The Beechgrove Garden 2025 episode 8
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Beechgrove Garden. Coming up on the programme today, how to beat the bugs
00:19and planting a rain garden. Coming up, advice on how to deal with pests. The fun part of creating
00:29my rain garden. It's time to plant. It's back to basics on how best to get a tree in the
00:36ground. Now years ago we used to dig really big, really deep holes. We don't now because
00:44we know that tree roots don't go down, they go sideways. And growing up, cheap ideas for
00:50vertical planting. This is virtually a perfect day. I think all the plants around us are
01:01looking so lush, healthy, full of energy. But as the season goes on, they're going to start
01:06running out of steam a wee bit of, they might need a wee boost. So that's where a bit of
01:09feeding comes in, I think. It certainly is. And I would actually say it's quite a daunting
01:13thing. Simple, but daunting. You go into the garden centres these days and there are hundreds
01:17of different ones available. Sometimes too many, but the main thing we need to focus
01:21on is the three main elements that plants need to grow. And that's nitrogen, phosphorus
01:26and potassium. Seen on the back of the packets is N, P and K.
01:30Absolutely. So your nitrogen, what that's going to do is really encourage lots of lovely leafy
01:35growth. So it's not going to be too leggy, it's not going to be too soft. It's going to
01:38be nice and firm and strong. These are the croissants I've been really looking forward to growing
01:43in this year. You can actually see I pinched the top of the heads off them a few weeks
01:47ago and look at all the side shoots growing. Going to get a lovely bushy plant. But feeding
01:51just now with high nitrogen, something like sulphate of ammonia, that's going to encourage
01:55this plant to grow. And then we'll move on to another feed later on after that.
01:58Yeah, and I think just your sort of general purpose liquid feed would be absolutely ideal.
02:02You just follow the instructions, you just feed as and when.
02:05So phosphorus, that's all about encouraging or developing good roots and shoots. So that's
02:10when we sprinkle a wee bit of bone meal round about planting time. But then what we're
02:15wanting flowers and fruits. So that's where you're going to move into your containers.
02:19Exactly. So with anything that is coming into bud, going to put on loads of flowers or anything
02:24that is edible, you know, your apples and things like that, putting on a really lovely, even
02:29just a tomato feed. This is going to have a higher ratio of potassium, which is really
02:34going to encourage all of that growth for the plants themselves. And it does the job.
02:39Exactly. Think about your summer hanging baskets, you want them full of lovely flowers. So again,
02:43why can't you use the same one on each?
02:45No, exactly. And I think it just also removes the confusion. Now you can get very specific
02:51ones, but I don't see the need always, unless you're growing something for a show. You know,
02:56if it's just for at home, it's perfect.
02:58So there's two different ways we can deliver these feeds. You're doing a liquid feed. I'm going
03:01to go for a granular feed. So that's more about the plants outside. I think the first point
03:06to notice though is every plant is looking so good and that's because we're getting
03:08the soil conditions right. So every year we're mulching them plants, we're improving the soil.
03:13So that's the best place to start. After that, I'm going to have a go at these hydrangeas.
03:17OK. So I want to give them a wee boost. So they're going to be high in potassium.
03:21Correct. So we want them to flower later on in the year. Always look at the back of the packet
03:26for the instructions. 35 grams will fit into my gloved handful. This plant needs 70 grams in total.
03:35So it's just an even sprinkle all around the root plate of the plant.
03:41I think that's actually quite important as well because you're taking it quite far out.
03:44You know, don't be inclined to go right into the centre because that root system is actually
03:48spreading. Under the whole canopy, the plant's a good indication. And then just give it out
03:53the soil a wee fluff so it just gets it underneath the soil, gets it activating. And then afterwards,
03:58we're going to take the seeds to really kick it in. Give it a wee drink. And then that'll sort us out.
04:05So this is hydrangea feed, specific for hydrangeas. And I think you can get a variety of different ones
04:11now hydrangeas and roses and herbaceous and all sorts. And to be honest, I think it might be worth it,
04:17again, if you're really looking for that very specific thing. But the only one I would really
04:21encourage going for would be the ericaceous ones because it is chemistry at the end of the day.
04:27And ericaceous plants need a lower pH. So this is your camellias, your azaleas, rhododendrons.
04:32So just making sure that you're providing something to them that isn't going to alter the pH too much.
04:37It's going to keep it nice and low and keep your plants really healthy. Exactly. And then I think
04:40the last thing to consider is, again, the manufacturer's instructions. We don't want to
04:45overfeed. First of all, it's a waste of money. If I'd put double the does down here, I could actually
04:49damage the roots of the plant, which completely defeats the purpose. But look forward to coming
04:54back later in the year and seeing all the plants looking better. Definitely. I think it's going to be great.
05:07Well, here we are in our new rain garden. In Scotland, we're getting more rainfall and with it,
05:16we're getting more intense periods of rainfall. So instead of all that water running straight into
05:21the drains, we wanted to create a garden that could capture the runoff that comes from a roof
05:27and hard surfaces, direct it into this border where it'll be held for a short time before then being
05:33slowly released into the drainage system, helping to reduce flooding. So the gardens team have been
05:40busy. We've got our water butt in place. They've done the landscaping. Now it's time for the good part
05:46in the planting. Now, all the plants that are going in this area can take wet and dry conditions, but
05:53some like one slightly more than the other. The first plant I've got here is Persicaria orangefield.
05:58It's a wonderful ground cover plant, very free flower and flowers here are going to be that lovely
06:04salmon pink colour. Just because it likes it slightly drier, I'm actually going to plant it just at the
06:11top of my bank end here, where there's going to be more drainage. If it does like the conditions,
06:15then it can creep forward all it likes. We're then moving on to the Estrantia, a really popular
06:22garden plants just now. Lovely flowers, great if you're into your cut flowers too. And once they've
06:27finished their first phase of flowering, chop them down, tidy it up, and then you'll get that second
06:32flush later on. As you can see, the foliage is quite very similar to the geranium. One geranium I'm
06:41keen to have in here is Mrs. Kendall Clarke. So it's lovely bluish grey flowers, but it's got this
06:45intricate white vein in the flower as well. And it's a good plant to think about its name as well,
06:51because that also helps us. This is the meadow Cranesbill. And then along with this greater meadow
06:58rue, we're getting an idea that it likes meadow conditions. So if I think to the Alps, I've got
07:02the snow-capped mountains at this time of year, the snow's melting and it's running down the hillsides,
07:08creating wonderful grassland conditions that are going to be wet, but good drainage.
07:12And that's just exactly what we've created here in our rain garden.
07:19We've improved the soil, because remember this is a border that we're making just now,
07:24we're not wanting a bog garden out of this.
07:26So we've added plenty of compost just to improve its structure, and so it can hold onto that moisture
07:34as well. And then as we're looking at names and foliage, this is a cracker. Now this is Rodgersia
07:43Asculifolia, and I'm going to plant it in the basin that we have here. And this is where it's going to be
07:48slightly wetter, and we're also at the top end. The water's where it first comes into is here,
07:53so it's going to be holding onto that moisture just that wee bitty more. Now this is a kraken plant,
07:59gets its name because it looks very similar to the horse chestnut that we have in our country.
08:05And I think this is going to be a belter. It can take up quite a bit of space,
08:10and again this crinkled bronze foliage, I really hope that's going to complement the flowers of the
08:16persicaria as well. And I think foliage in the garden is very important because the foliage is
08:24there a lot longer than we have the flowers. And this one's a belter of a hosta. This is Big Daddy,
08:30I absolutely love the name. Got lovely blue green foliage, it's quite rounded, and the good news is
08:36it's supposed to be slug and snail resistant, so I think that'd be a great one to try in this little garden
08:42here. And then plants to complement each other, hostas and ferns really go well. We've got the
08:49narrow filigree fern here, it's actually a plant that prefers being in moist conditions,
08:55but it will take drier conditions once established. And that's an important thing to remember here,
09:00we're not creating a bog garden, this is still a general border that we've created. So over the next
09:06few weeks and months, make sure we're giving the plants a good drink until they get properly established.
09:12And finally a Japanese grass that I've been wanting to try. This is Hakonikloa Makra. It actually does
09:23better in containers, but I want to see how well it does in this sort of gravel garden. Again, I've kind
09:29of got it up the banks. And as you can see with the soil being so dry, so fresh, it's actually quite
09:35loose. So I'm a wee bit worried when it does rain, this is all going to erode and wash away.
09:41We've got gravel either ends. The final job that we need to do
09:47is just that finishing touches, and that'll help hold all the compost in place.
09:53Well, they said build it and the rain will come, but let's hope it stays like this for a few more weeks.
10:03But it is going to be interesting to watch how this garden develops, and you never know,
10:06we might have a garden for the future.
10:17If you don't have much room to plant, one option that you can think about is growing vertically.
10:22Now, a few weeks ago when I was here, I installed the purpose-built planter. Now,
10:26this is the high-end option that you can buy ready-made. And you can probably agree,
10:31it is looking fabulous. Even the strawberries are starting to put fruit on, so it's really doing its
10:37job. But what I wanted to do was just show you a different option, something that is budget-friendly
10:43and also recycling. So with that, what I'm looking at are pallets. Now, this pallet here is planted up
10:51very traditionally. What we've done is we've taken out some of the sections there, and we have just
10:57added some typical sort of garden membrane to create pockets that are then just supported by
11:03the chicken wire at the bottom, just to hold the weight. In here, what we've done is we've planted in
11:09some lettuce, some herbs, and similar sort of plants to what we have in this one as well.
11:15And this is fabulous, and it will absolutely do its job. But I had another idea, so I wanted to show
11:20you something else. This one that I've got over here, what I've done is I've turned it on its end.
11:27And I've done that very deliberately, because I know that a lot of us now have fences with neighbours
11:32and we might want to double slat. Well, this is a great way to do that. Plus, you're also using the
11:37space to grow into. So within this one, what I've also done is I've added some guttering just to create
11:45those pockets. So I've put it in at a slight angle. And the reason for that is just to make sure that
11:51if we do have a heavy downpour, although at the moment it doesn't look like we're going to, or if
11:56we do need to water heavily, then the water will drain down. So it's not going to get too stagnant
12:02in the channels. What I've also done is added some stones on either end. It's really just to stop the
12:08compost from falling out when that water is channelling through, as long as the water can
12:14pass by it and pass through it. So within the planting, it's just exactly the same. What we're
12:19doing is we're just going in at that angle, just to help the plants sort of billow out. And it really
12:25kind of maximises on the look of the planter as well, that immediate impact that I know a lot of us are
12:31looking for. Now, the other thing you might also be thinking is that these are quite small channels
12:37here. But what we're doing is when we're looking at our root system, we're just going to spread the
12:43roots apart a little bit. And what they'll do is they'll just start spreading horizontally once they
12:48reach the bottom of the channel. Now with the compost, we're just going to be sprinkling that in
12:53and firming it down. Now, the final thing that is really important to think about is your compost,
13:00because we don't want the compost to dry out. So what we're doing is just making sure that we add
13:05vermiculite. So vermiculite will really help to hold the moisture and it'll just release that water
13:11to the plants when they need it. Now, planting a tree is something that most gardeners will have done
13:17at some point, and we all have our own way of doing it. But it doesn't hurt to refresh your skills.
13:23So here is Colin Crosby's Back to Basics.
13:38Colin was head gardener to the late Queen Mother at Windsor Castle and was also curator at RHS Garden
13:44Wisley. He's been gardening for years and in all weathers.
13:50Yes, it's raining, but it's absolutely wonderful for planting and especially planting trees. And here
13:57we are with one of my favourite trees, Cornus cousa chinensis. It has beautiful pink bracts,
14:04it has wonderful autumn colour, and then during the winter, as it ages, it has the most lovely bark.
14:10But I need to get the hole dug for it, and I want to make sure it looks good. So a little trick I've
14:15got. I want the hole to be circular and a metre wide. So I've got two canes, a piece of string,
14:2150 centimetres. I put the central one in here so I know where the centre of the hole is going to be.
14:27And then I just go round, and as you can see my soil here, it's really stony. But don't worry about
14:34that. None of us has perfect soil in our garden. So that's me mark the hole, and now the difficult
14:41bit. I've got to do the hard work. I've got to dig the hole. Now years ago, we used to dig really big,
14:48really deep holes. We don't now, because we know that tree roots don't go down, they go sideways.
14:55And if you go to a woodland and you look at trees, you trip over the tree roots. One of the biggest
15:00problems we have in gardens. We plant too deep, and we actually make the tree and the shrub suffer.
15:06So I'll start digging the hole. You can see how dry it is, so it really is good.
15:12Now when I was a young gardener, we used to dig holes that were two, three foot deep. We used to
15:19put lots of manure and compost at the bottom of them, and we thought the tree would grow like a rocket.
15:26Actually, we were harming the tree. Because the problem is, when you put organic material at the
15:33bottom of a hole, it rots away over time. And so the tree that you planted at the right level,
15:39it starts to sink. But I'll need to get down on my hands and knees now.
15:48Now if you look at the hole, you can see it's quite shallow, and you can see the saucer shape.
15:53Now look at that root ball. Doesn't it look wonderful? But looks can be deceiving. The first
16:03thing I need to do is remove all the excess compost. And look at all that compost that's just coming off.
16:12Because I want to get down to where the tree starts to flare out at the bottom. And if you look down there,
16:20you can see close. I've removed about an inch of soil. And you can start to see where the roots flare out
16:27from the bottom. That's really important. That's the level that you want to plant to, not the level
16:34of the compost in the container. But I'm also going to go round the edges of the pot. You've got to tease
16:40out the roots. Because when the roots have been in the pot, they start to circle round. And they start
16:48to corkscrew. And if I was just to plant it like that into the ground, the roots would continue to
16:53corkscrew. We want to stop that. So with this knife, I'm going to go down and do four cuts.
17:03And that cuts through any spiralling roots. And then I'm just going to get in, tease out the soil,
17:09because I want these roots to go sideways into the surrounding soil.
17:16And I can see at the bottom of the pot. Look at that. I'm going to put a cut right across the bottom.
17:23Now, it looks cruel. It's not been cruel. It's actually been really helpful to the plant.
17:30It's actually better to plant a little bit proud than it is to plant too deep. You don't want soil
17:37coming up the root. You really don't. So you want to plant it so the soil just comes to there,
17:43not up the stem. Because if it goes up the stem, it actually softens the stem. And it allows other
17:49problems like honey fungus to enter the plant. But when I plant, I also use a compound.
17:57And I have some here in the wee jar. Now, this is called mycorrhizal fungi. And it's a beneficial
18:04fungi that helps trees and shrubs establish. Some people are even using it and show vegetables and
18:11things like that. But I've been using it for 20, 30 years on trees. And it forms a secondary fungal
18:18root system. That's what mycorrhizal means. A fungal root system. And it helps the tree or the shrub
18:24to establish. So I want to keep it dry. And it is rather wet today. And I've just got to put the top of
18:31the jar on. And you've got to dust it on the roots. You want it to come into contact and the bottom as
18:38well. But you can see it's actually touching the roots. And about a teaspoonful like that per plant
18:45is perfect. Now, every tree has got a good side and a bad side. And what side am I going to be looking
18:54at it? Well, I'm actually going to look at it as I come down into the garden. So I actually think
19:00that it's good side is that way. And always remember that every tree and shrub in the garden has a good
19:06side.
19:09And then I'm going to gently start firming it in. So often I've seen people coming in and they
19:15tramp round about it. You just gently need to firm in. And I go round it like a clock,
19:21just working my way around the tree. And the thing I always have to check about, so important,
19:28is that not planted too deep. I don't want any soil coming up around the base of the tree like that.
19:34You want to see that root flare being proud. But I haven't finished. There's one last thing I'm going
19:44to do. Now I talked about the magic ingredient, the mycorrhizal fungi. I'm going to just mulch it
19:50with some leaf mold I've had in my compost heap. And I love leaf mold. It's the best mulching material out.
19:58And it just helps to finish everything off. And it actually helps the tree to establish.
20:03And so I'm just going to pile a little bit down and then using my hands, I'm going to spread it round
20:12about. Now another mistake that people make when mulching is they mulch right up to the base of the
20:20tree like that. You actually want the mulch to have a circle three around the tree. So don't bring the mulch
20:27up there. And I will guarantee you, by the end of the summer, this leaf mold will have disappeared.
20:34And the worms and all the beneficial insects will have taken it into the soil. And I'm looking forward
20:41to this two or three years time, seeing this flowering and enjoying it as I continue the development of my
20:49garden.
21:05Time now for this week's handy hints. If you're installing a vertical planter, just remember to
21:10choose plants with a shallow root system so they really thrive. But if you did want to add some
21:15vigorous growing herbs like mint and oregano, just be sure that you're constantly chopping at them
21:21so that the roots don't get too big.
21:31As us gardeners know, we're having one of the driest springs for a very long time.
21:35And that means we need to be more responsible with our water use.
21:39Always check the guidelines in your area. But if you do need to water, and for me,
21:43I'm now focusing on the bare rooted trees and hedging that I planted over winter,
21:47and the shrubs that I planted over the last few weeks, aim to do your watering in the morning
21:52or the evening at the coolest part of the day. The hottest part of the day is during the middle,
21:58and that's when it's more likely that the water is going to dry up. And if you haven't already done
22:03so, apply the layer of mulch round about five centimetres thick around the base of the plant.
22:08This will help trap the moisture and increase the time in between your next watering.
22:24Well, this time of year, everything in the glass house is coming on really, really well.
22:31But all of our hard work can be undone by pests. And I have noticed on these chrysanthemums,
22:35there is quite a lot of aphids. The warm dry conditions are absolutely perfect for aphids to
22:43grow and infest your plants. Aphids are tiny little sap sucking insects. They're classed as phloem feeders.
22:51And essentially what this means is they have a needle-like mouthpiece that will pierce through
22:57predominantly the underside of leaves and into the stems and suck out all of the sugary sap that the
23:03plants have spent all this time making in order to grow. So when you do have these bad infestations,
23:10you're going to get typical symptoms like this here where we've got the yellowing leaves. They're
23:15really curled. The plant just looks really sickly and not so good. And to be honest, I think for this
23:21one and possibly even this one, they're just going to have to be disposed of. But for the other ones,
23:27whilst they do have aphids on them, I don't think it's the end of the world for those. So first things
23:33first is going to be thinking about integrated pest management. So cultural controls, just making sure
23:38that we're using our yellow sticky traps. These will attract as many flies as possible away from the
23:44plants. They can go on plant labels and then stick them on and just stick them in. So that's one thing
23:49we can do. What we can also do is think about our plants themselves, making sure that the pots are
23:54nicely spaced apart and that the plants don't have any dying leaves or dying stems on them or anything
24:01crossed over so that we have good airflow in between all of the leaves as well. But for these plants
24:07here, these are quite badly infested. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to use a soap spray
24:14predominantly. Now this can be used on leaves that are not too bad. So these ones here are actually
24:19looking fine. So I'm just going to give those a spray. They do have insects on them, but this should
24:24hopefully just get rid of them. Whereas we do have some leaves higher up. Now this one here is
24:32particularly bad. So I'm actually just going to break this one off entirely because there's about 200
24:37on there and I don't think that there's much I can do about that. I'm just going to continue spraying
24:42these. And Brian is on pest watch. I'm up in the fruit cage on the hunt for some pests and it hasn't
24:58taken me very long to find the first one. So this little red blistering here on the current bushes,
25:04this is the current blister aphid. And then when the aphid is feeding on this, it does secrete this
25:09little chemical which caused this blister of infect. Now having a scan over the whole plant,
25:14this is the only leaf. So I'm actually going to take it off. I'm not worried about too much. It
25:19doesn't actually cause too much harm to the the resulting crop that we're going to get from these
25:24currents. And that can't be said for the gooseberry. At this time of year, we're actually on the hunt for
25:31a wee green with caterpillar with little black dots and that's the larvae of the gooseberry sawfly.
25:39But basically, if I don't pick this off, then it is going to defoliate the whole plant. So it's very
25:45important that we get down on our haunchers and have a wee look. Now on the opposite scale from the
25:51blister aphid, if all the foliage is taken off this plant, it will result in the vigour being slightly
25:57diminished. And already the gooseberries are looking wonderful, so I didn't want that to happen. So this
26:01is something I'm going to have to do every day. Now one of the natural predators is a birdie, but
26:08the birdies, they enjoy the blueberries, the currants and the gooseberries as much as we do.
26:13So we actually grow all our soft fruits in this caged area and the gardens team are going to be coming
26:18and putting the roof on now. So because I didn't want the birdies in, I'm going to have to pick
26:23these off myself, but I'll stick them to the side and the birds can enjoy a wee feast afterwards.
26:27If you didn't like doing that, there is a wee nematode that you can get,
26:31and that's us basically watering in a predator. So once we water in the soil here, this predator
26:36will be released and that will go and attack the caterpillars for us. But sometimes you have to be
26:40careful because they can also go for the good guys, you know, the hoverflies and the ladybirds.
26:45They could also go for the likes of the aphids that are around this area.
26:48It was great last week seeing Callum in the veg plot. I can see he's got the brassica cage up, so
26:53that'll keep out the pigeons and it'll also keep out the cabbage white butterflies.
26:57I can also see the team have got the the wee mesh area around where the carrots are grown and again
27:02that'll stop the carrot root fly from coming in and destroying our carrots. So it just goes to show
27:08all that preventative action that we can do just now is going to make sure our stomachs are full
27:13later on as the season.
27:23What a glorious day we've had in the garden today. It's been stunning and we're up in the alpine
27:31garden again. Gosh, you get weeks of colour in the alpine garden. I'm going to pick out the white and
27:37the pink of the Erinus alpinus. It's like a sea of colour at the minute. It's a great little plant,
27:41just seeds everywhere. It's absolutely beautiful. I am particularly enjoying this euphorbia. The
27:46vibrancy of that lime green is just screaming summer is coming to me. I know. Yellow and green,
27:52it's a nice wee combination. Certainly is. Well, that's all we've got time for today. I'm going
27:56to be joined in the garden next week by Callum who's going to be working on a garden classic,
28:01a beautiful scented lavender border. It's a nice wee idea if you want a wee path in your garden that
28:06you need to just do something special with. And we will have an update from Irene Berry's Japanese
28:11garden down in the borders and we will be in a community garden in Kuros. Don't forget you can catch up
28:17with all this on the iPlayer. But other than that, that's all from us. Bye for now. Bye.
28:47Bye.