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Summer Garden Party at Mount Stewart: Part One

Eric Robson hosts a very special edition as GQT takes its annual Summer Garden Party to National Trust Mount Stewart in County Down, Northern Ireland.

Eric Robson hosts a very special edition as GQT takes its annual Summer Garden Party to National Trust Mount Stewart in County Down, Northern Ireland. Matthew Wilson, Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Mount Stewart's Neil Porteous answer the audience's horticultural questions.

The programme features highlights from the garden party as Matthew Pottage weaves his way around the site, dropping in on various stalls and areas of the gardens. He also bumps into a number of special guests including Diarmuid Gavin and Kilcoan Gardens' Seamus O' Brien.

The panellists will be answering questions on topics such as whether to love or hate dandelions and the best botanicals for flavouring gin. They also give planting suggestions for a variety of different growing conditions, and Neil Porteus helps explain the story behind a number of plants in Mount Stewart's grounds.

Produced by Hannah Newton and Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.

Available now

43 minutes

Last on

Sun 17 Jun 2018 14:00

Fact Sheet


Q – Dandelions: love them or hate them?

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Neil – We grow a plant here called Tree Dandelion which has leaves that are three feet long

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Bob – It is a vegetable and you can eat them

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Bunny – But they are called ‘Pissenlit’ because they are diuretic

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Q – On the path into Mount Stewart there is a bush whose dead leaves smell a bit like curry.Ìý What is it and can you tell us a bit more about it?

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Neil – It is a dome-shaped Escallonia with fresh green leaves.Ìý It is called Escallonia resinosa and it is from Peru.Ìý It is called the ‘Vindaloo Plant’ because of its distinctive smell.Ìý There is a New Zealand version called Escallonia illinita which has slightly bigger leaves.Ìý

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Q – Beyond the obvious, what botanicals would you grow to flavour homemade gin?

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Matthew – There is a gin in Northern Ireland which uses clover and hay for flavouring.Ìý You could use nettles, mushrooms or even snail!Ìý

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Eric – Rhubarb

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Matthew – I was working with someone in Yorkshire who uses three different rhubarbs: ‘Brandy Carr Scarlet’, ‘Timperley Early’… and a third I can’t remember!Ìý

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Bob – I do white rum instead of gin.Ìý Damson white rum is better than a sloe gin.Ìý Alpine strawberries are good but you need to put a lemon in too to counteract the sweetness.Ìý My favourite though is Parma Violets.Ìý It takes 1000 petals to make one quarter of a pint but it is worth it.Ìý

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Matthew – Gin must have juniper berries as its primary ingredient in order to be called gin

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Q – What plants would you recommend for a dry, shady area underneath mature birch trees?

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Neil – We grow things like Myosotidium (‘Chatham Island forget-me-not’).Ìý With it we grow a plant from New Zealand called Arthropodium cirratum.Ìý Also, Fuchsia excorticata.Ìý

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Feature:

Eucalyptus

Cardiocrinum giangteum lilies

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Q – Can you suggest a cure for man who has a passion and a skill for growing trees but not enough space (Bonsai is not the answer)?

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Bunny – Limit yourself to cherries, Acers and then plant groups of each.Ìý So maybe five Acer griseum and then five-ten years later thin them out

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Bob – Make sure you plan ahead

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Neil – Get him interested in ferns instead

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Q – Killough is a small coastal village in County Down and the plant swap is more ‘come-and-get-a-plant’ in order to encourage new gardeners.Ìý What plant would you bring to swap with someone who may have limited garden experience?

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Bunny – Euphorbia x pasturii ‘Brown’s Strain’ and there’s a form called ‘John Phillips’.Ìý The wulfenii is the more common Euphorbia but this one is bigger and bolder.Ìý

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Q – Why can I never get a good gooseberry crop?

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Bob – Don’t prune too hard.Ìý Give them some potash.Ìý

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Bunny – You’re growing ‘Hinnonmaki Gold’ and ‘Hinnonmaki Red’ – you shouldn’t need to prune them.Ìý Add some biochar too.Ìý

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Q – We are building a barbeque area and we would like to make a tropical feel but with hardy plants.Ìý What can you recommend?

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Bunny – Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus) is a good one.Ìý Hardy bamboo too.Ìý ÌýÌý

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Neil – Aralia chapaense which is Vietnamese and has spiny stems.Ìý Or Sambucus adnate which is a type of Elder with long, fluffy leaves.

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Q – Our son has moved into a house with a 1.6-acre (6500sqm) grass garden – any ideas?

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Matthew – Put trees and hedges in first.Ìý With flowering stuff start nearest the house.Ìý Treat most of it like a wildflower meadow.

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Bunny – Get some Dexter Cattle on there.Ìý Make him a mini ‘ferme ornée’.Ìý Build a ha-ha and then behind that get animals on there.Ìý And some self-shearing sheep and some guinea fowl.Ìý

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Aralia chepana – spiny stems, 6ft a year

Himalyan – sambucca sadenata – type of elder, long fluffy leaves

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  • Sun 17 Jun 2018 14:00

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