Main content

Peter Gibbs and the panel visit Pulham Market and answer questions on growing fruit in pots and choosing shrubs for deep shade, and recommend evergreens for pergolas.

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

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Sunday14:00
BBC Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

From The Archives: Summer Colour

Next

Serge Hill Project

See all episodes from Gardeners' Question Time

Featured

  • .

Plant List

Q1 – “Can anyone give me advice on how I can talk to my wife about not buying any more plants or flower seeds for her overstocked garden?” (02’01”)

Q2 – “We inherited an old quince tree… the fruit looks perfect but are brown inside when cut. What can I do?” (04’19”)

Bob Flowerdew

  • Cydonia oblonga, ‘serbian gold’ quince

Q3 – “Can you recommend an evergreen or semi‑evergreen shrub for a shaded pergola bed with no direct sunlight?” (08’29”)

Christine Walkden

  • Osmanthus × burkwoodii, burkwood osmanthus

Bob Flowerdew

  • Sarcococca spp., winter box

  • Ruscus aculeatus, butcher’s broom

Bunny Guinness

  • Choisya × dewitteana ‘Aztec Pearl’, Mexican orange blossom ‘Aztec Pearl’

  • Choisya ternata, Mexican orange blossom

  • Carpinus betulus, common hornbeam

Q4 – “We have different types of straw‑based farmyard manure: horse, pig, poultry and cattle. What would you choose?” (11’38”)

Feature – Titan arum flowering at Kew (15’22”)

James Wong

  • Amorphophallus titanum, titan arum (corpse flower)

Q5 – “What would you recommend to grow in pots or a small garden fruit‑wise?” (20’50”)

Bob Flowerdew

  • Rubus idaeus, raspberry

  • Fragaria × ananassa, strawberry

Christine Walkden

  • Vaccinium spp., blueberry

Bunny Guinness

  • Prunus persica, peach (dwarf forms) - Prunuspersica 'Garden Lady' (F) peach 'Garden Lady'

  • Ficus carica ‘Little Miss Figgy’, fig ‘Little Miss Figgy’

  • Ribes uva‑crispa ‘Rokula’, gooseberry

  • Ficus carica, fig

Q6 – “What activities can we do with care‑home residents with limited mobility?” (26’30”)

Christine Walkden / Bunny Guinness

  • Lathyrus odoratus, sweet pea

Q7 – “I’ve been growing oleander in a pot for 10 years - can I plant it in the garden?” (32’03”)

Bunny Guinness / Panel

  • Nerium oleander, oleander

Q8 – “How can I successfully grow carrots with my grandson?” (35’20”)

Christine Walkden

  • Daucus carota subsp. sativus, carrot

Bunny Guinness

  • Pastinaca sativa, parsnip

Bob Flowerdew

  • Petroselinum crispum, parsley

Broadcasts

  • Last Friday15:00
    BBC Radio 4
  • Sunday14:00
    BBC Radio 4

Six of GQT’s naughtiest gardening innuendos

Six of GQT’s naughtiest gardening innuendos

When Gardeners' Question Time got mucky.

Podcast