RHS Chelsea Bandstand Show
Gardeners' Question Time
BBC
4.6 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How do I take care of a kokedama? How do you take care of a sedum living roof? Why won't my trollius flower?
For the first time ever, GQT sets up shop at the heart of the iconic RHS Chelsea Flower Show, broadcasting from the charming bandstand. Kathy Clugston is joined by a panel of horticultural heavyweights, including Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson, and James Wong.
Keep your ears pricked up for some familiar voices - among the questioners are none other than Scott Mills, David Tennant and Zoe Ball, each bringing their own garden problems to the table.
Later, Peter Gibbs takes a tranquil detour to the stunning Songbird Survival Garden on Main Avenue. There, he chats with designer Nicola Oakey and dedicated volunteer Bee about how we can turn our outdoor spaces into welcoming sanctuaries for Britain’s beleaguered songbirds.
Producer: Daniel Cocker Producer: Dominic Tyerman Producer: Matthew Smith Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali 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 – I’ve got a floppy snake plant – is this because I’ve overwatered it? (01'17")
Q - Why do the flower buds fall off my chameleon each year? (02'38")
Q - Hello, it's David Tennant here. I've been gifted a beautiful kokedama. How do I water this? How do I not kill it? (05'26")
Q – Could you recommend some pretty and low maintenance for flowers for window boxes? (07'34")
Bunny Guinness – Verbena officinalis 'Bampton', vervain ‘Bampton’ Polystichum setiferum, soft shield fern Salvia rosmarinus (Ro), rosemary
Matthew Wilson – Thymus vulgaris, common thyme Thymus praecox
James Wong – Portulaca, porcelain Mesembryanthemum Delosperma.
Q- My trollius hasn’t flowered this year. What am I doing wrong? (12’58")
Feature – Peter Gibbs visits the ‘Songbird Survival Garden” on main avenue, where he meets with designer Nicola Oakey and volunteer Bee (17’22”)
Q - We've got a garden room with a sedum living roof – how do we look after it? (22'20")
Q – Hello! Zoe Ball here! How do I stop squirrels from eating all my plants? (32'06")
Q - My trachycarpus and dicksonia antarctica. They're getting thinner and thinner each year – how do I appropriately thin them out? (28'54")
Q – Hi GQT, it’s Scott Mills. How do I stop my dog’s pee from ruining my lawn? (28'54")
Q – I’d like you to recommend plants for a red hot, south facing gravel garden? (36'25")
James Wong – Hardy aloes Aloe polyphylla Eschscholzia californica, california poppy Bunny Guinness – Salvia confertiflora, sabra spike sage
Matthew Wilson – Rosa 'Sally Holmes' (S), rose 'Sally Holmes' Dasylirion wheeleri, spoon flower Aloiampelos striatula, striped-stemmed aloe Beschorneria yuccoides, yucca-leaved beschorneria
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy. |
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| 0:40.2 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:44.8 | Hello, I'm Cathy Clugston and this is Gardner's Question Time from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:50.3 | So grab those secretars or sit back and relax, however you like to to listen and enjoy the next 45 minutes of great tips, advice and dubious horticultural humour. |
| 1:02.3 | Hello, we are in a glorious outdoor setting today, surrounded by immaculate greenery and spectacular blooms in the shade of towering London plane trees. |
| 1:12.8 | There's a buzz of excitement in the air because this is a GQT first. |
| 1:17.1 | We are slapbang in the middle of the world's most prestigious and glamorous garden event. |
| 1:21.8 | We're on the bandstand at the RHS Chelsea Flores Show in front of a live Chelsea audience. |
| 1:31.6 | Thank you. Riches Chelsea Flores show in front of a live Chelsea audience. And there they are. Well, Chelsea is more than just a show. It's a celebration of all aspects |
| 1:36.5 | of horticulture. The world's top garden designers have descended on this tiny corner of West London |
| 1:42.1 | to create iconic green spaces and inspire millions of us to pick up a trial and get gardening. |
| 1:48.5 | The sun is shining, the champagne is flowing, not on stage obviously, that'll be for after the show. |
| 1:54.0 | Our panel of GQT experts is ready to take questions from today's Chelsea Flower Show audience. |
... |
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