Radio 4

Crossed Wires Podcast Festival: Back to Basics

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13:45 - 14:00

Opening Lines

The Mahabharata - Episode 2

14:00 - 15:00

Mahabharata Now

Episode 9: Dance of Death

15:00 - 15:30

Take Four Books

Colm Tóibín

15:30 - 16:00

Round Britain Quiz

Programme 10 - The South of England vs Scotland

16:00 - 16:10

Witness History

'I wrote Schindler's List'

16:10 - 16:54

Behind the Crime

Mickey

16:54 - 16:57

Shipping Forecast

13/07/2025

16:57 - 17:00

Weather

13/07/2025

17:00 - 17:15

Six O'Clock News

13/07/2025

How important is health and safety in the garden? What disease has been growing on my tomatoes? What would the panel say was their most overrated plant?

Kathy Clugston hosts Gardeners' Question Time, recorded live at the Crossed Wires Podcast Festival.

Joining her on the expert panel are botanist and broadcaster James Wong, award-winning garden designer Matthew Wilson, and alpine plant specialist Bethan Collerton. Together, they tackle a lively array of gardening questions from an enthusiastic audience.

Later in the programme, James Wong takes a trip to Sheffield’s Winter Garden, where he shares his top picks for easy-to-grow plants - perfect for beginners looking to cultivate greenery both indoors and out.

Producer: Dom Tyerman

Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

Executive Producer: Carly Maile

Plant List

Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.

Q – How important is health and safety in the garden? (01’27”)

Q – What are the ideal conditions for growing wildflowers from seeds? (04’10”)

Q – What’s the best method for watering a very parched, dried out cacti? (07’57”)

Q – Why have my wisteria stopped flowering? (11’31”)

Feature – James Wong provides an essential list of plants you can grow indoors and outdoors. He’s visiting the Sheffield Winter Gardens (16’11”)

James Wong –

Dichondra

Strelitzia nicolai, white bird of paradise

Q – How do I stop slugs from eating my hostas? (24’05”)

Q – What would be your recommendations for plants that can survive harsh weather in coastal regions? (24’44”)

Bethan Collerton –

Armeria maritima, thrift

Matthew Wilson –

Griselinia littoralis, new zealand broadleaf

Hippophae rhamnoides, sea buckthorne

James Wong

Griselinia littoralis, new zealand broadleaf

Quercus ilex, holm oak

Tamarisk

Trachycarpus fortune, chusan palm

Q – What disease has been growing on my tomatoes? (29’17”)

Q – I’d like to grow my Jasmine against a fence, do I hack it right back, start again or plant is as is? (32’44”)

Q – What would the panel say was their most overrated plant? (36’37”)

James Wong –

Geranium Rozanne ('Gerwat'PBR), cranesbill [Rozanne]

Matthew Wilson –

Heucheras