The team assess the winter damage and unaccustomed spring warmth's effect on the garden.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole and Lesley take inspiration from George's RBGE alpine house visit last week and revamp the Alpine Garden at Beechgrove. This wee garden took a real beating over winter and Carole and Lesley are keen to put up new protective screening that will also allow planting of trailing/climbing plants. Carole and Lesley will also be adding to the garden their top ten, everyman's alpine plants for Scotland. Ever wondered how those amazing and seemingly unnatural and massive vegetable at flower shows come to be? George will also be starting off showing how to grow huge vegetables for showing. He's trying his hand at beetroot, carrots and parsnips. Jim will be looking at the different irrigation systems available for the amateur gardener and he will also be planting broad beans and sweet peas.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole and Lesley are in a soon to be fuchsia frenzy as they plant up all sorts of baskets and containers with new collections of baby fuchsias. They also take a look at their BIG bulb pot experiment and how it has performed after being given a recipe for success with layering dozens of bulbs in the one pot last year. Carole also visits George on his allotment in Joppa. George suffers from leek rust and white onion rot, poor man, on his allotment, and Carole and George together try all methods of getting round the problem. We will catch up with progress later in the series. Lesley also visits Anne Duncan in her small Edinburgh garden. Anne has a love affair with tulips and she blames her husband. The lucky man's birthday is in May and generous Anne always gives him tulips for his birthday and now her garden is brimful to overflowing with a torrent of tulips. And back at the garden, something Anne would approve of, Lesley takes another look at how her tulip trial is faring in the cutting garden, where she is trying to see how long a window of flowering tulips she can have in one season. In the cutting garden, the first early tulips started flowering in the beginning of April, but how long will the tulip season be in Beechgrove?
In the Beechgrove Garden there is much going on under glass. Jim is trying out a fancy new pot system to grow his tomatoes and cucumbers in, while Carole starts off a trial of those ugly but fun plants- the gourds- meanwhile Lesley is in the Potting Shed potting on baby peppers and those spicy wee numbers the mini chillies. Jim also starts off some of what he calls 'funny veg' - celtuce, chicory, claytonia and Chinese Kale will all be tried and tested/tasted this year in Beechgrove. Do you have a pear or apple, square or hourglass shape? Not women's bodies but gardens. Lesley has chosen four classic shapes of gardens that we are presented with and shares her off the peg design solutions to the typical garden shape. Lesley will 'clothe' a garden each week and inspire us to use what we have rather than try and change and if you have got it flaunt it. This week, square and boring. Jim is also with Tessa and Bill Knot at their stunning garden at Glenwhan. A garden for all seasons with an incredible diversity of plants. It has taken 20 years of hard work by Tessa and Bill to produce this garden of outstanding character that has been hewn from a hillside covered in bracken and gorse. Two lakes have also been made by damming up bogs to provide a rich habitat for rare species.
Carnations those favourite forecourt flowers have had a bad press in the last few years, but in the Beechgrove Garden, Carole is trying to grow a collection of those over-used plants to try and rekindle our interest in this pretty, prolific and often perfumed plant, growing a range of perpetual and spray carnations. Jim is having another attempt at growing a challenging crop for Beechgrove - sweetcorn. Carolyn is helping out at the garden of Rachel and Alan Black in their high-rise flat in Leith. Rachel grows everything in containers in their exposed and windy wee garden. Rachel wants to know how to protect vegetables and plants from wind and pests and she would like some advice on what kind of flowering plants to grow so she can have fresh cut flowers in the house and year round colour in the garden. It's Gardening Scotland just next week and one of the biggest exhibits at the show is the bonsai. George visits an expert grower and shower to see if he can learn the tricks of the trade and of showing these incredibly popular manipulated plants.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips and tricks, presented by Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, Lesley Watson, George Anderson and Carolyn Spray. The team is on a break from the garden to be at Gardening Scotland. Sometimes called the Chelsea of the north, it is the biggest gardening show north of the border. Gardening Scotland 2011 will burst into bloom at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, just outside Edinburgh on 3-5 June. With over 150 stands in the Floral Hall, the cream of British growers will be there, including those showing off their gold medals straight from last week's Chelsea, but Beechgrove will be concentrating on the Scottish plants and we'll join them all for a sneak preview as well as sampling the atmosphere of the show itself. Firm show favourites return, alongside a host of new exhibitors, with everything from pansies to pelargoniums, and cacti to clematis in a stunning floral frenzy. Outside, stunning show gardens with inspiration for everyone no matter what your budget. And with the tiniest of budgets, first timer entries to the show often start off creating small but perfectly formed 'pallet gardens'. Last year there was a record number of these inspirational wee gems. Although the gardens are tiny the enthusiasm is massive.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips and tricks, presented by Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, Lesley Watson, George Anderson and Carolyn Spray. In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is in among flowers that he has a huge passion for - the dahlias - and this time Jim is concentrating on getting his hands on as many single varieties as he can and on making a huge show of them in the cutting garden. Lesley is planting bedding with an Olympic theme and she's hoping that it's not about the winning and that it will all be about the taking part to create a bedding display of many nations' colours. Jim is also with the Hughes family in Linlithgow, who have an area at the back of the garden, which is a steep slope backing onto waste ground. They have difficulty keeping the weeds at bay and maintaining the plants that they have planted on the slope. Jim provides a number of solutions that anyone coping with a slope in their gardens can take away and use. George visits the NTS garden at Threave. Threave houses the Trust's School of Practical Gardening (a one-year gardening course with a practical emphasis) and there is also a demonstration garden run in conjunction with the school of horticulture. George specifically visits to discuss the planting on their North, South, East and West facing walls to find out what grows well in what orientation.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips and tricks, presented by Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, Lesley Watson, George Anderson and Carolyn Spray. Finally all the wee tender plants are out of the greenhouses and strutting their stuff out in the garden. This leaves space in the greenhouse, but not for long. Carole and Lesley waste no time in filling up the greenhouse with some annuals from seed, that will give fanciful later colour - with names like calceloria 'bubblegum mix' or primula 'tickle my fancy'. Carole is also planting out her geranium family garden trial, creating a whole garden of geraniums with all manner of varieties from trailing, climbers and scented to the good old favourites, proving what a versatile family it is. Carolyn is with Lisa Higgins and Geoff Montford in Langside, Glasgow. They have a difficult shaded area in the back garden on a slope, where they want to grow something practical and pretty. Lisa has made a real effort to get started and Carolyn gives the couple a mini French cottage potager, with lots of herb pots, flowers and vegetables as well as hanging baskets and wall pots.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips and tricks, presented by Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, Lesley Watson, George Anderson and Carolyn Spray. In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is in the cage, the fruit cage that is, where the crop is protected from fruit-picking birds. There is also a fragrance of France as the fruit has been kept free of pests with garlic spray. Jim will be reviewing what's going on in the orchard and pruning and planning for autumn fruit. Carole is trying something new, planting a range of 'micro leaves'. These are the new must-have salad leaves with stunning colours and intense flavour - chefs in fashionable restaurants rave over these tiny tasties. Micro leaves are salads and vegetables harvested at a very young and tender stage in the growing process, and we are told, so easy to grow and most are ready to crop in 7-to-14 days. George Anderson is with the Hunts in Kelso, who bought a one acre building plot four years ago. They have been working on the garden and have developed lots of areas - a vegetable garden, shrub beds, herbaceous beds, fruit garden, orchard wildflower area, conifer bed - and the plants have grown very well indeed, better than they had anticipated. This has resulted in a problem, as now they need to be shown how to prune and maintain their plants. George gives Peter and Virginia a masterclass on pruning and plant management and maintenance. Carole visits Rosemary Jarvis in Dollar who has a really colourful and mixed garden with several mixed shrub and herbaceous borders, a wildlife pond, two rockeries, alpine troughs, fruit and veg gardens, and a mini-orchard. Rosemary is a plantaholic and likes to collect unusual specimens. She has pitcher plants in her bog garden which are flowering at the moment. The garden is sheltered by the Ochils so she can have lots of tender plants. Rosemary also has a wonderful collection of hostas.
In the Beechgrove Garden, let's hope it's good weather as everyone has their waders on and are bound for the pond. The team are getting rid of blanketweed, splitting and dividing pond plants as well as taking a look at the success of the planting among the Gabions that we put in to hold the bank in place. Jim is also on the lawn testing out a new lawn moss drug. Carole is helping out Tina and Bill Briglands from Grantown-on-Spey. They have a small pond in their garden that has become overgrown. They would still like to have water in the garden and so Carole replaces the pond with a bubble fountain surrounded by planting with pebbles as mulch to keep weed at bay. Jim visits the delightful and relatively new garden of Janet Ireland and Paul Newman in Montrose. Their previous garden was on Orkney and this sheltered Montrose haven allows the couple a much bigger palette of planting with fruit and veg and drifts of perennials.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips and tricks, presented by Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, Lesley Watson, George Anderson and Carolyn Spray. In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim, George and Carole are all in the calendar border, which does what it says on the tin and has plants with interest each month of the year. The team are discussing and implementing major surgery for the oak tree there, which is now hampering other plants, and so they decide to lift the crown of the tree.
Horticultural tips. The team take a look at the challenges that a snowy winter has thrown at the garden, Jim returns to the vegetable plot, and Carole meets a tree doctor.
Horticultural tips. The team decide to build a garden which will weather the credit crunch, and Carole takes a look at some of the many slug and snail deterrents on the market.
Horticultural tips. To mark a seed company's Year of the Tomato initiative for 2009, Jim McColl grows a new range of tomatoes. Lesley and Carole report on the marestail epidemic.
After the winter's snow, it is time to check on some 'patients' in the garden. Plant doctors Jim, Carole and Lesley are on ward rounds making diagnoses and some tough decisions.
Jim tends to the peach, cherry and vines, while Carole adds some new fruit to the blueberry tunnel. Lesley designs a new garden making the most of a confined space.
Jim, Carole, Lesley and Carolyn help to create a community garden in the ancient Scottish town of Tain. They also try to solve some local gardening problems.
Jim explains how to prune evergreens, while Lesley starts off a new experiment in the potager garden: productive and pretty miniature gardening.
Carole practises artistic pruning, Jim plants yellow tomatoes, and Lesley takes a look at a new range of what she calls fast flowers - from seeds to flowers in six to eight weeks.
The team visits Gardening Scotland, at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, just outside Edinburgh. The show is sometimes called the Chelsea of the North.
Jim, Carole, Lesley and Carolyn present a bedding-plant special. Carolyn helps revamp a communal garden in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. And Jim visits Cluny House Gardens in Perthshire.
Jim checks on the progress of the family orchard and tomato town. Lesley starts planting in her Tuscan Feast garden. Carole revels in an extraordinary iris collection in Drybridge.
Jim and Carole spend time with the plotters of Heathryfold Allotments to hear their success story as well as seeing the many initiatives going on.
The team cross the Atlantic bridge to help with the final stages of a community garden that is being created around the new community hall on the stunning slate island of Seil.
In this schools programme, the Beechgrove team are split into groups and take a look at two very special school garden projects as they try to achieve coveted 'Green Flag' status.
Gardening programme. Jim tackles a range of viewers' tomato torments, while Carole Baxter takes a look to see if the Fastflowers she sowed have lived up to their name.
Gardening programme. Jim takes a big romp around the veg plot, looking at the beautiful brassicas, blooming beans and perfect peas, and gives a new plant range the Beechgrove test.
Jim wages war on the greenhouse pests that have arrested the development of the aubergines and peppers, but finds that bringing in a little natural balance can be the best weapon.
Jim shows how a little fruit summer pudding can work wonders to increase yield, and tests a new development in the battle to keep the raspberry beetle at bay.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is in the vegetable plot, troubleshooting and harvesting. He discovers onion fly on the shallots, but also finds some magnificent runner beans.
Jim sows 'green manure' in the garden, and gives the grass some tender lawn care. Plus Carole tots up the final costs on the Credit Crunch Garden, and adds the finishing touches.
Gardening tips and features. It is harvest time in the Beechgrove Garden, and Jim reaps a bumper crop of squashes, pumpkins, aubergines and peppers.
In this one-hour special, the team visit Colinton Primary School, which has ambitious ideas for creating a garden for the school and community on an old WWII firing range.
Gardening tips and features. Jim is planting spring cabbage in the vegetable plot while Carole is still harvesting sweetcorn, blueberries and a new crop of Saskatoon berries.
Gardening tips and features. Jim McColl and the team batten down the hatches for winter and look forward to spring. Marek Mozoloski shows off his greenhouse heat pump to Jim.
The Beechgrove Garden has only just emerged from the December snow. Jim, Carole and Lesley find out exactly how the weather has affected the plants.
Jim is in the Family Orchard, which was devastated by waterlogging and then snow damage last year. Head gardener Don and his team have revamped and replanted the orchard.
Over the next ten years peat-based composts are due to be phased out so Jim tries new peat-free composts. Lesley plants herbaceous perennials in the redesigned Cutting Garden.
Jim is planting potatoes in a traditional manner using both unconventional and new varieties. Carole visits Abriachan Gardens, a stunning hillside garden on Loch Ness side.
It's finally warming up and that's good news - mostly. But it also means that garden pests are on the prowl. Jim tests out what claims to be a catch-all new biological control.
Jim is in the fruit house tending to the vines, planning for the bunches of grapes to come. He also takes a look at the fig which he hard pruned in the autumn.
Jim and Lesley are sowing those extraordinary plants that flower from seed to transform a brown patch into an all colours of the rainbow patch in just a few short weeks.
Carole has her thigh waders on and is up to her middle in our big pond at Beechgrove. She discovers a new way of draining the pond and attacks the blanketweed.
The Beechgrove team is at Gardening Scotland, the biggest gardening show north of the border, which bursts into bloom at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston, near Edinburgh.
Jim, Carole, and Lesley are looking forward and tending to some of the really big late season produce. They also give their take on the best way to tie up plants.
Jim is taste testing the first of our large and luscious cherries, and he also tends to the vines. Carole compares two new types of runner bean.
Jim is in the greenhouse assessing how the grafted vegetables are doing. Lesley revisits her Year in Containers in her Tuscan garden, and Carol demonstrates how to get rid of weeds.
Carole is joined by Deborah Long of Plantlife Scotland to highlight a campaign called Pond Alert, while Carolyn helps Derek Fish choose the best plants to sustain his busy bees.
The team are in the Ayrshire town of Girvan to help the community revamp a forgotten space in the centre of the town. The Secret Garden is designed to increase local biodiversity.
Jim, George and Carole look at how the more exotic crops - the melons, pumpkins, honeyberries and blueberries - are coming on, safe in their polytunnels.
Jim is back in the vegetable plot harvesting and, of course, sampling some of the wonderful vegetables that have grown despite the difficult early season conditions.
Jim, Carole and Lesley assess how Beechgrove's bedding plants have been faring over the summer. Jim also meets Anna Baker Cresswell, who runs the charity called Gardening Leave.
The team are in the Morningside area of Edinburgh where they help to create a pioneering community garden in a forgotten space on the grounds of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
It's all about propagation this week. Jim, Carole and Lesley show us how to take cuttings of perennials such as osteospermums and penstemons to overwinter for next year.
The Beechgrove Garden lawn has suffered from the 2010 summer's conditions. Jim McColl makes a few boreholes to analyse the symptoms and prescribes remedies for sick lawns.
Gardening series. Jim sows a range of winter lovelies with an oriental twist in the deep bed plot - winter greens for warming stir fries or chilly winter salads.
In the Beechgrove Garden this week it's a tale of beans and bulbs. Carole takes a look at her runner bean trial, comparing yield and of course the taste of the beautiful beans.
The Beechgrove team visits a garden for the new Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies at Easter Bush, Midlothian, situated on a vast site overlooked by the Pentland Hills.
The gardening season is coming to an end but there is still a bumper harvest at Beechgrove. Jim compares the performance of standard potatoes with the blight-resistant varieties.
The Beechgrove team are starting to put the garden to bed for the winter. Jim, Carole and Lesley demonstrate how to lift, pot up and store half-hardy perennials.
The Beechgrove Garden has only just emerged from the December snow, and the team take stock of the damage done over the severe winter and search for hopeful signs of spring.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. The team mount Project Plant Rescue, Jim and Carole investigate the alternatives to peat, and Lesley begins her garden design masterclass.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. The team decide to start planting potatoes, Lesley and Carole mount their tatties-in-containers challenge and Jim gives a self-sufficient couple tips.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim and George show how to pollinate plants by hand to maximise fruit yields. And Carole and Lesley take a look at some of last year's potato trials.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole and Lesley revamp the Beechgrove alpine garden, George demonstrates how to grow large vegetables, and Jim plants broad beans and sweet peas.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole and Lesley plant new collections of baby fuchsias, Carole and George tackle leek rust and white onion rot, and the tulips are out in force.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole starts a gourd trial, Jim seeds celtuce, chicory, claytonia and Chinese kale while Lesley tackles square gardens in her design masterclass.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole attempts to rekindle interest in carnations, Jim has another go at growing sweetcorn, and George learns the tricks of the bonsai-growing trade.
The team is on a break from the garden to be at Gardening Scotland. Sometimes called the Chelsea of the north, it is the biggest gardening show north of the border.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim indulges his passion for dahlias and provides solutions for a steep, sloping garden in Linlithgow, and Lesley creates an Olympic-themed bedding.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole and Lesley plant annuals in the greenhouse, Carole seeds her geranium family trial, and Carolyn has solutions for a shaded, sloped garden.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim reviews developments in the orchard, Carole plants a range of micro leaves and George gives a Kelso couple pruning and plant maintenance tips.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. The team puts waders on and heads for the pond, Jim tries out a new lawn moss product, and Carole visits a couple's garden in Grantown-on-Spey.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. The team discuss the state of the oak which is now hampering the growth of other plants, and decide to lift the crown of the tree.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim checks on the success of the yields in the fruit house, and Carole and George give the bog garden a revamp. Plus Jim reviews the garvinea trial.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole and Lesley make arrangements of hardy annuals and check their potato yields, while Jim sees if a new fertiliser has helped the vegetable crop.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole visits Janis Louden in Lumphanan to help create a herb garden before tracking down the renowned giant titum arum at the RBGE.
Celebrating Scottish gardens.Jim, Carole and Lesley each take a favourite area of the garden to showcase as well as completing routine maintenance in those areas.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. The team is on the road to help complete the development of a new community garden used by those affected by homelessness in Maryhill, Glasgow.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim reviews varieties of dahlias and garvineas, and visits Glenbervie House's garden, while Carole and Lesley look at their trial of tumbling plants.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole harvests her trial broad beans, Lesley discovers how her hardy and half-hardy annuals have fared, and George helps a pair of novice gardeners.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim reviews the vegetables he has been growing in the potager and Carole demonstrates how to take semi-ripe cuttings for easy propogation.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. Jim works on the main lawn to help it cope with erratic weather conditions, while Carole helps Drumblade Primary clear the weeds from its sandpit.
Landscape gardening show. The Beechgrove team are on the road to Spey Bay to help build a garden full of wildlife themes at one of the most exposed sites they have ever worked on.
Celebrating Scottish gardens. George Anderson enters his produce at the Dalkeith show, and Jim McColl visits the Newburgh Orchard Group in Fife to learn of their current project.
Gardening programme celebrating Scottish gardens, with horticultural tips. The team enjoys the colour of autumn while battening down the hatches ahead of the winter.
For most of the country it’s waders rather than wellies that are essential kit to get gardening this spring. Beechgrove is back and Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, George Anderson and Chris Beardshaw are raring to go no matter what the weather. In the first programme the team take a look at some soggy, boggy gardens across the country and assess what can be done and they deal with our own new unintended paddling pond, in the Beechgrove Fruit House.
Carole explains how to deal with explosive weeds, Jim is splitting snowdrops and George advises us where to plant a flowering quince.
In the Beechgrove Garden Jim, Carole and George are pruning their way around the garden, through fruit pruning to Carole pruning back a very vigorous eucalyptus. The team show what we could and should be pruning at this time of the year, how to do it and why. It’s also the season for pricking-out and potting-on and George shows how to do just that with his summer sowing of the stunning blue poppy. Chris is at another new build in Portlethen this week. He’s helping the Robertson family transform the soggy turf that the developers left them with into the garden of their dreams. Anna and Andrew Robertson, son Fergus and cats and dogs moved into their new home in Portlethen in May 2013. The Robertsons want Chris to help transform their new plot into both a family space and an efficient, productive garden. Jim is with the all new allotmenteers of Aden Park in Mintlaw. Last year this was a field and now it’s a set up with 42 new allotment sites all just ready to get growing. Jim will track the progress of this new gardening community from the very young to the older and gardening wise; sharing knowledge and experiences and chat with Jim throughout the season.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim continues to deal with the aftermath of the extreme wet weather that we experienced over winter, and reminds us to feed perennials and woody plants, especially those recently planted.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is spring cleaning in the conservatory. He takes note of the progress and care of the camellias and the citrus, and moves on to pot on the stunning houseplants - streptocarpus and saintpaulias. George is commemorating WW1 by sowing a field of Flanders red poppies.
George is revamping the very tired 'old riverbed' in Beechgrove. He is creating a new flowing stream of those spring and autumn shades of blue beauties, gentians, in place of the old and now dry riverbed. George also visits Broadwoodside steading garden in Gifford. This beautifully designed garden manages to look good all year round but in this case George goes to see their imaginative use of spring bulb colour.
It's tomato planting time for Jim in the Beechgrove Garden this week, and Chris tries out a range of climbers for any wall, in any position. Meanwhile, Carole visits Scotland's first tea plantation up on the Perthshire hills, and helps one Aberdeen viewer take control of their mature but overgrown garden.
Jim McColl is sowing hardy annuals direct and comparing it to planting plugs. Carole also visits a garden restoration in the Trossachs. Until recently, Dun Dubh was a hidden Victorian garden. With views and terraces that stretch down to Loch Ard, it is painstakingly being uncovered and brought back to life as a stunning six acre garden.
The Beechgrove team will be taking a break from the garden to be at Gardening Scotland, sometimes called the Chelsea of the north; it is certainly the biggest gardening show north of the border. The cream of British growers will be there, with everything from pansies to pelargoniums, and cacti to clematis in a stunning floral frenzy.
May is out and June is here and in the Beechgrove Garden that means that we can finally have our bedding plants outside and with them, Carole and George create some sizzling summer schemes. A weed is merely a plant in the wrong place as the other old saying goes. In this programme, Chris harnesses the power of plants that are usually considered thugs or weeds to beautifully clothe a difficult piece of sloping ground at Beechgrove.
Jim McColl and George Anderson are planning for tomorrow's jam as Jim is taking care of the fruit cage and George is sorting out the cherries, figs and grapes in the fruit house. Three weeks ago, Carole Baxter sowed some so-called 'rapid salads'. Do we have a delicious salad in 21 days as promised?
Beechgrove and Gardener's Question Time combine to answer gardening questions.
Carole and Chris are checking on the progress of produce in pots and containers, showing that you can be productive no matter how little space you have. Meanwhile Jim and George are in East Haven - a small coastal fishing community near Carnoustie, which is celebrating and commemorating their octocentenary year. A 28-foot fishing boat will form a centrepiece of their new community garden with a 'wave garden' lapping around it. Beechgrove helps them to achieve their goal before the Queen's Baton comes racing through.
It looks like it may finally be time to harvest those tatties. Jim is in the veg plot answering the age-old question, how do you know when they are ready for harvesting? Carole shows us two ways to plant up Alpine troughs. Chris is back with the two new build gardens where he asks both Anna and Susan for three positives and negatives in their garden. Jim also takes a trip down to Logan Botanic Garden which is situated at the south-western tip of Scotland. It is the country's most exotic garden and is famed for its tender collections.
In the Beechgrove Garden, with her fingers crossed, Carole is introducing some agapanthus, those South African blue beauties who like full sun, into the ground in the Beechgrove Seaside Garden. Jim revisits Aden Allotments near Mintlaw. He is following the allotmenteers in their first year of production and now returns for a progress report. Carole visits Rosanna and John Clegg in Aultgowrie Mill, which is an 18th-century converted water mill set in 13 acres of gardens and woodland river walks
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is as cool as a cucumber in the 'cold frames' while Chris is all hot and bothered in his 'hot bed' as they compare and contrast their very different methods of growing melons. Carole and George meanwhile are helping out with the final stages of the creation of a community garden for the enthusiastic folk of Dunlop, East Ayrshire. The community are revamping their old and mostly forgotten municipal park and turning it into an ornamental community green space.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole and Jim dally with our extensive dahlia collection, which is now flowering. Jim visits the Havinden family, high in the hills above Aberlour. When Joanne and Nathaniel first moved into their old croft, there was no running water, no electricity and certainly no garden. The family are now ready to have a properly productive garden capable of withstanding elevation and exposure. Jim also visits Terril Dobson at Logie Walled Garden near Kirriemuir. This herbalist's garden features more than 150 herbs. The garden is divided into eight rectangles and includes medicinal herbs for different body systems
Carole and Jim are propagating again. They're trialling a professional grade compost that is available to amateurs and sharing trade secrets on how to get leeks long before seeds usually germinate. Jim demonstrates how to perk up the lawn ready for autumn. George is helping the McIntyre family in Innerwick revitalise their border. George helps them to take control of a steep slope as well as adding much needed colour. Carole is visiting Billy Lowrie's flora-packed, award-winning garden in Balloch. However, it's not just a pretty face and Billy reveals the secrets that keep his garden looking gorgeous.
In the Beechgrove Garden, it's time for the great unveiling of George's show veg. There is certainly nothing parsimonious about the parsnips and nothing leggy about the leeks. Carole visits the new kitchen garden at Scone Palace for one last time this year and it's harvest time. The local children (and new gardeners) learn to reap what they sowed. Jim visits a cleverly designed, plant-packed cottage garden near Forfar.
In the Beechgrove Garden, we are always looking at what's fresh in gardening but this week we are working out ways to keep it fresh. Carole investigates how to store and keep fresh a ton of tomatoes or a mountain of marrows. Meanwhile, Jim prepares the lawn for the winter. George visits the delightfully-named Frostineb garden at Pathhead. Caroline and Henry Gibson have developed this half-acre farmhouse garden over the last 18 years. This is a relaxed garden where plants seed freely, resulting in some interesting plant combinations.
In the Beechgrove Garden, George and head gardener, Jane, carefully unveil the show veg before Jane takes them to compete in the local show. Will they be top bananas or will there be sour grapes? Jim and Carole are helping with the creation of a new community garden - the Wild Wood garden of Glenorchy. Wild by name and nature as the site is a stunning location of natural beauty. The community are not trying to force a cultivated manicured garden on to it but are working with nature to enhance and highlight it.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole is right in the midst of autumn as she reviews her pumpkins but will there be enough to make a lantern? Meanwhile Jim is looking forward in a small way to spring by planting a range of miniature bulbs. For our garden visit, Carole is in Bridge of Cally visiting former head gardener of Crathes Castle, Callum Pirnie. His own garden in Bridge of Cally is full of plants worth noting as they are those that worked best at Crathes. Jim visits the new allotmenteers at Aden Country Park near Mintlaw for the last time this year. Around a celebratory allotment barbecue to mark the first year of production Jim catches up with the progress of the group.
All four seasons in one colourful day at Beechgrove, as Jim and Carole take a look at what's colouring up in the Equinox Border and set up a cheerful spring bedding display for next year while Jim checks on the progress of his overwintering veggies. Chris visits his new build families for the last time this year. Far from battening down the hatches for winter, both families are still busy in their new gardens. Jim visits the Fife Flower Show, which is all about growing for showing, where he is surrounded by prize chrysanthemums and dahlias, as well as those big showy show veg.
There is lots of late summer harvesting to do at Beechgrove. Jim McColl is back in the main vegetable plot harvesting fennel, celery and parsnips, while Carole Baxter tackles something different - tomatoes with tomato fruits above ground and potatoes below ground, as well as artichokes and oca, one of the lost crops of the Incas. Carole and Jim also take a look at some autumn colour around the garden and Jim visits Megginch Castle near Perth, where there has been extensive replanting of its orchard and they now have a near-complete collection of heritage Scottish fruit varieties.
In the Beechgrove Garden, this is the perfect time for fruit pruning but for most people it is a complicated subject. Jim goes through the basics and with the phrase 'look twice, cut once' makes it a simple job. Carole and George are helping out with the final stages of a community garden in the Borders. Nestled in a sheltered bay on the Solway Firth, Auchencairn has the best of the Scottish growing conditions. The area was known in the past for smuggling activities and is now a haven for artists. Carole and George help uncover buried treasure in this inspirational new garden.
In the last in the present series, Jim, Carole, Chris and George are in the Beechgrove Garden packing in as many hints, tips and projects to keep us going through the winter and generally battening down the hatches. Carole visits Jan and Robert Kinnaird in their garden at Steadstone near Dalbeattie. Jan and Robert have developed a stunning surprise of a garden. From the front it's a regular house, but round the back the garden is an old quarry. Jan and Robert work with the microclimate and steep walls to create this quarry plant oasis.
Beechgrove is back! Spring-loaded and raring to grow. The sun always shines in Beechgrove, but how has the sunniest winter since records began affected growing conditions? Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, George Anderson and Chris Beardshaw find out. Carole and Jim know that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but there is an air of competition as they take on neighbouring greenhouses and pack them full of food and flowers all year round. George visits the Scottish Rock Garden Club's show in Kincardine. Who has grown the best bulbs, perfect primula or the iconic iris and how? Gardening lights up our lives, but in Glasgow Botanic Gardens they have taken that to a new level. George experiences the eerie elegance of the Electric Gardens.
In the Beechgrove Garden Chris dons his safety gear and whips off 50 shades of green (conifers) in a chainsaw-pruning frenzy. Meanwhile, in a much more sedate fashion George starts off a bite-size project to see how productive he can be in just one square metre of space. And keeping it small, Jim and Carole return to their neighbouring greenhouses to start growing. Carole also makes her first visit to Aileen Snowden's garden in Newport-on- Tay. Aileen and family moved to their new home from a flat and have never had a garden before. The garden is mature and overgrown and Aileen doesn't know where to start. Carole will work with Aileen throughout the season to tame and claim and love the plot she's got.
You will certainly have your five a day with Beechgrove this week. Jim is testing temperatures and hoping to sow early broad beans while Carole and Chris take a look at the fruits of their labours from last year with their containerised peaches. Staying small, George is in the fruit cage planting a new mini orchard. Hoping to prove that the fruit of your own labours is the sweetest, Jim is helping Carol Cocker in Inverurie to learn how to grow her own for the first time. Jim is like a child in a tree sweet shop as he visits an awesome arboretum in Kippen.
In the Beechgrove Garden Jim is plants 'heirloom vegetables' to compare performance with contemporary interlopers. In the first of several monthly visits to Scone Palace garden, head gardener Brian Cunningham unveils his plans for a tribute to local plant hunter David Douglas. When Euan and Jenny Maclean moved into their new build house in Linlithgow it was the house of their dreams. Over the course of this series, Chris is going to guide the new to gardening couple to turn a nightmare of a space into a garden to match their dream home.
It's daffolicious in the Beechgrove garden as Jim takes a look at his trial of new versus old daffodils to see if traditional beats contemporary in the daffodil world. Meanwhile George further tests that theory as he visits Backhouse Daffodils near Auchtermuchty who have daffodils that are the origins of many of the modern daffodils in use today. Chris reviews his climbers for every aspect and to complement them he adds roses to the cutting garden. Pruning is sometimes a thorny issue and so Carole and Jim are pruning their way around the garden to show us how to take the mystery out of it.
Seed scattered and sown, and lawns grown and mown. Carole shows us an easy way to sow flower seeds while Jim toils away on the lawn. Then it's sweet pea planting - scrambling v cordon-trained. Chris is back with Jenny and Euan MacLean in Linlithgow for a second visit to their nightmare plot and this time it's dreamy breakfast-and-teatime terraces and the perfect pergola. George is still in a tight corner tending his small-space vegetable garden. Carole visits Hamish McKelvie and his prickly friends in Houston, Renfrewshire. Since boyhood, Hamish has built up a huge collection of cacti.
n the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is in the conservatory showing how to prune camellias, while Carole puts together hanging baskets with some new plant introductions. This is Carole's second visit to new gardeners in a mature garden, Mark and Aileen Snowden, in Newport on Tay and this time, Carole creates a fruit border for the family. Carole is also treated to a spectacular spring show in the 'auricular theatre' at Rumbling Bridge Nursery.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim hopes to catch up with the veg planting that he wasn't able to do last week in the torrential rain. Carole and Jim are also back in their side-by-side 6 x 8 greenhouses pricking out and planting. George helps Josine Atsma in Glendevon to create a new bog garden and plants it up with moisture-loving perennials. Carole visits Peter and Gill Hart in Fife. They have 20 acres of woodland, the floor of which at this time of the year is carpeted with bluebells, hellebores, trilliums and wood anemones - as well as a collection of rhododendrons.
Jim, Carole and Chris are assessing how the new Michaelmas daisy collection has fared over the summer. Carole looks at her aubergines and peppers to see if they have managed to bear any fruit this season. Jim visits Heathryfold Allotments in Aberdeen, whose multicultural plotters grow a range of vegetables and fruit from their homelands. Both Jim and Carole are on the island of Bute, to attend and enjoy the famous local Horticultural Society's summer flower show.
Jim and Carole are preparing for the seasons to come as they show how to overwinter a whole range of vegetables so that they will be ready for harvest early next year. Jim is also preparing plants for the winter months and shows how to put begonias to bed. Also in the programme, Carole and George taste test Carole's spaghetti squash and her greenhouse-grown aubergines while Jim and George revel in the late fruit harvest. Chris visits Greywalls Garden near Gullane. Built in 1901, Greywalls is a stunning example of an Edwardian arts and crafts garden. Although this is a grand garden, Chris finds planting combination lessons for all of us - but particularly appropriate for those who garden in exposed conditions.
Jim and Carole walk around the garden pointing out plant combinations showing colour at this time of year. Jim prepares half hardy perennials for winter, whilst Carole enjoys the gloxinias which are still flowering well and shows how to dry off amaryllis bulbs. In Coldstream, George Anderson meets Alec West who has an orchard jam-packed with apples, pears and plums - his fruit collection is said to be the biggest in Scotland.
The team enjoy the autumn colour in the Beechgrove garden. Carole and George plant various combinations of bulbs and spring bedding plants to see which of these make the most attractive displays, while Jim has a big clear-out in his greenhouse. The programme catches up with Brian Cunningham at Scone Palace Garden to review the progress made to the David Douglas trail, and Carole also visits Tillypronie Garden near Tarland and delights in the swathes of heathers.
Although this is the last in the present series, gardening is a year round activity and so Jim, Carole, George and Chris have a long list of jobs that we could and should be doing that will keep us all busy for the foreseeable. This is also a perfect time to be planting and Chris and George are starting off a new project to create a 'sub-tropical' garden that although will look exotic and jungly next year, it will be created with super hardy plants. Carole visits Tom Taylor in Drumoak who lives on an estate where 30 years ago, the front gardens were all planted with 'dwarf conifers'. Those conifers have all grown into massive trees. Tom became interested in the Japanese art of Niwaki training and sculpting of trees. Tom shows Carole how to be more creative with conifers.
Beechgrove is back despite winter storms, Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, George Anderson and Chris Beardshaw and the Beechgrove garden are all in one piece, looking radishing and ready to grow. Scotland has suffered the wettest winter on record so Jim and the team wade in to find out how that affects growing conditions. When Maggie Patience came to live near Aboyne she found winter days short on light and colour. Carole visited Maggie's garden in early winter to experience the unique way she has added year round colour. Plus Chris literally wades in to Beechgrove's newly re-vamped pond
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim admires the colourful camellias which are conservatory confined to prolong flowering and fragrance. Meanwhile, looking at colour in stems rather than blooms, George creates an inspirational winter-interest border on a slope in Beechgrove. Carole begins a new mini-strand - Garden on a Budget. Meike and Jan Guijt and their young family moved into their new home in Kennethmont in 2015. Throughout the series, Carole will help new gardener Meike mould a garden out of almost nothing.
In this edition of the gardening magazine, Jim investigates digging. He grows two sets of vegetables side by side to compare how digging affects them. Brian Cunningham, head gardener of Scone Palace, is redesigning the alpine garden at Beechgrove, while George takes a tour of 19th-century Braco Castle garden with head gardener Jodie Simpson.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is attempting to turn yellow into green as he tackles the lawn, which has turned a washed-out yellow after all the rains of winter. And continuing the theme of upgrading the 20-year-old Beechgrove Garden, Jim takes on an unloved corner of the low-maintenance garden, removing a rotting fence and pruning a wayward quince. Brian Cunningham visits the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, which is home to one of the most impressive alpine collections in the world, for inspiration as to how to recreate that in miniature back in Beechgrove.
In the Beechgrove garden, Jim is hoping that the soil is now warm enough to plant tatties in the main veggie plot, while on the decking garden Carole is also planting tatties on a tiny scale. Chris and Carole are going on very different fungal forays in Beechgrove this year. Chris is creating a whole Jurassic Park fungal valley with ancient timbers and all manner of edible mushrooms. Again on the other end of the scale, Carole tries out some windowsill mushroom-growing kits. George visits Alan Shamash's impressive hillside garden full of an extensive collection of rhododendrons in Kirkudbright.
Carole continues with her windowsill gardening and sows herbs and salad leaves, which can be used to produce tasty, foodie salads for weeks. In Garden on a Budget, Carole is with Mieke Guijt in rural Kennethmont, helping to mould a garden out of almost nothing. Carole takes Mieke on a budget shopping trip to buy materials for easy-to-make compost bays and shows her how to have plants for 'free'. George visits the painterly garden of Broughton House in Kirkcudbright. The house and garden belonged to EA Hornel, artist, collector and 'Glasgow boy'. George discovers how much the garden influenced Hornel's paintings.
Carole creates a chef's windowsill as she grows a range of micro salads, while Chris takes on the job of revamping the old heather garden and turns it into our own piece of an ancient Scottish hill top in miniature. George and Jim are off on a bulb-lover's busman's holiday and indulging in more than a little 'tulip fever' as they visit world-famous Keukenhof Botanic Park near Amsterdam to see the mind-blowing bulb displays.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is starting off new varieties of tomatoes and he's going to try them in a range of new tomato growing gadgets. Brian Cunningham, head gardener of Scone Palace, is back continuing his revamping of the Beechgrove alpine garden. This week, Brian finishes off the hard landscaping and starts the planting. Jim and George's busman's holiday continues in the Netherlands and this time they visit the world's largest cut flower auction at Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is dealing with hardy veg in the veg plot, while Carole is starting off some tender veg in the polytunnel. Brian Cunningham, head gardener of Scone Palace, is back at Beechgrove to finish the new alpine garden planting. Carole also visits Mike and Sue Thornley at Glenarn Gardens in Rhu, near Helensburgh. This garden dates back to the 1920s and 30s and is best known for its stunning collection of tender rhododendrons that are planted in a sheltered Himalayan glen.
The Beechgrove team take a break from the garden to be at Gardening Scotland, the biggest gardening show north of the border. The cream of British growers will be there, with everything from pansies to pelargoniums and cacti to clematis in a stunning floral frenzy. We see those who are growing for gold including those exhibits showing off their medals from the previous week's Chelsea Flower Show. Show gardens are a buzzing, eclectic mix from Hive Jive, a garden inspired by the 'waggle dance' of bees, to the secret herb garden made with invasive weeds that are turned into beer. Beechgrove will be concentrating on the Scottish talent and Scottish plants but we'll join them all for a sneak preview as well as sampling the unique atmosphere of Gardening Scotland.
The Beechgrove Garden - 2016: Episode 11 In this edition of the gardening magazine, Carole is in the Keder, starting the year's collection of tender vegetables, and Jim is with the allotmenteers of Tillicoultry to discover how the community runs this immaculately presented and organised allotment. The gardening charity Scotland's Gardens celebrates its 85th year. To mark the occasion, Carole visits one of their new recruits and newest garden on the list, at Barbara Pickard's no-nonsense but beautiful cottage garden at Balmullo in Fife.
In this edition of the gardening magazine, Jim and George are planning for jam tomorrow as Jim sorts out the raspberries, while George is a wee bit more exotic and tends to the fig and the vine. In Garden on a Budget, Carole is with Meike Guijt and family in rural Kennethmont helping mould a garden out of almost nothing. This week, they create a garden table from an old tree stump and plant some edible flowers. Jim is concerned that gardening is not offered as a career choice for young people. In a mission to find How to Grow a Gardener, Jim visits the enlightened Breadalbane Academy in Aberfeldy, which has practical gardening on the curriculum as well as a beautiful community garden to show for it.
Jim, Carole and George investigate some neglected mature shrubs. Jim looks at the flowering quince, while Carole and George tackle the berberis and the pyracantha. Continuing to trace the path of a gardener's training, Jim visits Elmwood College in Cupar to find out about apprenticeships in the lovely college gardens. Carole visits the impressive Braco Castle garden in Stirlingshire, which features a range of rhododendrons that are designed to have a very long season of flowering.
The Beechgrove Garden - 2016: Episode 14 The whole Beechgrove team are taking the road to the ancient Highland fishing port and market town of Nairn. Taking advantage of the particular microclimate of the Moray Coast, the gardeners of Nairn have much to show to the Beechgrove team. To set the scene for this special programme the team will be visiting some glorious gardens and finding out what conditions are like horticulturally in Nairn. Jim, Carole, Chris and Brian will also be hosting a Beechgrove Gardeners' Question time and attempting to answer as many Nairn gardening queries as possible.
Chris has been left to his own devices in the Beechgrove garden and he is planting up an exotic border with plants that are surprisingly hardy and yet look like they have just arrived from the jungle. Jim and Carole aren't far away and yet could also be on safari as they are involved with a big game garden at the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital. Jim and Carole track the progress and ultimately the finish of this therapeutic garden designed especially for children. A no-water water feature surrounded with large architectural and exotic planting and making their way to the dry river bed are some life-size giraffes and a family of elephants that are rooted to the spot and available to touch as they are made in box hedging.
Jim brings us up to date on how the crops in the veg plot are doing, whilst Carole checks up on the progress of more tender veg inside. Chris battles with the bog garden at Beechgrove, replanting this previously overgrown area with wet soil loving plants. At North Kessock, just north of Inverness overlooking the Moray Firth, Carole marvels at a virtually vertical rock face lying on bedrock, which David and Penny Veitch have transformed over almost 30 years into a haven for alpines and scree plants.
2016: Episode 17 In the Beechgrove garden, Carole takes a look at and tastes both peas that are sweet and sweet peas. Carole has been running an observation on varieties of peas and their support systems, and it's time for harvest and analysis. George returns to his roots as he visits Athelstaneford village near North Berwick. Twelve village gardens are gearing up for an open day, and George takes a tour around as many gardens as he can. Jim visits Douneside House in Tarland to meet head gardener Stephen McCallum, who leads a progressive horticulture apprenticeship scheme in the stunning surroundings of Douneside House gardens.
Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, George Anderson and Chris Beardshaw are on the road to Gairloch to find out what grows and possibly also what doesn't in wonderful Wester Ross. Challenged to come to Gairloch by local resident, Helena Bowie, the Beechgrove team are ready to answer Helena's and the Gairloch community's gardening problems in a Beechgrove Gardener's question time event. To set the scene for gardening conditions in the area Jim also visits the world renowned Inverewe gardens where the Gulf Stream is used to such advantage. Despite its northerly location it boasts a range of exotic plants from around the world right there in wild Wester Ross and is the epitome of gardening on the edge. Carole also visits self-sufficient, vegetarian octogenarians, Chrissie Rennie and Bob Mapstone who garden in idyllic South Erradale.
A sparkling summer bedding display dazzles the eye this week in the Beechgrove Garden. More colour comes from Calla lilies and Black Eyed Susans in Carole's 6 x 8ft greenhouse, and it is tasting and testing time for Jim's tomatoes. Chris dons his waders and is planting in the pond. On his second visit to Tillycoultry allotments Jim looks at the communal greenhouses on the site, and finds out about the tuition sessions which help the 'plotters' use a range of garden machinery.
Jim, Carole and George begin a series of bulb plantings by naturalising some unusual bulbs in the new lawn. Chris, with advice from Jim and Carole, takes on an emotional job as the decision is made to cut down and replace the 15-year-old cryptomeria tree in Beechgrove. Jim visits a special garden that he has been hoping to see for years, Portmore near Eddleston.
Jim is thinking ahead and planting overwintering veg that will be ready to crop in the spring. 2016 is the 50th anniversary of Keep Scotland Beautiful. To mark that, Carole takes a look around Colourful Carnoustie, a relative newcomer to the Keep Scotland Beautiful campaign. George visits social enterprise group Seedbox in Ballogie near Aboyne. The group have asked Beechgrove to help them tame two huge and very old Yew trees.
In the Beechgrove Garden Jim is in the veggie plot still managing to crop late veg and it's also hedge cutting time of year and Jim sets about the conifer hedge and the pleached lime. Carole is with Mieke Guijt and family in rural Aberdeenshire helping her once again to garden on a budget. This week Carole encourages Mieke to lift and divide plants from friend's gardens and in this case, the friends are Beechgrove. Continuing the budget theme, Carole then visits Mari Reid in Ardersier, whose whole garden is full of money-saving ideas while still managing to be penny-pinching pretty.
There's a wee chill in the air in the Beechgrove Garden and Jim decides to take the Camellias inside after their summer holidays outdoors. Carole and George are thinking ahead to spring, taking half-hardy perennial cuttings and planning a spring bedding display. Jim takes a final trip to Tillicoultry Allotments and this time it's harvest thanksgiving. Jim also visits Gordon Castle garden near Elgin, where the team are restoring one of the oldest walled-kitchen gardens in Scotland.
Jim, Carole and George are on the road again as they visit Strathkinness, the Best Kept Small Village in Fife, for the final Beechgrove Roadshow of the series. The villagers invited Beechgrove to enjoy the horticultural highlights of one of the sunniest places in Scotland. In the village hall the community gathers to try and test the gardening know-how of Jim, Carole, George and Brian Cunningham (head gardener at Scone Palace), as they find out what grows and possibly what doesn't in the area and answer as many questions as possible in a Beechgrove Gardener's question time.
Leaves are falling in the Beechgrove Garden but that's not necessarily a bad thing as Jim uses them to make lovely leaf mould. He also shows the steamy secrets of his new hot box composter. Carole makes her last visit to Mieke and family in rural Aberdeenshire where they are gardening on a budget and this week they learn how to shred material to make economical but pretty paths. Jim knows very well that gardening is good for you but this week it's especially so as he marks the 10th anniversary of Trellis, which is designed to support therapeutic gardening as he visits a really restorative nursery and garden, Solstice, in Banchory-Devenick.
It's the final programme of the series and Jim, Carole, George and Chris are battening down the hatches, preparing the garden for the winter but also making plans for spring. Carole is starting her Christmas wrapping early as she shows how to wrap up tender plants around the garden that need extra protection. George and Jim are in the fruit cage, where it's a good time to take stock and do some remedial fruit work. Carole also visits Huntly Cot, a unique garden near Temple in Midlothian. At its centre is a heart-shaped heather garden, with a natural spring burn, perfectly in tune with the garden's moorland setting.
The best sign of spring is when the Beechgrove Garden returns and Jim McColl, Carole Baxter, George Anderson, Chris Beardshaw and Brian Cunningham are all back in the garden dispensing sage advice to keep growing. At this time of the year, we are normally bemoaning winter storms - so what do we have to talk about after one of the mildest winters on record? Jim and team look at the signs of spring and see if it really has come early this year. Jim also takes a look at the progress of the overwintered veg, while George has already set himself a challenge to produce a weekly salad. Carole has been in search of early signs of spring as she takes an up close and personal look at the tiny world of snowdrops. She also visits Helen Rushton in Rothienorman to discover why these tiny beauties excite such passions.
Winter hasn't been too cruel this year, but Carole is still hoping to find out how hardy the plants are that she deliberately left in the ground last year to test their resilience. Meanwhile, George takes a look at his winter stem border that's full of plants that have been shining out in the darker months. Undercover, the glasshouse is a hive of activity at this time and Jim is sowing for Scotland. Chris continues to work on the pond area of the garden, planting a range of grasses on the banking but it's perhaps a little too early for the waders. Carole visits retired doctor and artist David Hawson, who has created a fascinating topiary garden in Monymusk.
To dig or not to dig, that is the question on Jim and George's lips in the Beechgrove Garden. Two side-by-side veg plots, both preparing to grow, but one has been dug over and the other untouched. Scone Palace is overrun by rabbits like many Beechgrove viewers' gardens. Head gardener Brian Cunningham sets up an observation to try and find out if there really is such a thing as rabbit-proof plants. George is no shrinking violet when it comes to floristry and as Jim would say, every day is a school day. This week, George goes back to school, not just any school but flower school in Edinburgh, where he learns tips and tricks to put together some unique arrangements with spring flowers.
Carole and Jim are also both planting potatoes; Jim is planting new blight-resistant varieties in the main veg plot, whereas Carole tries cheap and cheerful potato bags on the decking. The typical size of a UK garden is 14sqm, which provides little space for planting trees. Jim has asked the team to each choose their best tree for a small garden and is planting them all in Beechgrove to compare and contrast. Saughton Park is a faded, hidden garden gem in the south west of Edinburgh. The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, or the Caley, as it's affectionately known, has taken up the challenge of renovating this once-grand park and garden. George will visit the project on a regular basis during its design and build.
Jim is planting a selection of swedes and turnips for later in the year. Meanwhile, Chris is attempting to create a rose garden at Beechgrove, but how will they cope with exposed Scottish conditions? Carole is in Ardersier for Vegetable Garden on a Budget, with recent research suggesting that a family of four could save roughly £1,500 a year growing their own vegetables. Mari Reid lives and gardens in Ardersier and has come up with a clever way of helping others to grow their own by using community-minded land or garden share.
Gardening magazine. Jim has set up a replica of his own greenhouse at home and this week he is adding some half-hardy plants with colour. Meanwhile, Carole is starting off her hanging baskets early and is trying 3-in-1 plug plants. Chris continues development of the new rose garden, which has been planted with every variety of rose - but how will they cope with exposed Scottish conditions? George visits Dr Tony Toft in his garden at Hermitage Gardens in Edinburgh, which is a showpiece display of unusual species mixed tastefully with specially commissioned pieces of art and sculpture.
Gardening magazine. Jim and Carole begin their tomato trials, while Brian Cunningham is back in Beechgrove continuing with the next phase of development for the alpine garden. Meanwhile, George is in Banchory visiting Sheila Harper. Sheila's garden boasts two old, unruly apple trees which George is attempting to bring back down to earth. Jim visits the inspirational Firpark School in Motherwell and finds that horticulture is at the very root of the school's success. Firpark has 150 pupils with a range of additional support needs, and pupils learn to take produce from fork to fork and from garden to bistro.
Gardening magazine. In this week's programme, Carole gives advice on how to properly care for houseplants. Meanwhile, Jim, George and Carole do their best to rescue some pot-bound camellias. Jim is back for another visit to Firpark School in Motherwell. Firpark has 150 pupils with a range of additional support needs, and pupils learn to take produce from fork to fork and from garden to bistro. And Carole visits Simon McPhun's deceptively informal cottage-style garden near Huntly.
Gardening magazine. In this week's programme, Jim, Carole and George are planting bedding in the Beechgrove Garden. Scotland's most popular bedding plant is the begonia, and Carole checks on the progress of her fertiliser observation using begonias as the test plant. Meanwhile, Brian Cunningham is in Newton Mearns helping Susan Bulleid with a problematic dry shady spot under a mature beech tree. Brian uses the beech and creates a new woodland garden fit for purpose. Carole visits Hamish and Sue MacIntosh in Balnabuel. The couple have carved their one-acre mixed garden out of a fissure of land to create many growing environments.
Gardening magazine. This week the Beechgrove team are at Gardening Scotland, Scotland's biggest gardening show. The show features the cream of British growers and some of the winning exhibits from the Chelsea Flower Show. The Beechgrove team focus on the Scottish talent and plants, and get a sneak preview of what's to come, as they sample the unique Gardening Scotland atmosphere.
Gardening magazine. Carole and George don waders and climb into the Beechgrove pond to clear the blanketweed, while Jim takes a flamethrower to the weeds. Brian and George plant up a new alpine wall with blue and white plants that will create 'sky' beyond the alpine 'mountains'. Carole visits Julia Young's unique garden in a quarry at Blebo Craigs, near Strathkinness, as Julia has a small rowing boat to weed and plant around the quarry.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers side by side in his domestic-sized greenhouse. They shouldn't work together, but with limited space you have to make it work, and Jim is determined to find a way. With pruning saws at the ready once again, Carole and George take the Woodland Garden in hand as, at the moment, you can't see the wood for the trees. Brian visits the meticulous Pitmedden Gardens in Aberdeenshire to find out how head gardener Susan Burgess tackles the problem of box blight, with the six miles of clipped box hedging to maintain.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim takes a look at progress of his favourite cutting flowers and adds an easy staking system to the beds to keep flower heads up. Last week, Brian visited Pitmedden Gardens to see how they deal with the threat of box blight on their six miles of hedging. This week he is experimenting with a range of slow-growing, small-leaved evergreens as potential alternatives to using box. Carole visits David and Laura Gill in Dunblane to see the garden that David has created from scratch over the last eight years. The garden's centrepiece is a beautiful pond that provides a floral oasis of calm in a busy life.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is investigating the mysterious death of a hedge. He suspects foul play, and has a water diviner on hand to search for clues. Carole is in Ardersier for the second visit to see how Mari Reid and her friends are getting on in Vegetable Gardening on a Budget. Recent research suggests that we could all save £1,500 a year by growing our own. Mari and her friends are putting that theory to the test. Jim takes the high road to Ballinluig, where Ian and Christine Jones have created a hidden gem of a garden at 600ft above sea level.
Life is a way more than a bowl of cherries at Beechgrove this week as Jim and Carole harvest bucketfuls of ripe cherries in the fruit house. Carole visits two passionate showers and growers who are entering the Dundee Flower Show. Alistair Gray in Brechin is a show vegetable grower and winner of the 2016 World Potato Championship, while Bruce McLeod in Meigle grows champion chrysanthemums. Jim visits Philip and Marianne Santer at Langley Park near Montrose. With little previous gardening experience, they have reclaimed the long-neglected garden to create a haven of colour. To their amazement and delight, the garden has been attracting visitors to what they call their little piece of paradise.
The whole Beechgrove team are on the ferry to the Orkney Isles this week. Famously a place of only two seasons, 18 hours of light or 18 hours of dark, with constant winds but mild and with little or no frost. The assumption always is that nothing much grows on Orkney in those conditions, but Jim, Carole and George find that is far from the case as they discover the determined gardeners of Orkney and how much they have achieved, to the extent that there is a thriving Orkney Garden Festival across the islands. Jim, Carole and George host a Beechgrove Gardeners' question and answer session in Kirkwall and visit a host of good gardens on South Ronaldsay.
In the Beechgrove garden, Jim and Carole enjoy a red cabbage success story. Chris plants a range of hostas in the Beechgrove cottage garden. Since hostas are usually tasty morsels for slugs and snails, Chris also tries out a range of preventative measures. George visits Fiona and Euan Smith's garden at Kierfiold House on Orkney. The garden is a lesson on how creating shelter allows for planting in exposed conditions and is home to a large collection of hardy geraniums
In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole and George have a tough job of taste testing the new super-sweet tomatoes and thin-skinned cucumbers in the tender veg polytunnel. Jim visits Glasgow Botanic Gardens - now in their 200th year of existence - to see how the new young gardeners of Glasgow are being trained through a unique apprenticeship scheme. George is in his horticultural element as he visits Rosa Steppanova in Lea Garden at Tresta on Shetland. This extraordinary garden is 12 hours and 200 miles by sea from Beechgrove, and yet it is an astounding display of plants from all around the world.
The whole team travel deep into Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song country, to the Howe of the Mearns village of Arbuthnott. For anyone who drives the A90, the red clay soils of one of the most fertile and productive areas in the country will be familiar and are the dominant feature of the area. Jim, Carole, George and Chris explore the area horticulturally and also solve some gardening problems for the gardeners of Arbuthnott gathered in the Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Centre for a Q&A. Jim and George visit one of the oldest gardens in Scotland at Arbuthnott House, while Carole visits the contemporary gardeners of Milltown Community.
They say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Well, this week in the Beechgrove Garden, Jim and Carole munch their way through the veg plot as they taste-test turnips, a new broad bean and some blight-resistant potatoes. Chris takes a look at the new rose garden and has a new take on some age-old remedies for common rose problems. George visits the grand Drummond Castle Gardens near Crieff in Perthshire. The formal garden and parterre are among the oldest in Scotland and reputedly some of the finest in Europe.
Jim takes a final tally and taste-test of tomatoes in the greenhouse. Carole is in Ardersier for Vegetable Garden on a Budget. Carole catches up with Mari Reid for harvest and a picnic on the beach, and to hear how much three families have saved and gained by growing their own.
The whole Beechgrove team are on the road again, this time to the Fife county town of Cupar. Renowned for its award-winning floral displays, the Cupar in Bloom team have invited Beechgrove to come and take a look at their efforts, as well as hosting a Beechgrove Gardeners' Question Time in the Corn Exchange. Jim, Carole, George and Brian attempt to answer as many Cupar gardening questions as possible. The team also visit some of Cupar's outstanding gardens and tee off with a visit to Elmwood Golf Course.
It is hedge-clipping time at Beechgrove and Jim, Carole and George trim their way around the garden. Chris finishes the planting in the heather garden to help create the windswept, top-of-the-mountain look, adding a range of tough grasses and ferns. From prodigious parsnips to dinner plate-sized dahlias, Jim visits the showers and growers at the Dundee Flower and Food Festival. Earlier this year, the Beechgrove team visited some of the entrants to the show to see how preparations were going. Jim catches up with them again at the show to see if their labours have borne fruit.
The Beechgrove Garden is a blaze of early autumn colour and Jim and Carole show off some of the very best for this time of year from dahlias to hydrangeas. Scone Palace Gardens are overrun with rabbits and deer. At the start of the series, we saw head gardener Brian Cunningham setting up an observation to see what methods, if any, work to deter them and to find out if there really are rabbit-proof plants. Brian pulls a rabbit out of a hat with some surprising results.
This week, the whole Beechgrove team head to what has been Jim McColl's adopted home for the last 40 years, the Aberdeenshire town of Oldmeldrum, for the penultimate programme of the series. Jim takes us on a tour of the horticultural highlights of the area, including visiting the magnificent Haddo House, whose gardens have been recently restored to their 1830 heyday. Haddo House is also the venue for a Beechgrove question-and-answer session, where Jim, Carole, George and Brian attempt to answer some of the local gardening queries from the gardeners of Meldrum as it is affectionately called.
It's the final programme of the Beechgrove series, and Jim, Carole, George, Chris and Brian are all battening down the hatches, preparing the garden for winter but with a barrowload of hopeful hints to anticipate spring. Jim and Carole have succumbed to a little tulip fever as they go a little crazy with bulbs, planting in containers, in spring displays and naturalising in the lawn. Sandy has a lifetime of experience to impart from how to keep tartan patterns on the lawn, through to keeping your shrubs in beautiful shape.
2018 marks the Beechgrove Garden's ruby anniversary. This week there are sweet signs of spring as Jim, Carole, George and Chris are surrounded by April's peach and cherry blossom. George revisits Sheila Harper's ancient apple trees in Banchory. After a severe prune last year, George returns with slightly less sharp secateurs to show how to deal with the old trees this year. Carole visits Rosie Nixon in Perth. Rosie is a passionate wildlife gardener and photographer who creatively uses her all-seasons organic garden as her own green studio. Throughout the 2018 series, Jim and Carole will be digging in the abundant Beechgrove archive to root out hints and tips from the last 40 years.
Jim and Carole celebrate Beechgrove's ruby anniversary in true Beechgrove style as it's tattie time. Both Jim and Carole are planting a range of ruby or red potatoes, and they also dig up an archive tattie tip from the late George Barron. Brian is back in Beechgrove revisiting his alpine garden and reviews the winter damage, as well as doing a bit of weeding and feeding. Last year Carole met almost-nonagenarian garden hero Sandy Inkster in his immaculate and award-winning Cults garden. Carole will visit Sandy several times throughout the 2018 series but this time meets him on his allotment on the south side of Aberdeen. Chris is adding to the rose garden at Beechgrove. Roses and clematis are a classic combination but you do have to choose carefully, Chris explains, as they have to be able to be pruned at the same time.
Jim is planting with Beechgrove's ruby anniversary in mind, sowing red veg from beetroot 'Bulls Blood', courgette 'Midnight' and lettuce 'Moonred' to spinach 'Red Kitten' and spicy mustard 'Red Giant'. Last year Jim began an observation choosing a range of trees for small gardens. This year he is adding to that with a range of fastigiate trees, which are perfect for a small garden as they don't create much shade and have a small footprint. And Brian, who is used to modest swathes of daffodils at Scone Palace, visits Grampian Growers near Montrose to find out how six million bunches of daffodils find their way from the fields of Angus to neat bunches ready to buy
In the Beechgrove Garden, after the success of the no-dig observation of last year, Jim is extending the trial into the polytunnel, comparing conventionally grown vegetables with easy-grow no-dig vegetable plots. Brian is in Armadale, helping Lesley Welsh and her two children to create a bespoke vegetable plot for the family. Lesley wants the children to be able to easily grow their own and take their own home-grown produce from fork to fork.Brian is also in Tranent, visiting Wattie Russell. Wattie was nominated as one of Scotland's Garden Heroes, and Brian visits to see why. Wattie's inspirational, but tightly packed, garden in Tranent is full of spring beauties with around 500 different pots of colour.
In the Beechgrove Garden, it's tomato time as Jim is growing a range of viewers' recommended favourite tomato varieties, using viewers' best methods for growing them.Carole visits young farmers James Reid and Rosa Bevan near Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, to see how they use permaculture techniques to grow veg in the most environmentally friendly way possible. And Carole is also in Garelochhead to take in the annual Scottish Rhododendron Society show, where she sees competitors showing off the best blooms from the vast range of vibrant varieties.
Carole and the garden team are in their waders while Jim supervises annual work on ponds of all sizes at Beechgrove. Salvia expert Brian Young joins salvia fanatic Jim in Beechgrove to salivate over salvias. George visits North Berwick in Bloom to see what they and the local school are intending to create for their entry to the popular and hotly contested Pallet Garden competition held at the upcoming Gardening Scotland Show.
It's time to get all the bedding plants in this week, and to celebrate Beechgrove's 40th anniversary the summer bedding scheme is all colours of ruby. Brian Cunningham is back at Beechgrove having a look at how the alternative plants to dwarf box have fared over the winter, and he fills the gaps in between these shrubs with a range of colourful annuals. Menawhile, Carole visits old friend Ian Christie in Kirriemuir to find out how he is getting on as he makes his preparations to exhibit alpines at Gardening Scotland in June.
It is a Beechgrove rhododendron special, with Jim and George answering some classic questions about rhododendrons and revamping the main rhododendron border now that it has finished flowering.Meanwhile, Carole visits Harry Nicol's garden in Inverness. Harry's recently renovated garden boasts a riot of rhododendrons all flowering their socks off and proving that you don't have to be on the west coast to grow rhododendrons.Carole is also at Garthdee Allotments on the outskirts of Aberdeen, revisiting 'garden hero', Sandy Inkster. Sandy is a mine of allotment handy hints and is harvesting early polytunnel-grown potatoes.
The whole Beechgrove team are on the road to the Fair City of Perth.Invited by the 'Beautiful Perth' volunteers, Jim, Carole, George and Brian find out exactly how the city earns that title horticulturally as they visit some of the city's best-kept gardens, including the unique and culturally diverse Moncrieff Allotments that are situated on Moncrieff Island in the middle of the Tay and only accessible by vehicles at low tide.Jim, Carole, George and Brian then host a Beechgrove Gardener's Question Time in the recently renovated Perth Theatre.
After being awarded both the coveted Chelsea 'Best in Show' and gold medal, Chris is back to Beechgrove to tend to the rose garden. Meanwhile, Jim reviews the progress of his previously sickly houseplant collection. Brian is creating a new natural feature to ebb and flow by Beechgrove's waterfall using lady's slipper orchids, which look exotic but turn out to be surprisingly easy to grow. Carole visits Richard and Ellen Firman's wonderful, wildlife-friendly woodland garden near Ellon, Aberdeenshire, to marvel at their hosta collection
Jim and Carole have butter and cream on standby in the hopes that there might be some early potatoes and strawberries ready to harvest. Meanwhile, Chris takes on a shady location by the pond at Beechgrove to create a new large shrub and clematis border.
Jim, Carole and George take stock of what has happened in the Beechgrove Garden. The sweet peas have scrambled up the nets and are in full, fragrant flower, strawberries and cherries are being harvested in abundance, and the tomatoes are ripening and reddening. Carole visits Tap o'Noth, an extraordinary organic market garden at the base of an Aberdeenshire hill, to taste what's on the menu for the early harvest. And Jim visits Dairsie in Fife to see how 12-year-old Fraser White won the Royal Horticultural Society's coveted Young Gardener of the Year award for 2017. Salvia expert Brian Young joins salvia fanatic Jim in Beechgrove to salivate over salvias. George visits North Berwick in Bloom to see what they and the local school are intending to create for their entry to the popular and hotly contested Pallet Garden competition held at the upcoming Gardening Scotland Show.
In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim and Carole take the fortieth anniversary celebrations to a whole new level as they unearth the harvest of ruby-coloured potatoes planted 13 weeks ago. George and Carole revamp the rhododendron border at Beechgrove, and they show how to 'air-layer' a big shrub, and how to lift the crown of a small tree to ease congestion in the border. Jim meets Dundee's community allotment officer Kate Treharne. Kate takes Jim to visit two vibrant community gardens which prove that gardening is good for us on every level.
Tomatoes are Scotland's favourite fruit to grow at home, and this week in the Beechgrove Garden, George and Carole taste-test a range of tumbling toms. George is in Lockerbie with Sue and Barrie Walters, who recently moved into their arts and crafts home. The garden is sadly overgrown, and Sue would like help to tame it but keep it true to the arts and crafts style. Carole turns a negative into a positive as she takes a look around the garden to see what's thriving through drought conditions.
The Beechgrove team is on the road to Dumfries, where Jim, George and Chris discover the origins of horticultural therapy. They also take in the extraordinary rock garden on the Crichton Estate, which was designed and built in the 1920s, as well as visiting a tiny but packed bedding plant garden in nearby Collin. Jim, George and Chris also host a Beechgrove Gardener's Question Time in Dumfries's magnificent Easterbrooke Hall and answer as many questions from the good gardeners of Dumfries as they can
The ideal for all gardeners is to have year-round colour in the garden. Carole talks to Martin Barker from Aberdeen University School of Biological Sciences about the science of colour, finding out how and why plants are the colour that they are and how plant colour affects us. Meanwhile, the harvest continues, and Jim's big beef tomatoes are bearing heavy fruit. Colin and Catherine Lockhart in Carnoustie are no longer able to keep their garden the way that they would like, so Brian steps in to make their garden low-maintenance and wheelchair-friendly while still having year-round colour. One of Jim's favourite phrases is 'every day is a school day' and he is always trying to find the ideal tomato-growing system. With that quest in mind, Jim visits retired engineer Steve Engel in Fettercairn. Jim learns how Steve has engineered a homemade invention that keeps his precious tomato crop at the optimum temperature day and night while producing an extraordinary and impressive yield.
Jim is dreaming of jam tomorrow as he harvests plums and blueberries, while Brian assesses the success, or otherwise, of the ruby-themed annuals that he planted in between his box-hedging trial. Meanwhile, Carole mentions the C word as it's already time to force bulbs for a Christmas display, Chris creates a new white garden at Beechgrove, and we learn how white plants in a garden can change perspectives and enhance moods.
Lawns have taken a bit of a hammering this summer between drought and deluges and Beechgrove's lawns are no exception, so Jim gives some timely tips on autumn lawn care. George continues to revamp the Woodland Garden at Beechgrove by lifting the canopies of mature trees to provide new planting pockets below. George also visits Andrew Skea's family farm near Dundee. Andrew has been supplying gardeners with a range of unusual and specialist seed tatties and is also working on developing the perfect multicoloured crisp.
The UK Centre for Economics and Business Research recently reported that the price of fresh produce is set to increase dramatically. Part of the answer is of course to grow your own. Jim shows how we can do that year round as he lifts and stores this year's Beechgrove harvest, before preparing new produce for autumn sowing so we can eat our way economically right through to next year. Beechgrove Garden hero and nonagenarian Sandy Inkster also understands how to keep the fresh veg on the table throughout the year and this week, Carole revisits Sandy at his Garthdee allotment in Aberdeen to see what Sandy has reaped and what he's also sowing for next year.
The Beechgrove team are on the road to Callander, the scenic gateway to the Trossachs. George and Carole visit Greener Callander's colourful community initiatives as well as discovering some hidden gems of gardens right in the middle of the town. Jim, Carole, George and Brian tee-off with a Beechgrove Gardener's Question Time held in the picturesque surroundings of Callander Golf Club, as they try and answer as many questions as they can from the gardeners of the surrounding area.
Expert grower and shower of flowering bulbs George demonstrates the steps to creating a spring display of potted hyacinths with show-bench style. Meanwhile, Jim assesses the mini fruit plot, where there is a harvest even in the tiniest of spaces. Carole visits Glenkyllachy Garden near Tomatin, Strathdearn. This Highland glen garden is renowned for its spectacular autumn colours framing views to the River Findhorn.
Beechgrove Garden looks ahead to spring, with Carole planting a bedding scheme based on the spokes of a colour wheel. Jim and George start the process of battening down the hatches for winter and prepare plants against the weather to come, while Carole visits Attadale Gardens in Lochcarron, Rosshire. Although the garden dates back to Victorian times, Attadale owners Nicky and Ewen Macpherson have recently added contemporary features of particular interest to fern fanatic Carole - a sunken fern garden in a geodesic dome
In the penultimate programme of the series, Jim is cropping kale and looking forward to red brussels sprouts for Christmas, while Carole continues the succession by planting hardy garlic to crop early next year. Chris attempts to spread the colour interest in the rose garden by underplanting with some more unusual bulbs. Meanwhile, Carole makes her last visit of the year to Tap o' Noth permaculture farm near Rhynie to see the last of the harvest and takes a look at the worm farm. George visits the magnificent Dawyck Botanic Gardens near Peebles to see the garden's autumn show and is taken on a fungi foray through the woodlands.
In the final programme of the Beechgrove 40th anniversary series, Jim and George batten down the hatches and prepare plants for winter. Brian gives the alpine garden an autumn clean and adds some new tiny bulbs to the miniature alpine landscape. Chris makes the most of the season by showing how to have plants for free for next year. With Halloween approaching, George visits a spookily good pumpkin farm at Arnprior, and he tries his hand at some terrifying chainsaw pumpkin-carving.
Beechgrove is back, re-potted, with a new look in a new home on the new BBC Scotland channel. Springing back onto our screens just in time for the Easter holiday gardening weekend, Beechgrove provides trusted tips for the growing season and has sprouted some new faces and facets. In the first episode, despite a stormy spring, the ground is warm enough to start planting, and in true Beechgrove fashion, tatties are the order of the day. But this time, Jim McColl and George Anderson have decided to turn the whole veg plot over to ‘no-dig’ techniques. Meanwhile, Carole Baxter is spring cleaning and pruning, and new shoot/recruit Kirsty Wilson shows Brian Cunningham how to make an easy Easter wreath.
Brian Cunningham and Carole Baxter set up neighbouring luxury greenhouse versus cheap and cheerful polytunnel to see what undercover growing they can achieve. There are over 500 million plastic plant pots in circulation in the UK. Carole and Beechgrove new face Rosa Bevan take a look at the plastic issue from a gardener’s perspective and look at the alternatives. Rosa shows Carole how to make practical pots homemade simply from old newspaper. Willow grows particularly well in the north of Scotland, and Carole visits Karen Collins at her willow farm near Forres. Carole tries her hand at some willow weaving to create a decorative plant support.
This week on Beechgrove, Carole shows how to create easy, instant mass flower colour in just a few weeks by sowing the right seeds now. Meanwhile if space is at a premium, then the way to go is up and so Kirsty creates a lifestyle look with a living wall, made of pallets and plants. Sophie McKilligan is by far the youngest allotmenteer at Garthdee Allotments in Aberdeen. Drawing on her memories of time spent in her grandparents’ garden, Sophie set about reclaiming her newly acquired over-grown patch of potential. Despite her pedigree, Sophie is a learner in the allotment world, and Carole will be there to help her get started with crops that Sophie has previously had problems with: sweetcorn and carrots.
Beechgrove is looking forward to exceeding our “five a day” this week. Carole is tending to the fig, cherry and grapevine meanwhile, Brian and Rosa are planting brassicas and beans in the new back-saving, no-dig veg plot. Brian is also at home in Scone with his children Ben and Eilidh. Brian, Ben and Eilidh are keen to encourage families to garden together and this week they are showing how to make; an edible wigwam, a veg plot out of an old paddling pool and fun flower seed bombs. George visits Mike Thompson’s traditional, Scottish country cottage garden overlooking the Tay Valley in Abernethy.
From the large pond to a tiny puddle, having a pond in your garden is a source of pleasure for humans and is a haven for wildlife. The wellies and waders are firmly on this week in Beechgrove as Carole, George and Brian are all playing in the ponds. Carole tackles the sticky problem of blanket weed in the main pond, George dredges and renews the wildlife pond and Brian creates a tiny, low-maintenance burble pool. Carole also visits Alasdair and Carole Maclean, who live on the edge of Nairn in a bungalow surrounded by a garden they have created over 20 years. In it, they have amassed a collection of over 100 colourful rhododendrons, many of which they raised themselves from seed and cuttings.
This week on Beechgrove, George is in the fruit cage rescuing the raspberries, while Carole plants brassicas and beans in the veg plot. A garden that needs little attention while still looking attractive is a constant request. Brian takes an in-depth look at what makes the Low Maintenance Garden at Beechgrove. Following the theme of low maintenance in a very different way, George visits Iris Jarret’s unconventional garden in Wormit. Iris’s garden is an unashamedly untamed, self-maintaining but delightful garden overlooking the Tay.
At Beechgrove, competition is hotting up between what’s being grown in Carole’s immaculate 6x8 greenhouse compared to the Heath Robinson atmosphere of Brian’s polytunnel. Carole returns to Garthdee allotments in Aberdeen to see how the youngest allotment holder, Sophie McKilligan, has fared after Carole’s first visit. Carole helps Sophie create an easy wildlife pond to attract wildlife and pollinators. And George visits Waterside near Kilmarnock and Clover Park garden. The garden is an eclectic mix of architectural and ornamental features including a woodland and azalea walk, a fernery, a gunnera bog and is also home to a small herd of pygmy goats.
Life really is a bowl of cherries at Beechgrove. George reviews progress in the fruit house, while Carole properly appreciates the crop of ‘sweetheart' cherries. Brian reviews his no-mow lawn and counts the extra wildlife thriving there. Fresh from gold medal winning at Chelsea Flower Show, Chris Beardshaw is back at Beechgrove to smell and tend the roses. Meanwhile, Kirsty Wilson visits a young plant enthusiast in Limekilns. David Durie has amassed a collection of the weird and wonderful Carnivorous plants and Kirsty gleans the secrets of success with these pretty ugly on-trend plants. Carole visits Trish and Andy Winton’s modestly Mediterranean Montrose garden. Trish is an artist and Carole learns how the garden inspires her but also how her art inspires the garden.
This episode sees George gardening in tiny places and huge spaces. He revisits his tiny, but hugely productive, 'small space’ garden to see what’s ready for harvest. In 2017, he visited the historic but dilapidated Saughton Park to hear plans for a future facelift, and now he returns to see the extraordinary regeneration of this once-great park and how Edinburgh Council, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and many volunteers have created a national garden treasure for this century. Meanwhile, Chris demonstrates how pruning can be more than just restorative and shows how to prune in creative and fun ways, making an ancient bonsai tree out of a scrubby old shrub.
Kirsty shows how to make a miniature patio pond, proving that no matter how small your space, anyone can have a water feature. Meanwhile, Carole, George, and Kirsty get creative with Janie Gall, who shows how to make an easy-to-do-at-home cut-flower arrangement using some clever hacks that make efforts appear professionally done. George visits Laraine and Colin Lambie in Livingstone in their award-winning hidden gem of a back garden that is both child and especially hedgehog friendly. Carole visits Tom Williamson and partner David Gallagher in Bonnybridge. A neat lawn in the front with a mixed perimeter border of shrubs and herbaceous gives just a hint of what awaits in the back, and all in great condition thanks to the secret ingredient Tom adds to his garden compost. Tom has impaired vision, but it doesn’t stop him gardening, especially helped by his partner David
Potatoes taste best when you grow your own and straight from the ground. Carole harvests three varieties of tiny potatoes from the container garden and Brian and George form an orderly queue to taste them. Brian visits The Field Project in Dunkeld. An all-inclusive community project with people of all ages and backgrounds, it is a collective where they say 'we grow everything for everybody'. George visits the garden of George and Christine Porteous in Lockerbie. The garden is much admired by passers-by, who draw up outside in cars and even tourist buses stop to take photographs of this colourful, award-winning garden. George joins the tourists stopping to admire the garden.
It is buzzing in Beechgrove as Brian and ‘butterfly man’ Anthony McCluskey attempt to count the butterflies in Brian’s no-mow meadow. George takes a look at the summer bedding flower display. Meanwhile Carole starts sowing over wintering veg. Kirsty shows how to create a permanent, evergreen hanging basket - a succulent sphere that can hang indoors or out. Vera and Jimmy Chisolm have gardened on the edge of Nairn for 38 years and they have created an award-winning Scottish cottage garden with views towards the beautiful Cawdor Hills. Carole goes to take a look.
From huge hornbeam to bijoux box, it's hedge-clipping time in Beechgrove. It is also the final analysis of Carole's greenhouse v Brian's polytunnel, with Judge George adjudicating. Lucy Dalgleish is a gardening and plant enthusiast on a high level, literally, as she gardens on her Maryhill balcony. Kirsty visits Lucy to help with her aim to grow overwinter vegetables and become self-sufficient from her bountiful balcony during the colder months. Carole travels to Little Loch Broom in Wester Ross to visit the garden of Sue Pomeroy and Will Soos. Sue and Will have created a coastal garden full of plants from all around the world.
'To mow or not to mow' - that is the question as Carole looks at traditional lawn care, while Brian continues maintenance of his no-mow meadow. Kirsty shows some on-trend indoor plant ideas to keep green fingers busy throughout the autumn and winter months. At 25, Sophie McKilligan is the youngest allotment holder at Garthdee Allotments in Aberdeen and throughout this season, Carole has been guiding Sophie's growing. In this programme they access the harvest. George visits Philip and Jennifer Bradley's garden in Newton Stewart. Over 20 years the couple have transformed a field into a garden of informal rooms full of year-round colour. Including a 'room' packed with exotic specimens surprisingly thriving in the Scottish border's climate.
Beechgrove springs back onto our screens in home-grown style. For the first time ever, Beechgrove sees all the presenters giving weekly updates from their own patches of Scotland. Carole, George, Brian and Kirsty reflect on where we all are, at home and in the garden. In this episode, Carole in Aberdeenshire uses a bag for life to plant tatties, we have a sneak preview of the beautiful bulbs, George is entering for a virtual flower show and in her Edinburgh flat, Kirsty shows that you don’t need a garden to grow things. Meanwhile, in Scone, the question for Brian is to mow or not to mow.
In this episode, Kirsty brings us unique access to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, while George allows us unique access to his precious tool shed. Meanwhile, Carole and Brian answer viewers' gardening questions.
In this episode, the team make creative gardening use of the contents of our bins and answer viewer video gardening questions in a virtual Q&A.
Beechgrove continues with updates from the team’s own Scottish gardens. In this episode, in Joppa, George creates a plant support for his sweet peas out of prunings, while Brian revels in the torrent of tulips at Scone.
Beechgrove continues with personal garden diaries from the team’s own patches of Scotland. In this episode, Kirsty sows a rainbow veg plot in thanks to the NHS. Meanwhile, in Joppa, George is taking his recycling ideas ever higher by creating a cascade of colour with milk cartons.
Gardening magazine. In this episode, George is hankering after hostas, Kirsty harks back to the 70s to create an easy terrarium and Chris is dealing with a bad bout of box blight.
In this episode, George and Brian are both on the alpine slopes, George has a novel way of using old pots to create an easy rockery, while Brian builds a mini mountain feature with just stone and sand. Meanwhile, Kirsty discovers how many shades of blue there are in the most exquisite of flowers - the blue poppy.
Carole and Brian deal with more of the viewers' home-grown questions. Carole identifies and deals with the garden Pest of the Week, while Brian is back at his compost heap. Meanwhile, George is on the rampage with his loppers again, and this time it’s the Mahonia that’s quaking.
Now that all risk of frost is past, it’s bedding plant season for the Beechgrove team. Brian has sown and grown his own, while George has taken a pot-luck kerb-side delivery and gives a recipe for a rainbow of bedding colour in containers.
Beechgrove is all about pests and pretty things this week. In this episode, George shows how to detect and deal with garden pests, and Kirsty creates an indoor succulent tower.
Make the most of the growing season with the Beechgrove team. George shows how easy it is to fix a fallen fig, while Kirsty explores the unique Rain Garden at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, agony plant aunt Carole answers more homegrown questions from viewers.
In this episode, George keeps an eye on his cuttings, while Kirsty deals with some prickly customers as she shows how to carefully propagate cacti. Meanwhile, there is good news and bad on Sophie’s Aberdeen allotment.
It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to strawberries and cream, and there is nothing better than having grown them yourselves. In a fruity Beechgrove, Carole tastes the ultimate in no-fuss, easy-to-grow strawberries, while Chris shows how to summer prune figs and grapes.
‘Be Prepared’ might be a Beechgrove motto as Carole shows the difference between a bed of hardy annuals sown in a prepared bed alongside an unprepared bed. George is always prepared as he takes us on a tour of his Joppa allotment. Meanwhile, in Scone, Brian is hoping to be prepared for garden activities in the school holidays.
Carole and Kirsty go exotic with bamboos and aeoniums. In contrast, Sophie gives an update from her Aberdeen allotment, while George discusses the art of getting watering right.
This week, Carole and George are enjoying a mid-season harvest. Carole reveals the tatties that she planted in containers in the first episode, and George harvests cabbage and blackcurrants at his allotment in sunny Joppa. Meanwhile, Chris checks on the progress of his box blight battle and explains the art of cloud pruning.
In this episode, George provides a greenhouse update and shows the benefits of late-sown cucumbers, while Carole deals with that most persistent of garden pests - the vine weevil. Meanwhile, Brian is cooking up compost at his family garden in Scone.
It’s hot stuff for Carole in her countryside garden with her chilies and peppers, but she is as cool as a cucumber in her polytunnel. Meanwhile, Kirsty tries out an easy-to-use propagator at home to make new on-trend houseplants for free. After a break to visit family, Sophie is back in her Aberdeen allotment, where she finds that the allotment community have kindly looked after her patch while she was away.
It’s a colourful Beechgrove this week as Carole’s annual wildflower mixes are looking at their beautiful best in her rural Aberdeenshire garden. George reviews his bedding plant containers in his sunny Joppa garden and we have a film from Calum Clunie, at just 21, he’s the youngest allotment holder in Leven but his allotment is bursting at the seams with colour and produce.
Brian and family are counting butterflies to help understand what more we can do to attract these colourful creatures to our gardens. Kirsty features the aeonium, an exotic evergreen that, despite its alien good looks, is surprisingly easy to keep in your home. Meanwhile, George and wife Gill are back in their allotment and making the most of August’s produce.
George has taken cuttings from everything from clematis to pineberries and now that they have rooted, he demonstrates what to do next. Kirsty has filled her flat with houseplants so she is looking for clever ways to display them and has a go at using a head planter to unusual and amusing effect. Sophie is back in her allotment with ideas of how to make the most of the harvest.
In this episode, the Beechgrove team are looking to the future. George plants up a large container with what he calls a 'bulb lasagne', layering different kinds of bulbs for layers of long-lived colour in the spring. Meanwhile, Carole shows different methods of propagating new plants for next year, while Chris plans and plants a new border for year-round colour. And Kirsty is looking at why green roofs could be a thing for the future.
There is an autumnal feel to Beechgrove this week. George is in his allotment harvesting apples and pears, while Carole creates a bog garden from scratch. Brian puts his 'no-mow' garden to bed for the winter and adds some sparkles of spring interest. Meanwhile, Kirsty is in her flat looking at reviving interest in a plant that has gone out of fashion, the african violet.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue pretty well describes Beechgrove this week. Kirsty takes a look at one of the oldest and rarest plants known to man, the Wollemi Pine, sometimes called the fossil tree. George shows how to naturalise new bulbs in grass while Carole, after borrowing techniques from her Dad, reviews her tomatoes and sees if her Dad has it right.
Gardening magazine. George is on his allotment celebrating the humble apple and we are treated to a tour of spectacular autumn colour in Branklyn Gardens, Perth, by head gardener Alistair Chalmers. Meanhwhile, Carole revisits a native hedgerow that she helped plant 17 years ago to see it in all its berry bird-feeding glory. In contrast, Kirsty creates an easy-to-replicate trendy 'desertscape' with cacti in her Edinburgh flat.
Last episode of the seasonIn the last episode of the series, Chris and Frances have taken on a new allotment and they are starting from scratch to create an easy, low maintenance fruit and veg patch. Meanwhile, Kirsty is looking at how to extend the season by using late-flowering perennials that complement autumn colours, while Brian is taking advantage of the season to plant cost-effective bare-root trees.
Beechgrove is back in bloom as the team return to Beechgrove’s home turf, and after a year away from the garden, Carole, Brian and head hardener Mairi spring Beechgrove back into growth. After a year apart, Carole and Brian set up neighbouring patches for some healthy competition, while we watch head gardener Mairi as she reclaims Beechgrove after its time on furlough in 2020. George is back chopping down trees in his home garden in Joppa, while Kirsty builds a stylish greenhouse on her brand-new ornamental allotment.
It’s time to get sowing on Beechgrove. Kirsty joins Carole and Mairi in the garden as they continue to get growing, while George and Brian have easy-to-grow veg on the mind, and Sophie has stepped up to a brand new gardening challenge. In this episode, Carole and Mairi create a bargain border from scratch, Kirsty creates a recycled birdhouse with its own living roof, Brian and family create some family-friendly, no-dig veg plots in the lawn, and George sows micro-veg, heralding the return of the hanging gardens of Joppa. And familiar face Sophie joins us from her new gardening job at Culzean Castle.
In this episode, Mairi and Carole give Beechgrove a spring clean, George is down at his allotment, and Kirsty takes a day out at the beach to go searching for seaweed. And Beechgrove introduces The Beechgrowers, a new feature in which six budding gardeners and families make regular appearances throughout the series to share hints and tips from their own gardens.
In this episode, Carole shows how to grow potatoes in recycled containers, while Brian is growing Heritage potatoes in the veg plot. Meanwhile, Calum Clunie shares some secrets of award-winning potato growing at his Leven allotment. George is at home in sunny Joppa and shows the progress of his speedy seeds for small spaces, and we catch up with Lucy Dalglish, whose modest Maryhill balcony is overflowing with edible promise this year.
In this episode, Carole and Mairi set about fixing, feeding and repairing the Beechgrove lawns, while Kirsty is creating a new living lawn. Meanwhile, Brian is in his family garden at Old Scone and encouraging us not to mow, or if we do mow, to use a hand-push mower. And Chris Beardshaw provides an update on the projects that he started in his home garden last year, including his attempt to cure the dreaded box blight.
Carole and Mairi are in Beechgrove to show how to create a bluebell wood. They also lay ready-sown turf to create a near-instant carpet of colour. Meanwhile, in sunny Joppa, George shows the happy results of some of his pruning exploits from last year, while Kirsty is back in her allotment creating a cold frame from scratch using recycled bits and pieces. And we return to visit ecologist and passionate environmentalist Kevin Hughes at Caly Gardens to see how the garden and its precious wildlife have survived the winter.
Brian reviews the success of Beechgrove’s box-hedging alternatives, while he and Mairi also share some topiary tips. Meanwhile, Calum Clunie continues to let us into the world of show growing as he explains his method for taking his dazzling dahlia cuttings in his Leven allotment. And Beechgrove travels across the Atlantic to the Slate Islands to behold rare blue bamboo, while catching up with the Seil Community Garden, which Beechgrove helped create in 2009. Meanwhile, in sunny Joppa, George shows the happy results of some of his pruning exploits from last year, while Kirsty is back in her allotment creating a cold frame from scratch using recycled bits and pieces. And we return to visit ecologist and passionate environmentalist Kevin Hughes at Caly Gardens to see how the garden and its precious wildlife have survived the winter.
Beechgrove is hung up on the 3,000-year-old gardening staple - the hanging basket. For a 2021 approach, Kirsty joins Carole and Mairi at Beechgrove as they explore sustainable hanging basket options, including an upcycled bird cage. Meanwhile, Brian shows the next stage of his no-dig, converted lawn at Old Scone, while George Anderson plants pumpkins and provides updates on the progress of his quick crops in small spaces. And we visit the community-run Starbank Park, in Leith, to hear about the community’s renovation of the site, which at this time of the year is snowy with cherry blossoms.
Carole and Mairi get stuck into Beechgrove’s bog and pond areas, while George continues to show us how to garden in small spaces with his summer bedding in pots. Elsewhere, Kirsty gives us a tour of spring’s finest in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, showcasing riveting rhododendrons and majestic meconopsis. And Beechgrove introduces gardener and Indonesian cook Dina Watt, as she uses homegrown produce from her Aberdeenshire garden to create delicious recipes with an Indonesian twist.
Carole and Mairi prove that they are two of the best bargain hunters as they create a new bargain border at Beechgrove for the cost of just a little work. Meanwhile, Calum Clunie is in his Leven allotment growing for upcoming shows and provides an update on his onions. Chris is back at his new allotment in the Cotswolds, where he is growing a range of fruit and veg that he hopes will look after themselves.
Kirsty, Brian and George are all focused on people gardening in smaller spaces. Kirsty plants up a range of trendy containers with plants to attract pollinators while George is growing quick crops in small spaces and shows that his homemade mini frames are now providing a steady supply of edibles. Brian is creating a new easy-to-follow small space alpine feature at home in Old Scone. Beechgrove visits the garden of Alice Stewart in Perth. Alice’s garden is an inspiration to anyone who has a steep slope to contend with as Alice’s garden is all slopes but that hasn’t stopped her creating a stunning garden that at this time of the year is on fire with azaleas.
Carole and Mairi are at Beechgrove showing how to prune and tame overgrown evergreens. Meanwhile, Kirsty is at her Inverleith Park allotment setting up a wormery and is looking forward to a pretty and productive harvest. The Beechgrowers return with further updates in their gardening video diaries from the length and breadth of Scotland, and we visit the garden of Steve Micklewright in Newlands of Tynet, where the surprisingly favourable conditions allow some very special plants to thrive.
Brian and Carole are being neighbourly in Beechgrove as they swap stories over the garden fence between Brian’s Alpine garden and Carole’s seaside garden. Meanwhile, we find out what difference two months makes to one of the most glorious gardens in Scotland as we catch up with Sophie McKilligan in her new role as gardener at Culzean Castle, in Ayrshire. Calum Clunie is at his Leven allotment as the countdown to the shows that he has entered is ticking. The Beechgrowers return with further updates in their gardening video diaries from the length and breadth of Scotland, and we visit the garden of Steve Micklewright in Newlands of Tynet, where the surprisingly favourable conditions allow some very special plants to thrive.
Carole and Mairi take a look at the progress of the beds of wildflower seeds and turf that they sowed and laid eight weeks ago. Kirsty is also at Beechgrove, where she, Carole and Mairi enjoy a masterclass on the Japanese art of Kokedama (creating Japanese moss balls) with expert Fiona McDonald from Aberdeen. Meanwhile, Brian is at the grounds of Scone Palace dealing with as many of the worst weeds he has. He explains how weeds work and grow, and shows how to deal with the dreaded Himalayan balsam, knotweed and horsetail.
Carole and Mairi are at Beechgrove taking a look at the now-blooming wildflower bank that Chris cleared , weeded and sowed in 2019. Meanwhile, Kirsty is in her pretty and productive allotment repurposing an old wine box to make into a trendy planter for some of her purple produce. Elsewhere, George is at home in sunny Joppa taking a look at his no-mow meadow and the yellow rattle that he sowed last year, and Chris is at home high up in the Cotswolds, where he shows us the potting shed that he and his wife built over the winter.
The competition between Brian’s heritage veg and Carole’s contemporary veg heats up as Carole is happily harvesting, while Brian seems to have deliberately gone to seed. Meanwhile, Calum shows off the progress of his giant onions, giant tomatoes, giant cabbages and ridiculously long runner beans at his allotment in Leven. And Dina Watt demonstrates the technique of growing vegetables from scraps and how to use the whole vegetable so that there is never any waste.
It’s cherry harvest and cherry-tasting time in both Beechgrove and in sunny Joppa. Also at Beechgrove, Kirsty creates a green talking point for any stylish home by taking a recycled picture frame and creating an easy-to-copy piece of living wall art with succulents. There are two inspirational garden visits this week - inspirational upcycler Lynn Cameron has created a gorgeous garden in Alva out of what others might regard as rubbish, while Ryan Adam has single-handedly built a garden for his new-build home from the rubble that the builders leave behind. Meanwhile, Calum shows off the progress of his giant onions, giant tomatoes, giant cabbages and ridiculously long runner beans at his allotment in Leven. And Dina Watt demonstrates the technique of growing vegetables from scraps and how to use the whole vegetable so that there is never any waste.
Leven allotmenteer Calum Clunie visits his dream garden - and that happens to be Beechgrove! Meanwhile, Kirsty is with Scottish lavender growers on the banks of Loch Leven, near Kinross. Our garden visit this week is to rural East Lothian, where Jackie and John Fry have worked tirelessly over the past four years to renovate an overgrown, 1.5-acre rural space to create an exquisitely informal garden that complements the landscape around it.
The tattie harvest is in full swing at Beechgrove. From contemporary tatties to heritage tatties to tatties in containers, it’s Beechgrove tattie howking time. From the very tall to the very small, Brian and Carole prove that there is a tree fit for everyone’s gardens and this week they branch out into trees for a small garden. We visit an award-winning garden on a seaside cliff edge in Buckie. Despite their garden’s precarious and exposed position, Elizabeth and Malcolm Schofield have created a colourful plant-filled haven that’s not just for their own enjoyment but for the delight of passers-by.
Carole and Mairi attempt to tame a large clump of exuberant bamboo at Beechgrove while Kirsty creates a fairy garden out of broken terracotta pots, pebbles, moss and a bit of magic. If you want to hide something unsightly or create structure in your garden, Brian takes a look at some of the many options for taller hedging. George is at home in sunny Joppa where he’s thinking ahead and showing how to collect and save seeds from this year’s favourites. Chris is in his new allotment high up in the Cotswolds and he shows what a bountiful harvest he’s been able to have although the allotment is only in its first season.
Carole and Mairi are particularly delighted to welcome gardener and cook Dina Watt to Beechgrove this week as Dina has promised to cook for Carole and Mairi using Beechgrove’s own produce but adding Dina’s special Indonesian twist. Nestling in the south western tip of Scotland on the Rhins of Galloway, is Scotland’s most exotic garden. Kirsty visits Logan Botanic Garden to see how this unique garden manages to be both exotic and yet very Scottish. We also visit the Maxwell Centre based in the Coldside area of Dundee. This now 10-year-old community garden was once a derelict lot and is now a space to socialise, cook, learn and grow food, situated at the heart of the growing community.
We’re at the height of the harvest at Beechgrove as Brian and Carole find out which has come out on top - heritage or contemporary? It’s show day for Calum as we attend Beechgrove’s very own private veg show, set up in homegrown style in his grandparents’ back garden in Leven, and Lucy Dalgleish provides one final update from her balcony garden in Maryhill, where we discover the success of her growing projects.
The Beechgrove team review some of the successes and failures of 2021’s growing season. Carole takes a look at her 6 x 8 greenhouse and checks whether her chilies are hot enough to handle. In Old Scone, Brian appraises the first year of his new no-dig vegetable plot, while in sunny Joppa, George assesses the successful and unsuccesses on his allotment. Meanwhile, Kirsty creates an on-trend and easy-to-replicate teapot terrarium. One of the most satisfying things is to successfully grow your own tomatoes, and we visit Camilla Fredricksen, who takes that to a whole new level as she grows some 200 varieties of tomatoes in her produce-packed garden in Aberlour. It’s show day for Calum as we attend Beechgrove’s very own private veg show, set up in homegrown style in his grandparents’ back garden in Leven, and Lucy Dalgleish provides one final update from her balcony garden in Maryhill, where we discover the success of her growing projects.
The Beechgrove team are all looking ahead in this bulb special. Carole and Mairi show how to force hyacinths for Christmas, while George naturalises fritallaria bulbs in his lawn and also tries to create the best recipe for ‘lasagna’ layered bulb planting fo the coming spring. From the Murrays in Melvich to Diana in West Linton, the Beechgrowers are back for the final round-up, bringing their own personal gardening video diaries from all across Scotland for the final time this season. And we visit Lynne Chapman’s garden in Cumbernauld. During lockdwon last year, Lynne decided to tackle her overgrown and rubbish-filled back yard and turn it into a dream garden for her and new husband David’s wedding venue.
In the final programme of the series, the whole team head to Beechgrove. Carole, George, Brian, Calum and Kirsty help head gardener Mairi prepare for winter and review the progress of the garden’s recovery through 2021. Calum brings some of his prize-winning veg, including his giant cabbage, to show to the group, while George brings his judge's scales and measuring tape to see if there are any record breakers. And Chris provides the final report from his garden high in the Cotswolds and reviews the progress of his new allotment through 2021.
The Beechgrove team are in the Mar Policies area of Alloa to kickstart a garden makeover with the Wimpy Park Community Group. Over the space of just a few days, the Wimpy Park community, together with just a little help from Beechgrove, transform a neglected walled garden and make it into an accessible space built by the community, for the community. At nearly three acres it’s a massive site, and with four areas in need of TLC, it’s a challenge that requires everyone to be mucking in, but the team are determined that the project makes it from design to done.
Beechgrove is back in bloom and storming in after Arwen and Barra ripped through trees across the north east of Scotland. In typical Beechgrove style, George, Carole, Bran and Calum are all together on home turf to see how to turn the damage into new developments. The national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower, and as a mark of support, the team are growing a range of these positive plants at Beechgrove. We also visit a sunflower maze that, in 2021, was a cheerful church initiative in Elie to allow those who were not able to come to church to congregate. In 2022, it becomes a fitting symbol of hope for Ukraine.
In Beechgrove, Calum is designing and building a garden modest in size and modest in budget, but big on ideas and inspiration for everyone starting their own gardens. There is a new crop of Beechgrowers for 2022, with six more budding gardeners making regular appearances throughout the series to share their personal gardening video diaries from their own homes, plots and gardens all over Scotland. Meanwhile, George is in his allotment in sunny Joppa and, as ever, he has been busy over the winter building new more accessible raised beds and laying new paths ready for the season’s growing.
Old watering cans, chimney pots and tin baths are the unlikely containers that Carole and Kirsty are using to create an edible container garden at Beechgrove. Meanwhile, Calum has challenged the whole Beechgrove team to grow giant potatoes to see who can grow the biggest. George and Calum each take their best selection of spring bulbs to compete in the Caley Spring Show at Saughton Park. It’s Calum’s first time for entering spring bulbs to the shows, and show veteran and multi-prize winner George has been mentoring him.
The Beechgrove team look ahead to a bumper crop of veggies across the coming season. Brian and Carole sow the seed they saved from last season’s heritage and contemporary varieties, and compare it with this year’s fresh seed. With the ground now warming up, George gets his carrots, spring onions and beetroot planted at the allotment in Joppa. There is a report from an award-winning garden in Buckie from one of the growers Beechgrove is following across the summer, plus some handy hints on what you could be doing in your garden this weekend.
In this episode, Calum and Carole have something for almost every type of gardener. If you don’t have access to a garden, or just want to maximise the space you have, we show you how to make the most of your windowsill by growing herbs and micro greens. For those who do have a border to work with, Brian revisits some old favourites in the shape of gladiolus, fucshias and begonias, reminding us that there is nothing wrong with the traditional planting approach. And if you need inspiration, there is a visit to a beautiful East Lothian garden, while, at Beechgrove, Calum takes the next step in building his new plot.
Carole is at Beechgrove setting up some colourful hanging baskets. She also has expert advice on how to get the best crop from this year’s tomato plants, including a look at the possibility of ripening tomatoes outside in a Scottish garden. Elsewhere, the team are busy on their own allotments, with George planting more vegetables and looking forward to a bumper apple crop later in the year, while Kirsty is planning roses and showing how to give a Clematis the best start. It’s also time to catch up on this year’s Beechgrowers as we hear more of their plans for this coming summer.
Brian Cunningham and Carole Baxter are at Beechgrove to continue with the major renovation project that began when the garden lost one of its conifer trees earlier in the year. The hard landscaping has been done in the area where the conifer stood, and it's now time to get planting. Meanwhile, on his lawn in Joppa, George explains why putting the lawn mower aside for No Mow May is a great idea. Carole takes a look at the perennial sweet peas, and keen gardener Diana Yates introduces the first of her features from her garden in the Borders.
Everyone is learning at Beechgrove this week with Calum Clunie and Carole Baxter. Carole is taking plants out of their comfort zone and finding out what happens if you don’t, or can’t, follow the instructions on the label when you get home from the garden centre. Calum is growing food for thought as he helps out a school in Aberdeenshire get to grips with their community garden. And at Beechgrove he’s cracking on with the next stage of the renovation of his own plot there with the construction of new raised beds. We find out how a father and daughter team from East Lothian are learning from each other as they garden together and Calum and Carole have a date with the Calendar border.
This episode is all about giving nature a helping hand, with a particular focus on gardening that brings wildlife to your growing area. Carole Baxter demonstrates how you can do your bit for the environment, even if you only have room for a container for growing, by using plants such as lavender, borage and teasel. There is also a visit to a garden near Oban that has been designed and planted to encourage a huge range of birds and insects to the plot. George Anderson plants French and runner beans on his allotment in Joppa, and Calum Clunie is on his patch planting dahlias and sowing peas ready for exhibition time.
Carole Baxter and Brian Cunningham are at Beechgrove to provide some great garden advice. Carole is back in the 6x8 greenhouse to review the season’s growing so far, including an update on the cordon tomatoes. Brian and Carole then continue with the revamp that began with the removal of a conifer from the top of the garden, finishing the job by planting between the branches of the alder banking they created earlier in the series. Meanwhile, at his allotment in Joppa, George Anderson gets stuck into thinning out his seedlings, and there are updates from keen gardeners around the country, with the latest from the Beechgrowers.
Calum and Carole are back with a weekly update featuring great advice and top tips for gardeners across the country. In this episode, they are at Beechgrove working in the vegetable plot as part of a series of features that sees a part of the garden redeveloped. Calum has already built a pallet deck and has his raised bed ready, now it's time for the first plants of his own plot go in. Meanwhile, George tackles more viewer questions from his garden in Joppa, and Beechgrove visits Buckie for an update on Lizzie Schofield’s award-winning garden.
Calum is at Beechgrove designing and building a garden modest in both size and budget, but big on ideas and inspiration for anyone starting their own garden. George is at his allotment in Joppa and, as ever, he has been busy over the winter building more-accessible raised beds and laying new paths ready for the season’s growing.
Brian and Carole are at Beechgrove to answer viewers' questions. Brian also checks up on the sweet peas he planted earlier in the series. There is also a visit to Beechgrove’s low-maintenance garden. As the name suggests, the garden doesn’t need much in the way of looking after, but there may well be some small jobs required to keep the area looking its best. Meanwhile, George is at his garden tending to the tomatoes and explaining his solar-powered irrigation system.
Calum and Carole are in the Bargain Border looking at how the area has been developed and planted on a low budget. We visit this year’s crop of Beechgrowers, and there is an update on Beechgrove’s tomato plants. And Calum takes on the next stage of landscaping in his own garden.
George and Calum share more great advice from the Beechgrove garden, and Carole visits the magnificent gardens at Douneside House, where she meets some of the trainee horticulturalists based there. George and Calum answer viewers' questions, and there is an update from Diana Yates and her garden in the Borders.
Brian Cunningham is joined at Beechgrove by Lizzie Schofield, whose garden in Buckie has featured earlier in the series. Lizzie demonstrates how to make a floral crown using clippings from Beechgrove's own willow arch and cut flowers, alongside stems from Lizzie’s own garden. Meanwhile, Carole Baxter visits a fantastic garden in Aboyne, and George Anderson provides as update on the courgettes he has planted directly onto his compost heap.
Carole Baxter and Calum Clunie are at Beechgrove working on the garden’s vegetable plot and fruit growing areas. Calum also works on his own Beechgrove garden area that he has redeveloped across the summer. With the end in sight, Calum has an eye on saving money and recycling as he discovers a cheap and sustainable way of upcycling that will hopefully turn into great furniture for his plot. Meanwhile, George is harvesting at his garden in Joppa, and there is a special report on a Glasgow garden project that is helping to support some of the city’s Afghan community.
In this episode, Carole visits one of the gardeners we have been following across the series. Deborah Peterson has a medium-sized garden in Aberdeen, and so far we have seen her growing seeds she has salvaged from kitchen waste and creating a wildflower area on her lawn. Carole catches up with Deborah, advising for the rest of the growing season. Meanwhile, Calum is back on his own allotment for an update on caring for dahlias and protecting roses, all of which he hopes will produce prize-winning blooms later in the year. George has more from his garden, and there is the regular catch-up from the programme’s Beechgrowers - gardeners from across Scotland coping with a variety of conditions.
Carole Baxter is joined at Beechgrove by Diana Yates. Beechgrove has been following Diana at her pretty and productive patch in West Linton, but this week she is visiting Beechgrove and shows Carole the age-old technique of braiding garlic. Kirsty Wilson joins volunteers of a dog rehoming centre in West Calder to help revamp a garden that really has gone to the dogs. In this first stage of the project, Kirsty and the volunteers decide how to design a retirement garden for old dogs. We also travel to Wishaw to visit the garden of Kimberly Light. Kimberley’s small garden is full of plants that she has grown from seed and are to be used for cut flowers, which she then turns into creative arrangements for friends and family.
George and Calum are at Beechgrove to present more great gardening advice. Meanwhile, Kirsty gets on with creating a new garden for a dog rescue centre near Livingston, and the four-legged judges give their verdict. George and Calum review the containers planted with wildlife in mind, a great way to give nature a helping hand, even if you only have a small space. Elsewhere, Carole finds out more about an ambitious project by the National Trust for Scotland that aims to catalogue the thousands of plant species in its gardens across Scotland.
It’s time to check on the progress of Beechgrove’s tomato crop. Earlier in the season, Carole Baxter was joined by tomato grower Camilla Fredriksen to plant a number of varieties both indoors and outdoors, and the pair return to Beechgrove to see how those plants have progressed. Carole also reviews the containers containing the wildlife-friendly plants started earlier in the year, as well as starting off some plug plants that will help the pollinators next year. And there is a visit to Pitmedden Garden in Aberdeenshire and its newly designed Great Garden parterre.
Carole and Brian are at Beechgorve reviewing some of the projects they started earlier in the year. On the vegetable plot, they examine the results of their experiment to compare heritage with contemporary seed varieties. And it’s time for another big reveal as they as delve into the potatoes grown in containers, and discover which presenter has the biggest sunflower head. Meanwhile, George is busy in Joppa, we meet father and daughter Joe and Erin in East Lothian and visit an amazing garden in Ayrshire.
Carole Baxter and Kirsty Wilson are once again hard at work at Beechgrove. Kirsty designed and planted a hot border back in April that would bring vibrant colour to the late summer and she is giving it the final once-over to assess whether it delivered. Also reviewing the summer’s performance, Carole and Kirsty check out the results of the quirky containers - how did the compost work out, and what can be planted in them next? Meanwhile, George is joined in Joppa by Carole to check on how the tomatoes and decorative planting have measured up.
George Anderson and Calum Clunie are at Beechgrove. The pair will be checking out more of what the garden has produced this year. Carole Baxter is visiting an expert grower of chillies, she will be tasting the many varieties available, including some of the hottest, as well as finding out the tricks of trade in growing this popular kitchen favourite. At the garden, Calum is in the final stages of work on his own patch of Beechgrove. He’ll be sowing his lawn area and George will be planting some late fruit.
Brian and Carole offer lots of great advice for gardeners of all kinds and review this summer’s output. The pair revisit the area between the alpine and heather borders that they worked on earlier in the year, and they check on the range of planting that was put in place to replace a diseased conifer that was removed earlier in the series. George reviews his summer from his garden and allotment in Joppa, offering some great advice on what to do with used tomato growbags. There is also a visit to a Glasgow garden which is part of a UK-wide programme to create outdoor spaces to support patients at NHS spinal injury centres. And it's the last visit to the Beechgrove's Beechgrowers, gardeners from across Scotland who have been giving regular updates through the summer.
It’s the last show of a fabulous growing season, and there’s a team of gardeners on hand at Beechgrove to give more great advice and also to look back at how the Beechgrove garden, and their own gardens, have performed. Carole Baxter, George Anderson, Calum Clunie and Kirsty Wilson are all on hand with more great tips. Calum is putting the finishing touches to his new garden at Beechgrove, Kirsty is planting bulbs for some great spring colour, George will have some great growing advice, and Carole will be revealing the results of the giant tattie competition. There’s a visit to East Lothian to find out how Diana Yates’ garden, and some of the seeds and plants we saw her get started earlier in the season, have performed in this dry summer, and there will be handy hints covering lots of autumn and winter jobs that can get done before Beechgrove returns next year.
As any keen gardener knows, it’s not just the leaves that pile up in the garden at this time of year, so do the autumn and winter jobs. With that in mind, Beechgrove is back with a special series to help guide you through everything you need to tackle as the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop. In this episode, Carole and Calum are at Beechgrove with information on what to do with dahlias now that the flowering is finished. They also list the top five plants to have in your garden to help wildlife through winter months and reveal how to top up your plant collection for free. Meanwhile, George is taking hardwood cuttings at his garden in Joppa and there is a visit to a fabulous garden planted to look its best in winter, showing that a growing area isn’t just for summer interest, it can look great all year round.
The winter work continues at Beechgrove as Carole Baxter and Kirsty Wilson guide us through all the jobs that make this a busy time of year in the gardening calendar. They show what to do with fallen leaves, while in Joppa, George Anderson demonstrates how to keep this year’s bumper apple crop fresh for weeks to come, as well as coaching us through compost creation. Calum Clunie is at his allotment in Leven, taking a look at his winter veg in the polytunnel and saving money by taking carnation cuttings. Lizzie Schofield takes us around her prize-winning garden in Buckie, and Kirsty has some brilliant container ideas for gardeners who only have a window box or small space to grow in and who want some brilliant winter colour to brighten up the darker months.
Carole Baxter and Diana Yates are at Beechgrove to guide us through just what needs to be done for autumn and winter. They show how to plant garlic and take a look at some great species to plant if you are looking for something with colourful barks and stems. There is also pruning to be getting on with, with the garden’s buddleia getting some attention, and there is some great advice on caring for heathers. George Anderson is in his garden pruning hydrangea, and Brian Cunningham is lifting the gladioli he planted earlier in the summer. Plus the usual round-up of handy hints and tips for the week ahead.
Carole Baxter, George Anderson and Diana Yates assess the state of the garden after a long, cold winter, and launch into the many jobs that need to be done at this time of year, including tips on seed-sowing and planting your own garlic supply. Meanwhile, Calum Clunie sends the first report from his allotment in Leven, and Brian Cunningham provides an update on his garden at Old Scone. There is also a list of top tips to save money in the garden - with household budgets feeling the pinch, how do you plant without spending too much?
Carole Baxter and Calum Clunie provide more gardening tips and advice from Beechgrove Garden. It’s a busy time in the garden, with sowing and planting taking place for the approaching summer. The year’s first early potatoes get started, and there is a trial of tomato plants suited to windowsill growing. Calum checks on the progress of the variety of supermarket bulbs he bought last year, and Kirsty Wilson starts the first in her series by looking at the selection, care and display of houseplants. And George Anderson provides the first update from his allotment in Joppa.
It’s time to make the vegetable bed at Beechgrove Garden. There are top tips for making your garden as productive as possible, whether you have a border, a balcony, or a window box. Lizzie Schofield and Calum Clunie guide you through one of the busiest times of the year on the horticultural calendar as the days get longer and the weather warmer. There is another great selection of Handy Hints, and the team tackle the major project of taking down a fence damaged in the high winds of January and coming up with a creative alternative. If you have moved into a new house and are wondering what to do with that bare garden, there is the start of a new series following the development of a newbuild patch of grass into a great family space. We catch up with father and daughter gardeners Joe and Erin Armstrong in East Lothian, and there is another great garden visit.
The season is speeding past and as we come to the end of April the warmer weather has woken the garden, meaning more jobs to tackle for Carole Baxter and Diana Yates at Beechgrove just outside Aberdeen. This week, the main tattie crop goes in the ground, ready for harvesting later in the year for a home-grown supply in months to come. Carole is planting Yellow Rattle plug plants on the lawn. This is a great plant to help encourage wildflowers, as it inhibits the growth of grass, thereby helping other species develop. Calum Clunie is updating us on developments at his own allotment in Leven in Fife, and Kirsty Wilson has another in her series on houseplant care. That, plus the weekly handy hints and great tips on jobs to tackle this week, all from Beechgrove Garden.
Ahead of the coronation weekend, there is a slight royal theme to the work going on at Beechgrove Garden. Carole Baxter and Calum Clunie will be planting delphiniums, reportedly one of the favourite flowers of HM King Charles III. Elsewhere in the garden, Carole starts to refresh the planting in the Garden for Wildlife with a selection of varieties known to help pollinators and other species. Calum replants some of his underperforming roses from the end of last year, and Brian Cunningham sends another report on the work he is doing at his garden in Perthshire. And there is the next in Beechgrove's Back to Basics skills guide.
Blooms, veggies and fruit all get the expert treatment from George Anderson and Calum Clunie. George is trialling new blueberry bushes, and Calum is demonstrating even more garden produce to plant at home. One of Scotland's favourite flowers - the sweet pea - gets planted out, ready to bring colour and fragrance wherever they are cultivated. Lizzie Schofield starts working with a family that has just moved into a new-build estate, with a new house and a new garden that needs to be turned from turf to terrific.
Beechgrove Garden is planning for a colourful summer, planting for pollinators and caring for dahlias. Kirsty Wilson and Lizzie Schofield will have the usual half hour of great gardening advice, including a follow-up on how the dahlia tubers planted in pots in April are coming on, and what to do if you want to get some free plants by taking dahlia cuttings. Kirsty is sowing a bed around the viburnum that was moved last autumn, and this new area will be home to plants that are particularly good for pollinators. Calum Clunie will be sending an update from his allotment in Fife, and George Anderson is in Joppa. And it's the start of a garden renovation for a family who have recently moved into a new-build house.
Carole Baxter and Diana Yates are at the garden outside Aberdeen where they are continuing to mark the show’s 45th anniversary by planting blue-themed varieties. This time, it’s container planting. At the garden, they demonstrate how to produce homemade fertiliser using comfrey. In Bellshill, Calum Clunie helps a new gardener set up an allotment in order to have a steady supply of homegrown produce. George Anderson has an update from his own garden in Joppa, and Beechgrove’s head gardener, Scott Smith, has a back-to basics guide on how to spot when your seedlings are ready for potting on.
It’s the jobs a lot of us will be tackling in the garden at this time of year as Lizzie and Callum dish out advice on bedding plants, hanging baskets and lawn care, all common gardening tasks at this time of year. Bedding plants will be going out now that the frost risk is over, even in Aberdeen. Hanging baskets are a firm favourite, and Calum and Lizzie will be looking at traditional and more contemporary planting ideas. Meanwhile, Carole Baxter visits a beautiful garden in Aberdeen, and there is a chance to have a look at some amazing private gardens that are rarely open to the public.
Flaming June sees Beechgrove Garden burst into colour, with lots more jobs to be getting on with. In this episode, Carole is in the 8x6 greenhouse to assess progress so far, and Scott is in the picket garden taking away an ornamental arch and replacing it with a yew tree alternative. Brian Cunningham has the latest from his own garden in Old Scone, too.
In this episode, there is a focus on productive gardening in small spaces. Carole is in the 6x8 greenhouse to check the progress of the range of tomatoes chosen because they would grow well in the small spaces. Meanwhile, Calum is on his own Beechgrove plot as he reviews how things are coming along in his square-foot garden, a raised bed divided into sections in order to maximise the use of space and grow a range of crops. George Anderson is on his allotment in Joppa, where he is planting out his pumpkins, and there is a visit to an amateur gardener who has been inspired by her volunteer work at Cowden Japanese Garden.
Wildflowers and houseplants are at the heart of this week’s Beechgrove Garden. Carole Baxter is out and about visiting the garden of a specialist in the sowing and cultivation of wildflowers, and Kirsty Wilson is back with the latest in her series on houseplant care. This week, she is upcycling a second-hand cabinet and turning it into a display case for your houseplants, complete with specialist lighting. George Anderson and Calum Clunie are working at the Beechgrove Garden, where they will be checking on progress in the fruit cage, specifically the loganberries and tayberries that were planted last year. There is also work to be done in the vegetable plot. All that plus the week’s usual handy hints.
Flaming June is almost over, and gardens in Scotland are definitely in top gear, so there is lots to do and review at Beechgrove Garden. There is a visit to one of Scotland’s top tourist attractions - Culzean Castle - to find out what they are growing in their famous walled garden. There is also some advice from one of the show’s regulars, who now works as part of the garden team at the castle. Carole Baxter visits another garden, this time in Huntly, while at Beechgrove Garden itself, there is more information for beginners in Back to Basics.
It’s viewer question time this week at Beechgrove Garden as Carole Baxter and head gardener Scott Smith tackle some of the topical queries they have received. Carole is also back in the garden for wildlife, planting species that suit sunny conditions and that also give nature a helping hand. Brian Cunningham is considering a particular lily, and it’s back to this summer’s project of creating a garden for a new-build home.
There’s nothing better than harvesting what you have planted yourself, and that’s what Diana and Calum are doing at Beechgrove Garden in this episode. Way back in November 2022, Diana planted a range of garlic varieties, and now is the time to lift them for drying and to store them for future use. Calum reviews the hanging baskets he planted up a few weeks ago ,and George has the latest from his own garden in Joppa. There is a visit to Nairn to find out more about a viewer’s garden, and there are the usual top tips and handy hints for the week’s activities in your own garden.
Last year, the Beechgrove team scavenged the local charity shops and tracked down a range of containers that were turned into fantastic planters. These upcycled boxes and hampers have been used again this year, and a range of salad crops were sown. In this episode, Carole and Kirsty harvest what has grown and also thin out the bamboo next to the pond, before planting up a hanging basket full of herbs. Calum Clunie provides an update from his allotment in Leven, and George Anderson teaches more Back to Basics, which this week features a different way to propagate new plants. And father and daughter gardeners Erin and Joe Armstrong work and garden together at their plot in East Lothian.
Head gardener Scott Smith heads for the Picket Fence Garden to check on the roses. He will be looking at feeding, how to deal with diseases, explaining the differences in types of rose available, and sharing some propagation know-how. Lizzie Schofield joins him in the garden to revisits her perennial border. George Anderson is on his allotment in Joppa, where he will be updating us on the sweet potatoes he planted last month. He also checkis out his pumpkin and sweetcorn, and the apple trees will be getting a summer prune.
It’s a big day at Beechgrove Garden as George Anderson and Carole Baxter harvest the first of this year’s potatoes. They will also be picking blackcurrants and gooseberries and giving an update on summer lawn care. There is a visit to a remarkable garden in Glasgow that is designed to assist people who have experienced spinal injury, and Brian Cunningham sends his latest update from Old Scone, where he is looking at ways to control garden pests and getting ready for some tree planting. There is also expert advice from a gardener who is big on begonias.
It’s a tale of high summer and mid-winter at Beechgrove Garden this week. Kirsty is checking on her hot border, designed to be a riot of colour in high summer. Meanwhile, Calum is at his allotment in Leven, where he is planting the potatoes he will serve up for Christmas dinner. Back at Beechgrove, Scott demonstrates how to prune a rambling rose.
This week at Beechgrove Garden, there is preparation for the months to come as well as reaping the results of planting earlier in the year. The windowsill tomatoes are in full fruit and have been ideal for anyone with only a windowsill to grow on, producing plenty for summer salads. Looking ahead, Calum is sowing a selection of tasty winter vegetables, while Carole is harvesting the blooms planted in the spring with a view to being dried and used for dried flower arrangements. Elsewhere, there is a report from a community garden in the Cranhill area of Glasgow.
Carole Baxter presents the latest Back to Basics feature, and she’s talking about the many bugs, blights and diseases that can attack plants: what they are, what damage they can do, and how best to stop them. Diana Yates reviews her own 'vertical garden' area at Beechgrove that demonstrates planting ideas for those with small gardens and balconies, and Calum Clunie discusses how to get a supply of sweet pea seeds for next year’s growing.
Carole Baxter checks in on Beechgrove’s sweet peas, planted this year with a blue theme to mark the programme's sapphire anniversary. Lizzie Schofield joins Carole in the garden as she looks at propagating strawberries, and there is the weekly round-up of handy hints. There is an update from Calum Clunie at his allotment in Leven, and Brian Cunningham is at Old Scone looking at plant names. And there is a visit to a fabulous garden in the south west of Scotland.
It's the first Beechgrove Garden of September, and although autumn is knocking on the garden gate, there is still lots to do for Kirsty Wilson and Calum Clunie. Kirsty is dealing with the dahlias and showing us how to take hydrangea cuttings. Meanwhile, Calum is reviewing the clover lawn he sowed earlier in the year and catching up on the sweet corn planted in the polytunnel. Carole has another instalment of Back to Basics, which this week features a look at plants that would suit a seaside location, and George Anderson is back on his allotment in Joppa.
All summer, Beechgrove Garden has had a focus on planting and gardening that is beneficial to wildlife. Pollinator-friendly plants have been spread around the whole garden, but there is one area with a particular focus on wildlife-friendly planting, and Carole is there to review its progress. She is joined by George Anderson, who will be tackling some important pruning. There is also a visit to Skye to find out more about a great community garden in Portree.
It’s time to review the season’s growing successes so George Anderson is looking over the plants and produce of 2023 in sunny Joppa. At Beechgrove, Diana Yates and head gardener Scott Smith are in the polytunnel and cutting the garden’s extensive beech and yew hedges. There’s a garden visit to an amazing plot on Skye and a tropical garden in Moray
It’s the last episode of Beechgrove Garden’s summer series, so Carole Baxter and George Anderson are in a reflective mood as they look back at how the 2023 growing season has been. It was a hot, dry June, a damp August, followed by a bloom of hot weather in early September - so what has that done to the garden? Carole and George dig up the crop of blue potatoes planted earlier in the year, there are bulbs going into the ground for spring 2024, and there is a back-to-basics demonstration of how to take hardwood cuttings. There are end-of-term updates from Calum Clunie at his allotment in Fife, and Brian Cunningham goes over his herbaceous border at Old Scone.
Beechgrove Garden in Winter covers all the jobs in your garden that need to be done at this time of year, with all the usual expert instruction to help everyone, from beginners to experts. In this episode, Carole Baxter and Scott Smith tackle the garden jobs that need to be done at this time of year. They insulate a greenhouse to protect precious plants from the winter to come, and Carole looks at a range of evergreens to bring year-round interest to your borders. Carole also be talks tulips, a wonderful way to remind us all of the colourful spring to come. Meanwhile, Scott explains why leaves change colour at this time of year, and Kirsty Wilson demonstrates how to give the wildlife in your garden a hand by building a five-star bug hotel.
Scott and Calum have planned ahead in terms of providing colour, which will come from the winter bulbs planted late in the summer. It’s time to bring the containers out of the dark and introduce some light to the growing shoots. The lawn needs some winter protection, so Scott and Calum discuss what to do now to make sure the grass looks great next year. Scott also demonstrates how to care for a yew hedge and Calum lifts and splits some herbaceous plants for more free planting in your garden. Lizzie Schofield visits the new-build garden she designed and planted in the summer and helps the new gardeners there care for the plants.
George Anderson and Carole Baxter tackle viewers' questions from Beechgrove Garden. Carole also looks at how to deal with bare spots in a plot with ideas on evergreen ground cover, while George has the secateurs out and demonstrates how to prune gooseberries and redcurrants. Meanwhile, Kirsty Wilson is planting up a conifer container, and there is a visit to father and daughter gardeners Erin and Joe Armstrong to find out what's on their to-do list this month.
It’s the last chance to get your fix of Beechgrove advice for the year as George Anderson and Lizzie Schofield bring more seasonal tips from the garden. On the to-do list this week is a look at planting a bare-root hedge in a perennial border, while George is winter pruning the grapevine. Lizzie takes a festive look ahead and harvests willow for some homemade wreaths, while head gardener Scott Smith explains all the factors to be considered when laying out a new garden during winter.
Winter is over, spring is here, and the garden is slowly coming back to life - and with it comes a new series of Beechgrove Garden. All through the spring, summer and into autumn, the Beechgrove team will be bringing their expert advice and insight into what you should be doing in your garden each week. Whether you have a window box, a balcony or borders and raised beds, there will be something useful for you to learn about or get done. In the first episode, Carole Baxter and George Anderson are at Beechgrove to review how the wild, wet winter has affected the garden. If you are a beginner gardener, there is a Back to Basics look at what essential tools you need to get started. George and Carole are shifting the Beechgrove rhubar, and Brian Cunningham is tackling the basics of gardening in a greenhouse. All that plus weekly handy hints and a visit to an allotment in Dundee.
George and Carole plant some blight-resistant varieties of potatao in the garden. There is spring colour from the different daffodil varieties that Carole placed in containers last year, and now that they are in full bloom, she will be highlighting the characteristics to look out for in each type. George is sowing broad beans, and there is a look at what makes the ideal tree for a small garden, including what to choose, how to plant and how to care for it in the early stages. Calum Clunie is back for the first of his updates from his productive allotment in Leven, plus the usual weekly handy hints.
It’s one the busiest times in the horticultural calendar, and there is lots to be done at Beechgrove Garden. Calum Clunie and Lizzie Schofield take a look at what you should be doing right now to keep your lawn looking lovely, and they are also up to their knees in pond water as they demonstrate how to mend a punctured pond lining. It’s time to unwrap your dahlias after a winter in the dark, and Lizzie is in the gravel garden splitting and separating crocosmia. There is a visit to a beautiful spring garden in Argyll, plus the usual hot tips and handy hints on what you should be doing in your own garden, balcony or window box right now.
As the days get longer, so does the to-do list at Beechgrove. Kirsty Wilson and Calum Clunie are busy tackling spring jobs, including a revamp of the roses in the picket fence garden. One of the biggest jobs carried out recently at Beechgrove was moving the large viburnum to the bottom of the plot. The move took five people and a lot of heavy lifting, but unfortunately, the viburnum didn’t do so well in its new location until some radical pruning was carried out. Kirsty and Calum check on its spring progress. Also in this episode, the pair tackle creating a hugel bed, a sustainable method of growing that is based around planting on a specially created mound of composting materials. If your gardening is on a smaller scale, Lizzie Schofield is in Buckie creating a perfect patio garden. Plus the usual handy hints for the week ahead and a great garden visit.
George and Lizzie combine flowers and productive gardening by creating a mini potager plot. They also kick off one of the big jobs of the year, a revamp of the herb garden.
Gardening to give nature in your garden a helping hand is the focus of this episode. Carole Baxter is joined by wildlife expert James Silvey to answer your questions on how, and what, to plant in order to attract wildlife to wherever you do your growing There is also a visit to a community garden in Paisley that has gardeners from across the world helping out and benefiting from what they grow. Carole is at Beechgrove planting out a new strawberry bed and looking at which tomato and cucumber varieties she will be growing in her 8x6 greenhouse.
Forty years of the Beechgrove Garden. The Beechgrove Garden has been a perennial fixture on the mantlepiece of Scottish life since 1978. To celebrate, we have dusted off old tapes and unearthed treasures from the past 40 years to create a one-hour special programme that takes us down the garden path of Beechgrove's growth. In this special programme, we return to Beechgrove's humble beginnings in the back garden of BBC Aberdeen, when the garden was a small, difficult to manage patch of land. This reflected a familiar scenario faced by many first-time gardeners in 70s when they moved out of multistorey tenements and flats. The down-to-earth knowledge and banter of Beechgrove's first presenters Jim McColl and George Barron helped take the programme to phenomenal success. Jim and George's use of their own dialects particularly endeared them to a huge Scottish audience, attracting one million viewers in those early days. The programme also looks at how Carole Baxter broke ground by becoming the first woman to co-present a TV gardening show in the UK, as well as revisiting the hilarious antics and expert makeovers of the Hit Squad. There are embarrassing audition tapes and stories of presenters past and present, all mixed with a good dose of Beechgrove's gentle, good-natured humour. This special programme is introduced and narrated by Elaine C Smith, who also visits the garden at Beechgrove and meets today's presenters. The Beechgrove Garden, 40 years and still growing.
Over a period of two years, using unique drone footage, we see Saughton Park transformed from being a neglected site into being a model educational facility with a physic garden with the longest flowering border in a public park in the UK.
Janie Gall shows Carole some easy-to-follow and bargain-basement ways of making flower arrangements that look like they have cost the earth.
Gardeners are said to be generous people who love a bargain - none more so than Mairi Reid in Ardersier. This is the story of how Mairi gardens for pleasure and to feed her family for almost no cost. Mairi doesn’t have the space in her own garden to grow food so has struck up a fruitful and inspirational partnership with friends and neighbours to share land, knowledge and produce. Get your notepads ready for a programme full of tips of how to garden beautifully on a budget.
Garden art can take many forms - from the plants themselves to the clever pruning of shrubs to full installations. In this episode, we visit gardens and people who see the garden as an artist’s palette - from a topiary zoo to the woman who makes her art out of other people’s rubbish. We also visit EA Hornell’s garden, in Kirkcudbright, to appreciate how the garden inspires the artist and the artist inspires the garden.
Chelsea Gold Medal-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw makes over Susan and Brian Duthie's new-build garden in Cove, Aberdeenshire. Together they transform their tiny 10 x 10 site from the nightmare of rough builder's rubble to their dream garden in just one season.
The Beechgrove garden is situated on an exposed Aberdeenshire hillside and is often regarded as a litmus test for what you are able to grow in Scotland. In this episode, we meet gardeners in Orkney, Shetland and the Black Isle who laugh at Beechgrove’s so-called difficult conditions as they show how they have created the most stunning sites right on the very edges of Scotland.
Growing your own fresh produce is one of life’s great pleasures, but many don’t have the space at home and turn to taking on an allotment. In this episode we visit two unique allotment initiatives that take growing together to a whole different level. Moncrieff Allotments, in the middle of Perth, is also in the middle of the River Tay on a 100-acre island. This multicultural allotment brings a diverse group of people together to garden in the middle of the sometimes-flooding Tay. Tillicoultry Allotments, in the shadow of the beautiful Ochil hills, looks like a series of beautifully interlinked back gardens. Here we discover that community connectivity can move mountains
Most gardeners know that gardening is good for us, from appreciating our surroundings to growing our own produce. Gardening increases both physical and mental well-being in so many ways. In this episode, we take a look at some extraordinary projects that have taken this to a whole new level. From unique community growing projects in Dundee combating poverty and giving escape from addiction to the very stylish, but profoundly moving, Horatio’s Garden in the Scottish spinal injuries unit we discover the healing power of gardening.
In this episode, we celebrate those gardens and gardeners who encourage and work alongside wildlife. With some unique wildlife footage from badgers to butterflies, we learn more about gardening with wildlife and see that you don’t have to have a wilderness to be wild about wildlife.
