Video Documentaries

It's the final programme of the Beechgrove series, and Jim, Carole, George, Chris and Brian are all battening down the hatches, preparing the garden for winter but with a barrowload of hopeful hints to anticipate spring. Jim and Carole have succumbed to a little tulip fever as they go a little crazy with bulbs, planting in containers, in spring displays and naturalising in the lawn. Sandy has a lifetime of experience to impart from how to keep tartan patterns on the lawn, through to keeping your shrubs in beautiful shape.

This week in Beechgrove Garden episode 25, the whole Beechgrove team head to what has been Jim McColl's adopted home for the last 40 years, the Aberdeenshire town of Oldmeldrum, for the penultimate programme of the series. Jim takes us on a tour of the horticultural highlights of the area, including visiting the magnificent Haddo House, whose gardens have been recently restored to their 1830 heyday. Haddo House is also the venue for a Beechgrove question-and-answer session, where Jim, Carole, George and Brian attempt to answer some of the local gardening queries from the gardeners of Meldrum as it is affectionately called. In Beechgrove Garden episode 25:  1. Haddo House Terraced Garden Set in the agricultural heartlands of north-east Aberdeenshire, Haddo House has been in the family of  the Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen since the 1730’s and has now been in the care of the NTS since 1979.  2. Q&A The historical accuracy of the newly restored Haddo Terraced garden is obviousl

The Beechgrove Garden is a blaze of early autumn colour and Jim and Carole show off some of the very best for this time of year from dahlias to hydrangeas. Scone Palace Gardens are overrun with rabbits and deer. At the start of the series, we saw head gardener Brian Cunningham setting up an observation to see what methods, if any, work to deter them and to find out if there really are rabbit-proof plants. Brian pulls a rabbit out of a hat with some surprising results. In Beechgrove Garden episode 24 :  1. Small Fruit Bed At Beechgrove we have an expanding collection of mini fruit – or dwarf fruit suitable for anyone who has a limited space to grow fruit in their garden. Last year many of these plants were in pots and weren’t doing that well, so they were planted into this mini fruit plot in front of the decking. Since then there have been mixed results.  2. Camellias Inside It did seem like a fine summer’s day at Beechgrove this week but Jim had been checking the overnight temperatures

In Beechgrove Garden episode 23 2017 it is hedge-clipping time and Jim, Carole and George trim their way around the garden. Chris finishes the planting in the heather garden to help create the windswept, top-of-the-mountain look, adding a range of tough grasses and ferns. From prodigious parsnips to dinner plate-sized dahlias, Jim visits the showers and growers at the Dundee Flower and Food Festival. Earlier this year, the Beechgrove team visited some of the entrants to the show to see how preparations were going. Jim catches up with them again at the show to see if their labours have borne fruit. In Beechgrove Garden episode 23 2017:  1. Propagation of summer bedding We have had a lovely display of summer bedding this year. However it was now time to decide which plants to keep, which plants can be propagated from and which ones to get rid of. Lobelia sown from seed would go on the compost heap and new plants sown next year. Geraniums, on the other hand, can be kept and dried off indo

The whole Beechgrove team are on the road again, this time to the Fife county town of Cupar. Renowned for its award-winning floral displays, the Cupar in Bloom team have invited Beechgrove to come and take a look at their efforts, as well as hosting a Beechgrove Gardeners' Question Time in the Corn Exchange. Jim, Carole, George and Brian attempt to answer as many Cupar gardening questions as possible. The team also visit some of Cupar's outstanding gardens and tee off with a visit to Elmwood Golf Course.

Jim takes a final tally and taste-test of tomatoes in the greenhouse. Carole is in Ardersier for Vegetable Garden on a Budget. Carole catches up with Mari Reid for harvest and a picnic on the beach, and to hear how much three families have saved and gained by growing their own.   Tourists and townspeople often stop to admire the front garden of James Findlay in Carluke. Jim joins the crowd and James explains how he took over his neighbour's garden to increase the kerb appeal in Carluke. In Beechgrove Garden episode 21 2017:  1. Pond Maintenance The pond has been really successful year. The gardeners have managed keep the algal bloom at bay so that all the plants have put on a huge amount of growth. The water lilies were starting to bloom. Last year Chris propagated some of these water lilies and planted them up, placing them on a shelf near the pond’s edge. It was now time to move them deeper into the pond as their stems were getting too long for their position. He gently floated t

They say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Well, this week in the Beechgrove Garden, Jim and Carole munch their way through the veg plot as they taste-test turnips, a new broad bean and some blight-resistant potatoes.   Chris takes a look at the new rose garden and has a new take on some age-old remedies for common rose problems. George visits the grand Drummond Castle Gardens near Crieff in Perthshire. The formal garden and parterre are among the oldest in Scotland and reputedly some of the finest in Europe. In Beechgrove Garden episode 20 2017:  1. Turnips Jim and Carole were at the raised beds beside the vegetable polytunnels looking at the salad turnips. Jim sowed a range of new varieties to observe. Half way through the season the turnips were decimated by pigeons so a second sowing was done in the middle of June. Within 8 weeks they were now ready to harvest. As they are quick maturing crop (like lettuce and radish) you could get up to a succession of 3 sowings dur

The whole team travel deep into Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song country, to the Howe of the Mearns village of Arbuthnott. For anyone who drives the A90, the red clay soils of one of the most fertile and productive areas in the country will be familiar and are the dominant feature of the area. Jim, Carole, George and Chris explore the area horticulturally and also solve some gardening problems for the gardeners of Arbuthnott gathered in the Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Centre for a Q&A. Jim and George visit one of the oldest gardens in Scotland at Arbuthnott House, while Carole visits the contemporary gardeners of Milltown Community. In Beechgrove Garden episode 19 2017:  1. Arbuthnott House Garden This 17thC historic 5acre garden at Arbuthnott House is reputed to be one of the oldest in Scotland. The whole creation of the walled garden owes its origin and design to XV11th century pattern and practice. The garden is on an incredibly steep slope and so was divided up by three ma

In the Beechgrove Garden, Carole and George have a tough job of taste testing the new super-sweet tomatoes and thin-skinned cucumbers in the tender veg polytunnel.   Jim visits Glasgow Botanic Gardens - now in their 200th year of existence - to see how the new young gardeners of Glasgow are being trained through a unique apprenticeship scheme. George is in his horticultural element as he visits Rosa Steppanova in Lea Garden at Tresta on Shetland. This extraordinary garden is 12 hours and 200 miles by sea from Beechgrove, and yet it is an astounding display of plants from all around the world. In Beechgrove Garden episode 18 2017:  1. Mulch Observation Jim was revisiting his mulch observation which was set up earlier in the year. It was time to check on progress and see which was the most effective and the cost involved. Mulching suppresses weeds and conserves water. The same plant, Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Pink Cloud’ or the Beauty Bush, had been planted in the middle of each metre square

In the Beechgrove garden, Jim and Carole enjoy a red cabbage success story. Chris plants a range of hostas in the Beechgrove cottage garden. Since hostas are usually tasty morsels for slugs and snails, Chris also tries out a range of preventative measures. George visits Fiona and Euan Smith's garden at Kierfiold House on Orkney. The garden is a lesson on how creating shelter allows for planting in exposed conditions and is home to a large collection of hardy geraniums. In Beechgrove Garden episode 17 2017:  1. Red cabbages This week at the Beechgrove garden it felt as if there was a ‘whiff’ of autumn in the air as it was drizzling with grey skies when Jim and Carole welcomed us to the Beechgrove. We have planted 10 different varieties of red cabbages to assess them for flavour, holding ability, tightness of head and yield.  2. Decking potatoes This week it was time for Carole and our head gardener Mairi to harvest second early potatoes on the decking, as it has been 15 weeks since

The whole Beechgrove team are on the ferry to the Orkney Isles this week. Famously a place of only two seasons, 18 hours of light or 18 hours of dark, with constant winds but mild and with little or no frost. The assumption always is that nothing much grows on Orkney in those conditions, but Jim, Carole and George find that is far from the case as they discover the determined gardeners of Orkney and how much they have achieved, to the extent that there is a thriving Orkney Garden Festival across the islands. Jim, Carole and George host a Beechgrove Gardeners' question and answer session in Kirkwall and visit a host of good gardens on South Ronaldsay. In Beechgrove Garden episode 16 2017: Jim, Carole, and George were on the road this week on the first of four special Beechgrove Roadshow programmes this summer. It was the beginning of July when the team visited Orkney and the weather was absolutely stupendous for our entire stay. To start the programme the presenters were overlooking

In Beechgrove Garden episode 15 2017, life is a way more than a bowl of cherries at Beechgrove this week as Jim and Carole harvest bucketfuls of ripe cherries in the fruit house. Carole visits two passionate showers and growers who are entering the Dundee Flower Show. Alistair Gray in Brechin is a show vegetable grower and winner of the 2016 World Potato Championship, while Bruce McLeod in Meigle grows champion chrysanthemums. Jim visits Philip and Marianne Santer at Langley Park near Montrose. With little previous gardening experience, they have reclaimed the long-neglected garden to create a haven of colour. To their amazement and delight, the garden has been attracting visitors to what they call their little piece of paradise. More in Beechgrove Garden episode 15 2017:  1. Begonia Propagation In Carole’s 6x8 greenhouse, the Coleus were looking much smaller than Bruce’s in Meigle, however they were grown from seed. The variety is ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’ and the foliage was beautif

In Beechgrove Garden episode 14 2017, Jim is investigating the mysterious death of a hedge. He suspects foul play, and has a water diviner on hand to search for clues. Carole is in Ardersier for the second visit to see how Mari Reid and her friends are getting on in Vegetable Gardening on a Budget. Recent research suggests that we could all save £1,500 a year by growing our own. Mari and her friends are putting that theory to the test. Jim takes the high road to Ballinluig, where Ian and Christine Jones have created a hidden gem of a garden at 600ft above sea level. More in Beechgrove Garden episode 14 2017:  1. Apple Pruning We do keep going on about the weather at Beechgrove but it’s important as sunshine and rain spurs on the growth in plants. It was summer pruning time for the cordon apple trees as they are full of green, fresh vegetative growth, and if we don’t prune now then there be a smaller crop. The first job of the day for Jim was to prune all lateral or side shoots so that

In the Beechgrove Garden episode 13 2017, Jim takes a look at progress of his favourite cutting flowers and adds an easy staking system to the beds to keep flower heads up. Last week, Brian visited Pitmedden Gardens to see how they deal with the threat of box blight on their six miles of hedging. This week he is experimenting with a range of slow-growing, small-leaved evergreens as potential alternatives to using box. Carole visits David and Laura Gill in Dunblane to see the garden that David has created from scratch over the last eight years. The garden's centrepiece is a beautiful pond that provides a floral oasis of calm in a busy life. In Beechgrove Garden episode 13 2017:  1. Chrysanthemums From squash to Chrysanthemums, Jim had ordered some rooted Chrysanthemum cuttings which had been delivered to Beechgrove however they were very small plants. Because of this, Jim had decided to plant them in grow bags in the greenhouse. This will allow them to grow on enough to give us some

In the Beechgrove Garden, Jim is growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers side by side in his domestic-sized greenhouse. They shouldn't work together, but with limited space you have to make it work, and Jim is determined to find a way. With pruning saws at the ready once again, Carole and George take the Woodland Garden in hand as, at the moment, you can't see the wood for the trees. Brian visits the meticulous Pitmedden Gardens in Aberdeenshire to find out how head gardener Susan Burgess tackles the problem of box blight, with the six miles of clipped box hedging to maintain. In Beechgrove Garden episode 12 2017:  1. Decking Garden In September 2015 Chris and Carole sowed a border full of seed which had been collected around the Beechgrove Garden. The range included: Aquilegia – black seeds in brown seed heads - Red campion – an early flowering plant with magenta flowers - Polemonium (Jacob’s Ladder) - Thalictrum - Digitalis (foxglove) - Astrantia Aquilegia vulgaris Astrantia

In the Beechgrove Garden it's fire and water as Carole and George don waders and climb into the pond to clear the blanketweed, while Jim also wages war on weeds with a new flamethrower. Brian and George plant up a new alpine wall with blue and white plants that will create sky beyond the alpine mountains. Carole is in the water again as she visits Julia Young's unique garden in a quarry at Blebo Craigs, near Strathkinness, as Julia has a small rowing boat to weed and plant around the quarry. In Beechgrove Garden episode 11 2017:  1. Biennials It’s hard to believe that only 2 weeks ago we were taking out the spring bedding and putting in the summer bedding. It’s now time to be thinking ahead and sow biennials for next spring’s bedding display. Biennial means that they can be sown this year and they will flower next year then it either dies or is discarded.  2. Alpine/Secret Garden George and Brian were marrying the top of the Alpine Garden with the Secret Garden behind it. The s

The Beechgrove team take a break from the garden to be at Gardening Scotland, the biggest gardening show north of the border. The cream of British growers will be there, with everything from pansies to pelargoniums, and cacti to clematis in a stunning floral frenzy. We will see those who are growing for gold including those exhibits showing off their medals from last week's Chelsea Flower Show. Beechgrove will be concentrating on the Scottish talent and Scottish plants but we'll join them all for a sneak preview, as well as sampling the unique atmosphere of Gardening Scotland.

It's bedding plant time and Jim, Carole and George are planting out a bevy of beautiful bedding in the Beechgrove Garden. Scotland's number one bedding plant is the begonia, and Carole checks on the progress of her fertiliser observation using begonias as the test plant. Brian Cunningham responded to a cry for help from Susan Bulleid in Newton Mearns, who has a problematic dry shady spot under a mature beech tree. Brian uses the beech to its best advantage and creates a new woodland garden fit for purpose. Carole visits Hamish and Sue MacIntosh in Balnabuel, near Dalcross airport. The couple have carved this one-acre mixed garden full of choice plants out of a fissure of land to create many growing environments. In Beechgrove Garden episode 9 2017: Main Vegetable Plot After talking about frosted tatties, Jim was earthing up our tatties to protect them. This involved mounding up the soil around the emerging foliage - this also makes them easier to harvest in a ridge. The action

We are a nation of houseplant givers and buyers but do we know how to care for them once home? Carole the houseplant doctor dispenses advice. On a similar theme, in the Beechgrove Garden, trying to keep our own house in order, Jim, George and Carole struggle to rescue some pot-bound camellias. Jim is back visiting the inspirational Firpark School in Motherwell. Firpark has 150 pupils with a range of additional support needs and pupils learn to take produce from fork to fork from garden to bistro. And Carole visits Simon McPhun's deceptively informal cottage style garden near Huntly. In Beechgrove Garden episode 8 2017:  1. Repotting Camellias A few weeks ago the presenters were looking at the beautiful flowers on the Camellias. They have however been in these pots for 5 years now and need repotting. Carole had lifted the plant straight out of its pot with some help from Mairi, the Head Gardener. Jim put his pot on its side and eased the plant out of the pot on his own by rolling th

In the Beechgrove Garden, it's tomato time as Jim and Carole both start off their own tomato trials. Brian Cunningham is back at Beechgrove and he continues with the next phase of development for the alpine garden. George packs his loppers and cuts a dash to see Sheila Harper in Banchory. Sheila's garden boasts two old, unruly apple trees which George brings back down to earth. Jim is visiting the inspirational Firpark School in Motherwell and finds that horticulture is at the very root of the school's success. Firpark has 150 pupils with a range of additional support needs, and pupils learn to take produce from fork to fork and from garden to bistro. In Beechgrove Garden episode 7 2017:  1. Pruning Apple Trees Sheila Harper in Banchory is living in a rented property with two magnificent, old and unpruned apple trees which now crop way above her head. Once upon a time they were trained as espaliers. George thought that given the size of trunk and size of branches, they may