In this weeks episode we chat about houseplants, seed swaps, what’s been in the horticultural news and onions.

Visit House plants at RHS Rosemore, learn more about houseplant care and the perfect houseplant for you. With 4 talks covering ferns. cacti, orchids and Terraniums.

Trumpington Seedy Sunday an event run since 2006 where you can swap your seeds, take refreshments and purchase local produce in Trumpington. Can be found at Trumpington Village Hall 75 High Street Cambridge, England, CB2 9HA

RHS Wisley Seed swap on 31st January with seed swapping of RHS heritage seeds and talks on how to collect, sow and grow! RHS Wisley, GU23 6QB

Myddelton house ultimate snowdrop sale is on the 31st Jan at the historic Myddleton house once home to famous horticulturalist E A Bowles. Myddelton House Gardens, Bulls Cross, Enfield, EN2 9HG

Other seed swap events can be found at Garden Organic’s website.

The last event for the month is the Houseplant and Orchid show at Gordale Garden Centre, where you can enjoy talks, demonstrations, and expert advice from multi award-winning orchid grower Sara Rittershausen of Burnham Nurseries.

We talk about Beech nuts, the world's most expensive plant, Peter tries and fails to regrow onions after trying to copy a youtube video. The 5 most popular onions that we sell at the Garden Centre are Red Winter, Electric, Senshyu yellow, Radar, Centurion and Autumn Champion. We also sell lots of shallots and garlic.

Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for providing the music.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we suggest places somewhere to visit:

Ashampstead Early Snowdrop and Plant Fair: A brand new early Snowdrop & Plant Fair in the heart of the Berkshire Downs that takes advantage of the increasingly early snowdrop season.

Or you could go online and join the

Wildlife and Gardening virtual symposium where you can learn about the latest research related to nature-friendly gardening to help you make evidence-based wildlife gardening decisions.

Or Log on to the Climate resilient tree selection course on zoom with John Frater.

In the news The National Gardens Scheme has had it’s best fund raising year ever raising over £3,875,596 for great causes. National Garden Scheme Chief Executive Dr Richard Claxton said: “It’s nearly 100 years since our charity was formed to support district nursing and our commitment to nursing care remains central. Long-term partnerships with Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Parkinson’s UK, The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing, Hospice UK and Carers Trust are the bedrock of our donation programme. With the lion’s share of this year’s donation; £2,725,000, going to these much-loved nursing and healthcare charities.

We talk about all the wonderful Potatoes we now have out for sale, the different types and varieties, how to chit and plant them and earth them up. We also discuss our favourite things to do with potatoes.

On the 31st of January is Graft and Grow Day so next week we chat with Claire Conway-Crapp from MSOG about all things Apples.

With thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for the music.

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The last episode of the year, so David and Peter say thank you and share a few things about the events of 2025.

We also update you on Christmas Opening times.

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In this Episode Peter Chats with Pam Haig from Ripple Africa. Ripple Africa have been working in Mwaya and surrounding areas in Malawi since 2003, helping communities to achieve a sustainable future by giving a helping hand rather.

We learn of the deforestation issues facing Malawi, its consequences and how their tree planting program has helped reforest large areas. Since 2004 Ripple Africa has planted 26.5 Million trees, helping reduce erosion, restore forested areas, help nature and provide firewood and lumber and a source of income in the future.

Malnutrition is one of the problems in Malawi and Ripple Africa has been working very hard showing communities and farmers how to grow different crops to diversify their diet. Now they are growing Sweet Potatoes, Fruit trees and chickens and vegetables.

The Chagu chagu moto is another very successful cook stove project. Its simple design using locally sourced materials, reduces the demand on firewood for cooking helping families save time, it provides a stable structure so is far safer than the 3 stone fire and has 2 burners so allows for 2 pot cooking.

We also touch on education as this is another arm of the charity, and learn of the schools that they have helped to build.

Our thanks to Chiltern Music for providing the title music.

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With the heating going on indoors, we also chat about houseplant winter care — how to stop your plants drying out when the radiators fire up, simple ways to boost humidity, and why a quick “seasonal reset” can save your favourite foliage.

With National Robin Day coming up, Peter and David talk about how to help garden birds through winter, from offering high-energy food to keeping bird feeders clean and disease-free.

We take a look ahead to London Open Gardens 2026, a weekend where more than 100 hidden gardens across the capital will open their gates — definitely one for the diary.

There’s also discussion on the latest RHS peat-free trials, which show that more fertiliser isn’t always better, plus the key findings from Thompson & Morgan’s 2025 survey revealing how British gardeners are adapting to hotter, drier summers.

Finally, we round things off with a spotlight on raspberries, covering the difference between summer- and autumn-fruiting types and some of the bare-root varieties now available at the Garden Centre.

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In this episode David and Peter talk about Christmas! How to care for your cut Christmas tree, or if you have a live one the best temperature and how to look after it during the festive period. We discuss the joys of the Amarylis bulb and how to get them to last more than one year. And the other Christmas favourite the Poinsettia, where to position it and what it needs to do well. Peter talks about the Spathiphllum wallisii as his go to houseplant due to its forgiving nature and ability to survive without the greatest amount of care.

The 2026 Garden Centre Calendar has been released, so come in and buy something to get your free copy (whilst stocks last). This year’s edition features amazing photos of trees, shrubs and unusual plants, monthly tips and space for you to write your appointments on.

We also talk about a recent Podcast with Pauline Brown and hedging and go over the importance of preparing the ground and cutting back your new plants if you want to have a thick and bushy hedge. If you need to work out how many plants you need for a new hedge use our Hedging Calculator. We also discuss the skills of laying a hedge, how severe and harsh it looks and the benefits of reviving an old hedge, watch some old video footage from Youtube

Peter shares a trick to get woody stems to grow new leafy shoots on a Laurel which he used after cutting his laurel hedge back very severely.

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In this episode David and Peter chat about the recent rain and the problems this has caused across England including Monmouth.

It's National Tree Week this week so get out and plant a tree! This event is organised by the National Tree Council and it's partners.

Oxford University Parks Arboretum Explorer Map Launch and Tree Planting, Thursday, November 27 @ 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Join Oxford University Parks and Professor Martin Maiden, Professor of Molecular Epidemiology and Head of Biology in celebrating the launch of it's new online Arboretum Explorer Map by planting a tree. Following the planting ceremony, Sam Prior, the University Arboricultural Manager will do a guided walk introducing some of the more interesting trees throughout the parks.

Do you want to learn how to weave words with the willows, then head outside and join a group from Crofters Café, Cambridge, CB2 1RB. Book tickets in advance for a guided walk. Or maybe you want to grow a willow tree or a hedge Buckingham Nurseries has lots of different varieties for you to plant.

Aquifers across the country have started filling up again, Yorkshire still has a hosepipe ban and the Environmant Agency is concerned there may be another shortage next year as we have not had as much rainfall as usual.

Frances Tophill designs her first Chelsea show garden for The King's Foundation's Curious Garden exhibit, joining her from the King's foundation will be Sir David Beckham, and from the RHS and King's Foundation Alan Titchmarsh CBE. A large part of the Charity's work is learning to live within nature and learn from it. It also offers courses from it's Headquarters in Dumfries House, Scotland.

A rare orchid has been brought back from the brink of extinction and we discuss dividing Strawberries and it's nearly time for planting.

Follow us @buckingham-nurseries find our website at hedging.co.uk and our special thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for supplying the music.

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