Gardeners’ Question Time put down fresh roots at an animal welfare charity as a live audience fired a crop of horticultural conundrums at the BBC Radio 4 panel — before an unexpected four-legged guest briefly joined proceedings.
The programme was recorded at The Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth last week in front of around 150 garden enthusiasts from across East Devon.
Audience members put their gardening questions to panellists Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood and Matthew Pottage, with Peter Gibbs hosting the programme.
Peter introduced the panel before describing the sanctuary's Devon setting for listeners and explaining the global reach of the animal welfare charity.
Gardeners’ Question Time is recorded at a different location each week, with each programme attracting around two million listeners.
Ahead of the recording, Peter said: “It's just such a lovely, quiet, peaceful spot, great horticulture, which of course is the reason we're here.
“I've only seen one or two donkeys so far, so I have to put that right and actually go and get up close and personal with a donkey or two.”
Peter added: “I'm really interested to see what sort of questions we're going to get in the show this afternoon, once the audience starts piling in.”
Those questions covered a wide range of gardening issues, with some audience members bringing examples along to accompany their queries.
Among the more unusual items was locally grown kiwi fruit.
Many questions also focused on drought following recent months of extremely dry weather, with the panel responding to the problems raised by audience members.
There was also an unexpected interruption when The Donkey Sanctuary's resident grey cat Beau made a brief appearance on stage alongside the panellists.
The cat prompted laughter from the audience before being escorted to a quieter area by a member of staff and the recording continued.
The first Gardeners’ Question Time was broadcast in April 1947 and the programme has since answered more than 30,000 questions.
Two programmes were recorded at the sanctuary during the evening.
The first will be broadcast on Friday, August 28, while the second will be transmitted on Friday, September 25.
Gardeners’ Question Time is broadcast on Fridays at 3pm and repeated on Sundays at 2pm.
Episodes are also available through BBC Sounds.
The Donkey Sanctuary is set in the East Devon countryside and is open every day with free admission.
It is home to a couple of hundred resident donkeys, while a small team of gardeners maintains its landscaped gardens for visitors.
The sanctuary also has an RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden which was relocated to East Devon in 2019.
Among those in the audience for the recording was The Donkey Sanctuary's head gardener Morley Martin.
Morley said: “To have Gardener’s Question Time at The Donkey Sanctuary is quite a thing, it’s a real feather in our cap.”
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