Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria

Available for over a year

Eric Robson chairs a horticultural Q&A from Grange-Over-Sands in Cumbria. Sharing their wisdom, on the panel are Matthew Biggs, Anne Swithinbank and Bob Flowerdew. Eric Robson visits the 300 year old topiary garden at the Levens Hall, and Matthew Biggs is starts off his own hardy orchid collection. Questions answered in the programme are: Can the panel suggest plants suited to a woodland prone to severe flooding? Suggestions included: Skunk cabbage, Osmunda Regalis, Kingcups, Darmera Paitata, Swamp cypress and Alder. How can hen droppings be put to use on the veg plot? Why am I complete unable to grow Buddleias? "Noisy plant" suggestions for a sensory garden: Bamboo and Miscanthus, Broom for its bursting pods and Pine for its hissing cones. Is possible that my Maidenhair spleenwort underwent a genetic mutation in a fire and developed crested fronds? Suggestions for plants to incorporate in a veg bed, to be viewed from 2 high ( and no blue flowers please ): Mexican sunflower 'Tithonia', Cosmos bipinnatus, Aronia melanocarpa, Gladioli and Ribes Odoratum. Why do my French beans go curly? Is it true you can grow potatoes from eyes instead of tubers? Given that my husband refuses to heat the greenhouse over winter, what can I grow? Suggestions included: Camellias, Ornamental Leaf Begonias and Bougainvillea. Produced by Lucy Dichmont and Howard Shannon A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.