2026 Season 48

The days are longer and the weather is a little warmer, so that means Beechgrove Garden is back with weekly updates and expert advice for gardeners of all abilities and experience.

Carole Baxter and Brian Cunningham are back at Beechgrove to kick off the season with a range of great jobs that can be done right now and that will make your own plot both productive and attractive. It's Easter weekend, one of the most popular times of the year to get out into the garden, so Carole is planting up an Easter container that will bring colour and joy to your garden, deck or doorstep for weeks to come.

Beechgrove Garden is looking ahead to summer days in the garden, with Lizzie Schofield back to work in the sitooterie area she started off last year as a place ideal for sitting out and enjoying the garden. This week, she prunes and plants in the same area to get it looking great for the good days ahead.

Brian Cunningham is back to basics with a beginners' guide to starting off a productive veg plot with some spring sowing, and he also looks at what makes a great homemade compost. Lizzie takes on the tomato plants this year at Beechgrove, and she is looking at what varieties she has picked for 2026. She is also the first of the team to start work on her competition garden, which is based on planting that appeals to one of the senses.

Calum Clunie kicks off his season at Beechgrove, demonstrating what can be grown from a container in just one season. He also starts a season of productive gardening, showing what can be produced for a family of four from a medium-sized vegetable garden.

Meanwhile, as summer approaches, Brian is looking at how to keep lawns looking great and tackling a patio space around Beechgrove’s chiminea corner. There is a visit to a great new allotment in Perth, and there are all the usual handy hints.

There is a lot of productive gardening going on at Beechgrove as George Anderson and Ruth Vichos both work on projects that will bear fruit later in the year.

Ruth is focusing on growing for those with a small space, returning to the vertical garden that she started last year. Vertical gardening uses structures that allow plants to be stacked upwards - ideal for anyone with just a small plot or patio. She also shows how this method can still be very productive.

There is lots of planting for the plate at Beechgrove Garden as Kirsty Wilson and Brian Cunningham start growing a wide variety of edible produce.

Kirsty is the first of the Beechgrove team to kick off work on her competition plot. Each presenter has been given a sense to appeal to in each of their competition borders, and Kirsty is planting things that will taste fantastic. She is also trying something new to Beechgrove: hops.

Planting borders and planning for cut flowers are on Lizzie Schofield and Brian Cunningham’s to-do list at Beechgrove Garden. Lizzie is direct sowing in the new cuttings garden, and Brian is in the zig-zag border planting varieties that will grow tall, making them ideal for the back of a plot without requiring support or staking.

Brian kicks off this year’s collection of plants being cultivated in the 6x8 glasshouse. This is the most common-sized domestic greenhouse, so if you are lucky enough to have one, Brian has some great ideas for this season.

It's time for some early summer colour as Carole Baxter makes the first of her visits to classic Scottish gardens. She visits Glenarn, which has a fabulous collection of rhododendrons looking their best right now.

Back at Beechgrove Garden, George Anderson and Calum Clunie are busy refreshing the grass and gravel plot and planting new varieties. Calum demonstrates how to take cuttings from a fuchsia, and there are some ideas on how to manage your plot if you are unlucky enough to have club root in your vegetable patch. And there are all the usual handy hints.