This week we’re finding out how to be a hoverfly hero. These masters of mimicry are vitally important pollinators, decomposers, and aphid predators, but their populations are in steep decline in the UK. RHS entomologist Josie Stuart will be telling us more about these garden friends, and how we as gardeners can help. Keeping our gardens blooming for as long as possible is a great help for all our pollinators and Cosmos shows off its delicate flowers all the way from late summer through to the first frosts of autumn. We’ll speak to National Collection holder Jonathon Sheppard for his recommendations of the best cultivars to try this year. And from one remarkable collection to another – Sarah Cook has dedicated years to researching and reviving the lost irises of Cedric Morris. These striking blooms, once thought to survive only in his famous paintings, have been brought back to life thanks to her tireless work in the RHS archives and in Cedric’s garden at Benton End.

Host: Jenny Laville

Contributors: Josie Stuart, Jonathan Sheppard, Sarah Cook

Links:

Be a hoverfly hero

Help hoverflies: 5 top plants and 5 fun facts

What are hoverflies?

Read Jonathan’s cosmos and hollyhock blog

British cosmos (seed sales)

Plant Heritage, home of the National Plant Collections

Benton End

The Nurture Landscapes Garden at Chelsea Flower Show 

RHS People Awards

Spring is in the air, and it’s time to get your hands dirty! This week, we’re diving into the juicy world of tomatoes with Liz Mooney from the RHS Garden Wisley edibles team. She shares some of her best tried and tested cultivars and expert advice on how to grow a bumper crop. Plus, if hydrangeas are on your planting list, renowned woody plant collector and hybridizer Maurice Foster will be picking out some of his favourites. And finally, we’re tackling food waste head-on – Jenny Laville and composting guru Heather Gorringe break down worm farms, compost heaps, and bokashi bins to help you turn scraps into garden gold!

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Liz Mooney, Maurice Foster, Jenny Laville, Heather Gorringe

Links:

How to Grow Tomatoes

Wiggly Wigglers

How to stop throwing away food waste – with or without a garden

Bokashi composting 

The Hydrangea - A Reappraisal 

White House Farm Garden and Arboretum

White House Farm Hydrangea open days: June 28th and August 23rd

Spring is starting to unfold, and with that in mind, we’re heading back to the vegetable patch with kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain for the final instalment of her "Grow Food Anywhere" mini-series. This time, Lucy guides us through which crops thrive in those tricky, shady spots that can often be a challenge in the garden. Nick Turrell from the RHS Advisory Team gives us the lowdown on why Leylandii – once a garden favourite – has since earned a notorious reputation, and says what you can do about it! And finally Jamie Walton, the familiar face behind the Nettles & Petals social media account, shares some of the benefits and ecological gardening mindset can bring to your plot.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Nick Turrell, Jamie Walton (Nettles&Petals)

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere

Pruning Leylandii

Grow Food. Eat Weeds. Save Seeds. pre-order

This week we’re returning to the vegetable garden with author and kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain to find out what delicious goodies will thrive in some of the least loved corners of your garden. We’ll also be discovering more about the rich history of the magnolia genus, and the stunning range of varieties available today with horticulturalist Seamus O’Brien. Rosemoor’s Alex Paines will be sharing how you can employ the chop and drop mulching technique in your own garden without it looking messy. And Alan Tichmarsh CBE launches an appeal to save some of the important work being done at RHS Garden Wisley.

Host: Jenny Laville

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Seamus O’Brien, Alex Paines, Alan Titchmarsh

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere

National Botanic Gardens Ireland

Magnolias

Chop and Drop

RHS Garden Wisley petition

With the right approach, your garden can give back just as much – sometimes even more – than you put in. This week, we’re finding out how to get the most out of our edibles plots with kitchen gardener and writer Lucy Chamberlain who will be proving you really can grow food anywhere. We’re also heading back to Roz Chandler’s Field Gate Flowers to discover the perfect mix of annuals, perennials, biennials and foliage plants for stunning arrangements year-round. And finally, how about a cup of tea? Jonathan Jones – head gardener of one of Europe’s largest and most diverse tea gardens – shares how to cultivate tea at home and take your plants from bush to brew.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Roz Chandler, Jonathan Jones, Jenny Laville

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere book

How to plan a cut flower garden episode 1

Field Gate Flowers

Tregothnan

This week we’re exploring some of the plants which may have flown under your radar. Plantsman Chris Sanders will take us on a journey that began with a casual flick through a rare horticultural book and spiralled into a decades-long obsession with rare Japanese cherry cultivars, never seen before in the UK. Horticulturist Scott Galloway makes a compelling case why the resilient favourite of Gertrude Jekyll – the much overlooked bergenia – could be a game-changer in an era of shifting climates. And Abbotsbury Subtropical Garden curator David Pearce proposes why African boxwood makes the ideal box alternative.

Hosts: Gareth Richards and James Armitage

Contributors: Scott Galloway, David Pearce, Chris Sanders

Links: 

Subscribe to the Plant Review 

Grow bergenias

Scott Galloway’s website with more info on bergenia

Find Matsumae cherries 

Plant Heritage

Valentine’s Day and flowers go hand in hand, so what better way to celebrate than by dedicating this week’s programme to the stunning blooms you can grow right in your own garden? Over the past four years, the RHS has been on a mission to find the best red roses for home gardens. We’ll be revealing the top contenders with Wisley’s Roz Marshall. If roses aren’t your thing, Roz Chandler from Field Gate Flowers will be guiding us through the process of starting your own cut flower garden from bare earth to vase. And finally, nothing signals the arrival of spring quite like the golden explosion of daffodils! This year, the RHS is launching a nationwide appeal to track their varieties, flowering times, and distribution across the UK. RHS Principal Scientist and daffodil enthusiast Dr. Kálmán Könyves will share their fascinating history and his hunt for rare—and possibly lost—cultivars.

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Roz Marshall, Roz Chandler, Kálmán Könyves

Links:

Red Roses Trial results

Field Gate Flowers

Seed To Vase Course

Daffodil Diaries

This week, Guy Barter takes us through some essential gardening tasks for the season ahead and we explore a hardy favourite: as Caroline Williamson from RHS Garden Bridgewater reveals the fascinating (and surprisingly dark) art of forcing rhubarb. And finally, mother-daughter duo Ellie and Claudia of Elka Textiles will show us how to turn garden plants into beautiful, sustainable dyes—perfect for a creative winter project!

Host - Jenny Laville

Contributors - Guy Barter, Caroline Williamson, and Ellie Fisher & Claudia Gosse from Elka Sustainable Textiles

Other links  

How to grow rhubarb

How to force rhubarb

More jobs to be getting on with in February

Green Futures Gardening Club

PDF tutorial ’Natural Dyeing with Brown Onion Skins’

This week, Jenny Laville explores the incredible world of seeds with RHS botanist James Armitage, uncovering their diverse shapes and dispersal methods. We’ll also be embracing this time to start planning our gardens for the growing season ahead, RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock will be describing all the key things to consider when it comes to creating wildlife friendly spaces bursting with key habitats. Plus, in the final part of our front garden mini-series, RHS Gardening Advisor Nick Turrell offers practical advice on designing a space that’s both beautiful and functional. 

Host Guy Barter

Contributors Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Nick Turrell, Helen Bostock

Links

The Great Seed Swap at RHS Garden Wisley

Wildlife Gardening

Join us as we celebrate garden birdlife ahead of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch! The RSPB’s Adrian Thomas gives us a crash course in birdwatching from the comfort of your own kitchen window, while scientist Arran Folly discusses the threats facing our feathered friends and what we as gardeners can do to help. Plus Nick Turrell from the RHS advisory team shares how front gardens can play a vital role in reducing flood risks in our communities.

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Dr Arran Folly, Adrian Thomas, Nick Turrell

Links:

The Big Garden Bird Watch

RHS guide to identifying garden birds

The Vector-Borne RADAR project