Which garden plant is most likely to achieve sentience first — and should you be locking the letterbox? Cue a deep sigh.
James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back with a mailbag full of your questions, and this week they manage to answer nearly all of them while agreeing on almost nothing.
In this episode the pair dive into:
– Whether fungi have already quietly taken over the world, and whether the oak tree is the brains of the operation while the mycorrhizal network is just the delivery driver (Joe objects on behalf of delivery drivers everywhere)
– The bindweed that comes in through the letterbox, up the stairs, round the banisters and drags you out of bed by the ankle. Joe is on holiday. Joe would now like to go home.
– The first jobs that made them: Joe's circular wildlife pond in Maida Vale, and the trellis James built in the shape of a queue at a bus stop — while wearing a kilt
– How to actually catch a house fly. Clap ABOVE it. James claims an 80% strike rate. Joe does not believe a word of it.
– Why a fig is the only non-vegan fruit, and what exactly happens to the wasp
– And what really goes on when RHS judges disappear into the dark room for moderation. Spoiler: it's Biscoff, mid-judging ice creams, and at least one judge with a Haribo dummy hanging out the corner of their mouth.
Plus the plant they secretly despise — although one of them bottles it completely at the last moment.
Questions this week from Kip Guy, Lin Guns, Annalisa Wells, Venetia and Jem.
Catch us live at Yeo Valley Festival, Somerset, on 17th September.
To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com
ABOUT OUR HOSTS
James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.
Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.
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