How did you get into gardening?

Our gardening guests in the Floral Marquee will be Carole Baxter and George Anderson, who will be joining us on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September to answer all your gardening questions. Carole and George are presenters on the BBC Scotland TV gardening programme The Beechgrove Garden which sets out to deal with, glory in and celebrate Scottish horticulture and growing conditions.

“I’ve been interested in gardening since I was a child; my mum and dad had about an acre. I used to get pocket money for picking out stones. I also loved to get into the pond – maybe that’s why I’m always the one in the waders at Beechgrove.” says Carole.

“After studying geography at university, I moved to Scotland and gardened while doing day release classes in amenity horticulture. I saw an advert for a gardener behind the scenes – I didn’t even own a TV at the time. I worked at the original Beechgrove Garden for three years as assistant and then head gardener, I then moved on to presenting while still head gardener. Now, I do presenting for radio and TV, writing and helping out at various garden centres in Scotland.”

“Gardening came down in the genes. My parents, aunts and uncle were all keen gardeners and my father and an uncle were both market gardeners.” says George. I left school little knowing what I would like to do and while I thought that I would like to become a shepherd, I took a job as a Gardener’s Boy. The rest, as they say, is history and after 50+ years I have to say

I think that I may have made the right choice.”

Carole Baxter George Anderson