The Nature Garden: gardening, wildlife and nature notes · The Weekending Show

Hello Spring!

·43 min·4 clips

John Knox warns that eating a daffodil bulb can cause a slow, painful death, as revealed in a chilling dinner party incident.

Host Carl Steinson leads this episode celebrating spring's arrival in Northumberland, joined by regular gardeners and naturalists. Resident gardener Tom Pattinson offers seasonal advice, while birder Tom Cadwallander shares observations from home and his travels in Costa Rica. The episode also introduces guests John Knox and Dean Smith from the Annick Poison Garden for a new series on dangerous plants. Tom Pattinson emphasizes checking soil temperature, advising it should be above 10°C for germination and suggesting cloches to warm soil for early sowings. He details planting first early potatoes 12-15cm deep to protect shoots from April frosts and recommends starting with hardy vegetables like peas, beans, and salad crops. Pattinson cautions against sudden strenuous gardening, suggesting setting small targets to avoid aches, and provides lawn care tips like raising mower blades for the first cut. He discusses creating new lawns, noting turf costs about £5 per square meter locally, and identifies shade, acidity, and poor drainage as causes of moss. Tom Cadwallander reports the arrival of summer migrants like chiffchaffs, sand martins, and the first house martins, with sandwich terns appearing offshore. He mentions ring ouzels returning to uplands and notes blue tits are already investigating nest boxes. Cadwallander states winter visitors like widgeon, which numbered 500-600 locally, are now departing for Siberian breeding grounds in their finest plumage. He reveals the British Trust for Ornithology satellite-tracked a cuckoo that just crossed the Sahara, predicting a flood of migrants with favorable southerly winds. John Knox and Dean Smith explain daffodils contain lethal alkaloids, with ingestion of a bulb causing death within 8-10 hours. They recount an incident where a UK supermarket mistakenly displayed daffodil bulbs next to onions, leading to a health scare and legal changes. The guests describe a dinner party where a guest drank vase water containing daffodil toxins, requiring emergency treatment. They also share a story of a dog that recovered after digging up and consuming daffodil bulbs, noting the Dogstrust.org lists plants poisonous to pets. Tom Cadwallander describes his Costa Rica trip, delayed from 2020, where he saw over 500 bird species with guide Kevin Easley. He witnessed a migration of roughly 40,000 Swainson's hawks and highlights colorful birds like the chestnut-sided warbler and the resplendent quetzal with its 18-inch tail. Cadwallander notes the national bird is the clay-colored thrush and mentions encountering howler monkeys, poisonous tree frogs, sloths, and caimans. The tone is conversational and educational, blending practical instruction with enthusiastic nature observation and travel storytelling. Listeners seeking relaxed, seasonal gardening tips and local wildlife updates will enjoy this episode. Those preferring fast-paced content or in-depth scientific analysis might find it too leisurely.

As heard by us

A spring garden ramble that balances practical jobs with birds, blossom, and Northumbrian stories.

A spring-led garden feature moves through moss, weeds, raspberry wires, greenhouse potting, birds on the move, and a stop at the Anik Poison Garden.

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Spring garden jobs, early bird notes, and a detour into the Annick Poison Garden in one easy ramble.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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