0:00:02 > 0:00:03BEE BUZZES
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10Well, here we are.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14It's the end of August, and summer is slipping away.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18And that might be a sad moment, but actually,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21I love this time of year for the combination you get
0:00:21 > 0:00:25of the intensity of colour from the summer plants,
0:00:25 > 0:00:31the vibrant oranges and purples and blazing reds,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35combined with the delicacy of the autumn light
0:00:35 > 0:00:37that is starting to come in.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39So, there's a lot to enjoy.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Quite a lot to do, too.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47This week, Carol is visiting a plantsman
0:00:47 > 0:00:52whose garden is devoted to a dazzling display of heleniums.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Well, that's what you call vivid, isn't it?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59- Yes, really puts on a show, doesn't she?- She is lovely.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04- Well, I'm bonkers about them all, aren't I?- Yeah, I had noticed!
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Joe is continuing his visits to remarkable allotments
0:01:08 > 0:01:11around the country, and this week, he's in Birmingham.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I can tell you really love it here.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17I love it more than anything else.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Don't tell the missus that!
0:01:18 > 0:01:20THEY LAUGH
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And I shall be working in my grass borders.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43This is my dry garden, and obviously,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46this is on a very different scale to the one that I saw
0:01:46 > 0:01:49last week at Hyde Hall, which was enormous.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51This is unusual for Longmeadow,
0:01:51 > 0:01:56because underneath a very, very thin layer of soil
0:01:56 > 0:02:00is solid bedrock, but that bedrock is old red sandstone,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03which is very porous, so it drains well.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07It gets lots of sunshine for almost all of the day, so it is ideal
0:02:07 > 0:02:11for a certain group of plants that relish hot, dry conditions.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16But, to be honest, it hasn't been a great season for dry plants.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Although we had the lovely weather in July, August has been harsh.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25It's been wet and cold, and that's not a good recipe for dry plants.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28So what I want to do now is do a little bit of weeding,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31take out those plants that are either bullying others
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and getting in the way, or simply aren't thriving,
0:02:34 > 0:02:35and add a few more.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Now, this is an onopordum.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43You wouldn't think that that is an incipient monster.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46But that can grow eight, nine, ten feet.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49But in the right place, that's a magnificent plant.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52This is an Origanum, a marjoram.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56You can see all the growth there waiting to come through,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58but the bees love the flowers,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01so I'm going to leave that for the moment.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03The dry garden started, actually, to house the sedums
0:03:03 > 0:03:06that, at the time, we were growing in the Jewel Garden,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08and they were flopping everywhere, and you can see
0:03:08 > 0:03:09that this has flopped a bit.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13But on the whole, sedums love dry conditions, and they stand upright.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Grow them in lush soil, and they just go, "Ooh!"
0:03:21 > 0:03:27The effect that I'm trying to achieve here is a gentle tapestry.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But I don't want it to be regimented and laid out
0:03:30 > 0:03:32so you can admire each plant individually.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38It should weave in and out in an easy, unregulated way.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Now, I've got two lots of plants I've grown from seed.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The first is a grass, Stipa tenuissima.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52And the second is a verbascum
0:03:52 > 0:03:54'Flush of white.'
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The 'Flush of white' actually was intended for the Writing Garden,
0:03:57 > 0:03:58and I think some will go up there,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02but verbascums love really good drainage and quite poor conditions,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04and that's where they flower best.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09And the stipa must have good drainage and lots of sunshine,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and this is really the only part of the garden
0:04:11 > 0:04:13where stipas can flourish.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15You can see that in clearing,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I've actually uncovered a couple of stipas.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19There's one there.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21They're surviving, but they're not flourishing.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And to flourish, they must have full sunlight,
0:04:24 > 0:04:25plus good drainage.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I'm going to plant these ones that I've grown from seed
0:04:28 > 0:04:30and plant them along the edge.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And of course, you can buy them, and probably the ones you buy
0:04:33 > 0:04:35will be a little bit bigger than this.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40The Stipa tenuissima has one great virtue
0:04:40 > 0:04:43above almost any other plant you can grow,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45and that is its tactile quality.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49It develops the most beautiful, silky head,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52and you just can't resist touching it as you go by,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55so therefore you want to have it in a place where you can touch it.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58Maybe actually plant them in a clump,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00plant three in a clump to bulk up,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and of course, that's one of the beauties of growing from seed.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07One seed packet, and I've got about 40, 50 plants.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11If I went to buy 40, 50 plants, that's a lot of money.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24What I'm doing here is just gently introducing textures
0:05:24 > 0:05:28and colours to create an overall effect.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31But, as part of a series of looking at plants that
0:05:31 > 0:05:35dominate our gardens and the people who are passionate about them,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Carol has gone to visit a grower of a plant
0:05:39 > 0:05:43with one of the richest colours of the season.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54The late summer border offers a wealth of colour and texture.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It's a real gardener's delight.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00And one plant in particular carries that show on
0:06:00 > 0:06:02right the way through to the autumn.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Heleniums!
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Martin Blow has spent years collecting the very best heleniums.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17His in-depth knowledge of the genus has led him to introduce
0:06:17 > 0:06:22many new exciting forms, perfect for our gardens here in the UK.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28One of the great things about heleniums is that
0:06:28 > 0:06:29they're such good mixers, aren't they?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- They're good company. - They are, they are.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33They go with so many different plants.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35They look great with other daisy plants,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38things like the helianthus and the rudbeckia
0:06:38 > 0:06:40really do sort of come into their own at the same time,
0:06:40 > 0:06:41and really do add to the show.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44And they've got the same sort of habit.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46You never feel as though there's a fight going on,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49you feel as if they're very happy to mix and mingle.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50That's right, yes.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Well, that's what you call vivid, isn't it?
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Yes, you can't get more shocking than this, can you?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Lovely golden Helenium 'El Dorado'
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- with the bright pink of Phlox 'Miss Mary'.- Bright pink!
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- It's kind of shocking, lipstick, isn't it?- It is.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07But they both like the same conditions.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- They grow together quite happily in a moist, rich soil.- Yeah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13So, an ideal combination?
0:07:13 > 0:07:15- Absolutely. Perfect partners. - If you can take it!
0:07:15 > 0:07:17THEY LAUGH
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- This is a lovely combo.- It is.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I think the lovely red jewel-like of the 'Red Army'
0:07:28 > 0:07:30with a moor grass, moor hex or moor witch,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32if you want it in English.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33I love the colour now.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It's just beautiful in the way that you can see through these,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39but later on, this is going to go gold, isn't it?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Yeah, golden brown, and the helenium will still be flowered,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- and it will look wonderful together in October.- Yeah.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55I love the way they are all up and down.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- You know, some are high and some are really low.- Yeah, that's right.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01I mean, they're all hybrids to a certain extent in the garden,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04but they show the characteristics of their original wild parents.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Take this lovely tall one.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08It comes from the eastern seaboard
0:08:08 > 0:08:10and central parts of the United States,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14and closely related to autumnalis, the common species out there.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17They grow in damp meadows and do well in bright sun.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18And the shorter ones, like this one,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21have got ancestry coming from California
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and the west coast of America, where they grow in pinewoods.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26They all need a good moisture-retentive soil,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28they all like what I call a sticky loam,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30if you can give it to them.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33But they make do with sand here, and they do OK.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Lots of compost, loss of feeding.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Well, I divide mine in the spring, and they just fall apart.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41That's right. The taller ones will tend to break apart
0:08:41 > 0:08:43into separate rosettes very easily,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46whereas the shorter ones, you're going to need to perhaps
0:08:46 > 0:08:48pull them apart or cut them with a knife.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- But the spring is the important bit, isn't it?- That's the key.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54If you divide in the autumn, you're more likely to lose them over winter,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56so leave it till spring. I always say,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59if you can sow a parsnip, you can divide a helenium.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00THEY LAUGH
0:09:00 > 0:09:03It's a well-known saying, that, isn't it(?)
0:09:09 > 0:09:11I think the structure of the flowers
0:09:11 > 0:09:14is one of the most fascinating things about them.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I mean, I call these "mahogany doorknobs".
0:09:16 > 0:09:19That's a great name for them, isn't it?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21I mean, if you want to get technical, these are the discs,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24each made up of hundreds of tiny flowers known as the disc florets.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28So, the centre of the disc florets, and these on the outside,
0:09:28 > 0:09:29are ray florets.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31These are the ray florets, or what we call the petals.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The bees are after that centre.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The ray florets guide them in, and then they look for the pollen
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and the nectar on those tiny flowers in the centre.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And if you watch the bees, they'll go round and round and round
0:09:41 > 0:09:44the newly opened florets looking for the most fresh pollen and nectar.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- And they open from the base up? - That's right.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49So this one is fairly newly opened.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53If you look at this one here, it's nearly completely opened now.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56It's made a nice ball, and the last few florets are opening now.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58And then, of course, it'll form some seed.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01That seed will drop to the ground and you'll get seedlings coming up,
0:10:01 > 0:10:02you can collect it, as well.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04So it's the sort of thing that any enthusiast
0:10:04 > 0:10:06could try sowing some seed?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Of course, the plants won't be like their parents at all,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11that you'll get a big range of colours and shapes and forms.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13And do you get people actually sending their plants in?
0:10:13 > 0:10:16You are the national collection holder, after all.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I do, I've got some contacts around the world
0:10:18 > 0:10:21who send me new plants to try out and to compare.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25And I suppose the very fact that you know so many heleniums
0:10:25 > 0:10:28so intimately, you can instantly recognise
0:10:28 > 0:10:30- if a plant is something special. - That's right,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32you can spot that little something that makes it different.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40This is Oldenburg, sent to me by a friend from Germany
0:10:40 > 0:10:42who's a really big helenium enthusiast.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44He sent it to me cos it looked quite interesting
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and, boy, is it a new colour break.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Normally, when you have yellow knobs in the centre of the flower,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53you just get plain yellow petals, but this is a world first, really,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55with orange and yellow petals.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Doesn't it look wonderful?
0:11:03 > 0:11:05This is the most exciting thing in the garden for me
0:11:05 > 0:11:06at the moment, Carol.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10This is my as-yet-unnamed seedling which is flowering properly
0:11:10 > 0:11:12for the first time after three years of growing.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I love that citrus zing on the petals with the orange underneath.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17It really shines out in the evening light,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19really puts on a show, doesn't she?
0:11:19 > 0:11:24She is lovely and I tell you what, if I were her I'd be really thrilled
0:11:24 > 0:11:27that a helenium nut like you thinks so highly of me.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- Well, I'm bonkers about them all, aren't I?- Yeah, I had noticed!
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Martin's garden is open this Sunday under the National Garden Scheme,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and you can find all the details of opening hours
0:11:55 > 0:11:56and how to get there from our website,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01and if you want to see heleniums at their best, then try and get there.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08These are our grass borders, and you may remember that they
0:12:08 > 0:12:13used to be edged with quite a high box hedge that went round them all.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16That looked lovely because you had the crispness of the box
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and the profusion of the grasses.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22But box blight has done its worst.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25We've taken out the hedges and haven't replaced them,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28the idea being to have an experiment to see what it looks like
0:12:28 > 0:12:31if it's allowed to spill a little bit more.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34On the whole, I like the spillage, it's good.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38But, at this time of year, as we come to the end of summer,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42spillage can become a little bit chaotic.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45One of the things that stops it looking too chaotic
0:12:45 > 0:12:47are touches of colour.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49I love the kniphofia, for example,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and the angelica just adds in touches of pink.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55And on the Rosa moyesii
0:12:55 > 0:12:58the hips are beginning to get their lovely orange.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02But I used to have heleniums in these borders.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06As we saw from Martin's garden, these are American meadow plants,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10and I like the idea of big, daisy-like flowers,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14rich with colour in with the grasses,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16making a kind of mad meadow.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18But they're gone, they've all disappeared.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I think it's for a number of reasons.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23First of all, it's too dark in here, it's very shady.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- Secondly, you can see the growth. - DOG WHINES
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Compare it to the dry garden -
0:13:27 > 0:13:29this is about two, three times as much,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and the poor old heleniums couldn't compete,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- they weren't getting any light. And thirdly... - DOG WHINES
0:13:33 > 0:13:35What is it, Nigel?
0:13:35 > 0:13:37He's put his ball in here.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Do you want to see what's in there?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Why did you put it in?
0:13:44 > 0:13:48The final reason why I think we've lost our heleniums is...
0:13:48 > 0:13:50He's going to put it back in there, right now.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54..is that we had that very wet winter and I think a lot of them
0:13:54 > 0:13:56just drowned, even though they're moisture-loving plants.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58So I'm going to plant some more.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Come on, you horrible dog.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08I've got two of perhaps the most popular of all heleniums.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10There's Moerheim Beauty
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and Sahin's Early Flowerer.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And they both have roughly the same colour range,
0:14:16 > 0:14:21but then there are a whole variety of heleniums
0:14:21 > 0:14:24that all riff on the marmalade-y theme.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26And that's what I want to add in,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29because then I'll pick up the colours of the kniphofias
0:14:29 > 0:14:30and the rudbeckias,
0:14:30 > 0:14:36and just add the energy of orange and yellow to the grasses.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41My nice heavy soil will suit them fine.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47I'm not going to add any goodness underneath,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49because this soil is rich enough.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54And, in fact, we never mulch these grass borders
0:14:54 > 0:14:57because we don't want to suppress seedlings.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Out of the pot, you see a nice plant, a little bit of root,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04so we're going to tease that,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08just to stimulate some root growth away from the pot,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10pop that in there,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and I'll get another one in.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19If you deadhead them they will repeat flower.
0:15:19 > 0:15:25The important thing is to cut them back until you see a bud emerge.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I don't wish you can see here, there's a little bud there
0:15:27 > 0:15:30that will develop into a new flower.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32So don't just take the flower heads off
0:15:32 > 0:15:36but go back down until you see a side shoot, and then new flowers
0:15:36 > 0:15:39will develop from the side shoot, rather than the main stem.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Now, Joe has been going around the country looking at allotments,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and looking in particular for anything
0:16:04 > 0:16:07that is idiosyncratic or unusual.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09And this week, he's gone to Birmingham.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18At first sight, these allotments all look pretty similar,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22but when you look closely, they're all distinctly different.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26People stamp their marks on their plots in all types of ways.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I've been told to listen out for one in particular.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:16:45 > 0:16:47HE CHUCKLES Look at this.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53Hi, Carol. How are you doing?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- Hello, Joe.- The shed is fantastic.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I love your shed, in fact I love the whole plot.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01What is it about the classical music? You've always been into it?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Yeah, I've been listening to it since I was a young, young lad.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06It's just grown on me, sort of thing.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08I mean, I like my reggae music, as well,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11but I wouldn't play that up here cos I'd never get work done,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13- I'd be dancing all over the place all the while. - THEY LAUGH
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- So where are you from originally? - I'm from Jamaica.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And when did you first come to the UK, then?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I came over when I was a 12-year-old with my brother and sister.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Why did you want to get an allotment?
0:17:24 > 0:17:25Well, I've got a garden at home,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28but I can't really put my own stamp on it, if you know what I mean,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30cos there's always someone to say,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"I don't want that there, don't want that there."
0:17:32 > 0:17:35But here I can, you know, put everything where I want it
0:17:35 > 0:17:37and design it all like you see it now.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- Do you want to show me around a bit? - Yeah, no trouble.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44- I'd like to have a little look and see what you're growing.- No problem.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- You've got some nice pumpkin.- Yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Oh, there you go, look at that. Beauty, isn't it? Fantastic.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I don't do too much watering.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Nobody waters anything in Jamaica,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02just leave it and it grows on its own.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04JOE LAUGHS
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Feeding, you get the stinging nettles, put your gloves on,
0:18:08 > 0:18:09chop them up, put them in your water,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13that helps promote growth in the plant,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and then we use comfrey, and that produces flowers and fruit
0:18:17 > 0:18:19and makes your fruit really swell.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Stinging nettles first, and then the comfrey...
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Yeah, as soon as the fruit starts coming on, comfrey.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25- OK.- And we're laughing.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36So these are the sort of crops we'd see in Jamaica?
0:18:36 > 0:18:42Yeah, we've got sweetcorn, and over here we've got callaloo.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- Callaloo?- Yea, we grow a lot of this in Jamaica.- Right.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47You can fry it, steam it...
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- I'm going to cook you some later. - Seriously?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Just like spinach.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Where did you get the seed originally for it?
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Well, sometimes when people go to Jamaica
0:18:56 > 0:18:59they bring the seeds back, you've only got to bring a few,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02and once you've got the crop itself, that's where the seed comes from.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04That's why we call it Rastaman callaloo,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07because it's got dreadlocks, and these go really, really long
0:19:07 > 0:19:09and they go right down to the floor.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11So this is going to be as high as that one there
0:19:11 > 0:19:14and then the locks will hang down halfway down the stem.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- But you can harvest it at any time? - Yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- But you don't have to wait for the dreadlocks to get too long before you eat it?- No, no.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22It's good to eat it before they get that big anyway,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24because it's more tender. This probably would feed one person,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27because once you cook it, it just shrinks down.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- Right.- Just like spinach.- But there's two of us, right?- Yeah.- We need more.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32- Come on, then.- Yeah, pick some more.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36- I'll look forward to trying it. - Yeah, I'll cook you some later.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38- So you say.- I will.- Promise?- Yeah.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- So these tin cans all part of your crazy decorations?- Yeah.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Well, they serve a purpose really, cos when the birds land
0:19:52 > 0:19:54and they try to eat your stuff...
0:19:54 > 0:19:55CANS RATTLE
0:19:55 > 0:19:56..it scares them away.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Lovely bit of colour.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Your carrots are looking good, Carol, really nice.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05These are white ones.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I don't grow them in the ground no more cos of the carrot fly.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Flies two foot - this is higher than two foot.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15So that's why it's planted up here. No problems. There you go.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20- Oh, yeah, that's a beauty. We got callaloo and carrots now.- Yeah.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37You've got to have a shed on an allotment, haven't you?
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Some people survive without a shed, I couldn't.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Where'd you get all this stuff anyway?
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Well, sometimes my friends are moving house or
0:20:45 > 0:20:49moving from a house to a flat, and they've got nowhere to put their
0:20:49 > 0:20:54stuff, so they usually bring it down here for me, like, know what I mean?
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- How's it going? Nearly there? - Yeah, doing pretty well.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- Good, cos I'm ravenous.- I know, yeah. - I'm hungry, I'll tell you!
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- Allotment cooking, eh?- Yeah.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- Lovely.- Cheers.- Cheers.- Go for it.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13- Green callaloo.- Green callaloo.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Mmm, that's delicious. Can see why you grow this stuff.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21We used to have this for breakfast in Jamaica.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I can tell you really love it here, but why'd you love it so much?
0:21:25 > 0:21:27It's hard to explain, Joe.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30It's just a feeling you get inside you, you want to come up here,
0:21:30 > 0:21:31I don't know what it is,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34but there's plenty of people feel the same way I do,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38but I think I feel it more because I love it more than...anything else.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Don't tell the missus that, though!
0:22:01 > 0:22:07I do love it when an allotment takes on an individual idiosyncrasy
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and comes alive. It's inspiring.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17Now, a few months ago I took some streptocarpus leaf cuttings,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and I've a confession to make to you.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Not one of them worked and they all rotted.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28And that was because I had them up on top of the propagating bench
0:22:28 > 0:22:32and they got too wet, and critically, too hot -
0:22:32 > 0:22:34they were exposed to too much sun.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So I took another batch a couple weeks later,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and these have done really well.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41There were two types of cutting.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Those along the length of the leaf,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46so you take a leaf and basically split it in half lengthways.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51And then take a leaf and cut it across.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56And you can see they've both produced nice new baby plantlets.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00I've had a letter from Robin Barrow, in Louth, in Lincolnshire,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04who also took some cuttings at the same time I did.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07"About two weeks ago, some of my cuttings had fairly big leaves,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09"about three quarters of an inch."
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Yeah, about that sort of size.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13"And I decided to put these into separate pots,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15"but when digging them out with a cutlery fork,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18"I found the roots of many cuttings were entangled.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21"So I also had to pot some with small leaves.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"The large-leaved ones have grown on a bit,
0:23:23 > 0:23:24"the small-leaved ones look a bit frail.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27"Was this a correct decision of mine or should I have left them
0:23:27 > 0:23:29"longer all together in their trays?"
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Well, sort of, Robin.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37Because the best way of dealing with them is not to try and separate
0:23:37 > 0:23:42all the individual little babies, but to pot on the whole section.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46And obviously this is an unusual way to propagate plants.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Leaf cuttings are pretty rare, and in the case of streptocarpus,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55it's because right along the leaf, you have the auxins that will
0:23:55 > 0:23:58promote new root growth.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01If you've taken a cutting along the length of a leaf,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04the way to deal with that is to cut them into separate pieces.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08And I'm going to use my penknife so it's sharper.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12And now that's separated, take that out.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16There aren't many plants that you take leaf cuttings from,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19but African violets are another.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24And that will grow as a block.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30And I'll put them somewhere cool but not cold where
0:24:30 > 0:24:34I can water them from below and not get the leaves wet.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37We've got the parent plants underneath
0:24:37 > 0:24:38the staging in the wooden greenhouse,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and they seem to be very happy, but a windowsill would be fine as long
0:24:42 > 0:24:46as it's not south or west facing, cos that's too much direct sunlight.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Water them by putting them in a saucer and giving them
0:24:48 > 0:24:52a drink from below a couple of times a week, and that will work fine.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56This is a fairly specialised job, but here are some
0:24:56 > 0:25:00others you can be getting on with in your garden this weekend.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Hardy annuals like these calendulas are normally
0:25:12 > 0:25:14sown in spring for a summer display.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19But if you sow some seed now you'll get a much earlier flowering
0:25:19 > 0:25:22which can then be followed by the spring sowing.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27I'm sprinkling these on a seed tray which will then be grown on
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and planted out individually.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33But you can sow directly into the soil where they're to flower,
0:25:33 > 0:25:34or even into a favourite pot.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Cover the seed lightly and put them somewhere sheltered to germinate.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Check strawberry runners to see if there are signs of new growth.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51If there is, cut them free from the parent plants
0:25:51 > 0:25:53and they can be planted in a fresh site.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58I like to clip back the foliage of established plants
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and weed around them to let light
0:26:01 > 0:26:05and air in and allow new leaves to grow before winter.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11If you grow chillies or peppers,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15harvest any ripe fruit as soon as they're ready.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19This will speed up the ripening of green ones as well as encouraging
0:26:19 > 0:26:23the development of flowers and more fruit for months to come.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43It has been a wonderful year for figs - still is a wonderful year
0:26:43 > 0:26:46for figs, and so often you get lots of figs growing,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48but they don't ripen.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52And you get to October and they're just not quite ripe enough to eat.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55But we've been eating figs here at Longmeadow for the last month,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and these are 'Brown Turkey'. Delicious, delicious figs.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02And, of course, they loved the weather we had in July.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04And that started to ripen them.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06And when you're looking to pick figs...
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Got one here that's a good example.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10You can see it's nice and big,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14but it's still held out horizontally, and that's not ripe.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15You want to pick them
0:27:15 > 0:27:18when they're falling under their own weight, and I've got one...
0:27:18 > 0:27:21There we are, a perfect example.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Brown, drooping down, and if I just take it away...
0:27:26 > 0:27:28I don't have to pluck it to pick it.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And the more you pick the quicker they'll ripen.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33We should have another month of harvesting,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and by the way, you can see on the figs here, that's this year's fig
0:27:37 > 0:27:38about to come ripe,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42these ones here want to ripen about January/February time,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and they would do if we were in North Africa
0:27:45 > 0:27:49or southern Spain, but they won't here, so those will get taken off.
0:27:49 > 0:27:55But right at the end are tiny little figs and those are next year's crop.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58I don't think there's any fruit you can grow that is
0:27:58 > 0:28:04so frankly sensuous or redolent of hot sun as a fig.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07They're wonderful sliced and eaten with cheese,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10and if you've got enough, try roasting them.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13You get a sort of caramelisation, and that's really good too,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16but, however it is, they are delicious.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18That's it for this week. I'll see you back here
0:28:18 > 0:28:20at Longmeadow next week -
0:28:20 > 0:28:23don't forget, at 9.30 - so, until then, bye-bye.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26Mmm.