Episode 11 Gardeners' World

Hello, welcome to Gardeners' World.

Now we've got four days of holidays thanks to the Diamond Jubilee,

and tonight's programme is full of ideas

and inspiration on how best to spend them.

Most of us have a tricky corner within our garden.

But this week, Carol is helping a gardener

whose plants are more exposed to the elements than most.

As with any difficult environment, it's a great idea to get out

and see exactly how nature copes with similar sorts of places.

The long weekend is a great opportunity for gardening,

but it's also a good time to visit some gardens as well.

We take a peek around the gardens of Feckenham in Worcestershire

on its open weekend.

And I'll be planting cauliflowers in my veg garden, as well as pots

that will give me colour right through into autumn.

Now, this is a turning point in the year, really.

Once we reach June, I reckon that you can risk the weather,

you can gamble with it.

Although I have known frosts in June, they're pretty unlikely.

Of course that's tempting fate in a big way!

But I think that now is the time

when you can take plants that have been protected for months

and put them out in the garden. I'm talking about tender things like cannas

and I've got dahlias in here.

We've got masses of plants, nearly all of them

propagated here over the last four, five months.

Right.

Now, I've got some lovely new pots here for the dual garden.

They're very simple but they're quite big,

and therefore the planting needs to be big to go with it.

What I want to do today is to start planting them up.

The thing with a big container, it doesn't matter

if it's terracotta, an old sink, a bucket with a few holes in it,

is that it can be a really dramatic centrepiece.

The first thing you do with a pot

is you've got to think about drainage.

Broken terracotta pots, the ideal thing.

But anything will do, stones, broken bricks, polystyrene chips,

they work perfectly well, and that enables you

to move a pot around more easily so it's not so heavy.

But if it's anywhere where the wind is going to blow it, you want a nice, solid, heavy base.

So I'm going to put the crocks in the bottom.

Make sure that's sitting steady on the bricks.

By the way, I've raised it up simply to get it to the same height as the hedge

rather than because it needs it.

It needs to be off the ground just a millimetre or two,

as long as the water can drain away.

A really big container,

whether it's a terracotta pot or an old tin bath,

it doesn't matter what it is,

is going to be an important feature in your garden.

You want it to last right through into autumn.

It's really important that the compost you put in sustains it.

I use a mixture that provides good drainage and nutrition

as well as being moisture-retentive.

It's made up of one third bought peat-free potting compost, one third home-made compost,

and the final third an equal mixture of leaf mould and grit.

If you don't have these ingredients, you can use straight potting compost.

But be prepared to feed your pot after about four weeks.

The centrepiece is going to be a canna.

Now, this is Canna "Wyoming".

It's got these dark, dark leaves and will have an orange flower.

Cannas like the richest possible conditions you can give them.

Lots of heat, lots of feed, lots of water.

Around that I'm also going to add dahlias.

I've got "Arabian Night" and "Bishop of Llandaff".

"Arabian Night" has got this rich, intense red,

and "Bishop of Llandaff" famously with the yellow centre.

I'm doing it in the round, because it is going to be looked at from every direction.

That's got the big parts.

I've got the big, central piece, and this canna can grow right up here.

It's a big, dramatic plant, and the dahlias growing two, three times as big.

Now, I've got some chocolate cosmos.

This is Cosmos atrosanguineus,

which has the most fabulously chocolatey scent.

And that will go in there.

Now I'm going to add a little bit of soil round that

and then top it up with my last ingredient.

What I'm going to use is straight compost on the top,

because that will work in easier.

My mixture is rather sticky - it's quite like a rich fruitcake.

I've got a tray of petunias here.

I want to keep it vibrant, I don't want to be too solemn,

but it is important that when you're planting any container

is to choose a colour theme and stick to it.

If you have lots of different colours going on,

you end up with a mishmash.

I think these will help.

And this, by the way, is "Surfinia"...Petunia "Burgundy".

In you go there, my dear.

Don't fill the soil up too close to the top.

You want to have room to water - a good two inches on a pot this big.

Goodness beneath it, sunshine above it,

surrounded by glorious plants, going to be good.

Now, we all love visiting gardens.

In fact, 15 million of us go and visit gardens every year,

particularly at a bank holiday weekend.

It's not just the great and the good gardens,

however inspiring they might be.

Every kind of garden can be fascinating.

We went along to the village of Feckenham in Worcestershire,

where over a couple of days, over 30 gardens opened up to the public.

I'm Catherine Fisher

and I organise the Feckenham Flower and Garden Festival.

I took it on nine years ago, and it is a huge event to organise,

but I do enjoy it.

Feckenham is a charming village.

There's a variety of different buildings.

Village pub,

the village green,

the village shop,

two churches,

the cricket club...

Pretty much everything is covered.

This is a very pretty front garden.

The couple who live here spend a lot of time in their garden

and they're great supporters of the festival.

This was the butcher's, this was the farmhouse,

and this was the slaughterhouse, which is now converted into a home.

My mum used to live there.

This is the Old Black Boy,

which is probably one of the highlights of the festival.

It's a stunning garden

with this lovely courtyard

and a beautiful informally planted country garden at the rear.

-Oh, Betty, nice to see you.

-Nice to see you.

-How's the garden?

This is what I call the camel, because of the way he looks.

It was originally an old apple tree which was dead,

with a rose growing up it, and it was a shame to lose the rose,

so we felled the apple tree and managed to keep the rose.

They're an amazing group of people, these garden owners,

they're so enthusiastic.

So this is my living room, and I've put a temporary corridor in,

borrowing scrims from the village hall.

I've had to protect my wooden floor,

because there could be between 1,000 and 2,000 people

walking through my house and my garden.

This part of the garden gets no direct sunlight at all

for six months of the year.

It's a question of finding anything that will grow,

and then I just let it go rampant.

I've never liked yellow-leaved plants, but in a shady garden,

they really make a difference.

It brings you a bit of light and sparkle where there wasn't any.

We usually rent properties

because we really can't afford to buy them where we'd like to live.

What we do is, every time we need to move on,

we take part of our herbaceous plants with us by dividing them

and leave a garden behind and then use the plants

that we've divided to make a new garden

wherever we decide to live next.

It's 12:10, and people have started arriving.

In fact, some people arrived at 11:30,

when we were still setting up,

so it's slowly becoming quite busy here on the square.

The gardens here are so special because they're all so different.

I think people coming to see them appreciate that

and I think it's the backdrop and the age of the property

and do the gardens look good with them

which I think is the really special thing.

There's wild gardens, there's very cultivated areas,

there's lots of people who've got their little allotment sections,

you know, something for everybody.

This is my favourite way into the garden -

it's a dear little cloister.

Don't know when it was built,

but it's got very pretty shapes.

And then we go in.

I've always thought that circles are magical things.

The circles are everywhere in this garden.

I've tried to make the yews circular,

I've made the trees as circular as I can.

We put the circle into this paving,

the pond, and then I suddenly had the idea

that it would be fun to put circles into the lawn.

It's like crop circles, almost!

SHE LAUGHS

It's wonderful.

37 gardens, but we're doing well,

so I think we might actually cover them all.

And an ice cream in the middle somewhere!

You see people growing things, you think, "I could do that."

That's what I like about it.

There is a particularly lovely atmosphere around

for the Flower and Garden Festival.

Everyone pulls together to make it a successful event.

It's been fantastic.

And for a list of open gardens to visit over the next few weeks,

go to our website...

I like that kind of garden visiting.

The expectations may be a little lower than visiting a grand garden,

but the rewards are just as high, and it's a communal experience -

you're dipping in and out of people's lives

as well as their gardens - and you always learn something to take home.

These are peonies.

Peonies are one of those plants that immediately make me feel nostalgic

for a sort of Edwardian age.

Somewhere between a rose and a water lily - fantastic plants.

Not necessarily terribly fashionable, but they improve any garden.

There are two types of peony - tree peonies and herbaceous peonies.

I've got both here.

The tree peony, which has a woody structure,

which stays throughout its lifetime and can grow really quite big,

and herbaceous peonies, which, like all herbaceous plants,

die back every winter

and then grow their foliage and new flowers every spring.

I'm going to plant the tree peony first.

I've chosen this corner to plant the tree peony for two reasons.

One, because it's slightly shaded.

It's a tall plant, it'll grow to about seven foot tall,

so the white flowers will shine out of the shade.

Two, because it's sheltered from winds.

One of the important things about tree peonies,

which are fundamentally tough shrubs

growing on mountain sides with fairly poor soil,

is that they can be damaged by wind.

These are tough plants, but there is one key thing to remember

when you're planting a tree peony, and that is to plant it deep.

You don't just plant it to the pot level, but I'm going to sink it

another two, three or even four inches up the stem.

I'm not adding anything to this, but if you've got very heavy soil,

it's probably not a bad idea to add some grit to improve drainage,

or if you've got exceptionally light soil,

a little bit of compost added in just to improve moisture retention.

Right, I'll give that a good soak and then just mulch it

to keep it weed-free and keep the moisture in, and that's it.

The only thing I will do is dead-head it once the flowers finish.

If you dead-head tree peonies, they grow much stronger,

and you'll get better flowers the next year.

I've given the tree peony the protection it needs,

but the herbaceous peonies can take a much more exposed site.

In fact, they'll thrive in full sunlight.

Which we'll do here. I'll put one either side.

This is a white peony called "Duchesse de Nemours" -

fantastic double white flowers with really good fragrance.

I'm going to pop it in here - rich soil, good drainage,

lots of sun - and it should thrive.

Peonies respond to good soil.

If your soil is anything less than pretty much ideal, add some compost.

Having said all that, I'm not going to, because I don't need to.

They'll be fine in there.

There is one crucial difference with herbaceous peonies to tree peonies,

and that is the planting depth.

You should not plant herbaceous peonies too deep.

They need to be planted shallow,

or even proud of the soil, for two reasons.

They're both to do with weather.

They need sunshine, to encourage them to grow,

but they also need cold in winter.

That will trigger growth as they warm up.

If you bury them too deep, that insulates them from the cold.

So expose them to the elements,

and as long as they get sunshine, they'll do really well.

The one thing about peonies that one often hears

is that they fail to flower,

and the most common cause of that is because they've been moved.

Even as recently as three or four years,

they really don't like being moved at all,

so when you're choosing a position for a peony, think about it,

plan it, put it in the ground and then leave it alone.

Other than that,

they're really very easy plants to grow.

There's always problems in the garden, but luckily,

Carol is there to sort them out

and this week, she's gone to the seaside.

Our coastline is one of our greatest natural treasures.

For plants, being so exposed to high winds and salt air

can also make it a very inhospitable place.

So when we received a letter from a viewer whose garden

was finding life on the edge quite a struggle,

we went along to see exactly what the problem was.

I'm David Shaw.

I'm the owner of Belle Tout Lighthouse here at Beachy Head.

I bought it in 2008 and renovated and restored it.

We've got a real problem here -

we'd like to plant some nice plants and flowers that will survive.

They're fairly extreme conditions up here.

The wind is fairly blustery today,

but this is nothing compared with what it can be like.

The salt air doesn't help.

So what I would really appreciate is some help and advice

in finding plants to get in the planters

so that we can have some plants that look attractive

but, the main thing is, will survive,

which we've not managed to do so far.

Well, David, those are what you'd call extreme conditions.

But as with any difficult environment, it's a great idea

to get out and see exactly how nature copes with similar sorts of places.

Here on this shingle beach, there are all manner of plants

that don't just survive but absolutely thrive.

Here's a plant that's truly in its element.

This is Crambe maritima, otherwise known as sea kale,

and it's got these glorious, tough, leathery kind of leaves.

It just loves it here, and I think a plant like this

would really thrive in Dave's sort of situation.

There are other plants too, like bittersweet, a solanum.

It's a nightshade and it survives here by being very low,

almost prostrate, and popping its head up

here and there through the pebbles.

To give David some inspiration,

I'm visiting a garden in Selsey, West Sussex,

that's as close to the sea as you can get!

Yet its owner, Liz Shackleton,

has learnt how to live in harmony with all that nature throws at her.

So is this what you call a relatively calm day?

This is an extremely calm day!

We get storms here, winds of 120 miles an hour,

and the sea breaking against the sea wall

and just spraying over the house.

Liz moved in here just six years ago,

when the garden was just a lawn of plantain and thrift.

When I came, I came from Suffolk, and it was very different.

Failures were expensive and many and heartbreaking.

So you learn from them quite quickly?

You learn quite quickly and you learn how to deal with the wind.

The wind is the killer.

Liz has spent the last few years carefully observing

what effect the wind, sun and sea here in Selsey have on her garden.

It just proves that with a bit of patience,

persistence and a lot of luck, you can grow a garden almost anywhere.

Your Rosa rugosa seems to survive happily?

After the first year, it seems to get its roots in

and starts to grow and flower.

It's a seaside rose, it comes from the seashore in Japan,

so it's perfect.

Well, it's a delight here, the perfume, the flowers,

the hips, the foliage...

-What more could you want?

-What more could you want, indeed?

-I love the sea campion.

-That's my favourite.

I think it's so beautifully marked.

Very glaucous, quite thick leaves.

I bet these flowers just manage whatever the weather, don't they?

They do, that's why they're there.

-And this erigeron?

-Oh, wonderful!

Even in the winter, you get this sort of moulded shape.

I love the way this helichrysum just makes these beautiful big mounds.

They're fantastic and real stalwarts -

they keep going through everything.

-And those marigolds are so vivid, aren't they?

-They're great.

Very ordinary plant, but they work so well here,

and the oranges and yellows, which go fantastically

with the greys and blues.

One packet of seed goes a long way -

as they flower and then die off,

all the seed goes into the shingle, which is my seed bed.

As the garden has matured,

then you're getting smaller areas of microclimate and more shelter,

because the plants are more established.

You cannot plant a garden like this all at once.

You have to wait for it to evolve.

David, I'm sure you'll agree that

Liz's garden is just packed with ideas and inspiration

that will help both you and anybody else

who has to contend with the same sort of harsh conditions

in coastal gardens all around the UK.

For a list of my choice of plants that will thrive

in these extreme conditions, go to our website...

I cleared the last leeks the other day, which has left room,

and that's really good, because it means I can get some brassicas out.

Now, we've all kinds of brassicas growing.

Cauliflowers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,

various types of cabbage,

and they will all grow well in these two plots,

following on from the alliums, onions, leeks, garlic

and then the spuds when I lift those round about July, August time.

Brassicas are hungry plants, so if you've got any,

add a layer of compost and work it into the soil.

Right, that's the grown-up bit.

This is where all assembled children present should come and give a hand.

Of course, this technique has been refined over the years.

There is method behind this.

What I'm doing is firming the soil,

so that the roots will have a really firm anchor in the ground.

All brassicas suffer from root rock if they move around,

particularly cauliflowers, which I'm putting in here.

If they are too lose, you'll get small cauliflower heads.

So, good, firm ground is going to help in every possible way.

Now, planting brassica will inevitably involve some implement,

because you shouldn't be able to use your fingers.

It is important to give them plenty of space.

I think two foot apart is the minimum distance.

These are purple cauliflower, "Violet Queen",

so look good as well as tasting really good.

In there, and then really firming down.

I can feel rain in the air.

I think there's going to be a downpour soon,

but I want to net this before anything happens.

I never used to have to net brassicas,

but we do have pigeon problems, and a net will keep them off.

And also, if the net's fine enough,

it will keep off cabbage white butterflies and stop them

laying their eggs, which in turn will stop the caterpillars

hatching out and tearing a crop to shreds.

A net is a good thing, and I can see the rain now.

You need to keep it high enough

to make sure the pigeons won't land on it and bend it down,

and tight enough to make sure that

songbirds don't land on it and get caught in the netting.

And secure enough, particularly along the edges,

to stop the butterflies getting in any nook and cranny,

so I'll have to go round and fix it all the way round the bottom.

That's not rain - it's hail!

I'll finish that.

I think even the pigeons and the butterflies

will take shelter in this.

OK, I'm off.

THUNDER RUMBLES

That may look like a pretty poor showing of asparagus,

but believe you me, it's a heck of a sight better

than it was a few weeks ago.

I planted it last year

and I tried a new technique of just direct planting,

rather than putting them in a trench,

which is the conventional way, and they came up fine.

And then this spring, absolutely nothing.

Not a tiny little showing well into April.

I was beginning to think I'd lost the entire crop

and then I heard that everybody was having asparagus problems,

that it was at least 10 days behind

and a lot of people seeing no growth at all.

I have to say, I was delighted that it wasn't just me!

It's been a funny year for asparagus.

I've let it grow, let it get nice and strong,

and then next year, I'll begin the harvesting routine.

So, nothing to do except keep it weeded.

However, here are some things that you CAN be doing this weekend.

Now the nights are getting warmer,

it's a good time to plant out tomatoes,

either in an unheated greenhouse

or in a very warm, sheltered spot outside.

Either way, plant tomatoes as deep as the first set of leaves.

This will hold them steady and increase the root growth,

and therefore the nutrient uptake, for the plant.

Either have a strong support system in place

or leave room to put one in before the plants get too big.

Sawfly can strip redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries

of all their leaves at this time of year.

The best way to deter them

is to keep the centre of the plants clean of all new shoots.

This stops the flies laying their eggs and the grubs hatching out

and munching their way through the plants.

Any climbing roses will have put on a lot of new growth,

and this should be tied in.

Young plants need a framework established,

and even mature plants should have new growth fixed in place

while it's pliant and easy to handle

and also before it breaks in any high wind.

Well, that's it for this week.

I've one last piece of advice -

if you do nothing else this weekend in your garden,

make sure you give yourself time

just to stop and enjoy it for a minute or two.

See you next week. Bye-bye.

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