“Don't listen to people on the internet - I think this is a problem. When you are new, you still have to learn about what is a good source of information and what is not. You have to understand that there are an awful lot of people out there just like you, who are learning and they might not be experts yet.
“You need to step back and say, they have said this thing and it sounds great, I need to check if other people are saying that, or if it features in a book (or Scotland Grows magazine), or if it is on my favourite gardening TV show, and is that relevant to me?
"A real motto of our channel is ‘You do you’. You need to learn to say, that is brilliant, but does that fit my garden, my climate, the little microclimates in my garden, and how I want to do things? Do not just take everything as fact and follow blindly because that is what I did. When I started, there was ‘Beechgrove’ and that was about the only thing for Scotland, everything else was coming from down south, and at that point, as a beginner and not understanding a lot of it, even ‘Beechgrove’ was just a bit above me, and I struggled to understand any of it.
“So, I did a lot of things wrong because I copied Monty Don or Alan Titchmarsh like putting out potatoes before the ground was warm enough. You need to stop, look at where your information is coming from and then see if there are other sources agreeing with it.
“Scotland being quite a unique, diverse climate from east to west, what works for you is not going to work for me always. For such a small country, there are a lot of different weather systems and it is not as simple as ‘just add 2 or 3 weeks on’.
“The best piece of advice I learned was from Jim McColl on ‘Beechgrove’ when I had kind of learned enough to understand what was going on, and it was do not go with dates for planting potatoes, test the temperature of the ground and wait till it is 10℃. I was like, brilliant, because that is controllable to me and my garden. Do not listen to anyone else if you find something that works for you.”
Hear Eli’s full Scotland Grows Show chat on Apple Podcasts HERE!
“I would say, first of all, I think a lot of people are afraid to do things and make mistakes. If you do not try things, you will not learn from your mistakes. And to be honest, plants are sometimes more resilient than you think. People are afraid to cut plants, prune them, split, or divide. Sometimes you can be quite brutal with plants, as long as you give them some tender care after, they will respond again.
“When creating a new garden, particularly if it is a small space, I think the tendency is to go for small plants, small pot. It can sometimes actually be harder looking after plants in very small pots. They will dry out quickly and the plants may die because the roots will not have enough space and will not get enough water or nutrients. If you have bigger pots, they will not dry out as often, you will not have to water them as much, and the plants will be a lot happier. So do not play it safe: be bold.
“Plus, you will learn. Even Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh, or whoever, all make mistakes. There will be years where it does not matter how good a gardener you are, things will not always work out the way you expect.”
Hear Clive’s full Scotland Grows Show chat on Apple Podcasts HERE!
“I would say just try anything, do not be shy about it. So, if you are curious about pruning an apple tree, just find one that you can experiment on. If you want to grow garlic, even if you do not have the space, figure out a way, join up with a community farm, or find someone older that needs help with their allotment.
“I think people in tenements are scared to have somebody gardening the back court, but I do not think anybody ever minds if you make something more beautiful or grow herbs that everybody can cut and use. So as long as it is community-minded, just get out there and give it all a shot.
“With gardening, the beauty of it is that you learn while doing it. Find other people to garden with because it is so sociable and fun if you can do it with other people, or come and volunteer with us at Horatio’s Garden Scotland.”
Hear Chelsea’s full Scotland Grows Show chat on Apple Podcasts HERE!
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