A Quiet Beauty: Plants That Carry Us Through the Cold

Oh the weather outside is frightful but there’s still plenty of wonder to be found out there. James Armitage, editor of The Plant Review, joins Gareth Richards to reflect on the quiet beauty of the resilient plants that carry us through the winter months, and on the quiet beauty of seeing familiar plants anew.We begin with writer and plantsman Phil Clayton, who tells the extraordinary story of the Wollemi pine, tracing its journey from near-extinction to gardens around the world. James then sits down with Tom Christian to discuss the remarkable diversity of the ivy family, a group of plants rich in variety and resilience, whose beauty and horticultural value are often underestimated. Finally, we meet South Korean artist Seong Weon Ahn, whose delicate paintings capture plants not only with botanical precision, but with a deep sense of presence and mood. Contributors: Phil Clayton, Tom Christian, Seong Weon Ahn Links:

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A Quiet Beauty: Plants That Carry Us Through the Cold is an episode from Gardening with the RHS by Royal Horticultural Society.

This episode is 39:19 long.

This episode was published on Dec 23, 2025.

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