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Q – Dandelions: love them or hate them?

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Neil – We grow a plant here called Tree Dandelion which has leaves that are three feet long

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Bob – It is a vegetable and you can eat them

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Bunny – But they are called ‘Pissenlit’ because they are diuretic

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Q – On the path into Mount Stewart there is a bush whose dead leaves smell a bit like curry.Ìý What is it and can you tell us a bit more about it?

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Neil – It is a dome-shaped Escallonia with fresh green leaves.Ìý It is called Escallonia resinosa and it is from Peru.Ìý It is called the ‘Vindaloo Plant’ because of its distinctive smell.Ìý There is a New Zealand version called Escallonia illinita which has slightly bigger leaves.Ìý

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Q – Beyond the obvious, what botanicals would you grow to flavour homemade gin?

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Matthew – There is a gin in Northern Ireland which uses clover and hay for flavouring.Ìý You could use nettles, mushrooms or even snail!Ìý

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Eric – Rhubarb

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Matthew – I was working with someone in Yorkshire who uses three different rhubarbs: ‘Brandy Carr Scarlet’, ‘Timperley Early’… and a third I can’t remember!Ìý

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Bob – I do white rum instead of gin.Ìý Damson white rum is better than a sloe gin.Ìý Alpine strawberries are good but you need to put a lemon in too to counteract the sweetness.Ìý My favourite though is Parma Violets.Ìý It takes 1000 petals to make one quarter of a pint but it is worth it.Ìý

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Matthew – Gin must have juniper berries as its primary ingredient in order to be called gin

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Q – What plants would you recommend for a dry, shady area underneath mature birch trees?

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Neil – We grow things like Myosotidium (‘Chatham Island forget-me-not’).Ìý With it we grow a plant from New Zealand called Arthropodium cirratum.Ìý Also, Fuchsia excorticata.Ìý

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Feature:

Eucalyptus

Cardiocrinum giangteum lilies

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Q – Can you suggest a cure for man who has a passion and a skill for growing trees but not enough space (Bonsai is not the answer)?

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Bunny – Limit yourself to cherries, Acers and then plant groups of each.Ìý So maybe five Acer griseum and then five-ten years later thin them out

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Bob – Make sure you plan ahead

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Neil – Get him interested in ferns instead

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Q – Killough is a small coastal village in County Down and the plant swap is more ‘come-and-get-a-plant’ in order to encourage new gardeners.Ìý What plant would you bring to swap with someone who may have limited garden experience?

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Bunny – Euphorbia x pasturii ‘Brown’s Strain’ and there’s a form called ‘John Phillips’.Ìý The wulfenii is the more common Euphorbia but this one is bigger and bolder.Ìý

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Q – Why can I never get a good gooseberry crop?

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Bob – Don’t prune too hard.Ìý Give them some potash.Ìý

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Bunny – You’re growing ‘Hinnonmaki Gold’ and ‘Hinnonmaki Red’ – you shouldn’t need to prune them.Ìý Add some biochar too.Ìý

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Q – We are building a barbeque area and we would like to make a tropical feel but with hardy plants.Ìý What can you recommend?

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Bunny – Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus) is a good one.Ìý Hardy bamboo too.Ìý ÌýÌý

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Neil – Aralia chapaense which is Vietnamese and has spiny stems.Ìý Or Sambucus adnate which is a type of Elder with long, fluffy leaves.

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Q – Our son has moved into a house with a 1.6-acre (6500sqm) grass garden – any ideas?

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Matthew – Put trees and hedges in first.Ìý With flowering stuff start nearest the house.Ìý Treat most of it like a wildflower meadow.

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Bunny – Get some Dexter Cattle on there.Ìý Make him a mini ‘ferme ornée’.Ìý Build a ha-ha and then behind that get animals on there.Ìý And some self-shearing sheep and some guinea fowl.Ìý

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Aralia chepana – spiny stems, 6ft a year

Himalyan – sambucca sadenata – type of elder, long fluffy leaves

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