- 3 months ago
The Beechgrove Garden 2025 episode 24
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00:00Hello and welcome to Beach Grove Garden.
00:16And we're starting off this week's programme in the rain garden and yes, we have probably
00:20picked the driest summer on record to create a rain garden, but I'm pretty sure over the
00:26coming weeks and months that this is going to come into its own and do what it's designed
00:30to do.
00:31Well, we live in Scotland so you can be certain of a little bit of rain hopefully in the near
00:35future.
00:36Yes.
00:37But you know the design is so clever, so you're collecting that rain water off your shed or
00:41the conservatory as we're doing here, it's running down the drain pipe and the guttering
00:45system and it's filling up the water bottle first, where we can use it for other parts
00:49of the garden, great use of it.
00:51Then the runoff is coming down and into this section of the garden.
00:56The whole point of these gardens is to try and just take a wee bit of pressure off our
00:59sewage system and hopefully reduce a bit of phlegm in our communities.
01:03But the plants are looking good, they've settled in really well, they've been given a drink
01:07just to get them established, but they are plants that will cope with dry conditions as
01:11well.
01:12But I'm going to pick out this persicaria, orange field, isn't that lovely?
01:16It's beautiful and flowering lovely at the moment.
01:18The radigia is looking really good as well, but you know the iris is maybe struggling a wee
01:24bit.
01:26Yeah, so I'm looking at this bit.
01:27So at this point here, this is the bit that's always going to be the most wettest, because
01:31that's where the water's constantly coming in, so you want to choose plants that really
01:35can cope with that.
01:36The radigia is here, yes, definitely doing very well.
01:39The Siberian iris, yeah, it's looking a wee bit of iffy, but if you have a wee look at
01:43one down at the bottom end where it's a wee bit of drier, it's starting to show signs of
01:47autumn too, so I'm not going to panic just yet.
01:49I think the key thing is now, all these plants in here, let's see how they cope with the
01:54winter wet.
01:55I think next spring when they're all starting to come back to life, that'll be when we really
01:59see how well it's done.
02:00I think the right plants in the right place, you've chosen it really carefully, I think
02:03next year this border is going to look fabulous.
02:05I hope so.
02:06Here's what's coming up on the programme today.
02:11Looking ahead, creating containers for autumn colour, the features to build into your garden
02:17to make it more accessible, and gardening by the canal in Glasgow.
02:24Well, Lizzie, we're up in a part of the garden now that we're redesigning in memory of one
02:32of our old colleagues, Jim McCall.
02:33I know, and the garden team have done a fantastic job, you know, ripping out all of those conifers
02:39and the really old heather that was filling this garden up that you could hardly see anything,
02:45and you know, they've done a really good job getting out all the roots that were really
02:49well compacted in there and improving the soil with compost and leaf mould ready for planting.
02:55I know.
02:56You're right, you cannae recognise the area, and I think this just goes to show the benefit
03:00of doing all that prep before because the plants that were going to stick back in here,
03:03they're really going to shoot on after that.
03:06So when this garden was first laid out, it was representing the Scottish hillsides, you
03:10know, the moorlands, the heathlands, and because the soil has still got that slightly acidic
03:15pH, that's what we're still sticking with, and we're quite sure Jim would have liked that,
03:19but we're going to incorporate a few of Jim's favourites as well.
03:21One of the plants I'm going to go for here, it's a Juniperus communist, so you will see
03:26this up in the mountains, it's a low grower, the birds like to cover in here as well, they
03:31like to take cover and hide.
03:33I think cleverly we're going to stick it at the side of the pond, because you can see
03:36how it's starting to run down towards the pond, this will just hold that bank together
03:42and stop the soil getting washed into that pond and losing it.
03:44It's great ground cover as well.
03:46A really nice one, gold shats, and it's got that lovely sort of golden tip to the foliage
03:51as well.
03:52Beautiful colour in autumn.
03:53Now I'm picking out the tree heather here, now I love a tree heather because what you
03:58can do is you can be quite brutal with it, so if you've got one that is quite mature and
04:02out of shape, you can cut down into the woody stems and it will start to regrow, so perfect.
04:08And to prove it's worked, remember that pierce that we thumped at the beginning of the year,
04:11I mean look at the way that's recovering.
04:14So instead of taking it out completely, we've just given it a good hard prune and it'll
04:17still fit in here perfectly.
04:19Yeah.
04:20Another one to point out is, you know, in the Scottish forest you've got all of those
04:24blayberries that cover the forest floor, well this is a little bit something different,
04:30it's called flamingo and it's got that lovely foliage on it and I think it will really fit
04:34in well here.
04:35Yeah.
04:36Well as I said, we are planting in memory of Jim as well and one of his favourites was
04:40this Japanese maple here, this is Ozakazuki and you know they're cracking plants but we
04:46mostly grow them for that autumn colour, you know the yellows, the oranges, the scarlets.
04:50It will look spectacular but you have dug this rather large hole here for it to go into,
04:56which is perfect.
04:57Yep.
04:58And it really is, oh it's a beast I can tell you, but you know sometimes it's worth
05:03the investment.
05:04You know, something like this, you want that big statement plant straight away so it stands
05:09out, we don't want to wait for these years for it to grow.
05:11As you can see, the roots are kind of pot bound, they're going round in a circle so I'm
05:16gently going to tease and you've got some...
05:19We've got some mycorrhizal fungi here and now we're going to put that right the way round
05:24and smother the roots.
05:25Rub it on.
05:26There we go.
05:27All the way round and this is just going to help the roots maintain that moisture because
05:34it is going into that really dry soil down in there and it's going to really give it
05:40the best beginnings and make sure that it establishes well.
05:45So, keep rubbing that in and you're good to go there.
05:51Okie doke.
05:52So once it's in, we want to get it's best side don't we, facing forward, I think that's
05:58it.
05:59Actually I'm going to pop a wee bit of soil back in, I've dug too far heading towards
06:04Australia.
06:05There we go.
06:07Then it's just a case of back filling it and giving it a good drink.
06:11I'll tell you what, I think that's a good start.
06:15We'll be back here in a couple of weeks to plant up the rest of the garden.
06:18Perfect.
06:19If you are looking to create some autumn interest at your front door, why not plant up some pots
06:38or a planter with beautiful plants that are going to give you colour right the way through
06:43in autumn.
06:44Now I have chosen some plants here and this chrysanthemum is just going to do wonders during
06:52autumn.
06:53It's going to flower right the way through until almost November.
06:56So that is a great plant to choose.
06:58But before you start doing any sort of buying of plants, make sure that you think and consider
07:04the aspect of where your pots or your planter is going to be.
07:07So I've chosen all plants that enjoy a really sunny position and that's the best place that
07:14they're going to have to go if you want them to flower throughout the season.
07:18I've also chosen plants that really like a free draining soil.
07:22So that's something to consider if you're planting two or three different types of plants
07:27in one pot.
07:28So I've got this beautiful purple sedum here and purple is the colour theme that I've gone
07:34for when planting up these pots.
07:36Now if you do have a shadier part of your garden or your front door is in a shadier position,
07:43you might want to choose some other plants like hookers or cyclamen or some heathers
07:49that prefer that shadier aspect.
07:52But I've also chosen these plants because they do well, not the way, all the way through
08:00autumn, but they go right the way through until winter.
08:04So this Echinacea here, which is blooming beautifully at the moment, once that goes over,
08:10it's going to create those wonderful browny orange seed heads, those cones that really stand
08:17out in the winter months.
08:19It's the same with this Miscanthus that's looking quite green at the moment, but it is starting
08:24to flower and create those wonderful seed heads.
08:27The foliage of this grass will also change from an orangey red to a red colour as well.
08:34So that is brilliant.
08:36So once you have chosen your plants and you've planted them all up, you need to make sure that
08:43you give them all a really good watering in.
08:47The one great thing that I have chosen about these plants is if I want to swap them out next
08:52year or for some summer colour or spring colour, then they're all perennials so they can all
08:57be taken out of the pot and put in your borders to be enjoyed at different parts of the year.
09:04I'm in the low maintenance garden here and it was pretty much designed for people that just didn't
09:18have as much time to garden as they wished they could.
09:21But as I look around me, I can see the foundations are already here to create a garden for people
09:27of all physical abilities.
09:30Now as we get older, we maybe don't have the same energy levels as we once had to be spending
09:35time out in the garden.
09:36So you want to think about what you're growing.
09:38And we don't have any lawn here.
09:40That's the thing that takes once a week to tidy up and we've got to run backwards and
09:44forward.
09:45And we've replaced it with a gravel.
09:47And that's better than the hard surface because it means the water can still drain
09:50away freely and not cause any flooding issues.
09:53And then think about the plants that you're growing as well.
09:56Here we've got more shrubs than the herbaceous perennials that maybe always need dead-headed
10:01or chopped down at the end of the year.
10:03A shrub maybe just needs that once a year prune.
10:06And we've also chosen evergreens.
10:09They're good for giving us all year round interest.
10:12And of course, they're not going to drop the foliage round about autumn time, which means
10:16we've got to go around and pick that up either.
10:19And then maybe think about ground cover plants.
10:21So here we've got a low-growing juniper.
10:23And of course, that's going to help suppress the weeds.
10:29Moving around the garden from A to B safely is very important.
10:34You want to avoid the use of steps.
10:37You're looking for a smooth surface where here we've used slabs.
10:41But if you are using them, just make sure they've been laid nice and smoothly so there's no little trip hazards.
10:46If you think about those that are dealing with dementia, try and create a path that's maybe circular or a figure of eight.
10:53Because sometimes going back on themselves and retracing their steps can be quite disturbing.
10:58For those coping with sight loss, a simple handrail can help them navigate their way around the garden.
11:04But I must admit, I'm all about plant solutions when it comes to that.
11:08How about on the corner, you can use a plant as a marker.
11:12Maybe one that's full of scent or we've got a brightly coloured weeping tree here.
11:17This is caragana arborescence, the lovely yellow flower, so that ticks all the boxes.
11:22And as much as we'd like to choose our garden and it's nice and smooth, there's every chance you've got an up and down level to cope with.
11:30So here we've created a lovely little ramp and again it's just got a slight gentle incline.
11:36And that means those that are using mobility aids or wheelchairs, they can also get around the garden without any real hazards.
11:46Now I can always remember old Jim McCall, he could say that he could get down to do a wee bit of weeding,
11:51he was just worried he would never get back up again.
11:54Well, that's where a raised bed can come in useful.
11:57If I've got stooping issues, then I don't have so far to get down.
12:01And of course, these are made with a nice, smooth, broad top.
12:05I'm sitting here nice and comfortable.
12:07I can get to both sides of the beds as well.
12:10And even for those with wheelchairs, if you have a nice and level path beside your raised beds,
12:16then you'll be able to get access, but actually if you think about that constantly twisting and turning,
12:22that might cause a few other issues in itself.
12:25If you know someone that's good with their hands, then why don't you create a tabletop garden?
12:30And that means their knees can get underneath the bed and they can still get around and do a few things,
12:35even enjoying a bit of potting up that we all enjoy doing.
12:39And of course, look out for some special tools.
12:42If you've got grip issues, you can see how these tools are being modified so the handle's more on the top.
12:48And that allows me to get to both sides of the beds and keep on top of these being handy.
12:53And of course, you also get maybe the likes of hand shears or garden engine shears for the lawns.
13:00And they've got maybe longer handles like this wee hand fork.
13:06Well, despite this area having a lot of things in place already,
13:10I can actually feel there's a wee project developing just to ensure that we can create a garden for all abilities.
13:19To Glasgow now and a project on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal.
13:24A former lot keeper's house has taken on a new life as home to Gathering Ground,
13:29a community cafe and garden where locals can grow food, learn skills and share what they produce.
13:38Gathering Ground was an idea that I started five years ago.
13:43I had a connection with Scottish Canals and they were looking for a community project
13:49to be part of the renovation at the Old Basin House.
13:53We've been open for the last two years and prior to that,
13:57it was basically renovating the building and getting everything ready to be open.
14:08So August is our big season for nasturtiums and this is one of the flowers that we grow.
14:14Commonly, it would be grown to like companion plant along vegetables
14:18and instead of bugs eating the vegetables, they would eat the nasturtiums,
14:23which is one of the things that we do.
14:26But it can also be used in the kitchen.
14:29So nasturtiums are fully edible.
14:32The leaves, the flowers and also the seeds can be used.
14:37And we tend to use the leaves in our pesto.
14:41So just a similar way that you would make pesto with the leaves,
14:45we use sunflower seeds to allow it to be nut-free and garlic.
14:51And then you blend it all together and it makes a really great, tasty, vibrant green pesto.
14:58And that's why we let them kind of go wild this time of year.
15:04So I'm not sure if it's obvious or not, but my accent, I'm from the US,
15:07so I wanted to be more involved with the community,
15:10but also learn more about gardening in general.
15:13And I've been coming here, I think, since last year, September or October.
15:19Yeah, so it's been some months' time now and I try to come in every so often
15:24just to, you know, see the people again and get out here and learn when I can.
15:29So this is the spinach that we have in the beds right now.
15:31So right now we're just cutting some leaves off the ends just a few at a time
15:35and leaving the insides there to grow for more food later on.
15:40And yeah, so just putting this here for later so we can eat.
15:45At the moment we're growing a lot of leafy green vegetables.
15:52We try to grow things that we know are going to work quite well with the Scottish climate.
15:57So a lot of leafy greens and we also grow a lot of flowers that can be used for cut flowers as well,
16:03which we put in the cafe and we also let volunteers take those home as well if that's enough.
16:15This is one of our raised beds with our cut flowers.
16:19Having cut flowers is really important in a space like this,
16:23first and foremost because they're so pretty.
16:25But also because along with our cafe where we are growing our vegetables and fruits,
16:32we want to be able to have flowers on display and bring life again to a space
16:38that was once a little derelict and abandoned.
16:42And just looking at this with the colours and the life it brings really adds to the community
16:50and the atmosphere of a space like this.
16:53So, yeah, so we're going to create a little bouquet to take up to the cafe.
16:57I've been coming down here for the last six months,
17:00so I've really been able to see the change of seasons so far,
17:05which has been really amazing.
17:07And being able to really see the growth and build that I've done
17:12is really a special thing to have.
17:15To be able to do after work on a Wednesday is really rewarding
17:19and, yeah, it brings me a lot of joy.
17:22Haven is the perfect little word for it because it's instantly what I thought of it
17:27and that's how I feel about it now, you know.
17:29It feels like my little treat to go to,
17:31kind of tucked away from the hustle and bustle of everything else going on.
17:36Now, I am in a section of the garden which has this wonderful rose called goldfinch.
17:51It's rambling by name and rambling by nature and it is sprawling all over the place here.
17:57And now is the perfect time to be doing some tidying up and tying in.
18:02Now, the first thing when you're tying in your rambling roses is that all the flowers of next year
18:09are going to be produced on this year's lovely green growth that has been produced.
18:15And you can see that the stem is really flexible and malleable to tie in to those wonderful shapes
18:22that you can create with rambling roses.
18:24Now, with a rambling rose, you really need to be careful.
18:29You need to step back.
18:30You need to think about the overall shape that you want to create
18:34because you don't want to be cutting off all your flowering buds for next year.
18:40So, as you can see, this one over here, I'm thinking about taking out
18:47because it doesn't have that new flexible growth that we see here.
18:52It has flowered this year.
18:55There is also a problem down here where it is rubbing with another stem.
19:00So, I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to take this one out
19:04because I've got lots of lovely new growth that I can tie in and replace that with something else.
19:11So, I'm going to make a first cut here.
19:17And then I think I'm going to need to use the pruning saw
19:21because it has rubbed with that one there.
19:24I'm going to take it down.
19:26I'm going to leave...
19:28I need to leave this one because I'm going to tie that one in.
19:31I'm just going to make a cut.
19:38Just in there.
19:41Perfect.
19:43You can see already that is opening things up
19:46and you can clearly see what then needs to be tied in.
19:50What you do want is not to be tying any stems underneath any wires.
19:57They need to be pulled back underneath the wire, being careful of all that new growth.
20:07And you want to tie them in on top of that wire,
20:13making sure that you've got that really nice horizontal line.
20:17That means that you are going to get the best from your flowers.
20:22If you just let the rose grow vertically up a fence or a pergola,
20:29the flowering buds aren't going to be as prolific as if you tie it in horizontally.
20:34You're going to get more flowers.
20:36So just keep tying it in.
20:40Although, you know, you don't have to keep it to nice straight lines.
20:44Get creative.
20:45They're so pliable and flexible.
20:47You can create beautiful shapes and patterns with them.
20:51And that's really lovely because they only flower once.
20:55So once they've finished flowering, you still have that shape that you can enjoy all year round.
21:01But there's still lots to be tying in here.
21:14I'm back in the alpine garden.
21:15I was here a few weeks ago, just doing a wee bit of tidying up.
21:18I was freshening up some gravel where there was bare patches.
21:21And I was cutting back the foliage of the larger shrubs.
21:24It was casting a bit of shade over the alpines that really do need that full sun to grow in.
21:30Now, every time I'm in here, I'm always going on about how there's colour and there's interest more than just spring.
21:35And now that we're into autumn, there's no exception here either.
21:39We've got some cracking autumn bulbs.
21:41Here we've got an autumn crocus called Colchicum agrippinum.
21:45And I think the good thing about an alpine garden is, you know, we've created that mountain landscape.
21:50So we've not planted this on the ground where I've had to get down on my honkers to have a good look at the plant.
21:55It's planted halfway up the bank and I can just lean over and have a good look at it.
22:00And because I am getting a good look at that flower, I can see all the details on those petals.
22:05Beautiful lilac colour and the bees are loving it too.
22:08They're not the only autumn bulbs in display just now.
22:12The cyclamen are still going strong.
22:14And we can see the tall spikes in the narinis here.
22:17And you can see them just starting to bud up.
22:20And with those three plants, it's always the flowers first and then the foliage.
22:25Now the narini, that comes from South Africa.
22:28And another pull from South Africa is this little cracker here.
22:32This is Hesperantha cochineia.
22:34And I really do like that sort of scarlet red flower.
22:37It's going to go really well with the autumn hues around this area.
22:41Now this is actually known as the river lily.
22:44And I've got it planted right here next to the gravel area that I've used to create the sort of river effect.
22:51Now I like using gravels but I also like working with plants a lot more.
22:54So this is the time of year for planting out bulbs for our spring display.
22:58So we've got the glory of the snow and the grape hyacinth.
23:02Both naturalise well.
23:04So wherever I plant them, I'm hoping they're going to self-seed and start to spread around.
23:08There's a couple of ways we can do this.
23:10We can bung all the bulbs in the one pot, give them a wee mix,
23:13and then scatter them around the area and then plant them where they lie.
23:17But sometimes when you make little groupings, they make a more bolder display that stands out more.
23:23So that's what I'm going to do here with these bulbs.
23:26Now there's also another way of growing some alpine bulbs for a beautiful display in spring.
23:31And that's what I'd like to show you now.
23:42Alpine gardens are perfect for growing those bulbs that grow around 20 centimetres
23:46or eight inches tall.
23:48But those dwarf varieties are also great for making potted displays.
23:52Now I've got a wee mix here.
23:54I'm going to go equal parts of johniness and some leaf mould.
23:58Make sure you give it a good mix in.
24:01And then again, I'm going to go some equal parts with some grit.
24:09And then all this combined will make the perfect free-draining conditions that alpines love.
24:15And bulbs do as well.
24:17And you get wonderful, loads of wonderful iris reticulatas.
24:21This is a little dwarf narcissus that we've got here.
24:24This one's called Arctic Bells.
24:27Lovely little hooped petticoat bulbs that we've got here.
24:30I've got round about seven bulbs.
24:33I've got them evenly spaced.
24:34I could go even closer, but as long as you're going no wider than what the packet says.
24:38A wee layer of compost on the bottom and then top it up.
24:50And then just to finish your pot off, sprinkle some grit over the top.
24:57And that'll help protect the neck of the bulbs from rotting.
25:07Now, these bulbs, they don't need any warm conditions to grow, so a cold greenhouse will do perfectly well.
25:12But we don't all have the room or can afford a greenhouse, so never look past a cold frame.
25:17You can get lots of good things out of a cold frame.
25:20In the springtime, they're perfect for hardening off our vegetables or for growing on our young seedlings.
25:25But instead of them sitting there empty over the winter months, they're a perfect spot for keeping these bulbs.
25:31Now, lots of these bulbs, they come from the Mediterranean, the mountains and that area,
25:36so we're going to get the growing conditions, kind of replicate what they get there.
25:40So we're going to give them a good soak now, in September.
25:45And then we're going to leave it till round about October, where we'll give them another good soak.
25:51But in the meantime, they're going to stay in this cold frame, just under a wee bit of protection.
25:58I'm going to put this block under here, just to give them a wee bit of air.
26:02I'm going to check them every day, and as soon as I see the little shoots of green,
26:06that's when I'll start watering them normally.
26:08And then, once the colour comes, I can either leave them in the cold frame or dot them around the garden,
26:13but it's going to give us some wonderful colour from round February time onwards.
26:18Now, time for some handy hints.
26:30Now, if you are looking for beautiful spring blooms that you can use for cut flowers,
26:35one of my favourites is the ranunculus.
26:37It's part of the buttercup family, and you can start them off this autumn.
26:42Now, what you get in the post is a little corn that looks shriveled up like this.
26:47But what you want to do is you want to soak them for a good three to four hours,
26:51and they plump up nice and big like that.
26:55You can see the difference there.
26:57Then, when you are potting them up into your compost, into your little pots,
27:02make sure that you place them with their claws going down,
27:07and being soaked means that they should sprout really quickly.
27:12These arching stems of the angel's fishing rod, they may be starting to go over now,
27:17but this plant will still bring a touch of elegance to any garden.
27:21Now, plants with grassy foliage, we sometimes get the rake out,
27:24and we comb all this dead foliage out.
27:27But with these plants, we do run the risk of pulling out the corms.
27:31So, take your secateurs, spend a wee bit of time snipping out the foliage,
27:38just to tidy the plant up.
27:52Well, that's almost it from us for this week,
27:55but look at the aster and the potentilla still flowering away, Brian.
27:59I know. Fabulous colours, eh?
28:01Well, Kirsty's going to be joining me in the garden next week.
28:04She's already thinking about next year.
28:06She's going to be sowing some sweet peas for some early spring colour.
28:09And we are off to sunny Jopap for a wee tour of George's garden.
28:14A nice wee treat for myself and Kirsty.
28:16We're going to be visiting one of our old stomping grounds.
28:19It's the fabulous Botanic Garden in St Andrews.
28:22The whole of the series can be watched on BBC iPlayer,
28:25but from the pair of us, it's bye for now.
28:27Bye.
28:28Bye.
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