Main content

GQT at Â鶹ԼÅÄ: Begonias and Window Boxes

Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening panel show.

Kathy Clugston hosts this week's gardening panel show. Anne Swithinbank, Humaira Ikram and Christin Walkden answer questions sent in by listeners across the country. They tackle the thorny issue of pests targeting newly planted bulbs, as well as resilient houseplants and the best flowers to brighten your window boxes.

Away from the questions, Dr Chris Thorogood travels to Lanzarote to teach us about the multi-talented Agave plant, and Matt Biggs speaks to gardener Mo Badat on how he created his dream tropical garden in South London.

Producer - Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer - Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Plant List

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

Ìý

Q – Can the panel recommend a sturdy houseplant that we could hang with the appropriate decorations throughout the seasons?

(1 minute 11 seconds)

Ìý

Christine –

Grevillea robusta (Silk oak tree)

Ìý

Anne –

Araucaria

Ficus

Aralia elegantissima (false aralia)/Dizygotheca

Forsythia

Cherry

Ìý

Q – On checking a plant pot yesterday, there was a round hole with white gooey stuff around the rim inside. I then found a bulb that had been completely liquified. Did something get into the bulb, or did it come out?

(4 minutes 23 seconds)

Ìý

Christine - Iris reticulata

Ìý

Q – Is there any such thing as light clay?

(6 minutes 18 seconds)

Ìý

Q – I don’t have a garden, but I have three window boxes. Can you suggest flowers that will brighten up my days and fill my rooms with the heady fragrances of spring?

(9 minutes 13 seconds)

Ìý

Anne –

Primroses

Narcissus jonquilla

Grape hyacinths

Ìý

Humaira – Paperwhites

Ìý

Christine –

Muscari macrocarpum

Crocuses

Ìý

Feature – Dr Chris Thorogood travels to Lanzarote to teach us about native succulents

(14 minutes, 46 seconds)

Ìý

Agave americana (Century plant)

Agave tequilana

Q – I’ve recently unexpectedly acquired a selection of houseplants. They include a variety of succulents. How often should I be watering them?

(17 minutes)

Ìý

Anne –

Rhipsalis

Epiphyllum

Schlumberger

Ìý

Q – What would the team suggest we plant in the new year that will serve as a lasting memorial to those who have sadly died due to Covid?Ìý

(21 minutes, 5 seconds)

Ìý

Humaira –

Taxus baccata (Yews)

Galanthus (snow drop) ‘Constellation’ Ìý

Galanthus ‘Orange Star’ Ìý

Galanthus ‘Swinging Star’ Ìý

Ìý

Anne –

Apple ‘Jupiter’

Apple ‘Saturn’

Ginkgo (Maidenhair tree)

Ìý

Christine –

SycamoreÌýÌý

Douglas fir
Redwood

Sweetgum

Pine

Ìý

Q – My 200-year old Garry oak tree (Quercus garryana) did not produce many acorns this year. Should I be worried?

(25 minutes, 43 seconds)

Ìý

Feature – Matt Biggs interviews Mo Badat on how he created his dream tropical garden in South London

(28 minutes, 3 seconds)

Ìý

Bougainvillea

Fatsia japonica

Golden bamboo

Agapanthus

Crocosmia ‘Red Lucifer’

Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Honey Burst’

Robinia pseudoacacia

Albizia

Q – Is there any way of overwintering Begonia ‘Glowing Embers’?

(33 minutes, 25 seconds)

Ìý

Humaira –

Begonia ‘Heron’s Pirouette’

Begonia sutherlandii

Ìý

Anne –

Zinnia

Ìý

Q – Do owls or larks make better gardeners, and which are you?

(38 minutes, 54 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Broadcasts

  • Fri 5 Feb 2021 15:00
  • Sun 7 Feb 2021 14:00

Six of GQT’s naughtiest gardening innuendos

When Gardeners' Question Time got mucky.

Podcast