RHS Chelsea Bandstand Show

RHS Chelsea Bandstand Show

Author: BBC Radio 4 May 30, 2025 Duration: 42:55

How do I take care of a kokedama? How do you take care of a sedum living roof? Why won't my trollius flower?

For the first time ever, GQT sets up shop at the heart of the iconic RHS Chelsea Flower Show, broadcasting from the charming bandstand. Kathy Clugston is joined by a panel of horticultural heavyweights, including Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson, and James Wong.

Keep your ears pricked up for some familiar voices - among the questioners are none other than Scott Mills, David Tennant and Zoe Ball, each bringing their own garden problems to the table.

Later, Peter Gibbs takes a tranquil detour to the stunning Songbird Survival Garden on Main Avenue. There, he chats with designer Nicola Oakey and dedicated volunteer Bee about how we can turn our outdoor spaces into welcoming sanctuaries for Britain’s beleaguered songbirds.

Producer: Daniel Cocker Producer: Dominic Tyerman Producer: Matthew Smith Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

Plant List Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.

Q – I’ve got a floppy snake plant – is this because I’ve overwatered it? (01'17")

Q - Why do the flower buds fall off my chameleon each year? (02'38")

Q - Hello, it's David Tennant here. I've been gifted a beautiful kokedama. How do I water this? How do I not kill it? (05'26")

Q – Could you recommend some pretty and low maintenance for flowers for window boxes? (07'34")

Bunny Guinness – Verbena officinalis 'Bampton', vervain ‘Bampton’ Polystichum setiferum, soft shield fern Salvia rosmarinus (Ro), rosemary

Matthew Wilson – Thymus vulgaris, common thyme Thymus praecox

James Wong – Portulaca, porcelain Mesembryanthemum Delosperma.

Q- My trollius hasn’t flowered this year. What am I doing wrong? (12’58")

Feature – Peter Gibbs visits the ‘Songbird Survival Garden” on main avenue, where he meets with designer Nicola Oakey and volunteer Bee (17’22”)

Q - We've got a garden room with a sedum living roof – how do we look after it? (22'20")

Q – Hello! Zoe Ball here! How do I stop squirrels from eating all my plants? (32'06")

Q - My trachycarpus and dicksonia antarctica. They're getting thinner and thinner each year – how do I appropriately thin them out? (28'54")

Q – Hi GQT, it’s Scott Mills. How do I stop my dog’s pee from ruining my lawn? (28'54")

Q – I’d like you to recommend plants for a red hot, south facing gravel garden? (36'25")

James Wong – Hardy aloes Aloe polyphylla Eschscholzia californica, california poppy Bunny Guinness – Salvia confertiflora, sabra spike sage

Matthew Wilson – Rosa 'Sally Holmes' (S), rose 'Sally Holmes' Dasylirion wheeleri, spoon flower Aloiampelos striatula, striped-stemmed aloe Beschorneria yuccoides, yucca-leaved beschorneria


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: 82

Gardeners' Question Time
Podcast Episodes
Diss: Gravel Gardens, Camellia Care and Ways to Weather Drought [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:23
Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit Diss, on the Norfolk–Suffolk border, where heavy clay soils meet some of the driest conditions in the country; a combination that keeps gardeners firmly on their t…
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 - At the Bandstand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:56
Gardeners’ Question Time returns to the iconic RHS Chelsea Flower Show Bandstand.Recorded in the dappled shade of plane trees and surrounded by colour and spectacle, Kathy Clugston is joined by Bunny Guinness, Matthew Po…
Chelsea Flower Show 2026 - Postbag [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:39
Kathy Clugston and Peter Gibbs are at the Chelsea Flower Show for a special postbag episode of Gardeners' Question Time.From the showground of the world’s most celebrated horticultural event, they're joined by a stellar…
Serge Hill Project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:31
In a special Gardeners’ Question Time episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the programme is at the Serge Hill Project, an inspirational garden that promotes working with nature to radically transform people's he…
Pulham Market [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:27
Peter Gibbs and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit visit Pulham Market.Peter is joined by Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness to answer questions on growing fruit in pots and choosing shrubs for deep sh…
From The Archives: Summer Colour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:35
Kathy Clugston guides us through the GQT archives to hear how our panellists and experts, old and new, advise on delivering dazzling displays of summer colour.Along the way, the gardeners explore how thoughtful structura…
The Great Barn: Chillies, Camellias and Consciousness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:21
Peter and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit the historic Great Barn in Harmondsworth.Beneath the medieval beams, Peter is joined by Bunny Guinness, Francis Tophill and James Wong as they tackle a wonderfully wide‑rang…
Bolton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:48
Kathy Clugston and the Gardeners' Question Time panel visit the outskirts of Bolton in Lancashire. Kathy is joined by RHS Bridgewater Curator Marcus Chilton-Jones, Garden Designer Matthew Wilson and Plantswoman Christine…
Edgworth & District [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:07
Kathy Clugston and the Gardeners' Question Time panel visit the picturesque Lancashire village of Edgworth, nestled on the edge of the West Pennine Moors.This week, the team are being hosted by the Edgworth and District…
Postbag Edition: Mary Berry's House [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:36
Peter Gibbs and the GQT panel have traded parks and community gardens for a visit to the Oxfordshire home of Dame Mary Berry. On this week's panel are Matthew Pottage, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness.Among today’s q…