Gardeners' Question Time

In a special Gardeners’ Question Time episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the programme is at the Serge Hill Project, an inspirational garden that promotes working with nature to radically transform people's health and well-being.

Renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, and Tom’s partner, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist Sue Stuart-Smith, join regular panellists Pippa Greenwood, Christine Walkden, and Anne Swithinbank to answer listener questions.
The programme also features a generous and brave final appearance from GQT panellist Matt Biggs.

Matt has been a GQT panellist since 1994, and has been battling cancer for six years. Tragically, Matt’s cancer has now entered its end-stage. Matt wanted to record this programme, knowing it would be his last appearance on Gardeners’ Question Time, surrounded by his longtime friends and GQT colleagues.

Listeners will hear questions answered by the GQT panel of gardening experts, but they will also hear about Matt’s journey from initial diagnosis to his current mental and physical condition. At times Matt’s words are upsetting, raw, and honest, however it is Matt’s wish that his story is told partly as advice for other sufferers and also to serve as inspiration to all listeners.

Producers: Dan Cocker, Matt Smith and Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Peter Gibbs and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit visit Pulham Market.
Peter is joined by Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness to answer questions on growing fruit in pots and choosing shrubs for deep shade, and discuss which farmyard manure is best to use on the allotment.
Along the way, the panellists explore the challenges of quince blight, champion strawberries grown in buckets, and share suggestions for gardening activities that are accessible and engaging for people with limited mobility.
Also, James Wong visits Kew Gardens to witness the spectacular (and pungent!) flowering of the Titan Arum, one of the rarest and most extraordinary plants in cultivation.
There are also practical tips for sowing carrots successfully and advice on whether a well‑travelled oleander can finally be planted out.
Producer: Matt Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide

Kathy Clugston guides us through the GQT archives to hear how our panellists and experts, old and new, advise on delivering dazzling displays of summer colour.
Along the way, the gardeners explore how thoughtful structural planting underpins great colour all season long, explain why deadheading matters, and reveal the origins of the Chelsea chop.
They also advise on watering in hot weather, compost mixes for long-lasting displays, and the surprising relationships between insects and plants. So if you're anti-Ant, hear how Dr Chris Thorogood gives some positive PR to these charming creatures often mislabelled as 'pests'.
Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Peter and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit the historic Great Barn in Harmondsworth.
Beneath the medieval beams, Peter is joined by Bunny Guinness, Francis Tophill and James Wong as they tackle a wonderfully wide‑ranging set of questions from the audience that are as thought‑provoking as they are informative.
Are plants conscious? Why do camellia buds turn brown and drop? And which plants might humans take to grow on another planet?
Along the way, there’s practical advice on organic ways to keep vine weevils at bay, how to dry lilac flowers, and what to grow in pots in a narrow alleyway with limited light.
Later in the show Chris Beardshaw talks all things pruning - why, when and how.
Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide

Kathy Clugston and the Gardeners' Question Time panel visit the outskirts of Bolton in Lancashire. Kathy is joined by RHS Bridgewater Curator Marcus Chilton-Jones, Garden Designer Matthew Wilson and Plantswoman Christine Walkden.
The panellists tackle what to do about an overwhelming stash of black plastic pots, advise on why a listener's new compost bin is lacking in worms, and suggest plants for shady clay areas beneath mature beech trees.
Other questions cover planting for waterlogged borders, homemade foliar feeds for seedlings, and opening a wildlife-focused garden for the National Garden Scheme.
Later in the programme, Bunny Guinness shares spring propagation tips, including softwood and basal cuttings and using an aeroponic propagator.
Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide