Gardens for Good Causes
with Hattie Ghaui
This post contains affiliate links
Somewhere on the threshold between summer and autumn, I’m enjoying the concentrated golden glory of October days, when every precious moment of daylight seems to thrum with energy and the knowledge of its scarcity. We take a turn around Kew Gardens, admiring the contents of the flowerbeds courtesy of an extract from a short story of the same name by Virginia Woolf, watching the people and their reaction to the plants, as much as the plants themselves. It’s an education in a public garden, and just as much on the show ground of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where every designer and sponsor clamours for the attention not only of the visitors, but the viewers of the comprehensive coverage given to the event by the BBC. What an opportunity for any organisation, and no more so than a charity. It’s this space in which Project Giving Back seeks to serve, and in this episode we hear from CEO Hattie Ghaui about their work, the purpose of the Chelsea Flower Show, and the part big business has to play, if any, within the third sector.
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Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03E09 show notes
A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.
These notes may contain affiliate links.
Garden soundtrack
The glory of October
3:25 Reading from Kew Gardens, by Virginia Woolf. Written in 1919, available in hardback from Kew Publications, 2018
Read by Milli Proust
8:19 Interview with Hattie Ghaui
9:00 A summary of Project Giving Back’s work...
10:56 … and how Hattie became involved
11:25 How PGB is funded
12:13 The original goal
12:30 Me, failing to get Hattie to preempt the announcement (made in late September) about the extension of the original remit
14:35 Hattie, repping the business world on Gardens, Weeds & Words!
15:00 Hattie’s own childhood memories of plants and gardens
22:20 Hattie’s present garden and gardening style
24:29 An unexpected plug for To Stand and Stare
25:15 Hacking Big Money for charities at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Can philanthropy really help?
31:02 PGB's due diligence process for charities and corporate partners
34:45 What kind of difference can Chelsea make to a charity?
Gardens for good causes, the PGB podcast https://www.givingback.org.uk/podcasts
40:27 The variety of different charities supported
41:36 Sustainability at Chelsea, and the legacy of a PGB show garden
45:23 Keep asking the questions, PGB and the RHS
47:20 A few stand out PGB projects
50:09 The long term impact of the gardens
53:41 Book writing – To Stand and Stare, and what comes next from me
***
Thank you to Hattie Ghaui for joining me on this episode of the Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast.
You can find Hattie on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/hghaui/
and Project Giving Back here https://www.instagram.com/project.giving.back/
and on the web here https://www.givingback.org.uk/
With thanks once again to Milli Proust for this episode’s reading. Milli’s beautiful instagram is here https://www.instagram.com/milliproust/
My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here https://geni.us/Qs2d
I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees.
website: gardensweedsandwords.com
email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com
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Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB
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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, writer, photographer, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking this image.
