Gardener and podcaster Ben Dark, has until recently been working as a Head Gardener at a private English country estate but has now moved his family to Copenhagen where he will continue his gardening journey and log.
Episodes of his podcast, recorded at the estate, review seasonal developments and changes in the the garden beds and meadows, generally focussing on a few specifics. Their titles such as ’Tea, textiles and the wetting winds of winter,’ and ‘How to prune an apple tree, date a horticulturalist and and see compost in all you survey,’ give you a good idea of the feel of his recordings.
Ben’s a natural podcaster with a wonderful poetic way with words – in a podcast covering crocuses he describes Crocus tommasianus ‘Barrs Purple,’ as being ‘pilot light blue’ in certain lights. He goes on to describe the time his least favourite tree the cherry plum comes into its own in early spring when the white blossom against the dark wood are like ‘raindrops at nighttime'. Elsewhere he rather poetically describes Acer griseum as having bark the colour of a Mexican desert at sunset.
As well as being incredibly articulate, with a soft lilting voice, he’s also knowledgeable and the podcast is full of practical, down to earth chat about the weather, the birds and all the things gardeners notice - and this podcast makes you notice them even more. In 2018 Ben won the Garden Media Guild’s New Talent Award for his work on the Garden Log Podcast. Definitely one to watch.