Ralph Bristow on The Barwitian Garden, designing through listening and his love of Yuccas
Ralph Bristow, expressionist painter and garden designer, joins Cass for a gentle, searching conversation about what happens when we design not from certainty, but from listening. They explore Ralph's experience of synaesthesia — hearing gardens as music — how embracing entropy and creative dissonance shapes living landscapes, and why beginning without a finished picture can lead to the most alive work of all. From colour inversion to jazz-fusion rhythms in planting, Ralph shares how his gardens emerge through risk, instinct, and deep attention to the land. Along the way, they reflect on the emotional safety beautiful spaces create — how gardens can help us feel open without feeling overwhelmed — and how his mother's words, "Do it while you can," became quiet permission to keep creating even when outcomes remain unknown. This is an invitation into uncertainty as a creative companion — into tending not just gardens, but our capacity to begin, listen, and feel fully alive. SHOW NOTES See extensive show notes at The Sentimental Gardener — Ralph Bristow Buy tickets to visit The Barwitian Garden with Open Gardens Victoria — January 2026 Music: Hayden Schueler @vereyagardening Audio engineering: Tom Dowding Production & editing: Cass Dowding Privacy policy: libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy
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1:04:49
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1:04:49
Rodger Elliot on cultivating Australian native plants, growing passionate plant people and the interconnectedness of everything
Horticulturist, author, and advocate for Australian native plants, Roger Elliot AM joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener to explore how a lifetime of noticing — from childhood bushland to decades of fieldwork — can shape the way we understand the natural world. From early days learning under mentors like Edna Walling, Jack McLeod, and Glen Wilson, to co-authoring alongside David Jones the landmark Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation, Roger has spent more than sixty years asking: How do plants, people, and place shape one another? And what grows when we care with curiosity? In this episode, they talk about: the "web of life" Roger saw long before ecology had a name the quiet, essential partnership of Roger and Gwen how nurseries, fieldwork, and mentoring shaped generations of plant lovers and why caring for plants is inseparable from caring for people A gentle, generous conversation about legacy, relationship, and the slow work of cultivating a life with meaning. — SHOW NOTES: See extensive show notes over at The Sentimental Gardner - Rodger Elliot Visit the Australian Garden at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Cranbourne to see one of the landscapes Roger helped shape. Music by Hayden Schueler @vereyagardening Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding Production and Editing: Cass Dowding Privacy: libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy
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1:32:39
Fleur Flanery on what the landscape says about us, The Australian Landscape Conference and a million trees.
Landscape architect, horticulturist, and Director of Outlandish Ventures, Fleur Flanery joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener to explore how the landscapes we shape — from backyards to public parks — reflect what we value. From childhood gardens brought to life by the imagination to managing Canberra's urban forest and curating the Australian Landscape Conference, Fleur has spent a lifetime asking: What is this place saying? What could it become? In this episode, they talk about: memory, lineage, and legacy held in plants rethinking beauty in public spaces what it means to sit on the edge of an idea and why design — done with intent — is an act of care A reflective conversation about tending both land and life with purpose. — SHOW NOTES: Learn more about Fleur's work, garden tours and The Australian Landscape Conference at Outlandish Ventures. Follow @outlandishventures on Instagram for updates. Music by Hayden Schueler @vereyagardening Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding Production and Editing: Cass Dowling Privacy: libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy
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Attila The Horticulturist on a life of observation, his plant zoo and being a part of nature
Canberra-based gardener, horitculturist, educator, and advocate for sustainable horticulture Attila Horgosi joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener to explore what it means to live a life of observation — one that moves in rhythm with nature, not against it. From his home garden in Bywong, New South Wales — affectionately known as his plant zoo — Attila has spent nearly thirty years cultivating more than plants. He's cultivated a way of being. In this conversation, they talk about: how his family's migration shaped his philosophy of patience and observation, why he believes every weed tells a story, what the garden can teach us about paying attention, and the quiet rebellion of living slowly in a world that wants everything now. A grounded, reflective conversation about time, attention, and what can happen when we stop rushing for answers and start listening to the world around us. // Show notes // Follow Attila The Horticulturist on Instagram Find links and resources mentioned in the episode here. Credits: Music: Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding Production and editing: Cass Dowding See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.
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1:23:05
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1:23:05
Jane Edmanson on gardens as teachers of joy and scent as triggers of memories
Gardening Australia presenter, horticulturist, author, and broadcaster Jane Edmanson OAM joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener podcast to explore how joy, memory, and responsibility intertwine in our gardens. They talk about Jane's unexpected path from country school teacher to one of Australia's most loved gardening voices, her pioneering role as one of the original Gardening Australia presenters, and the moments of wonder that shaped her love of plants. Along the way, they reflect on the power of scent to unlock memory, why joy itself can be a form of quiet resistance, and how caring for nature doesn't have to feel overwhelming — it can begin with something as simple as crushing a mint leaf. An uplifting, thoughtful conversation with one of Australia's gardening icons, offering hope and inspiration for anyone who's ever found solace in a plant. // Show notes // Find links and resources mentioned in the episode here Credits: Music: Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding Production and editing: Cass Dowding See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.
Join Cass Dowding, an enthusiastic everyday gardener, as she has conversations with fellow plant lovers about the gardens and plants that shape our stories and connect us to what matters most.
Australia