Episode 9 Gardeners' World

Hello, and welcome to Gardeners' World.

And today, we're at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show.

Now, this is one of those shows

that manages to really capture the essence of the season.

I love it particularly because I come here and meet old friends,

and make the acquaintance of loads of new plants.

It's funny, you know. You and I have been coming to the show for years,

and it's my local show and I sort of feel I know it very well,

but it is extraordinary how one always does find inspiration and see new things.

Yeah, loads of excitement.

Now, Joe can't join us because he's busy with his Chelsea garden,

and Rachel was due to be with us but, unfortunately, she's unwell.

So the garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair has stepped into her shoes.

Now, each time I come to Malvern,

I always head straight off to the floral marquee.

And yesterday, I got in there for a preview before the crowds arrived.

The great thing about coming in early

is you get to see the stands being put together and, of course,

a stand is assembled to look as good as it possibly can do -

all the plant combinations and the colours are very, very carefully considered.

And that's exactly what we try and do with our borders,

so watching how they do it gives me lots of tips and hints

on how to do it in the garden at home.

And at Malvern, what I'm looking for in particular

is a kind of freshness.

Malvern captures spring - and that's the essence that I'm after.

See, this is what I mean.

What you get at Malvern is a kind of delicate elegance.

It doesn't last long - summer blows it away -

but while it's there, it really is lovely.

For example, I need my glasses to see this properly,

but the outlines of this Primula sieboldii 'Lilac Sunbonnet',

that you need to get close to - you need to look down on -

and take in them, little piecemeal by piecemeal.

And it invites a kind of intimacy - you're drawn into it all -

and that's the very best of it, I think.

Cut flowers don't often get covered in garden shows,

but they play a really useful role.

You can go through them all, see the ones you like,

get their names, ask the growers any tips needed

about any characteristic of those plants,

make a note and then order it for your own garden.

And you know exactly what it will look like, and you can never get that from a picture.

Seeing them in the flesh is the real thing.

RAIN BEATS ON ROOF

Tell you what - under canvas is the place to be. It's PELTING down!

Have a look at these.

That is a stunning flower!

And peonies do combine that voluptuousness of tulips

and the ruffled elegance of roses.

And I have to say, if nothing else,

I want to grow more peonies.

I think they're stunning

and I can't think why I haven't made more of them in the past.

Now, it's not just about plants here at Malvern.

There's all kinds of inspiration to be found.

And I'm going to find mine now from the show gardens.

And to look at this year's show gardens,

I'm meeting up with an old friend of mine, James Alexander-Sinclair,

who is not only a renowned garden designer but also an experienced RHS judge.

James, this is spectacular, as a show garden.

-But would it work as a real garden at home?

-It will, up to a point.

There are certain parameters which you need to buy into.

What it needs is a really hot, sunny garden with fantastic drainage,

cos all of these plants will survive where they don't end up with wet feet.

Right, so that's a problem, really. Hence the slope, I guess.

Yeah, hence the slope. Hence the poor soil.

-It's like a Spanish hillside, isn't it, really?

-It's actually Cotswold stone,

-which is quite good.

-Cotswold stone is excellent.

-It's MADE by these olive trees.

-It is. Without the olive trees, it would be nothing.

Without these old, ancient, gnarly olive trees.

If I go to my garden centre and say I want an old, ancient and particularly gnarly tree,

-how much is that going to set me back?

-The gnarliest of olive trees - one of these big ones -

is going to set you back about £2,000.

-Right.

-But, in the right place, that's £2,000 very well spent.

It can make a garden.

-Right, this is very, very different.

-Completely different.

Now, I know the brief was to make a garden.

-North facing plot...

-Yep.

-..modern built...

-Yep.

..and an awkward shape.

Yeah, it's in a little, sort of, funny corner,

which you often find in new housing developments.

I think he's done it rather well. What do you think?

Well, I like it. It has a very different ambition to the other garden.

This is not to wow you and bowl you over.

But I like the way that it's got really nice, generous structure.

Good oak frame. A small garden doesn't stop you having big ideas.

The only thing that I am wondering is,

if this is a north-facing garden and there's no sun,

why do we need the shade of a pergola?

Because, I think, it's not there for shade. It's there for privacy.

Because if you've got neighbours to the left and right of you, packed in,

then all of these climbers will grow across the top of it,

and you've got somewhere where you cannot be overlooked.

You see, I like the way you have to go round the garden,

because that makes you see it all.

The truth is, we know, you pop out, sit down, you forget something.

-We're going to do this, aren't we?

-Yes! So if I had a criticism,

you either need to block the route or make it accessible.

I think a straight line, you link this paving to that paving, it would work very nicely.

This garden is bigger than most show gardens,

but it's got some nice ideas you can apply to garden of any size.

The most obvious is this structure. It's essentially a pergola.

But they've used two things which I think transforms it.

They've used really nice materials. It's green oak,

and by using green oak, it makes it something that's going to last.

It's beautiful in its own right. The second thing is it's witty.

It's a large structure

which they've made look like the skeleton of a cruck-frame barn.

It feels like a building.

I also really like the way the water works in relation to the path.

You've got a formal pond there,

the water runs down from it to a wildlife pond.

It crosses the path here. On one level, that's a glorified gutter.

But actually, just a few feet of a narrow rill crossing a path

gives you all the texture and sound of water

whilst accommodating it into any garden of any size.

Nobody could accuse this garden of not having enough planting.

This is perfect show garden planting, not an inch of soil is visible.

-And really, really good quality plants.

-They're lovely, aren't they?

And the detail is really good.

There's nothing you can see

that could be made better in any way.

It's the things you look for when you're a judge.

It's the quality of the joints,

the way the water is exactly the right level for the paving,

the way it's been cut out nicely, it is spot-on.

That means the execution is really good. Do we like it? I do.

There's a lot of nice things here that you can take away.

-I like the sort of generosity of it.

-It's a slight looseness as well.

It's supposed to be a garden for relaxing in after work.

It's got a really good circulation to it.

We're coming slowly back to where we began without really noticing.

And also, there is this one main feature that immediately stands out,

which is the fern wall.

Which is spectacular, unusual, and extraordinarily effective.

It works, doesn't it? So no surprise that this is best in show.

No surprise at all.

Whilst the show gardens are undoubtedly a draw,

lots of people come to Malvern for the shopping.

And there's everything here.

From inexpensive plants to hand-crafted garden buildings,

with a sliding scale of price tags to match.

So, Carol and James have hit the stores.

To James, on his fantasy shopping spree, money is no object.

Whilst Carol is feeling frugal, looking for plants that with a bit of know-how

can bulk up your borders for a little more than a few quid.

What Malvern's about to me is plants, plants, more plants.

Do you know, at Malvern last year, there were almost 85,000 visitors.

And the average spend was about £96.

But what I really want to find out about

is how to make more plants for your pennies.

At this time of the year,

one of the best ways of increasing your plants is by taking cuttings.

Nothing's better than these perennial wallflowers, Erysimums.

But this is a really favourite one, Bowles's Mauve.

And if you pick up one of these plants,

already you can see all these little side shoots starting to emerge.

And when you take this home,

if you're brave enough to take off those first flowers,

it will bring on those side shoots. In a couple of weeks' time,

you can just push down those little cuttings,

put them round the edge of a clay pot in gritty compost,

and in a few weeks' time you'll have a whole host of new plants.

Of course, if the object of the exercise is to grow lots of plants,

large numbers, then nothing beats seed.

With Aquilegias, that's always the best way of growing them.

What's so exciting is, you're never quite sure what you're going to get.

There are no guarantees.

But as you see your seedlings emerge, grow up, come into bud,

the anticipation of the flowers you're going to behold is wonderful.

Probably the easiest and the most straightforward way of propagating plants

is to divide them.

It's the only way, really, to propagate this plant.

This is an ornamental rhubarb, called Rheum 'Ace of Hearts'.

And you grow it for this splendid colour on the back of the leaves.

Once your plant's established, in a couple of years,

it will have made a big clump.

You just take a sharp spade, nothing could be easier.

Shove it into the middle, down with your foot,

and take a piece off and replant it.

And off it goes.

Ooh! What a beauty! And just look at this.

Now, Geranium sanguineum is propagated from root cuttings.

And if you take this big chunk of root out

and you chop it up in chunks about two inches long,

plonk them on the top of a little seed tray with good compost in,

and put a bit of grit on the top,

each one of the nodules all along this root

will actually produce a new shoot.

And you'll have miles more plants.

And that's the thing.

Once you've paid for your plant, you can take it home

and whether you're going to divide it, take cuttings from it

or gather seed from it, there's nothing else to pay.

I'm going to be looking at things that are indulgently expensive,

so if you happen to have won the lottery and you're here at Malvern

and you want some instant impact, I can offer you...this.

This is the Himalayan birch. This particular one is 20 years old

and will set you back a cool 1,500 quid but you will get

the best birch bark of them all.

There's one small disadvantage -

unless you have a very large spade and a very strong back,

you'll also need one of these...

a whopping great tree spade.

And remember, as money is no object,

these trees are often best planted in groups of seven.

Oi! Over here!

Every man loves his shed, but if you're feeling a bit flush,

then this is the creme de la creme of sheds,

pretty well an extra room to your house.

In here, you can have almost anything you want,

you can have wood-burning stoves, tables, desks,

you can even have...

Woo! ..a slightly springy bed

and a fabulous view of your rolling baronial acres out there.

So, for £12,500, you can have a fully-insulated shepherd's hut

from which you may watch over your flock

or escape from your entire family.

If you want to splash some cash on a serious window box,

then how about this?

£3,000 worth of Yorkshire stone. This, once upon a time,

used to be a drinking trough on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales

and now it's a small garden.

You can do this. You need to make sure

there's enough drainage in the bottom, a few holes,

fill it up to about here with gravel

and then you've got enough space to grow things that are small

and also enough room for something a bit bigger.

The other way of doing it is, if you look here,

there's another one without the drainage holes being used as a pond.

Any of these things are interesting and exciting and big enough to make a focal point

for pretty well any garden. The only problem is,

if you want this one, you're a bit late - it's been sold.

You could, of course, blow the whole budget on bulbs.

This here is...

This bulb is 20 years old and will set you back about 100 quid

but, for a mere three quid, you can have one of these.

It's the same thing

and this bulb will produce the most glorious, pale-pink, perfectly-scented flower

to about 1.2 metres and it only costs three quid

and that makes it the cheapest thing that I've seen all day.

I have to confess that, even though I obviously love these shows,

as you walk into a big marquee like this,

there's always a slight sensation of being overwhelmed.

I think the key thing is to have some kind of plan,

even if it's just to buy or see one particular plant

and then work around that

so that you don't try and take it all in in one go

but just let it come to you gradually.

Now, what I'm particularly looking for today

are plants for dry, shady conditions

and I know that what will fit that bill are ferns.

The truth is, ferns are not a glamorous plant

but where they are in the right place,

they can look absolutely fantastic.

Most ferns prefer rather damp conditions, particularly moist air,

but there are a handful that are absolutely right

for deep, dark, dry shade.

I'm certainly going to look for those.

As far as drought goes,

it may have been raining a lot over the last few weeks,

but the drought still continues, there are still hosepipe bans

and they are likely to stay in place for quite a long time yet.

Now, Tim, I'm looking for ferns that will fulfil a particular brief.

I've got a couple of really ultra-dry, dark corners.

I want them to be ferny

and I also want to have natives, too.

OK, we can do that,

because people always talk about ferns for wet areas,

but there are so many ferns that do well in dry areas.

The one little clue is that anything that's called Dryopteris,

beginning DRY, Dryopteris,

-will do really well in a dry spot.

-DRY-opteris!

-Easy to remember.

-Yes.

The first one I'd recommend is...

..known as The King, but my fern expert always calls it Elvis

-because he's a great Elvis fan.

-Because Elvis is The King.

Of course! So cristata, The King, is a must.

That will get to about three feet tall. It's the king of male ferns.

-Yes.

-Moving on from that, if you think about Hart's-tongue ferns,

everybody sees them in the hedges in Devon, where we're from,

and they're very natural, but there's one called...

..and it's got a margin on it, it's a little, crispy Hart's-tongue,

and that'll be fantastic in that area,

but that's one that people are familiar with because they've seen it in the hedges

but it's a little bit more interesting, it's more twisty and exciting, it's quite vibrant.

And then, really, you need to have...

A great fern, been around for many, many years.

Again, a wonderful British native,

and one of those plants that has got an AGM, an Award of Garden Merit,

and will do fantastically well in that situation.

Now, this is the exciting bit for me.

-Let's get the plants together.

-OK.

-OK.

Getting these into the ground

is a job I'll really look forward to doing

and if you're not coming to the show,

here's some jobs you can get on with in your garden this weekend.

If, like mine, your strawberries are coming into flower,

now is a good time to cloche some of them. This will spread your harvest

by enabling the protected fruit to develop and ripen earlier.

Don't cover up the ends of the cloches as you want to allow access

for pollinating insects and also keep the plants well ventilated.

If you leave broad beans un-staked,

they curl and twist and flop all over the place.

So support them with a strong stake and string

and keep them growing upright and, at the very least,

that makes harvesting a lot easier.

Prick out young seedlings as soon as they're ready.

You'll know this because they develop a true leaf

and that's a sign there are roots beneath the soil.

Lift them carefully, taking as much root as possible,

holding them always by a leaf, cos if you damage the stem,

then you'll lose the seedling.

Pot it on into a small pot or a plug so it can grow strongly

and then be ready to plant out

in a few weeks' time.

Despite the horrible weather we've had this spring,

it is getting warmer.

Now is the time to start hardening off plants,

ready to plant out into their final positions at the end of the month.

Do this by degrees, so first of all put them in a protected place

and then move them to a more exposed position for at least a week

before planting, BUT do pay attention

to the weather forecast.

There are still chances of frosts in many parts of the country.

The floral marquee has to be my very favourite bit of the Malvern Show,

because packed in under this roof are all manner of wondrous plants.

It's a true treasure trove.

There are plants here from all over the world.

There are exhibitors from all over the UK,

including Kevock Garden Plants who have come down from Scotland.

What wonders they've brought with them,

including this exquisite...

Did you ever see anything like that?

Each of its petals

are like a piece of washed silk.

It's absolutely lovely and it's from the high slopes of the Himalayas,

so it's really enjoying the mist here at Malvern.

As if that wasn't enough,

they've even got crosses between that and the little blue Meconopsis,

called Meconopsis quintuplinervia.

This, which I've never seen before, is...

It really is out of this world.

Of course, Meconopsis have so many different qualities,

but scent isn't one of them,

but on this stand

there are all manner of plants which do have beautiful perfume,

including, strangely enough,

some of these dainty little Asiatic primulas,

but of all the plants on the whole stand,

this is probably the one with the best perfume.

This is Zaluzianskya ovata,

but when I bend down and give it a sniff,

there's nothing at the moment

and that's because it waits until dusk descends

to belt out this perfume in absolute bucket-loads.

If you look at the plant,

each flower has got this great, long corolla tube,

which is the clue to what pollinates it.

It's moths and, of course, that scent really draws them in.

Of course, most plants exude their perfume during daylight hours

and a lot of them need sunshine.

Well, even on this grey day,

this plant is really pumping out the perfume!

It's...

..and it's a member of the pea family.

It's a legume and you can see that

when you look at each of these beautiful, pale flowers.

This is a plant which will continue to flower

right the way through the year,

providing you can give it what it wants,

which is a very, very sunny place and good drainage.

Put it in the right place and it'll belt out that perfume

right the way through the year.

A few of the stands

in the floral marquee are devoted to just one genus of plant,

and you usually find that the people who put on those exhibits

and run those nurseries are totally addicted to them.

Leila Jackson is just such a person.

Leila, there's just such an enormous range of these plants.

-I only know one or two.

-There's a huge range.

There's 18 different varieties on the stand today, ranging from fully hardy

to really quite tender varieties that do beautifully in the conservatory.

-That's how people most associate abutilons, don't they?

-Yes, of course they do,

but the misconception is that they're all tender, but that's not true.

There's a wonderful range of megapotamicums that are fully hardy.

-That's the ones with the lovely red-and-yellow droopy flowers.

-Yes.

Lovely small leaves, small flowers,

tend to be a good indication

that they're good and hardy for the garden.

Kentish Belle and Patrick Synge both do extremely well outside.

I wish I was writing their history!

-And easy to cultivate?

-Oh, extremely well, yes.

They don't mind what soil type.

They take quite an open soil or quite a solid clay.

They love the richness of the clay,

but also sun or shade - they're really quite versatile.

-How long do they flower for?

-If you have them in the conservatory,

you can have 12 months flowering no problem whatsoever.

But outdoors, they're really going to come into their own end of May,

flower all the way through to December

and in a mild winter, we'll also have flowering in January and February.

-That's good enough for me. Abutilons for Christmas.

-Oh, yes, definitely.

Of all the plants I've seen today this has to be THE show-stopper.

It's...

It's called that because the flower colour changes from white

right through to this deep pink.

You can grow hundreds of plants from just one packet of seed.

What's more, it's scented of passion fruit.

What more could you want?

Well, it's time to go home, get my plants into the ground,

but the weather forecast this weekend is good,

so come along to the show and see for yourself.

I'll be back in the garden next week, so join me then. Bye-bye.

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