Horticulturist and author Chloe Foster joins Cass Dowding on The Sentimental Gardener podcast to talk about what it really takes to become a gardener — and why starting without a clue might be the best way in.

They chat about Chloe’s new book The Rookie Gardener, her early days pulling carrots straight from the ground, and her love of Australian natives (even the prickly ones).

Along the way, they explore why gardens have become intimidating, how failure is part of the joy, and why humans need to get their hands back in the dirt.

A warm, funny, and quietly motivating conversation for anyone who’s ever looked at a plant and thought: “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

// Show notes //

Follow Chloe on Instagram @fosteryourgarden
Follow Cass on Instagram @the_sentimental_gardener

Buy Chloe's book 'The Rookie Gardener' out September 2nd 2025 at your local bookstore or online

Read more about Chloe's work on her website

Read show notes about guests and access the full transcript by visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Credits:

Music: Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening

Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding

Production and editing: Cass Dowding

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

Deb Collette is a dahlia grower, exhibitor, floral art judge, and dahlia show judge based in Victoria. She grew up in rural New Zealand, where she gained early experience in gardening and exhibiting flowers.

An active member of the Dahlia Society of Victoria and regular contributor to its magazine, Deb focuses on breeding new dahlia varieties, maintaining heritage lines, and supporting competitive exhibiting. She has won multiple championships and mentors new growers.

In this episode you'll hear:

• How Deb's great-great-great-grandfather carried dahlia tubers from England to New Zealand in 1841, starting a family tradition that flows through generations

• Her journey from chemistry labs to becoming one of Australia's most trusted voices in the dahlia world

• Growing a "collector's garden"

• How specialist plant and flower societies create community and belonging around shared passion

• The fascinating world of dahlia genetics, where every seed creates a unique individual

• Her approach to breeding dahlias and what makes the "cut" in her garden

• The stories behind dahlia names and the heritage she's helped preserve through research

• Pre-rational plant memories: the violets, daphne, and New Zealand natives that anchor her to childhood

• Why she believes it takes just as much effort to grow a bad dahlia as a good one

• Plus answers to burning dahlia questions from listeners

Follow Deb on Instagram @debsdahlias

Follow Cass on Instagram - @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Credits:
Music: Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening
Audio Engineering: Tom Dowding
Production and editing: Cass Dowding

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In this episode, host Cass Dowding talks with landscape designer Jocelyn Bennett from Earthcore Landscapes about designing award-winning Australian native gardens, why she lasted only six weeks in engineering, and how her "Re-Set" garden proved that texture-first design can make even Australian native plant sceptics fall in love.

Though Jocelyn grew up collecting flower cuttings with her mum and playing the tulip tree spotting game with her arborist father, she never expected to become a landscape designer.

Her winding path from horticulture diplomas to winning first place at Melbourne International Flower Show shows what happens when you trust what your body tells you it needs … even when that means needing green spaces to feel grounded.

If you've ever felt called to follow an unconventional path, believe that Australian natives can be both beautiful and calming, or want to understand how childhood experiences shape the spaces we create, this conversation is for you.

Follow Jocelyn Bennett and Earthcore Landscapes on Instagram @earthcorelandscapes

Follow Cass on Instagram - @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening.

Podcast produced and edited by Cass and Tom Dowding

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In this episode, host Cass Dowding talks with photographer and creator Linda Pottage about building an "old house" that looks like it's always been there, and creating gardens as extensions of interior design, inspired by a childhood of reading fairy and woodland tales.

Though Linda grew up in 1950s suburban Bentley surrounded by neat rows of orange marigolds, her soul longed for something "more flowing and messy and organic." A pivotal trip to England at age 11 made her feel she'd found where she belonged, thinking, "this environment is right. This is where I belong."

If you've ever felt called to create beautiful spaces, trusted your instincts over conventional wisdom, or believe that home is something you build rather than find, this conversation will inspire you.

Follow Linda Pottage and find out more about hiring The Potterage on Instagram and Facebook

Follow Cass on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads — @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by clicking here or visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening.

Podcast produced and edited by Cass and Tom Dowding

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In this episode, host Cass Dowding talks with landscape architect and author Sandra Schwarz about her journey from teaching teenagers to researching how green spaces heal us.

Though Sandra grew up in German apartments with railway allotment gardens, her relationship with plants began quietly until a career-changing moment in her classroom. Watching her students' eyes light up when she suggested rooftop gardens, then hearing a designer talk about turning concrete channels back into rivers, Sandra knew she had to change careers.

In this conversation, Cass and Sandra talk about:

• Growing up with German railway allotment gardens and moving to 1980s Australia where gardens were "part of the house"
• The pivotal moment hearing about river restoration that changed her career path
• Her study exchange in Sweden and discovering Alnarp's rehabilitation garden
• How sitting quietly stroking a lamb's ear leaf revealed her PhD focus
• The science behind gravel paths as acts of kindness in therapeutic garden design
• Her three sentimental green spaces: Alnarp (Sweden), Gartnaval Maggie's Centre (Scotland), and Royal Talbot (Melbourne)
• Volunteering as the "chief possum poo and bird bath cleaner" and watching magpies wait for their refresh
• The "exhale factor" - why certain spaces make our shoulders drop
• How we're losing green spaces to bigger houses just when we need them most for mental health
• Translating academic research into practical wisdom for creating healing spaces

If you've ever felt that shoulder-dropping moment in a green space, wondered why gardens make you feel better, or believe we need more nature in our concrete world, this comprehensive conversation will fascinate you.

You can find Sandra's book Restore at humanaturescapes.net and follow her on Instagram @human_nature_scapes.

Follow Cass on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads — @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by clicking here or visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening
Podcast produced and edited by Cass and Tom Dowding

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In this episode, host Cass Dowding talks with writer and artist Rhiannon Dowding (also her mother-in-law) about a lifetime of garden stories from Wales to Victoria.

Though Rhiannon says she's "not much of a gardener," her life has been shaped by the plant lovers around her, from grandparents with berry patches to her chemistry professor father who filled their first Australian garden with native trees.

In this conversation, Cass and Rhiannon talk about:

• Growing up in Wales surrounded by berry patches and her grandfather's famous "poo tea" experiments
• Her father's love of Australian native plants and making dyes from gum leaves
• Her move from Wales to Australia in 1966 and watching her father plant their first gum tree
• Living through the Ash Wednesday bushfires in Cockatoo and seeing how trees survived the flames
• How liquid amber trees in autumn remind her of her father
• The smells and sights taking her back to childhood - from pond smells to Welsh bluebells
• Why she likes "easy" gardening now with hedges, geraniums, and plants that grow on their own
• How gardens show up in her watercolor paintings, from gum leaves to mushrooms
• What it means to inherit garden stories instead of gardening skills

If you've ever been influenced by someone else's love of plants, felt moved by a particular smell, or believe that the most important gardens live in our memories, you'll love this conversation.

Follow Cass on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads — @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by clicking here or visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.

In this premiere episode, Cass Dowding speaks with Hayden Schueler, who went from studying music composition at the Victorian College of Arts to running Vereya Gardening in the Dandenong Ranges. His story comes full circle, now living just over the fence from his childhood home, on land where he once played as a boy collecting chestnuts and climbing trees.

In this conversation, Cass and Hayden discuss:

• His journey from a "closeted gardener" while studying music to embracing gardening as a career
• The chestnut trees and camellias that connect him to childhood memories
• How following your passion sometimes means embracing an unexpected path
• His journey through Europe visiting centuries-old topiary gardens planted in the 1600s
• The fascinating differences between Japanese topiary and European formal shapes
• What it means to maintain gardens that hold decades of memories for their owners
• How specific plants trigger powerful childhood memories through both sight and scent
• Why gardens are never truly "finished" ... only constantly evolving

If you've ever found meaning in a particular plant, felt connected to a childhood garden, or simply believe that gardens are more than just collections of plants, this conversation is a perfect place to start.

Follow Hayden on Instagram @vereyagardening

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by clicking here or visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening

See libsyn.com/tos-policies/privacy-policy for privacy information.