{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 191: Connecting with Plants","description":"Hello and welcome to this week\u2019s episode where I\u2019m speaking to Marion Whitehead from the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in New South Wales, Australia, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. I talk with Marion about one of her areas of speciality; the intersection of plants and human feelings, particularly in the context of 3 books as recommended by Marion; Enid Blyton\u2019s \u2018The Magic Faraway Tree\u2019, Frances Hodgson Burnett\u2019s \u2018The Secret Garden\u2019 and \u2018The Overstory\u2019 by Richard Powers. Dr Ian Bedford\u2019s Bug of the Week: Venom What we cover Enid Blyton\u2019s \u2018The Magic Faraway Tree\u2019: the tree is the central character, but actually seems pretty inanimate. How does the magic faraway tree provoke emotion? Is there a suggestion in Blyton\u2019s book that wild plants are more emotionally provocative than cultivated plants? \u2018The Secret Garden\u2019: the garden heals but it seems to be healing physically as much as emotionally, is this the case? Is the garden responding to individuals\u2019 needs?  Do people instinctively find or seek out what they need, emotionally, in a garden? Do we have the language to describe our relationship to plants?  Richard Powers\u2019 \u2018The Overstory\u2019: are plants losing their power to connect with us emotionally, or vice versa, given our detachment from nature?  About Marion Whitehead Marion is Senior Horticulturalist at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant species, with a specific interest in ephemeral and heathland plants. Marion has many horticultural topics of interest from Australian plant history, to managing plant nurseries, to the emotional connection between human and fellow flowers. Links www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com The Overstory by Richard Powers  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett  Patreon Membership ","author_name":"Roots and All - Gardening Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/rootsandall.co.uk","html":"