The Ins & Outs - Pizza Ovens and Green Houses

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

Jojo is back from an epic trip to Botswana, where she learned some incredible facts about Pizza Ovens and Termite Mountains.Polly gives us an amazing preview into her impending green house, while Jojo gets down to business with a toilet masterclass.Plus, you're not going to want to miss Polly's tips on Bay Trees!InstagramPodcast - @the_insandouts_Jojo - @houseninedesignPolly - @pollyanna_wilkinsonProducer Andy - @andy_rowe_WebsitesJojo - https://www.housenine.co.uk/Polly - https://www.pollyannawilkinson.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Hello, lovely ones. Welcome to today's episode of The Ins and Outs with myself Jojo Barr and the very lovely Pollyanna Wilkinson. On today's show we're going to be talking about how termites make pizza ovens, a toilet masterclass don't throw balls in greenhouses, Polly's smelly blossom trees and probably the best tip ever about bay trees. Hello you. Hello Sexy, how are you? I'm very well. Welcome back to the country. How was your trip?

It was absolutely magic. It was truly pinch me magical, I have have to say I know we were there for work but it was something pretty special I've never been on a safari before and our very lovely clients allowed us to go on as many as we could if we'd got the work done so we did a early morning 5am drive we did a walk actually in the bush which was pretty amazing that was more to look at like tracks and poo and learn about plants and trees um and then we did a boat drive as well where we got to see baby elephants wallowing around in the mud and hippos and it was so special paul honestly it was just brilliant and it's such that the the lodge is called machangi which is the machangi tree uh it's named after and it's beautiful word isn't it machangi uh and uh it was just the most magical place it feels like you're up in the in the treetops and the lodge is already

beautiful but it was built about 25 27 years ago so a bit dated it's dated so it just needs it just needs some loving um and we've been tasked the amazing um given the amazing task of doing so which is lovely and i have to give a shout out as well to our clients because the reason this job came about is because we designed a pub for them in in Hampshire called the Mutton the Mutton Hazley Heath so if anyone is in the area please go and see the work that we've done but also go and savour the food because it is absolutely delicious and they're just lovely people so what was the most magical moment for you it would have been on the early morning drive the 5am which is the only thing that's going to get me out of bed at 5am. And sort of this

beautiful time of day. And we came across a pack of, sorry, not a pack, a pride of lions. And that was honestly just jaw-droppingly amazing. Very, very special. And it was three female lions and two cubs. And the cubs were both both girls but no dad to be seen no what's the big guy from lion king called what's the timber no i was about to say aslan that's a whole different thing no the big guy the big guy with a bang um the male was nowhere to be seen and as we were so we spent probably about 45 minutes just hanging out with these lionesses and then we started to drive off and they all got up and walked towards the bushes so we sort of slightly followed them and sure enough there he

was in the bush and he sort of came out this and you heard this like this amazing noise just rumbling from the bush and out he came and it was a fleeting like five seconds but it was just so special so that was that was amazing the baboons I mean you could sit and watch baboons all day just you know picking nits from each other's hair and climbing up the trees and chasing each other that was brilliant just a lot of magical moments but I mean obviously we were there for work so yeah sure but we did do I tell you what we did do which is really fun that when we did this walk I was saying that we got up really early to do our guide this brilliant guy kb was telling us that um all the things that they used to do as boys when they were growing up so different to what our kids do they would pick up

they would like get grasshoppers and tie strings to the back of their legs and pop them in match boxes and see how far they could jump and big competitions like that and just using nature as their playground, you know. And they would take impala poo. Impala is that lovely little deer that they call the McDonald's deer because it has, on its bottom, it's got this black M on its bum. Oh, yeah.

And they're found all around the world and they're fast food. So that's why they're called McDonald's. But it's got these tiny little pellets, these tiny little dried pellets of poo and we were sort of picking up all the poo and he put one in his mouth and he just spat it and he said we used to do this to each other

so they used to just spit poos at each other I mean it was just yeah, very funny lots of funny little stories like that but all about termite mountains I tell you what, if you want to really go and knock your socks off go and google facts about termite mountains i'll tell you what if you want to really go knock your socks off go and google facts about termite mountains is incredible that's how pizza ovens were first discovered that's how they were invented because of termite mountains

because the termite mountain for anyone that knows is built by this ton of teeny termites and inside the termite mound is the queen, a bit like a honeybee. And then coming out from the sort of upper termite mounds, which can be sort of like three, four metres tall, are all these tunnels, sort of maze of tunnels, and all to protect the queen. And the temperature within a termite mountain never changes. It's about 32 degrees and it never changes.

It's always the same consistent temperature. So that's also how they came about starting out the first thoughts towards air conditioning units i mean like air conditioning units from termite mountains because all these like tunnels and then pizza ovens because people in the bush the bush people would actually cut a hole out the side of the termite mountain because it's so solid it's like concrete right and they would literally cook their food inside the termite mountain and obviously it would steam the food because it has all these tunnels yes women would eat it women eat termite mountains the bush people because it's full of iron sure it's amazing i mean i could go on have i have i covered enough

absolutely riveting this entire episode is going to be about my experience in the bush in Botswana I mean your half term is sounds uh substantially more interesting than mine go on tell me about your half term Paul how was it what did you get up to I went to a trampoline park I obviously did not bounce because of the leg um oh yes my small had a birthday party so we went to a trampoline park so you know it's not dissimilar to your sounds very similar to your week yeah yeah very similar just as glamorous yeah how's the small how's your little one they're excellent so yeah well half term so it's always the juggle isn't it of um trying to still work because i don't feel it's been that long since christmas i can't be taking another week off so um juggling camps and nice days with them and work.

So substantially less eventful than yours, my friend, but lovely nonetheless. Now, Paul, I've got a question for you. It was Valentine's Day last week because obviously we had covered our little Valentine's Day special. Did you receive anything nice from Mr. Big? I got some very nice flowers, actually. Did you? Were they roses? No, not a rose in sight. Do you want to know what flowers Brad got me?

Yes, tell me. Show me. Ready? Show me. Oh my God. They're red roses. Someone didn't listen to the podcast, did they? Listen, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth because actually they are those are beautiful they are the most beautiful

roses i've ever seen and i i think they're very romantic that's not a service station rose is it that's definitely not a service station rose but they are absolutely i felt really bitchy for being so mean because i should i'm just to even receive flowers I'm very lucky so anyway I just thought that was quite amusing that tickled me yeah yes

he usually does listen to the podcast though I'd say he does he's a listener he'll come he'll report back on what he what he thinks

which is so nice is he an innie or an outie he's a he's a both he has to choose you can't be both babe no

are you an innie or an outie? Innie. Innie. As in he likes to be inside. Sure. Oh my gosh, Juju, I have to tell you something lovely. Tell me something lovely. I had the best day on Saturday. I went to this amazing exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London.

Right. I think it's called Forms Come Alive. I hope that's its name. Sculpture exhibition. So inspiring. Amazing. Anyway. And then I got on the tube home and someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I was listening to some music, minding my own business. And someone tapped me on the shoulder and said I absolutely love the podcast oh you were and hopped off the tube oh that made my day I thought that's lovely because you never really know do you no that's so nice oh I love that I know I thought that was so nice so if you're listening thank you that was I was giddy for the day oh good that's so nice love that we love that now Jojo I know you've been a bit busy globe trotting yes have you have you any updates for us on the house and or garden yeah in very big house news I'm looking for a new toilet stop it tell me more our downstairs toilet is is, I'm going to say it's hazardous.

It's a hazard. When you sit on it, the loo seat like clamps down on you. Do you go skidding around? Oh. It snaps down on your back when you sit down. It's not the most pleasant experience. So I'm looking for a new toilet. And I'm quite fussy when it comes to toilets.

Talk me through this. So what does one look for in a good toilet? And can I, I'm going to go, can I call it a loo? I hate the word toilet. You can call it what you like, my darling. You can call it a bog. No, I'm not. No. Crapper? No. The loo. Loo, lavatory. My favourite toilet is the Thomas Crapper. Who, Thomas Crapper is, is a Thomas, you know, you've heard of Thomas Crapper, Thomas Crapper is a Thomas... You know, you've heard of Thomas Crapper, haven't you? I have. Quite a lot of my clients have them. Yes, they're beautiful toilets

invented by a said Thomas Crapper. And they actually say Thomas Crapper on the back in quite big writing. Do you find that one of the downsides of your job, certainly one of mine, is the amount of time I... Well, not amount of time. That you spend

on the toilet no no the unfortunate amount of times that I have had to use a port-a-loo yeah do you know it's really funny you say this I am so unfussy when it comes to toilets like I genuinely if I just need to do my business I will go anywhere I ain't but i'm not snob about toilet i'll just you've not been into a portaloo at the end of the day where a lot of men have used it then my friend trust me i've been on many a site portaloo disgusting portaloo's but if you just got to get the job done you got to get the job done in and out because you're not in that sort of you know do your makeup just go and get the job done put your pants on and get out whereas i've got team members that will hold it in for a good eight hours.

They just won't go to the toilet. I will try and avoid it. I hate it. It's just a, it is one of the downsides of the job. It is. Just carry some hand sanitiser with you at all times. So you're in the market for a new loo. So what do we look for?

What do we look for when choosing a loo? It's got to be good quality. You wouldn't believe it, but the loo, I think thomas crappers are around about a thousand pounds a toilet i know they are cost per use though that was pretty you're gonna get your you're gonna get your job sweat i'm not gonna go in any other toilets if i get one and then the loo seat themselves if you want a decent loo seat they can be about two three hundred quid what's your preference in material for a loose seat wood i like wood there's soft clothes loose seats and then there's not soft clothes loose seats and there you've got to be careful the non-soft clothes my kids are at an age now where

we don't need soft clothes they slam on your hands what about the uh oh the bit the cistern is that the thing the tank that holds the water do you have a feeling like do you like a big cistern or do you like a narrow cistern so you're so what you're talking about is where the flush system sits is in the cistern and the cistern you can either have an exposed cistern which is like an old-fashioned toilet gotcha or you can have a concealed cistern where the cistern actually goes in the wall where you have a wall hung toilet or a back to wall toilet and that essentially means that the cistern is concealed behind the wall the only thing about that is that can lead to maintenance issues if you don't use the right flush plate so you've only got

a small flush plate that you've got to get your hand into to fiddle with the with the cistern behind fix it um it very much depends on the size of the bathroom on the style of the bathroom i like back to wall toilets i think they look i like you know standard traditional exposed cistern toilets but equally i like concealing toilets and i like wall hung loos i do you know i like them all it's about the style of the loo i just i like i don't like modern toilets although i don't like the ones that sort of float no but i do like the ones that blow dry your bum that's quite good the japanese ones sort of might as well curl your pubic hair you know they just those are incredible aren't they

aren't they just something else they are i mean if you go to some very fancy hotels in london they have them and you could spend an hour in there just playing with them yeah there's nothing nice than having your bum blow dry i mean they, they're probably nicer things, but that's a nice experience. So you do business, water squirts up your bum, which is, again, quite... Well, it squirts everywhere. It's quite invigorating. Nice. And then you just get a little...

Anyway, Paul, tell me, what is going on in your renovation? Because it's probably far more exciting than mine. Really excitingly. I had a meeting with the greenhouse company that I'm going to be working with about a greenhouse. And I'm not talking a bog standard greenhouse. I'm talking a greenhouse. Are you talking about one of those beautiful, it's got a little doorway in the middle.

Yes, I am. I'll stop it. With brick base. Yes. You're doing one of those. I am, but I need planning permission. So the really annoying thing about many things that people don't know about structures in the garden

is depending on the height, you will need planning permission. So I gotta hope I get that first. But I'm going to sit in it and grow things and drink gin. How lovely. I did not know that you needed planning permission for a greenhouse. Well, only if it's over two and a half metres, which most of the more ornamental ones are. gin how lovely i did not know that you needed planning permission for a greenhouse well only

if it's over two and a half meters which most of the more ornamental ones are for anyone that doesn't understand what this greenhouse is that we're talking about i think it's basically part of my right and thinking right and saying it's it's sort of the rolls royce of greenhouses and it's the big it's the tall apex one and it's all it's got a brick base as you say it's got a door sort of in the middle and it it's probably it's just they're so beautiful they always look someone up the road actually that's got one of my neighbors that's got money we always walk past like ogletta when i walk past um but what are you going to grow in there paul what's what's your what's your plan for the greenhouse well the priority with this and

it's actually quite common with clients is it's this greenhouse is form and function so obviously I could have gone for a much more inexpensive one which is just you know glass and a I don't know steel frame and that could just be just for sort of growing things and that's it and nothing wrong with that and I would definitely put that in a sort of more utility space but this is my garden isn't enormous it's going to be in full view the greenhouse essentially is going to be a sort of form of sculpture in its own right so I'm going very traditional with the brick base I'll be going with either a dark bronze or a black frame because obviously the studio is black so it needs to all feel like it works together and inside I'm going to have around the edges will be beautiful platforms that you grow your seeds on and then you can have

an area what I love about um greenhouses is you don't have to have a solid base all the way along you can have I want to have a really lovely red brick sort of herringbone or something but then you can leave a gap so that you can grow directly into the ground so that's really nice for example if you want to grow tomatoes which is what I will be growing um in a portion of the greenhouse that you can plant them directly into the ground as opposed to having um in a portion of the greenhouse that you can plant them directly into the ground as opposed to having them in a grow bag or a pot um so you can do that I really want it to be big enough to fit in at least one little sort of cozy armchair because not only do I want to grow in the greenhouse I also want to spend time in it I just think there's something

really lovely about sort of going down there with a cup of tea in the morning and sort of sitting amongst the really fragrant geranium leaves and I mean it's my dream this is probably the thing I've always wanted in my life and there's a part of me going I should probably wait because the children are going to ruin it with footballs but I shall plant a robust hedge around it and press on yeah that's a very good point footballs greenhouses don't get on do they no so I I So I'm going to try and partition the garden such that a football is unlikely to reach the greenhouse, she says optimistically. It's exciting, though, because this is something as a gardener I have wanted ever since I rented my first flat in London and had a little balcony. The greenhouse has been the holy grail of one day I will have a garden

that I can fit a greenhouse in. So this is a big moment in my gardening life. Oh, well, you deserve it, Al. Thank you. Can I ask, Paul, that you give us a sort of full journey of the whole, I want to see the start to finish of this thing going up. Should I sort of all the little plants, the time lapse of all the things going on

inside pollen life life and polly's greenhouse oh even wider than that i'm glad you've said it because this afternoon in fact i have our dear friend cal coming over i am going to be filming a series teaching everyone how to design their garden by showing them how i'm designing mine so i'm going to document the entire design, the entire build, greenhouse, paving, planting, everything. So yes, you will have a full journey through it. Amazing. Hey, it's Mitch from SideNote Podcast, and I'm here to tell you about the new Google Pixel 9 powered by Gemini. Anyone who knows me knows the Pixel has always been my favorite out of all the phones I've ever had.

Now with Gemini built in, it's basically my personal AI assistant. Since I'm truly terrible at keeping up with emails, I use Gemini to give me summaries of my inbox, which is a lifesaver. And if I'm feeling stuck creatively, I just ask Gemini for help and bam, instant inspiration. You can learn more about Google Pixel 9 at store.google.com.

Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca.

Gough, should we jump into some questions? Oh, let's, because there's some really juicy ones. First one, we're going to talk flooring. And actually, there's been quite a few people asking a very similar question, Jojo. But this particular one is from Leah. And any question for Jojo. Downstairs, wooden flooring. Should I go planks, chevron or herringbone? Is herringbone on the way out?

And quite a few people have said they're worried about using herringbone and in case it dates or it's on the way out as they say okay again one thing i'll always say is don't worry too much about something dating that is has already been around for a very long time so it's the style of the herringbone um parquet that is it depends on what you use it also depends on the area that you're using it so i don't and the size so for instance if it's a small hallway and and your rooms aren't particularly big herringbone does appear a lot busier yeah it's a bit fussy it can feel a bit fussy so we tend to say if you've got the space if if you might want to do it in say a living room don't be afraid to have a herringbone in a living room and then you can actually switch to straight boards if you use the

right threshold detail between the doors in your say hallway and into your kitchen so you can you can break up with floor I think people think you have to have it everywhere but it will make a room appear a bit smaller because it's busier so that's a consideration um so maybe just go for planks if you're if you're in a sort of hallway or something like that better just to go with something large slightly large format I personally would I personally would and then I would save the herringbone for your sort of more formal room um again it depends I do like it I would always personally I always tend to go for a straight board over a herringbone if it's a really really big lovely big room you've got a great big drawing room or dining room uh then you can use herringbone

but I wouldn't put it down everywhere personally okay that's a good tip I do love a herringbone I love it outdoors as well although I'm getting the same question quite frequently about whether there's a feeling that a lot of people have it now and there's that sort of movement towards oh they everyone's got that so what can I have that's different and it's um I do empathize with that people do crave for different things don't they um yeah we use herringbone more so actually funnily enough on tiles than we do wood floor unless a client specifically requests it so one of our projects recently we actually did herringbone in a master bedroom because they really loved it. But then we did straight boards everywhere else.

We used terracotta herringbone. We used marble herringbone on floors and even walls. So we do break it up. And I don't think it's a style that is particularly ever going to date because, again, it depends. that is particularly ever going to date because again it it depends it's the how you do it or the material that you use yes that will date not the style of herringbone that will date we're lucky with outdoors in that often we will take the pattern that comes off the house as the inspiration for the floor so sometimes with arts and crafts houses they have herringbone on the walls and then it's a no-brainer that you would translate that onto the floor um but other times basket weave also but just like you Jojo small format is the key

yeah I mean you you have parquet in your house don't you what's the difference between herringbone and parquet or is parquet the material so parquet has a much more dramatic appearance because of the pieces that almost essentially the pattern that it's in a much smaller and slimmer than a herringbone, which is slightly more contemporary. Parquet is a mid-century style, so it is quite restrictive in its style, which you'll see in your house. Do you see it feels quite mid-century? And a lot of people have an original mid-century parquet

that's either a sort of very dark, so a lot of people sort of strip it back and they stain it and you can try and stain it but it because of the nature of how small the pieces are it does tend to hold on to a lot of the varnish you have got to sand it back quite considerably and obviously don't forget with any wood floor you're limited to how many times you can sand it back to treat it so you might only get a few you might only get maybe three sands out of it so you don't know how many times before you inherit a house that that parquet has been stripped back to varnish and therefore if you're finding that it's not taking to the new varnish very well

it's probably because it's on its very last it's on its last legs i see which is where you sort of get parquet that can look quite patchy where people have tried to strip it back and varnish it, but it holds on to the varnish in the joints. Yeah. It can end up looking a little bit dogstunery. And I'm looking at mine now. They've clearly had a large rug over a portion of this, which I removed. And so I've got two-tone parquet. Lovely.

and so I've got two-tone parquet lovely well also so any wood floor tends to be sort of oiled or waxed and or indeed varnished so back in the day they'd use quite much more of a sort of heavy varnish it would almost be slightly more glossy so you look at old parquet floors

they tend to have a slightly more gloss feel to them yes and that's because of how much we've come on a huge amount with wood floors and the materials that are used to colour them and varnish them and oil them, stain them, get the colours that we want to achieve. So it's much more limiting back in the day. And the varnishes that were used over time, oak will always turn orange, by the way, peeps, whether you like it or not. So a lot of old houses you walk into and everything in the house is orange. so a lot of old houses you walk into and everything in the house is orange the person that first put that wood into the house it wasn't originally orange but over the course of time naturally

the oak will start to turn sort of yellow or an orange and indeed the varnish so it will go sort of more and more orange so you can sand it back and you can kind of retreat it but you're going to tend to need to put something on it that's going to counteract the orange which will be something like a sort of osmo white a white tint so that the orange can't bleed up oh interesting well i'm just going to keep it on floors for a little bit longer if that's okay because i've got i've got apparently a stupid question it's not at all from the greys they want wood flooring upstairs and down but how do they connect the two on the stairs she's worried about having a sloppy sloppy i think two on the stairs she's worried about having a sloppy and sloppy i think she means slippy she's worried about having a slippy hard stairs with a

toddler and she herself is quite clumsy so she's thinking a runner and painted treads but she's confused on how they would connect to the wood flooring upstairs love you both i love this question okay so if you've got your wood floor downstairs and you want your wood floor upstairs yeah you can obviously have a plain timber staircase with lovely wooden nosings to match ground floor and first floor the nosings which the nosing is the the edge of the step which is that lovely bull nose piece that sort of attaches to the end of the step there's absolutely no harm in having timber treads the treads the bit you put your foot on so you've got your i'm just going to take you through it you've got you'll know this poll but for anyone that

doesn't the tread is the bit you put your foot on the nosing is the bit that sort of makes up the end that little bullnose piece and then the riser is the the bit that goes underneath the nosing so you've got your tread your riser and your nosing do you enjoy mixing up your riser or would you have your tread and the riser is the same thing no i tend to always say any i'll tell you why because if the if the tread that you put your foot on is timber and then the riser which is the bit that is sort of where your toe would hit if you stubbed your toe uh that meets the underside of the nosing if that was just painted think about over time if you're running up and down the stairs and you're

hoovering that can get quite scuffed yes so that can get quite dirty so i tend to say wooden timber riser would just wouldn't uh tread okay um now again wooden wood is not slippery unless you're running around with a pair of socks on. So we've done, I mean, multiple houses with timber treads and they're absolutely fine. I wouldn't worry about kids slipping down the stairs unless they're wearing socks. She's worried about the toddler and herself. Worried about toddler. So, yeah, you shouldn't need to worry about that. But if you are worried about it, there's absolutely we we do it all the time you can totally have

a timber flooring on the ground floor timber flooring on the first floor and then have painted treads with a runner we do it all the time doesn't look weird doesn't look odd equally you can put a runner on a nice timber tread on a timber staircase so you can do either so you can have it painted that would still be painted with a runner yeah that would be painted timber with a runner or plain timber with a runner yeah you can do either what's your tips from picking a runner make sure that it's hard wearing because on the on the nosing where it wraps around the front of the stair around the front of your tread that's obviously

going to get a lot of you know wear and tear so you just make sure that you go with something that's that's not going to get dirty so don't go with anything like a sort of off-white it will get absolutely filthy um and that's not slippery so you just got to look at hard wearing hard wearing materials i like a sisal wool mix on a staircase so a lovely loop with a sizal because it's hard wearing but hides a few more sins i think on staircases yeah and it's less slippy all right poll my love i've got an outie question for you here hi ladies love the podcast historically i'm a total innie thank you but have a newfound love for all things outie fueled totally by the podcast oh love that yeah i have a north facing front garden that we've just landscaped after creating a new

driveway and i'd like to plant a mid-sized blossom tree to take center stage and also slightly obscure the view of the front door from the road i'm hoping polly could you suggest one that could take well in a clay-based soil if that makes a difference thank you so much yeah there's quite a few questions about blossoming trees and now's the time to think about that um because take well in a clay-based soil if that makes a difference thank you so much yeah there's quite a few questions about blossoming trees and now's the time to think about that um because blossom is just around the corner so clay-based soil when people say what's going to be happy in clay-based soil my answer is well i mean whatever you plant in clay-based soil you need to improve that soil so i know that's not what you're asking but first of all i'd be saying whatever you plant you need

to be putting organic matter in. If you've got clay soil, I'd also be adding some kind of grit as well just to open that up regardless. So even if I'm telling you things which are happy in clay based soils. I'm actually making notes here, by the way, because I love a blossom tree in the garden. I'm going to first of all say the blossom tree I would not choose. And that is a magnolia. And that's going to upset lots of people. OK people okay but come and tell us why so the thing with magnolias is I absolutely love them if you have the space to have many other trees as well but a magnolia on its own I don't think works hard enough in a smaller space to earn its keep so yes it looks spectacular for

what two weeks of the year and the rest of the year I would argue it's a bit meh it's the only flower for two weeks of the year I mean if you're lucky yeah really I mean and this is really interesting because we get this one a lot Polly can you specify a blossom tree that blossoms for two months and it's like no because that doesn't exist that's that's not how blossom works oh I did not know that's not how blossom works you know I mean some if you're really lucky will hang on for three four weeks but you don't get something which blossoms for like three months for example that's that's it doesn't exist when do blossom when does it come out the flower well it really varies if you look outside right now there are certain uh cherries very very early blossoming cherries that are blossoming now which I I must admit, I'm not a massive fan of

because I think they look a bit weird when it's sort of very wintry and then you've got a blossoming tree. Other people love it. It's not for me. And you get one's autumn flowering. I think it works in London, doesn't it? You know, when you walk down some streets in London

because they're not, because there isn't a sort of complete array of loads of other tree life around or brown, sort of because everything out there is still quite brown. It sort of works in London like a tree lined street with blossom. It's actually sort of cheers. Oh, yeah. I mean, blossom is one of my favourite things ever. And I highly encourage everyone to stop asking about evergreen trees and start looking at deciduous because that's when you're going to get your really spectacular blossom. But to answer the question, I wouldn't go for a magnolia unless

you have a big space and then go for it and have loads of other trees and obviously caveat that with the ones that you see in London where it's this beautiful gnarled old tree in this spectacular magnolia yes fine I would never remove them but I just think you can we can pick something which will work harder for you so in which case my favorite for blossom is a tie but number one would be crab apples so malice everest is a very very popular white blossoming crab apple or you could go for malice rudolph if you wanted a more of a crimson blossom those both of them are absolutely stunning and obviously the lovely thing with crab apples is that you get the really beautiful little fruit in the summer as well. Alternatively, you can't go wrong with a cherry. There's a reason that so many people go to Japan in spring to go

and see the cherry blossom. So then I would go with a snowy white prunus shirate which is the mount fuji cherry um that is amazing because it's got a sort of a semi-double fragrant flower and they sort of they sort of weep down and the pollinators love them they come out in early april i mean just an absolute stunner that's a stop you in the tracks cherry blossom um the other alternative which i think is a very well-behaved blossom tree that i like to use sort of down an avenue, beautiful white blossom in spring and a great autumn colour. And that's called Pyrus Chanticleer. That is an ornamental pear. It's beautiful. It's quite shaped a bit like a candle. So very well behaved in that regard, doesn't get too wide. But it smells like semen. Delicious. I know. So, I mean, some clients don't notice.

I notice. So, you know, I wouldn't put it too near the house. And whilst we're talking about trees that smell like semen, there's another tree I'd watch out for, completely separate to our blossom conversation. Sweet chestnut also smells like semen. So, you know, if you go to a national park at the wrong time of year, you know, like a national trust, and you're hit in the face with the scent of semen so you know if you go to a national park at the wrong time of the year you know like a national trust and you're yeah hit in the face with the with the scent of semen

that'll be a sweet chestnut i know it's it's so distinct it just captures you just just captures you in your tracks oh is someone uh someone having a behind the bush is there a shrub that smells like it as well or a ivy certain ivies do and sort of late summer that can that can really knock your socks off too but really catches you whoa yes so but if it was up to me i like ornamental pear crab apples and cherries oh you've maybe want to rush out and get a blossom tree now i really well i do it really quickly if you were gonna because it's going to be in blossom very soon and they will not appreciate being planted whilst in blossom don't do it right okay paul i've got a quick one here for you from emma talbot uh she's asking if bay trees either side of a front door are a bit old hat good

question i love this question so i'm i'm really picky about this i like if if it's a really hefty bay tree in a really hefty beautiful pot no i don't think they're old hat i think what is is when it's a puny old you know this little twiggy thing with this sad little head the size of a basketball sat in some sort of fairly sad pot I just hate it I'd rather you had nothing do you ever do you have a preference on the shape do you like the balls or do you prefer the the conical or the sort of cone shape no I don't like topiarized shapes either side of the front door in terms of like I wouldn't want a spiral for example no or a swan no I I like so my preference either side of the front door

is to have a really lovely curved, quite tall pot, preferably about waist high, because I like that sense of entrance. I don't want you having a pot down by your knees because your eye is going to go straight down to a pot at the floor. So waist high pot with a beautiful single dome of something, whether it's a U-ball, Portuguese laurel ball,

pittosporum, but i just like a nice neat boom here it is chunk chunk either side of the front door or i don't mind if you check out my balls check out my big balls either side of the front door green balls i just think it's very sort of like here it is impactful gutsy design intent that isn't you know you have done that on purpose so i do actually love a bay tree either side of the door if it's big i just can't stand anything puny so if you're going to go unless you've got a small unless you've got what have you got a small front door with not a lot of room on either side then have really beautiful narrow pots they can still be of quite a height you know just high enough as high as you can without them obviously toppling over and still have the dome.

I think that's very, very chic too. But if it's really narrow, I mean, my first question was, do you need one either side of the door? You could just have one, lovelier one on one side. It's about scale. There's puniness by a front door. It's not what we're trying to bring in. So my answer is no, I don't think it's old hat as long as they're big I think what can look a bit naff is is small ones that never really

get anywhere and also tip with your bays um the the stem will never get taller so if you buy one which is a tiddler short like a half standard or a quarter standard that's never going to turn into a full standard by that that's such a great tip i would never have known that and so many people make this mistake of buying this sort of knee-high bay tree thinking eventually it'll get tall it's it's the head will get bigger but it's always going to be stubby so you need a full standard if you want it to be tall half standard if you want something that's going to sort of stay half the size quarter standard it's always going to be a little tiddler learn something new every day on this podcast there you go right should we jump into what's in and what's out this week yeah i've got such a good in for you i've got such a good one i've it's a television show i feel like

i tell you i watch a lot of television one day i have watched it in a weekend it's a television show I feel like I tell you I watch a lot of television one day I have watched it in a weekend it's amazing it is incredible I mean you know the book is its sensation as it is yeah and I highly recommend you read it if you haven't read one day but this tv show is just exquisite the music in it just takes you straight back to your youth because it's all music of the 90s and early 2000s might stick that on tonight actually amazing and it's all music of the 90s and early 2000s. Oh, might stick that on tonight, actually. Amazing. And it's directed by my friend. So also, he's marvellous.

Oh, good. What's your friend's name? His name is Luke Snellen. He's kind of a big deal. Hi, Nick. You big deal, Nick. Okay. Now, if that's in, what is out?

I have a few thoughts for what's out. The main one being, much like you in fact, I like to wear a really nice long black trouser, you know, like quite wide leg. I don't like the whole situation of the wet hems at the moment. Oh, I feel you. My hem keeps dropping down because that keeps happening. Do you remember when we were teenagers and it was very fashionable to wear like really wide leg jeans and they would just sort of soak in the rain? Tattie at the bottoms. Yes. With a pair of Ugg boots.

Yeah, those days. That's what I'm struggling with at the moment. That brings us to the end of this episode of The Ins and Outs. Please don't forget to like, subscribe, share with all and sundry and come and say hello if you see us on the tube and you like the podcast. Or just come and give us like a high five. Just, can you actually, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to come and just go and love the podcast.

Yes. It is so nice. Because also we don't, I mean, we want more. Give us more questions, more questions and just, bring it bring it bring it ah we love you and I love you

I love you you're a source you're a bag of sauce toodling your lovely lot you lovely Lenny's and outies you snogs and kisses goodbye

oh snogs and kisses and semen trees semen See? It's for true changemakers who want to think differently and solve the world's most pressing challenges. From healthcare and the environment to energy, government, and technology, it's your path to meaningful leadership in all sectors. For details, visit uvic.ca slash future MBA. That's uvic.ca slash future MBA. This episode is brought to you by Google Pixel. I'm Jessi Cruikshank. I host the

number one comedy podcast called Phone a Friend. I also have three kids. I need help making every day easier. So I switched to Google Pixel. It's a phone powered by Gemini, your personal AI assistant. Gemini can help you summarize your unread emails, suggest what to make with the food in your fridge, and it helped me achieve a family photo where everyone is smiling at the camera. I didn't think it was possible, but it is with Google Pixel 9. Learn more at store.google.com. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals no pressure to be who you're not just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are

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