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Gardeners' Question Time

Gardeners' Question Time

BBC Radio 4

A panel of horticultural experts answer gardening questions from a live audience. Recorded in a different location each week

528 - St Mary's Walthamstow
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  • 528 - St Mary's Walthamstow

    Kathy Clugston and an esteemed panel of gardening experts are in St Mary's in Walthamstow to answer the questions of a green fingered audience.

    Joining Kathy on the panel are garden designers, botanists and alotmenteers James Wong, Ashley Edwards and Frances Tophill.

    Producer: Matthew Smith Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

    A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

    Fri, 14 Nov 2025
  • 527 - Postbag Edition: Bicton Park Botanical Gardens

    What’s the optimal size for a new greenhouse? How do I get cedar of Lebanon seeds to germinate? How do I revive a dried out compost heap? Kathy Clugston and a panel of passionate horticulturalists are outside Exeter to soak up the sights, scents and history of Bicton Park Botanical Gardens while digging into the GQT postbag, to solve your trickiest gardening conundrums. Joining Kathy under the big top are houseplant specialist Anne Swithinbank, award-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw, and horticulturalist Frances Tophill - ready with expert advice, clever solutions, and a few laughs along the way. They're also joined by head manager of Bicton House, Edward Lister, to tour the 60 acres of land.

    Senior Producer: Dominic Tyerman Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

    A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

    Fri, 07 Nov 2025
  • 526 - Phyllis Court: White Fly, River Thames and Favourite Gardens

    Might our otherwise polluted River Thames have a positive impact on my garden? Why has there been so much whitefly this year? Do the panel have a favourite garden they’ve visited?

    Peter Gibbs and a panel of green-fingered gurus head to the Phyllis Court Club in Henley-on-Thames, where a lively audience of passionate gardeners awaits answers to their most pressing plant problems.

    Joining Peter are pest and disease specialist Pippa Greenwood, head gardener Matthew Pottage, and the ever-enthusiastic plantswoman Christine Walkden.

    Later, Johnny ‘Hot Stuff’ Mayard discusses how he grows chillies in his polytunnel that are used for his hot sauce.

    Senior Producer: Dan Cocker Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: William Norton Assistant Producer: Suki Glockling

    A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

    Fri, 31 Oct 2025
  • 525 - Two Dales

    Which seeds would you take to a desert island? How can I improve my success planting bulbs? Which easy-to-grow plants have you managed to kill?

    Peter Gibbs and a panel of gardening experts are in Two Dales to share their top horticultural advice. Joining Peter are garden designer Bunny Guinness, RHS curator Marcus Chilton-Jones, and alpine specialist Bethan Collerton.

    Later in the programme, Marcus stops to chat to Steve Porter, Head of Gardens and Landscape at Chatsworth House about the history of camellias and how best to grow them.

    Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod Producer: Matt Smith

    A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4

    Plant List:

    Q — 2 minutes, 45 seconds Which easy-to-grow plant have you managed to kill?

    Marcus Chilton-Jones Swiss cheese plant Mother in law’s tongue

    Bethan Collerton— Gorse

    Bunny Guinness— Bacchia Pelagonium

    Q — 4 minutes, 41 seconds I've got a prickly pear cactus and the outer surface layer appears to be getting eaten in patches. Why?

    QM I want to re-plant a board backed by a 6ft wooden fence. What would the panel recommend?

    Bethan Collerton— Evergreen ferns Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ Brunnera macrophylla ’Silver heart’

    Bunny Guinness— Lavender Yew Allium ‘Globe master’ Hydrangea seemannii

    Marcus Chilton-Jones — Physocarpus Camellia Lobelia cotinus Hydrangea seemannii

    Q 15 minutes, 30 seconds Cornus kousa ‘green sleeves’ Cornus kousa ‘milky way’

    Bunny Guinness — Cornus mas ‘Cornelian cherry’

    Q -- 25 minutes, 37 seconds Could the team advise how to improve my success rate of my bull planting?

    Q -- 30 minutes, 30 seconds How should I prune a Victoria plum tree?

    QF 37 mins 25 Which two packets of seeds would you take to a desert island?

    Bethan Collerton— Courgette Rice

    Bunny Guinness— Edamame Fig

    Marcus Chilton-Jones — Tomatoes Sunflower

    Fri, 24 Oct 2025
  • 524 - Postbag Edition: RHS Wisley Greening Skills Garden

    Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners Question Time panel visit the RHS Wisley Greening Skills Garden in Woking, an exciting new project designed to inspire and equip the next generation of horticulturists. No postbag edition is complete without your questions, so the panel dip into the GQT inbox to answer your gardening conundrums.

    Joining Peter are head gardeners and garden designers Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Pottage and Matthew Biggs.

    Senior Producer: Dan Cocker Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

    A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

    Fri, 17 Oct 2025
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