Gardening with the RHS

It’s turned. The big coats are on, stew is on the menu, and we’re seriously thinking about putting the heating on. And just as we’re feeling the chill, so are our plants, some of which need a helping hand to get through the big freeze ahead. RHS advisor Nick Turrell joins us with advice on getting our leafy friends winter ready. But there’s still plenty you can grow, even when the temperature plummets. RHS Garden Wisley’s Liz Mooney shows us how to sow broad beans, whatever the weather. And finally, what could be more autumnal than gathering fallen leaves to make that precious brown gold, leafmould? It’s the perfect excuse to get outside, get moving and warm up, while doing your garden a world of good. RHS Hyde Hall’s Andy Tebbutt tells us how to make it and why it’s worth the effort. We’ll round off the episode with your questions, answered by Gareth and Melissa Mabbitt. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Nick Turrell, Liz Mooney, Andy Tebbutt Links: Winter protection  Broad beans Leafmould   Send your questions to [email protected]

It’s spooky season, and what better time to investigate three garden topics that are indelibly linked to Halloween. Pumpkins are everywhere, carved into grizzly expressions and displayed outside homes and workplaces. If you’d rather eat your home-grown pumpkin than scare people with it, RHS grow-your-own guru Liz Mooney offers a perfect pumpkin masterclass. We love all wildlife in our gardens but as it’s a spooky special, let’s talk bats and how to encourage them into our plots. Bat expert John Pearse reveals all. It’s Liz Mooney’s second growing guide of the episode, this time it’s a seasonal vampiric bulb, garlic of course. And we’ll round off the episode with listener questions answered with Gareth and Jenny Laville. Host: Gareth Richards https://www.instagram.com/thegrrdener/ Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Liz Mooney, John Pearse, Jenny Laville Links: How to grow pumpkins  Gardening for bats Bat Conservation Trust How to grow garlic  Send your questions to [email protected]

As the weather cools and birds flock back to gardens, many of us enjoy putting more food out for them. But have we been feeding birds all wrong? How can we help our feathered friends without inadvertently endangering them? RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock tells us how to feed birds properly this winter. After an incredibly tough summer for turf, many domestic lawns are still feeling the effects of months without rain. It might be time for a reboot, so RHS turf and lawn care specialist Jim Millward talks us through how to turf properly and tells us about his team’s progress on returfing alongside Wisley’s famous Jellicoe Canal. It’s off to RHS Garden Hyde Hall to talk with Sarah Wilson Frost about mulch; what is it, why is it important, and what does it do? And we’ll round-off the episode with listener questions answered with Gareth and Melissa. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Helen Bostock, Jim Millward, Sarah Wilson-Frost, Melissa Mabbitt Links: Bird statistics Bird feeding  Returfing and laying turf  Guide to mulch Chop and drop 

Meet one of our most loved and hated native plants. You might think of ivy as a destroyer of buildings or a nuisance weed, but it’s actually just been crowned the most popular flower with pollinating insects in an 8 year study by the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. It’s also the RHS Wildlife Wonder plant for October, so our Science and Horticulture editor Olivia Drake is here to explain what makes it so valuable, and worth including in your garden. Staying with plant wonders, did you know if you dream of cucumbers, it means you might speedily fall in love? RHS Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison offers fascinating tales of vegetable folklore for an upcoming online seminar. Hyde Hall’s Andy Tebbutt tells us why autumn is the best time of year for planting, but what’s happening to that plant when you put it in the ground? And Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Olivia Drake, Fiona Davison, Andy Tebbutt, Melissa Mabbitt Send your questions to [email protected] Links: Ivy Butterfly Conservation pollinator survey Vegetables, dreams and folklore RHS Libraries Why autumn is the best time for planting

A new season, and a new edition of The Plant Review, the quarterly magazine published by The RHS that delves a little deeper than the regular RHS Garden mag. If you prefer your plant stories and horticultural happenings that bit more detailed, The Plant Review is the publication for you. In this special programme, RHS plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic talks fungi in lawns, Plant Review editor James Armitage tells the story of Blanche Ada’s Thornycroft apples, and Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards, James Armitage Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Jassy Drakulic, Melissa Mabbitt   Links: The Plant Review Waxcap Watch Thornycroft apples Plants mentioned by James: Haplocarpha scaposa Lepechinia hastata Eryngium pandanifolium Vernonia crinita Cyperus involucratus Carex secta Send your questions to [email protected]