First podcast episode is now live!
Meet my guest: Hayden Schueler from Vereya Gardening
Hello friends,
It's happening! The very first episode of The Sentimental Gardener podcast is now out in the world, and I'm equal parts nervous and thrilled to share it with you.
After weeks of planning, recording, and learning the ins and outs of podcast production (quite the adventure!), this first conversation is finally ready for your ears.
Episode 1 - Hayden Schueler: The “Closeted Gardener”
For this premiere episode, I sat down with Hayden Schueler, who runs Vereya Gardening in the Dandenong Ranges. His story feels like one of those perfectly circular garden paths that lead you right back to where you began - he now lives just over the fence from where he grew up, on land that was once an empty hydrangea farm where he played as a child.
There's something beautiful about how Hayden describes his journey from studying music composition at the Victorian College of Arts to eventually embracing his true calling in gardens. "My life just got written for me," he shares at one point. "I called myself a closet gardener because I had this pull between music and gardening... everyone thought I was a musician, but secretly, I just loved gardening."
Some moments from our conversation that I especially loved:
How the chestnuts he collected as a child from the very same trees he tends today connect him across time
His fascination with Japanese-style organic topiary versus European formal shapes
The camellias whose scent immediately transports him back to childhood
His adventures visiting centuries-old gardens in Europe with topiary planted in the 1600s!
What it means to maintain gardens that hold decades of memories for their owners
And there's a special treat at the end - Hayden composed the theme music for the podcast and at the end of this episode he performs it on his grand piano, bringing his two creative worlds together in the most perfect way.
Where can you listen?
The episode is available now on:
Or wherever you get your podcasts
What's next?
I have conversations lined up with some wonderful garden people - from passionate home gardeners to designers, plant collectors, and those with the most moving stories about the plants they grow and why.
I'd love to know what you think of this first episode! Is there someone in your life who helped shape your garden journey? Do you have a plant that holds special memories for you? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments.
Thank you for being here from the beginning. This little seed of an idea has taken root, and I'm so grateful to have you along as it grows.
Until next time, may your garden, whatever form it takes, continue to nurture the stories that matter most to you.
🌱 Cass
Music written and performed by Hayden Schueler from @vereyagardening
Read more and access the full transcript at thesentimentalgardener.com/podcasts
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Threads—@the_sentimental_gardener
All links are available at bio.site/thesentimentalgardener