:00:37. > :00:38.Welcome back to the grounds of the Royal Hospital,
:00:39. > :00:41.where what looks light a gigantic building site is in the process
:00:42. > :00:44.of being transformed into the eagerly awaited Royal Horticultural
:00:45. > :00:55.And as our team have been showing you in earlier episodes,
:00:56. > :00:58.we're able to bring you the full story as both exhibitors
:00:59. > :01:02.and designers battle against the clock to be ready for next Monday.
:01:03. > :01:05.Ahead in this episode of Countdown To Chelsea:
:01:06. > :01:07.The latest developments in the efforts to create gold
:01:08. > :01:24.Work that crucial stage where we got a lot of shrubs going in. Still a
:01:25. > :01:26.lot of tiptoeing around each other, but fingers crossed everything has
:01:27. > :01:32.been going really well. We remember the day when the
:01:33. > :01:43.world?s most eagerly watched flower The Chelsea Flower Show has been
:01:44. > :01:44.disrupted by a pair of breeding blackbirds. They show no sign of
:01:45. > :01:49.leaving. And how the centenary of the
:01:50. > :02:01.First World War is being marked It is called no man's land. That was
:02:02. > :02:06.the area where the battle was fought again and again and again. He went
:02:07. > :02:11.on top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
:02:12. > :02:14.The BBC has coverage right across the event next week, so we
:02:15. > :02:17.will see how everyone?s gardens and floral exhibits turn out.
:02:18. > :02:19.The stresses and strains involved are immense,
:02:20. > :02:32.It's a sobering thought that I first came to Chelsea 30 years ago,
:02:33. > :02:44.I was here helping my brother Neil, who was building a garden.
:02:45. > :02:46.Since then, I've been back practically every
:02:47. > :02:49.year, either designing my own gardens or on the TV coverage.
:02:50. > :02:52.It's a place that really gets under your skin.
:02:53. > :02:55.I grew up in a family of keen gardeners - my mother worked
:02:56. > :02:59.in a garden centre, so I guess I had this interest in my blood.
:03:00. > :03:01.Of course, I'd heard of the Chelsea Flower
:03:02. > :03:09.Having helped my brother to create other people's designs,
:03:10. > :03:13.I had my first opportunity to show what I could do back in 2001, with
:03:14. > :03:16.a deliberate attempt to create a different type of garden in which I
:03:17. > :03:19.chose rugged materials, including limestone, steel and crushed
:03:20. > :03:23.It started off as a bit of a disaster.
:03:24. > :03:27.I didn't really have a clue what I was doing and I ended up sleeping
:03:28. > :03:32.I was awarded a silver gilt medal, which after all the effort was
:03:33. > :03:38.a bit of a disappointment - maybe I was lucky just to have finished!
:03:39. > :03:41.Since then I have been lucky to win six Chelsea golds,
:03:42. > :03:44.In 2005, a near disaster was caused when a
:03:45. > :03:48.substantial part of my design for a garden was involved in a car smash.
:03:49. > :03:57.Amazingly, that garden won me a gold medal.
:03:58. > :04:05.Our sculptural fans got ripped in a car accident. That's gone, so we now
:04:06. > :04:09.have an extra 12 is why meters of planting to do, which is about 1200
:04:10. > :04:15.plants, maybe. So it goes to show that even when
:04:16. > :04:19.you have to throw the design out, And my highlight came in 2010,
:04:20. > :04:34.when I won not just a gold May I congratulate you on a
:04:35. > :04:41.fantastic entry? Absolutely marvellous. Wonderful.
:04:42. > :04:45.No, no garden for me this year, I have the joy of just sitting back
:04:46. > :04:50.Before I head down to see what's happening on Main
:04:51. > :04:53.Avenue, let?s catch up on some other memorable days from past shows.
:04:54. > :04:56.We all enjoy watching the coverage of the show to see all
:04:57. > :04:59.the beautiful creations and floral displays, but sometimes
:05:00. > :05:18.Chelsea Flower Show can make the news for less expected events.
:05:19. > :05:26.That annual blaze of colour the Chelsea Flower Show is about to
:05:27. > :05:31.bloom again. The rain may have ruined the potatoes, but it has not
:05:32. > :05:36.ruined the flower show. Britain's gardeners have been increasingly
:05:37. > :05:40.bogged down by the Thames. Whatever the weather, two things up ashore.
:05:41. > :05:45.Firstly, the Chelsea Flower Show will always make it to the news, and
:05:46. > :05:54.it will go on regardless of how hard is it rains. By far this is the
:05:55. > :05:58.worst spring and I can remember. There has been very little sunlight
:05:59. > :06:01.and we've been putting a lot of heat in the greenhouses but it's been
:06:02. > :06:07.nearly impossible to have any blooms. After 36 consecutive days of
:06:08. > :06:15.rain, this spring has been a nightmare for a Guardian -- a
:06:16. > :06:21.gardener. It has not been easy to compensate for the lack of sunshine.
:06:22. > :06:24.It looks as though those weather conditions are beginning to A is
:06:25. > :06:37.with dry weather in many areas today. We've got wet feet! So, the
:06:38. > :06:41.weather can't dampen spirits, but one year at power of blackbirds did
:06:42. > :06:47.manage to put a spanner in the works. There's been a disturbance at
:06:48. > :06:51.the Chelsea Flower Show. It's been disrupted by a pair of nesting
:06:52. > :06:58.blackbirds. They show no sign of leaving. The garden displays have to
:06:59. > :07:03.be dismantled now there is an end to the show. But there is one
:07:04. > :07:12.exception. Busy ming, all 60 four gardens will be -- this evening, all
:07:13. > :07:16.64 gardens will be dismantled, apart from this one. That will stay here
:07:17. > :07:26.until the fledgling 's have blown their nest. All manner of stories
:07:27. > :07:31.make it. There was the national debate in the 80s about whether to
:07:32. > :07:34.use a cylinder mower or to hover. That became the subject of one of
:07:35. > :07:44.the gardens, as Peter Seabrook found out. This spring there is a battle
:07:45. > :07:47.of lawn mowers. Will it be the hover mower or the cylinder mower that is
:07:48. > :07:54.going to chop down the petunias and the daisies? Then there was this
:07:55. > :07:58.plant which was so rare that its owners had it micro-chipped and
:07:59. > :08:03.given round-the-clock protection to ensure it was safely returned to
:08:04. > :08:08.South Africa. But the most injury news story of the 80s featured these
:08:09. > :08:14.little chaps, is a bow about a rule came to a head. One unusual feature
:08:15. > :08:19.is a protest by the manufacturers of garden gnomes because the show won't
:08:20. > :08:25.let them in. It seems Britain's garden gnomes are not happy at being
:08:26. > :08:30.excluded. Some have even changed -- chained themselves to the railings
:08:31. > :08:38.in protest. Royal number 14 prevents the sale of any concrete. Why? I
:08:39. > :08:46.don't know. I think you should ask them that question. Do you feel this
:08:47. > :08:56.is unfair to gnomes? Of course it is. By the Centenary, the society
:08:57. > :09:02.did a U-turn and let the little fellows in for just one year. We
:09:03. > :09:08.decided for I Centenary it would be good to have a bit of fun and to
:09:09. > :09:15.raise some money for our appeal. So, unlike so many news stories, this
:09:16. > :09:18.one had a happy ending. I had to appeal to the gnome office!
:09:19. > :09:21.There are no gnomes planned for this year ? thankfully,
:09:22. > :09:26.But one subject that may surprise some visitors to Chelsea Flower Show
:09:27. > :09:29.this year are the gardens and exhibits that are being created to
:09:30. > :09:34.There are two show gardens and more recognition of the
:09:35. > :09:38.Charlotte Rowe is building a garden on Main Avenue inspired
:09:39. > :09:52.Charlotte, talk is through your plans. Really, it is a conceptual
:09:53. > :09:55.garden based on the idea that the landscape is badly scarred in the
:09:56. > :10:00.Western front. We've got three zones. There is a crater. There is a
:10:01. > :10:04.lost Gardens area which kind of indicates what would've happened to
:10:05. > :10:09.some of the villages and towns which were partially destroyed during the
:10:10. > :10:13.First World War. And behind me is a grass mound which represents some of
:10:14. > :10:19.the Earth and craters and tunnels and trenches that were left after
:10:20. > :10:23.the first War. What is it called? It is called no man's land, the area
:10:24. > :10:27.that lies between the two front lines. It was in that area during
:10:28. > :10:37.the world more that battles were fought again and again. Tell me
:10:38. > :10:44.about the family story will stop --. Well, on the 1st of July 19 60s my
:10:45. > :10:48.grandfather went over the top for the first day of the Battle of this
:10:49. > :10:54.and survived. I was able to track down the spot where he went over the
:10:55. > :11:03.top, so some of that has me today. Brilliantly. What aspects have
:11:04. > :11:07.directly inspired the landscape? The landscape of the Somme has managed
:11:08. > :11:13.to survive. Literally all the trees with stumps, the topsoil was taken
:11:14. > :11:18.off completely. They were huge craters and holes. But it has come
:11:19. > :11:23.back and in some areas you can see traces of that conflict. That is
:11:24. > :11:27.what I'm trying to show. The land can be badly scarred but can come
:11:28. > :11:34.back and regenerate, just like the human spirit. Who is putting this
:11:35. > :11:40.party together? The national army charity. Their purpose is to help
:11:41. > :11:44.soldiers and their families when they come back from conflict and
:11:45. > :11:49.help them not go into no man's land, so that is the tie-in between the
:11:50. > :12:04.garden and the charity. Thank you, it is looking fantastic.
:12:05. > :12:06.We will see Charlotte?s completed garden next week -
:12:07. > :12:09.indeed we followed her on an inspirational journey to
:12:10. > :12:11.the Somme battle fields which we will show next Tuesday evening.
:12:12. > :12:13.Another designer who we are following
:12:14. > :12:16.in our coverage is first time Chelsea designer Matthew Childs.
:12:17. > :12:19.We?ve been showing his story in the busy preparations over
:12:20. > :12:24.And with all that that entails I can tell you that moving house right in
:12:25. > :12:28.the middle of things is probably the last thing anyone taking on this
:12:29. > :12:43.Today, madness is happening. We moving house. We're moving harm --
:12:44. > :12:50.home but also moving garden. It is sad because we've lived here for
:12:51. > :12:54.eight years. We put so much into it. He has been very excited to be
:12:55. > :12:57.moving, but the biggest thing for him is the emotion of leaving
:12:58. > :13:02.somewhere we've loved and enjoyed living for so long. It has been a
:13:03. > :13:08.great house. If the next base is half as good as this place, we will
:13:09. > :13:13.be very happy. When you leave a place like this, it's not just plans
:13:14. > :13:18.and materials. It has memories as well. It is really hard to be
:13:19. > :13:31.leaving somewhere, a garden, which you put so much into. Every year, my
:13:32. > :13:34.plants die in the winter. So at my new place I've got my first
:13:35. > :13:41.greenhouse. So I'm looking forward to putting plans under cover! I'm
:13:42. > :13:48.really excited about that. The problem with me is - don't tell
:13:49. > :13:53.Richard Beers - but I just get so heavily involved in my gardens.
:13:54. > :14:00.Chelsea is just everything. I think about it every minute of the day and
:14:01. > :14:07.I dream about it every night. He does say that Chelsea is the
:14:08. > :14:13.priority. Hence I think he's left Richard to sort some of the things
:14:14. > :14:15.out while he's been doing Chelsea. We've completed on sale said the
:14:16. > :14:29.sale is coming through any minute. we haven't completed on the purchase
:14:30. > :14:33.yet. It must be imminent. Everything happened at once. If we
:14:34. > :14:39.get it done now, we will be starting the New Year with all of this stuff
:14:40. > :14:44.behind us and we can move forward. The garden at Chelsea this year is
:14:45. > :14:49.all about nurturing potential for the future. And it is all about new
:14:50. > :14:52.opportunities. So there is a huge parallel today with what is
:14:53. > :14:56.happening in my personal life with moving house and moving guard tonne
:14:57. > :15:00.a brand-new garden where there is so many opportunities for me as a
:15:01. > :15:04.designer and a gardener, to experiment and to grow and to go
:15:05. > :15:07.wild and I think the garden at Chelsea, what I would love people to
:15:08. > :15:12.take away from it is the idea that throughout life, around every
:15:13. > :15:15.corner, it is a rollercoaster for us, but there are new possibilities
:15:16. > :15:21.and National Union of Students and it is about nurturing that potential
:15:22. > :15:29.for the future. He really wants to do well. It's the big one. It's the
:15:30. > :15:40.big one, isn't it? When you see the budget and meeting the Queen! We
:15:41. > :15:47.just found out we've completed. We're going to move on. This is it.
:15:48. > :15:50.Say goodbye. A lot of memory, eh? A lot of
:15:51. > :16:15.memories. Happy ones though. We've arrived! A big smiley face.
:16:16. > :16:19.This is the reason that we have moved because we have now got this
:16:20. > :16:26.amazing garden to play with and work with. There is just trees
:16:27. > :16:30.everywhere. There is a big herbaceous border. It is just
:16:31. > :16:35.really, really exciting. I found my greenhouse. Everybody else is
:16:36. > :16:42.working inside and I'm playing with my plants already. But we're in. I'm
:16:43. > :16:46.going to cope with doing the Chelsea garden, by not doing anything to
:16:47. > :16:54.this garden until after Chelsea and then this will be my next project.
:16:55. > :16:58.We can meet Matthew now who has a few days left to complete his
:16:59. > :17:03.design. You haven't seen much of your new home, I suspect, recently,
:17:04. > :17:08.how is that going? I haven't seen much of it. Any time I have spent
:17:09. > :17:11.has been in the garden. It is a bigger garden. Not a lot of time
:17:12. > :17:17.there. It has been all here. What about the stresses and strains for
:17:18. > :17:21.your partner as a result of this? We're not speaking anymore. No, we
:17:22. > :17:24.are. There has been a real support. You need that when you are doing
:17:25. > :17:27.something like this. Somebody that understands that you get so into it,
:17:28. > :17:33.that you just can't think about anything else. We will get back to
:17:34. > :17:38.normality after Chelsea. Any other problems of late? No, we are at the
:17:39. > :17:44.crucial stage, we have shrubs and plants going in. Still a lot of hard
:17:45. > :17:49.landscaping to go. Everything has been going, fingers crossed, really,
:17:50. > :17:53.really well. No, really good. It is looking like a great garden. I'm
:17:54. > :17:58.interested to know how much a garden like this costs? That's a really
:17:59. > :18:02.dirty question. You can tell me that. You have done more of those
:18:03. > :18:07.than I have. I haven't done this one. How much is this one? It is
:18:08. > :18:11.really good value for money because, look how much we're achieving and
:18:12. > :18:14.we're just creating a beautiful, beautiful garden here and wouldn't
:18:15. > :18:18.you rather that plants and trees for people to look at than a billboard.
:18:19. > :18:20.How much was that again? LAUGHTER
:18:21. > :18:26.Not very much. Not as much as some of the others. Fair enough. Thanks,
:18:27. > :18:32.Matthew and good luck. We will be catching wup Matthew tomorrow to see
:18:33. > :18:36.how his hard landscaping is coming on. There are all sorts of
:18:37. > :18:40.influences to be taken from an event like the Chelsea Flower Show, but
:18:41. > :18:51.the plants are the stars of the show. The beauty and complexity of
:18:52. > :19:02.mother nature has provided an inspiration.
:19:03. > :19:08.William Morris, possibly the biggest name in British design of the 19th
:19:09. > :19:12.century and I believe his work now is every bit as fresh, every bit as
:19:13. > :19:17.relevant because he loved it natural. He embraced nature for all
:19:18. > :19:23.its undulations, for its lack of symmetry, for its warts and allness
:19:24. > :19:33.and I think it is that that makes his work totally timeless.
:19:34. > :19:38.At the time, high Victorian gardening gas all about con trifg
:19:39. > :19:46.nature. It was about bright, brash colours and perfect shapes. The high
:19:47. > :19:53.gh Victorians loved the fact that tulips did this. Morris, had a
:19:54. > :19:58.different attitude to the tulip. What fired William Morris'
:19:59. > :20:02.imagination and turned him on as a designer was the fact the tulip
:20:03. > :20:06.could be less than perfect. It could be stripy. It could be crazy. It
:20:07. > :20:11.could let its hair down. It could grow in the most extraordinary
:20:12. > :20:17.directions. In this pattern, you can see that William Morris liked most
:20:18. > :20:23.gardens and understood when the tulip is not at the height of its
:20:24. > :20:30.perfection, it is still absolutely ravishing when it has gone blase and
:20:31. > :20:31.when the petals started to droop that's when it starts looking at its
:20:32. > :20:44.very best. He was a great fan of the lily and
:20:45. > :20:50.even when he drew it in a very stylised or abstract way, you can
:20:51. > :21:00.tell he understood and he loved the way that it grew. It does feel as if
:21:01. > :21:07.it is Hart of nature. -- part of nature. He didn't like
:21:08. > :21:11.plants that were in anyway exotic or imported or that came with a carbon
:21:12. > :21:16.footprint. He liked it home-grown and if he possibly could, British,
:21:17. > :21:24.like the straightforward marigold, but unlike everybody else, he didn't
:21:25. > :21:25.do it in fabulous technicolour, he celebrated the beautiful marigold in
:21:26. > :21:44.black and white. This garden is like a walk-in
:21:45. > :21:53.William Morris wallpaper, because here, nature rules OK. It is crammed
:21:54. > :22:06.full and it is about investigative beauty and vegetative. It is herbs
:22:07. > :22:10.and fruit, just like this artichoke. William Morris loved things fob
:22:11. > :22:13.pretty in the guard -- to be pretty in the garden, but he loved it more
:22:14. > :22:23.when plants were beautiful and useful.
:22:24. > :22:31.Laurence with a report on one of his favourite designer. A garden in the
:22:32. > :22:41.process of being built for this year's Chelsea Flower Show is called
:22:42. > :22:46.Positively Severn Trent and Barry and Anita are on the team. Can you
:22:47. > :22:52.explain the garden to us? The design sweeps around this lovely blue pool
:22:53. > :22:58.here and the footway hovers over the water. At least it appears to, which
:22:59. > :23:06.will be exciting. The big steel archways carry water which appear to
:23:07. > :23:12.jump between them over the Perspex plates. What has it got to do with
:23:13. > :23:22.Severn Trent? The theme -- Stoke-on-Trent? If you were to drill
:23:23. > :23:25.down two miles underneath the city, the geology is warm. If you were to
:23:26. > :23:29.pump water down and bring it back up, it is almost boiling and we're
:23:30. > :23:34.going to use that to heat homes and new businesses that come into the
:23:35. > :23:39.city. So it is fantastic. Barry, where are the inspirations
:23:40. > :23:46.for the detail, where have they come from? We have the lovely clean lines
:23:47. > :23:50.of the granite walling and this lovely Cumbrian slate in the pool
:23:51. > :23:56.which gives a lovely colour. It gives a lovely glow when the water
:23:57. > :24:00.hits it. We're going to have a white theme with this lovely glade of
:24:01. > :24:06.birch and that moves to a lighter pink and then it goes to a darker
:24:07. > :24:11.pink and then to a crimson which represents the heating up of water.
:24:12. > :24:15.It is about energy flowing from the past and into the future. Which bits
:24:16. > :24:19.of the garden are you most excited about seeing? I'm excited about the
:24:20. > :24:22.whole garden. It is a really exciting garden at Chelsea this
:24:23. > :24:29.year. Well, it is coming together really well. Good luck with it all.
:24:30. > :24:33.Thank you, Andy. You're watching exclusive footage of the efforts to
:24:34. > :24:38.create the Chelsea Flower Show. Still to come, we follow the team
:24:39. > :24:44.make the road run smoothly. A Chelsea champion known as Steve
:24:45. > :24:48.Terrific. I do three shows for the RHS, Chelsea is the hardest one
:24:49. > :24:54.because of the logistics because the site is a very tight site and you
:24:55. > :24:58.will see all the plant machinery, the lorries coming and at times you
:24:59. > :25:06.think is this really happening? There is so much happening. It is a
:25:07. > :25:12.huge jigsaw puzzle that's got to be built correctly. Nigel Slater shows
:25:13. > :25:17.us his own green retreat. It is probably about 30 meters by eight.
:25:18. > :25:31.Which means I've got to cram everything in which is why it is
:25:32. > :25:35.such an incredibly busy space. In the Great Pavilion around 100 of
:25:36. > :25:40.the leading growers and breeders will be displaying their best
:25:41. > :25:43.specimens next week. There are passionate amateurs who work
:25:44. > :25:47.incredibly hard too in order to prepare for the major event in the
:25:48. > :25:50.health authoritiy cultural calendar. People like Reg Bolton of the
:25:51. > :25:54.Federation of British Bonsai Societies. We went to visit him
:25:55. > :26:01.whilst he was making his preparations.
:26:02. > :26:07.Being able to miniaturise trees to have a collection in the garden
:26:08. > :26:13.gives me great pleasure to watch and see them grow and to style them into
:26:14. > :26:18.bonsai. I started bonsai in the late 1960s
:26:19. > :26:22.mainly because I have always been fascinated with miniature things and
:26:23. > :26:33.I just thought I would like to have a try with it. Part of my background
:26:34. > :26:35.is my parents had a small holding and I was involved in helping with
:26:36. > :26:48.the floral arrangements that mother did and I just got interested in the
:26:49. > :26:55.growing of plants. The translation of bonsai is a plant in a pot. A
:26:56. > :26:59.bonsai is just an ordinary plant that you can start from a seed, from
:27:00. > :27:05.a cutting, which you can grow in a wooden box or a big tray or even in
:27:06. > :27:14.the garden and then you start training them from the word go.
:27:15. > :27:20.This is a standard tree that you would buy from a garden centre. It
:27:21. > :27:26.is a Chinese Elm. It is a good starter tree. They are forgiving and
:27:27. > :27:33.if they are looked after, they will grow well. It is develop for a
:27:34. > :27:37.bonsai to develop a good root system. You don't want big, heavy
:27:38. > :27:45.roots of the finer the root system, the finer the top will be. These
:27:46. > :27:49.trees don't want to live indoors, they have got to stay outside.
:27:50. > :27:54.That's the problem. It is an attractive little tree and people
:27:55. > :27:58.will take it indoors and wonder why it dies. I try to model some of my
:27:59. > :28:03.trees on trees that were in this area many, many years ago when they
:28:04. > :28:07.were children and especially the big horse chestnuts and the elm trees
:28:08. > :28:13.which sadly today are gone. If I was pushed to say which is my
:28:14. > :28:18.favourite, it is this one. This is an I shall elm -- an English elm. It
:28:19. > :28:24.is one of the first trees I started and it has grown from a root sucker
:28:25. > :28:29.which I took from a tree felled about 100 yards up the road. So it
:28:30. > :28:36.is a bit sentimental, but it is one of the things that I would never
:28:37. > :28:41.part with. Chelsea to me is very, very special.
:28:42. > :28:52.It's the most important event for me in the year. There is a great deal
:28:53. > :28:58.of comradery and the excitement, the build-up, when people come in, they
:28:59. > :29:05.don't realise you have been busy getting the trees ready. When it
:29:06. > :29:09.comes to Chelsea, if you don't take the extensions out, when you come to
:29:10. > :29:14.cut them back, the tree will have lost its shape and the leaves won't
:29:15. > :29:18.be at a good standard. It has got to be done now to keep the tree looking
:29:19. > :29:21.its best really. Sometimes you have got a tree that you might have
:29:22. > :29:25.selected for Chelsea and then something happens to it and you
:29:26. > :29:40.can't use it because it is not up to scratch. This one is very late in
:29:41. > :29:46.bloom, it's an unusual tree, it is a Japanese white beach. It's got a
:29:47. > :29:50.beautiful delicate green foliage, but for some unknown reason it never
:29:51. > :30:00.gets ready for Chelsea. No matter what I do to it. It does what it
:30:01. > :30:06.wants to. For someone starting out, they think to themselves, I couldn't
:30:07. > :30:12.do that. But I always say to them, if you can grow a pot plant and keep
:30:13. > :30:16.it alive, you can grow a bonsai. People are only too willing to share
:30:17. > :30:20.their knowledge and experience and help you along the way. Nothing is
:30:21. > :30:22.more pleasant than to sit outside with a cup of coffee on a day like
:30:23. > :30:30.this and look at your dreams. And Reg and others
:30:31. > :30:32.from the Federation of British Bonsai Societies will be
:30:33. > :30:38.exhibiting here next week. Time to catch up on today's Chelsea
:30:39. > :30:41.champions, the men and women working hard often without full credit
:30:42. > :30:44.for their efforts to make this Today we are following the
:30:45. > :31:12.remarkable man called Steve. Have a look at your map, I will run
:31:13. > :31:19.by the three stands that are coming in tomorrow. My name is Steve and
:31:20. > :31:23.I'm the manager of traffic for the Chelsea Flower Show. I manage the
:31:24. > :31:28.first thing that comes on site right to the last thing. You are looking
:31:29. > :31:36.at between 300 to 400 on a reasonably busy day. Turn right by
:31:37. > :31:45.the horse, that is something you don't newly say. Chelsea is by far
:31:46. > :31:50.the hardest show I do, simply because of the logistics. It is a
:31:51. > :31:55.very tight site and all the plant machinery, all the lorries come in.
:31:56. > :31:59.At times, you'd think, is this really happening? There is so much
:32:00. > :32:06.happening. It is a huge jigsaw puzzle which has to be built
:32:07. > :32:12.correctly. Everything is on laptop, but I'm old school. I tend to work
:32:13. > :32:22.with paper as well. I've got down all the teams that are working on
:32:23. > :32:29.the show. Time for a chocolate. Steve, where are the towers? They
:32:30. > :32:38.are being held up, as soon is they've driven away we will get the
:32:39. > :32:43.towers up. One funny story, about eight years ago Pierce Brosnan's Mum
:32:44. > :32:48.was here. His mum was inside with his tickets but he was outside.
:32:49. > :32:54.Security wouldn't let him in. I said to the boys, you've got to let James
:32:55. > :33:02.Bond in. So I escorted him in, he introduced me to his mother who gave
:33:03. > :33:11.me a kiss. My other job, I work in show business. I used to be an
:33:12. > :33:18.actor, I used to do a lot of musicals until my mid-30s. A lot of
:33:19. > :33:23.West End work. I now play game in pantomime, I have done so for the
:33:24. > :33:28.last 14 years. My father, who sadly passed away last year, he did it as
:33:29. > :33:36.well. My grandfather was a producer, but he did it as well, so I'm a
:33:37. > :33:41.third-generation game. Most fathers get golf clubs to give to their
:33:42. > :33:47.sons. My father gave me a miniskirt and a cape and said, this is what
:33:48. > :33:54.I've worn. You will get a laugh. And he was right. On the stage, I should
:33:55. > :33:59.say! Steve uses a lot of physical movement when he's directing
:34:00. > :34:04.traffic. Being on stage definitely helps them. Manoeuvring on site is
:34:05. > :34:15.always a tricky operation, as you can see. I'm amazed. I don't think I
:34:16. > :34:24.could never do it. When I'm not in pantomime wearing a dress, this is a
:34:25. > :34:33.stage. We're ready to bring the lorry in. Thank you, Steve. It's
:34:34. > :34:36.tiring because it is a long day but you feel privileged you've been
:34:37. > :34:40.allowed to work on the Chelsea Flower Show, and you are achieving
:34:41. > :34:45.something, because you suddenly realise it is hugely popular.
:34:46. > :34:52.Hundreds of thousands of people come here. You need to be on top of that
:34:53. > :34:56.and in control. We try to make it the safest site in London. It is
:34:57. > :34:59.something special. The boys take pride that they can tell people, we
:35:00. > :35:12.work on the Chelsea Flower Show. Catering for big events is
:35:13. > :35:15.a familiar challenge for food His secret for relaxation away
:35:16. > :35:19.from such stresses is the green haven that's been created
:35:20. > :35:21.just outside his kitchen. And the man who came up with
:35:22. > :35:25.the ideas is someone who's going to be bringing his presence to Chelsea
:35:26. > :35:28.this year, as Nigel explained when we first visited
:35:29. > :35:46.his garden during the Chelsea Flower I remember the first day I saw this
:35:47. > :35:51.garden. I was intimidated, I think, by the fact that I got to do
:35:52. > :35:56.something with it. It was a lawn that had become unloved, it had a
:35:57. > :36:03.few wild which of course ended up being weeds that I've been picking
:36:04. > :36:07.out for the last ten years. It's probably about 30 metres by eight.
:36:08. > :36:19.That means I've got to cram everything in, which is why it is an
:36:20. > :36:24.incredibly busy space. I had Monty Don round for a bite of lunch and he
:36:25. > :36:29.was asking me, what a you going to do with the garden? I said, I really
:36:30. > :36:35.don't know. I just want everything. The only thing I didn't want was a
:36:36. > :36:40.lawn and a water feature. Monty drew on the back of an envelope a little
:36:41. > :36:48.plan of what the garden could be. Small, very contained beds just
:36:49. > :36:52.bursting with things. I think I probably should have given him more
:36:53. > :37:00.than a bowl of soup and a slice of bread, even though it was a
:37:01. > :37:06.home-made loaf. This started as a herb bed but then other things got
:37:07. > :37:14.in there too. There is rocket. Fragrant roses. I have to have dark
:37:15. > :37:18.red roses in my garden. In the summer you break them up over a bowl
:37:19. > :37:26.the peaches and it is the most beautiful pudding. I think my dad
:37:27. > :37:36.was a huge it -- influence on my garden. He almost smell of potting
:37:37. > :37:45.compost in the garden. When I open a bag of compost, that is what I think
:37:46. > :37:52.of, my dad. This is the busiest of the beds. At any one time, I can
:37:53. > :38:01.have garlic, radishes, beans, sweet peas, Chard. In amongst it all the
:38:02. > :38:04.strawberries. There is one called Chelsea pensioner and I have to say
:38:05. > :38:09.about it purely because of the name. And it's turned out to be a cracking
:38:10. > :38:20.strawberry. Not too big and very sweet. This is a west facing garden,
:38:21. > :38:28.it's got a very sunny side. This site truly bakes. And it's got a
:38:29. > :38:35.very shady moist side. The problem with this is varied little bit too
:38:36. > :38:39.much shade. Lettuce works in the shade. But I'm after something that
:38:40. > :38:52.will appreciate drier should, shady patch. That's what I'm looking for
:38:53. > :38:59.at Chelsea this year, actually. This is a really important space for me.
:39:00. > :39:05.It's a space that I need as much as want. It's where I come to escape,
:39:06. > :39:11.and that's why it's got a gate. Because I felt I needed to go into a
:39:12. > :39:17.space and to close the door. Where there is no mobile and no e-mail and
:39:18. > :39:24.it is just me and a cup of tea and maybe a piece of cake and that's it.
:39:25. > :39:28.One of the loveliest things anybody has any -- ever said to me about
:39:29. > :39:31.this garden was that it looked like it's always been here. And I feel it
:39:32. > :39:38.has. And the man responsible
:39:39. > :39:41.for coming up with those ideas for Nigel's garden, Monty Don,
:39:42. > :39:44.joins the Chelsea Flower Show team next week when he will be presenting
:39:45. > :39:47.the shows on BBC Two. I'm looking forward to bringing you
:39:48. > :39:52.the afternoon coverage in this slot I can't wait to see these gardens
:39:53. > :39:56.finally finished, because only then will we know
:39:57. > :40:00.if they have pulled it off. I hope so, because Chelsea needs
:40:01. > :40:03.bold and new ideas that we will look And which would I chose
:40:04. > :40:08.as the best from past years? OK, here's three that I think
:40:09. > :40:16.really broke the mould. Back in 1997, Christopher Bradley
:40:17. > :40:19.Hole made a refreshingly modern It stood out because it had very
:40:20. > :40:23.strong architectural and sculptural qualities which still stand the test
:40:24. > :40:27.of time but were very new then. These inscriptions were
:40:28. > :40:31.wonderfully sophisticated. And this garden was
:40:32. > :40:35.the first I can remember to strike the balance between plants and hard
:40:36. > :40:38.materials which allowed the Cleve West and Johny Woodford,
:40:39. > :40:47.a sculptor, in 2001 created a really surprising
:40:48. > :40:50.and brave garden which was daringly It was as if the pair were pitted
:40:51. > :41:16.against more conservative ideas People say your gardens are always
:41:17. > :41:23.set out to shock. Is that deliberate? No, I often do things
:41:24. > :41:28.for myself, so it is often things that people haven't seen.
:41:29. > :41:31.And finally, to my mind, the best small garden I can recall
:41:32. > :41:34.was Phil Nash?s steel and glass garden in 2004.
:41:35. > :41:36.What I really liked was the lighting which made it
:41:37. > :41:46.He used tropical and architectural plants in a very appropriate really
:41:47. > :41:54.Let's hope we have more show stoppers next week.
:41:55. > :41:57.Tomorrow my colleague and fellow Chelsea award designer
:41:58. > :41:59.Chris Beardshaw is here with his own personal take.
:42:00. > :43:36.A new era blooms at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show,
:43:37. > :43:46.with a fresh crop of exciting young designers.
:43:47. > :43:46.The very nature of the American personality was defined.
:43:47. > :43:52.When the first travellers crossed America, they were faced with this -
:43:53. > :43:56.from snow-capped mountains to arid plains and thick forests.