From being gifted an allotment as a Christmas nowadays with no experience of horticulture , to now running her own horticulture podcast , Shannon Keary has had quite the journey .
Shannon also runs beginner horticulture workshop up and down the UK and is in the process of developing The Mini Gardener ’s Club , an organisation that purpose to get young minor bury in the world of gardening .
I spoke to Shannon about how her love of horticulture has changed her whole life .
How Did You Get Into Allotment Growing? Did You Have Any Prior Gardening Experience?
“ I was given an allotment for Christmas in 2018 and I had no idea what I was doing , ” articulate Shannon .
“ I ’d joked about how wholesome it would be to develop our own vegetables a few month prior , but when I was given the plot with a couple of books , I candidly had no idea where to start .
“ I ’d always had a gorgeous garden as a child , but was never really into horticulture as such , and at the meter I have it on we were living in a sign with an astroturfed garden – which occupy me with horror now ! ”
You Now Have Your Own Podcast – Diary Of A Lady Gardener. Can You Give Us An Idea Of What It’s About?
“ My podcast is a accumulation of conversations about life in the garden , ” she explains .
“ It features most of the the great unwashed I ’ve met through the Instagram gardening community and they have such astonishing stories to secernate , be it hobby allotmenteers , successful plant - based business organisation citizenry or garden TV personality .
“ There ’s such a range of incredible people have on the podcast and we talk about all unlike kinds of growing .
“ I mean gardening is often perceived as something that is n’t for everyone , but you’re able to produce microgreens or mushrooms on your windowsill , herbs in window boxes or an entire securities industry garden full of veg .
“ It does n’t matter at what scale you ’re growing , there is always something that you may adapt to any lifestyle or growing space . ”
Who Has Been Your Favourite Guest On The Podcast?
“ It ’s so punishing to pick just one person . Every undivided Edgar Guest has inspired me so much .
“ A few that really stand out for me include The Wolves Lane Flower Company , an amazing business produce cut flowers in urban London . Their story is just incredible and I ’ve take so many learnings from them .
“ I also loved chitchat with the Land Gardeners about soil science , as I think it ’s something we all still undervalue somewhat and I ’m on my way of life to becoming a perfect soil geek .
“ Then there are people likeEmma Jo Real - Daviesand Izzy ( @justizzybee ) who are such down - to - earth , passionate plant citizenry and are also hilarious and endearing . A lot of our hearer fed back on those episodes saying how they felt like we ’d all been there drinking coffee and chatting about plants like honest-to-god acquaintance .
“ heaps of plant people do n’t fuck other people in their local arena with a similar pursuit in works , I certainly did n’t when I start the podcast , so that ’s exactly what I ’d want to make in the digital reality . ”
How Important Is The Online Gardening Community To You?
“ The on-line gardening community is so fabulously important to me , ” Shannon shares .
“ I ’ve made quite a few dead on target friend for sprightliness through Instagram – I even attend my first wedding of an Instagram pal this year !
“ Everyone is so open , friendly and willing to do everything they can to help oneself you succeed . I feel like we all find so much delight in celebrating each other ’s successes and express joy when thing go wrong on the most epic scale .
“ It ’s been awe-inspiring to see such a movement online of create a positive environment for young mass who just love plants . ”
What Advice Would You Give To Aspiring Gardeners?
“ Get develop as soon as possible !
“ I wish I ’d found garden preferably because it has altogether transformed my life . It ’s been a year since I quit my corporate job in marketing , an industry I ’ve been in for the last 10 year , and the last yr has buy me more happiness than I could ’ve ever think .
“ The benefits a hobby ( or career ) in gardening can bring are immensurable – there ’s no joy quite like glean your very own crop that you ’ve nurtured from seed right to the scale on your dinner table . ”
What’s Next For You?
“ This year is all about growingThe Mini Gardeners Club , a project which start as a 6 - hebdomad gardening program in summertime 2022 and has turned into an absolute beast , ” she state .
“ Our aim is to inspire citizenry of all ages to get out of doors and get acquire , with our current focus on family with primary - aged child .
“ It ’s been such a rewarding undertaking and we ’ve had the privilege of working on so many amazing labor in schools and at various location across the UK .
“ We ’re now on the hunt for a permanent blank space where we can host rise workshops for people of all old age , ability and background signal in North Devon , so there is a lot of excitement still to total ! ”
