Le jardin merveilleux
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Welcome to Season 4 of Gardens, Weeds & Words.
In this opening episode of the season, we wander down the intertwining hedgerow paths of May Morris’s 1893 Arcadia wallpaper design, featuring a passage from her book Decorative Needlework beautifully read for us by Milli Proust.
That sense of wild, magical, yet familiar garden space leads us directly into the work of this episode’s guest: French illustrator Margot Réverdy. Margot is one half of the commercial illustration studio Swindler & Swindler. Whether she is designing foil-stamped covers for Wordsworth Editions, refreshing 18th-century Tarot decks, or beautifying a bottle of chili sauce for Sainsbury’s, Margot’s work is heavily rooted in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement – bringing applied, natural beauty into everyday hands.
Together, we discuss:
Her mental sanctuary, le jardin merveilleux, and how falling in love with a garden helped her find balance and healing as a young adult.
The relationship between line, depth, and maximalism (including the terrifying reality of tracking 200,000 iPad strokes).
The challenge of building a house and establishing a garden on 100% calcareous clay in the Drôme Valley – where plants contend with freezing winters and bone-dry summers.
Working in a pink-painted “bu-rose” and why pink might just be the most joyful neutral in the palette.
I hope you enjoy the first episode of the new season!
Please do continue to share the podcast on social media, and if you’d really like to brighten my day, leave a review on iTunes or your podcast app of choice. Or drop me a note in the comments section below, having listened on the embedded player on this page.
Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S04 E01 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.
Episode Summary:
In the Season 4 premiere of Gardens, Weeds & Words, Andrew Timothy O’Brien explores the fluid boundaries where gardens refuse to stay contained – bleeding into thoughts, literature, and everyday conversation.
Featuring a reading by Milli Proust from May Morris’s 1893 work Decorative Needlework, Andrew discusses the “witchy,” free-flowing arts-and-crafts legacy of May Morris before diving into a captivating conversation with French illustrator Margot Réverdy (co-founder of Swindler & Swindler).
Margot opens up about her mental space Le Jardin Merveilleux, how gardening helped her transition into adulthood and heal from an eating disorder, the mechanics of drawing hundreds of thousands of digital lines, building a straw-and-wood house in the Drôme Valley, and why pink is officially her new black.
In this episode:
00:00 - Intro: The uncontained garden
02:05 - May Morris, George Bernard Shaw, and natural dyes (Reading by Milli Proust)
06:30 - Meeting Margot Réverdy & the story behind her name
10:24- Arts & Crafts in daily life: From Wordsworth covers to Sainsbury’s salad dressing
12:22 - Inheriting irises and a love of seasonal blooms from a grandmother
17:50 - Working as a botanical maximalist in a line-driven world
21:58 - How gardens offer sanctuary, grounding, and an escape from urban asphalt
28:55 - Gardening on chalk and gravel in the south of France
32:14 - Being self-taught and leaning into the joy of applied art
49:35 - Andrew’s garden coaching programme, with a discount code GWW15 for listeners to the podcast
Links & References:
Margot Reverdy / Swindler & Swindler: web: https://swindlerandswindler.com social: @swindlerandswindler
May Morris Archive: V&A Museum / Ashmolean Museum
Milli Proust: web: https://www.milliproust.com social: @milliproust
Garden coaching, with Andrew Timothy O'Brien: click here for more information, or to book a free discovery call.
Andrew‘s book, To Stand and Stare. How to garden while doing next to nothing is now out in paperback.
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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.
substack: Bramble & Briar
website: www.andrewtimothyobrien.com
email: gardensweedsandwords@gmail.com
instagram: instagram.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.
