Gardeners' World - Season 53

1. Episode 1

Aired: 3/26/2020

It is the first day of spring and Monty has sharpened his tools in readiness to open the gardening year, accompanied, of course, by Nigel and Nellie, in the first episode of the series. Monty reflects on how Longmeadow has fared during an extraordinarily wet winter and gets going on a few essential tasks to get the garden into gear for the seasons to come. With the popularity of houseplants gaining huge momentum, Frances Tophill visits RHS Wisley to find out how to look after the myriad types of indoor plants now available to gardeners. For more container inspiration, the episode introduces an enthusiast who has a passion for plants in pots and curates a display of over one thousand in her Somerset garden.

2. Episode 2

Gardeners’ World celebrates the snowdrop and visits one of the world’s largest collections, lovingly nurtured in a suburban back garden and Monty gives tips on what to do once they have finished flowering. At Longmeadow it’s time to get dahlias into growth and, for inspiration, last summer we visited a field full of dahlias in Sussex to get tips from a professional grower. Nick Bailey revels in the beauty of magnolias and Monty has plenty of jobs for us all to be getting on with this weekend.

3. Episode 3

Join the Gardeners’ World team as they guide you through seasonal highlights from across the country visiting stunning gardens, meeting the gardeners and finding out their secrets of success. And we join Adam Frost in his garden to bring you inspiration for your garden along with all the essential gardening jobs for this weekend

4. Episode 4

The Gardeners’ World team present seasonal highlights from across the country, visiting stunning gardens, meeting the gardeners and finding out their secrets of success. Adam Frost is in his garden providing inspiration and discussing all the essential gardening jobs for this weekend.

5. Episode 5

The Gardeners’ World team present seasonal highlights from across the country, visit stunning gardens, meet the gardeners and find out their secrets of success. Monty, Nigel and Nellie are at Longmeadow, discussing the weekend's gardening jobs.

6. Episode 6

The team present seasonal highlights from across the country, visiting stunning gardens, meeting the gardeners and finding out their secrets of success. At Longmeadow, Monty, Nigel and Nellie discuss the essential gardening jobs for this weekend.

7. Episode 7

The Gardeners’ World team present seasonal highlights from across the country, visiting stunning gardens, meeting the gardeners and finding out their secrets of success. Monty, Nigel and Nellie are at Longmeadow, providing inspiration for gardens and discussing all the essential gardening jobs for this weekend.

8. Episode 8

To help viewers make the most of bank holiday Friday, Monty has plenty of ideas of how to fill the rest of the weekend, from potting on seedlings to sowing tender vegetables. Rachel de Thame reviews the progress of her new kitchen garden and begins planting out peas and sowing flower seeds. For tips on growing your own at home, Nick Bailey shows how to make an easy cold frame for storing precious plants and seedlings. With mental health ever important, Joe Swift meets Will Young, whose new-found love of gardening was key to his recovery. And the team travels to Kent to meet a man with a collection of over 80 different varieties of wisteria.

9. Episode 9

At Longmeadow, Monty plants out some tender plants, takes cuttings from herbs and sows carrots. From her garden in Devon, Carol Klein goes back to the basics of propagating your own plants when she shows how to take cuttings. Advolly Richmond, whose love of garden history is reflected in her own garden, shares her passion for a flower with a surprising past. Joe Swift has a large plant in his London garden that is due for some timely remedial work, and the episode shows a garden in Broadstairs that is packed with exotic plants grown in raised beds and containers.

10. Episode 10

Join Monty at Longmeadow for an indulgent, horticultural romp through the Gardeners’ World archives and a joyous riot of colour as the show celebrates some of the most beloved summer flowers. From delphiniums to clematis, irises, orchids and dahlias, expert growers share their passion, along with hints and tips. Carol Klein visits a garden in Worcestershire, where she discovers picture-perfect peonies. Adam Frost travels to the Cotswolds and finds out what happens when plants are brought together with imagination and daring, and Nick Bailey guides us through the world of Britain’s favourite flower, the rose.

11. Episode 11

If you have been growing tomatoes along with Monty, join him at Longmeadow as he shows how to pot them on to the next stage of their growth, As well as potting up tender vegetables, he is also planting containers for summer colour. Adam Frost is enjoying the seasonal plants in his garden and has ideas of transforming a part of his plot into a seating area using a few logs and plants. In London, Arit Anderson and her family have been making the most of their time at home by filling a range of imaginative containers with a variety of plants. Frances Tophill explores spring flowering trees and their benefits for bees, and the episode goes indoors to discover how one man has designed his home around his love of houseplants.

12. Episode 12

At Longmeadow, Monty adds a variety of herbs that thrive in shade to the herb garden and adds summer annuals to the cottage garden. Nick Bailey has taken a rare opportunity to design his town garden from scratch and gives tips on how to plan and lay out a path, and Carol Klein celebrates the hardy geranium and the abundance of varieties that give masses of colour to the summer garden. In Wolverhampton, a couple have worked together to create a garden full of mystery and imagination.

13. Episode 13

At Longmeadow, Monty plants out tender vegetables for late summer harvests and gives tips on plants that thrive on a minimum of water when he plants up a pot of succulent plants. Frances Tophill demonstrates an unusual method of reducing weeds in her allotment, and the team meet a gardener in Wales who has dedicated years to breeding some very special varieties of rhododendrons. Joe Swift is in Devon finding out about the design and planting challenges faced when creating a coastal garden, and in Staffordshire, a gardener has filled every inch of his garden with spectacular plants. And more viewers have their own gardening tips to share.

14. Episode 14

Monty gives tips on growing tomatoes and has ideas of how to fill gaps in the garden once the flowers of spring are past their best. The team meet an extraordinary gardener from Swansea, whose upper limb difference has not deterred her from growing and creating a garden that is both productive and beautiful. On the eve of reopening, the show goes behind the scenes of Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset to find out how the head gardener has managed this historic landscape whilst the garden has been closed over the last few months. Joe Swift visits the small city garden of an interior designer, where some unusual plants have been used to add an element of surprise to the outdoor space, and in Kent, Arit Anderson meets a community of gardeners who have all been prescribed gardening as part of their recovery from physical and mental illness.

15. Episode 15

At Longmeadow, Monty shows how to prune spring-flowering roses and makes successional sowings of vegetables to ensure continuous crops. Adam Frost gives tips on helping plants cope with drought conditions and shows how to save precious water. The team meet two sisters from Dorset, who have discovered a new love of gardening and have been supported in their efforts by many followers on social media. Last year, Frances Tophill went to Hertfordshire to meet a couple of brothers whose gardens are designed with wildlife in mind, and in Bognor Regis, the team visit a gardener who has used unusual materials and bargain plants to create her own dream garden.

16. Episode 16

At Longmeadow, Monty gives tips on how to keep the garden looking good as well as how to maintain the vegetable plot for continuous crops. From her garden in Devon, Carol Klein gives a comprehensive and seasonal guide to getting plants for free and this time she turns her attention to popular climbers like honeysuckle and clematis. In Brighton we return to the urban garden of Kate Bradbury to discover how it is being used by wildlife, a year after she turned a barren plot into a thriving habitat. Last summer, Rachel de Thame visited Kiftsgate Court Gardens in Gloucestershire to find out about the three generations of female gardeners who have made their mark on the garden. And there’s a second chance to see an Essex garden full of quirky detail and inspiration, despite a distinct lack of space

17. Episode 17

At Longmeadow Monty checks the progress of the potatoes he planted earlier in the year and recommends plants for dry shade under trees. We travel to Somerset to get water saving tips from a water scientist who uses a variety of techniques to save as much water as possible in her own garden and we meet a gardener who has filled his home with over one thousand houseplants. In 2019 Nick Bailey gave a masterclass on how to grow summer flowering Clematis and Arit Anderson took a boat trip to meet a group of people who were planting up the Birmingham canal sides for both wildlife and the wellbeing of city dwellers.

18. Episode 18

Adam Frost is in his garden, bringing viewers up to date on how it has been developing over the summer, as well as giving plenty of advice on looking after and growing hydrangeas. In Devon, Toby Buckland shares his tips on dealing with damaged shrubs, tree pruning and transplanting perennials, while Frances Tophill travels to West Sussex to meet a gardener and professor of biology whose garden has been planted with the conservation of insects in mind. There is a second chance to see Carol Klein’s in-depth profile of a national collection of hydrangeas at Darley Park in Derby, and a couple of years ago, the team met Charles Dowding, whose unique method of growing vegetables results in bumper crops.

19. Episode 19

If you have been growing tomatoes along with Monty, he shows what you should be doing now that they have been planted out and gives advice on the summer maintenance of ponds. Nick Bailey travels to South Africa, where he searches for the wild cousins of one of the most vibrant of summer flowers, the crocosmia, and garden historian Advolly Richmond goes to Alton Towers to take a close look at the Victorian trend of creating theme parks in their gardens. There’s a second chance to meet a couple in Staffordshire who are very particular about the colours of the plants they use in the borders of their cottage garden, and last year we travelled to Kent to meet a gardener who filled her garden with pots full of vibrant colour.

20. Episode 20

At Longmeadow, Monty refreshes a container of overgrown herbs, plants alpines in a pot and revisits the shrub and perennial cuttings he took a few weeks ago. Arit Anderson travels to Kent to meet a designer who is placing sustainability and the environment at the heart of the gardens she designs, and the team discover a garden in Dorset that has been laid out specifically with scent in mind. There is a look back to 2019 as Frances Tophill visits an allotment on the Isle of Man, meeting a grower who uses plants to make cosmetics, and on the Isle of Wight, there is a second chance to meet an enthusiast who has filled his garden with daylilies.

21. Episode 21

With the summer garden in full swing, Monty shows how to stake dahlias, sows seeds of perennials and celebrates an abundant vegetable harvest. The team meet a landscape designer in Cornwall who creates gardens that are not only sustainable but also beautiful and edible and go to Wales to meet a gardener whose garden reflects memories of her childhood home in Jamaica. There is a second chance to see Carol Klein visit Aberglasney Gardens in Carmarthenshire to look at their stunning collection of summer flowering thalictrum, and Mark Lane shows the adaptive tools he uses for planting and weeding in his garden in Kent.

22. Episode 22

This week, Adam Frost is at home sharing his love of ornamental grasses, tackling the problem of building a patio on a slope and giving some inspiration on what to plant at the base of a wall. In Margate, the team visit a man who has come up with a unique way of using a shed roof to grow vegetables, and they travel to Swansea to meet inspirational gardener Sue Kent, who shows how she has designed her garden to enable her to garden successfully despite her upper limb difference. There is a second chance to see Joe Swift visiting a garden in Devon, where the planting combinations have been inspired by world travel, and in Hampshire, a sea captain explains how he has created a low-maintenance garden using foliage and structural plants.

23. Episode 23

At Longmeadow, Monty plans for next spring when he plants some early-flowering wildflowers and gives his recipes for the different compost mixes he uses to take successful cuttings. Nick Bailey continues his quest for the South African origins of our much-loved summer bulbs, and in the heart of London, we meet a keen gardener who has filled her houseboat with ornamental and edible plants. From the archives, we meet a man who took on a barren Lincolnshire field and turned it into a haven for wildflowers, and we travel to Preston to visit a woman who is passionate about propagation and, in particular, pineapples.

24. Episode 24

From giant gooseberries and growing the perfect sweet pea to flamboyant dahlias and plants pollinated by a single human hair, this week Monty celebrates the plant passions of some of the extraordinary people that we have met over the last few years. And he has plenty of hints and tips of his own to keep gardeners busy over the bank holiday weekend.

25. Episode 25

Adam Frost is in his garden, catching viewers up on his new patio project and discussing his plans for the autumn. Arit Anderson travels to Somerset to meet landscape designer Dan Pearson, to find out about the design and planting principles he has used to create his own garden. In London, film director and musician Don Letts and his wife show how they have combined their different tastes for plants and culture in their town garden. There is another chance to see Frances Tophill meeting a gardener who grows most of the vegetable ingredients needed for Thai cooking in her back garden, and the team visit two enthusiasts with a passion for air plants at their nursery in Lancashire.

26. Episode 26

At Longmeadow this week, Monty reaps a harvest from the vegetable garden, plants up a seasonal pot and gives a masterclass on how to make the perfect compost. Adam Frost travels to York to meet a couple who took on 20 acres of land and filled it with flowers, and in Walsall, the team visit a garden planted with exotic palms and foliage which has made a positive contribution to the owner’s mental health. There is another chance to see Carol Klein as she finds a collection of late-summer-flowering bergamot plants in Wales and gives her advice on how to grow and propagate them. In Lancashire, Nick Bailey meets a zoologist who has spent his life exploring the microscopic insects that live in the soil.

27. Episode 27

With autumn on the horizon, the seasonal planting of bulbs for spring-flowering begins at Longmeadow. Frances Tophill meets a gardener whose allotment is filled with both traditional and exotic vegetables, and Toby Buckland visits The Newt in Somerset to find out about its chequered garden history and to explore its emergence as one of the UK’s most exciting gardens. There is another chance to see Mark Lane travel to Oxfordshire to look at how ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals can be used in planting design to create exciting combinations, and the team meets a gardener in Northamptonshire who uses the plants in her garden to extract natural dyes for fabrics.

28. Episode 28

Join Adam Frost in his garden for a special programme celebrating some of the most glorious gardens the team have visited over the last few years, with plenty of seasonal hints and tips for what we can be doing in our own gardens this weekend. Frances Tophill visits a lochside retreat, Joe Swift finds lots of take home tips from a city garden, Carol Klein is inspired by plant combinations in West Yorkshire, and Advolly Richmond shows how a historical landscape was designed for fun and frolic. The team also meet a couple who let nature be their gardening guide and a gardener who makes containers her focus of attention.

29. Episode 29

At Longmeadow, Monty revels in the early autumn colour in his garden, reviews how the tomatoes he grew from a late sowing have got on this season and gives advice on harvesting and storing apples. We return to Rachel de Thame’s garden to find out how the new garden project she started in the spring has developed over the summer and we travel to Scotland to meet Fish of the rock band Marillion who gives us a tour of his garden and reveals how it has helped his mental health as well as the creative process of making music. In Yorkshire we get a second chance to meet a couple who grow around 100 fruit trees and are self-sufficient in vegetables and in Germany, Arit Anderson finds out about the incredible transformation of a disused industrial site into a thriving and beautiful park.

30. Episode 30

As Autumn gets underway Monty gives advice on what plants need to be taken under cover now, what can stay out until after the first frosts and others that just need an extra layer of protection. Plus he shows what can be planted now in the vegetable garden. Joe Swift visits presenter and journalist Kate Garraway in her London garden and discusses how it has been a sanctuary over recent months and we return to Nick Bailey’s home to see the results of the design project he started in his own garden earlier in the year. In Kent, we get another chance to meet a woman who has filled her garden with exotic and tropical plants and we visit Kew’s orchid house to meet the expert who looks after its specialist collection.

31. Episode 31

At Longmeadow, Monty prepares his pond for the season ahead, prunes a climbing rose and celebrates the garden as it moves into autumn. Adam Frost is in his garden, giving ideas and inspiration for a winter display of containers, and the show travels to Kent to visit Frances Tophill on her allotment to find out about her growing year. There is a second chance to enjoy an autumnal visit to Hidcote Gardens with Carol Klein, and the team meet a couple whose garden has been inspired by their travels in the Far East.

32. Episode 32

At Longmeadow, Monty shares his tips on how to feed the birds over the coming months, plants raspberries both in the ground and in a pot, and makes a start on lifting his tender salvias. Joe Swift visits a nurseryman in Essex who loves to experiment with ornamental grasses, and Arit Anderson meets Fergus Garrett, head gardener at Great Dixter, to discover how the planting and garden management have increased biodiversity. We meet a couple in Staffordshire with a particular fondness for Japanese maples and a man whose love of dahlias has taken over his back garden in Stockport.

33. Episode 33

In the final programme from Longmeadow this year, Monty harvests his pumpkins, plants bulbs in a pot and has plenty of jobs we can be getting on with over the coming weeks. Frances Tophill travels to Winkworth Arboretum in Surrey to celebrate the season and to explain the science behind the golden and red tones of autumn leaves. The team takes inspiration from RHS Harlow Carr and has a look at their winter borders and the plants which will add interest and drama to gardens over the coming months. There is a second chance to meet a woman who has inspired a generation of young people and taught them gardening skills from her garden in the West Midlands, and the show revisits Hampshire twins Stuart and Ian Paton to find out what it takes to grow record-breaking pumpkins.