Olia Hercules on gardening for survival

For many around the world right now, the green spaces that hold so many memories are caught in conflict. 

This is the case for the activist, writer and chef Olia Hercules, who has seen the garden her mother made occupied by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine. 

Now based in East London, Olia has built a garden of her own that she feels has an ancestral connection to the one she knew as a child. Together we drink tea brewed from the plants that Olia has grown here and talk about how, after war has affected every generation in your family, the earth can point to a kind of future.

Olia's memoir Strong Roots is out in paperback now. Olia is also on Instagram @oliahercules. 

This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson ⁠on my website⁠ and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠. Thank you to our friends at ⁠Niwaki⁠. You can get 10% off your order with the code WHYWOMENGROW.

We’ll be back later in the year with more episodes. 

If you’re new to the Why Women Grow podcast, do check out our previous episodes, including guests such as Michelle Ogundehin and Daisy Johnson. And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much if you could rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you’re listening in on, or share it with someone you think may enjoy it.

This episode was produced by Holly Fisher. The theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro.