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Minstead: Colourful Borders, Resilient Brambles and Parched Plants

Kathy Clugston and the GQT panel answer questions on drought-tolerant planting, climbing roses for dry shade, alternatives to traditional lawns, and much more.

Kathy Clugston chairs Gardeners’ Question Time from Minstead Village Hall in the heart of the New Forest.

Joining Kathy are  plant pathologist Pippa Greenwood, head gardener at Birmingham Botanical Gardens Bethan Collerton, and garden writer and designer Matthew Wilson. As well as being surrounded by roaming wild ponies, the panellists answer questions on drought-tolerant planting, climbing roses for dry shade, alternatives to traditional lawns and whether mulching still makes sense after an exceptionally dry summer.

They also suggest bedding and perennial planting combinations for a sunny farm shop border, discuss why weeds and brambles seem to thrive when other plants struggle, and reflect on the garden successes and failures that this year’s hot weather has revealed.

Also, Matthew Wilson  visits the site of one of the New Forest’s recent wildfires to meet Leanne Sargeant from Forestry England to talk about the impact the fires have had on the environment.

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.

Tickets are available for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time Summer Party 2026 held at RHS Garden Wisley on Saturday 5th September.
Information and ticket details can be accessed via: https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/gardeners-question-time-summer-garden-party

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42 minutes

Last on

Last Sunday 14:00
BBC Radio 4

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Plant List

Q1 – “Why do brambles and weeds grow so well in a drought when other plants wither?” (01’51”)

Pippa Greenwood

• Rubus fruticosus agg., bramble

Matthew Wilson

• Aegopodium podagraria, ground elder• Petroselinum crispum, parsley• Convolvulus arvensis, bindweed• Rubus fruticosus agg., bramble

Bethan Collerton

• Rubus cultivars, ornamental bramble• Buddleja spp., buddleia• Urtica dioica, common nettle 

Q2 – “ I've got a fruits and flowers theme to my garden. Can you suggest a floriferous climbing shrub for a shady border beneath oak trees? (”06’48”)

Question Context

• Rosa ‘Mary Delany’ ('Ausorts')• Oak (Quercus spp.)

Matthew Wilson

• Rosa ‘Mary Delany’• Rosa ‘Paul's Himalayan Musk’• Rosa ‘Seagull’• Rosa ‘Rambling Rector’• Laurus nobilis, Bay tree

Bethan Collerton

• Rosa ‘Rambling Rector’• Rosa ‘Paul's Himalayan Musk’

Pippa Greenwood

• Bare-root roses (Rosa cultivars) 

Feature – Matthew Wilson meets Leanne Sargeant  Nature Recovery Manager at Forestry England, to discuss the New Forest Wildfire Recovery following the recent wildfires (12’11”)

Leanne Sargeant

• Molinia spp., purple moor grass• (Calluna and Erica spp.) Heather • Ulex spp., Gorse • Quercus robur, Oak • Fagus sylvatica, Beech 

Q3 – “Would a yarrow lawn be a good alternative to grass?” (18’43”)

Question Context

• Achillea spp., yarrow

Bethan Collerton

• Achillea millefolium., common yarrow• Trifolium spp., Clover • Chamaemelum nobile, chamomile • Grass spp.

Pippa Greenwood

• Trifolium spp., Clover • Lotus corniculatus, bird’s-foot trefoil• Ajuga reptans., bugle• Thymus serpyllum L.., wild thyme 

Q4 – “To mulch or not to mulch?” (23’05”)

 

Q5 – “What summer bedding plants would you recommend for a west-facing border in front of a farm shop?” (26’25”)

Question Context

• Cosmos spp., Cosmos• Impatiens walleriana, Busy Lizzie 

Pippa Greenwood

• Pelargonium cultivars, pelargonium• Osteospermum spp., osteospermum• Gazania spp., gazania/ treasure flower• Cosmos spp.• Scaevola aemula, scaevola

Matthew Wilson

• Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’, dwarf Schmidt wormwood• Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’, catmint ‘Walker’s Low’• Oenothera lindheimeri ‘Rosy Jane’, Gaura ‘Rosy Jane’ • Salvia ‘Nachtvlinder’, sage Nachtvlinder’• Ceratostigma willmottianum, Chinese plumbago• Calamagrostis brachytricha, Korean feather reed grass• Narcissus spp, Daffodil • Tulipa spp, Tulip • Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’• Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’

Bethan Collerton

• Tagetes spp., Marigold• Dark-leaved begonia (Begonia cultivars)• Jacobaea maritima (syn.Senecio cineraria), Cineraria• Canna cultivars, Canna • Red-leaved banana (Musa cultivars)• Hardy aloes (Aloe spp.)• Sempervivum spp., houseleek• Succulents (various species)• Cacti (various species) 

Q6 – “What would be your garden gold medal and wooden spoon this year?” (35’05”)

Question Context

• Olea europaea, olive

Bethan Collerton

Wooden Spoon

• Hydrangea spp, Hydrangea • Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’• Hydrangea seemannii, Ivy-leaved hydrangea 

Gold Medal

• Trees (various species)

Matthew Wilson

Wooden Spoon

• Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’, Japanese snowball 'Mariesii'• Cornus controversa 'Variegata', wedding cake tree

Gold Medal

• Ficus carica, fig• Rose (Rosa cultivars)

Pippa Greenwood

Gold Medal

• Solanum melongena, aubergine• Capsicum spp., pepper• Zea mays, sweetcorn

Wooden Spoon

• Cucurbita pepo, courgette


Broadcasts

  • Fri 4 Sep 2026 15:00
    BBC Radio 4
  • Last Sunday 14:00
    BBC Radio 4

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