Gardeners' World (1968) Season 59 Episode 7

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🏘️ Gardeners' World (1968) - Season 59 Episode 7  The garden awakens in full color. In Episode 7 "Summer Prep & Border Revival", Monty Don and the expert team guide viewers through essential late-spring tasks: pruning climbers, dividing perennials, and preparing borders for peak summer display. From Longmeadow's evolving designs to viewer garden makeovers, discover practical tips, planting inspiration, and the joy of watching your outdoor space thrive. What will you grow this season?  🔹 Episode Highlights: • Longmeadow update: Monty shares seasonal planting plans and design evolution • Border revival techniques: dividing, deadheading & strategic color placement • Climber care: pruning wisteria, clematis & roses for maximum bloom • Viewer garden rescue: transforming a neglected plot into a low-maintenance haven • Signature Gardeners' World wisdom: expertise, accessibility & timeless horticultural joy  🔹 Series Info: • Format: Gardening Documentary / Lifestyle / Educational Serial • Original Network: BBC Two (UK) / BBC iPlayer / International Syndication • Series Launch: 1968 | Season: 59 | Episode: 7 | Title: "Summer Prep & Border Revival" • Setting: Longmeadow & Various UK Gardens | Language: English • Runtime: ~30 minutes (full) | Clip/Highlight version: ~8-12 min  🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to gardening podcasts & BBC lifestyle recaps on Spotify, Apple Podcasts.  👉 Enjoying the series? Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and comment: "Which tip will you try first? 👇" Turn on notifications 🔔 for Episode 8!  #ShowTVMovies #GardenersWorld #BBC #SummerPrep #S59E07 #GardeningTV #MontyDon #BingeWatch #BritishGardening #GrowYourOwn  ⚠️ Copyright Disclaimer: This video is shared for promotional, review, and informational purposes only. All rights to "Gardeners' World" belong to BBC Studios, Immediate Media, and associated producers. This upload complies with Fair Use guidelines (Section 107, U.S. Copyright Act). No copyright infringement intended.

Transcript

00:00BIRDS CHIRP

00:01BIRDS CHIRP

00:13Come on.

00:39Hello. Welcome to Gardener's World.

00:42This is a white climbing rose, which is suitable here for the writing garden because everything in here is either

00:50white or green.

00:52I'm pretty sure it's climbing iceberg. I'm not certain because I've lost the label.

00:56And it was a few years ago I planted it. But for the moment, whatever its name is, it needs

01:02tying up.

01:03Now, of course, climbing iceberg is a banker. It's guaranteed to flower for months on end.

01:10This can be flowering at Christmas sometimes.

01:13And it's worth pointing out that when you're tying any vegetative growth up at this time of year, particularly this

01:18time of year, use soft twine.

01:20Never use anything with wire in it or even a hard edged plastic because the new growth is soft.

01:26It will move slightly. And if you have anything other than very soft twine, it can cut into it and

01:32damage it.

01:33Right. I'm going to try and gather all that in there and pull it back because otherwise it can flop

01:39a lot.

01:40And whilst a bit of floppage is good, too much is not.

01:45We've just got to be out.

01:57We've got to start out.

01:59Let's go, it's going to start out.

02:19now you can't stay here because i've got to plant stuff all right unless you want to lie down here

02:25go on okay we're not planting nets we're planting summer bulbs we do tend to think of bulbs

02:36belonging to spring and of course they do in huge variety and glory from the first snow drop

02:42to the last carmacea which here at long meadow can take us into june but there are another group of

02:49bulbs or bulb related plants that perform beautifully from mid to late summer into autumn

02:56and of course they're familiar there are gladioli dahlias crocosmia lilies and now is the time to

03:04plant them if you haven't done so already some do really well in pots and none better than lilies so

03:10i want to plant some lilies today in pots and the compost is really important because lilies need

03:16good drainage but they also need another element because they are essentially woodland plants

03:22and what they like is a sort of loose soil it's not just sharp drainage like tulips but a loose

03:28almost fluffy soil and the best way to create that is by using leaf mold if you've got it

03:33this is a very gritty potting mix and that's part peat-free bought-in potting compost partly sieved garden

03:44compost and you can see the grit in it there's quite a lot of it now that would do that

03:48would be fine

03:49but if you've got leaf mold then add that and i'm going to add all that to it like that

03:56mix it up

04:00like that in the bottom of the pot you will need crocs so we just block that up

04:11okay and a half fillet

04:17okay that's good

04:20now the bulbs themselves this is a variety called claude fried which i've got in the paradise garden

04:27and it's tall it's sort of turt's cap variety with wonderful sort of raspberry burgundy colors

04:34you know these are different from most bulbs because the scales have no outer layer

04:43so that they're they're scaly like an armadillo so i'll pop that in i'm going to put four in this

04:50pot

04:51which is plenty three would be fine but i think i can get away with four there we go

05:01and then use my mix to go over the top of that

05:13i'll just put the last little bit in there we go there is room to water and this will settle

05:23a little

05:23bit now i will put this out of the way somewhere outside doesn't need to be protected at all

05:28and then put in position in june and we can really enjoy it once we hit mid and late summer

05:36now of course it's important to label it

05:41that is destined for the paradise garden but not for a bit

05:46now jamie has been to visit beth chatos garden near colchester if you haven't been i recommend

05:52anyone to go it's one of our great gardens but actually he went for a very specific purpose which

05:58is to celebrate a plant which by and large he feels is underappreciated

06:12what else gives you color like this that incredible acid green it simply glows and yet the funny thing

06:24is this plant is so often completely overlooked

06:32there are over 1500 species of euphorbia making them one of the largest and most varied flowering

06:40plants in the world ranging from small ground covering perennials to large drought tolerant shrubs

06:47and even succulents that could easily be mistaken for cacti

06:55this is euphorbia wolfenniae it's one of the most architectural euphorbias and on a day like today

07:03where it's backlit it is literally a beacon it is glowing it's a really drought tolerant plant it needs

07:12next to no watering even in the driest of summers so it adores this gravel garden setting and a little

07:19bit of plant geekery what looks like these columns and towers of architectural flowers are actually

07:26bracts they're not flowers at all the flowers are hidden inside the bracts and they're teeny tiny

07:33but the plant itself is phenomenal and one of my absolute favorites a must-have for any drought tolerant

08:01garden

08:03this is a beast for euphorbia this is euphorbia cross

08:09pastoreae that means it's taking the very best bits of two different euphorbias euphorbia mellifera

08:15and euphorbia stygiana and in the next few weeks these flowers will start to emerge on mass

08:21now they're beautiful to look at but quite unusually for euphorbia they have an additional quality

08:27they smell incredible they smell of honey which also gives it its common name

08:33honey spudge i love to use this one to create drama especially towards the back of a border

08:41and it'll hold the rest of the planting in place

08:54just spotted in this shady little nook something that's not quite out yet it's euphorbia

09:02griffii fire glow and it will do exactly what you think it will do with a nail like fire glow

09:09it's gonna illuminate this dark corner with the most vibrant orangey red flowers

09:17it thrives in moist well-drained soil where fertile conditions bring out those rich tones

09:23i think even just the new foliage of the epimediums against the stems of the euphorbia is a beautiful

09:32thing and i so wish i could come back in about a week's time and see this just erupt into

09:39this fiery

09:40glow because you just know it's going to be really special

09:46from full sun to shade dry soil to damp they're far more adaptable than you might think and they're

09:55surprisingly easy to propagate which means you can multiply their impact across your garden

10:01emily ellad is the resident propagation expert here

10:05so one of the plants i'm obsessed with in the gardens today especially is the euphorbia wolf

10:12any eye it's just glowing when's the best time to collect the seeds so it's probably going to be

10:18about may june time because at the moment you've got the lush mop heads and soon they will start to

10:24create the seed um and then just before it's starting to dry out a bit we collect those mop heads

10:29hang them upside down no put them in a in a box a little bit newspaper on top because they

10:34will pig

10:34everywhere like popcorn and then all your seed will be at the bottom of the box you can collect that

10:38all up

10:39and you can store some or you can sow some fresh it always amazes me that in each one of

10:46these seeds is

10:46the genetic information to grow that plant everyone it's real life magic so we've got the six mil gravel

10:55and then we're just going to sprinkle that on top this is like the big duvet that sits on top

11:00of the

11:00seed so it's like going in a cold frame basically yeah how long would you normally expect them to take

11:06to

11:07start to germinate yeah so i actually got some that were so in january time i hope it's like

11:12i'm just going to grab one because i think these are amazing from that those teeny tiny little seeds

11:17we're going to get one of those beautiful euphorbia wolf anyway

11:31whether they're lighting up gravel gardens or thriving in dappled woodland these are plants

11:37which are great for wildlife rob byford is responsible for the biological control in the

11:44gardens working closely with nature to keep things in balance it's such a broad genus there's so many

11:52species to it they allow us to extend this flowering period from february almost to the first frost

11:59so the chance for the insects to get food and we need that now more than ever how a house

12:06of of the

12:06garden really they really are and a lot of it comes down to this here which is their flower structure

12:12so it's a special inflorescence ceafeum and we can see in here the nectar glands now they secrete the

12:21nectar and we've got the anthers here the pollen so for nectar feeders and for pollen feeders euphorbia

12:27has it all some of us we do get aphids in our garden but these will attract lace wings and

12:33parasitic

12:34wasps which are great defenders almost like our own little air force against those less beneficial

12:39insects it's self-regulating and just by adding it to your garden you're adding in defense to your

12:45garden as well against these less favorable critters it's such a beautiful plant so uplifting and smile

12:54inducing but it's also giving benefit to our it is they are like little beacons really flashing

12:59amongst it all to humans and insects to humans and insects alike absolutely

13:14the more you look the more you realize what the truly special plant euphorbias are they're tough

13:21they're resilient they're beautiful and they're full of life so i think it's about time we stop

13:29treating them as background plants and hiding them in amongst our borders and instead celebrate them

13:35and put them center stage

13:55this is the euphorbia caracchia swolfenii

14:01it loves the dry garden it loves the poor soil and the good drainage and will seed itself in cracks

14:08in paving and up against the corner of a wall and paving but it really won't do anything else in

14:15the

14:15rest of the garden which is not suitable for it at all i've tried growing from the jewel garden and

14:18it

14:18just flops and is very sad and doesn't last however here in the dry garden not only does it look

14:24good in

14:25itself but it's a really good foil for the tulips and the sweet rocket and also you know as a

14:31plant

14:31it's one of the most statuesque architectural plants you could have

14:47but i've got here some euphorbias that thrive in shade

15:03this is the woodland garden which is the latest change and it's it's work in progress for the

15:11moment this year i'm concentrating on the area that we cleared last autumn and have started to plant this

15:17spring and it's coming through things are coming along and the euphorbias i've got here which goes

15:24by the tongue twisting name of euphorbia amygdaloides verrobii is perfectly suited to this kind of woodland

15:34environment because it thrives it positively thrives in dry shade and there are very few plants that do that

15:40now the shade comes particularly from these cherries this is a wild cherry a gin lovely blossom at the

15:47moment uh but the roots suck up all the moisture and the leaves cut out most of the light so

15:54this

15:54whole area here is going to be dry shade

16:00you can see that it has these wonderful bracts which are like a collar like almost like a satellite dish

16:08reflecting light with tiny flowers inside and in shade deep shade they'll grow taller so that they're

16:17more visible they'll rise up above the foliage and give a really good display for weeks on end and then

16:23even when they die back the foliage will spread it spreads quite easily makes a really good ground cover

16:28plant as well as having this glorious display in spring and early summer now i'll start placing these

16:36these i'm putting them in groups they're not plants to place singly like here go down there and then

16:45over here i put these in a group of three because i want them actually to grow together and spread

16:52and

17:03that should do now it's worth saying at this point when you're handling euphorbias

17:11of any kind do be careful because if they break or crush in any way they exude a very milky

17:18thick sap

17:20and that can easily cause burns i hate gardening in gloves and never do it unless it's very thorny

17:27but if you are happy to wear gloves then i definitely would wear them for euphorbias

17:31and if like me you don't wear gloves and you get a little bit on your hands stop and go

17:37and wash it off

17:53you get a little bit on your hands stop and wash it off and wash it off and wash it

17:55off and wash it off

17:55now rosemary alexander started the english garden school and the whole generation of garden designers

18:03learnt their craft there and we had the opportunity to visit rosemary's private garden at home

18:18one of the first things i do when i'm redesigning a garden i try to make a garden that the

18:24owners

18:24will actually enjoy and you know you can actually maintain it it's got to be something that works for

18:31you whether it's a large or small garden and when i came to this garden i wanted somewhere where i

18:36could

18:37grow all the plants i loved this is my garden at sandhill farmhouse in west sussex where i've been for

18:45the last 20 years or more the whole garden is about half an acre on on the front and half

18:55an acre at the back

19:00so this is the main path in the whole garden and it leads from the entrance right down to the

19:05far end

19:06and from here you can see the house to the left and the terrace and then the woodland garden down

19:13to

19:13the right i put the box balls to give this path structure and form so the repetition works well

19:20the box balls pull you through and you can walk past those until you get to the blue seat at

19:25the end

19:29instead of having the seat facing directly down to the entrance gate i decided to put it at an angle

19:36so that i can sit and enjoy all the woodland plants in the lower level woodland garden

19:46i trained as a landscape architect and then i began to notice all sorts of things i decided i

19:51really wanted to become a garden designer i started changing gardens and changed my own garden quite a

19:58bit i realized that unless you went to wisley or queue you couldn't really learn about plants

20:03so i thought i would set up my own school and teach people about plants

20:08i set up the school in 1983. i just wanted to teach how to redesign a space

20:18we're now in the woodland garden my overall aim was to have several different areas which would have

20:23different types of plants the contrast between dark green leaves and light green leaves and shiny

20:30leaves and matte leaves and also the stems of the plants because if you look here there's quite a

20:35a lot of stem and then big groupings of things to make it look more natural

20:42i try to use plants to separate the the gravel from the soil because i don't like using timber or

20:48metal edges and so i use this ophiopogen here and then in other areas i use london pride saxifrauga

20:56ombrosa when people walk into the garden i want them to feel oh my goodness this is going to be

21:02a wonderful

21:11garden

21:11i think focal points and vistas are very important always thinking about the long-term view

21:19after i built the summer house i thought i wanted it to look out at something so first of all

21:25it looked

21:25straight out at the critagus laciniata at the very far end there which is a lovely deciduous tree and

21:32then four of the box balls were already here so i decided i would continue them leading down to look

21:39at the view i like focal points in the garden because it gives you a reason for sitting in a

21:44particular place and so all gardens should have focal points often i look at the background color you know

21:51for instance in the garden here you've got a brick wall so i'm looking at the brick wall and thinking

21:57what colors would go well in front of that the new hedge was here so we clipped it and it

22:03seemed a

22:03perfect backdrop for the blue chair because blue is actually a very good color of paint because there's

22:08quite a lot of green um in in blue you know my granddaughter's been coming here for years and she

22:19spends a lot of time down here with me we loved what she did and we knew that she was

22:23so talented and

22:24so amazing at what she'd created with the school i always thought oh that would be an amazing industry to

22:32be in granny invited me to come and study on the course and that's when i just fell in love

22:38with

22:38designing gardens and it was kind of opening up of a whole new world i'm definitely still always

22:47learning from granny she's always pointing things out in the garden but also i'm at a point now in

22:52my career where i can start to show her the work that i've created and we can discuss it together

22:57and

22:57that's a really nice thing to be able to do it's amazing having somebody in my own family that

23:04we've got a lot in common with and we spend quite a lot of time discussing things and what plants

23:09to

23:09use and so on no i'm i'm very lucky with her if you're going to design a garden for the

23:20first time

23:20you first of all need to decide what soil type you've got that's really necessary whether it's acid or

23:26alkaline or neutral so that will depend on what you grow and then another thing is not to be over

23:32ambitious not to worry about having one of this and one of that and one of the next thing but

23:37to keep repeating certain plants that will do well in the garden

23:44i am immensely proud of granny i think that she's informed a generation of gardeners horticulturalists

23:53so often people come to me and they have no idea where to begin what i like is building up

23:58their

23:58confidence and seeing them you know develop in their own right it still is exciting

24:51it's always good

24:52to see a new generation coming in and learning from us oldies. I have to say my grandchildren

24:57are beginning to get interested in the garden, so whether they go on and become gardeners or

25:03garden designers, we'll see. But it'd be nice. This is very practical. I'm sowing peas. What I do

25:11is I make a very shallow sort of trench. You can barely call it a trench. It's more a groove

25:16in the

25:16ground. These are purple potted peas. So the peas themselves are green, but the pods are purple,

25:25really decorative, and when you cook them, if you cook them in the pod, the pod then turns green.

25:35Now I'm placing these about two or three inches apart. They don't need to be any wider than that.

25:46Personally, I think a double row works best. Okay.

25:52And just rake over them. Very simple. And just go along like this, and then

26:01gently, gently, gently, gently, like that, without disturbing the peas underneath.

26:08When those peas germinate, little green shoots should appear, marking the spot of each pea,

26:13depending on the weather, in about two or three weeks' time. But they will need support. Peas are

26:20scramblers. So the support needs to be able to take the tendrils whatever way they go. It does have to

26:27be

26:28something that is twiggy. So keep prunings. Dogwood will do it. Anything, really. Anything that's

26:35woody. And just stick them in at a slight angle. But you want them to be branching right from ground

26:47level. Quite close together so they overlap. Like that. There we go.

27:09What you're looking to achieve is a tangle. And this is a perfect tangle. And somehow doing this,

27:18just like putting up bean sticks, feels to me like part of the development of a vegetable plot that is

27:25really part of summer. If I see the pea sticks going in, then we've moved on. We've moved out of

27:31winter

27:31forever. And we're on into the middle of spring, and very quickly that will be followed by summer.

27:48Come on, Ned. The rhubarb season is in full flow. It's a fairly long season. It starts in February,

27:56particularly if you couldn't force it. This is Timpley Early, and that's a variety called Victoria,

28:00which is later. That's main season, if you like. Early is February, and then that will run through

28:06till June. Late doesn't really kick in until the beginning of May. But May and June is fantastic.

28:14And all rhubarb should be left unpicked after the end of June. Leave it alone, because otherwise

28:20you'll weaken the roots, and you won't get nearly such a good harvest next year, and gradually it will

28:26diminish. The reason why you force it is because the stems are sweeter. Now if I take the lid off,

28:33you can see that there's a lot less foliage. And if I pull it up, like that, you can see

28:39that

28:40it looks rather anaemic. But of course, if you do this in February or early March, it's a treat.

28:47Now, whenever you're harvesting rhubarb, there is one really important thing to remember.

28:52Never cut it. You pull rhubarb. And if you cut it, you can get infection and rot in the stem.

29:01If you

29:01pull it, it comes away with a little piece of the base where it's attached to the root, and that

29:07heals

29:07very quickly. You need a little bit of this heel on the bottom of the stem. But you can see

29:13that's

29:13got a bit twisted. But it's paler than most rhubarb, and that will be sweeter. So I'll pop that in

29:17there.

29:24Now, obviously, these stems are unforced, so you can see they've got very green leaves.

29:28And the leaves are poisonous. You don't eat them. But it is absolutely delicious. And I love

29:35rhubarb crumble, rhubarb pie. Just stewed rhubarb with yoghurt for breakfast is a really good way

29:42to start the day. And of course, the leaves are brilliant on the compost heap. Once they're

29:45composted, then they'll do no harm whatsoever. Now, earlier this month, we went down to South Wales

29:51to join Sue Kent in her garden.

30:01After a very wet winter here in Swansea, springtime in my garden is the time of year

30:07that brings me such joy and hope.

30:19Look at this. This is the first fruit tree blossom of the year in its dams and plum.

30:24It hasn't got much of a scent, but it really lifts the spirits.

30:32Over here, I planted walnuts. Nothing seems to be happening yet, but come with me.

30:47This was a walnut that I put in a bag in the fridge to try and get it to germinate.

30:53Nothing happened for months, and I was about to put it in the compost bin yesterday,

30:58and I noticed a shoot, and I'm so pleased and so excited. But I should know better.

31:05I've been gardening for many years, and I shouldn't give up on plants until June

31:09to give them a chance to see if they'll shoot. For this one, this lovely little shoot

31:14is going to go in a pot and grow.

31:21I'm going to use a peat-free compost. It likes a nice, light soil,

31:27and the way I do this is use a local product, which is crushed cockle shells.

31:32So I'm going to sprinkle them in, and they will be very slow-release calcium,

31:38as well as a sort of soil aerator.

31:41It'll slightly alkaline the soil, and walnuts prefer that anyway. I'm going to mix it in.

31:49So I've got my croc in, then put a base layer in the bottom of the pot.

31:56I'm going to very gently take my baby out. So exciting. Look at that little shoot that's cracked

32:04open. And I'm going to pop that with the shoot going downwards, because that's the root.

32:10And then I'm going to cover it with a two-inch layer of compost.

32:15So this walnut is from a tree that my father gave to me, from a tree that his father gave

32:21to him,

32:22and I am giving it to my son to grow in his garden. So it really is a family tree.

32:29And it's rather

32:30lovely to think it'll carry on through the generations. I'm going to top it off with some

32:37pistachio shells. So I eat a lot of pistachio nuts, and I love the smell. Oh gosh. They will slowly

32:44break

32:44down and add nutrients and deter slugs. And it makes a little mini mulch for a smaller pot to keep

32:51in

32:52the moisture and stop the weeds coming. Needs a bit of a water.

33:04And there we go.

33:13I'm so pleased with this. It's absolutely stunning. And it's lighting up the garden when not much else

33:21is here. It's Spiraea bridal wreath. And you can see here some beautiful small white flowers already

33:29open but lots, lots more to come. And it's almost got red branches on it. It looks good in summer

33:36and although it's deciduous, the branches look great in winter. I am a bit of a fan of Spiraea.

33:43And here I've got them free flowing. But around the garden, I've used them more structurally and have

33:47clipped them quite tightly. But this one is the star of the show at the moment.

33:52It's a great time for me to plant anything tender. Being coastal, the sea air is warmer, keeping the

33:59frosts away. The key is to know your own climate and use protection like fleece if needed.

34:05This is going to be a case of third time lucky. I've tried three times to grow this and twice

34:12the plant's

34:13been got by frost. And this year I've kept it in the greenhouse and it's survived. It's Echium

34:19Piniana and it derives from the Canary Islands. And I think it's going to be absolutely extraordinary.

34:40This is going to grow huge, up to four metres. And it's going to be covered in blue flowers,

34:48which are really attractive to bees. And the flowers are going to produce lots of little

34:53seedlings and hopefully they're going to populate all the way along here. I might have to dig some

34:59up and shelter them into the greenhouse for winter to ensure their survival. But I will leave some.

35:04It's supposed to be a biennial. That means you plant the seed one year, you get the flower the next

35:09year. But in this case, this is three years old. So for me, it's a triennial. And the reason I

35:15put it

35:15here is because it likes a very sunny spot. And this is the sunniest spot in my garden. It likes

35:20free

35:21draining soil. And also it hides the ugly fence. And I can see it when I'm lying in my bath

35:27from my

35:28bathroom. And now, all I've got to do is water.

35:53A lot of my edible crops are winter hardy. They cope with low light and start to regrow as the

36:00days

36:00lengthen and warm.

36:06I like to pick a salad every night. And I've already started here. I've got parsley, mint,

36:12lamb's lettuce, a bit of normal lettuce and beetroot leaves. And I want some more. And it's amazing.

36:18This looks a bit of a mess, but it's full of food. And here I've got landcress, which is a

36:24bit like

36:24watercress. But it roots itself in soil, you can see. And I'll cut a bit. And it's got a quite

36:30a

36:30peppery flavour. But it'll regrow before you know it.

36:37This is twisted leaf garlic. And the leaves have a very subtle, not overpowering flavour of garlic. So

36:44nice to add. Twisted garlic is a perennial. That means it will keep coming back year after year. And

36:51that goes for sorrel too. This is a stalwart of the salad. This is French sorrel. And it just keeps

36:59giving. When they're smaller, they're great for salads. When they're bigger, they're great for adding

37:03to curries. And when you see this appearing, you want to get rid of it because you don't want the

37:08plant to

37:09get the seed. So you remove that. They're also great in green smoothies. The nasturtiums don't

37:17usually grow over winter. It's classed as an annual. So the fact that it has survived in the greenhouse

37:24is a stroke of luck. I'm going to finish the bowl with primrose flowers, which are rather beautiful

37:34and delicate. And you can eat the flowers, but not the leaves. And of course, if you've got any

37:39health conditions, it's best to check. So I've got vibrant green zesty flavours. I've got lemon flavours.

37:47I've got peppery flavours. And nothing gives me more pleasure than eating from my garden.

38:13I love the fact that Sue is growing her walnut to make a tree to produce walnuts to give to

38:18her

38:18son. And that the walnut came from her father's tree, which came from a walnut from his father.

38:23That intergenerational handing on is something that taps into a longevity that we don't normally think of

38:30on our garden. We want everything now. Right. These, as you can see, are lemons. I'm just taking the fruit

38:37off for two reasons. One, because if you leave mature fruit on the tree, that will inhibit the development

38:46of flowers and other fruits, even though they look lovely. And two, because these are particularly heavy

38:53and are weighing down. So for example, this is fine. It looks nice. And it's not weighing the branch down.

38:58But where they are, like there, I'm just going to take that off. And that will spring back up.

39:06This is not pruning. Pruning citrus is something you do when the worst of the weather is over. So I

39:13would

39:13leave that till May. But it's good to get them outside as soon as you can, because citrus don't like

39:19being indoors, particularly not in the centrally heated house. So that's fine there. I've got a

39:24lovely basket of fruit. I mean, you have to say, look at that. You know, there is something magical

39:31about having your own lemons or your own oranges from your garden. But now is a really good time

39:38to repot any citrus that you have to give it a fresh start to grow. And this one, for example,

39:46has been in this pot for quite a long time. I haven't got a new pot for it. So what

39:51I'm going to do

39:51is take it out of this pot, clean up the roots, get rid of the old compost, refresh the compost,

39:57and put it back into the same pot. So the first thing I'm going to do is just take it

40:01out the pot.

40:02There we go. I'm going to put that onto there. You need plenty of crocs. The same crocs can go

40:10in the bottom.

40:15I'm just going to clean off some of the spent compost on here. Now, this has been in this pot

40:21for

40:22probably a couple of years. If you're keeping it in the same pot, you need to do this at least

40:26every

40:26other year. If you're potting onto a bigger pot, then you probably need to do that about every three

40:32years. But either way, just using your fingers, take any compost off that you can.

40:42Don't worry if you break the roots a little bit because they will regrow.

40:47I'm getting my thumb in there and I'm just working free excess compost.

40:56Now, the compost mix. That is a bucket of sieved garden compost.

41:03Horticultural grit. And actually, I've got here a mix of potting compost with a lot of grit,

41:14leaf mold and sieved garden compost in it. But I'm going to add a bit more garden compost. Not a

41:20lot,

41:20just a little bit in there. And quite a lot of grit. In fact, I'm going to add all this

41:26grit to this mix.

41:32And then mix it up.

41:38Right, so we'll put some in the bottom of the pot like that.

41:47OK, that's good. Now, holding it nice and upright, fill in around.

41:56And what I'm going to do is just shake it gently.

42:01Shake it in there and then a little bit more on top of that.

42:07I'm going to add the compost, leaving enough space on the surface for it to take water.

42:14I will then water that in and that will drive the compost into those nooks and crannies of the roots.

42:20And once they come outside and start to show signs of growth,

42:23citrus should be watered and fed once a week. I feed them on a quite dilute seaweed mix,

42:30and so that we combine the watering and the feed at the same time.

42:34Now, it seems amazing to me, but RHS Chelsea Flower Show is just a few weeks away. It's racing up

42:41on us.

42:42And we went down to Cornwall to visit Andrew Mills as he prepared his exhibition for Chelsea,

42:49which incidentally is based upon a long and well-founded Cornish tradition.

43:02For the last 20 years, I've been manager of Burankoos Nurseries, and they're a big nursery with rare,

43:06unusual plants. They sell magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias predominantly. And so I've done many,

43:10many Chelsea's before. But this will be the first time that actually my plants will be on display at

43:16Chelsea for the whole world to see. When I started out in horticulture, as did many other farmers

43:23locally, grew anemone decaying on St. Piran, the local strain.

43:28Anemones originate from the eastern Mediterranean, so they like it warm. Cornwall seldom gets a frost,

43:33so that's why people grew anemones. We had all these market gardeners and farmers growing small

43:40amounts of anemones. And the farmer's wife would pick them during the day, and they would bunch them

43:44up in the evenings. And then there would be a regular deposit to train stations where the boxes of

43:50these anemones would be taken to Covent Garden. So that was a very important industry for Cornwall many,

43:55many years ago. But that all petered out probably at late 80s, early 90s. And this is just a nod

44:01back to that.

44:03So what I've got here is I've got five different types of anemone ground. I've got the Jerusalem

44:07type. What's common to the Jerusalem type is there'll be lots of reds. Well, these are suited for cut

44:13flowers because the breeding of them over the years have increased the stem length, they've increased the

44:18flower size, they've also increased disease resistance by the thickness of the leaves. Hardy outside,

44:24not just only grown in a glass house. Bred from that variety called Marron, and that's classified as

44:31a flower machine. What we have with the Marron is a very tall flower and quite a slender stem.

44:40Now we're here in amongst the Mistral varieties of the Italian Ranunculus. These are my favourites,

44:45and they will give you a constant supply of anemones over a long period of time. So what you won't

44:51have

44:52is a flush and then gone. And they are very consistent in their quality, and they are very

44:57consistent in their stem length, and the colours are quite exceptional. My overall favourite would be

45:04Anemone Coronario Mistral Panda, and this is just coming into blue. So look at this, you can see why

45:10it's called Panda. They've gone further with the Mistral variety to create the Mistral Plus, which means

45:17there's even bigger flower heads, even thicker stems, and the plant is a little bit more compact. They

45:23would be perfect to grow in your garden. The other variety I have is the Levante Double. Slightly shorter

45:30stem, which is common, but also a very, very, delicate flower when you get up close.

45:37These anemones are historically planted in July in Cornwall, both inside and outside. That will establish

45:43the plant before it flowers, and the flowers will start flowering in October, November, and December.

45:49There'll be a short pause in December and January when the light levels drop and the weather gets poor,

45:54only for them to restart again towards the end of January, February, and go through into March,

45:58when other flowers come onto the market and the anemones have had their day.

46:03They will come back in next year in a bigger corn, but they won't be as good as the first

46:08year,

46:08because the best anemone flower will come from the smallest size corn.

46:16I usually pick two or three times a week. I get to about 50 or 60 bunches. Any more,

46:20and I just won't be able to cope with it.

46:23To pick an anemone, you need to pick them when the flower is still tight and not open.

46:27So you could pick this, bunch it up, and in two or three days that will be open,

46:32and it will stay open for another two or three days, maybe four or five in a cool kitchen window.

46:37When picking anemones, it's very important to get the stem length as long as possible,

46:41and try to cut it off as close as you can to the corm to stop any rot being left

46:47on the remaining stem

46:48that you've picked from. And like every cut flower, cut it off diagonally,

46:52so that you have a bigger surface area of the stem bottom to take up as much water as possible.

47:01So when it comes to Chelsea, I'm trying to just slowly keep these going along,

47:06until probably two weeks before the show, where then I can sort of accelerate their blooming,

47:11by just adding some basic tomato feed. So the weather's going to be dull for the next couple

47:17of weeks, and that will really help me slow these down a little bit and not bring them on too

47:21fast.

47:22What I intend to display at Chelsea is anemones in this stage of opening. So hopefully,

47:28on the flower stand at Chelsea, you'll see just a riot of colour,

47:31and as long as I'm pleased with how it looks, the medal is a bonus.

47:35Nervous at all or not? No, I don't do nerves. Apart from the day.

47:44They're grown locally, they're done come locally, they're distributed locally,

47:48they're bought locally in a two-mile radius. It's quite remarkable to see something which is

47:54smaller than a piece of gravel to produce something which is quite comprehensive and can

47:59produce multiple flowers. Anybody can do it. It's a garden plant as well as a cut flower.

48:25I thought it was absolutely fascinating that Andrew said the smallest corn produce the biggest flower. Now,

48:33that is really counter-intuitive. And also, I'm only just beginning to really learn about the

48:38ranunculus family with anemones of all kinds. We're very used to Japanese anemones and maybe sort of

48:45woodland anemones, but of course, you realise there are so many more. And I'm very much looking forward

48:50to seeing how he fares at Chelsea. See them at their very best. Talking about their very best,

48:55I do think the orchard is looking really good at the moment. And I don't take much credit for that,

49:01because what we started to do a few years ago was take all last year's tulips all grown in pots,

49:08and we let them die back, and they dried out, and then take the bulbs and planted them in the

49:14orchard

49:14and in the cricket pitch at random. And some come up, some flower well, some don't flower,

49:21and it's pure luck. Well, A, I think it looks great, and B, it makes me very happy.

49:51These are Gardener's Delight tomatoes destined to be planted outside in the vegetable garden. I've

49:58got other tomatoes I'll grow in the greenhouse, but these will do perfectly well outside, but I need

50:03to get the timing right. Here at Longmeadow, it's really not feasible to plant tomatoes out much before

50:10June, and sometimes not till the middle of June. So I've got at least six weeks, and maybe a couple

50:16of

50:16months to go. And the pots that they're in are not going to be big enough to provide the nourishment

50:22or the moisture they need, because before they plant out, the plants could be three times as big,

50:27so they need potting on. Now, if I take this out of the pot, and I'm just going to put

50:33that in there,

50:34you will see there's more root than compost. This is exactly the right moment to pot it on. Now,

50:44having established that you do need to pot it on, then the question is, what size pot?

50:51If I was to plant this in a pot, not out in the garden, and there's no reason why you

50:56can't grow

50:56tomatoes in a pot, that's roughly the sort of size that would do. It doesn't want to be much smaller

51:01than that, but it doesn't need to be much bigger. And you might think, well, the logic is, is pot

51:05it

51:05onto that, and that's job done. The whole thing's finished. But it's not a good idea for two reasons.

51:11One, it means that you've got to store much bigger pots under cover, and that's going to use up a

51:17lot

51:17more space for another month at least. And two, it won't be good for the plant, because the plant's

51:24roots grow outwards like the spokes of a wheel, so that most of the compost in the pot is acting

51:32as a

51:32sponge to hold moisture. So it's going to be too wet. That's about right. You can see the difference.

51:37It's distinctly bigger, but not a lot bigger. And if you place it on the side, you know,

51:43it's probably got quarter an inch all around it. As a rule of thumb, it definitely doesn't want more

51:49than an inch space around the edge of the old pot. Now, here's a trick, and it always works. Take

51:57your

51:57new pot, put compost, and by the way, you need a really good compost, so peat-free, add some goodness

52:05to

52:05it if you can. A bit of grit, and if you've got sieve garden compost, the plant will do better.

52:11Put soil in the bottom, like that. Place the plant in, maybe take a little bit more soil out,

52:20make enough room. Place that in its pot, don't take it out the pot, and then, and I'm going to

52:26do this

52:27on the table to show you. It'll be messy. Fill in around it.

52:33This might seem a bit bonkers, but just bear with me. It works.

52:41And we will push that down there. And having done that, gently lift out the inner pot,

52:50and what you're left with is a space that is exactly the size of the old pot.

52:58Now you remove it and just pop it in. That's it. That's all you have to do. And the beauty

53:06of this

53:06system is that the plant barely knows it's been potted on. There's no stress whatsoever on the roots.

53:15Don't try and force the soil around it. Just water it, and then that will give it enough goodness and

53:21enough moisture to see it through at least another month, by which time the plant will be that big,

53:26and we can consider either planting it out or potting it on to its final home.

53:33Right. Well, that's certainly one job you can do this weekend. But here are some more.

53:52So, as the spring bulbs end their flowering season, they need to be left so that the foliage

53:58can slowly die back. But if they are in a handsome pot, that means the pot can't be used for

54:05months

54:05on end. So, I lift them out of the good pot, put them into an upcycled plastic pot where they

54:12can be

54:13set to one side, and it frees up a really nice container for summer display.

54:26Courgettes are the hardiest of the cucurbit family, and you can start to sow them now.

54:31There are lots of varieties to choose from, but whichever ones they are, you grow them in the same

54:36way. Either place individual seeds in generous-sized plugs, or a couple of seeds to a pot. Cover them

54:44over, and then place them in water for about 15 to 20 minutes so that they soak up moisture. They

54:51must

54:51go somewhere warm in which to germinate, and they should appear in between 10 and 20 days.

55:05Next year's daffodils will be formed in the bulbs, but if you allow the seed heads to develop,

55:11that will weaken the flowering next year. So, snap off spent flowering heads just below the seed heads,

55:18leaving the stem, and let the leaves die back naturally to feed into the bulb for next year.

55:41I've got one more job to do here in the Jewel Garden. The Jewel Garden, by the way,

55:45is the last bit of long weather to get going. Yes, we have the tulips and the wool flowers and

55:49pots,

55:50but actually in the borders, there's very little happening yet, because it's dominated by the foliage

55:56of an allium, allium purple sensation, which will flower in a couple of weeks' time. But there is one job

56:00I can do, which means getting into the borders, and if I do it now, it's going to make a

56:05dramatic difference

56:06later in the year. Right in the middle of the border here is this tree. This is a Paulownia,

56:20sometimes known as the Fox Club tree, and it does have wonderful flowers, sort of lavender-coloured

56:27mow flowers, which will grow on really quite a large tree. This will grow, if I left it,

56:3350 foot tall, a really big proper tree. But I didn't plant it to become a big tree, I planted

56:40it

56:40in order that I could really relish its foliage. And Paulownia is one of the trees that if you

56:48coppice it, i.e. prune it back really hard, it will sprout new growth, which in turn will carry extra

56:55big foliage. And they look really exotic and dramatic, and they're brilliant for setting off flowers around

57:01it in a border. Now's a good time to do it, just as it's starting to break into leaf. So

57:08here we go.

57:10I'm going to chuck those out.

57:28Now if I left this like this, it would effectively be a Pollard. Pollards are when you leave a straight

57:35bare stem, and then the new growth will grow from here, and it will stand out. But I think that

57:41would

57:41look a bit odd. What I want to do is take it down, so that new growth comes from about

57:46this height here.

57:48So, I think about that height is right.

58:00Well, I don't do that very often. It looks drastic. It'll be fine. And we'll get new shoots coming in

58:08just

58:08a few weeks time. They'll start to grow by mid-summer. They should be a metre long, and these huge

58:14leaves

58:15will appear. They'll be at their best in August, September, and into October. And I can either

58:20repeat that next year, or just do it every few years. But it's a really good way of adding drama

58:26to a border. And that's the end of the drama for today, I'm afraid. Well, I'll see you back here

58:32along with the next time. So until then, bye-bye.

58:34Bye-bye.

58:45Bye-bye.

58:48Bye-bye.

58:52Bye-bye.

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