February 2017 and it’s a George Mann Short Trip for the Third Doctor, Jo Grant and Capt Mike Yates. It’s read by Tim Treloar and directed by Lisa Bowerman.

Key questions are: is it any good and if so, why?

The story

From the product page:

Strange occurrences plague the village of Colston Burghley – a mediaeval monument has appeared on the village green, postboxes have disappeared…and there’s trouble in Meredith Bright’s back garden. When Mike Yates finds himself at a loss, it’s down to the Doctor and Jo Grant to get to the root of the trouble…

There’s lots of horticultural references (as the title would imply) and through the somewhat prosaic medium of gardening, George Mann weaves a tale exploring a facet of time travel and is very much of its era. As ever it’s a great way to spend just over thirty minutes, and a welcome addition to the range,

The storytelling

For me the biggest success of this story is how well Tim Treloar delivers it. I got to the end convinced I’d spent the time with the Doctor, Jo and Mike. At no point was I consciously thinking about Tim’s delivery, and this is the measure of how well it works.

Mixed with Lisa’s direction and Steve Foxton’s sound you can’t go wrong!