Clarkston: Peach Tress, Pirate Sheds and Late Summer Pruning

Clarkston: Peach Tress, Pirate Sheds and Late Summer Pruning

Author: BBC Radio 4 August 14, 2026 Duration: 42:08

Kathy Clugston and the panel visit Clarkston Halls near Glasgow.

Joining Kathy are botanist James Wong, Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Head Gardener Bethan Collerton, and Balmoral’s Head of Gardens Kirsty Wilson.

The panel answers questions on overwintering anemone corms, revitalising a gloomy shaded corner beneath mature lime trees, and whether an unheated Scottish greenhouse is suitable for growing peaches.

They also discuss a mysteriously weeping houseplant, what might be causing a Japanese maple to decline, and why healthy nasturtiums can sometimes produce plenty of leaves but no flowers.

Plus, Kirsty shares some late-summer pruning tips, and the panel reveal the gardening advice they would give to anyone just starting out.

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September. Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party


For decades, Gardeners' Question Time has been a trusted companion for anyone with a patch of earth, a windowsill pot, or simply a curiosity about the natural world. Produced by BBC Radio 4, this enduring podcast brings together a rotating panel of seasoned horticulturalists, each with their own specialties and practical wisdom. The format is beautifully simple yet endlessly varied: a live audience, gathered in a different village hall, community garden, or nursery somewhere across the country each week, poses their real-life gardening dilemmas. What you’ll hear are unscripted, thoughtful, and often wonderfully anecdotal answers that tackle everything from stubborn lawn weeds and pruning perplexities to coaxing a better tomato harvest. The changing location means the advice is grounded in specific climates and conditions, offering relatable insights whether you're dealing with coastal winds, heavy clay, or a tiny urban balcony. It’s the conversational tone and the collective knowledge of the experts that makes this podcast feel like a friendly, invaluable chat with a knowledgeable neighbor. You get the sense of a shared gardening community, with all its trials, successes, and seasonal rhythms. Listening feels less like receiving a lecture and more like eavesdropping on a fascinating, problem-solving conversation that has been honed over seventy years on the air. The questions from the audience are always genuine, often urgent, and the answers are delivered with a blend of science, hands-on experience, and good humor. It is a direct line to practical help and inspiration for your own garden, whatever its size or style.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Gardeners' Question Time
Podcast Episodes
Summer Garden Party RHS Wisley: Show 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:20
Kathy Clugston hosts the second of the Gardeners’ Question Time Summer Garden Party specials from RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.Joining Kathy are Pippa Greenwood, Matthew Wilson, Marcus Chilton-Jones and Dr Chris Thorogood…
Summer Garden Party RHS Wisley: Show 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:23
Kathy Clugston hosts the first of two Gardeners’ Question Time Summer Garden Party specials from RHS Garden Wisley.Joined by James Wong, Matthew Pottage, Pippa Greenwood and Frances Tophill, Kathy takes questions from a…
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Duration: 42:04
Kathy Clugston delves into the GQT archive to explore one of Britain’s most intriguing gardening phenomena: microclimates.Travelling across the British Isles, the programme uncovers how local conditions shape what garden…
Postbag: The Hidden Gardens, Glasgow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:18
Kathy Clugston hosts another Gardeners’ Question Time Postbag episode from The Hidden Gardens in Glasgow, a remarkable community green space created on a former industrial site in the heart of the city.Joining Kathy to d…
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Duration: 42:02
Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit the Lincolnshire village of Pinchbeck, a fenland landscape shaped by waterways and a long history of horticulture.On the panel are plantswoman Christine Walkden an…
Birmingham: Bonsai, Black Elder, Blueberry and Bees [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:23
Recorded at the University of Birmingham’s magnificent Elgar Concert Hall, Kathy Clugston is joined by Bethan Collerton of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Marcus Chilton-Jones of RHS Garden Bridgewater, and Dr Chris Thorog…