Podcasts about gardeners' question time

Is the time finally right to buy an electric car? Peter Gibbs has just taken the plunge. We join him on his first road trip to see if Britain really is ready to wave goodbye to diesel and petrol. He drops in on Robert Llewellyn, Kryten in Red Dwarf and the man behind the electric car Youtube channel, Fully Charged for some initial inspiration and a moan about the difficulties of charging on the road. He checks out the real environmental benefits with Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics. He asks the Gardeners' Question Time panel if they're ready to make the shift and hears from Roads Minister, Jesse Norman and the scientists at Warwick University who are making radical advances in battery technology. If they really can offer a car with a 300 mile range that can be charged in 10 minutes then the future may very well be electric. Producer: Alasdair Cross

British-Malaysian botanist James Wong is sparking a one-man houseplant revolution. With no outside space to garden, for the last 18 months James has been focusing all his horticultural energies into many fascinating plant experiments inside his small London flat.  If you follow James on social media where he's @botanygeek, you can't fail to have seen some of the results of his efforts, from a nano pond made from a glass fruit bowl that garnered 125,000 likes to terrariums no bigger than a lightbulb. If you've ever wondered how he made a coffee table terrarium of a mini green wall in a display unit, or where he sources his tiny aquarium plants from, wonder no longer, because this week's episode has all the answers for you.  If you haven't come across James before, he's got an impressive CV that includes presenting on BBC TV's Countryfile and being an expert panellist on BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time, writing numerous books - the latest one is called How To Eat Better - and of course his column for the Observer magazine. His homepage is here if you want to find out more.  I first interviewed James last year back in On The Ledge episode 13, but when I bumped into him at the Chelsea flower show this year, he invited me to take a look at his houseplants in person so I could share all his tips and tricks with all of you. Hurrah! Oh, and I got two for the price of one, because you'll hear another voice in the interview, and that's garden designer and fellow London-based plant genius Rob Stacewicz (he's on @RS_MCIHort) . And YOU get two for the price of one, because next week's show will feature more of my chat with James, including the secrets of his nano pond and his top tips for keeping fussy houseplants happy.  Please visit janeperrone.com for the full show notes, including all the suppliers and plant names that come up in this episode.

Radio 4s Gardeners' Question Time regular Matt Biggs will be at BBC Gardeners' World Live everyday. Trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Matthew has gone on to present numerous television programmes including Channel 4's Garden Club. He has had experience behind the camera too directing Meridian Television's popular gardening series Grass Roots and working as a Horticultural Consultant for a garden design series on Channel 5. Matt, a graduate of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time. He writes regularly for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and BBC Countryfile and has written several books including ‘Matthew Biggs Complete Book of Vegetables’, ‘Lessons from Great Gardeners’ for the RHS and was commissioned to write ‘Gardening at Eden and how to do it at home’, for The Eden Project. He has travelled world-wide, leading gardening tours for BBC Gardeners World magazine, the most recent, to Belgium and the Netherlands.

This week's episode sounds a little bit different - as it's half term and I have a relative staying who is sleeping in my office where I usually record the podcast, I headed out to the potting shed for the intro and Q&A. I hope you enjoy the early morning background noise of birds singing!  Matthew Biggs (@plantmadman on Twitter) is a legendary British gardener, writer and broadcaster, and delightfully for On The Ledge, he's also a big fan of indoor gardening too: he even wrote a book called What Houseplant Where with another legendary plantsman, Roy Lancaster. I ordered a copy which arrived a couple of days back after my interview with Matt, and having flicked through I'd say it's a useful addition to anyone's houseplant book collection. Here's a list of a few of the plants and people we mention, in case you didn't catch them: If you've never heard the BBC Radio programme Gardeners' Question Time, have a listen. This is their recent episode from Chelsea.  Aphelandra squarrosa (zebra plant) Gloxinia  Euphorbia milii (crown of thorns) The legendary Japanese plant hunter Matt mentions is Mikinori Ogisu - there isn't much in English on the net about him, but here's a piece by Roy Lancaster that gives him a mention. Here's the Chelsea piece I mention, including my recommendation for (outdoor) Euphorbias that was condemned by some readers. Here's a list of Matthew's gardening books of recent years. I talk to Matt about finding the right spot for your houseplant, why Gloxinias are the Barbara Cartland of the houseplant world, and what we'll be getting up to on the Blooming Interiors stage at Gardeners' World Live on June 14.   Question of the week Listener Mary Beaton is worried that her Phalaenopsis orchid has red edges to the leaves: I suspect that this is due to the plant getting a bit too much light, and suggest moving it to a north or east-facing window.  Moth orchids can also show leaf stress from too much light by turning yellow, although this can also be an indicator of overwatering, too. The rule with Phalaenopsis is - if in doubt, don't water! And don't fall for the old saw about watering with ice cubes as this can shock the plant. Room temperature water is far better.  Want to ask me a question? Tweet @janeperrone, leave a message on my Facebook page or email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. 

This week David Maxwell visits Barbara Pilcher at her seaside home to talk about what to do with herbs during autumn and winter. Jim Bradley offers advice on choosing statement plants for the patio. David talks downsizing with internationally renowned garden designer and writer Mary Keen and gets top tips on what to do now in the garden from Gardeners' Question Time panellist Matthew Biggs.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the gardener and broadcaster Geoffrey Smith. He learnt his craft at his father's knee growing fruit and vegetables for the stately home where he worked. Later he learnt the science of horticulture at college and achieved top marks. He's always maintained the promise he made to himself as a boy: to spend his life outdoors. Except, of course, when he enters a studio for Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Dawn Chorus Book: History of viticulture, with instructions on how to make wine Luxury: Bundle of prunings from a good vineyard so he can plant his own vines