SPEAKER_01 0:00

Now this September, Kew Gardens is hosting some incredible events. Big conversations, beautiful surroundings. You can take a picnic, performance and culture in the heart of Kew Gardens. In conversation at Q Gardens is the series. There are four days from Thursday, the 4th of September, to Sunday the 7th. And joining me to look ahead to the Saturday event, which is the Gardeners World Live event, which is being hosted by Nikki Chapman. Nikki, lovely to see you. Thank you. Let's first of all talk about Kew Gardens. What a beautiful setting for this event.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

It is extraordinary. I'm really fortunate because I live not that far from Kew, so it's somewhere that I regularly visit. The thing with Q though, because it is so large and it has such an amazing array of plants and specimens, it changes all the time. So you can go any season and you can see something different. So you have the most magical setting for in conversation with. So if you come down to see us, and I'm going to talk about Saturday, the 6th of September, put that date in your diary. I'm going to be chatting to Adam Frost, Frances Tophill, and also Kevin Smith from Gardner's World magazine. And it's going to be an amazing day out. So you've got the setting. So you come early, hopefully, because Q's worth seeing, and it's going to take you quite a while to wander around and enjoy it. And then when you're ready, you're going to meander over to our little area, our little intimate area where we've got this in conversation going. And I'm going to be chatting to Adam and to Frances about their lives, behind the scenes, what it's like to make Gardener's World and the other projects that they do, their passion for gardening, who's inspired them, those stories that you don't normally hear. And during all of that, we've got the wonderful Kevin Smith with us, who's the editor of Gardener's World magazine. So he's going to be getting involved as well. And I want you to envisage you're sitting down on a little carpet, you bought a rug, you might have bought some chairs, you've got your picnic laid out around you. The perfect setting for a perfect conversation.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

It sounds idyllic, doesn't it? It does. Now there's always that opportunity because we know Adam Frost, we both uh know him reasonably well. Wish me luck. Well, yes, now he's got a great sense of humour, hasn't he? And he can be a bit mischievous.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Oh, I mean he's gonna keep me on my toes. I mean, let's be honest. Um every time I chat to cat uh to every time I chat to Adam, and I don't chat to him enough actually, he surprises me with his tales. We think we know him, oh my goodness, we so don't. So that's gonna be great fun indeed. And then I think in a way Frances is gonna be the sensible one, isn't she?

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yes, which is which is a nice balance, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

It is because Frances is passionate about conversation, Frances is passionate about wildlife and conservation, and you know, I love talking to her about her van. I want to know more about this woman because she has had the most incredible career for someone that didn't ever want to be a presenter on television. She goes round the country in her van, she's got her allotment, she's just bought her first house. All those experiences are so great. Working with Alan Titchmarsh at the very, very beginning of her career on television. We're going to get into all of that.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

One of the things you must ask Adam to share with everybody it's not garden related, it's about his holidays. He is good friends with a world top DJ, and he goes to Ibitha.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Oh yes. Did he not go to a world-class top DJ's wedding as well?

SPEAKER_01 3:39

I I couldn't be able to do that. We couldn't possibly, could we?

SPEAKER_00 3:42

We couldn't possibly. He will tell us, though, a little bit more about Adam Clayton from U2 when he went and interviewed him in his magnificent garden.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Wow. Yeah. See, worth the thing. Absolutely. Now the other thing is because Adam is so mischievous, what happens if he asks you some questions? I mean, the music industry, you've got books and books worth of stories in there.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Well, what can I tell you? He might, because he loves his music. The one thing about Adam, he said when he designs gardens, it re music plays a huge part of that. And for those of you that might not know, I worked in the music industry for 20 years, and I was really lucky. I work with such an eclectic range of artists. Very fortunate, lots of household names. I won't do the name drop because you'll hear the clonk, but people that you definitely know. Um, and he probably would ask me a few questions about that.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Fantastic. Um, Saturday, the 6th of September, you're there, Nikki. We should just mention on the 4th, uh, there's going to be Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong on the 5th, Tom Holland and Mary Beard, uh, and on the 7th, uh is the BBC Country File stage with Matt Baker, John Craven, Adam Henson, uh, and Anita Rani. An amazing lineup over an amazing four days.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Yeah, what a lovely thing to do. I think you know, we always want to get up close and personal. We want to hear those stories behind the scenes. And I think certainly, you know, on all those days, whichever day you choose, you're going to hear something exclusive.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Absolutely right. In which case, people need to know where they can get more information, Nikki.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah, they can. If you go to um inconversationlive.co.uk, that's inconversationlive.co.uk, all the details are there, and you'll be able to buy your tickets as well. And please come and see us. The date for your diary is Saturday, the 6th of September. Don't forget to bring your picnic, and I'm really partial to a sausage roll.