0:00:25 > 0:00:27Bodnant Garden stands on a dramatic hillside
0:00:27 > 0:00:32in North Wales overlooking the mountains of Snowdonia.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Known to keen gardeners for its stunning collections of rhododendrons and azaleas,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40its gorgeous laburnum arch and its Italianate terraces,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43for most people it's a well-kept secret.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49But with visitor numbers in decline and much of the garden overgrown,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53the plan is to give Bodnant a much-needed makeover.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59The National Trust has been running Bodnant Garden for 60 years.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03The Aberconway family, which donated the garden, still owns Bodnant Hall.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Family member Michael McLaren manages the garden for the trust
0:01:07 > 0:01:08and he's on a mission.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14I'm completely determined that we're going to raise the profile of Bodnant.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17We're going to attract many more visitors than we have at the moment
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and I'd love it be on the top 10 gardens in the world.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Michael appointed a new Head Gardener, Troy Scott Smith,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28tasked to make Bodnant world class and put it on the map.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32I'm passionate about Bodnant being a good garden, and I'd like to think
0:01:32 > 0:01:38in 20 years time people are coming to Bodnant, being wowed.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42There's another important person in the unusual management structure -
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Michael's mother, Lady Ann Aberconway.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It's been my life for nearly 60 years
0:01:48 > 0:01:55and I couldn't bear not to have input and know what's going on.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Over the coming year,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01the trio at the helm is embarking on a £2 million improvement plan.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19When Troy began working at Bodnant in 2006
0:02:19 > 0:02:22he couldn't believe his luck. He'd visited the garden as a boy
0:02:22 > 0:02:26with his family from Yorkshire and worked here as a student.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35It was always his ambition to return.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The first thing that you see at Bodnant is the view, isn't it?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And I think that's what strikes many visitors.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44And the lasting impression
0:02:44 > 0:02:47is this fantastic view over the mountains of Snowdonia.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49You know, it's a fantastic setting.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Those terraces are just amazingly designed.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And then from that transition between that formal garden
0:03:08 > 0:03:12and the very dramatic, yet highly artificial dell.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15You know, where you've got this tumbling torrent of the river,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18the rocks and the very lush planting
0:03:18 > 0:03:21in between all these native oak trees.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Let's go and have a look up here.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29I love these steps, that mill stone set
0:03:29 > 0:03:32with the concave steps and the convex ones here.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Michael McLaren's dedication to the garden is all the more remarkable
0:03:35 > 0:03:37because he gives his time for free.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41He's a high-flying London barrister - a QC.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44..try to get the architecture straight first.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I think the architecture here needs, to some extent,
0:03:47 > 0:03:48mirror the architecture there.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51If you have a focal point at the end of this grass path,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54then I think one ought to do the same over there.
0:03:54 > 0:04:00So, getting the architecture right then deciding on the planting might be the right way round.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I'd like to raise the horticultural profile of Bodnant,
0:04:02 > 0:04:08I'd like to make it more of a well known tourist attraction in North Wales and beyond.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I would also like to
0:04:10 > 0:04:15be making more of a profit so that we can spend more on projects,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18more on garden equipment and put more away
0:04:18 > 0:04:21for the rainy days which are likely to come.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Over the next 12 months, there will be great change at Bodnant
0:04:29 > 0:04:33in the way the garden looks and in the way it promotes itself.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Work has already begun in some areas.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40The upper rose terrace has been transformed from shabby looking beds
0:04:40 > 0:04:44into a stunning display of 34 varieties,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47flowering from June to September.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Lady Aberconway lives for a large part of the year at Bodnant Hall
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and enjoys spending time in the garden.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Sometimes, if I've been picking flowers and I've got my basket,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06like now, people will say, "Oh, are we allowed to pick flowers?"
0:05:06 > 0:05:10And I say, "No, as a matter of fact you can't.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13"The public can't but I'm allowed to because I live here."
0:05:13 > 0:05:20She came to Bodnant as the new bride of the third Lord Aberconway, Charles McLaren.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25I was born in Paris, lived in London and then lived in America in New York.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28And flowers were something you went and bought at the florist.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32I hadn't a clue of the difference between a rose and a daffodil.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35So I was dropped in at the deep end, big time.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40But I loved my husband and I loved my father in law.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43And I learnt a great deal, very quickly,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45in order to please them.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Visitors can't visit Lady Aberconway's house
0:05:49 > 0:05:52but she's glad that the garden is open to the public.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54I like having the visitors, too.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I think if you've got a place like this
0:05:57 > 0:05:59it's nice to share it with people.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'And it's so special and so beautiful
0:06:02 > 0:06:07'that it would be absolutely mad not to have people enjoying it.'
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Hello. Is this your first visit here.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12It is. It's absolutely beautiful.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16The terraces were laid out by my father in law when he was a young man.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21And it used to be a sloping field, going down to the river.
0:06:21 > 0:06:28And he carved the great terraces out of this field and put in the lily pond and the canal.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30- He was a genius.- It's amazing.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Anyway, lovely to meet you.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- Buy a guide book!- We will.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36We should have got it on the way in!
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Come again! Bye bye.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46In the past, there was criticism of Bodnant's lack of summer colour.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49So one of Troy's first priorities was to bring in more
0:06:49 > 0:06:54imaginative and colourful planting up on the terraces.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58This is a border that we planted one year ago and I think it's come on really well.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02We've got this lovely salvia coming through the stipa.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Nice contrast of textures there.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Also the colours, you know, you've got this slight
0:07:06 > 0:07:11amethyst colour picked up in the grass as well.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15It is quite a modern planting style, I suppose.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18But it's one that I feel very comfortable with.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Of course Bodnant, when it was laid out,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22would have been doing new things.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26So there's nothing wrong with doing new things now, You know.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31The joy of Bodnant is that we don't have to keep it at a certain stage.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Troy is very proud of the planting scheme,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40approved of course by Michael and his mother.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43What we did is, you know, I came up with the scheme
0:07:43 > 0:07:47and I drew a planting plan out and offered it to Michael and to Lady.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And they had a few comments and suggestions at that stage.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Certainly Lady would say, you know, "Not sure about that plant."
0:07:54 > 0:07:57You know, "If we have to have that can we limit how much we have?"
0:07:57 > 0:08:00And so then I adapted the planting scheme.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Last year, when it was its first year, Lady had a lovely phrase.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07She said, "It looks like somebody's hair hasn't been combed."
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Which is a lovely sort of way to have put it.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18When visitors first arrive at Bodnant,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21they call at the modest little ticket office.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Now, work has begun on an ambitious new visitor centre,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28more in keeping with the character of the garden.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Bodnant received European funding to transform the whole entrance area.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36They're using local materials, Welsh stone and slate.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Because we're hoping to have lots more visitors we need to have
0:08:41 > 0:08:43a larger visitor centre to cater for them.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45It's a lot more welcoming and so on.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47It's a great building. It has a wow factor.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50So when they come out of the building and into the garden
0:08:50 > 0:08:54they're already half saying, "Wow." They'll say wow even more as they come out
0:08:54 > 0:08:57onto the range and see the Carneddau mountains ahead of them.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59It sets the tone for their whole visit.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05They're hoping a royal visit will mark the start of the new era.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Prince Charles is coming to Bodnant and, with luck,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12his visit will coincide with the completion of the visitor centre.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19It does give the garden good publicity which obviously one always wants.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22And it makes people who maybe haven't been to the garden think,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26"Oh, well, if Prince Charles has been there, maybe we ought to go."
0:09:26 > 0:09:28And that's no bad thing.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39When Bodnant Hall was built in 1792 there was no garden.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41A hundred years later,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44the industrial chemist Henry Pochin bought the property
0:09:44 > 0:09:49and planted the great conifers to create a spectacular woodland walk.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Well, that was the cedar which old Pochin put a sign on to say 1874
0:09:56 > 0:09:59as if he had planted it when he bought the place.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03Actually it was clearly older than that. He was trying to aggrandise himself a bit.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Pochin's daughter Laura married the MP Charles McLaren
0:10:07 > 0:10:09and became the first Lady Aberconway.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12She was a talented artist and gardener and her designs
0:10:12 > 0:10:17still provide inspiration for her great grandson Michael and for Troy.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The amount of effort in construction that must have gone on,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22but still the attention to detail.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27There's all the building work going on but there's also really choice plants at the same time.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32Your grandfather was collecting his plants and also building things. Quite incredible, really.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36It's incredible that it was done without JCBs or anything like that. All manual labour.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40There's pictures of masons working along the wall.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44So that was May 1905. Gosh they got on with it, didn't they?
0:10:44 > 0:10:49Because they didn't start until not long before that.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Three generations of the Puddle family,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55all head gardeners, helped realise the vision.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01Those are the beds where Charles Puddle was saying that they used to have tulips,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03with the roses to provide colour.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06We bought some last year so we can plant them out in spring.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Oh, good!
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Bodnant was a world renowned garden.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14It still is, but it's lost some of its gloss.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17And it's just a case of putting that back now.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21So that's what we're all working towards.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24The garden has come in for some strong criticism
0:11:24 > 0:11:27from outside Bodnant, too. It's most vocal critic
0:11:27 > 0:11:31has been the Times gardening correspondent Stephen Anderton.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35He's here today to research his book on the Great Gardens of Wales.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I think Bodnant has needed a bomb under it for a long time.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Beautiful though it is, you know, it's been dying on its feet.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And you look at a garden like this and you think, "Oh, isn't it delicious?"
0:11:48 > 0:11:53And if you're used to running gardens you realise what a slippery slope it's on.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55It's an old man's garden, you know?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Nothing getting thinned enough.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Scratty, moth-eaten old conifers were being hung on to.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Big trees were getting so out of scale
0:12:05 > 0:12:07with what was wanted underneath them
0:12:07 > 0:12:13that the kind of gardening underneath couldn't survive properly.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Michael McLaren is taking these harsh comments to heart.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It's his criticism of it being an old man's garden
0:12:21 > 0:12:24or old person's garden which I don't think is fair.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27It's presumably a criticism of my father,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30who was an old man at the end of his life, he died aged 89.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33If what Steven Anderton is basically saying is that there are areas
0:12:33 > 0:12:37of the garden which are over mature and need to be revitalised,
0:12:37 > 0:12:38I'd entirely agree with him.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41And indeed I've been saying for some time.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44And that's exactly what Troy and I are now trying to do.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51Stephen acknowledges that Troy's professionalism has improved Bodnant,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55but he's still sceptical about the hereditary donor family's role
0:12:55 > 0:12:59in a National Trust Garden. Troy disagrees.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04I think we benefit now from Michael directly managing the garden.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I think we do definitely have the upper hand
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- rather than being just a Trust garden.- Why?
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I think because his family made it.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16There's that phrase we both know, the ancestor worship garden.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Are you saying just his genes will keep it on the same tracks?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- What's he actually adding? - I think it's passion, isn't it?
0:13:22 > 0:13:26It's passion rather than a garden advisor saying, "Once a year do this, do that."
0:13:26 > 0:13:29I think having somebody whose family made the garden...
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- I think passion's bollocks, Troy. - Do you?
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I really, really do! I think you have to...
0:13:34 > 0:13:39You have to have some gut excitement about something
0:13:39 > 0:13:41and you have to be really, really rational.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44With the knowledge that he has got, allied with mine,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48with Lady Aberconway's, with the team, I think up until now
0:13:48 > 0:13:53I think we've made some good decisions as a collective.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Stephen's book won't be published for nearly a year.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00It remains to be seen whether Troy has convinced him
0:14:00 > 0:14:03to change his mind and give Bodnant a good review.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Meanwhile, Dave Edwards the operations manager
0:14:11 > 0:14:15takes a call to confirm the date of Prince Charles' visit.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19It's exactly the high profile publicity Bodnant needs.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23But they're going to have to get cracking. It's in 10 days time.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27We've had many visitors come to the garden who we regard
0:14:27 > 0:14:30as special, although all our visitors are special.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34But as far as a royal visit is concerned, this is new to us.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43There is one person here who's welcomed royalty to Bodnant before.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48This is when the Queen and Prince Phillip came to Bodnant in Jubilee Year.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50It was our last royal visit.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53What I do remember about the Queen
0:14:53 > 0:14:57was we had to fly the Royal Standard from the house.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02And we found a flagpole and I remember waiting for them to arrive.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05And the moment they came into the forecourt the flag was flown.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09I remember thinking, "I really...I can't handle this."
0:15:09 > 0:15:10It was just so exciting.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14These are the trees that the Queen and Prince Philip planted.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And Prince Charles, when he comes,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21is going to plant one exactly the same very nearby.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28There's lots of work to be done to get the garden ready for the visit.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Truckloads of freshly prepared mulch to be spread on the beds.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Pruning, weeding and clearing.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Every area of the garden has to be perfect.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51The daffodil season is almost over and the staff are busy deadheading.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55It usually takes six weeks,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59but with the royal visit approaching they've got to speed up.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02So, all 20 gardeners have been drafted in
0:16:02 > 0:16:05and even some office staff.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Extra pair of hands!
0:16:07 > 0:16:10We try and drag everybody in even the operations manager!
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Even the operations manager!
0:16:13 > 0:16:19Troy introduced the policy of deadheading daffodils when he arrived at Bodnant.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20Is there a technique?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24As quick as you can, both handed.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26It really does help with the flowering.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28I mean, we've been doing it three years now
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and we have noticed the difference.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Prior to that, the flowering was really diminishing.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35There wasn't really much of a show.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37You've got a lot of leaves but not many flowers.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42It's a job no one loves - especially supervisor Dave Larter.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44It's an awkward position, that.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47I could do with shaving a bit off my legs.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Mind numbing job really, is doing this, as well as back breaking.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55It's quite nice that we're all doing it. We're all in it together.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57So we keep each other going.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Dave's now worried that Troy might introduce this laborious process
0:17:01 > 0:17:04for the bluebells which are out next month.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Don't suggest it to him, will you?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Me back won't take that as well!
0:17:12 > 0:17:16That's this area done. You got four there, Dave.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Yeah, four. Come on, keep up!
0:17:24 > 0:17:28The building work on the new visitor centre is behind schedule.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30There's been a series of delays.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34It's going to be very difficult for Michael to ask the Prince
0:17:34 > 0:17:37to open the unfinished building.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Sadly the visitor building isn't going to be ready
0:17:41 > 0:17:44so what we're going to do is ask the Prince of Wales to use his
0:17:44 > 0:17:48imagination and we're going to ask him to unveil a couple of plaques
0:17:48 > 0:17:52which, in due course, will be mounted in the visitor reception building.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57A compromise they could have done without on such an important occasion.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Cause of immense frustration. It's nothing to do with Bodnant,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03it's just the whole programme, whole project has been delayed
0:18:03 > 0:18:07for causes which lie with others.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Best put tactfully, like that.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Troy and trainee gardener Fiona Braithwaite are recreating
0:18:18 > 0:18:22a formal parterre garden known as the Square Garden.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Originally designed in 1876,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29it was neglected for many years and disappeared half a century ago.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33They're eager to finish the Square Garden before the royal visit.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Dave Edwards, the operations manager, is checking on progress.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Hi, Troy. How's things going?
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Time's running out fast but you seem to have made progress.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Yeah. We've got a day and two hours I think left.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Not that you're counting.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51We've done three beds today. So if the weather's dry tomorrow we can get
0:18:51 > 0:18:54that one done quite quickly and then just concentrate on the planting.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Pretty pleased, really. Fiona's help, she's been a good help today.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02So, yeah. All being well, one day and two hours. Well, one hour 59!
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Keep ticking, we will.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06Excellent, thank you.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13The Square Garden must look perfect.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Fiona is meticulously planting the new box trees,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19making sure the space between each tree is identical.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23OK. Thanks then. OK, bye for now.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Presentation is all, even for Troy himself.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Would you believe it's my wife
0:19:28 > 0:19:31trying to find me a pair of shoes for Friday.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I thought, I've got a nice smart jacket and trousers but no shoes.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Usually work boots are sufficient.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42But I thought I'd better have a pair of shoes so she's looking round town.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Throughout the garden, it's now all about the detail.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Every blade of grass must be removed from the paths where Prince Charles will be walking.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Got to tidy everywhere you can see. The path the Prince will be taking
0:19:57 > 0:20:01on Friday, got to make sure that they are nice and tidy and clean.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Even though he might not notice a lot of them.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Back in the Square Garden there's a problem.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Troy and Fiona have nearly finished planting the box trees
0:20:20 > 0:20:24but there's a five centimetre difference in their measurements.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It's a significant margin of error.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Someone is going to have to replant.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33I got called away a little moment ago to look at computers.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37And so, in my absence, Fiona's put them in
0:20:37 > 0:20:40at a different measurement to mine.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Not critical, we're only talking a few centimetres.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49But we want to get it right so really just deciding now whether
0:20:49 > 0:20:53we leave it as it is, a few centimetres out, or whether we
0:20:53 > 0:20:56just take the plants back out and replant them spot on.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03You won't notice it but we know that it's wrong.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And you can see, even though its only five centimetres,
0:21:06 > 0:21:11that five centimetres will make a big difference because everything's got to be so exact.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13So I think the decision is to move my few.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Move yours? OK.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The big day has arrived at Bodnant.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32The garden is gleaming, ready for the Prince.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35The box hedging is planted to perfection
0:21:35 > 0:21:39and every last blade of grass has been removed from the paths.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46I've walked the route, hopefully everything is OK.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Everybody's in place.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54It appears as though it's going to be a lovely day,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57which is what we've been praying for for the past week or so.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's business as usual for most of the staff.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Bodnant is open to the public,
0:22:04 > 0:22:09who might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of royalty.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Troy is making sure that everything's ready
0:22:12 > 0:22:14for Prince Charles to plant the commemorative tree.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19As you can see it's...it's a...
0:22:19 > 0:22:22it's a young version of the two that we've already got there.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27Those two were planted by his mother and father back in 1977.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30So they're quite slow growing.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33But very attractive shape as you can see up here,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35the arrangement of the needles is nice.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Hopefully this one will have a chance of catching up.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Maybe in 30 or 40 years time this one will be the size
0:22:42 > 0:22:45those are and these two might not have grown ever so much more.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49So the balance should correct itself.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51And here's the sign.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Must give it a polish, I suppose. I think that will be a...
0:22:57 > 0:22:59a fitting sign for the tree.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11As the security team makes its final check over the garden
0:23:11 > 0:23:13there's great anticipation on the ground
0:23:13 > 0:23:16as the dignitaries prepare to welcome the Prince.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And Troy's wife delivered the new shoes.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Important day, isn't it? It's nice to make the effort.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28We've worked hard presenting the garden.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Just as important, I think, to present ourselves smartly, too.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35However smartly dressed the guests may be,
0:23:35 > 0:23:41they can't avoid the embarrassment of the unfinished visitor centre.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45But Michael couldn't be happier.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49He knows that a royal visit will attract a lot of publicity
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and raise the profile of the garden.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04The Prince is in a chatty mood
0:24:04 > 0:24:08and two visitors are in for a pleasant surprise.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- I'm sorry we're interrupting you. - It's a beautiful garden, isn't it?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Isn't it wonderful?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- We come up so often because we only live 10 minutes away.- Oh, do you?
0:24:18 > 0:24:23I knew I'd come you see the time when they'd all say I should have come next week!
0:24:23 > 0:24:26THEY LAUGH You should come more often, actually!
0:24:26 > 0:24:30He was so pleased to see us and asked if we came often.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And we said we do because we live in Glan Conwy.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37- It's been a lovely experience this morning.- Unexpected as well?
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Never spoken to royalty before!
0:24:48 > 0:24:50You're still all right? The back's all right?
0:24:50 > 0:24:54- Yes.- No knee injuries?- Yes.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- I look after this area, all the way up to the hall.- Marvellous.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- I hear there's all sorts of new things being done.- Oh, there is.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- Yeah.- So, you're now going to have to plant the yew hedges again?- Oh, yes.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10It was also very nice for the Prince of Wales to take the time
0:25:10 > 0:25:14to acknowledge their long service and to indicate just how vital it is
0:25:14 > 0:25:17that you have people who are prepared to devote their lives
0:25:17 > 0:25:20and thereby accumulate a wealth of experience to gardens.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23And to produce gardens as wonderful as this.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- Where does it come from? - A nursery in Scotland.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Troy's big moment has arrived,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34as Prince Charles plants the commemorative tree.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Three for luck.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Wonderful.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49APPLAUSE
0:25:49 > 0:25:54Troy is pleased to introduce his wife and young son to the Prince.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- Thank you very much.- First one?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00It was nice wasn't it?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Much more relaxed than I thought it was going to be.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08But it's much more tense as the heir to the throne
0:26:08 > 0:26:10prepares for his final duty of the day.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14He can inspect the plan for the visitor centre
0:26:14 > 0:26:16but there's nothing more than a plaque to unveil
0:26:16 > 0:26:20on some rusty scaffolding, though he's much too polite to comment.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22APPLAUSE
0:26:22 > 0:26:25PEACOCK HONKS LAUGHTER
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Luckily, George the peacock is there
0:26:27 > 0:26:31to attract attention away from the unfinished visitor centre
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and the press has something perfectly finished to snap.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Yes! It's all over!
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's been absolutely fantastic to have him here.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Everything seems to have gone very well.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51He thoroughly enjoyed it, from what I get feedback wise.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52It was a great day.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The trepidation was not needed because he put one at one's ease.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58One thing he kept on mentioning, time after time,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01was all the mulch which had been put on the beds.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04And I must say I've never seen so much mulch on the beds at Bodnant.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05I wish he came more often!
0:27:08 > 0:27:13At Bodnant Hall there are new memories to treasure.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I'm doing a scrap book of the Prince of Wales's visit to Bodnant.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I do lots and lots of scrap books.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22This is a special one of royal visits.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25There's Troy. He was terribly sweet.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28He said, "Do I need to get dressed up?"
0:27:28 > 0:27:30And I said, "Absolutely, and shave!"
0:27:30 > 0:27:34And he was the smartest looking man there. He looked great!
0:27:37 > 0:27:39A great honour for the garden
0:27:39 > 0:27:41because he is such a very keen gardener
0:27:41 > 0:27:45and I think it must have been a lovely experience for him.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48He swears he'll come back again, but who knows?
0:27:53 > 0:27:55It's really set us up, I think, good for the season.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58It's created a buzz around the garden,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01created a lot of interest in the press and locally.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05And so I'm quite excited actually about this year ahead.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08We'll have a springboard now, due to the visit and the fact
0:28:08 > 0:28:13that we're developing the new building and projects in the garden.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16I think it will be an exciting time.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:25 > 0:28:28E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk