Gardening with the RHS

It’s turned. The big coats are on, stew is on the menu, and we’re seriously thinking about putting the heating on. And just as we’re feeling the chill, so are our plants, some of which need a helping hand to get through the big freeze ahead. RHS advisor Nick Turrell joins us with advice on getting our leafy friends winter ready. But there’s still plenty you can grow, even when the temperature plummets. RHS Garden Wisley’s Liz Mooney shows us how to sow broad beans, whatever the weather. And finally, what could be more autumnal than gathering fallen leaves to make that precious brown gold, leafmould? It’s the perfect excuse to get outside, get moving and warm up, while doing your garden a world of good. RHS Hyde Hall’s Andy Tebbutt tells us how to make it and why it’s worth the effort. We’ll round off the episode with your questions, answered by Gareth and Melissa Mabbitt.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Nick Turrell, Liz Mooney, Andy Tebbutt

Links:

Winter protection 

Broad beans

Leafmould

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It’s spooky season, and what better time to investigate three garden topics that are indelibly linked to Halloween. Pumpkins are everywhere, carved into grizzly expressions and displayed outside homes and workplaces. If you’d rather eat your home-grown pumpkin than scare people with it, RHS grow-your-own guru Liz Mooney offers a perfect pumpkin masterclass. We love all wildlife in our gardens but as it’s a spooky special, let’s talk bats and how to encourage them into our plots. Bat expert John Pearse reveals all. It’s Liz Mooney’s second growing guide of the episode, this time it’s a seasonal vampiric bulb, garlic of course. And we’ll round off the episode with listener questions answered with Gareth and Jenny Laville.

Host: Gareth Richards https://www.instagram.com/thegrrdener/

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Liz Mooney, John Pearse, Jenny Laville

Links:

How to grow pumpkins 

Gardening for bats

Bat Conservation Trust

How to grow garlic 

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As the weather cools and birds flock back to gardens, many of us enjoy putting more food out for them. But have we been feeding birds all wrong? How can we help our feathered friends without inadvertently endangering them? RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock tells us how to feed birds properly this winter. After an incredibly tough summer for turf, many domestic lawns are still feeling the effects of months without rain. It might be time for a reboot, so RHS turf and lawn care specialist Jim Millward talks us through how to turf properly and tells us about his team’s progress on returfing alongside Wisley’s famous Jellicoe Canal. It’s off to RHS Garden Hyde Hall to talk with Sarah Wilson Frost about mulch; what is it, why is it important, and what does it do? And we’ll round-off the episode with listener questions answered with Gareth and Melissa.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Helen Bostock, Jim Millward, Sarah Wilson-Frost, Melissa Mabbitt

Links:

Bird statistics

Bird feeding 

Returfing and laying turf 

Guide to mulch

Chop and drop 

Meet one of our most loved and hated native plants. You might think of ivy as a destroyer of buildings or a nuisance weed, but it’s actually just been crowned the most popular flower with pollinating insects in an 8 year study by the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. It’s also the RHS Wildlife Wonder plant for October, so our Science and Horticulture editor Olivia Drake is here to explain what makes it so valuable, and worth including in your garden. Staying with plant wonders, did you know if you dream of cucumbers, it means you might speedily fall in love? RHS Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison offers fascinating tales of vegetable folklore for an upcoming online seminar. Hyde Hall’s Andy Tebbutt tells us why autumn is the best time of year for planting, but what’s happening to that plant when you put it in the ground? And Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Olivia Drake, Fiona Davison, Andy Tebbutt, Melissa Mabbitt

Send your questions to [email protected]

Links:

Ivy

Butterfly Conservation pollinator survey

Vegetables, dreams and folklore

RHS Libraries

Why autumn is the best time for planting

A new season, and a new edition of The Plant Review, the quarterly magazine published by The RHS that delves a little deeper than the regular RHS Garden mag. If you prefer your plant stories and horticultural happenings that bit more detailed, The Plant Review is the publication for you. In this special programme, RHS plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic talks fungi in lawns, Plant Review editor James Armitage tells the story of Blanche Ada’s Thornycroft apples, and Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions.

Host: Gareth Richards, James Armitage

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Jassy Drakulic, Melissa Mabbitt

Links:

The Plant Review

Waxcap Watch

Thornycroft apples

Plants mentioned by James:

Haplocarpha scaposa

Lepechinia hastata

Eryngium pandanifolium

Vernonia crinita

Cyperus involucratus

Carex secta

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So many jobs to do at this time of year, but not enough time! As we rush to garden centres and nurseries, you can make it easier on yourself by narrowing down your new plant choices to those which are ultra wildlife friendly. Pollinators will always appreciate a helping hand, and a good place to start is with a new RHS guide, Plants for Pollinators. One of the authors, RHS entomologist Josie Stuart, is on the podcast to talk about what to plant now to boost wildlife diversity. If edibles are more your thing, Guy Barter offers sobering news on the future of Britain’s favourite brassicas – is it the end of the line for cauliflowers? And we continue our guide to essential jobs to do in autumn, this time it’s why and how to divide perennials.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Josie Stuart, Guy Barter, Nick Petters, Melissa Mabbitt

Links: 

Plants for Pollinators

Autumn ox eye daisy - Leucanthemella serotina

No more cauliflowers Guardian article

Dividing perennials

Rootstocks for fruit

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Head to the bottom of the garden this month and you might end up with a face full of spiders’ webs. Before you run screaming into the house, RHS spider expert Ben Brough offers an insight into why an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare is a fantastic garden ally. Want more plants for next spring without the cost of buying? RHS Garden Wisley’s Sam Gallivan teaches us how to take root cuttings and instantly multiply your plants for free. Last week we ended our series looking at bulbs to plant now for spring interest, and today we begin a new series of serious jobs for serious gardeners throughout a busy autumn, beginning with autumn veg planting with Liz Mooney.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Ben Brough, Sam Gallivan, Liz Mooney, Melissa Mabbitt

Links:

Wildlife gardening advice

Plants for bugs

Taking root cuttings

Grow your own fruit and veg: September

Liz Mooney’s allotment life

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Many listeners’ turf will have taken a bashing over summer, and now is the time to glow-up the green. RHS Garden Wisley’s Jim Millward shares his tips on how to get your grass ready for autumn. The holiday is officially over for our houseplants, time to bring them back inside after enjoying a hot summer. RHS indoor plant specialist Freddy Fuller offers do’s and don’ts for seasonal houseplant success. And to round-off a month of spring bulb suggestions, RHS Wisley’s Jess Jansdotter offers her choice in the final 'Bulb of the Week' of September. Plus, we answer some of your gardening questions.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producers: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Jim Millward, Freddy Fuller, Jess Jansdotter, Melissa Mabbitt

Links:

Lawncare advice

Autumn houseplant advice:

Snowdrops

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Is it dead? Or is it just sulking? That’s what many listeners will be wondering after returning from their summer holidays to find many plants exhausted by hot and dry weather. Horticultural advisor Nick Turrell provides a dose of reality – and some much-needed hope – when it comes to saving, or binning, the hardest-hit perennials. Presenter Gareth Richards speaks to RHS science editor Olivia Drake about this month’s Wildlife Wonder plant - apples! There’s more to this popular fruit than meets the eye. September is the month for bulbs, and RHS Wisley’s James McDonnell offers his pick for the next instalment of our Bulb of the Week series - Ipheion. Plus, we answer some of your gardening questions.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Nick Turrell, Olivia Drake, James McDonnell, Melissa Mabbitt

Links:

RHS Climate Change Survey 

RHS Ipheion trials 

Wildlife Wonder plant: Apple

Send your questions to [email protected]

There’s a myriad of weird and wonderful beasties out there who feast on flowers, but all is not rosy inside the garden gate. Pollinators are in trouble, and Josie Stuart, RHS Senior Entomologist at RHS Garden Wisley shares some unexpected ways home gardeners can help pollinators thrive, no matter the size of your plot. Horticultural specialist Jim Arbury offers expert advice on a hot topic many RHS website visitors want to know more about: figs. Which variety should you choose? How do you get started? And how do you grow them successfully? As September brings cooler temperatures and an increasingly autumnal feel, RHS Wisley’s Claudia Connal offers her pick for the next instalment of our Bulb of the Week series - the mysterious and beautiful Turk’s cap or martagon lily. Plus, we answer your gardening questions on dealing with tomato gluts, growing echinaceas, and pruning hydrangeas and evergreens.

Host: Gareth Richards

Producer: Dan Cocker

Contributors: Josie Stuart, Jim Arbury, Claudia Connal

Plants mentioned: Turk’s cap lily (Lilium martagon); lilies 'Claude Shride’, ‘Golden Morning’, ‘Pink Morning’ and ‘Albi Morning’. Hoop petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium), Crocus ‘Vanguard’. Figs ‘Brown Turkey’, ‘Little Miss Figgy’ and ‘Brunswick'

Links:

Find information on all the topics covered at rhs.org.uk

Send your questions to [email protected]