Gardeners' Question Time

Gardeners’ Question Time visits the stunning Springfields Festival Gardens in Spalding, 15 acres of beautifully designed and diverse planting, created for visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy. Peter Gibbs is joined by a panel of horticultural experts - Matthew Wilson, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness - to answer questions from an enthusiastic audience of local gardeners. Together, they ta...

Kathy Clugston and the panel are in Edgbaston at the University of Birmingham’s beautiful Winterbourne House and Garden, an Arts and Crafts era gem packed with horticultural interest. Joining Kathy to answer questions from a keen audience of local gardeners are Bethan Collerton, Marcus Chilton‑Jones and Dr Chris Thorogood. The team tackle everything from leggy tomatoes, to the challenge of designi...

In this special episode, Kathy Clugston and Peter Gibbs dip into the archives to celebrate the life and work of Matthew Biggs. Matt spent four decades doing what he loved most - sharing his extraordinary knowledge of the natural world with anyone who would listen. And through the power of radio, listen they did! In this episode you'll hear Matt in his own words - from his very first appearance on...

Peter Gibbs and the GQT panel visit the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regent’s Park, London, tackling gardening challenges in tough conditions. Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Pottage, Bunny Guinness and Head Gardener of Regents Park Fiona Packe answer questions on creating a sensory hedge in rubble, choosing resilient perennials, and finding long-flowering wildflowers for shade. They also offer advice on...

Peter Gibbs and the GQT panel visit the charming village of Harmondsworth, just moments from the bustle of Heathrow. Peter is joined by James Wong, Frances Tophill and Bunny Guinness as they tackle horticultural conundrums, submitted by an audience of local gardeners. From growing citrus trees from supermarket fruit pips to distinguishing wild geums from their cultivated cousins, the panel share p...

Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit Diss, on the Norfolk–Suffolk border, where heavy clay soils meet some of the driest conditions in the country; a combination that keeps gardeners firmly on their toes. Peter is joined by Bob Flowerdew on his home turf, alongside Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness as they answer questions from a live audience. They advise on improving your...

Gardeners’ Question Time returns to the iconic RHS Chelsea Flower Show Bandstand. Recorded in the dappled shade of plane trees and surrounded by colour and spectacle, Kathy Clugston is joined by Bunny Guinness, Matthew Pottage and Dr Chris Thorogood to tackle questions taken live from the audience, as well as a few familiar voices spotted among the Chelsea crowds. Topics include how to recreate th...

Kathy Clugston and Peter Gibbs are at the Chelsea Flower Show for a special postbag episode of Gardeners' Question Time. From the showground of the world’s most celebrated horticultural event, they're joined by a stellar panel - former Chelsea exhibitor and medal-winning designer Matthew Wilson, one of the world's leading authorities on plant pests and diseases, Pippa Greenwood, and making her pre...

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,...

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 bucke...

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, compos...

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 migh...

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...

Kathy Clugston and the Gardeners' Question Time panel visit the picturesque Lancashire village of Edgworth, nestled on the edge of the West Pennine Moors. This week, the team are being hosted by the Edgworth and District Horticultural Society. Kathy is joined by Matthew Wilson, Christine Walkden and Marcus Chilton‑Jones, answering questions from an enthusiastic local audience. The team shares prac...

Peter Gibbs and the GQT panel have traded parks and community gardens for a visit to the Oxfordshire home of Dame Mary Berry. On this week's panel are Matthew Pottage, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness. Among today’s questions, the panellists troubleshoot evergreen roses plagued by black spot, unravel the mystery of why clematis keep failing on one side of a small London garden, and help a list...

Kathy Clugston is joined in the Vale of Glamorgan by Bethan Collerton, Anne Swithinbank and Chris Beardshaw, where they tackle horticultural conundrums from a live audience. inspired by the region’s famously fertile landscape - from the mysteries of the old‑fashioned mangelwurzel, to advice for struggling houseplants, and recommendations on how to manage a towering six‑foot cactus. The team also s...

Kathy Clugston steers the ship through the deep waters of the GQT archive where a variety of panellists, old and new, discuss solutions to a variety of water related gardening challenges. They debate the question of rainwater vs tap water for plants, restoring waterlogged clay soil and alternatives to water butts in narrow terrace gardens. There's also advice on flood‑damaged garden recovery and r...

What climbing plants thrive in shallow soil? How can you coax your Christmas cacti into a dazzling display? What’s your favourite first sign of spring? Kathy Clugston brings a hand‑picked panel of horticultural experts to Sully, Wales, where they tackle a lively audience’s gardening questions with insight, warmth and plenty of good humour. Joining Kathy are garden designer Chris Beardshaw, housepl...

This week, the GQT team are in North Hertfordshire, where Peter Gibbs is joined by Bunny Guinness, Juliet Sargeant and Bob Flowerdew to tackle a fresh crop of horticultural conundrums. The panellists delve into the challenges of taming coarse grasses in would‑be meadows, ponder why one listener’s tomatoes are thriving better outdoors than under glass, and offer practical  approaches to managing so...

Kathy Clugston and GQT team have packed their wellies for a trip to the Ninewells Community Garden in Dundee. Kathy is joined by Matthew Pottage, Neil Porteous and Kirsty Wilson to explore the grounds whilst delving into the GQT Postbag together. Among todays questions, the panellists break down which leaves are better to compost than others, tackle a listener’s battle against tomatoes with tough...

Peter Gibbs and the GQT team are in Chaldon. Peter's joined by Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Pottage. This week the panel take on a wide range of gardening dilemmas, from how to reach into borders without treading on emerging plants, to which colourful plants thrive in shady, chalky soil. When it comes to growing veg, the team also has answers on whether leaving weeds in place can...

Kathy Clugston and the GQT team are in Tyne Valley, Newcastle. Kathy's joined by Dr Chris Thorogood, Bethan Collerton and Matthew Wilson, who tackle a variety of questions from troubled Aspidistra, yellowing Choisya and planting for winter colour. The team also discusses beech hedges, how to tackle the issue of invasive Japanese knotweed and unlikely exotics thriving in northern gardens. Later in...

Peter Gibbs and the GQT team are in Kimpton, Hertfordshire. He's joined by Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Juliet Sargeant. With questions submitted from the local audience in Kimpton Memorial Hall, the panel take on a wide range of horticultural challenges, from alternatives to Valentine’s Day roses, to selecting shrubs for a north‑facing chalk‑clay garden and innovative ways of harvesting hors...

Kathy Clugston and the GQT team visit the Seaton Delaval Hall in Newcastle, to answer questions from the GQT postbag. Today, the panel helps choose roses for a shaded memorial bed, investigates the sudden collapse of a once‑glorious wisteria, and unpicks the mystery of a white flag iris that decided to flower again in autumn, but this time in blue. Kathy is joined by Matthew Wilson, Bethan Collert...

How can I lighten my orchids? Is there a reliable mix of weed suppressants and fertilisers for growing edibles? Why have the leaves of my Camelia started turning yellow? This week on Gardeners’ Question Time, Kathy Clugston and a hand‑picked panel of horticultural experts head to Clara Vale to tackle the green‑fingered queries of a live audience. Joining Kathy are garden designer Matthew Wilson, b...