Rhiannon Dowding on her father the chemist, painting gum leaves and not being much of a gardener

In this episode, host Cass Dowding talks with writer and artist Rhiannon Dowding (also her mother-in-law) about a lifetime of garden stories from Wales to Victoria. 

Though Rhiannon says she's "not much of a gardener," her life has been shaped by the plant lovers around her, from grandparents with berry patches to her chemistry professor father who filled their first Australian garden with native trees.

In this conversation, Cass and Rhiannon talk about:

• Growing up in Wales surrounded by berry patches and her grandfather's famous "poo tea" experiments
• Her father's love of Australian native plants and making dyes from gum leaves
• Her move from Wales to Australia in 1966 and watching her father plant their first gum tree
• Living through the Ash Wednesday bushfires in Cockatoo and seeing how trees survived the flames
• How liquid amber trees in autumn remind her of her father
• The smells and sights taking her back to childhood - from pond smells to Welsh bluebells
• Why she likes "easy" gardening now with hedges, geraniums, and plants that grow on their own
• How gardens show up in her watercolor paintings, from gum leaves to mushrooms
• What it means to inherit garden stories instead of gardening skills

If you've ever been influenced by someone else's love of plants, felt moved by a particular smell, or believe that the most important gardens live in our memories, you'll love this conversation.

Follow Cass on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads — @the_sentimental_gardener. Links to social pages and more are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener.

Read show notes about the guests and access the full transcript by clicking here or visiting thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts

Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening

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