Pennod 13 Garddio a Mwy

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-A warm welcome to Garddio A Mwy.

-Coming up, how to ensure a healthy

-crop of raspberries next year.

-Meinir discovers remarkable

-fossils in Brymbo.

-Sioned creates an autumnal display.

-Helen Scutt visits a

-pioneering garden near Dolgellau...

-..on this week's Garddio A Mwy.

-Although it isn't October yet...

-..I want to plant a pot

-to welcome the new season...

-..when it comes.

-I'll discuss the plants

-in detail later.

-This is my pot.

-I like the antiquated look.

-It was half price

-as it had a small crack.

-It's worth looking out

-for these things in garden centres.

-When stocks run low

-there are bargains to be found.

-It's a big pot.

-The plants will only be in it

-for the season.

-Then I'll plant them in the garden.

-It'll be too heavy to move

-if it's full of soil.

-I'll fill this plastic pot

-with soil.

-It'll be easier to remove...

-..once they've flowered

-and ready to go in the garden.

-I've put a few old pots

-in the bottom.

-This fits perfectly inside.

-I've put stones in the bottom

-to help drainage.

-Compost next.

-I'm using multipurpose compost.

-The plants won't be in it for long.

-A little more.

-I don't need a lot of compost.

-I'll fill it halfway up

-so I have room for plants.

-The plants I've chosen

-are all different.

-The Anenome seranade

-has lovely smooth leaves.

-It's a beautiful flower.

-The Heuchera

-has lovely purple leaves.

-These are Cuties Coco.

-The contrast with the bright pink

-heather is lovely this time of year.

-This is a variegated myrtle.

-It provides more interest.

-I'll start with the Anenome.

-I tap the edges of the pot.

-I've soaked them well.

-It comes out of the pot easily.

-The roots will spread

-faster in the pot.

-I'll give it more room.

-This is in the back.

-The myrtle next.

-This time of year...

-..you can fill pots with plants.

-In spring,

-they need plenty of room to grow.

-I'll fill the pot well.

-The Heuchera can go this side.

-I'll make room for it.

-The leaves appear

-over the top of the pot.

-There's a little space

-for the heather.

-That can go there.

-Now fill the gaps with compost.

-Press down to make sure

-they're secure.

-And that's it.

-I'll put it in place.

-And that's the final touch

-for this lovely corner.

-It'll provide colour

-throughout autumn.

-This is the site

-of the old Brymbo steelworks.

-It's been an important

-industrial area for 250 years.

-It enables us to step back over

-300 million years botanically.

-Brymbo's steel furnaces

-shut down in 1990.

-The 2004 redevelopment...

-..unearthed incredible fossils...

-..evidence of a 300 million

-year old tropical rainforest.

-Back then, Brymbo,

-indeed all of Britain...

-..was situated

-somewhere near the equator.

-This map shows how our modern world

-looked back then.

-There was one massive continent.

-Britain was locked in the middle...

-..bordering Norway and only

-a short distance from Greenland.

-Here, close to the equator,

-the hot and humid climate...

-..was perfect

-for huge primeval plants.

-Sites with such a variety

-of botanical fossils are a rarity.

-That's why this old steelworks

-is important to geologists.

-Raymond Roberts

-has worked here non-stop...

-..since the 2004 discovery.

-He took me to see fossils...

-..of creatures that lived

-300 million years ago.

-Can you see the holes?

-Something burrowed here.

-There are little circles everywhere.

-There are little circles everywhere.

-

-I see.

-Were they similar to worms?

-Were they similar to worms?

-

-Yes, millipedes and centipedes.

-But no mammals.

-The millipedes

-could be six foot long.

-We see footprints in places.

-There would be huge,

-two foot wide dragonflies.

-That's what we're looking for.

-We've found three or four

-animal fossils...

-..but not large ones yet.

-One of the biggest fossils uncovered

-was a giant trunk and roots.

-It's in the National Museum

-in Cardiff.

-There are many trunk fossils.

-A pattern is visible.

-It's diamond shaped.

-Oh, yes. It continues down.

-We'd get to the roots

-if we kept digging.

-The best examples

-are now in Cardiff.

-Raymond and his team continue

-to excavate and find more fossils.

-That's what can be seen

-in one of the old works' shed.

-This is an example of a trunk.

-It was similar in size.

-This is the inner cast.

-The inside rotted.

-Sand filled the hole.

-There's a pattern inside the bark.

-We've found numerous

-similar examples.

-These are some of the smallest.

-The ones outside were almost

-a metre wide and 40 metres tall.

-These are like Equisetum,

-or horsetail.

-They are narrow nowadays.

-They were ten metres tall.

-Brymbo Heritage Group...

-..looks after the fossils...

-..and the buildings.

-What is their aim?

-To develop the site

-into a visitor attraction...

-..with a cafe

-and learning centre.

-We need to build a structure

-to protect the site.

-What does it mean to the community?

-The steelworks employed between

-1,500 and 2,000 people.

-Generation after generation

-worked here.

-Many of the former workers are

-involved with the Heritage Group.

-They take pride in the fossils

-and the industrial heritage.

-I enjoy gathering fruit

-in the garden.

-What I enjoy most of all

-is picking the raspberries.

-Mmm.

-Lovely.

-These are autumn raspberry bushes.

-They'll continue to bear fruit

-for two or three weeks.

-Apart from harvesting...

-..I won't be touching

-these bushes throughout winter.

-In February,

-I'll cut them right back.

-Autumn fruiting raspberries

-are annual plants.

-They grow, flower and bear fruit

-in the same year.

-They can be left alone.

-Summer raspberry bushes need

-our attention this time of year.

-Summer fruiting raspberries

-bear fruit on two-year-old canes.

-These have been busy fruiting

-through the season.

-They're two years old.

-They grew last year,

-and bore fruit this year.

-This is part of the same plant.

-We have fresh, new growth.

-I'll start by getting rid of the old

-growth and cutting them right back.

-We'll tie the new one to the wire.

-They'll bear fruit in summer.

-Down here, it isn't clear

-which is this year's growth...

-..and which is two years old.

-If you look a bit closer,

-it's obvious.

-The two-year-old

-growth has been tied.

-These bore fruit this year

-and are ready to come out.

-After removing last year's growth...

-..there's a bit more space.

-We can see what grew this year.

-It's time to decide which canes

-to leave, to bear fruit.

-There's no room

-for them all on the wire.

-You want five or six

-growing on a line like this.

-These two are growing

-a bit close together.

-Which shall I choose?

-I'll go for the strongest

-and get rid of the weaker one.

-After removing it,

-I'll tie this to the wire.

-It will fruit for us next summer.

-It's important to tie them...

-..so they don't get blown down

-and damaged in winter.

-Now, I'll do the rest.

-After tying them in place...

-..you must decide

-what to do with the top parts.

-Some people bend them like this

-and tie them to the top wire.

-I usually cut them

-about six inches above the top wire.

-Find a tidy leaf...

-..a small snip...

-..and that's it.

-These are ready for winter.

-I'm sure you agree...

-..it looks much tidier now.

-One more thing to remember is that

-raspberries are very hungry plants.

-Give them plenty of fertilizer

-and compost, or even potash.

-Then you'll have

-healthy, strong plants...

-..and plenty of summer raspberries.

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-Subtitles

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-Subtitles

-Today, I've brought you

-to Plas Dolmelynllyn in Ganllwyd.

-It's about six miles

-north of Dolgellau.

-It's a hotel now...

-..but the building has seen

-many changes over the centuries.

-The original house is quite small,

-almost the size of a cottage.

-William Alexander Madocks,

-who built Porthmadog's Cob...

-..moved here in 1798.

-He played to those strengths.

-He turned the place

-into a sort of cottage orne...

-..which was very trendy at the time.

-It was the Romantic era.

-Rich people like Madocks...

-..liked the idea of going back to

-a more simplistic, natural life...

-..leaving behind

-the formal architecture...

-..of the Baroque

-and Neoclassical era.

-This aspect was seen in buildings,

-and in gardens too.

-It's hard to say how exactly

-the garden looked in Madocks's day.

-These levels, steps and fountain

-were added in the Victorian age.

-A garden like this

-wouldn't have appealed to him.

-He wanted to echo

-the naturalism of the landscape...

-..with the forest's wilderness

-coming almost to his doorstep.

-Before becoming a respectable MP...

-..Madocks was one of the Chaotics,

-a fashionable group of Romantics.

-They loved alcohol as much as

-North-West Wales's wild landscape.

-Madocks invited them

-to Dolmelynllyn...

-..to walk and admire

-the landscape's grandeur...

-..then return

-to the cottage to sing ditties...

-..and drink gallons of Madeira.

-This forest doesn't look

-like a conventional garden.

-The fact that Madocks's handiwork

-can still be traced today...

-..justifies calling it a garden now.

-We're used to gardens

-with woodland walks.

-But Dolmelynllyn was one of the

-earliest woodland walks in Britain.

-It was a totally

-pioneering idea in 1798.

-Many of the paths were created

-by the house's owner in the 1860s.

-But many are old paths,

-laid by Madocks.

-It feels wild, but Madocks

-himself takes us for a walk...

-..directing where we go and leading

-walkers from place to place.

-He allows us to enjoy the wild

-landscape and the walk...

-..without tripping over fallen

-trees or getting our feet wet.

-The main path from the house,

-linking to the system...

-..dates back to his time.

-Following the paths,

-the walker reaches Rhaeadr Du...

-..a view that would

-have pleased any Chaotic.

-Looking at Madocks's later work,

-the Cob in Porthmadog...

-..and building

-the town of Tremadog...

-..without a doubt,

-this garden in Dolmelynllyn...

-..and the changes he made...

-..represented a kind of starting

-point to his greatest project.

-This time of year, it's worth

-considering taking cuttings.

-You can walk round the garden...

-..and see which plants

-you'd like more of next year.

-It's an easy process

-and you could save a lot of money.

-This is Penstemon Garnet.

-A friend gave me

-a cutting a few years ago.

-You can see how much it's grown.

-It's a very popular plant.

-It's obvious why.

-The vivid pink flower is striking.

-Bees love it.

-I'm going to take cuttings

-because I want to see more of it.

-I'll cut off

-some leaves from the side.

-It's just started to rain,

-so I'm going to the shed.

-You can hear the rain on the roof!

-It's the perfect job

-for weather like this.

-This is compost.

-I've filled two of these pots...

-..to make sure I have

-the same amount of perlite.

-I'll add two of these to this.

-Perlite helps with drainage.

-We'll get healthy roots,

-just what we need for cuttings.

-Mix it together.

-I'll fill a pot

-and press it down a bit.

-We're ready for the cuttings.

-I need one stem. I'll cut that off.

-I want it to be

-about twelve centimetres tall.

-I'll cut under a pair of leaves...

-..with a sharp knife.

-Take off the bottom leaves.

-Dip it in rooting powder.

-There's a small triangle on the lid.

-It helps to make a hole in the soil.

-I'll push it in.

-Now, another one.

-Do the same thing again.

-You want four or five in each pot.

-When you see roots

-growing out of the bottom...

-..you can transplant them

-into individual pots.

-You can do this with some perennial

-plants this time of the year.

-It's worth looking around to see

-what you have in the garden.

-I'm quite new to taking cuttings,

-but I enjoy learning.

-I've taken cuttings of lupins and

-pinks, which are in the greenhouse.

-I'll water them.

-Give them plenty of water.

-Now, the plastic bag goes on top.

-I have an elastic band

-to put round the bottom.

-It helps retain moisture.

-It's ready to join

-the others in the greenhouse.

-That's it for this week.

-When you join us next week...

-..I hope the weather is better.

-Until then, enjoy the gardening.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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