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PODCAST

The Underground

The Underground Pod

Exploring the future of garden care. The underground podcast is a place where the disparate worlds of horticulture and marketing collide. Kate Turner, the Gardener Guru and Phil Wright, co-founder of creative agency WrightObara, team up to discover the trailblazers and innovators shaping the future of garden care in the UK. With content that’s as relevant to start-ups as it would be to established players, we look to cover the hottest topics and trends you need to know. From plants to products,

leisure home & garden

All Episodes

00:55:39

Lee Connelly & Sipcam’s Nigel Thompson on Schools,...

The Underground ·

2025/11/06

Recorded at Glee 2025, Phil Wright and Kate Turner sit down with Lee Connelly, the Children’s Gardening Coach (formerly Skinny Jean Gardener), and Nigel Thompson, Sales & Marketing Director at Sipcam Home & Garden, to explore how the trade can engage families, support schools, and modernise product ranges for today’s consumer. Expect practical ideas for garden centres, insight on brand-building as a challenger, and new product thinking across outdoor and houseplant care. What you’ll

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00:41:00

Glee 2025: Live Q&A with Blue Diamond’s Alan Roper

The Underground ·

2025/10/29

In this live Glee Q&A, Phil sits down with Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres, for a frank look at what really drives performance in modern garden retail: culture, commercial discipline, and relentless differentiation.Roper explains why scale only works when the “engine room” is tuned for profit and cash, not vanity growth; why benchmarking and ownership culture beat top-down control; how demographic waves continue to pull new gardeners into the category; and where the

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01:09:11

Michael Perry's “Future Plants” and Canada’s Urban...

The Underground ·

2025/10/21

This episode takes on a distinctly international feel: once again at Glee 2025, Phil and Kate sit down with two voices from opposite sides of the Atlantic who share a common mission: get more people excited about nature, and make it easier for retailers to serve them brilliantly.First up, Michael Perry (Mr Plant Geek) explains why he now calls himself a plant promoter, what makes a plant “promotion-worthy,” and the nine trend pillars he’s been touring the halls with: from “Go green or go

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01:01:34

Stronger Together: YPHA’s championing of young talent...

The Underground ·

2025/10/15

This episode pays homage to the support systems that make horticulture special. Phil Wright and co-host Kate Turner talk with Nat Boynton and Meg Warren-Davis from YPHA about practical ways the community invests in young professionals: from bursaries and employer-backed time to train, to sponsors and partners who step in when it matters. Then Kaz Edwards (Heart of Eden) shares how the trade rallied when she was made redundant, opening doors within weeks and proving why this sector’s people-first

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00:50:18

Rooted in Progress: Durstons Big Rebrand, Woodlodge’s...

The Underground ·

2025/10/08

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, recorded live at Glee 2025, hosts Phil Wright and Kate Turner sit down with three guests shaping the garden sector’s next chapter: Dan Durston and Simon Blackhurst from Durstons, and Kate Ebbens, Commercial Business Manager at Woodlodge and passionate Greenfingers Charity ambassador.From product innovation to purpose-driven missions, this episode captures what’s driving momentum across the garden industry today.Durstons share how a bold rebrand has

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00:53:17

Glee 2025 Live: Amy & Libby Stubbs(British Garden...

The Underground ·

2025/10/01

Recorded live at Glee 2025, this episode brings two very different lenses on garden retail performance and growth. First, Amy and Libby Stubbs share how British Garden Centres has scaled to 73 locations while keeping each site’s individuality, from centre-level social media to data-driven benchmarking and a renewed focus on tech, process and customer loyalty. Then Reverend Dave Walker explains how he’s reviving Sheffield’s Birley Moor Garden Centre with community at the core: forest school

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00:59:23

Glee 2025 Live: GCA’s Peter Burks & Boyd...

The Underground ·

2025/09/24

Recorded on the show floor at Glee 2025, Phil & Kate sit down with Peter Burks, Chief Executive of the Garden Centre Association (GCA), and Boyd Douglas-Davies (The Boyd Partnership; Chair of Greenfingers) for a rapid pulse-check on garden retail: what’s working now, what’s changing, and where the next wins are. Expect practical takeaways on merchandising, training, social media, and turning your centre into a community hub—plus a Greenfingers update straight from Floral Thursday.What we

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00:42:08

Karen Wilkinson on the 5 Growth Drivers in Garden...

The Underground ·

2025/09/08

Evergreen Garden Care’s UK & Ireland Marketing Director, Karen Wilkinson, joins Phil and Kate to unpack Evergreen’s new five-year category vision, how better education can unlock growth, and what it really takes to build a brand that earns shopper trust. Expect practical takeaways for suppliers and retailers ahead of Glee.Inside Evergreen’s category visionKaren explains how the team stepped back after a tough season to map long-term category growth, identifying over £152m of incremental upside

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00:42:27

Alan Roper on Blue Diamond’s Growth, Barton Grange &...

The Underground ·

2025/09/01

Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres, returns to The Underground Podcast for another unmissable conversation ahead of Glee 2025. As the UK’s most profitable garden centre group, Blue Diamond has become the sector’s benchmark for growth, ambition, and resilience.In this candid discussion with Phil Wright and Kate Turner, Alan shares his no-nonsense perspective on:The acquisition of Barton Grange and why legacy, culture, and profitability matter in today’s marketHow Blue

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00:41:47

Beyond Peat: Melcourt’s Bark-Based Growing Media Story

The Underground ·

2025/08/26

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil and Kate sit down with Nikki Burton, Managing Director, and Dr Victoria Wright, Technical Manager at Melcourt, the UK’s leading peat-free growing media company.Melcourt has been at the forefront of sustainable horticulture for over 40 years, building its reputation on bark-based innovation, technical excellence, and consistent quality, epitomised by their RHS endorsement. Nikki and Victoria share the company’s journey from forestry roots to Royal

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00:42:28

Glee Trade Show Success: Sales & Retail Insights with...

The Underground ·

2025/08/18

As the official podcast partner for Glee once again, The Underground Podcast kicks off our 2025 coverage with Steven May of JDM Country Products. Steven brings a unique perspective on how both exhibitors and buyers can get the most value from the UK’s leading garden trade show.In this episode, Steven unpacks the power of smart sales techniques in garden retail — including his now-famous “Would you like fries with that?” analogy — and explains how upselling done right can transform profitability. He

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00:26:39

Opening the Garden Gates: The National Garden Scheme...

The Underground ·

2025/08/12

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil and Kate welcome Anna Wili, Head of Marketing for the National Garden Scheme (NGS), a charity with almost a century of history opening gardens for good causes. Anna shares how the NGS began in 1927 as a way to fund district nursing, and how it’s grown to over 3,500 gardens opening each year, raising more than £74 million for nursing and health charities.We explore the unique blend of horticulture, hospitality, and heart that makes garden visiting so

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00:53:06

Title: No Problem? Scott Smith Puts Peat Free to the...

The Underground ·

2025/08/05

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil and Kate welcome back returning guest Scott Smith, who has just completed his thesis for the RHS Master of Horticulture (MHort). His subject? The hot topic of peat free compost, an issue that continues to challenge, frustrate, and divide gardeners and growers across the UK.Scott shares insights from his self-funded, 14-week compost trial, comparing how different peat free products performed against traditional peat-based compost using Sungold tomatoes

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00:37:52

Smart Promotions & Loyalty Hacks with Beth Johnson

The Underground ·

2025/07/30

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil is joined by Beth Johnson, CEO of Umbrella, the promotions agency behind major campaigns for brands like Cadbury and Unilever. Together, they explore how the garden sector can borrow from the grocery playbook to drive footfall, shift stock, and boost brand engagement.Beth shares:Why promotions are about more than discounts—and how they can build brand equityReal-world examples from FMCG, including VIP merch drops, cashback offers, and sports

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00:29:22

Tear it. Plant it. Grow it. With Jamie Gray

The Underground ·

2025/07/22

In this episode of The Underground, we dig into the story behind SeedSticks® with Jamie Gray of Sow Easy, a second-generation family business with an unexpectedly brilliant journey from razor blades and swords to sustainable seed-based gifting. Jamie shares how a quirky R&D project from the 1980s became a unique product that's now catching the eye of retailers, eco-conscious consumers, and budding gardeners across the UK.We talk about the rise of gifting in gardening, the power of visual

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00:46:25

Beth Anderson and the YPHA Launch Challenge

The Underground ·

2025/07/15

In this episode, Kate and Phil sit down with Beth Anderson, a passionate plant health inspector and dedicated advocate for Young People in Horticulture. Beth shares her journey through the YPHA’s pilot Launch Success Challenge, a year-long initiative designed to equip under-35s with real-world marketing and branding skills for the horticultural industry.From giving the humble Begonia an image makeover to pitching to industry leaders, and masterminding giant crepe paper flowers for Gardeners World

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00:38:48

Heritage, Innovation and the Future of Horticulture...

The Underground ·

2025/05/27

In the opening episode of Season 4, Phil and Kate discover the rich personal and professional journey of Will Armitage: agricultural and horticultural consultant, entrepreneur, and current President of the HTA (Horticultural Trades Association). From rebellious beginnings to helming his family’s sixth-generation business and ultimately championing the sector on a national stage, Will shares an absorbing story of tradition, adaptation and advocacy.This episode explores the soul of horticulture, the

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00:59:10

The Underground - Why Saying Goodbye to Peat Matters...

The Underground ·

2025/04/16

In this first episode of a two-part special from The Underground Podcast, hosts Kate and Phil dig into the root of the industry’s biggest environmental pivot—going peat free. With decades of dependency on this “gold standard” of growing media, why is it now so crucial to leave peat behind? And why is it proving so hard to replace?From the carbon cost of extraction to the slow regeneration of peatlands, this episode explores the environmental urgency driving the move away from peat. But this is no

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00:35:38

Garden Press Event 2025

The Underground ·

2025/02/26

In this special episode of The Underground Podcast, Kate and Phil take you behind the scenes at the Garden Press Event 2025, held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. A key date in the gardening industry calendar, this event brings together brands, innovators, and industry experts to showcase the latest trends, products, and sustainability initiatives shaping the future of gardening.As they weave through the bustling exhibition hall, Kate and Phil catch up with a diverse mix of

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00:49:41

Gardens That Tell Stories: A Conversation with Peter...

The Underground ·

2025/02/11

In this episode of The Underground Podcast, Phil and Kate sit down with internationally acclaimed garden designer, TV presenter, and horticulturalist Peter Donegan. Known for his visionary approach to garden design, Peter shares his journey from growing plants under his bed as a child to designing breathtaking landscapes around the world. His passion for storytelling through gardens shines through as he discusses transformative projects, including a poignant garden in Melbourne honouring veterans

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