From the Archives: Foliage Frenzy

Gardeners' Question Time

BBC

Leisure, Home & Garden

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kathy Clugston prunes through the extensive GQT archive, which includes some much needed advice on all things Foliage.

With 77 years of experience in providing ample advice, our various GQT panellists are more than equipped to solve your gardening conundrums. They provide tips on the best plants for a foliage border, banana plants that can withstand the winter, and plants for a bed that never sees any sunshine.

Away from the questions, Matthew Wilson heads over to Sienna Hosta nursery to speak with Chris Potts, who explains how they keep their hostas slug and snail free.

Producer: Daniel Cocker Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

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

Q - What would be the best plants for a foliage border? (01'07")

Matthew Biggs – Euonymus fortunei f. radicans 'Silver Queen', spindle ‘Silver Queen’ Euonymus fortunei var. radicans, wintercreeper

Anne Swithinbank – Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'PBR , Siberia bugloss ‘Jack Frost’ Cornus canadensis, dwarf cornel

Matthew Wilson – Hosta, plantain lily Hosta sieboldiana, siebold’s plantain lily Hosta 'Big Daddy' (_sieboldiana_ hybrid) (v), plantain lily ‘Big Daddy’

Q- Why isn't my Christmas berry 'Red Robin' in here a lovely bright colour, like others? (04'22")

Q- Can banana plants stay outside during the winter? (08'10")

Matthew Pottage – Musa acuminata 'Dwarf Cavendish', banana 'Dwarf Cavendish'

Q – Why has my 12-year-old smoke bush has turned brown overnight? (11'19")

Feature – Matthew Pottage speaks with Managing Director of Sienna Hosta Nursery Chris Potts about how they nurture their Hosta’s to be pest free (17'07")

Q- What type of ferns should I use in my fernery? (22'40")

Matthew Wilson – Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance', copper shield fern 'Brilliance' Polystichum setiferum (Divisilobum Group) 'Herrenhausen', soft shield fern 'Herrenhausen' Matteuccia struthiopteris, shuttlecock fern

Pippa Greenwood – Primula vulgaris (Pr/Prim), primrose Wild violets

Q - What could I plant in a bed that never sees any sunshine? (27'51")

Matthew Wilson – Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign', lungwort 'Blue Ensign' Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance', copper shield fern 'Brilliance' Matteuccia struthiopteris, shuttlecock fern Deschampsia cespitosa, tufted hair grass

Christine – Rheum palmatum, Chinese rhubarb Heuchera, cora bells Ligularia

Q- How do I properly mow my lawn without ruining the foliage surrounding it? (32'33")

Q - What can I do to take care of my 3ft Poinsettias? (37'35")

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, it's Lucy Worsley here and we're back with a brand new series of ladies swindlers.
0:07.5	Promise never to mention a word of what is going on.
0:10.1	Join me and my all-female team of detectives as we revisit the audacious crimes of women trying to make it in a world made for men.
0:19.5	This is a story of working class women trying to get by in a world made for men. This is a story of working-class women trying to get by.
0:24.4	This is survival.
0:25.3	Join me for the second season of Lady Swindlers,
0:28.2	where true crime meets history with a twist.
0:31.4	Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:36.6	BBC Sounds, music, Radio, podcasts.
0:41.4	Hello, I'm Cathy Clugston, and this is Gardner's Question Time from BBC Radio 4.
0:47.0	So grab those secateurs or sit back and relax, however you like to listen,
0:51.7	and enjoy the next 45 minutes of great tips, advice and dubious horticultural humour.
0:58.6	Hello and a warm welcome to Gardner's Question Time with me, Cathy Clugston.
1:03.3	This week we're digging into our extensive back catalogue of gardening questions that our extraordinary experts have answered over the years. We've dedicated
1:12.2	previous archive programmes to subjects like soils and mulches, wildlife, planting for ponds and bogs,
1:19.5	containers, and of course pests and diseases. Today we're going to shine a spotlight on an aspect
1:25.6	of our gardens that sometimes gets neglected, foliage.
1:29.8	Whether it's the waxy, showy leaves of an ornamental banana, the delicate fronds of a fern, or the bright red bracts of Poinsettia,
1:38.1	in this programme we'll hear how our gardeners question time panellists enjoy plants plants leaves as much as their showy blooms.
1:46.4	Let's begin in a location with challenging weather conditions.
1:50.5	When delicate flower heads can easily be blown away, a foliage-heavy border might just be the answer.
1:57.0	GQT visited Shetland in 2017, where one audience member asked the perfect question to kick off this leafy edition.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.