0:00:03 > 0:00:06Hello and welcome to Beechgrove, and we are on the road again.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09We have come to Northwest Scotland, to Gairloch.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Isn't it a beautiful place?
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Gairloch, of course, means "short loch".
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Isn't it a wonderful spot?
0:00:16 > 0:00:19They say that if you come to Gairloch, you have actually seen the Highlands,
0:00:19 > 0:00:20and it is absolutely true.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24You come through part of the Torridons to get here, fabulous mountains.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Look behind us and you have got Longa Island, Gairloch itself,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29and then beyond that you've got Skye
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and then the huge horizon and this wonderful light,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35which is just spectacular.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37It's a very special place.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41We've travelled about 170 miles west of Beechgrove, just slightly north,
0:00:41 > 0:00:46and that makes such a difference with the rainfall.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52At Beechgrove we have about 29 inches, here about double, 53.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55That's way up about here. You'd need waders.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Indeed. But we are a long way north as well.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00If you were to draw a line across the globe, beyond Skye,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03keep going and it's Hudson Bay, so that gives you some idea.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04Much, much colder there.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Benefiting here from those warm winds, tropical winds coming up from the Caribbean.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10LAUGHTER
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Unzip the jacket. It's partially unzipped, yes.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Accompanied by that rainfall,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17because we get quite a proportion of it in the summer,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and that's what makes a difference, and it also brings the midges.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23You have been warned. Let's go.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Jim, George, Chris and I are in and around Gairloch,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45finding out what grows, and possibly what doesn't,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49here in Wester Ross, come rain, shine or midges.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52'We've been invited by the Gairloch community
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'to host a question session later,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59'and hopefully between us we might even have some answers.'
0:01:59 > 0:02:03To investigate a little more about the Gairloch growing conditions,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Jim is visiting the world-renowned Inverewe gardens.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15In the 1860s, an enterprising young landowner, Osgood Mackenzie,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18had the foresight to carve
0:02:18 > 0:02:21the surprisingly exotic Inverewe gardens
0:02:21 > 0:02:24out from a barren peninsula on the north-west coast of Scotland,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27using the effect of the Gulf Stream,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30along with some very serious shelter.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Kevin Ball is Inverewe's present head gardener.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36In the 1860s, the garden was like what it looks like
0:02:36 > 0:02:39across the other side of the loch.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42It's quite remarkable, that when you know what you are doing,
0:02:42 > 0:02:43you can achieve something like this.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47I know. It was huge foresight Osgood Mackenzie had.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51You can see at the moment, we are growing all kinds of vegetables in this area.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Absolutely stunning. Isn't that fantastic?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56These are looking particularly good.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59The magic of this garden, of course, is this curve.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03It faces due south, so it captures the sun all day, really.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07which affords us to grow all these lovely variety of vegetables.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And of course, as you go up, you look at your fruit on the walls,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14but then you have got shelter and more trees,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16and that leads to another environment.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Exactly, it's all about the shelter.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26That's a real handsome specimen that's been here for a long time.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Yes. Tell me about this tree.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33It's a variegated Turkey oak and it's been here since 1937.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It was planted by Mairi Sawyer, Osgood Mackenzie's daughter,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39to commemorate the completion of Inverewe House,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41which is now open for the first time
0:03:41 > 0:03:44for the visitors to see and get access to.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49Yes. Magic environment - even Turkey oaks are happy. Yes!
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Do you know, I often say a walk through a well-stocked garden
0:03:58 > 0:04:00is like a world tour.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04We've just come from Turkey and here we are in Australia.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I know, and these lovely Wollemi pines.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10They are doing rather well, aren't they? Yes. So they enjoy this environment.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12And growing quite quickly?
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Yes, and our foreign visitors are always surprised at how well
0:04:16 > 0:04:19they are actually doing here at Inverewe.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22The other interesting thing about this very garden is they
0:04:22 > 0:04:25are showing more potential, they are growing faster.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Definitely. It's the same genes, isn't it?
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Mm-hm. But give them better conditions. Yes, totally.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36And they're heading for the sky. Mm-hm. Wonderful.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40This is one of the oldest bits
0:04:40 > 0:04:43which Osgood developed, and as you can see,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46what a range of plants in this area.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And the stature of them. They have definitely got shelter.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Totally. Without the shelter,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53we just could not grow this range of plants.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Phenomenal.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I almost need reminding
0:05:02 > 0:05:06that we are on a little offshore island because...
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Lordy, lordy, lordy! We are in South Africa.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Yes, it is looking quite splendid at the moment.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Absolutely stunning! The old Dieramas here.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19They are always popular with visitors, the Dierama.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22We have got a medley of different plants and colours.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Even some stuff that I would have thought wasn't quite hardy.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28What about the Aeonium? Do they stay all the time?
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Some of them are hardy, but most of them we take in for the winter.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34If we should leave them out, they would look a little bit too tatty.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37I don't think I've ever seen one quite so large as that one.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Yes, that is Aeonium 'Cyclops'. It has got a lovely jade centre.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43That's quite appropriate. Very popular with the visitors.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It is the right place to stop and for me to say thank you so much.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51It's been great having you here. I am inspired with what you can grow when you get the conditions right.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Thank you very much. Well done, you. Thank you.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Inverewe is a truly inspirational garden, and nearby, in Badachro,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Helena Bowie is attempting to garden in similar conditions.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10George went to see if he could help.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Isn't that a fabulous view?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Sky, sea, boats, nothing better than that.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21We're on the West Coast of Scotland, where really,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25when you stick things in the ground, they just grow.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26So, what could be the problem here?
0:06:28 > 0:06:31What was here when you arrived first?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34A lot of scrap, rubbish,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37fishing ropes buried, scrap metal from boats.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40You just cleared it all off and then you took off all the vegetation.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Yes. And you exposed this wonderful rock moraine and rock face.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49What you have got is something like we see at Inverewe,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and you have got a selection of plants.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Where did you get those?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Some from Inverewe and Turnaig, all locally sourced.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Right. So you went to the local sources.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03And asked for advice. You've done all the things we tell people to do.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Good! We harp on about this on the programme.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07"Go and look at what's in the other gardens."
0:07:07 > 0:07:10So what's your problem? It's where to put them.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I don't know exactly where to site them.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Well, we'll do that. I will put them out, and I might even plant some,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18you never know. You might plant them? That's right.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20This is what is lovely about the West Coast.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23There are so many tender plants you can grow here.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25This is a Grevillea.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28This is one which is from Australia.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It is supposed to have foliage like a juniper. There we are.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35That has wonderful little orangey or yellow flowers.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37We are going to put it at an angle.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40We are going to put it in like that because I want that to come over the
0:07:40 > 0:07:43top of this rock. This rock is providing drainage,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46but also that is acting as a night storage heater
0:07:46 > 0:07:49so when the sun hits this, it heats it up,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and that will heat the soil at the back and if I can keep the root ball of that plant up a little bit,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57away from the water that is running through underneath,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59it will cascade over the front here.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03When you come down the path here, you can see it properly. Wonderful.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07You wanted some cabbage palms planted in the grass.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Yes, please. Right. When you look from the window up there,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12when you are sitting there reading a book and you look out here,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15these are going to grow quite tall and you'll be able to look through them,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and it will almost be like being in the Bahamas. Wonderful! These wonderful cabbage palms.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23But they're in the grass, and there's always a danger when we plant things in the grass
0:08:23 > 0:08:26that when we come to mow it, that we damage the stems,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28hit them with the lawnmower or strimmer or something like that.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32So we're just going to plant them in here. OK. I have taken out this hole.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34These look small plants at the moment.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Fabulous roots, look at those.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39They are just desperate to get out of the pot.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42These are going to go in like that.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I am going to plant them slightly high.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Slightly mounded, like that.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50What happens now is that the water will drain away from the roots,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53keep them nice and dry, and these will grow straight up.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56What we are going to do to be able to cut down any competition
0:08:56 > 0:09:02with weeds or things like that - piece of fabric, cut a hole in the middle,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04grab your plant like that,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07down through the centre, right?
0:09:07 > 0:09:10It's just like putting a cagoule on or something like that.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14There we are. Then you put stones around that.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16You fold it... We'll fold it and it'll look neat.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Stones around it, and that's it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21There's no competition with the roots. It will stop the strimmers.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24That's right. Now, there's lots of other things for us to do.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Oh, good. Let's get on and do them. Lovely.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31It was Helena that contacted us in the first place,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and because of that we decided that Beechgrove would come to this
0:09:34 > 0:09:37beautiful part of Scotland.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40But, you know, to set up the Q session,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44she's had a lot of help from the people that have been involved
0:09:44 > 0:09:48in the fundraising campaign for the Gairloch Heritage Museum.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49And, if you come to this area,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52I'd highly recommend that you have a look around the museum
0:09:52 > 0:09:54because it's absolutely fascinating.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Sadly, we don't have time for that just now,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59because we are about to face lots of questions
0:09:59 > 0:10:00from the Gairloch gardeners.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03The MC is Mark Stephen,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and I'm going to join the rest of the panel,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07that's Jim, George and Chris.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and welcome to the Gairloch Community Hall.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We are absolutely delighted to be here.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18It is such a beautiful part of Scotland.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21You have got the mountains, the sea and the salt air and everything,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24and of course you have the midges.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25I have a question here -
0:10:25 > 0:10:29what do midges in Gairloch eat when they can't get fresh gardener?
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Please welcome to the stage the king of Scottish gardening, first of all,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Gentleman Jim McColl.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37APPLAUSE
0:10:39 > 0:10:40Carole Baxter.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42APPLAUSE
0:10:42 > 0:10:44George Anderson.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45APPLAUSE
0:10:45 > 0:10:46Chris Beardshaw.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48APPLAUSE AND LAUGHTER
0:10:50 > 0:10:53I would love to tell you that's unusual,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56but he dresses like that all the time.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Ladies and gentlemen, your Beechgrove Garden Question Time panel.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00APPLAUSE
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Our first questioner is Isabel McKenzie.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11Where are you, Isabel? Have you got a sample, by any chance?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15No! Really! Come on.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Right. She's got here sample in her bag - it's all right.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I have got several hostas growing,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and most of them have been attacked by something,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and I wonder what it is and what the remedy is.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32There are two things on here.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34The first is a very common problem,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and that is the holes in the leaves which you see,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40which are caused by either slugs or snails.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42The other thing, however, and quite unusually
0:11:42 > 0:11:44I can see on the back of this,
0:11:44 > 0:11:49it looks like greenfly that are on the back as well.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I don't know if you can poke them with a stick and see if it moves.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55No. Well, I wonder if it is indeed frass.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Frass is the excrement from a caterpillar.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04To put it politely.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Which is what I have been asked to do tonight.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09First of all, the main damage is caused by a slug or a snail,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12or something like that. You want to encourage frogs,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and you want to encourage hedgehogs.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Then they will eat the slugs and snails,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and you will find it will clean the garden up a bit.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Other than that, you have to go out at night with a torch
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and have all the neighbours speaking about you
0:12:25 > 0:12:28while you are wandering about picking the slugs and snails
0:12:28 > 0:12:30off the tops of your hostas.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Don't throw them over the wall to your neighbour.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35They will make their way back - they've got a homing instinct.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39We did some research. When we were kids, we used to get paid to collect,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43particularly snails, large garden snails,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48and we realised that tipping them over the garden wall was not doing an awful lot of good.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50So we then painted each snail
0:12:50 > 0:12:54and we put a little mark of paint on each shell,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56and each colour that we used
0:12:56 > 0:12:58indicated different distance away that we
0:12:58 > 0:13:01put the snail after we'd caught it in the garden,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04to see how far they would travel.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06400 metres in one night.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07LAUGHTER
0:13:08 > 0:13:10And the other thing, of course,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12if you are encouraging slugs out of the garden
0:13:12 > 0:13:16by using things like newts and toads and that sort of thing, frogs,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20don't put down conventional slug pellets because of course the slug pellets will kill the slugs,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24but they will also cause problems for birds.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Coffee granules is something you can try.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29You know, if you make a cafetiere of coffee,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I would suggest that you try and use that as a barrier around the plant.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37If you grow things in pots, then you can get copper tape.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40It almost gives it a bit of an electric shock, the copper.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43You can buy them with batteries, the copper band.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47You can, which is really a bit cruel.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52And I know this is maybe a bit of a waste of your beer, but a slug pub.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56You know, a jam jar, buried at ground level.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58You're assuming that she drinks beer.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04I've tried that. It was quite effective, actually. Good. Jim.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06In my garden, I've got several different hostas
0:14:06 > 0:14:07in different places,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11and the most successful, with not a mark on them, is where they are planted
0:14:11 > 0:14:15into an area of ground with a gravel topping.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Landscape fabric, a gravel topping.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22The hostas in that situation, with gravel all around, there's not a mark on them.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Ian Crawford, where are you? Our tomato plants have collapsed.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The leaves just wilted completely.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Are they growing in big pots or grow bags?
0:14:31 > 0:14:32A grow bag in the conservatory.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36In the conservatory. And how are you feeding them?
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Once a week with tomato feed.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41The very fact that the leaves have collapsed,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44to my mind there's one of two reasons.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47One is that there is something seriously wrong with the root system.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Are the grow bags pretty sodden and wet?
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Yes, the grow bag is sitting in a tray and I keep that well watered.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I would question the possibility
0:14:57 > 0:15:00that the roots have been affected by very wet conditions.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03The reason I asked about how much you are feeding them,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05is because if you feed them too much,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08it draws the sap out of the leaves and they collapse.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11It's a condition known as plasmolysis.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14If you are too keen and the feed is too strong,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17basically the solution in the tray is stronger
0:15:17 > 0:15:21than the solution in the plant, and it will go the opposite way.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24You would have to go back and have a real look,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27but my first impression is that by this time of the year,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29grow bags get very wet and sodden,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and there's very little oxygen in there, its nearly all wet,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and that is when roots start to die.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38When the roots die, the leaves will collapse.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40I think the other thing that's worth pointing out
0:15:40 > 0:15:43is to go back to your feeding process
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and very often when we look at the side of a bottle
0:15:46 > 0:15:49or a packet and it gives us a quantity to apply,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52a quantity of food to apply,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56we look at that and we kind of take that as a rough guide, and very often,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59if you follow my grandmother's technique,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02if it said four ounces a square yard, she would think well,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05if four ounces a square yard is good, then 12 ounces would be really good.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Therefore you get over-enthusiastic with the feeding.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10That's something to be really wary of.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15Over-applying water, but also over-applying food can be really dramatic,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18especially with plants like tomatoes.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21It was great watching your face while we were speaking,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25because it had "Guilty, m'lud" written all over it!
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Yes, that's me. I overfed!
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Irene McIntyre.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Can you give that to Carole, please?
0:16:31 > 0:16:35I don't want that. I don't care.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38We have this invasive bamboo in my garden.
0:16:38 > 0:16:44How can we contain it without spoiling the appearance of the area round about it? Right.
0:16:44 > 0:16:45The reason I say I don't want this
0:16:45 > 0:16:48is I have this in my own garden,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50and I am attacking it this year
0:16:50 > 0:16:53because it is such an invasive bamboo.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57It's one of the Sasas, so one of the broadleaved ones.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Some of the bamboos are fantastic
0:17:00 > 0:17:01because they are clump forming.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06These ones spread by the underground rhizomes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Am I right in saying that? How much has it spread for you at the moment?
0:17:10 > 0:17:15It has spread probably four or five metres under the lawn in all directions.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20OK, that's not too bad because I would say mine has covered the whole of this stage,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and I have been going with my loppers cutting it back,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and then I'm afraid it's using the weedkiller glyphosate.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34If you really like it and you want to keep it in the garden,
0:17:34 > 0:17:41what you really need to do is dig a trench around the outside
0:17:41 > 0:17:43and put in a barrier,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46get yourself some... Concrete.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48..old fertiliser bags or something.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50It doesn't go down deep,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55so if you dig a barrier down about 12 inches and put that around,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58that should hopefully contain it,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01but do it as soon as possible because honestly,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03it will take over your garden.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Every single plant, when it gets out of bed in the morning,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09is desperate to grow and to thrive and to occupy the niche,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and if you give it the right niche, it will just go absolutely crazy,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14and that's what's happening with this.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Don't blame the plant, don't be put off.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20If you need a plant to retain a bank that's about the same size
0:18:20 > 0:18:25as Aberdeenshire or something like that, this is it.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28It's brilliant in that scenario, isn't it?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32My name is Hugh McIntyre and this is Beryl. Leslie.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37Beryl Leslie. We seem to have a similar problem.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41I live at Laide, where we have a fairly large greenhouse
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and we have established a peach, 'Peregrine',
0:18:44 > 0:18:46fan trained against one wall that will produce
0:18:46 > 0:18:50between 50 and 100 beautiful peaches in a year, it really is lovely.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55But, for the last two years, it is becoming infested with a little worm,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59which appears around the stalk area and will go well into the peach.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02We think it might be a codling moth that is causing it,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04but we might be wrong about that.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It is the same variety of peach, and the same number of fruit,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and the same grub or whatever inside it.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Even if they don't have an answer, you pair could start a support group.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18When you touch this grub, does it walk backwards?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Don't laugh. Does it walk backwards?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Do you know if it walks backwards?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26No. No, it just wiggles.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29It just wiggles, it doesn't walk backwards.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31If it walked backwards, it would actually be a tortrix.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33They have a tendency to walk backwards -
0:19:33 > 0:19:36when you touch them on the nose, they will back off, as it were.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39I don't have this on peaches because I don't grow peaches outside,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42but I have a similar problem with apples.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's typical of what has happened here.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48You see how the leaves are just on top of the fruit like that?
0:19:48 > 0:19:52With apples, sometimes when you have not thinned them sufficiently,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54you will find that they grow close together like that,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57just like peaches would, and you think "that is fabulous,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00"that will look wonderful on a show bench."
0:20:00 > 0:20:03You pick the apple or the peach and you go,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05"oh, my goodness, that's another one to eat in the house."
0:20:05 > 0:20:08It's all damaged on the top.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11I think that sometimes it can be winter moth
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and sometimes it can be tortrix,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and it's caterpillars
0:20:15 > 0:20:19that are just not satisfied with eating the leaves,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23but they use the leaves as a shelter and protection and they eat the skin
0:20:23 > 0:20:26off the fruit because they are not going too far into the fruit.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28There's no great nutrition in the fruit itself.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30They are eating the skin of the fruit,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33but they destroy and damage the fruit in that particular way.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36I don't know if you can maybe get a nematode to control this.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40There seem to be more and more of these biological controls
0:20:40 > 0:20:44coming on the market that control more of the pests,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47so that's maybe a route you could go down.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48I agree with George.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52I think it's either codling or it's going to be tortrix,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54and I think the only way of determining
0:20:54 > 0:20:56is to cut them open and have a look
0:20:56 > 0:20:59to see whether the grub is in the centre, or whether,
0:20:59 > 0:21:00as George was explaining,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03if it's just on the foliage and around the tips.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05It does go into the centre. If you cut that one open,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08you might find one, because I saw it running around.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Yes, that does sound more like a codling, then.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14While you were speaking there, Chris,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Carole was rehearsing for a new cookery programme.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18She's marmalised that peach.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Apart from the top, it looks absolutely juicy and delicious,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25but there's no sign, I'm afraid, of a beastie in there at all.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29There was one when we left home, but it must be running around somewhere.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Search your pockets before you leave.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33I'm glad we were able to bring you pair together.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37I think we have seen the start of something really special here tonight.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Thank you very much. A final question from Madeline Burbridge.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43When in the softer south-west of the UK,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46I heartily disliked hydrangeas and red-hot pokers.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Living here in north-west Scotland,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52I admire their tenacity in my exposed coastal garden.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Are there plants for which members of the team have a grudging respect?
0:21:57 > 0:22:01One of the things I really like because of its persistence
0:22:01 > 0:22:05is a New Zealand grass, and it's a thing called Chionochloa.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08It's a tussock grass, so it doesn't produce rhizomes that go everywhere,
0:22:08 > 0:22:13it produces this massive clump of foliage.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15We have it planted outside one of our windows.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18You can see it from the window when you are sitting at breakfast.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23When the wind blows through it, it has got this gloss on the foliage and these long, thin,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25almost hairlike bits of leaf, and it glistens.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26When it has been raining,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30the rain holds on these leaves,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and it's like a lot of fairy lights all the way along.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35My admiration for this plant
0:22:35 > 0:22:41is that it shows us the beauty in the weather, and it keeps going
0:22:41 > 0:22:44in spite of all the weather that we throw at it,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47and that is just one of the most rewarding plants
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I've got in the garden.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Jim.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Well, I'm going to... not duck out,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55but one of the plants I have a huge admiration for,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58whether it's in the countryside or in anybody's garden,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and that is the rowan.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03They are, if you're growing them as a garden plant,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07one of the finest for smaller gardens because they don't get oversized.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11They have got beautiful foliage, they have got beautiful flowers,
0:23:11 > 0:23:16they are followed up by the berries which encourage the wildlife
0:23:16 > 0:23:21and so on, so it is my all-time favourite tree.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Carole. Right, now I've had a bit of time to think,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and I want to watch Chris's face on this one.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It's a grass.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31No! Yes, no!
0:23:31 > 0:23:37It's pampas grass, but it is a variety that I really like.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It's 'Pumila', because it's a dwarf form,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and we have a lovely one in the seaside garden at Beechgrove,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47which looks absolutely tremendous.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51You HAD one. Have you burned it down? Have you not been back?
0:23:51 > 0:23:57But it is stunning, and it looks great all year round.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Finally.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04I would add sycamore to that list.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07There's a whole range of plants
0:24:07 > 0:24:09that you have a grudging respect for.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Sycamore for me, it is the number one forest weed.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15What I admire about it is the thing
0:24:15 > 0:24:18that captured my eye when I was four years old,
0:24:18 > 0:24:23and that's the little helicopter seeds that come down in autumn.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27I collected a load of those when I was four, took them home,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31and my father, seeing that I was kind of interested in gardening,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35had given me a patch of land behind the garage where he couldn't get
0:24:35 > 0:24:38anything to grow. He gave me that patch of land and I sowed all these
0:24:38 > 0:24:42sycamore seeds and they all started to germinate,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46and when we moved house, when the trees were about 15 feet high,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50I made sure that he moved them and they went to the new house,
0:24:50 > 0:24:56and they were planted out, and they went next to the new garage, and they are still there.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01The garage has now subsided because of the root damage which has been caused by the trees.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05It is a really good plant if you want to prove how effective plants are at growing,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10and very good if you want to knock a garage down.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'After a lively panel discussion, we took some more informal questions.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:31I then headed out of Gairloch to visit Chrissy and Bob,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35who live in an idyllic but relatively barren spot in South Erradale.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42What strikes me straightaway as you come into the garden is the grass.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46It is immaculate, and such a contrast to the surrounding landscape.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Who is responsible for it?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52That's my job. It's about the only job I do in the garden
0:25:52 > 0:25:57is look after the grass. Also what makes it so immaculate is the edges as well.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Do you do that? No, that's Chrissy's job.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04She's the edger in chief. Chrissy chooses to do that!
0:26:04 > 0:26:09My grandfather told me edges make a lawn, so he taught me how to do...
0:26:09 > 0:26:12I was just wee, mind, and he taught me how to do the edging.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15I have carried it on all these years.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17And I think it is true, isn't it?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20It really, really works. What about the plants, then?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I'll disappear, then. Are you going to put the kettle on?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I'll put the kettle on.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The colour that you've got here with the archway.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30The roses have been outstanding this year.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33These just ramble along and they don't get much attention
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and then they come out with the honeysuckle. A beautiful perfume.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Yes, yes. On both sides. What about the clematis?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Oh, 'Bill MacKenzie' works wonders over there, and he's twofold.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46You get the flowers, and then you get these lovely seed heads.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49OK, let's go through the archway, because I would like to see
0:26:49 > 0:26:51what's going on there. Right, will I go first?
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I spy straightaway the tatties. Oh, we always need tatties.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00Most years we've got enough tatties to see us right through to springtime.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04OK, so totally self-sufficient in your potatoes?
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Yes, we are - we try to be, anyway. I'm a bit lazy.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I'm not good at making tattie drills.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14So we plant the potatoes on the flat, and then we put the compost,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19a thick layer of compost on the top, and as the potatoes come through,
0:27:19 > 0:27:24I drill them up with my handy hoe.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26I tell you, that's a real handy hint as well.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Good. You obviously love your vegetables, you have got such a variety.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34We are vegetarian, so that's why we've got a lot of vegetables.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38And you know, putting on the mesh, do you find that works really well?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Definitely it does, it keeps away all the butterflies and things.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Do you think that tea is ready?
0:27:43 > 0:27:45I hope so because my hands are soaking and cold.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Come on, let's go inside. Thank you so much, it's wonderful.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49OK.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59I tell you what, we couldn't leave this wonderful sojourn at Gairloch
0:27:59 > 0:28:01without drawing attention to the community garden.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Isn't it stunning? Absolutely.
0:28:04 > 0:28:0715 months ago, there was a gorse hedge along here,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and nobody could see anything. They couldn't see this view at all.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Absolutely stunning. It now looks really great,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and I think it's truly clever with those planters,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18you have got a crash barrier at the front, a bit of timber at an angle,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and also a bit of drainage, which I think we need today.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24When communities pull together, they can work wonders.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28And everybody has made us feel so welcome, haven't they?
0:28:28 > 0:28:31It's just been fabulous. It really has. We've had a great time.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33We look forward to seeing you at Beechgrove next week
0:28:33 > 0:28:37if we have dried out by that time. Goodbye. Goodbye.