

Gardening with the RHS
Royal Horticultural Society
'Gardening with the RHS' offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest horticultural advice, scientific research and tried and tested techniques to bring out the best in your garden.Topics covered include: growing your own vegetables, flowers, garden design, lawn care and gardening with children. Plus expert masterclasses in topics ranging from cottage garden plants, growing orchids, to pest control and eco-friendly gardening.Plus we’ll have behind the scenes reports from the country’s most prestigious flower shows. There’s something in these podcasts to interest every gardener, whatever your level of expertise.For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcastA Pixiu production.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 2, 2021 • 26min
Autumn advice special
How do you get the best displays of autumn colour in your garden? Which flowers can you sow now for extra early displays next year? Are there any crops you can sow in September for late autumn harvests? Tune in for answers to these questions and many more in this a bumper edition of seasonal gardening advice from RHS experts. Plus Wisley horticulturist Alex Young shares tips on propagating houseplants.
Useful links: ►Find out more about growing trees and shrubs ►Houseplants ►Sowing hardy annual flowers in autumn ►Grow your own fruit and veg
Plants mentioned: Hydrangea quercifolia, Abelia grandiflora, Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue', Gingko biloba, Sorbus 'Josph Rock', Parrotia persica 'Persian Spire', jewel orchids (Ludisia discolor and Macodes sanderianus), hardy annuals (Calendula officinalis, Nigella damascena, Cerinthe major), yellow rattle (Rhinanthus major/minor) - see RHS Find a plant for suppliers and more details
Whitefly study details: please contact mia.graham@stir.ac.uk

Aug 26, 2021 • 31min
Grasses special
This week we're going wild for some of the daintiest, most airy and graceful plants out there - ornamental grasses. Author and RHS Editor Gareth Richards shares his favourites and offers tips on how to use them in the garden. Eminent expert and nurseryman Neil Lucas takes us on a tour of one of the best grass gardens in the country, Knoll Gardens in Dorset.
Plus growing tips from RHS Gardening Advisor Nicky Barker, and we delve into the undergrowth to meet some grass-loving creatures - conehead crickets - with Brian Eversham of The Wildlife Trusts. In our houseplant series, Wisley Horticulturist Alex Young tackles repotting.
**Plants mentioned**
Grasses: Deschampsia, Hakonechloa macra, Calamagrostis, Pennisetum, Arundo donax, Carex oshimensis Evercolor Series, Molinia, Stipa gigantea, Panicum, Miscanthus, Festuca glauca, Poa, Sporolobus, Miscanthus 'Cindy' & 'Starlight', Miscanthus giganteus; Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra', Milium effusum 'Aureaum', Festuca 'Elijah Blue'
Perennials: Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Verbena bonariensis, Aconitum, Scabiosa, wild carrot (Daucus carota)
Find plant suppliers: rhs.org.uk/findaplant
Discover grasses: rhs.org.uk/plants/types/grasses
knollgardens.co.uk

Aug 19, 2021 • 25min
Growing escapades and more
We talk to Lucy Jones and Kenneth Greenway, authors of 'The Nature Seed – How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids' about ideas for how to engage your children in outdoor activities this summer. Author Abra Lee tells the story of Booker T. Washington, a leading African-American educator who brought horticultural learning opportunities to disenfranchised communities in the South in the late 19th century. Plus a look at picking the right houseplant with RHS Wisley's Alex Young and a guide on drying flowers at home with Raymond Gordon.

Aug 12, 2021 • 23min
Climbers special
This week we’re clambering for climbing plants, wading through wisteria and going eye-to-eye with one of the most contentious wall-huggers of the lot: ivy. Featuring barrow-loads of expert RHS advice on how to keep your climbers happy and full of flowers, plus tips on how to use them in your garden.
Featuring Matt Pottage (Curator of RHS Garden Wisley), garden designer Flo Headlam, RHS Gardening Advisor Becky Mealey and author Gareth Richards.
**Plants mentioned**
- Cobaea scandens
- Ipomoea 'Heavenly Blue'
- Lablab purpurea 'Ruby Moon'

Aug 5, 2021 • 24min
Allotment extravaganza!
This week we're all about growing your own fruit and veg in a programme dedicated to allotments and the green-fingered people who tend them. We meet the 'Veg King', retired fisherman Gerald Stratford (@GeraldStrafor3) – who became an overnight internet sensation, bringing giant veg growing to the attention of a worldwide audience and even starring in a fashion campaign by Gucci.
Allotmenteer and YouTuber Mothin Ali (My Family Garden) shares top tips on growing potatoes while Kirsty Ward (@my_litttle_allotment) gives advice on engaging children with gardening. Plus RHS Garden Wisley's resident fruit guru Jim Arbury offers expert advice on choosing an apple tree for your garden.

Jul 29, 2021 • 27min
Roses and other thorny issues
Enjoy a tour around RHS Garden Wisley’s Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden with its 4,500 roses and find out how to keep yours blooming until autumn. We discover how this iconic plant became the favourite (and least loved) flower among the British with historian Simon Morley, then author Gareth Richards sings the praises of a rose relative, the bramble, ‘nature’s frontline defender against man’. Finally, find out about the pest-busting wasp you definitely need in your garden this summer.

Jul 22, 2021 • 25min
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2021
This week we're at the glorious Tatton Park in Cheshire, for a floral extravaganza like no other. From a rewilded garden taking inspiration from the wider Tatton Estate to beautifully designed small urban spaces full of clever ideas to save water, there's something for everyone. Plus top culinary tips from chef Sophie Gordon and food writer Mark Diacono who share ideas for homegrown feasts, full of unusual flavours.

Jul 15, 2021 • 23min
Giant leaves and tiny trees
From lush and leafy banana plants to the delicate charms of the tiniest trees of all, this week's show is all about planting with a difference. We explore the weird, wild and wonderful Exotic Garden at Wisley, which is packed full of tropical-looking plants and ideas to steal for your own backyard paradise. Tayshan Hayden-Smith, footballer and founder of the non-profit Grow2Know tells the story of how he came to discover and love what's probably the most dramatic plant you can grow outdoors in Britain. And if you've ever wished you could grow a tree but don't have the space, think again, as we take a look at bonsai with RHS expert Peter Goodchild.

Jul 8, 2021 • 29min
RHS Flower Shows are back!
The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival returns for 2021. And what a return it is! From world-class garden design talent to new ways of growing cabbages, there's something for everyone. We explore the show's no-dig gardens, community allotments and experience some lively debates between horticultural experts in the talks theatre. Plus an interview with a cut-flower grower who overcame multiple tragedies in 2020 to bring a heartwarming and colourful garden to this year's show.

Jul 1, 2021 • 27min
Art and the garden
This week we’re exploring the relationship between art and gardens. Including an interview with award-winning designer Sarah Price who shares her experience of using art to inspire her RHS Chelsea gold medal winning gardens, and we visit a new David Hockney exhibition celebrating the arrival of spring in his garden in France. Plus plant-loving Instagrammers discuss how social media affects the way we garden and Curator of RHS Garden Wisley, Matthew Pottage, shares tips how to use sculpture in your home plot.