Hyde Hall: Latin Names, Water Butts and Plant Superpowers

Gardeners' Question Time

BBC

Leisure, Home & Garden

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What can gardening clubs do to entice new members? How do the panel handle their plant addiction? If you were to have a plant superpower, which would it be and why?

It’s party time in the garden once again! Gardeners’ Question Time returns with the much-anticipated GQT Summer Garden Party, recorded at the breathtaking RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex.

This week, Peter Gibbs leads the horticultural festivities as a vibrant panel of plant pros take on questions from a crowd of passionate and curious gardeners. On the panel - proud plantswoman Christine Walkden, pest and disease detective Pippa Greenwood, and botanical explorers James Wong and Dr Chris Thorogood.

Expect expert insights, surprising solutions, and a whole lot of garden inspiration in this special summer celebration of all things green and growing.

Producer: Matthew Smith Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali Assistant Producer: Rocky Cocker Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:06.3	Welcome to a glorious afternoon of sunshine in Essex, where, despite a couple of recent showers, this summer, it's a county living up to its reputation as Britain's very own Sahara.
0:18.8	We're here for part two of Radio 4's biggest outdoor event of the year,
0:22.8	the gardener's question time summer garden party. And this time we're very lucky to be hosted by
0:28.0	RHS Garden Hyde Hall, which is near Chelmsford. Hello, having a good day? Yes, thank you.
0:33.5	What's been the highlight so far? Well, I'm hoping this is going to be the highlight.
0:38.1	It's the right answer, Madam. Well done. I see you've been busy emptying your wallet. And more to come later. Ah, yes, I'm sure. I was wondering if there was a plant crash here so I could stash it and start a game. There is. It's just down there and it's getting very, very full. Okay. Enjoy the show.
0:34.9	Thanks a lot.
0:35.7	Hello.
0:36.2	Hello.
0:36.7	Have you come far?
0:37.5	We've come from Cambridge here. Oh well, okay. Across the fens. Across the pens, yeah. We have our questions ready. Excellent. That's what we want to see. That's the most important part of the show. Indeed. That's it's all about. Have you been to Gardner's question time before? No. We listen to it regularly though.
1:12.6	Fantastic. Well I think you'll be in for a treat. Good. Thank you very much. Thank you.
1:16.6	Hello. Are you looking forward to the show today?
1:19.6	Not really because I've just been too excited about my birthday.
1:23.6	That's good to hear. You're going to be a gardener when you grow up?
1:26.6	I think maybe yeah. And I might grow some corn and we've been picking lots of daddy's blackberries. Fantastic.
1:35.3	It sounds like you're well on the way. And maybe I'm like, grow up like a farmer. A farmer. That sounds
1:40.3	good as well. Farmer, gardener, you're all heading in the right direction. Have a great time.
1:45.0	Thank you.
1:46.0	One of the jewels in the RHS Crown, Hyde Hall is buzzing with gardeners, growers and GQT
1:53.0	fans from far and wide, all here to enjoy the garden's annual flower show.
	...

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