That’s the tricky question we pose to each of the guests on the Scotland Grows Show. It is so hard for any gardener to narrow their favourite plants to just three! We may say that we would have different favourite plants in different seasons, but when put on the spot and asked to narrow it down, it is very interesting to hear which three plants our podcast guests chose.

This week, we hear from Pam Whittle, former president of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (The Caley).

“I really do like daffodils, my grandmother used to love daffodils. I grow about a 150 different types of daffodil. Now we’re into February, I’m really getting quite excited because the bulbs come out of the plunge in the middle of February. And it’s just so lovely.

I like rhododendrons. My grandmother also liked rhododendrons. Apart from growing them in pots in other gardens, this is the first time I’ve ever been able to grow them within the garden. A lot of people don’t like rhododendrons because their flowering period is short and then it’s just structure but because I like structure in the garden, that suits me fine. I have learned how to choose the right rhododendron for my garden. Over in the west of Scotland, there is much greater choice because of the weather conditions there but over here in the east, and certainly where I am, I have to ensure that they’re very tough and, not just tough, but flower at the right times. If the buds are there and we get cold late frosts, then I’ll lose all the blooms. It is just a short flowering period but gosh, the blooms, what a show, they’re amazing, and then you have that lovely evergreen structure for the rest of the year.

For my third choice, it would have to be a vegetable, and it would be a broad bean. It’s a broad bean because the ones you buy in the shop are horrible. The ones you grow yourself are so delicious. You’ve just got to eat them fresh, don’t wait till they’re big and old, pick them when they are young and succulent. Nothing beats the taste of growing your own produce in your own garden. I think everybody in Scotland can grow a broad bean, doesn’t matter where you live.”