Vlog - Pots & Trowels
If you’re missing your weekly fix of Monty Don in his garden while Gardeners’ World has its winter break, this could fill the gap. In his weekly Youtube vlog, Martin Fish goes through seasonal gardening jobs, in a clear, authoritative and accessible manner. It’s no surprise that the vlog feels so professional given that Martin has had years of experience presenting for regional gardening TV programmes. He and producer Sean Riley have now decided to take their expertise and do some videos for themselves.
Aimed at both beginners and more experienced gardeners, these are practical guides on jobs from sharpening tools to layering bulbs in pots. Filmed in Martin’s attractive garden, we get masses of tips and little insights along the way. In an episode on winter pruning, Martin talks about being a firm believer in the idea of ‘little and often’ as we see him clipping a few branches off his multi-stemmed silver birch Betula jacquemontii to flatter the shape and enhance the white bark, and in the process we learn you can’t prune birch in spring because they bleed.
He makes jobs such as taking hard wood cuttings from fruit trees look so simple that you wonder why you’ve never done it before. Martin clearly enjoys passing on his gardening knowledge and encouraging people to get into their garden. Pots & Trowels is both informative and enjoyable to watch. And just like Monty, Martin even has a dog, Molly, to keep him company; he feeds her snacks of homegrown fruit and vegetables – very healthy. It’s well worth a watch.
