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In the latest Dig It podcast, Peter Brown and Chris Day discuss the latest gardening news stories, events in the gardening calendar and take a look at some of the gardening tasks to be getting on with through the month of June. What’s on 27th May - 4th June National Children’s Gardening Week featuring The World of Peter Rabbit. 1st - 5th June: Bord…

In this edition of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with celebrity gardener, social media influencer and TV presenter Michael Perry. From the introduction of new plants with the famous Ipswich-based Thompson and Morgan seed company to writing, hosting podcasts, books and tv appearances including the QVC shopping channel, Michael enjoys nothin…

Join Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day and catch up with the latest garden news, views, events and tasks as we enter one of the busiest gardening months of the year. What’s On 1st – 31st May No Mow May 2nd-8th May: RHS National Gardening Week. 6th May: King’s Coronation. Turn Your Garden Red, White and Blue – Patriotic Planting for The King's Coro…

In this edition of Dig It we chat with freelance garden writer and broadcaster Steve Bradley. Steve and wife Val (also a qualified horticulturist) have worked for The Sun newspaper since 2002, writing the gardening column with the late and legendary Peter Seabrook. Peter Brown and Chris Day share Steve’s many memorable moments of a full and brillia…

April, as they say, can be one of the cruellest months with sun one minute and frosty mornings and bitter winds the next. In this edition of Dig It Peter Brown and Chris Day look at some of the current news stories, provide a round-up of popular events coming up and those pressing gardening jobs that need to be done this month. What’s on 1 - 2 Apri…

Over the past few years there has been a massive resurgence in growing flowers and vegetables from seed. Fuelled by the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis more of us are looking to raise plants from seed for our gardens, allotments, and containers. In this Dig It podcast Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with David Turner, the Marketing Servic…

The first blossom, bulbs are coming into their own and there’s a bit of welcome warmth to the sunshine -spring has officially sprung! Peter Brown and Chris Day delve into March with this month’s busy podcast, including what’s on, topical news, the Dig It top 5 and much more. What’s on Saturday 11th March is Orchid Day at the Garden Centre with Dig …

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) open exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands raising money for charity through admission fees, tea and cake. Over the past 96 years the NGS has raised over 67 million pounds for charities. Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with the Chief Executive of the NGS, Geo…

In this month’s Dig It podcast Peter Brown and Chris Day look at how the gradual change in seasons is beginning to affect what we plant, prune and plan ahead in our gardens. Thursday 2nd February Chasing Plants talk with Dr Chris Thorogood in Oxford, 7-8pm. Saturday 4th February, 10am-4pm. Our Graft & Grow Event at the Garden Centre with The Mid Sh…

In this episode of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with Charles Dowding, a leading champion of no-dig gardening. Not only does he have a huge following, but his advice is born out of more than 40 years of growing, analysing, comparing, and recommending. We learn about the process of his No Dig philosophy from soil preparation, weed control, …

There’s plenty to chat about in the garden this January as Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day look at the gardening stories making the headlines, the Dig It Top 5 as well as tackling those gardening tasks. What’s on Snowdrop gardens and snowdrop days https://www.greatbritishgardens.co.uk/seasonal/snowdrops.html Monday 16th January: Small is Beautif…

A passion for houseplants In this episode of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with Tony Le-Britton, passionate houseplant professional and owner of Not Another Jungle shop in Northampton. From humble beginnings growing houseplants in a greenhouse in the house (yes, really!) a childhood ambition fulfilled by appearing on the Gardeners’ World t…

December 2022 in the Garden (short notes) Dig It hosts Peter Brown and Chris Day delve into the stories affecting gardeners and the gardening trade, plus jobs to do in the garden. In the news The RHS move their gooseberry and rhubarb national collections from Wisley to Bridgewater, near Manchester. The 5,000-year-old Newlands Corner Yews are highli…

Alan’s down-to-earth world of gardening Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with horticultural supremo Alan Down in this latest Dig It podcast. Alan has been incredibly active in the gardening trade from early days in commercial growing in Germany, developing skills in germinating tree seeds and in Somerset to setting up a very successful garden centre …

The mild weather continued into November but plenty of rain and wind brought the garden to a colourful if damp end to autumn. Peter Brown and Chris Day prepare for the bare-root planting season, delve into some of the popular news stories making the headlines, plus a look at some of those pressing jobs in the garden and with our beloved houseplants…

In this edition of Dig It Chris Day chats with the editor of Garden Trade News (GTN) Trevor Pfeiffer. Trevor examines how the massive garden trade, suppliers of both products and plants help spread news and information as well as analysing the sales across the trade in the Best Sellers Charts. Trevor gives us some of his personal insights into the …

Peter Brown and Chris Day start preparing for winter as well as providing us with a roundup of the latest news and views from the world of gardening. What’s on Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd October: Buckingham Garden Centre’s Apple Weekend with Gerry Edwards, The Mid Shires Orchard Group, CPRE The Countryside Charity, BBOWT, Chrissie’s Owls (Saturday),…

For the past 33 years Kathy and her husband Simon have created a simply amazing Manor House Garden in Stevington, just north of Bedford. It’s a garden full of inspiration, buoyed by Kathy’s keen use of colour and structure as well as plenty of great plants. In this episode of Dig it, Peter Brown and Chris Day discover more about how the garden evol…

After a challenging hot and dry summer in the garden we enter the month of September and a change in season. Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day tackle some essential tasks for the month, plus they look at the latest garden news and events coming up at the Garden Centre. Wednesday 21st September: Orchid Day 11am-3pm at the Garden Centre. We will be …

Welcome to our fifth (and Final) Postmortem Review episode! Continuing with the new format, we wanted to offer an episode that is more like our original content. Now that we Continue readingPostmortem Review 05 – Mistborn AdventuresJames, Steve, Monica, Heather, Katie, and Paul által

In this edition of Dig It, Chris Day chats with Pauline Brown, Partner at Buckingham Garden Centre and Nurseries, to discover more about the history and evolution of the business looking at the changes in the way we garden, the development of the site over five decades and how trends have impacted on the business from sustainability to new plants. …

Make sure you’re ready for August in the garden with Dig It’s round-up of garden news, events as well as a look at those essential tasks to be getting on with top advice from Buckingham Garden Centre’s Peter Brown and Chris Day. What’s on 3rd-7th August RHS Hyde Hall Flower Show, Chelmsford, Essex 4th August Summer Cycle at the Royal Botanic Kew Ga…

July is traditionally the start of the cherry season so in this edition of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with Vikki Grainge from Horwood Cherries, to discover more about growing these delicious fruits famed for their wonderful flavour despite the short of season of cropping. Plants mentioned: Flowering ornamental cherries including ‘Amanog…

Make sure you’re ready for July in the garden with Dig It’s round-up of garden news, events as well as a look at those essential tasks to be getting on with, with top advice from Peter Brown and Chris Day. What’s On 4th - 9th July RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The world’s largest flower show. Wednesday 6th July at 4pm at Buckingham Garden C…

The Queen of Herbs – Jekka McVicar Jekka McVicar talks with Dig It’s Peter Brown and Chris Day about the popularity in growing herbs, tips on growing them, plus a fascinating insight into her RHS show work Jekka shares her passion for growing and propagating herbs, organic growing, meeting the Queen and Jekka spills the beans on her exciting new he…

As we garden into June, so the priorities of tasks change with maintenance, planting and sowing still important along with tasks to keep our gardens moving onwards and upwards, including wildlife ponds, pondwater coverage tips, tomato growing and some essential pruning. After a busy May, Dig It hosts Peter Brown and Chris Day look at some of the to…

How to be a better wildlife gardener In this podcast Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with gardening expert and nature lover Martin Fish. Topics covered include invaluable advice on developing a wildlife friendly garden, lawn meadows, managing wildlife and how best to achieve the right balance of potential pests and wildlife, his thoughts, and observ…

Dig It hosts Peter Brown and Chris Day tackle the merry month of May with a look at some of the topical national horticultural news stories, including the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, plus there’s gardening tasks galore to be getting on with as well as developing your flower gardens. What’s on this month No Mow May Wednesday 11th at 4pm and Sat…

From peeking over hedgerows to see flowers from a different viewpoint and scrumping apples on a horse, leading nursery expert Rosemary Hardy’s love of plants and gardening blossomed from a very young age. Rosemary chats to Peter Brown and Chris Day about the development of the nursery from a walled garden just down the road to their current beautif…

April is a busy month in the garden and after a relatively mild and dry March there’s plenty to be getting on with. Dig It hosts Peter Brown and Chris Day look at some of the topical news stories including the new listings of poisonous plants (potentially toxic to humans and our pets) from the HTA, the peat-free debate continues, the seaside town o…

In this episode we talk to David Hedges-Gower, the UK's leading lawn expert. who has more than 36 years of lawn and turf experience. Dig It hosts Peter Brown and Chris Day learn how our lawns have evolved over the years, share practical advice on sowing and growing a new lawn from seed, the types of lawn seed available, the importance of feeding, a…

March in the Garden As we celebrate our first year of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day look at some of the topical news stories including changes in the garden centre world, a university led community gardening study and a new autumn plant fair. In the podcast we prepare the greenhouse for spring, start plants from seed indoors and out, share hint…

Home Composting with Rod Weston In this podcast Peter and Chris chat with Rod Weston, a composting expert and pioneer in spreading the message of the value of composting techniques to amateur and professional gardeners. Rod explains the composting process from start to finish and the best approach to ensure great composting results. Rod discusses o…

February in the Garden show notes Peter and Chris look at some news stories of the moment. We delve into some of the plants and gardening tasks requiring attention this month and as the gardening season starts in earnest. Peter and Chris select some suggested events for you, including the Garden Centre’s Graft and Grow Day on Saturday 5th February.…

Exploring the Heritage Seed Library Chris and Peter discover how the Garden Organic’s Seed Heritage Library is helping to ensure older, traditional seed varieties are maintained for future generations. We chat with Catrina Fenton, who is the Head of the Heritage Seed Library on it’s history, the fascinating processes of open pollination, seed captu…

January in the Garden In this episode Peter Brown and Chris Day welcome 2022 and the promise of a new gardening year! We chat to Andrew Peck, MD of Malvern Garden Buildings and discuss the massive rise of interest in outdoor rooms whether for business (home offices) or for pleasure. Andrew chats about the evolution of garden buildings from the humb…

Celebrating Houseplants with Jane Perrone In this Dig It podcast we celebrate indoor gardening as we chat with top gardening journalist Jane Perrone about her lifelong passion for growing houseplants and how this has developed into one of the most popular gardening podcasts - On the Ledge. Jane provides great advice on growing indoor plants from ke…

December in the Garden In this episode Peter Brown and Chris Day herald the start of Advent by talking about the popular festive favourite, the Poinsettia and its special day in December. We chat to Pam Haigh, the UK general manager of the charity Ripple Africa in Malawi, a charity the Garden Centre is keen to support in its epic work in planting t…

In this special Dig It podcast we talk to Nick Dunn, managing director and top tree nurseryman of Frank P Matthews. Founded in 1901, Matthews are one of the UK's leading ornamental and fruit tree grower supplying trees to the Garden Centre trade. We discover the processes of growing in the field, containerising, budding and grafting, popular tree f…

November in the Garden In this episode Peter Brown and Chris Day discuss topics including the new RHS planet friendly campaign, Malvern Garden Buildings collecting a well-deserved Gold Medal at Chelsea for their Houseplant themed Green Room and the Queen’s green canopy scheme in conjunction with the Woodland Trust. They also discuss essential jobs …

Apple growing and Orchards with Mike Jones In this episode Chris Day and Peter Brown chat with local apple enthusiast Mike Jones. We learn about his apple growing journey from childhood memories to establishing a successful and productive 11-acre community orchard in North Buckinghamshire where they grow of plums, apples, pears and quince. Apples m…

English cider interview with Michael Jones In this podcast Peter Brown chats with local apple enthusiast Michael Jones about his passion for producing cider from an 11-acre community orchard in North Buckinghamshire. In the podcast we learn that cider is basically fermented apple juice however the process from apple to bottle is far from simple! Yo…

October in the Garden Show Notes In this autumnal edition of Dig It, Peter Brown and Chris Day discuss the recent September Chelsea Flower Show and how a change of season has created a very different event. Elsewhere the demise of the front garden and the lawn, the concerns over our failing tree population and how moths are being affected by the ch…

Show Notes for Spring Bulbs with Ian Clark In this podcast we talk to Ian Clark, Business Manager from Taylors Bulbs. Our chat covers the history and overview of Taylors Bulbs, a look at the commercial aspects of growing bulbs in the field and how spring bulbs continue to rise in popularity with gardeners. Ian discusses the best ways of growing bul…

September in the Garden Show Notes September is the month of mellow mists and fruitfulness and in this month’s Dig It podcast Peter Brown and Chris Day look at how the gradual change in seasons is beginning to affect what we harvest, plant and sow in our gardens. Sowing a new lawn, a look at the best edible flowers and how to get the best from your…

Wildlife in the Garden Show Notes In this episode we chat with Ed Turpin, Community Wildlife Officer East (Buckinghamshire and East Berkshire) from the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). As concerns over preserving our wildlife become more important, we talk to Ed about his role as a wildlife officer. We chat about t…

August in the Garden Show Notes In this episode Chris and Peter discuss National Allotments week and their drive towards sustainability helped by using water butts and mulch to conserve water. Find out about National Plum Day, Pershore and the Vale of Evesham including the Victoria Plum and how it grows and fruits on North facing walls. We discuss …

In this podcast we chat with James Taylor, Nursery Manager and Jo Davey, Marketing Manager from Whartons Nurseries. We look at how roses continue to be admired and prized as our No. 1 favourite flower in the UK. James explains the production journey of a rose from propagation in the field to bringing the finished rose bushes to the Garden Centre. J…

July in the Garden Show Notes Products mentioned Cottage Delight Sticky Wings and Rib Sauce Plant fertilisers and organic sprays: Vitax Q4, Vitax Blood, Fish and Bone, Tomato feed Sulphate of Potash, Vitax Plant Guard Organic for controlling pests and diseases – available in store. Plants mentioned: Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis), Clematis monta…

Show notes for Bedding Plants with Stuart Lowen In this episode we chat with Stuart Lowen, Marketing Manager from Ball Colegrave. We look at how bedding plants have evolved over the years as well as examine many of the traditional bedding schemes we still enjoy in our gardens. Stuart explains how plant breeding has changed the way we grow one of ou…