Video Documentaries

Jim, Carole and George take stock of what has happened in the Beechgrove Garden. The sweet peas have scrambled up the nets and are in full, fragrant flower, strawberries and cherries are being harvested in abundance, and the tomatoes are ripening and reddening.  Carole visits Tap o'Noth, an extraordinary organic market garden at the base of an Aberdeenshire hill, to taste what's on the menu for the early harvest. And Jim visits Dairsie in Fife to see how 12-year-old Fraser White won the Royal Horticultural Society's coveted Young Gardener of the Year award for 2017.   The Beechgrove Garden episode 12 2018   How to train stepover apples As gardens get smaller, planting apples trained as step overs is one of the best and most attractive space-saving ways to grow fruit. As the name suggests, the stepover is a low-growing, horizontally-trained tree that can literally be 'stepped over'. Step overs can be planted along an edge of a path or a bed, and make an excellent di...

In Beechgrove Garden episode 11 2018 - Jim and Carole have butter and cream on standby in the hopes that there might be some early potatoes and strawberries ready to harvest. Meanwhile, Chris takes on a shady location by the pond at Beechgrove to create a new large shrub and clematis border. George visits the unique Japanese garden at Cowden Castle, Clackmannanshire. Dating back to the early 20th century, it was the first oriental garden of its size and remains a beautiful horticultural bridge between Scottish and Japanese culture. Beechgrove Garden episode 11 2018:   Fruit cage mini orchard Three years ago George established a mini fruit orchard of apples on a range of different root stocks which control the vigour of the plants. What this means for the gardeners is that fruit can be grown in a more compact space than if the plants were grown on their own vigorous roots. M27 is the most dwarfing variety that we have at Beechgrove – and this produces a tree no taller than 5 – 6 fee...

After being awarded both the coveted Chelsea 'Best in Show' and gold medal, Chris is back to Beechgrove Garden episode 10 2018 to tend to the rose garden. Meanwhile, Jim reviews the progress of his previously sickly houseplant collection.  Brian is creating a new natural feature to ebb and flow by Beechgrove's waterfall using lady's slipper orchids, which look exotic but turn out to be surprisingly easy to grow. Carole visits Richard and Ellen Firman's wonderful, wildlife-friendly woodland garden near Ellon, Aberdeenshire, to marvel at their hosta collection. Beechgrove Garden episode 10 2018   Salvias and Other Planting Combinations Jim was in the Exotic Border. A few weeks ago, nurseryman, Brian Young brought up a selection of salvias to plant at Beechgrove. ‘Amistad’ was planted in a large pot. It was looking beautiful now with its purple and black bracts and flowers and will grow to about 6ft in one season. WE are treating it as tender and therefore are growing...

In Beechgrove Garden episode 9 2018 - the whole Beechgrove team are on the road to the Fair City of Perth. Invited by the 'Beautiful Perth' volunteers, Jim, Carole, George and Brian find out exactly how the city earns that title horticulturally as they visit some of the city's best-kept gardens, including the unique and culturally diverse Moncrieff Allotments that are situated on Moncrieff Island in the middle of the Tay and only accessible by vehicles at low tide. Jim, Carole, George and Brian then host a Beechgrove Gardener's Question Time in the recently renovated Perth Theatre. The programme comes this week from Perth – a spectacular and historic city in the Heart of Scotland. Situated on the banks of the River Tay, the city of Perth is often referred to as 'The Fair City' because of its beautiful setting with its riverside vistas and its many historic buildings. Sir Walter Scott’s novel, the Fair Maid of Perth” which introduces the epithet “ The Fair City “...

It is a Beechgrove rhododendron special, with Jim and George answering some classic questions about rhododendrons and revamping the main rhododendron border now that it has finished flowering.   Meanwhile, Carole visits Harry Nicol's garden in Inverness. Harry's recently renovated garden boasts a riot of rhododendrons all flowering their socks off and proving that you don't have to be on the west coast to grow rhododendrons. Carole is also at Garthdee Allotments on the outskirts of Aberdeen, revisiting 'garden hero', Sandy Inkster. Sandy is a mine of allotment handy hints and is harvesting early polytunnel-grown potatoes. The Beechgrove Garden episode 8 2018   Rhododendron Border From time to time we receive questions from viewers on how to rejuvenate an overgrown garden or border or a neglected garden and we have such a project at Beechgrove. The ericaceous border at Beechgrove was planted over 20 years old and is need of some renovation. It’s decision time, what d...

In Beechgrove Garden episode 7 2018 it's time to get all the bedding plants in this week, and to celebrate Beechgrove's 40th anniversary the summer bedding scheme is all colours of ruby. Brian Cunningham is back at Beechgrove having a look at how the alternative plants to dwarf box have fared over the winter, and he fills the gaps in between these shrubs with a range of colourful annuals. Menawhile, Carole visits old friend Ian Christie in Kirriemuir to find out how he is getting on as he makes his preparations to exhibit alpines at Gardening Scotland in June.   The Beechgrove Garden episode 7 2018   Polytunnel Walk A few weeks ago, Jim was planting a new range of strawberries, - 6 different varieties which were now settling in well. This year we have majored on red varieties of onions to celebrate the ruby theme. In order to continue the succession, Carole was now sowing some more spring onions directly into the raised bed. The soil was very dry so Carole watered the drill be...

In The Beechgrove Garden episode 6 2018, Carole and the garden team are in their waders while Jim supervises annual work on ponds of all sizes at Beechgrove. Salvia expert Brian Young joins salvia fanatic Jim in Beechgrove to salivate over salvias.  George visits North Berwick in Bloom to see what they and the local school are intending to create for their entry to the popular and hotly contested Pallet Garden competition held at the upcoming Gardening Scotland Show.   The Beechgrove Garden episode 6 2018   In the Fruit House Over the last few years the Cherry ‘Sweetheart’ has been loaded with fruit but there is much less in prospect this year. This could be due water-logging as we have had previous issues with this in the Fruit House but Jim thinks it more likely needs a feed. Jim sprinkled fertiliser around the rootball which is high in Nitrogen and Potash to be gently forked in. This won’t help the fruiting this year but will in future years. Jim then moved up to the grape...

In the Beechgrove Garden episode 5 2018, it's tomato time as Jim is growing a range of viewers' recommended favourite tomato varieties, using viewers' best methods for growing them. Carole visits young farmers James Reid and Rosa Bevan near Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, to see how they use permaculture techniques to grow veg in the most environmentally friendly way possible. And Carole is also in Garelochhead to take in the annual Scottish Rhododendron Society show, where she sees competitors showing off the best blooms from the vast range of vibrant varieties. Beechgrove Garden episode 5 2018:   Spring Lawn Work A Beechgrove archive clip from 08/07/83 showed Jim and George Barron dealing with a mossy very rough grass area. Back then the machine used to tear up the ground was a an unwieldy piece of equipment but it took out a huge amount of moss and rubbish from the grass which Jim and George concluded could be used in hanging baskets and even bagged up to save for next year. Back...

In the Beechgrove Garden episode 4 2018, after the success of the no-dig observation of last year, Jim is extending the trial into the polytunnel, comparing conventionally grown vegetables with easy-grow no-dig vegetable plots. Brian is in Armadale, helping Lesley Welsh and her two children to create a bespoke vegetable plot for the family. Lesley wants the children to be able to easily grow their own and take their own home-grown produce from fork to fork.  Brian is also in Tranent, visiting Wattie Russell. Wattie was nominated as one of Scotland's Garden Heroes, and Brian visits to see why. Wattie's inspirational, but tightly packed, garden in Tranent is full of spring beauties with around 500 different pots of colour. Beechgrove Garden episode 4 2018 Planting New Strawberries Some Beechgrove archive from 08/05/1987 showed Jim nipping off the flowers on some newly planted strawberry plants to encourage further fruiting. Back in the present day Beechgrove Jim was setting out ...

In The Beechgrove Garden episode 3 2018, Jim is planting with Beechgrove's ruby anniversary in mind, sowing red veg from beetroot 'Bulls Blood', courgette 'Midnight' and lettuce 'Moonred' to spinach 'Red Kitten' and spicy mustard 'Red Giant'. Last year Jim began an observation choosing a range of trees for small gardens. This year he is adding to that with a range of fastigiate trees, which are perfect for a small garden as they don't create much shade and have a small footprint. And Brian, who is used to modest swathes of daffodils at Scone Palace, visits Grampian Growers near Montrose to find out how six million bunches of daffodils find their way from the fields of Angus to neat bunches ready to buy. The Beechgrove Garden episode 3 2018   Greenhouse Work It’s a busy time in Carole’s 6x8 greenhouse as she prepares for her ornamental displays. She introduced some Beechgrove archive from nearly 30 years ago where Jim was giving advice on ...

In The Beechgrove Garden episode 2 2018, Jim and Carole celebrate Beechgrove's ruby anniversary in true Beechgrove style as it's tattie time. Both Jim and Carole are planting a range of ruby or red potatoes, and they also dig up an archive tattie tip from the late George Barron. Brian is back in Beechgrove revisiting his alpine garden and reviews the winter damage, as well as doing a bit of weeding and feeding.  Last year Carole met almost-nonagenarian garden hero Sandy Inkster in his immaculate and award-winning Cults garden. Carole will visit Sandy several times throughout the 2018 series but this time meets him on his allotment on the south side of Aberdeen. Chris is adding to the rose garden at Beechgrove. Roses and clematis are a classic combination but you do have to choose carefully, Chris explains, as they have to be able to be pruned at the same time. The Beechgrove Garden episode 2 2018   Main Vegetable Plot: Planting tatties In the Main Vegetable Plot it was tattie ...

In The Beechgrove Garden episode 1 2018, it’s a very special series of Beechgrove as it is our 40th year or Ruby Anniversary and amongst other things we will be dipping into 40 years of the Beechgrove archive to see how things have or haven’t changed over the years in gardening.  This week there are sweet signs of spring as Jim, Carole, George and Chris are surrounded by April's peach and cherry blossom.  George revisits Sheila Harper's ancient apple trees in Banchory. After a severe prune last year, George returns with slightly less sharp secateurs to show how to deal with the old trees this year. Carole visits Rosie Nixon in Perth. Rosie is a passionate wildlife gardener and photographer who creatively uses her all-seasons organic garden as her own green studio. Throughout the 2018 series, Jim and Carole will be digging in the abundant Beechgrove archive to root out hints and tips from the last 40 years. The Beechgrove Garden episode 1 2018   Overwintering veggies Self - suf...