Gardeners' Question Time

Kathy Clugston  dusts the cobwebs off the Gardeners’ Question Time archives for a spooky selection of supernatural gardening advice from the past 79 years of the program.

This Halloween special is packed with ghostly gardening tales, monstrous pumpkins, and poisonous plants.

The panel share advice on encouraging bats into the garden, managing an invasion of spiders and revisit a compost bin so overrun with worms that it burst open.

Along the way, Chris Beardshaw ventures into the infamous Poison Garden at Alnwick,  home to over 100 toxic, intoxicating, and narcotic plants.

Producer: Dulcie Whadcock

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.

Which plants can I plant now that will survive the winter? Can you recommend a low-maintenance shrub for the garden? What should I grow to get my gardening mojo back?

Kathy Clugston and the GQT team are in the New Forest sharing their tips and tricks for the garden. Joining Kathy are  head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Bethan Collerton, pest and disease expert, Pippa Greenwood, and garden writer and designer, Matthew Wilson.

Later on, GQT regular Matthew Pottage visits Russell Stevens, head gardener Kensington Gardens to see the relocated Chelsea Flower Show garden.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Kathy Clugston presents a special Potting Shed edition of Gardeners’ Question Time, recorded at the Summer Garden Party at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.

Away from the main stage, visitors drop into the famous GQT potting shed for one-to-one advice from the panel. Dr Chris Thorogood, Marcus Chilton-Jones, Frances Tophill, Matthew Wilson, Matthew Pottage and James Wong help tackle a wide range of gardening dilemmas, from rescuing sun-scorched rhododendrons and reinvigorating star jasmine to choosing climate-resilient hedging and trees for a changing climate. Also, James Wong explores the growing scientific evidence behind gardening’s benefits for our health and wellbeing.

Producer: Rahnee Prescod

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.

Peter Gibbs hosts Gardeners’ Question Time from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Joining Peter are Ashley Edwards, James Wong and Christine Walkden - a panel with strong Kew connections. They answer questions on when is the latest time you to take cuttings, how to identify male and female ginkgo trees, and how to make the most of winter containers.

The panellists also explore the growing appeal of perennial vegetables, discuss indicator plants as guides to soil conditions, and share some of their favourite plant stories - from giant corpse flowers and monkey puzzle trees to the first spring buds of hawthorn.

And James Wong goes behind the scenes at Kew’s iconic Palm House to discover how one of the world’s most important glasshouses is being prepared for its next chapter.

**NOTE** Comfrey was mentioned during this programme in a discussion about edible plants. Comfrey contains naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can be harmful to the liver if consumed. Although comfrey has a history of traditional culinary and medicinal use in various parts of the world, consumption is generally not recommended in the UK due to potential health risks, regardless of flower colour or variety

Producer: Matt Smith

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.

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

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 spaces

Producer: Matt Smith

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Kathy Clugston chairs Gardeners’ Question Time from Minstead Village Hall in the heart of the New Forest.

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith

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.

Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September.

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

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.

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