Gardeners' Question Time

What plant have you killed the most? How do I encourage my pineapple lily to flower? What plant would you take with you to your island paradise?

Kathy Clugston and her team of horticultural champions are in Hillingdon, to solve the gardening grievances of the audience. On the panel this week are proud plantsman Matthew Biggs, house plants expert Anne Swithinbank, and ethnobotanist James Wong.

Later in the programme, Dr Chris Thorogood is on hand to sew the seeds of knowledge as he educates us on all things seedlings, tackling topics such as what they are, how they grow and how to encourage them to grow healthily.

Producer: Bethany Hocken

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

What plants would you recommend to entertain five to six year-olds? How do I successfully grow Japanese banana plants? Are rose fertilisers and tomato fertilisers the same thing?

Kathy Clugston and her team of horticultural champions visit Birmingham Botanical Gardens to solve the gardening gripes of the audience. On the panel this week are proud plantsman Matthew Biggs, ethnobotanist James Wong and garden designer Juliet Sargeant.

Later, Matt Biggs educates us on the life and legacy of renowned plant collector Ernest Wilson whose expeditions across Asia led to the introduction of over 2,000 plant species.

Senior Producer: Daniel Cocker

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

How do I stop badgers from eating my tulips? Any tips on changing a ripped pond liner? How do I effectively take cuttings from a plant?

Kathy Clugston and her panel of horticultural heroes take a wander around Mires Beck Nursery in Hull, while dipping into the GQT postbag to answer your gardening grievances.

Joining forces with Kathy are head gardener Matthew Pottage, garden designer Bunny Guinness and curator of RHS Bridgewater Marcus Chilton-Jones. The panellists are joined by various workers and volunteers from the nursery who share own tips and tricks on gardening challenges, such as planting trees from seed and planting native varieties.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman

Click here for the Plant List: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023yg4

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

When is a seed ready to harvest? Which evergreen shrubs could I plant on the coast? Why are my greenhouse grapes going mouldy?

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

What do you do with lily stems once the flowers have fallen off? Any tips on growing chanterelle mushrooms? When's the best time to prune fig trees in the northeast?

Peter Gibbs and his panel of horticultural experts take a visit to Henry Moore's Studio and Gardens, while dipping into the GQT postbag to answer your gardening conundrums.

Joining forces with Peter are proud gardeners Matthew Biggs and Christine Walkden, and garden designer Bunny Guinness. The panellists are escorted around the seventy acres of outdoor studio space by Sebastiano Barassi, head of the Henry Moore Collections and Programme.

Later in the programme, the panel discusses foreign seeds and the potential issues that planting them would have on our environment.

Producer: Dan Cocker

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Any tips on setting up and maintaining a floating garden that produces tasty produce? Do the panel suffer from garden envy? How do I get rid of the mealybug infesting my cacti?

Kathy Clugston and her team of horticultural champions are in Uxbridge, to solve the gardening grievances of the audience. On the panel this week are house plants expert Anne Swithinbank, proud plantsman Matthew Biggs, and ethnobotanist James Wong.

Later, Matthew Biggs re-visits Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, where he meets Ginny Abu Bakr and Billy Styles to discuss how they’ve introduced gardening to patients receiving chemotherapy.

Producer: Bethany Hocken

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Kathy Clugston digs through the Gardeners' Question Time archive to root out some information on Soil, Compost, Mulch and more.

Our various GQT panellists over the last 77 years have been no stranger to soil and compost related questions, from queries on how to create a workable soil in the garden to questions on the difference between compost and soil conditioner. For the first autumnal archive programme of 2024 we’ve raked through the extensive GQT archive and pulled out some of the best advice on these topics.

We also hear from garden designer and lecturer Humaira Ikram, who explains the importance of understanding the PH level of your soil.

Producer: Bethany Hocken

Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4

How can I control alexander plants? How can I encourage my gage trees to flower? What tips do the panellists have for increasing biodiversity?

Kathy Clugston and her team of green-fingered experts are by the Suffolk Coast to share their advice with an audience of garden enthusiasts.

On the panel are head gardeners Ashley Edwards and Matthew Pottage, and pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood.

Meanwhile, Matthew Pottage explores the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. He dons his hard hat to get up close with a particularly dangerous local pine and admires the wollemi pine, a living fossil thought to be extinct for two million years until a small population was discovered in the Blue Mountains of Australia in 1994.

Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

What can I use to stop mites from destroying my nine foot Schefflera? Why haven't we seen many bees this year? How do I remove fungus growing on my hawthorn tree?

Peter Gibbs and his team of gardening gurus travel to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock for a postbag edition of GQT.

While Head Gardener Andy Mills leads Peter and the panel around the historic grounds, they also rake through the GQT inbox to answer your gardening queries. On the panel this week are garden designer Chris Beardshaw, house plants expert Anne Swithinbank and pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood.

Later in the programme, the panellists receive a surprise question from English fashion and textile designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, who asks what she should do about her dying hydrangeas.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Do grass snakes have any benefit to my garden? How do I stop my autumn raspberries from getting maggots? What I can plant between now and next June that will flower in time for my daughter’s wedding?

Kathy Clugston and a panel of experts are in the hot seat as they answer the gardening queries from an audience in Southwold. On the panel are head gardeners Ashley Edwards and Matthew Pottage, and pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood.

Later, Matthew Pottage sneaks away to Wootens of Wenhaston Plantsman Nursery in Darsham, where he meets co-owner Jill Stafford to discuss Pelargoniums and how there's a variety for everyone.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4