Scotland Grows Show

Discover the beauty and sustainability of local flower growing with Olivia Thomas who’s passion for growing cut flowers blossomed during the summer of the great lockdown when she transformed a portion of her Ayrshire  garden into lush cut flower beds.

Producing more flowers than she could use, Olivia began selling the excess, sparking an interest in sustainable floristry which became Lark Rose Flowers. She started exploring opportu...

Kate Mawby is a passionate gardener who has nurtured her stunning garden on the Isle of Lewis for nearly two decades. Kate shares her journey of transforming a rugged coastal croft into a flourishing haven, facing challenges from high winds to soil erosion.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, Kate’s advice on her favourite resilient plants like daffodils, fuchsias, and hebes is sure to inspire as well as th...

Ann Steele, Head of Gardens and Designed Landscapes with the National Trust for Scotland, joins me in this episode to dig into innovative changes taking place in Trust gardens across Scotland.

Ann shares fascinating insights into sustainable gardening practices, such as scaling back on grassland mowing to promote wildlife diversity, and offers valuable advice for aspiring horticulturists.

We'll also explore the balance between hist...

Sophie Parmenter takes us behind the scenes of her award-winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and its incredible journey to a new home in Scotland. Sophie, who co-designed this silver gilt-winning garden for the National Autistic Society, shares the process of creating and relocating a garden, the inspirations behind the planting choices, and the unexpected challenges that came along the way like the redesigns required to ...

We’re kicking off this series with a journey through some stunning gardens in the Scottish Highlands with Ernest George of Highland Garden Tours, as we venture into the beautiful Attadale garden, the productive Gordon Castle Walled Garden, and the formal elegance of Dunrobin Castle's gardens.

Ernest George, an award-winning landscape architect, has been designing and creating gardens throughout the UK since 1995.  Based in the High...

In this episode, M.T. O'Donnell chats with Rona Dodds, the passionate owner of Quercus Garden Plants. Nestled at 850 feet above sea level on a northwest slope with poor clay soil, Rona’s nursery is a testament to resilience and dedication.

As she shares her journey of transforming a challenging landscape into a thriving garden space, Rona provides insights into plant propagation, weathering storms, and the daily hurdles and triumph...

Ray shares his journey from his family's horticultural ba...

Meet the inspiring Katrina Gelderbloem, a passionate gardener and permaculture enthusiast from East Ayrshire. Katrina, alongside her family, has transformed their quarter-acre plot into a thriving food forest and a productive vertical garden, practicing permaculture principles, reducing and repurposing waste whenever they can. 

Their eldest son, Clayton, is autistic and nonverbal, and Katrina delves into how gardening has significa...

Have you ever wanted to chuck your corporate job and retrain as a gardener? Or even try your hand at designing a garden to be judged at a national competition?

Kate McClorey did both, leaving a high-powered IT career to turn her gardening hobby into a new career. Kate talks us through completing the RHS L2 with distinction, a 6 month course at RBGE in practical gardening to help back up the theory, followed by a WRAGS (Work and R...

Michael Lawrie, Head Gardener at Threave Garden at Castle Douglas in Dumfries & Galloway, and Head of The School of Heritage Gardening there, is the guest in this episode.

Threave’s wonderful garden has been created over the years by students at the National Trust for Scotland’s School of Heritage Gardening and is a fine example of landscaped beauty, and we chat not only about the garden but about the adjoining nature reserve...

We dive deep into the world of sustainable garden accessories with the inspiring Karen Sawyer, co-director of Scottish company Livingreen Design Ltd. in this episode and discuss their mark on the world with their sophisticated planters, setting the standard for green luxury in hotels, banks, and airports alike - even in James Bond's 'Casino Royale' - and why their fiberglass planters were the talk of the COP26 Conference.

With ov...

Pam Whittle served as President of The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (The Caley) for 5 years and currently co-ordinates The Caley Shows. This is a great episode to learn more about these shows and the role The Caley plays in Scottish gardening and horticulture.

Passionate about the benefits of gardening, Pam has a large garden of her own – although she says never finds enough time to devote to it, and she shares her love...

Head Gardener Andrew Hinson delves into the enchanting world of Greenbank Garden, a National Trust for Scotland property nestled less than six miles from Glasgow city centre which features a two and a half acre walled garden and a 16 acre woodland.

Andrew completed his BSc in Horticulture with Plantsmanship at SRUC in 2020, was a finalist in the Scottish Regional Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition in 2022, and is curren...

Janice Clyne, a well-versed food scientist, gut health enthusiast, and foraging expert delves into the unexpected treasures of your very own garden: weeds like nettles, dandelion, sorrel, rosebay willowherb, and ground elder that are often overlooked but pack a punch for your immune system, liver, and overall detoxification. Janice will inspire you to rethink these wild plants as potent sources of nourishment that our bodies have e...

Victoria George is the National Organiser for the Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s ‘Young Horticulturist of the Year’ competition, a competition open UK and Ireland wide to find the brightest horticultural minds under 30 years old, and in this episode, we’ll find out much more about what the competition involves, and how you can enter, as well as hear from Victoria about starting her own career in horticulture at age 35 and he...

Are you ready to fall in love with snowdrops in this episode with Helen Rushton, arguably Scotland’s Queen of Snowdrops!

Helen has a rural garden in Aberdeenshire with a snowdrop collection that extends to over 550 named varieties, all from a chance find of double snowdrops in the garden. The collection was awarded National Plant Collection status in 2020 by Plant Heritage and you may have seen some of those gorgeous snowdrops on...

This is a special episode with a giant in Scottish horticulture. A man who’s career has covered not just gardening, but teaching, advising, writing, and broadcasting about all aspects of horticulture, north and south of the border. A man that a nation of Beechgrove fans took to their hearts, as well as taking his timely weekly advice, and a presenter who has won the Royal Television Award for ‘Presenter of the Year’.

For his serv...

Have you ever wondered how green spaces can transform lives? In the latest episode of the Scotland Grows Show, we dive the world of therapeutic gardening with Chelsea Lowe, Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden Scotland.

From her unique journey transitioning from filmmaking and photography to horticulture, we explore the lush landscapes of Horatio's Garden at the National Spinal Unit in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow, a therapeu...