Gardeners' Corner

Mar 08 2025 636 ep. 41 mins 7.6k
Gardeners' Corner Podcast artwork

The weekly gardening programme for keen gardeners, with the latest advice, news and visits to gardens large and small around the province. Presented by David Maxwell.

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How to grow Dahlias, the art of stone walls and Adam Frost’s shrub of the month

Mar 08 2025 56 mins  
With the temperatures edging up, it’s time to get those Dahlia tubers planted up for the season ahead and that’s what David Maxwell found Ann FitzSimons doing when he dropped into her country garden glasshouse near Killinchy. At the National Trust’s Downhill Demesne, students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) are learning the art of making a d

Could you have hidden treasure in your garden? Why alpines are the ultimate no-fuss plants and early spring with Jimi Blake

Mar 01 2025 56 mins  
The hunt is on for long lost plant varieties – David Maxwell finds out why groups like the Irish Garden Plant Society and Plant Heritage want to find and save plants that can no longer be bought. In Bessbrook, Hilary McKelvey explains why alpines are the ultimate in no-fuss gardening. On a visit to renowned plantsman Jimi Blake’s garden in County Wicklow, David finds out about

Storm-proof trees, winter gems at Ardgillan Castle and getting your Amaryllis to flower again

Feb 22 2025 56 mins  
David Maxwell finds out about storm proof trees at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Kilmacurragh where head gardener, Seamus O’Brien also has tips on creating a wind break with holly, hazel and mix of other native species. At Ardgillan Castle on the coast of north county Dublin, Dominica McKevitt reveals a garden for all seasons where reliable shrubs like Euonymus fortune

Growing soft fruit without a garden, getting going with sweet peas, tomatoes and chillies, Adam Frost’s shrub of the month

Feb 15 2025 56 mins  
With spring just around the corner presenter David Maxwell, explores what we can all get growing in mid-February to get ahead of the game. Sweet Peas, Tomatoes and Chillies can all be sown right now on a warm windowsill for a summer full of scent and home grown goodness. Amy Kelly reveals how you can have a delicious crop of raspberries and strawberries without a garden and Gardene

Why you should eat the rainbow, how to grow hellebores and easy hedging

Feb 08 2025 56 mins  
This week why it’s good for you to eat as many different coloured fruit and veg as you can grow. A visit to Mount Venus nursery where Oliver Schurmann has a great collection on hellebores that are putting on an impressive show when little else does. In Glenarm, Neil Porteous is pruning grapes and Maurice Parkinson recommends Lonciera nitida as one of the best (and cheapest!) hedg

Storm Éowyn, from rugby to raking, and searching for special snowdrops

Feb 01 2025 56 mins  
Storm Éowyn has changed the face of some treasured public gardens. This week David visits the National Trust’s Mount Stewart which was one of the worst affected. Rob Wilson tells David that with thousands of trees down, the garden on the Ards Peninsula has completely lost some of its shelter belts. Despite the destruction, Gardeners’ Corner finds hope in the simple snowdrop at

How to have happy houseplants, pruning gooseberries and apples and taking the work out of gardening

Jan 25 2025 56 mins  
You don’t have to have a garden to enjoy plants and this week David Maxwell explores the plant world that prefers the indoor life. Roisin Horgan set up her houseplant business in east Belfast after years working in offices which lacked greenery. She reveals the best plants for different indoor locations including, the trailing Pothos or Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) for a du

What to grow for winter wonder, summer down under and the tidy grow tunnel that gets vacuumed?

Jan 18 2025 56 mins  
Even on a cold or dull January day there is always some winter wonders to be discovered in a botanic garden. This week, David Maxwell heads to the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, just a few miles from the centre of Dublin. Outdoors he finds flowering Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and the striking bark of Chilean Myrtle (Luma apiculata) while in the impressive “Cur

What to do in the garden when the temperature drops, Adam Frost’s Shrub of the Month and dealing with invasive Bamboo

Jan 11 2025 56 mins  
As temperatures drop, David Maxwell is joined in studio by Ann FitzSimons to consider how to deal with snow and ice in the garden. He also heads to the National Trust’s Mount Stewart where despite the freezing weather work is continuing to reclaim areas of the garden lost to invasive bamboo. At the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, Emily Hazell explains how they protect tender spe

Season by Season with Gardeners’ Corner

Jan 01 2025 56 mins  
At the turn of the year David Maxwell takes us on a journey through the four seasons with highlights from 12 months of Gardeners’ Corner. From snow covered Downhill Demesne to clearing up after the storms at Hillsborough Castle Gardens, from the Kew Gardens of Connemara to Sarah Raven’s world famous Perch Hill garden – David brings lessons from a year of gardening on the airw