0:00:06 > 0:00:08CHICKENS CLUCK
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Hello, and welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17We've always kept the chickens in the orchard here at Longmeadow,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20which I planted, I suppose, about 16 years ago now.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24In that 16 years I don't know I've ever known a year
0:00:24 > 0:00:25where we've had so much fruit.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28The trees are just laden with them
0:00:28 > 0:00:30and are pretty ready for picking.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33You can see on a fruit like this, which is 'Jupiter',
0:00:33 > 0:00:36it's worth checking them to see if they're ready
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and the best way to do it is either to give them a twist, like that,
0:00:39 > 0:00:40or just lift them up.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43And if it stays on the tree, it's not ripe.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46But do keep an eye on them
0:00:46 > 0:00:51because autumn seems to be about two to three weeks ahead of time.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57This week, Carol finds that with a little thought,
0:00:57 > 0:01:01even the tiniest corners of the smallest gardens
0:01:01 > 0:01:03can be a haven for wildlife.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Everywhere you look in every nook and cranny
0:01:06 > 0:01:08there's just the perfect place for
0:01:08 > 0:01:12a huge diversity of wonderful creatures.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14And we visit a garden that is not just designed
0:01:14 > 0:01:17to be admired and enjoyed,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21but is also an important part of a healing process.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Being outside is amazing but just to be in such a beautiful place,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27it's made such a difference to my recovery.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32And I shall be planning for next year by planting out bulbs
0:01:32 > 0:01:35that will give me a really good display next spring.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Come on!
0:01:54 > 0:01:56These grapes are Black Hamburger.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00We've planted the vine last year and last year and this year,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03really all the attention has been put into developing the vine.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05This year it's grown much stronger.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08We've got a structure forming
0:02:08 > 0:02:13and four bunches of grapes which are beginning to ripen.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16There's taste there.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It's a little sharp, but from next year,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22we'll start to treat the grapes as a proper harvest
0:02:22 > 0:02:25having established a decent framework for the vine.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And of course, that will just get better and better
0:02:27 > 0:02:28as the years go by.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Come on, Nige!
0:02:44 > 0:02:49There, you see? Perfectly ripe. Slides off the core.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And slides into my mouth! Lovely.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Autumn raspberries are at their very best now.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59This is a variety called 'Autumn Bliss'
0:02:59 > 0:03:02and we have a yellow on here called 'Fallgold,'
0:03:02 > 0:03:04which is really sweet and good.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10And these should go on cropping into November if the weather stays kind.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12We've been eating them for the last month,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16picking great bowls of them and the beauty of Autumn raspberries
0:03:16 > 0:03:18is they tend to be completely trouble-free.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23They go on cropping until October/November,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and then when the leaves have dropped off
0:03:25 > 0:03:28you simply cut them right back to the ground.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31However, summer raspberries,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34which have completely finished fruiting, need a slightly more
0:03:34 > 0:03:37complicated pruning regime and the time to do it is now.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43We have one row of autumn raspberries at the back
0:03:43 > 0:03:46and these at the front are summer fruiting,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49which means that they start to produce fruit in June and that
0:03:49 > 0:03:53tails off round about the time the autumn ones start in August.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59They produce their fruit in the previous season's growth.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Normally, that means you've got a mixture of new growth
0:04:03 > 0:04:07which is floppy and either green or brightly coloured -
0:04:07 > 0:04:11they've got a lovely sort of purpley bloom on these -
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and brown, quite brittle canes.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19The first thing to do is cut off all the brown, rigid canes
0:04:19 > 0:04:21that produced this year's fruit.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24So, that gets cut out right down at the base.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30And here's another one which can be removed
0:04:30 > 0:04:32even though it's got a few side shoots on it from this year.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And there's another little one in there.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The next stage, having cleared all the brown canes away,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44you want to leave five or six
0:04:44 > 0:04:49nice, strong, straight new canes per plant.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52It's always really difficult
0:04:52 > 0:04:56because you've got these lovely, straight growths
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and you don't want to lose them.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Experience shows that you don't get any more fruit
0:05:01 > 0:05:03if you have a lot more canes per plant.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06The root system can only support so much growth.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10So, by thinning it out now, you'll get better fruit next June.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12So, be ruthless.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19Stage three is really a bit of handicraft,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23because we're going to weave twine to hold these into place.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It is important with summer fruiting raspberries that there is a
0:05:26 > 0:05:31strong structure for them because they've got to stand all winter,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and they'll act a bit like a sail, so easily blow around,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and they've got to bear fruit all summer.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40So, I've got a long length of twine.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Take the first one...
0:05:44 > 0:05:48and I go round like that...
0:05:52 > 0:05:58And you can see that I'm fanning these out equidistant.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04That's partly because I want to cover the area
0:06:04 > 0:06:09with an even spread of canes to make picking and fruit production easier,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and also to let air through - ventilation is important.
0:06:12 > 0:06:19Now, you can see I do it as a kind of weaving process
0:06:19 > 0:06:21and don't tie each one individually.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23There's no reason why you can't,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25it's just that it's a bit fiddly and you have to have lots
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and lots of pieces of string and you need to keep cutting them
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and these fingers weren't made for little detailed fiddly work.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Whereas by having one piece like this,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I can keep the tension and it's nice and tight and strong.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Now, I'll repeat the tying process along this top layer
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and these will be held really strongly.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55One of the problems with raspberries is that blackbirds adore them,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58so we try to keep that particular piece of wildlife
0:06:58 > 0:07:02out of this piece of garden whilst we're harvesting the fruit.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06But Carol has been looking at ways of attracting
0:07:06 > 0:07:10as many varied types of wildlife into the garden as possible
0:07:10 > 0:07:15and this week, she's visited Bridget Strawbridge down in Dorset
0:07:15 > 0:07:18to see the ways she's gone about attracting insects,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and in particular bees, into her garden.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The creatures that visit our gardens don't pay much attention
0:07:31 > 0:07:33to their size or grandeur.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35It's the spaces within our boundaries,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40the nooks and crannies, that they seek to fill their needs.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46These spaces offer refuge to a multitude of creatures.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50But the question is, who are they and what are they up to?
0:07:54 > 0:07:59Bridget Strawbridge moved into her garden less than a year ago.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03And it's already brimming with life.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Here we are.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10Oh, isn't it perfect? It's beautiful!
0:08:10 > 0:08:12That's astonishing - this tiny little space
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and you've got so much packed in here.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18The whole point was to turn it into a wildlife haven.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20This whole area here, the idea is this is foraging, you know,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24mostly for pollinators, but it provides habitat here as well
0:08:24 > 0:08:27underneath, for some of the smaller insects and the frogs.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30And even the Larchlap, you hear this tap-tap-tapping,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and it's the wasps coming to get material for their nests.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39- We had wrens nesting here earlier in the year.- Wrens love ivy to nest in.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I know it's ideal, isn't it?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45But this is the really fascinating bit, isn't it?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Plant pots I just put there that you can see are
0:08:48 > 0:08:50so covered in spiders' webs now.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54And I mean, these lovely little stones, where they all here?
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- No, we put these in for sort of really tiny little mini beasts.- Oh!
0:08:58 > 0:09:02- All sorts of things!- See - woodlice. - Particularly woodlice.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The whole garden is alive with life, isn't it?
0:09:13 > 0:09:18And so many wonderful plants for things to pollinate.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23The plants that I really have bigged up on are the plants for the bees,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- because it's bees that I love. I absolutely adore bees.- Honeybees?
0:09:26 > 0:09:30It's funny, when you say bees, people think honeybees, but actually there
0:09:30 > 0:09:33are 267 species of bee in the UK alone
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and one of them is a honeybee.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40I love also the bumblebees and, in particular, solitary bees.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The unsung heroes of the pollinating world!
0:09:44 > 0:09:46This, for instance, is a plant that I have planted
0:09:46 > 0:09:48specifically for one type of solitary bee
0:09:48 > 0:09:51and it's a solitary bee called the wool carding bee.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55This is called Stachys lanata, lanata meaning woolly.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58And this is what is attractive to the female wool carding bee,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02who will come and actually card the hairs on this leaf
0:10:02 > 0:10:05to use to construct her nest.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08There's a male!
0:10:08 > 0:10:12The male of the species knows this, so he will patrol an area
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and he will actually attack a fully grown queen bumblebee
0:10:15 > 0:10:19so that this patch is reserved for the female wool carding bees.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20- Just for her.- Just for her.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23And the reward is that he gets to mate with her.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28I've noticed all around your garden
0:10:28 > 0:10:31you've got these bee hotels, aren't they?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- Bee hotels, yes. - B&B!- B&B!
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Solitary bees, especially mason bees and leafcutters,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44struggle often to find suitable nesting sites and this is perfect.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47That will attract four or five different species
0:10:47 > 0:10:49of mason bee and leafcutter.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Mason bees build with mud, good old-fashioned mud.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, my goodness. That's a leafcutter.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Do you think she's putting on a show just for us?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01She's already filled these two cells.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04So, that's where she's been at work already.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09The adult leafcutters will emerge in June/July. They mate.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14The female will straightaway start looking for a suitable nesting site.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19She will line the cell with little pieces of leaf.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23She will provision it with pollen and nectar.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26She will reverse in and lay her first egg.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28And then she'll chop little round pieces of leaf
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and block off that cell.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33She keeps going and going all the way to the front.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Then she dies.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38The eggs will hatch out,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42they will grow as they use up the provisions
0:11:42 > 0:11:45and then they will emerge as full adult bees.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So, when you see this on leaves, it's not a question of damage,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54it's a cause for celebration, isn't it?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Because it means leafcutter bees are here.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58This is the most exciting thing in the world for me
0:11:58 > 0:12:02to come into my garden and find this, because it means that at long last,
0:12:02 > 0:12:03- the leaf cutters have arrived. - Hooray!
0:12:03 > 0:12:07But solitary bees aren't the only bees, are they?
0:12:07 > 0:12:10There's another whole world out there - the world of bumblebees.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13The bumblebee life cycle is entirely different.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16In spring, you get the newly emerged queen bumblebees
0:12:16 > 0:12:21zigzagging across the floor, looking for a prospective nesting site.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26Once she has found her nest, she will lay about half a dozen to eight eggs
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and they will emerge as her first worker bees.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Somewhere in the height of the summer,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36she will start to produce males and daughter queens. They will mate.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38The new mated Queen will stock herself up
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and she will go into hibernation.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Meanwhile, the old queen will die,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45or very often is stung to death by the remaining workers.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50They will all die and all you have got left is the hibernating queens.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53And then they will emerge in spring...
0:12:53 > 0:12:54..and start the whole...
0:12:54 > 0:12:56..start the zigzag thing all over again.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58..zigzagging all over again.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04We actually had a Bombus terrestris, that's a buff-tailed bumblebee,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06nesting in here earlier this year.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09So that was kind of like the ultimate thing for me,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12is to have this garden and then to see the bees come and nest in it.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Everywhere you look, in every nook and cranny,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21there's just the perfect place for one or other insect or creature.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It just proves that in a small space
0:13:24 > 0:13:27you can have this huge diversity of wonderful creatures.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Do you know, the biggest thing for me
0:13:29 > 0:13:31is this knowing that the wildlife's there.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I think the really important thing at this time of year
0:13:46 > 0:13:48to attract wildlife into your garden
0:13:48 > 0:13:50is not so much what you do do, it's what you don't do.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Don't tidy up too much - that's the best thing you can possibly do
0:13:54 > 0:13:57at this stage, as we go into winter.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Leave some cover for every kind of creature.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04And talking about cover, I covered these cabbages with a net
0:14:04 > 0:14:07to keep the pigeons off when I planted them.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11And the pigeons haven't eaten them.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15But the cabbage white caterpillars have had a field day
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and because the net was on it,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20the birds couldn't get at the caterpillars to eat them,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24so our whole organic balanced system was thrown out of kilter,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and human nature meant that it was more difficult and more trouble
0:14:28 > 0:14:29to hand pick them off
0:14:29 > 0:14:32if you had to lift the net every time to get at them.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Long and short of it is, the caterpillars have done more
0:14:36 > 0:14:40damage than the pigeons would have done if we hadn't netted it at all.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42They're recovering, but they've taken a beating.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45However, there will be enough cabbages for winter,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48but I want to plant some cabbages now for next spring.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Spring greens are not a fashionable crop,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58but they can be absolutely delicious,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01because essentially they are loose leaf cabbage -
0:15:01 > 0:15:04or cabbage that hasn't yet formed a heart.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And if you plant them now they won't grow much over winter,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10but they start to grow properly February/March,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12and you harvest them in April and May.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20You can buy young spring cabbage plants from garden centres now.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25These are Durham Early - they are ideal for growing of spring greens.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30Cabbages respond really well to a little bit of garden compost.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33I just chuck it on the surface -
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and the weather and the worms will work it in.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41It gives them a bit of a boost.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50I know that spring greens have a slightly unglamorous reputation -
0:15:50 > 0:15:54there's a touch of the school dinner about them -
0:15:54 > 0:15:58but one of the best meals I've ever eaten in my life, I remember,
0:15:58 > 0:16:05we'd just had rib of beef, we had boiled potatoes and spring greens.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Just lightly cooked with a little bit of butter
0:16:08 > 0:16:09and salt and pepper and gravy,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13and that combination was just heaven.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Now, about 40 years ago, now,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24my twin sister was in a bad car crash, and she broke her back.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27And she spent nearly a year, as part of her recovery,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which was fantastic.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35But there was nowhere for the many patients to go -
0:16:35 > 0:16:37particularly when the weather was nice.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43In Salisbury, a new garden has been made called Horatio's Garden,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47specifically for people who've had spinal injuries,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49and we went along to take a look.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Well, the idea for the garden came about several years ago.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00My husband, David, who's the medical director of the spinal unit,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03realised that patients really needed somewhere to get outside -
0:17:03 > 0:17:09somewhere to be in the sunshine and just escape from the ward.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Most people, fortunately, who come to hospital now,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15only stay for a short time - but in spinal cord injury
0:17:15 > 0:17:19patients are here for three months, six months, sometimes even longer.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Our son, Horatio, was a volunteer in the spinal unit
0:17:24 > 0:17:26because he wanted to study medicine,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and because he was quite an outdoor person himself,
0:17:29 > 0:17:30he was quite overwhelmed
0:17:30 > 0:17:32with how there was just nowhere for them to go.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36So he came up with a questionnaire for patients.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Well, what he found out
0:17:38 > 0:17:40is that patients wanted a beautiful place to be in.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43They wanted somewhere to escape from the ward,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45and all the clinical things, the sounds -
0:17:45 > 0:17:48and they wanted somewhere that they could watch wildlife.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51And just generally somewhere that they could be on their own,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54somewhere they could share with their friends and family.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01When Horatio was 17 he went on an expedition to Svalbard,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05and tragically the group was attacked by a polar bear,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and Horatio was killed.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10After that, there was an amazing outpouring of love
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and generosity from so many people, which enabled us
0:18:13 > 0:18:17to create the funds which then created this garden.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Well, Olivia contacted me to design Horatio's garden.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I was instantly interested.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Not only because it was a very important garden to build
0:18:28 > 0:18:29for the spinal unit,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32but because my best friend had spent a whole year here
0:18:32 > 0:18:34recovering from a diving accident.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35So I knew the hospital,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and knew the fact that it was quite a dingy sort of place -
0:18:38 > 0:18:41they didn't have a garden to go into -
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and so I was delighted, really, on all sorts of levels.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I was given quite a free rein, in terms of the brief.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50The only restrictions, really, were slopes -
0:18:50 > 0:18:53slopes would be very difficult for people in wheelchairs,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56obviously, so we've got a very smooth resin-bonded surface,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58which is easy to manoeuvre wheelchairs and beds on.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00But the paths also had to be quite wide,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02and that's something that threw me.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Two metres wide, to get a bed comfortably round the space,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08was larger than I would normally want to put in a garden.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12You know, I want to put more plants than anything else.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16And I thought about shrubs, and then I quickly dismissed that,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18because as nice as shrubs are,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I just felt that this garden needed to be a celebration of life,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and watching the changing seasons,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and so we decided to go down the perennial path.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29And I'm really pleased we did that,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31because it is a high maintenance garden,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35but people get so much joy from it, because of the changing palette,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37the changing scene throughout the year.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Anything that's going to draw in insects is going to be great,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45so, you know, you've got centranthus -
0:19:45 > 0:19:49so you can see how this has really taken over.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54And you've fennel, echinacea, agastache.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57People just love it.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00I'm not really a great fan of themes in a garden,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02but as I was designing the space
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and breaking the path up with these low walls,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08some of them sort of resembled spine shapes,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10so I actually took a spine shape
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and created these low walls into these spines,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and where the path dissects the spines, here,
0:20:17 > 0:20:18they are broken spines,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and suddenly that took on a really strong message - you know,
0:20:21 > 0:20:26that you've got two broken spines that led to a complete spine.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30And it's a metaphor for the journey people make through a whole year,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33perhaps - sometimes even longer - in the hospital itself,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36mending not just their body...
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Some people never walk again, but, you know, mending the mind,
0:20:40 > 0:20:41the spirit.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44So I'm quite pleased with how that's worked out.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Our volunteer and occupational therapy team
0:20:51 > 0:20:55do all sorts of different activities with the patients in the garden.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Hand therapy is really important for patients
0:20:57 > 0:20:59who are learning to recover from spinal cord injury.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Gardening lends itself perfectly to it,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05so whether it's pricking out some little seedlings,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07planting bulbs, doing some cuttings...
0:21:07 > 0:21:09There are so many different things
0:21:09 > 0:21:12that can become purposeful occupational therapy.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19What's lovely about the garden is seeing it being so well used -
0:21:19 > 0:21:22not just to be wheeled round looking at plants,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25but seeing all the activities that go on as well.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29There've been some really interesting studies
0:21:29 > 0:21:33that show that being outside, and green space in particular,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37in a beautiful garden, can improve recovery rates,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40can decrease the need for pain relief, can improve vital signs,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and really importantly, can reduce hospital length of stay.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Being outside is amazing,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51but just to be in such a beautiful place, it's made such a difference
0:21:51 > 0:21:55to my recovery, and my mood, and my mental health, to be honest.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58To me, it is to get out and get some space.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01It's quiet, it's peaceful, it's idyllic.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03The smells from the flowers, and the fresh air,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05which is absolutely wonderful.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11There are 11 spinal injury centres in the United Kingdom.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Salisbury serves the whole of the southwest,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17but our hope is that we can bring Horatio's Gardens
0:22:17 > 0:22:20to all the other spinal injury centres as well.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Having experienced this garden and the way it's evolved,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28I can't imagine going into a spinal unit
0:22:28 > 0:22:32without one of these gardens attached to it.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35I think if Horatio saw this garden, he would be absolutely thrilled.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39He'd be thrilled to see patients using it, for the impact it has.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43It's a really special place, and I know he'd be delighted.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Well, there's no question that whatever your garden is like,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55it can give limitless pleasure.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59And also there's no question that whatever your troubles,
0:22:59 > 0:23:00gardens heal.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09September is traditionally the time when you take box cuttings,
0:23:09 > 0:23:10and that's a good thing to do
0:23:10 > 0:23:14if you've got healthy box plants to take them from.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19But this garden has been blasted by box blight.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20And the game is up, really,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24as regards the future of box here at Longmeadow.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29I intend to replace a lot of the box in this garden with yew.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33But if I went and bought a mass of yew plants - let alone big ones -
0:23:33 > 0:23:36that would cost a fortune.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39However, you can now take yew cuttings,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43particularly if you've got a yew hedge that hasn't yet been clipped.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46And amongst the other jobs you can be doing this weekend,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48that's a good one to be starting with.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Choose strong, straight shoots and cut them
0:23:53 > 0:23:56to at least six inches in length.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Strip off the bottom third of the foliage,
0:24:01 > 0:24:06and place the cuttings in a very free-draining compost.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Put them somewhere sheltered, but without any extra heat,
0:24:09 > 0:24:10where they can overwinter.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13And they won't start to show any signs of growth
0:24:13 > 0:24:15until the middle of next spring.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19It's been a good year for tomatoes,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22but there are a lot of green fruits,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26and to ensure that as many of these ripen as possible,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29remove all the foliage from your plants.
0:24:29 > 0:24:30This will look drastic,
0:24:30 > 0:24:35but it will let as much sunlight onto the fruits as possible,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and put all the plants' energies into ripening.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42It may not seem a glamorous job,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45but it is the most important of the season,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and that's to deadhead.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53As soon as a flower starts to fade, cut back to the nearest sideshoot.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58This will promote new buds and colour for weeks to come.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00And don't just do it this weekend -
0:25:00 > 0:25:02try and deadhead daily, if you can.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Now, I'm about to do a job
0:25:10 > 0:25:12that doesn't have to be done this weekend,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15but certainly is best done this month,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and that's bulb planting.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Here in the copse we've got a number of bulbs that are working
0:25:21 > 0:25:24through, and they're mixed up with plants.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27We've got, for example, really a mass of crocus,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32and they're over by March, and we have primroses and cowslips,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34they work through, and wood anemones,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36and I've got some bluebells to plant.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Individually, bluebells are lovely,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43but we appreciate them best en masse.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48And anybody who's seen a bluebell wood which is just carpeted
0:25:48 > 0:25:53with that shimmering blue in late April or early May,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57knows that nothing else really can match it.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Now, it'll take a while for that to be the case here,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03but it can happen, and we can make it happen.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05There are a number of things, though, to be aware of
0:26:05 > 0:26:08when dealing with bluebells - the first is, there are two types.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12There's the English bluebell and the Spanish bluebell.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15And English bluebells you can tell because they curve,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18and all the flowers hang down on one side,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21whereas Spanish bluebells tend to be upright,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23and the flowers whirl around them.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28The bad news is that A, Spanish bluebells tend to dominate
0:26:28 > 0:26:29English bluebells,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and B, they hybridise.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35So, if you live near a lovely bluebell wood,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38do not plant Spanish bluebells in your garden,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41just in case they cross-hybridise.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44It doesn't matter what kind of bulbs you're planting -
0:26:44 > 0:26:46if you want them to look naturalistic,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48there are really only two ways to do it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52You can either just take a handful and throw them on the ground,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and plant them exactly where they land -
0:26:55 > 0:26:58don't try and reorganise them. It always looks artificial.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03The other way is to plant them in groups of, say five or seven,
0:27:03 > 0:27:04in a little cluster,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08and then another one over there and another one over there at random,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10and those groups will join up.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Well, having thrown those down, I will start to plant them.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18Bluebells want to go in at least twice their own depth.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21And at this time of year the ground is often hard,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24so what's good about the wetness we've had this year,
0:27:24 > 0:27:25it is soft enough to get a trowel in.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28But the main thing is to make sure it's deep enough -
0:27:28 > 0:27:30and if in doubt, go deeper.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Never plant bluebells into a border,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41because they can and will become invasive.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45And what they really like is light woodland -
0:27:45 > 0:27:49so, an area like this, which has got grass growing
0:27:49 > 0:27:52underneath trees or shrubs is absolutely perfect.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Well, I'm going to be doing this for a little while yet.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05But that's it for this week.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08One word is, although it's really important to get your bulbs
0:28:08 > 0:28:12in as soon as possible, there's no rush for planting tulips.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14In fact, it's better to wait till November.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17But do order any that you may want now,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21because when it comes to November, they go very fast indeed.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Anyway, I'll see you back here at Longmeadow next week.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Till then, bye-bye.