With garden flowers very much in fashion, and ahead of British Flower Week, David Maxwell meets a young couple who are trying to turn their passion into a business. Andy and Aisling McCormick started their flower farm last year and they say there’s a big demand for beautiful blooms grown locally.  Also in the programme, Ann Fitzsimons on why all is not lost when your veg goes to seed and David heads to Islandmagee where Cherry Townsend is enjoying the scent of June roses. The expert combo of Claire Woods and Neil Porteous will also take on listeners’ questions live on the usual numbers or via email  - gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

The cut flower craze, bolting rocket and resplendent roses

The weekly gardening programme for keen gardeners, with the latest advice, news and visits to gardens large and small around the province. Presented by David Maxwell.

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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 gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk 

Why cactus are the ultimate house plant, the World Daffodil Convention and blue marigolds?

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 gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

Gardeners’ Corner ‘Comes to Town’ roadshow from Ballymena

As the Easter break begins, Gardeners’ Corner has some easy ways to transform your garden space. David Maxwell is joined in studio by expert gardener Brendan Little who has suggestions on how an uninspiring front garden can be transformed into a low maintenance garden with interest and colour through the year.  Also joining David is city gardener, Grace Loughrey, who knows how to transform the smallest of spaces with easy to find plants. Holidays are a great time to visit gardens and Kilmacurragh in south County Wicklow will be welcoming many this Easter weekend. The gardens are undergoing a major expansion programme and on this latest visit head gardener Seamus O’Brien gives David privileged access to some of the new areas under development and he also gets to see how the future of the Wollemia pine (once thought extinct) has now been secured. Also on the programme, the new trail at Belfast’s Botanic gardens dedicated to John Templeton sometimes called the  ‘father of Irish botany’ and Huw Richards on his new book ‘The Self-Sufficiency Garden’. Contact the programme on gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk 

Easy ways to transform your garden this Easter

This week Gardeners’ Corner visits what must be one of most beautiful classrooms in the country – the walled garden at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Greenmount Campus in County Antrim.  David Maxwell joins CAFRE’s Lori Hartman for a look around, as work begins to renovate some areas including the hot border and a brand new brick pergola.  At Mount Venus nursery, in the hills above Dublin, Oliver Shurmann has some spring highlights and Colin Agnew introduces the new Templeton trail at Belfast’s Botanic gardens. In Killinchy, Anne Fitzsimmons is enjoying the spring heat in the polytunnel where she is sowing some perennials and she explains why it helps to pre-sprout your courgettes.  In studio, Anna Hudson joins David to answer questions and provide some spring inspiration.  Email the programme at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk 

Why you should pre-sprout your courgettes, what to do if you can’t beat ground elder and the best-looking classroom you can find

While damp weather is making it tricky to get in to the garden  there is still plenty to keep Dave and Jules Hardy busy at Esker Farm Daffodils. Since David’s last visit the county Tyrone couple have added a large garden area which shows how the daffodils can be grown in mixed borders. Amy Kelly kicks off the Great Gardeners’ Corner Grow Along by sowing Beetroot, Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas. In Dublin, Oliver Shurmann picks some seasonal highlights at Mount Venus nursery and friend of the programme Jekka McVicar joins David to chat about her new book ‘100 Herbs to Grow’.  Also on the show, Claire McNally is in studio to answer questions and suggest some garden jobs for the St Patrick’s weekend.  Contact the programme on gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk.

The cut flower craze, bolting rocket and resplendent roses

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