0:00:02 > 0:00:06Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World and a lovely day here at Longmeadow.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Of course, the beauty of this time of year is that a lovely day is a long day.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Plenty of time to relish the garden in all its beauty,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16as well as getting on with all those jobs that need doing.
0:00:16 > 0:00:22Today I'm sharing tips on how to grow delicious herbs for the kitchen,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27as well as protecting my strawberries so we get to enjoy them before the birds eat the lot.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33Carol is at Glebe Cottage with lots of ideas on how to get healthy new plants for free.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36June's such a wonderful month.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39There's so many things to propagate.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43And I visit one of the most famous gardens in the world's -
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Claude Monet's garden at Giverny in France.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55This is the herb garden.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It's a good spot, because it's near the back door.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01And, really, we want herbs for kitchen use.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02There's not a big collection.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05It's got nothing unusual or curious.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07It's simply what works for us in the kitchen.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10So, we want lots of them and we want them fresh and available
0:01:10 > 0:01:14for as much of the year as possible, and we want it to look good.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Until a few weeks ago, we had Portuguese laurels in here.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20There were four - one in each of the beds.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I've taken them out for two reasons.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24One, because they weren't really happy,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and also because they were shading the plants.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I want full sun, if possible.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I'm adding grit in, to fundamentally improve drainage
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and impoverish the soil a bit further.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41Because if the goodness is too much, one, you get too much lush growth
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and you don't get the flavours from the herbs.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Two, they're much less hardy.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50There is no reason why we can't get a really good, strong rosemary bush in the middle.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55One of the advantages of letting herbs grow big is you can be generous with them.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57It's a real treat.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59If you're always restricted to thinking of herbs
0:01:59 > 0:02:03as something you just have a pinch of, or a sprinkle, or a few little chopped bits,
0:02:03 > 0:02:08it doesn't unleash the potential that you can get from growing them.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09I like great bunches of herbs.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11And you can have them in pots,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13you can have them filling a room with scent
0:02:13 > 0:02:15as well as cooking with them.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16So, we'll pop this in here.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Good drainage.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22And then, with a bit of luck, it'll grow to be a healthy plant.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I say luck, because they don't like cold, wet winters
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and we do get them here.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32I always feel that herbs don't get the attention they deserve.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Although the resurgence of veg growing is fantastic -
0:02:36 > 0:02:39and, you know, keep it going, I hope there's much more -
0:02:39 > 0:02:42actually, more people grow herbs than vegetables.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45You can grow herbs in a pot on a windowsill, in your garden,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47you can have a dedicated herb garden,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49or you can just have a patch of herbs.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51They're really important.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Now, I've got mint here.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58There are three types of mint I really like to grow.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02This is peppermint, which is the best for mint tea.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06I've got spearmint, which is really good for cooking.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11And apple mint, which is by far and away the best mint for new potatoes.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13They all share the same characteristic,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16which is of genuinely being runners and of spreading.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18There are two ways of dealing with that.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21You can either do what I've got here, I've got some Moroccan mint
0:03:21 > 0:03:24which is in a pot, sunk in the ground.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Or you can do what I'm going to do here - plant it straight in the bed because I want it to spread.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30If worst comes to the worst,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33you just cut it right back and put it on the compost heap.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I've got a couple of pots here.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Dill, which is fabulous with fish.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And chervil is a pot herb.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45It's good in salads, you can add it to sauces, all kinds of things.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47But look at the way they're grown.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50You've got a mass of plants in there.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53But no one plant will ever get very big.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56You'll get very little dill from this pot.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01What I've done with the chervil, actually, is pick them out.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04So, you can see, I just did this a couple of days ago,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08and already, they've doubled in size almost.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14So, I've got there 30 good plants that I'll plant out in a week or two
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and each one will give me almost as much as the whole of that pot.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23There's a pretty good range of herbs that grow well
0:04:23 > 0:04:28in these sunny, relatively poor soil conditions of this herb garden.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31But there are a few that need a bit more specialist treatment.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42See, I grow parsley and coriander always in the vegetable garden,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45partly because they like a better soil, and also because
0:04:45 > 0:04:48I can grow them in rows and harvest them with real generosity, use a lot.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52That's the same for garlic, which I grow in the vegetable garden, chives,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56all of them need a richer soil than they can get in the herb garden.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59And they're very easy to grow from seed.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02In fact, a lot of herbs you can either grow from seed or from cuttings
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and this is a really good time of year to be propagating,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09and that's exactly what Carol has been doing down at Glebe Cottage.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Although there's quite a long period of time
0:05:20 > 0:05:21during the growing season
0:05:21 > 0:05:23when you can take cuttings,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26every plant has its optimum time.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28As far as this elder goes,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31now's the perfect moment.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Now, I chopped this back really hard last year because it was sticking out over the path
0:05:36 > 0:05:41and as a result of that it's made all this wonderful strong new growth,
0:05:41 > 0:05:47and if I just bend that shoot, you can see the wood is really soft,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and these cuttings are usually called softwood,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52or occasionally greenwood.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55What I want to do is take a very sharp knife
0:05:55 > 0:06:01and I want to take the cut right underneath a leaf node...
0:06:01 > 0:06:03as straight as I can.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07I'm putting them straight into this plastic bag,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12because I want to make sure they retain as much moisture as possible.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17That'll do. Can't be greedy, don't want to denude the bush.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23I'm going to use completely fresh compost,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and it's a nice, gritty mix, plenty of loam in it,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28just filling it to the top.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31So, what I want to do is take these bottom leaves off.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33You can do it
0:06:33 > 0:06:35with your finger and thumb,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37or with this sharp knife.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42And since I've cut to just below that leaf node, that'll do fine,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and then I'm going to take out the top,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48just that growing apical point,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51to stop the cutting trying to go upwards once it gets in here.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55We want it to concentrate on making roots.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00I'm sinking the cutting right up to the base of the next set of leaves.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03You should always do this as quickly as you can.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06You can see already they're beginning to look
0:07:06 > 0:07:08a bit sorry for themselves!
0:07:08 > 0:07:12And when I've done this, I'm going to top it all off with grit.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I'm going to water it very, very thoroughly.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25There are masses of plants that you can take cuttings from right now.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30You can make more plants from woody climbers like honeysuckle.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Go for short, robust shoots without flowers
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and pull them away from the main stem with a little heel.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45And it's not just shrubs and woody climbers that you can take cuttings of at this time of year.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50Some herbaceous perennials really respond to it too.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Things like this Aster "Calliope", real late-flowering Michaelmas daisy.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58If you want to give it a belated Chelsea chop
0:07:58 > 0:08:01to help it bush out and make more flowers,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04no reason to waste that material.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07It'll make lots and lots of new plants for you.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Just cut it under a leaf node and make some nice short cuttings out of it.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Well, that's all of them in here safe and sound.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25A good place, this, because although there's plenty of light,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27no direct sunlight gets on here.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32These elders are looking a bit sorry for themselves. They've wilted.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36But you'd expect them to do that because after all, they're softwood cuttings.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42I'm just going to... Every time I go past, I'm going to give them a little spray over.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I'll do that with all the cuttings.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49They'll soon regain their former selves and start standing up for themselves proudly.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I love growing plants from cuttings, but if you want lots of plants,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56you can't beat growing them from seed.
0:08:56 > 0:09:03I've been noticing all sorts of plants around the garden that are very, very special
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and they're just coming to the end of their flowering,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08so I want to make a note of them and mark them,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11then I don't miss collecting their seed.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23I think this aquilegia is beautiful. It's just sown itself here.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26What I love about it is these sort of clematis flowers.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28It's got no spurs
0:09:28 > 0:09:33and it's already made these fat, lusty seed pods.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36It's such a really special plant. I'd love to have more of it.
0:09:36 > 0:09:42So, I'm just going to identify it by tying a piece of ribbon, a nice, neat bow,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46then I'm going to stick a bit of the same ribbon into my notebook
0:09:46 > 0:09:49and put a very simple description beside it.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55I've been marking plants since early in the year,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57and I started with my hellebores,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59some of which have pollinated.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And now...
0:10:01 > 0:10:05is the time to harvest the fruits of my labour.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Now, the trick about doing this
0:10:07 > 0:10:12is to make sure you collect them before they disperse themselves.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15A few people are allergic to hellebores,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18so you'd have to wear gloves if you were doing this,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20but I've done it so many times, I know I'm not.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23These pods have got to be fat
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and fecund, like that.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Then just pop the pods
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and out should tumble these dark, dark seeds.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Whether it's cuttings or seeds, June's such a wonderful month.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41There's so many things to propagate,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and, of course, this is just the start of it.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Thank you very much.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57Can I have that?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Oh!
0:11:09 > 0:11:10Right.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15Bt the way, herbs, particularly the shrubby once, propagate brilliantly from cuttings.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I've got some rosemary on the go there, some French tarragon,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and I always take a few cuttings,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25particularly from those that we're liable to lose in a harsh winter.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27It keeps the succession going.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31But what I'm doing here is planting up a container
0:11:31 > 0:11:33because herbs grow very well in containers.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38I've got a lovely old copper bowl, drilled some holes in the bottom
0:11:38 > 0:11:44and that makes a stylish but very adaptable container for growing any herbs.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48But what I'm choosing to do is restrict them to Mediterranean herbs
0:11:48 > 0:11:50and if you are growing them in a container,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53you do need to be clear about which group you want to,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56because if you have something like thyme here,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01it's not going to share the same growing conditions as, say, parsley or lovage.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05The beauty of Mediterranean herbs is that they need very poor, thin soil,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09so it's very easy to replicate that in a relatively small container.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11We'll put some crocks in the bottom.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16It's a pot graveyard. That will help drainage.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I've got some grit.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23That goes on there.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The main thing that will do is stop it sitting on water.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32We'll put some peat-free compost, break it down a little.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Then add grit. I'm going to add all this grit.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40It's 50-50. Half grit, half compost.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'I'm planting a selection of familiar herbs.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53'Rosemary, two types of thyme, sage and wild marjoram.'
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Now, so far, so familiar. Most people have heard of these plants.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03This is French tarragon,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and the key thing about French tarragon
0:13:06 > 0:13:08is not to confuse it with Russian tarragon.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10French tarragon tastes fantastic,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12especially with chicken.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Russian tarragon doesn't taste very good at all and they look practically identical.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20The real difference between the plants is French tarragon is not hardy.
0:13:20 > 0:13:26It won't survive frost below a degree or two, whereas Russian tarragon is a lot tougher.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So, if your tarragon has survived last winter,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32it's definitely Russian, not French,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34and, quite frankly, no use to you in the kitchen.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37This is winter savory.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41It's a really magical herb because not only is it a good pot herb,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43just add it to soups and stews,
0:13:43 > 0:13:48but it's also medically really powerful and is a calmative,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50it's an antiseptic,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54and in medieval times was really, really important.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I'll put that in there.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Already we've got a good cross section of Mediterranean herbs.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04I'm going to finish it with some summer savory.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05Summer savory is an annual,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08but the key thing about it is it's a digestive,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10and it's nearly always used with beans.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15It's perfect as an aid to digestion with beans, which can be a little tricky from time to time.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32I'm going to top-dress that with grit to ensure the drainage.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36And the place to put it is in maximum sunshine.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It cannot be too hot or too exposed.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42That's a good collection. They look good.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47Each one of them is going to work really well in the kitchen all summer long.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The garden has reached the high days of June like a homecoming
0:15:03 > 0:15:08and there is a real sense of arrival.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10But it's been quite a journey,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and Longmeadow has changed a lot since early spring.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26One of the small pleasures of gardening
0:15:26 > 0:15:29is just walking around every day and noticing the little changes.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32This part of the garden has hit a big seasonal change
0:15:32 > 0:15:34because in spring we have crocus and narcissi,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36and we planted a whole load of fritillaries,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38but all trace of them has gone,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and what we have now is not so much a wildflower meadow
0:15:41 > 0:15:45as just overgrown lawn, and I think it looks fantastic.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48We've got clovers and buttercups and grasses,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51nothing fancy, nothing special, but the insects love it.
0:15:51 > 0:15:57I love the way it looks. It has a kind of freshness and looseness and also, it's no trouble.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Just cut a strip down the middle, leave the rest to grow and it looks good,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and in about a month's time, when it's looking a bit tired,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07cut the whole lot and it reverts to lawn again and is mown weekly.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The one place you wouldn't find this kind of gardening
0:16:10 > 0:16:13is in Claude Monet's garden in France, Giverny.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18That world-famous garden is really a hymn to the power of colour.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Monet was an obsessive gardener
0:16:20 > 0:16:25and all that obsession was directed towards the intensity of colour from plants.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I went along there the other day because there's a new head gardener,
0:16:29 > 0:16:30the first one for 35 years,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and it turns out that he's an Englishman.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54There are few gardens in the world that are more iconic than Giverny,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and it brings half a million people a year to visit it,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01and the thing that draws them is not just the garden,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05which, of course, is astonishingly beautiful,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07but also the paintings that were produced from it,
0:17:07 > 0:17:12which are amongst the most famous images the world has ever seen.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17So, to get here on a marvellous early summer morning
0:17:17 > 0:17:19with the garden at its very best,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23before those crowds flock in, just for an hour or so,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27is about as big a gardening treat as you can have.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35Monet once wrote, "Apart from painting and gardening, I'm no good at anything."
0:17:35 > 0:17:40He'd always gardened, but at Giverny, funded by the sales of his paintings,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44for the first time he was able to indulge his passion on a large scale.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49But after his death in 1926, the garden became abandoned.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53However, it was restored in the late 1970s, and since last week
0:17:53 > 0:17:58the job of caring for this world-famous French garden has been passed to an Englishman,
0:17:58 > 0:18:03albeit one who has lived and worked in France for 17 years,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and he is James Priest.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Before James, there have only been two head gardeners here,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and one of them was Monet himself.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15What was Monet's gardening style?
0:18:15 > 0:18:17A complex combination.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20When Monet made the garden it was the end of the 1800s,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22beginning of the 1900s
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and so influenced by the different gardening styles of that period,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29so obviously by French gardens with the straight lines,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32but by the English gardens, which were much more natural,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and then added on to that the artist's eye,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39because his garden was planted to be painted, plants to be painted
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and views to be painted.
0:18:41 > 0:18:48And then he invented this style of putting plants intensely together, very close together,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and planting in layers as he made his paintings,
0:18:51 > 0:18:56where he'd put layer after layer of paint to reflect the light.
0:18:57 > 0:19:04There are more plants here per square yard than any garden I've ever been in.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The effect is enhanced because the beds are actually long mounds
0:19:08 > 0:19:11rising as much as three feet tall.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16So, instead of the traditional approach of small plants at the front and larger ones behind,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19you get these dense strips and blocks of colour.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26It's not just a case of a painter expressing his natural instincts through his garden.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27It's more than that.
0:19:27 > 0:19:33It's almost as though that the garden and the paintings became one.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39But to most of the thousands of visitors,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42this part of the garden is just the appetiser.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46The main attraction is reached via a short tunnel under the road.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54And it is this, this bridge and the water lilies that it looks over,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58that draws the hundreds of thousands of people here every year.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03This, that Monet was to paint obsessively, over and over again,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05for the rest of his life.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17What is it that the public expect, or even demand, from this garden?
0:20:17 > 0:20:22I think that the garden has a special place in everybody's minds
0:20:22 > 0:20:23and everybody's imagination,
0:20:23 > 0:20:30and so everybody has a picture or a painting of Monet somewhere in their home, in their lives,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and so it's trying to reflect the images that people have of Monet,
0:20:33 > 0:20:38and when they come to the garden, they want to see these images in the gardens,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41so you have to be true to those images.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48It is this expectation that creates the major challenge for the team at Giverny,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53to keep the whole garden looking like a Monet painting
0:20:53 > 0:20:57every day for seven months of the year.
0:20:59 > 0:21:06How do you keep a garden that is based upon such a strong historical past alive and growing?
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Because this is Monet's garden, it's not yours or anyone else's.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- Mm. Interesting. - But he's been dead a long time.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14He's dead but his spirit lives on.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16We're trying,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20obviously, to be true to his memory, to the atmosphere he created,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24but at the same time, yes, gardens do move on, plants change.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Many of the plants that were available in Monet's time aren't available today
0:21:28 > 0:21:33and so there's a story that 75% of the plants in the garden today
0:21:33 > 0:21:35weren't around in Monet's time,
0:21:35 > 0:21:40but we're always trying to select those plants that feel right in Monet's time.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Keeping Monet's creation looking this way
0:21:43 > 0:21:48requires far more plants than can be grown within the walls
0:21:48 > 0:21:50of the original, relatively small garden.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53So, two additional nursery sites are needed
0:21:53 > 0:21:56to feed that almost insatiable desire for colour.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02But does James feel he'll be able to express his own creativity in the garden?
0:22:02 > 0:22:07To be guided by Monet, try to get inside his skin,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and at the same time, obviously,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12to do what I feel is best for the garden.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14That's a wonderful experience!
0:22:46 > 0:22:49When Monet first went to Giverny, he used to grow some vegetables,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52because they were dirt-poor and he needed the food.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56But as soon as he could afford it, fruit and veg were banished and sent down the road.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00He had a separate kitchen garden down there. I couldn't do that.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Vegetables and fruit are too important a part of any garden that I've got.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Although my fruit, particularly soft fruit this year, are not doing very well.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I'm trying to recover them from a bad situation.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13They were unpruned, they were overgrown and they're very old.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14So if you remember, in March,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I pruned these red and white currants hard, right back.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Now we've got lots of new growth and it looks very healthy.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23The price is there's no fruit,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27because it doesn't bear fruit on this season's growth.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29But to make sure they're good next year,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31I now need to prune that centre away
0:23:31 > 0:23:33to let light and air in, let the wood ripen,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and also to stop the sawfly.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41So, just get in here and snip away.
0:23:48 > 0:23:54If you remember, when you're pruning fruit bushes, you want a bowl,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57a goblet shape, so it's completely open in the middle.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00It just lets the light and air in.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02I must stop, because although I've got the rest to do,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06I came here to do the strawberries and I've been distracted.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12And what I want to do to the strawberries
0:24:12 > 0:24:14is to protect the fruit.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17As the fruits ripen, they get splashed by mud,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20they get eaten by slugs, and they need a bit of protection,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and of course, the birds get them too.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28One of the easiest ways to protect them is to buy these pads
0:24:28 > 0:24:30that look like old record covers.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34You just slip them round the strawberry, like that.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37It means that the fruit can sit on that and it's not on the soil
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and if it rains, it's not going to get all dirty.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42But the conventional way was to use straw,
0:24:42 > 0:24:47and just spread it around the fruit in a layer.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51It's a bit messy, but that's OK. Right, just like this.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00It means that the red fruits nestle on the golden straw.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So, the next stage is to protect it from birds, particularly blackbirds.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Blackbirds love a strawberry and they're not fussy about it being fully ripe.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11As soon as there's any red, they're in there.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13I've put up some stakes.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16The net needs to be a fine enough mesh
0:25:16 > 0:25:19to stop a hungry young blackbird.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23So, make sure you've got a net big enough to go down the sides,
0:25:23 > 0:25:28leaving no gaps at the bottom, and be really taut on the top.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30You don't want any bird tangled in the net.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36Right, that should keep even the most strawberry-loving blackbird at bay.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39So, that's done, and I must, this weekend,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41finish pruning those bushes and not leave them.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Here are some other things you can be getting on with this weekend.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It's never a waste of time to get down on your knees
0:25:50 > 0:25:52and do some hand weeding.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55It means that you can go through individual seedlings
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and judge them on their merit.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00As well as removing obvious weeds,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03you can thin and select plants that you want to keep
0:26:03 > 0:26:05but are in the wrong place.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08For example, I've got a patch of onopordum seedlings here,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12which, if left, will become a dense, invasive thicket.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14But by moving some and discarding others,
0:26:14 > 0:26:19I can keep it looking good, but also get extra plants for free.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21If, like me,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23you sowed your sweet peas in spring
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and planted them out about a month ago,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27they'll now be growing strongly,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31but not yet producing flowers, which they should do in about a month.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36However, it is important to keep tying them in to some support.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38That way, they'll grow upright and strong
0:26:38 > 0:26:43and you'll be able to see the flowers very clearly when they're produced.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54Well, one job I shall certainly be starting this weekend,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56although I probably won't finish it,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59is cutting back the box hedges in my Jewel Garden.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01You may remember that in spring,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05I could see that they were not looking happy at all.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07I thought it might be box blight,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10but it was much more likely to be frostbite
0:27:10 > 0:27:12because these were cut in October,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15and then we had that really cold weather in December, and they got hit.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20And the other day I took out the end plant,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and it's revealed very healthy growth on the inside.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Now, that's good news, because it means it can't be blight.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31If you've got box blight, the interior of the plant is what gets hit first
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and it will be black and brown and fungal and horrible.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37So, this is simply a plant that's got too cold.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41However, the dead material on top can't regenerate.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44So, to make it look crisp and green all over by the end of summer,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46I must get rid of that dead material.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49I'm going to cut this down to knee height,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and now is the perfect time of year to cut box hedges.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54No more risk of frost,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and plenty of time for the new growth to harden off before winter.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01You can give them another light trim in September if they need it.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Now, next Friday we've got a full one-hour programme starting at eight o'clock
0:28:06 > 0:28:09because not only will I be here at Longmeadow as usual,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14but also, I'll be joining Carol, Rachel and Joe at Gardeners' World Live.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17The show is on from Wednesday to Sunday next week.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21If you're planning to come along, remember to bring some plants for the bring and buy sale.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24All the proceeds from this go to Children In Need.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29I'll see you then, and have a really good weekend. Bye-bye.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:57 > 0:29:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk