This week one of the nicest men in horticulture is back on The Talking Dirty Podcast. Joe Whitehead is Head Gardener at Burghley House on the Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire border. He talks Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis through some of the changes which have been going on in the garden, and shares his favourite shade plants of the moment.

PLANT LIST

Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea'

Paulownia tomentosa

Cornus kousa 'Milky Way'

Betula utilis subsp. jacquemontii

Dodecatheon meadia syn Primula meadia

Lonicera involucrata

Tulip bakerii 'Lilac Wonder'

Tulipa sylvestris

Lunaria annua 'Chedglow'

Lunaria annua 'Somerset Marble'

Smilacina racemosa syn Maianthemum racemosum

Arum italicum subsp. neglectum 'Monksilver'

Lamium orvala

Epimedium 'Amber Queen'

Epimedium 'Sphinx Twinkler'

Epimedium pubigerum

Omphalodes cappadocica 'Cherry Ingram'

Lamium orvala 'John Foster'

Lunaria annua 'Corfu Blue'

Digitalis purpurea 'Pam's Choice'

Taraxacum pseudoroseum

Crepis rubra

Toona sinensis 'Flamingo'

Acer pseudoplatanus 'Brilliantissimum'

Ficaria verna 'Brazen Hussy'

Ficaria verna 'Double Mud'

Helianthus annuus 'Teddy Bear'

Erysimum 'Parish's'

Erysimum 'Ruston Copper Knob'

Campanula medium

Time to return to one of our happy places. The garden at East Ruston Old Vicarage on the Norfolk coast is bursting with plants at every time of year, but in April seed-sowing is underway in earnest and there are treasures to behold everywhere you look! In this week's episode the garden's owner Alan Gray shares just some of what's going on with Thordis.

PLANT LIST

Tulipa 'Yellow Crown'

Tulipa sprengeri

Amaranthus cruentus 'Hot Biscuits'

Amaranthus cruentus 'Velvet Curtains'

Anemone coronaria 'Bordeaux'

Smyrnium perfoliatum

Tropaeolum tricolor

Tropaeolum pentaphyllum

Tropaeolum hookerianum

Plumbago auriculata

Rosa 'Iceberg'

Rosa 'The Generous Gardener'

Abutilon vitifolium

Abutilon vitifolium 'Album'

Drimys winteri

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ‘Silver Cobalt’

Agapanthus 'Queen Mum'

Our gardens are full of them at this time of year, but the Tulip actually originates in Central Asia. These species Tulips are varied in height, colour, foliage and the ease with which we can grow them at home and so this week on Talking Dirty, Cambridge University Botanic Garden - who hold the National Collection of Species Tulips - are along to share some of their favourites and recommendations for which to grow, and how. Plus stories of their latest adventures in Kyrgyzstan where they've been finding and protecting new varieties.

So join Alan Gray, Thordis and Simon Wallis and Kathryn Bray of the Botanics for a tantalising tour of their collection!

PLANT LIST

Tulipa sprengeri

Tulipa tschimghanica

Tulipa toktogulica

Tulipa greigii

Tulipa cretica

Tulipa 'Negrita'

Tulip bakerii 'Lilac Wonder'

Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii

Tulipa acuminata syn. Tulipa cornuta

Tulipa montana

Tulipa heweri

Tulipa biflora

Tulipa turkestanica

Tulipa regelii

Tulipa tarda

Tulipa saxatilis

Tulipa linifolia

Tulipa undulatifolia syn Tulipa eichleri

Tulipa clusiana

Tulipa clusiana 'Peppermint Stick'

Tulip clusiana var. chrysantha

Tulipa aucheriana

Tulipa sylvestris

Tulipa orphanidea

Tulipa kaufmanniana

Tulipa fosteriana

Tulipa praestans 'Shogun'

Tulipa 'Apeldoorn'

Tulipa 'Ballerina'

Tulipa 'Heart's Delight'

Trollius lilacinus

Iris acutiloba

Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane'