0:00:02 > 0:00:03Come on.
0:00:03 > 0:00:08Hello. Welcome back to a new series of Gardeners' World.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13Well, I guess we're still reeling a little after that terrible winter.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Here at Longmeadow we've been under water for weeks on end,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18we've been battered by the winds,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and at times it really has felt like the house is going to blow down
0:00:21 > 0:00:23and the garden will be washed away
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and disappear over the watery horizon.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29But we've come through it.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It's been very mild despite the vile weather,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37so everything is growing well and we've got a whole year's gardening ahead of us.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42This year, as usual, I'm joined by Carol,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Rachel and Joe.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Carol will be meeting people and plants
0:00:49 > 0:00:52that have helped shape British gardening.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Crocus, of course, one of the gems of early spring,
0:00:54 > 0:00:59and this week Carol is meeting one of the country's leading experts.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Some people say they're rather blowsy
0:01:01 > 0:01:04but they do make a spectacular show.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- They're bold. - Bold, that's a better word.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Over the next few weeks, Joe will be looking at gardens
0:01:10 > 0:01:13that thrive despite their extreme locations.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16He's starting in Pembrokeshire to get tips on how to garden
0:01:16 > 0:01:19in soil that is sodden all the year round.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24- It's so dramatic.- It's primal. Bog is a very primal condition.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28And Rachel visits a fabulous rose garden,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33home to over 5,000 different varieties, the perfect place
0:01:33 > 0:01:37to see how our taste in roses has changed over the years.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42In this garden I fell in love with the rose.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54In January and February it was impossible
0:01:54 > 0:01:56to do much gardening for weeks on end
0:01:56 > 0:02:00but before Christmas I did make one big change
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and that has opened up a whole new set of possibilities.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12For the last 20 years, there's been a hornbeam hedge
0:02:12 > 0:02:15running down along the length of the Spring Garden,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18turning it into a long, narrow triangle.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Now this has looked great in spring
0:02:21 > 0:02:25but it meant that by May and certainly June,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29it was a very shaded, dark part of the garden
0:02:29 > 0:02:31that more or less sat unvisited,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35certainly without anything to show right through the rest of summer.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Now, I've taken that hedge out
0:02:37 > 0:02:42and what this means is not only does the light pour in right away
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and the shape of the garden has changed,
0:02:44 > 0:02:49but it also gives me a whole new range of planting opportunities
0:02:49 > 0:02:51because by taking the hedge out,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I've revealed a strip all along its lee,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56which really had almost nothing in it at all.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Now, I've got some pulmonaria here,
0:02:59 > 0:03:04one of those modest spring plants that's never going to be a star,
0:03:04 > 0:03:09but is always playing a really valuable supporting role.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This is 'Blue Ensign'. You can see
0:03:12 > 0:03:15that's a rich, good blue
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and blue is the rarest colour in the garden
0:03:17 > 0:03:19so you want to find it out and use it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21What you'll find very commonly in pulmonaria,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23and I've got some back here,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27is you get pink and blue on the same plant.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31They will start a pinky colour and then turn blue.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33But they hybridise all the time
0:03:33 > 0:03:36so that you can end up with rather muddy colours,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38so by adding a really strong blue,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42I'm adding a jolt of colour back in and getting some energy.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46It's one of the easiest plants you could possibly grow.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47It's not a native.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50It comes from central European woodland
0:03:50 > 0:03:52but has been grown in this country
0:03:52 > 0:03:55since medieval times as a medicinal plant.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Called lungwort, and it's called lungwort
0:03:57 > 0:03:59because if you look at the foliage,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03its mottled display, people thought it looked like lungs
0:04:03 > 0:04:07so they would boil it up and take it for asthma or bronchitis.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08I wouldn't try that myself.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12And all it needs to thrive is a bit of shade
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and some reasonable moisture in the soil.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21And although this has opened out,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24there's still a little bit of shade here all the year round
0:04:24 > 0:04:29and 'Blue Ensign' as a variety is better adapted than some other pulmonarias
0:04:29 > 0:04:32to being in full sun so there will be no problem here at all.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Just pop it in the ground there.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41There she goes.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45The most noticeable problem that you get with pulmonarias
0:04:45 > 0:04:49is a white mould that covers the foliage if they get too dry.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52If they do get mouldy, just cut off the foliage,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and I like to do that anyway round about the beginning of June.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Cut them right back to the ground so you get fresh new foliage,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and that tends not to get mouldy at all.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And then I cut them back again in November
0:05:04 > 0:05:09so that they start their growth in spring absolutely from a basal point.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Now this one doesn't come true from seed.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21But you can divide it very easily,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24so you can keep your stock by dividing the plants
0:05:24 > 0:05:27or occasionally buying new ones as I have done here.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29They're not an expensive plant
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and one of those ones that are no trouble.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33They just spread themselves around
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and you can rather take them for granted
0:05:35 > 0:05:38like so many other plants that appear at this time of year -
0:05:38 > 0:05:40the crocus and the snowdrops,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43the pulmonarias and euphorbias coming through.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47This series, Carol is going to be visiting gardens
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and talking to gardeners where they don't take their plants for granted,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56where they specialise in a plant and devote their lives to them.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06You know that winter's on its way out
0:06:06 > 0:06:11as the grass begins to sparkle with the joyous flowers of crocus.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13As the sun begins to shine,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18they open their petals wide to embrace its warming rays.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33EA Bowles' gardens at Myddelton House
0:06:33 > 0:06:37are the historic home for crocus in the British Isles.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I'm meeting Brian Mathew here,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42devotee of these early spring delights
0:06:42 > 0:06:47and one of the world's if not THE world's leading authorities.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52He published his seminal work on the plant, named simply The Crocus,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56which has since become a Bible to gardeners and botanists alike.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01I suppose it took about ten years in all of travelling around,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04looking at them, putting the whole thing together
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and borrowing thousands of specimens from all the European herbaria.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- That's what you call a monumental task, isn't it?- Yes.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16I found one dried specimen in a herbarium, which said
0:07:16 > 0:07:18on Mount Bermion, which is northern Greece,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22by the last melting snow patch, and so I thought,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24"I've got to go and see that."
0:07:24 > 0:07:29The car I had at the time was a Mini Traveller so I drove in a few days
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and 1,700 miles down to northern Greece and there it was.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- You'd found it!- Round the edge of this last little snow patch.
0:07:35 > 0:07:42So what is it about something like this that you love so much?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Well, I'm a gardener as well and there's nothing much more beautiful
0:07:46 > 0:07:49than that and graceful, is there?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Of course botanically they've got so many different characters
0:07:52 > 0:07:54and that's what really fires me up.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Another interesting thing about them
0:07:57 > 0:07:59is that the seed pod sits down under ground
0:07:59 > 0:08:00and it'll shoot up on a stalk
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and wave about in the air and distribute the seed.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Because of Brian's work,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11plant breeders have so much more information at their command
0:08:11 > 0:08:16and we gardeners have come to know so many crocus species and cultivars
0:08:16 > 0:08:20to help us choose plants that are just right for our gardens.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28I think one of the most enchanting, magical things about crocus
0:08:28 > 0:08:32is that they all close up when it's dark and open up in the sunshine.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Things like snowdrops dangle their flowers,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39which means that when it's pouring with rain,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41their pollen is preserved inside,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44whereas crocuses facing upwards in a wine glass shape
0:08:44 > 0:08:46would just fill up with water
0:08:46 > 0:08:48so they've got to have a mechanism to open and close.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53- Is it light that triggers that? - It's not wholly light.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Light has warmth in it and it's warmth that does it.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02How do you differentiate between them when it comes to growing them in your garden?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04For garden crocuses,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06you would really pick out tommasinianus
0:09:06 > 0:09:10if you want a really early one. That comes from the Balkans
0:09:10 > 0:09:11and it grows in semi-shade
0:09:11 > 0:09:13underneath deciduous trees and shrubs,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16so we treat it the same way in gardens.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18We plant it in the shade.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22So between shrubs, under trees, behind your wheelie bin?
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Perfect, yes.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26And then vernus, which comes later.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Vernus is a plant of alpine meadows and so in gardens
0:09:29 > 0:09:32it's ideal for planting in grass,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35which is why you see so much of it around in parks.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Some people say they're rather blowsy
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- but they do make a spectacular show. - They're bold.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Bold, that's a better word.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45But what differentiates chrysanthus?
0:09:45 > 0:09:49They're plants of open, stony hillsides,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52sunny places where they'll dry out in the summer.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54So that's really a third major group
0:09:54 > 0:09:58which are great for a different situation in the garden.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01So you can fall in love with your favourite chrysanthus
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- and plant it in a sunny place? - That's right.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Many wonderful chrysanthus hybrids are available.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Two of my favourites can be seen here in the gardens.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Cream Beauty is a delightful, delicate crocus.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Snow Bunting is a hugely popular and robust flower
0:10:20 > 0:10:23that has markings on the outside
0:10:23 > 0:10:27that look handpainted, almost like birds' feathers.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38Crocus come from such a vast area and they grow in all sorts of situations
0:10:38 > 0:10:43that we're all bound to be able to find something that suits our gardens perfectly,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45whether we want to grow them in grass,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49mingle them with spring beauties, or simply put them into pots
0:10:49 > 0:10:55where we can study their exquisite and intricate patterns and forms.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59It's thanks to all that work and devotion over so many years
0:10:59 > 0:11:03that we're able to know so much about the genus
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and to grow them so successfully in our own gardens.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19This part of the garden is called the damp garden
0:11:19 > 0:11:22because it does often flood.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27But it's never flooded so much or for so long as it did this winter.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31There were times when literally, as far as the eye could see,
0:11:31 > 0:11:32was just a sheet of water.
0:11:32 > 0:11:38The garden felt like a half submerged island in a vast lake.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42I know for a lot of people, this is a distressing and alarming experience
0:11:42 > 0:11:46but because we've had it happen over the years, two or three or four times a year,
0:11:46 > 0:11:47it doesn't worry us.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51But there is a real danger if it stays too long,
0:11:51 > 0:11:52that plants will suffer.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57In my experience, as long as a flood doesn't last for more than ten days,
0:11:57 > 0:11:58nothing suffers at all.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03You'll end up with everything looking rather saturated
0:12:03 > 0:12:07and a horrible slime everywhere but the rain washes that off.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11What I would say is if you've been flooded, do nothing.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Don't panic, take stock and see what grows back.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I think you'll find that almost everything will.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22Also consider what you could plant that could use that opportunity,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24plants that relish the flooding.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28In here for example, we've deliberately chosen plants like loosestrife
0:12:28 > 0:12:34which will really be happy in the wettest of conditions.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Like the primulas.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39The candelabra primulas in particular.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41They don't seem to mind if they're permanently wet,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43even though they will grow quite well
0:12:43 > 0:12:46in relatively dry conditions too,
0:12:46 > 0:12:47so a very adaptable plant.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Lysimachia, this is Lysimachia ciliata here,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55which really grows strongly in wet conditions.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56In other words, if our weather
0:12:56 > 0:12:58is going to get warmer and wetter in winters
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and these extreme events do seem likely,
0:13:01 > 0:13:08it's an opportunity to grow all those plants that need the wetness and will thrive in it.
0:13:08 > 0:13:15This year, Joe is visiting a series of gardens that have been made despite extreme conditions.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19The first one he visits is a wet garden in Pembrokeshire.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29The wild coastal valleys of West Wales owe their verdant beauty
0:13:29 > 0:13:31to some of the wettest weather in Britain.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34In the shadow of the Preseli Hills here,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37you don't have to look too far for evidence of rain.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41This damp, squelchy ground is hardly inspiring
0:13:41 > 0:13:45but this garden shows just what can be achieved.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Christina Shand came here 17 years ago
0:13:56 > 0:13:58and has been working on the garden ever since.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Christina, how wet is it here?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04The weather is extraordinarily changeable.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09I do describe this place as being between a bog and a hard rock!
0:14:09 > 0:14:12We have a high rainfall and it is challenging.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15But that's what I love about gardening.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16You try things out
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and then you make horrendous mistakes
0:14:19 > 0:14:21but you learn from it all the time.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- That is the joy. - I'm intrigued to find out more.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36It certainly is changeable weather around here, that's for sure.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It's absolutely chucking it down at the moment!
0:14:39 > 0:14:43This border, it is gorgeous. I love it, it is tropical, it's exotic.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- Is the soil damp under there, too? - That is pretty wet.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50That's what they call a surface well.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53There are quite a lot of them in Pembrokeshire.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57When I first made the bed, I wanted to plant wisteria on the front here.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00I broke out the concrete and it kept filling up with water
0:15:00 > 0:15:03so I thought, "Right, I can't have my wisteria."
0:15:03 > 0:15:05So you went for this instead?
0:15:05 > 0:15:09I went for boggy bed and put the down pipe into it as well.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11OK, which makes it even wetter when it rains,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15so all the water is ending up in this planting area.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19What stays in here permanently? I'm guessing the colocasia gets moved?
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Yes, that does, and the cannas and the dahlias.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25What stays in here, it's the ferns.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28There is a banana, which I wrap up a bit.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31How do you find out about what grows best in those beds?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Trial and error, really.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36If you put something in and it does well, you'll grow more of it?
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Yes, it tells me itself. Like the thalictrum.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Various things are starting to seed themselves around.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45I suddenly think, "I can grow things other people can't grow
0:15:45 > 0:15:48"because they haven't got enough moisture in the soil."
0:15:48 > 0:15:51I learned to try and take advantage of that.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03There's one section of the garden Christina tells me
0:16:03 > 0:16:07presented her with a particularly difficult challenge.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09But also, an exciting opportunity.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12I've always wanted a sunken garden.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I love sunken gardens, I like coming down and as I come down,
0:16:15 > 0:16:21the plants get taller, so I'm getting enveloped and overwhelmed in them.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27I see what you mean! In fact, it's a jungle in here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29I started a two-tier planting system.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34I started bringing in rocks first of all, making planting pockets,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37filling them up with topsoil and raising them up.
0:16:37 > 0:16:44Once I got the astilbes out of the immediate bog and the gunnera, they were happy.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47So you're basically building a structure, raising them up above ground
0:16:47 > 0:16:49and they can get their roots down a bit,
0:16:49 > 0:16:54- permanently wet but not too wet. - Yes.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Then other plans are straight into the bog like the primulas.
0:16:58 > 0:17:04They struggled to begin with but then the self-seeding ones were happy.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- Plants find their own levels. - How do you manage this area now?
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It's so densely planted.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Do you manage it or do you just let them all battle it out for themselves?
0:17:13 > 0:17:17I am more and more inclined to let it have its own volition, this garden.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19I like the way it's taken on a life of its own.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21It's absolutely fantastic. It's so dramatic.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25It's primal. Bog is a very primal condition.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27The plants reflect that enormously.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28A lot of gardeners might get the fear
0:17:28 > 0:17:32when faced with boggy conditions but you've turned it around.
0:17:32 > 0:17:38Everybody wants plants that grow in that classic free-draning, moisture-retentive soil.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Hey, what about trying other difficult conditions
0:17:41 > 0:17:46and finding out, getting to know the plants and what they will take and what they won't.
0:17:58 > 0:18:05I really like the way that Christina hasn't just managed to make a garden in a tricky spot,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08but has made a beautiful, inspiring garden.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09You can go and see it.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It's open from Easter through until September
0:18:12 > 0:18:16and you'll find all the details on our website.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19It shows that although people like me
0:18:19 > 0:18:21will go on about making perfect soil,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and that is an ideal, you don't have to have it.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29You can make a wonderful garden in almost any conditions.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Whatever your conditions,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39here are some jobs you can get on with this weekend.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Chilies and peppers are slow to germinate
0:18:44 > 0:18:47so they should be one of the first seeds you sow in spring.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Scatter the seeds thinly on a seed tray of compost.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Because they need a temperature
0:18:54 > 0:18:57of at least 20 degrees centigrade to germinate,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59put them somewhere warm.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08March is the ideal time to prune late-flowering clematis
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and these are the ones, like Clematis viticella,
0:19:11 > 0:19:17that produce their flowers in July, August and on into autumn.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21If you leave them unpruned, the flowers grow increasingly higher
0:19:21 > 0:19:22and higher up the plant.
0:19:22 > 0:19:28So, cut hard, reducing it down to one or two buds above the ground.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33This will stimulate vigorous new growth, which will carry this year's flowers.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43It's a good idea to chit first and second early potatoes
0:19:43 > 0:19:46to give you that lovely harvest of new potatoes in summer.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52If you leave potatoes in a dark place,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56they will produce long, translucent shoots.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Chitting them means putting them in a bright, sunny position in an open tray
0:20:02 > 0:20:08and as long as it's frost free, the shoots will remain compact and green so that when you plant them,
0:20:08 > 0:20:13they grow with extra vigour and this is what gives you an earlier crop.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Now is a really good time to plant roses.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26You can see they're starting to put shoots on because it's been so mild
0:20:26 > 0:20:31but the idea is to get them in the ground before they start to grow so the roots can get settled,
0:20:31 > 0:20:36get established and they will support the new growth a lot better.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38I planted these last autumn.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40They're all yellow. This one is called the Pilgrim.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45It's got wonderful ruffled yellow petals, a slight touch of pink,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and a really good fragrance.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51I do strongly recommend that after you plant any rose,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55really give it a hard prune and the reason for that,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58is to stimulate growth from the base of the plant.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04That way, it starts out as it means to continue, a nice, well-structured plant.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06After that, with a shrub rose like this,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10you only need to prune to tidy it up.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21These are three roses that I planted a year ago.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24They grew really well last summer but they have grown irregularly
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and this is very normal when you first plant roses.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28It doesn't matter what kind.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32They never quite make the shape you want until you establish that.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37You can see how that we've got some really strong growth and yet,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39very limited stems, too.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45The biggest mistake is to cut the strongest growth back hardest.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48When you prune in winter, that stimulates growth.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51If we want to get a nice, even shape,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55then we have to cut the weakest growth hardest.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The harder you cut, the stronger the regrowth.
0:22:00 > 0:22:07So, we have a weak growth here next to a much more vigorous one.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11I just take about a third off this and cut that there.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17But reduce this one right down,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and I would expect the stems to balance out
0:22:21 > 0:22:23and by this time next year,
0:22:23 > 0:22:28to have a nice, evenly-shaped shrub, which I can then just trim.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34There are lots of different types of roses and man has relished them all across the centuries.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Last summer, Rachel went to the Garden of the Rose in St Albans
0:22:38 > 0:22:40to look at their long history.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I've been coming to this garden, probably all my life.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02In this garden, I fell in love with the rose.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17The sheer diversity of roses on display here is extraordinary.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22I think it's the perfect place to come to learn more about changing fashions in roses
0:23:22 > 0:23:24over the last 50 years or so.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44In the first half of the 20th century,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48most gardens would have had these old classic roses
0:23:48 > 0:23:54with divine names like Damasks, Albas, Portlands and of course these glorious Gallicas.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Most flower only once, very fleetingly, so the hunt was on
0:23:58 > 0:24:03for new repeat flowering varieties that were better suited to modern gardens.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11# There'll be bluebirds over
0:24:11 > 0:24:15# The white cliffs of Dover... #
0:24:15 > 0:24:17We've always bred roses,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20even during the dark days of the Second World War.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Towards the end of that period, there came a new rose,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26named to express the optimism for the future.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30It's called Peace and probably the most famous rose in the world.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33It's a perfect example of a hybrid tea,
0:24:33 > 0:24:39tightly coiled buds that then swirl open into an explosion of petals.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46They were bred to repeat flower and had a huge colour range.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Many became garden celebrities in their own right.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Names like Blue Moon and Grandpa Dixon.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Thanks to roses like these,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01there was a huge boom in the popularity of roses in the 1950s.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06In one single year, there were 40 to 50 million sold, which is extraordinary.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09I think, for many people of that generation,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13the hybrid tea is still their idea of what a rose should be.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Alongside the hybrid teas,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21another dynasty of roses came to dominate our gardens.
0:25:21 > 0:25:27This time, the floribundas. It was all about floriferousness.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Lots and lots of flowers here in clusters.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33I have such affection for this particular rose
0:25:33 > 0:25:36because it was one of my dad's favourites.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40# Life would be a dream
0:25:40 > 0:25:44# If only all my precious plans would come true
0:25:44 > 0:25:47# If you would let me spend my whole life loving you
0:25:47 > 0:25:50# Life would be a dream, sweetheart... #
0:25:54 > 0:25:57From the '50s, the hybrid teas and floribundas reigned supreme.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00But in the 1970s,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04roses took a bit of a knock with the advent of garden centres
0:26:04 > 0:26:07because people wanted something that looked good straightaway in a pot,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and rose sales literally halved.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15But this was the answer, patio roses.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18They're compact, healthy and they repeat flower.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Masses of blooms all summer long.
0:26:24 > 0:26:31For me, many patio roses lacked one key characteristic that makes a great rose, fragrance.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34But by the 1980s and '90s, tastes were changing
0:26:34 > 0:26:39and people wanted roses that combined the romance, the form of old roses,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44with good disease resistance, good shape, repeat flowering, and perfume.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51A great example in a rose I grow at home is Golden Celebration.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Nowadays, roses are among the most diverse
0:27:01 > 0:27:03and versatile of all garden plants.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08I'm sure we're never going to tire of trying to find the next big thing.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10So, what does the future hold?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Well, who knows, but watch this space.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Seeing all those roses does make you yearn for summer but it will come.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31It will come soon
0:27:31 > 0:27:36and to make sure that your roses produce as many flowers as possible,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40the final process in preparing them is to give them a good mulch.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45When you prune a rose, you're taking away potential goodness for the roots
0:27:45 > 0:27:47until it grows more foliage.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Give it a little boost and the best thing you can possibly do is
0:27:50 > 0:27:54simply mulch it with any organic material.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Garden compost is the very best of all
0:27:57 > 0:28:01but you could use mushroom compost or even woodchips.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03As long as they're well rotted down.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07What this will do is protect the moisture in the soil...
0:28:09 > 0:28:13..stop any weeds growing, which will compete and take nutrients,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16and also provide more feed for the plant.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21That's all you need to do for the rest of the year. That's it.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23That's it for this week, too.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26I'll be back next week at the same time.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28See you then. Bye-bye.