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GQT at Ö÷²¥´óÐã: No Mow May and Dahlia Decay

Kathy Clugston hosts the gardening Q&A with a panel of experts.

Kathy Clugston hosts the gardening Q&A with a panel of experts. Houseplant queen Anne Swithinbank, plantsman Matt Biggs and award-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw answer the questions sent in by listeners on grasses gardens, planting orchards and recovering parterre gardens.

Away from the questions, we get an update on Matthew and Jane Wilson's cut flower garden, and Juliet Sargeant sets the GQT listenership a challenge - No Mow May.

Producer - Daniel Cocker
Assistant Producer - Millie Chu

A Somethin' Else production for Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Plant List

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

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Q – I sowed my chilli seeds in January – I was delighted that the little green shoots were showing, but something has been eating the leaves. What might this be?

(1 minute 22 seconds)

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Q – I have what I think is a Yucca. The plant is tied to a beam – the minute I cut it away from the beam it will topple over. Have you any suggestions to what the future of this plant could possibly be?Ìý

(5 minutes 4 seconds)

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Chris –

Yucca elephantipes

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Q – I’m looking for help recovering a box hedge parterre garden.

(8 minutes 25 seconds)

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Chris –

Buxus

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Q – My beds are in need of some TLC. How do I refresh my soil without damaging the plants that are already there? Ìý

(12 minutes 2 seconds)

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Feature – An update on Matthew Wilson’s cut flower garden

(14 minutes 48 seconds)

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Q – This is my first year growing dahlias from tubers. However, two out of the seven have rotted. Do you have any suggestions as to where I went wrong, and what I could do better next year?

(21 minutes 50 seconds)

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Q – I’m going to make a grasses garden. What can you recommend in the way of grasses that keep their flowers through the winter? Equally, what thin plants should I grow between the grasses that will make, if not a full screen, at least a visual distraction?

(25 minutes 25 seconds)

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Matt –

Miscanthus andante

Miscanthus ‘Kleine Fontaine’

Tulips

Camassia

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Chris –

Miscanthus ‘F±ô²¹³¾¾±²Ô²µ´Ç’

Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’

Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’

Pennisetum ‘Dark Desire’

Eryngium agavifolium

Verbena bonariensis

Eupatorium ‘Purple Bush’

Joe-Pye weed

Verbascum olympicum

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Feature – Juliet Sargeant sets the ‘No Mow May’ challenge

(30 minutes 28 seconds)

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Q – I’ve found this lying at the base of my hydrangea but haven’t a clue what it is. Any ideas?

(34 minutes 5 seconds)

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Q – I’ve just moved into a house with a slightly crumbling hard-surfaced tennis court. I have always dreamed of chickens running around under fruit trees. Would it be possible to dig big holes in the tennis court, add some soil and compost and plant trees into those?Ìý

(37 minutes, 37 seconds)

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