Episode 6 Gardeners' World


Episode 6

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Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World. Now, I've left Longmeadow today

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and come to RHS Garden Wisley where they're preparing

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for an anticipated 900,000 visitors this year.

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Mind you, it has been as tough for them as it has been for all of us

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with this harsh spring weather.

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Nevertheless, there's lots going on here both inside and out.

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And also this week -

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Carol is lending a hand to an RHS Britain in Bloom volunteer who

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is hoping to brighten up a former mining town with a community garden.

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-Wow! Look at this!

-CAROL GIGGLES

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Oh, it's plant wonderland, isn't it?

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And Joe is in Wales visiting a garden filled with rare

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and exotic species.

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Stunning piece of architecture

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and it's the home to some of the most endangered plants on our planet.

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I shall be looking at the orchid collection here

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and learning the best way to repot them.

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I'll also be helping to sow some wild flower seed

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and getting inspiration for my own garden from the alpine house.

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I've come to this alpine house for two reasons really.

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The first is it's got the best colour in the whole of Wisley

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and even the great Wisley is slightly short of colour

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after the spring we've had, but this is just rich with it.

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And also, more selfishly, because I don't know much about alpines

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and I want to grow more.

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I want to really introduce them into Longmeadow,

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so to get inspiration and knowledge, this is the place to come.

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And Colin Crosbie the curator of Wisley is here to give me

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expert advice on how to grow them.

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Colin, I think it's fair to say that this has got more colour

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in this one house than the rest of Wisley put together at the moment.

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At the present moment it's just like a sweet shop,

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-it's overflowing with colour.

-What defines an alpine?

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It's one of those things that we all sort of think we know.

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A true alpine is something that grows high up

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in the mountains at high altitudes.

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A lot of people think alpines are difficult.

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They are not, they are so easy to grow and wonderful in the container.

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And why are they grown in pots in here?

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Why don't you just plant them straight into the bed?

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Well, we grow them in clay pots which are plunged into the sand

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because that again helps to keep the root system cool

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and in the summer months, we soak the sand with moisture

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so that the clay pot can take the moisture from the sand

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into the pot, whereas, during the winter months

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when you want the roots to be dry,

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the sand pulls the moisture through the clay pot out.

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Would you say that some of these plants are easier to grow

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than others, or good for a beginner?

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There are some that are very easy to grow. For example, over here

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we've got some beautiful Saxifragas with lovely colour.

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As you can see there's a mass of tiny little pink flowers

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and then things such as Cyclamen coum -

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-very, very easy to grow outside.

-And these will grow outside?

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These will grow outside perfectly well, especially

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when they're in a trough and you've got good drainage underneath them

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and you can maybe use some pieces of tiles

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or stones in there to add a little bit of architecture

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to your trough as well.

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I tell you the ones that I really like, are the tulips.

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This one, humilis. That's SO pretty, isn't it?

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Such wonderful colours and outside these are actually great at the

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bottom of a sheltered south-facing wall where they get baked with the

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sun and there just so vibrant when you see the colours inside them.

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And unlike a lot of tulips,

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-they will go on and on and on, won't they?

-These will keep flowering

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for year after year so you don't need to keep replanting them,

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but plant them fairly deep - sunny, south-facing wall,

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a bit of shelter because you don't want that cold wind

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battering them around and then you get this wonderful colour from them.

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A lot of these can grow outside and stay outside

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and it's putting them in the right conditions,

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and buy six, seven, eight of those and you've got a nice trough, or

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a big clay pot, and you've got

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your own little miniature alpine garden.

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I'm making a list which is not really a shopping list, more of an

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inspirational list for plants that I would like to grow at Longmeadow.

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And there's no substitute

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when you're planning any kind of garden, be it a few pots on a

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windowsill or a great big herbaceous plot, to going out and seeing

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them growing, and building plant combinations of colour and texture

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and size that you can then take back to your own garden at home.

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And Joe has gone to visit a partner garden of the RHS

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and partner gardens allow entry free to RHS members

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at certain times of the year.

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The one he has gone to is the National Botanic Garden of Wales,

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which has an unusual glasshouse

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not only on the outside but also on the inside.

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Just look around you, where is the cherry blossom?

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Were at the magnolia blooms?

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For many of us, spring is unseasonably late,

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but I've come to somewhere where it is well under way.

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Here at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, I've been promised

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wonders under this spectacular dome.

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And it's certainly delivers.

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It's a stunning piece of architecture,

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a veritable Noah's Ark made of glass packed full of plants

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and it's the home of some of the most endangered plants on our planet.

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We all know about the threat to the rainforest but the plants here come

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from some of the driest, most arid places in the world.

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These Mediterranean plants are so rare

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you'll struggle to see them anywhere else on earth.

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They are known as Mediterranean plants

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because of the climate they live in, but they actually come

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from as far afield as California, Australia and even South Africa.

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Look at this, this is absolutely stunning. This is the King protea.

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The national flower of South Africa. It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?

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I've been lucky enough to see it in its natural environment

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in Cape Town on Table Mountain.

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They grow in the fynbos, which literally translated means the

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fine bush, and it's a combination of flora that all

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thrive off each other and live in this wonderful ecosystem,

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but it's under threat through environmental change

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and also man-made influences too.

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Out of the 370 protea species, 120 of them are endangered

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so it's just lovely to see it thriving away here.

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Creating a specific habitat that allows these plants to thrive

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is no mean feat.

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This spectacular dome is the largest single span glass house

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in the world and was designed by Sir Norman Foster.

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Covering 3,500 square metres, its rocky terraces

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and sandstone cliffs are contoured to reflect the natural environment.

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Simon Goodenough is a horticultural curator here

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and is passionate about protecting endangered species.

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You've got some pretty rare plants here, haven't you?

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McCutcheon's Grevillea I hear is here somewhere.

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Yeah, it's not a looker

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so you've probably walked straight past it and it's here.

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It really is not going to win the beauty contest, is it?

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Mind you, from a botanical point of view

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and as a curator of a botanic garden, it gets my juices going.

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I think this is absolutely really sexy,

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-but we're not going to sell it to a lot of people.

-How rare is it?

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In Western Australia there's ten of them in the wild, that's it.

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The only reason this was found is

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because somebody was deciding to drive a road through

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a part of Western Australia

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and quite by luck, a botanist took a look at it and said,

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"Guys, I don't think we've ever seen this before."

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Realised that it was a brand-new species to science.

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We've managed to grow it, we can actually propagate it

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and we've got probably more than there are in the wild.

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We are keepers of genetic material if you like.

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If ever there was a call to get material back, they know it is here.

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I've been transported on holiday for a minute there.

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Honestly, I am in the Canary Islands.

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I love these Echiums, they are gorgeous

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and I can't quite imagine that they're particularly endangered.

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Things like the Echiums

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are almost like weeds over there, aren't they?

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Well, some of them are but a lot of them

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grow in very specific niches

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and those niches happen to be where we want to build hotels

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and plazas, and so where they would naturally have grown,

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they are being squeezed out, so it just needs somebody to decide

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they want to build a multiplex hotel

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-on the site of an endangered plant - end of story.

-Right.

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So it's all about keeping the habitat or growing them here,

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but we're also growing them in our gardens in the UK as well,

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when the winters aren't too cold.

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There are three or four species that we grow in the British Isles

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that are actually relatively easy to grow, and Echium pininana, the great

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tall architectural plant that has graced many a London garden

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where you've got the heat of the city, very easy to grow.

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More people should have a go at it.

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I've always wanted to grow one actually. Maybe this is the year.

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Well, yes, give it a go because it's helping to preserve

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the biodiversity of planet Earth.

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I will do my little bit then.

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The National Botanic Garden of Wales is fascinating.

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It's huge, there's lots to see and I really recommend paying it a visit.

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Of course, Wisley is pretty huge too.

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It is broken down into lots of smaller gardens

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and they're busy at work here despite the weather.

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In fact, they were saying to me that they reckon

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they are 20 days behind last year.

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However, preparation is under way

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and they're sowing wildflower meadows

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not just in the great open spaces they have here,

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but also in corners of the model gardens.

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Now as part of next week's National Gardening Week,

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we're all being encouraged to grow wild flowers.

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It's a really good way to add colour

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and texture to any corner of your garden and also has the huge

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benefit of attracting lots of bees and other pollinating insects.

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-Matthew, hello.

-Hello. How are you doing?

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Now I gather you're making a meadow,

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albeit in really quite a small space.

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A very small space just to show what you can do on a small

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scale in a domestic garden.

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So having dug it over, what's the next step?

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We now need to tread, consolidate the soil.

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-Are you ready to get stuck in?

-Yes, I've got my treading shoes on.

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Perfect.

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Now you're preparing this like a lawn, to get rid of bits

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and hollows. Why in fact?

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It's just we need a settled seed bed to be sowing these into.

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We don't want the soil settling once we've already put the seed down.

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I know that the received opinion is that you need poor soil

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for any kind of wild flower mix.

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There's a couple of schools of thought here.

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I mean, the more fertile the soil is the more vigorous any grass

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will be that's within that meadow mix.

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If you've got very poor soils then the grass is going to be far less

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vigorous and it will be a happier combination between

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wild flowers and grasses.

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It's a perennial mix we're putting in here with foxgloves,

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primulas, with some Galiums, that's known as bedstraw.

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Is there any grass in the mix at all?

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We're not going for grass in here. We've quite fertile soil in here

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and I dare say the grasses wouldn't look so in keeping in a border

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so we're going completely wild flower.

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-So, presumably you want to rake that.

-We do, yes.

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We'll need to get this down to a fine tilth now.

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But just to take out any large stones or any twigs in here.

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How critical is the timing of this?

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I mean, it's still cold but presumably the soil is warming up.

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What is really important this time of year is

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we've still got moisture in the soil.

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That moisture is there for the germination,

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will help the flowers establish.

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You could do this in the autumn

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if you've caught quite a free draining soil.

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If you've got a soil that is prone to waterlogging or quite cold,

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like a clay soil, now, spring, is the time to do it.

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-To get on with this.

-Yes.

-Right, that tilth is now a thing of beauty.

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-It's firm. Ready?

-Yes, we're good to go.

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As it's a small area we're actually going to mix the seed with some sand.

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You should use a silver sand or a washed sand. You can

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see your sowing and just to help distribute the seed.

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And I'm literally going to simply sprinkle this in through the sand.

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People tend to sow too thickly, don't they?

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Indeed and we're kind of working on

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around one gram per square metre here.

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-Right. That's ready.

-This is good to go.

-OK.

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It doesn't take two to sew a little patch of seed like that. I'm going to watch.

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It doesn't and it's actually a good point because even quite

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a large area, just casting by hand is actually one of the most

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effective ways and you simply just do a light sprinkling action.

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This is where the sand comes in.

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This is where the sand is so useful.

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You can see where you've gone a bit too thick or perhaps a little

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-too thin and you can easily go back.

-Right.

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-Do you leave or rake it?

-Very, very light rake.

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Just the finest rake.

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-And it is literally just a...

-A tickle.

-Tickle, that's the word.

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Also it takes out my footprints which look absolutely hideous.

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-Just enough to settle the seed there.

-And one last thing.

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Water, and really just in the first few months while this is

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germinating, just to ensure the ground doesn't completely dry out.

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And with a little bit of warmth,

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-these will be germinating in weeks, won't they?

-They will.

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-We hope for that warmth.

-I'd give anything for that warmth.

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Now, you may not be making a meadow,

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but here are some other jobs that you can be getting on with at home

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this weekend.

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Mop head hydrangeas benefit from having their dead flower heads

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left on over winter.

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This helps to protect them against frost damage

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but with the arrival of spring, it's time to remove them,

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cutting back to the first strong healthy pair of green buds

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lower down the stem.

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Any thin, spindly stems should be pruned out too along with

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dead branches, of course, and this will help open up the shrub

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and improve its overall shape.

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Apricots, nectarines and peaches all need pollinating

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if they're going to bear a good crop of fruit,

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but bees may not be active yet and if you grow them under glass,

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may have difficulty getting to the flowers.

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In both cases, pollinating them by hand is the answer.

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Simply tickle each bloom with a soft brush

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so the pollen is spread from one flower to the next

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and if you can, it's best to do this in the middle of the day.

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It's always a good idea to stake your herbaceous

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perennials before they need it.

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And at Wisley they have rather a nifty way of doing this.

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Birch branches that they've gathered over

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the winter are stuck into the ground around each plant.

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These are then woven along the top by carefully bending

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and twisting the twigs together.

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The height of each support varies according to the plant concerned but

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if you aim for a foot or so off the plants final height, you'll be fine.

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I don't grow any orchids myself but when I was a child,

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my granny did and I can still see clearly in my mind's eye these

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extraordinary flowers up on the mantelpiece,

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arching down like exotic birds.

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I know lots of people get given orchids and grow them

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and get the same sort of wonder and pleasure that I did when I was

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a child, but to come here and see so many altogether really is special.

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Wisley's orchid collection is one of its star

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attractions at this time of year and I'm meeting Peter Jones to find

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out how best to look after this most exotic of houseplants.

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Hello, Peter.

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-Hello, Monty.

-Peter, how many different orchids have you got here?

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Well it's pretty hard to put a figure on it

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but we've got hundreds of orchids in our collection.

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-It's pretty extensive.

-It's extraordinary.

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Now a lot of people will be given orchids.

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Was the first thing you need to do and where do you put an orchid?

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I suppose you need to think about your orchid selection,

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so, for example, if you had an orchid like a Phalaenopsis,

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which is given very commonly,

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that's an orchid which can take high temperatures

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so it's ideal for a warmer room like say a living room,

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and it also can tolerate lower light levels so it's ideal for say

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if you've got more of a shadier room as well.

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A lot of people will think this is an exotic plant,

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needs a lot of heat and will put it on a radiator.

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-Is that a good idea?

-Oh, no.

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The thing with most modern houses is that they're all central heated

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and it drives all the moisture out of the air and

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the majority of these orchids come from very humid environments,

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so they like moisture in the air.

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So somewhere like above a radiator is not going to be ideal for it.

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I know that a lot of people get anxious with orchids.

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They grow them fine and they do their stuff,

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but after a bit they either outgrow the pot or they stop flowering.

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And repotting an orchid can be quite a daunting task.

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We happen to be doing some at the moment,

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so if you want to come this way.

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This is a phalaenopsis, a moth orchid,

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which is perhaps one of the most commonly given houseplants in the UK.

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I see this is in a clear pot, why is that?

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Orchids like phalaenopsis do quite like a bit of sunlight

0:18:210:18:24

on their roots to help with their feeding. But you also notice though,

0:18:240:18:28

we've got quite a few roots that are coming out of their pots.

0:18:280:18:31

This is completely normal and it's nothing to worry about.

0:18:310:18:34

This is something that they do.

0:18:340:18:35

You have non-clear pots here for the cymbidiums -

0:18:350:18:39

a different type of behaviour?

0:18:390:18:40

Exactly. These will put out roots slightly on the surface,

0:18:400:18:44

but they're not really requiring the light factor.

0:18:440:18:48

How do you know that that is ready for potting on?

0:18:480:18:51

I've got a good example here of one that shows how orchids with bulbs,

0:18:510:18:56

these are called pseudo bulbs, how they grow.

0:18:560:18:59

This bulb here was when the orchid was first potted.

0:18:590:19:02

It produces a new bulb every season.

0:19:020:19:05

As you can see, it has moved across the pot

0:19:050:19:07

from where it first started to the edge of the pot.

0:19:070:19:10

This one here is one that is ready for potting.

0:19:110:19:14

We'll start with the basics.

0:19:140:19:16

We want to get rid of this old flower spike.

0:19:160:19:19

You can see this orchid here, it's been in its pot several years.

0:19:190:19:22

We've got some pseudo bulbs here

0:19:220:19:24

and it's got quite a lot of roots that are just coming out of the pot.

0:19:240:19:28

Do you just put that into a bigger pot?

0:19:280:19:31

No. With this orchid, it's quite a small cymbidium,

0:19:310:19:34

it's not very big. I'm actually just going to tidy it up

0:19:340:19:37

and I'll put it straight back into the same pot that it came out of.

0:19:370:19:40

I'm going to be quite brutal with this orchid.

0:19:400:19:43

I'm going to take a third of the roots off the bottom.

0:19:430:19:46

We can see... we tease them out slightly,

0:19:460:19:48

-we can literally go in...

-And cut across.

0:19:480:19:51

We've taken our third of our roots off

0:19:540:19:56

and we'll just have a little tease around

0:19:560:19:58

and see if there are any damaged and dead ones.

0:19:580:20:01

We don't want to leave any dead ones in there that are going to rot.

0:20:010:20:04

How would I know if they are dead?

0:20:040:20:06

They would feel soft and as if they were rotten.

0:20:060:20:08

I am going to start by putting a bit of compost in the bottom there.

0:20:080:20:12

What I'm going to do is try and position this orchid

0:20:130:20:16

so that we have got the old bulbs at one side of the pot

0:20:160:20:19

and we've got the newer bulbs in the centre

0:20:190:20:22

because that is where our new growing tip is going to form

0:20:220:20:25

and it's going to walk towards the other side.

0:20:250:20:28

-Keeping it...

-Bringing it back in.

0:20:280:20:30

We've got a nice height there of the base of the bulb,

0:20:300:20:34

just below the rim of the pot. We are going to backfill.

0:20:340:20:37

I'm taking the bark and I'm pushing it

0:20:370:20:39

to just try to get it into the air gaps that may be inside the pot there

0:20:390:20:42

so just give it a bit of a tap as well.

0:20:420:20:45

And how often would you reckon to do this?

0:20:450:20:47

We normally say two to three years,

0:20:470:20:49

-or when the bulbs have started to reach the other side of the part.

-OK.

0:20:490:20:53

Most of us come to Wisley

0:21:030:21:05

to see incredible displays like these orchids

0:21:050:21:07

and the most of plants and the biggest gardens.

0:21:070:21:12

And we don't try to copy that at home, we just get inspiration.

0:21:120:21:15

We take something from it.

0:21:150:21:16

But the RHS work is not just about Wisley

0:21:160:21:19

and the grandest and the biggest and the best.

0:21:190:21:21

It does reach right out to grass roots level.

0:21:210:21:24

And Carol has been up to Hartlepool to meet an RHS volunteer

0:21:240:21:28

who is hoping to breathe new life into his neighbourhood

0:21:280:21:32

by making a community garden.

0:21:320:21:34

On the windswept north coast sits the small town of Easington Colliery.

0:21:410:21:46

It takes its name from the coal pit

0:21:460:21:49

which, until 20 years ago, was the very centre of the community.

0:21:490:21:54

But in 1993, the pit closed down

0:21:540:21:57

and the whole locality felt a real sense of loss.

0:21:570:22:01

But one man is determined to galvanise local people

0:22:040:22:08

into making their town a much more plant friendly and colourful place.

0:22:080:22:13

I've actually come to take some divisions of your rudbeckia.

0:22:130:22:16

This is the right time of year to do it.

0:22:160:22:18

Michael Welsh is one of thousands of RHS Britain in Bloom volunteers.

0:22:200:22:24

Britain in Bloom is an RHS campaign

0:22:250:22:28

that encourages communities to brighten up their surroundings.

0:22:280:22:32

With the plants he collects from all over the neighbourhood,

0:22:320:22:35

Michael's aim is to create a large, community garden.

0:22:350:22:39

Thanks to the parish council,

0:22:400:22:42

land has been provided for Michael to start his community garden

0:22:420:22:46

and to provide a place for all those wonderful plants

0:22:460:22:50

that have been donated and propagated by local people.

0:22:500:22:53

The community garden, apart from being the hub of the community,

0:22:550:22:58

could actually be the heart of the community as well.

0:22:580:23:00

It spreads all over the place.

0:23:000:23:02

Especially if people do it in their own gardens.

0:23:020:23:06

As Easington gets more colourful, I think people's lives will be...

0:23:060:23:11

-Improved.

-Yes, that's it.

0:23:110:23:14

I want to give whatever help I can to Michael's endeavours.

0:23:150:23:19

Quite a few of these are looking really healthy. Look at that hebe.

0:23:190:23:23

Very loose, sandy compost. Good roots, look at those.

0:23:230:23:27

So they will need a few more weeks in here

0:23:270:23:30

until those roots have developed a bit more before you pot them up.

0:23:300:23:33

Cuttings are a great way to make more plants,

0:23:330:23:36

but Michael also has an abundance of seed that needs attending to.

0:23:360:23:41

Marigold seeds.

0:23:410:23:43

The great thing about hardy annuals

0:23:430:23:46

is that although you can sow them the autumn before, or in the spring,

0:23:460:23:50

-in a cold year like this...

-Definitely, it has been that.

0:23:500:23:53

If you sow them individually, they are soon going to catch up.

0:23:530:23:57

By the autumn, you will have great big plants

0:23:570:23:59

and they will have flowered all summer

0:23:590:24:01

and you will be able to collect your seed.

0:24:010:24:03

It is a bit like an angler, when he catches his first fish,

0:24:030:24:06

he is hooked for life.

0:24:060:24:07

It is the same with the garden.

0:24:070:24:09

-When you see your first seed sprout or...

-Your first cutting.

0:24:090:24:14

Michael has got his work cut out.

0:24:140:24:16

There's lots of pots in here destined for the community garden.

0:24:160:24:20

Wow! Look at this.

0:24:220:24:24

It's a plant wonderland, isn't it?

0:24:240:24:28

It certainly is.

0:24:280:24:30

This time last year, there wasn't one plant in this garden.

0:24:300:24:34

Or the structure. It's all been done in the last nine months.

0:24:340:24:39

It's high exposure, but it's full light.

0:24:390:24:43

You've got lovely sandy soil by the look of it.

0:24:430:24:46

It's a really brilliant place to bring plants on and to have a garden.

0:24:460:24:50

When people are giving you things,

0:24:500:24:52

whether you have got a tiny garden or a huge great plot like you've got,

0:24:520:24:55

I think the most important thing is to get them in the ground.

0:24:550:24:59

You're making those divisions, splitting things up,

0:24:590:25:01

growing your seedlings on, so I think a nursery bed is what is called for.

0:25:010:25:07

Before the community garden is fully developed,

0:25:090:25:11

a nursery bed is the ideal place to put plants

0:25:110:25:14

before they're ready to plant out.

0:25:140:25:16

Creating one here is as simple as turning over the soil

0:25:170:25:20

and removing weeds.

0:25:200:25:22

I've brought my own contribution that is just right for this location.

0:25:230:25:28

This one is a Geranium oxonianum.

0:25:280:25:30

It's got these lovely chocolatey splodged leaves.

0:25:300:25:34

You could plant a piece that that straightaway.

0:25:340:25:37

Or you can make it even smaller.

0:25:370:25:40

You trim the roots with fibrous stuff like this,

0:25:410:25:43

just because it stimulates them to make fresh roots.

0:25:430:25:48

In it goes. Nestle it in.

0:25:480:25:51

And that's just going to grow away.

0:25:530:25:55

This is a very special plant.

0:26:020:26:04

It's my mum's white phlox

0:26:050:26:07

and this has actually visited the North East in its life

0:26:070:26:10

because we lived in Newcastle for a bit.

0:26:100:26:13

It's exactly the right time to take basal cuttings.

0:26:130:26:17

-Have you ever done this?

-I haven't actually done a basal one, no.

0:26:170:26:20

It's a really good way of propagating stuff that you can't grow from seed

0:26:200:26:24

and that doesn't come true from seed

0:26:240:26:26

and where you want exactly the same plant. Because it's vegetative.

0:26:260:26:31

You get clones of the original.

0:26:310:26:34

All you do is slide your knife right down into the basal here.

0:26:340:26:40

You do it by feel rather than sight.

0:26:400:26:44

And you just want a nice, short shoot like that.

0:26:440:26:47

Strip these bottom leaves off.

0:26:470:26:50

And just dibble them round the side of a pot.

0:26:500:26:53

Good old watering, grit on the top if you've got it.

0:26:530:26:56

I didn't bring any of that.

0:26:560:26:57

They take a bit of time,

0:26:590:27:00

but you'll be able to plant these cuttings out later on in the summer.

0:27:000:27:05

As well as taking basal cuttings from this phlox,

0:27:050:27:08

we can split it up into chunks to grow on in the new bed.

0:27:080:27:13

Finally, some stems of willow and cornus will root

0:27:130:27:16

and provide colourful new plants.

0:27:160:27:18

-This whole garden is going to be a resource.

-Yes, it is.

0:27:190:27:23

It's going to be the hub of all this wonderful activity.

0:27:230:27:26

-It's going to be the hub and the heart.

-Yeah!

0:27:260:27:29

Well, I do wish them every success in the world with that project

0:27:400:27:44

because I know how a garden doesn't just bind people together,

0:27:440:27:48

it lightens up everybody's life.

0:27:480:27:49

I can tell you what's lightening my life at the moment.

0:27:490:27:52

It's this amazing river of daffodils. This is February Gold.

0:27:520:27:57

It is dainty, it is charming

0:27:570:28:00

and full of the light of spring.

0:28:000:28:02

And even though Wisley is perishing

0:28:020:28:05

and we have had a miserable, bleak few weeks,

0:28:050:28:08

spring is coming. It is getting better.

0:28:080:28:11

Don't forget, this coming week is National Gardening week.

0:28:110:28:15

Lots of events all over the country.

0:28:150:28:17

You can find details of those on our website.

0:28:170:28:19

I'll be back next week at home at Longmeadow.

0:28:190:28:22

Join me then. Bye-bye.

0:28:220:28:23

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