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 🌻🐞🌿🐝🍄🐌

Can I join in too? Have a small urban garden but sometimes it feels a bit wild & jungley when I don't get out there enough. Managed to plant all my bulbs just before Christmas this year. Usually buy far to many and then don't get them in. Need to seriously prune back next doors overgrown ivy, which is rampaging down one fence. Perhaps GW could do a session on neighbourly gardening issues.

Ha, that would be an interesting episode @Rookie93 . It's a good idea though, how to deal with your neighbours' unwelcome overgrowth (if that's the right word) whilst keeping the peace, or at least not antagonising.

There are other gardening progs on iplayer, btw, whilst we wait for this season to get up and running, if that assists anyone.

• Monty Don's British Gardens (5 x 1hr episodes)
• Garden Rescue (30 episodes)
• Chelsea Flower Show (13 or so 1hr episodes)

Alan Tischmarsh also has a youtube channel and posts regularly including over the winter.

Some signs of life on the old bulbs which I decided would bloom for Christmas Day.

Lovely hyacinth. 😍

Hello can I join? Currently far too cold to get into my garden, so am hoping to scratch the itch a bit in another way!

Welcome @fingfong . I managed to shift a few buckets of leaves that the wind had kindly gathered for me the other day but that's been it, apart from seeing to the birds.

The first of four special Gardeners' World is on tonight, 8 o'clock BBC2 🙂

Not strictly gardening but I was watching David Attenborough's Wild London last night and might cut a hedgehog hole in the fence. Even if the nearest hedgehog sighting is several miles away and the gardens are surrounded with solid walls 😅

It's worth a try @Agapornis , you never know what it might help 🙂

I love hyacinths, but they don't love me. 😂
I can be in a room when they are in flower and I love the smell, but handling the bulbs brings me out in a bright red itchy rash all over my face. No idea why, but I used to be okay with them. This sudden allergy developed about 5 years ago.

I had no idea what galanthus grumpy was but having googled it and seen its cute little frowny face, I now also want one!

On call for work and the ground is frozen so I’ve not done anything today. I have some roses to prune and the previously-mentioned badly placed flower bed to try to transplant, so planning to do those next weekend.

I’m spending today browsing crocus for pretty shrubs for winter colour next year, which are also very compact - I fancied an euonymus alatus or a cornus but really need something that stays well under 1m.

Oh fab, joining! We finally moved in October into our new house, bigger garden than I've ever had (which was a lot of the reason for moving), and I got stuck in all gung-ho only to discover it's heavy clay with a very generous helping of rubble!
I've stuck some things in pots and planted a couple of trees and concentrated on house jobs but very very aware that the garden will start to demand attention in a few short weeks and I'm gonna need to get organised and competent if I'm going to make the most of it.
I was 70 last year and DH is 78 (anyway the garden's mine) so mad really but I just want to garden the bejazers out of it before I pop my clogs.
So to speak! 😂

...following on.
I don't watch much TV, but my ex neighbour, 96, swears by Monty Don, so I might start there. Years since I watched much gardening on TV. Pre-internet! 🌱

F

A big box of (cheap) bulbs I need to plant, no bags of compost, need to check what seeds I have and need while there are offers around, already behind!

Monty does the same thing year in year out so you can watch pretty much any GW from the last 10 years and you will get the same things every month of every year. If you are new, watch old ones a month before they went live and that will set you up for what to do in the next week or two.

Thank you @Shedmistress great info. And fab name!

Beechgrove is better than Monty for practical help. Maybe not quite as "aspirational" but I'd far rather have something i can put into practice.
( Monty's utility area is twice the size of my entire plot)

Thanks Fuzzy, just looked up Beechgrove and it's basically Scottish - isn't it very different to gardening in the South West, where I am? Won't a lot of it be geared towards different conditions and plants or is it much more general than that? I've got a slot for watching something tonight so I'm wondering whether to stick to my plan of starting with Monty or to give Beechgrove a whirl.

I'm losing touch with who has posted already and who is new so welcome, welcome, one and all

@helplessbanana I think I've seen a notice at the hyacinth bulb section at the garden centre that they can cause a reaction. It must be a known thing. I'm glad you can still enjoy the scent though

@TemporarilyCantDoMyself I think the main difference for Beechgrove will be that they are perhaps about four weeks behind where you will be so if there are previous years on iplayer you could start with the further on episodes.

I only half heard GQT on Friday so I'm hoping to be able to hear it properly today, the section on growing walnuts in particular.

I'm in the SW and still rate Beechgrove, if only for the Smug Factor of "done that".

I enjoyed that GQT. I've put walnuts in shells on my shopping list, fingers crossed there are still some in the shops.

I also liked Matthew's choice of London Pride for his sentimental plant. I've always liked it and remember it from my childhood. My friend had some in her garden but she called it Nancy Pretty.

How do you all pronounce Weigela? They called it Weigelia but I always thought it was just a plain 'a' at the end, as it is written, have I been wrong all these years?

I'm with you on the pronunciation issue- learnt from my fab- gardener mum.

I also have London Pride in my garden- also from my mum.

I'm turning into her, aren't I? 😀

Ha, same @FuzzyPuffling 🤗

I've tried London Pride in this garden several times, but haven't been able to keep it going. Might have to try again this year though, as it reminds me of my childhood too.