This week, David Maxwell visits Rosie Maye, also known as the Insomniac Gardener, and discovers her passion for roses. June sees a kaleidoscope of colour in the borders of her rural garden near Slane in County Meath. She explains how plenty of feeding and a seaweed spray keep the roses in tip top condition. A few miles down the road, at the Frances Ledwidge Museum, David meets someone who has visited more gardens than him! In fact Shirley Lanigan visited 375 in order to compile the latest edition of “The Open Gardens of Ireland”. In east Belfast a new garden has been recently unveiled at a supported living facility for the elderly. The garden at Bell Rotary House is both practical and fun. Niki Molly from Abbeyfield Belfast who runs the facility and designer Anita Houston give David a tour of the transformed outdoor space. Claire McNally joins David in studio to answers listener questions. Contact the programme at [email protected]

Gardeners’ Corner heads to Enniskillen as part of the BBC ‘Comes to Town’ roadshows marking 100 years of broadcasting in Northern Ireland. David Maxwell hosts the programme from the Killyhevlin hotel on the banks of Lough Erne where he is joined by a live audience and garden expert Brendan Little. County Fermanagh gets its fair share of rain with about a metre a year and the first question from the audience is; what plants don’t mind having their feet in water for half the year! Other questions include, favourite climbing and rambling roses, and plants you couldn’t live without. Also in the programme, David visits the Aughentaine estate near Fivemiletown where he meets owner James Hamilton-Stubber and head gardener Ian Marshall and a cottage garden near Florence Court created over 40 years by a former teacher passionate about plants. Contact the programme – [email protected]

Despite unseasonably cold weather, David samples the delights of early summer at Ballyrobert Cottage Garden where Maurice Parkinson has a large collection of that reliable perennial Astrantia. In west Belfast, he visits Bog Meadows where Ulster Wildlife have created a new garden. The build has transformed the entrance to the gardens and has proved to be great therapy for volunteer Kathy who lost her job last year. Amy Kelly reveals how you can grow a mini orchard on your patio and David catches up with some of those taking part in the Great Gardeners’ Corner Grow Along. In studio, Mary Doris brings the taste of summer with Elderflower cordial and she also uses the foraged flowers in jam and cupcakes. Contact the programme on [email protected]

With the RHS saying it’s been inundated with queries about tackling slugs this year, David Maxwell and his guests discuss the best way to combat the slimy invaders. At Ballyrobert Cottage Garden, Maurice Parkinson is restricting his raspberries from running so they can be put into an ornamental border and he discovers the dreaded sawfly on his redcurrants.

In north Belfast, David visits Women’s TEC where new gardening skills are being cultivated. Wildlife expert Katy Bell is in studio with pointers on what to look out for in the garden in early summer and Oliver Schurmann reveals his perennial of the month. David will also be joined by Ann Fitzsimmons to take questions live. Contact the programme on [email protected]

A special programme from Ireland’s biggest garden show; Bord Bia Bloom. David Maxwell will be joined by regular contributor Brendan Little for a live programme from Phoenix Park. He’ll meet designers, plant experts and he’ll visit some of the show gardens. Contact the programme on [email protected]

Gardeners’ Corner visits the most talked about gardening event of the year; the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Presenter David Maxwell tours some of the main avenue show gardens including the gold medal winning National Garden Scheme’s garden by Tom Stuart-Smith and the Muscular Dystrophy UK garden by Ula Maria which took best in show. He also meets up with CAFRE Greenmount graduate, Anna McLaughlin, who has been working with the team who created the Stroke Association Garden. With celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Raymond Blanc, Prue Leith, Alex Jones and of course Alan Titchmarsh; David gets a sense of Press Day at the world famous event. Inside the Great Pavilion he speaks to experts on Delphiniums, Foxgloves and carnivorous plants and he finds Northern Irish florist Allison Hood who took silver gilt for her floristry display. Contact the programme on [email protected]

As summer weather arrives, David visits Cherry Townsend at Kilcoan Gardens in Islandmagee, where she has a brilliant collection of flowering plants that bridge the gap between spring and summer. Geums, Trollius, Aquilegia and Tellima are among the highlights in the borders. One of the biggest gardens in London is found across the river from Westminster behind the walls of Lambeth Palace. It’s the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury but the 10 acre garden is opening for the National Garden Scheme later this month and head gardener Lindsay Schuman gives David a sneak peek. Gordon Finch joins David in studio to talk about his fascination with ferns and restarting the local group of the British Pteridological society. Robot mowers have been gaining in popularity – producer Nicola chats about her experience with one she has nicknamed ‘Mervyn’. And Oliver Shurmann reveals his perennial of the month. In studio, Anna Hudson will be chatting about her veg patch at Ballywalter and she’ll take questions live in studio. Contact the programme [email protected]

This week on Gardeners’ Corner, David Maxwell heads to a garden with purpose at Musgrave Park Hospital in south Belfast. Its spinal centre has been gifted an outdoor space for patients and staff by the charity Horatio’s Garden. David Maxwell meets Matthew Lee who is in charge of the garden designed by Chelsea gold medal winning designer Andy Sturgeon. Also on the programme, gardening in pots all year round with Sarah Raven and why you shouldn’t cut your grass this month! Expert Claire McNally joins David in studio to answer questions. Contact the programme on [email protected]

It may have been a wet start to the year outside, but inside our homes, it can be a desert for plants – especially if you forget to water! That’s perhaps why Cacti are the ultimate house plants and this week on Gardeners’ Corner with David Maxwell, Brendan Little reveals he’s inherited his dad’s obsession with these prickly plants. Also on the programme, daffodil enthusiasts from around the world arrive in Northern Ireland for the World Convention and David heads to a rare collection of shrubs and trees at the Bluebell Arboretum in Derbyshire. In studio, expert Ann Fitzsimmons will answer questions including one from a listener who has seen seed for sale for ‘blue’ marigolds – can it be true? Email the programme at [email protected]

Gardeners’ Corner heads to Ballymena as part of the BBC ‘Comes to Town’ roadshows marking 100 years of broadcasting in Northern Ireland. In front of a live audience at Ballymena Library, David Maxwell and experts Reg Maxwell and Mary Doris take questions from novice and experienced gardeners who live near the County Antrim town. Also on the programme, David visits the nearby Britain in Bloom winning village of Cullybackey, and the allotments at Scullery O’Tullagh which volunteer Billy Millar describes as a place to nourish the body and the mind. Contact the programme on [email protected]