Galanthus in April 2014

[mark smyth]

Just watched the excellent Beechgrove Garden, great report from the SRGC Show at Dunblane, also Lady Anne Fraser's garden - Gardeners World could learn a lot from this programme

Definitely a great programme
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04049nz/Beechgrove_Garden_2014_Episode_1/

[Alan_b]

I presume this programme is only broadcast in Scotland.  Here are links to its BBC page and its own website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00721bz 
http://www.beechgrove.co.uk/

[Brian Ellis]

Look at it on iplayer Alan:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04049nz/Beechgrove_Garden_2014_Episode_1/

starts at about 9.09

[Maggi Young]

Alan, the programme has its first airing on BBC2 Scotland at 7.30 pm on Thursdays then has a nationwide (network) airing on Sunday morning at  8am.

The Beechgrove Garden programme with the SRGC Dunblane segment was shown earlier today at shown at 8am on Sunday 6th April on  BBC 2  network.
I presume the future programmes will have the same Sunday morning repeat time , too. 

It is possible for those with sky tv to see the programme on Thursdays by using the  BBC2Scotland option  on one of the "extra" BBC channels.
I don't know the number because it doesn't show here! Mark will be able to tell us, I  hope - somewhere between 951 and 973, I think.
Found it!  It is channel 971 for BBC 2 Scotland. ( 951 for BBC1Scotland)

[Leena]

Too bad it is not available to see here.
In Finland the gardening programmes really suck, and they are shown on tv only in the summer, from the end of April to August, just when everyone having the garden is outside in the garden.. who has time to watch television then. I would watch the gardening programmes in the winter when there is nothing I can do outside (except walk in the snow).

Anyway, I was happy last week to find the first different seedling appearing among my own nivalis. I've had G.nivalis maybe for 15 years, and in the past few years I have noticed seedlings appearing (I admit there may have been seedlings also earlier, I just didn't notice them), but their markings have looked about the same as in the original G.nivalis.
The first picture is my new seedling.
Second picture is older G.nivalis clump and the third is closer of it's flowers.
In the fourth picture there are also seedlings, but their markings are the same as in their parents. These flowered the first time three years ago, the others are taller than the other ones, I don't know if this is because the bulbs of the shorter one are smaller (younger) or maybe the taller ones are just tall. I like both the clumps of snowdrops but also these almost solitary snowdrops, they seem very elegant when they are alone.

[Maggi Young]

The first picture is my new seedling.

 And it has already been found by a nice bee!

[Leena]

And it has already been found by a nice bee!

  Yes,  and I hope the bee has been in Viridapice growing close by before it came to this flower. 

[Ding Dong]

Beechgrove Garden is on BBC2 on Sunday mornings at about 8.00am in England, not sure about Scotland

[Maggi Young]

Beechgrove Garden is on BBC2 on Sunday mornings at about 8.00am in England, not sure about Scotland

Yes, it is the same here, Maxine.  It's a repeat  in Scotland, of course.

[Rick Goodenough]

Leena, great fun to see the variation on the mark of your seedling...I like the larger spot of color...that bee seemed to be enjoying that flower as well.

[Leena]

Thanks Rick .
This is one of my favourites  and and it seems to do well here too, an old cultivar 'S.Arnott'.
Picture from last week-end.

[Tim Ingram]

What lovely pictures of snowdrops in April Leena - it brings February back to those of us with such an earlier season, but I don't remember seeing them pictured quite so serenely. Lovely capturing of light and shade.

[Tim Ingram]

Just watched the Beechgrove gardening programme (thanks Mark and Brian for putting the i-player link). What a breath of fresh air! Really nice to see the Dunblane Bulb Show (and I liked Carole's comment at the end about it being non-competitive rather like the earliest AGS Shows in S. Wales and at Loughborough, and the display of frits that I saw at the Fritillaria Group meeting). A few nice quotes and ideas I picked up - 'sonsy dahlia cuttings' (haven't heard this word before!); 'a garden is never boring is it?'; 'for the literary as well as horticulturally inclined'; and those little mirrors under the hellebores - brilliant!

What is so nice is the lack of celebrity but celebration of the skills of gardening. 'Gardeners World' has much of the same virtues in the latter but is less homely in the former, and yes I think it could learn a lot from the Beechgrove programme which is able to cover very similar ground but somehow appeal to beginner and expert alike as if there is not really so much difference between the two. Will definitely watch out for the programme in the future.

[Blonde Ingrid]

Hello to all!

I am a new member to the forum but would also like to support the positive comments for Beechgrove Garden, it is an excellent and informative show! As an aside it also managed to capture the attention of my husband a non gardener who when he first saw the show asked 'Is this gardening with the sweatys'  (cockney background worth remembering Maggi next time you converse  ) until he caught sight of Carole Baxter and it is now series set on the box...

Now busy sewing enviromesh wigwams for my precious specimens!

[Maggi Young]

Hello Blond Ingrid - glad your OH realised that Carole, though fully integrated up here as "one of us" does in fact have her family roots darn sarf.  Young Beardshaw has been brought in to  pacify the network BBC folks  that the programme can be safely shown without subtitles in England - it remains to be seen whether or not there is a clamour for that in Scotland!