:00:11. > :00:17.Hello. Welcome to our hour-long Easter Gardeners' World. This is
:00:17. > :00:20.the best moment of the year to get anything done in the garden. And I
:00:20. > :00:25.shall be transforming mine here at Long Meadow with some roses,
:00:25. > :00:33.amongst other things. Carol shows us how to find
:00:33. > :00:37.inspiration in the hedge rows. Primroses, Sorrel, Airums, ferns,
:00:37. > :00:40.ivy, pig nut. The list is almost endless.
:00:40. > :00:43.Rachel travels to Cumbria to discover the art of gardening in
:00:43. > :00:47.extreme conditions. And that's why these fences are
:00:47. > :00:52.around here as wind breaks, which is only temporary. They've only
:00:52. > :00:57.been in ten years. At the Eden Project, the gardeners have gone to
:00:57. > :01:01.extraordinary heights to get their tropical plants into shape. It's a
:01:01. > :01:06.very important, serious piece of equipment, which just happens to be
:01:06. > :01:16.quite enjoyable as well. As well as planting roses, I'll be sowing some
:01:16. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :01:44.carrots and revealing my recipe for I've never planted climb against
:01:44. > :01:48.this. It's always been a Brack drop to the border, so this is a good
:01:48. > :01:52.opportunity, and if you're planting up a wall for the first time, the
:01:52. > :01:55.first thing to take into account is its aspect, and then you can select
:01:55. > :01:59.your plants that'll suit the situation rather than trying to
:01:59. > :02:02.place plants that you like and get them to fit because they've got to
:02:03. > :02:07.be happy. They've got to feel at home. Now, this is east facing, so
:02:07. > :02:11.any aspect means you put your back to the wall, look out, and that's
:02:11. > :02:15.the direction that's going to be the dominant factor in what
:02:15. > :02:19.influences the plants. East-facing wall is cold. It's never in full
:02:20. > :02:24.sun, exempt for a few hours around about breakfast time, and it's
:02:24. > :02:27.never in fell shade, so, for example, camellias will be no good
:02:27. > :02:31.here at all because they'll be cold. They'll get morning sunshine, and
:02:31. > :02:36.that's when the blooms get damaged. Wisteria would be wasted on this
:02:36. > :02:40.wall because it needs nice, baking sun to flower properly, but
:02:40. > :02:44.honeysuckle, completely happy against it - almost all clematis
:02:44. > :02:49.would love it on here and a lot of roses, and it's roses I'm going for
:02:49. > :02:52.a because it's pretty much a rosy garden. Also, the thought of having
:02:52. > :02:55.roses growing along this wall, a treat. I am not going to overlook
:02:55. > :03:01.it. And the first one I'm going to plant is this one, Madame Legras de
:03:01. > :03:05.Saint Germain. This will work well on my wall. And because it's
:03:05. > :03:10.virtually thornless and has a fabulous scent, it will be ideal
:03:10. > :03:15.next to a path or a seat. This is bare root, so it's been kept in a
:03:15. > :03:19.bucket of water, and if you're planting any bare-root plants,
:03:19. > :03:23.don't expose it to the air until the very last minute. Always keep
:03:23. > :03:26.them either covered with damp cloth or in a bucket, and as with any
:03:26. > :03:31.climber I'm sorry, going to plant it well away from the wall. There
:03:31. > :03:38.is a temptation to get it stuck in there so it will climb up. Don't.
:03:38. > :03:42.Put it out at least a couple of feet. I want it away, so about here.
:03:42. > :03:46.There is an acanthus growing here, so I'll remove that that can be
:03:46. > :03:54.moved to somewhere else. It's got a nice root on that, so we'll put
:03:54. > :03:58.that to one side. OK. And then - now that's what I need to remove.
:03:58. > :04:01.If you see that in the garden anywhere, it's bindweed. If I get
:04:01. > :04:04.that in the roots of the rose, that's a disaster - because I'll
:04:04. > :04:12.never get it out. Take any amount of time and trouble to remove it. I
:04:12. > :04:17.don't want it. Now, what I'm doing with this hole is essentially
:04:17. > :04:20.losening the soil - just making sure that there is a nice, easy
:04:20. > :04:26.root run, loosen the size of the hole as well, so what I have in
:04:26. > :04:35.there is nice viable soil. I'm going to add a little bit of
:04:35. > :04:39.compost, but not too much. And the reason for that is that I don't
:04:39. > :04:43.want to create too snug a home for the plant. If you add lots of
:04:43. > :04:47.manure or compost to planting hole, the plant never wants to leave.
:04:47. > :04:56.This is just going to be a kick start for them. Literally that much
:04:56. > :04:59.will go in the bottom of the hole. Sprinkle that in and mix it in, and
:04:59. > :05:05.actually, the microbacterial activity will be as important as
:05:05. > :05:10.anything else, but what I am going to add is this, and this is
:05:10. > :05:15.microrizal, which is a fungus. It enables the plant to interact with
:05:15. > :05:20.the bacteria in the soil - if I can take the lid off. It comes in a
:05:20. > :05:23.powder like that, and it's particularly good for roses or any
:05:23. > :05:26.woody plant because they can be slow to establish their own
:05:26. > :05:32.microrizal relationship, so it speeds up a natural process by up
:05:32. > :05:36.to two or three years, so we just sprinkle that onto the soil, and
:05:36. > :05:39.we've got our bare root plant - a lovely root system. And the
:05:39. > :05:43.advantage of bare-root plants is that you can see how healthy they
:05:43. > :05:47.are, and they tend to be much cheaper, so if you can get them, a
:05:47. > :05:55.distinct bargain. I want to plant this - it's going back against the
:05:55. > :05:59.wall, so probably in that orientation. And I want to plant
:05:59. > :06:03.that so that the graft is just below the surface, which is about
:06:04. > :06:07.there. Push that in, and the next stage is just to back fill enough
:06:07. > :06:17.to hold it in position because then I'm going to fill the hole with a
:06:17. > :06:20.
:06:20. > :06:29.What this means is that as the roots grow, they will be going into
:06:29. > :06:35.damp soil. It's been terribly dry of late. And just let that absorb
:06:35. > :06:45.right down, and then back fill the soil. Now I'm going to go and have
:06:45. > :06:58.
:06:58. > :07:08.I'm firming but not stamping because it's wet. It's like a bog,
:07:08. > :07:14.
:07:14. > :07:19.All right. We'll let that gradually soak in. When it's completely
:07:19. > :07:22.absorbed, bring the soil back to its level, and then - and this is
:07:22. > :07:25.important - put a really generous compost all around the plant. It
:07:25. > :07:28.will suppress weeds. It will keep the moisture in as well as
:07:28. > :07:35.enriching the quality of the soil. Right. That's Madame Legras de
:07:35. > :07:39.Saint Germain planted. Now, she is a climber, a small climbing rose.
:07:39. > :07:44.What I'm going to plant here - felicite perpetue - is a rambler.
:07:44. > :07:47.If you want a rambler that'll flourish in shade or one that'll
:07:47. > :07:52.scramble into a tree, then felicite perpetue is a good choice.
:07:52. > :07:55.And the difference between ramblers and climbers is not that great and
:07:55. > :08:02.certainly not one to get worried about, technically, but ramblers
:08:02. > :08:07.more or less always have a great froth of small flowers that only
:08:07. > :08:12.are produced once, and they tend to have very long, vigorous chutes.
:08:12. > :08:16.Climbers come in all shapes and sizes. You can get climbers with
:08:17. > :08:20.great big flowers. You can have climbers with small flowers. You
:08:20. > :08:25.can have them that are suited for many more different positions, so
:08:25. > :08:30.on the whole, a climber is going to be more adaptable. But where a
:08:30. > :08:33.rambler works, it works in a way no climber can match, so if you want
:08:33. > :08:39.that exuberant froth of flower in midsummer, then ramblers are
:08:39. > :08:47.perfect. But whether rambler or climber, the planting technique is
:08:47. > :08:54.the same. The last rose I'm planting is Veichelnblau. This is
:08:54. > :08:59.another good choice to grow alongside a path or on an arch
:08:59. > :09:03.because it is virtually thornless and delicately flagrant.
:09:03. > :09:06.Now that doesn't look much - a few little green twigs sticking out of
:09:06. > :09:10.the ground. These very pruned hard before they left the nursery, which
:09:10. > :09:14.is a good thing because all the new growth will be from the base of the
:09:14. > :09:20.plant, and we'll get nice vigorous new growth, but when you buy
:09:20. > :09:24.climbers or ramblers from a garden centre, likely they'll be as much
:09:24. > :09:28.as 5-6 feet tall and ready to lean against the wall. That's fine. You
:09:28. > :09:34.can cut them because which is probably the best horticultural
:09:34. > :09:37.advice, but it takes a hard heart to do that we want to see flowers,
:09:37. > :09:41.and we want the see them as soon as possible. These roses are all
:09:41. > :09:46.exotic. They come from all over the world. They have been highly bred,
:09:46. > :09:50.but one of my favourite roses of all is a simple dog rose that you
:09:50. > :09:54.get in a hedge row - unadorned and as lovely as anything you can put
:09:54. > :10:02.in the garden, and it's to the hedge rows around her own garden
:10:02. > :10:11.that Carol has been looking for At this time of year, my garden
:10:11. > :10:17.changes by the hour. I just love this little corner better than
:10:17. > :10:23.anywhere in the garden at this moment. It's full of newness and
:10:23. > :10:28.freshness. It's springtime personified. And I love the way
:10:28. > :10:33.everything feels so very new. Sometimes you see a bud opening, a
:10:33. > :10:40.flower emerging, and you know that you're the very first person to see
:10:40. > :10:45.that in all its pristine glory. Spring has brought an exciting
:10:45. > :10:52.display at Glebe Cottage, but also something rarer - a new space to
:10:52. > :10:56.plant. I dug up an old, unused plant and made a new bed. Do you
:10:56. > :11:01.know, whatever your garden size or shape, whether it's in the town or
:11:01. > :11:06.the country, all of us have boundaries to our garden. We have
:11:06. > :11:12.edges. They're either made by fences or walls or hedge row. What
:11:12. > :11:17.can you grow there? I mean, one minute it's hot, beating sun. The
:11:17. > :11:22.next, they're plunged into dense shade, and the water is so uneven,
:11:22. > :11:27.sometimes it can be a diluge, and sometimes the place is as dry as a
:11:27. > :11:32.bone. Well, the edge of this border is made up with this fence, and
:11:32. > :11:37.behind it, my native hedge, which I proudly planted just a few years
:11:37. > :11:43.ago. It's getting established, but this countryside all around us -
:11:43. > :11:50.all the fields are surrounded by hedges. In fact, North Downs'
:11:50. > :11:55.famous for them. So I'm off to have a look at what's growing at their
:11:56. > :11:59.feet because the plants that thrive in this unique, challenging
:11:59. > :12:04.environment will give a goods source of the plants that'll
:12:04. > :12:09.flourish in my new bed. For a thousand years or so, the people of
:12:09. > :12:14.these islands have been enclosing their land by using hedge rows. As
:12:14. > :12:18.these hedges have grown and developed, this whole wound rouse
:12:18. > :12:23.array of different plants have moved in and evolved with the hedge
:12:23. > :12:29.row, exploiting the conditions there. They live in really close
:12:29. > :12:34.harmony with one another - things like primroses, Sorrel, airums,
:12:34. > :12:38.ferns, ivy, pig nut - the list is almost endless, and they're the
:12:38. > :12:44.plants that give us a lot of inspiration about the kinds of
:12:44. > :12:49.things that we can use in similar situations in our own gardens.
:12:49. > :12:54.What's evolved here is a community of plants that intermingle and grow
:12:54. > :12:58.with each other. That's what I want to create in my border. I'll be
:12:58. > :13:03.using a combination of native plants and some of their cultivated
:13:03. > :13:08.cousins - all plants that can cope with sun and shade and handle dry
:13:08. > :13:11.summers and wet winters. Above all, plants that don't need
:13:11. > :13:18.mollycoddling. They'll be happy to just get on and grow, whatever the
:13:18. > :13:28.conditions. This is the sweet shop. I've gathered together a wheel load
:13:28. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:36.of plants that I want to put into this border. This is euphorbia
:13:36. > :13:41.martinii. I have chosen it because it really loves shade. It should
:13:41. > :13:45.really foot up with both shade and full sun. It should be perfect in
:13:45. > :13:51.here. Here's another native, but a strange one. It's a double
:13:51. > :13:55.buttercup. It's called ranunculis acris flore pleno. Flore pleno just
:13:55. > :14:01.means it's got double flowers. It's a hedge row kind of a plant, so it
:14:01. > :14:08.should be completely at home here. This too comes from a similar sort
:14:08. > :14:10.of place. It's a blue scabious. The bees are going to love them.
:14:10. > :14:17.Although it's great to use indigenous plants because they're
:14:17. > :14:23.going to be better for our wildlife, butterflies and bees aren't fussy.
:14:23. > :14:29.This, for instance, this is a beautiful primula, and it's from
:14:29. > :14:32.Japan, and if you look in here, they've got these wonderful little
:14:32. > :14:36.extra pieces all the way around, so it will spread itself, and I'm
:14:36. > :14:46.going to put it down towards the end of the bed because it loves
:14:46. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:51.moisture. And this is just a white one, something which is native.
:14:51. > :14:58.It's a pulmonaria lungwort. The pale colour in the evening is going
:14:58. > :15:03.to be just right. This - look at this - it's this glorious Solomon's
:15:03. > :15:06.seal. These bells will gradually develop and hang down from there.
:15:06. > :15:13.It will just sort of wander around, so perhaps back in here where we
:15:13. > :15:23.can really appreciate its stature. Plenty of room for everything to
:15:23. > :15:24.
:15:24. > :15:29.spread out, but still a few spaces This bed was a path, weed dug out
:15:29. > :15:39.the rubble and added soil, but no money off. These plants just do not
:15:39. > :15:40.
:15:41. > :15:45.need it. -- many of. -- manure. I have finished the border, but as
:15:45. > :15:50.you can see, the rest of the garden is in some light, but this is in
:15:50. > :15:55.shade. -- some light. I watered everything thoroughly before
:15:55. > :16:00.putting it in and I will give it a really good soaking. It will not be
:16:01. > :16:04.long before everything starts to seed, run around, mix and mingle.
:16:04. > :16:14.Eventually I will have the same kind of community you find under
:16:14. > :16:31.
:16:31. > :16:34.That is the most beautiful tulip. You would not expect to find there
:16:34. > :16:40.is growing in a Devonshire head Rowe, but I agree with Carol, if
:16:40. > :16:44.you want to see plants are growing a bad best, go to nature --
:16:44. > :16:49.hedgerow. They were always in for me better than any textbook. We
:16:49. > :16:54.will look later at propagation of plants which can be done now.
:16:55. > :17:04.Tulips are something we have always loved. In this area, a herb garden,
:17:05. > :17:06.
:17:06. > :17:10.we have Indian velvet, and a tall, pale on. Down here I have put in at
:17:10. > :17:15.Nicholas Tyacke. I put the bulbs in the ground on 24th January. That is
:17:15. > :17:19.much too late but it has worked. So sometimes you can break rules and
:17:19. > :17:23.get away with it. If you have the bulbs, got -- get them in the
:17:23. > :17:30.ground. These are formal. I like them for that. But if you look into
:17:30. > :17:34.the spring garden you can see that the yellow tulips are coming up
:17:34. > :17:38.amongst all the yellow, natural plants in a loose way. That works
:17:38. > :17:48.well. You can have the formal and informal with the same plant
:17:48. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:10.My tomatoes need to be watched regularly to get the timing of the
:18:10. > :18:12.
:18:12. > :18:16.potting dead right. These are ones They are doing fine, but I think
:18:16. > :18:21.they are ready to move out because what I have found over the years is
:18:21. > :18:26.that almost everything has a 10 day window when it either needs
:18:26. > :18:30.pricking out, or potting on. Funnily enough it never seems to
:18:30. > :18:37.recover if you miss that slot. It is instinctive. If you look at this
:18:37. > :18:44.plant, it is getting a bit yellow, if you compare it to this, which is
:18:44. > :18:48.a better colour but in the same compost. Sometimes early tomatoes
:18:48. > :18:56.will turn a blue colour. Move them on, pot them on and they will
:18:56. > :19:06.recover. These will be planted out into the top greenhouse in May.
:19:06. > :19:12.
:19:12. > :19:17.Time to take these and give them an Potting on is a simple process made
:19:17. > :19:21.easier by using good modules, then you do not have to lift them. This
:19:21. > :19:26.is a deep one, so the roots are well formed, it holds together as a
:19:26. > :19:30.unit. Once it is this size do not try to hold it by a leaf, because
:19:30. > :19:39.it will rip off. This stem is strong enough to take my brutal
:19:39. > :19:44.touch. I'm putting these into three inch pots. The key thing with any
:19:44. > :19:48.potting on is not to going to be a pot. The reason for that is because
:19:48. > :19:56.if you put too much potting compost around it the routes will not reach
:19:56. > :20:02.it for ages, so it just becomes a sodden mass of soil full of water.
:20:02. > :20:09.Where the roots are will dry out and it does not work. So it is
:20:09. > :20:13.worth taking the trouble to pop on every year, or with a seedling like
:20:13. > :20:20.this, a few times. Rather than skip a phase and go on to the next size
:20:20. > :20:25.up. So put a bit underneath at the bottom and pop it in. It does not
:20:25. > :20:35.matter how deep it goes, just give it a shake, I do not put these into
:20:35. > :20:39.
:20:39. > :20:49.strongly because when you water it Do not even think about putting
:20:49. > :21:04.
:21:04. > :21:10.these outside until the end of May, There are many bits I have not
:21:10. > :21:17.shown you yet. I'm about to show you one of the very best of all. It
:21:17. > :21:21.is the compost heaps. I love compost not just because it is so
:21:21. > :21:28.satisfying to turn what is waste material into the most precious
:21:28. > :21:35.item in garden can have, which is this... Finished compost. That is
:21:35. > :21:40.what drives this garden. But also because it exemplify s everything
:21:40. > :21:45.that a sustainable system is trying to do, which is to take all your
:21:45. > :21:49.waist, use what it has to give and then make things better in a very
:21:49. > :21:55.gentle way. That is what we are doing it with compost. The system
:21:55. > :22:00.we have here with a tin, lot of big Bay's is something that has evolved
:22:00. > :22:03.over the years and suits me here. But it is not the only way to do it.
:22:03. > :22:10.You can make compost in many ways it to understand what you're trying
:22:10. > :22:15.to do. -- if you understand. Anything that has ever lived will
:22:15. > :22:19.compost. Although saying that, meet, a fact and cooked food is not a
:22:19. > :22:25.good idea to put on a compost heap because it attracts vermin and it
:22:25. > :22:35.rots down at slowly. Cardboard is good on a compost heap, it will add
:22:35. > :22:37.
:22:37. > :22:45.a lot to the heap and pocket up. -- bulk it up. This is green and full
:22:45. > :22:50.of nitrogen, comfrey. You want to balance the nitrogen you get with
:22:50. > :22:59.clippings and green plants, and be carbon you get in a brown plant
:22:59. > :23:06.material. This is solelyto packing material, very good. Hayley is full
:23:06. > :23:10.of carbon. In fact, the ideal ratio is about 20 to-one carbon to
:23:10. > :23:15.nitrogen and most heaps fail because they do not have enough
:23:15. > :23:21.carbon. If it gets the sludgy, smells bad, slimy, you need more
:23:21. > :23:27.carbon. You would be amazed at the transformation. Kitchen waste,
:23:27. > :23:32.paper, envelopes, all very good. Throw it on. Then chop it up. I
:23:32. > :23:38.used a machete for the big stuff but actually I have found that if I
:23:38. > :23:48.spread it out the easiest way to chop it up into smaller bits is to
:23:48. > :24:11.
:24:11. > :24:21.That is quite rough but the idea is simply to break it up a bit. We
:24:21. > :24:25.
:24:25. > :24:30.added to the heap. -- at it. -- add it. This is full of roughly chopped
:24:30. > :24:36.material, some things have slipped through. A bit of packaging, a
:24:36. > :24:45.broken stem, but that has given surface area for bacteria to get to.
:24:45. > :24:52.You should be able to see steam coming off this. It is warmer in
:24:52. > :24:57.there. That means there are lots of tiny creatures busy eating their
:24:57. > :25:03.way through this, that is how compost is made. It is not the
:25:03. > :25:09.decomposition that makes it, it is the digestion. Mainly by bacteria,
:25:09. > :25:17.but fund the, slugs, worms, Beatles. They all love it, Digest it and use
:25:17. > :25:23.it. 10 billion animals for every gram of compost. As it heats up,
:25:23. > :25:27.more bacteria come into play, then it heats up even more, and more
:25:27. > :25:32.come through. Then when it starts to cool down that means it is time
:25:32. > :25:39.to re heat it, the best way to do that is to turn it by adding oxygen.
:25:39. > :25:43.Then it comes into this been which is usable as compost. It is a bit
:25:43. > :25:47.crude, rough, it is still being eaten, but that is becoming a
:25:47. > :25:54.recognisable compost. It is sticky dough. It needs more time to be at
:25:54. > :25:59.its best. But when it is ready, it is like this. This is completely
:25:59. > :26:06.ready for the garden. I know that because compost that is ready to be
:26:06. > :26:13.used feels a pleasant, smells just faintly of woodland floor. There is
:26:13. > :26:18.nothing nasty, unpleasant, or dirty about it. If it feels a bit sticky,
:26:18. > :26:22.turn it again. Keep turning it. By turning it you do not have to put
:26:22. > :26:26.it from One Day to another, just route it around, get a fork, turn
:26:26. > :26:36.it up and down, move it with a stick, anything to get bearing to
:26:36. > :26:45.
:26:45. > :26:52.it. -- air into it. This is a towed, he comes in for the slugs. -- toad.
:26:52. > :26:58.You have this into connectedness between the whole garden. --
:26:58. > :27:02.connection with the whole garden. You do not need great big bins made
:27:02. > :27:07.of corrugated iron to make good compost, you can do it on a small
:27:07. > :27:11.scale in a dustbin. But some holes in it, fill it up, that will work.
:27:11. > :27:17.You can have council beehive compost bins, just remember the mix
:27:17. > :27:25.of carbon tonight and, more carbon air nitrogen. Try to fill it up as
:27:25. > :27:32.quickly as possible. Then turn it about every three to five weeks.
:27:32. > :27:36.Although the compost is essential here the soil is terrific. You can
:27:36. > :27:39.grow almost anything. Rachel went to the Lake District to visit a
:27:39. > :27:44.garden where there is practically no so well, it is Brockie, battered
:27:44. > :27:54.by winds and seemingly about the most inhospitable place you could
:27:54. > :27:58.ever attempt to grow anything -- Rocky. Yet the result is beautiful.
:27:58. > :28:02.The Valley of Great Langdale is one of the most romantic and awe-
:28:02. > :28:08.inspiring views in the Lake District. 18th century poets like
:28:08. > :28:18.Wordsworth and Coleridge came here inspired by the wild, untamed
:28:18. > :28:19.
:28:19. > :28:25.beauty that is battered by savage This site would be a challenge for
:28:25. > :28:35.any gardener. But here, one man was inspired to overcome the punishing
:28:35. > :28:37.
:28:37. > :28:47.weather conditions and create his Borg is a Professor of chemistry
:28:47. > :28:49.
:28:49. > :28:53.and a veteran mountaineer. -- Bob. 30 years ago he and his late wife
:28:53. > :28:58.Peggy took the brave decision to make this into a garden filled with
:28:58. > :29:08.rare plants from his expeditions. You have the most credible --
:29:08. > :29:09.
:29:09. > :29:13.incredible landscape. How do you go To be as a scientist, it's a
:29:13. > :29:17.question of observation. When we've got climbing mountains, we pass
:29:17. > :29:22.through, obviously, lower down areas where plants are growing, and
:29:22. > :29:25.if you're observing, you see little things growing, and you think,
:29:25. > :29:29.that's rather nice. I wonder what it is. So I have a little notebook,
:29:30. > :29:34.and I write it down and try to identify it later on. Then when I
:29:34. > :29:38.get enough, see if I can get it over this side, or try to get some
:29:38. > :29:42.when I'm next in that area and bring it back to grow, if it will
:29:42. > :29:45.grow. How do you go about protecting the garden from the
:29:45. > :29:50.elements? We learnt the hard way. We used to put plants in the ground,
:29:50. > :29:54.then two weeks later, they'd blown out of the ground. Sometimes we get
:29:54. > :29:59.70mph gusts up the valley. It would even shake the house, tremble.
:29:59. > :30:03.That's why these fences are around here as wind break. Without this
:30:03. > :30:07.mesh fencing around, which is only temporary - they've only been
:30:07. > :30:11.around ten years, but it gives these plants here chance to grow.
:30:11. > :30:16.Then later we'll take those out. Probably the next year they'll come
:30:16. > :30:20.down, but we'll get there slowly. What about the actual rocks? You
:30:20. > :30:26.can't move the largest boulders. The first thing to remember is this
:30:26. > :30:31.garden is built on scree. Therefore, whenever you dig, you find rocks,
:30:31. > :30:36.so we move out the rocks and use them to build a wall, make a raised
:30:36. > :30:40.bed. That's very good for the plants because they get the
:30:40. > :30:50.drainage. Also, as you get older, we build the walls higher, so we
:30:50. > :30:56.
:30:56. > :31:00.can actually see the plants more It's impossible not to notice lots
:31:00. > :31:04.of plants still in their pots and dotted around the garden, but Bob
:31:04. > :31:09.takes the long-term view when it comes to finding the perfect spot
:31:09. > :31:12.for each plant, and only when he feels it will thrive will he
:31:12. > :31:15.finally plant it. I get the sense that all of this
:31:16. > :31:19.sort of instant gardening is absolutely of no interest for you.
:31:19. > :31:22.It's not all about creating a finished garden. It's the process
:31:22. > :31:27.of creating the plants. That's right. It's copying nature,
:31:27. > :31:31.basically. That's whatit comes down to at the end of the day and being
:31:31. > :31:35.observant in order to notice what thinks are growing, what thinks are
:31:35. > :31:39.growing well and are handsome. The bamboos there, we propagated those
:31:39. > :31:44.from a single stem and a tiny bit of root at the bottom. You can tell
:31:44. > :31:47.by the leaves it's happy - looks happy and healthy, like a smiling
:31:47. > :31:53.face. That's what I call it. If it's smiling at you, you know it's
:31:53. > :31:57.all right. MUSIC
:31:57. > :32:01.I think what's so interesting is the way that you're using every
:32:01. > :32:06.single level, so you're going from these tiny Alpines here in the
:32:06. > :32:10.raised bed... Yes. Then you go up through the mid-storey right up
:32:10. > :32:12.into the tree canopy, so your eye just wants to travel all the way up.
:32:12. > :32:17.That's because when you're climbing a mountain, that's what you're
:32:17. > :32:20.doing - you're looking at the horizon way up there, but your eye
:32:20. > :32:25.is looking at where you're going to put your feet. There is a trillium
:32:25. > :32:30.rivale down there which looks exquisite. We have lots around, big
:32:30. > :32:34.ones and small once, but I especially like these small ones,
:32:34. > :32:37.rivale this is called. That's gorgeous. We tried various
:32:37. > :32:42.different places before we found that place. It likes that place.
:32:43. > :32:48.Put it here, it sulks. Just a couple of feet away. It reminds me
:32:48. > :32:52.of ladies, actually. Difficult? difficult - charming, but aren't in
:32:52. > :32:56.the right place. Bob's garden at Copt Howe is opening over the
:32:56. > :33:01.Easter weekend for the National Garden Scheme. It's a great day out,
:33:01. > :33:05.but if Cumbria's too far for you, there are plenty of other gardens
:33:05. > :33:10.opening for charity at the weekend, Highfields in Yorkshire, Yonder
:33:10. > :33:20.Hill in Devon and the Old Corn Mill in Herefordshire are just a few. To
:33:20. > :33:26.check the opening times and for more suggestions, go to our website.
:33:26. > :33:33.Still to come: How to sow carrots and avoid carrot
:33:33. > :33:39.root fly, a propagation master class that could save you a fortune,
:33:39. > :33:44.extreme pruning Eden style. Now, you can sea that the peas I
:33:44. > :33:50.put in, what, three, four weeks ago are coming - they haven't liked the
:33:50. > :33:53.dry weather, but they're perfectly healthy, as are the onions, garlic
:33:53. > :33:58.and shallots. The potatoes are coming through. These are the red
:33:58. > :34:02.Duke of York, but the rocket I sowed on top was washed off by a
:34:02. > :34:10.heavy shower minutes after I sowed them, and it hasn't rained since,
:34:10. > :34:16.so the best-laid plans - something I put in between just a week ago
:34:16. > :34:19.have come up nice.Ee each bed is planted with a different group of
:34:19. > :34:24.vegetables. Each year the batch moves on to the neighbouring bed.
:34:24. > :34:27.This rotation of crops means each can share the same suitable soil
:34:27. > :34:31.preparation. It also avoids the build-up of pest and disease
:34:31. > :34:41.specific to any one type of vegetable.
:34:41. > :34:47.Now, this bed is the brassica part of the rotation. I put some cavelo
:34:47. > :34:53.nero in there. This is for carrots, parsnips and the members of the
:34:53. > :34:57.same family, celery, celleriac and parsley. Now I want to plant
:34:57. > :35:02.carrots and parsnips. And they like a soil that hasn't
:35:02. > :35:07.been freshly manured and doesn't have too many stones. Drainage is
:35:07. > :35:11.good. And the raised beds will help
:35:11. > :35:16.drainage. When it comes to sowing carrots, most people sow them in
:35:16. > :35:22.rows, but this is a technique which seems to work fairly well. I use
:35:22. > :35:26.two boards, which stops me treading on the soil, and I put one like
:35:26. > :35:30.that and then flip it over, and I broadcast my carrot seed in the
:35:30. > :35:36.space between the boards. Now, I've got quite a few different carrots
:35:36. > :35:41.here. I've got Autumn King, which is a good main stock carrot, and as
:35:41. > :35:50.its name implys will sit through winter, Yellow Stone. I have what I
:35:50. > :35:56.want to plant today which I bought in Italy. Nant carrots are good for
:35:56. > :36:00.early sowings. They mature fast, have a shorter root, very sweet,
:36:00. > :36:04.and so a good choice at this time of year. I would like to do another
:36:04. > :36:09.sowing of carrots around about the end of May, early June, which is a
:36:09. > :36:14.good way of skipping the carrot fly cycle, but very small seed. You can
:36:14. > :36:19.see that, and this is a big packet of seed, sort of a lot. I just take
:36:19. > :36:27.a sprinkle like that and just scatter them quite thinly. I don't
:36:27. > :36:32.worry if it's too even. Maybe just another little flourish at the end,
:36:32. > :36:37.and that's good. Now, the point of broadcasting them is I won't thin
:36:37. > :36:40.them. I'll leave them like that and then pull them as I want to eat
:36:40. > :36:45.them, and it's thinning that attracts the carrot fly more than
:36:45. > :36:49.anything else because when you pull up a carrot, however small it is
:36:50. > :36:55.you, the human, can smell that lovely carroty, sweet smell. Well,
:36:55. > :37:00.if you can smell it, every carrot fly for about half a mile can smell
:37:00. > :37:04.it too, and they will come zipping over, lay their eggs on the soil on
:37:05. > :37:08.the neck of the carrot. Then when the larvae hatch out, they'll
:37:08. > :37:12.burrow into your roots. We want to disturb them as little as possible.
:37:12. > :37:22.The system I've got is we have them like that. All I'm going to do is
:37:22. > :37:32.flip that over on top, flick this over again and then flip that again
:37:32. > :37:34.
:37:34. > :37:40.and that again, and that's my next Although parsnips are closely
:37:40. > :37:43.related to carrots, they're better son in rows than broadcast. That's
:37:43. > :37:48.because we want larger roots and spaced two to three inches apart.
:37:48. > :37:52.Try to sow them as thin as you can. The seeds are large, so it's
:37:52. > :37:57.relatively easy to space them out. However, they're relatively slow to
:37:57. > :38:02.germinate. So it's a good idea to sow some radish along the same row.
:38:02. > :38:07.These will grow and be harvested before they compete with the young
:38:07. > :38:12.parsnip seeds. I've got some parsley seedlings that I sowed
:38:12. > :38:17.under cover into modules, and parsley is part of the same family
:38:17. > :38:22.as carrots and parsnips, also thinking of parsley and parsnips, a
:38:22. > :38:26.parsley root wants to be that big. It wants to be like a parsnip, and
:38:26. > :38:31.the top wants to be about 18 inches to two foot high, so it needs room,
:38:32. > :38:37.so if you plant it with generous spacing, and by "generous", I
:38:37. > :38:41.reckon a good hand span, which in my case is about nine, ten inches,
:38:41. > :38:46.and the plants will grow strong and healthy, and you can have repeated
:38:46. > :38:50.pickings. Now, growing herbs or vegetables is about as earthy as
:38:50. > :38:55.you can get, but at the Eden Project down in Cornwall, they have
:38:55. > :39:05.been so successful, that they've got a problem which needs a
:39:05. > :39:10.
:39:10. > :39:14.In the ten years since the Eden Project opened, a horticultural
:39:14. > :39:24.challenge has changed from getting the trees to grow to getting them
:39:24. > :39:26.
:39:26. > :39:31.Because of our special conditions we have here, I love levels on
:39:31. > :39:34.anything like the tropics. Plants have to take advantage of any light
:39:35. > :39:38.there is, so these trees push through very, very fast, so our
:39:38. > :39:43.trees sometimes tend to grow straight up instead of stretching
:39:43. > :39:48.out when they should do, so we're trying to simulate these different
:39:48. > :39:54.levels of canopy, and it's an interesting challenge. Lavender but
:39:54. > :39:58.how do you prune when the branches you want to reach are over 150 feet
:39:58. > :40:02.above the ground and hemmed in by other trees? Started off when the
:40:03. > :40:07.trees were small with long-arm saws, then as the trees grew, we needed a
:40:07. > :40:10.cherry picker, then we started absailing off the roof dangling off
:40:10. > :40:15.this steel work here, which is a bit scary, but it takes a long time
:40:15. > :40:25.to rig the ropes and transfer from one to the other, so the balloon is
:40:25. > :40:26.
:40:26. > :40:31.perfect. It's a helium-filled balloon. Original thrif, used by
:40:31. > :40:35.canopy researchers in plass like Guyana and South-East Asia to
:40:35. > :40:40.access flowers and insects in the rain forest canopy, but we thought
:40:40. > :40:46.it would be a really simple solution for pruning jobs, planting,
:40:46. > :40:51.checking the plants for health. It's a bit of a juggling act, and
:40:51. > :40:54.there are all sorts of things to consider - where the balloon is in
:40:54. > :40:58.relation to the trees around you and the structure. Sometimes it's
:40:58. > :41:04.hard to get to certain places because there is a tree canopy that
:41:04. > :41:10.is blocking your way. It's quite tricky to manoeuvre that balloon. I
:41:10. > :41:14.have tried various technique over the years, but the hook system is
:41:14. > :41:18.really useful. You can make your way around like Spiderman sort of
:41:19. > :41:22.thing. Sometimes it doesn't go to plan, but it's not like I'm going
:41:22. > :41:26.to drift off into the stratosphere. Helium is balanced by the weight of
:41:26. > :41:30.the gardener and a water tank, which can be filled or emptiedso
:41:30. > :41:39.that the balloon will almost hang in midair. It's a very elegant way
:41:39. > :41:45.to garden. 80% of all life in rain forest is up in the forest canopy,
:41:45. > :41:52.so now we want to start adding that second layer of planting, so we
:41:52. > :41:56.want to add the Brom you'llids, or kids and talansias that live in the
:41:56. > :42:06.rain forest canopy. We can now do this with the balloon. It's a nice
:42:06. > :42:06.
:42:07. > :42:11.tool to use. We can get some of What I love about it is the kind of
:42:11. > :42:15.architecture of the plants. You can really see the leaf forms and the
:42:15. > :42:20.structure of the palms, in particular, that you just can't
:42:20. > :42:24.really see as well from the ground. It's just fantastic views from up
:42:24. > :42:29.there. Also, I love being up there because you can't see any weeds and
:42:29. > :42:32.jobs that need doing. It just looks stunning and pristine. It's a very
:42:32. > :42:42.important, serious piece of equipment. It just happens to be
:42:42. > :42:51.
:42:51. > :42:56.The Eden Project would be a great family day out over the Easter
:42:56. > :43:00.holiday but if you don't live in the south-west, dried spaghetti,
:43:00. > :43:06.the Alnwick Garden, Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire and
:43:06. > :43:10.countless National Trust gardens all over the UK are putting on
:43:10. > :43:15.special events all over the weekend. You can find more information on
:43:15. > :43:18.our website. And if you're not planning to go out and about over
:43:18. > :43:24.Easter, there is plenty to be getting on with in your own garden.
:43:24. > :43:28.Now is the perfect moment to move any evergreen trees or shrubs. Dig
:43:28. > :43:31.the plant up with as much root as possible, then transfer them to the
:43:31. > :43:35.planting hole, filling it with water before you back fill with
:43:35. > :43:45.soil. Make sure it doesn't dry out, and you'll find it will grow again
:43:45. > :43:45.
:43:46. > :43:50.very quickly at this time of year. Also, now is a good time to be
:43:50. > :43:54.sowing biennials such as these wall flowers, for colour next spring.
:43:54. > :43:59.Scatter the seed thinly in a seed tray ready to be pricked out later
:43:59. > :44:02.on. It's a slow process, growing these, but well worth the wait
:44:02. > :44:12.because it will give you masses of colour next spring when the garden
:44:12. > :44:17.
:44:17. > :44:21.Most of the work in this garden recently has been based around
:44:21. > :44:27.planting, dividing, moving plants, particularly in the Jewel Garden
:44:27. > :44:31.because we gave it a revamp and are in the process of replanting it.
:44:31. > :44:35.Now is the perfect time to get herbaceous perennials in. They are
:44:35. > :44:43.growing fast. The clock is ticking. The Jewel Garden is based on a
:44:43. > :44:49.colour scheme. You have diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires,
:44:49. > :44:55.emeralds. So the best form of pure colour is Drew herbaceous
:44:55. > :44:59.perennials. When you come home with a car full of plants, the instinct
:44:59. > :45:03.to get them in the ground is exciting, it feels like the process
:45:03. > :45:07.is being held back if you do not get on with it. But actually I urge
:45:07. > :45:14.you to place them in their pots, have a look, of walk around. Leave
:45:14. > :45:19.them overnight, come back the next day. Unless you have a plan of
:45:19. > :45:23.exactly placing each plant, which we have never had, it is all about
:45:23. > :45:27.instinct, feeling, you will have a good feel for when a plant is in
:45:27. > :45:33.the right place. M going to leave those but I will get them in the
:45:33. > :45:40.ground by the end of the weekend. But I can start planting right away
:45:40. > :45:47.these. This is iris deep black. Not grown it before but I want it for
:45:47. > :45:52.its pure rich purple. It is almost black. It is taking purple as far
:45:52. > :45:59.as it will go, that intensity is right for the Jewel Garden. It is
:45:59. > :46:09.important with iris to give them as much sun as you can give them.
:46:09. > :46:12.
:46:12. > :46:19.Over the years we have learnt that the effect of neighbouring plants
:46:19. > :46:29.can be as damaging in terms of Shahed as a wall, or tree. --
:46:29. > :46:30.
:46:30. > :46:40.Shahed. -- shade. That is why I am putting them here. Iris needs to
:46:40. > :46:54.
:46:54. > :47:01.bake. This is heavy soil. So I'm You have this on the surface, take
:47:01. > :47:08.it out of the pot, you have a decent root system beneath. It is
:47:08. > :47:12.essential you keep this above the soil level. Do not bury it. That
:47:12. > :47:18.wants to break, the more it can bake, the better the flowers will
:47:18. > :47:21.be the following year. If we plant that about that kind of depth, you
:47:21. > :47:27.can see this is on the surface, the feeding roots are down below,
:47:27. > :47:32.getting all the nutrients and the plant will be healthy. These plants
:47:32. > :47:36.have been bought. But it is much cheaper, and actually just as
:47:36. > :47:40.exciting, to generate your own plant material from Stock you have.
:47:40. > :47:46.Whether it be from cuttings, seeds and so on. When it comes to
:47:46. > :47:56.propagating plants there is nobody who does it better, or knows more
:47:56. > :47:59.
:47:59. > :48:06.Look at this beautiful plant! One of the most exquisite things in the
:48:06. > :48:11.garden. When I see it at this time of year I think right, I am going
:48:11. > :48:16.to propagated, make more! Then I forget about it. It is the perfect
:48:16. > :48:22.time for so much propagation. You can feel everything growing. I
:48:22. > :48:29.suppose most of my garden has been propagated from seed cuttings
:48:29. > :48:33.division. And quite a bit of it from basal cuttings. That is how
:48:33. > :48:42.I'm going to make more of this. I am slipping my knife right down at
:48:42. > :48:46.the base of the stem, where it joins on to the root stock. I and
:48:46. > :48:56.detaching pieces. You are looking for shoots that are not flowered if
:48:56. > :48:56.
:48:57. > :49:03.Now was the perfect time to take cuttings from a huge range of
:49:03. > :49:07.plants. Take advantage of their rapid spring growth. For more
:49:07. > :49:17.information about which plants you can propagate right now, visit our
:49:17. > :49:19.
:49:19. > :49:24.website. Take this off, then I can really get to work. A clay pot
:49:24. > :49:30.which I am filling with this very gritty compost. It is important
:49:30. > :49:40.when you do any kind of cutting that you have well-drained compost.
:49:40. > :49:42.
:49:42. > :49:49.Feel it right up to the top. -- fill. Give it a smart tap to settle
:49:49. > :49:56.it. These are long cuttings, but strong. No. Attending these kind of
:49:56. > :50:03.cuttings when the stem is -- There is no use attempting these kind of
:50:03. > :50:07.cuttings when the stem is hollow, it has to be solid. We do not even
:50:07. > :50:11.need to take more off there because I have cut it so clean. I will take
:50:11. > :50:15.a couple of these off because the cutting no longer has the roots of
:50:15. > :50:19.the plant to draw up moisture or and it will keep on transpiring
:50:19. > :50:25.through these leaves. So if you remove a few it means there is less
:50:25. > :50:35.stress on it while it is concentrating on making routes. I
:50:35. > :50:44.
:50:44. > :50:51.am pushing it right down inside so This grit will keep any weeds down,
:50:51. > :51:01.retain moisture or and also stop them rotting round the top. One
:51:01. > :51:13.
:51:13. > :51:18.good watering, then into its final I have a lot of half-hardy annuals
:51:18. > :51:24.in here and they are ready now to be pricked out. They do not wait
:51:24. > :51:27.for you! They have such energy, they want to get on with it. If you
:51:27. > :51:36.miss the time, they turn into pathetic little plants, so you
:51:36. > :51:42.really have to keep them on the move. This cosmos is really ready.
:51:42. > :51:46.It is so important with these half- hardy ones to keep them moving. As
:51:46. > :51:51.soon as you see there is true Leeds, you have to get in there and
:51:51. > :51:56.separate them. It is vitally important to pick them up by the
:51:56. > :52:01.sea to Leeds. They are dispensable so if they get damaged the plant
:52:01. > :52:08.will still get over it. But if you start bending stalks and bashing
:52:08. > :52:16.through leaves and damaging roads, then it will not. It is strange to
:52:16. > :52:25.think that this tiny little plant is going to turn itself into a 3 ft,
:52:25. > :52:29.or metre giant later on! Last to ride decided there was too much of
:52:29. > :52:33.this in his bed, so I lifted up a couple of clumps, meaning to give
:52:33. > :52:43.them a new position. I put them into pots temporarily and topped
:52:43. > :52:48.them up with compost. That is exactly where they have stayed. I
:52:48. > :52:54.am lucky. They have been very forgiving despite my neglect. When
:52:54. > :52:58.you get to this stage you have two options. You can either separate
:52:58. > :53:07.them into big clumps and replant them into the garden, or you can
:53:07. > :53:15.pull them apart and make this nice sound when I do it. These can going
:53:15. > :53:25.to pots. -- go in at two pots and just stay there, growing and
:53:25. > :53:33.
:53:33. > :53:41.entirely new route system. -- into pots. This is Stafford, a lovely,
:53:41. > :53:45.dark daylily. It would be good to have a few more in the hotbed. That
:53:45. > :53:51.is seven really good plants out of that clump. They look a bit
:53:51. > :53:55.dishevelled at the moment. I could trim these leaves back just as I
:53:55. > :54:05.did with those, to reduce the stress, but I think they will perk
:54:05. > :54:09.
:54:09. > :54:14.up. Good watering, they will be There is no question that
:54:14. > :54:19.generating your own plants gives more satisfaction than anything
:54:19. > :54:22.else in gardening. However, most people do buy plants at some stage.
:54:22. > :54:28.If you are shopping for plants this weekend, make sure they are good
:54:28. > :54:33.quality. You can see without any horticultural experience that this
:54:33. > :54:40.is healthy. The leaves are green and glossy, it has a good bushy
:54:40. > :54:44.spread, substance, it is not too tall and floppy. Look at the routes.
:54:44. > :54:49.Carefully put your hand on top of the compost, but not crushing the
:54:49. > :54:59.plant, to bit over and take it out of the pot. You can see it has a
:54:59. > :54:59.
:54:59. > :55:04.nice root system. Healthy plant, healthy top. Carefully put it back
:55:04. > :55:13.in, then you have not damaged it. You Inspector your goods, you can
:55:13. > :55:18.then pay with confidence knowing it will do what it says it will.
:55:18. > :55:27.Another purple, which is different from the irises, one of my
:55:27. > :55:34.favourites. It is a simple plant to grow because once you get it right
:55:34. > :55:43.it just performs. Every year! Michael clematis it does like rich
:55:43. > :55:52.soil and plenty of moisture. -- like all clematis. It needs a
:55:52. > :55:57.substantial haul because I want to put in plenty of compost. -- hole.
:55:57. > :56:02.I normally say do not add compost in great quantities, but clematis
:56:02. > :56:08.always do better if they can get plenty of moisture. What the
:56:08. > :56:12.compost will be doing is not feeding the clematis so much as
:56:12. > :56:22.holding the moisture. So really I have digging a pit, a couple of
:56:22. > :56:28.
:56:29. > :56:34.feet deep, which I will fill up I have brought with me compost that
:56:34. > :56:44.is not finally rotted. This is from the middle they. I have added in
:56:44. > :56:50.
:56:50. > :56:58.some Auld hey. Straw would do, even You can see the characteristic
:56:58. > :57:05.yellow roots of the clematis. This just as a couple stems. As it get
:57:05. > :57:15.older it will become multi- stemmed. It will have half-a-dozen all more
:57:15. > :57:18.
:57:18. > :57:28.growing out of the base. -- half-a- dozen, or more. Back fillet gently.
:57:28. > :57:29.
:57:29. > :57:35.Then give it a good soak. Quite a few of these plants and others from
:57:35. > :57:41.the Jewel Garden will be available at a stall at hour event from 15th
:57:41. > :57:48.June to 19th June. All the proceeds of those plants sales will go to
:57:48. > :57:53.Children In Need, so another good reason to come and enjoy the show!
:57:53. > :57:59.I'm putting up a good support for it because by late summer that will
:57:59. > :58:09.be 10 ft tall, and a great column of this wonderful maroon, purple
:58:09. > :58:22.