The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 1

The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 1: Beechgrove is back in bloom and storming in after Arwen and Barra ripped through trees across the north east of Scotland. In typical Beechgrove style, George, Carole, Bran and Calum are all together on home turf to see how to turn the damage into new developments.

The national flower of Ukraine is the sunflower, and as a mark of support, the team are growing a range of these positive plants at Beechgrove. We also visit a sunflower maze that, in 2021, was a cheerful church initiative in Elie to allow those who were not able to come to church to congregate. In 2022, it becomes a fitting symbol of hope for Ukraine.

The Beechgrove Garden 2022 episode 1

These uplifting flowers are easy to grow with a little knowledge. Pass on a bit of sunshine and brighten up the day! Sunflowers are known as being “happy” flowers and make the perfect gift to bring joy to someone’s day. The name Sun Flower is a direct translation from the botanical name Helianthus annus. Heli meaning sun and anther meaning flower.

As soon as the flower forms and opens, you can watch it ‘turn’. Growing in this way, following the path of the sun across the sky is called ‘phototropism’ or ‘heliotropism’. In fact, the Italian word for sunflower ‘girasole’ literally means ‘turning sun’.Learn how to sow the seeds in pots ready for planting out in your garden with our simple ‘Grow a sunflower’ activity. Once the flower has faded the sunflower head will have lots of seeds in the centre and these are a great source of food for birds, alternatively you can harvest the seeds and grow them again next year.

Leave the flower head on the stem for at least 2 weeks. Once the petals have faded, cut the flower heads off and store them in a sunny, warm, dry place for another week. Spread a sheet of newspaper on a flat surface, gently rub the seed head and the seeds will fall away easily.
Collect them in an envelope or paper bag and store in a dry, cool, dark place until spring when they will be ready to sow and grow once more.