- 7/4/2025
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00:00Hello and welcome to Beechgrove garden. And we're starting the programme Callum we're going to look
00:20at the chrysanthemums, check up on the progress here. Now Brian am I right in saying you're doing
00:24a bit of a feeding comparison with this lot? Yes so we've got these plants the start of May,
00:28we pinched them out so that encouraged all these side shoots and the next step of the progress is
00:33to give them a high nitrogen feed because we want them to produce all this lovely leafy growth. Now
00:39as you can see this block here we're having so you can clearly see the benefits of giving them that
00:44feed. Again follow the manufacturer's instructions but it's usually weekly or fortnightly. Now when
00:49I grow chrysanthemums for the flower shows Brian it all really depends on what kind of chrysanthemums
00:53you're growing. But with these fantasy ones here I would say we've got like sort of six or seven
00:58shoots coming up. I would reduce that just by going in here and just sort of peeling them down
01:04reducing them to about four side shoots and then all the side shoots here I'd be nipping these out
01:10so that's in putting all the energy into producing four sort of decent sized flowers rather than six
01:15or seven wee ones. Well do you know what we've actually got three of each variety so we could do
01:19another comparison. Yeah sounds great. So for the rest of the summer these are going to be left
01:23outside in their pots outdoors and then we'll bring them back in round about September October where
01:28fingers crossed they're going to bloom for us. Can't wait to see these but here's what's coming up in the
01:33rest of the programme. Always a great time on Beechgrove time to taste the first tatties of the year
01:43How to use water as a design feature in your garden
01:46get your lawns looking lovely for the summer
01:53and a garden for everyone in Oban
01:59Well Calum it's been a while since you planted these shallots was it just before Christmas?
02:03It was Brian so with the shallots we planted these on the shortest day and then it's just past the
02:07longest day so these are ready to get lifted now. I can remember I watched you doing it you planted that
02:11single bulb in the middle and look how they've multiplied you've now got one two three four
02:16five six in this clump so that's pretty good eh? And what I like about it is you've got a bit of
02:19succession sown going here so we can start munching away on this variety here but we've also got two
02:24others we've got Red Sun and Golden Gourmet and we'll be able to start harvesting them over the next few
02:29weeks and it just shows the variety you can get with these different shapes different colours so
02:33cracker little plants and this variety here is Jamar and it's a nice sweet variety Brian
02:39so we've just got a fork there we'll put that in and then I want to sort of shake off some of the earth
02:45there we go and then just split very carefully just split them
02:51They look very very nice a lot smaller than an onion and a bit milder flavour as well
02:56Yes and you can also tell that they're ready for harvesting because the foliage is starting to
02:59turn that yelly and flop over as well. Now what's great about shallots or onions is if they're
03:05perfect you can store them for six to eight months but that means you need to dry them so
03:09we've got them on this drying rack we'll pop this into the glass house maybe for about two weeks and
03:15then we'll tidy them up and then we'll store them in mesh bags but if people when we're speaking
03:19about onions and shallots people may see this year that they've started to flower like that one
03:23over there and that can be cause just the fluctuation of temperatures or it could be just because
03:28it's been so dry and then wet that the plants stressed out so we're just going to cut that off
03:32Yeah and that's called bolting when that happens. Well Callan I think you and I are back together
03:36later on harvesting potatoes but for now that's shallot
03:40lots of us now are doing no more me so basically that means we put the lawn mower away from the
03:58start of that month and by doing so we're allowing the grass swords to grow that wee bit of longer and
04:04then that's providing a more protective environment for all the small creatures to run around freely at
04:09an important time of year but by stopping so soon especially when we're gardening this far north
04:15well sometimes it seems a bit too quick by allowing all the flowers that are growing in our lawns
04:21just to go on and bloom in June, July and a wee bit of further on we're then going on to provide this
04:26massive pollen rich feast for the butterflies the bees all the other pollinating insects but also
04:33what a great garden we've also created for us gardeners to enjoy too. Now even on this grey day
04:39we've got the lovely white flowers of the oxide daisy brightening the place up and then behind us
04:45we've got the violet flowers of the gnatweed they're starting to come into bloom now they remind me a wee bit
04:49of the scotch thistle as well. Down at the lower level we've got the lovely white flowering clover we've
04:54also got its close relative the red flowering clover and then I do like the way this vetch is
05:00scrambling through it all in amongst all the taller plants that we've got here and got cracking purple
05:06sort of pea-like flowers that we've got from them loads of yellows in the buttercups and the birds
05:12foot trefoils and then if you're really lucky the creme de la creme I've just spotted a wee orchid here
05:18one of the purple orchids that's when you know you're doing the right thing and so by allowing all
05:24these plants to bloom that means we really are just providing the home for so much diversity
05:31already today we've seen blue butterflies we've seen ladybirds lots of bees it's just wonderful
05:38but one thing I do want to point out to you I know it does look a wee bit unsightly this is the cuckoo
05:43spit and you might see it quite a lot at the moment but that's actually the frothy protective casing of the
05:49frog hoppers but what an environment they're going to have to get to playing here once they hatch
05:54now I must admit this has taken a few years for this to look so good it isn't going to happen all
05:59at once but it's not too late if you want to start now maybe look out for a wee patch of clover
06:04or the yarrow that's growing in amongst your grass and start there and we're going to need to do a wee bit
06:09of maintenance too so come September time this is when we're going to want to chop all this down
06:15but then you leave all the grass clippings you leave them sitting there for maybe three days up
06:20to a week even best doing it during dry weather too and that's where all the seeds they're going to
06:25drop out fall on the ground and then hopefully they'll go on to germinate to create this lovely
06:30tapestry for us next year and then there's another couple of tricks that I like to do I like to cut a
06:35wee meandering path so you can walk through your little meadow and I would also recommend cutting a wee
06:41strip around the edge of your lawn that just helps frame your garden so it doesn't look like you've
06:47just abandoned it and left it alone now I realise that's not for everybody I do like a neat lawn too
06:53so we can always find a wee compromise and that's what we're doing with this little patch so what
06:58we're doing is we're cutting this patch every three weeks and at the more highest setting but that's
07:04also allowing us to have a few flowers in here as well already you can see and this is week two of the
07:10cycle then we're getting some clover flowers and we've got some butterclubs so that helps you find
07:14a wee balance in between the two if that's what you like time now to head to Irene Berry's Japanese
07:21style garden in the Borders where this week she's looking at another key feature of design in water
07:27welcome to my sanctuary this space is created by converting a bare hard cobbled courtyard into a
07:45serene Japanese style garden the process is all about creating a sense of harmony and balance between the
07:54three vital elements that form the essence of the Japanese garden flowing water symbolizing life-giving
08:03force stones symbolizing strength and stability and plants representing the tapestry of the four seasons
08:15but it's not just about having these elements it's also about how they interact
08:21perhaps more important it's also about how the viewer interact with them
08:39from this vantage point i can see the four waterfalls that cascade from the top of the wellspring
08:47until they pull below and it is all done deliberately so that there's a sense of a life-giving force flowing
08:56through the garden in a way that's harmonious and soothing and if i listen deeply i can hear the different tones
09:06the tones and textures of each of them each sound is unique from the deep base of the water falling directly
09:18into a pool to the babble of water tumbling over rocks i take my inspiration from nature
09:25this waterfall is one of the focal points in this garden you want to avoid a nigra falls effect too
09:38much volume of water flowing too fast in too small space and to do that choose stones that have rounded
09:47edges and are smooth preferably with some moss on them but even if they don't it's fine because in this
09:54weather moss grows pretty quickly i tell you and and you can adjust the angles over time i spend
10:01countless hours over months just trying to get the right sound that i find will enhance the harmony of
10:08this garden so for instance just moving one stone it just by a small bit will affect the whole sound and
10:20texture of the of the water flow so in this case i move it just back a bit
10:30it flows so much faster but this is not what i was going for i wanted a gentle sound
10:41if you move it back here it's slower and the water sort of flows over it
10:46in a gentle manner and sometimes you have to take care to make sure that it all interacts in a way
10:53that looks natural for instance use the larger rocks at the bottom so that the water can ripple around it
11:00and over it rather than splash directly onto the pool which will create sometimes a harsh sound and this
11:06way it creates another trickle that adds to the different notes of the garden
11:18so i use stones and water loving plants to guide and slow down water flow and so i use plants like
11:28grasses for the vertical element as well as water irises and place the rocks in such a way that they
11:35create a little haven here for wildlife as well to soften the edges of the water feature
11:41use plants that have trailing draping spilling growth habits i use creeping thyme which has the most
11:50delicious fragrance and um as well as creeping jenny and saxifrage ferns geraniums there's a whole variety
12:02of foliage and they give texture as well as a sense of movement to the whole garden and the different
12:09shades of green as well it just gives a calming atmosphere to to the sanctuary that i'm trying to
12:15create adding a water feature in your garden is a great way to create a soothing space it can be a
12:29waterfall it can be a pond a stream or just a basin of water and i hope that even as humans we can learn
12:37that way of interacting with nature just slowing down and just enjoying the moment
12:52well it's all about picking and tasting today callum this is another one of your projects we're
12:56up in the potato plot now yeah so brian back in march i visited kelso potato day and i tell you what it was a
13:02great day with hundreds of potato varieties and my task was to get a few for beech grow but as you
13:07could see maybe a few more than that did you leave anything for anybody else one or two thank god
13:13now it does for first early potatoes take roughly about 14 weeks to harvest from planting we're probably
13:20just shy of that but an indication to know there's something below as if it flowers now to be honest i
13:25would normally break that off so the energy goes into the crop but something else we could do is just
13:30rummage about and have a wee look yep so i'm going to get my hands in here this is where you get dirty
13:34oh well look at that if we are sharp we're not too bad because we've got a couple of belters in here
13:41look i've went and peeled them out already how about though i cut the shaws off yes and you can get in
13:46with a fork exactly and it's important to use the fork just so if we use a spade it would slice them
13:51there you go over to you put this in here here we go so what variety we got here now this one is
13:56casablanca oh look there's another one brian oh hey this is all right now with casablanca this
14:03is a good all-round potato it's good for boiling mashing chipping look at i'm quite happy with
14:09that brian it's no bad that's no bad for an early go is that everything out of that one
14:14well you have another week because every potato is a prisoner exactly and if you leave
14:20one all it does next year it'll grow yeah we're no wanting that oh wait there's one there
14:27that'll feed the mice right but this variety over here this is sharps express is an heirloom variety
14:34but this is really just good for boiling right i'll get in here for you again do you want to know
14:38something though that's not too bad because considering how dry the spring's been yep
14:43that's not too bad a crop because totties like a lot of water don't they they do
14:47oh oh look at this i'll have one last fork
14:54oh look there's another few oh now if i'm being honest brian because we were harvesting
15:00a bit early i was a bit worried but when i spoke to the expert he said there's a really early variety
15:05and it's called lady crystal and what we did we've planted that in a pot and it's been in the glass
15:08house ever since so let's see how that is so being undercover might have just given it an
15:13advantage being that wee bit of warm i was worried because we're early there might not be anything
15:18there and this would save us but i'm quite happy so far brian i'll take that i'll take that right
15:23let's tip this out oh a lot of roots okay here we go let's oh look at this oh you're laughing eh
15:41well i think this is the winner now and see the thing is brian see when i planted these
15:46you see potatoes that i got they were only sort of this size and i mean just look at the crop we've got
15:50for it and there was three tubers in here well i tell you what this one's been worth the effort
15:56that's for sure i think the real test though always when we taste them and we're going to get to do
16:02that at the end of the program but for now we're heading up to oban to see how an overgrown wall garden
16:08has been turned into a space for growing cooking and supporting people
16:11just outside oban in the grounds of denali castle is green shoots community garden set up by a charity
16:23called hope kitchen it's a working garden where volunteers grow food cook together and build
16:28practical skills but before all this could happen there was a lot of hard graft to get done
16:34it was basically just thick with sycamore and brambles and nettles so in november 2023 we started
16:47clearing nettles and brambles and trying to make sense of the space and here we are today but it's
16:55been a lot of hard work a lot of labor we have quite a wide range of veg peas beans lettuce
17:04chard spinach lots of brassicas many varieties of potatoes you name it the garden here has been
17:12laid out and designed by joe who's our coordinator with input from the volunteers
17:19i had a very clear vision of what was going to happen in the garden so the theme was always edible
17:24you know organic and you know obviously wildlife friendly so people friendly most of all
17:34we are re-planting the tomato plants to then store them over there and get them hung up hopefully
17:43let's keep growing tomatoes pretty soon david likes to do some volunteering so i come along and support
17:49david to access this which david thoroughly enjoys don't you yes it's good yeah what do you like best
17:57planting the plants yeah and socializing and socializing you're having a structure to your day
18:07getting out and about such a good routine twice a week yeah and meeting different people and
18:13keeping busy yes it's helped me in lots of different ways
18:30so these three giant rectangular beds they're about 35 square meters each they're on a kind of rotation so
18:37we've got potatoes brassicas legumes this one is as well as being brassicas it's carrots and onions
18:44so we've actually haven't looked under here for a while so it'd be quite interesting to see how
18:50everything is doing oh yeah look at them
18:57so look we've got a lovely great big cabbage here it's pretty cool isn't it so we didn't dig these
19:04gardens we started them by covering the uh pulling up all the massive weeds and then putting cardboard
19:10down and adding compost so we have we're sort of no dig and so far it's got pretty good results
19:22the people who come to the garden here uh green shoots come from all walks of life we have some
19:28retired people who you just want to give something back to their community
19:33we have people who have just arrived to the area who want to connect and you start you to feel that
19:40they belong we have some young people maybe it gives them some confidence and some life skills
19:47people come for our therapeutic session on a wednesday just to help lift their mental health
19:54it's all all sorts of people and they come for some people just come maybe once a week
20:00some people are here every day you know it's a it's a it's an open door yeah you want me to hold
20:06the plump please yeah yeah thank you i like having seeing people around the place i've come here after
20:14like the pandemic and that just like doing all the stuff and some of like the animals and i should also
20:21use like say some of the stuff and that to make the lunches and that we have when we're taking the
20:27breaks yeah the people here are great it's really nice it's really nice community it's good to be
20:33here that's a very peaceful place i think it's hugely beneficial for our mental health because what
20:42we have here is our outdoor kitchen so here it means that we can grow and pick and actually cook
20:49the food that we produce and then it's here to be enjoyed by everyone when they've come to volunteer
20:56we all feel better when we've been outside and i think being here in the garden with this amazing
21:03location lifts the mental health and also being part of this small community that does give you that feel
21:11good factor
21:26earlier we saw brian speaking about not cutting your lawn as much to encourage the flowers the grass
21:31will roll along for wildlife now i must admit i do like to do that in certain parts of lawn but i do
21:36like a wee nice neat bit along as well it's nice for sitting on and to look at now at the start of
21:42the season you may be cutting once every two weeks with the blade slightly higher and the same at the end
21:48of the season but maybe during the summer we're dropping the blade a wee bit and we're cutting maybe once
21:55a week but we don't want to do that in drought spells you need to give the lawn time to recover and
22:00grow if you're doing it once a week you're not helping it at all if you've got some yellow patches
22:06of grass in your lawn well we don't really need to worry about them we just want to give them a bit
22:11of water maybe a liquid seaweed feed once a month and that should bring it back on but if you've got
22:17grey patches in your lawn that means the grass is dead and we need to do some work to get that area
22:24nice and green again but if you've also got patches like this we just bare earth it's going to be the
22:29exact same process as if this was dead grey grass we just take a rake and we're just going to
22:38rake anything dead out of this space but also when we're raking this out we're sort of roughing
22:45up the soil we're creating a nice seed bed for the seed there we go i then like to take some grass seed
22:53and just scatter it over the area i've raked there we go then we've made up our own seed and compost
23:05mixture we just got some seed in the bottom compost on top and then we mix it in we sort of add it in
23:11by layers and just keep mixing by hand and by doing this it's just creating another nice seed bed
23:17to ensure good germination we just scatter this over just a bit of a handful and then spread it out
23:29then if you've got some spare grass seed left just scatter that over the top
23:37by doing this it's going to ensure if any birds swoop down and pick any of the seed they're going to
23:42get some seed and there'll still be plenty seed left but maybe if you've got a lot of birds in
23:48your garden put some fleece over the top and then that'll just keep them out but what's important
23:53to do before you put the fleece on is make sure to part this down to get good seed to soil contact
23:59but the key with this is because this is such a thin bit of compost it will dry out quite quickly
24:04so don't waterlog it but make sure to keep it moist but please also make sure to follow all water
24:10restrictions in your area by keeping it moist and getting a wee bit of heat we should see germination
24:16in 10 days i wouldn't give it its first cut though till it's grown to about six inches and then cut it
24:21down by half and then possibly the cut after that is when i would cut it at the same height as the rest of
24:27the lawn now in September we are going to scarify this whole lawn so why are we filling in patches now if we
24:34just left bare patches in the ground the lawn's not really going to look that nice but also we're
24:39just leaving soil for weeds to grow and we're not wanting that in this sort of perfect lawn
24:54now time for some handy hints once your comfrey gets to this flowering stage this is the time to cut
25:00it down you can chop it up even further add it onto your compost heap or you can even use it in
25:06between the paths of your peas or your potatoes and then once you've done that you can get your grass
25:13clippings now this is high in nitrogen you can use that as a mulch around your comfrey and that'll help
25:21feed that one too always make sure it's around about 10 centimeters otherwise it just turns into that sludge and
25:26nobody wants that so you know those herb pots you can buy for the supermarket well if you actually
25:34inspect the plants there is not just one plant here there is dozens and dozens of plants so what i'm
25:41going to do is i'm going to split this clump very carefully in half
25:47tease it apart this half is going to go into my competition bed
25:51but this clump if we very carefully take a single seedling and just try and get as much root as
25:58possible just splitting this there we go take that off there just look at that we're getting one plant
26:08out of that clump and then get my dibber make a nice big planting space in the pot of compost
26:15push that in there we go we tap on the side we'll then put this on the windowsill and this is a
26:23great way of extending your herb collection for not too much money
26:37well carl this is the hardest part of the program for us we have to do a taste test on those lovely new
26:42potatoes that we harvested earlier on so right let's try the first one now we don't know what the
26:47varieties are nope we're doing this blind oh okay i quite enjoy that one good flavor
26:55not quite fun yeah yeah i like that one okay let's try this one
26:59a bit mushy yeah i'm not kidding oh yeah mushier but it's no bad good taste yeah right last one
27:12i don't think that one's got much taste for my liking anyway brian i don't mind it no i don't mind
27:24it but mm-hmm which one are you going for this one oh that was hell yeah agree with you though that
27:32all round it was nice this day that was nice let's see the variety lady crystal
27:37oh that's interesting yeah well that one in the pot that was the one in the pot and i must admit
27:42that's probably had the biggest crop yeah that did and that was just for the wee tubers so i think
27:48we'll definitely grow that one again right just out of interest what was this one that's a blanca
27:52okay so that then leaves this one sharp express so yeah i'd maybe go one two three yeah i'm
28:00for me i'm going one two three just to be awkward
28:03well that's just about all the time we've got for today next week george and lizzie's here and
28:09they're going to be checking in on the dahlia cuttings that were taken back in may and it's time to
28:13pick some fruit i'll also be visiting a brand new garden right in the city centre of glasgow remember
28:19you could catch us on the iplayer anytime well unfortunately that's all from us just now so
28:24bye for now bye great brian let's get stuck
28:40you
28:46you
28:48you
28:50you
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