Pennod 18 Garddio a Mwy

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-Don't worry, Garddio A Mwy hasn't

-turned into a sports programme.

-I'm in a rather special

-golf club in North Wales...

-..which has won

-an environmental award.

-Iwan is planting broad beans,

-ready for next year.

-Sioned creates

-a seasonal arrangement.

-And naturalist Twm Elias shows

-how plants prepare for winter.

-All this on Garddio A Mwy.

-Most of the garden's flowers

-are at the end of their season.

-Many vivid colours have gone.

-But that doesn't mean you can't

-create a striking table arrangement.

-I'm looking for interesting leaves.

-There are plenty this time of year.

-I'm also looking for nice texture.

-This is a Tom Thumb pittosporum.

-It's an amazing colour.

-I'll cut a bit.

-I don't need a lot.

-It's for a small arrangement.

-This heuchera is very interesting.

-The back of the leaves are pink.

-I think that's enough.

-You might have an old wreath

-since last Christmas...

-..and want to reuse it

-in a different way.

-I'll put it round a container...

-..which has an oasis or sponge

-with water in it.

-This candle will go in the middle.

-I'm pushing wires

-into the bottom of the candle.

-Four should be enough.

-I'll push it right in,

-so it's securely in place.

-I'll start with the leaves.

-Put them in water

-before you start...

-..so they absorb

-as much water as possible.

-I'll start with the heuchera,

-so the big leaves go in first.

-They're a gorgeous colour.

-Each one is different

-and interesting.

-Next, bergenia leaves.

-Some of them have started to fade.

-But the red edges are very pretty.

-Soon, it'll look like this.

-I'll put the biggest one here.

-To add variety, I'll use rosemary.

-It's nice to add herbs

-to a table arrangement.

-The smell will be great.

-I'll cut them in half.

-They're quite long.

-The contrast between the heuchera,

-bergenia and rosemary...

-..creates interest.

-I'll turn it

-and finish the other side.

-I'll use Rubus this time.

-I like using Rubus leaves

-because they're always shiny.

-You don't need

-to do anything with them.

-Now, the pittosporum.

-It's a superb colour.

-There are so many leaves

-around this time of year...

-..providing marvellous colour.

-Now, I'll add the flowers.

-I have a lovely David Austin rose.

-They're fading now, of course.

-I'll use them before they die.

-They're a fantastic colour.

-I'm using heather too,

-which we have in our gardens now.

-I'll keep the stems long.

-I can wind them through the twigs

-so they stay in place.

-Finally, I'll put this on top.

-You see a lot of this colour

-in home decorating magazines.

-That's an autumnal flower

-arrangement for a table.

-I think it looks just as good

-as a colourful midsummer one!

-I love autumn...

-..because of the colour, atmosphere

-and the big changes in nature.

-Everything draws in...

-..to avoid the approaching

-cold of winter.

-Frost is a danger.

-Everything in nature

-tries to avoid that threat.

-Birds will flee

-to southern climes...

-..to places like Africa

-for better weather.

-Animals look for a hole or retreat

-where they can sleep.

-Or if you're a fox,

-you have a thick fur coat.

-All animals have a special den

-where they hide to survive winter.

-But if you're a plant...

-..you can't move.

-That's a different matter.

-This is Coed Cymerau Isaf,

-Ffestiniog...

-..a Woodland Trust site.

-There's always something to see.

-But autumn is one

-of the best times.

-If you're a tree,

-it's important to avoid frost.

-That's the killer

-in the dark days of winter.

-The tree takes any useful

-resources from leaves...

-..to store as sugar in winter...

-..and puts things

-it doesn't need in them.

-Then, they're dropped.

-The leaves are left bare.

-Then the buds on the tree...

-..more or less sleep through

-the dangerous winter, until spring.

-By doing so, they avoid danger.

-The small, growing cells

-are the ones at risk.

-By not growing and sleeping,

-they avoid the dangers of frost.

-Another way of avoiding

-the threat of frost...

-..if you don't drop leaves,

-you keep them...

-..but you make sure

-you don't freeze.

-Pines, and conifers in general,

-have a good way of coping.

-They keep their leaves,

-but create "antifreeze".

-The sugar in the sap

-is turned gradually...

-..into something

-more sticky and chemical.

-It creates a kind of turpentine...

-..resin.

-Pines can keep their leaves...

-..and survive at high altitudes

-like the Alps...

-..in the far north and the Arctic.

-They can withstand minus twenty

-without any problem.

-But one thing affects pines.

-If the ground freezes in winter...

-..they can't absorb water.

-That's why the leaves

-are rather waxy.

-They have adapted,

-so they don't lose water.

-Some of the best things about autumn

-are mushrooms and toadstools.

-There are about

-a thousand varieties.

-Most appear in autumn.

-This is called

-the brown birch bolete.

-It grows under birch trees.

-Most fungi appear this time of year.

-It expels its spores

-in the middle of the dead leaves.

-Over winter,

-they work on the leaves...

-..to rot and compost them.

-This releases nutrients

-back into the soil.

-They'll be there until spring.

-In spring,

-the nutrients are ready...

-..for the huge

-explosion of flowers...

-..and new leaves on trees.

-The world of nature

-revives in spring.

-That's something

-we all look forward to.

-Here in Pont Y Twr's garden,

-the leaves are falling too.

-I don't worry too much

-about tidiness.

-But I do worry about

-the vegetable garden's health.

-This small plant will help.

-Garlic comes originally

-from southern Europe.

-But it grows well in Wales.

-It grows so easily,

-you might as well plant a lot.

-There's another good reason.

-If you plant garlic

-at the end of every row...

-..the strong smell

-helps to hide other plants' smell.

-It's called companion planting.

-We plant it to deter insects like

-carrot fly from finding carrots.

-They smell this, not the carrots.

-You can also make

-a fluid with garlic bulbs.

-It's great to spray on leaves

-to deter slugs and snails.

-Like all garden vegetables,

-there are plenty of varieties.

-I've chosen Marco and Germidour.

-One is stronger than the other.

-To plant them,

-just break one up like this.

-In the bulb...

-..there are cloves.

-From only one garlic bulb...

-..you'll have plenty of plants.

-The root is at the bottom.

-This tail is the top.

-Leave four inches between cloves.

-Leave four to six inches

-between each row.

-I'll plant a row of Marco, too.

-Marco is stronger.

-It's a whiter colour.

-I'll plant these in a neat row...

-..next to my brassicas.

-These four canes...

-..will remind me

-where I planted them.

-Don't touch them until midsummer.

-The green stems

-turn a straw colour.

-Garlic is one

-of the simplest plant to grow...

-..but also

-one of the most effective.

-Don't let them get too dry

-or they'll flower.

-That isn't all bad.

-Garlic flowers are lovely, too.

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-Subtitles

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-From Scotland to Dubai,

-golf is played by millions...

-..all over the world.

-There are more than

-30,000 courses worldwide.

-They have an important relationship

-with the environment.

-In some cases,

-it's a destructive relationship.

-It isn't natural or eco-friendly

-to put a golf course in a desert...

-..in temperatures

-of over 100 degree Fahrenheit.

-But in Wales, a golf club's

-cutting edge project...

-..aims to change the popular opinion

-held by non-golfers...

-..that golf damages the environment.

-Sorry to disappoint. I won't

-hit the ball. I can't play golf!

-The Royal St David's Golf Club

-in Harlech...

-..won the 2015 Environmental

-Golf Course Of The Year.

-Rhys Butler is the course manager.

-Congratulations.

-Congratulations.

-

-Thanks!

-This isn't about cutting grass.

-This isn't about cutting grass.

-

-No, far from it.

-What sort of work do you do?

-What sort of work do you do?

-

-On the dunes...

-..we've pruned trees,

-willows, shrubs and burnet roses.

-We want to control the dunes.

-There are more trees now

-than years ago.

-We want to take it back

-to how it should be.

-It's a links course.

-What should a links course be like?

-Golfers like to play by the sea.

-We want to create a more visually

-open sand effect.

-There aren't great sea views

-from here.

-I feel it's important...

-..that golfers experience

-a seaside atmosphere.

-Can you show me examples

-of what you've done?

-We'll go over the fourth.

-Fourth it is.

-What has been going on here?

-We had a lot of burnet roses here.

-It's provided a great opportunity

-to have open sand.

-There is marram grass on the sides.

-It's a great habitat for

-sand lizards and mining bees.

-There are sand lizards here,

-sunbathing.

-It's south facing.

-There is no reason why golf

-and nature can't live hand in hand.

-Rhys's team works with Rhodri Dafydd

-of Natural Resources Wales...

-..to ensure what they're doing

-is suitable.

-Rhodri knows the course and dunes

-like the back of his hand.

-This is a significant area.

-This is the southerly point

-of Morfa Harlech.

-Morfa Harlech and Morfa Dyffryn...

-..have the status

-Site Of Special Scientific Interest.

-They are amongst the best sand dune

-systems in Wales if not Europe.

-There are several unique habitats.

-There are rare plants

-that can't be found anywhere else.

-They've adapted to harsh conditions.

-It's salty, sunny and dry here.

-Our main goal

-is protecting these plants.

-What are the rare plants?

-On a golf course,

-thanks to the greenkeepers' work...

-..there are

-green winged orchid here.

-It's one of the rarest plants

-in Meirionnydd.

-There are rare plants

-in the dunes themselves.

-The maiden pink is a lovely plant.

-It's close to where golfers play.

-There are shrubs here...

-..for instance old man's beard.

-They produce nutrients

-that suffocate the dunes.

-The natural process

-is called ecological succession.

-As a habitat evolves...

-..more and more plants

-are introduced...

-..including

-less specialized plants.

-Hardly anything grows on the beach.

-But there are more plants

-further back.

-Each habitat

-wants to develop into a forest.

-There are a lot of

-willow and gorse on the course.

-We want to turn back the clock...

-..to the early stages of

-plant succession in open sands...

-..and have specialized plants.

-It'll help insects...

-..animals, plants...

-..and the golfers, too.

-It's a good working relationship.

-Yes.

-The project's goal...

-..is to create a Links course

-in the dunes.

-The work improves the area's

-wildlife and plants.

-We hope the relationship

-continues for years.

-There isn't a lot to plant

-in autumn.

-But it is time to prepare

-certain crops for next year.

-When planting in the garden...

-..it's vital to return

-nutrients to the soil.

-That's what brings me

-to the compost heap.

-When you empty the compost heap...

-..be mindful of small creatures.

-I've just seen a frog jumping away.

-Hedgehogs...

-..and other amphibians ...

-..take shelter in the compost heap

-in autumn and winter.

-The heat it generates is perfect

-for hibernating creatures.

-Why do I need compost today?

-I'm planting broad beans.

-I wasn't happy

-with this year's broad beans.

-I planted them too late.

-If you're thinking ahead

-to next year...

-..now is the ideal time.

-Whenever you plant broad beans,

-you have to prepare.

-I started by digging a trench.

-It needs to be double

-the depth of a spade.

-There's quite a lot to do.

-Once you've made a trench,

-break up the soil.

-We do this...

-..to improve soil drainage.

-Moisture penetrates the soil.

-Roots are happier in light soil.

-After you've broken up the soil...

-..you're ready for the nutrients.

-Use plenty of compost...

-..manure...

-..or whatever you have.

-Broad beans are hungry plants.

-Here's a tip for you.

-Add a little wood ash.

-There is a reason for doing this.

-It's high in potassium

-which is a vital nutrient for soil.

-Don't put too much.

-Scatter a little over the soil.

-Cover the wood ash with compost.

-Then it's ready

-for the original soil.

-We're ready to plant broad beans.

-There are many

-different varieties of broad beans.

-They're all suitable

-for planting in autumn.

-But this Aquadulce is

-specifically for autumn planting.

-I'll plant them in rows.

-I'll use these canes for neat rows.

-The lines don't have to be perfect.

-Nothing is straight in nature.

-Allow eight or nine inches

-between each one.

-Plant them two inches deep.

-I'll scatter twigs around them...

-..to make sure I don't trample

-on them in winter.

-Beans aren't strong.

-These canes will support them

-as they grow.

-I'll finish this square...

-..then create a new row.

-I need to dig a second trench first.

-As an insurance policy...

-..I'll plant some in pots

-in the greenhouse...

-..in case we have mice

-in the garden.

-That's it for this series.

-It's hard to believe

-a year of gardening has passed.

-A year older, a year wiser,

-or so they say.

-Well, yes!

-I hope you join us next spring.

-Until then, enjoy nature.

-And although it's quiet

-in the garden over winter...

-..enjoy the gardening.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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