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 🌻🐞🌿🐝🍄🐌

I haven't watched last night's episode properly yet but did see a couple of snippets here and there. I wonder if the snowdrops are spring snowflakes @AntiqueVases - Leucojum vernum. Pretty wee things.

Never heard of spring snowflakes, thanks for the tip! @NebulousSadTimes

Haha I also forward bits with children @AntiqueVases (I don't feel guilty about that though), and any Monty waffling on 🙈 and most of jobs for the weekend 🙈 especially when it's something for absolute beginners like 'plant bulbs in the winter, preferably with the pointy bit up'. Also because I hate that they frame it as a 'job' rather than a joy.

Surely no one wants to see a child plant a sunflower seed beyond immediate family? Maybe I'm heartless.

Fwiw there's also summer snowflakes - Leucojum aestivum. Isn't Monty's garden quite chilly? I think it runs about 3-4 weeks behind mine, if he still has a late snowdrop variety that seems about right.

Thanks @Agapornis ! Haha yeah I can't abide it when they get the children to narrate stuff, especially in a sing-song voice. Brings out the Childcatcher in me!

That fucking video that was on here for about FOUR YEARS with the mummy watching over her darlings planting herbs (and then making ice-cream with the mint) made me cringe.

I agree with your fast forwarding!
I have a loo break when we get to the "I inherited these 24 acres and its taken me (and my trusty gardener) several years to get it like this."

I do love it when the fancy property owners aren't even on camera and let their gardeners speak. They're usually so knowledgeable and practical. There was a garden a while ago that had a long-term head gardener, and also trained local people and kept them on.

I'm also bored of Piet Oudolf style endless dry gardens. Much prefer it when someone uses their garden to express their individual personality and much loved plants, rather than whatever the current design trend is.

Tonight's Beechgrove:

Eurgh, kicking off with another "beginner's guide to growing veg" and then planting a tree, then growing tomatoes. All a bit utilitarian!

The only "pretty" bit was starting a flowerbed for cut flowers.

I still can't put my finger on Lizzie Scofield's accent!

Next week sounds better: violas, containers and lawns.

I think Lizzie's accent is a cross between Australian and Scottish but may be wrong.

There wasn't much to interest me either - tomatoes, no thanks; splitting and planting peonies and putting one ridiculously deep . I tried watching last week's GW afterwards but kept falling asleep.

That was a good episode of GW tonight. Lots of new ideas, not same old same old!

Odd time of year to be doing a feature on daffodils mind you! Even mine here in Scotland are on the way out now. So it's not flowering time nor bulb-planting time!

I suspect the "sheep wool" being used as horticultural fleece was from deliveries of KatKin fresh cat food but presumably they aren't allowed to say so on the BBC!

Did anyone see Monty hosting Have I Got News For You? I think he's more comfortable outside.

Hello everyone, hope i can join in too. I'm gardening in a new build plot (!) I bought 3 years ago (Scotland), I'm now getting reliable insects and worms but not that many birds. I'm packing in as many plants as i can and just the other day harvested my own green salad from the garden!! I love gardeners world every week but can't watch Beechgrove as I won't buy a tv license!!

Welcome @bedfrog , hopefully the birds will start coming with the increase you've achieved in wee beasties. How can you watch GW but not Beechgrove, if they're both BBC?

Some kind person uploads GW onto YouTube without the music to avoid copyright! Yes I'm always so glad when I see a new beastie in the gatden

Some kind person uploads GW onto YouTube without the music to avoid copyright!

Ah, that's clever.

I thought he did it quite well!
I wondered if this was part of his exit strategy from GW
Does he actually live at Long Meadow? Because that's a lot of garden to maintain alone if he loses the help of the GW crew

Yes, that's his own garden @StillWeRise , although it's not called Longmeadow in RL. I think, but stand to be corrected, that he employs gardeners himself, AFAIK the GW crew are just there for telly business.

I liked him too, although he seemed a little out of his depth

I didn't like hearing him swear!
I know, I know...it just felt wrong.

Beechgrove isn't on tonight. It's 7.30pm tomorrow. Just before Gardener's World.

Oh, I watched it last night @AntiqueVases , I'm not sure what channel it was on.

My claim to fame, although she won't remember me, is that I've met Jenna McDonald. She has inspired me with her sweet pea set up.

@NebulousSadTimes oh! Maybe the schedule is different in different areas. I'm in Edinburgh. But I have 90mins of TV gardening to watch tonight then! Or maybe it's on iplayer and I can watch sooner.

You know, I don't really like the smell of sweetpeas! I also cba with stuff that needs tied/staking.

Wow, imagine now liking sweet peas! But then there were some roses I smelled that I found positively soapy whereas others thought they were divine. Each to their own but I'll join you on the staking and tying in thing, it's a bind 😄. Enjoy your telly tonight 🤗

Watching Beechgrove episode 3 now on iplayer.

Christ, I'd forgotten how Calum and Brian have both made "being Scottish" their entire personality - "a wee bit of moss!" "a wee saucer of seeds"". Brian in particular may have gone slightly too far also with the "let's be friendly and accessible" vibe as I sometimes feel he's speaking to me with a sympathetic headtilt as if I'm cognitively impaired!

But where else could one get some gems of advice such as this: "A lawn is a great place fir hingin' oot yer washing Calum!"

I enjoyed how they had a segment on scarifying one's lawn without using the word "scarify" at any point. (Altho they did later in the prog)

The "WW2 vibe" sections (Dig for Victory! Let's all grow potatoes on our allotment) is not my fave.

Glad they only spent 20 seconds on the "growing sunflowers with the kiddies" bit.

And of course in the "let's attract wildlife to the garden" section, they mention EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL AND INSECT IN THE WORLD except Rattus Rattus!

This is all just gentle ribbing btw. I defo think Beechgrove has its place balancing out GW's unrealistic stuff.

You've made me laugh out loud @AntiqueVases , so true 😍