Beechgrove will be blooming bigger in 2022

Beechgrove, BBC Scotland’s popular gardening series, is storming back onto our screens this spring – and it’s going across the UK.

It returns to its usual Thursday night transmission on BBC Scotland and this year has a brand new slot on network BBC Two on Friday evenings just ahead of Gardeners’ World.

This new network slot is in addition to the BBC Two screenings on Sunday mornings where it has been transmitted since 2013.

BBC Scotland commissioning editor Tony Nellany said: ‘It’s great to be welcoming back the Beechgrove team to the BBC Scotland channel where we know it is loved by our audiences. We’re thrilled that it also has a new high profile network slot and even more people across the UK will enjoy a bit of Beechgrove.’

The new series begins on the BBC Scotland channel at 8pm on on Thursday 7 April, with its first network-wide Friday screening the following night.

Presenter Brian Cunningham said: ‘We can’t wait to be back on the BBC Scotland channel with a brand new series and it’s terrific to have such a great slot on the network for audiences across the UK.’

After having much of the series filmed at presenters’ own gardens over the last two years, they will be firmly back on the ‘home turf’ for the first episode of the new run.

George Anderson, Carole Baxter, Brian Cunningham and Calum Clunie will all be at the Beechgrove garden, in Aberdeenshire.

The presenters will be taking stock of the recent storm damage both at Beechgrove and their own homes, and discussing the positive planting opportunities and developments made possible by it.

The national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower and the team are growing a range of these clever (they always turn their faces to the sun and are great for wildlife) positive plants at Beechgrove. There will also be a visit to an inspirational sunflower maze in the East Neuk of Fife town of Elie.

Calum will be unveiling plans for his new cheap and very cheerful ‘easy gardening from scratch’ project. He’s going to build his garden in a ‘slow cook’ way and viewers, especially first time gardeners, will glean hints, tips, inspiration and ideas throughout the series.

George and Calum have already started growing to compete in the local spring bulb shows and in Bulbs to Bench, George and Calum try to out ‘bulb’ each other…with the results shown in a later episode when they both compete in the Caley Spring Show at the recently revamped Saughton Park in Edinburgh.

Over the course of the series, George will also have reports from his garden in ‘sunny Joppa’, and there were will be reports from Chris Beardshaw and also Kirsty Wilson from her Inverleith allotment.

And there will also be regular updates from Lizzie and Malcolm Schofield and their award-winning cliff top garden in Buckie.

There will also be a new wheelbarrow full of Beechgrowers, with insights into their gardens across Scotland and the differing conditions around the country. And Diana Yates, in West Linton, from last year’s Beechgrowers will return with her tips on gardening for mental health and well-being.

As well as its transmission slots, Beechgrove, which is produced by Tern TV, is also available to watch across the UK on BBC iPlayer.

Gwyneth Hardy, executive producer at Tern, said: ‘2022 marks 30 years of Tern producing Beechgrove for BBC Scotland and we are also delighted with the additional slot so that more of the UK can get growing with Beechgrove’

Beechgrove will be shown on Thursday 7 April on BBC Scotland at 8pm and Friday 8 April on BBC Two at 7.30pm.

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