In a special Gardeners’ Question Time episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the programme is at the Serge Hill Project, an inspirational garden that promotes working with nature to radically transform people's health and well-being.
Renowned landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, and Tom’s partner, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist Sue Stuart-Smith, join regular panellists Pippa Greenwood, Christine Walkden, and Anne Swithinbank to answer listener questions. The programme also features a generous and brave final appearance from GQT panellist Matt Biggs.
Matt has been a GQT panellist since 1994, and has been battling cancer for six years. Tragically, Matt’s cancer has now entered its end-stage. Matt wanted to record this programme, knowing it would be his last appearance on Gardeners’ Question Time, surrounded by his longtime friends and GQT colleagues.
Listeners will hear questions answered by the GQT panel of gardening experts, but they will also hear about Matt’s journey from initial diagnosis to his current mental and physical condition. At times Matt’s words are upsetting, raw, and honest, however it is Matt’s wish that his story is told partly as advice for other sufferers and also to serve as inspiration to all listeners.
Producers: Dan Cocker, Matt Smith and Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
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Gardeners' Question Time Folgen
A panel of horticultural experts answer gardening questions from a live audience. Recorded in a different location each week
Folgen von Gardeners' Question Time
87 Folgen
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Folge vom 15.05.2026Serge Hill Project
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Folge vom 08.05.2026Pulham MarketPeter Gibbs and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit visit Pulham Market.Peter is joined by Bob Flowerdew, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness to answer questions on growing fruit in pots and choosing shrubs for deep shade, and discuss which farmyard manure is best to use on the allotment.Along the way, the panellists explore the challenges of quince blight, champion strawberries grown in buckets, and share suggestions for gardening activities that are accessible and engaging for people with limited mobility.Also, James Wong visits Kew Gardens to witness the spectacular (and pungent!) flowering of the Titan Arum, one of the rarest and most extraordinary plants in cultivation.There are also practical tips for sowing carrots successfully and advice on whether a well‑travelled oleander can finally be planted out.Producer: Matt Smith Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide
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Folge vom 01.05.2026From The Archives: Summer ColourKathy Clugston guides us through the GQT archives to hear how our panellists and experts, old and new, advise on delivering dazzling displays of summer colour.Along the way, the gardeners explore how thoughtful structural planting underpins great colour all season long, explain why deadheading matters, and reveal the origins of the Chelsea chop. They also advise on watering in hot weather, compost mixes for long-lasting displays, and the surprising relationships between insects and plants. So if you're anti-Ant, hear how Dr Chris Thorogood gives some positive PR to these charming creatures often mislabelled as 'pests'. Producer: Rahnee Prescod Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
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Folge vom 24.04.2026The Great Barn: Chillies, Camellias and ConsciousnessPeter and Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit the historic Great Barn in Harmondsworth.Beneath the medieval beams, Peter is joined by Bunny Guinness, Francis Tophill and James Wong as they tackle a wonderfully wide‑ranging set of questions from the audience that are as thought‑provoking as they are informative.Are plants conscious? Why do camellia buds turn brown and drop? And which plants might humans take to grow on another planet?Along the way, there’s practical advice on organic ways to keep vine weevils at bay, how to dry lilac flowers, and what to grow in pots in a narrow alleyway with limited light. Later in the show Chris Beardshaw talks all things pruning - why, when and how.Producer: Dan Cocker Assistant Producer: William NortonA Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide