Garden birdsong with the Nature Boy, giving berberis a go and cutting back camellias

David Maxwell visits Ballyrobert Cottage Garden where Maurice Parkinson tries to convince him to give the prickly berberis shrub a chance. It's also time to cut back the camellias which have just finished flowering. As the dawn chorus reaches its peak, ornithologist and award-winning author Sean Ronayne extols the health benefits of taking in birdsong at this time of year. In Dundonald, David meets Rory Blight and Sean McDermott in an urban oasis where their Keen 2B Green community interest company is providing a home for nature and a place to benefit the community and those with learning disabilities. Work is underway to create ponds, a bee bank and a species rich grassland. Ann FitzSimons joins David in studio to answer questions on patchy grass, a rowan tree with no leaves and an unruly Rosa rugosa. Contact the programme on gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

You can listen to Garden birdsong with the Nature Boy, giving berberis a go and cutting back camellias online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Garden birdsong with the Nature Boy, giving berberis a go and cutting back camellias is an episode from Gardeners' Corner by BBC.

This episode is 56:02 long.

This episode was published on May 2, 2026.

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