudes joy when talking about plants
- Grow Your Own Veg (Episodes 1-6) Another of my Carol Klein favorites. This one simply concentrates on growing your own vegetable garden and visits the topic of starting a garden plot from scratch and also how to garden in small spaces.
- Fork to Fork (Episodes 1-6) with Monty and Sarah Don. These two avid gardeners not only show you how to grow your veg, but also shows you how to grow herbs and some medicinals. They include a handful of wonderful recipes and simple cooking ideas.
- Grow Your Own Medicine (Episodes 1-13) Its exactly what the title says. 13 episodes of standard medicinal herbs and how to apply them, hosted by Mr. McCutie Pants and his love for whole and natural medicine. This show touches some on growing, but mostly on types of plants and how to apply them to your daily life.
- Great British Garden Revival (Episodes 1-10) This video has a little bit of everything and covers vegetable growing, endangered plant varieties, the importance of heritage and native plants, as well as community gardening, and gardening for pleasure. This is one of my favorites!
And there you have it! Its by no means a complete list of all the shows I watched while learning, but its certainly a snap shot of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this little compilation, and I look forward to hearing what you thought of them.
Happy Gardening!
- Nicey
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