
353. Chelsea Flower Show Special part 1: Exploring Penn Wood, the inspiration for the Woodland Trust's Chelsea Garden
From The Plodcast by Our Media
June 2, 2026 · 55 min · Season 19 · Episode 54
About this episode
The episode explores the inspiration behind an ancient woodland garden designed for the Chelsea Flower Show, highlighting the efforts to protect Britain's ancient woodlands.
Britain's ancient woodlands are under threat and the Woodland Trust is fighting to save them with its Forgotten Forests campaign. In line with this, the Trust has asked award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett to create an ancient woodland garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, the world's most famous gardening festival.In this, the first of two Chelsea Flower Show specials, Plodcast host Fergus meets Ashleigh and Nick Philips from the Woodland Trust at Penn Wood in the Chiltern Hills, an ancient woodland that helped inspire Ashleigh's design. And next week, we head to Chelsea to see the garden in situ at the show!For more on the Woodland Trust's Forgotten Forests campaign: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/protecting-trees-and-woods/campaign-with-us/forgotten-forests/For more on award-winning garden designer Ashleigh Aylett: https://aylettstudio.co.uk/Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If…
People in this episode
Host: Fergus
Guest: Ashleigh Aylett
Topics covered
- ancient woodlands
- gardening
- environmental conservation
- Chelsea Flower Show
- Woodland Trust
- design
Keywords
- Chelsea Flower Show
- Woodland Trust
- ancient woodlands
- gardening design
- environmental campaign
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Woodland Trust, BBC Countryfile Magazine
Places: Penn Wood, Chiltern Hills
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