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Episode 21

Episode 21 of 26

Celebrating Scottish gardens. Carole harvests her trial broad beans, Lesley discovers how her hardy and half-hardy annuals have fared, and George helps a pair of novice gardeners.

In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole is surrounded by beans as she starts to harvest the crop from her broad bean trial. Which variety has performed best, has the best yield and most importantly the best taste? It's bean good.

Meanwhile Jim is pruning hedges all round the garden. When to prune, how to, what shape, and with what tools? Jim has all the answers.

Lesley is in the Cutting Garden seeing how her collections of hardy annuals and half-hardy annuals chosen for both fragrance and also for cutting have fared, especially in the recent rains.

George is in Broughty Ferry with Wendy and Gordon Lyon, who are just starting out gardening and are desperate to learn. Viewed from the kitchen, there are two small areas at the front of the house; both look messy and because of a dominant lime tree it's not certain what will grow there. George gives the couple plants to provide colour and wildlife interest all year round.

Jim visits the village of Sprouston and goes sweet pea crazy as the village celebrates the centenary of a unique achievement by the then minister of the parish and his wife (Reverend Denholm Fraser) when they won first and third prize with their sweet peas in a national competition at Crystal Palace from an entry of 38,000. The 1000-pound first prize was the used to build the chancel on the church.

This year at the two national sweet pea shows, there will be a special class called the Sprouston class, where entrants can replicate that original event by staging a vase of 12 annual sweet pea stems. In Sprouston the centenary will be celebrated during the weekend of 12 - 14th August with the sweet pea competition. There will also be trips round the original garden, as it would have been in 1911 with sweet peas growing in the same way.

30 minutes

Last on

Sat 27 Aug 2011 17:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Producer Gwyneth Hardy
Presenter Jim McColl
Presenter Carole Baxter
Presenter Lesley Watson
Presenter George Anderson

Broadcasts

Beechgrove’s new (online) home, including new episodes on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer

Beechgrove’s new (online) home, including new episodes on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer

Gardening show that celebrates Scottish horticulture and growing conditions.