:00:08. > :00:15.In just one week from now, the horticultural equivalent of the
:00:16. > :00:20.Olympics will commence. It will culminate in the judging at the
:00:21. > :00:23.Flower Show. Our cameras will be capturing every perfect petal. There
:00:24. > :00:27.is a bit of a mountain to climb before we get there, so every
:00:28. > :00:32.afternoon this week, we will be bringing you exclusive coverage of
:00:33. > :00:36.how the preparations are going. Our team have all done their time as
:00:37. > :00:38.award-winning designers and growers. They will be bringing you the
:00:39. > :01:20.Countdown To Chelsea. Take a look here, it is a busy
:01:21. > :01:24.building site down Main Avenue. Our cameras are watching the
:01:25. > :01:28.preparation. We filmed this just a few days ago, and it vividly
:01:29. > :01:32.demonstrates the massive work involved in order to get this high
:01:33. > :01:39.profile event together. High visibility jackets and steel capped
:01:40. > :01:45.boots are strictly enforce. Coming up in this verse Countdown To
:01:46. > :01:49.Chelsea, the agony and the ecstasy. Our candid camera follows a first
:01:50. > :01:53.timer on his debut design here. Chelsea is like a dream come true
:01:54. > :02:00.for me. Being a garden designer, it is the pinnacle. I cannot believe
:02:01. > :02:05.that I am there, it feels surreal. A classic garden revisited... And then
:02:06. > :02:11.you get the view out onto the main garden. And you have got a courtyard
:02:12. > :02:19.on the right. It is the feeling of space as well. And the man
:02:20. > :02:25.hand-picking thousands of looms hoping for Best In Show. I want
:02:26. > :02:26.painkillers to keep me going! By the time you have bent down 35,000 times
:02:27. > :02:38.in six weeks, you know about it! Being here in this highly charged
:02:39. > :02:42.atmosphere is a perfect introduction to bringing you our coverage. I will
:02:43. > :02:52.be joined by a presenting team including Monty Don and Sophie
:02:53. > :02:57.Raworth for 12 hours of coverage. I guess we should not assume anything,
:02:58. > :03:02.which is what makes Chelsea exciting, for someone like me, who
:03:03. > :03:07.has been coming here for 24 years. Will it prove to be a classic
:03:08. > :03:10.Chelsea? Only time will tell. We will be keeping you abreast of all
:03:11. > :03:15.of the goings-on over the next ten days.
:03:16. > :03:22.I first remember coming here to celebrate my birthday. It is always
:03:23. > :03:27.in show week. I was around 25 years old, and it was a treat to myself.
:03:28. > :03:31.After that I would always give myself a day off from working as a
:03:32. > :03:35.garden designer or landscape, and then I finally got the chance to
:03:36. > :03:43.join the TV presenting team back in 2001. How many boxes are you taking
:03:44. > :03:48.to Chelsea? About 150. I know, I look a bit younger in those days!
:03:49. > :03:53.One of my favourite moments was when a birthday surprise was sprung upon
:03:54. > :04:00.me back in 2005 today is a special day, because Joe Swift is 40 years
:04:01. > :04:03.of age. Taking on the job of creating a big show garden here is
:04:04. > :04:07.an enormous test for anyone. I remember only too well the year I
:04:08. > :04:13.decided to throw my hat into the ring, back in 2012. It was a very
:04:14. > :04:17.personal garden, inspired by places which mean a lot to me. The first
:04:18. > :04:23.thing I am doing structurally is getting some big trees into there.
:04:24. > :04:29.The idea is that the trees keep drawing your eye. These big bridges
:04:30. > :04:33.in effect frame a view all the way through, which might in the frames
:04:34. > :04:37.will also do in my garden. Having planned meticulously, I found myself
:04:38. > :04:42.working against the clock, trying to put it all together. It really is
:04:43. > :04:44.about teamwork, and IOD huge amount to my group, who pulled me through.
:04:45. > :04:50.By the end of the construction, to my group, who pulled me through.
:04:51. > :04:54.just a few hours left, it all came together, and I felt really proud.
:04:55. > :04:59.But there was one opinion I was particularly keen to hear. So, you
:05:00. > :05:05.are pleased it is just down to the judges? What do you think,
:05:06. > :05:12.honestly? I have got to be honest, I think it is absolutely brilliant, I
:05:13. > :05:15.am ever so proud of you! In fact, Alan Titchmarsh, as you may know, is
:05:16. > :05:21.in a different role here at Chelsea this year. He is creating a garden
:05:22. > :05:27.for the first time in almost 30 years, just over there. The sooner
:05:28. > :05:31.you get plants in, the more natural it looks. It is a natural looking
:05:32. > :05:35.garden. Within another week or so, they will look as if they have been
:05:36. > :05:38.growing there for ever. But I am more than pleased with the way it is
:05:39. > :05:44.going. It is lovely to be back in harness, really, showing I can do it
:05:45. > :05:51.as well as talk about it. So, maybe I will get to turn the tables on him
:05:52. > :05:55.and give here is my medal, a coveted old for that first design, and it
:05:56. > :06:00.made me feel absolutely amazing and relieved. It is quite a moment when
:06:01. > :06:07.the judges, round, swiftly followed by Nicki Chapman and a camera crew,
:06:08. > :06:09.on medals morning. There are
:06:10. > :06:12.on medals morning. their nails to the quick in the
:06:13. > :06:14.anticipation that they might get one of these. Or will it be one of
:06:15. > :06:30.these?! Oh, my god, that is fantastic! No
:06:31. > :06:41.point me asking you what you got. Gold. That is very nice! That is
:06:42. > :06:55.great, wonderful. Are you pleased? No. That is what you should
:06:56. > :07:01.great, wonderful. Are you pleased? kissing! Well done! A silver!
:07:02. > :07:07.Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic, well done to you and your team.
:07:08. > :07:32.Thank you! Do not know whether to cry or smile.
:07:33. > :07:42.It is wonderful, it is my 43rd. This has brought us act down to size, put
:07:43. > :07:49.it that way. I will not cry! First time at Chelsea! I have never even
:07:50. > :08:00.been to Chelsea before. Really? Oh, stop it! Do you know, I have never
:08:01. > :08:11.won Best In Show - isn't that great?
:08:12. > :08:30.How brilliant, well done! I love this job! Congratulations.
:08:31. > :08:38.I am fantastically happy. I am delighted for you. Congratulations.
:08:39. > :08:42.No medals this year, no flowers, no medals. I think it is the 21st of
:08:43. > :09:02.the 22nd, I have lost count! This year's show will be
:09:03. > :09:06.particularly interesting on medals day, next Tuesday, see how the
:09:07. > :09:10.judges will be judging the efforts of the news, is on Main Avenue.
:09:11. > :09:14.There are more first timers opening themselves up to scrutiny than ever
:09:15. > :09:17.before. Whilst that is exciting, it is also a lot of pressure. We have
:09:18. > :09:22.been following one of those in the process of bringing a garden for the
:09:23. > :09:25.first time to Chelsea. Matthew Childs had a life changing moment
:09:26. > :09:42.which led him on the road to becoming a garden designer.
:09:43. > :09:47.My first career was in advertising. I worked in an advertising agency,
:09:48. > :09:53.as a suit, selling other people's creative ideas. And I had a great
:09:54. > :09:58.time doing that, it was a brilliant job, surrounded by lots of funky
:09:59. > :10:06.people and creative ideas. But I think I always wanted to be a
:10:07. > :10:09.creative myself, in some capacity. In 2005, I was going about my normal
:10:10. > :10:16.day's business, on my way to a client, on the Edgware train, which
:10:17. > :10:20.was bombed that day. And I was sat on the carriage where the bomb went
:10:21. > :10:25.off. NEWSREADER: Central London is rocked
:10:26. > :10:28.by a series of terrorist attacks. Police speak of many casualties. The
:10:29. > :10:33.underground system was the main target, at least five stations were
:10:34. > :10:37.hit, the system is at a standstill. You never expect to be involved in
:10:38. > :10:40.anything like that. But the way I think about it is that it was a life
:10:41. > :10:58.changing experience for me. I obviously went through a period of
:10:59. > :11:03.recovery, following being involved and being injured in the bombings,
:11:04. > :11:08.which, jarring that time, gives you lots and lots of time to think about
:11:09. > :11:12.what you want to do. And it set me on this amazing journey of opening
:11:13. > :11:20.my mind to do the things that I really enjoyed, such as gardening.
:11:21. > :11:26.Gardening is something that I really feel passionate about. It is a place
:11:27. > :11:29.that I really enjoy being in, I enjoy making people smile by talking
:11:30. > :11:35.to them about gardens and designing gardens. I really wanted to get onto
:11:36. > :11:40.the show garden scene, I guess there is a bit of a theatrical side to me,
:11:41. > :11:44.perhaps. And I became aware of the conceptual category at Hampton
:11:45. > :11:55.Court, and I just thought it was a really good opportunity to be able
:11:56. > :12:02.to tell my story. The main idea behind the Hampton Court garden
:12:03. > :12:07.really comes from a very well-known saying, which is, like at the end of
:12:08. > :12:10.the tunnel. It relates literally to my experience, but also in terms of
:12:11. > :12:15.this journey of recovery, and there being a positive at the end. The
:12:16. > :12:22.whole garden really was to tell that single sentence through plants and
:12:23. > :12:25.materials, as I explained to Rachel de Thame. I remember going up the
:12:26. > :12:28.stairs at Edgware Station on the stretcher, looking up at the glass
:12:29. > :12:32.ceiling, and all of this light flooding through, and I remember
:12:33. > :12:37.feeling, I really have survived, it is all about recovery. And through
:12:38. > :12:40.this new medium of being a garden designer, something I really love, I
:12:41. > :12:47.have been able to share with people the fact that there is sometimes
:12:48. > :12:50.like at the end of the tunnel. After dreaming about the Chelsea Flower
:12:51. > :12:55.Show for months, and working on the pitch, and then being finally
:12:56. > :13:03.selected, I was invited along to the press launch last year. Welcome to
:13:04. > :13:11.Chelsea 2014. A lot of what you are about to see is about celebrating
:13:12. > :13:15.new talent. A lovely :-) of Matthew Childs, who designed his first
:13:16. > :13:20.garden at Hampton Court in 2012, and then going on to win best conceptual
:13:21. > :13:23.garden, and this year going on to win Best Show Garden Overall at
:13:24. > :13:31.Hampton Court. Fantastic. And this year, he is designing a beautiful
:13:32. > :13:35.garden for us. Chelsea is like a dream come true for me. Being a
:13:36. > :13:39.garden designer, it really is the pinnacle. It feels surreal at the
:13:40. > :13:46.moment, I cannot believe I am there. This is Nervous Joy, and as I keep
:13:47. > :13:51.saying to everybody, I am just go to do my best. I am feeling amazing
:13:52. > :13:54.about having got the Chelsea take, but now it is really all hands on
:13:55. > :14:03.the deck, getting on with it, and making the garden happen. There is a
:14:04. > :14:07.real mountain to climb. And I am here with Matthew now. Thank you for
:14:08. > :14:11.taking time out, how is it going? It is going really well, I think. We
:14:12. > :14:14.are on a really, really tight schedule, so we are really up
:14:15. > :14:19.against it. The team have not stopped working, it is all go. It is
:14:20. > :14:25.chaos around here, what is the idea behind your garden? There is a
:14:26. > :14:28.fundamental, key theme, which is the idea of nurturing potential for the
:14:29. > :14:33.future. I wanted to get both a feeling of tranquil tea and a sense
:14:34. > :14:41.of anticipation. So I have got floating islands, which are sunken,
:14:42. > :14:46.to and two large copper archways providing views through to some
:14:47. > :15:03.tantalising spots - opportunity is the idea there. It sounds great, are
:15:04. > :15:11.you on schedule? You Yes, we aren't behind on anything. It's just a case
:15:12. > :15:17.of keeping going. You don't look too stressed. Everyone keeps telling me
:15:18. > :15:25.everything is fine. What has it been like having a film crew following
:15:26. > :15:32.you around? I feel a bit like a film star! I feel a bit weird. It has
:15:33. > :15:38.been great. It's really nice to take note of the journey myself. There's
:15:39. > :15:45.so much that's involved, so many people. It's nice to give the public
:15:46. > :15:51.and the people that come to visit the show a backstage look at
:15:52. > :15:58.everything that goes on. An insight? Yes. Tomorrow we'll see the links
:15:59. > :16:04.that you go to to find the perfect tree. I know you're busy so I'll let
:16:05. > :16:09.you get on with it. Finding ideas for Chelsea garden is
:16:10. > :16:14.always a challenging process. Over the years, designers have found
:16:15. > :16:20.inspiration in a host of surprising places. We been digging into the
:16:21. > :16:26.archive to unearth some classic examples. For our first visit, we
:16:27. > :16:32.show you how this amazing garden, one of the most jewellers in recent
:16:33. > :16:38.years, came about. Sarah Evans's Monaco Garden from 2011 captures
:16:39. > :16:38.just how exotic a Chelsea garden can be.
:16:39. > :16:44.just how exotic a Chelsea garden can Some designers actually feed off
:16:45. > :16:50.other designs or other gardens. What really inspires me is architecture.
:16:51. > :16:52.There are hardly any -- there is hardly any space. It's all
:16:53. > :17:02.buildings. It's inspiring seeing on the rooftops. It is just
:17:03. > :17:05.incredible. The garden this year at Chelsea is very much about the
:17:06. > :17:10.private gardens that you get Chelsea is very much about the
:17:11. > :17:15.rooftops in Monaco. The casino gardens are probably the biggest
:17:16. > :17:22.open space available to the public in Monaco and it has a fantastic
:17:23. > :17:28.sense of space. We can see in the gardens here Monaco's sense of civic
:17:29. > :17:32.pride. It's beautifully kept. I don't think you can see a piece of
:17:33. > :17:39.rubbish or a blighted leaf don't think you can see a piece of
:17:40. > :17:44.As a designer, rather than trying to copy something, it's a bit like
:17:45. > :17:50.being a cartoon artist. You're taking the main elements in
:17:51. > :17:56.caricature and trying to tease them away. Although I'm not trying to do
:17:57. > :18:00.a copycat thing and follow this slavishly, what I'm doing is taking
:18:01. > :18:05.those core personalities, characterisations of Monaco, and
:18:06. > :18:12.bringing them out to the garden. This is the exotic garden, which is
:18:13. > :18:18.a garden I find so exciting. It's almost like an unknown jewel because
:18:19. > :18:23.I haven't really heard of it talked about before. It's just the most
:18:24. > :18:30.phenomenal collection of exotic plants. This tree is one of those
:18:31. > :18:37.rare, exotic trees that, actually, you can even hold and it's quite
:18:38. > :18:47.cuddly. This is going to go in my garden. I just love these new
:18:48. > :18:53.plants. It's exciting learning to put them together and they're like
:18:54. > :19:00.new toys. I just love it and they're so architectural that they almost
:19:01. > :19:07.make the job really easy. Fantastic vivid blue colour here. It's a
:19:08. > :19:13.stunning plant that just cascades down the rock face and the colour is
:19:14. > :19:19.just... It's such a rich blue. Another of those real wow plants
:19:20. > :19:25.that I don't think people have seen before at Chelsea. I'm very excited
:19:26. > :19:33.about designing a garden for Monaco and in particular being able to work
:19:34. > :19:39.with Prince Albert. I've had to make presentations to him about all my
:19:40. > :19:43.proposals and he really is very interested and very knowledgeable
:19:44. > :19:49.about gardens. I've heard quite a few stories about his memories of
:19:50. > :19:54.childhood, playing in the gardens here in the palace. And also his
:19:55. > :19:59.mother, Princess Grace's love of flowers and Roses and that very much
:20:00. > :20:06.comes through. This was the result of Sarah's hard
:20:07. > :20:12.work. I went to get a closer look. It lets it brief, doesn't it? So
:20:13. > :20:18.yes, it's quite warm and friendly and the vertical planting on the
:20:19. > :20:22.walls just softens it to make it feel comfortable. You've done a
:20:23. > :20:27.wonderful job. Beautiful garden. Thank you, Joe. It will be
:20:28. > :20:34.interesting to see if gardens this year have that scale of ambition.
:20:35. > :20:40.One garden that promises to be a talking point this year is designed
:20:41. > :20:46.by Luciana. What have you got in store for us? This is my first
:20:47. > :20:51.garden at Chelsea and I feel it's the most important garden. Each time
:20:52. > :20:55.it's like going deeper and having the courage to explore ideas and
:20:56. > :21:02.different things. The key elements are obviously this a 70-year-old
:21:03. > :21:07.tree. It is a big influence in the overall design. It is the elements
:21:08. > :21:12.of textures, different types of stone, the reflection of water, the
:21:13. > :21:19.movement of light, and, of course, the beautiful flowers. What other
:21:20. > :21:25.physical challenges of creating a garden like this? I would say the
:21:26. > :21:33.biggest challenge we had with this garden so far is the two trees. Just
:21:34. > :21:39.to get them here on site. They're enormous. They're enormous and very
:21:40. > :21:48.fragile. So this has been the most sensitive and emotionally charged.
:21:49. > :21:55.Stressful? Very, very stressful. The best of luck with it. We'll be
:21:56. > :22:01.catching up with Luciano Orquera see the completed garden next week.
:22:02. > :22:08.Still ahead on Countdown To Chelsea: Tales from the river bank. I'm a
:22:09. > :22:14.garden. I've got to have a garden, plants, soil. Otherwise, I feel life
:22:15. > :22:22.isn't complete. And meet the 18, the men and women behind the biggest
:22:23. > :22:28.flower show on earth. Big trees are hard to move around and the problem
:22:29. > :22:34.is damaging the tree. We are about to enter the gigantic structure
:22:35. > :22:39.behind me, the pavilion. The size of two football pitches, it's being
:22:40. > :22:46.prepared for the Premier plant breeders and growers from across the
:22:47. > :22:51.land as they bring their displays to Chelsea. Each day we'll follow a
:22:52. > :22:56.different exhibitor in their preparations for the show. Today
:22:57. > :22:59.we're off to Bedfordshire, where 1000 of the brightest blooms are
:23:00. > :23:07.being gently nurtured. This is a lovely place on top of the
:23:08. > :23:12.hill. But when it's allowing a gale and raining, it's not quite so nice.
:23:13. > :23:16.The tulips bring so much happiness and cheer. They just light up the
:23:17. > :23:20.garden and it makes people smile. There's nothing wrong with smiling.
:23:21. > :23:24.I just love it, whether it's because I've been involved with them all my
:23:25. > :23:28.life... It's their form, their elegance. They stand tall and proud.
:23:29. > :23:35.They are such a perfect flower. The garden started in 1860 in Holland.
:23:36. > :23:40.My grandfather came over to England in 1936 and he started growing
:23:41. > :23:48.tulips and showing tulips at Chelsea in 1948 and my family's won so far
:23:49. > :23:54.63 gold medals and bout my brother and I ran it. Hopefully there will
:23:55. > :24:02.be a few more generations to come afterwards. We've got 34,000 tulips
:24:03. > :24:09.here. For Chelsea, we'll display about 15,000. By the time you've
:24:10. > :24:15.bent down 35,000 times in the course of six weeks, you certainly know
:24:16. > :24:21.about it. When we're picking tulips, the basic rule is to allow them to
:24:22. > :24:28.flower for one day and then pick them. They will be at their best and
:24:29. > :24:33.their freshest. You pick them early in the morning so they've rested
:24:34. > :24:38.overnight and have closed up again. Tulips naturally open and close
:24:39. > :24:44.during daylight hours. Chelsea is about five weeks away. There's a
:24:45. > :24:50.couple of nice tulips going to Chelsea this year that haven't been
:24:51. > :24:56.around for a little while. This one is very beautiful. Roz Briand white
:24:57. > :25:01.with a lovely blue centre. Then you have brown Sugar which is very
:25:02. > :25:07.similar to the old breed of tulips but the special thing about this is
:25:08. > :25:13.that it has a very sweet centre. We're really into the serious
:25:14. > :25:18.business of picking tulips at the moment. We bring them down to the
:25:19. > :25:24.warehouse and store them in industrial freezers. Out of the
:25:25. > :25:30.sunshine, we need to get them in the chiller. If you leave them out, the
:25:31. > :25:35.petals will get marked. This is our Chelsea chiller. After spending all
:25:36. > :25:42.the lovely time in the field, we spend the rest of the time in here.
:25:43. > :25:49.This is where we store the tulips. About 20,000 tulips in there and
:25:50. > :25:54.each one has to be looked at individually 3-34-macro times a
:25:55. > :26:00.week. We bring tulips into the cold store and hold them at about 0.5
:26:01. > :26:05.degrees. It puts them to sleep so they can make it to Chelsea. I'm
:26:06. > :26:11.trying to keep myself warm! What we're doing at the moment... We mark
:26:12. > :26:17.them for days to check. Anything with a W, we are going through and
:26:18. > :26:23.checking them all to see whether they need water. These were picked
:26:24. > :26:29.seven days ago. It's becoming very loose, very weak. That's just about
:26:30. > :26:36.the perfect time for us to put it into water. As TV would have it,
:26:37. > :26:40.I've got one that had eight hours of water yesterday and this is what
:26:41. > :26:47.they'll come out like. Providing they come out of the cooler OK, when
:26:48. > :26:52.they get to Chelsea, they're going to look absolutely fantastic. We'll
:26:53. > :26:59.have to see whether they get there first. All I can do is work hard,
:27:00. > :27:05.give my best endeavours, and know when I've made a good job at
:27:06. > :27:12.Chelsea. I will walk away from the stand, walk to the market. If I walk
:27:13. > :27:18.back and see that stand and it gives me a tingle down my spine, then I
:27:19. > :27:22.know I've done a good job. The exhibitors are still making
:27:23. > :27:27.last-minute preparations back in their nurseries and will take
:27:28. > :27:32.position here in a few days time. John Wheatley is a man who knows
:27:33. > :27:37.this place better than many. You've been an exhibitor, a judge. What
:27:38. > :27:41.will the last-minute preparations involve? They'll be checking to see
:27:42. > :27:45.whether the planning process has been completed properly. There will
:27:46. > :27:51.be a little bit of stress. Most people will be worried about whether
:27:52. > :27:58.the weather is going to be right for the plants. It can be really cold or
:27:59. > :28:04.it can be really hot. Take the use of things like foxgloves - are they
:28:05. > :28:10.going to be right for the show? Will they hang on or come out? The plans
:28:11. > :28:14.will be coming in and out of greenhouses and poly tunnels. What
:28:15. > :28:19.will the exhibitors the going through in their minds? They'll feel
:28:20. > :28:24.a little bit of fear and trepidation. Chelsea is the biggest
:28:25. > :28:30.show on Earth and you've got to get it right. The other thing is having
:28:31. > :28:36.a bit of fun with your staff team. Successful teams are built out of
:28:37. > :28:41.fun and interest in this show and I think that's the key to real
:28:42. > :28:44.success. You've been a judge many times over and are still a judge. A
:28:45. > :28:50.coveted gold medal - what through in their minds? They'll feel
:28:51. > :28:54.does someone have to do to get one? You have to be excellent. It
:28:55. > :28:59.involves creating a great impression. The judges look for an
:29:00. > :29:05.overall impression, a real wow factor. They look for endeavour.
:29:06. > :29:09.Just to see that the exhibitor has gone the extra mile to make the
:29:10. > :29:13.exhibit special and distinctive. But above all, it's about quality
:29:14. > :29:19.plants, healthy plants, correctly labelled plants. Those are the key
:29:20. > :29:26.factors that win the gold medals. Thank you, John. We will see John
:29:27. > :29:33.later in the week to hear about his key role in a special celebration of
:29:34. > :29:37.Britain in Bloom. There is an army of workers involved behind the
:29:38. > :29:42.scenes in making this event come together. Did you know that it took
:29:43. > :29:48.dozens of people to build this pavilion? We are going to introduce
:29:49. > :29:53.you to some of the people we call the Chelsea champions. The men and
:29:54. > :29:58.women without whom none of this would be possible. Today we are
:29:59. > :30:02.meeting a pivotal man. I am Saul Walker. Most people don't see this
:30:03. > :30:09.part of Chelsea and don't understand how much building goes on in a show
:30:10. > :30:15.like this. These guys have only three weeks to build some of the
:30:16. > :30:21.most high spec gardens you are going to see this year. It is a frenetic
:30:22. > :30:27.building site. A lot of people whizzing around on the machines.
:30:28. > :30:33.Then all the plants will descend on us. It becomes a cacophony of colour
:30:34. > :30:46.and texture as people are trying to get that perfect arrangement.
:30:47. > :30:50.Before I started with the RHS, I am a gardener by trade, so I used to
:30:51. > :30:55.look after orchids. This is my gold medal from last year, which I got
:30:56. > :30:59.with the Orchid Society, and I am quite proud of this. It is quite an
:31:00. > :31:09.achievement for me, one of my top things to do in gardening.
:31:10. > :31:14.So, this is the show manager's cabin, where I am based with my team
:31:15. > :31:18.of two, with Claire. From here, we look after all the exhibitors that
:31:19. > :31:22.come on-site, and help them with any problems they have, hopefully! You
:31:23. > :31:26.are kind of running on adrenaline for most of the day. It is tiring
:31:27. > :31:30.for all of us but I think it is worth it at the end of the day. You
:31:31. > :31:35.have to put a lot of hours in to put on the world's best show. This
:31:36. > :31:38.structure seems to be a bit higher this year which has brought it into
:31:39. > :31:45.contact with this you tree. It might be an idea to put a bit of padding
:31:46. > :31:47.around it. Big day today, at the moment you are looking at probably
:31:48. > :31:54.300 trees being delivered. Lard wise, we always tried to enable them
:31:55. > :32:00.to choose the best looking plants. You are probably looking at
:32:01. > :32:06.100,000-200,000. And that is just the guys below. Once the guys with
:32:07. > :32:09.the pavilions come in, they bring in thousands and thousands of plants
:32:10. > :32:13.for the staged displayed is. Overall, there is a lot of
:32:14. > :32:17.horticulture going on on this site! This is one of our show gardens, and
:32:18. > :32:22.we are going to have a very large tree delivery tonight, a five metre
:32:23. > :32:26.wide tree, and we are going to have to shut down our gate, which only
:32:27. > :32:31.supports things which are three metres wide. That is going to
:32:32. > :32:34.require our team to show some special skills with forklifts.
:32:35. > :32:42.Fingers crossed we will get that into night.
:32:43. > :32:49.So, most of our trees can fit through the gates, but these two are
:32:50. > :32:53.exceptionally large, evidently the biggest we have got this year.
:32:54. > :32:59.Anything this large causes a logistical challenge. Like with most
:33:00. > :33:04.of our large vehicles, we have a good traffic Marshall, led by Steve,
:33:05. > :33:12.we call him Steve Traffic, so he will be looking after this big
:33:13. > :33:18.vehicle. Steve is also quite a hit on the pantomime scene, he does a
:33:19. > :33:22.lot of dames, apparently. I have not seen him yet, but a lot of the
:33:23. > :33:25.operations team have seen him in panto. He is quite theatrical. We
:33:26. > :33:28.are going to panto. He is quite theatrical. We
:33:29. > :33:32.are going get some forklift trucks with extensions. The last time we
:33:33. > :33:36.had to do something similar to this was three years ago. We are doing it
:33:37. > :33:42.this early on because the site is quite quiet, and we can handle it.
:33:43. > :33:47.There are two trees, two deliveries, so here is the second one. That
:33:48. > :33:53.gives you a bit more of an idea about the size. They are quite
:33:54. > :33:57.large. That is a good start, we have got one tree through the gate, which
:33:58. > :34:02.makes it a lot easier for us to get it around to the garden. This is
:34:03. > :34:07.nervous for me, big trees obviously are hard to move around, without
:34:08. > :34:12.damaging the tree. Especially taking trees off trucks, that is when
:34:13. > :34:14.branches can break. They would not be able to replace it before the
:34:15. > :34:17.show starts, so it would be able to replace it before the
:34:18. > :34:20.show starts, so it have to be an alternative, which would not be what
:34:21. > :34:28.the designer had in mind. So it can be a nervous moment. That is fine,
:34:29. > :34:33.driver. It has come through quite nicely. It is always nice to get
:34:34. > :34:41.plants in at the end of the day. And then it's on to the next challenge,
:34:42. > :34:45.tomorrow. All in a days work! Good luck to Saul and his team. There is
:34:46. > :34:49.no doubt that one of the highlights of Chelsea is meeting some of the
:34:50. > :34:54.characters. From the Chelsea pensioners, who live here, to some
:34:55. > :34:59.of the show men and women who are at the heart of the event. We have been
:35:00. > :35:03.digging into the archives to find some memorable encounters in Chelsea
:35:04. > :35:07.TV coverage. My favourite moment must be when we met John and Diana
:35:08. > :35:10.Everett. We visited their unique home, just a few hundred yards
:35:11. > :35:19.further up the River Thames embankment.
:35:20. > :35:31.Both of us have lived on the boat for about ten years. And I really
:35:32. > :35:36.missed having a garden. We had this craft which used to carry sand and
:35:37. > :35:39.gravel up and down the river, and Johnny said we could convert it and
:35:40. > :35:43.make it into a garden, and I would be happy to stay on the boat.
:35:44. > :35:48.Otherwise I was muttering about moving into a house with a garden. I
:35:49. > :35:52.am a gardener, I have got to have a garden, I have got to have plants, I
:35:53. > :35:57.have got to have soil. Otherwise I feel life is not complete. We knew
:35:58. > :36:01.we could make a garden, but it had to be very well-balanced, because we
:36:02. > :36:07.wanted the garden to be quite high up. So, we went to a marine engineer
:36:08. > :36:16.who did us plans for it and got everything right. Here you can see
:36:17. > :36:21.the structure of the barge, which has a concrete floor, and up here,
:36:22. > :36:27.concrete beams, and on top of them, concrete slabs. And every foot or
:36:28. > :36:32.so, there is a pipe, which brings water down onto the floor, and it
:36:33. > :36:34.goes into that corner over there, where the bilge pump is, otherwise
:36:35. > :36:45.we would sink. Johnny made a model, to scale, so we
:36:46. > :36:51.worked it out from their Mac. I wanted a sitting area in the middle,
:36:52. > :36:58.and then steps up to a higher area, and keep bits, and at the end, we
:36:59. > :37:00.have got the gazebo. Well, the main wildlife we have our
:37:01. > :37:04.ducks and Well, the main wildlife we have
:37:05. > :37:08.geese. Here you can see we have got a nest with six eggs of these
:37:09. > :37:13.Canadian geese. It is not very nice having keys in the garden, we have
:37:14. > :37:21.to keep them out of Diana's garden, otherwise it would be completely a
:37:22. > :37:23.desert. -- having geese. When I first started thinking about the
:37:24. > :37:29.garden, I had just visited Christopher Lloyd's garden, and I
:37:30. > :37:32.was very impressed with his wonderful, vibrant colours, and I
:37:33. > :37:37.thought I would like to do the same thing. I love oranges, going into
:37:38. > :37:47.reds, I have got quite a lot of those.
:37:48. > :38:00.when we had the garden barge, we thought that we would do that. I
:38:01. > :38:05.would like you to see these bees. They are called Conneely and bees,
:38:06. > :38:10.and as you can see, they are absolutely tame. Last year we had
:38:11. > :38:14.113lb of honey. I was told it would be impossible to keep bees on a boat
:38:15. > :38:19.like this because it goes up and down with the tide, but they do not
:38:20. > :38:23.get lost. I have seen them come in, and they change their
:38:24. > :38:25.get lost. I have seen them come in, come in all ways. I believe if we
:38:26. > :38:35.moved them sideways, they would get lost, but they do not mind the
:38:36. > :38:39.vertical movement, thank goodness. I think that Diana has made
:38:40. > :38:46.vertical movement, thank goodness. am not really allowed in it, in case
:38:47. > :38:52.I do damage! But I am very proud of what she has done with it. And it is
:38:53. > :38:55.unusual, as you have to agree. It is just wonderful, just sitting here.
:38:56. > :39:02.We have a lot of pleasure just sitting here, enjoying the space and
:39:03. > :39:06.the greenery and the flowers. What a nice couple! It has been
:39:07. > :39:11.exciting to come and see the preparations for this years show. I
:39:12. > :39:14.wish all of the and designers all the best in getting everything ready
:39:15. > :39:18.for the big day. We will see the show revealed in all its glory.
:39:19. > :39:22.People are always asking us to choose our favourite designs from
:39:23. > :39:25.past years, which is always trickle, but if I was to nominate three
:39:26. > :39:38.gardens to remember, here is my choice... Back in 2003, I was lucky
:39:39. > :39:41.enough to be able to visit Abu Dhabi with garden designer Christopher
:39:42. > :39:48.Bradley Hall, to witness his own preparations. Where did you get the
:39:49. > :39:51.inspiration for your garden? I think the first inspiration for me is the
:39:52. > :39:54.way that the Abu Dhabi people have learned to live in extreme
:39:55. > :39:58.conditions. They have learned to respect the landscape. And the
:39:59. > :40:04.Finnish garden was an absolute masterpiece, with its glass
:40:05. > :40:09.structure I particularly enjoyed the laser cut Arabic letters in the
:40:10. > :40:14.walls, and representation of the irrigation of the land. If I were to
:40:15. > :40:19.choose one garden with perhaps the most influence it would be Dan
:40:20. > :40:24.Pearson's roof garden from 1996. It was a real game changer, perhaps the
:40:25. > :40:26.first of what we now call contemporary gardens, which
:40:27. > :40:31.influenced so many gardens thereafter. I wanted to show the
:40:32. > :40:34.potential of a roof garden, and to do that, you have do use things
:40:35. > :40:40.which will really work in those situations, with high winds etc. In
:40:41. > :40:44.its day, it felt very different from what had gone before. Different
:40:45. > :40:47.grasses, different textures and the introduction of decking which took
:40:48. > :40:50.the eye away from the plants and colour, which had been the
:40:51. > :40:54.traditional focus. We will be interviewing down as a guest
:40:55. > :41:04.reviewer next week for his view of Chelsea 2014. And my final choice,
:41:05. > :41:07.Tom Smith's 2006 design. The colour combination was sublime, with Ms
:41:08. > :41:12.Merritt planting of blues and purples against a striking orange
:41:13. > :41:17.wall. I loved and admired the use of high burn, which I now use myself.
:41:18. > :41:28.And the use of rusted steel was stunning. So, let's see what this
:41:29. > :41:32.year's designers have in store. That is about it from me. I am looking
:41:33. > :41:37.forward to seeing it all completed. I will be with Sophie Raworth on BBC
:41:38. > :41:41.One, who joins the team this year. Nice to see you. What are you
:41:42. > :41:46.looking forward to? Well, this is fantastic, I have only ever been
:41:47. > :41:50.here as a visitor, so do be able to watch it behind the scenes has been
:41:51. > :41:54.brilliant. But also I cannot wait to see what these young designers are
:41:55. > :42:02.producing this year. The pressure is on, isn't it? It certainly is. What
:42:03. > :42:07.is your favourite part of the show, normally? I love all of the gardens
:42:08. > :42:14.on Main Avenue. They are so inspiring, what they can achieve in
:42:15. > :42:20.such a short time. And of course, working with you, Joe! Tomorrow,
:42:21. > :42:22.Rachel will be taking her own look at the preparations and celebrating
:42:23. > :42:42.her favourite Chelsea moments. Goodbye for now.
:42:43. > :42:47.# Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I saw.
:42:48. > :42:56.# Was a rainbow on the wall. # Oh, world Tuesday, we will put on
:42:57. > :43:22.a day. # Oh, wheel put on a day, and we
:43:23. > :43:49.will talk in present tenses. We need a small army
:43:50. > :43:51.if this is going to get done. The team are back, and facing some
:43:52. > :43:54.of their biggest challenges yet. It's been a struggle
:43:55. > :43:56.in these temperatures. It's priceless what they're
:43:57. > :43:58.going to get at the end. It's going to give them
:43:59. > :44:10.their lives back. Thank you. MUSIC: "Breathe"
:44:11. > :44:13.by Pink Floyd