Pennod 7 Garddio a Mwy

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-This time of year, the garden starts

-to respond to all the hard work.

-I love seeing

-the young gooseberries appear.

-I'm thrilled to see how quickly

-the clematis has climbed...

-..with pale pink flowers everywhere.

-Also this week...

-..Meinir Gwilym hears about

-a project to revive the River Taff.

-And Nia Jones shows us wildlife

-we can enjoy along the seashore.

-I don't want to throw cold water

-on such a fine day...

-..but it's time

-to think about autumn...

-..and even winter.

-What are we going to eat

-during those dark months?

-The answer is brassicas.

-Brassicas are very useful...

-..because they're biennial plants.

-It means they grow in the first year

-and bloom in the second year.

-We're not interested in the flowers,

-although they're pretty.

-Sioned really likes them.

-We're more interested

-in that first year.

-At the end of the first year,

-plants like cabbage...

-..store food in their leaves.

-We're interested in that store.

-We'll forget the leeks. They go out

-when the potatoes are finished.

-These red cabbages are ready

-to go out in the garden.

-They need quite

-a long growing season.

-These are early purple sprouting

-broccoli, a favourite of ours.

-The cabbages are here.

-They can be grown in Wales all year.

-But most people grow them

-specifically for winter.

-They're ready to go out,

-once I have space in the garden.

-Here we have savoy and kale.

-They'll keep us going

-well into next spring.

-They taste better

-after a bit of frost.

-The seeds I planted

-are ready and doing well.

-It's important to sow

-regularly all season.

-Now is the time to plant swedes.

-They take two or three months

-to grow to full size.

-I'll plant them in this row.

-I also have turnips,

-a favourite in our family.

-I've chosen a fast growing variety.

-They'll be ready in early autumn.

-I don't have to wait that long.

-I started these off

-in the greenhouse.

-I like growing turnips in summer

-because the leaves are edible.

-They're full of nutrients

-and are smashing in salads.

-The garden looks full of life now.

-But not everything does well here.

-We're experimenting, after all.

-We planted a rowan a few years ago.

-For some reason, it died suddenly.

-The spot might have been too shady,

-the soil too dry, or too wet.

-That has happened

-to our rosemary too.

-As you see,

-some of the rosemary survived.

-These look OK and these.

-But as we go downhill towards the

-stream, where the soil is wetter...

-..they're not happy, as you see.

-They did well for two years.

-But now, they look poorly.

-So I'm going to plant something

-that will be much happier here.

-It's a hosta.

-I'm very lucky,

-a friend gave me all these hostas.

-I want to plant them

-as soon as possible.

-This variety is called Barbara Ann.

-It has a lovely cream

-line round the leaf.

-A small flower will bloom,

-but I grow it for the leaves.

-If you like flower

-arranging like me...

-..cut the leaf and submerge

-it in water overnight.

-It will be ready

-to use the next day.

-I hope it will be

-happier here than the rosemary.

-The soil is much moister here.

-I'll add a little compost.

-I'll mix it with the soil

-in the bottom of the hole.

-Hostas like fairly wet soil.

-They don't like too much sun.

-They're happy in a bit of shade.

-It's quite sheltered here.

-They don't like wind either.

-This corner is perfect for them.

-The best time to water hostas

-is in the morning, if you can.

-If it's a hot and sunny day,

-the soil will be wet.

-You can also put mulch round

-the hostas to keep the soil moist.

-I'm going to put bark chip here.

-I'll plant the others along here.

-Let's join Meinir now.

-She's looking at the health

-of one of our best-known rivers.

-This is Pont Ar Daf

-in the Brecon Beacons.

-The river's source...

-..is a mile that way.

-Thick fog is obscuring

-the source today.

-You can't see a metre ahead.

-But it's the moisture

-and heavy rain in this area...

-..which creates this river.

-Today, it's hard to believe...

-..that for centuries, the River

-Taff was extremely polluted.

-From fiery Industrial

-Revolution iron furnaces...

-..to 20th century collieries...

-..heavy industry

-left its mark on the river.

-As recently as 2006, there was

-a devastating case of pollution.

-The Environment Agency are concerned

-that over 1,000 fish died...

-..after three tonnes of aluminium

-sulphate flowed into a river.

-Welsh Water apologized

-after a chemical leak...

-..from Pontsticill water treatment

-works into the River Taf Fechan.

-But after all the pollution...

-..the river is now recovering.

-A new project, The Living Taff...

-..tries to get people

-who live on the river's banks...

-..to see the Taff as an integral

-part of their communities.

-They want people to use it

-and most of all, to appreciate it.

-I've come to Bute Park in the centre

-of Cardiff to meet Paul Barrett...

-..one of the project's founders.

-I worked at Visit Wales.

-No-one wanted to discuss the Taff.

-They wanted to talk about the

-Rivers Wye, Teifi, Tawe and Conwy...

-..but not this river.

-But now, it's cleaner.

-But now, it's cleaner.

-

-Isn't it fantastic? It's amazing.

-Fish, like dogfish,

-come here and otters.

-It's amazing.

-It's hard to believe...

-..that in 40 years,

-everything has changed in the river.

-We decided to set up The Living Taff

-to celebrate that this has happened.

-What kind of activities

-have you held?

-We have walks along the river,

-there's a jazz festival...

-..and activities like wild swimming.

-We want to hold a stand-up

-event too, Laugh On The Taff.

-MEINIR CHUCKLES

-We've also built coracles, to show

-that there are fish in the river.

-People use coracles to fish.

-Chris Powell and Dylan Jones

-are members of the Coracle Society.

-Dylan emphasized

-that the Rivers Teifi and Tywi...

-..aren't the only ones

-with a coracle fishing tradition.

-Is there evidence that there

-were coracles on the River Taff?

-Yes, artist Julius Caesar Ibbetson

-painted a very famous work...

-..depicting the west of Cardiff,

-over two centuries ago.

-It showed two coracles

-on the bank and one on the river.

-So there has been a tradition of

-coracles on the Taff for centuries.

-But there hasn't been

-any fishing for over 200 years.

-What is special about it?

-The laths?

-This wood is willow.

-This is the way

-they have been made for centuries.

-All that's changed

-in the last century is the canvas.

-Two hundred years ago...

-..the coracle would

-be covered in animal skin.

-What is this?

-It's calico, painted with tar.

-That's how the coracle

-can go on the river.

-Well, there's a coracle

-on the River Taff again.

-I think I'll go down to the bay.

-Bye!

-LAUGHS

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-As you see, the garden really starts

-to fill this time of the year.

-To be honest, I slightly regret

-dedicating a whole bed to potatoes.

-But the end of next month, when I

-eat a plate of early new potatoes...

-..with mint from the garden,

-I'll be glad I did.

-But there are still

-a few empty places in the garden.

-I'm going to plant

-a few fast-growing crops...

-..like chard...

-..radish...

-..or even spinach.

-Spinach isn't one

-of the fastest growing crops...

-..but it's great

-for filling gaps, like this one...

-..near the beans.

-There are different

-varieties, or course...

-..like New Zealand

-and perpetual spinach.

-I'm going to plant ordinary spinach.

-I'm using this handy tool.

-It's a patio weeder.

-I find it very handy

-to make a small trench for seeds.

-That's it.

-I tend to sow

-this spinach regularly all summer...

-..about once a month.

-The seeds are quite large

-and easy to see.

-You can sow ordinary spinach...

-..in winter.

-But if you sow them in winter...

-..plant them on a slope like this...

-..or on top of a ridge.

-That's because spinach

-doesn't like too much water.

-The only problem

-with ordinary spinach...

-..is that it tends

-to flower quickly in dry weather.

-It's called bolting.

-If it happens, don't worry.

-Pull them up, put them

-on the compost heap and start again.

-Perpetual spinach...

-..is a bit easier to grow.

-It doesn't bolt as easily.

-It only has to be sown

-once or twice a year.

-I'll water these.

-Now, radish.

-They're one of the easiest crops to

-grow. You can plant them anywhere.

-They're brassicas.

-Don't worry about

-diseases like clubroot.

-They're only in the soil

-for three or four weeks.

-So they're great

-to grow with children.

-I'd like you to plant them

-in the soil now.

-Push them in the earth like this.

-Then cover them with a bit of soil.

-The main thing is not

-to plant a whole row of radish.

-You don't want them

-all ready the same time.

-We tend to plant two or three

-a week, all summer. That's plenty.

-I won't use all this pack.

-They last up to five years.

-We've finished. Let's play.

-If you want something else

-to do with the children...

-..there's nowhere

-better than the seaside.

-Nia Jones from the Wildlife Trust

-tells us what we can find there.

-Today, I've come

-to the small, rocky coves...

-..north of Trearddur Bay

-on Holy Island.

-Tide pools are

-tough habitats to live in.

-They can be cold or hot,

-they can dry up.

-Salt water can become more salty,

-or rain can turn it into freshwater.

-Animals living here

-have to be very tough.

-We're all familiar with limpets.

-But when they're alive on the sea

-shore, they look like this.

-It's very hard

-to remove them from the rock...

-..because they don't

-want to dry out.

-One interesting fact

-about limpets...

-..is that they have

-the hardest tongue in the world.

-When the tide comes in, they move

-round the rock, licking it.

-That's how they eat.

-As they move, they leave

-a trail of mucus.

-When the tide goes out, they follow

-the trail back to where they live.

-It's very important that they

-go back to exactly the same place.

-It will live there all its life.

-It has grown its shell

-to the shape of the rock.

-The place where animals

-live on the shore...

-..depends on how long

-they can cope out of the water.

-There's a clear pattern

-in the type of animal one can see.

-One great way of finding animals

-on the shore is to look under rocks.

-Lift a rock carefully

-to see what's underneath.

-I can see something move.

-A green crab was hiding

-under the rock.

-It's one of the most common

-crabs on the sea shore.

-When searching in tide pools...

-..it's very important

-to keep an eye on the tide.

-It comes in very quickly.

-You don't want to be caught out.

-There's a red crab

-hiding under the sea lettuce.

-A lot of us recognize this crab.

-It can grow very large.

-It's the type we eat.

-They're quite amazing, really.

-It's pretending it's dead,

-in the hope I'll let it go.

-I'll put it back carefully,

-with seaweed over it.

-We've found another crab.

-I won't hold this one.

-It's the velvet swimming crab.

-Its eyes are red.

-It's a feisty one.

-They like to fight.

-So I'll leave it in the tub.

-In this pot, I have something...

-..I like a lot.

-It's a type of fish

-called a pipefish.

-I hope I can hold it.

-They're related to seahorses.

-There are many kinds of pipefish.

-I'll make sure

-it has plenty of water.

-The best thing about the seashore

-is you never know what you'll find.

-Today, crabs were the stars.

-Tomorrow, we might find

-many more fish or starfish.

-It's very important to put

-these back where we found them.

-So that's what I'll do now.

-This is a member

-of the primrose family.

-It's the cowslip.

-I love this flower

-for its simplicity.

-It's often seen in natural gardens.

-Sadly, it's seen less often

-in the countryside these days.

-I'm lucky to have it in our garden.

-It has self-seeded

-in the last three years.

-This is quite a big clump.

-I'm going to divide it to help

-the process of getting more.

-I'm sure I needn't say this, but

-don't do this in the countryside.

-If it's in your garden,

-of course, you can lift it.

-I'll lift the whole plant first.

-I'll loosen the roots with a trowel.

-That's it.

-You can see how the plant

-separates in individual parts.

-I'll put a small fork between them.

-I'll divide it carefully.

-If it helps, use another

-fork to prise them apart...

-..to divide the roots.

-The best time to do this is now.

-The flowering season is over.

-That's it.

-One is ready to plant.

-I'm sure I can get

-another one out of this.

-I'll plant one here,

-to continue the colour.

-I'll plant the others by the stream.

-I hope this plant will be happy

-in the shade of the tree.

-The cowslip is a simple plant, but

-here are a few interesting facts.

-In the past, it was used

-a lot in herbal remedies...

-..for headaches,

-insomnia, or anxiety.

-Another use,

-if you have a lot of it...

-..is to make marvellous wine.

-If you have a small clump, put

-the small flowers on your salad.

-That's it for another week.

-If you have a spare hour or two this

-week and if you have the patience...

-..which I'm not sure I do, paint

-the shed or woodwork in the garden.

-And if you have any lavender shrubs,

-now is the time to take cuttings.

-So until next time...

-..enjoy the gardening!

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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