Garden Gab Podcast

Garden Gab Club 021: Little Tessa in the Big Apple

The girls popped a cold one today because the pod is officially 21 people! They are settling into summer with a proper catch-up episode, or should we say… just a good ole fashioned gab!
This week, Tessa shares what she's learned from opening her own garden for workshops. They discuss why waiting for the "perfect" space might be keeping us from doing the things we dream of right now. What if people were invited into imperfect and personal gardens?? Down home is filled with the surprising questions visitors ask, meadow updates, goldfinches, and the simple joy of homemade cake shared under a garden pavilion.
Then the girls head out and about as Tessa recounts a whirlwind trip to New York City, from wandering Central Park with a stroller to dining at the legendary Blue Hill at Stone Barns and exploring the ever-evolving plantings of the High Line. Along the way, they reflect on Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for public green spaces, the restorative power of landscapes, and why travel is almost always money well spent!
Pour yourself something cold, pull up a chair on the porch, and join us for a midsummer Garden Gab!!
Don't forget to subscribe to stay in the know on our show Substack, leave a review, and share the show with your favorite garden friend!
 
Show Notes:
+ Tessa might call this Italian Lemon Olive Oil Cake a peasant cake after her illustrious career as a wedding cake designer, but you will feel rich the second it hits your tongue!!
+ Molly's life (and the lives of those who she has shared these with) has been deeply altered by this Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe! And they really are that easy.
+ If the girls were emphatic enough about watching Chef's Table on the episode, take this as another nudge to do yourself a favor and at least watch Dan Barber's episode!
+ Check out Experiencing Olmsted: The Enduring Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted's North American Landscapes, the book that started Tessa's Central Park curiousity!

Garden Gab Club 020: Remembering Planting Designer Nigel Dunnett

Welcome back, garden gabbers. This episode is a little more reflective as Molly and Tessa remember Nigel Dunnett who was a giant in ecological planting design and someone whose work deeply shaped both of their own work as designers. In the wake of his passing at the end of April, it only feels fitting to pay tribute to a man who deeply influenced so many. 
Molly shares stories from her time working with Nigel in Sheffield, and together the girls unpack what made his work so powerful... planting that brings the feeling of wild, immersive, and living landscapes into urban spaces—for people!
From Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the Barbican in London to countless other project across the UK and the world, Nigel’s legacy is everywhere. In light of his passing, the conversation turns a bit deeper... why does this work matter? And can we do it here, where we are?
It also only feels fitting to wrap the episode with a bit of Garden Busts, noting that sometimes we hold the weight of hope of where we want to go and what we are still learning with joy.
Thanks for joining the gab! Don’t forget to subscribe to the show Substack HERE and share the show with a garden friend!
 
Show Notes:
+ Gardens Illustrated Talking Gardens interview with Nigel
+ To read more in depth about Nigels work, check out his books The Dynamic Landscape (written with James!) and Naturalistic Planting Design. 
+ Read more about the Heemparks in the Netherlands that Nigel discusses in the podcast linked above. 

Garden Gab Club: Chelsea Draft Picks #3

The time has finally come! Tessa and Molly discuss the final three Main Avenue show gardens for the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show… and let’s just say this last batch has some big expectations on their shoulders! Can Tom Stuart Smith raise Best in Show once again? Will Kazuyuki Ishihara defend his 2025 sweep of Best in Show AND People’s Choice Award? The girls also unpack what it takes to get a gold medal at Chelsea, and even more, what sets a Best in Show apart. But most importantly, Tessa and Molly make their picks for top honors as well as possible dark horses in other categories.
What are you most excited to watch at this year’s Chelsea? We would love to hear!
Thanks for joining us for this special Chelsea Flower Show hype!! Stay tuned for our follow up with Don and Janice (Molly’s parents) who will be at the show on opening day!!
Thanks for joining the Gab!!

Garden Gab Club: Chelsea Draft Picks #2

Garden Gabbers… did we forget to tell you that we are going to have on the ground correspondents at the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show?! It’s not Tessa…. and not Molly… IT’S DON AND JANICE, Molly’s beloved parents. Although it is rude they are not taking Molly with them, we can put that aside and live vicariously. So stay tuned for a post show recap with our boots on the ground.
The girls review the next round of gardens which are all centered around worthy causes including raising awareness for preserving the countryside of England, giving children peaceful havens in nature, and advocating for teens to find careers in the green industry.
There are Chelsea veterans alongside newer names, all coming to bat for a gold medal this year! Stay tuned for our third round of Chelsea Flower Show draft picks where we will also make our picks for Best in Show, People’s Choice Award, and our Dark Horse thoughts!

Garden Gab Club 019: The Art of the Shagginess Metric

Welcome back Garden Gabbers for Episode 19, our final episode in our teenage years! And let’s just say in the words of Tessa Pinner, mama’s hot! The girls jump straight into the woes of a hot and dry spring, which has Tessa pinning for… a plunge pool baby!  You know it's officially the kick off are gardening season with talk about drought, strawberry picking, and the ever-present feeling of being just a little behind in the garden.
Speaking of plunging, the girls dive straight into what makes something art versus craft, and how that question shows up in both creative work and garden design. The two introduce a new concept—the “Shagginess Metric”—to explore where gardens fall on the spectrum between wild and perfectly buttoned-up, and how client preferences shape that balance. Are you more of the ballerina bun type, or do you let your hair down a bit?? Do let us know!
Buckle up for some bonus stories this episode include a strawberry freezer disaster, a memorial Japanese maple, and why April might just be the best month in the garden. Thanks for Joining the Gab!
 
Show Notes:
If you like Tessa are pinning after a cool down, may we direct you here to long after these beautiful Plunge Pools
 
We have mentioned the Pastoral Gardens book a few times because, I mean… can you even with these pictures... not to mention the beautiful words! 
 
Out of an abundance of caution, we highly recommend Kindle readers (especially those who read at night while drifting into sweet slumber… like Molly) invest in a Kindle Case with a handle! Protect your face!
 

Garden Gab Club 018: Still in Our Spring Basking Era

Hello Garden Gabbers!! Tessa and Molly are back with more plant talk and hope that you are joining with them by basking fully in the glory that is spring!! The girls dive straight into all things Down Home and Out-and-About including fairy garden parties, strawberry picking and a new way of spending park time. After a quick horticultural hormone check-in (let’s just say the girls are feeling botanically frisky), it is time for a surprise trip to a dream spring destination!!! But you will have to listen to see where…
The show wraps with another Bloom Report (think viburnums and native azaleas…) and of course DOOR PRIZES!!! The travel talk has Tessa and Molly reflecting on their own hopes for taking both a domestic and international Garden Gab adventure, and they want to hear from you!! Be sure to subscribe to the show Substack HERE to stay in the know on all things Garden Gab, and email us thoughts, questions and ideas at gardengabclub@gmail.com. Thanks for joining the gab!
Show Notes:
Are you in your 30’s and also realizing it is time to stop avoiding fate and just dive head first into birding now… first step is the Merlin app!
This is our third time to link to this podcast interview of Milli Proust with Alice Vincent and WE STILL LOVE IT!
As we say on the show WE ARE SAT for the first Great Garden Show at the Newt!

Garden Gab Club 017: This Is Our Garden Super Bowl!

Hello there Garden Gabbers! On this episode of the pod, Tessa and Molly spare no speck of enthusiasm whilst introducing what some might declare as the Super Bowl of the gardening world... The Chelsea Flower Show! On the episodes leading up to the best week of the year, Tessa and Molly are discussing this year's main show gardens, what we are expecting, and (since Molly is involved...) there is chatter about a Chelsea Flower Show bracket contest?! Who doesn't love a game! And prizes!! Let us know your thoughts... While we have no idea what is happening with March Madness or, quite frankly, the Super Bowl... the girls are laser focused on this year's show! And they want to bring you to also delight in the theater of the whole production!
Tessa and Molly also chat in the newly introduced committee, Curiosity Corner, about what they have been digging into in order to cultivate curiosity in their own lives. Tessa unpacks what she gleaned on a Create Academy course from the dynamic duo of Julian and Isabel Bannerman. Molly discusses Milli Proust's new best selling book, How Does Your Garden Grow! We also get a quick wildlife report featuring bees and a tiny tiny turtle, a bloom report featuring cherries and Lady Banks roses, and of course... Door Prizes!
 
Thanks for joining the Gab! Be sure to subscribe to the show Substack HERE and leave us a review!! So thankful for everyone who is joining the club!
 
Show Notes:
+ To learn more about the Chelsea Flower Show and Project Giving Back be sure to explore those thinks!
+ If you are interested in taking the Create Academy class for yourself, explore the Bannerman's Class... or see if there are other classes that might scratch your own curiosity itch! 
+ If you missed it in last weeks show notes, we cannot recommend Milli Proust's book, How Does Your Garden Grow, with any more unbridled enthusiasm than what we have expressed on the show!!!!
+ If you are as enamored with Milli as much as we are, be sure to check out her interview with Alice Vincent on building a garden.
+ If you, like Tessa and Molly, find seed packets tucked into random spots and think to yourself, I really need one place to keep those... look no further than this here tackle box. 
+ On a delightful yet non-garden related note... Molly has restocked her spring Pura scents and her life (and home) is better for it!

Garden Gab Club 016: On Gardening in the Crack Time

Welcome back Garden Gabbers! Tessa and Molly cover a lot of ground today... from what's happening down home in the garden this spring, to what gardening has in common with improv comedy and seed dungeon joys and scalp hammers! As always, buckle up for a wild garden ride!
However, the girls really park it in the newly introduced Task Team Report. Do you ever have looming tasks that feel paralyzing? Trust us, we know gardening can feel that way. But take heart, there is so much joy to be found in gardening in your "crack time." Don't have a full Saturday to tackle all the pressing pruning needs? What if you had 15 minutes to get one hydrangea done?! Go ahead... check on your seedlings in your bathrobe! Put that phone down! Use that crack time!!
The girls also dabble in discussions on what AI can't replace, function stacking, creating memories with littles in the garden, and how to pronounce our favorite sparkling water... hint: it starts with La and ends with Crotch. Make sure you stay tuned for the Bloom Report (B-U-L-B-S... BULBS!)
Thanks for joining the Gab! Be sure to subscribe to the show Substack HERE and leave us a 5 star review! Once we hit 100 subscribers on Substack we will be doing another GIVEAWAYYYY!!!
 
Show Notes:
+ Molly just received her copy of Milli Proust's How Does Your Garden Grow and is devouring it! Stay tuned for the book review next week!
+ Tessa's scalp hammer, for those of you wanting to join in on the thrill of a hair stimulation journey! 
 
 
 
 

Garden Gab Club 015: Porch Chat Time!

Welcome to Episode 15, which is 1/4 of the way to 60 episodes as Molly points out on today's show! They kick off new business with Tessa's trip to an arboretum + seed sowing endeavors, as well as Molly's British besties visiting Bham + her very delayed seed order! As motions from the floor come to order, pull up a chair Garden Gabbers... because it's time for a front porch chat with Tessa and Molly. Spring has sprung and the girls are feeling pensive. They wax poetical about how a garden is a process (if it feels like we have been here before, we have...) but they have a new question... what are YOUR needs in your garden as you are learning to interact and engage with the process of gardening? We sense a need, but how do we respond to it? Shout it from the rooftops (or on our Substack) if you have an idea, we would love to hear from you!
To round out the show, Tessa and Molly do a fly through of their wild and wonderful DM's. Think dreamy spring wedding flowers, a chicken purse, an electric blue billiards room, a gingko chair, and a tear jerking wedding of a carpenter at Notre Dame. Be sure to tune in to hear Tessa's dream which includes but is not limited to her playing a viola in a bathtub on a hillside with Martha Stewart before endeavoring to save a piece of property from the clutches of developers... our DM's are the only wild and wonderful place around here!!!
Thank you for joining the Gab this week! If you would like to stay in the know on the show, be sure to subscribe to the show Substack HERE and give us a 5 star review :) 
 
Show Notes!
+ Tessa chats about her seed starting set up and has pulled together all the supplies you need as well as a helpful video to walk you through her process! GOLD MINE.
+ DM Round up! Fleuropean flower heaven, Chicken Purse, Gingko Chair, Notre Dame Carpenter Wedding, and an Electric Blue Billiard Room
+ On today's Door Prizes... Molly does a run down of some of her Bday presents which included this adorable Emma Bridgewater sheep mug and a toaster from her sister... because sometimes it is just the little things in life like toasted bread that make life worth living :)  Tessa treated herself to the book Bird Haven Farm for a dash of flower inspo!

Garden Gab Club 014: Live from Greenville!

Live from Greenville, South Carolina... it's the 14th episode of Garden Gab!! Molly and Tessa enjoyed a weekend together in Tessa's homeland of South Carolina speaking at the Greenville Master Gardeners Annual Symposium with over 500 enthusiastic gardeners from across 10 states! If you were not in attendance, never fear! Molly and Tessa give the run down of all the best takeaways including (but not limited to) bring personality in a garden, making lemonade out of lemons (or fallen pecan trees), and practical ways to increase biodiversity in a home garden. If you were in attendance and didn't have a pen handy when Tessa walked through her 20 tips for increasing biodiversity, don't fret because our Substack page has you covered! Although the girls are quite giggly this episode at being in the same room together.... and Molly maybe had the flu but didn't know it yet at the time of recording.... this episode will make you feel as if maybe you too spent all day in the Greenville Conference Center with a room full of jolly master gardeners!
Thank you for joining the Gab! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a (5 star :) review, and share Garden Gab with friends who you think need a little green in their lives! Also be sure to subscribe to the show Substack page HERE to stay in the know on all things Garden Gab!