Gardeners' World Season 49

Spring is nearly upon us and Gardeners' World is back with a new series. As usual, Monty Don is at Longmeadow, reviewing the effects the winter weather has had on his garden. Carol Klein visits a Welsh hillside garden and delves into the botany of bulbs with a couple who have used a scientific approach to plant their garden with the earliest of spring flowers. It is the perfect time of year to plant trees and Joe Swift gives us his guide to choosing the best ones for our gardens. And there is a glimmer of hope for gardeners who have had to cope with copious amounts of rainfall this year when we visit a garden which, last year, was brought back from the brink of destruction with spectacular results.

As the gardening year gets underway at Longmeadow, Monty is tidying up his ornamental grass border, pruning roses and planning for summer scent. Joe Swift continues his series on trees when he gives tips on how to plant a tree for future success. Rachel de Thame follows a fragrant trail and explains how even the tiniest of flowers pack a punch in the perfume stakes. And, in the first of several visits, we join the head gardener of Britain's most famous garden at Sissinghurst as he sets out his plans to restore it to its original vision.

As part of his planning for summer, Monty begins to sow annual climbers and gets started on tidying and mulching his borders. In the last of Joe Swift's series on trees, he learns how and when to prune them, and why. We meet clematis enthusiast Mike Brown, whose collection fills his garden with colour all summer long, and amongst the brutalist architecture of London's Barbican, Nick Bailey, head gardener of the Chelsea Physic Garden, discovers a hidden tropical oasis.

The first big gardening weekend of the year gets underway with Monty dividing perennials and giving plenty of tips for how we can kick-start the garden for the season ahead. As millions of bedding plants are poised for planting in our pots and borders, Joe Swift visits a major grower to find out how they are produced and what drives the demand. Rachel is at a garden centre to find the top plant trends this Easter, and we travel to Devon to get some expert advice on looking after orchids from specialist grower Sara Rittershaus.

Monty gets to work in his wildlife garden, preparing for early pollinators.

Monty starts a new project: a cutting garden.

Nick Bailey marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.

Monty Don visits the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

Carol begins her journey to investigate why plants thrive in challenging conditions.

Monty's focus is on summer when he plants up containers for color in the Jewel Garden.

A celebration of the volunteers who keep gardens around the country looking their best.

Tender vegetables, bedding plants and bees are the focus of Monty's gardening this week.

Monty gives his tips on late croppers to sow now.

Carol Klein wades through streams and marshes to show how to choose the right water plants.

Monty gives tips on extending the flower season in the borders.

Rachel de Thame pays a visit to the garden of theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

Joe Swift looks at how the rose garden has been reimagined in the Savill Garden.

Joe Swift ponders ways of putting a contemporary twist on traditional bedding plants.

On the 20th anniversary of the death of Geoff Hamilton, Adam Frost returns to Barnsdale.

Alan Power catches up with the transformation of Shakespeare's New Place garden.

Monty Don has plenty of tips on how to cut hedges so that they grow well.

Monty advises on how to look after soft fruit to ensure maximum production next year.

Monty goes on an inspiring visit to the longest herbaceous border in the world.

Carol Klein continues looking at plant families, exploring popular relations of the rose.

Monty adds some autumn flowering asters to his borders and refreshes his strawberry beds.

Monty starts to tidy up the garden for autumn and reviews this year's display in the jewel garden. Carol Klein looks at the Apiaceae family, which includes not only stalwart and wildlife-friendly plants but also edible roots, and we pay a visit to a giant vegetable grower who is hoping to break the world record with his carrots. Adam Frost's designs begin taking shape when he starts to build raised beds for his contemporary kitchen garden, while Nick Bailey travels to a suburban garden in Windsor to tackle overgrown climbers and shrubs. Jane Moore discovers an exuberant garden and gardener whose small space is packed with plants, and Nick Macer discovers a garden in Ireland where the climate resembles an Atlantic rainforest.

Monty catches up with seasonal jobs at Longmeadow this week when he divides some perennials and plants alpines for spring colour. He also travels to Dublin to meet Helen Dillon to find out why she is planning to leave her world-famous garden after decades of honing it to perfection. In Scotland, Joe Swift begins his quest to find out why we should rekindle our love for rock gardens, while Frances Tophill perches precariously on a cliff in Cornwall as she joins a couple who have created a garden in extreme conditions. Adam Frost continues his progress on designing his garden in Lincolnshire and Flo Headlam transforms a shady and neglected front garden in London. And garden designer Mark Lane shares his passion for colour in his garden in Kent.

After months of nurturing the plants in his garden, Monty reaps a harvest of a different kind when he investigates how productive his bees have been at making honey. Joe Swift visits the world famous Chatsworth House in Derbyshire to explore the history of its monumental 19th-century rock garden and to see how a more contemporary version compliments the original design. Frances Tophill explores the challenges of gardening on the edge of a Scottish loch, while Flo Headlam is in Birmingham, transforming a city rooftop. Adam Frost continues with the transformation of his Lincolnshire garden, Alan Power spends a day with the head gardener at the Bishop's Palace in Wells, and Zephaniah Lindo is in Yorkshire, looking at research into how light can be manipulated to change the way plants grow.

There is a visitor at Longmeadow this week when Rachel de Thame lends Monty a hand as he refreshes his dry garden with plants that will thrive in tricky growing conditions. Monty also visits a national collection of vines to search out the best varieties for growing outdoors. Frances Tophill travels to the heart of Wales to meet a couple who have carved out a garden 1000 feet above sea level and Joe Swift visits Chelsea gold medal winner and stonemason Martin Cook to see how he uses contemporary rock sculpture within his Buckinghamshire garden. Garden doctor Nick Bailey offers intensive care to some neglected patio pots, while Adam Frost gets to work on renovating his rose pergola and laying paths in his kitchen garden. Alan Power visits Marks Hall arboretum in Essex, spending a day with the head gardener to find out what it takes to manage a landscape populated with trees.