The Underground

What happens when growing your own food becomes about much more than what ends up on the plate?
Recorded live on stage at Glee, Phil Wright and Kate Turner are joined by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef, broadcaster, author, campaigner and the man behind River Cottage.
Hugh takes us back to the childhood experience that first sparked his fascination with growing, and explains how that relationship with food eventually helped inspire River Cottage.
The conversation explores why growing food can be an act of self-reliance, how it changes our relationship with what we eat, and why Hugh believes growing organically and looking after the life within our soil is more relevant than ever.
We also hear about his High Fibre Heroes, the connection he sees between the microbiome in our soil and our own gut health, and why even growing a small amount of food can make a difference.
Towards the end of the conversation, Hugh is joined by Max Mancroft from Seed Revolution. They discuss their River Cottage organic seed range, the opportunity to make growing from seed feel simpler and more appealing, and why a packet of seeds might just make a rather good present.
Finally, Hugh and Max answer our Glee question: what could the garden sector learn from outside the industry?

Whenever Michael Perry joins The Underground, the conversation is unlikely to follow a predictable path.
Recorded at Glee 2026, this relaxed and wide-ranging chat sees Michael join Phil Wright and Kate Turner to discuss what could come next for Gardeners’ World, whether gardening television needs to become more commercially aware and why different parts of the sector need to understand the audiences they serve.
They also explore what makes a new plant stand out, how good storytelling can help a product succeed, the rise and fall of rare houseplants, selling plants on QVC and the growing importance of authenticity as AI-generated content becomes harder to avoid.
Along the way, the conversation takes in garden centres as the department stores of the future, the uneasy relationship between sustainability and artificial products, attractive male gardeners and Michael’s latest business idea: a mobile garden centre in an old library van.
It’s a friendly, funny and candid conversation about plants, marketing and where the garden sector could go next.

Gemma Haigh’s route into horticulture hasn’t exactly been conventional.
After starting her career in museums and heritage, she turned a lifelong love of plants into The Plant Parlour, working across houseplants, content creation, design and interior landscaping. She also created a Houseplant Studio for the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, inspired, perhaps unexpectedly, by the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us.
But this conversation goes well beyond houseplants.
Gemma joins Phil and Kate to talk about why industries driven by passion can become comfortable with expecting people to work for very little, the difficulty of putting a proper value on horticultural expertise, and whether women face additional barriers when trying to make a career in the sector.
They also discuss caring responsibilities, the treatment of women online, why follower numbers and genuine expertise aren’t the same thing, and what brands should be looking for when they work with creators.
And, returning to plants, Gemma explains why climate change could start to blur the distinction between what we think of as an indoor plant and an outdoor plant.
It’s a wide-ranging conversation about plants, careers, expertise and what it takes to be taken seriously in horticulture.
In this episode:
How an overflowing garden led Gemma into houseplants
Creating a Houseplant Studio at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Why passion shouldn’t be used as an excuse for poor pay
Whether horticulture properly values professional expertise
Women, caring responsibilities and career progression
The difference between influence, entertainment and genuine authority
Why brands need to think harder about who represents them
How our changing climate could change the way we grow houseplants

Glee is one of the biggest dates in the garden industry calendar. It’s also three very long days of walking, talking, networking, discovering new products and trying to remember who said what by the time you get home.So, ahead of Glee 2026, we’ve delved back into Season 1 of The Underground and brought together some of the best Glee survival advice from our guests.
And between them, they’ve clocked up a lot of exhibition miles.
We hear tips from garden centre leaders, suppliers, marketers, PR professionals, journalists, growers and industry organisations on how to get more from the show, whether you’re exhibiting or visiting.
There’s plenty of practical advice: comfortable shoes, hydration, planning your meetings, taking useful notes, making time to explore every aisle and following up properly afterwards.
But there are some bigger lessons too. How do you make the most of chance conversations? What should an exhibitor actually be trying to achieve? Why should your product packaging be able to sell the story without somebody standing beside it? And why might staying until the very last bell lead to a customer relationship that lasts ten years?
You’ll also discover the importance of yoga, a good breakfast, emergency plasters, strategic coffee consumption and, apparently, the correct way to end a conversation.
Featuring advice from Alan Roper, Boyd Douglas-Davies, Debi Holland, Elaine Gotts, Ellen Mary, Fran Barnes, Guy Jenkins, Jane Hartley, Jane Lawler, Kate Ebbens, Kimberley Hornby-George, Linda Petrons, Matthew Mein, Megan Warren-Davis, Michael Perry, Simon Taylor, Steve Harper, Toby Thomas, Vicky Nuttall and Will Scott.
The Underground is the official podcast partner of Glee 2026.

With Glee just a month away, we’re heading back to Birmingham, as well as the conversations we recorded there last year.
At Glee 2025, we asked every guest who joined us one simple question:
What’s one change you’d love to see in the garden sector over the next five years?The answers gave us a fascinating snapshot of where the industry thought change was needed.
We heard calls for more young people to discover gardening and horticulture, better training for people entering the industry, greater support for independent garden centres and much more ambitious use of digital technology. Our guests also talked about sustainability, peat-free growing media, water conservation, online retail, AI and how garden centres themselves could evolve.
There were plenty of big ideas too, from turning garden centres into evening destinations to rethinking the way plants are merchandised.
A year on, and with the industry preparing to come together at Glee again, it feels like the perfect time to revisit those conversations.
Which ideas are beginning to happen? Which challenges are still with us? And if we asked the same question at Glee this year, would the answers be any different?Featuring voices from across garden retail, horticulture, suppliers, marketing and the wider garden sector.