'Gardening with the RHS' offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest ...
This week we’re finding out how to be a hoverfly hero. These masters of mimicry are vitally important pollinators, decomposers, and aphid predators, but their populations are in steep decline in the UK. RHS entomologist Josie Stuart will be telling us more about these garden friends, and how we as gardeners can help. Keeping our gardens blooming for as long as possible is a great help for all our pollinators and Cosmos shows off its delicate flowers all the way from late summer through to the first frosts of autumn. We’ll speak to National Collection holder Jonathon Sheppard for his recommendations of the best cultivars to try this year. And from one remarkable collection to another – Sarah Cook has dedicated years to researching and reviving the lost irises of Cedric Morris. These striking blooms, once thought to survive only in his famous paintings, have been brought back to life thanks to her tireless work in the RHS archives and in Cedric’s garden at Benton End.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Josie Stuart, Jonathan Sheppard, Sarah Cook
Links:
Be a hoverfly hero
Help hoverflies: 5 top plants and 5 fun facts
What are hoverflies?
Read Jonathan’s cosmos and hollyhock blog
British cosmos (seed sales)
Plant Heritage, home of the National Plant Collections
Benton End
The Nurture Landscapes Garden at Chelsea Flower Show
RHS People Awards
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32:05
Tasty Toms, Hydrangeas & Bokashi
Spring is in the air, and it’s time to get your hands dirty! This week, we’re diving into the juicy world of tomatoes with Liz Mooney from the RHS Garden Wisley edibles team. She shares some of her best tried and tested cultivars and expert advice on how to grow a bumper crop. Plus, if hydrangeas are on your planting list, renowned woody plant collector and hybridizer Maurice Foster will be picking out some of his favourites. And finally, we’re tackling food waste head-on – Jenny Laville and composting guru Heather Gorringe break down worm farms, compost heaps, and bokashi bins to help you turn scraps into garden gold!
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Liz Mooney, Maurice Foster, Jenny Laville, Heather Gorringe
Links:
How to Grow Tomatoes
Wiggly Wigglers
How to stop throwing away food waste – with or without a garden
Bokashi composting
The Hydrangea - A Reappraisal
White House Farm Garden and Arboretum
White House Farm Hydrangea open days: June 28th and August 23rd
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34:04
Early Spring in the Garden: Edibles, Nettles, and Petals!
Spring is starting to unfold, and with that in mind, we’re heading back to the vegetable patch with kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain for the final instalment of her "Grow Food Anywhere" mini-series. This time, Lucy guides us through which crops thrive in those tricky, shady spots that can often be a challenge in the garden. Nick Turrell from the RHS Advisory Team gives us the lowdown on why Leylandii – once a garden favourite – has since earned a notorious reputation, and says what you can do about it! And finally Jamie Walton, the familiar face behind the Nettles & Petals social media account, shares some of the benefits and ecological gardening mindset can bring to your plot.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Nick Turrell, Jamie Walton (Nettles&Petals)
Links:
Grow Food Anywhere
Pruning Leylandii
Grow Food. Eat Weeds. Save Seeds. pre-order
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30:35
The Magic of Magnolias + Growing in Tough Spots
This week we’re returning to the vegetable garden with author and kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain to find out what delicious goodies will thrive in some of the least loved corners of your garden. We’ll also be discovering more about the rich history of the magnolia genus, and the stunning range of varieties available today with horticulturalist Seamus O’Brien. Rosemoor’s Alex Paines will be sharing how you can employ the chop and drop mulching technique in your own garden without it looking messy. And Alan Tichmarsh CBE launches an appeal to save some of the important work being done at RHS Garden Wisley.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Seamus O’Brien, Alex Paines, Alan Titchmarsh
Links:
Grow Food Anywhere
National Botanic Gardens Ireland
Magnolias
Chop and Drop
RHS Garden Wisley petition
With the right approach, your garden can give back just as much – sometimes even more – than you put in. This week, we’re finding out how to get the most out of our edibles plots with kitchen gardener and writer Lucy Chamberlain who will be proving you really can grow food anywhere. We’re also heading back to Roz Chandler’s Field Gate Flowers to discover the perfect mix of annuals, perennials, biennials and foliage plants for stunning arrangements year-round. And finally, how about a cup of tea? Jonathan Jones – head gardener of one of Europe’s largest and most diverse tea gardens – shares how to cultivate tea at home and take your plants from bush to brew.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Roz Chandler, Jonathan Jones, Jenny Laville
Links:
Grow Food Anywhere book
How to plan a cut flower garden episode 1
Field Gate Flowers
Tregothnan
'Gardening with the RHS' offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest horticultural advice, scientific research and tried and tested techniques to bring out the best in your garden.
Topics covered include: growing your own vegetables, flowers, garden design, lawn care and gardening with children. Plus expert masterclasses in topics ranging from cottage garden plants, growing orchids, to pest control and eco-friendly gardening.
Plus we’ll have behind the scenes reports from the country’s most prestigious flower shows. There’s something in these podcasts to interest every gardener, whatever your level of expertise.
For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast
A Pixiu production.