In this episode, the last in series three, Dan & Julia explain how to transform your garden into a tropical paradise using bold foliage, bright flowers and exciting edibles. They share tips on creating the perfect environment for exotics and some of their favourite plants to grow. You'll discover that anything is possible! As always, your hosts round off with a list of jobs you can do in your garden over the next fortnight and share what they’re up to over the coming weeks.
Two Good Gardeners will return for a fourth series in early autumn 2024.
Tender Plants for Exotic Effect:
Banana (Musa and Ensete)
Canna
Ornamental ginger (Hedychium)
Castor oil plant (Ricinus)
Lantana
AngelAngels'pets (Brugmansia)
Tree ferns (Dicksonia and Cyathea)
Taro (Colocasia and Alocasia)
Gloriosa lily
Papyrus (Cyperus)
Begonia
Coleus (Solenostemon)
Persian shield (Strobilanthes)
Caladium
Chinese rice paper plant (Tetrapanax)
Hardier Plants with Exotic Looks:
Alstroemeria
Agapanthus
Bistort (Persicaria)
Fatsia
Hosta
Indian bean tree (Catalpa)
Foxglove tree (Paulownia)
Large-flowered clematis
Reeds and grasses (Arundo and Miscanthus)
Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
Rodgersia
Ornamental rhubarb (Rheum)
Waterlily
Tuberous and bulbous plants such as Amaryllis, Amarine, Dahlia, oriental and trumpet lilies, Gladiolus and Nerine
In this episode, Dan and Julia share tips for keeping your garden in top condition while you take a well-deserved summer break. Your hosts advise on preparing lawns, vegetable plots, containers, greenhouses, and houseplants before your holiday. Dan chooses his favourite tools for trimming hedges and cutting back early-flowering perennials, and, inspired by Wimbledon, Julia shares a money-saving trick for propagating new strawberry plants.
Dan & Julia's Pre-Holiday Checklist:
Check your home weather forecast before departure and plan accordingly.
Water everything thoroughly, especially container plants, camellias, rhododendrons, hydrangeas and houseplants.
Install a drip irrigation system or seeper hose - use a timer to save water and hassle.
Cut and edge lawns - but not too short if hot weather is predicted.
Weed everywhere.
Guard against pest damage by laying traps, using nets and maintaining good ventilation.
Support tall and heavily laden plants with canes or stakes.
Pick open flowers, ripening fruit and vegetables - give them away or preserve them for later.
Move outdoor pots into the shade and houseplants out of the full sun
Top-up ponds and birdbaths and provide water for pollinating insects
Secure valuables in sheds or move them into a locked garage
And remember, if your garden looks a little shaggy when you return, it will be superficial and can quickly be fixed.
Owning a greenhouse is a luxury and privilege many gardeners dream of. In this special episode, recorded at Torberry Farm in Hampshire, Dan and Julia meet Nelly Hall, Brand Director at Alitex, to discover how to make the most of a greenhouse all year round. As the year draws to a close, Nelly explains how to use a greenhouse to prepare plants for Christmas and get an early start on spring, learning the importance of light and heat. Moving on to summer, we learn about ventilation, maintaining humidity and keeping pests under control before coming full circle to autumn for Nelly's tips on good glasshouse hygiene.
Nelly's top greenhouse gardening tips
Good light in a greenhouse is as essential as heat to keep plants compact and healthy.
Buy the biggest greenhouse you can - no one ever wishes they'd bought a smaller model!
Think carefully about how you want to use your greenhouse to maximise the space and create the right growing conditions.
Instal power in your greenhouse, even if you have no immediate plans. It gives you options in future.
Consider using solar power to reduce energy costs.
Make space for a chair and table so that you have somewhere to take time out and enjoy.
Keep sacks of compost in the greenhouse over winter so it doesn't freeze and remains usable in cold weather.
Play with a greenhouse to bring forward flowering and cropping to extend the growing season.
Use the winter months, when there's less to do, to experiment by taking cuttings and making compost.
Be vigilant and don't allow pests to take control - good hygiene is essential in an enclosed space.
Don't over-sow and stagger your seed planting to avoid waste.
Vents between a greenhouse and a cold frame can help keep a cold frame warmer.
Website links:
The Art of Overwintering
Season 2 · Episode 5
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 • Duration 41:53
As the days get shorter and the nights colder, it's time to bite the bullet and protect your tender plants from the cold, wet and wind. Dan explains how to tackle different groups of plants, from annuals to evergreens, and Julia shares advice on keeping herbs, citrus, ginger, chillies and pineapples happy until spring.
Your hosts anticipate the outcome of the Garden Media Guild Awards, where Two Good Gardeners has been shortlisted (see below if you want to know the result) and look forward to visiting their sponsor, Alitex, so record a special episode which will air before Christmas.
Julia offers advice on growing garlic from shop-bought or own-grown cloves, and Dan reveals a new Christmas trend - including seeds in your Christmas cards.
In episode 4, Dan and Julia offer advice on filling your home with plants and flowers this Christmas, including how to force bulbs and buy and care for seasonal plants such as poinsettia and cyclamen. Julia explains how to grow a crop of spuds for your Christmas dinner, and Dan shares his favourite garden-inspired Christmas decorations. Julia champions the humble beetroot (pickling recipe below), and Dan is elated that others are finally joining his crusade to revive the much-maligned chrysanthemum.
Julia's recipe for pickled beetroot, adapted from a recipe by Clodagh Mckenna
Ingredients
6 small beetroot
4 sprigs of thyme
160 ml white wine vinegar
150 ml cold water
110 g caster sugar ( Suggest adding 90 g, then taste if you want it sweeter, add the rest) ½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp sea salt
Method
Cook the beetroot in a saucepan covered with cold water for 30-40 mins or until tender. Drain and refresh under cold water.
Peel the beets and cut them into small wedges.
Place in sterilized jars
Put the thyme, vinegar, caster sugar, mustard seeds, peppercorns, sea salt and 150ml cold water in a saucepan and heat until all has dissolved.
Pour this vinegar mixture over the beetroot and allow to cool completely.
Seal and store in the fridge for up to one year.
Dan's favourite chrysanthemums:
'Dixter Orange' - very early, starting late June / early July and over by September - completely self-supporting and makes a terrific low hedge.
To Winterise or not to Winterise?
Season 2 · Episode 3
Friday, October 20, 2023 • Duration 01:01:39
In episode 3, Dan and Julia mull the merits of putting your garden to bed for winter, sharing tips on preparing for windy weather and making space for tender plants that need protection from the cold. Julia chooses chillies for her 'top of the crops' slot and explains how to take cuttings from herb plants, while Dan offers advice on choosing and planting tulips, throwing the spotlight on three of his favourite bulb-planting tools.
Julia's top chillies: 'Cayenne', 'Longhorn', 'Basket of Fire' (bush and yellow-green and red small chillies), 'Sigaretta di Bergamo' (suitable for decoration and it's not too hot), 'Habanero', 'Tokyo Hot'.
Dan's most perennial tulips: 'Apeldoorn' (red), 'Golden Apeldoorn' (yellow), 'Apeldoorn's Elite' (yellow and orange), 'Pink Impression', 'Apricot Impression', 'Spring Green' (white and green), 'Flaming Spring Green' (red, white and green), 'Artist' (peach and green), 'Queen of Night' (inky purple) and 'Negrita' (smoky purple pink), Tulipa kaufmanniana,Tulipa greigii, Tulipa tarda, Tulipa turkestanica and Tulipa praestans.
Remove spent tomato plants - burn them if you spot any signs of blight
Sow more salads, fennel and beetroot for late crops in a greenhouse or undercover
Take cuttings of herbs and salvias
How We Became Two Good Gardeners
Season 2 · Episode 2
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 • Duration 45:36
In a break from their standard format, Dan & Julia chat about how they began gardening, reminisce about their first gardens and recall the gardens and gardeners that inspired them.
As summer eases into autumn, our gardens reach a colourful crescendo. In this episode, Dan & Julia share their favourite flowers and crops for extending the season, taking inspiration from their gardens and visits to Great Dixter, Sussex Prairies, East Ruston Old Vicarage and Doddington Place.
Julia offers advice on autumn sowing and shares her top of the crops - delicious, juicy figs. Dan describes his new range of flower bowls and explains how to keep dahlias healthy and blooming for as long as possible.
Remove leaves on grape vines and figs, allowing more sunlight to ripen the fruits.
Sow salads, fennel and beetroot for late crops in a greenhouse or under cover.
Take cuttings - it's an ideal time for figs, hydrangeas, lavender, rosemary, salvias and coleus.
Order indoor bulbs for Christmas forcing.
Remove shading or netting in greenhouses as the light starts to diminish.
Keep looking for box moth caterpillars and spray or pick them off.
Dan & Julia's top plants for early autumn colour:
Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’
Late Summer Colour with Fergus Garrett
Wednesday, August 23, 2023 • Duration 33:42
The gardens at Great Dixter are famed across the globe for their exuberance, colour and intimacy. Driven by a sense of adventure and a mission to help others get involved in horticulture, Fergus Garrett has built on the legacy of his friend and mentor, Christopher Lloyd, never allowing Dixter to stand still and delighting thousands of visitors every season.
In mid-August 2023, Julia and I were lucky enough to grab half an hour with Fergus to get his tips on late summer colour, discover his desert island plants and understand what he looks for in a plant when choosing what to grow. We cover a lot of ground, and Fergus is as generous with his knowledge as his time. Make sure you listen right to the very end, as there are gems throughout!
If you enjoy this episode, be sure to follow us on your favourite podcast platform and leave us a rating and review. We'll be back in September with a brand-new series!
In the final episode of this series, Dan and Julia share tips for adapting your garden to cope with hotter, drier summers. Julia offers advice on getting your plot holiday-ready, and Dan showcases a product that can act as a mulch, fertiliser and slug deterrent. This episode's drought-proof 'top of the crops' is the stately artichoke, and Dan chooses salvias as his sun-loving 'pick of the bunch'.
Your hosts return in late summer / early autumn for Series 2 and would love to hear about any topics you'd like to be featured.
Want to know more? Here are this episode's show notes:
Note that cardoons (Cynara cardunculus) are a close relative of the artichoke (Cynara scolymus). Cardoons are grown for their edible stalks rather than their flowers. The cardoon is much more cold-tolerant as well.
Dan's recommended salvia varieties: 'Hot Lips' - red and white; 'Nachtvlinder' - inky purple; 'Royal Bumble - bright red; 'Trellisick Creamy Yellow'; 'Jemima's Gem' - cerise; 'Amistad' - purple; 'Blue Suede Shoes' - dusky pale blue; 'Amante' - pink.
Buy reduced perennials in your local garden centre - trim back, plant out and water thoroughly to encourage lush new growth. Stock up on plant food.
Enjoy a stroll around the garden or a moment on your balcony after sundown.
Visit open gardens across the country, especially those with herbaceous borders. The RHS holds shows at Hampton Court and Tatton Park in Cheshire this month.
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