- 28 minutes ago
RHS Chelsea Flower Show - Season Episode 2
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00:18Hello and welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 an event supported by Range Rover we're so
00:26excited to be back here to share loads of inspiration for your garden at home our team
00:32of experts are standing by with lots of tips and money-saving advice helping you have a fantastic
00:38garden without it costing you a fortune now our show is all about making an impact we've had a
00:44look around and there are so many things here that are making a statement and standing out whether
00:48it's the bright flowers to water features beautiful absolutely beautiful those important first
00:54impressions as you walk through and what's so lovely when we're here is it doesn't matter how
00:58large your garden is whether you've got a patio container balcony there really is something for
01:04everyone including amazing house plants and that's what we're here for is those take home things yes
01:09brilliant now it's press day and the amazing floor displays and show gardens have already caught the
01:15attention of the world's media so today if you too want to make a real statement with your green space
01:22we're going to be showing you how to garden to make an impact from the biggest and brightest
01:28blooms to bold border recipes and the latest from tree trends plus i'll be talking to alex jones and
01:35roman kemp about the new rose celebrating the 20th anniversary can you believe of the one show
01:41it's incredible 20 years because that's part of your team isn't it i know how long have you been with
01:46them 20 years 20 years i know i know we'll also be catching up with francis tophill on creating a
01:53feature garden with his majesty the king's foundation and i'll be talking to dame elaine page about what
01:59she's hoping to find at chelsea this year i'm making a beeline for the roses because i need to learn
02:07how to deadhead them first i've just stepped off main avenue and onto the children's society garden
02:16and who better than design expert toby buckland to show us how we can be inspired by this amazing
02:24garden and toby it is beautiful it's a plot with pizzazz a pizzazz yes but is it really impactful as
02:32you
02:32walk through well yeah the designer patrick clark he is a master magpie he's brought together old
02:41material stuff from skips turned it into something new something that looks expensive it's all to do
02:46with the dna of this garden the theme is wabi-sabi which is the japanese art of making good stuff
02:52from
02:53things that are broken repairing them making them better so how can we be smaller master magpies in our
02:59garden to get this impact it doesn't look like it at first because it looks so expensive but see
03:04these paving yes tiles here these aren't from some italian showroom these are from a skit these are
03:10paving stones municipal ones sliced up polished with olive oil and they just look expensive but they're
03:17not and what about the frame i would never have thought of using a steel frame like this in my
03:22garden
03:22well this one again recycled material every picture every piece of art needs a frame and that's what this
03:28does it gives the garden a lovely outline ties it all together and links it in the metal work it
03:32glows looks beautiful and we've got to mention the water i mean to have a water feature in a garden
03:37for
03:37me is the ultimate but it doesn't need to be on this scale it doesn't but the things you can
03:42get from
03:42this relate to every garden that sound the babble so relaxing and wonderful and of course it reflects
03:48all the plants in the garden the silver of the early agnes is really gorgeous it fills the air with
03:53fragrance the planting is simple and i think this is a lesson of less is sometimes more you don't need
03:59to ram out your borders and make them completely full to create impact are you ready for the first
04:05question from our viewers of the week yeah yeah no pressure leah asks i have a small paved area how
04:10can
04:10i make the most of the space i've got well leah if you're good at building you can have a
04:16really tidy
04:16finish smart joints make it look really tight in chelsea or go more cottage garden mixed materials like
04:23patrick's done say gravel and stone leave little gaps of plants as well and your whole thing will
04:27have a naturalistic look yes so relaxed but still beautiful yeah beautiful useful useful always useful
04:35thank you so much toby there are loads of different ways to make an impact in your garden and one
04:40of the
04:40easiest is with some beautiful bright flowers so garden designer sue kent has put together the ultimate
04:47guide for first-time gardeners who want to use color to give their green space the wow factor
05:02if you want to start growing your own flowers then annuals are a great place to start they grow and
05:07flower and set seed all in one year and for the price of a packet of seed you get lots
05:12of plants making
05:13them really cost effective and they flower for ages through the summer and there are lots of plants to
05:20choose from calendula also known as pot marigold will plant sunshine in your garden not only is it
05:36ornamental but it's edible too the seeds they produce are large and easy to handle so they're a terrific
05:44plant for any new budding gardener
05:56look at this petal perfection these are cosmos with their fern-like leaves and their open flowers
06:03they're great for pollinators like butterflies and bees lots of people think they just come in the
06:09pink and white but there's so many more varieties to choose from some of the petals have different
06:15shapes like the pinwheel pink and they have turned their petals inwards to form tubular rays
06:20up there is something called a fondant fancy who doesn't love a fondant fancy and the petals have
06:27all been fused to give a sort of bowl-like shape they come in different heights and the smaller ones
06:33look
06:33great in pots and then you can vary it in your border if you're planting them in your border they
06:39look
06:40fantastic they give a real lift of color throughout it but the one thing that you need to do to
06:45keep
06:46them looking good all summer is to deadhead them regularly
06:58nigella better known as love in the mist these beautiful cottage garden plants are so easy to grow
07:06all they need is free draining soil and a sunny position make sure the soil is damp and scatter the
07:11seeds where you want them and before you know you'll see these beautiful filigree leaves and then these
07:17lovely flowers will appear as if they're floating on top they make great cut flowers but don't cut all
07:23the heads off because you need the seed heads to form and then they'll scatter seeds and the magic will
07:29happen again next year
07:37we aren't the only ones keen to get a first look at the gardens and a peek inside the gray
07:42pavilion in
07:43search of inspiration in fact there's quite a few familiar faces also on the hunt for ideas
07:54it's such a place of inspiration it's such a place where you can come and be inspired to take things
07:59back home but just enjoy as well i do like gardening for sure you know going outside and being in
08:08the
08:09fresh air and planting different plants at different times of the year i'm actually looking for inspiration
08:16from my outfit i get a lot of my inspiration from nature nice brown tones and creams
08:24most of all i just like beautiful things and i think that a garden is a beautiful thing especially
08:29one like this which is so urban you see the thought that goes behind it everything has its sort of
08:34right place i think wow this is amazing how can i take a little piece of tom stewart's garden and
08:41bring
08:41that into my own back home that's what i love about this place because flowers and plants redeem us
08:50all they literally are our life-giving force and under these great trees and with scudding clouds i mean
08:56there's no better place to be these flowers are from my garden and just in case i've got a stunt
09:02flower
09:03ready for when these start to wilt so far it's the pots and everything i've been looking at and the
09:09way
09:10they're all planted out and i've picked up a few ideas we've been growing vegetables in the last few
09:16years but we've we've changed from from growing them in a specific area now to growing them all over
09:20the garden so i think actually why not i love it i love a structure but i do love a
09:26wild meadow and a bit
09:27of wild grass going on so here it's absolutely heaven there's everything that you could possibly want
09:34yeah i've got a young family so my garden is all about practicality it's about playing games it's
09:39about running around it's about hiding in the trees i think if i heard something like this
09:43and the kids were running around in it i don't know if the gardeners would be too happy
09:52great to see so many familiar faces having a wonderful time here at chelsea this week
09:59angelica and i'll be joined by a whole range of top experts in floristry in crafts and also in
10:06planting they have got loads of hacks and tips to share inspired by the latest trends but without
10:12breaking the bank which we know is so important today i'm joined by renowned florist hazel gardner
10:19lovely to see you again hazel thank you so much with a name like hazel gardner you've got to be
10:24in
10:25floristry surely i mean i couldn't have done anything else goodbye nikki we're lucky to have
10:29you so we're inspired by all these gardens but we also want to be inspired in our own homes don't
10:35we
10:35we want floristry to make an impact absolutely hopefully you're going to show us some tips on
10:40that yes two different displays two different displays what are we starting off with so we're
10:44starting with a hero flower of mine hydrangeas lovely so they're so beautiful all you need is really
10:49one stem to make a huge impact so we've got um types i'm using here a mop head but you
10:55can get
10:56lots of different varieties such as um oak hydrangea oak leaf hydrangea here then we've also got panicolata
11:03which is more like cone shape also got lace cap but they're all beautiful but they're all slightly
11:08different and huge blooms this is absolutely huge so this is gorgeous just using three yes you're going
11:15slightly bigger i can see over here slightly bigger over here but i'm helped in both scenarios by the
11:19flower frog so this is an excellent piece of kit available kind of like on any online retailer flower
11:26frog or a kenzan and i really suggest you to get one not expensive not expensive really really affordable
11:32and what they allow you to do is just really curate your stems really heavy stems can sit in that
11:37and
11:37they'll be absolutely fine so it's perfect for things like hydrangeas you've got a big one there i've
11:41got a big one here because i am going to be making a much bigger arrangement you've got it forever
11:45i'm
11:45guessing got it forever and they all come in different sizes so they're so perfect so i've
11:50got a larger bowl here because i'm going to make a beautiful display so you can either pick up one
11:53or
11:53two flower heads or you can get a whole bunch so as i said i've got these mop heads and
11:58i've chosen two
11:59different colors the reason because when they dry out they really really fade in color which is beautiful
12:05but what you want is really vivid colors and then they will dry with that color still in it so
12:10the
12:10brighter the color the better for later exactly exactly and they they will go a bit dusky but
12:15yes the brighter the better so i'm cutting them here always cut them at an angle and then normally
12:20i would cut them vertically as well just so all that water gets up to the stem because they're
12:24very very thirsty and it's easy also to put into the flower it's easier to put in the flower frog
12:28as
12:29well so i've got two different colors because what i find is having a one tonal display is lovely but
12:34it's just lovely to show how beautiful the color ranges of these flowers are depends if you've got
12:40acid or alkaline soil look how quickly you do it i know it's straight in this is the thing a
12:45lot of
12:45us grow hydrangeas yeah so they'd be perfect from the garden give them a drink first exactly yes they're
12:51very very thirsty so you might might have a situation where they're wilting such as this one you can see
12:56yes and all you do is submerge the actual head in water really and then it will bounce back lukewarm
13:02water lukewarm water
13:03for a couple of hours or you can cut it and then put it in boiling water for like 10
13:07seconds and that
13:08will perk it right back up look at that's already looking good we're nearly finished and so you could
13:14leave them in your garden i've got three different types of hydrangeas in my garden you can leave them
13:18in the garden so they look a bit kind of dusky and then pick them they're very good for like
13:21pollinators
13:22but yeah just pick them first thing in the morning if you are going to harvest them and you put
13:27flower
13:27food in there as well i don't tend to i just like using lots of water change the water daily
13:32you can
13:33also miss the head of hydrangeas that's a good idea they actually soak up a lot of their hydration
13:37yeah last one last one so you can see here i've done an asymmetrical design not using a lot of
13:45stems
13:45with my flower frog and that is it look at that literally in a couple of minutes transformed blooming
13:53beautiful stunning isn't it so this will keep in the vase like this for one or two weeks
13:57then when it gets to that stage you just need an inch of water let them dry and they will
14:01completely dry
14:01out in situ just perfect gorgeous absolutely gorgeous such great work and hazel you're going
14:07to be back a little bit later to show us how to make a splash indoors with lemons who knew
14:17i love hazel's work she's the best now it's time to meet a new member of the chelsea team it's
14:22garden designer flo headland welcome thank you good to be in the space we're loving having you here now
14:28viewers will know you from garden rescue but tell us a bit more about the gardens you specialize in
14:32well i work in the london and southeast area with families really lots of family gardens big and small
14:38you know the full range and it's about giving every single brief the due care and attention that it needs
14:45now i know you're brilliant with small gardens because sometimes you've got to be extra creative with
14:48those don't you definitely because actually whether you've got a small garden or a big garden
14:53you still want the same experience so you need to pack all of those features in that small space
14:58and keep it feeling airy and you need to be clever with budget as well yes because budgets are often
15:03really tight so it's about being being clever upcycling recycling having items that are multi-functional
15:11in that space that will help with making the much budget go further and money saving tips yes that's
15:17what i'm going to be looking at today money saving tips inspirations ideas lots of takeaways for the
15:22viewers and these are things you'll be focusing on all week so we're looking forward to seeing that
15:26well earlier flo headed over to one of the balcony gardens to decode some of the best design ideas
15:32that you could use in your green space no matter how big or small it is let's see how you
15:37got online
15:45compact spaces can be seen as quite a challenge but with some clever planning
15:50you could end up with a space like this
15:56a really good approach to your planning is to think of your space in zones and that will make
16:00it easier for you to then get into the detail of how to plan and plot everything so on this
16:06balcony
16:06the right hand side is about productivity there's a potting table here for just starting off with your
16:13seedlings and then another table here for potting on growing nurturing your plants and then around on
16:20the floor lots of different modular pots where we're actually growing and maturing the plants
16:26the space is divided by this pot a really good size and containing this gorgeous pomegranate tree
16:33it gives you height and that's another thing when you're in a small space think bold think big and
16:39put some height in because it's great to to lift the eye the left hand side is about relaxation there's
16:45some
16:46gorgeous outdoor furniture a place to come out and sit and relax but then you're still surrounded by the
16:52garden but all of the pots with the produce and the flowers all kind of productivity going on but
16:59you're sitting in the middle of it and enjoying it
17:07now at the top of this balcony garden is this pergola it's great for creating height in a space
17:14and gives you the opportunity to grow something like a grapevine which will scramble over the top
17:20and give you a canopy and some shade which is always really important in a garden but if you don't
17:24want to grow a grapevine you can grow roses clematis ivy sweet pea anything that's going to give you some
17:32coverage over the top and just beautify the space now pergolas can be quite expensive but you can get the
17:39same effects with garden wires or tension wires same effects but just friendlier on your budget
17:53now this corner is all about maximizing your growing space this curved raised bed is packed with edibles
18:01we've got cabbage we've got packed oil we've got fennel but as well as edibles there are some perennials as
18:08well and that's the thing you don't have to do one or the other bring them both together because for
18:13example by putting in the gems we're bringing pollinators into the garden oh we've also got
18:19nasturtiums which are great pops of color they trail down or you can trail them up and they're great in
18:26salads so edible flowers be experimental there are no rules and actually you learn as you experiment and
18:33you try things out and that's the thing about gardening every day is a learning day
18:43now if you've got a gardening question there's only one place to head for the answer of course
18:49it's the great pavilion here at chelsea it is packed with experts with advice on how to grow your
18:55favorite plants today i'm at peter beale's roses stand with head rosarian brilliant name ian limmer
19:02head rosarian that is quite a title it is i suppose um working with roses for 40 to 50 years
19:09you you get
19:10to know a lot of different varieties and so on but uh yeah it's a lovely title isn't it well
19:14we know that
19:15roses are the most popular flower aren't they most popular plants throughout the whole of the uk
19:19but if someone has never grown a rose before how easy are they really uh really easily just put them
19:26into the ground the most important thing to do is uh for the first year is keep them well watered
19:31and liquid fed something like you know tomato feeders is good enough because what we want is the flowers
19:38but the plant wants the roots to get established then it will give us good flowers don't just rely on
19:44the rain help them through once a week to during the summer months to get the roots established and
19:49what about size because we've got some smaller ones here what are these ones called along here we've got
19:53macmillan nurse over there are these shrub versions yes they're shrub roses shrub roses tend to be more
19:59lax than uh modern roses like hypertees and floribunders um and they can grow in any aspect anything
20:06from full sunshine to semi-shade um in woodland and so on so you've got something for everyone we've got
20:13something for everyone interesting some questions are you ready any advice for shrub roses in a shady
20:18part of the garden for a very shady part of the garden a good variety is um regosa called rosary
20:26de la
20:26hay um that will stand a lot of a lot of shade uh but there's also one which uh we
20:32which we grow uh
20:34ivas rose and that's a really good one really healthy and that's quite happily grown in in the shade
20:39excellent more questions for our viewers reese on instagram says should i be watering them or should
20:45i just let them drink from nature what a lovely way of putting it yeah water watering them as i
20:51said is
20:51very important for that first year but once they're established um we all lead busy lives you don't have
20:57to worry quite so much but maybe sometimes when people think i'll water the grass just give your
21:03roses a chance to water as well so once they're established relatively low maintenance very low
21:08maintenance people are very i think it's very complicated same with pruning very straightforward
21:13low maintenance but high on impact ian thank you very much you're welcome
21:20of course it is press day today and we've got some very special visitors from the one show it is
21:26alex jones and roman kent hello nicky welcome well this is like a second home to you here isn't it
21:31because it is peter peels roses and there's a little bit of a connection well there is because roman and
21:37i
21:37have come to see the one show 20th rose which has been grown by peter bean it's here isn't she
21:45a gorgeous creature smell beautiful to see the colors are sort of pink and red for the one show
21:52and then in the middle yeah we've got of course the proceeds going to children need so pudsy yellow
21:57you see however i mean come to have a look we know that the one shows a huge team but
22:02are you
22:02are you two like proud parents standing here with your baby yeah i mean i mean definitely alex
22:08was nearly welling up seeing but no it is i think it's not just for al and i but as
22:12you know as you
22:13say the one show as a team and i guess you know the viewers as well it's so nice for
22:17them to have
22:18something that feels you know close to home i guess yeah congratulations well it's a lovely way to celebrate the
22:2220th year
22:23and the fact that ourselves and our viewers can plant one in the garden is lovely isn't it it is
22:29so nice very personal i mean you've recently moved house into the countryside will you be planting one
22:34of your roses absolutely i've got a lovely space in the border have you already and where should we
22:40be planting this rose well apparently you testing you know i'm testing away but apparently you can
22:45plant in a pot if you haven't got lots of space you've got a balcony maybe or a small garden
22:49a pot is
22:50fine it has to be quite a big pot um but you can plant it into a border as well
22:55can you and it
22:56needs plenty of water in the first year because ian's just told me that there you are very first
23:00that's it very good your family loves gardening yeah martin and shirley came they're here every
23:06single year you grew up practically in the garden didn't you yeah i mean yeah it's it's always been
23:10a thing i think it's because also for my dad you know it was always his dad that was out
23:14in the garden
23:14when it came to well they they lived in in central london so any form of small garden space my
23:19grandmother was always out there and uh taught my dad a lot and then also for my mum uh very
23:25hands-on she's you know she's whether or not it's building work whether or not it's in the garden
23:30it's non-stop so i can't call home how a conversation at home will go is i'll call my dad
23:35and i'll go
23:35i'll go yeah where's where's mum and now i'll just hear joe joe oh hang on rose she's in the
23:40garden
23:40that's literally how it goes but how lovely though to grow up like that i mean i know that's important
23:45for
23:45your children as well isn't it oh absolutely i mean that that's the reason we moved out of london
23:50was to have a bit more space and the children especially annie our little girl who's four she
23:55just loves planting so she'll enjoy putting the rose in i'm sure absolutely it is gorgeous a huge
24:02congratulations and you're gonna mosey on around and enjoy the rest of the day well that's it we've
24:07got the one show tonight so we need to head off for that one and we'll be chatting more about
24:10our
24:1020th anniversary rose yes thank you both so much for joining us now roses are a summer staple that
24:17are perfect for making an impact plant expert carol klein has been in search of even more summer
24:23standouts that will keep your garden looking glorious from may right through to the autumn
24:33some say that chelsea is the start of the social calendar but it's also the debut of the floral season
24:43and this is just the place to look for this season's summer standouts
24:54for big bold and beautiful what could match the pure perfection of a peony some people would say
25:04but the flowers don't last very long no they're true shooting stars but while they're here you can't
25:13help but gaze into their voluptuous flowers and absolutely nothing in the garden can beat them for
25:21impact
25:26fascinating feature of these sumptuous blooms is not only do their petals feel as if they're composed of
25:34tissue paper but they change color too when they start the color is more concentrated but they fade
25:43to these soft and subtle hues
25:51when midsummer arrives you really want to go up in the world how about the spikes and spires of the
25:59bascans they're true summer stalwarts with these glorious flowers which go on and on for ages
26:08and one of my favorites is this fairly recent introduction called clementine they're such
26:14straightforward plants to grow all they require is decent drainage and a really sunny spot and that
26:21way they'll go on producing these flowers for absolutely months and months right the way through to late summer
26:31by the time late summer arrives you may be dreaming of that mediterranean holiday
26:37but there's no need to head for the airport if you grow these beautiful agapanthus because they can
26:43transport you to all the season oceans of the world from the deepest dark depths of the pacific
26:51to the bright and brilliant blue of the aegean and even the white froth of the waves as they splash
26:59against the shore and even if you haven't got a garden you can grow your agapanthus in a pot
27:09show-stopping pianist to vibrant the bascans to the moody blues of agapanthus look at that one
27:17that's blackjack you can keep your garden going with big beautiful blooms all summer long
27:31thank you carol now this year we've got some very special visitors to rhs chelsea who've all been
27:37part of a bbc rhs and tiktok search to find the hottest horticultural talent from the world of social
27:43media we'll be meeting all of them across the week but today i'm joined by four of them eli applebee
27:50donald is where nikosi dude lamp and naomi saunders and they are all first timers here at chelsea so
27:57this is pretty special isn't it eli it is it's so exciting so you're all about growing vegetables
28:03on the east coast of scotland yeah have you found any exciting edibles oh have i ever as a single
28:10edible
28:11i'll say plant fungus mushrooms i've seen a stall it's mushrooms every type you could imagine
28:18stuff i've never ever seen but the way it's put there for you to see just so beautiful the thought
28:24that's gone in and how it was presented so you could see them in all their finery and glory but
28:28then
28:28as gardens for edibles some of the container gardens the knowledge sharing that the tales of the river
28:34bank how to grow vegetables in small spaces and i see some of the most perfect pak choi i've ever
28:40seen
28:40in my life not a nibble on them that's amazing now is way yes you're all about encouraging novice
28:47gardeners into growing isn't that right that's correct what have you seen that you thought
28:51hmm that's something that i need to take away well there's really two things i've seen i am i i
28:56have
28:56not i had a very complicated relationship with grasses in my garden but i have just seen some of the
29:02grasses that have been displayed in some of these gardens here and my perceptions on what you can do
29:07with grasses in the space has absolutely changed that inspiration that i came for i found it in
29:13grasses so i've come here for inspiration because of i'm redoing my garden and i'm taking all of that
29:19back to mine so it's going to be absolutely exciting well you've got some points there that's brilliant
29:22but jude you're all about finding hacks and tips and tricks for gardeners aren't you yeah yeah so i'm
29:30covering a lot of gardening business related so i started a gardening business last year and i've just
29:34been recording the whole journey of it and taking people along with me and i mean i'm getting a lot
29:38of inspiration from this place one of my favorite things about this place is the japanese card i
29:42couldn't believe it honestly it's special yeah attention to detail every little thing is in the
29:48right place stones the moss everything's perfect and i'd love to have a go at creating something like
29:53that myself one of my clients gardens ever got the opportunity i really would and naomi house plants is
29:59your specialism what have you seen here at chelsea so i'm a massive lover of weird and wonderful
30:04house plants anything variegated textured bit of gangly growth i've even got a tattoo of an
30:10anthurium wire or quianum on my arm but one thing i in particular i'm really excited to get my hands
30:16on is a cactus that conservatory archives showed which is a matillo cactus geometrizans stacker which
30:22is a little knobbly bobbly cactus that grows on top of itself so yeah that's great i love that knobbly
30:27bobbly excellent guys have a wonderful time it's great to have you here there's still so much more
30:33to come from rhs chelsea flower show 2026 an event supported by range rover i'll be meeting dame elaine
30:41page to see what she's found at the show for her terrace and i'll be catching up with our very
30:46own
30:47sophie rayworth about why chelsea is so important to his majesty the king first though toby's back and
30:54he's showing you how to make an impact in your borders by being brave with statement trees
31:05this is an oasis of loveliness i mean look at it
31:08and it's the perfect place to talk about focal points because designer christina cop has created
31:18lots to look at in the garden beautiful things there are bird baths water features borders brimming
31:25with flowers a greenhouse to die for and the most beautiful trees
31:34the trees in this garden are really special this is a hazel there's a hornbeam there's a spindle bush
31:40behind me that these are hedgerow plants but what makes them so good is that they've been multi-stemmed
31:46and that's transformed them into living sculptures i mean why have one trunk when you can have five
31:53and actually this isn't a difficult way to garden and create a tree yourself you could dig a hole put
32:00five hazel trees in it and with time they'll come up and look like this or you could take an
32:06existing
32:06shrub in your garden a gloomy old evergreen and then turn it into a light-filled living sculpture simply
32:13by chopping away the lower branches all the way up to the canopy now when i used to work on
32:18a nursery
32:19we used to call this technique getting the plant to show some knee it's also known as crown lifting
32:24and you can see just how it transforms the plant and there's another advantage of having a multi-stem
32:30tree because the branches are growing cheek per jowl and the plant is kept pruned it stays below its usual
32:37height but like this you get the look of a mature tree but lower down the other thing it does
32:42it
32:43creates layers you've got the tree canopy above with its catkins in autumn color and at ground level
32:49a whole new bit of garden to plant up
32:58life under a tree isn't for every flower i mean avoid sun lovers with silver leaves like lavender
33:03and catnip but there are three categories that do really well though those with tap roots like fox
33:08gloves and fennel i mean think of a taproot like on a carrot that's basically a bit of plumbing that
33:13goes
33:13deep below the tree's roots and prospects for h2o then there are plants with wiry roots astrantias
33:20cranes bill geraniums they flop and spread and fill the gaps around the feet of the tree and don't
33:25forget self-sowers self-sowing plants well they garden themselves they do the work for you and find
33:31their way into little nooks and crannies aquilegias toad flax both of them are winners the thing to know
33:37is that the plants that you buy from nurseries and garden centers are straight out of compost and in their
33:41first summer the watering is down to you don't spare the hose of the h2o they'll soon get on their
33:47own
33:47roots and they'll become self-sufficient and they'll form well a beautiful frame and you need a frame for
33:53any focal point but around a multi-stem tree wow they look fantastic you don't immediately think about
34:02planting trees in borders but it works so well it's so effective now i'm back with floral genius hazel
34:10gardener who earlier on showed us how to create a beautiful display with hydrangeas and you're going
34:16to create aren't you hazel something equally gorgeous for our tables this time something equally as
34:21impactful come on so trends yes the huge trend at the minute is using edibles on tablescapes it's just
34:28really lovely to use an ingredient that you're also going to eat if you're hosting a celebration
34:32so i've chosen lemons today you've been busy because you've got another display in the great pavilion yes i've
34:38been surrounded by vegetables uh working with she grows veg in the great pavilion for a feast a
34:43tablescape full of edibles and this is something that we can do at home i would never dream of using
34:49lemons so what are we going to do so we've got loads of lemons here so what we're going to
34:53do is it's
34:53chelsea so more is more so we're going to stack our lemons almost like almost like building blocks so
34:59we've got just a common toothpick here yes so we're going to connect our lemons together so we're just going
35:04to pierce one end of the lemon and then literally put on another lemon on the other end and then
35:10we've connected two and then we're just going to keep on building so you just pierce and then add them
35:16in so it's almost acts like a scaffold so you can keep on stacking is this going to go next
35:21to the
35:22display yes as you can see here i've just built them in around my bud vases so it's just to
35:27really get
35:27home that we're using lemons almost like a prop almost like you would a vase i like that it's like
35:32a
35:32sculpture already it is it's gorgeous and so super simple so then to connect it to the flowers on the
35:38table i've got this gorgeous vase here of all seasonal flowers and i'm going to make a lemon
35:43become a flower so how i do that is i've got a longer cocktail stick yeah that i've actually cut
35:48in half then all i'm going to do is pierce it again almost to create like a stem and that's
35:55my flower
35:55head right and then i'm going to pop it in so this has again got a flower frog in so
36:00looking at the
36:00floral display you've sort of left space at the underneath haven't you to create exactly so if
36:05you are adding edibles do leave enough space to keep adding things in you don't want to use
36:10you don't want to get in the way of your flowers because i've got some gorgeous roses in here
36:14now i'm going to keep everything quite low to the vase because i want to connect them to the stacks
36:18and also if you put them too high you're going to have that bit of cocktail stick sticking out and
36:22nobody wants that so i'm going to stick another one in there so i've got my flower frog in there
36:26so
36:26that's fine i mean these are gorgeous lemons so nice is there a particular type you should buy if
36:31you're going to create this i would say unwax and organic where possible and then the great thing
36:36about that is like if you are having a party you can give them to all your guests afterwards or
36:39use
36:40them in cocktails or in water what a nice idea you can get these on the high street perfect on
36:44the high
36:44street you can get a whole bag for such an affordable price so if i connect over here so i'm
36:50going to pop
36:51that just know my other stack and then you can see how it almost looks like it's water falling i
36:57like
36:57that structure yeah and you could use other fruit i'm guessing what else could you use so other things
37:02that are great apples or plums or pomegranates anything like that is anything that you can kind
37:08of pierce would be fantastic and obviously anything that you're going to use in your cooking is even
37:12better and what about maintenance how often do you have to water them so this will be really good this
37:17is all very seasonal but what i would say if you're doing this outside put it put your flowers in
37:21at
37:21the last moment you don't want your flowers outside too much in the heat so just do it last minute
37:26and
37:26then pop all your kind of lemons around it so gorgeous so impactful and then when all your guests have
37:31gone you can reuse all the lemons exactly really really clever now angelica has just bought a whole summer
37:36set of crockery with lemons on she could do something like this actually a real maximalist moment that would be
37:41beautiful i love that for inside the home but also if you're dining al fresco exactly thank you
37:46so much for joining us it's fantastic do you know what that display would look great in my kitchen
37:53i love it now though it's time to meet a true legend of the west end stage we know her
37:59for wowing
38:00audiences through a 60-year career having starred in musicals such as a beta cat and chess but you may
38:07not know that she's rather green-fingered and uses the terrace of her london flat as the ultimate place
38:14to unride please welcome dame elaine page it's wonderful to have you here isn't it wonderful to
38:20be here amongst all this foliage and plants and flowers and just wonderful now not many people
38:26will know that it's when you were a little girl that you found a love of nature by potting plants
38:32in
38:33your maisonette i did we lived in our maisonette in barnet high street and um we didn't have a garden
38:39but we
38:39had pots and my mother has always loved flowers and gardening and so i i was first taught about
38:47planting and plants there in the masonette and then many years later we moved to east barnet where for
38:53the first time we actually had a proper garden and my mother made a wonderful rockery and my father's
39:01prime joy was the lawn he wanted to make it like wimbledon you know the the grass courts and and
39:09they
39:10would also plant vegetables we had um we had an apple tree and she would make lots of wonderful apple
39:16pies so that's where where i learned about gardening and um i think it's the thing of as well of
39:22always
39:22being in the theater all my life you're indoors and you're in the dark and uh the same in recording
39:28studios you're in the indoors in the dark so for me to be able to be in a garden or
39:34to have just
39:35even some pots some pretty flowers to look at uh yeah that just works for me yeah so those moments
39:42when you're outdoors hearing the birds absolutely must be really special well i've i'm lucky enough
39:47i live in a flat but i've got four little terraces and uh the sun comes up in the front
39:52and i usually
39:53have my morning tea there and listen to the birds as you say because i'm near battersea park so i
39:59hear
39:59them tweeting away and then as the sun moves around the apartment all day i sit in a different or
40:05if
40:06i'm able to you know a different uh terrace at different times of the day one for lunch and then
40:11right at the back for tea it's lovely so you must have a lovely vista of london i do i
40:16i look all across
40:17battersea park it's the most fantastic uh view because now it's all in bloom and i see the four
40:24seasons uh you know it's a wonderful thing to see but right now i think spring is my favorite because
40:30all the bugs and the shoots come out and you just suddenly see all those trees bloom it's fantastic
40:37now you have pots on your terraces i do i do what sort of things are you growing at the
40:42moment well i
40:42just before christmas i was going away for christmas time and i knew that when i came back
40:47in the spring there'd be nothing to look at so i found out about something called lasagna planting and
40:53i'd never heard of this before and um so i looked it up online and what to do and uh
41:00i learned how to
41:01do it basically it's like lasagna it's layers of bulbs and so i bought bulbs and the lower layer you
41:10put
41:10the the uh latest uh blooming flowers so things like tulips and um alliums and the tall ones and
41:22then the middle one is hyacinths and dwarf daffodil something like that and the top is uh the the earliest
41:29flowers like snowdrops and crocus and things like that and much to my amazement i mean i did it
41:36thought oh this is never going to work and when i came home uh and now spring became and suddenly
41:43this whole melange of all these most beautiful flowers appeared all together in my pots and it
41:49was just the prettiest thing lots of colors it was fabulous now i know that you love bright colors and
41:55also roses but you've been learning about that chelsea deadheading haven't you i have because i have
41:59some lovely roses a girlfriend of mine pauline uh gave me one for my birthday and i had other roses
42:06on the terrace as well surrounding my pots and i never quite know what to do with them so i
42:13just
42:13met this lovely man who's taught me how to deadhead roses and how to prune them and when to do
42:20it
42:20so i've learned a great deal about the maintenance of of roses today i'm eternally grateful well we've
42:28loved having you here elaine thank you so much now if like me you think of daffodils as a spring
42:33flower
42:33you'll be surprised to see them in full bloom here at the show in may well a few years ago
42:38dame mary
42:39berry went to discover how growers keep them looking their best for chelsea thank you
42:48there's nothing more exciting than when the first daffodils come into bloom in spring but come late
42:55may there is lots of other color coming to replace them so why would you bring spring bulbs to chelsea
43:06well for over 30 years taylor's bulbs have so i've come to lincolnshire to meet adam taylor
43:13the latest in a long line to nurture these spring staples adam i have never in all my life seen
43:22so
43:23many daffodils together it's really spring wonderful the beautiful sight isn't it it goes on forever
43:30so how many of you got here in this enormous field in total we have 4 000 tons of bulbs
43:36in the ground
43:37in this area they just look so organized they're in straight lines all along in the wind they look so
43:45special the trumpet type yes this is your classic yellow trumpet daffodil as people would call them
43:51variety called carlton it's what most people would imagine a daffodil is to be how many varieties have
43:57you actually got over the farm of daffodils we've got a lot of different varieties let me show you
44:08looking around this field it's just like a patchwork quilt all different colors
44:15yeah it's a beautiful sight isn't it mary there's 350 varieties here in total
44:20in this field yes in this field is it true that you should put daffodils always in one
44:27vase together and not add other flowers to it correct yeah daffodils like daffodils they don't
44:32like other flowers in the same vase they will shorten the shelf life of the other flowers
44:37i had no idea that there were so many varieties but why bring a spring daffodil to a summer show
44:43we like to show all the different varieties that we can offer it just gives people opportunity to
44:49be able to see all of the different flowering times on show in one go if we didn't take them
44:55to a show then it'd be a struggle to convince ourselves to actually keep this collection running
44:59some of the more discerning gardeners as well will come to the stand and they'll see varieties that
45:04have never seen before and they'll order them there and then because they'll want to make sure
45:08that they get those bulbs so they can have something special for their garden all these
45:12daffodils flower at different times from january to may how do you get them all together for the
45:20chelsea flower show we have a technique let me show you welcome to our 2000 ton potato store mary
45:31and this is where we keep our chelsea daffodils you've brought them into the cold yeah we have
45:36them paused in time at this temperature they've been on a journey already to get to here and then
45:42they carry on on that journey all the way to chelsea so these bulbs were harvested last june
45:47and then we've kept them in a shed all the way through until december at a warm temperature we've
45:51tried to make sure that the bulb thinks that it's summer all the way through until that time and then
45:56we plant them and then they root and as you can see they're very vigorous so as soon as we
46:01bring
46:01them into the glass house they'll go from this to full flowering in how long well within two to three
46:07weeks really yeah much quicker than they would do normally so here we are from the cold potato shed
46:13to the glamour of chelsea yes that's their journey mary
46:19you've had 26 gold so far what's the chance of a 27th there's every possibility isn't there we
46:27really hope that we can do it there's so many things that are out of our control but we'll do
46:31everything we can to come home with the gold medal adam i for one i'm thrilled that you're bringing spring
46:37daffodils to chelsea again and i wish you every possible success thank you mary i'm really in daffodil
46:47heaven there are so many to choose from i might be a while absolutely stunning and joining me now from
47:02taylor's bulbs is adam taylor hello well that was then this is now and i've got to say this display
47:09is absolutely beautiful and it was interesting to hear how much work goes into making sure all
47:14the daffodils bloom at the same time yeah it's always a risk because you're playing with their
47:18natural flowering season so bringing them here to a show at the end of may is always a little bit
47:24odd
47:24considering that they flower in march and april yeah so is it from january to may that different
47:30varieties will bloom yeah they're the extremes and so and not a lot of people know that you can have
47:36daffodils in flower in january or may but most of them are in that middle peak of march april season
47:42and they'll they'll always follow a period of time over that as well so some will be in early march
47:47others in late march and so you can have daffs in flower for a long period of time now daffodils
47:52they are fantastic for impact aren't they yeah really good in those dark early spring days when you
47:59haven't got as much natural light and all of a sudden you've got the bursts of yellow in particular
48:04a lot of my favorites tend to be the whites that come a little bit later i like them
48:08they complement blossom a lot of the time as well but we have such an array it's always daffs the
48:15yellow
48:15no there's more there is more to it and there's been two new varieties this year tell us about them
48:21yeah so wordsworth golden this one here uh is a variety that um we are using with our celebration of
48:28the
48:29national garden scheme centenary uh it's just a classic yellow it's got a great big corona uh
48:35which a lot of people find really quite attractive so this is one and another is heaver castle um heaver
48:42plant a lot of daffodils they have their own festival yeah and and so we named a variety in honor
48:48of
48:48everything that they do for our daffs amazing now adam i've got to say good luck thank you could be
48:53your
48:5433rd gold medal yeah we hope so i think the team have done a fantastic job and let's see where
49:01what we
49:01get well if i was judging thank you
49:09i'm here on the rhs and the king's foundation curious garden designed by none other than our
49:15very own francis top hill francis a huge congratulations you look fabulous today
49:22and the garden is amazing thank you are you relieved it's all finished are you delighted yes
49:29i need a bit of time for it to sink in i reckon in a month i'll know how it's
49:33gone
49:33yes at the moment i'm just so in it you know yeah amazing but to design a garden with his
49:39majesty
49:39the king sir david beckham and alan titchmarsh cbe i mean that is quite a responsibility that's the word
49:46for it that's what i felt a responsibility not to let anybody down and it's the rhs and the king's
49:51foundation as well but actually it's been a lovely collaboration alan's a great friend so he's been
49:57on the end of the phone whenever i've needed david's actually been really into the plug so he asked for
50:03things like napita six hills giant and lavender which we've got a lovely one which jekka grew because
50:07you're not meant to bring lavender here because of potential viruses we've got a lovely uk grown one
50:12um so it's just been really lovely and obviously the king with his sustainable ethos and biodiversity
50:17and all of those things are what i'm about anyway so it's been lovely working with such passionate
50:23people yes and what's so great i mean already there's so many people looking at the garden
50:27but they can actually come onto the garden as well that makes a difference that's really important to
50:32me you know we come every year and we're very lucky that we get to stand on the gardens and
50:36you
50:36get the whole atmosphere then and i wanted to make sure that people visiting the chelsea flower can get
50:41that and also explore it you know it's about plants we've got all the plants growing out here which
50:46people use all the time i want to celebrate how important plants are and then in what i'm calling
50:51the museum of curiosity i love that i love it there's so much to look at that you can do
50:56with all of the
50:57plants that are being grown and i want people to explore that so if there were three plants that
51:01people perhaps could not literally take away but replicate at home what would you suggest
51:05some of my favorite plants the pomegranate trees yes they are not fully hardy so i'm not even sure
51:12that i could grow them at home but i'm i might just give it yeah give it a while because
51:15i love them
51:16but also we've got lots of really lovely herbs now where i live it's quite wet so what i've done
51:21here is i've put all of the the drought herbs into pots with lots and lots of grit so i
51:27think that's a really
51:27nice thing to do so easier to grow yeah so we've got like south african rose this is this is
51:31a manuka
51:32right by the beehive you know like manuka honey yes so that's this is the plant but you know if
51:37you put something in a pot and you put some gravel in there you have the flexibility to move things
51:40around protect them when it's cold things like that so i've tried to do that and obviously putting
51:45veg front and center of course in some of it bolts close to your heart totally we've got flowering
51:51broccoli and things like that which is great for pollinators and they look really beautiful yellow
51:55flowers well it's not just the two of us standing here on this garden is it because i have noticed
52:00another little bearded chap behind us prominent place is he going to be there the whole time because
52:05we haven't seen knowns here before not a long time chelsea flower show banned them over 100 years ago
52:10and because the king has a gnome at highgrove that he hides so the gardening team find it in different
52:17places so is he going to be moving does he move he does move i've never seen him move but
52:22every day
52:23he's somewhere new so um let's say enjoying this garden that's for sure and of course later on this
52:29afternoon we have the royal visit sophie's here to tell us more we're very excited i know the royal
52:35family they come here every year and they love it the late queen queen elizabeth she came i don't think
52:40she missed a year she hardly missed a year she came here for the first time in 1952 when she
52:45was queen
52:46and she came almost every year after that and obviously she brought the then prince charles with
52:51her now king who will love what you've created here francis you will and am i right in thinking
52:56that the king has had a garden here before he has this is a very royal spot actually because i
53:01think it
53:01was 2002 and he designed the healing garden which he dedicated to his grandmother and he he created it
53:09with the ginny blom the designer and it was right here on this spot and then there was also the
53:14princess of
53:14wales she was then duchess of cambridge but in 2019 do you remember she had the back to nature
53:19garden beautiful which was wonderful and they brought the kids on do you remember they were tiny
53:23then and they had a swing here and everything so yes it's a very royal spot and they do every
53:27year
53:27they seem to stop on this corner anyway so he'll be he'll be in here won't he definitely will
53:32well it certainly has a very special place in their heart we look forward to the coverage later on
53:37and francis congratulations you'll get a time to breathe a little bit later
53:48now for the first time this week we're opening the chelsea garden clinic the place for you at home
53:55to ask your burning gardening questions and in the hot seat to answer them today it's toby
54:01are you ready for this you're getting the pressure yes but i'm ready yeah you're always ready shall
54:06i go first okay laura's got in touch via instagram what british native plant gives the best impact
54:12well it's got to be that chelsea favorite the foxglove so easy to grow self-sews comes up in one
54:19spot grows a crown of leaves and then flowers the following year dead easy they're so colorful
54:24but you love them you've loved them don't you i do there's a lot in the grounds here yeah yeah
54:29well
54:29it's partly because they fill out borders so beautifully they've got plump flowers haven't
54:33they that's the way to describe them there's something really tactile about them i love the word plump
54:37yeah great and to repair it was here earlier and she's got a question for you
54:43i've got a question for the clinic how can i make my city garden still look like a garden through
54:49the winter
54:51okay evergreens are going to be your friend now you don't have to have box balls there's been
54:54trouble with those but there are other evergreen shrubs like pittosporum good balls you can shape
55:00them into there's one called golf ball for example that's very good for this or hookera now these are
55:05soft leaved perennial herbaceous plants that means they've got the soft foliage flowers as well but they
55:10come in all different colors and they can make a tapestry that will last all winter long and look really
55:14beautiful so the fact that you live in the city or town you don't have to compromise do you on
55:18your plants
55:19no and these are wonderful window boxes as well so when you look out from your kitchen window
55:23you can see the flowers framing the garden beyond on the darkest and grimmest of days you know they'll
55:28bring the place to life wonderful okay tracy has got in touch via instagram my jasmine house plant
55:34keeps throwing off tendrils growing leaves and hasn't flowered for two years what do i need to do to get
55:40it to flower you've got to shock it back into flowers stick it outside your back door so it gets
55:45a cold night
55:46or two and then give it lots of tomato fertilizer you could prune it as well that will give it
55:51a bit
55:51of the boost it needs it's kind of like drying it off in the pot what can help as well
55:56but it's that
55:56shock to snap it out of this constant production of foliage treat it mean and it'll be a bit keener
56:02when you say dry it out though how long do you dry it out well just let it be on
56:06the dry side if you over
56:07water and over feed all the time plants just think well i'll put on foliage and no flowers it's like
56:16a bit neena yeah time for one more yeah should we do this one this is from rebecca i have
56:20a trailing
56:21rosemary um i was doing so well so many flowers this year then all of a sudden it looks sad
56:26how
56:26can i revive it because it's starting to look sadder oh i'm looking at that i can see the pot
56:31there at
56:32the bottom now if you let a plot plant dry out completely particularly one that's been established
56:36and its roots have been in that container for a long time it will become so root bound it's hard
56:40to get
56:41the water in and then when you do you've kind of rotted off roots because the plants dried out and
56:47then it sits soaking wet and dies back the best thing i'd say and you're not gonna like this but
56:52is take a cut in a bit and start again well this do you know this is the season of
56:57hope you can take
56:58a cutting of a rosemary now drop it on the floor and it'll grow roots stick a few of them
57:02in a pot and
57:03you'll have a new plant more plants for free than that original as long as you keep it well watered
57:08in
57:08the future and pot it on occasionally i think it'll do really well so be brave well sometimes
57:14plants need a reboot and rosemary's are classic for this particularly in containers they're not going
57:19to live forever oh great we love all this advice don't we good so good we've got so many more
57:25but
57:25we've got a whole week here so that's good toby as ever thank you very much indeed now do keep
57:32sending
57:32in your questions you can text our whatsapp number which is on the screen now or head to the bbc
57:38gardeners
57:39world socials using the hashtag chelsea garden clinic now we've heard earlier that for the second
57:47time ever at the rhs chelsea flower show the ban on gnomes has been lifted now in celebration we'd like
57:54you to send in your garden gnome pictures using the hashtag gnome of the day on our socials and we'll
58:01be
58:01sharing some of our favorites across the week that's it from us today but you can join monty and
58:08rachel on bbc2 at eight o'clock to see what his majesty the king makes of francis's garden as he
58:14tours
58:15the showground with other members of the royal family and we'll be back here on bbc1 tomorrow at two
58:21o'clock to bring you all the excitement of medals day plus we'll be showing you how to garden to
58:26help
58:27nature love it we'll see you tomorrow see you bye bye
58:31bye
58:44you
59:01You
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