From plot to planet: De-Graft Mensah on allotment growing and Make a Metre Matter

Practical May gardening - sow seeds at the perfect moment, get your lawn looking sharper with less fuss, and stake perennials early to stop the dreaded ‘great flop’ before summer hits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BBC Newsround presenter De Graft Mensah reflects on his “baptism of fire” into allotment growing, sharing honest lessons from successes, failures and the joy of community gardening. He discusses how small, imperfect spaces can reconnect us with food, nature and biodiversity, and explains why the Make a Metre Matter campaign proves that even a single square metre can make a meaningful difference for people and the planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Dr Hayley Jones, principal entomologist at RHS Wisley, to find out more about why insects and other invertebrates are vital to ecosystems. Discover the garden-focused collection, how it is stored, how it has evolved since it was started in 1911 and the importance of tracking and reporting new or regulated pests. A UK-wide 2020 Slugs Count project created a preserved slug collection and informed advice on slug identification, non-chemical control, and the beneficial roles they play in our gardens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You might not think it’s possible for a vegetable to be trendy, but kale undoubtedly is, and has been for some time. It’s become the poster child of whole food-based, healthy eating, and with good reason, it’s a genuine super food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discover how a two-acre former service area in central London has been reimagined into a new, tranquil, richly planted climate-resilient garden in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Through thoughtful design, royal associations and a commitment to long-term sustainability and biodiversity, Head of Horticulture and Landscape Strategies at the Royal Parks Matthew Pottage reveals the horticultural vision of the planting scheme and innovative design. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether you are starting from scratch or rethinking the gardening space you already have, what garden design principles can help you on your way to creating the garden you've always wanted, and what should you avoid? Award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson will discuss the dos and don'ts of garden design from mistakes people make time and time again to the fundamentals of garden design that can really make a garden work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colourful and nutritious, packed with vitamins and minerals, beetroot is an easy vegetable to grow. With both the round root and green leaves being edible, beetroot taste delicious and look great, and you can enjoy beetroot almost year-round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discover Down House in Kent where Charles Darwin lived for 40 years and carried out world-changing research in his domestic family garden. This re-created Victorian garden includes an historic glasshouse of carnivorous plants, kitchen garden and surrounding meadows that supported Darwin’s accessible experiments connecting the site today to biodiversity, native planting, organic gardening and wildlife-friendly habitats. Visit the Down House in the BBC Gardeners' World 2-4-1 gardens scheme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Create year-round garden interest by thinking beyond a plant list. BBC Gardeners' World presenter, Arit Anderson, suggests focusing on the seasons, your garden size, the light and shade patterns, structure and wildlife too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Courgettes will thrive if you give them what they need and reward you with lots – sometimes maybe too many – delicious fruits for you to enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices