Dundee: Amaryllis, Monkey Puzzles and Australian Plants

Dundee: Amaryllis, Monkey Puzzles and Australian Plants

Author: BBC Radio 4 December 12, 2025 Duration: 42:41

What is the best way to take cuttings of a monkey puzzle tree? What plants that are grown in Australia and would thrive in Dundee? Why hasn’t my Amaryllis flowered?

Kathy Clugston brings together a perfectly curated panel of gardening experts at the V&A Dundee to tackle these questions from an enthusiastic, plant-loving audience.

Joining Kathy on the panel are garden designers, botanists and allotmenteers Matthew Pottage, Kirsty Wilson and Neil Porteous.

Also, Matthew Pottage slips away for an exclusive look at the V&A Dundee’s fascinating exhibition Garden Futures: Designing With Nature, guided by curator James Wylie.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


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: 76

Gardeners' Question Time
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