Episode 2 Gardeners' World

ROBIN TRILLS

Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.

I've got some bare root roses here

and as with all bare root trees and shrubs,

first thing to do is get them

into some water and give them a drink

and not let them dry out for a second.

Now, I'm planning to plant these into the Jewel Garden

if the rain holds off long enough.

And also in tonight's programme,

we'll be paying a visit to Hever Castle in Kent to get inspiration

from their EXTRAORDINARY display of hybrid tea roses.

Once you get your nose in that rose

and smell the wonderful scent,

you really will be absolutely bowled over.

And Joe continues his series of masterclasses on planting design.

This week, he's sharing ideas on how to create a contemporary garden.

And Carol is in her own garden at Glebe

celebrating an often overlooked and undervalued plant,

the wonderfully fragrant mahonia.

There's the most lovely, delicious perfume of lily of the valley

as you come around this corner,

and it's all emanating from this magnificent shrub.

Now, before I can plant those roses,

I need to create space in the border

and now is the PERFECT moment

to rearrange the borders and get them exactly as you want them.

It's just at this moment,

where spring is just starting to muscle its way in,

that you can catch your mixed borders

and really reorganise them

and get to work with them.

And it's because the plants are starting to grow,

so that when and if you move them,

they'll adapt to their new homes very quickly.

This is particularly true of herbaceous perennials.

Don't do it when they're dormant

but, actually, when you can see the growth coming through,

then you can lift them, divide them, reshape them,

do whatever it is you want.

Now, over here there's a really good example

of how herbaceous perennials tend to grow.

This is a monkshood, aconitum,

and you can see that it's created a kind of doughnut effect.

You've got this circle of fresh new growth coming up

but in the middle, it's very sparse, almost died back,

and that's the old part of the plant

and the new part grows outwards.

If we left it, it would just keep on spreading

and you'd just have a complete hollow area.

Now, that's no good in a border. You want solid blocks of colour

and by the way, the aconitum, which is kind of a poor man's delphinium

because the blue is a bit muddy,

actually, I think, is a really useful plant

because it gives you blue,

which is one of the rarest colours you'll ever find in any plant,

later on in summer

and on into autumn.

I hardly ever wear gloves in the garden

but I'm going to put some on for handling this monkshood

because it is poisonous.

There we are, protected.

See, that in itself is a decent-sized clump.

I'll pop that in the barrow for the moment.

When you're lifting and dividing a herbaceous perennial

that's doughnutted, that is to say, the centre has got hollow,

you can discard all the growth in the centre,

put that on the compost heap, because all the energy,

all the vitality is coming from the outside of that doughnut.

Now, if this feels scarily radical,

digging up your lovely garden,

don't worry, this is the perfect time to do it.

And actually, you can see by looking at it,

because what you have is a good root system.

Those roots have started to grow

but the top growth is only just coming out,

so the ratio of roots to foliage is very beneficial to the plant,

so not only can I improve the way this clump works by replanting it,

but I'll get...oh, enough plants for two or even three more clumps,

so new plants for free

and the old plant working better than ever.

Now, in these borders,

it's all about using the flexibility of herbaceous perennials

to adapt and change the borders,

but down at Glebe Cottage, Carol is celebrating a shrub

that stays true and always looks majestic at this time of year.

It's been such a long, wet winter

but today, it's sparkling and bright!

Every day, you're aware that winter is receding

and spring is on its way.

And it's not just your visual senses that are stimulated

by all these lovely, green shoots and fat buds.

The air is full of the most exquisite scent.

There's the most lovely, delicious perfume of lily of the valley

as you come around this corner

and it's all emanating from this magnificent shrub.

This is Mahonia japonica.

It sounds as though it's from Japan. In actual fact,

it's from China, in the Himalayas,

and it was from China that Robert Fortune, the great plant hunter,

introduced it and brought it to our shores

but it was quite a journey!

He faced death, disease, and even pirates to get it here

but I'm so glad he did.

I adore this shrub

and at every time of the year, it's got something to offer

but of course, above all...

..it's the perfume that you adore.

This was the very first plant I ever bought for this garden

but when I planted it, it was planted much further back

and the original died but meanwhile, it had layered itself.

It's a really good way of propagating mahonias

but the other way is to take cuttings.

I'm using individual pots for these cuttings

because they're pretty chunky.

Now, from a piece like this,

I should be able to get two decent cuttings

but what I want to do is to cut just above the leaf

because in there is a small bud

which is going to grow into the new shoot,

so straight across.

Now, if I put it into the pot like that,

chances are that the whole thing is going to fall over. It's top-heavy.

I'm going to employ a little-known horticultural technique here.

I want to keep this leaf

because it's going to feed the cutting whilst it's taking root,

so I'm just rolling it up.

And then I'm going to get a rubber band...

..just to secure that and keep it in place.

Yeah, I think that's good enough.

And then I want to lower this cutting into the compost

and push it right down

until that junction of the leaf and the stem

is flush with the top of the compost.

And that's it.

There are many beautiful Asiatic mahonias

but there are also another group of mahonias

that come from the United States of America.

This is one of them.

This is Mahonia aquifolium,

otherwise known as the Oregon grape.

It was first collected by explorers

searching for a route to the Pacific.

I've chosen a dwarf variety to brighten up one of my woodland beds.

It's called Cosmo Crawl

because that's exactly what it does.

It sends suckers out here, there and everywhere

and at the end of those suckers pop up new shoots

full of flower and these beautiful rubescent sort of leaves.

I think this will be ideal because once these flower spikes come up,

they'll provide marvellous nectar treats

for any pollinating insects that are about. Isn't that gorgeous?

So I think that's ready to go.

It looks sort of as though it's longing to live in this hole.

I really hope it enjoys living here.

I'm sure it will.

I'll just firmly plant it.

Within a year, it should be popping up here, there and everywhere.

WOODPECKER TAPS

We gardeners owe a huge debt of gratitude to plant hunters -

not just those we read about in the history books

but the people who discover and bring back plants

right to this very day.

And once these new plants come into cultivation,

then hybridders have a field day.

There are all sorts of new cultivars that are coming onto the market.

This one's called Soft Caress

and no wonder

because it's so soft,

and it's completely different

from all the other mahonias that I've ever known.

I'm not quite sure where I'm going to plant this

but I'll tell you what - wherever it goes,

it's a wonderful addition to my collection of mahonias.

WOODPECKER TAPPING

I like that leaf-rolling technique.

I've not tried it, but I certainly will.

My single Mahonia media 'Charity' is nothing like

as big as Carol's but it does produce flowers with

the most astonishing fragrance and one little bloom put in a vase,

put in the kitchen, just fills the room with its scent.

And talking of scent, it's time to sow sweet peas.

Last year, we did a sweet pea trial here at Longmeadow.

I wanted to find out the best time to sow them

in terms of getting maximum flower for your time and energy.

Now, traditionally, sweet peas are sown in October

and planted out in spring.

You can sow them in early spring

or you can even sow them direct round about May, so I did all three.

I came to the conclusion that sowing them in spring

gave you just as many flowers,

they extended the season, and it was a lot less trouble

because you had less plants to look after

so that's what I'm doing this year.

It doesn't matter what varieties you sow, the technique is identical.

I've got a whole mixed lot of varieties there.

And I've got some seeds here, Painted Lady, that I collected

from plants that we grew last year,

so these are the ones I'll sow. I like to use

three-inch pots, partly because I've got lots of them

but also a pot allows decent root development,

whereas if you sow in a seed tray,

by the time they're big enough to prick out,

the roots are getting rather crammed on the bottom of the tray.

This is actually a seed mix

but a normal potting mix will do the job perfectly well.

Fill the pot, and then...

just take the seeds.

All the varieties tend to be the same.

They range in colour from very pale brown to dark brown.

You don't need to soak them, you don't need to nick them,

they'll all germinate perfectly well.

And I've put three seeds in a pot.

Just push them in like that.

Now, there's one thing I would say,

and this is learned from bitter experience,

is label every single container,

so it's "Painted Lady".

I just can't imagine a garden without sweet peas.

It's to do with June and July

and the fragrance and all the range of colours,

which tend to be incredibly fresh and bright.

They really are one of the first flowers that I'd want in any garden.

Now, you may not be planning to sow sweet peas this weekend

but here are some things that you can be doing.

It's time now to get your dahlias out of store and check through them.

If they've dried up, they'll have to be discarded

and if the mice have got to them, that won't do them any good either

but if they're nice, plump tubers,

pot them up and put them in a warm, light place

so they can start to grow

and then they can be planted up after the last frost.

Rhubarb, is now starting to grow strongly.

If you have any plants that are just appearing above the ground,

you could force them.

Cover them up with a bucket, an old chimney pot,

anything that will completely exclude the light.

The stems then grow long, pale pink with hardly any foliage.

And, importantly, they're deliciously sweet.

One of the first vegetable seeds to sow are leeks.

They're slow to develop and have a long growing season.

I like to use pots so that the roots aren't disturbed.

Fill the pot with general purpose compost

and sprinkle the seeds thinly on the surface.

Cover them lightly and put them in a sheltered place.

It doesn't need any heat.

There they will geminate and grow steadily

until they're ready to plant out in a couple of months' time.

Now, these hybrid tea roses have had a good drink,

so they're ready to plant.

I'm going to put them in the Jewel Garden.

I would say that that any bare root plant you get,

first thing you go is give it a drink.

Hybrid teas aren't very fashionable at the moment,

but they've got fantastic colours

and they can be exactly the right plant for the right place.

And to get inspiration, last summer we went to Hever Castle in Kent

to see the huge collection of hybrid teas.

CHIMING PIANO MUSIC

My name is Neil. I'm the head gardener of Hever Castle

and I'm really responsible for about 68 acres of formal gardens.

The main heart of the gardens here at Hever Castle is the Italian Gardens.

For many years, William Waldorf Astor was the United States

ambassador to Rome,

so the influence he had in Italy whilst he was out there,

he wanted to bring back to his English country garden.

The Rose Garden's probably been here about 40-50 years.

And it's home to over 4,000 mainly hybrid tea

with a few floribundas and climbers and ramblers.

It's actually in a walled garden,

so ideal location for the warmth for the roses.

And we feel it's part of the quintessential English garden.

A lot of people find hybrid tea roses maybe a bit blowsy,

a bit in your face and a bit kind of old-fashioned,

but once you get your nose in that rose,

and smell the wonderful scent, you really will be bowled over.

A hybrid tea rose is famous for the large, blowsy,

one big bloom on the stem.

Beautiful colour. You've got every colour under the sun.

And really the other thing that makes a hybrid tea rose

good quality is the disease resistance.

This is Buxom Beauty,

one of the largest hybrid teas you're ever going to find.

You just think of the name,

look how flirty and brazen this particular bloom is.

The bloom will cover the palm of your hand

and the scent is absolutely knockout.

This is another one of my favourite hybrid teas. Just look at that.

Scent-sation.

A wonderful, buttery, gold centre

and as it matures, the petals fade to

an almost whitish pink.

Not only does this rose look wonderful,

but the scent is a kind of a very

mellow Turkish Delight fragrance.

Absolutely stunning.

As with all hybrid tea roses, regular dead-heading is absolutely essential

to guarantee blooms right through to the end of November.

They will continue really up until first frosts

and, as you can see, loads of these green buds now.

They will guarantee colour right through for the next few months.

If you have any diseased leaves, pick them up and burn them.

And probably the third real tip is really enjoy them.

The roses are there to be enjoyed.

Come on.

JAZZ MUSIC

In here. Up you get.

Go on. Get up. There's a good boy. Up. Good boy.

On a grey day like this,

to see those THOUSANDS of roses looking so good

is the inspiration you need. It just lifts everything and gives hope.

And hybrid tea roses on that scale are stunning. Really stunning.

They're not stuffy, they're not old-fashioned,

they're just bright and vibrant.

And I've used them here in the Jewel Garden before

and I want to add some more.

And that's because I can select a colour,

in this case it's going to be really strong, rich red,

and know that it will perform from June

right through to the first frosts if I keep dead-heading.

Now, it doesn't matter what type of rose you're planting

the method is the same. This is Crimson Glory,

incredible rich, globular blooms,

slightly spindly stems

and not a particularly vigorous plant, but that doesn't matter,

because it'll do its job through its flowers

rather than the shape of the shrub.

But you can see from this that there is a graft here

and the top growth is coming from a root stock.

I was taught how to plant roses by Peter Beales,

who sadly died earlier this year.

He was a great rosarian

and what he said is you should bury the root stock.

So plant it so you've just got some sticks sticking out the ground.

So I'm going to need to dig a hole

that is big enough to accommodate those roots.

While I'm digging a hole,

it's important to put it back in the water.

You mustn't let bare root plants dry out even for a minute.

So that goes back in the drink. Then move that out the way.

Now, micorrhizal fungi helps the take up of nutrients and water,

it acts as a conduit between the root of the plant and soil.

And hold it over the hole and just sprinkle it on like that,

so that there is real contact.

Place the plant in like that.

And I want it to be about that sort of depth.

And backfill gently around it.

Now that will get a good soak,

which will work the soil round in amongst the roots.

And then a nice thick mulch.

It looks pretty insignificant now,

but I know that that is a bomb waiting to explode into colour.

And it doesn't matter whether you're planting a climber,

a shrub, a hybrid tea,

whatever type of rose it's the same principle.

Now, last week, Joe started his new masterclass in planting design

and we saw how cottage gardens can be planted up.

This week, he's having a look at how to plant up a contemporary garden.

A contemporary garden is a modern space where the plants have been used

in a really graphic way to make a bold design

that complements strong, hard landscaping.

This week, I'm looking at the key design elements of structure,

texture, colour and seasonal interest

to help show you how to plant a contemporary garden.

Structural planting in a contemporary garden is very important

in holding the garden together all year round.

Now, in this small city garden designed by Declan Buckley,

he's used evergreen plants for hedging

and evergreen climbers as well to cover the boundaries.

In this central bed, he's used three different plants, the olive tree,

the three box balls and the lollipop bay in the corner.

Now, these add a lot of punctuation to the space and a lovely rhythm too.

They play on heights but there's a connection between them,

because they've got these lovely rounded heads.

All of them playing on scale and dimension too.

So they're there permanently,

whereas the grasses and the perennials plants,

they come and go seasonally and play off them.

When it comes to texture, it's best to plant in bold blocks

and hold back on the number of plants you choose.

At the front here, we've got the lavender hedge

running all the way through on this raised bed,

making a very graphic statement.

And the miscanthus grasses behind create real drama.

It's about being graphic, bold and a bit daring.

When it comes to colour when planting a contemporary garden,

you can do whatever you want to personalise it.

But I think the way to go is to be restrained, keep it simple.

Pare it down to some simple combinations.

In this garden he's gone for blues, whites and pinks

from the cool colour spectrum

and they work beautifully together, they're not fighting each other.

Because of the limited palette of plants in a planting style like this,

every plant here has to really earn its keep,

but if you have all evergreens it looks a bit static

and it doesn't really reflect the seasons.

What you want are key plants that are going to do that job for you.

At the moment we've got the wonderful miscanthus grasses,

the Verbena bonariensis

and the seedheads of the eryngiums and the alliums,

reflecting the late summer into early autumn season.

Here's my plan for a garden

with a really contemporary planting scheme:

I've got two beds slightly offset with a path between them.

The first thing I'm going to do is put in a really nice big

multi-stemmed shrub/small tree.

I think something like a cornus would be fantastic.

Next I'm going to put in a really graphic feature using a hedge

clipped in a wave that's starting on one side of the planting

and then coming through to the other side of the path as well

so it has a lovely continuity right across there.

Ilex crenata's a really good hedge. And then...

I've got some good structure coming in already

and I think just to counterbalance it

I need something on this corner here,

a nice soft, rounded low-growing shrub.

Box would be pretty classic, but I also like Pittosporum tobira.

So I now need to plant the boundaries either side and I think this garden's

fantastic with its trachelospermums all the way around the boundaries,

so some of those would be great and I could train those

and fan them out nice and neatly on wires.

Now to soften it all up, get some texture in there.

Anemanthele lessoniana...

Maybe rows of two each side, planted on both sides of the path

so it carries on through and you feel as you walk through

that you're in amongst them.

And then, I think something planted within this deeper,

something like alliums would be perfect.

White alliums with their pompom flowers

floating above the grasses would look fantastic.

But now I'm going to plant a groundcover geranium

and then at the front of the border, something really low-growing

and textural, and thyme - lovely purple flowers in the summer.

And then on the other side, Japanese anemones are absolutely perfect.

A huge block of them in the back there,

so they make a real impact when they flower together.

So there you go.

I'm pretty pleased with that, I used a total of nine plants

but it's the way I've used them - I've controlled them very much.

So that's my recipe for a contemporary planting scheme.

Now, if you go to our website you can see a list of plants

that Joe used this week and next week he's showing us

the planting design for an exotic garden.

Right, I'll give these roses... a nice drink.

Let that settle. And as well as watering them,

that'll push the soil around all the roots.

And then mulch them.

And that will stop the weeds coming round.

Now, I've still got some moving around to do,

lifting of plants, dividing them... Get them exactly where I want them.

Get the jigsaw looking as I hope it will pan out in the summer

and then I can finish the mulching.

Hopefully, I'll have all that done by next week

when I'll see you back here at Longmeadow.

Until then, bye-bye.

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