Dish the Dirt

About Dish the Dirt

We go in search of flower farmers, to share their knowledge, passion and insights into the flower industry. Having fun along the way! It's going to be blooming fabulous. Season 2026 coming soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Rebecca Noble

Category

leisure

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Jun 2020

Latest episode

16 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

99 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Jul 2026

   Taming the Beast: How Hemp and Mycelium Could Replace Floral Foam

   What if the answer to floristry's floral foam problem could be grown instead of manufactured? In this episode, Bec sits down with Kristina Bircsak of Miconet Solutions, creator of Natriform — a plant-based floral mechanic grown from hemp and mycelium, developed right here in Australia in collaboration with working florists. Bec and Kristina first met at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, where Kristina's incredible mycelium sculpture was turning heads. But what started as a hobby — growing mycelium fibreboard with her partner to replace single-use plastics — soon became something much bigger. After attending a sustainability workshop at MIFGS, Kristina discovered just how damaging floral foam really is: breaking down into microplastics, harmful to touch and breathe, and quietly embedded in an industry built around nature. Kristina also shares the deeply personal moment behind it all. Seven years ago she survived bowel cancer, and it changed everything — what she cared about, what she wanted to leave behind, and the impact she wanted to make on the world. Natriform is her answer. Together, Bec and Kristina dig into: • What Natriform actually is — mycelium as the glue, hemp as the structure, and why growing a product is like "taming a beast" • The hundreds of prototypes tested over years, using rescued secondhand flowers • What it's like to use on the bench: overnight soaking, planned workflows, fridge storage, and that satisfying stem grip • Why casket arrangements and the funeral industry could be transformed by it • End of life: it dries out, crumbles into your compost or garden bed — and might even grow you a crop of mushrooms • The AS 5810 home-compostable wrap that keeps every drip contained • Why hemp and mycelium make it genuinely sustainable from start to finish — low water, fast growing, soil regenerating • How feedback from florists directly shaped the product (bigger, deeper blocks are on the way) • The industry tide turning against foam — MIFGS, the RHS and a foam-free Chelsea • What's next: full-scale production, new shapes and quick tutorials • And Kristina's advice for any florist wanting to take one step towards foam free: educate yourself, and change just one thing If you've ever tried to ditch the foam and slipped back because the alternatives were too fiddly or time consuming, this conversation will give you real hope — an Australian-made product designed with florists, for florists, is nearly here. Find Kristina and follow Natriform's journey: Website: miconetsolutions.com.au (http://miconetsolutions.com.au) Follow Miconet Solutions on Instagram and Facebook for product updates and release news About the guest: Kristina Bircsak is the co-creator of Natriform and founder of Miconet Solutions. What began as a hobby growing mycelium fibreboard to replace single-use plastics became a years-long mission to develop a genuinely sustainable, Australian-grown alternative to floral foam — developed in collaboration with florists and mentors across the industry. Follow Dish the Dirt on Instagram: @_dishthedirt_

2. 

   9 Jul 2026

   From Bob's Garden to Chelsea — Dawn Allen, Peninsula Wildflower

   Dawn Allen began as a Saturday girl in her local florist shop, met her husband at Covent Garden Flower Market, and now farms Australian natives from Bob's Garden — fifty acres at Boneo on the Mornington Peninsula, looking out to Bass Strait. In May, she took banksias to the Chelsea Flower Show with her exhibit Banksia Evolution, tracing the banksia from seed pod to full bloom, and came home with a silver-gilt. In this episode, Dawn shares: Starting out in a UK florist shop and how floristry kept pulling her back Falling for wildflowers fifteen years ago, when King Proteas were three dollars a stem Bob's Garden — the fifty-acre property at Boneo, the man it's named for, and letting his plants live out their lives in the ground Why farm-grown, not flown, matters: freshness, chemicals, and supporting Victorian flower farms Her love of the kinked, cockatoo-chewed, perfectly imperfect stem Winning Spirit of the Show at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show Applying for Chelsea — being number 11 out of 10 the first year, then getting the acceptance email just before Christmas Designing Banksia Evolution: seed to plant to flower to full bloom, with steel tubing as the life force running through it The growers who backed her, and 27 boxes of flowers arriving in London without one broken stem Bump-in at Chelsea: the portal, the time slots, and why organisation is everything Discovering the silver-gilt medal on her exhibit on judging morning International florists asking "what are these, where can I get them?" With thanks to the growers who made Chelsea happen: Craig Scott — East Coast Wildflowers Cassie and the Musson family — Wafex Australia Robert Luff — paper daisies Brimstone Waratahs Banksia Co Find Dawn: Peninsula Wildflower — Bob's Garden, Boneo, Mornington Peninsula @peninsulawildflower_ Photos of Banksia Evolution are up on our socials — go and have a look.

3. 

   3 Jul 2026

   The one and only Petrina Blooms

   Five years ago, Bec sat down with Petrina from Petrina Blooms as Melbourne crawled out of its first COVID lockdown. This episode, she finally makes it back for that promised gin — and finds out everything that's bloomed, died back and come up again since. What started as an accidental side hustle off a single Facebook message has turned into a full business, taking Petrina to teach floral workshops in France and, soon, on a retreat in India. She's also finished writing her first book, Garden Joy — a deeply personal look at how the garden has held her through grief, loss and postnatal depression — out worldwide in March next year. They dig into what's changed in the garden itself: 16,000 bulbs (up from a few thousand), a growing patch of natives to handle Melbourne's warming winters, a heartbreaking loss of a thousand delphiniums to slugs and snails, and Petrina's ongoing (unofficial) quest for a rose named after her. There's a check-in on the local and seasonal flower movement they both championed back in 2020 — and how far it's actually come — before the mic flips, and Petrina turns the tables to interview Bec. They cover Dish the Dirt's growth to ~90 episodes, why Growers Avenue at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show matters so much, and details on Bec's upcoming New Zealand workshop in Kakanui (26–27 September). TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Reunited, five years on 01:16 The garden today 02:19 Then vs. now 05:26 From side hustle to real business 08:14 The book: Garden Joy 15:15 Heartbreak in the garden 16:47 Climate change & the garden 19:04 Garden tours & the flower bar 22:13 Has the local-flower shift happened? 27:36 The rose (and the Slovenia discovery) 29:21 The three things test 31:50 Flip the mic: Petrina interviews Bec 40:38 Bec's New Zealand workshop 50:12 Outro Find Petrina and that glorious garden on Instagram at @PetrinaBlooms. Want to be on the show? No garden is too big or too small — get in touch at dishthedirtpodcast@gmail.com (mailto:dishthedirtpodcast@gmail.com)

Who has been a guest on Dish the Dirt

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Elissa
• Lorelie of Florelie Seasonal Flowers
• Emily from Petal & Bow Flowers
• Sophie Thompson
• Janaye

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

30 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

70

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Dish the Dirt

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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