- 2 days ago
Gardeners World S59E07
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00:00BIRDS CHIRP
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00:07Come on then.
00:13Come on.
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00:22BIRDS CHIRP
00:23BIRDS CHIRP
00:30BIRDS CHIRP
00:37Hello.
00:39Welcome to Gardener's World.
00:42This is a white
00:44climbing rose
00:46which is suitable here for the writing garden
00:49because everything in here is either white or green.
00:52I'm pretty sure
00:54it's climbing iceberg.
00:55I'm not certain because I've lost the label
00:57and it was a few years ago I planted it
00:59but for the moment whatever its name is
01:01it needs tying up.
01:03Now of course climbing iceberg
01:05is a banker.
01:07It's guaranteed to flower
01:09for months on end.
01:11This can be flowering at Christmas sometimes
01:13and it's worth pointing out that when you're
01:15tying any vegetative growth up
01:17at this time of year, particularly this time of year,
01:19use soft twine.
01:21Never use anything with wire in it
01:23or even a hard-edged plastic
01:24because the new growth is soft
01:26it will move slightly
01:28and if you have anything other than very soft twine
01:30it can cut into it and damage it.
01:33Now try and gather all that in there
01:35and pull it back
01:37because otherwise it can flop
01:39a lot.
01:41And whilst a bit of floppage is good
01:43too much is not.
01:46It's not.
01:47It's not.
01:51It's not.
01:52It's not...
01:56It's not.
01:59It's not.
02:08It's not totally on the word.
02:12It's not justipes...
02:12It's not.
02:20It's not your world of a rock.
02:21stay here because I've got to plant stuff, all right? Unless you want to lie down here.
02:26Go on, look up.
02:28OK, we're not planting neds. We're planting summer bulbs.
02:33We do tend to think of bulbs belonging to spring, and of course they do, in huge variety and glory,
02:41from the first snowdrop to the last carmacea, which here at Longmeather can take us into June.
02:47But there are another group of bulbs, or bulb-related plants, that perform beautifully from mid to late summer into
02:55autumn.
02:56And of course they're familiar, there are gladioli, dahlias, crocosmia, lilies,
03:02and now is the time to plant them if you haven't done so already.
03:07Some do really well in pots and none better than lilies, so I want to plant some lilies today in
03:12pots.
03:12And the compost is really important, because lilies need good drainage, but they also need another element.
03:19Because they are essentially woodland plants, and what they like is a sort of loose soil.
03:25It's not just sharp drainage like tulips, but a loose, almost fluffy soil.
03:30And the best way to create that is by using leaf mould 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 compost,
03:45and you can see the grit in it, there's quite a lot of it.
03:47Now that would do, that would be fine, but if you've got leaf mould, then add that.
03:51And I'm going to add all that to it. Like that. Mix it up. Like that.
04:02In the bottom of the pot you will need crocs. So we just plop that up.
04:11Okay. And a half fillet. Okay, 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 turks cap variety, with wonderful sort of raspberry, burgundy colours.
04:35You know, these are different from most bulbs, because the scales have no outer layer.
04:43So that they're scaly like an armadillo.
04:47So when I pop that in, I'm going to put four in this pot, which is plenty.
04:53Three would be fine, but I think I can get away with four.
04:57There we go.
05:01And then use my mix to go over the top of that.
05:14Might as well just put the last little bit in.
05:17There we go.
05:20There is room to water, and this will settle a little bit.
05:23Now, I will put this out of the way somewhere outside.
05:26It 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 Chatter's garden near Colchester.
05:51If you haven't been, I'd recommend anyone to go.
05:53It's one of our great gardens.
05:55But actually, he went for a very specific purpose, which is to celebrate a plant which, by and large, he
06:02feels is underappreciated.
06:12What else gives you colour like this?
06:16That incredible acid green.
06:20It simply glows.
06:23And yet the funny thing is, this plant is so often completely overlooked.
06:31There are over 1,500 species of Euphorpia, making them one of the largest and most varied flowering plants in
06:40the world.
06:42Ranging from small, ground-covering perennials, to large, drought-tolerant shrubs, and even succulents that could easily be mistaken for
06:51cacti.
06:55This is Euphorbia wolfenniae.
06:58It's one of the most architectural euphorbias, and on a day like today, where it's backlit, it is literally a
07:06beacon.
07:06It is glowing.
07:08It's a really drought-tolerant plant.
07:11It needs next to no watering, even in the driest of summers.
07:15So it adores this gravel garden setting, and a little bit of plant geekery.
07:21What looks like these columns and towers of architectural flowers are actually bracts.
07:27They're not flowers at all.
07:28The flowers are hidden inside the bracts, and they're teeny tiny.
07:33But the plant itself is phenomenal, and one of my absolute favorites.
07:39A must-have for any drought-tolerant garden.
08:03This is a beast for Euphorbia.
08:06This is Euphorbia cross-pasteurii.
08:10That means it's taking the very best bits of two different euphorbias.
08:14Euphorbia mellifera and Euphorbia stygiana.
08:17And in the next few weeks, these flowers will start to emerge en masse.
08:21Now, they're beautiful to look at, but quite unusually for a euphorbia, they have an additional quality.
08:27They smell incredible.
08:29They smell of honey, which also gives it its common name of honeyspurge.
08:35I love to use this one to create drama, especially towards the back of a border, and it'll hold the
08:42rest of the planting in place.
08:54Just spotted, in this shady little nook, something that's not quite out yet.
09:01It's Euphorbia griffii fireglow.
09:04And it will do exactly what you think it will do with a name like fireglow.
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 thing.
09:32And I so wish I could come back in about a week's time and see this just erupt into this
09:40fiery glow,
09:41because you just know it's gonna be really special.
09:47From full sun to shade, dry soil to damp, they're far more adaptable than you might think.
09:54And they're surprisingly easy to propagate, which means you can multiply their impact across your garden.
10:01Emily Ellard is the resident propagation expert here.
10:05So one of the plants I'm obsessed with in the gardens today, especially, is the Euphorbia wolfenniae.
10:12It's just glowing.
10:14When's the best time to collect the seeds?
10:17So it's probably gonna be about May, June time, because at the moment you've got the lush mop heads,
10:22and soon they will start to create the seed.
10:25And then just before it's starting to dry out a bit, we collect those mop heads.
10:29Can you hang them upside down?
10:30No, put them in a box, a little bit of newspaper on top, because they will pig everywhere like popcorn.
10:35Oh my goodness.
10:36And then all your seed will be at the bottom of the box.
10:38You can collect that all up and you can store some or you can sow some fresh.
10:43It always amazes me that in each one of these seeds is the genetic information to grow that plant.
10:50It's magic.
10:51It's real life magic.
10:53So we've got the six mil gravel, and then we're just gonna sprinkle that on top.
10:57This is like the big duvet that sits on top of the seed.
11:00So it's like going in a cold frame, basically.
11:02Yeah.
11:03How long would you normally expect them to take to start to germinate?
11:07Yeah, so I actually got some that were sowing January time.
11:12I hope it's okay.
11:12I'm just gonna grab one, because I think these are amazing.
11:15From those teeny tiny little seeds, we're gonna get one of those beautiful euphorbia wolfenniae.
11:31Whether they're lighting up gravel gardens or thriving in dappled woodland, these are plants which are great for wildlife.
11:40Rob Byford is responsible for the biological control in the gardens, working closely with nature to keep things in balance.
11:50It's such a broad genus.
11:52There's so many species to it.
11:54They allow us to extend this flowering period from February almost to the first frost.
11:59So the chance for the insects to get food.
12:02And we need that now more than ever.
12:05Powerhouse of the garden, really.
12:07They really are.
12:08And a lot of it comes down to this here, which is their flower structure.
12:12So it's a special inflorescence, ceafeum.
12:16And we can see in here the nectar glands.
12:20Now they secrete the nectar.
12:22And we've got the anthers here, the pollen.
12:24So for nectar feeders and for pollen feeders, euphorbia has it all.
12:29For some of us, we do get aphids in our garden.
12:31But these will attract lacewings and parasitic wasps, which are great defenders, almost like our own little air force, against
12:38those less beneficial insects.
12:40It's self-regulating.
12:41And just by adding it to your garden, you're adding in defence to your garden as well against these less
12:48favourable critters.
12:50It's such a beautiful plant, so uplifting and smile-inducing, but it's also giving benefit to our insects.
12:56It is. They are like little beacons, really, flashing amongst it all.
13:00To humans and insects alike.
13:01To humans and insects alike, absolutely.
13:14The more you look, the more you realise what a truly special plant euphorbias are.
13:20They're tough, they're resilient, they're beautiful, and they're full of life.
13:25So I think it's about time we stop treating them as background plants and hiding them in amongst our borders.
13:33And instead celebrate them and put them centre stage.
13:56This is the Euphorbia caracchia swulfenii.
14:01It loves the dry garden.
14:03It loves the poor soil and the good drainage and will seed itself in cracks in paving and up against
14:09the corner of a wall and paving.
14:12But it really won't do anything else in the rest of the garden, which is not suitable for it at
14:17all.
14:17I've tried growing it from the dual garden and it just flops and is very sad and doesn't last.
14:22However, here in the dry garden, not only does it look good in itself, but it's a really good foil
14:27for the tulips and the sweet rocket.
14:29And also, you know, as a plant, it's one of the most statuesque architectural plants you could have.
14:47But I've got here some Euphorbia that thrive in shade.
15:03This is the woodland garden, which is the latest change.
15:08And it's a work in progress.
15:10For the moment this year, I'm concentrating on the area that we cleared last autumn and have started to plant
15:16this spring.
15:17And it's coming through. Things are coming along.
15:20And the Euphorbias I've got here, which goes by the tongue-twisting name of Euphorbia amygdaloides verrobii,
15:31is perfectly suited to this kind of woodland environment.
15:35Because it thrives, it positively thrives in dry shade.
15:39And there are very few plants that do that.
15:41Now, the shade comes particularly from these cherries.
15:44This is a wild cherry, a gin.
15:46Lovely blossom at the moment.
15:49But the roots suck up all the moisture and the leaves cut out most of the light.
15:54So this whole area here is going to be dry shade.
16:00You can see that it has these wonderful bracts, which are like a collar, almost like a satellite dish, reflecting
16:09light with tiny flowers inside.
16:12And in shade, deep shade, they'll grow taller, so that they're more visible.
16:18They'll rise up above the foliage and give a really good display for weeks on end.
16:23And then, even when they die back, the foliage will spread.
16:25It spreads quite easily, makes a really good ground cover plant, as well as having this glorious display in spring
16:33and early summer.
16:34Now, I'm going to start placing these and putting them in groups.
16:39They're not plants to place singly.
16:42Like here, go down there, and then over here.
16:46I put these in a group of three because I want them actually to grow together and spread and form
16:53ground cover.
17:04That should do.
17:08Now, it's worth saying at this point, when you're handling euphorbias of any kind, do be careful.
17:13Because if they break or crush in any way, they exude a very milky, thick sap.
17:20And that can easily cause burns.
17:23I 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.
17:32And 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.
17:54Now, Rosemary Alexander started the English Garden School and a whole generation of garden designers learnt their craft there.
18:05And 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 will actually enjoy.
18:25And, you know, you can naturally maintain it.
18:29It's got to be something that works for you, whether it's a large or small garden.
18:34And when I came to this garden, I wanted somewhere where I could grow all the plants I loved.
18:40This is my garden at Sand Hill Farmhouse in West Sussex, where I've been for the last 20 years or
18:46more.
18:51The whole garden is about half an acre on the front and half an 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 the right.
19:13I 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.
19:50I decided I really wanted to become a garden designer.
19:54I started changing gardens and changed my own garden quite a bit.
19:59I realised that unless you went to Wisley or Kew, you couldn't really learn about plants.
20:04So I thought I would set up my own school and teach people about plants.
20:08I set up the school in 1983.
20:11I just wanted to teach how to redesign a space.
20:18We're now in the woodland garden.
20:20My overall aim was to have several different areas which would have different types of plants.
20:25The contrast between dark green leaves and light green leaves and shiny leaves and matte leaves and also the stems
20:32of the plants.
20:33Because if you look here, there's quite a lot of stem and then big groupings of things to make it
20:40look more natural.
20:42I try to use plants to separate the gravel from the soil because I don't like using timber or metal
20:48edges.
20:49And so I use this Ophiopogen here and then in other areas I use London Pride, Saxifrauga ombrosa.
20:57When people walk into the garden, I want them to feel, oh my goodness, this is going to be a
21:02wonderful garden.
21:11I think focal points and vistas are very important.
21:14Always thinking about the long-term view.
21:19After I built the summer house, I thought I wanted it to look out at something.
21:23So, first of all, it looked straight out at the Crotagus liciniata at the very far end there, which is
21:30a lovely deciduous tree.
21:32And then four of the box balls were already here, so I decided I would continue them leading down to
21:39look at the view.
21:40I like focal points in the garden because it gives you a reason for sitting in a particular place,
21:45and so all gardens should have focal points.
21:48Often I look at the background colour, you know, for instance, in the garden here you've got a brick wall,
21:55so I'm looking at the brick wall and thinking what colours would go well in front of that.
22:00The yew hedge was here, so we clipped it, and it seemed a perfect backdrop for the blue chair
22:05because blue is actually a very good colour of paint because there's quite a lot of green in blue.
22:15You know, my granddaughter's been coming here for years, and she spends a lot of time down here with me.
22:21We loved what she did, and we knew that she was so talented and so amazing at what she'd created
22:26with the school.
22:27I always thought, oh, that would be an amazing industry to be in.
22:33Granny invited me to come and study on the course, and that's when I just fell in love with designing
22:39gardens,
22:40and it was kind of opening up of a whole new world.
22:46I'm definitely still always learning from Granny.
22:48She's always pointing things out in the garden, but also I'm at a point now in my career
22:53where I can start to show her the work that I've created, and we can discuss it together,
22:57and that's a really nice thing to be able to do.
23:01It's amazing having somebody in my own family that we've got a lot in common with,
23:05and we spend quite a lot of time discussing things and what plants to use and so on.
23:11No, I'm very lucky with her.
23:18If you're going to design a garden for the first time, you first of all need to decide what soil
23:23type you've got.
23:24That's really necessary, whether it's acid or alkaline or neutral.
23:27So that will depend on what you grow.
23:30And then another thing is not to be over ambitious,
23:33not to worry about having one of this and one of that and one of the next thing,
23:37but to keep repeating certain plants that will do well in the garden.
23:44I am immensely proud of Granny.
23:47I think that she's informed a generation of gardeners, horticulturalists.
23:53Often people come to me and they have no idea where to begin.
23:57What I like is building up their confidence and seeing them, you know, develop in their own right.
24:02It still is exciting.
24:04We are all we know and all that is really exciting.
24:04I think it is exciting.
24:07We are on a frontier count.
24:11Visionary hunting reading
24:11We are trying to keep looking for the gardeners,
24:12just a little bit of the gardeners,
24:14that's a wonderful gardener,
24:22so that these plants can sometimes find in the gardeners,
24:24that's a very beautiful,
24:24that's great.
24:25I think it is that you can find a gardeners,
24:26I think the gardeners,
24:27to be the gardeners,
24:28and to be the gardeners.
24:33I think that it is helping us on a little bit,
24:51it's always good to see a new generation coming in and learning from us oldies I have to say my
24:57grandchildren are beginning to get interested in the garden so whether they go on and become
25:02gardeners or garden designers we'll see but it'd be nice um this is very practical I'm sowing peas what
25:10I do is I make a very shallow sort of trenches can barely call it a trench it's more a
25:16groove in the
25:16ground these are purple podded 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 I don't need to be any wider than that
25:46personally I think a double row works best okay
25:52and just break 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 scramblers
26:20so the support needs to be able to take the tendrils whatever way they go it does have to be
26:28something that is twiggy so keep prunings dogwood will do it anything really anything that's twiggy and woody
26:39and just stick them in at a slight angle but you want them to be branching right from ground level
26:47quite close together so they overlap like that
27:08what you're looking to achieve is a tangle and this is a perfect tangle and somehow doing this just like
27:18putting up bean sticks feels to me like part of the
27:22the development of the development of the development of the development of a vegetable plot that is really part of
27:26summer
27:26if I see the pea sticks going in then we've moved on we've moved out of winter forever and we're
27:33on into the middle of spring and very quickly that will be followed by summer
27:50the rhubarb season is in full flow it's it's a fairly long season it starts in february particularly if you
27:57can force it this is simply early and that's a variety called victoria which is later that's main season if
28:03you like
28:03early is february and then that will run through till june late doesn't really kick in until
28:10beginning of may but may and june is fantastic and all rhubarb should be left unpicked after the end of
28:18june
28:18leave it alone because otherwise you'll weaken the roots and you won't get nearly such a good harvest
28:24next year and gradually it will diminish the reason why you force it is because the stems are sweeter
28:30now if I take the lid off you can see that there's a lot less foliage and if I pull
28:36it up
28:37like that you can see that it looks rather anemic but of course if you do this in february or
28:44early
28:45march it's a treat now 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
29:00if you pull it
29:01it comes away with a little piece of the base where it's attached to the root and that heals very
29:07quickly
29:08you need a little bit of this heal on the bottom of the stem but you can see that's got
29:13a bit twisted but
29:14it's paler than most rhubarb and that will be sweeter so I'll pop that in there
29:24now obviously these stems are unforced so you can see they've got very green leaves and the leaves
29:29are poisonous you don't eat them but it is absolutely delicious and I love a rhubarb crumble
29:36rhubarb pie just stewed rhubarb with yogurt for breakfast is a really good way to start the day
29:42and of course the leaves are brilliant on the compost heap once they're composted then they'll do no harm
29:47whatsoever now earlier this month we went down to south wales to join sue kent in her garden
30:01after a very wet winter here in swansea springtime in my garden is the time of year that brings me
30:08such 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 and I noticed
30:59a shoot and I'm so pleased and so excited but I should know better I've been gardening for many years
31:06and I
31:07shouldn't give up on plants until June to give them a chance to see if they'll shoot
31:11so this one with its lovely little shoot is going to go in a pot and grow
31:21I'm going to use a peat free compost it likes a nice light soil and the way I do this
31:28is 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 as well as a soil
31:39aerator
31:41it'll slightly alkaline the soil and walnuts prefer that anyway
31:45I'm going to mix it in
31:49I'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
32:00so exciting
32:02look at that little shoot that's cracked open
32:05and 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
32:19from a tree that his father gave to him
32:22and I am giving it to my son to grow in his garden
32:26so it really is a family tree
32:29and it's rather lovely to think it'll carry on through the generations
32:35I'm going to top it off with some pistachio shells
32:38so I eat a lot of pistachio nuts
32:40I love the smell
32:42oh gosh
32:43they will slowly break down and add nutrients
32:46and deter slugs
32:47and it makes a little mini mulch for a smaller pot
32:51to keep in the moisture and stop the weeds coming
32:55needs a bit of a water
33:03and there we go
33:13I'm so pleased with this
33:16it's absolutely stunning
33:18and it's lighting up the garden
33:20when not much else is here
33:22it's Spiraea bridal wreath
33:26and you can see here
33:27some beautiful small white flowers already open
33:29but lots, lots more to come
33:32and it's almost got red branches on it
33:35it looks good in summer
33:36and although it's deciduous
33:37the branches look great in winter
33:40I am a bit of a fan of Spiraea
33:42and here I've got them free flowing
33:44but around the garden
33:46I've used them more structurally
33:47and have clipped them quite tightly
33:48but this one is the star of the show at the moment
33:52it's a great time for me to plant anything tender
33:55being coastal
33:57the sea air is warmer
33:58keeping the frosts away
34:00the key is to know your own climate
34:02and use protection like fleece if needed
34:05this is going to be a case of third time lucky
34:09I've tried three times to grow this
34:12and twice the plant's been got by frost
34:14and this year I've kept it in the greenhouse
34:16and it's survived
34:18it's Echium piñana
34:20and it derives from the Canary Islands
34:23and I think it's going to be
34:25absolutely extraordinary
34:40This is going to grow huge
34:42up to four metres
34:44and it's going to be covered
34:47in blue flowers
34:48which are really attractive to bees
34:50and the flowers are going to produce
34:52lots of little seedlings
34:54and hopefully they're going to populate
34:56all the way along here
34:57I might have to dig some up
34:59and shelter them into the greenhouse
35:01for winter to ensure their survival
35:03but I will leave some
35:04it's supposed to be a biennial
35:06that means you plant the seed one year
35:08you get the flower the next year
35:09but in this case this is three years old
35:12so for me it's a triennial
35:13and the reason I put it here
35:16is because it likes a very sunny spot
35:18and this is the sunniest spot in my garden
35:20it likes free draining soil
35:22and also it hides the ugly fence
35:24and I can see it when I'm lying in my bath
35:27from my bathroom
35:29and now all I've got to do is water
35:53a lot of my edible crops are winter hardy
35:56they coat with low light
35:58they coat with low light
35:58and start to regrow
35:59as the days lengthen and warm
36:06I like to pick a salad every night
36:08and I've already started here
36:10I've got parsley, mint, lamb's lettuce
36:13a bit of normal lettuce
36:14some beetroot leaves
36:16and I want some more
36:17and it's amazing
36:18this looks a bit of a mess
36:19but it's full of food
36:21and here I've got landcress
36:23which is a bit like watercress
36:25but it roots itself in soil
36:27you can see
36:27and I'll cut a bit
36:29and it's got quite a peppery flavour
36:31but it'll regrow before you know it
36:37this is twisted leaf garlic
36:39and the leaves have a very subtle
36:41not overpowering flavour of garlic
36:44so nice to add
36:46twisted garlic is a perennial
36:48that means it will keep coming back
36:50year after year
36:51and that goes for sorrel too
36:53this is a stalwart of the salad
36:55this is French sorrel
36:57and it just keeps giving
36:59when they're smaller
37:00they're great for salads
37:01when they're bigger
37:02they're great for adding to curries
37:04and when you see this appearing
37:06you want to get rid of it
37:07because you don't want the plant to get to seed
37:10so you remove that
37:13they're also great in green smoothies
37:15the nasturtias don't usually grow over winter
37:19it's classed as an annual
37:21so the fact that it has survived in the greenhouse
37:24is a stroke of luck
37:28I'm going to finish the bowl with primrose flowers
37:32which are rather beautiful and delicate
37:35and you can eat the flowers but not the leaves
37:38and of course if you've got any health conditions
37:39it's best to check
37:40so I've got vibrant green zesty flavours
37:46I've got lemon flavours
37:47I've got peppery flavours
37:48and nothing gives me more pleasure
37:50than eating from my garden
38:13I love the fact that Sue is growing her walnut
38:16to make a tree to produce walnuts to give to her son
38:18and that the walnut came from her father's tree
38:21which came from a walnut from his father
38:23that intergenerational handing on
38:25is something that taps into a longevity
38:29that we don't normally think of in our gardens
38:31we want everything now
38:32right
38:34these as you can see are lemons
38:36I'm just taking the fruit off for two reasons
38:39one because if you leave mature fruit on the tree
38:44that will inhibit the development of flowers and other fruits
38:49even though they look lovely
38:50and two because these are particularly heavy
38:53and are weighing down
38:54so for example this is fine
38:55it looks nice
38:56and it's not weighing the branch down
38:58but where they are
39:00like there
39:01I'm just going to take that off
39:04and that will spring back up
39:06this is not pruning
39:08pruning citrus is something you do
39:10when the worst of the weather is over
39:12so I would leave that till May
39:14but it's good to get them outside as soon as you can
39:16because citrus don't like being indoors
39:20particularly not in a centrally heated house
39:22so that's fine there
39:24I've got a lovely basket of fruit
39:25I mean you have to say look at that
39:28you know there is something magical
39:31about having your own lemons
39:33or your own oranges from your garden
39:35but now is a really good time
39:39to repot any citrus that you have
39:43to give it a fresh start to grow
39:44and this one for example
39:46has been in this pot for quite a long time
39:48I haven't got a new pot for it
39:50so what I'm going to do
39:52is take it out of this pot
39:54clean up the roots
39:55get rid of the old compost
39:56refresh the compost
39:57and put it back into the same pot
39:59so the first thing I'm going to do
40:00is just take it out of the pot
40:03there we go
40:04I'm going to put that onto there
40:07you need plenty of crocks
40:09the same crocks can go in the bottom
40:15I'm just going to clean off
40:18some of the spent compost on here
40:20now this has been in this pot
40:21for probably a couple of years
40:23if you're keeping it in the same pot
40:25you need to do this at least every other year
40:27if you're potting onto a bigger pot
40:30then you probably need to do that
40:31about every three years
40:32but either way just using your fingers
40:37take any compost off that you can
40:42don't worry if you break the roots a little bit
40:45because they will regrow
40:47I'm getting my thumb in there
40:49and I'm just working free
40:53excess compost
40:55now the compost mix
40:58that is a bucket of sieved garden compost
41:03horticultural grit
41:05and actually I've got here
41:08a mix of potting compost
41:13compost with a lot of grit
41:14leaf mould
41:16and sieved garden compost in it
41:18but I'm going to add a bit more garden compost
41:19not a lot
41:20just a little bit
41:21in there
41:24and quite a lot of grit
41:25in fact I'm going to add all this grit
41:27to this mix
41:32and then mix it up
41:38right
41:38so we'll put some
41:39in the bottom of the pot
41:42like that
41:47okay that's good
41:48now holding it
41:49nice and upright
41:50fill in around
41:56and what I'm going to do
41:57is just shake it gently
42:01shake it in there
42:02and then a little bit more
42:03in front of that
42:07leaving
42:08enough space on the surface
42:10for it to take water
42:14I will then water that in
42:15and that will drive the compost
42:17into those nooks and crannies of the roots
42:19and once I come outside
42:21and start to show signs of growth
42:23citrus should be watered and fed
42:26once a week
42:27I feed them on a quite dilute seaweed mix
42:30and so that we combine the watering
42:31and the feed at the same time
42:34now it seems amazing to me
42:36but RHS Chelsea Flower Show
42:38is just a few weeks away
42:40it's racing up on us
42:42and we went down to Cornwall
42:43to visit Andrew Mills
42:45as he prepared his exhibition for Chelsea
42:49which incidentally
42:50which incidentally
42:51is based upon
42:52a long
42:53and well founded
42:54Cornish tradition
43:01for the last 20 years
43:03I've been manager of Burankoose Nurseries
43:04and they're a big nursery
43:06with rare unusual plants
43:07they sell magnolias
43:08rhododendrons
43:09camellias predominantly
43:09and so I've done many many Chelsea's before
43:11but this will be the first time
43:13that actually my plants
43:14will be on display at Chelsea
43:16for the whole world to see
43:19When I started out in horticulture
43:21as did many other farmers locally
43:23grew anemone decaying
43:25and St Pyrrhen
43:25the local strain
43:28Anemones originate
43:29from the eastern Mediterranean
43:30so they like it warm
43:31Cornwall seldom gets a frost
43:33so that's why people grew anemones
43:37We had all these market gardeners
43:38and farmers
43:39growing small amounts of anemones
43:40and the farmer's wife
43:42would pick them during the day
43:43and they would bunch them up
43:44in the evenings
43:45and then there would be
43:46a regular deposit
43:48to train stations
43:49where the boxes of these anemones
43:51would be taken to Covent Garden
43:53so that was a very important industry
43:55for Cornwall many many years ago
43:56but that all petered out
43:57probably late 80s early 90s
43:59and this is just a nod back to that
44:03So what I've got here
44:04is I've got five different types
44:05of anemone ground
44:06I've got the Jerusalem type
44:08what's common to the Jerusalem type
44:10is there'll be lots of reds
44:12Well these are suited for cut flowers
44:14because the breeding of them
44:15over the years
44:16have increased the stem length
44:17they've increased the flower size
44:19they've also increased disease resistance
44:21by the thickness of the leaves
44:22hardy outside
44:24not just only grown in a glass house
44:27bred from that
44:28a variety called Meron
44:29and that's classified as a flower machine
44:32what we have with the Meron
44:33is a very tall flower
44:35and quite a slender stem
44:40Now we're here in amongst the
44:42Mistral varieties
44:42of the Italian Ranunculus
44:44these are my favourites
44:46and they will give you
44:47a constant supply of anemones
44:49over a long period of time
44:50so what you won't have
44:52is a flush
44:53and then gone
44:54and they are very consistent
44:56in their quality
44:56and they are very consistent
44:58in their stem length
44:59and the colours
45:00are quite exceptional
45:02My overall favourite would be
45:04an Enemone coronaria mistral panda
45:06and this is just coming into blue
45:08so look at this
45:09you can see why it's called panda
45:13They've gone further with the mistral variety
45:15to create the mistral plus
45:16which means there's even bigger flower heads
45:19even thicker stems
45:21and the plant is a little bit more compact
45:23they would be perfect to grow in your garden
45:25the other variety I have is the Levante double
45:28slightly shorter stem which is common
45:30but also a very very delicate flower when you get up close
45:37These anemones are historically planted in July
45:40in Cornwall both inside and outside
45:42that will establish the plant before it flowers
45:45and the flowers will start flowering in October, November
45:48and December
45:49there'll be a short pause in December and January
45:51when the light levels drop
45:52and the weather gets poor
45:53only for them to restart again
45:55towards the end of January, February
45:57and go through into March
45:58when other flowers come onto the market
46:00and the anemones have had their day
46:03they will come back in next year
46:05in a bigger corn
46:06but they won't be as good as the first year
46:08because the best anemone flower
46:10will come from the smallest size corn
46:16I usually pick two or three times a week
46:17I get to about 50 or 60 bunches
46:19any more and I just won't be able to cope with it
46:23to pick an anemone you need to pick them
46:26when the flower is still tight and not open
46:27so you could pick this, bunch it up
46:30and in two or three days that will be open
46:32and it will stay open for another two or three days
46:34maybe four or five in a cool kitchen window
46:38when picking anemones it's very important
46:39to get the stem length as long as possible
46:41and try to cut it off as close as you can
46:44to the corm
46:45to stop any rot being left
46:47on the remaining stem that you've picked from
46:49and like every cut flower
46:51cut it off diagonally
46:52so that you have a bigger surface area
46:55of the stem bottom
46:55to take up as much water as possible
47:01so when it comes to Chelsea
47:03and try and just slowly keep these going along
47:06until probably two weeks before the show
47:08where then I can sort of accelerate their blooming
47:11by just adding some basic tomato feed
47:15so the weather's going to be dull for the next couple of weeks
47:17and that will really help me slow these down a little bit
47:20and not bring them on too fast
47:22what I intend to display at Chelsea
47:24is anemones in this stage of opening
47:27so hopefully on the flower stand at Chelsea
47:29you'll see just a riot of colour
47:31and as long as I'm pleased with how it looks
47:33the medal is a bonus
47:35nervous at all or not?
47:37no, I don't do nerves
47:40apart from the day
47:44they're grown locally
47:45they're done come locally
47:46they're distributed locally
47:48they're bought locally
47:49in a two mile radius
47:52and it's quite remarkable to see something
47:54which is smaller than a piece of gravel
47:56to produce something which is quite comprehensive
47:58and can produce multiple flowers
48:01anybody can do it
48:02it's a garden plant as well as a cut flower
48:25I thought it was absolutely fascinating
48:29that Andrew said the smallest corn produce the biggest flower
48:33now that is really counter-intuitive
48:35and also I'm only just beginning to really learn about the ranunculus family
48:39with anemones of all kinds
48:42we're very used to Japanese anemones
48:44and maybe sort of woodland anemones
48:46but of course you realise there are so many more
48:48and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how he fares at Chelsea
48:52see them at their very best
48:54talking about their very best
48:55I do think the orchard is looking really good at the moment
48:59and I don't take much credit for that
49:01because what we started to do a few years ago
49:04was take all last year's tulips that were grown in pots
49:08and we let them die back and they dried out
49:10and then take the bulbs and planted them in the orchard
49:14and in the cricket pitch at random
49:16and some come up, some flower well, some don't flower
49:21and it's pure luck
49:23well, A, I think it looks great
49:26and B, it makes me very happy
49:51these are gardeners delight tomatoes
49:53destined to be planted outside in the vegetable garden
49:58and I've got other tomatoes I'll grow in the greenhouse
49:59but these will do perfectly well outside
50:02but I need to get the timing right
50:04here at Longmeadow it's really not feasible
50:08to plant tomatoes out much before June
50:10and sometimes not till the middle of June
50:12so I've got at least six weeks
50:15and maybe a couple of months to go
50:17and the pots that they're in
50:19are not going to be big enough to provide
50:21the nourishment or the moisture they need
50:24because before they plant out
50:25the plants could be three times as big
50:27so they need potting on
50:29now if I take this out of the pot
50:31and I'm just going to put that in there
50:34you will see there's more root than compost
50:39this is exactly the right moment to pot it on
50:43now having established that you do need to pot it on
50:46then the question is what size pot
50:51if I was to plant this in a pot not out in the garden
50:54and there's no reason why you can't grow tomatoes in a pot
50:57that's roughly the sort of size that would do
51:00doesn't want to be much smaller than that
51:01but it doesn't need to be much bigger
51:03and you might think well the logic is
51:05is put it onto that and that's job done
51:07the whole thing's finished
51:09but it's not a good idea for two reasons
51:11one it means that you've got to store
51:13much bigger pots under cover
51:16and that's going to use up a lot more space
51:18for another month at least
51:19and two it won't be good for the plant
51:22because the plant's roots grow outwards
51:26like the spokes of a wheel
51:27so that most of the compost in the pot
51:31is acting as a sponge to hold moisture
51:33so it's going to be too wet
51:35that's about right you can see the difference
51:37it's distinctly bigger but not a lot bigger
51:41and if you place it inside
51:42you know it's probably got quarter an inch
51:45all around it
51:46as a rule of thumb
51:47it definitely doesn't want more than an inch space
51:51around the edge of the old pot
51:53now here's a trick
51:54and it always works
51:56take your new pot
51:59put compost
51:59and by the way you need
52:01a really good compost
52:02so peat free
52:04add some goodness to it if you can
52:06a bit of grit
52:07and if you've got sieve garden compost
52:09the plant will do better
52:11put soil in the bottom
52:14like that
52:16place the part in
52:17maybe take a little bit more soil out
52:20make enough room
52:22place that in its pot
52:23don't take it out the pot
52:25and then
52:26and I'm going to do this on the table
52:27to show you
52:28it would be messy
52:29fill in around it
52:33this might seem a bit bonkers
52:35but just bear with me
52:36it works
52:41and we will
52:43push that barn there
52:45and
52:45having done that
52:47gently
52:48lift out the inner pot
52:50and what you're left with
52:52is a space that is exactly
52:54the size of the old pot
52:58now you remove it
52:59and just
53:01pop it in
53:02that's it
53:03that's all you have to do
53:05and the beauty of this system
53:06is that the plant
53:08barely knows it's been
53:09potted on
53:11there's no stress
53:13whatsoever on the roots
53:15don't
53:16try and force the soil around it
53:17just water it
53:18and then that will give it
53:20enough goodness and enough moisture
53:22to see it through at least another month
53:24by which time the plant will be that big
53:26and we can consider either planting it out
53:29or potting it on
53:30to its final home
53:33right
53:33well that's certainly one job you can do this weekend
53:38but here are some more
53:52as the spring bulbs end their flowering season
53:56they need to be left so that the foliage can slowly die back
54:00but if they are in a handsome pot
54:02that means the pot can't be used for months on end
54:05so I lift them out of the good pot
54:09put them into an upcycle plastic pot
54:12where they can be set to one side
54:14and it frees up a really nice container for summer display
54:26corgettes are the hardiest of the cucurbit family
54:29and you can start to sow them now
54:31there are lots of varieties to choose from
54:33but whichever ones they are
54:35you grow them in the same way
54:36either place individual seeds in generous sized plugs
54:41or a couple of seeds to a pot
54:43cover them over
54:44and then place them in water for about 15 to 20 minutes
54:48so that they soak up moisture
54:50they must go somewhere warm in which to germinate
54:54and they should appear in between 10 and 20 days
55:04next year's daffodils will be formed in the bulbs
55:08but if you allow the seed heads to develop
55:11that will weaken the flowering next year
55:14so snap off spent flowering heads
55:17just below the seed heads
55:18leaving the stem
55:19and let the leaves die back naturally
55:22to feed into the bulb for next year
55:41I've got one more job to do here in the jewel garden
55:44the jewel garden by the way is the last bit of long weather to get going
55:47yes we have the tulips and the wallflowers and pots
55:50but actually in the borders there's very little happening yet
55:54because it's dominated by the foliage of an allium
55:56allium purple sensation
55:58which will flower in a couple of weeks time
55:59but there is one job I can do
56:01which means getting into the borders
56:02and if I do it now
56:04it's going to make a dramatic difference later in the year
56:13right in the middle of the border here
56:16is this tree
56:18this is a paulonia
56:20sometimes known as the fox club tree
56:22and it does have wonderful flowers
56:25sort of lavender colored
56:27mo flowers
56:29which will grow on really quite a large tree
56:30this will grow
56:31if I left it
56:3350 foot tall
56:34a really big proper tree
56:37but I didn't plant it to become a big tree
56:39I planted it
56:40in order that I could really relish its foliage
56:45and paulonia is one of the trees
56:47that if you cobbess it
56:49i.e. prune it back really hard
56:51it will sprout new growth
56:53which in turn will carry extra big foliage
56:56and they look really exotic and dramatic
56:59and they're brilliant for setting off flowers around it in a border
57:02now's a good time to do it
57:04just as it's starting to break into leaf
57:07so here we go
57:10I'm going to chop those out
57:28now if I left this like this
57:30it would effectively be a pollard
57:32pollards are when you leave a straight bare stem
57:36and then the new growth will grow from here
57:39and it will stand out
57:40but I think that would look a bit odd
57:41what I want to do is take it down
57:44so that new growth comes from about this height here
57:47so
57:48I think about that height is right
58:00well I don't do that very often
58:03it looks drastic
58:04it'll be fine
58:06and we'll get new shoots coming in just a few weeks time
58:09they'll start to grow
58:10by midsummer
58:11they should be a metre long
58:13and these huge leaves will appear
58:15they'll be at their best in August, September and into October
58:19and I can either repeat that next year
58:21or just do it every few years
58:22but it's a really good way
58:24of adding drama to a border
58:28and that's the end of the drama for today I'm afraid
58:30well I'll see you back here at Longmiller next time
58:33so until then
58:33bye-bye
58:34please
58:34bye
58:36bye
58:36bye
58:36bye
58:46bye
58:47bye
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