Gardeners' Question Time

Kathy Clugston chairs this week’s Gardeners’ Question Time from Clarkston Halls in East Renfrewshire, home to one of Scotland’s oldest horticultural societies.
Joining Kathy are Balmoral’s Head of Gardens Kirsty Wilson, ethnobotanist James Wong, and Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Head Gardener Bethan Collerton.
The panel tackles questions on reluctant camellias, fragrant planting for a windswept balcony, and how to transform a shady, moss-filled shared garden.
Along the way, Bethan visits Glasgow Botanic Gardens’ magnificent Kibble Palace, where she joins Robert Jamieson to explore botanical links across the Commonwealth, from the Australian tea tree and towering tree ferns to remarkable araucarias from the South Pacific.
Back in Clarkston, the team shares advice on improving the quality of greenhouse-grown grapes, caring for carnivorous pitcher plants, and choosing easy, quick-growing seeds for young gardeners.
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A 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.

Recorded at the University of Birmingham’s magnificent Elgar Concert Hall, Kathy Clugston is joined by Bethan Collerton of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Marcus Chilton-Jones of RHS Garden Bridgewater, and Dr Chris Thorogood from Oxford Botanic Garden.
The panel tackles a wide range of audience gardening dilemmas, from reluctant peonies and coppiced hazel, to a struggling juniper bonsai and an overgrown black elder. They also discuss how to rescue a drought-stressed blueberry, and keep colour flowing through the garden into late summer.
Later in the show, Bethan visits Winterbourne House and Garden to meet local beekeeper Jane Nimmo to discover more about the remarkable lives of honeybees, the challenges facing wild bee populations, and the simple things gardeners can do to help pollinators thrive.
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A 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.

Gardeners’ Question Time visits the stunning Springfields Festival Gardens in Spalding, 15 acres of beautifully designed and diverse planting, created for visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy.
Peter Gibbs is joined by a panel of horticultural experts - Matthew Wilson, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness - to answer questions from an enthusiastic audience of local gardeners. Together, they tackle a wide range of gardening dilemmas, from reviving a pot-bound olive tree to dealing with ants that have taken up residence in an exotic potted palm.
The panel also offers practical advice on watering seedlings effectively, encouraging a mature philadelphus to flower, and successfully overwintering hollyhocks.
Also, Grow Your Own expert Julia Parker shares her top tips for successional planting, helping gardeners enjoy a continuous harvest throughout the growing season.
Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Producer: Matthew Smith
Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Kathy Clugston and the panel are in Edgbaston at the University of Birmingham’s beautiful Winterbourne House and Garden, an Arts and Crafts era gem packed with horticultural interest.
Joining Kathy to answer questions from a keen audience of local gardeners are Bethan Collerton, Marcus Chilton‑Jones and Dr Chris Thorogood. The team tackle everything from leggy tomatoes, to the challenge of designing a cohesive border that spans both sun and shade.
There’s practical advice for dealing with the devastation caused by box tree moth, creative planting ideas for Japanese‑inspired gardens using unusual and architectural plants.
Also, Bethan takes a walk around the Winterbourne grounds with head gardener Paul Cooke to discover how Gertrude Jekyll’s influence continues to shape the garden today.
Producers: Alison Vernon-Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A 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.

In this special episode, Kathy Clugston and Peter Gibbs dip into the archives to celebrate the life and work of Matthew Biggs.
Matt spent four decades doing what he loved most - sharing his extraordinary knowledge of the natural world with anyone who would listen. And through the power of radio, listen they did!
In this episode you'll hear Matt in his own words - from his very first appearance on Gardeners' Question Time in 1994, to the remarkable final broadcast he made just weeks before his passing.
Alongside clips of Matt's encyclopaedic and witty gardening advice, you'll hear from friends, colleagues and fellow horticulturalists who knew and loved him, as well as messages from listeners, whose lives he touched in ways that go far beyond gardening.
Producers: Matthew Smith, Rahnee Prescod and Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4