Episode 7 Gardeners' World

Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.

Just for a few days at the end of April,

you have this sequence of blossom,

all sharing the same space at the same time in the garden.

So you have the rich fullness of the crab apple

and then that mass of flower on the perry pear

and the Thai haiku in great goblets of flower.

It's just this sumptuousness of trees

filled with flower set against the spring sky.

This week, we celebrate the charms of Pulmonaria.

Carol finds them growing in the wild, as well as meeting

a gardener whose exceptional collection

had a surprise addition to the family.

It had a baby.

As they do, cos they're quite promiscuous.

Any new vegetable growing tricks are always welcome

and Joe has found a vegetable grower in West Yorkshire

whose ingenious methods are already paying dividends.

Wow! Look at your salads! They're miles further on than mine.

We all like our gardens to be full of colour

and this week we meet someone whose fantastic display

is down to their devotion to the lily in all its forms.

The spring garden is now a complete, solid carpet of flowers

and I love it like this.

But the truth is, most of those so-called flowers are weeds.

They're not unwelcome but they are weeds and they can be thuggish.

There's cow parsley and Jack-in-the-hedge

and celandine and it's all spreading through it.

Whilst I'm not going to rip 'em all out -

I think that would look horrid just with bare soil -

if I'm not careful, they take over everything

and you lose the precious plants that you want to keep.

The way that I cope is, rather than weeding it all out,

I just plant into it.

These beds are essentially a little piece of woodland,

but if you've got in your garden a shady border

with trees or shrubs over the top, it's essentially mimicking a wood,

so you need to choose woodland perennials that will thrive in it.

The first one I'm going to plant is Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba'.

It's got these beautiful, hanging, idiosyncratic flowers.

You can get it... Dicentra spectabilis has pink flowers

and the white will work really well in this bit.

So if I just chop out a section...

All these woodland plants like an open, loose soil,

which is why I've brought some leaf mould with me.

If you put that underneath it, particularly if your soil's

a bit heavy or very sandy, that will give them the growing conditions they love.

If you haven't got it, well, an open compost,

a bark compost or garden compost will do the job.

So Dicentra, which needs moist shade, will do fine in here.

There it goes.

Pack some leaf mould around it.

Now, that is cutting into the influx of the cow parsley

and yet melding with it.

That will spread by seed and it is the best way to let it spread

and then just gather the seedlings

if you want to move them and replant them.

OK. That's in place there.

Now, the next one I'm going to plant is very different.

This is Corydalis flexuosa.

It comes from China and is a delicate, very beautiful plant.

It likes woodland conditions with fairly moist soil and shade.

You do need to keep dividing it regularly so it can renew itself.

The final plant I'm putting in is Solomon's seal.

This flowers in May with great arching glauca stems

and greenish flowers hanging from them.

It thrives in damp shade

and if a hosta is growing happily

you know a Solomon's seal will be happy there too.

It spreads by shallow rhizomes and it's best not to divide it

but let it quietly establish its own colony.

Now, that's a start. I'll add more of these plants

to keep the feeling I want in this part of the garden,

which are chosen plants being supported by welcome weeds,

rather than being threatened by them.

With a light touch, I can just keep that feeling

rolling down the seasons.

Talking of seasons, a flower that is still going strong

and was flowering in February were Pulmonarias.

They have a particular charm which I love. It's a kind of modest grace.

Carol has been down to the New Forest

to see them still at their best, flowering in the wild.

At this time of year,

we're all keen to bring a dash of early colour into the garden.

Pulmonarias do just that.

In the wild, they've become increasingly scarce,

but you can still find them if you know where to look.

Here at Exbury Gardens in Hampshire,

scattered in this vast daffodil meadow,

you'll find little pockets of this native woodland plant.

You can always tell when a plant's held in great esteem,

in fondness by people, cos it always has lots of common names.

Some of them in the case of Pulmonarias

allude to the spotting of the leaves.

One of its names is Spotty Dog.

But most of those vernacular names actually allude

to the propensity the flowers have got

to change from blue through pink.

So they're names like Joseph and Mary

and Soldiers and Sailors.

And here in this daffodil meadow,

still these wild clumps of this wonderful plant.

You can tell at one time this would have been full of trees.

It would have been light shade,

just the kind of place that Pulmonarias love to live.

But the trees have gone and yet the Pulmonaria still survives.

It's a real good doer.

Pulmonaria's adaptability and early flowering

is what's made it such a popular and beloved sight in our gardens.

But a few miles up the road near Ringwood

is a garden that's devoted to Pulmonarias.

In fact, Hazel Bishop has hundreds of them.

Your garden's just smothered in Pulmonarias, isn't it, Hazel?

It is. And they're all different.

It's very hard to find two the same.

-That's exceptional, isn't it?

-This is beautiful.

It holds its flowers high up.

Yeah. Cos it's stature as well as flower colour and leaf spotting.

-Totally exceptional, aren't they?

-Yes, like this one here.

This is called Cotton Cool

and it was discovered in this garden by accident.

-Named after your house?

-It's named after the house, yes.

I originally had two different Pulmonarias and it had a baby.

As they do, cos they're quite promiscuous, aren't they?

They had lots of babies but one of the babies had

a long, thin, silver leaf with no spots on.

-What excitement! Woo!

-Well, I'd never seen anything like that before.

That was 12 years ago and when Hazel's Cotton Cool

was taken to RHS Wisley for trial,

it came back highly commended for garden-worthiness.

I've got this in my garden.

It doesn't suffer from mildew, I can grow it out in full sun,

it's utterly brilliant.

I'm so thrilled to see some of the originals,

or the progeny of the originals, in their place.

The best of the flowering is almost over.

I will then cut off the flowers and then all those little leaves

will suddenly spurt up and make a huge rosette.

-It does it very quickly.

-They're like silver starfish.

-Exactly.

It only takes a couple of weeks

and I'm looking for big, silver plants

that will then give me pleasure

right till the autumn, because they actually never die.

They do go smaller in the winter but they're always above ground.

That's one of the things about Pulmonarias.

They're there right the way through, giving you pleasure.

Such good garden plants. Now, how do you propagate these?

I dig up a whole clump and split it all up.

And one clump like this will make about 20 plants.

Right. What time of year?

Autumn. They stay in their pots over winter.

-Have you ever tried doing root cuttings?

-No, I haven't.

If you've just got one plant...

And it's very special then you could do that.

But it's such a productive way of doing it

and it's rather thrilling too to see those little cut-off stems

actually producing new leaves.

Plants for free.

This is a plant that keeps on giving. From as early as January,

it's an invaluable source of nectar for insects.

Even when its beautiful flowers have faded late in spring,

its spreading foliage goes on to provide a glorious tapestry

of ground cover throughout the year.

What is it about Pulmonarias that you think is so very, very special?

Oh, where do you start?!

Everything. It starts flowering so early in the year.

What surprises me is that it can grow in very, very dry conditions.

And it's ground cover. It smothers all the weeds.

It'll stand any amount of neglect. You couldn't ask for a better plant.

-Anybody can grow them.

-Yes. And everybody should,

cos your garden is just such a recommendation for them.

-It really is.

-Thank you.

A few weeks ago, I took some Delphinium cuttings

and they've all taken pretty well, I think. There's always

a slight element of doubt because, although there's some new growth,

you can get a little bit of that without decent roots.

But if I lift it up,

underneath I can see a little bit of root sign coming under there.

If I lift this one up, I can see some roots peeking out the bottom.

So, little bit of root showing, some new growth,

that means they've taken and it's time to pot them on.

It is important to pot them on because the growing medium

that is good for developing roots as cuttings

is not good for feeding the plant.

Of course, the whole purpose of taking cuttings is to get

more plants for the garden absolutely free.

So it's worth looking after them. Time and trouble you can take.

You don't want to spend money.

There's always a slight moment of anxiety

when you're taking these cuttings out of the pot.

They look as though they've taken but, until you see the roots, you can't be sure.

Let's give this a go.

There we are. You see? Good root system there.

That one, not many roots, but that will take. What I'm going to do

is just break that open on the surface there. That's come out.

That's got a really nice root system.

A good cutting. So we'll pot that up straight away.

The mixture I'm putting it in is peat-free compost.

I've added sift garden compost,

a little bit of grit and perlite in there

and that will give it a little bit of extra oomph.

It is amazing how many plants you can create by taking cuttings

and growing from seed. And if any of you are

growing plants yourself at home and have some spare,

then I've got a home for them.

If you're coming to Gardeners' World Live in June,

not only will you see the show gardens and see

Rachel, Carol, Joe and myself,

be able to shop and see fabulous plants at the plant stalls,

but also, if you want to, you can take part in our living wall.

A living wall is essentially a vertical border.

Planting in pouches and you can get a really dramatic,

vertical effect, that will sustain and last.

But you do need quite a lot of plants for it.

So if you've got any spare from your garden,

bring it along and we will include it in our display.

If you want to know further details

either about that or about Gardeners' World Live itself,

you can find all that on our website.

I think the most exciting aspect of producing all these plants

is the display you get at the end of it.

You can really create a dramatic impact by planting in volume,

in groups of three and five and even seven.

And you can't really fudge that. It's what transforms a border.

We went to see a garden

where the displays are absolutely astonishing, really dramatic,

with a wide range of plants, and just one theme unites them all.

Each one of them, in some way or other, is a lily.

'I've been growing lilies for approximately ten years

'and I presently have approximately 2,000.'

Ten years. Ten years, he's really loved lilies.

When you grow one, you see how beautiful they are,

and you've got to have more. And that's what he does.

I have got to the point where I'm really obsessive about lilies.

Harry in the garden? Well, from about eight o'clock in the morning,

five o'clock in the afternoon, with about 20 minutes for lunch.

That's how long.

Lilies are almost the perfect flower.

Just what every flower should be.

Six petals, they just look at you

and really say, "You've got to love me because I'm so beautiful."

I can do all the hanging baskets,

I can do all the boxes on the house

and I can go and clear up the mess he makes,

but I'm not allowed to plant.

There's no question about it. They have a tremendous wow factor.

Wonderful colours. They grow very, very well. Quite tall. Sturdy.

They don't flop about. So they're just a wonderful flower to grow.

I can touch them, I can smell them. But that's about as far as it goes!

This lily is Conca d'Or.

It's an Oriental Trumpet. Very easy to grow.

Almost any soil, good quality soil.

My favourite colour for a flower, yellow.

It looks you straight in the eye when you view it.

I'm also attracted by the anthers,

the way they bobble about when the wind blows.

He just loves the beauty of them, that they are absolutely perfect.

And they have this wonderful perfume as well, which helps.

As soon as one comes out it's, "Come, come, have a look."

He's going to spend all day doing that.

Running and having a look at another one!

At the peak of the Hemerocallis season,

I spend in excess of two hours every day deadheading.

And what I love about them is the tremendous range of colour,

and they are very easy plants to grow.

No particular conditions. And they propagate very easily.

Alstroemeria are quite easy to grow.

They emanated in South America, I think Peru.

They like free-draining soil.

Flower continuously from late May

right the way through August-September.

When they're finished flowering, what you do with alstroemeria

is you pull the stem completely out of the ground.

This encourages further shoots from underground,

and you will easily get second flushes.

If you're very new to growing lilies,

the one I would highly recommend is Yellow Star.

It's easy to grow, looks wonderful, everything about it is lovely.

The other good thing about Yellow Star

is it is very easy to propagate from the bulbils,

which form in the leaf axles.

I have had plants in bloom within two years of sowing the bulbils.

Each year, I find that my appetite for gardening is getting greater and greater.

I'm trying to pack more plants into smaller places.

Which means eventually the lawn gets smaller, the beds get bigger.

I'd just like a garden full of colour and flowers.

His garden is his passion. He loves his garden more than me!

This is the perfect time of year to get on in the vegetable garden.

These beds are slowly filling up.

But to make the best out of every inch of ground,

you do need to plan ahead.

It is important to keep vegetables rotated.

So I've planted potatoes in this section,

and last year that was carrots, parsnips and celery.

So that group will move up to this bed.

Whereas this was potatoes and now it's legumes, that's peas and beans,

and this section are all the alliums

and will be followed by brassicas later on.

So they move around.

It doesn't have to be written in stone,

you don't have to be too precise, but if there's a general rotation

you stop the build-up of any specific pests and diseases

to any one group of crops.

In my legume bed are broad beans

that have being grown in the greenhouse, now planted out.

I got others planted directly into the soil. I've got peas planted.

The next stage is to dig the trench and prepare for my runner beans.

Really, I don't think about planting tender vegetables outside

until at least early May and sometimes later on.

But if the ground is prepared then it's all in position.

I've dug out a trench so I can fill it up with compost.

Traditionally you can put anything in the bottom,

it could be grass clippings, newspaper.

The idea is to have an organic layer that will hold moisture.

Because runner beans really like moist feet.

If they don't do well with all that beneath them, they don't deserve it!

Right, now I can pull the soil back over the top.

What I do at this stage, so I don't tread on what I've already dug up,

is move my boards directly over the trench.

I'm going to build a supporting structure using these bean sticks,

which I've kept from the coppice which I pruned this winter.

Bamboos will do the job,

anything that will support a fully laden beam.

And it's fundamentally one stick per plant.

I'm putting this up now for two reasons.

The first is that it's ready.

It means that when the weather is right,

which could be any time in the next month,

I can plant out or sow my runner beans.

But also, it's psychological.

By having this here it says summer's coming,

the weather is getting warmer, everything is getting better.

And I think it looks nice, too.

That's reasonably strong that way, side to side,

but very wobbly that way.

So now they need bracing diagonally.

Of course, runner beans need warm weather to grow.

They're a tropical plant.

And you can't make them grow if the soil or the air is too cold.

But Joe has been to visit a gardener

who has, if not cheated the seasons,

certainly persuaded them to operate a little bit early.

The area around Keighley in West Yorkshire

isn't renowned for its record-breaking temperatures

and light levels,

but that hasn't stopped one man from harvesting crops

at near impossible times of the year.

Jack Furse has been tending allotments for over 30 years.

His passion for growing vegetables kick-started his interest in hotbeds,

one of the oldest methods of extending the veg-growing season.

I can't believe this, Jack.

I'm here in the southern Pennines,

not exactly one of the warmest parts of the country,

harvesting potatoes in late March,

when most people in this country are putting their potatoes in.

What's the secret?

Well, I came across a passage in one of my old gardening books

about the Romans doing this 2000 years ago.

Basically, what they realised was that manure gave off heat.

They didn't know why, but it gave off heat.

So they put soil on top of it,

then they put a frame on top of the soil and put a lid on it,

so the manure warmed the soil,

which warmed the air in which the crops were growing in.

That's the principle.

So in effect, you've created a whole new season

to get another crop out of just by using a load of old rotting manure.

-That's correct.

-Pretty clever, those Romans, weren't they?

-Yes, they were.

So what sort of temperatures are you getting underneath here

to really get these plants growing?

-I've got a thermometer here, let's check it.

-OK.

Wow, getting on for 25 degrees Celsius, which is amazing.

Really warm under there considering the air temperature

-is 12 degrees at the moment, something like that.

-That's right.

-What else have you got growing, shall we have a look around?

-Yeah, sure.

Hello, Joe.

Everything looks so healthy.

Wow, look at your salads they're miles further on than mine!

-Can I have a little taste?

-Yes, of course, help yourself.

-They look so healthy, they look so good.

-OK.

-You've got mixed salads, you've got it sorted here, haven't you?

-Yeah.

A lot of people are going to want to know how to make one of these.

-Yes.

-Are you going to show me?

-Certainly.

Got to be really fresh, this manure.

It wants to be in between one day and, say, up to five or six weeks.

Any older than that,

you start to lose the potential of the heat that can be generated.

What we're trying to aim to do here is build up even layers.

How can you control the heat in something like this?

There's no knob on the side where you turn it up and down a bit.

No, indeed not, but what we can do is just temper the rate of decomposition

by trying to exclude air, and we can do that by compression.

See here, it's just a little bit spongy.

So what I want to do is walk around, take out some of that air,

but not eliminate all the air.

-The old magic hotbed dance.

-That's it.

-Is that what you mean? One of those?

This height is OK, we're about a foot here.

If we were doing it in, say, early February or January,

we'd want to be about two foot.

The higher the hotbed, the longer it will last.

'Whilst the hotbed is ready, a cold frame is placed on top.

'Compost is filled to a depth of six inches and then firmed down.

'Seed can be sown direct as early as January.'

-That's it.

-That's great. Brilliant.

I love it.

For me, Jack's technique is a fantastic way of squeezing

the most out of your plot.

If you want more details on how to create a hotbed system of your own,

go to our website:

Interesting to see how much manure was needed to make it work.

I've tried that before and not quite used enough, I don't think.

And also, it's such a good use of fresh manure.

Everybody wants well rotted manure, but if you can find a stables

with piles of the stuff, then a brilliant way that anybody can use.

Come on.

These are the rose hardwood cuttings I took last September,

it's Rosa 'Complicata'.

And you can see they're fine,

that all but one have grown well, and I can see that

a number of others of you followed my example and took cuttings, too.

I've got a couple of letters here.

One off the messageboard, from ArtemisH, which says,

"Last October, I took quite a few rose cuttings after seeing MD do so on GW.

"I thought one or two might take.

"To my complete shock, out of the 30 I'd taken, 28 are alive and thriving."

And then Simon Brickell has contacted us and said,

"We have a number of cuttings that have rooted and are in leaf.

"What do we do with them now? Leave them, pot them up, or what?"

Well, the answer is pretty easy.

Keep them weed free, water them if it gets very dry,

but leave them where they are until autumn, then they can be lifted

and either potted up to grow on or else directly transplanted.

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

For many of us, we've had wet and warm weather recently

and nothing makes the weeds grow faster than that.

In the vegetable garden, the best way to keep on top of them

is with a sharp hoe.

Try and hoe on a dry day, lightly skimming through the soil,

cutting through the weeds

and leaving them to dry out on the surface.

Herbaceous perennials are now growing almost visibly

and it's important to stake them before they start to flop.

It doesn't matter what you use.

I like to use the metal hoops that we made,

but string with canes work well, or even prunings that you've saved.

Whatever it is, place it snugly around the plant

and in a few weeks it will be invisible but still doing its job.

I like to grow early spring bulbs in terracotta pots.

But when they've finished flowering

it's important that you don't hide them away in a dark corner.

They need sunlight to fuel the bulb for next year's display.

So put them to one side, but make sure it's a sunny spot.

Or you could do what I'm going to do here,

which is to plant out these crocus into the grass.

And they will quietly store their energy for next year's flowering,

look really good where I position them, I hope.

And also, free up a pot that I can use for something else.

So just take out a slab of turf and, rather then plant them individually,

put the whole contents of the pot in the ground.

All those roots, take out the shards.

And just pop that in like that.

Now, even with Nigel's help, it's going to take a little while

to plant all these crocus out, but they will look good here.

And I'll have a whole load of pots free

that I can use for something else over the summer.

And that's it for this week.

But, as ever, I'll see you again next week at the same time.

Till then, bye-bye.

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