0:00:05 > 0:00:08Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10I'm really pleased with these calendulas.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13It's a variety called 'Neon' and it's just one packet of seed.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15It's kicking in now but so much is.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17It's funny that when you get to August,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20it's like entering a new season, because all those plants
0:00:20 > 0:00:25that depend on warm weather rather than light come into their own.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30That's the same in the vegetable garden as well as the flower garden.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37On tonight's programme, I'll share with you all the skills and tips
0:00:37 > 0:00:42I've acquired on looking after hedges after a lifetime's obsession with growing them.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50Carol travels to Yorkshire, which is perhaps an unlikely place to find a garden full of flourishing exotics.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Oh, it's fabulous!
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It really is!
0:00:56 > 0:01:00And you can come with me on a privileged exclusive tour
0:01:00 > 0:01:04of the US Ambassador's private garden in London.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19I really like hedges. I think they can make as beautiful an arrangement
0:01:19 > 0:01:23of plants as any border, depends how you use them.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27When we came here there was nothing in this garden and we desperately needed shelter,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29so I planted hedges everywhere.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34As they grew up, they created micro-climates which made it easier to grow other plants.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39But also as they grew, they assumed a stature in their own right,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and by making different heights of hedge, you get different spaces.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47We've got knee-height ones, some that are head-height and some that are really tall.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53Of course, whatever the height of the hedge, at least once if not twice a year, it's got to be cut.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10August is the perfect time to cut any hedge of any kind
0:02:10 > 0:02:15because the birds are finished nesting, the young have left, most of the summer growth
0:02:15 > 0:02:20has stopped or slowed down. And also, in August,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22everything is getting a bit jaded,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25so if you cut your hedges, suddenly everything looks
0:02:25 > 0:02:30smarter and crisper and gives it a new kind of energy.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53What I'm trying to do is get a nice flat surface but it's on a slope.
0:02:53 > 0:02:59That's called a batter, and every hedge, whether tall or short,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02should have a batter to some degree. The reason for that
0:03:02 > 0:03:06is if the top gets wider than the bottom,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10which very easily happens with a hedge, it shades it out.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13HEDGE TRIMMER WHIRS
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Next step is do the top.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The key thing for cutting the top of any hedge is be above it.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Be stable and in control of what you're doing.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56I do love these monumental hedges.
0:03:56 > 0:04:03This architecture that plants can give you, as well as colour and light and delicacy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Remember that if you have an evergreen hedge that forms a boundary with neighbouring property,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12there is legislation governing the height that's allowed to be maintained at.
0:04:12 > 0:04:19Contact your local authority to find out how that applies to you in your area.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Within a garden, it's simply a matter of what you can control,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24and I think it's worth the trouble.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30This is hornbeam. All these hedges are, because it grows really well on this fairly heavy soil.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It keeps its leaves throughout winter, which turn brown.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38It's similar to beech but hornbeam and beech never grow well together.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Beech tends to like lighter soils.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44When I was a child in Hampshire, it grew very well on the chalk there.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49But one of the two will give you a really good hedge which will grow very fast,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53be easy to keep and keep colour throughout the year.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56What you put between your hedges can vary hugely.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01Carol's been to Yorkshire to visit a garden that is FULL of surprises.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Look at this.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Oh, it's fabulous!
0:05:14 > 0:05:16It really is.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's marvellous.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21About nine years ago we went to the Eden Project
0:05:21 > 0:05:23and I saw these tropical plants
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and wondered if I could grow them in Yorkshire.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I just kept buying plants and having nowhere to put them,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32so I have to dig more grass up till we've ended up with none!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- No grass at all! Who wants grass when you can have this?- Yeah.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47It's like an antique shop full of all these treasures but it's all living.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Which are your favourites? I bet it's difficult to choose.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56It is difficult but I really like this impatiens - Congo Cockatoo.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Which gives a clue to where it comes from.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00How do you treat that in the winter?
0:06:00 > 0:06:05I take it up and put it in a pot and take it into the house.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09It's not the sort of Busy Lizzie that we're used to.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14It's so packed with exotic plants. Any more special favourites?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I really like this little gentian.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20You wouldn't think it was a gentian at first.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22I bought one, thinking it was blue,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and when it flowered, it was white.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30When I looked it up on the internet, it's a bit rarer than the blue.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- Definitely. The blue one especially, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Although these plants are from all over the world, and there's a sort of mystique,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50- but a lot of them are straightforward to grow, aren't they?- Yes.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- And some of them are easy to propagate too.- They are.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57I know you just LOVE these aeoniums.
0:06:57 > 0:07:04If you've got a plant with a straightforward rosette like that, how do you tackle that?
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Cut if off two or three inches from underneath the rosette
0:07:07 > 0:07:11and leave it to callous over for a couple of days.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16Then just put it in 50-50 compost and grit sand.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- Push it down. - Just push it down, water it,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21and just stand it in the greenhouse.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25About four weeks, you'll find that roots have developed.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31Unusually, you've got a few shoots on these that are beginning to produce flower.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Once they flower, that whole top dies.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37What would you do then?
0:07:37 > 0:07:42They'd come in again and just cut it off like that.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47That's discarded and then it produces these little babies.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50It makes babies of its own volition at the top of the stem.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Leave a few on to grow bigger,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57take the babies off and propagate them.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02These are the ones that were cut back like that last year.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15Apart from the tea, Linda, you'd hardly believe where we were!
0:08:15 > 0:08:21You've got catalpas in flower, you've got great Paulownia Foxglove trees.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24It's so wonderful. What's your regime?
0:08:24 > 0:08:26What do you do first thing in the spring?
0:08:26 > 0:08:30In the spring, before things have taken too much growth,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34we sprinkle chicken pellets.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37That gives everything a boost.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42As the season goes on, we feed with tomato food.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Tomato food has got plenty of potash in so you get marvellous flowers.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Yes, you do.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Palms, we use blood, fish and bone. That just keeps them well fed.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58What about watering, generally? You've such a lot in pots.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00The pots have to be watered every day.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04If it's really hot, we do them twice, morning and evening.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10We generally try to do the garden every day.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Usually at night when it's a bit cooler.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20What sorts of plants would you recommend? You must have had lots of successes but a few failures too.
0:09:20 > 0:09:26I have. Aroids, like Dragon Arums and Arisaemas,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28they're quite easy to do.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32You can leave them out as long as you put mulch on for the winter.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37- They have this wonderfully exotic sort of look.- Leaf, yeah.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40You've one there, a beautiful Erysimum with that Epilobium,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44- that little white willowherb, - That's lovely that, yeah.
0:09:44 > 0:09:45That's a smashing plant.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It's not too bad as long as it's got a little bit of shade.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Yes, and plenty of moisture.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- It likes water. - A lot of these hardy plants
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- mix in together with the things that are more tropical.- Yes, they do.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- You love them, don't you? - Joyfully, I do.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02I'll never tire of it, I don't think.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05I just love it too much.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29You can see Linda's garden for yourself because it is open this Sunday the 14th
0:10:29 > 0:10:31from 10am to 4pm in the afternoon.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It's part of the National Gardens Scheme and you can find details
0:10:34 > 0:10:37about her garden and any of the others through our website.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39I do urge you to get out this month
0:10:39 > 0:10:43and visit gardens because it's a great time of year to do so
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and you always bring something back to your own garden at home.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Now, I've got loads of hedge cutting to do and it's hard old work.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53I have learnt over the years not to rush it,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57just pick away at it, and it'll get done over the days and weeks.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59So I'm going to take a break now, go and do something else
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and come back and finish tidying up a little later.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11This time of year,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15the cold frames always have a number of plants
0:11:15 > 0:11:20that either should have been put out, or are not quite ready,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22or you haven't got a home for.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26To some extent, that's true of the dahlias and the cannas
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and actually I've even got some Salvia elegans there.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32All these were taken from cuttings earlier in the year.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34The dahlias have come through well
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and I've now found the perfect place for them.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Originally, my plan was to grow these on,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49so they'd be nice, stocky plants for next year,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53but I think that we can get flowers out of them this year
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and we can do that in pots.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Dahlias are tropical plants. They like warm, wet conditions,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03so I'm going to give them some extra goodness at the bottom of the pot.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07I've got two barrows here. This is pure garden compost.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13And then I've got my potting mix here, home-made.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16That goes like that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Now, this is 'Arabian Night',
0:12:19 > 0:12:21which has got a really good red flower.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24You can see, look, good root system on that.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28That actually is the perfect time to pot on or plant out a plant,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32so you can see the roots round the outside, but it's not root bound.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I'm putting these round the outside
0:12:35 > 0:12:37because it just gives it more room
0:12:37 > 0:12:41and the plant will then consolidate to create one mass
0:12:41 > 0:12:43whereas if I crammed them in the middle,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47they would immediately be butting up against each other.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52I guess we'll start to have flowers in a few weeks' time.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55As well as 'Arabian Night',
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I've also got another good red which is 'Grenadier',
0:12:58 > 0:13:03and 'David Howard', which is a fabulous apricot-y orange colour
0:13:03 > 0:13:04with dark brown leaves.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Right, so much for the dahlias. Now the cannas.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19I tell you what, have a look at that. We've got a little visitor.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23It's obviously not been feeding too much on the cannas.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26You don't want to know what's going to happen to him.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27I'll put that to one side.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Cannas, above all plants, are very tropical and lush.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36They come from as far south as Argentina
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and as north up into America, sort of Central America band.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44And they love hot, wet, rich conditions.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48This variety is 'Durban' and it's notable for two things.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50One it has enormous orange flowers
0:13:50 > 0:13:52but also it has these leaves
0:13:52 > 0:13:57which are shot through with stripes of pink and they get really big and dramatic if it's warm and wet.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01So I'm going to plant these directly out into the Jewel Garden
0:14:01 > 0:14:03but they would work in a pot.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05All I would say is give them lots of goodness.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08They really respond well to feed and water.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27This time of year, it's always a little bit of a struggle
0:14:27 > 0:14:30to find space for a plant that will potentially grow so big,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34although I think, this year, they won't reach anything like their full potential,
0:14:34 > 0:14:35but I've got a nice space here.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40In the 19th Century, these became very popular for bedding.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Then, after the second world war, cannas went deeply out of favour
0:14:44 > 0:14:46and they were very, very un-trendy.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51It was the late Christopher Lloyd who made them popular again at Great Dixter.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55He famously ripped out his rose garden and used exotics like cannas.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Since then, people have realised that they're really good
0:14:58 > 0:15:00added to the late border,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04getting that colour and size of foliage.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08But to help them get the best for the remaining period of this year -
0:15:08 > 0:15:12because the first frost will just stop them in their tracks -
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I'm going to give that a really good soak
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and then I'm going to mulch it individually.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Now, I've been to London and I've been to see a garden -
0:15:39 > 0:15:43but not just any old garden, because I've been allowed to go and visit
0:15:43 > 0:15:47the private home of the American ambassador to the UK,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52who has a beautiful and enormous garden in London's Regent's Park.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Although there's been a house on the site since the early 19th Century,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05as part of Nash's great Regency redevelopment of London,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08the building we see today was built by the Woolworths heiress
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Barbara Hutton in 1938.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16But the war broke out soon after and she left for America,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18so she hardly ever lived in it.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22In 1946, she sold her lease to the American government
0:16:22 > 0:16:25for the princely sum of 1.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Since 1954, Winfield House has been the official residence
0:16:28 > 0:16:31of the American ambassador in London.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37The house is set in 12½ acres of grounds in Regent's Park
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and is the second largest private garden in central London.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Only the Queen has a bigger garden, up the road at Buckingham Palace.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I'm being shown round by the head gardener Stephen Crisp.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52How many American presidents have you met?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Five, starting with Ronald Reagan.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56There can't be many people who've said that,
0:16:56 > 0:17:02and hardly any head gardeners, so it is extraordinary.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04You're obviously very discreet, but what are they like?
0:17:04 > 0:17:08All very individual, all very statesmanlike,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10but President Obama has been here twice,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12most recently for the state visit.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16But on his first visit here, after he stepped off the helicopter,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19he decided that he wanted to exercise his legs
0:17:19 > 0:17:22and went for a tour round the garden and at the end of the tour,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26he said, "If I'd have realised how impressive this property was,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29"I might have applied to be ambassador instead of president".
0:17:29 > 0:17:31He certainly knew how to butter you up -
0:17:31 > 0:17:34exactly the right thing to say to a head gardener.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I just need to get that on my CV.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47You have these formal areas round the house but...
0:17:47 > 0:17:49really an enormous area of space.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52In a way, the garden is sort of two parts -
0:17:52 > 0:17:55the formal gardens that runs to the north and south of the house,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57but then you have this landscaped park,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and in a way that great York stone path is the dividing line
0:18:00 > 0:18:02between the formal and the more naturalistic.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And these roses - which ones are these?
0:18:05 > 0:18:06This is Iceberg.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08They look very healthy to me.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11These roses are from 1985, remarkably.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14They are one of those few floribundas that will go on and on.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18We look after them, prune them hard, feed them well
0:18:18 > 0:18:20and keep them well mulched and watered
0:18:20 > 0:18:22and they perform.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32This is really interesting.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35This is the Green Garden, a relatively new garden,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37only five years old.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42A living sculpture in a more contemporary style
0:18:42 > 0:18:44using just four different kinds of plants.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47The grass is Panicum Heavy-metal,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49boxwood hedging,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Pachysandra with its lustrous green leaf
0:18:52 > 0:18:56and the male fern Dryopteris Cristata the King,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59which is great in a slightly drier situation.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02But just using a very restricted palette of plants
0:19:02 > 0:19:06to create a very strong design, and often less is more.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11I love the way that there's so much going on. And yet so little is used.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14As you say, less is more, and, God, it works.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19This is completely different. Very, very different.
0:19:19 > 0:19:27This is the summer garden, a garden that I made about six years ago now.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30The inspiration for this garden was Frank Lloyd Wright's stained glass,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33where he used colour in asymmetrical panels.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I've tried to do that in a three-dimensional way,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39using familiar plants.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42There's nothing rare in here, but by using them
0:19:42 > 0:19:46in a strong, graphic way, it makes for a contemporary appearance,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48and strength of design.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Clearly you're given a pretty free hand here, aren't you?
0:19:51 > 0:19:54I see myself as being the guardian, and perhaps serving the role
0:19:54 > 0:19:58of the owner in many other situations and seeing and doing
0:19:58 > 0:20:01what I think is the best for the property,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03for the role that it serves.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05And what is the role that it serves?
0:20:05 > 0:20:10The house works extremely hard. It's a centre of hospitality and we have...
0:20:10 > 0:20:147,000, 8,000 people come to the house for all different sorts of reasons -
0:20:14 > 0:20:18diplomatic, political, business, cultural.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27We grow a lot of our own material, as well.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31We have a range of glass houses where we, probably uniquely as a private house,
0:20:31 > 0:20:37grow about 7,000 or 8,000 plants a year, cos we do our own bedding, and material from inside the house.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44I don't know this plant. What is it?
0:20:44 > 0:20:48It's phytolacca, North American pokeweed.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It's such a terrific plant - wonderful flowers
0:20:50 > 0:20:53that then turn into these green berries,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58that then turn into these berries that almost look like they're made of glass or something.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00The Americans often go, "Oh! That plant!"
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- So, what's this bit of the grounds? - This is the parterre garden.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15It's a formal garden, perhaps inspired in the French style,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18but in the centre of the garden there's a statue of Barbara Hutton.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21The statue was commissioned by her in '38,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and was rediscovered in 1989 by Mr and Mrs Price,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28who found it in Florence and brought it to London,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and it commemorates her generosity.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36- It had lain there all those years. - All those years in a studio, unloved, but she's very much loved now.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- She's come home. - Yes, come home. Absolutely.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I don't know if you noticed, but the hedges at Winfield House
0:21:58 > 0:22:01were beautifully cut, immaculate.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04And one thing I have learnt over the years is that,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08A, you need to use the best kit you can find and afford,
0:22:08 > 0:22:13and B, perhaps more importantly, no one piece of kit does it all.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16With lots of different hedges of different heights and purposes,
0:22:16 > 0:22:21you do need to use different tools to get the best from them.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Now these really tall hedges need an extended arm.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28These came out about ten years ago, I think.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I remember trying them and they transformed my life.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33You could stand on the ground and do most of it from ground level,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38whereas before there were trellises, and the whole thing was a caper.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43With this, I've got a really chunky, heavy-duty battery,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45which lasts for about 40 minutes,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49which is the time it takes for the second battery to charge up.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53So if you buy this with a spare battery, you can go all day long
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and keep changing the batteries over.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The beauty of this is it's lighter, it's not very noisy,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02but you still need to wear eye protectors.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05And this box, which has been growing out,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08which I want to become rough topiary, is a perfect example
0:23:08 > 0:23:14of where this solid, heavy-duty electrical machine works.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21A rough shape on that.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25In fact, this is the start of the process of making this into topiary.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31And it copes with really quite thick branches, but if you see...
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Just take the battery out to make it safe.
0:23:33 > 0:23:40You can see here there's quite thick gaps between the teeth.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43And to do fine work, like this box hedge, that's too crude
0:23:43 > 0:23:45and it tends to crush them.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49If you have a finer one, like this...
0:23:49 > 0:23:51This is another electrical machine -
0:23:51 > 0:23:54very, very light and much finer teeth.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58The disadvantage is you have to plug it in, and in a garden like this,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02it means yards and yards of wire, and if it rains that's no good.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04You're for ever cutting through it.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08But very good for doing fine work.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Mind you, the simplest thing of all, and the most old-fashioned, is often the best.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17A good old pair of garden shears.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21This pair, heavy duty, I could easily cut the hedge with it.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25It'd be hard work, but it would work, and be much, much cheaper.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29You can buy really good ones for about 50 quid,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and they will last you years and years.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35And if you're feeling a bit expansive, you can get ones like this.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40These are Japanese shears, designed for topiary. They are razor-sharp.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43They're about twice the price of the other ones,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46but about half the price of the cheapest of my hedge cutters.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50And what they do is they just give you an exact age.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55So, if you want to make topiary - or say we take this bit here -
0:24:55 > 0:25:01I can shape that and get it perfect.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Down to an individual leaf.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Now, whatever hedges you've got,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14I would say just consider the most suitable bit of kit for it.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Buy the best that you can afford, and that will save you a lot of work, a lot of time,
0:25:20 > 0:25:25and in everything but the very shortest term, a lot of money, too, cos good kit always lasts.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Now, if you're planning to go on holiday, you're probably trying to forget about the garden,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33but here are just a couple of jobs you can do before you go away
0:25:33 > 0:25:36so it stays looking good until you come back.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42If you don't have anyone who can come in and water your pots for you,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46gather them all together in a shady, sheltered spot.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Give them a really good soak, and if you've got a tray or basin,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51stand them in that so they can
0:25:51 > 0:25:53slowly draw up water while you're away.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00If you've recently planted soft vegetables like lettuce or chicory,
0:26:00 > 0:26:05you'll need to water them really well and mulch them with compost.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07This will keep the moisture in the soil
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and keep them growing happily until you return.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Before you leave,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18go through your vegetable garden and cut back bolting stems.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Also harvest anything that's ready, and if you've got time,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24freeze it for your return.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25If not, give it away to friends,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29or if the worst comes to the worst, put it on the compost heap.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33That way, you'll have a fresh crop to pick when you get home.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Now, clearing up edge cuttings is always the drudgery
0:26:51 > 0:26:54that follows the work, particularly if it's in a border,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58because you more or less have to do it with your hands without damaging the plants.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00But on grass like this, it's not too bad.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04And summer hedge prunings make fantastic compost.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Because you've got lots of green material,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11which is rich in nitrogen, and yet lots of stemmy, but soft, material
0:27:11 > 0:27:14which is rich in carbon, and it really rots down quickly
0:27:14 > 0:27:16if you can chop it up.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20You can put it through a shredder, or you can do as I do, which is to mow it.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22And if it's very twiggy,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25you can still find a really good use for it in the garden,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29because gather up a bundle and pop it down behind a hedge,
0:27:29 > 0:27:34in a corner, amongst some long grass, and it makes a perfect home
0:27:34 > 0:27:37for all kinds of wildlife, from the smallest insect
0:27:37 > 0:27:39to hedgehogs and frogs and toads.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41It's cover that they love,
0:27:41 > 0:27:46and the loose cover of a bundle of twiggy hedge trimmings is perfect.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51However, this is all pretty soft, so I'll mow this up, to chop it up for compost and tidy up for me.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Now that's all chopped up, that will make brilliant compost -
0:28:15 > 0:28:21very quickly at this time of year - and of course, it's tidying up as it does so.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24I've got loads more hedge cutting to do, but I'll plug away at that,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and I'll be back here at Long Meadow next week at the same time,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29so join me then. Bye-bye.
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0:28:50 > 0:28:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk