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Gardeners World S59E08
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00:11Come on, Ned.
00:57Hello, welcome to Gardener's World.
00:59I'm just loosening this area up because this bank on the side of the mound originally was grass and we
01:07had lots of bulbs in and you had a display and then when they died back we cut it back
01:11and we kept it as cut grass.
01:14Over the years, all kinds of things have seeded themselves in here.
01:18Some of them are lovely, like the cow parsley coming through, but I want to start putting in spent bulbs
01:25from this year.
01:26That's bulbs that are flowered and finished, these are in pots, but actually there's no reason why I can't put
01:32them straight in the garden.
01:32And you can do this in a border and that's what I'm going to do here.
01:36And the colour theme here on the mound is yellow and blue, so I've got some yellow and blue hyacinths.
01:43Well, some hyacinths of the yellow and some hyacinths of the blue, not both at once.
01:54These are delft blue, so take them out.
02:00Being slightly careful.
02:02There we go.
02:07So you've got, you can see, there are the bulbs, and so I will carefully separate these out.
02:16Okay, let's just take each one.
02:19Let's take a few like that.
02:22There we go.
02:29See, that can go in there like that.
02:37Now you notice I'm not cutting back or trying to tidy up the leaves.
02:41It's really important, that, because these must be allowed to die back naturally.
02:47That will feed into the bulb and form next year's flower.
02:51If I cut those off now, there's a real chance that there'll be no flowering next year.
02:55And if you have blind bulbs, it's very often because either they've been too dry or there hasn't been enough
03:03light on the foliage after they've finished flowering.
03:18Long Meadow is pancake flat.
03:22I think we've got a fall of no more than a foot from one end to the other.
03:26So this is our only slope in the whole of the garden.
03:30And slopes are brilliant for most bulbs, because most bulbs like good drainage.
03:36It's only fratilleries, camassias, leucogeum that really can cope with damp soil and thrive in it.
03:44So a slope like this lends itself to be covered in bulbs.
03:56I quite like the way that they'll intermingle with what has naturally sewn itself here.
04:03And it really goes back to this combination of working with nature to use all the lovely natural things that
04:13are occurring and popping up and seeding themselves, but also plant in amongst them.
04:17So it becomes a creative act of which you are a partner rather than the controller.
04:23And I think that's really inspiring.
04:37Right.
04:47Now, we're going to join Carol in her garden, who shows us that you don't need a big space to
04:52grow really good food, and as well as being delicious, it can look beautiful too.
05:09I absolutely love my garden.
05:12We've been here for 47 years.
05:15And ever since we came, I've grown all kinds of ornamentals.
05:20Trees, shrubs, flowers, bulbs.
05:23But at the same time, I've also been growing vegetables, because it's just wonderful to grow your own produce.
05:29But what happens if you've only got a limited area?
05:33I want to show you during the course of this year just how you can turn even a small area
05:39into both a productive space for vegetables and a thing of beauty with all sorts of beautiful flowers.
06:09This is the plot.
06:11It's about eight feet by five feet, give or take.
06:14So it's pretty small, but I'm going to be growing so intensively in here that the whole thing eventually is
06:21going to be full of beautiful flowers and wonderful, wonderful vegetables.
06:26I'm not going to be planting everything today, but I'm going to be adding to it right the way through.
06:32All manner of stuff, but absolutely everything in here is going to be an annual.
06:37Most of it is going to be grown from seed, as were these sweet peas, which are the very first
06:43thing I'm planting in here.
06:46I'm growing several different sweet peas, but these are cupani, which is this glorious purple and maroon one with wonderful,
06:57wonderful scent.
06:58Of course, sweet peas are climbers.
07:00So my husband, Neil, has made me this wonderful structure.
07:05It's a cylinder because it means that I can grow sweet peas and climbing beans.
07:12So I'm going to intersperse them with different climbing beans.
07:28Beetroot are indispensable.
07:31Roasted or cooked, sliced and pickled are delicious.
07:36They can be sown direct into the soil or into modules, then potted on and planted out.
07:42The variety I'm using is boltardy.
07:45It's not just the roots we eat.
07:48Those leaves are a lovely salad vegetable in their own right.
07:57In between them, I'm planting lettuce.
08:00This is a lettuce called Little Gem.
08:04And I'm putting them in two at a time, one behind the other.
08:07And the whole object of doing that is that I can harvest one first and then the next one can
08:14grow on and get bigger.
08:16It's really my absolute all-time favourite lettuce because not only is it delicious in salads when it's young, you
08:25can cook with it as well.
08:26Just stick it in the pan for less than a minute with a bit of butter and salt and pepper.
08:33It's delicious.
08:42So, that's the first veg planted.
08:46And it might seem a bit random, a bit willy-nilly, but it's not.
08:49It's all part of a cunning plan.
08:51So I'm going to grow a squash at the front there.
08:54And then here, I'm growing a tomato, but tomato with basil is the perfect combination.
09:01So I'm going to actually sow some basil seeds right round here and then finally plant the tomato in.
09:08I'm not doing it today because they're not ready.
09:10But what I am going to do is plant a few flowers.
09:20Alongside the beetroot and lettuce, I'm planting some pink cosmos, informally.
09:26As they grow, they'll give the lettuce a bit of dappled shade.
09:31Cosmos have to be one of the most rewarding annual flowers.
09:35And with constant deadheading or cutting for the house, they'll keep going until late October.
09:50I'm going to sow quite a lot of vegetable seeds and flower seeds straight into the ground.
09:56But there are some things which are much better off grown on in pots or modules, first of all.
10:02So this is a method I use for all beans.
10:06But the beans in question are these beautiful broad beans, the crimson flowered broad bean.
10:14So not only do you get the most delicious beans, but in addition, you get the advantage of these utterly
10:22glorious flowers.
10:24So I'm just pushing them in.
10:25You want them about half an inch or so.
10:29And then cover them with grit, which will retain the moisture once I've watered them.
10:34Keep the weeds down and make sure that they don't rot when they come up.
10:40But they're very, very unlikely to do that.
10:42I mean, they're tough things, these broad beans.
10:45Here's what I did earlier.
10:47There's the top of the bean.
10:48And look already, that little root just starting to go down there into the compost.
10:54And then we'll get a shoot and then we'll get some utterly glorious flowers.
11:00These broad beans, I'll water well, and then I'll wait until they're a few inches high before I put them
11:05out.
11:15You can use exactly the same idea of combining edibles and ornamentals in a pot.
11:21And that's just what I'm doing here.
11:23This is orac.
11:26It's a relative of spinach.
11:28You can eat it.
11:29But it also looks gorgeous.
11:31And they will go really big and flower when it's way up high.
11:37But I don't want it to flower.
11:39So all you do, just take those two little shoots off the top like that.
11:44And that will encourage all those side shoots to spread out and give us a really nice bushy plant.
11:51And I'm going to do exactly the same thing.
11:55Nip the top with all the cosmos too.
11:57Now already this plant is trying to branch.
12:01But if I nip out this bit here, that's all you need.
12:09So the cosmos I'm using in here is one called Purity.
12:14And you've guessed it.
12:15It's pure white.
12:17And it takes it a while before it starts to flower.
12:21But when it goes for it, especially if you pinch the top and you've got loads of flowering side shoots,
12:28it's absolutely lovely.
12:37Now, the great thing about doing this is that I'll put these things in now.
12:43They'll be joined by some of our crimson flowered broad beans.
12:48But I can add all sorts of things.
12:50Whenever I see something that I find inspiring, I'll squeeze it in here.
12:55And as for the main patch, we've only just begun.
12:59I'll be adding more veg, loads of beautiful flowers.
13:03And the whole thing's going to come together and just look absolutely wonderful and taste good too.
13:32I do think that actually most vegetables that are well grown, vegetables, herbs and fruit,
13:38have a beauty of their own.
13:39And of course you want it to be beautiful too.
13:42Anyway, it'll be fascinating to follow this through for the rest of the series.
13:47What I'm doing here is planting out parsley.
13:50And to do that, we start off sowing it in a seed tray and then prick it out into individual
13:55plants as a plug.
13:56And you can see that here you have a plug.
13:58It's absolutely ready to go out, got a good root system, and give it space.
14:04Now this is the key thing.
14:06I am placing this actually not in squares but in a kind of grid.
14:12So each plant has plenty of space around it, and then as a result you get a big strong plant.
14:21Part of this is a member of the carrot family.
14:23They have a deep root and they want to go to a plant about that tall with a thick stem
14:29and then they flower.
14:29So if you let it become well established with strong roots, you can then go on picking the leaves over
14:37a period of about three or four months.
15:07Those who now had a good sense.
15:08Soak, and I will leave them, but make sure they don't dry out for another two, three weeks before they're
15:15ready to harvest.
15:16We will harvest these, oh, well into summer, by which time the next crop will be ready to plant it
15:22out.
15:23And actually the secret of all vegetable growing, it doesn't matter how much space you've got, whether it's very limited
15:28or huge, is planning ahead.
15:31Succession.
15:31So you maximise the harvest from whatever ground that you have.
15:36And also not just maximise it in quantity, but also quality.
15:41Grow what you like to eat.
15:42That is the secret.
15:44Come on in.
16:07The potting shed and the greenhouse were my happy place.
16:11Taking plants on this journey from seed to full high performance out in the garden.
16:18So you have seeds that sown and you get a seed tray full of seedlings like that.
16:24And then you prick them out and they look something along these lines into individual plugs.
16:29They then are grown on and moved over onto this side.
16:32And you can see these are all plants that have been pricked out and getting bigger.
16:36And at some stage, a lot of them are potted on.
16:39But before they can go outside, even if they're not tender plants, they need hardening off.
16:44And hardening off is something I really want to make clear.
16:47Because it's actually terribly important.
16:48You need to acclimatise the plant to life outside in the big bad world.
16:55So from the greenhouse, they go to a cold frame.
16:58And this is round here.
17:01Now at the moment, the cold frame is filled mainly with plants that have been pricked out.
17:08They're hardy plants.
17:09But they're protected from heavy rain.
17:11They get a little bit more heat from the glass through the sun.
17:14And it means they're not too cold.
17:16And then they go to the next stage.
17:18And you can see here we've got some wild carrot, sweet peas.
17:24I've got some salvias sitting here where they will remain for at least a week before going into the garden.
17:32They're protected from the cold east wind.
17:34They've got a hedge there, meaning that it's not too blurry.
17:37The sun is not too hot in the middle of the day.
17:39And it's not too cold at night.
17:42They will gradually acclimatise to life outside.
17:47And if you sow your seeds on a windowsill, that's fine.
17:50The next stage could be just sort of outside the back door or around the corner by a shed where
17:55it's out of the worst of the weather.
17:57That also applies when you buy a plant from a garden centre, particularly a young plant.
18:02So harden it off for at least a week in a slightly protected place outside.
18:07But there's another form of hardening off which is also really relevant, particularly at this time of year.
18:21The other kind of hardening off is of plants that are perennial.
18:29And can live for years as long as they are protected from the cold.
18:33So for example here we've got some agapanthus, some pelargoniums, lemon verbena, salvias.
18:40And this was until last week full of citrus plants.
18:44It's just enough to get them through the winter.
18:47But again, if you take them from having spent all winter in a greenhouse and then put them outside just
18:53because it's safe to go,
18:55they're going to sort of blink in the sunlight and they literally just stop growing.
18:59They hunker down.
19:00And it can take them two or three weeks to get going again.
19:03Far better to gently introduce them and acclimatise them.
19:07And if I take a plant like the lemon verbena, so if I take this, you can see new growth,
19:11which means it's coming into life.
19:13And it's the new growth that you've got to harden off.
19:16The woody growth is fine.
19:17That doesn't need any protection.
19:19It's these new shoes.
19:20Before I take it outside, though, it needs a really hard prune as they tend to get very woody and
19:28leggy.
19:29Cut back to the lowest growth you can see and this will result in a fresh flush of new leaves.
19:41OK.
19:44What I normally do with lemon verbena is do a first pass like that, taking off any obvious pieces that
19:53are too long and straggly.
19:55And then when new shoots develop, do another prune.
19:58The tighter you can prune it, the better the end result.
20:06Oh, a savvy one.
20:15As the new growth emerges, it will do so into a slightly harsher environment than it was in the greenhouse,
20:21but it will adapt.
20:23And that's the key to all hardening off.
20:25All the trouble you go to, or whether you buy plants from a garden centre, give them a chance to
20:30adapt to your environment, acclimatise, and they'll be a lot healthier and happier as a result.
20:37Now, we have all kinds of different growing environments here at Longmeadow, but the one thing we don't do is
20:41have a floating garden.
20:43But Amy Chapman does.
20:48Hi, gardeners world. I'm Amy. This is my narrowboat.
20:51I moved on to it in the autumn and I'm turning it into a little floating garden.
20:55Let me show you around.
21:03This is my little rooftop garden.
21:06I am trying to grow as many edible plants and useful plants and also plants for pollinators too.
21:13I have always loved growing my own food and I didn't want to compromise on that when I bought the
21:19boats.
21:19I've got these planters which are quite shallow, so I'm trying to choose plants that will suit a shallow depth
21:26of soil and also plants that don't grow too tall because I don't want them to obstruct my view when
21:32I'm cruising the boat.
21:34There's a lot of interesting things that you have to consider when you're growing on the roof.
21:39You don't want to put too much weight on one side of the boat.
21:44I am filling up this container with perennial vegetables, which are some of the easiest, lowest maintenance edibles that you
21:52can grow.
21:53These are Welsh onions and you plant them once and they will live for years and years and they'll just
21:59keep dividing and producing more and more onions.
22:02With watering, I'm worried about the sort of shallow depth of soil in the summer and keeping everything watered.
22:08So I think I'm going to have to cover everything with a thick mulch and try and keep as much
22:14moisture locked in as possible.
22:18I've got a couple of these babington leeks left.
22:21Leeks that will basically grow out into like clumps of little baby leeks.
22:27You plant them once and they'll give you multiple harvests.
22:32I started gardening about five or six years ago.
22:36So when I bought the boat, I knew that I had to find a way to make gardening work and
22:41turn the roof into my own little garden.
22:48So this is the front of the boat, also known as the bow.
22:53And this is where I like to have a lot of colour and cheerfulness because a lot of people that
22:59walk past the boat say how happy it makes them to see flowers.
23:02So I've got some honesty here, which is great for pollinators.
23:10It's just a lovely way to live and you always feel like you're really connected to nature and the seasons.
23:16This is only my first spring on the boat, but I'm hoping that by the summer it's going to be
23:20absolutely overflowing with plants.
23:22I'm hoping it can be a wild, abundant, magical garden.
23:27Thank you so much for joining me.
23:29I hope you enjoyed having a little look around my floating garden.
24:05You know, when I moved to London at the very beginning of the 1980s, we very nearly bought a houseboat
24:11and wanted to live on it.
24:13But I turned it down because I thought I must have a garden and I couldn't have a garden on
24:17a houseboat.
24:17Well, Amy has proved me wrong.
24:19Not only can you have a garden, you can have a beautiful garden.
24:21So that's fantastic.
24:23Now, the grass borders here, if you remember, I cut back at the very beginning of March and it's brutal.
24:31You take everything out, clear it back to the ground and it stays pretty empty for a month or so,
24:37depending on the weather.
24:38However, it's beginning to grow.
24:41Some are already up to knee height and within a few months' time, things like the big miscanthus will be
24:47as tall as I am and grow taller yet.
24:49But the key thing about all these grasses and this spot here is that they are open to full sun.
24:56But I've got some grasses in my barrow which are perfect for shade.
25:12This is the woodland garden.
25:13At the end of summer, we started to replant it as not just a woodland border but incorporating the trees,
25:19incorporating the shade and making the most of it.
25:22This barrow is full of grasses that not only will cope with dry shade but actually thrive in it.
25:29And if you get the right one, I think they look great in shade and in woodland settings.
25:34So that's what I'm doing.
25:35The first is one called Hakonon Kloa.
25:38It's become very trendy.
25:40It creates these low mounds like sort of a low bubbling fountain that spills out and the leaves bend up
25:49and then fall over to the ground.
25:52And if I plant it near the edge of a path, it won't grow too big but it will just
25:56soften that edge and it means I can plant it around the roots of trees.
25:59So this is going to do a job for me for that.
26:02That will spill out nicely.
26:04Let's have another spiller there.
26:11Tucked in behind the yew here.
26:14There we go.
26:15This can go here like that.
26:22I wonder if we could get that in there.
26:25The key thing at this stage is not to try and be too controlling.
26:30Try it out.
26:31Move them about.
26:32And then when you've decided where you want them, it's very easy.
26:35You just make a hole in the ground, take it out of the pot, pop it in, job done.
26:40Now, the other grass that will serve me very well in here is called Cecilaria autumnalis.
26:47And the name is a clue because it actually thrives best in spring and autumn.
26:53Semi-evergreen.
26:54So I thought that here I put three.
26:58Now, you notice I'm putting this in the clump.
27:00I'm actually going to go to third because this is a grass that looks best in clumps or groups or,
27:09if you've got a lot, drifts.
27:10So I'm thinking something like that.
27:15Not too close to the hellebore, so maybe more like that.
27:18It's a foot.
27:18Let's go.
27:51I'll get the rest of these in the ground now, but just a reminder that whatever you're
27:56planting at this time of year, even if it's something that thrives in dry shade, give
28:02it a soak when you plant it. Water it in well, and that sets it off to cope with whatever
28:07summer may bring. We're going to join Adverley now, who has gone up to Scotland, to Fife,
28:14to the Backhouse Rossi Estate, where she revels in some extremely unusual and rare daffodils.
28:26As a huge fan of daffodils, there's nothing to rival a daffodil festival in full bloom.
28:34And when those flowers carry history in their petals, it's even better.
28:39And this array includes the national collection of Backhouse daffodils, blooms created by one
28:50family over several generations since the 1800s.
28:56To me, the oldest blooms often carry the best secrets and stories.
29:03But one particular daffodil is here thanks to the brilliance and passion of several determined
29:11women.
29:13The Backhouse family were originally bankers and Quakers. But alongside their work life,
29:21several of the Backhouse men started breeding daffodils, very successfully.
29:30Initially, the only daffodils in Britain were the wild ones, which were seen as rather common.
29:36But as new varieties were produced in different colours and different shapes, they became very fashionable.
29:47Then in 1884, Robert Ormston Backhouse, a banker and daffodil enthusiast, married Sarah Elizabeth
29:56Dodgson, having been introduced to her at a Quaker meeting house.
30:03Sarah was the daughter of a pharmacist who grew up seeing her father using plants to prepare
30:11and dispense medicine. And on the back of this knowledge, a whole new era of Backhouse daffodils began.
30:24Sarah had the perfect springboard. Her father-in-law had already cultivated a breathtaking collection,
30:31which she inherited. She developed it into something entirely her own, creating a new range of daffodils
30:40in all shapes and sizes.
30:47This is Lord Kitchener, with its ruffled trumpets and contrasting white petals with a twist.
30:56Sarah named her daffodils with retail in mind. At the time, Lord Kitchener was a well-known military man,
31:05so by naming it after him, it immediately gave the flower selling power.
31:12Her tactics worked, and as she created more incredible daffodils, she caught the eye of other growers.
31:24This is sunrise, with these gorgeous gold rays spreading from the centre.
31:31It was really popular, and in her papers, there's an order for a thousand bulbs at two shillings each.
31:39Some of her later daffodils sold for much more.
31:45Sarah set her heart on creating daffodils with different coloured trumpets or cups.
32:00This is a classic Sarah Backhouse red cup daffodil, set off by these beautiful ivory petals.
32:12She named it after another daffodil grower called Dick Wellband, and it's truly striking.
32:24Obviously, none of this happened overnight.
32:28Daffodils can take five years from seedling to flower,
32:33and some of her varieties needed three crosses or more.
32:38But Sarah had the patience and passion.
32:47This is a list of just some of the daffodils that Sarah created.
32:52There are pages and pages of them, and these are just the A's, the B's and C's.
32:59So you've got Abundance, you've got Alba, you've got Albion Star,
33:04because all in all, she created over 500 varieties.
33:10She won countless RHS awards of merit,
33:14and was the first woman to receive the coveted Peter Barr cup.
33:21But one of her biggest achievements was the first ever pink cupped daffodil.
33:29Pink cups don't occur naturally in nature,
33:33and it's likely it took Sarah over 20 years to create one.
33:39But when Sarah's descendant, Caroline Thompson,
33:42started tracking down the backhouse varieties,
33:45she couldn't find the pink cups growing anywhere.
33:49However, she did have inside knowledge.
33:54How did you find it, Caroline?
33:57Well, it was my mother.
33:59She remembered as a small child, Robert Backhouse, her older cousin,
34:05coming to her grandparents' house with a gift of the pink daffodils.
34:13When we heard the story, decided to go down to Herefordshire,
34:19and have a look at what is now a nursing homes, grounds, and see if they were still there.
34:27Amazingly, they were in the exact spot her mother remembered them being planted.
34:35These are so beautiful.
34:38They're not like a barbie pink, are they?
34:42They're more like a salmon.
34:43These I find beautiful because during the longest part of their flowering,
34:53they are this salmon-y coral pink from the tip of the rim right down to the base.
35:01To begin with, they come out a sort of yellowy colour,
35:04and when they're older, they fade to a whitey colour.
35:07But for that longest full flowering period, they are pink,
35:12and they are the first true pink daffodil.
35:15The public loved them, and they were the most widely grown and most popular daffodil for about 90 years.
35:23Are they later flowering?
35:25Yes, absolutely, they are.
35:28Sarah Backhouse created narcissus that would flower early,
35:34through to ones which would flower right the way through to mid-May.
35:38These will be flowering in our garden, and they are fabulous at that time of year.
35:43They come up and look like glorious fireworks.
35:50These days, there is some irritation that Sarah's most famous flower is called Mrs. R. O. Backhouse,
35:59which is mostly Robert's name.
36:02But that was normal for the time, and her husband fully acknowledged his wife's prowess.
36:12In a letter after her death, Robert made it clear exactly where the genius lay.
36:22He wrote,
36:23I hope to continue to care for her beautiful flowers, but I fear the supply of new varieties will cease.
36:31I just know that she would be delighted to know that several generations later,
36:39a female relation would be keeping her legacy alive.
37:02I love the fact that Mrs. R. O. Backhouse was discovered just down the road from here,
37:09in Herefordshire. And I'm sure there's probably more lurking around the country somewhere,
37:14and the RHS would love to know if you have her in your garden.
37:18So there's Mrs. R. O. Backhouse and a couple of others. There's Mrs. William Copeland,
37:23and also one called Sussex Bonfire. Those three are very rare, but they probably are out there,
37:29and could be in your back garden. So if you think you've got them, or one of them,
37:35go to our website, and it will tell you how you can let the RHS know, and then what to
37:39do about it.
37:42Come on, then.
37:48Now, should I throw the ball? Go on, off you go.
37:54At this time of year, of course, we all want colour, whether it be rare, exotic, unusual colour,
37:59or even just the brightness, the freshness of green on a lovely sunny spring day.
38:05But actually, if you've got a shady garden or a shady corner, you can still make something
38:12that is really beautiful and use colour to do it.
38:30I've got here the ingredients for what I think will be a really good display.
38:36Nice big pot, crop to put in the bottom, and then your compost mix is worth taking trouble over.
38:44You can just use peat-free compost you buy, and that will work sort of 80-85% as well
38:51as a mix.
38:51But the plants I've chosen, which are ferns and fuchsias, like an open, loose mix.
38:57So I've added leaf mould. If you haven't got leaf mould, you know, just think of something, maybe a bit
39:03of coir.
39:04I've added a little bit of sieve compost, and that has made a mix that is nice and loose,
39:09and the roots will get down in there and be cool. So, half fill the pot.
39:20Now we'll start with the fern. It's Arthurium nipponicum red beauty.
39:26And this Arthurium is special because the leaves have colour.
39:31They're suffused with a sort of grey, silvery stain, and this beautiful burgundy sort of central stem
39:39going down the frond and going out into the side fronds. It does not like being dry.
39:45So, wherever you put this pot, you've got to have access to water and remember to water it at least
39:50weekly.
39:51I'm going to plant my centrepiece towards the back.
39:54If you're going to go see round the pot, obviously it needs to go in the middle.
39:57And the old saying that you have a pillar, a filler and a spiller works pretty well,
40:03but this has to class as the pillar. And so we'll take it out the pot and position it like
40:10that.
40:12Now, a little bit more around it.
40:17But that leaves plenty of space for the next addition.
40:22Now, my filler is a fuchsia called Annabelle.
40:26Annabelle is a very well-known fuchsia. It's got lovely, very pale flowers.
40:31It's a bushy plant and fairly upright. In fact, you quite often see Annabelle grown as a standard.
40:35So, it's got one central stem and then a circular top.
40:39The one thing to remember about fuchsias is they do need good drainage.
40:42They don't like to be too wet. So, if I'm watering the fern a lot, I must make sure there's
40:47drainage.
40:47So, they're not sitting in soggy compost. So, that goes in the middle ground like that and like this.
41:00I've got three.
41:03And then a little bit more compost in the front.
41:08And now I've got my foreground for the spiller. And this is another fuchsia called Harry Grey.
41:14This is the palest of pinks that will spill in profusion over the edge of the pot.
41:22These plants are very dry, so I'm going to have to give them a good soak.
41:26OK. I'm just filling around them. The final thing to do is put it in position and water it.
41:43Now, that can go down in front of this pot, which of course is also geared for shade.
41:49And actually, even in midsummer, this only gets about four hours of sun, but this will survive.
41:54And thrive. I'm confident about that. Now, the next thing to do is to water.
41:59And that really is important.
42:08It will take a month or so before the fuchsias start to flower.
42:13The great thing is that these will look at their best when other things are failing.
42:18So, they should look good in the summer and really at their best in September and October.
42:39Well, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is getting closer, and I know that everybody involved, whatever they're doing,
42:51they will be working around the clock to make sure that on the big day things are as perfect
42:57as they possibly can be and we went to visit a nursery growing enormous trees that look as
43:05though they're completely natural in the show garden and Elliot Barden of Majestic Trees
43:09showed us around. I've always been into horticulture it's been my dream job from day one
43:17but I really refined my interest for trees while I was studying at Kew and linking that with my love
43:24of production of plants meant that I could only really work at a tree nursery. The trees are
43:29important for the landscape because of all the ecosystem services that they provide things like
43:34wind dissipation, flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, habitat creation all of those sorts
43:39of things but at the same time they're important for the human element as well because of things
43:45like social health and mental well-being a lot of studies have been brought in that horticulture
43:50can be healing and it can be good for the mind. Tree selection is really important my three
43:59guidelines would be select the right species in the right place and for the right reason. There's
44:05many aspects that you need to consider such as ultimate size and space but more importantly how
44:10the tree is going to adapt to climate shifts. So there's a lot of research been done and there's
44:17some studies that are suggesting London's going to have the climate of Barcelona by 2050 possibly
44:22Azerbaijan by 2100 and a lot of our British native trees are simply not going to be resilient to those
44:29climates in that era. So that's when we need to start looking at perhaps some exotics that are going to
44:35fill the space where the natives are leaving but also provide the same ecosystem and biodiversity benefits.
44:42Non-natives are referred to as exotics and there's somewhere between 3,600 and 4,000 varieties in
44:49cultivation compared to our native tree species range which is somewhere between 30 and 35 species.
44:56So to have that diversity in the treescape will enable them to be resilient.
45:06I joined Royal Botanic Gardens Cue in 2013 fresh out of school and it was a steep learning curve.
45:12Cue is somewhere that you always have some connection and today we're working together looking at scientific research
45:19and how that can be put to best use in the commercial trade.
45:23It traps that moisture on the fine hair which cools the leaf down.
45:28My name is Kevin Martin, I'm Head of the Tree Collections at Royal Botanic Gardens Cue
45:32so I'm really trying to understand what the landscape is going to look like in a hundred years time.
45:37So with the research that I do specialising in urban trees it's critically important that we get the commercial nurseries
45:43on board
45:44because I can do research and I can find some of the most fantastic trees that are going to be
45:48more resilient to our future climate.
45:53When we think about selecting trees we have to really stop and think deeply now.
45:59We can't just select trees on horticultural merit, what the tree looks like so its bark, the colour of its
46:04leaves.
46:05What we need to start thinking deeply about is the function.
46:08We're looking at cooling, we're looking at shade, we're looking at rain interception.
46:13They're the questions we need to ask ourselves now, not just what that tree looks like.
46:18Chelsea's going to be so important because when we think about trees and when we think about selecting trees we
46:24need a cultural change.
46:26And that's the biggest thing. And where else are you going to be able to start that conversation about cultural
46:31change than at Chelsea?
46:35So Kevin, these are the possible selected trees for our Chelsea stand here.
46:40Start with this Circus canadensis forest pansy with a beautiful purple leaf, it's got some flowers on.
46:47Great, they're a really standout tree. Very well suited, especially for those urban dry environments.
46:53And that's what we need to try to explain. Just because they're resilient trees doesn't necessarily mean they're boring.
47:03So next we have Taxodium distichum, which is famous for thriving in swampy, wet conditions.
47:10If we're having an area that's prone to flooding, for instance, these are the trees we need to start looking
47:15at.
47:15And they're just really good, ornamental trees, but they have a purpose now.
47:23One of the last trees to talk about is Sorbus olympic flame, which has lots of benefits in terms of
47:31climate resilience and benefits towards other species.
47:33It's got that spring flower. It's really important for our pollinators.
47:37And then we've got that food source for the birds when the berries come out.
47:40And again, look at that for a stunning architectural tree, but yet it's still providing other services.
47:45And that's what makes trees like this so stunning to have in our gardens.
47:51The trees we plant today, they're going to see a different world in a hundred years time.
47:58The climate is going to be very different. The growing conditions are going to be very different.
48:01So that's really the scale that we're working in.
48:03And it's critically important we get that message out there now, because by planting trees, we can then help with
48:09climate mitigation.
48:12And trees are going to be one of the main backbones of this mitigation as we go forward for the
48:17next few decades.
48:19So, Kevin, it's been really hard overall selecting trees for Chelsea, which not only look special and pleasing for people
48:26to see,
48:27but also have some of these traits we've been talking about.
48:30So overall, I hope I've done a good job, but the proof will be in the pudding when it comes
48:36to judging, won't it?
48:36It will do. Yeah, it'll be all down to the judges.
49:07It's a great place.
49:08This idea of having to choose trees in response to climate change
49:13is something we're all having to wrap our heads around.
49:16It's actually quite a big ask because we've grown up with trees
49:19as such a significant part of our culture in literature, in art, in poetry.
49:25The shapes and outlines and features of our native trees
49:29are such an important part of our lives that to change that,
49:34well, it may be interesting, but it's going to be quite demanding.
49:38But at the same time, we don't have to abandon a lot of the trees that we love.
49:42And this year has been a brilliant year for blossom.
49:46And the crab apples. This is a crab apple called Everest.
49:49And it's such a joy to have that blossomy week
49:53with these white flowers floating above the paradise garden.
49:57And then they fall like confetti and the year moves on.
50:01But for that one week, it is paradise indeed.
50:21It's not a good idea.
50:21OK, come on.
50:25Now, are you going to help me cut the time? Are you? Are you?
50:29I think it's probably not a good idea, OK?
50:32Or would you like to? Look, it smells delicious.
50:36Stop showing off.
50:38Right.
50:39Um, this is thyme. Common thyme.
50:42And like all Mediterranean herbs, it doesn't really want to grow here at Longmeadow,
50:46which is why I've got it growing in a pot.
50:49But thyme and all Mediterranean herbs have this tendency to become very woody.
50:54And so, the answer, if you're growing it for the kitchen, is to trim it hard now
50:59till you get a new flush of leaves.
51:01So that's what I'm going to do here.
51:03Certainly start off by cutting off all the really old, bare growth like that.
51:11And go hard.
51:15When you're cutting back, any plant really, but certainly these Mediterranean herbs,
51:21as long as you cut back to something, in other words, there's fresh new growth below your cutting point,
51:27it'll regrow.
51:28Whereas if you cut just into old wood and just leave a bare stem, the chances are it won't regrow.
51:35And that applies to lavender, to rosemary, to sage and thyme equally.
51:40It will look a little bit sort of cropped for a week or two, but it will grow back.
51:57These plants probably will only serve this year, and then they'll be irretrievable.
52:03And we'll have to start again.
52:05And I think probably with thyme you'll have to think of replacing it at least every three years,
52:09if not every other year.
52:10So I've trimmed this back, but I'm also going to sow some seed,
52:15so that I know next year and the year after I can replace these plants and lots of others beside
52:22it.
52:33When you're sowing the seed, just as growing the plant, just remember where it comes from.
52:38It needs poor soil and lots of drainage.
52:41So don't add any garden compost to your seed mix, there's no need to do that.
52:46But do add some extra drainage if you possibly can.
52:49It could be sand, it could be grit, vermiculite, anything just to loosen it up.
52:54So, I've added vermiculite to a coir-based compost.
53:01Just level it out.
53:05Now, thyme seed is pretty small.
53:09So if you see the seed here...
53:13There we go.
53:15Now, each one of those, of course, is a potential plant.
53:18And the fact that they're brown and the compost is brown means you can't see where you've sown.
53:21But just try and sprinkle it as evenly as you can.
53:28The main thing to do is to avoid grouping in any one area,
53:31because the seedlings and the ultimate plant will do much better if they have a decent amount of room from
53:39the outset.
53:40Now, I'm not compacting this.
53:43All I'm doing is just making sure that the seeds have good contact with the compost.
53:48With most seeds, I would then cover that with either some more compost or some vermiculite.
53:53But thyme seedlings need light in which to germinate.
53:59So leave them. Leave them open like that.
54:02Label them.
54:04This is just straightforward thyme.
54:07Now, if I watered that from above, however gently I did it, there is a slight risk that it will
54:14move the little tiny seeds to the edge of the container.
54:19So much better to water it from below.
54:26So just have a shallow tray, pop it in, and leave it until you can see the compost staining with
54:35the water.
54:36Drain it, put it somewhere bright.
54:39OK, that's a job which will bear harvest sometime in the future, but here are some jobs for this weekend.
54:58When your tulips have finished flowering, snap off the seed heads.
55:03This is a very satisfying thing to do because they come off easily.
55:06Don't cut back the stem and lead the leaves.
55:10But this means that all the goodness, instead of going into making seeds, will go back into the bulb for
55:15next year's flower.
55:22If you grow tree ferns and have protected them over winter, now it's safe to unwrap them.
55:28Release the fronds. If they're looking raggedy, you can cut these right back because they'll soon be replaced.
55:33But on the other hand, if they're still looking good, leave them for a while.
55:36In either case, it's really important to give them a good soak.
55:40And tree ferns have many of their roots on the trunk, and this is what you need to keep moist.
55:46So soak the fronds and the trunk, rather than the roots in the ground.
55:58It's time to sow sweet corn.
56:01Either use a three inch pot, sowing two seeds to a pot and then removing the weakest of the two
56:06seedlings, or one to a plug.
56:09But do make sure it is the deepest plug that you can find.
56:13Press them gently into the compost, cover them over, and then water them well.
56:17And do so from above, because with that depth of compost, they don't soak up so well.
56:23Put them somewhere warm to germinate.
56:26The heat is important, but if they're warm enough, the seedlings should appear in a week or so.
56:58I want to finish, if not on a high note.
57:01A low one which I hope actually makes everybody feel a bit better, because I'm going to finish with a
57:07disaster.
57:08The garden's looking lovely.
57:09We work really hard to make it look as good as possible.
57:13But still, things go wrong.
57:16And it happens to all of us.
57:18And here we have, in the cottage garden, a rose, or at least it was a rose, called Ypsilanti.
57:25A Gallica rose, beautiful flowers, and like most Gallicas, seemingly just able to cope with anything.
57:33But this has got hit by fire blight.
57:36And fire blight is a bacterial infection which looks as though it's been blowtorched.
57:40Hence the name, fire blight.
57:42All the rose family are prone to it, and we've got it in the garden, and it's never going to
57:47go away.
57:47But because of our very wet, warm winters, that makes it worse.
57:51There's not much you can do about it.
57:53What I will do with this is cut it back, burn the offending stems, dig out the roots, and burn
58:00those too.
58:00If you can't burn them, then pack them up and get them taken away to the council tip.
58:05And I won't replant into it till the autumn.
58:08When everything is clear, I will then clean out the soil a little bit and put another rose in that
58:14is less prone to flower blight.
58:16But for the moment, it's just a pity.
58:20Nevertheless, everything else in the garden is looking wonderful.
58:25Next week, we're going to join Joe and Rachel at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.
58:32And I will see you back here at Longmeadow in a couple of weeks' time.
58:36So until then, bye-bye.
59:02Bye.
59:02Bye.
59:03Bye.
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