Gardeners' Corner

Helen Mark visits Kay Rainey at her garden near the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains, where herbaceous borders and repeated bursts of colour create a stunning display throughout the seasons. In south Belfast, Helen calls by to Annadale Community Centre off the Ormeau Road, where local volunteers have been learning new skills and building a strong sense of community and friendship. Their efforts have earned them a place among the finalists in the Make a Difference Awards 2026. Nicola Kenny visits the Everton Day Centre in north Belfast to meet members of the L'Arche community, who have spent months transforming an overlooked courtyard into a sensory garden. Back in the studio, Claire McNally joins Helen to answer questions on Sarcococca plants and flowering Dahlias. Email the programme anytime at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk.

As one season gives way to another, David travels to the County Meath garden of Paula Byrne. Twenty years ago, after building a new house, the interior designer turned her attention to the outdoors. Since then, she has created six unique gardens around her home, which attract many visitors during the summer months.
In County Down, it’s been a bumper harvest for Helen’s Bay Organic after a warm summer. Founder John McCormick explains how they use cover crops to improve the life and fertility of the soil.
Adam Frost chooses the diminutive Acis autumnalis as his bulb of the month for September, and Rosie Maye joins David in the studio to answer questions on bamboo and choosing a special tree to remember a precious uncle.
Contact the programme at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

After one of the hottest summers on record, David travels to the west of England to explore the private gardens of two renowned plants-people. Acclaimed designer Dan Pearson has spent the last 15 years creating his ‘Hillside’ garden with his partner Huw around an old farmhouse in Somerset. He shows David how he works with the landscape rather than imposing upon it, creating a garden for wildlife as well as people. After exploring the herbaceous borders and pond, Dan reveals his experimental sand garden, where he is testing plants for a changing climate. Twenty miles north, at her herb farm near Bristol, Jekka McVicar has spent the summer observing which plants can cope with prolonged heat and drought. Her thymes and oreganos are among the standouts. Jekka doesn’t water the garden and finds that self-seeded plants are often the most resilient. Chance seedlings can also produce something completely new, and she shows David a mint discovered in her garden that will bear her name. Both gardeners are adapting to a changing climate, searching for plants that can withstand increasingly long periods of summer drought while still coping with wet winters.

David travels to County Fermanagh, where he meets Vera Cassidy at Lavender Manor near Enniskillen. The venue is true to its name, and it is the ideal place to find out how to grow this wonderfully scented shrubby perennial. A few miles away in Lisnaskea, victims' charity SEFF has been using gardening as a form of therapy. The organisation has 44 allotment plots, many of which are used by people living with trauma. David meets some of the members, including Malcolm, who has hopes of winning a medal for some of his vegetables at a show. After a seven-year absence, Neil Porteous has returned to the National Trust's Mount Stewart as head gardener. He reveals some of his plans for the garden and takes time to enjoy the South African plants, including agapanthus and protea, that are performing well in late summer. Anna Hudson also joins David live in the studio to answer listeners' questions.
Contact the programme at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

After a summer of sunshine and heat, David catches up with Maurice Parkinson, who is continuing to plant with a changing climate in mind. Which plants can perform through weeks of drought but also cope with a wet winter? Adam Frost chooses Gladiolus papilio as his bulb of the month. In West Belfast, David finds out how we can all adapt our gardens to make them more hedgehog-friendly, and he visits a couple near Dervock who have transformed an abandoned garden into a place of beauty and bounty. In the studio, Claire McNally joins David to tackle listener questions on clematis, lavatera and the creation of a poppy-themed garden. Contact the programme at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk