Beechgrove Garden Season 44, Episode 8: Episode 8

Episode 1

Beechgrove is back in bloom and storming in after Arwen and Barra ripped through trees across the north east of Scotland. In typical Beechgrove style, George, Carole, Bran and Calum are all together on home turf to see how to turn the damage into new developments. The national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower, and as a mark of support, the team are growing a range of these positive plants at Beechgrove. We also visit a sunflower maze that, in 2021, was a cheerful church initiative in Elie to allow those who were not able to come to church to congregate. In 2022, it becomes a fitting symbol of hope for Ukraine.

28 min

Episode 2

In Beechgrove, Calum is designing and building a garden modest in size and modest in budget, but big on ideas and inspiration for everyone starting their own gardens. There is a new crop of Beechgrowers for 2022, with six more budding gardeners making regular appearances throughout the series to share their personal gardening video diaries from their own homes, plots and gardens all over Scotland.

28 min

Episode 3

Old watering cans, chimney pots and tin baths are the unlikely containers that Carole and Kirsty are using to create an edible container garden at Beechgrove. Meanwhile, Calum has challenged the whole Beechgrove team to grow giant potatoes to see who can grow the biggest.

28 min

Episode 4

The Beechgrove team look ahead to a bumper crop of veggies across the coming season. Brian and Carole sow the seed they saved from last season’s heritage and contemporary varieties, and compare it with this year’s fresh seed. With the ground now warming up, George gets his carrots, spring onions and beetroot planted at the allotment in Joppa. There is a report from an award-winning garden in Buckie from one of the growers Beechgrove is following across the summer, plus some handy hints on what you could be doing in your garden this weekend.

28 min

Episode 5

In this episode, Calum and Carole have something for almost every type of gardener. If you don’t have access to a garden, or just want to maximise the space you have, we show you how to make the most of your windowsill by growing herbs and micro greens. For those who do have a border to work with, Brian revisits some old favourites in the shape of gladiolus, fucshias and begonias, reminding us that there is nothing wrong with the traditional planting approach.

28 min

Episode 6

It’s all about the hanging baskets of Beechgrove this week from the garden in Aberdeenshire as Carole Baxter sets up these fantastic garden features for a summer of colour. Carole will also have expert advice on how to get the best crop from this year’s tomato plants, including a look at the possibility of ripening tomatoes outside in a Scottish garden. The team are also busy on their own allotments: in Sunny Joppa George is planting more vegetables and Calum is planning his planting, while Kirsty is planting to hide a new fence. It’s also time to catch up on this year’s Beechgrowers, gardeners from Orkney to Dumfries, growing in poly tunnels, small gardens and allotments and this week we hear more of their plans for the summer to come.

28 min

Episode 7

At Beechrove Brian Cunningham and Carole Baxter carry on the major renovation project that was kicked off when the garden lost one of its feature trees earlier in the year. The hard landscaping has been done in the area where that conifer once was, now it’s time to get planting. It’s No Mow May and Carole and Brian explain why putting the lawn mower aside for a couple of weeks is a great idea. Brian plants out sweet peas and keen gardener Diana Yates introduces the first of her features from her garden in the Borders.

Episode 9

This episode is all about giving nature a helping hand, with a particular focus on gardening that brings wildlife to your growing area. Carole Baxter demonstrates how you can do your bit for the environment, even if you only have room for a container for growing, by using plants such as lavender, borage and teasel. There is also a visit to a garden near Oban that has been designed and planted to encourage a huge range of birds and insects to the plot.

28 min

Episode 10

Carole Baxter and Brian Cunningham are at Beechgrove to provide some great garden advice. Carole is back in the 6x8 greenhouse to review the season’s growing so far, including an update on the cordon tomatoes. Brian and Carole then continue with the revamp that began with the removal of a conifer from the top of the garden, finishing the job by planting between the branches of the alder banking they created earlier in the series. Meanwhile, at his allotment in Joppa, George Anderson gets stuck into thinning out his seedlings, and there are updates from keen gardeners around the country, with the latest from the Beechgrowers.

28 min

Episode 11

Calum and Carole are back with a weekly update, featuring great advice and top tips for gardeners across the country. In this episode, they are at Beechgrove working in the vegetable plot as part of a series of features that sees a part of the garden redeveloped. Calum has already built a pallet deck and has his raised bed ready, and now it's time for the first plants of his own plot to go in. Meanwhile, George tackles more viewer questions from his garden in Joppa, and Beechgrove visits Buckie for an update on Lizzie Schofield’s award-winning garden.

28 min

Episode 12

Calum is at Beechgrove designing and building a garden modest in both size and budget, but big on ideas and inspiration for anyone starting their own garden. George is at his allotment in Joppa and, as ever, he has been busy over the winter building more-accessible raised beds and laying new paths ready for the season’s growing.

28 min

Episode 13

Brian and Carole are at Beechgrove to answer viewers' questions. Brian also checks up on the sweet peas he planted earlier in the series. There is also a visit to Beechgrove’s low-maintenance garden. As the name suggests, the garden doesn’t need much in the way of looking after, but there may well be some small jobs required to keep the area looking its best. Meanwhile, George is at his garden tending to the tomatoes and explaining his solar-powered irrigation system.

28 min

Episode 14

Calum and Carole are in the Bargain Border looking at how the area has been developed and planted on a low budget. We visit this year’s crop of Beechgrowers, and there is an update on Beechgrove’s tomato plants. And Calum takes on the next stage of landscaping in his own garden.

28 min

Episode 15

George and Calum share more great advice from the Beechgrove garden, and Carole visits the magnificent gardens at Douneside House, where she meets some of the trainee horticulturalists based there. George and Calum answer viewers' questions, and there is an update from Diana Yates and her garden in the Borders.

28 min

Episode 16

Brian Cunningham is joined at Beechgrove by Lizzie Schofield, whose garden in Buckie has featured earlier in the series. Lizzie demonstrates how to make a floral crown using clippings from Beechgrove's own willow arch and cut flowers, alongside stems from Lizzie’s own garden. Meanwhile, Carole Baxter visits a fantastic garden in Aboyne, and George Anderson provides as update on the courgettes he has planted directly onto his compost heap.

28 min

Episode 17

Carole Baxter and Calum Clunie are at Beechgrove working on the garden’s vegetable plot and fruit growing areas. Calum also works on his own Beechgrove garden area that he has redeveloped across the summer. With the end in sight, Calum has an eye on saving money and recycling as he discovers a cheap and sustainable way of upcycling that will hopefully turn into great furniture for his plot. Meanwhile, George is harvesting at his garden in Joppa, and there is a special report on a Glasgow garden project that is helping to support some of the city’s Afghan community.

28 min

Episode 18

In this episode, Carole visits one of the gardeners we have been following across the series. Deborah Peterson has a medium-sized garden in Aberdeen, and so far we have seen her growing seeds she has salvaged from kitchen waste and creating a wildflower area on her lawn. Carole catches up with Deborah, advising for the rest of the growing season. Meanwhile, Calum is back on his own allotment for an update on caring for dahlias and protecting roses, all of which he hopes will produce prize-winning blooms later in the year.

28 min

Episode 19

Carole Baxter is joined at Beechgrove by Diana Yates. Beechgrove has been following Diana at her pretty and productive patch in West Linton, but this week she is visiting Beechgrove and shows Carole the age-old technique of braiding garlic. Kirsty Wilson joins volunteers of a dog rehoming centre in West Calder to help revamp a garden that really has gone to the dogs. In this first stage of the project, Kirsty and the volunteers decide how to design a retirement garden for old dogs.

28 min

Episode 20

George and Calum are at Beechgrove to present more great gardening advice. Meanwhile, Kirsty gets on with creating a new garden for a dog rescue centre near Livingston, and the four-legged judges give their verdict. George and Calum review the containers planted with wildlife in mind, a great way to give nature a helping hand, even if you only have a small space. Elsewhere, Carole finds out more about an ambitious project by the National Trust for Scotland that aims to catalogue the thousands of plant species in its gardens across Scotland.

28 min

Episode 21

It’s time to check on the progress of Beechgrove’s tomato crop. Earlier in the season, Carole Baxter was joined by tomato grower Camilla Fredriksen to plant a number of varieties both indoors and outdoors, and the pair return to Beechgrove to see how those plants have progressed. Carole also reviews the containers with the wildlife-friendly plants started earlier in the year, and she starts off some plug plants that will help the pollinators next year. And there is a visit to Pitmedden Garden in Aberdeenshire and its newly designed Great Garden parterre.

28 min

Episode 22

Carole and Brian are at Beechgrove reviewing some of the projects they started earlier in the year. On the vegetable plot, they examine the results of their experiment to compare heritage with contemporary seed varieties. And it’s time for another big reveal as they delve into the potatoes grown in containers, and discover which presenter has the biggest sunflower head. Meanwhile, George is busy in Joppa, we meet father and daughter Joe and Erin in East Lothian and visit an amazing garden in Ayrshire.

28 min

Episode 23

Carole Baxter and Kirsty Wilson are once again hard at work at Beechgrove. Kirsty designed and planted a hot border back in April that would bring vibrant colour to the late summer, and she is giving it the final once-over to assess whether it delivered. Also reviewing the summer’s performance, Carole and Kirsty check out the results of the quirky containers - how did the compost work out, and what can be planted in them next? Meanwhile, George is joined in Joppa by Carole to check on how the tomatoes and decorative planting have measured up.

28 min

Episode 24

George Anderson and Calum Clunie are at Beechgrove, checking out more of what the garden has produced this year. Carole Baxter is visiting an expert grower of chillies, tasting the many varieties available, including some of the hottest. She also finds out the tricks of trade in growing this popular kitchen favourite. At the garden, Calum is in the final stages of work on his own patch of Beechgrove. He sows his lawn area, while George plants some late fruit.

28 min

Episode 25

Brian and Carole offer lots of great advice for gardeners of all kinds and review this summer’s output. The pair revisit the area between the alpine and heather borders that they worked on earlier in the year, and they check on the range of planting that was put in place to replace a diseased conifer that was removed earlier in the series. George reviews his summer from his garden and allotment in Joppa, offering some great advice on what to do with used tomato growbags. There is also a visit to a Glasgow garden which is part of a UK-wide programme to create outdoor spaces to support patients at NHS spinal injury centres. And it's the last visit to the Beechgrove's Beechgrowers, gardeners from across Scotland who have been giving regular updates through the summer.

28 min

Episode 26

It’s the last show of a fabulous growing season, and there’s a team of gardeners on hand at Beechgrove to give more great advice and also to look back at how this garden, and their own ones, have performed. Carole Baxter, George Anderson, Calum Clunie and Kirsty Wilson all have great tips. Calum is putting the finishing touches to his new garden at Beechgrove, Kirsty is planting bulbs for great spring colour, Carole reveals the results of the giant tattie competition and George looks over his garden at Sunny Joppa. There are also handy hints covering lots of autumn and winter jobs that can get done before Beechgrove returns next year.

28 min