Sidmouth

Is there a place for sawdust in the veg patch? How best should I trim a mimosa?  Can you share a remedy for my husband’s plant obsession?Peter Gibbs and the GQT team are in Sidmouth answering questions from an audience of keen gardeners. Joining Peter to share their tips, tricks and tales are  plantswoman Anne Swithinbank, pest and disease expert, Pippa Greenwood, and Head of Horticulture at the Royal Parks, Matthew Pottage. The experts discuss wedding cake trees, whether to keep or cull a rhododendron, and the reasons why houseplants may struggle to flower. Producer: Matt Smith Assistant Producer: Will Norton A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

As a new series of DIY SOS begins this September, the show joins forces with Gardeners’ Question Time for a collaboration that has more in common than you might think. From Bristol’s Redcatch Community Garden, Kathy Clugston and Nick Knowles are joined by Ashley Edwards, Bethan Collerton and Bunny Guinness.Among the hubbub of the thriving community garden, the panel tackles questions on growing vegetables in a changing climate, reviving underperforming roses and creating accessible gardens for all. The team also explores how community gardening can improve wellbeing, support local wildlife and transform neglected spacesProducer: Matt Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Kathy Clugston hosts the second of the Gardeners’ Question Time Summer Garden Party specials from RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.Joining Kathy are Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Wilson, Marcus Chilton-Jones and Dr Chris Thorogood, taking questions from an audience of keen gardeners gathered beneath the marquee at the Wisley Flower Show.The panel share the gardening lessons they wish they’d learned sooner, help a young gardener who has successfully grown a clementine from pips and work on solving the mystery of some unusually shaped cacti.There are also recommendations for planting up a sunny pergola, making the most of an unheated greenhouse through winter, and advice on how to treat against some unknown pests leaving marshmallow like residues on a well loved Hydrangea. And to conclude, the panel almost break into song as they are asked if there is any music that inspires them to garden.Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Kathy Clugston hosts the first of two Gardeners’ Question Time Summer Garden Party specials from RHS Garden Wisley.Joined by James Wong, Matthew Pottage, Pippa Greenwood and Frances Tophill, Kathy takes questions from a packed marquee audience at the RHS’s flagship garden.Surrounded by the horticultural hubub amongst the garden's flower show, the panel discusses how to encourage flowers lower down a climbing rose, choosing plants for a recycled boat planter exposed to sea spray, and growing blueberries on alkaline soil. Plus, the panel investigate an unusually shaped butternut squash and reflect on the plants, gardens and memories they have found hardest to leave behind, and the opportunities that came from moving on.Producer: Matt Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Kathy Clugston chairs Gardeners’ Question Time from Minstead Village Hall in the heart of the New Forest. Joining Kathy are  plant pathologist Pippa Greenwood, head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens Bethan Collerton, and garden writer and designer Matthew Wilson. As well as being surrounded by roaming wild ponies, the panellists answer questions on drought-tolerant planting, climbing roses for dry shade, alternatives to traditional lawns and whether mulching still makes sense after an exceptionally dry summer. They also suggest bedding and perennial planting combinations for a sunny farm shop border, discuss why weeds and brambles seem to thrive when other plants struggle, and reflect on the garden successes and failures that this year’s hot weather has revealed. Also, Matthew Wilson  visits the site of one of the New Forest’s recent wildfires to meet Leanne Sargeant from Forestry England to talk about the impact the fires have had on the environment.Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

Peter Gibbs hosts GQT from The Donkey Sanctuary near Sidmouth in Devon.Joining Peter are plantswoman Anne Swithinbank, pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood and the Royal Parks’ Head of Horticulture Matthew Pottage.Soundtracked by the braying of the sanctuary's donkey residents, the panel tackles questions on greening up a concreted-over garden, starting a new allotment during challenging drought conditions and improving the fruiting of a hardy kiwi. They also discuss drought-tolerant planting for clay soil, the prospects for a transplanted hibiscus, and whether changing weather patterns mean it is time to rethink when wildflower meadows are sown.Also, Matthew Pottage runs a special drought clinic, and the panel reveal which garden weed they would choose to champion.Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September.Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

Kathy Clugston delves into the GQT archive to explore one of Britain’s most intriguing gardening phenomena: microclimates.Travelling across the British Isles, the programme uncovers how local conditions shape what gardeners can grow. We’ll hear stories from the subtropical gardens of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, to the urban heat islands of London and the dry conditions of East Anglia before ending up in one gardener's rather chilly frost pocket.Along the way, the panel suggests plants for coastal walls, city streets and challenging shade, explore exotic species thriving in unexpected places, and offer advice on everything from tropical-style planting to sweetcorn cultivation.Plus, a visit to St Michael’s Mount, and Derek Jarman's garden in Dungeness.Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

Kathy Clugston and the panel visit Clarkston Halls near Glasgow.Joining Kathy are botanist James Wong, Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Head Gardener Bethan Collerton, and Balmoral’s Head of Gardens Kirsty Wilson.The panel answers questions on overwintering anemone corms, revitalising a gloomy shaded corner beneath mature lime trees, and whether an unheated Scottish greenhouse is suitable for growing peaches.They also discuss a mysteriously weeping houseplant, what might be causing a Japanese maple to decline, and why healthy nasturtiums can sometimes produce plenty of leaves but no flowers.Plus, Kirsty shares some late-summer pruning tips, and the panel reveal the gardening advice they would give to anyone just starting out.Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

Kathy Clugston hosts another Gardeners’ Question Time Postbag episode from The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow, a remarkable community green space created on a former industrial site in the heart of the city.Joining Kathy to delve into your questions are Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ head gardener Bethan Collerton, Balmoral’s head of gardens Kirsty Wilson, and botanist James Wong.As they explore this aptly named urban oasis, the panel considers how gardeners can make the most of even the most challenging spaces, from creating green roofs to choosing the right trees for compact gardens. They also weigh up the balance between encouraging wildlife and protecting prized plants, in a lively discussion sparked by a rose-munching garden visitor.Along the way, head gardener Paula Murdoch reveals how The Hidden Gardens has evolved from a former tramworks site into a haven for people, plants and wildlife, with wildflower meadows, sensory planting and inventive habitat features woven through the garden.Also, there's advice on designing a sensory school garden, creating a wildlife-friendly pond in the smallest of spaces, and why some plants refuse to behave as the gardening books suggest.Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Assistant producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit the Lincolnshire village of Pinchbeck, a fenland landscape shaped by waterways and a long history of horticulture.On the panel are plantswoman Christine Walkden and garden designers Matthew Wilson and Bunny Guinness.The team tackles questions on choosing pond plants to support dragonflies, finding colourful plants for exposed, windy gardens, and why some gardeners struggle to grow much-loved astrantias. They also offer practical advice on improving courgette crops, planting around hydrangeas, and dealing with troublesome vine weevil.Water is a recurring theme throughout the programme. Bethan Collerton visits Winterbourne House and Garden to meet plant scientist Professor Jeremy Pritchard and uncover the remarkable ways plants depend on water, from photosynthesis and cooling to the internal hydraulic systems that keep them upright and growing.Back in Pinchbeck, the panel turns to a question many gardeners face during a heatwave - how often should we water our gardens? Christine shares her advice on watering deeply and effectively to help plants withstand dry conditions.Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party