The 2026 Gardening Programme Thread

[NebulousSadTimes]

Welcome 🤗. Pull up a chair, or an upturned bucket, grab a handle-less mug of whatever takes your fancy, ignore the cobwebs in the corner, there are some seed catalogues on the potting bench for you to entertain yourself until someone else pops in to chat about whatever has taken their interest on the telly or radio in all matters gardening 🌻🐞🌿🐝🍄🐌

Marking my place. Got a basket of unplanted bulbs I’m going to plant today in shallow trays to try to get some roots going and hope for the best.

May I please join? I have home made flapjacks cooling in the kitchen which I'm happy to share.

I just saw Frances Tophill on Instagram saying now is the time to coppice hazel so that is what I'll be doing today.

Oh, that reminds me @BohoGarden , I can't remember where I saw it, maybe Beechgrove, but you can place cuttings side by side on a strip of compost bag plastic with a sprinkling of compost and roll it up. I can't remember how long they take to root but that might be worth a try, if you're of a mind. Yes please to the flapjacks, thank you

@ElizabethVonArnim good luck with your bulbs. I found some lurking around the surface of the ground I was working on yesterday so I've moved them to another place and put them a bit deeper, hopefully they'll at least survive, even if they don't flower this year.

I've just started Episode 3 of the Gardeners' World Winter programmes and now want some Galanthus Grumpy. It has been added to my ever growing list of things that take my fancy but rarely get bought.

F

Hello!

I'm nearly up to date on Beechgrove and Gardeners World and have my 2026 To Do list at the ready!

BTW thanks for making the thread.

In terms of the programmes overall (having bingewatched), I think my favourite presenter is Carol Baxter off of Beechgrove. Strikes me like she must be a really kind person in real life. She also explains things well but doesn't talk to the audience as if they're a halfwit, unlike some of her colleagues!

Yes, Carol does seem very nice @AntiqueVases. I think George seems very sergeant majory but not unpleasant.

Yes @NebulousSadTimes I think older Scottish gentlemen can come across a bit like that (my grandfather was!) I can imagine George telling me off for not firming in my new plants properly or not cleaning my secateurs or something!

Hello can I join as it makes me feel like spring is coming.
My gardening failure of this Christmas season is bringing my container of hyacinth bulbs in on 2nd December so we would have them for Christmas and it is now 2026 and they are about 5" tall and not a sign of a flower.

Hello, I have x10 bare root roses yet to plant, a ton of bark mulch to spread, a dogwood hedge I’d like to expand and possibly x2 metal shelving units I want to repurpose as raised beds. On the plus side, I’ve already split my peonies and finally planted all my bulbs. I just need more hours in the day and some sunshine to tempt me outside.

Yes @MIAMNER , I've been enjoying doing some gardening work over the Christmas break but the wind yesterday was brutal so I didn't need much encouragement to stay inside.

@PiggyPokkyFool that's a shame about your hyacinths. Were they newly planted as prepared ones or is this not their first year?

Not their first year. I normally just plant them out in the ground but decided to keep these in their container. Just assumed they would bloom beautifully - they dudn

Ah, I think they need to be specially prepared ones to flower in time for Christmas. Still, you've got them to look forward to

I'm in. I have had a veggie raised bed for many years that I've never had much success with so I've decided to make it into a cutting bed so (hopefully) I can bring flowers into the house. I've planted tulip and daffodil bulbs already. I plan to sow some snapdragon seeds also in Feb. I need some foilage too but not sure what as yet.

I'll tentatively pull up a seat. I'm an experienced gardener and ex veg growing teacher but I lost my gardening mojo in 2024 after 7.5 months of rain here and losing practically all my veg plants I gave it up and planted way less last year.

Anyway January is mainly for pruning and doing maintenance, I rarely planted anything during Jan or Feb in the UK.

If you need anything to get into soil, put it in a decent sized pot for the roots, in good compost and hang on til March. Or pop a few shovelfulls of soil or compost into the bag it is in, give it a light water and leave it somewhere sheltered.

Pruning in the winter encourages growth and you can prune anything that is dormant and not flowering apart from your stone fruit trees, so cherries, plums, peaches and also walnuts should you have one.

Looking forward to next winter, some good plants to look out for to give you winter scent are winter honeysuckle, daphne, virburnum burkwoodii, and perennial stocks. Often the shops will sell them in flower so if you see any, smell them and if you like them, buy them and plant them in the spring for next year.

The crazy thing is I have a while and a purple that are currently flowering outside! Maybe should have left them where they were...

Currently flowering @PiggyPokkyFool , wow, that's early, although I was in a garden in October or November that had some in flower. Strange times.

@Daisiesanddaffodils24 a cutting border is a lovely idea. I've got a Lonicera nitida that I often use as greenery in a posy. It grows like buggery so doesn't mind being snipped at.

@Shedmistress , oh that's soul destroying . I hope you have better weather this year or are inspired by things that will tolerate the wet, even if they're not edible.

I have a viburnum in a shrub border that used to smell gorgeous but it's so overgrown now I thought it had disappeared. I saw a single wee flower poking out yesterday so there is hope. I'm hoping to do some serious cutting back in that border this year.

I managed an hour or so outside this afternoon, it was still windy but bearable, and I found the string I'd spent far too long looking for yesterday.

I watched Adam cleaning out his bird box last night and put it on my to-do list. I remembered that once I came in for the night 😞

I pruned 5 roses, 3 nashi pears, an ornamental Quince, 2 quinces, and various shrubs today.

Hello, may I join in please?
I only have a small garden, but have a random crocus out, and several double hellebores almost there.

My favourite GW presenter is Ash the cat.

Aw yes @FuzzyPuffling , Ash is lovely 😍. Crocus already? I've got bulbs poking through where I've been raking leaves and grass but that's it so far.

You've reminded me @Shedmistress , I have an ornamental quince I was given a good few years ago now, still in its pot . I'm hoping to move a berberis very soon, if I can dig it up, and put the quince in its place.

I've often thought a book of plant roots would be so useful, so we can see what we're faced with before we start digging.

I planted spring bulb lasagne in a hanging basket in October

They started sprouting in December. I feel the current frost /cold may destroy them now 😢

I'm a keen gardener and started in 2020 with an allotment and now I have a huge garden but I am awful at actually growing anything 😅 . Last two years has been battle of the slug. Had a couple pots of tomatoes last year and nothing else survived. Still keen and will try again but my enthusiasm is waning. I try to do no dig/organic/chemical free but I may actually try some slug pellets this year

I’d like to join too. I like to watch gardeners world on a Sunday night so I can feel smug about already having done the jobs for the weekend.
mum out of the garden at the moment with an injured arm. Fingers crossed not too much longer, I want to prune my apple trees

Three years ago i moved from a decent sized rural garden with big trees and a veg patch to a very small town garden. I have lots in pots and the raised beds I had built are crammed full. But I still want more....!

That must be difficult @FuzzyPuffling , getting used to having less room, but on the plus side (from someone who feels overwhelmed with the bigger garden at times) it's less to manage.

@MummyFairyx is your hanging basket hanging up just now? I wonder if you put it in a sheltered spot low down while it's so cold it might be more protected. Have you tried beer traps for the slugs? My tip would be to put a little safety stick for beetles to get out if you do.

Welcome @Celiathebanshee , sorry to hear about your sore arm, I hope it's not long in healing. My apple trees are starting to come into my must put on the to-do list thoughts too.

I watched the last of Episode 3 of the winter specials last night. I fast forwarded the begonias, not a fan, but was pleased to see Rekha, I always enjoy her contributions and feel she has much to offer.

I am pleased I no longer have the huge wild hedge to cut. It was a very exhausting task, full of brambles, about 6 feet wide and the farmer who owned the field the other side did nothing. Silver linings and all that!