Jess's Buddleja

April 7, 2026 · 36 min · Season 4 · Episode 5

About this episode

Jess Turtle shares her connection to Buddleja davidii, exploring its significance and the community garden at the Museum Of Homelessness.

Buddleja davidii is Jess's 'spirit' plant and I think if you listen to this episode it will be obvious why. Also known as the Butterfly Bush it's the purple buddleja that you see growing in the cracks of pavements and walls, along the railway sidings. It comes from China and the first seeds arrived at Kew gardens, 130 years ago. Jess Turtle is the co-founder and director of the Museum Of Homelessness in Finsbury Park in North London and this plant story was recorded in the museum garden which has been built by the community. People and plant communities have more in common than we might think. Signup here so all episodes of the podcast arrive in your inbox on the day I publish them. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

People in this episode

Host: Sally Flatman

Guest: Jess Turtle

Topics covered

Buddleja
Butterfly Bush
community gardening
Museum Of Homelessness
plant stories
urban nature

Keywords

Buddleja
Butterfly Bush
Jess Turtle
Museum Of Homelessness
community garden
urban plants
nature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Museum Of Homelessness

Products: Buddleja davidii, Butterfly Bush

Places: Finsbury Park, North London, Kew gardens