Plant podcasts: from green-fingered tips to in-depth horticultural investigations

Whether you’ve recently got into gardening during the lockdown, or are a dedicated plant parent, there’s a lot you can learn about nature through podcasts.

Luckily it’s a growing area of audio too. Last year’s BBC Radio 4 dystopian thriller Forest 404 was a major hit, with the broadcaster linking up with Bonobo to soundtrack the story of a world where forests don’t exist but the audio of what they used to hold does. Terrifying and entertaining in equal parts.

But that’s not all you’ll find. Here are some new plant-focused podcasts to add to your list.

Best of Natural History Radio

The BBC Natural History Unit produces such a massive range of audio shows that its podcast feed is quite impressive, full of mini-series of different shows telling stories across the natural world.

From a show dedicated to the Aye-Aye, one of the weirdest-looking creatures on earth, to a 12-episode series examining puffins, there’s no doubt you will come away from each episode with your mind-blown, and some answers for your next pub quiz, Zoom-based or otherwise.

Best of Natural History is available on Apple Podcasts and BBC

Forest 404

This BBC drama delves into the issues of climate change and species extinction through a fiction show set in the 24th Century and an archivist who comes across a sound recording from the Sumatran rainforest.

The show encompasses the fiction elements, the facts behind them and an incredible soundscape created with Bonobo. As director Becky Ripley told PodBible: “Technological and environmental change is ramping up around us, and I think in many ways the drama is already playing itself out around us.”

This is definitely a story which stays with you after the final episode ends.

Forest 404 is available on Apple Podcasts and BBC Sounds

In defense of plants

This podcast aims to celebrate everything botany-related and luckily it delivers.

Recent episodes cover the wonderful habitats created by hollow trees, the ecological mysteries of cannabis and how a foundation is trying to save the American chestnut from extinction. There’s also a crossover episode with Colah B. Tawkin, the host of Black in the Garden, a show which looks at the intersection of Black Culture and horticulture which is another show to add to your list.

In defense of plants is available on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher

On The Ledge

Into houseplants? You’ll love One The Ledge, hosted by Jane Perrone, who describes herself as a “lifelong houseplant addict”. The show is all about houseplants, from cacti to terrarium tips, and leaf botany.

If you’ve been worrying about your houseplants in the heatwave, then there’s an episode just for you. And if you’ve been thinking about how to make your indoor space more green, there’s lots to inspire you with.

On The Ledge is available on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher

Unearthed: Mysteries from an unseen world

A new entrant into the plant podcast world is the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s first-ever podcast, hosted by leading botany James Wong.

For those hoping for a guided audio tour through the gorgeous gardens, you’ll be sadly disappointed. What you’ll find instead are in-depth investigations into unknown parts of the plant world, from illegal plant trafficking, how plant chemistry can help to solve true crime, and the use of botanicals in medicine.

“I’ve been meeting up with some of these world-class botanists and other experts to explore the sheer power of plants throughout the world,” explained Wong. “Making this podcast has really brought home to me that to safeguard the very future of humanity, we must learn more about this mystifying world. For listeners interested in expanding their knowledge of plants and the world around them, this will not disappoint.”

The first episode is available to listen to now and it will not disappoint.

Unearthed is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify