0:00:08 > 0:00:11Well, hello and welcome to Beechgrove Garden.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13We're patently not in it today.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17In fact, we're in the best kept village in Fife, Strathkinness,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20which is on the high road two miles west of St Andrews,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24which you can see just there in the background.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25And isn't it a wonderful spot?
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Absolutely splendid. It's supposed to be one of the milder areas
0:00:29 > 0:00:32of Fife because there's mountains to the west and the air coming over it.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It kind of warms up, we say, down into here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36- Oh, really?- But also,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40the soil here comes from an underlying hard sandstone
0:00:40 > 0:00:43which was glaciated - wonderful soil left,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46the hard lumps which we see, the hills have been mined out, there's quarries in those,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and all the stones from that went to build the Victorian houses and
0:00:49 > 0:00:53everything round about, so a great area, really.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Now, something else that's really favourable - we've got the sunshine today -
0:00:57 > 0:01:01- is the amount of sunshine hours, about 1,500 on average.- Really?
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Which is really comparable to places down in southern England,
0:01:05 > 0:01:06which is fantastic.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10- But what about the broccoli, Jim? - Yes, we are here, in fact, in a field of broccoli.
0:01:10 > 0:01:1365 acres of it. Absolutely fantastic.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Cropped from about June right till October, November.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18- First frost.- And the varieties?
0:01:18 > 0:01:20This is parthenon.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This is the standard variety.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24But you're always looking for something different.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29- That's one of the newer ones - look at the difference in the shape of it.- Yes, that one's Monrello.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Yes, aye. Absolutely fantastic.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Well, everyday's a school day, we've a lot more to learn.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35We ought to get moving.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37- We should.- Before we freeze to the spot.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Jim, George and I are out and about in and around Strathkinness,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00where the gardening conditions are really rather good.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04So we will be finding out what grows and possibly what doesn't
0:02:04 > 0:02:05in this area of Fife.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09We've been invited by Strathkinness Community Trust
0:02:09 > 0:02:11to host a question session later on -
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and hopefully between us we might even have some answers.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19It's a very small pear. She's not going to win many prizes with this!
0:02:19 > 0:02:22It's more of a single than a pear, really.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26In the village hall, on the panel, Jim, George and I were joined by Brian Cunningham,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27head gardener of Scone Palace.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34The Strathkinness community are a pretty active bunch,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39and amongst other things they have recently created a productive community garden
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and a Jubilee orchard, which Jim and George went to take a look at.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Iain Duncan, trustee of this project.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00When did it all start and what were your objectives?
0:03:00 > 0:03:05In August 2010, Jim, this piece of ground became available to the Trust,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and it was decided that we could create a community garden and an orchard
0:03:09 > 0:03:14in time for the Jubilee, and that's what we set out to do.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19We just brought in the various elements of allotments, polytunnel,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22fruit cage and greenhouses,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26just to give the local community an opportunity to participate.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31We created this border from plants that we'd gathered throughout the village, people were throwing out.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34So nothing has been purchased, it's all grown from...
0:03:34 > 0:03:37And there'll be lots of different village groups taking part.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- Oh, yes.- There's children, for example?
0:03:39 > 0:03:44The school has a very active gardening club. They have an allotment here,
0:03:44 > 0:03:49and we have a good relationship with the school, and hopefully we're producing gardeners for the future.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50Absolutely, that's the whole point.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53But as in every garden, there are wee problems here and there.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- Oh...- Mr Anderson's off to find one or two.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58We have problems.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11When they established the community orchard back in 2011,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14rather than using grass as a ground cover they were given some plants of
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Geranium endressii wargrave, this wonderful pink geranium you see here.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22And they split it up into very small portions and planted it all over.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27The effect is just fantastic, this is a unique experience to see this.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Really super. They chose varieties of apple which were going to be
0:04:30 > 0:04:33hardy in Scotland, and here are the results -
0:04:33 > 0:04:34we've got this one, Laxton's Fortune,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37absolutely splendid crop on here.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40But the crop's getting too high. So to solve that problem,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43what they've done is they've taken a series of strings,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46tied them to some of the longer shoots, arched the shoots over,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50so we have what's called a spindle bush effect on the apple.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52That brings the crop lower to the ground,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57and then we can take out the centre branch and we can pick all our apples with our feet on the ground.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15As we all know, this has been a bad year for blight in potatoes.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And this is what happens if it gets into the tuber -
0:05:18 > 0:05:20you see that rot that's coming on round the outside of the tuber.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24And of course, once that starts to rot, it allows other things to get in.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27But secondly, there's been a lot of slug damage.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30There's slug damage in this one. And that is really nasty.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33But there's an even nastier problem here,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and that's that little fella there.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Wireworm. Can you see it?
0:05:37 > 0:05:39And there's one in there - ooh, dear.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42There isn't a control for that either. But good husbandry, in other words,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46early cultivation of the ground - keep cultivating and you'll get
0:05:46 > 0:05:49the birds finding these in the top layers,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and that's about the only way that you'll control that little blighter.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Mm. That's got a bit of a bite to it. The community group have been very clever here,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10they've sown out a number of winter salads,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and anybody can come in and pick them and take them home and use them.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17There's also a problem - there's a grape over there which is flowering and fruiting quite well,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21but at this side there's one which hasn't done anything this year.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26There's the remnants of old flowers here, which means that it started to think about flowering and fruiting,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29but it didn't bother. And the reason?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33It's too busy growing. So what we need to do is to slow it down.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36If we give this one some sulphate of potash,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38that will really slow down the growth.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Bit of judicious growing, a bit of feeding,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43and that will solve that problem.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45So that's one problem solved, one question answered.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49But you know, this group has lots and lots of questions that they want to ask us,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53and at the Q&A session, that's where we'll find out what they are.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and a warm welcome to Strathkinness Village Hall.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Please welcome our gardening panel.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01First off, the mighty oak, Mr Jim McColl!
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Secondly, that lovely graceful willow, Miss Carole Baxter.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11APPLAUSE
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Genial juniper, George Anderson.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15APPLAUSE
0:07:15 > 0:07:18And finally, ladies and gentlemen, some local talent.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Head gardener at Scone Palace,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22please welcome tender sapling Brian Cunningham.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32Right, we'll get straight off into the first question, and that question comes from Mr Hugh Laurie.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37The tops of my onions this year turned a grey milky colour and dusty.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Think it was maybe mildew, but I would like you to confirm this, please.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44And I've lifted my onions, cut the tops off - I'd like you to tell me,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- will they keep?- Who will I give this to? Jim, for a start, I think.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- Thank you. - Cos Jim knows his onions!
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57I think mildew has been quite widespread this year.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It doesn't seem to have checked the growth,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and it shouldn't mean that the bulbs won't keep over winter.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08You've got them in a good state, they're well dried off now, they're as firm as anything.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11They're a perfect size, they don't be to be like footballs.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I aim for tennis ball size, and they're just about that.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19And I can assure you, they will keep in this condition all the way through to next year,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- without a shadow of a doubt. Good stuff.- Thank you very much.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26The best way to store them that I've ever been advised
0:08:26 > 0:08:28is to get an old pair of tights...
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- OK?- Unused.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Or not occupied, anyway.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38- Well, quite. And certainly washed.- Yes.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42You drop the first onion down into the toe.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44And you tie a little knot.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Then you drop the next one on top of it and tie a little knot.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51And you hang them up in the garage. And then all you do when need to get an onion for the soup,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55you just chop it off at the bottom. But you can actually see them, they're well aired,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- and they keep perfectly in that situation.- Thank you. - George, any comments?
0:08:59 > 0:09:04Well, I'm pretty envious of these, actually, because there's no way I could produce an onion like this
0:09:04 > 0:09:08because my allotment is full of mouldy nose and onion rot and things like that.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- Brian, do you want to come in?- All I can say is they're far better than
0:09:11 > 0:09:17the onions we're growing up at Scone Palace, so if you've got ten minutes to pop up, that would be brilliant.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19- He's got a job! - Thank you very much, Hugh.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Anne Lumsden, where are you?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Oh, dear. I'm not sure I want to even touch that.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25I think it's dead, Brian.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29This has got to go to Jim, this has got Jim written all over it.
0:09:29 > 0:09:30It's quite ghastly.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35There you go, Jim. A wee present for you.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36- Yes, yes.- Right.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Anne, your question, please.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40What's gone wrong with my tomatoes?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Two weeks ago they were fine.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Now, as you can see, they're just horrible.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49And I've lost 80% at least of my crop.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I haven't a clue.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57To describe them further, it's a beautiful truss of tomatoes,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and they've suddenly gone wrinkled.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Well, I know a bit about that.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06And also sticky, with an exudate.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08I've never seen anything like that in my life before.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Can I ask you a bit about the rest of the plant?
0:10:11 > 0:10:13What's the foliage like?
0:10:13 > 0:10:15The foliage was OK.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18So you're saying the foliage itself is quite healthy, is it?
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Because I wondered about blight or something, Jim,
0:10:22 > 0:10:23just like we have the tattie blight.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27And I wondered if your foliage was showing a little bit of that.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I've never seen this. Pure and simple.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Congratulations, Anne, you've got something new!
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Unknown to medical science.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It has been a very bad blight year,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43and of course if in the summer in bright weather you've got glasshouses and so
0:10:43 > 0:10:47on with wide ventilators, then the spores can affect the tomato.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51That's why it would have been fine to see some foliage,
0:10:51 > 0:10:53because that's very telling.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55George, you've just done an autopsy on one of them.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Yeah. It's dead.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00If it wasn't before, it is now.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02It is now.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08This is very much like just a really bad attack of blight.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10And that's why Carole was asking about the foliage,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12because if it had been blight
0:11:12 > 0:11:15it would have devastated the foliage as well.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16But when you cut it open,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20I would have expected much more blackening within the flesh, but there's not.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23But I still wouldn't make them into chutney.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24No.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27- Throw them out.- Right.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Mrs Catherine Cooper.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Good evening.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32I was given a...
0:11:33 > 0:11:38..cucumber plant, and the fruit was inedible,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40it was just horrible tasting.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45It grew well, it had lovely leaves and lots of cucumbers but they were inedible.
0:11:45 > 0:11:46You've got a problem there, I think.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Probably the fruits were very bitter, were they?
0:11:49 > 0:11:50- Yes.- Horrible flavour.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55- Yes.- It's a problem with the fact that you've got males on that plant,
0:11:55 > 0:11:56as well as females.
0:11:59 > 0:12:00- So.- How can you tell?
0:12:00 > 0:12:02- Right, well...- Oh.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04LAUGHTER
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Dim the lights so we don't see the red faces.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I'm going to say... There's an old-fashioned variety,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I think it's called Telegraph.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Yes, it is. - And that has male and female.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Now, you can normally tell because the female has a little sort of bulge
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and that's the one that's going to produce the fruit.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31If there isn't a bulge, you need to pick off the male flowers.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But what I would really say to you nowadays,
0:12:34 > 0:12:40a lot of the varieties that you can look at in the catalogues are all female.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42This year I've been growing...
0:12:43 > 0:12:46..a variety called Anbar,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50which actually pollinates itself, it's all female.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53We have another one called Baby,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57and that produces very small fruits and again that's all female.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Where did you get the plant from, did you say a friend give it to you?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02It was my daughter-in-law gave me it, and...
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Now, what can I say to that?!
0:13:07 > 0:13:08She grew them from seed,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and hers and mine were inedible
0:13:11 > 0:13:14but another two that she gave away were lovely.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Were OK.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Well, as I say, I think you've got to look at varieties,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and next time pick something that's all female.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27"My daughter-in-law gave me a male cucumber" sounds like a Channel 4 programme.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34I'm not sure we want to go there, but thank you very much. Right.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- OK.- Hello, I'm Belinda Newman,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40I garden all over Fife cos that's my job.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I'm creating a herbaceous border,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and I want to have herbaceous perennials and also some small shrubs.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Unfortunately, we have a problem with rabbits coming into the garden,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54and I wonder if the panel can recommend some plants that we can use
0:13:54 > 0:13:55that the bunnies won't eat.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00Well, for a start there is a lovely little booklet which is called
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Gardening With The Enemy,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and I think the lady is called Janet Thomson.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And she has got a list of plants -
0:14:08 > 0:14:10most plants will possibly be eaten by rabbits,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13so you can't say they're 100% rabbit-proof.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17But one or two things that spring to mind are things that are maybe
0:14:17 > 0:14:19poisonous.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23So, snowdrops, foxgloves...
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I think rhododendrons probably are a bit sort of rabbit-proof.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29So that's one or two to start off with,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32which has given time for the rest of the panel to think about one or two things.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Right...
0:14:34 > 0:14:36- Hi, Belinda, how are you? - Hello. I'm fine, how are you?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- So you're not at the Botanics any more.- No.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Erm...- That sounds like a chat-up line there.
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Oh, sorry!
0:14:48 > 0:14:49It's a friendly village.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52We can go if you want!
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Come up to Scone. Rabbit... Oh.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57LAUGHTER
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- At least buy her dinner first, come on!- Throw your spade away.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06I'll rephrase that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Up at Scone, my biggest enemy is rabbit and deer.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It just drives you absolutely mental.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Doesn't matter what list you read,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20a hungry deer or a hungry rabbit's going to eat absolutely anything.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24However, nepeta, euphorbias,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and I've recently planted a lovely grass, a pennisetum,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32and, so far so good, nothing's absolutely touched that.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Philadelphus do quite well as well -
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- they nibble at them but they don't touch the bark.- I've also put down
0:15:36 > 0:15:39things like solidago, aquilegia.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I've got liria here as well, which...
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Some of the furry-leaved ones, you know,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46the ones with the scales and the hairs on the leaves,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49they tend not to be eaten by rabbits.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Heebies, and crocosmia.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55I mean, crocosmia doesn't seem to be harmed by rabbits at all.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58It's interesting that the last roadshow we did,
0:15:58 > 0:15:59which was up at Gairloch,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03we were asked so many questions about how to kill crocosmia,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and here I am recommending it.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08But I mean, you get some fantastic varieties of crocosmia.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The other thing is to get a dog.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Yeah. A Jack Russell.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- Sort the rabbits. - There's an old saying,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and it certainly is true in gardening, that misery loves company.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22We've got two questions here that are practically identical.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24So Archie Brown and Mark Edward.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Evening, panel. Archie, Mark.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I could say he's my wee boy but you can see he's not my wee boy.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34I have a rather large conifer hedge, which has now turned brown.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38This has happened over the last two to three years.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The hedge is a double hedge.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43It's three to five feet in width.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46A year on, there's more and more brown appearing.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51In fact, it's now 75% brown so it's a pretty awful state.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Hello, my name's Mark Edward,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56I'm a local hedging and tree work contractor.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And more and more I'm finding what Archie's found here,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01in the browning of these hedges.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05I know there's a few theories, I know there's some beasties that can get in amongst them,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07I know there's sometimes trouble with fungal spores.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12I wondered what your definitive opinion in this area would be killing off these plants,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and indeed how you would treat it?
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Do we know which conifer?
0:17:16 > 0:17:17Is it Leyland cypress?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19More often than not, yes.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- That's the most common one planted around here.- I just wanted to say it in public,
0:17:23 > 0:17:24because it's the plant that gets the bad name.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And there's nothing wrong with the plant.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It's when people turn their back on it that it gets too tall.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32I have to say, I think there may be insects involved.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36But also I would have thought they do need feeding and watering -
0:17:36 > 0:17:39very much so, especially in certain ground,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42in certain areas where it dries out very quickly.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45It's a gutsy sort of plant, and needs it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46Would mulching help?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48And also, final extra question -
0:17:48 > 0:17:51is the time that you trim it, time of year quite important?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54When it comes to conifers or evergreens,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I wouldn't go any later than towards the end of...
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Well, end of September you could probably go into, but not into October,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05you're much better. Also what you've got to bear in mind
0:18:05 > 0:18:09with something like leylandii is it doesn't regenerate from the older
0:18:09 > 0:18:10wood, so, you know,
0:18:10 > 0:18:16you're better to be trimming little and often rather than going in too
0:18:16 > 0:18:18deep into the older wood.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I suspect that this is the aphid that's causing this.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25There's an aphid that seems to be particular to Leyland cypress.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Now, what happens is, it's patches.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32There's a bit there, there's a bit down here and there's a bit there, then there's green in between.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35And so, you're saying yours is 75% dead.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38So this has been going on for a while.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40And a hedge over the road from me,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44her hedge has got this sort of thing and she's left it,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and I reckon it's going to take somewhere about ten years to recover.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52And it WILL recover, because this blighter is
0:18:52 > 0:18:54one of the fastest-growing conifers in the world.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57But it just can't recover that quickly.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00But it doesn't want to die either, so what will happen is that
0:19:00 > 0:19:03these branches which are still alive will grow out and fill the spaces.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09So I would suggest that this might actually make a very good mulch.
0:19:09 > 0:19:10I'm giving you jobs now!
0:19:11 > 0:19:13The contracting business is going up.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15But I think this should be taken out, it should be chipped,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17and used as a mulch elsewhere in the garden.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22- Do we keep trimming them? Or do we just leave them?- If you want to keep it and thole the brown,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and hope that it will eventually green up, just keep trimming it.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Keep trimming it. But it will still be like a piebald pony.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- Thank you very much.- Can I actually suggest a substitute as well,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37because I think Jim would agree with me on this -
0:19:37 > 0:19:39we've got a bit of a hedging trial at Beechgrove.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42One of the hedges is absolutely fantastic,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46and I wish more people would grow it, and that's the Western hemlock.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Or Tsuga heterophylla.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53It's fast growing, but it just is superb looking.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57And a much better plant, I think, than leylandii.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01People get a bit frightened when you suggest that as a hedge,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04because they'll go and look it up in a conifer book and they'll find that
0:20:04 > 0:20:07in North West America it grows up to 200 foot tall.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11But you've got a pair of shears.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15And you've got a pair of secateurs, and you've got time to keep it down.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19And if you go looking at up - I mean, we're all very familiar with it -
0:20:19 > 0:20:22don't go to the S's, go to the T's.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It's T-S-U-G-A.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Thank you for your question, gentlemen, I hope that helps.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Got the final question of the evening from May Halkett. What's your question?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Many of us have been inspired by the Olympics and Paralympics.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36To improve our fitness,
0:20:36 > 0:20:41what training do the team use to maintain their splendid condition?
0:20:41 > 0:20:46And what tips do they have formative gardeners to allow them to continue
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to cope with the rigours of gardening?
0:20:48 > 0:20:52We will go first to the only man ever to get his money back from Charles Atlas.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55Mr Jim McColl.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00A decent dram at night so that you can have a long sleep and be ready for any gardening.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Brian.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Don't stop. Keep gardening - little and often.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Make the most of that kettle if you're feeling a bit tired.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Get yourself a brew, and then get back outside again
0:21:19 > 0:21:21but don't give up.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23George?
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Mix up the tasks.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Mix up the things that you're doing in the garden.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28It may be something where you're stretching up,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32so go and do that for a little while, then go and do some digging, then go and do some raking.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34Then go and do some sitting down.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39My problem - and I think it happens to a lot of people when they reach
0:21:39 > 0:21:43my age - is that you forget that you had one cup of tea over there a wee while ago
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and there's another cup over there and there's one down here...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and you've actually got six jobs on the go.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50But it's fabulous.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Because you're outside, and you're enjoying everything that's going on.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55And I think that is what gardening is all about.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59And finally, the Beechgrove Garden's very own Green Goddess.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Right... Well.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Well, I do have quite a big garden so make sure you have a ride-on mower,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08so that you're not pushing it all the time.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I love to have a bath, having a bath every night.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13And also, get yourself a good chiropractor.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Which I have.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Words to live by, children, words to live by.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Folks, that, I'm afraid, is all we've got time for this evening.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Thank you much for coming along, thank you very much for asking your questions.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30From all of us here at the Beechgrove Garden team, thank you again for turning up. Goodnight.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37After a lively panel discussion,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40George went to take a better look at Archie's hedge.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43This is the hedge that Archie mentioned last night at the question time.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47So we thought we would come along and just have a wee at it this morning.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49And it's as bad as we thought.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51He suggested it was nearly dead, and by Jove,
0:22:51 > 0:22:57it's got lots of brown bits in it, but there we have some of the green still surviving and coming through.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02This is a double hedge, planted on the side of the wall, so two rows.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04As we suspected, it's possibly dry,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07it's possibly been suffering from the wind coming from the west,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11blistering the foliage on this side, putting it under stress.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12And immediately it's under stress,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17we gets attacks by aphids and we get attacks by fungi which are specific
0:23:17 > 0:23:18to the conifer foliage.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20So it's looking in a sad state.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23But you know, if we feed it and water it,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26this green that's here will eventually cover the whole of this.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30It'll take a few years - but you go and have a look at the other side.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32It seems to be OK,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34and he's got something decent to look at so we won't take it out.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38After a reprieve for the hedge,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I then headed a couple of miles out of Strathkinness,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44to see Julia Young's very surprising garden.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Wow, this is spectacular.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I never expected anything like this.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54What's the history behind the site?
0:23:54 > 0:23:56This was a sandstone quarry that
0:23:56 > 0:23:59they took sandstone out of this quarry
0:23:59 > 0:24:04for building Victorian St Andrews and then about 100 years ago,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07it sprung a spring underneath it and filled up,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09so no more quarrying and things.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13And we came about 25 years ago.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16And started turning it into a garden.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Well, it looks amazing.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- It is nice.- Yeah. Shall we go down and have a look?- Aye.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Here is the pond from the other side, see?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38And the cliff face is quite spectacular.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39So how do you garden that?
0:24:39 > 0:24:43This is my wheelbarrow for gardening the cliff.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48I jump in there, go over there with long-armed pruners and I pull stuff
0:24:48 > 0:24:54out and then I also use the boat for planting water lilies and things.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Somebody gave me some nice water lilies.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02I put in all the native water lily and the bog bean and I've got other
0:25:02 > 0:25:05plants at the other end that I've sort of put in.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07The water quality is really good.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09- Very clear.- Very, very clear.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Must be, because the fish thrive there.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16They've actually bred this year for the first time in quite a few years.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20- And you've got a touch of autumn colour coming in with the Darmera peltata.- It's lovely, isn't it?
0:25:20 > 0:25:24It's a beautiful plant because I think it's value for money cos you get those flowers to start off with.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27- Very early. Lovely.- Then you get the leaves appear and you've got that
0:25:27 > 0:25:29- autumn colour. - And the autumn colour.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Of course, we see it from the window of the house and it looks gorgeous.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- Quite amazing.- But there's more sort of autumn colour around here.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37Want to look?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Now this is spectacular autumn colour.
0:25:52 > 0:25:53A stranvaesia?
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Yep. Isn't it gorgeous?
0:25:55 > 0:25:59And even the fruits as well are a lovely orange tinge to them,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- aren't they?- It's actually sort of red all summer but it goes this
0:26:02 > 0:26:06wonderful red now, which is nice next to the acer.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10The acer will also colour up very soon.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12They're quite mature specimens, these.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16They are, yep. This whole area used to be Ponticum rhododendron.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20We pulled all those out with a little help from our friends.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22The aconitums, the monkshood...
0:26:22 > 0:26:24- Yeah.- ..are flowering very well.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Lovely to have some at this time of year.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27And this is a nice combination.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Isn't it nice? The Viburnum mariesii and the obelia.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34And obelia are flowering for a second time.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I know, it's the wrong time of year but it's really great, isn't it?
0:26:37 > 0:26:39- I know. Lovely. - And what about the gunneras?
0:26:39 > 0:26:41The size of the leaves, quite amazing.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42Aren't they spectacular?
0:26:42 > 0:26:47Not that long ago there were two small plants and they put all this
0:26:47 > 0:26:51on every year, die right down in the winter.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- And they're even fruiting, aren't they?- Yep. I know, I know.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58There's something all the time round this pond.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Well, there is. I mean, not just here but in the garden, Julia.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04And, you know, I feel we've only just touched the surface.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07We have to come back, perhaps in the springtime?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10- Love it.- Thank you very much indeed. - OK.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18This is David and Margaret Sinclair's garden
0:27:18 > 0:27:21and it's typical Scottish long rig garden,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25where it runs the width of the house, the productive bit's at the back.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27- Yes.- And then you've got all this bit down here,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29which is the decorative and ornamental bit,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31and there's some good things, wee figs there.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35They've been here for over 40 years and I think it was great that David
0:27:35 > 0:27:37said when he first started, I mean,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40he cleared the ground by planting it up with tatties.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42THAT is a common ploy.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46You often see it cos they're a cleaning crop but I think the secret
0:27:46 > 0:27:48is there used to be a slaughterhouse just down there.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50So all manner of things in there.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52We've even got piebald hedges.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Isn't that fabulous, isn't it?
0:27:54 > 0:27:57- It's not the old cypress, either. - Looks very healthy, doesn't it?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59And haven't we been treated well here by the community?
0:27:59 > 0:28:03We are a lucky bunch because we go into gardening communities and for
0:28:03 > 0:28:07the most part, they're as happy as Larry, they're doing what they want to do.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11We go into allotments, private gardens and it's just lovely to be with
0:28:11 > 0:28:15and that speaks very highly for the subject, doesn't it? Brings the best out in people.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18So if you've been inspired by the spirit of this community
0:28:18 > 0:28:22at Strathkinness, well, maybe you'd like us to come to your area
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and all the information is on the website and of course
0:28:25 > 0:28:29we're quite happy to answer all your gardening queries as well.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Yeah, next week.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Back to Beechgrove and busy boys.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Yes. Busy, busy, busy.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Been great to be here.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37- Until next time... BOTH: Bye-bye.- Bye-bye.