Grow Your Own Magazine

From a colleague ...

In response to listener feedback, a new weekend gardening programme will start on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire from Easter Sunday (April 8th 2007), in line with a general station spring clean.

Dougan Does Gardening will be presented and produced by Sue Dougan, who currently also presents the weekday afternoon show. Sue joined BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in 2005, but continued to present and produce the hugely popular Sunday Gardening programme on BBC Radio Kent - a formula she's hoping to repeat on the BBC locally.

She says 'Working in the Garden of England showed me the depth of love people of all ages have for plants, gardens, and their own special garden heroes - whether that's Alan Titchmarch or their granddad. It's such an engaging and rewarding activity. There's no better way to spend an afternoon - either putting in some hard graft in your garden borders, unearthing some new season produce, or simply enjoying the fruits of your labour in the sunshine. Cambridgeshire has a great gardening tradition, and we hope the new programme will become part of that'.

Jason Horton, Managing Editor says 'We've been listening to our audience and if there is one thing they believe is missing from our output, it is a gardening programme. Horticulture is big business for BBC Local Radio Stations across the country and I am sure the same will be true for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire'.

Sue's a keen local gardener herself - with her 400 year old cottage under development, she has encouraged her good friend, the garden designer Trevor Tooth to come up with some creative designs for a contemporary cottage garden - that sadly remains a wasteland while he concentrates on his first major show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, so she has been putting her energies into her allotment, where she gets to indulge her love of grow-your-own fruit and vegetables.

Sue says 'I'm a complete veg-head! I love ornamentals, but equally love the rewards that vegetable gardening gives you. As well as good exercise, fresh air and healthy food, there is the deep satisfaction of producing your own food from the land'.

The new programme will reflect the gardens, gardeners, and garden heroes of Cambridgeshire and the Fens as well as dispensing topical gardening advice. Each week, Sue will be joined by a panel of local gardeners and experts to answer listener questions and queries, and to debate topics of interest to both keen and reluctant gardeners - issues such as garden grabbing, the loss of allotment sites, the cutting down of protected trees and organic versus conventional gardening. The programme will also carry local society listings, information and features about gardens and plants of interest, and regular great giveaways.

'Gardeners care a great deal about the social, political and romantic side of horticulture, as well as when and how to propagate, plant and prune - and we'll be there to reflect their concerns' says Sue.

Dougan Does Gardening will be broadcast each Sunday between 11am and 1pm from Sunday 8th April.

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Never say never....

Would imagine that you can pick up the prog on t'internet even if you aren't in the radio broadcast area from www.bbc.co.uk/radio

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 04/10/2008......sorry, Keats......