0:00:02 > 0:00:04This way. Good boy!
0:00:09 > 0:00:13It's time to start preparing the garden for winter.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Giving your plants some care and attention now
0:00:15 > 0:00:19will get them off to a flying start next spring.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Carol visits a garden packed with tropical plants, and finds out
0:00:24 > 0:00:29how these exotic specimens are nursed through the very coldest weather.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33- So you're going to cut it?- Yes! - Oh, no, you do it!
0:00:33 > 0:00:38And I visit Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens in South Africa,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42where many of our favourite garden plants originate.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45And seeing them growing in their natural habitat
0:00:45 > 0:00:49is the best guide to making them feel at home in our own gardens.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02Hello.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05You know, it's really hard on a lovely October's day
0:01:05 > 0:01:08to put yourself in a winter mindset,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09but I'm doing that today
0:01:09 > 0:01:13because there are plants that I want to protect from winter
0:01:13 > 0:01:17and also make sure that they go into next spring at their very best.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Up. Good boy.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Now, it's a game, he jumps on the table easily.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33About a year ago, he jumped up on this table with fuchsias on it,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35wagged his tail enthusiastically
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and just swept them all to the floor,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and I lost a great chunk of one of the two that we had at the time.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Anyway, I salvaged that, made some cuttings
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and now, a year later, I've got five extra little plants.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53But, I have to confess, the fuchsias have done really badly this year,
0:01:53 > 0:01:54it's been very odd for them.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58They didn't start to flower at all until the end of August,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00when normally they're finishing by the end of August.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and now they're getting going.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Not terribly spectacularly, but at least they've got some flowers.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07And just about now
0:02:07 > 0:02:09is when I'm thinking of bringing them in under cover
0:02:09 > 0:02:13because they need protection from the worst of the frost.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17In fact, an awful lot of things need gathering in now in the garden,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21particularly in pots, before the weather gets too bad,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25because there's that terrible moment when you come down in the morning,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27everything's white with frost
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and you realise you've definitely lost some plants.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32So, prevention, rather than cure.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Those are your cuttings, let's take them to the greenhouse.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Come on, you come, too. Come on.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55What I would really like is a conservatory so I could enjoy
0:02:55 > 0:02:58flowers like fuchsias as long as they're at their very best,
0:02:58 > 0:02:59but I haven't got one,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03so a greenhouse has to be the next best thing.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04I do have a heater,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06because the idea is to keep it above five all the time.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11And the best way to keep it slightly warm, or rather, not cold,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15is to insulate it, and that's what I'm going to do today.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16And I'm using bubble wrap.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23It was actually invented - believe it or not - as wallpaper.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27And then, for reasons hard to fathom,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30nobody seemed to be using it on their walls.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35So, they thought of using it as insulation for greenhouses,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39and that genuinely was its first application.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41And, of course, the beauty of bubble wrap,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44apart from the lovely sound it makes when you pop it,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48is that it lets light through as well as keeping heat in.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53The idea is to create a pattern, like a clothes pattern.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57So, you put the pieces up in their relevant places each autumn,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59take them down each spring, store them over summer,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03then just pull them out and reuse them the following year.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12The secret of this is to get high-quality sticky tape,
0:04:12 > 0:04:13two-inch sticky tape.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17If you get cheaper gaffer tape, it'll do the job,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19but it won't stay stuck, and then you come down
0:04:19 > 0:04:21on a January morning and find the whole lot
0:04:21 > 0:04:23has collapsed in on itself.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Although this might seem like very elaborate measures
0:04:32 > 0:04:33to protect plants,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37we don't grow many tender plants here that Longmeadow.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Our winters are either too cold or too wet for many to thrive.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43However, I know that there are parts of the country
0:04:43 > 0:04:46where you can grow a much wider range of plants,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and Carol has been to Camberwell in South London to visit a garden
0:04:50 > 0:04:54that relishes in growing as many tropical plants as possible.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04I've travelled to bustling South London to meet Clive Pankhurst
0:05:04 > 0:05:07who's nurtured his tropical garden for the last five years.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12With the days shortening and cooler weather around the corner,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15I'm here to see how he maintains his exotic collection
0:05:15 > 0:05:18through the ravages of winter.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- Hiya, Clive.- Hi, Carol.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32You couldn't be anywhere but in the heart of London, could you?
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Certainly not from the sound of it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39- Building works, planes... - Trains passing by - the lot!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41But the look of it, you know,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44I felt like I needed my machete when I came in here,
0:05:44 > 0:05:45but it looks so wonderful.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- Oh, thank you. - It's just so beautiful.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51But look at these fabulous leaves, isn't that dramatic?
0:05:51 > 0:05:55It's so pretty, isn't it? It's all from seeds sown in the spring.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59- This is Ricinus communis, yes? - Yes.- Castor oil plant.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Zanzi Palm is the other name for it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03- Zanzi Palm, yes.- Oh, right!
0:06:03 > 0:06:05And so beautiful with the Solanum, I think.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It's a lovely contrast, this is a kangaroo apple.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- Solanum laciniatum, isn't it? - Indeed, yes.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12So, related to tomato.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16It's a tender perennial but when the frosts come
0:06:16 > 0:06:18it'll all be down to the ground, nothing left.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22It's about saving the seed and taking some insurance and cuttings.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25We treat it as a bedding plant, really.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27- Yeah, big bedding plant! - Very big, yes.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31So, no chance of protecting it, but you can start it again next year.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Absolutely.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49I really feel like I should be wearing a pith helmet!
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Well, how about this?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54That is just out of this world.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Doesn't it look so perfectly at home and happy?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I think they have such beautiful leaves,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and a really jungly kind of feel.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02It's a very hardy plant.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06This came to me from my mother-in-law's neighbours from Grimsby
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and if it can survive in Grimsby it can survive anywhere, really.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- You don't get much harder than that! - Well, exactly.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- And as a corner piece it's just perfect, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I've got lots of other hardy plants with that kind of jungle feel,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- so come on through the undergrowth. - Thank you very much.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32This is Clerodendrum bungei, isn't it?
0:07:32 > 0:07:34What a name, yes.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38It's gorgeous, but what a plant, it's spectacular, isn't it?
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And if you see the flowers, beautiful flowers, as well.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Oh! It's magnificent.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45And people used to reckon this was tender,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47but it's perfectly hardy, isn't it?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50If it was very cold it'd be cut back to the ground and come again,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53but I just tidy it up every year and it's OK.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56And what an association with this lovely Arundo donax.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Yeah, it's such a beautiful plant,
0:07:58 > 0:08:03I think a lot of woodwind instruments get their reeds from here, traditionally.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- The ancient Egyptians used to wrap their dead in the leaves...- Really?!
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- And now it's a biofuel, so... - How do you know that?!
0:08:09 > 0:08:12You're not telling me you leave it out?
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Oh, yes, it does really well here.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18We don't do any type of protection and it just comes up every year.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22We just cut it back to the ground and all this is this year.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26I think that's proof positive that it's not only a question of geographic area
0:08:26 > 0:08:29when it comes to deciding what's tender, what's hardy,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31but it's also assessing the microclimate
0:08:31 > 0:08:33within your garden, isn't it?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Absolutely, yeah. It's key to understanding your plants.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43And it's Clive's deep understanding of his garden
0:08:43 > 0:08:46that makes it so successful.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50It's exceptionally well sheltered with its own microclimate,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53meaning that, unlike in most parts of the country,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Clive doesn't need to protect the crowns of his tree ferns with straw.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01But he's taken cuttings from his salvias to make sure
0:09:01 > 0:09:05that even if a sharp frost wipes out the parent plants,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07he's got replacements for next year.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14- That's what you call a truly tender plant, isn't it?- Yes.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- Which banana is it? - It's Musa sikkimensis.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19I grow both Musa sikkimensis and basjoo,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21and I find basjoo's quite hardy here,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23but sikkimensis you really need to dig out.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- Can I give you a hand with it? - Absolutely, use your muscle.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27I've got the posh spade!
0:09:39 > 0:09:43I suppose the thing is with anything that's truly tender -
0:09:43 > 0:09:46you've just got to dig it out of the ground.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Oh, absolutely, and keep it somewhere frost-free.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52But then the treatment for this,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56because it's going to keep some stem, is that you have got to
0:09:56 > 0:09:58make sure that the stem's protected, too, isn't it?
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Absolutely, that's the key thing.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- So you're going to cut it?- Yes!
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Oh, no! You do it!
0:10:04 > 0:10:06It's too much responsibility!
0:10:11 > 0:10:12We're going to give it a hat,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14to give it a little bit of extra protection
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- You've done this before, haven't you?- Once or twice!
0:10:19 > 0:10:21So you'll do exactly the same thing
0:10:21 > 0:10:24with your Musa basjoo,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27which is much, much hardier, but it'll stay in the ground.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Absolutely. We'll probably give it a bit of a wigwam as well,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- for a little bit of extra protection.- Right.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- It's got to suffer out there, and shiver.- It has.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- So what shall we do next? - We fleece it.- Right.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- Got it there. - That's enough, isn't it?
0:10:53 > 0:10:54- Safe now.- Yeah.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Well, having wrapped the greenhouse for winter,
0:11:15 > 0:11:20these should now be completely snug
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and probably go on flowering for weeks.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24I think one of the really interesting points there,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29was that the microclimate of your garden can change dramatically
0:11:29 > 0:11:31even just in a few yards, it certainly does here.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33So if you don't have a greenhouse
0:11:33 > 0:11:35it could be just enough to move a plant
0:11:35 > 0:11:38a few yards to a more sheltered spot.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40And that will get it through winter.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Right. They'll be fine all winter.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Now, while we're in the greenhouse, have a look at this.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51These are the sweet peas that I sowed just last week.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55And look, they're all coming up, all germinated,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57so that's a really good start,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and augurs well for next summer.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Now, the dahlias are looking really good, and it would be quite wrong
0:12:11 > 0:12:15to try and take action now to keep them protected over winter.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18I should enjoy the flowers until the last minute,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21when frost strikes and blackens them.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Not least because the tubers will go on growing until that moment,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and the bigger the tubers are this autumn,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30the better the flowers will be next year.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32So, I'll keep these outside, until they get frosted,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34and if that's Christmas time, so be it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42However, this Canna has nothing left to offer.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45In fact, it didn't have much to offer, all summer.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48It's been hopeless. It hated the cold weather.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52This is Canna 'Durban', and it should be at least twice the size,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54it should still be flowering now in October.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Poor thing has given up, doesn't like it, wants to go home.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00If I dig it up now, and get the rhizome out
0:13:00 > 0:13:04we can protect it and then give it a better chance next year.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I'm just gently easing it out, so I don't damage the rhizome.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13There we go.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Up you come. There we are.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Now, do you see, it's hardly grown out of the pot it was in, actually,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21but these are the roots coming off it.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23That's a new shoot, that's come up,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27but that's pretty much all the growth it's done all summer.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29So, let's put that in the wheelbarrow.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32That goes in there.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38This rather sorry-looking specimen is a Eucomis,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and the top has come off, and all those seeds can be kept.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45You see, in there, lots and lots of little seeds.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I'm going to put that to one side
0:13:47 > 0:13:49before we do anything else at all.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Pop that down there.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Now...
0:13:54 > 0:13:56that has grown from a bulb.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58It's a South African plant.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00They like wet summers, and in fact,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03our fairly heavy soil has been good for them,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05even though it's been fairly dry this year.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07It's a bulb, and it needs lifting.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Now, if I get in under there...
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I've planted it quite deep. There we go.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Now, you can see it's got a root system coming from it.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25If I break that up, there's the bulb.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30There we go.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33By lifting it, I'm protecting it from two possible dangers,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36the first is very cold weather, like in last November and December,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and also, a wet winter, which it will hate.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45ROBIN TRILLS
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Now, I've got another South African plant here.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57This is Galtonia.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Galtonia candicans,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00which is a bulb.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05And if the drainage is really good, and it's not too cold,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09can happily stay in the ground and come back year after year.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11It's done really well this summer -
0:15:11 > 0:15:14wonderful, white flowers, worked really well with the Hostas.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17There's one or two little ones still on there,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and that's been flowering since July.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24However, I daren't leave it in the ground here, because it's too wet,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26even if it's not too cold.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29This is the damp garden - it's been a jolly dry damp garden all summer
0:15:29 > 0:15:33but I can't bank on that all winter, so that's coming up too.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45You see, it's a tiny little bulb,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49when you see the size of the flower.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Now, it is as important to store things
0:16:06 > 0:16:10in the manner to which they're accustomed, as it is to grow them.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13In the case of cannas, they like to be damp.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17So it's important not to let them dry out over winter.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19The first thing to do is to cut them back.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21So, cut off the top growth...
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Shake off all loose soil.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Then pack them into spent potting compost, or I use leaf mold.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35You can fill a pot with as many different rhizomes as you like,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37as long as they're all the same variety
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and you've labelled them clearly.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Water them lightly, so they're not wet but slightly moist.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Put them somewhere cool and dark,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and check them every month to make sure it's not drying out.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50In the case of Eucomis,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53you need to do the opposite.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Cut off the flower spike, and then pot them up
0:16:56 > 0:16:59into a very free-draining compost.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Keep them cool and dry.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07The same goes for Galtonias.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Cut off the flower spike,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12put them in a pot,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and then just keep them dry, is the key thing.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Of course, whilst I'm putting these to bed here,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21in their native South Africa,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24both the Galtonia and Eucomis are just getting going.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26I was in South Africa a few weeks ago,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and whilst I was there,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I went to Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32specifically to see some plants
0:17:32 > 0:17:34that I grow here at Longmeadow
0:17:34 > 0:17:35in their natural environment.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Kirstenbosch is in a stunning location,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47rising high onto the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49It was created nearly 100 years ago
0:17:49 > 0:17:53to preserve the native flora of South Africa,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55and especially those from the Cape.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58It was the first botanic garden in the world
0:17:58 > 0:18:00dedicated entirely to native plants.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04So, everything here is literally at home.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Although there are thousands of species native to South Africa,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12certainly the most iconic is the Protea, or the pin cushion.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16At this time of year - in their spring, our autumn -
0:18:16 > 0:18:19you see them on the hillside of the fynbos, the mountain scrub.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24And some of them have the most amazing way
0:18:24 > 0:18:25of reproducing themselves.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29They produce big seeds, like Smarties, with a coating.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34That coating is irresistible to one ant that lives on the fynbos.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38It takes a seed, and takes it back down underground to its nest,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40where it eats it,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44and then leaves the seed itself, and there the seed waits,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48sometimes for up to ten years, until the next big fire.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50And the fire triggers germination.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52So you have this incredible,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55delicate interweaving
0:18:55 > 0:18:57between every single element of the ecosystem,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01which results in this stupendous flower.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Now, we can't grow Proteas in our own garden,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14but there a couple of plants that I want to show you
0:19:14 > 0:19:16that we can and do grow.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20But the result is very different to here in their natural habitat.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24The first is this, Leonotis leonurus.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27I grow it in my garden as an annual
0:19:27 > 0:19:30for these gorgeous orange flowers.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34And I plant it as a seed in April, put it out in June, July,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and by August, it's 6-8ft tall,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40with a mass of flower and not many leaves.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Then the first frost kills it stone dead,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45and we start again next year from seed.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Here, it's a woody shrub.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49This is just one fairly small plant,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52completely different to that precious plant
0:19:52 > 0:19:55that I nurture back at home.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08This is a plant that will be familiar
0:20:08 > 0:20:11to lots of UK gardeners for its leaves.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13It's called Melianthus major.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16But I'll bet not many in the UK will have a plant
0:20:16 > 0:20:20that will throw up so many of these flower spikes.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22When you see it at home like this,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26you realise that what we're growing is a shadow of what it could be.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29The climate of the Cape, and especially the extra heat,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33are the key to these plants growing so differently.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Summer is long, hot and very dry
0:20:38 > 0:20:42and winter is short, mild and reliably rainy.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44The weather in their brief spring is variable,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47but can often still be wet.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50And it's this extra moisture that helps to produce
0:20:50 > 0:20:53the amazing displays of colour.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56The main reason I came to Cape Town at this time of year
0:20:56 > 0:21:01is so I could catch the incredible spring flowers.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03They don't last very long here.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And these behind me -
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Arctotis, Ursinia, Senecio -
0:21:07 > 0:21:09come from the desert.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13They only flower when it rains, which can be every few years.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Here at Kirstenbosch, they water regularly, so they flower regularly,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and back at home, we can grow them,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22but it's worth remembering where they come from.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25They need really good drainage - think of the desert -
0:21:25 > 0:21:27and maximum sunshine.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Perhaps the most familiar of all South African plants
0:21:42 > 0:21:43are Pelargoniums.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Whilst we grow a wide range here in Britain,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50at Kirstenbosch, they have the parents of our commercial varieties,
0:21:50 > 0:21:55and these grow quite differently in their native environment.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02It is extraordinary to see just how exuberant
0:22:02 > 0:22:03these Pelargoniums can be -
0:22:03 > 0:22:06this is a scented leaf variety.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10And it is positively romping
0:22:10 > 0:22:12like an overgrown shrub, through this border.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15It just shows you
0:22:15 > 0:22:17that what they relish is heat.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20We mollycoddle ours and nurse them and grow them in pots,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22and we get huge pleasure from them.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24But they're always struggling, really.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27And perhaps the lesson we can learn
0:22:27 > 0:22:30is that to get the very best from our Pelargoniums,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33we should grow them in conservatories or greenhouses,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35if we've got them.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46This is fruticosum, which is creating
0:22:46 > 0:22:50these elegant, billowy mounds around the stone,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53rather like heather,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and throwing up delicate flowers,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59floating above very, very finely cut leaves.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Seeing it like this, makes me first of all just want to have it at home.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06I'd love to have this growing in a pot. it won't look like this,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I can't possibly create this effect, but in a pot,
0:23:10 > 0:23:16I can get the essence of what I'm seeing here at Kirstenbosch.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40These are not the same Pelargonium.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43This is a scented leaf type called Old Spice.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46But this summer, Pelargoniums haven't done well, it's been too cold.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48In fact, they're growing better now
0:23:48 > 0:23:51than they have done through July, August and September.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54But they're coming to the end of their time -
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I need to get them under cover before it gets cold.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I'll probably leave these out for a little bit longer, and risk it,
0:24:00 > 0:24:05but I'll take one in, and before I protect it, I'll take some cuttings.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07That way I've got insurance -
0:24:07 > 0:24:11even if there's a radically hard frost overnight,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14I've still got the plant, and some offspring, for next year.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28The great thing about Pelargoniums is
0:24:28 > 0:24:30they take really easily from cuttings.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33So you can afford to be quite cavalier about it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37However, there is one tip you do need to observe.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39If you cut between a leaf and a stem,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44the chances of it rooting are much, much less than if you get in here.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47So if you see, these are breaking off from its stem.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50So if I cut in under there,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I've then potentially got about half a dozen cuttings from it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57But you needn't worry, you know this is going to work, more or less,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01so you don't have to be too anxious about the process.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Just get in there, do a cut... There we go.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Put that to one side.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And here we have the basis for
0:25:10 > 0:25:12one, two, three, four... five cuttings,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and we can take it from there.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I could either cut these with a sharp knife,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19but what works just as well is to break them off -
0:25:19 > 0:25:21just pull them off like that,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25and you get a tiny heel, with a little bit of the stem there.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28That tends to aid rooting with any plant.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Now, I've got a mixture here for cuttings.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33This is my normal potting mix,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36which has got some grit in it, but extra grit.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Mix it up so it's really, really well-drained.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43They'll root much easier as a result.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46So Mix that up like that -
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I need a dibber...
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Then, down the edge of the pot -
0:25:50 > 0:25:54and they will root the better as a result.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59And you can take these any time from spring right through till now.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01And I shall certainly take some more cuttings
0:26:01 > 0:26:04from the Pelargoniums I keep in the greenhouse,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07next April, May, as they start to grow.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10And that way, we'll build up.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And you just have this wonderful abundance.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13That's that a little job done.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17And here are a few other jobs
0:26:17 > 0:26:19that you can do this weekend.
0:26:21 > 0:26:28Mediterranean plants hate sitting in cold, wet soil over winter.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33So improve their drainage by raising containers up on chucks.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36This will also save the pot, because in really cold weather,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40the soil will freeze, expand and break the pot.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Given sufficient heat,
0:26:47 > 0:26:52chillies will go on growing successfully into the new year.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54But harvest ripe fruit when they're ready,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58otherwise they will inhibit the production of fresh flowers.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Then when you've picked them, y can either eat them fresh,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04or dry them to store them for future consumption.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14If you need an example of how odd a growing year it is,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16you could hardly do better than this pumpkin.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Here we have a completely voluptuous flower,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24with a fruit forming behind it, in the middle of October!
0:27:24 > 0:27:27It should look like this at the beginning of August.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29But because it was so cold, they've really done badly.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32However, the tripods have been a good thing. I'd do this again.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Growing squashes and pumpkins up a tripod
0:27:35 > 0:27:38is a good way to do grow them if you're short of space.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42However, if I leave that, that's never going to form a ripe fruit,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44it's too late in the year.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46So I'm just going to harvest what I have managed to grow
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and then ripen them off,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52so at least I can store and eat the meagre bounty
0:27:52 > 0:27:55of my pumpkin harvest.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00When you harvest them, leave a stem,
0:28:00 > 0:28:05because they will store much better with the stem on.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12The best plan is to put them in some sunshine
0:28:12 > 0:28:15so the skins can thicken, and that way they'll store better.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Well, there's no question -
0:28:21 > 0:28:24this is the most miserable pumpkin harvest I've ever had.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Never mind, win some, lose some -
0:28:26 > 0:28:27there's always next year.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And there's next week, when I'll be back here at eight o'clock.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33So join me then. Bye-bye.
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