:00:40. > :00:46.In just a matter of days a cavalcade of limousines will arrive here at
:00:47. > :00:51.the gates of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, bringing the Royal party led
:00:52. > :00:55.by Her Majesty the Queen. Every monarch has visited what's said to
:00:56. > :01:02.be the most prestigious garden and flower show across the globe since
:01:03. > :01:07.it launched here 101 years ago. Our cameras have been positioned to give
:01:08. > :01:12.you a grandstand seat of proceedings. But will the gardens
:01:13. > :01:19.and exhibits be ready? I can't wait to find out. Ahead in this final
:01:20. > :01:23.edition of Countdown to Chelsea, I will be opening my own personal
:01:24. > :01:29.almanac of my earlier days at the show and yes, that was amazing hair!
:01:30. > :01:40.We look back on 100 years of Royal patronage.
:01:41. > :01:45.And meet the orchid ladies who want to win gold.
:01:46. > :01:48.Chelsea needs to be perfection. It really is the gold standard of
:01:49. > :01:56.flower shows. We are going to win a gold this year. Give it our best
:01:57. > :02:01.shot. Definitely, yes. If you had asked me what I would be
:02:02. > :02:05.wearing for Chelsea 2014 I wouldn't have predicted the outfit of a
:02:06. > :02:10.school crossing lady for my debut appearance. But we are on a building
:02:11. > :02:20.site as the last minute preparations for this year's show continue around
:02:21. > :02:24.us. It's quite an atmosphere. Not that I haven't experienced the
:02:25. > :02:30.frenzy of these last precious hours of preparation myself. I first came
:02:31. > :02:37.to Chelsea as an exhibitor in the floral pavilion 24 years ago. It was
:02:38. > :02:41.quite a trip. I remember loading our lorry for our first Chelsea by
:02:42. > :02:47.candlelight. As if that wasn't enough, just as we set off it
:02:48. > :02:52.promptly broke down. We ended up being towed away where a new clich
:02:53. > :02:57.awaited. -- clutch awaited. Hours later we arrived at the floral
:02:58. > :03:03.pavilion, exhausted but jubilant. Despite all of that, we still
:03:04. > :03:07.managed a silver medal. Here it is. A proud and memorable first
:03:08. > :03:13.encounter at Chelsea. Just the beginning of a magical association.
:03:14. > :03:19.15 visits from Glebe Cottage has yielded a proud haul of awards.
:03:20. > :03:24.Including six gold medals. I even met the Royal Family, that's me with
:03:25. > :03:32.Princess Michael of Kent. And in 1999 I designed a garden
:03:33. > :03:39.myself. My friend Val, a wonderful woman, gave me a gold medal
:03:40. > :03:43.inscribed on a banana. Happy days. What Chelsea means to me is friends.
:03:44. > :03:51.I have been lucky enough to make loads of them here over the years.
:03:52. > :03:58.There's nothing I love more than -- than catching up with a few in the
:03:59. > :04:09.pavilion. Look at the shirt. Glad you like it. It's lovely.
:04:10. > :04:14.Let's hope 2014 will prove to be equally as memorable. First, those
:04:15. > :04:18.Royal visitors on Monday are eagerly anticipated. Both designers and
:04:19. > :04:25.exhibitors have to be ready and in their best suits by 3.00pm. The
:04:26. > :04:28.first of the party arrive then. Chelsea's been an important event
:04:29. > :04:41.for generations of Kings and Queens. Such is their love of the English
:04:42. > :04:47.garden and open air... The Royal Family's relationship with Chelsea
:04:48. > :04:53.is as old as the flower show itself. In 1913 Queen Alexandra declared the
:04:54. > :04:56.show open for the very first time. Successive monarchs have been
:04:57. > :05:04.patrons to Chelsea and some have shown a closer interest than others.
:05:05. > :05:08.In 1934 green-fingered future King Edward VIII took such a shine to one
:05:09. > :05:12.particular rock garden that he bought it lock, stock and barrel and
:05:13. > :05:18.even helped to dismantle it before having it rebuilt in his grounds at
:05:19. > :05:26.Fort Belvedere. The King and Queen make it a Royal
:05:27. > :05:29.event... His brother, George VI and Queen Elizabeth were keen gardeners
:05:30. > :05:34.and fervent supporters of the show. The present Queen has been a regular
:05:35. > :05:41.visitor since her first appearance at Chelsea in 1947. Since then,
:05:42. > :05:46.she's rarely missed the show. Her Majesty has even had a rose
:05:47. > :05:52.named in her honour. This is a modern classic rose. It's one of a
:05:53. > :05:59.brand-new series which combines all the qualities of the old roses, that
:06:00. > :06:04.sense of romance and softness, with the robustness and solidity that you
:06:05. > :06:08.come to expect from modern roses. The rose itself is called the
:06:09. > :06:13.Queen's Jubilee Rose. The Queen's passion for the show has rubbed off
:06:14. > :06:18.on her closest family members in a very personal way. In 2002, Prince
:06:19. > :06:23.Charles commissioned Jinny Blom to design what was called a Healing
:06:24. > :06:29.Garden in memory of the Queen Mother. It featured more than 100
:06:30. > :06:34.varieties of medicine ml -- medicinal herbs and shrubs. His
:06:35. > :06:39.approach, as ever, was organic. Working with nature to produce the
:06:40. > :06:42.best results, it's harnessing the best of the old and the traditional
:06:43. > :06:47.understanding that goes back hundreds of years. And the best of
:06:48. > :06:50.the new, we have to be more selective about what is more
:06:51. > :06:57.damaging than another thing. We are, I think, what we eat, as well. I
:06:58. > :07:02.believe that if it's healthy, the plant tends to be healthier and it
:07:03. > :07:07.feeds back down the chain into us. Following in his father's footsteps,
:07:08. > :07:12.Prince Harry last year also commissioned Jinny Blom to design a
:07:13. > :07:23.garden to remember his mother and to promote his charity for orphaned
:07:24. > :07:27.children in Lesotho. This is a pavilion of the houses in Lesotho.
:07:28. > :07:32.When you go to Lesotho, the contrast between raw rock and mountain and
:07:33. > :07:39.then the grasslands is very extreme. I wanted to express that clearly
:07:40. > :07:42.that it's a plateau country. The house is very important to me
:07:43. > :07:46.because that's the symbol of what is lost if you lose your family.
:07:47. > :07:54.On a lighter note, the Queen has also met and passed comment on the
:07:55. > :07:57.gardens of some of our own team. She thought it was beautiful and elegant
:07:58. > :08:02.which I think was a good description, I was happy. She wasn't
:08:03. > :08:07.talking about you? You will have to ask her that. She said the onions
:08:08. > :08:10.are rather small. Now preparations are under way for this year's Royal
:08:11. > :08:15.visit next Monday. There's still a lot to do to make this site fit for
:08:16. > :08:19.a Queen. Planning for a Royal visit takes a
:08:20. > :08:26.lot of careful thought and minute management. Hayley Monckton is in
:08:27. > :08:29.charge of media matters for the Royal Horticultural Society. As we
:08:30. > :08:33.saw, the Royal Family have been strong supporters of the show for a
:08:34. > :08:40.century. How important is that to the RHS? It's really important to
:08:41. > :08:43.the RHS. Not just to us but all the exhibitors involved, it's a
:08:44. > :08:47.highlight. The Queen is our patron. You can see when she goes around and
:08:48. > :08:50.visits the showground how much it means to the exhibitors and
:08:51. > :08:54.designers and growers. That's really lovely about it. She came to my
:08:55. > :09:00.stand a few times and it was such an honour. During all these Royal
:09:01. > :09:03.visits has anybody ever stepped out of line? Mostly people are
:09:04. > :09:07.well-behaved. Everyone is so excited about the Royal visit and top see
:09:08. > :09:12.the Queen and the Royal party. There may have been a couple of occasions
:09:13. > :09:17.we have had photographers getting excited and close but nothing too
:09:18. > :09:21.dramatic. Wasn't there a streaker one year dressed as a gnome? Yes,
:09:22. > :09:26.there was but it didn't happen during the Royal visit, I think that
:09:27. > :09:32.happened on a Friday, from memory, he went running up the main avenue.
:09:33. > :09:36.Just as as well. -- just as well. Thank you for your time, I am sure
:09:37. > :09:41.everything will go smoothly under your watchful eye. Fingers crossed.
:09:42. > :09:45.One man who eagerly awaits the Royal party is young Matthew Childs. He is
:09:46. > :09:48.one of the first time Chelsea designers here this year. All week
:09:49. > :09:52.we have been following his story as he faces up to his biggest
:09:53. > :09:57.challenge. Today, we are showing you how he made choices for the most
:09:58. > :10:07.important part of his show garden, the planting, of course.
:10:08. > :10:15.Today we have come to North Wales, travels hundreds of miles and I am
:10:16. > :10:20.here to get lots of planting inspiration.
:10:21. > :10:25.Here they've a great woodland garden and I am using similar plants with a
:10:26. > :10:29.similar environment so I have come to look in great detail at how
:10:30. > :10:32.plants are used and how they work together and gain inspiration for
:10:33. > :10:41.how I will be putting plants together at Chelsea.
:10:42. > :10:46.All these plants I have on my list, so it's great to see them working
:10:47. > :10:53.well in this wooded area. One thing I am excited about is that
:10:54. > :11:00.I have Japanese seeder on my planting list and here I can see
:11:01. > :11:04.conifers. What's wonderful is this form is next to boulders and it
:11:05. > :11:07.works well. It's almost like a boulder itself. That's something I
:11:08. > :11:22.want to try to steal and use in the garden.
:11:23. > :11:34.I have just stumbled across this fantastic spot here in the gardens.
:11:35. > :11:40.It's shady but you have this swathe running through it, something I want
:11:41. > :11:42.to replicate. I have dark surfaces and large features. This really kind
:11:43. > :11:58.of makes the whole space sing. I am on my way to the nursery in
:11:59. > :12:02.Hampshire now, they've been looking after my plants since October of
:12:03. > :12:06.last year and having visited the gardens and got planting inspiration
:12:07. > :12:11.what I want to do now is get hold of the plants on site and have a play
:12:12. > :12:19.with them and experiment with different combinations.
:12:20. > :12:23.Morning. Good to see you. How are the plants looking? Today I have
:12:24. > :12:26.come to meet Robin at the nursery. Robin has been able to bring
:12:27. > :12:31.together lots of plants from all over the place so that we have the
:12:32. > :12:34.best to choose from. A lot of the plants Matthew needs we would be
:12:35. > :12:38.growing here, but as with any designer they're always going to
:12:39. > :12:41.throw you ones they've seen at a show or a garden. Matthew travels
:12:42. > :12:46.and visits gardens and will pick up ideas and combinations he wants to
:12:47. > :12:50.use. We get the list from the designers, usually late summer and
:12:51. > :12:54.then we start putting together the varieties that are required. This is
:12:55. > :13:01.looking amazing at the moment. It's really good. The weather has done
:13:02. > :13:04.great things for that. Everything's looking great. Is it in
:13:05. > :13:07.flower too soon? A lot depends on the weather in the run-up to
:13:08. > :13:11.Chelsea. Last year we were panicking. It was the worst winter
:13:12. > :13:14.for growing plants. This year you have so much more scope with more
:13:15. > :13:19.plants because the weather has been so much warmer. We are four weeks
:13:20. > :13:23.ahead compared to last year. Last year everything was in tunnels. This
:13:24. > :13:27.year the plants came out of the tunnels weeks ago. We are trying to
:13:28. > :13:35.slow them down. There's far more outside this year than last year.
:13:36. > :13:38.What I am doing at the moment is looking at all the plants I have
:13:39. > :13:49.growing here at the nursery and how they're going to work together.
:13:50. > :13:58.At Bodmin there was that great drift of wood spurning underneath the
:13:59. > :14:06.tree. -- spurge. When I have drifts of these at the front of the garden
:14:07. > :14:11.they'll really zing with the drifts of euphorbia in the background. It's
:14:12. > :14:14.about thinking about plants, rather than in isolation, about thinking
:14:15. > :14:22.about how they'll mix throughout the garden.
:14:23. > :14:31.These are in one of the tunnels here being protected, they're one of my
:14:32. > :14:33.star plants. We saw a great specimen at Bodmin Gardens and it's lovely to
:14:34. > :14:37.see this group. They're doing what I want them to do, which is to look
:14:38. > :14:41.like they're a group of boulders almost in their form.
:14:42. > :14:43.They're going to be a consistent structure that runs through the
:14:44. > :14:49.space, especially at the front of the garden.
:14:50. > :14:54.This is really important in being able to bring to life the garden at
:14:55. > :15:00.Chelsea and it being a success. Having top quality plants is the
:15:01. > :15:07.difference between, I suppose, medals!
:15:08. > :15:11.I am with Matthew now. How is it working out then? Are these plants
:15:12. > :15:15.coming together justs as you hoped? It's fantastic. I have only seen
:15:16. > :15:24.them in the nursery in rows and now to be weaving them through, and see
:15:25. > :15:28.them working together... Into place. That's the exciting bit. I love it.
:15:29. > :15:36.Everything's been all about this and putting those plants together. It's
:15:37. > :15:40.like colouring in. You have an amazing pallet to work with. I love
:15:41. > :15:43.that bit. All these perfect plants, they're all in beautiful condition.
:15:44. > :15:46.They're such good examples. They tell people, the people who come
:15:47. > :15:50.along and look at your garden, just what they can grow where and how
:15:51. > :15:54.they can put plants together. That's right and inspire them to think of
:15:55. > :15:57.using different plants in different combination as well. So far I'm
:15:58. > :16:01.really happy with how it's going. How about some of the plants that
:16:02. > :16:07.you've seen, what about your bolder plants? I'm so happy. Can you see
:16:08. > :16:12.them next to the bolders. They have a great form and that Shaggy
:16:13. > :16:27.texture. Still this lovely sculpt churl some IDity. That's right. You
:16:28. > :16:31.need that. With the acid yellow and purple it jumps out at you. Zingy.
:16:32. > :16:35.Yeah I'm loving it. Really good. It's nice to see now that the hard
:16:36. > :16:38.landscaping it is. It's working in conjunction with the plants. I know
:16:39. > :16:51.what's most important to you though. Plants. Yeah. Your mum, earlier in
:16:52. > :16:57.the week, made an ebleak -- oblique reference to meeting the Queen. I
:16:58. > :17:01.know. That's my curtsy. I feel like the Queen. Are you going to tell her
:17:02. > :17:05.all about your garden? I think for once, I'll probably be lost for
:17:06. > :17:09.words. A bit tongue tied. I can't imagine that.
:17:10. > :17:15.If you had to sum up your garden in a few words, what would you say? I
:17:16. > :17:18.would say it has a sense of tranquility, but also a feeling of
:17:19. > :17:29.anticipation as well. That's what I've tried to create. Exact ly. Your
:17:30. > :17:32.Majesty. Every garden designer seeks inspiration for exciting ideas.
:17:33. > :17:36.Sometimes the best triggers come from within. In our look back at
:17:37. > :17:39.classic Chelsea gardens, we're about to see how one of the most respected
:17:40. > :17:44.names found inspiration for her last to see how one of the most respected
:17:45. > :17:53.Chelsea show garden. Arabella Lennox Boyd chose to go back to her roots
:17:54. > :17:58.Chelsea show garden. Arabella Lennox for her 2008 design. I was born in
:17:59. > :18:01.Rome. My mother decided to come and live here, when I was about seven.
:18:02. > :18:09.It was after the war. She just wanted to get away from the city.
:18:10. > :18:16.The village is called Oliveto which means olive grove. It's changed
:18:17. > :18:21.enormously since I was a child. Gardening is a complete obsession
:18:22. > :18:27.for me. It's both gardening and designing and plant growing. I'm mad
:18:28. > :18:33.about plants. I'm mad about design. What really excites me about Italian
:18:34. > :18:39.gardens is the architecture that goes with the everygreen planting.
:18:40. > :18:44.The idea would be to be able to mix the Italian style and the English
:18:45. > :18:54.style, which is what I try and do. I spent hours with my wonderful
:18:55. > :18:58.gardener. He's very precise. Every time we can do something which is
:18:59. > :19:02.going to take us forward, the garden is still in constant revolution, I
:19:03. > :19:06.think I've probably finished The Last Leg of my planning, but the
:19:07. > :19:13.roses are tiny and the irises are minute. In a few years, it will look
:19:14. > :19:19.really good. I came to England when I was 24. It
:19:20. > :19:27.was a wonderful experience for me because I started my gardening. My
:19:28. > :19:32.home is in Lancashire. The garden was a real challenge because of the
:19:33. > :19:35.landscape, which was so informal and didn't allow vistas and all the
:19:36. > :19:41.thingedz that you have in an Italian garden. It's been a terrific place
:19:42. > :19:46.for me to learn. I try out flowers. I've tried trees. It's been ape real
:19:47. > :19:51.learning curve for me and I -- a real learning curve for me. I don't
:19:52. > :19:55.know how I would have done my job properly if I hadn't had that
:19:56. > :20:06.experience. Another of my Italian gardens is here. The house is called
:20:07. > :20:11.La Bandiera. The garden in the front of the house is actually on a
:20:12. > :20:17.garage, because the owner didn't want to see the cars in front of the
:20:18. > :20:23.house. So I was only given about 50 centimetres of soil. The only thing
:20:24. > :20:27.I could plant was box and lavender. So I designed this formal pattern
:20:28. > :20:30.and at the centre, a fountain, which is very pleasant in the summer,
:20:31. > :20:36.because there's the sound of the water.
:20:37. > :20:42.Irises do incredibly well in this part of Italy. I planted them
:20:43. > :20:46.everywhere, particularly in an area where I planted Judas trees. The
:20:47. > :20:52.whole area is covered in iris of every colour. I went mad. It's such
:20:53. > :21:00.fun to come back here and see them do so well. They look absolutely
:21:01. > :21:05.fantastic. I am a little bit of a gypsy, having left my country of
:21:06. > :21:13.birth to go to England, I think that once you've done that, you become
:21:14. > :21:18.slightly detached. So really I feel at home wherever my favourite plants
:21:19. > :21:29.are or my favourite design. That's what I'm really attached to. This
:21:30. > :21:35.was the finished result, a bold and stunning design that earned Arabella
:21:36. > :21:41.a gold in 2008. She was delighted with the results too. I'm very
:21:42. > :21:48.happy. It's really wonderful. I've been assisted by a fantastic team
:21:49. > :21:53.and we've had great fun and moments of absolute horror, but I'm so
:21:54. > :22:01.happy. One garden that promises to be a strong talking point this year
:22:02. > :22:04.is that built by Chelsea veteran designer Cleeve West. What's the
:22:05. > :22:12.theme, isn't it supposed to be a paradise garden? Yes, it's based on
:22:13. > :22:17.the ancient gardens of Persia. They've stood the test of time. We
:22:18. > :22:21.still like to have trees for shade, water, for sound and reflection and
:22:22. > :22:28.an abundance of planting to make us feel good. Those were sanctuaries,
:22:29. > :22:32.enclosures like a taming of nature within a hostile desert. Our desert
:22:33. > :22:37.is there in the gravel A taming garden. Of nature, but a recognition
:22:38. > :22:44.of how nature is really in control. That's what you do with your
:22:45. > :22:48.planting. What are your basic building Everything is materials?
:22:49. > :22:53.Sourced from the UK. We have Bath limestone. Everything has been cut
:22:54. > :22:58.from scratch, bolders into slabs. We have splint which we discovered. It
:22:59. > :23:02.has a lovely rusty tinge which goes well with the limestone. It's a
:23:03. > :23:06.marriage made in heaven for me. I'm just as excited about that as I am
:23:07. > :23:13.with the planting. The only thing we had to go abroad for is the trees.
:23:14. > :23:18.You don't see a lot of this type of tree at your local garden centre. We
:23:19. > :23:22.needed a canopy. You are working here alongside all sorts of garden
:23:23. > :23:25.designers, is it camaraderie or is it cut throat? I don't think it's
:23:26. > :23:32.cut throat. Certainly for me it's not. I got the competition out of me
:23:33. > :23:36.when I was younger. Obviously you want a Gold Medal. Everyone wants
:23:37. > :23:40.that. There's no limit to how many gold medals. What I like is seeing
:23:41. > :23:46.some of the younger faces coming in. I feel, I do feel like a veteran
:23:47. > :23:50.now, seeing people like the Rich brothers and Hugo Bugg and Matt
:23:51. > :23:58.Childs, and all that. It's great to see them. It's great for them.
:23:59. > :24:05.They're all aspiring to be a Cleve West as well. We have Luciano as
:24:06. > :24:06.well. I don't know how many of you can call yourselves veterans with me
:24:07. > :24:20.around! It's absolutely throwing it down and
:24:21. > :24:26.the people on the outside gardens are getting inundated. Inside here
:24:27. > :24:31.work continues as usual. This is where my heart truly lies in the
:24:32. > :24:37.Great Pavilion, not just because it's drier in here either. They say
:24:38. > :24:41.there's room to plant 500 -- park 500 London buses in here. 100
:24:42. > :24:45.exhibitors are starting to arrive. But don't be fooled into thinking
:24:46. > :24:50.that everyone preparing their immaculate displays is a
:24:51. > :24:54.professional grower or breeder. Passionate amateurs are also hung
:24:55. > :24:58.Rhyl eyeing gold medals as we found out when we recently visited two
:24:59. > :25:13.special ladies from the Orchid Society of Great Britain.
:25:14. > :25:19.Orchid growing has not only changed my life, it's rather taken over it.
:25:20. > :25:27.It's a hobby gone mad. They're all over my kitchen.
:25:28. > :25:34.I don't have a greenhouse. I'm what people call a window sill grower.
:25:35. > :25:43.I'm still a beginner. I'm learning. It's a good way to start.
:25:44. > :25:47.Val, from the Orchid Society of Great Britain changed my life, for a
:25:48. > :25:54.few months at least by inviting me to help design the display at
:25:55. > :25:59.Chelsea 2013. Eight little words... I said to her, "Come on Sam, we can
:26:00. > :26:02.do it together." Zblt rest was history for about eight months while
:26:03. > :26:06.we planned and designed and built the display.
:26:07. > :26:10.The qualities that I think Sam brought was her enthusiasm and
:26:11. > :26:15.creativity. She is very enthusiastic. She's inspirational.
:26:16. > :26:19.She's an expert orchid grower and I would follow her anywhere. I was
:26:20. > :26:24.proposing that I would rather like to do Chelsea, but I needed somebody
:26:25. > :26:34.younger and fitter to actually do what I could no longer do. To be
:26:35. > :26:37.absolutely blunt! I only joined the Orchid Society five years ago, when
:26:38. > :26:41.I joined I could never have imagined that within five years I would be
:26:42. > :26:47.helping to design an exhibit at Chelsea. We wouldn't normally ask a
:26:48. > :26:51.new member to ask us do Chelsea, being such a prestigious show. But
:26:52. > :26:55.you recognise talent in somebody. If you see talent, then I'm afraid, you
:26:56. > :26:58.have to grab it. Of course, you don't do it on your
:26:59. > :27:05.own. There's a whole team of people who lend us plants and provide
:27:06. > :27:08.support, driving vans, and help us build the display on site. Today I'm
:27:09. > :27:12.going to Val's house to meet with her and see how our plans for
:27:13. > :27:15.Chelsea 2014 are coming together. Good to see you. Got a few new
:27:16. > :27:31.things coming out? Yes. Show me what's looking good. Last
:27:32. > :27:35.year's Chelsea red tree. Wonderful. Reflowered this year. Beautiful. It
:27:36. > :27:40.Fantastic. Looked good last year. That will be nice to have. How about
:27:41. > :27:49.this? Beautiful and a particularly nice, big flower on it. It is a big
:27:50. > :27:54.flower. That's good. Kit cat. What's -- chit chat. What's good at Chelsea
:27:55. > :27:57.is large specimen plants. That will be great. Can you believe it's
:27:58. > :28:02.nearly a year since we did Chelsea and you said to me, "Come on, Sam,
:28:03. > :28:08.we can do it together." Changed my life for nearly a year. I couldn't
:28:09. > :28:13.believe we had won a Gold Medal, certainly not for my first Chelsea.
:28:14. > :28:15.With the right mentors and people behind you, it's all possible. The
:28:16. > :28:19.wonderful thing about joining a society is you have all this
:28:20. > :28:25.expertise on tap. When Val persuaded me to join her, as a designer, I was
:28:26. > :28:29.a little apprehensive. I had the confidence that you and I could
:28:30. > :28:35.actually do it together. Yes, we've decided, haven't we? We have indeed.
:28:36. > :28:41.We will be entering Chelsea 2014 for the Orchid Society of Great Britain.
:28:42. > :28:45.The title of the display is the cosmopolitan world of orchids, which
:28:46. > :28:50.will show orchids in a natural setting and demonstrate the fact
:28:51. > :28:58.that they grow on every continent of earth apart frommant arka. -- from
:28:59. > :29:05.Antarctica. We ask for orchids from our members. # basically, we collect
:29:06. > :29:10.them five days before the show starts and it's not until that day
:29:11. > :29:14.that we know what we've got coming. Our quality control for displays has
:29:15. > :29:18.to be high, but Chelsea needs to be perfection. It really is the gold
:29:19. > :29:23.standard of flower shows. So we have to say quite strongly to our members
:29:24. > :29:26.that unless plants are perfect, perfect flowers, perfect leaves, we
:29:27. > :29:32.really can't use them on the display. We are going to win a Gold
:29:33. > :29:37.Medal this year. Definitely. Give it our best shot. Most definitely, yes.
:29:38. > :29:44.We are. Isn't it lovely to see daffodils
:29:45. > :29:47.coming? I look forward to seeing Val and Sam in the Great Pavilion next
:29:48. > :29:58.week, to see if they've pulled it off once again. Still to come: The
:29:59. > :30:02.Indiana Jones of horticulture. We meet two extraordinary plant
:30:03. > :30:07.hunters. It's a wonderful adventure, but there are risks involved too. We
:30:08. > :30:12.have had very hairy moments. We've had run-ins with bandits. We've been
:30:13. > :30:19.held up atma Shetty point. Sometimes -- up at machete point. Sometimes he
:30:20. > :30:23.hangs over a cliff. I think no plant is worth What are that. Our team
:30:24. > :30:27.looking forward to most from Chelsea 2014? I want to have a good sniff
:30:28. > :30:32.around. I'm looking forward to see what the hot new talent have in
:30:33. > :30:37.store for us. All week, our cameras have been
:30:38. > :30:43.following the team of people who ensure this amazing and complex show
:30:44. > :30:48.runs like clockwork. There are 800 who take 33 days to make it happen.
:30:49. > :31:01.Today, our Chelsea champion is someone in charge of all that's
:31:02. > :31:08.going on in the Great Pavilion, manager, Helen Boem. I am the floral
:31:09. > :31:12.marquee manager this year. For Chelsea I am looking after the Great
:31:13. > :31:16.Pavilion. How's it going? We're doing really well this time.
:31:17. > :31:20.Typical day for me, I would arrive quite early in the morning, meet all
:31:21. > :31:25.the new exhibitors coming in, find out if they have any needs. They
:31:26. > :31:28.could have needs for power on their displays, access to water, make sure
:31:29. > :31:32.they know where to get those facilities. I then just oversee
:31:33. > :31:36.their builds, making sure there are no problems, deal with those. And
:31:37. > :31:53.just generally be on call for all of them in the marquee. OK, yes. No
:31:54. > :31:57.excavations allowed, sorry. Today is probably the biggest day. The
:31:58. > :32:02.exhibitors come from all over the world. This is where the big builds
:32:03. > :32:05.take shape. Hi, guys. How long do you think it's going to take before
:32:06. > :32:10.you get all of these unloaded? Probably about another hour of this
:32:11. > :32:15.lot. This is the hedging. OK, the guys on the exhibit the other side
:32:16. > :32:19.need to start constructing. If they can give us an hour, we can get this
:32:20. > :32:23.out and when the next one comes in we can push it there. We will sort
:32:24. > :32:28.something out. All right, see you later. Hi, I have spoken to the
:32:29. > :32:32.delivery guys. It's going to take an hour to finish unloading that.
:32:33. > :32:36.They've another delivery due in soon after but what they'll do is they'll
:32:37. > :32:41.move it further over and then unload from the other side. Thank you very
:32:42. > :32:47.much. Lovely, thank you. Good, see you later. It's very compact in the
:32:48. > :32:50.Grand Pavilion and the RHS liaisons are very good and if you have a
:32:51. > :32:55.problem they'll sort it out, as you have just seen.
:32:56. > :32:59.I am just now going around making sure that I haven't missed anyone
:33:00. > :33:03.that's come in this morning and hopefully if anyone has questions
:33:04. > :33:08.and see me walking around they can ask me any particular questions that
:33:09. > :33:17.they might have. Did you find the water OK? Yes, thank you. Good. I
:33:18. > :33:23.walk all day. I do a lot of walking. What are they? Part of the water
:33:24. > :33:29.feature. They shoot water in. When will you be able to test it? Later
:33:30. > :33:35.this morning. Good luck. Thank you very much, Helen. Luckily, we are
:33:36. > :33:40.not affected in the same way as the guys working outside. However, the
:33:41. > :33:43.impact of weather could affect some guys because they're travelling in
:33:44. > :33:45.from all over the place but so far I have not really had any problems
:33:46. > :34:01.with weather. There's been a burst downpipe so all
:34:02. > :34:05.the rain water's coming off the roof and it's basically coming out on the
:34:06. > :34:10.exhibit over here. The guys have got to redirect the water into the
:34:11. > :34:16.nearest drain which is down here. They've had to make a channel to
:34:17. > :34:19.direct the water away from all their landscaping they've been doing. It's
:34:20. > :34:23.ending up on that exhibit over there, obviously that could have an
:34:24. > :34:27.impact on their display. This is the sort of problem that I have to deal
:34:28. > :34:32.with but it's quite an unusual problem. The guys here are trying to
:34:33. > :34:35.sort this problem out so it doesn't happen again. In a way, thank
:34:36. > :34:41.goodness it's happened today so it can be dealt with because if we had
:34:42. > :34:50.it full of visitors then it could pose real problems for both the
:34:51. > :34:53.visitors and the exhibitors. When you come to Chelsea it just
:34:54. > :35:00.feels like there's nothing like it. It feels like it's the biggest show
:35:01. > :35:05.on the planet. Just the standard of everything that's here is so high.
:35:06. > :35:10.You don't get that anywhere else. It's just amazing that so many
:35:11. > :35:14.people put their hearts and souls into what they're producing to show
:35:15. > :35:21.people. I find that quite amazing. I absolutely love it.
:35:22. > :35:25.It's easy to see the RHS Chelsea Flower Show as a very British
:35:26. > :35:30.affair, but some exhibitors come from many miles to be at the event.
:35:31. > :35:34.In fact, some of the floral exhibits come on quite incredible journeys to
:35:35. > :35:38.get here. There's a couple who have been coming for some years who
:35:39. > :35:46.fascinate me in their quest to uncover new and exotic plants for us
:35:47. > :35:51.all to admire and grow. They are Sue and Bleddyn Wynn Jones. They've come
:35:52. > :35:55.from Wales for this show but have collected plants from all over the
:35:56. > :36:01.world. In our classic Chelsea choice, we are going back to the
:36:02. > :36:08.very first year they brought their remarkable specimens to the show.
:36:09. > :36:14.We go out looking for plants, well, because it's something that needs
:36:15. > :36:20.doing, we feel strongly that it needs doing. There's so many plants
:36:21. > :36:23.out there that aren't cultivated and also there's huge population
:36:24. > :36:27.pressures on these plants. They're going to become extinct before
:36:28. > :36:32.they've been tried in gardens. We have been collecting for the last 21
:36:33. > :36:36.years and tend to go in the autumn. That's when the seed is ripe. A lot
:36:37. > :36:41.of people think we are off on holiday when we go away. They've no
:36:42. > :36:45.idea. It's a wonderful adventure but there are risks and dangers
:36:46. > :36:58.involved, too. We have had hairy moments. We have had run-ins with
:36:59. > :37:01.bandits, we have been held up at machete point and hanging over
:37:02. > :37:05.cliffs and you think no plant is worth that. To date we have made
:37:06. > :37:11.somewhere around 15,000 collections. Most are new, although they're
:37:12. > :37:15.duplicates in amongst them. Countries are varied. This is from
:37:16. > :37:27.China. We have India represented there. South America. Vietnam. It
:37:28. > :37:30.goes across the board. This chap here we are hoping to take to
:37:31. > :37:35.Chelsea will have red flowers by then, it's from Mexico. The rest of
:37:36. > :37:48.these were on that same trip in Central America. The plan for
:37:49. > :37:55.Chelsea is that I take hopefully a variety. Everything that we are
:37:56. > :38:02.going to have on our stand is going to be a Wynn-Jones collection.
:38:03. > :38:09.I think if we had these in flower that would be fabulous. Joe has a
:38:10. > :38:15.great knowledge of plants and Edward is a professional flower arranger
:38:16. > :38:22.and helped us do flowers for the Queen's Coronation. I have brought
:38:23. > :38:25.Edward and Joe down here to help me select the plants for the front of
:38:26. > :38:30.the display. They're going to be helping me through the week with the
:38:31. > :38:38.build and everything and their experience is vital. This is my
:38:39. > :38:41.first time at Chelsea, I need somebody who knows exactly what's
:38:42. > :38:46.going on. That looks fantastic. Lovely colouring. Especially if -
:38:47. > :38:52.this is going to be lifted on the stand. People can see that wonderful
:38:53. > :39:01.colour. Look at that now. Exactly. That will give us a lift. This is
:39:02. > :39:05.just fab. It's the leave shape. It's different to anything else. People
:39:06. > :39:12.will not have seen anything like that before. We want to show them
:39:13. > :39:16.things they haven't seen before. That's what it's about.
:39:17. > :39:23.Everything that you are going to see on our stand is from our collections
:39:24. > :39:27.and I don't think anybody's ever done that before, it's a first. It's
:39:28. > :39:34.very exciting. I am always keen to introduce as many things as I can
:39:35. > :39:42.into cultivation. It's a challenge. You do find new and interesting
:39:43. > :39:46.things. He seems to have the eye. Sue and Bleddyn are supplying plants
:39:47. > :39:51.this year for a remarkable display which is being put together by
:39:52. > :39:55.Sophie Walker. It will feature lots of plants rarely seen before and we
:39:56. > :39:59.will be able to get a close look at them next week. It looks like it's
:40:00. > :40:04.going to be an exciting and much talked about display.
:40:05. > :40:08.This look at last-minute preparations has certainly whetted
:40:09. > :40:12.my appetite. I hope you will join us for our coverage right across the
:40:13. > :40:19.week. Before we go there's just time for our whole team, including Monty
:40:20. > :40:22.Don, who will be with us for the BBC2 coverage, to tell us what
:40:23. > :40:26.they're most looking forward to next week. I am particularly interested
:40:27. > :40:28.in what's going on in the Great Pavilion. It's been a fantastic
:40:29. > :40:32.growing year and I think some of those plants will be at their
:40:33. > :40:37.absolute peak. I want to get in there and have a good sniff around.
:40:38. > :40:40.There are lots of first-time designers bricking their gardens to
:40:41. > :40:45.-- bringing their gardens to Chelsea this year. I am looking forward to
:40:46. > :40:50.seeing what the new talent has in store. I am looking forward to the
:40:51. > :40:53.inspiration that comes from seeing fresh thoughts about familiar
:40:54. > :40:58.situations. It could be on a show garden with design, it could be just
:40:59. > :41:02.two plants on a nurseryman's stall that you never thought of putting
:41:03. > :41:07.side by side. Then you bring that freshness back to your own garden.
:41:08. > :41:14.The area to which I make a pilgrimage is the fresh gardens.
:41:15. > :41:18.They're new, young, and really embryonic ideas executed with a real
:41:19. > :41:22.purity. There's always something there that sets a trend for the
:41:23. > :41:26.years that follow. What I am really looking forward to at Chelsea this
:41:27. > :41:30.year is the planting in the show gardens because it's been such a
:41:31. > :41:33.warm spring the plants are much more advanced than they were last year
:41:34. > :41:37.and there should be a lot more things in flower and that should
:41:38. > :41:43.lead some exciting plant combinations. What I am hoping for
:41:44. > :41:49.is that Chelsea reflects the exuberance of this year. I have
:41:50. > :41:56.never seen blossom and foliage like it. Next time you see me I promise I
:41:57. > :42:01.will be in my best outfit. I will be bringing you the show on BBC1 at 5.
:42:02. > :42:05.35pm on Sunday. Let's Bray for good weather and a -- pray for good
:42:06. > :42:08.weather and a truly memorable show for that great British institution,
:42:09. > :42:26.the Chelsea Flower Show. See you then.
:42:27. > :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. > :43:47.The very nature of the American personality was defined.