Gardeners' Corner

With many people counting down the days to summer holidays, presenter David Maxwell gets a question from one listener who wants to know the best way to water her pots when she’s away. Also on the programme, a visit to two of the 20 gardens opening as part of ‘Secret Gardens of Loughgall’ weekend. In County Fermanagh, Dougal Dorman explains how the once private kitchen garden of the Colebrooke Esta...

Join David Maxwell and his guests live from Bord Bia Bloom in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. He catches up with designers, Linda McKeown, James Purdy and Leonie Cornellius who all picked up medals and visits the postcard cards which are constructed in just one day. Claire McNally chooses her stand out plants from the show and chef Neven Maguire brings a taste of bloom when he stops in for a chat. Email th...

Highlights from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. David Maxwell explores the show gardens including the gold medal winning ‘The Glasshouse Garden’ by Jo Thompson and an alpine garden for the British Red Cross inspired by the Giant’s Causeway. In the great pavilion, David chats to plant experts on peonies, sweet pea and unusual heirloom vegetables. Along the way he meets some celebrities with green...

At the Festival of Gardens and Nature in County Laois, David Maxwell chats to actor Dominic West, food writer and broadcaster Nigel Slater and world renowned head gardener at Great Dixter, Fergus Garrett. Ahead of the 40th birthday of Gardeners’ Corner, a new daffodil is named for the programme. Internationally recognised breeder, Brian Duncan joins David in studio to reveal how Narcissus ‘Gardene...

With the arrival of an early summer, David heads to Bangor where a non-gardening couple took on a beautiful mature garden 9 years ago. Janet and her husband Carl had lived in South Africa, Germany and England, but it was only in taking on their garden near Ballyholme Beach that they got into all things green. David tours the suburban plot and finds out how it has connected them with neighbours and...

In this Easter edition of Gardeners’ Corner, there is double the gardening inspiration and know-how as two expert guests join David Maxwell in studio. Rosie Maye will be singing the praises of home grown rhubarb and Colin Agnew’s Easter basket is not full of eggs but succulent plants. Also on the programme, a San Francisco listener on how to grow your own soap and a visit to the Delta Sensory Gard...

With the sunny spring continuing, Gardeners’ Corner visits a 19th century walled garden in Maghera. Once connected to the local rectory, it is now run by the council, and it features several distinct spaces including a large glasshouse and a wildflower meadow. Roy Clark, who knows the garden well, says their secret to planting spring bulbs in a naturalistic way is to get children to do it! The goo...

David Maxwell heads to Hillsborough Castle and Gardens where nearly 20,000 spring bulbs are blooming. Head Gardener, Claire Woods shows off the large collection of daffodils bred in Northern Ireland and gives some tips on getting the best out of these bulbs. Ann FitzSimons explains what she’s learnt after living with a living wall for 2 years and Adam Frost reveals his shrub for April (Euonymus na...

What do you do if you’re adopted by bees? That was the Watson family’s question when the insects started making honeycomb in their compost bin. Now with two hives, mum Julietta is always thinking how she can make her County Down garden a haven for both her family and the wildlife on the doorstep. With Magnolias and Camellias blossoming across the country, David rejoins John Anderson for a woodland...

Autumn planting is rewarded with Spring colour and at Castle Ward the formal bulb display of hyacinths and primroses is at its height. David meets gardeners Searcha Kelly and Judy Walsh who, with the help of volunteers, keep the gardens of this National Trust property looking good. Could heathers be coming back into fashion? Long lasting colour and a winter food source for bees mean they are high...

Gardeners’ Corner celebrates spring with a visit to the world-famous RHS Garden Wisley. Covering 240 acres, it’s one of five gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society and it attracts around one million visitors every year. Presenter David Maxwell visits several part of the garden that really come alive in spring, including the woodland areas at Oakwood and Battleston Hill and the crocus displ...

With the temperatures edging up, it’s time to get those Dahlia tubers planted up for the season ahead and that’s what David Maxwell found Ann FitzSimons doing when he dropped into her country garden glasshouse near Killinchy. At the National Trust’s Downhill Demesne, students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) are learning the art of making a dry stone wall from exp...

The hunt is on for long lost plant varieties – David Maxwell finds out why groups like the Irish Garden Plant Society and Plant Heritage want to find and save plants that can no longer be bought. In Bessbrook, Hilary McKelvey explains why alpines are the ultimate in no-fuss gardening. On a visit to renowned plantsman Jimi Blake’s garden in County Wicklow, David finds out about the best flowering p...

David Maxwell finds out about storm proof trees at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Kilmacurragh where head gardener, Seamus O’Brien also has tips on creating a wind break with holly, hazel and mix of other native species. At Ardgillan Castle on the coast of north county Dublin, Dominica McKevitt reveals a garden for all seasons where reliable shrubs like Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gol...

With spring just around the corner presenter David Maxwell, explores what we can all get growing in mid-February to get ahead of the game. Sweet Peas, Tomatoes and Chillies can all be sown right now on a warm windowsill for a summer full of scent and home grown goodness. Amy Kelly reveals how you can have a delicious crop of raspberries and strawberries without a garden and Gardeners’ World presen...

This week why it’s good for you to eat as many different coloured fruit and veg as you can grow. A visit to Mount Venus nursery where Oliver Schurmann has a great collection on hellebores that are putting on an impressive show when little else does. In Glenarm, Neil Porteous is pruning grapes and Maurice Parkinson recommends Lonciera nitida as one of the best (and cheapest!) hedging plants availab...

Storm Éowyn has changed the face of some treasured public gardens. This week David visits the National Trust’s Mount Stewart which was one of the worst affected. Rob Wilson tells David that with thousands of trees down, the garden on the Ards Peninsula has completely lost some of its shelter belts. Despite the destruction, Gardeners’ Corner finds hope in the simple snowdrop at Ballyrobert Cottage...

You don’t have to have a garden to enjoy plants and this week David Maxwell explores the plant world that prefers the indoor life. Roisin Horgan set up her houseplant business in east Belfast after years working in offices which lacked greenery. She reveals the best plants for different indoor locations including, the trailing Pothos or Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) for a dull hallway, the Ca...

Even on a cold or dull January day there is always some winter wonders to be discovered in a botanic garden. This week, David Maxwell heads to the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, just a few miles from the centre of Dublin. Outdoors he finds flowering Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and the striking bark of Chilean Myrtle (Luma apiculata) while in the impressive “Curvilinear Range” he...

As temperatures drop, David Maxwell is joined in studio by Ann FitzSimons to consider how to deal with snow and ice in the garden. He also heads to the National Trust’s Mount Stewart where despite the freezing weather work is continuing to reclaim areas of the garden lost to invasive bamboo. At the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, Emily Hazell explains how they protect tender species which already...

At the turn of the year David Maxwell takes us on a journey through the four seasons with highlights from 12 months of Gardeners’ Corner. From snow covered Downhill Demesne to clearing up after the storms at Hillsborough Castle Gardens, from the Kew Gardens of Connemara to Sarah Raven’s world famous Perch Hill garden – David brings lessons from a year of gardening on the airwaves. Email the progra...

Get ready for a festive gardening get together as David Maxwell and the Gardeners’ Corner team head to Ballywalter Park on the Ards Peninsula. Gathered around a roaring fire outdoors, they’ll be celebrating the season with mince pies, mulled wine and plenty of practical gardening advice inspired by the contents of custom-made Christmas crackers and Secret Santa gifts. Also on the programme - Anna...

With Christmas just around the corner, David heads to a Christmas tree farm on the outskirts of Belfast where Tony Johnston is planning for the Christmas rush in 10 year’s time, as he plants trees for Christmas future. At the Chelsea Physic Garden, new head of plant collections Emily Hazell offers a look at the newly restored Pelargonium House. Oliver Schurmann chooses a grass as his final perenni...

As autumn officially ends and winter begins David Maxwell heads to a frosty Mount Stewart on the Ards Peninsula where the Sunken Garden is getting a refresh. Rob Wilson explains why they are emptying and replanting beds originally laid out by Lady Edith with a little help from legendary Victorian plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll. Ann FitzSimons on creating a bulb lasagne and Amy Kelly on the winter veg...

Autumn highlights from the Gardeners’ Corner archive with David Maxwell including, a visit to the Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park, Jekka McVicar with her herb of the month for November, Neil Porteous is ‘heeling in’ rhododendron at Glenarm Castle and Reg Maxwell is planting bulbs for an indoor winter display. Claire Woods takes questions in studio with David. Contact the programme on gardeners...