Serge Hill Project

Q1 – I’ve just created a raised vegetable bed in my garden, and the foxes are fixated with it… they’ve dug [the seedlings] all up again and again… I’m despairing now. What can I do?” (03’52”)

Q2 – “I’m a keen cook and I am struggling to grow coriander… they either refuse to grow or bolt almost immediately… I’ve tried everything… any pointers?” (05’20”)

Coriandrum sativum, coriander

Q3 – My bulb lasagna has come up blind this year. It did really well previously, any idea why this has happened?” (7’56”)

Q4 – “We have an apple tree in a small pot… it gives plenty of fruit but it’s growing bent at about 45 degrees… how can we correct the trunk?” (11’00”)

Panel general

• Malus domestica, apple (general)

FEATURE - Plant Library & Orchard context (Serge Hill Project) (13’14”)

Tom Stuart‑Smith

• Pyrus spp., pear (orchard trees present on site)

(Large mixed perennial and bulb collections referenced but not itemised.)

Matthew Biggs speaks about his involvement and connection to the project (14’16)

Q5 – When can I transplant Iris reticulata after flowering? I’d like to move them from a pot into the ground to naturalise.”  (21’23”)

• Iris reticulata, early bulbous iris

Q6 – My decking is rotten… I’ve pulled it up… underneath is builder’s rubble… I’d prefer something eco‑friendly, functional, safe, and cheap. What would you suggest?” (23’00”)

Q7 – “Has anyone had great tits stealing the young buds of wisteria?” (26’17”)

• Wisteria spp., wisteria

• Ribes spp., currants (context: bird damage comparison)

FEATURE - Vegetable beds & therapeutic growing (28’14”)

Sue Stuart‑Smith (examples of crops used in sessions)

• Daucus carota subsp. sativus, carrot

• Lactuca sativa, lettuce

• Cucurbita spp., pumpkin

Q8 – “We had to move a large Cotinus… it seemed dead, but now it’s producing new buds from the trunk. Would a gentle prune help?” (30’01”)

Anne Swithinbank

• Cotinus spp., smoke bush

Q9 – For five years I’ve had a rose… first it flowered beautifully, but for the last two years nothing whatsoever… what might be going wrong?” (32’26”)

Christine Walkden

• Rosa spp., rose

Q10 –  ”In Oscar Wilde's life-changing story The Selfish Giant, the giant finally realizes he doesn't own his garden but is the custodian for others who also love and live in his garden. My view of my once perfect regimented but ultimately lifeless garden has changed profoundly. Now the garden is home to birds, butterflies, bees, hedgehogs, field mice, and a family of foxes, and bats fly overhead at night…They all have their entrances and their exits, and each in his time plays an important part in the pyramid.

Have the team's views changed over time on the way that they view their gardens and what the purposes of gardens are?” (33’54”)

Panel discussion (ecological context)

Plants referenced:

• Urtica dioica, stinging nettle (insect and wildlife support)

Matthew Biggs’s gardening reflections and indoor houseplants (37’59”)

• Orchidaceae (general), orchids

• Cactaceae (general), cacti

• Succulent plants (various families)