Show Notes
S01 Episode 08: Words and gardens. With Sean Swallow
A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.
These notes may contain affiliate links.
Garden soundtrack
Is there anything left to write about gardens?
The garden as a place of ideas
The garden as a place of activity – where ideas can flow.
Words as containers for thoughts and ideas
Interview with Sean Swallow
07:38 intro
07:56 from garden designer to poet
16:38 the garden at Scatterford
20:17 are gardens ineffable? Why do we bother trying to capture then in words
22:46 strong gardens
22:30 disruptive poets
23:40 thieving bumblebees. Carpenter bees stealing nectar by drilling through flowers https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=14120
24:56 Death in the garden, Poussin's Et in arcadia ego https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_in_Arcadia_ego
29:40 Poems 'strong enough to help'. Seamus Heaney, The Redress of Poetry https://www.seamusheaney.com/the-redress-of-poetry
30:42 gardens reflecting the shape of thoughts
A short film of Sean, his work, and his garden https://seanswallow.net/film/
Sean's garden at Scatterford on the NGS website https://www.ngs.org.uk/find-a-garden/garden/30858/
You can find Sean on the web at http://www.seanswallow.net and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sean_swallow/
Further reading on writers and gardens:
The Writer's Garden: how Gardens inspired our best-loved authors Jackie Bennett https://amzn.to/2Tl6Y7a
website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: [email protected] Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB
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