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0:13

Hello and welcome to GQT. We're

0:15

in London today as guests of the

0:18

Fulham Horticultural Society, whose members are celebrating

0:20

100 years as a grow-your-own

0:22

group. Everyone here is far

0:24

too young, of course, to remember that first

0:26

meeting, unless we have any centenarians out there.

0:31

No, I thought not. Well, the Society

0:33

holds regular meetings and flower shows throughout

0:35

the year when various awards can be

0:37

won, including the National Vegetable Society medal,

0:40

the British Pelargonium and Uranium

0:42

Society spoon, and the

0:44

RHS's Banksian medal, all of which

0:47

have probably been won several times

0:49

by Fulham's serial prize-winning grower, Stuart

0:51

Witten. Stuart's been growing produce for

0:53

54 years, and in

0:56

last year's show he scooped the coveted

0:58

Cobb Cup and was beginning the most

1:00

society points. Well, we know, alas, that

1:02

Stuart couldn't make it to the show today, but I

1:04

wondered if anyone else in our audience had won any

1:06

prizes. Yes, this lady over here.

1:08

Hazel. And what did you win, Hazel?

1:11

I won for my Rarsburys. I think

1:14

I also won first for my courgette,

1:16

which had a beautiful flower on it.

1:18

Every year is different. You might get

1:20

a good crop of something. One year

1:22

and then the next year it's a

1:24

washout. Good to keep it varied. There's

1:26

a gentleman with his hand up at the back. My

1:29

name's Christopher Hancock, but I want to introduce my friend

1:31

Bob, who grew the largest pumpkin

1:33

on Fulham allotments last

1:36

year. Bob, please come and join

1:38

us. Hi,

1:45

Bob. Tell us about your pumpkin. It was

1:47

the size of a Sherman tank. Well,

1:52

a prize winner indeed. Thank you so much, Bob. So,

1:58

we have some of you. award-winning audience members

2:01

here panel to put you on your metal.

2:03

Please welcome from Hampshire Pest and

2:05

Disease expert Pippa Greenwood from Norfolk

2:07

our own produce king Bob Flaardew

2:09

and from just down the road

2:11

the current curator of RHS Whizly

2:13

soon to be looking after the

2:15

Royal Parks and Fulham resident Matthew

2:17

Potich. Coming

2:26

up it's a beautiful sight to behold

2:28

but how is tree blossom affecting the

2:30

UK's wildlife we'll find out later. But

2:32

now here at the Sands End Arts

2:34

and Community Center in Fulham in West

2:36

London who has our first question. Hello

2:39

my name is Rachel Hall I'm

2:41

from Kingston Hall Cultural Association and

2:43

Walthsey Drive allotments. My

2:45

question to the panel is is it

2:47

actually possible to grow edible watermelons in

2:50

this country? I have tried

2:52

on and off for several years and

2:54

although things look very promising the most

2:56

I've ever got was one small melon

2:58

that was neither sweet or tasty. Am

3:02

I doing something wrong or shall I just

3:04

give up and buy them from my local

3:06

Turkish supermarket? Oh is that

3:08

anyone in the audience had any success with watermelons?

3:10

Any better than Rachel? I

3:13

don't think so. Obviously Bob we are in

3:15

a warm part of the country but is

3:17

it warm enough? I have had success with

3:19

watermelons for the last 15 years.

3:23

How do you do it? Right it's quite

3:25

simple. Watermelons like

3:28

heat. What's the average

3:30

English summer? Drab. So

3:34

they're really being pushed to the margin as

3:36

are ordinary melons. So what I've done is

3:38

found that there's not any way of increasing

3:40

the warmth. Hotbeds inside a greenhouse in a

3:42

cloche. The best of all though if you're

3:45

on an allotment or in a garden put

3:47

down a black plastic sheet that

3:49

warms the soil. Get the soil warm

3:51

because actually they need 70 degrees Fahrenheit

3:54

to keep the roots happy. Right

3:56

we always worry about air temperatures

3:58

and frosts and cold, but

4:01

we don't think about the soil temperature. And

4:03

melons and water melons in particular really need

4:05

warm soil. So don't pardon that early. Wait

4:08

till it's really warmed up. Make

4:10

a cloche out of it. So put a black

4:12

plastic sheet down, put a clear plastic sheet above

4:14

it on sticks or on some sort of frame

4:16

to keep it up. So

4:19

you can sow about middle of April,

4:22

any time actually, because they're fairly quick. They're not

4:24

a slow crop. They're fairly quick to go. I

4:27

would sow direct in situ, but

4:30

I would have some in pots as backup

4:32

because sometimes you need those. And

4:35

then basically it's just water, water, water,

4:37

water and pray that it's a sunny

4:39

year. Now I've gone further than the

4:41

simple. I've made myself a cloche, a

4:44

super cloche, super cold frame by filling

4:46

clear water bottles with water and

4:48

using them to make the walls. And

4:50

of course they warm up in the sunlight and

4:52

keep it warmer at night and

4:54

the glass sheets over the top.

4:56

And I have had fantastic water

4:59

melons year after year after year.

5:01

It's all you've got to do is make sure

5:03

they stay warm. It's a bit like looking after

5:06

a baby actually. But all of it is actually

5:08

the same requirements. So he kept

5:10

your kids in a ferrobastic bottle. Oh,

5:12

actually my kids are now 18 and I'd

5:15

rather they went out in the cold frame.

5:17

Watermelon is slightly quieter. So that soil

5:19

temperature is 21 degrees Celsius in new

5:21

money. Matthew, the heat is really key

5:23

here, isn't it? The heat is so important.

5:26

And it must have been the only decent

5:28

melons I've ever had. And it's weirdly, but

5:30

similar obviously summer temperatures to hear a rock

5:32

melons, you know, the cantaloupe melon. So I

5:34

think that would be worth playing around with.

5:37

I don't like cantaloupe. You determined to have

5:39

a... Then go to your Turkish shop. Bob,

5:43

did your watermelon success involve

5:45

the outdoor toilet? No,

5:47

actually, if you're growing melons, they

5:49

need rich conditions. Watermelons don't need

5:51

that much richness. There's moisture and

5:54

warmth they need. Very different to melons.

5:56

You've got to feed, feed, feed. Otherwise

5:58

they don't. Actually, I'd recommend... Prescott melons

6:00

much better than cantaloupe. They're a heritage

6:02

variety, and they're one of the few

6:04

melons that don't fall off when they're

6:06

ripe. Because most melons, you know

6:08

they're ripe because they fall off. These,

6:10

they just smell and they smell

6:12

gorgeous. And they taste wonderful. You know,

6:15

when I've grown melons, I've often not got

6:17

round to, sometimes I have put up a

6:19

network for them to climb on. But what's

6:21

happened on a couple of years is they've

6:23

scrambled over the greenhouse benching. And then of

6:26

course they fruit behind general clutter, which of

6:28

course I don't have in my greenhouse, and

6:30

propagators and stuff. But they do have such

6:32

a gorgeous smell, as Bob says, that you

6:34

literally, like being a truffle pig,

6:37

you can sort of send them

6:39

out when they're there. And they aren't

6:41

usually that big, but the flavor is

6:43

really good, and the perfume is gorgeous.

6:45

Okay, good. One thing I should add

6:47

actually, they do sell watermelon

6:49

seeds suitable for England, which do produce

6:51

relatively small watermelons fairly easily. But if

6:53

you just get the ones from your

6:56

local shop and grow the seeds from

6:58

those, and

7:00

if you ever come across a yellow one, the yellow

7:02

ones are fantastic. So yellow

7:04

flesh. Yellow flesh instead of red. And

7:07

I found that they taste ever so slightly different, but

7:09

they really are rather lovely. Well, thanks

7:11

for that advice, panel. Thanks, Rachel. Thank

7:13

you. Who has our next question?

7:15

Hello there. My name is David Handley from West Kensington.

7:19

I'd like to know, why does my money plant have

7:22

brown marks on the leaves? And

7:25

also, is this causing my lack of funds,

7:27

personally? My

7:29

money plant. There are a lot of things called a

7:31

money plant. Do you know what kind of... Jade plants.

7:33

So that's a very common plant pepper. Yes,

7:36

I'd say it's one of the more

7:38

commonly grown crassulas as a house plant,

7:40

Crassula rivassa. And it's

7:42

got those lovely, fleshy, bright,

7:44

dark bright green, with sometimes

7:46

a pinky or mistinge to

7:48

it as well. Some of them,

7:51

I've got a few varieties. Oh,

7:54

we have a photo. Thanks, David. Find something on this phone

7:56

there. Have a look. Just to go back

7:58

a couple of steps. Has it always been in that... The

8:00

addition to the of a some a whole

8:02

of outside of you brought to in recently

8:04

as it moved around. They tend to be

8:06

kept indoors twelve months of the yeah yeah

8:08

yeah yeah don't really tight as other have

8:11

an outdoor space parking lot months i but

8:13

I tend to. Keep. Those kind

8:15

of plants in size and and never did never go

8:17

out. Really so good idea for walks or anything and

8:19

I. Thought Lives

8:21

I have had. Yeah okay so you don't

8:23

normally see this on succulents by I've used

8:26

to look after they a big sexy on

8:28

tax and a with years ago and that

8:30

to me that five Heather Mills he and

8:32

that's how it manifests itself on a succulents

8:34

So had an email to typically and people

8:37

will tell you more I'm so what is

8:39

when the the conditions a dry at the

8:41

rates humid in the atmosphere. That helps trigger

8:43

it. And normally when crusher

8:45

like gets powdery mildew many the least

8:47

out to drop off and you do

8:49

plastic and on the all the leaves

8:51

and it distorts some of the younger

8:53

leads to so if you have of

8:55

the Chrysler's i were a dime maxygen

8:57

as not rubbing alongside them you can

9:00

actually treat that with a very clear

9:02

spray that you went vegan in a

9:04

put on a rose cause it powdery

9:06

mildew is often on rises A see

9:08

this been a lot of mills you're

9:10

around this winter because it's been so

9:12

wet and so mild and side damp

9:14

of. Girlfriend here tonight on us in heck

9:16

are near the day and has Sages comfort

9:18

in powdery mildew and I can believe so

9:21

early in the season there was so much

9:23

mills it's been a was not a you

9:25

guys will now in full I'm have not

9:27

had veil proper calls much at all. rather

9:29

little bit before Christmas bucks next to nothing

9:32

seen as windows are open sky just ventilating

9:34

our house. they'll be mills use balls around

9:36

and to me that looks like Wolfgang wrong.

9:38

So what's the damn day to day with

9:41

this particular and. From. david you're definitely

9:43

worth taking i would definitely people have

9:45

any leaves the east think scott mildew

9:47

on them you know any mrs he

9:49

leads on the plant like the has

9:51

and oversee everything that is infected is

9:53

a sources insects and potentially is while

9:55

i'm when you walked around your house

9:58

so when you watch or it even

10:00

you could cause more spread. So I would

10:02

definitely go and do a little bit of

10:04

housekeeping on that, give it

10:06

a bit of a cleanup, try and get some air

10:09

movement around it too a bit more. Wouldn't you agree

10:11

with you without, I'm not saying put it on a,

10:13

on a drafty window cell and give it the fright

10:15

of its life, but just get a bit more air

10:18

movement round it. And on a warm day, stick it

10:20

maybe on the windows. That one

10:22

in particular is in an area where there's no

10:24

window and the healthiest one is near a window.

10:27

So that's. To me that looks like

10:29

it would like a little bit more light. The

10:31

reason I asked you if it is a bit

10:33

drawn, I asked you if it had a summer

10:35

holiday because also what's been right this year is

10:37

vine weevil and vine weevil love crashless. I thought

10:39

if it had a summer holiday, the vine weevil

10:41

would have laid eggs in it. They would have

10:44

been feeding on the roots all winter. And now

10:46

is the point when succulents start to collapse when

10:48

you realize they've had vine weevil in the more

10:50

winter. But yeah, that's powdery mildew to my eye.

10:52

Okay, great. There we go, David, hope

10:54

that helps. Great, thank you, Camille. Thanks for

10:56

the question. Let's move on. Hello, I'm

10:58

Barbara Firth from Horsley Garden Society. If

11:00

I move my lupins to another part

11:03

of my garden, will the horrible lupin

11:05

aphid still attack them this year because

11:07

I can't bear to squish them? How

11:10

long have the lupins been there, Barbara? Two

11:12

years. Okay, and the aphids are they a

11:14

new development? They came the first

11:16

year. Okay, so, Pippa, talk us

11:18

through the lupin aphid. Oh, dear, I remember

11:21

the first time I came across lupin aphids

11:23

and it was in the first house that

11:25

I'd ever bought and there they were,

11:27

planted out pride of place next to the

11:29

drive and I was reversing my clapped out

11:31

mini out of the drive to go to

11:34

work, it was years ago, Matt, when I

11:36

used to work at Wizzly. And

11:38

what did I see? But

11:40

crusted with, they are the biggest aphids

11:43

you can imagine, aren't they? Such

11:45

that the plant was almost obscured or what was

11:47

left of it and they can suck it dry

11:49

while you're out at work. So

11:52

I'm afraid, though, they're really

11:54

interested in lupins and you

11:56

moving them within your garden is not gonna

11:58

make any difference because they're going to seek

12:01

them out, they're going to find them. So

12:03

I think you either have to stop growing

12:05

lupins, which would be a shame if you

12:07

love them, or there

12:10

is an element of it. There are

12:12

things you can do to encourage natural

12:15

predators, which I would definitely suggest. So

12:17

things like hoverfly larvae, which look quite

12:19

grim, but actually are brilliant and of

12:21

course, turn into hoverflies. Lace-winged

12:24

larvae, which look also a

12:26

little bit like squash maggots, aren't

12:28

that great, but are wonderful predators. Ladybirds

12:31

and their larvae, all sorts of naturally

12:33

occurring insects in your garden and critters

12:35

in your garden are potentially going to

12:37

eat them. So try and encourage all

12:39

of those. In this case,

12:41

I don't think that's going to be enough, if I'm

12:43

honest, unless you're incredibly lucky and I've never been that

12:45

lucky. So I suggest you pay

12:49

some small child who doesn't

12:51

mind squishing, give them

12:53

a pair of rubber gloves, this is screamish,

12:56

to get on and do the job because

12:58

sometimes nature isn't going to go

13:00

in your favor adequately, but it

13:02

is a grim job. Yeah, but they

13:04

are something else. Look out for them,

13:07

everybody is what I'd say. Big enough

13:09

to barbecue. Matthew,

13:12

do you have trouble with them at Whistley? Yes,

13:14

yes. And even growing lupins in my parents

13:17

garden up in Yorkshire, we had lupin aphid

13:19

and they're so destructive. But

13:21

I think my tip would be when they're

13:23

starting to push the flower buds and you

13:25

see all these aphids congregating on them, get

13:27

your hose pipe, take the attachments off the

13:30

end so it's just a plain end of

13:32

the hose, support the flower with your hand,

13:34

and then put your finger over the end of the hose to

13:37

make a really strong jet and blast them all off

13:39

it. Most of them won't

13:41

come back, some of them will die where they

13:43

land, step on them if you're brave, but just

13:45

keep that persistence for a few days and you

13:47

could just physically knock them off because when they're

13:50

pushing the flowers they're growing so quick. So if

13:52

you can give them a few days or a

13:54

few weeks without so much aphid on them, it

13:56

should get them to flower without distorting them. It's

13:58

a bit of a commitment. But to

14:01

be honest growing good loop ins is a

14:03

commitment and if you would adore loop ins

14:05

It's like Delphiniums, you know, they're worth the

14:07

effort because when they're in full flower, they

14:09

are so memorable and so fantastic You

14:12

could try the bio control that people was

14:14

describing and then try a high pressure hose,

14:16

you know to group Yeah, well

14:18

Matt just told you how to blow them away. I'm

14:20

gonna say he's a suck them away use a car

14:23

vacuum cleaner yes, hold

14:25

the plant so you don't damage it and They're

14:28

not very strong you can suck them up

14:31

and if you've got a vacuum cleaner with one

14:33

of those Brush attachments, you know the long

14:35

brushes. So it's much more delicate on the

14:37

plant I use a vacuum cleaner

14:40

for things like white fly as well, you

14:42

know, it's thinning the numbers down I

14:44

must buy a very large extension. Yes, you've

14:47

got a couple of choices there If

14:50

you just hoovered up or vacuumed if

14:52

you just vacuumed up A-fed

14:54

with it you could actually because they tend

14:57

to be that you know, it's the wingless

14:59

form So you could actually then tip out

15:01

the the vacuum cleaner bag bit

15:03

onto your bird table. Oh There

15:06

we go the circle of life and all that that

15:09

we feel better now. Thanks so much

15:11

Barbara. Thanks panel Who's

15:13

next please? Hi, my name

15:15

is Sophie McLean for in Palace allotments.

15:17

My neighbor has a very lovely tree

15:19

peony Can I make a cutting and

15:21

how long before it flowers? Nice

15:23

can't you make a cutting Matthew? I

15:25

will be asking before you know, not just oh,

15:27

yes We were going to get into

15:29

that. You've got to be yeah with permission Obviously that old

15:32

saying isn't it the best time to take a cutting is

15:34

when the owner's not looking But

15:36

sorry, i'm not going to give you the answer

15:38

You're probably looking for tree peony's are not easy

15:41

from cuttings And the reason why

15:43

they're so expensive is they're often grafted and you'll

15:45

have a root stock and you'll have a scion

15:47

wood And a nurseryman has taken a lot

15:49

of time and effort Maybe in

15:51

better news In an easy way

15:53

to raise a tree peony's from seed

15:55

and if you see any seed pod

15:57

on it They often do seed sometimes

16:00

they even sell so in the border. You

16:03

can grow them from seed quite readily if you

16:05

sow it fresh, but of course it

16:07

will be a bit of a lottery of

16:09

what will come up and what the flower colour will

16:11

be. It may not necessarily be the same as the

16:13

parent. What's the flower like on

16:16

the plant that you're eyeing up? Yellow. Okay,

16:18

single yellow one? Yeah. Okay, so that's, it

16:21

sounds like there is a tree pea and

16:23

the variety is lutea which means yellow. So

16:25

if it is that, which could well be,

16:27

it will come true from seed.

16:30

So it might be worth trying. The other

16:32

thing you can do, it's a bit of

16:34

a fuss though and it depends on what

16:36

your relationship is like with your allotment neighbour,

16:38

is to layer it. So get a lower

16:40

branch, peg it down, cover it with soil,

16:43

give it 18 months, two years and

16:45

it will root. That means you've got

16:47

to stay friendly for it leads to yearning. No,

16:49

you've got to make a lot of effort. It'd be easy just

16:51

to buy one to be honest. But

16:55

the variety lutea does often set seeds. So

16:57

if you pay close attention to it in

16:59

the autumn, whip a load of seeds off

17:01

it. Okay, my neighbour is, not for my

17:04

allotment neighbour, it's my neighbour in my house in

17:06

Shepherd's Bush. So it might be easier to do

17:08

the seeds. The seed is quick. The

17:10

seed is actually surprisingly quick. Okay, so seeds

17:12

are the way to go Sophie, thank you. Well,

17:15

more questions coming up from our audience

17:18

here in Fulham soon. Now

17:20

for many gardeners, this is a very special time

17:22

of year. Bulbs are making their magic, buds are

17:24

about to burst and leaves are appearing

17:26

on deciduous perennials. But nothing

17:28

says spring quite like tree blossom,

17:30

especially ornamental pear and cherry. Last

17:33

week Royal Botanic Gardens' Q began its

17:36

first ever spring festival in collaboration with

17:38

the Royal College of Music. GQT

17:40

producer Beth Hocken went to Q

17:43

to find out how our abundant

17:45

blossom is benefiting wildlife. We're

17:49

at Q today. On the opening day

17:51

of a special festival celebrating a

17:54

spring classic, blossom

17:56

trees surrounding us both

17:58

on branches of the above our heads

18:00

and carpeting the ground beneath our feet

18:03

are thousands of delicate blossom

18:05

petals, and all in a

18:07

range of gentle pastel colours. As

18:09

part of Q's Blossom Festival, they've

18:12

commissioned some musical compositions inspired

18:14

by these spring blooms. You'll

18:17

hear this in the background. Blossom

18:21

is such a well-known feature of spring,

18:23

but there is of course more

18:25

to blossom than meets the eye.

18:28

We're off to meet Helena Dove, Q's

18:31

head kitchen gardener and someone who knows

18:33

a thing or two about blossoms.

18:39

Hello Helena. Hello. Thank you for having

18:42

us. Welcome to my garden Q. Oh

18:44

my gosh, beautiful, ginormous. I know. Well

18:46

today is a beautiful spring day. Have

18:48

a day to talk about blossom. So

18:52

let's start at the beginning. Why

18:54

do trees blossom? To attract pollinators.

18:57

Very, very basic. With most plants, what they're

18:59

doing is they're trying to get something to pollinate

19:01

them to create their offspring. Blossom

19:03

plants, they found really, really early in the

19:06

season when there's not a lot else out.

19:08

So they produce these little flowers to attract

19:10

the pollinator, either by being the

19:12

right colour. So bees really like whites

19:14

and pale pinks or being really

19:17

well-centred, which blossom has a bit of a scent.

19:19

So it's that competition. But the real thing with

19:21

blossoms is being early and being a lot of

19:23

it, so you get all the bees and all

19:25

the other pollinators coming to you. It's

19:28

such a much-loved part of spring. I'm

19:30

curious, how do they actually produce this

19:33

blossom? So they have loads of reserves over winter. So

19:36

at the end of the year, what they're doing, busy, busy,

19:38

busy, is they're putting all their reserves down. And

19:41

in spring, they're triggered by so many different

19:43

things, but heats, which is why we're seeing

19:45

it a little earlier, which is getting a

19:47

little warmer. But so they feel

19:49

the right temperature and then basically, last

19:52

year, they made these tiny buds that had the

19:54

petals in them. And then they spring open.

19:56

It's probably more silent, but it's

19:58

kind of multicultural. It's been there

20:01

waiting for us for a little while. Blossom

20:03

shows the pollinators that there's nectar.

20:06

That's what they give the pollinators, or the pollination

20:08

basically. So it's a food source for these early

20:10

guys that come out really, really early, all the

20:12

bees. You see lots of ground-dwelling bumblebees at the

20:14

minute. They're just coming out, which is why we

20:16

don't know. Moai lawn, things like that. They're coming

20:18

out and they see the blossom, and they go,

20:20

ah, there's going to be some food there, which

20:22

I really, really need. They bob up there, they

20:24

get the food, but they also get a bit

20:26

of pollen. So when they go to the next

20:28

tree, they'll flower, or the next tree,

20:30

they pollinate. And you mentioned that

20:33

we, I mean, it's something we can't avoid, but the

20:35

warming climate, and that we're getting blossoms

20:37

earlier. What issues have

20:40

arisen from this? So

20:42

there's a lot of talk about pollinators, but

20:44

one of the great things is that the

20:46

pollinators are usually triggered to come out of

20:48

dormancy the same way that the trees are.

20:50

So it's temperature. So they're often coming out

20:52

of dormancy about the same time. But

20:54

now that it's coming out earlier, it's just

20:56

exhausting yourself. And that's going to be the

20:58

issue. They're going to be much shorter-lived trees.

21:01

But what we can do is we can look in the

21:03

wild, or any of the wild cherries really like managing to

21:05

manage climate change or these earlier springs. And

21:08

if so, we can then hopefully breed those

21:10

through the garden. What can

21:12

gardeners at home do to help their blossom?

21:14

I mean, as a kitchen gardener, I say

21:16

have blossom that gives you something edible. I

21:19

absolutely adore apples and pears. But at home, I

21:22

don't have much of a garden. So I have

21:24

dwarf apricots and dwarf peaches, and

21:26

I have them in pots. One of

21:28

the really nice things to do. So I've got this

21:30

beautiful peach called bonfires. It's got red foliage. The

21:33

one thing you can do is you can underplant with, I mean,

21:35

if you're into veg like I am, like

21:37

lettuces or nasturtiums, which give you edible leaves

21:39

and edible flowers. But don't waste that blossom

21:41

at the pot. It's a two-way. One

21:43

is if it's just open, it just evaporates water.

21:46

And second, it's such a waste of space.

21:48

But if you put something like an nasturtium

21:50

in, those bees and all the other insects

21:52

that are feasting off the pollen in spring

21:54

then have nasturtium flowers in summer. Cherries and

21:57

any stone fruit do not prune those to

21:59

the summer. If you prune them over winter

22:01

there's a disease called silver leaf which basically will get

22:03

into, it's only really prevalent in winter, it gets into

22:05

those open cuts and you won't know you've got it

22:07

for a little while and all the leaves turn silver

22:09

and fall off and it's heartbreaking. Your

22:12

pears, your apples, what we call palm fruit,

22:14

that's mainly pruned in winter unless you're doing

22:16

dwarf cause-bars when you do it in the

22:19

summer. Well thank you Helena,

22:21

I think we've covered some good ground. That's

22:23

it, it's been an absolute pleasure. Head

22:28

kitchen gardener Helena Dove with one

22:30

of our bloomin' marvellous producers Beth

22:32

Hocken at Royal Botanic Garden Q's

22:34

Sounds of Blossom event which runs

22:36

until next weekend. Well

22:38

panel most of us are familiar

22:40

with cherry, blossom, pear and magnolia.

22:43

If you wanted something a bit different what could

22:45

we go for? Bob Florida? Well I just

22:47

want to talk about the petals, the blossom.

22:50

You see we all know the value of

22:52

leaf mould don't we? Have you

22:54

ever thought about the petal mould? Yeah

22:56

I think trees actually have arranged it so that

22:58

they're feeding the micro-life in the soil underneath them

23:00

with something that's really good for them just at

23:03

the time when they need to get going. So

23:05

I actually collect it up and loads and loads

23:07

and loads of petals, brush them all up and

23:09

put them in the bag and indeed they rot

23:11

down to make a leaf mould. Really

23:13

just like that. Worth collecting or maybe

23:15

you want to leave it under the tree but

23:18

also one of the things we don't do

23:20

is eat them. You know many, we

23:22

do we don't eat enough flowers, I know

23:24

we have cauliflower but other than that how

23:26

many flowers do we eat? Well there's elderberry

23:29

fritters but actually you know there's very few

23:31

of them are likely to be poisonous. I

23:33

think it's a whole area that we really

23:35

should be looking into not just edible flowers

23:38

but all those edible petals out there. Right

23:40

Matthew what could you point us towards

23:42

a notable blossom that you like? Well

23:45

one blossom that is doing better and

23:48

better and more fluoiferous because of our

23:50

hot summers and especially in central London

23:52

is the cercis sometimes then as a

23:54

judas tree. Cercis siliquestrum but also cercis

23:56

chinensis and we've really really good heat.

23:59

The flowers can be really profuse on

24:01

those. In a cooler summer, and when

24:03

you see them growing further north, it's

24:05

a speckling of flower on the wood,

24:08

but after a good summer, the following

24:10

spring, it's really profuse and it's really

24:12

drought tolerant. So it's definitely a tree

24:14

of the future. But Cercis chenensis avondale

24:17

and there's a white one called cherubona

24:19

is brilliant colour and they've not seen

24:21

enough. I think they deserve to be

24:23

used more. You can even fan train

24:26

them against the warm wall and that

24:28

blossom coming out of the bare wood

24:30

is just spectacular. And I

24:32

believe they're eaten actually in the Mediterranean.

24:35

I think they are. You're determined to

24:37

eat everything Bob. And

24:40

you didn't answer the question. You didn't give a blossom. I know

24:42

I let that one go. Peppadilla

24:49

you have a favourite. Do you know I honestly,

24:51

as soon as everything starts coming to

24:53

blossom in the spring, I become

24:56

a bit like I do still even

24:58

at my age when I see the

25:01

first bit of snow, I get overexcited

25:03

and I just completely lifts my spirit.

25:05

So frankly, I don't care whether it's

25:07

exotic or common as anything. I adore

25:09

all of it. And if

25:11

I had to narrow it down to a few,

25:13

I suppose one thing I'm a great fan of

25:16

and I love mentioning this because the gentleman to

25:18

my right hates it. Amalangia.

25:22

It's a lovely one here.

25:24

It's a gorgeous one. 130

25:28

by the look of it. But and the great thing is

25:30

though, it holds its flowers

25:33

in a situation where often the

25:35

classic pruners blossom trees, all the

25:37

petals get blown off very quickly.

25:39

So it's super wonderful. Apple blossom,

25:42

absolutely love it. And then you get

25:44

the added bonus of getting the fruit.

25:46

I love nothing other than walking in

25:48

the naught shed or even just a

25:50

few fruit trees in

25:52

somebody's back garden and seeing what you

25:55

know is not only stunningly beautiful but

25:57

with a bit of perfume and I'm

26:01

going to choose a petal,

26:03

a blossom that is absolutely

26:06

divine. It's this scented violet

26:09

and I pick a thousand petals, that's only 200 flowers,

26:11

I pick the petals off,

26:13

leaving the little white base attached to the

26:16

flower, I drop them into spirit rum. After

26:19

two weeks I strain it off and

26:21

add sugar water and it is the

26:23

most delicious medicine. So you

26:25

eat them, you drink them, you do it

26:27

all. You have to make a big mole.

26:29

A violet cure, there is nothing like it.

26:32

And how do your plants react when you combust

26:34

those down? The petals afterwards when you sift them

26:36

out, have you got dancing plants in the air?

26:39

They are all very very happy in Bob's

26:41

garden. We are listening to Gardener's Question Time

26:43

on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. I'm Cathy

26:45

Clugston and with me on the panel today

26:48

are Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flaardew and Matthew Potich

26:50

and we are with an audience of very

26:52

keen gardeners in Fulham in central London. All

27:00

the plants we mentioned today are listed as

27:02

ever on the Radio 4 website but let's

27:05

take another question. Oh hi, my

27:07

name is Sally James, I'm from

27:09

Fulham and my question is about

27:11

my mimosa. I was given it

27:14

by my great friend who is no longer with us

27:16

three years ago so it's very important to

27:18

me. Last year it was stunning

27:21

and the year before but this year suddenly

27:23

all the lower branches died and

27:25

it's flowering right at the top

27:28

but they're all brown, in fact I've

27:30

even bought some of them. Let's have a look. Shall

27:32

I bring it up? Well there we go, thank you.

27:34

Let's just have a look. And

27:38

I wondered whether it was to do with

27:40

the wet or how tall is the

27:42

plant? It's enormous, it

27:44

went absolutely bonkers and I

27:46

also cut it down a bit last year because it

27:48

was going so getting so

27:51

big and I wondered whether it was

27:53

because I pruned it in the wrong way. Well

27:55

we had a few questions about mimosas actually

27:57

which we picked your Sally so a few people in our

27:59

audience. growing them, Matthew, what advice did

28:01

you have? The mimosas are

28:03

everywhere in parts of London, they're really lovely

28:06

to see and of course they're brilliant because

28:08

they're flowering in middle of winter. My

28:11

friend who has the mildewed sage

28:13

has an enormous mimosa tree in her garden, the

28:15

whole thing is full of flower at the moment,

28:17

they're wonderful. Describe to me how big

28:19

the tree is and these lower

28:21

branches. Oh it's very big, it's sort

28:23

of halfway up that, it's about eight

28:25

foot. Yes even more and it's got a

28:27

very thick trunk, it was tiny three years

28:30

ago and just grown very quickly. Okay so

28:32

my my gut reaction to this mimosa loves

28:34

full sun and if it's happy and healthy

28:36

at the top I think these branches are

28:39

just shaded, the tree's just shading itself out,

28:41

it will never want to have branches where

28:43

they're not in full sun so if it's

28:45

growing well at the top and producing a

28:48

thick canopy it will just cast its lower

28:50

branches. It is naturally a tree,

28:52

it wants to be a tree and older

28:54

mimosa trees generally will shade out their

28:56

lower branches. If we'd had a you

28:58

know a minus 15 back in December

29:01

or something I would say there's going to

29:03

be coal damage on it but that's acacia

29:05

dill barter which is one of the hardiest

29:07

ones so unless I mean maybe Pippa's about

29:10

to find verticillium wilt or something in it

29:12

under the bark. But you're tearing it apart

29:14

there, what did you find there? Yeah

29:16

I'm a bit worried and as soon

29:19

as you started describing something dying in

29:21

parts but not in what just

29:23

sort of off to the left or off to the right

29:25

or something I was a bit

29:27

nervous. Now it isn't an ideal sample for

29:29

this really like to come around your garden

29:31

with a saw which I'll

29:36

tell you what I've been doing here

29:38

while Matthew was holding forth so eloquently

29:40

is I've been peeling the bark off

29:42

because I was looking for just what

29:44

Matthew said. There's a fungal

29:47

infection called verticillium wilt which

29:49

characteristically as it goes up the plant

29:52

it sort of bungs up its plumbing

29:54

if you like so it then looks

29:56

as if parts of the plant have suffered

29:58

from drought because the moisture

30:00

can't get from the roots to the

30:03

branches, because it acts as a

30:05

sort of gum, if you like, and gums up

30:07

the conducting elements. And what it tends to then

30:09

do is also stain those, and

30:12

they're just underneath the bark. And that's what

30:14

I was doing. And sometimes if you cut

30:16

open a branch, which is anything over about

30:18

a centimeter or two in

30:20

diameter, on the cut surface, you can

30:23

sometimes see a little circle

30:25

of a brownie to purply,

30:28

depending on what the plant is, discoloration.

30:31

And that suggests it's that. And

30:33

I can see a little bit

30:35

of discoloration under the bark here.

30:38

Well, interesting, my next door neighbour says

30:40

she's had a lot of things dying

30:43

in her garden too. And I wonder

30:45

whether this is a fungal thing that

30:47

could have spread over. If it's what

30:49

I think it might be, it has

30:51

got quite a big host range, as

30:53

we all know. And I

30:56

would be just a bit nervous. I'm not saying it's

30:58

definitely that, because it's not clear enough on this sample.

31:00

But by all means, try the

31:03

cutting back, that Matthew's suggesting. But what I would

31:05

say is if you're going to cut

31:07

back, which you're obviously going to, any of the

31:09

branches which look either dead or

31:11

dying, you've got to

31:13

do that. And if possible, sterilize

31:15

your secateurs or your pruning saw

31:18

in between each cut and

31:20

really clean everything up. Because

31:23

otherwise you can spread it on the

31:25

blades. Now,

31:27

hopefully I'm wrong and you will have just wasted your time.

31:30

But it'd be much better to be over cautious

31:33

and not spread it. Because I don't much like

31:35

the look of this, but it's not 100% classic.

31:40

Thank you. Hope that helps Sally. Thank you very

31:42

much. Let's move along. Who's next?

31:45

Hello, my name's Alex Ellerington.

31:47

I'm from Fulham Horticulture Society.

31:50

For the last three years, I've been

31:52

a keen grower of potatoes and slightly

31:54

embarrassingly I've allowed this year, my red

31:56

Duke of York's to over-chet. They

31:59

Now have one... Which is about two

32:01

inches coming out the top and I'm a

32:03

busy possibly not so much frost I'm concerned

32:05

about, but I'm wondering do I need to

32:07

treat them differently or even trim them Or

32:10

what will they be fine with such a

32:12

long Stock doesn't stink as we've had, we

32:14

have. To talk a lot about kissing and whether

32:16

or not to test or not to tits but yes

32:18

this overture thing as a as an interesting one. Of

32:20

my the songs too long and but

32:23

what should Alexei by Lauren Sills the

32:25

A P H Pan debates the race

32:27

is at an experimental nice many decades

32:29

ago and he reckons he was absolutely

32:31

no problem with you. But you have

32:33

to do was planned them carefully because

32:35

l the opposite sleep is a lot

32:37

of energy going into the storks. Now

32:39

if you're going with Duke of York

32:41

you're drawing early. See want to have

32:43

as many small potatoes as possible see

32:45

live overseas song is they will remain

32:47

grub. I would leave the three strongest

32:49

ones on. Our media have more

32:51

than three stems. the Newton's against more potatoes

32:54

but he gets smaller potatoes and Odyssey for

32:56

main coupled with chips or whatever you want.

32:58

Bigger ones and the sun's up. The all

33:00

varieties well as his don't see too often.

33:03

Very tasty. Get to sleep on no problem

33:05

at all, but be careful as he planned

33:07

them. Be gentle says Bob Pepper It's

33:09

been a really difficult yeah settings in

33:12

the ground has nurse and I must

33:14

admit I was trying idea seed potatoes

33:16

in bags are really only crop and

33:18

pop them in the greenhouse to says

33:20

are protecting little bit warmer but then

33:22

I'm always keen to start getting some

33:24

our seems to garden since possible that

33:26

the soil and my garden on has

33:28

it's place as I know parts of

33:30

London certainly our the soil has been

33:32

so wet and so cold actually that

33:34

indicates lisa work for so long that

33:37

many people a think. of got the

33:39

same problem as years they still haven't even

33:41

at this stage counted out the tate is

33:43

that normally they would have putting the ground

33:45

and at you know i totally agree with

33:47

bob just do it a little bit more

33:50

slowly little bit more carefully thanks to the

33:52

question alex and let's move on look at

33:54

couple more question says hello hello my name

33:56

is sophie hanrahan from tell some some pizza

33:58

gardening club in buckinghamshire My

34:00

grandmother has recently moved to a flat and

34:02

has six window boxes on her balcony. She's

34:05

84 and does not want to

34:07

be repotting throughout the year. What would the team

34:09

recommend for year-round colour and easy to maintain? Do

34:12

you know much about the flat? Does it

34:14

get a lot of light? It's relatively sunny,

34:16

her balcony. OK, a sunny balcony, six window

34:18

boxes, and Granny, who doesn't want

34:20

to be constantly repotting. Let's

34:22

have some ideas then for these. Shall we start with you, Bob?

34:25

Well, if you want absolutely guaranteed colour

34:27

through most of the winter months, you

34:30

cannot beat universal pansies. Everyone

34:32

has them and when they're common, everyone says,

34:34

oh, they're just pansies. Yes, but there's very

34:37

little else will give you colour for six

34:39

months of the year through the winter. And

34:41

so invest in loads of pansies. The

34:44

other thing, which would be lovely for the

34:46

summer, and I think is absolutely wonderful, is

34:48

the little alpine strawberries. You can

34:50

grow them from seeds. They

34:52

make clumps. They don't runna, but they produce

34:54

lots of lovely little pretty flowers, very

34:56

pretty. And then you get these lovely little

34:58

red strawberries, which are so beautifully perfumed. You'll

35:00

never get enough to make a jar of

35:03

jam, but you can eat them all day.

35:05

I'm sure she'll love those. Thanks,

35:07

Bob. Pippa, what would you suggest? Well,

35:09

on one of the sunnier window

35:11

boxes, I would also go down the edible route.

35:13

And I would definitely say think about planting some

35:15

herbs, because if you I

35:18

wouldn't choose something like basil, because although

35:20

I love cooking with basil, it is

35:22

something that isn't going to withstand the

35:24

winter and is going to need replacing.

35:27

Or when you go on to visit, you can deal

35:29

with that. That would be the other answer if she's

35:31

a basil fan like me. But if

35:33

you have things like some of the times,

35:35

for instance, you can get golden

35:38

leafed forms, you can get variegated leafed

35:40

forms. They've got really pretty flowers

35:42

on them. Many of them are creeping forms

35:44

as well. So you get a bit of

35:46

sort of cascading color. And as long as

35:49

it's a good well-drained compost and you've got

35:51

plenty of sun, it'll look

35:53

lovely. And when she opens up the window,

35:55

which I hope she will, and harvest some

35:57

of those to eat, you're sort of doing the proof.

36:00

to keep them in shape at the same

36:02

time. So as long as she likes eating

36:04

herbs and has got friends or relatives like

36:06

you, who'd also occasionally like some, it's

36:08

sort of not maintenance. It's getting

36:11

ready for cooking, if you're certain me. Two

36:13

jobs in one. Nice, messy potage.

36:16

I would go for probably a range

36:18

of succulent stroke alpines with some spring

36:20

and autumn bulbs. For autumn color,

36:23

I'd have some Nereen's in there, which have lovely

36:25

pink flowers in the autumn, and they'll be happy

36:27

with a shallow root run. Some

36:29

of the dwarf alpine daffodils like

36:31

Narcissus, there's one called

36:33

Arctic Bells, a lovely little white trumpet. You

36:36

can have some succulents in there like

36:38

Echeveria, Elegans, and a

36:40

lovely trailing succulent called Sedum siboldii,

36:42

which has pink flowers in late

36:44

summer, great for the bees. And

36:47

the reason why I'm suggesting these things is they will

36:49

be fine in full sun. They'll be fine if she

36:52

forgets to water them or she's on holiday or she's,

36:54

you know, fit all the things they've got in

36:56

the way. And all these plant groups

36:58

are loved by vine weevil, but if they're

37:00

up in window boxes elevated, they can't get

37:02

to them. And then something like a decent

37:04

John and his number three, they will last

37:06

for years if they're looked after. Thank

37:08

you very much. What's your grandmother's name? Linda.

37:11

Oh, Linda, well, hi, Linda, if you're listening. Hope you like

37:13

those ideas. Thank you, Sophie. We've time

37:15

for one last question. Hello,

37:18

Bob Alkin from Fulham Palace, allotments.

37:20

I used to be able to grow leeks. I

37:23

enjoyed doing it and we enjoyed

37:25

eating them. And then the evil

37:27

leaf miner arrived. I

37:29

just thought that it was in the ground

37:31

and I left it fallow for a few

37:33

years. And then people said, no, it's flying

37:35

in twice a year. And

37:38

I'm so keen to grow garlic. I've

37:40

been netting it the last couple

37:42

of years, but failed really to keep

37:44

them out. Yeah. Should I give

37:46

up or is there anything more I can

37:48

do? Not netting, but fine mesh

37:50

netting, more like nylon netting, the sort of net

37:52

curtain you have up. Yeah, yeah. It's something we've

37:55

got no holes in it that things can crawl

37:57

through. And then they've got to go over early

37:59

and obviously. Obviously you've got to rotate the

38:01

leeks around the garden because they'll come up

38:03

where they were. They overwinter in the soil

38:05

quite often. Well, actually you find them in

38:07

the dead leek. If you peel the leek

38:10

back, you'll find little brown chrysalis is hiding

38:12

in there. Horrible little things, aren't they? They

38:14

are. Yeah. The other thing is the majority

38:16

of the attack comes in June, July. Which

38:18

is when your leeks are quite small. There's two

38:21

things you can do. One is you can cut your

38:23

leeks back, which removes anything that

38:25

they can lay off. But you've

38:27

still got the bulb underneath and that starts

38:29

coming back. And if you're feeding and watering

38:31

really well, then you can recover that little

38:33

leeklet into a better leek after

38:35

the fly has kind of disappeared. That's

38:39

pushing it a bit because it's hard on them. But the

38:41

other thing you can do is if you've got any leeks

38:43

at all from last year, or

38:45

indeed you can even buy one from the shop and stick

38:47

it in. Stick it in right away because they go to

38:49

seed, don't they? If you nip

38:51

off the fly head, they behave like garlic. They

38:53

produce a whole mass of bulbs around the bottom.

38:56

So you pull it up as soon as it

38:58

starts to do that, let it

39:01

dry and you plant those bulbs in late

39:03

July. And they really

39:06

give them, again, rich conditions. They really

39:08

motor and they will give you decent leeks

39:10

by Christmas. Oh, it's a lot

39:12

of work, isn't it? Buy them from Waitrose. Other

39:16

things, Margaret. Exactly. You're so full of

39:18

them. But any thoughts from you on

39:20

the leaf miner? Yes,

39:28

I mean, there is an allium leaf

39:30

miner and there's also the leek

39:33

moth. And

39:35

if you've seen these tiny

39:37

little darkish brown elongate chrysalis

39:39

in the shaft of the

39:41

leek, sometimes accompanied by

39:43

a sort of gingery discoloration when

39:46

it comes to eating time. Then

39:49

that definitely suggests it's the leek moth.

39:52

I think it's the miner because it's the

39:54

garlic that I really want to grow. And

39:57

you've had it in garlic and leeks. well.

40:00

Yeah, okay. Well, in

40:02

a way, actually, whichever it is, it's just

40:04

worth trying to find out what it is because

40:07

the life cycles are slightly different. Definitely

40:09

cover it. And I tend to, as soon as

40:11

I put my leaks in the ground, I cover

40:13

them up immediately just because it means that

40:15

even if the leak moth or the leak minor

40:17

isn't around when I'm planting them out, it doesn't

40:19

matter if I don't get the time to go

40:21

out and do it at the right time and

40:24

I'm not watching out of the window to look

40:26

to see when they arrive. So I cover them

40:28

with this incredibly fine, but very tough mesh and

40:30

you must, and it's absolutely essential, wedge

40:32

it down into the soil surface or

40:35

tight onto the soil surface. So I

40:37

use those sort of pull out cloches

40:39

as they're covered in the mesh. Then

40:41

you can drive the little legs of

40:43

the cloches and with that concertina, into

40:46

the ground and then tie off

40:48

the ends as well because it's got a drawstring. And

40:50

that way, really, nothing should be able to get in.

40:52

And when you need to weed, you can pull up

40:54

the sides and get rid of

40:56

the weeds again because the moment you leave

40:58

it, they could potentially get in.

41:01

It only takes one to lay an awful lot of

41:03

eggs if it's a female. So do

41:05

cover it and cover it promptly. And it

41:07

doesn't matter if you cover it too early because

41:09

there's plenty of light will get through. And yes,

41:11

you're absolutely right. They do overwinter in the soil.

41:14

If it's the leak moth, therefore,

41:16

you definitely need to move them around.

41:18

But don't give up, please. Yeah,

41:20

just a really fine mesh. Bob seems to

41:22

be the answer. Thank you so much. And

41:25

thanks to everyone here at Fulham Horticultural Society

41:27

and the Sands End Arts and Community Centre

41:29

for hosting us so beautifully. We are

41:32

always open to your ideas and

41:34

questions. Our email address is gqt

41:36

at bbc.co.uk. Next week, Peter

41:38

Gibbs will be in the chair at the University

41:40

of Reading in Berkshire. Until then,

41:43

for me, Kathy Clagston, the panel, Matthew

41:45

Potich, Pippa Greenwood and Bob Flargew and

41:47

the whole GQT team, it's goodbye. Do

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