The Sentimental Gardener

Deb Collett was a previous guest way back in Season One, and since then we've become great friends. So it was particularly lovely to sit down and catch up with her on this episode of Sentimental Friends - the subscriber only series where we cover news, updates and more from people in gardening world. 

This episode is available for FREE FOR EVERYONE as a thank you for your patience while I paused releasing episodes for a few months!
Earlier this year, Deb was involved in Australia Post's dahlia cultivar collection, released back in May 2026 — a particularly perfect partnership given that, alongside collecting dahlias, Deb is also a passionate philatelist (stamp collector).
We chat about:
🌸 Which dahlias made their stamp debut
🌸 The story behind the breeders of the three different varieties
🌸 The dahlia trails at Cruden Farm
🌸 The National Dahlia Conference
🌸 What's been happening in Deb's own garden
🌸 And, importantly, I ask Deb how on earth I'm supposed to manage the old and new growth on my tree dahlia!
You can also catch Deb's original Sentimental Gardener episode here.

Follow Deb on Instagram @debsdahlias
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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
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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'.
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Credits:
Music: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening Audio support: Tom Dowding Produced and edited by Cass Dowding
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