Gardeners' Question Time

Chris Beardshaw, plantsman and garden designer, shares practical planting tips for Vale conditions. Anne Swithinbank, writer and houseplant expert, gives concise advice on alocasia, citrus and propagation. Bethan Collerton, head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, covers greenhouse rescue, rhododendron care and seed choices. They discuss mangelwurzel curiosities, taming a giant cactus and spring slug controls.

Bob Flowerdew, organic gardening specialist, shares practical watering strategies and drought management. Matthew Wilson, gardening expert, compares tap and rainwater and champions rain for seedlings. Anne Swithinbank, experienced horticulturist, offers tips on flood recovery, soil restoration and resilient planting. They discuss rain vs tap, reviving waterlogged clay, greywater use and water-saving techniques.

Bethan Collerton, head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, shares practical planting and conservation tips. Anne Swithinbank, houseplant specialist and writer, explains Schlumbergera care and shade-plant solutions. Chris Beardshaw, garden designer and plantsman, discusses compact conifers, seaside planting and structure. They cover shallow-soil climbers, heavy-shade vegetables, recycling pots and favourite first signs of spring.

Matthew Biggs, plantsman celebrating native bluebells. Juliet Sargeant, plantswoman and landscape designer pushing no-dig and soil-health. Bunny Guinness, landscape designer focused on large-scale planting and volunteer management. Bob Flowerdew, organic grower with allotment know-how. They tackle meadows and coarse grasses, greenhouse tomato woes, Mahonia rejuvenation, rhubarb rehoming, low-labour allotments and ways to recruit volunteers.

Mary Colvin, Garden Facilitator at Ninewells Community Garden, leads a tour and explains how gardening aids wellbeing and recovery. Neil Porteous, Royal Parks plantsman, shares practical horticultural anecdotes. Kirsty Wilson, Balmoral’s Head of Gardens, offers pruning and design tips. Matthew Pottage, experienced plantsman, gives hands‑on planting and plant‑care guidance. They discuss composting leaves, tough tomato skins, olives, no‑mow grasses and planting daisies in old boots.

Anne Swithinbank, horticulturist and broadcaster, gives practical tips on plant care and pruning. Pippa Greenwood, plant pathologist, covers pests, diseases and vegetable growing. Matthew Pottage, Royal Parks horticulture lead, talks planting for climate resilience and public spaces. Guy Barter, RHS chief horticultural advisor, discusses the Daffodil Diaries and cultivar preservation. Short, lively chat on shade plants, brassica protection and weeds as mulch.

Matthew Wilson, garden designer offering planting and hedge tips; Bethan Collerton, head gardener with propagation know-how; Dr Chris Thorogood, botanical scientist on plant health. They tackle care for a 30-year-old aspidistra and yellowing Choisya. They discuss plants for exposed northern gardens and surprising exotics doing well up north. They cover grow lights, Japanese knotweed control and reviving thin beech hedges.

Juliet Sargeant, plantswoman and landscape designer; Bunny Guinness, garden designer with a knack for composition; Bob Flowerdew, grow-your-own expert. They tackle alternatives to red roses, shrubs for a north-facing chalky clay garden, horseradish harvesting tricks, pruning winter honeysuckle and winter pruning dos and don’ts. They also cover propagating daphne, managing fairy rings and growing figs in containers.

Dr Chris Thorogood, botanical scientist at Oxford Botanic Garden; Bethan Collerton, former head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens; Matthew Wilson, garden designer and broadcaster. They tackle choosing roses for a shady memorial bed. They investigate a suddenly collapsing wisteria and a white iris that reflowered blue in autumn. They tour Seaton Delaval Hall’s parterre and South East Garden.

Bethan Collerton, hands‑on allotmenteer and head gardener; Dr Chris Thorogood, botanist and plant identifier; Matthew Wilson, award‑winning garden designer. They tackle orchid repotting and anchoring. They debate weed suppressants and fertilisers for edibles. They diagnose yellowing Camellia leaves and suggest repotting and ericaceous care. Practical, plant‑focused and breezy.