0:00:03 > 0:00:05Gardeners' World has grown.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Until the end of the series,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10we will be bringing you an hour each week
0:00:10 > 0:00:13of the best of British gardening.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15We'll be meeting some remarkable gardeners...
0:00:15 > 0:00:18And you see that orange rose over there? Yes.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20That is absolutely, absolutely oomph!
0:00:21 > 0:00:23..rethinking the traditional...
0:00:23 > 0:00:27I want to show you that rock gardens don't have to be
0:00:27 > 0:00:30how we remember them.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31..exploring the exotic...
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Down into the jungle.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36..going right to the edge...
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Very few of us will ever have to deal with something like this.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44This is one of the steepest gardens I've ever seen.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47..and inspiring you to make the most of your garden.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Now, my squashes and pumpkins are a little bit on the small side.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04They started late, they didn't really pick up and get going
0:01:04 > 0:01:07until about five, six weeks ago and I think they might
0:01:07 > 0:01:10run out of time before they develop a really good size,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13but, typically, my courgettes - which have been good this year,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17we've had lots - have got a bit too big. There's always one.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19You think you've picked them all,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22but then you delve down into the... leafage
0:01:22 > 0:01:28and you find a courgette that's decided to become a marrow.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31There we are. That is how not to grow a courgette.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36Mind you, tastes good. And, of course, it's now that the harvest is
0:01:36 > 0:01:39really at its most bounteous.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Everything is demanding to be picked
0:01:43 > 0:01:48and eaten or stored by bottling or freezing,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52and whether it be fruit, vegetables or over-large courgettes,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57now is the time to revel in this season of bounty,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00after all the hard work of spring and summer.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06On tonight's programme, Carol is at RHS Rosemoor in Devon,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09delighting in the daisy family.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15If ever a daisy had true joie de vivre, it must be heleniums.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Nick Bailey has got his work cut out in Reading.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22This is the case of the tired, neglected border.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And it's a busy time over in Lincolnshire for Adam Frost.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27As if there wasn't enough going on,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30new puppy, Mrs Frost is still sorting out inside,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32and I dig the front garden up.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36And I shall be planting up some asters for shade.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41As well as growing some extraordinary succulents.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54One of the groups of plants
0:02:54 > 0:02:57that have done really well this year are clematis.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00And one of the things that lots of people have said to me
0:03:00 > 0:03:03is they've never seen them so big, so much growth,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05particularly on the late-flowering clematis.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07This one, for example, is Summer Snow.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Delicate flowers, but a great froth of leaf
0:03:10 > 0:03:12going up into the apple tree.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15And the reason why clematis have done so well
0:03:15 > 0:03:18is because of last winter's wet.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23And it's a good reminder that clematis like wet conditions,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25so if you give them a really good soak,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29not just when they're in flower but earlier in the year,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33that's the way to ensure you get a really brilliant display now.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The Writing Garden was lovely in spring and summer,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48but I have to confess it's past its best now.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50And sometimes that means cutting back hard,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53which I've done over the last few days.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Now, whilst that's a shame, it is an opportunity,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00because it's clearing space, and now is the time to be planting bulbs.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04So if you've got some spare space in a border, get some bulbs in,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08and then that job is done and they'll come up next spring.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10And I want to plant two very different bulbs
0:04:10 > 0:04:12here in the Writing Garden,
0:04:12 > 0:04:17which will give me fantastic display next May and June.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20For the first, in May, I'm going to plant a camassia.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25These are large bulbs, they come from America,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29they grow naturally in wet meadows in the United States.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Camassias make a really quite substantial plant and flower,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38bigger than the bulb would suggest.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42And once it's got established, and that can take two or three years,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44it will be three foot tall,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and this lovely spar of flower that will last
0:04:48 > 0:04:51for two, three weeks and then gently fade,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54so really good if you can grow it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59Now, the trick to planting them is to plant them good and deep.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Six to even eight inches below ground.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Not least because they're less likely to dry out.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I've got a bulb planter here, which might do the job, or,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11if you haven't got a bulb planter, a small spade will do, as well.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18And the thing about camassias
0:05:18 > 0:05:21is they really do like moist, heavy soil.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25This is not a bulb to grow if you garden on sand or chalk
0:05:25 > 0:05:28or have very free drainage.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29They just won't thrive.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Now, the other bulb I want to put in here is very different.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44This lovely sack of bulbs is an allium.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's called Allium Everest. And it...
0:05:47 > 0:05:50HE SNIFFS ..it smells oniony.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And I've got some in here.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55You can see that there are a few seed heads left.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And Everest is one of the very few white alliums,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04with its nice, strong upright stem and its bobble head.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07This flowers a little later than Purple Sensation,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10that we have in such abundance in the Jewel Garden,
0:06:10 > 0:06:11round about mid-June.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14And then what's so good about alliums
0:06:14 > 0:06:16is they fade with an awful lot of grace.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18So I'm very fond of them.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24The effect I want to achieve with both these types of bulbs is
0:06:24 > 0:06:27that they just drift through the borders.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29They have no special place but, at the same time,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32obviously, they've got to work with the other planting.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37They don't want to be hidden by it or, in turn, to block anything out.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Now, alliums don't need to be planted so deep.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42They do prefer better drainage.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45If you've got sandy soil, they'll be quite happy.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48And also they do like sun.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55The Writing Garden's in its third year now and it's funny how
0:06:55 > 0:06:59borders change in a way that you can't predict.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02You have this idea that it's going to be a certain thing -
0:07:02 > 0:07:06for me it was going to be frothy and light.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08But of course it doesn't play ball.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It is frothy and light some of the time,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12but other times it just sort of limps a bit.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15So what I need to think about for next year is getting
0:07:15 > 0:07:19a little bit of fresh impetus for the second half of summer.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25But that's all part of the pleasure of gardening for me,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I like having to deal with problems,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31however tricky they might seem to be at the time.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Well, Adam Frost has certainly got lots of pleasures
0:07:34 > 0:07:35and lots of problems ahead of him,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39as he tackles his brand-new garden in Lincolnshire.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44We joined him earlier on in the summer as he was taking stock
0:07:44 > 0:07:48of the plants that were beginning to emerge in his garden.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54Flaming June, they call it. And my garden is no exception.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It feels like the whole place has just come alive.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00As if I haven't got enough on my plate,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03we've got a new member of the family.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07And I'm taking Isla, our Labrador puppy, on a tour of the garden.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11It's amazing when you take on that new garden and you've just
0:08:11 > 0:08:13got surprise after surprise after surprise.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Someone's really thought about this in the past, because there's been
0:08:16 > 0:08:19good early colour, there's things that are going to come later on,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22like aconites, the phloxes, the sedums.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25At the moment, I've got these wonderful peonies,
0:08:25 > 0:08:26you know, geraniums.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29We've got alchemilla, which is seeding itself about.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31There's alliums that have just finished.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And as we redesign and plan the garden,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35there are lots of these plants
0:08:35 > 0:08:39I think will be dug and divided and put somewhere else.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42When they start to die back, I've got to remember what they are,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45so the best tool I've got at the moment, really, is this, the camera,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48which all I'm doing in the mornings when I'm walking her is just
0:08:48 > 0:08:54constantly taking photographs of what's going on in this border.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59It's a fantastic, an easy way, really, now to build a record...
0:08:59 > 0:09:01of the border as you go,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05and also keeping a record of madam growing here.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE Good girl.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But the one thing I have noticed is there's bindweed
0:09:11 > 0:09:12that's popping up all over the place.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16And I think, rather than stress about it, I'm just going to try and keep on top of it for the summer.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19The only thing I've got to remember, when I lift those plants,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22is to make sure that I don't take any of that bindweed with me.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Yes, thank you very much. Bless ya. Thank you very much.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I've noticed walking round this garden
0:09:35 > 0:09:37is actually the scent is fantastic.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42But it's the roses at the moment have sort of taken over the show.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I'm struggling to work out what they all are,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46so I've taken loads of photographs and sent them off to
0:09:46 > 0:09:49a couple of mates that know a lot more about roses than I do.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53But this I do know, Rosa Sander's White.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It's a fantastic big old rambler. It will grow up through a tree.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59But it's starting to pull everything down,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01so I'm going to have to do some work on there.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05And I've got some lovely, big, thick hemp rope kicking around in
0:10:05 > 0:10:08the barn, and I think I'm going to put some big posts in and
0:10:08 > 0:10:11actually just start to loop between the posts,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15so eventually we'll lay all this down, give them a good prune,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18tidy out all the dead and then tie them back up
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and have these lovely sort of draping archways
0:10:21 > 0:10:24that will work their way right back to the house.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29Isla! HE WHISTLES
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Come on, good girl. Good girl.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I've got a million and one ideas for this part of the garden
0:10:36 > 0:10:38going around in my head at the moment
0:10:38 > 0:10:41but, actually, this border behind me I'm finding quite inspiring.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Off you go. It looks a little bit like it's taken on a life of its own
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and maybe it's looking a little bit overgrown and needs a bit of work,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51but that idea of planting the roses with herbaceous perennials,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I really like that idea, and if I can wrap it round this sort of
0:10:54 > 0:10:58side of the garden and really make this an intimate space,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01this would actually really give me somewhere to sort of enjoy that
0:11:01 > 0:11:05afternoon and evening sun, fantastic sort of west-facing terrace.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The veg garden now is nearly ready to go.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16I've stripped all the land back and I can really see what I've got.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19But obviously I've had to design that before I started
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and, for me, it's always important to get that down on a piece of paper.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24The design has ended up being inspired by the windows
0:11:24 > 0:11:28of the house, one window that overlooks the veg garden.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32So I've got these wonderful planters and they make the pattern of
0:11:32 > 0:11:34the window through the garden.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37As well as the plan for the veg garden,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41I've now had time to get my ideas down on paper for the garden
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I'm going to build at the front of the house.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Do you know, as if there wasn't enough going on,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55new puppy, Mrs Frost is still sorting out inside,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57and I dig the front garden up.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00You can imagine, actually, I'm not best popular.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04But actually, this was really important to me, this front space.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07We forget about breakfast outside in this country.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10We come home, we think about, you know, evening terrace,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13but sometimes that morning sun is absolutely some of the best
0:12:13 > 0:12:16of the day, and here is brilliant.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19This small breakfast terrace sits comfortably in my design for
0:12:19 > 0:12:21the front garden.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24The plan is to wrap the planting around the terrace and then
0:12:24 > 0:12:26continue it the other side of the front door,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29which will really help to soften the gravel drive.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33I've dug out to a hard surface -
0:12:33 > 0:12:37that's really the key to put in any terrace, is the foundations.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It's this work that you don't see,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42that's the key to it not moving, going everywhere.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44So I've dug this out to about 100mm,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47which is four inches, again, about this much.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49The hardcore's in, compacted in nice and tight,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and then after that I'm going to lay everything on a mortar mix, which
0:12:53 > 0:13:00is sharp sand and cement, and 6-1 is the ratio, so six sand, one cement.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03It's really worth taking your time with
0:13:03 > 0:13:06the first course to get it absolutely spot on.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11So I've set up a line, but I'm also double-checking everything
0:13:11 > 0:13:13with a spirit level.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18But I've used the angle of the house, so come over here.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Similar little design features really, you know,
0:13:20 > 0:13:21just to change the angle.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Use this angle of this wall, all of a sudden this becomes, like,
0:13:25 > 0:13:26far more sort of dynamic.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So instead of just everything being square to the house as you
0:13:29 > 0:13:33come off, there's far much more movement through the space.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36But we're going to build this up in lovely courses.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I'm going to leave reasonably good joints between the stone,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43and the occasional gap, because I don't want this just to be
0:13:43 > 0:13:45one block of paving, I want to interplant into it,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and more or less, I suppose, give it a life of its own,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52so things will seed about and it will sort of create just
0:13:52 > 0:13:55a nice place to come and enjoy.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Anyway, better stop talking, I'd better get on.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07At RHS Rosemoor in Devon, Carol has been exploring the incredible
0:14:07 > 0:14:10variety within plant families.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13This week, she's looking at the largest family of them all,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15the daisy.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20All plant families end with -aceae
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and are usually named after a plant typical of a family.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29One group that's named after one of our most recognisable plants,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33the aster, is asteraceae.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38The asteraceae takes its name from the Latin for a star,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40and it is a star.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44It's the biggest flowering plant family in the entire world.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Within it there are all manner of plants,
0:14:46 > 0:14:51from shrubs to perennials, annuals, even a few vegetables.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55But until recently it had a completely different name.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57It was called compositae.
0:14:57 > 0:15:03If I cut one of these lovely coreopsis, I can show you why.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07At first sight it's a simple flower, isn't it?
0:15:07 > 0:15:10In actual fact they're ray florets.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14They're the advertisement that brings in the insect.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18And if you look here, instead of being just one flower,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23this is composed of lots and lots of tiny little flowers.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27They're actually called disc florets,
0:15:27 > 0:15:33and each one of them is a separate tiny flower with its own stigma,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35its own stamens, its own anthers.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41And each one is pollinated one by one by bees, hoverflies.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46Incredibly popular family, this, with all sorts of insects.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50In most cases, a daisy is instantly recognisable.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55But in some cases, you'd never know it was a daisy at all.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Achilleas, for instance, actually have these large heads
0:16:00 > 0:16:03made of lots and lots of tiny little flowers,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08but within each one of those are also those disc and ray florets.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Eupatorium, too.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13You wouldn't immediately think of that as a daisy, but it is.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20In this family there are a large number of edibles,
0:16:20 > 0:16:25such as sunflowers, lettuce and globe artichokes.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But it's the daisy that defines this family, and one of the most
0:16:30 > 0:16:35striking, with its glowing yellows and golds, is the rudbeckia.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39It loves full sun, good soil and an open site.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43It spreads sunshine with its vibrant,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47brilliant yellow flowers, lighting up the late-summer garden.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Dividing it in autumn would be counter-productive,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00after it's expended all its energy giving such a dazzling show.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Increase it by division in spring.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09If ever a daisy had true joie de vivre, it must be heleniums.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Especially this one. This is called Chelsey.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18They absolutely love really good, moist, fertile soil.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Give them what they need and they'll repay you with this bountiful
0:17:21 > 0:17:24display of beautiful flowers.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34Cuttings is a really good way of increasing tender daisies.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Things like these osteospermums, or argyranthemums.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42The idea is so simple, they're just stem cuttings.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47And all you do is assess your cutting - I'll probably get two out of that,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51so I want to cut first of all under a leaf node,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56directly like that, and then just take off the bottom leaf,
0:17:56 > 0:17:57or possibly two,
0:17:57 > 0:18:03nip out the top, which will make that whole cutting bush out.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05It will really become quite shrubby.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07And then I just want to make a hole -
0:18:07 > 0:18:12I've got a very special dibber here, it's called a pen.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14SHE CHUCKLES And just plonk them in there.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19Now, the reason I'm using this sort of module-tray arrangement
0:18:19 > 0:18:23rather than shoving them around the edge of a pot is because
0:18:23 > 0:18:28there'll be absolutely no root disturbance when I pot these on.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31And then I'm going to cover them with grit.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35I think it's a really lovely way of increasing your plants,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39and what's more, the plants you take it from, it does them good, too,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42because as you take out these apical shoots,
0:18:42 > 0:18:43these little top shoots,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48it persuades the plant to bush out from all its leaf nodes,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and with those sort of tender daisies that's just what you want,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55really bushy plants smothered in beautiful daisies.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07This garden is packed full of daisies,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09but none of them more ebullient,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12more exciting than this gorgeous dahlia.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16This is Moonfire.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20We've only been growing dahlias for a couple of hundred years in this country,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and they became at one time
0:19:22 > 0:19:25very much exhibitors' plants, up on the show bench.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28But thanks to the efforts of adventurous gardeners,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32we welcome them now into polite garden society,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36mix them up with other plants, and they really are such great partners.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Look at them with these heleniums, with the Michaelmas daisies,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42the perfect complement.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45In common with other members of the daisy family,
0:19:45 > 0:19:50dahlias are accommodating, versatile, good-natured.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55In fact, you could say that the asteraceae family is a happy family.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15I think it's fair to say that the daisy family
0:20:15 > 0:20:19is happy and sunny and shining.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22The trouble here at Longmeadow is, we can make them happy,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25we can pander to their every need, but we can't always give them
0:20:25 > 0:20:28as much sun as generally they would like.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33For example, I really want to plant asters into these new
0:20:33 > 0:20:39orchard borders but, by and large, asters really do like sunshine.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42But there are a few that will grow in shade,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and I've picked three here, which I think will give me
0:20:46 > 0:20:51that late-summer, autumnal colour that I want from these borders.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55The first I've chosen is one called Twilight.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Look how it's shining out of the dark.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05I've got three because I want a good, solid clump.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Although these asters will grow in shade
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and, more importantly, will flower in shade,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14don't plant them underneath a leylandii hedge
0:21:14 > 0:21:16or a holly or a yew tree.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20They're just not going to thrive and certainly won't flower for you.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24But that will be OK there. I've got a couple of other varieties.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27This one here is Little Carlow.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34You can see the flowers are starting to form quite tall, quite strong,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39and all these shady asters tend towards woodiness.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42They're almost like shrubs, rather than perennials.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47And finally, my last one is Aster lateriflorus,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and it's one of the last to flower,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and I'm going to put this one in the border back here.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01So, I've got three clumps of three, and they will bulk out.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Now, the planting of them is pretty much the same.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08This soil is naturally good, but if you've got very sandy
0:22:08 > 0:22:14or well-draining soil, do dig in plenty of manure or compost.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19Have you come to help?
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I'm going to plant them all in the one hole,
0:22:27 > 0:22:32so, essentially, I'm making three into one big plant.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36That can come in there.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40Good boy.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48As I said, I'm looking to establish fairly large clumps,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50which will need dividing in time,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54but the time to divide asters is spring.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Don't be tempted to do it at the end of the season,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00but just leave them, cut them back if you want to tidy them,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04but although there's no need, and then in spring,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07round about the end of March, early April, that's the time to
0:23:07 > 0:23:08lift them and divide them,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11and then, when you replant them, they'll grow quickly.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32And last of these three, but not least, is Aster lateriflorus,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and this is probably the most adaptable of all asters.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It's not too fussy about soil.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41It will cope with much more dryness than a lot of asters will,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and also more shade.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48It has very small flowers with a little inner boss,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50which starts yellow and then changes colour.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52It's known as the calico aster.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56And bees and butterflies love them.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58So at the end of the growing season,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00when there isn't much else in the garden,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03sort of second half of October, well into November,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06these are flowering and these are providing food
0:24:06 > 0:24:10for butterflies and bees before winter comes,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and they're delighting you and I in the border.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31Now, this is an aster that really is not bothered by mildew and, really,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34the best way to avoid mildew - cos there's not much you can do
0:24:34 > 0:24:39about it once you've got it - is to keep them watered.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Don't let them dry out, particularly in the growing season,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45sort of June, July, before they're flowering,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49then they'll get dry and that will set up the conditions for mildew.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01Now, these borders are slowly working themselves out.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05There's an element of me trying what I want it to look like
0:25:05 > 0:25:07and the border responding and rejecting something.
0:25:07 > 0:25:13And gradually, you find what looks and works best.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15But there are times - sometimes when you inherit
0:25:15 > 0:25:18a garden or even of your own making - when you just have to
0:25:18 > 0:25:22accept that a border is not working and something
0:25:22 > 0:25:25a bit more dramatic needs to happen.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And in the first of a four-part series,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Nick Bailey, the head gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34is off to Berkshire to help rescue a border that has lost its way.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40This week, I've come to Reading,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and I've come to look at a garden with a very common problem.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47This is the case of the tired, neglected border.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56This is a really typical example of a border
0:25:56 > 0:25:58that just hasn't had enough love.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00It's a bit tired, it's a bit neglected.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03It's in partly dappled shade and it's got the challenge
0:26:03 > 0:26:05of this tree overhead.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07The roses are really stretching, they're a bit thin,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10producing big leaves because they're not getting enough light.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12So there's some real challenges in this border,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15but, in fact, there's some really, really easy solutions.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22First thing we need to do is to look at these suckers, which are coming
0:26:22 > 0:26:25from the tree behind us, and it typically happens if you've got
0:26:25 > 0:26:28tree roots running through a border, and we need to get rid of these.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Then we need to dress the roses.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34A good, hard prune should get them to rejuvenate.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35We need to get rid of the ivy,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39which has crept onto the trees and onto some of the ground cover areas.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41We need to deal with the soil itself,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44and it's really dry, dusty, nasty stuff.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49And then, finally, we get onto the fun bit - the planting.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51We're going to start with removing this sucker
0:26:51 > 0:26:53coming from the tree above us.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58And so we're just going to chip away here to expose the base,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01but it's absolutely key that you don't chop into the root,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05again, because that will cause even more suckers to come up.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08I tend to think that that, sort of, chopping around at the base could
0:27:08 > 0:27:09actually trigger it even more,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11so I'm going to take it out with secateurs.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17The next job is to get rid of the weeds.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21These are perennial weeds and they're in really, really dry soil,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24so we resort to the mattock.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Annual weeds are really easy to deal with,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32but perennial weeds, like this prunella,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35you really need to dig all of the roots out or it'll just keep
0:27:35 > 0:27:39coming back, year in, year out. So that's gone, won't return.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Ivy can look quite pretty growing up a tree, but actually this is
0:27:44 > 0:27:46compromising the tree in a number of different ways.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50So, down at ground level, it's robbing nutrients from the trees
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and it's taking up water, as well, that the tree would otherwise use.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Down at the base, to truly get rid of the ivy,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59we need to cut it - probably with loppers or something similar
0:27:59 > 0:28:00- and then use a brushwood killer,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and that's a herbicide that penetrates the roots
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and kills the likes of this and bramble very easily.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Hybrid tea roses like this are normally pruned in spring or autumn,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14but, because we're doing a rejuvenation,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16we can just about get away with it now.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18All I'm going to do is take it down to about 30cm,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22to some outward-facing buds, and that will hopefully give us
0:28:22 > 0:28:23a fresh crop of flowers this year.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26It will certainly produce new foliage.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Before I put the compost down, I want to make sure that there's
0:28:34 > 0:28:38a decent definition between the border and the grass.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41It's always worth considering keeping those lines
0:28:41 > 0:28:43quite smooth and flowing. If you make acute lines,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46it can be really difficult to get the mower in there, so always think
0:28:46 > 0:28:50about that before you start laying out beds or redefining those edges.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59So, I've finished the edges, so now we're ready for the compost.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05To sort out an impoverished soil like this,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08the best mediums you can use, something like a garden compost,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11a peat-free compost, or a composted bark.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14I'm going to go for about a ten-centimetre layer
0:29:14 > 0:29:16across the whole surface.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28So I've now got a nice, neat and even spread of compost across
0:29:28 > 0:29:31the surface. I'm about to mess it all up and dig it in.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Now, when you're laying out a new planting,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45don't be afraid to experiment with it.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47You don't always have to put things in groups.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Sometimes it's worth dotting them through a planting.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Another tip is to get all the evergreens in first,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56so maybe evergreen shrubs like this skimmia,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00or herbaceous plants that stay evergreen, like this epimedium,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03so before you put in any of the deciduous plants,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06any of the biannuals or annuals, these are the ones to set out.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Don't be scared to move them again.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Have a walk round, look at it from different angles,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15see if it's really going to work.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17I think that skimmia needs moving.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26OK, I think that's in the right place. We're ready to plant.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Now, what you want to do actually is to go for about twice the depth
0:30:32 > 0:30:35of the pot and about twice the width, and that gives loads
0:30:35 > 0:30:38and loads of space for the roots then to emerge into this new soil.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44When you're putting your plants in, it's much better to firm them in
0:30:44 > 0:30:49from around the sides, so it's gripping nicely into the roots.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Level it off around the top and if you just create
0:30:52 > 0:30:57a very small moat around the top of the plant, when you water,
0:30:57 > 0:31:02the water goes directly into the roots and doesn't run away.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05I've chosen the plants in this border for many different reasons.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09The digitalis, the foxgloves, are fantastic because they'll self-seed
0:31:09 > 0:31:12into the border, so it'll just perpetuate for years to come.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14We've used a geranium, Geranium oxonianum,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17and you can prune that back after its first flowering
0:31:17 > 0:31:20and it will flush again. And then finally, wrapping round the corner
0:31:20 > 0:31:22we've used Hakonechloa macra, and that's
0:31:22 > 0:31:26a fantastic little doming grass that works brilliantly in shade,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29it's absolutely happy in dappled shade.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I've prescribed a number of remedies to this once tired and
0:31:32 > 0:31:34neglected border.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38It's had a dose of pruning, feeding and planting and now it's
0:31:38 > 0:31:42going to provide 365 days of colour and interest.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56That's a shady border that's been completely transformed,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00but I've got here a shady part of the garden that's very subtly
0:32:00 > 0:32:05and really precisely changed at this time of year,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08but I think in a way that is absolutely lovely,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11because it is very shady and the ferns love it,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14but for a few weeks in September and October,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17these cyclamen suddenly appear.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Delicate, even fragile,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23but really intense touches of colour.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27And they last for four, sometimes even five weeks.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29They make a great pot plant,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32you can buy them in garden centres now, but also, if you plant them,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35they will spread, and another fact about them that I love is
0:32:35 > 0:32:38that the seed is spread by ants.
0:32:38 > 0:32:44And in time, they will spread and I hope carpet all the way
0:32:44 > 0:32:48along the path in September and October, but for the moment,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52as they are, they are giving me a huge amount of pleasure.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Coming up later - head gardener Jane Moore
0:32:56 > 0:32:59has been exploring the back gardens of Britain
0:32:59 > 0:33:02and tonight she finds out how two gardens on the same
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Bristol street make the most of very different growing conditions.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12Wow, Tony, those bananas are incredible!
0:33:12 > 0:33:16And we visit a nursery in Hampshire that specialises in members
0:33:16 > 0:33:18of the asteraceae family.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22They're like little suns and they just brighten up the borders.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to send us your pictures of
0:33:32 > 0:33:35exotic plants or gardens that you've made.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Thank you very much indeed and please keep sending them,
0:33:39 > 0:33:44we do like to see gardens from all over the country.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Now, this week, Nick Macer continues his journey round Britain
0:33:47 > 0:33:53looking for the most exotic gardens, and Nick has gone to the east
0:33:53 > 0:33:58of the country to find a garden that exceeds the wildest expectations.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07I'm in Benfleet, Essex, perhaps best known for the Battle of Benfleet,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10where the Vikings were routed by the Saxons, and there's another
0:34:10 > 0:34:13point of interest, a garden not far from here, and when you see what's
0:34:13 > 0:34:17growing there, you'll be hard-pressed to know you're in Essex.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Hello, Paul. Nick, good to see you. Great to see you.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29I'm instantly getting the impression we're in for a treat.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31We've got a big...
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Instantly a big dasylirion from Mexico. Fantastic.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Come and show me what you've got. Let's go.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Down into the jungle. This is really rather luscious down here.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48A lot of trachycarpus palms, the old classic.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Clerodendrum, tree ferns.
0:34:53 > 0:34:54And one of my favourites, Paul,
0:34:54 > 0:34:59Schefflera digitata, from New Zealand, right? Absolutely, yeah.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I've just spied another one here. Which one is this?
0:35:01 > 0:35:06This is Aralia decaisneana. An unusual one, but for me,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09probably the aristocrat of the shrubby aralias.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Absolutely stupendous,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14probably my favourite shrub in the entire garden.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18This is... This part of the garden allows me
0:35:18 > 0:35:20to grow these type of things.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22All the moisture seems to seep down to here,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24it's like a sump for the whole garden.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29It all gives a shade here and it's very cool and humid and
0:35:29 > 0:35:32a completely different sort of feel to the rest of the garden.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40So we emerge from the jungle.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Amazing backdrop!
0:35:51 > 0:35:56Wow, wow, wow. This is really so fundamentally different from
0:35:56 > 0:35:58anything we've seen so far.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02This is really, really strikingly different from pretty much
0:36:02 > 0:36:05anything else you can see in Britain.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08I wanted to make a rock garden and I wanted to use lava rock.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12I thought the combination of the spiky plants and the colour
0:36:12 > 0:36:15of the plants would look so good and so effective against the lava rock.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19I mean, that's just basically a dry-stone wall that's been
0:36:19 > 0:36:22backfilled with freely draining material behind it,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25so any rain that does fall just goes straight through the roots of
0:36:25 > 0:36:29the plants and so I think I've tried to give the plants as good
0:36:29 > 0:36:31a microclimate as I can possibly do.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34The garden slopes down to the south.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38The slope is facing the south, so the cold air drains away downwards,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41cold air being heavier than warm air.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44This is basked in the sunshine when there's sun,
0:36:44 > 0:36:47so it just enhances the climate that's here and I think that goes
0:36:47 > 0:36:51some way to allowing the range of plants to be broader.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52I think you're absolutely right.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55I think microclimates is a fascinating subject, but of course
0:36:55 > 0:37:00there are microclimates within microclimates within microclimates.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04You have a wide range of cacti here.
0:37:04 > 0:37:10People don't associate cacti with the UK very much. Yeah.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12I think they're probably one of the most unusual groups of plants
0:37:12 > 0:37:14that you could see growing outside,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17but I think it's like anything, you know. For example,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20this cactus here, the soehrensia there,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24that doesn't grow in a desert environment.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27That grows in a fairly temperate environment
0:37:27 > 0:37:28with fairly high rainfall.
0:37:33 > 0:37:39So, Paul, this to me really is one of the most crazy,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43bonkers kind of areas of the garden. What on earth are we growing here?
0:37:43 > 0:37:48It's a giant cactus of, I believe, South American origin?
0:37:48 > 0:37:54Yes, monumental proportions. It's Trichocereus terscheckii
0:37:54 > 0:37:59from Argentina and...it seems quite happy. It's been here for 13 years.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03How high is that, do we think? I don't know, 15 feet?
0:38:03 > 0:38:07The buds that were flowers very recently, these are six inches long?
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Yeah, absolutely,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12and when they open, they're the size of tea plates, absolutely staggering
0:38:12 > 0:38:14things, and I've never protected it.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16I lie, I protected it the first winter.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20I had an old straw sombrero that I stuck on the top and then
0:38:20 > 0:38:24the first wind that we got blew it away and that was the end of that.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26But people just don't think this sort of thing
0:38:26 > 0:38:28is possible outside in the UK.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30With succulents and cacti in particular,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I think drainage and air movement... You think of air movement, if you
0:38:33 > 0:38:36put your washing out on a washing line, it dries quicker,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38and that just helps to wick away the moisture
0:38:38 > 0:38:40that's in the soil, the excess moisture.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43I'm a good believer in air movement as well.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46How many other people do you think are growing this kind of cacti
0:38:46 > 0:38:52outside in the UK? I think there's a handful of idiots like me.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57I could probably guarantee that no-one has one quite that size.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00I can imagine that's correct. THEY LAUGH
0:39:05 > 0:39:09It is extraordinary and inspiring at what can be grown in this
0:39:09 > 0:39:13country, although, of course, what you can grow in Essex is very
0:39:13 > 0:39:15different to what you can grow here at Longmeadow,
0:39:15 > 0:39:19but with the judicious use of a greenhouse or a windowsill,
0:39:19 > 0:39:24a conservatory, a porch, you can grow fantastic succulents.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29I planted up this selection of echeveria and sempervivums last autumn,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32they overwintered perfectly well, they flowered this summer
0:39:32 > 0:39:36and they're very happy outside, and I'll pop them back inside
0:39:36 > 0:39:38in about a month's time.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Now, those are fantastic and they don't have to be big.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43It's not all about size.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46They can be wonderful if they're small, and if you want wonderful,
0:39:46 > 0:39:51they don't come much more extraordinary than these.
0:39:51 > 0:39:56These are called lithops. They come from the deserts of Namibia.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01The plants mimic stones so that grazing animals pass over them,
0:40:01 > 0:40:06don't think they're edible and they survive. And today,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08this flower has appeared.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11It wasn't here this morning and would you believe it?
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Isn't that extraordinary?
0:40:13 > 0:40:19How a plant looking as though it should be deep beneath the sea
0:40:19 > 0:40:23can produce a flower that's daisy-like in its radiance.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25And not just lithops, which are extraordinary,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27look at some of these.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31These are not plants that I normally grow, but I think they're
0:40:31 > 0:40:35so extraordinary. Looking like a Buddha's Temple.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37Now, you can grow these,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40but there are certain things you have to get right -
0:40:40 > 0:40:42the watering regime and the compost.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47Now, starting with the compost, they do need a really low-quality,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50high-drainage mix.
0:40:50 > 0:40:56I've got here the normal mix that I use for cuttings or for
0:40:56 > 0:41:01potting up alpine plants, which is very, very free-draining.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03It's got an awful lot of grit in
0:41:03 > 0:41:06mixed with my normal potting compost.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10But that alone is going to be a little bit too rich for most
0:41:10 > 0:41:16of these. I will cut that with half, either with coir,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19which is ideal, if you can get it, and you buy it in blocks.
0:41:19 > 0:41:26If you can't get that, you could use sharp sand or perlite.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Perlite works very well,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32but what I'm going to do is just put a scoopful of this mix,
0:41:32 > 0:41:37which already is very free-draining, with a scoopful of the coir.
0:41:39 > 0:41:45And coir, which is made from coconut husks,
0:41:45 > 0:41:49is a really good mix, but actually has practically no nutrition at all,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53so good for drainage, good for holding it together,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57but it's not going to get them soft and sappy in growth.
0:41:58 > 0:42:04These terracotta trays are really good for showing off succulents
0:42:04 > 0:42:07and also, because they're fairly shallow, they won't hold moisture.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12Got big drainage holes in the bottom and then...
0:42:12 > 0:42:14put some in like that.
0:42:14 > 0:42:20Now, we can make up a little mixture of these. I like these green ones.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26So we'll pop that in there like that.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29And I think I'd like to have these in there.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40And then we've got bigger ones as well.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45That can go in there like that.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47A little bit more of this mix.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53If in doubt, plant them
0:42:53 > 0:42:57so they're sticking out a little bit more rather than a little bit less.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59You don't want to bury them.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Now I'm going to put a layer of grit over them.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Partly to dress it so they look good,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08and also to stop any moisture splashing back.
0:43:09 > 0:43:10There we go.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12That's one.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Now, I've got a bigger one here.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Put a bit of mixture in that.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Now, let's go to town.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Let's have this one.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26These are desert plants, they want to be starved of water,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30they want to have practically no nutrients.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40In the winter months, effectively October through till March,
0:43:40 > 0:43:42keep them bone dry.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45If they're indoors and it's a centrally heated house or
0:43:45 > 0:43:48above a radiator, it may get a little bit too dry, you may need to
0:43:48 > 0:43:52mist them, but resist the temptation to water them.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57And then you can water then in March, April,
0:43:57 > 0:43:59maybe once every two or three weeks.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01You just water them until it's running out the bottom,
0:44:01 > 0:44:07then leave them alone, and the best thing you can do is be tough
0:44:07 > 0:44:09on them, because that's what they've adapted to do.
0:44:09 > 0:44:14Don't kill them with kindness, and if you do that,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18you too can have the desert blooming on your windowsill.
0:44:20 > 0:44:26Now, we've seen what extraordinary plants can grow in gardens around
0:44:26 > 0:44:29the country, but you don't need a great big garden to make
0:44:29 > 0:44:34somewhere that is truly interesting and, more importantly, is
0:44:34 > 0:44:39idiosyncratic, and Jane Moore has been to the same street in
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Bristol to visit two very different gardens.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52We don't all have the luxury of a large garden, where you can
0:44:52 > 0:44:56let your imagination run riot. In a smaller space,
0:44:56 > 0:44:58every square foot has to count.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02I'm told that in this street there are two gardens whose
0:45:02 > 0:45:07homeowners haven't let a lack of space restrict their ambition.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12The first belongs to Tony, who's an artist.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15His family garden is a sunny south-facing space
0:45:15 > 0:45:17that's full of colour and art.
0:45:19 > 0:45:24Oh, wow! Tony, those bananas are incredible.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27They're not the average choice for a small garden, are they?
0:45:27 > 0:45:29A whopping great banana.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33They've been here about 12 years and they're doing very, very well.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36I think we've got a microclimate here but I guess they could grow
0:45:36 > 0:45:39in most gardens if they're looked after, watered regularly,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41cut and wrapped in the winter.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44And I can see that you've got plants from all over the place,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47but I particularly love the palm trees. Wonderful.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50It was palm trees first, then it was bananas, then it was the echium.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53And they were very successful.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55All the seeds I collected grew.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57I really enjoy creating trees from seeds.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Is there any particular style that you favour?
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Although this isn't a specifically Japanese garden,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08there are elements of Japanese design in it.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13They somehow have a way of increasing space in a small area
0:46:13 > 0:46:17by the introduction of curves and special plants and structures.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20So your eye is kind of drawn to different parts of the garden.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23So you've used loads of different textures.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26Were you aware that that's a classic, again,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29small-garden device to make a small garden seem bigger
0:46:29 > 0:46:31if you're walking over different materials?
0:46:31 > 0:46:34No, I wasn't, actually. So you've just done that instinctively, then.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36It's been very intuitive.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39I really like the mix of tropical planting you've got
0:46:39 > 0:46:41with also quite ordinary plants.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45So we've got the lovely Melianthus major, which I really like,
0:46:45 > 0:46:47with that lovely bluey foliage.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50And, erm... But it's next to nasturtiums.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53And nasturtiums are growing up sticks,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57so again they add the idea of a kind of jungle growing.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06A south-facing garden certainly seems to offer a lot of
0:47:06 > 0:47:10opportunities, but what's the story on the other side of the street?
0:47:14 > 0:47:15Wow!
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Matthew, those hornbeams make quite a statement in a small garden.
0:47:19 > 0:47:20Yeah, they give a lot of privacy
0:47:20 > 0:47:23so we're not overlooked by the houses opposite.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26They must create quite a lot of shade in the garden.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28It's a kind of shady garden anyway.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31We get a small amount of sun that moves across it.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35And I guess cos it's north-facing this is the sunniest it ever gets.
0:47:35 > 0:47:36Definitely.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39So a lot of the plants have to cope with not much sunshine at all.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I love the fact the garden's on two levels,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44especially with this glass balcony.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46It makes it seem so spacious.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Yes, it's nice to be able to look out onto the garden.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51I didn't want anything to interrupt that view from the kitchen.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53So let's go down, then.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56I love these pots of ferns. What a lovely idea.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Yeah, a little bit of a fernery on the steps
0:47:59 > 0:48:01making the most of the little space I've got.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Yes. Look at your gorgeous pond. Yes.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07It's a nice sound hearing the water running in the background.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12It's quite a different feel down here, isn't it? It certainly is.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15You can feel the temperature drop and you're in a much cooler, damper environment.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18And you feel like you're in your own little woodland
0:48:18 > 0:48:20with the trees all around. Yeah, it's lovely.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23It's a nice kind of tranquil green room to retreat to.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25And you've got some quite interesting plants.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28You've got a little dwarf ginkgo down there,
0:48:28 > 0:48:30which I think is really quite unusual. Yeah.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32Again, it's a beautiful leaf
0:48:32 > 0:48:34and I could never grow a full-size ginkgo in here.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37No, you haven't got the room for that. Definitely not.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40What variety is that? It's called Troll.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42What a fab name. Perfect. Yeah.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Is that a fig I can see over in the corner as well? Yeah.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49I know it's a fig in a shady garden but I love the leaves.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I love the tropical shape of it.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54So it doesn't fruit, obviously, but it's a great structure.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58No, but you're getting that beautiful leaf, aren't you? Absolutely.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Over in this corner I really, really love your black bamboo.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03The bamboo is perfect in this space
0:49:03 > 0:49:06because I can have the leaves at the top,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09so I hear the rustle when I'm up on the terrace,
0:49:09 > 0:49:13but below I get the beautiful view of the black bamboo and the stalks.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Yes, you're kind of in the bamboo forest, aren't you, down here?
0:49:16 > 0:49:17It's brilliant.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Where did you get your design ideas for this lower part of the garden?
0:49:20 > 0:49:24After we planted the trees and created a screen at one end
0:49:24 > 0:49:28I wanted to kind of bring the plants as though they wrapped around you.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30So I raised them up by building a raised bed
0:49:30 > 0:49:33so that the plants are all a little bit higher
0:49:33 > 0:49:36than they would be if they were planted straight into the ground.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40And I love the way that nature has kind of reclaimed parts of it.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44So one of the nicest things is where the bricks have developed
0:49:44 > 0:49:46this lovely mossy coat on top of them.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49I know. You couldn't wish for anything better, really, could you?
0:49:49 > 0:49:51It's just lovely to sit and stroke it.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01So much of the great gardening in this country
0:50:01 > 0:50:05is down to the particular passions of individual plant lovers
0:50:05 > 0:50:07and we visited a nursery in Hampshire
0:50:07 > 0:50:11that specialises in members of the daisy family,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13in all its varied forms.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Everybody knows the daisy
0:50:15 > 0:50:19because it's the first plant you usually draw when you're a child
0:50:19 > 0:50:22and everybody knows about making daisy chains.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26The asteraceae family, they're like little suns.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Come the autumn, then you get all the asters and the rudbeckias
0:50:31 > 0:50:35and the echinaceas and they just brighten up the borders.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Very important for the butterflies and the bees.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42They're good landing stages, an easy source for nectar and pollen.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44They've just been about for so long
0:50:44 > 0:50:47and I just don't think they'll ever go out of fashion.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52We have about ten asteraceaes in flower at the moment.
0:50:52 > 0:50:57We've got the Aster Lutetia, which is very nice.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59The heleniun. This is Red Shades.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02We sow this from seeds and it comes up different colours.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06This is the same but it's come up a very dark red.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10We have the bidens. They're a lovely lemony yellow.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14That will flower now right through to the first frosts.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17This is Cichorium album.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Usually it's blue but this one's a nice white.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22We've got the Echinacea White Swan.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26And also we've got the Kalimeris mongolica.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Me and Ange have always been interested in growing plants.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38We built a butterfly garden together
0:51:38 > 0:51:42and we just thought really we need our own nursery.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46About 12 years ago this little bit of land was up for rent
0:51:46 > 0:51:49so we thought we had to go for it and we haven't looked back.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Once he's sown the seeds every morning
0:51:55 > 0:52:00Andy shouts out, "I've made the tea, got your glasses,"
0:52:00 > 0:52:04and then we go down the rows and we look at all the seed trays
0:52:04 > 0:52:10and there are whoops of delight when we see little seedlings emerging.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14I think every gardener should have a go at growing seeds,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17because there's something magical
0:52:17 > 0:52:19about seeing these little seedlings emerge.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Right. These are Erigeron karvinskianus Profusion,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28which is this lovely plant here.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31I collect my own seeds and these were sown in July
0:52:31 > 0:52:35and they're just about ready to prick out.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36So you need a pot.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Some nice compost. Make sure all the lumps are out.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46And then we drop it gently into the pot.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48A little bit raised like that.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50And then very delicately...
0:52:53 > 0:52:56I don't use a proper dibber for this.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00I use something I do my nails with, because it's tinier.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Then we make a little hole like that in the top
0:53:04 > 0:53:06and gently ease the roots in.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09We don't want to damage the roots.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Then tuck it all in around, the compost all around it.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15And then firm down and we can get rid of any excess.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20I am a bit fussy. I like to make it look neat.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22And then one tap.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24We like to sell them in this size pot
0:53:24 > 0:53:27because they like their roots confined.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30A lot of people don't manage to grow them in the garden because
0:53:30 > 0:53:34they take them home and they put them in really lush soil and
0:53:34 > 0:53:38the roots don't like it because they like to be nice and tight.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Not everybody has the space or the desire
0:53:47 > 0:53:51for a wildflower meadow, so what we try and do is help people create
0:53:51 > 0:53:56that kind of feel within their little garden spaces, and these are
0:53:56 > 0:54:01two ideal plants to use that give you that kind of naturalistic
0:54:01 > 0:54:05effect in your garden like a wildflower meadow.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08This is a beautiful Centaurea jacea
0:54:08 > 0:54:12and it's got lots of tiny little flower heads
0:54:12 > 0:54:15that the bees absolutely adore.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Then you've got Leucanthemum superbum
0:54:18 > 0:54:21and it's a real old-fashioned good doer.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Neither of these plants need a lot of attention.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29I think there's an aster for everyone.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32And we give people lots of advice when they come to the nursery
0:54:32 > 0:54:35because they're our plants until someone buys them,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38then they're theirs, but we want them to go to a good home
0:54:38 > 0:54:39and we want them to do well.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41They're our little babies.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50I tell you what, without daisies the Jewel Garden would be
0:54:50 > 0:54:53a bit thin on the ground at this time of year.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57Rudbeckias, sunflowers, tithonias, dahlias.
0:54:57 > 0:55:02And all really holding forth throughout September.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13In amongst all these assorted daisies,
0:55:13 > 0:55:17bustling and preening and parading, is a modern daisy.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19Kniphofia.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23This is Kniphofia rooperi, and like all red-hot pokers
0:55:23 > 0:55:26it's lovely, and I really like the relationship between
0:55:26 > 0:55:32the flowers and the deeply folded green leaves.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36For about three or four weeks at this time of year it's a good 'un.
0:55:36 > 0:55:41Well, it's one thing to stand and admire the flowers in your garden
0:55:41 > 0:55:43but it won't get the work done.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45So here are some jobs to do this weekend.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53My squashes are a bit small, but whatever state your pumpkins
0:55:53 > 0:55:58and squashes are in, remove any foliage that is obscuring the fruit
0:55:58 > 0:56:02from the sun, and this will give them the maximum chance to ripen.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06At the same time, take off any immature fruits or flowers.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13Autumn-fruiting raspberries are really coming into their own now
0:56:13 > 0:56:17and to keep them producing more and more fruit
0:56:17 > 0:56:19it's important to pick them regularly.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22And why wouldn't you, because they're delicious.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28Plants are setting seed all over the garden at this time of year
0:56:28 > 0:56:31so be sure to collect your favourites.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Use a paper bag or envelope, never polythene,
0:56:36 > 0:56:40and put either the seeds or the whole seed pod inside.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44Label it clearly and store it somewhere cool and dark,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and you can't go wrong with the fridge,
0:56:47 > 0:56:49until you're ready to sow them.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58We all need to plan our weekends so we make the best use of the time,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01so here's the weather forecast.