Gardening with the RHS

Latest Episodes:

Early Spring in the Garden: Edibles, Nettles, and Petals! Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

Spring is starting to unfold, and with that in mind, we’re heading back to the vegetable patch with kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain for the final instalment of her "Grow Food Anywhere" mini-series. This time, Lucy guides us through which crops thrive in those tricky, shady spots that can often be a challenge in the garden. Nick Turrell from the RHS Advisory Team gives us the lowdown on why Leylandii – once a garden favourite – has since earned a notorious reputation, and says what you can do about it! And finally Jamie Walton, the familiar face behind the Nettles & Petals social media account, shares some of the benefits and ecological gardening mindset can bring to your plot.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Nick Turrell, Jamie Walton (Nettles&Petals)

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere

Pruning Leylandii

Grow Food. Eat Weeds. Save Seeds. pre-order

The Magic of Magnolias + Growing in Tough Spots Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

This week we’re returning to the vegetable garden with author and kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain to find out what delicious goodies will thrive in some of the least loved corners of your garden. We’ll also be discovering more about the rich history of the magnolia genus, and the stunning range of varieties available today with horticulturalist Seamus O’Brien. Rosemoor’s Alex Paines will be sharing how you can employ the chop and drop mulching technique in your own garden without it looking messy. And Alan Tichmarsh CBE launches an appeal to save some of the important work being done at RHS Garden Wisley.

Host: Jenny Laville

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Seamus O’Brien, Alex Paines, Alan Titchmarsh

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere

National Botanic Gardens Ireland

Magnolias

Chop and Drop

RHS Garden Wisley petition

Bountiful Gardens: Edibles, Floral Bouquets & Homegrown Tea Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

With the right approach, your garden can give back just as much – sometimes even more – than you put in. This week, we’re finding out how to get the most out of our edibles plots with kitchen gardener and writer Lucy Chamberlain who will be proving you really can grow food anywhere. We’re also heading back to Roz Chandler’s Field Gate Flowers to discover the perfect mix of annuals, perennials, biennials and foliage plants for stunning arrangements year-round. And finally, how about a cup of tea? Jonathan Jones – head gardener of one of Europe’s largest and most diverse tea gardens – shares how to cultivate tea at home and take your plants from bush to brew.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Roz Chandler, Jonathan Jones, Jenny Laville

Links:

Grow Food Anywhere book

How to plan a cut flower garden episode 1

Field Gate Flowers

Tregothnan

Under The Radar Feb 20, 2025

Show notes

This week we’re exploring some of the plants which may have flown under your radar.Plantsman Chris Sanders will take us on a journey that began with a casual flick through a rare horticultural book and spiralled into a decades-long obsession with rare Japanese cherry cultivars, never seen before in the UK. Horticulturist Scott Galloway makes a compelling case why the resilient favourite of Gertrude Jekyll – the much overlooked bergenia – could be a game-changer in an era of shifting climates. And Abbotsbury Subtropical Garden curator David Pearce proposes why African boxwood makes the ideal box alternative.

Hosts: Gareth Richards and James Armitage

Contributors: Scott Galloway, David Pearce, Chris Sanders

Links:

Subscribe to the Plant Review

Grow bergenias

Scott Galloway’s website with more info on bergenia

Find Matsumae cherries

Plant Heritage

Love in Bloom Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

Valentine’s Day and flowers go hand in hand, so what better way to celebrate than by dedicating this week’s programme to the stunning blooms you can grow right in your own garden? Over the past four years, the RHS has been on a mission to find the best red roses for home gardens. We’ll be revealing the top contenders with Wisley’s Roz Marshall. If roses aren’t your thing, Roz Chandler from Field Gate Flowers will be guiding us through the process of starting your own cut flower garden from bare earth to vase. And finally, nothing signals the arrival of spring quite like the golden explosion of daffodils! This year, the RHS is launching a nationwide appeal to track their varieties, flowering times, and distribution across the UK. RHS Principal Scientist and daffodil enthusiast Dr. Kálmán Könyves will share their fascinating history and his hunt for rare—and possibly lost—cultivars.

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Roz Marshall, Roz Chandler, Kálmán Könyves

Links:

Red Roses Trial results

Field Gate Flowers

Seed To Vase Course

Daffodil Diaries

The Dark Art of Rhubarb Feb 06, 2025

Show notes

This week, Guy Barter takes us through some essential gardening tasks for the season ahead and we explore a hardy favourite: as Caroline Williamson from RHS Garden Bridgewater reveals the fascinating (and surprisingly dark) art of forcing rhubarb. And finally, mother-daughter duo Ellie and Claudia of Elka Textiles will show us how to turn garden plants into beautiful, sustainable dyes—perfect for a creative winter project!

Host - Jenny Laville

Contributors - Guy Barter, Caroline Williamson, and Ellie Fisher & Claudia Gosse from Elka Sustainable Textiles

Other links

How to grow rhubarb

How to force rhubarb

More jobs to be getting on with in February

Green Futures Gardening Club

PDF tutorial ’Natural Dyeing with Brown Onion Skins’

Sowing Success: Garden Planning & Front Garden Inspiration Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

This week, Jenny Laville explores the incredible world of seeds with RHS botanist James Armitage, uncovering their diverse shapes and dispersal methods. We’ll also be embracing this time to start planning our gardens for the growing season ahead, RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock will be describing all the key things to consider when it comes to creating wildlife friendly spaces bursting with key habitats. Plus, in the final part of our front garden mini-series, RHS Gardening Advisor Nick Turrell offers practical advice on designing a space that’s both beautiful and functional.

Host Guy Barter

Contributors Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Nick Turrell, Helen Bostock

Links

The Great Seed Swap at RHS Garden Wisley

Wildlife Gardening

From beak to branch - how gardeners can help our feathered friends Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

Join us as we celebrate garden birdlife ahead of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch! The RSPB’s Adrian Thomas gives us a crash course in birdwatching from the comfort of your own kitchen window, while scientist Arran Folly discusses the threats facing our feathered friends and what we as gardeners can do to help. Plus Nick Turrell from the RHS advisory team shares how front gardens can play a vital role in reducing flood risks in our communities.

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Dr Arran Folly, Adrian Thomas, Nick Turrell

Links:

The Big Garden Bird Watch

RHS guide to identifying garden birds

The Vector-Borne RADAR project

Unlocking the potential of your garden in midwinter Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

There’s plenty to do at this time of year to get your garden prepped for the growing season ahead. This week we’ll be finding out how hellebores can bring some winter joy to your garden with passionate plantsman John Grimshaw. It’s also time to start planning your veg patch and Liz Mooney from RHS Garden Wisley’s edibles team will be explaining the principles of crop rotations and why they are great for some growers (but not all). Finally Nick Turrell, one of the encyclopedic minds on the RHS Gardening Advice team, is on a mission to help us unlock the potential of one of the most overlooked parts of our outdoor spaces…

Host: Jenny Laville

Contributors: John Grimshaw, Liz Mooney, Nick Turrell

Links:

RHS guide to Hellebores

RHS guide to crop rotations

Winter pruning, alpine plants, and the beauty of hedgerows Jan 09, 2025

Show notes

It may be bitterly cold outside but there's still plenty to get excited about in the garden. This week we’re joining Fruit Specialist Jim Arbury in the Orchard at RHS Garden Wisley to find out how to prune your apples and pears at this time of year. Horticulturist Alex Hankey shows us around the diversity and delicate beauty on display at Wisley’s alpine glasshouse, and RHS Garden Rosemoor’s Alex Paines shares his passion for the ancient hedgerows which lace the Devonshire landscape.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Jim Arbury, Alex Hankey, Alex Paines

Links:

Apples and pears: winter pruning

Devon Hedges Group

RHS advice on hedges