0:00:02 > 0:00:04'Gardeners' World has grown to a full hour,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07'giving us even more time to celebrate the very best
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'of British gardening.'
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Hello, welcome to Gardeners' World.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Now, I reckon that the end of September is the end
0:00:26 > 0:00:28of the gardening year,
0:00:28 > 0:00:34and tomorrow is a New Year's Day for us gardeners, so let's celebrate.
0:00:34 > 0:00:40Let's celebrate with some bright, brash, audacious colour.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44And these dahlias are supplying that in spades.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46So, the light may be waning,
0:00:46 > 0:00:51but we are not going gentle into any kind of night.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And of course, in purely practical terms,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58if you keep cutting the flowers of dahlias, in particular, but
0:00:58 > 0:01:02anything at this time of year, you are promoting new flowers, new buds,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and as long as the weather doesn't get too cold,
0:01:05 > 0:01:11these will go on flowering for weeks to come in our new gardening year.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19On tonight's programme -
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Frances Tophill goes out on a limb in Cornwall.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25This is just a light bit of weeding for you, is it?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- Yes, extreme gardening.- Yes!
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Joe Swift is in Scotland, rediscovering the rockery.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Rockeries were popular with the Victorians and the Edwardians,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37who wanted to grow and show off the exquisite little plants
0:01:37 > 0:01:39that were being discovered
0:01:39 > 0:01:42in the mountainous regions from all over the world.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46And Flo Headlam transforms a derelict garden in Lewisham.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I need to get busy!
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And we will also be catching up with Adam Frost's progress
0:01:54 > 0:01:56in his garden in Lincolnshire,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01I will be adding a few last splashes of colour into my Jewel Garden,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and planting up an alpine trough.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I have got some nepeta plants here that have done really well.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29They are looking fine at the moment and not dominating,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33because I cut them right to the ground in early August.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36And when they are growing and they are full sort of performance
0:02:36 > 0:02:38in June, they are right up here.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41This is a variety called Six Hills Giant, and it is pretty big.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Now, it's lovely, and I don't want to get rid of it,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47but I do want to divide it and move it around.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49It is quite a good time to do it now,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52because you can see how big it is.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56If you leave things till either the winter or early spring,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58before they start to grow,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01you can't really get an idea of how much space it is going to occupy.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Move things now, and you can really see the effect they will have.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This here is one plant.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14So if I dig that up, I can divide it.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Cats find nepeta irresistible, which is why it is known as catnip.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28And apparently, it has a narcotic influence on them.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34It is the chemical nepetalactone, and they absolutely adore it.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38However, by the same token, apparently, rats and mice hate it,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43and so do mosquitoes and midges, so if you rub yourself with nepeta,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47you won't get stung by mosquitoes, but you will get rubbed by cats.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56I am going to chop into that, rather than trying to lift the whole thing.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02There we go.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Right, that, you see, I could transplant,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07lock, stock and barrel, which I am going to do.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09I will put that in one trug.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13But if I take this one out, I can divide it...
0:04:16 > 0:04:18..with my fingers, like that.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19And now I have two plants.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Herbaceous plants grow outwards like a doughnut,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27so the outer reaches of it, the newest bits,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32are always more vigorous and healthier and stronger.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And what you should do always is discard the centre,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39put that on the compost heap and replant the outer segments.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43So, we will pop that back in the ground.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Inevitably, that looks a bit floppy now.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I could cut it back hard and it won't regrow before next year,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54but that will be fine and it gives me more plants
0:04:54 > 0:04:57to take to another part of the Cottage Garden,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59where I think these are going to serve well.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I have a campanula in there, which is too big and not wide enough,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07and this will just fill that gap more naturally.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22Right. This is a campanula called Pritchard's Variety.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Fabulous, lovely blue flowers in July.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30But it grows to about seven, eight feet tall.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35And that is out of scale with the roses on either side of it,
0:05:35 > 0:05:36and even the espaliers behind it.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Everything else in the garden is dwarfed by it.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41So, it is a lovely plant, I don't want to lose it,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43but it is in the wrong place.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45I'm going to dig that out
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and probably move it to the grass borders
0:05:47 > 0:05:48and replace it with nepeta.
0:06:03 > 0:06:04Here we go.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Moving plants at this time of year gets round the trauma
0:06:09 > 0:06:13that they undergo when they are in full growth,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16because there is very little growth at this time of year.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18And the idea, in the long-term,
0:06:18 > 0:06:23is that the roots grow between now and, say, mid-November,
0:06:23 > 0:06:29get anchored in, get established and they can support the top growth,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32which will really kick in from April, May onwards.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44That will hardly know it's been moved
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and I'm sure will fit into that space better,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and the campanula will be able to hold its own
0:06:50 > 0:06:52when I plant it among the tallest of the grasses
0:06:52 > 0:06:53in the grass borders.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59Now, this kind of rearranging of plants, designing and moving,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02is common to anybody who has a garden, whether it is a small
0:07:02 > 0:07:06urban backyard or rolling country acres,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09but occasionally you do come across gardens
0:07:09 > 0:07:13that stand outside any kind of common experience.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And in the first of three films,
0:07:15 > 0:07:21Frances Tophill visits a cliffside garden near Penzance in Cornwall.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Many of us gardeners often feel we have a battle on our hands,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39whether it's damp, shady spots or slugs and snails, aphids,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43but very few of us will ever have to use one of these - a winch -
0:07:43 > 0:07:46or deal with something like this.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- You ready, Robert?- Yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53This is one of the steepest gardens I have ever seen.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Do you often use a winch?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58We do, we pull most of our shrubs and trees out with a winch.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02It takes the roots out. Generally, it is much easier than digging.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05- I can see that. - Especially on a slope like this.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07This is a revelation to me!
0:08:07 > 0:08:11It is an extreme way of doing it, but it is extremely effective too.
0:08:14 > 0:08:20- Soil's off. Most of the roots are out.- That is one way to do it.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23I think we will leave it where it is
0:08:23 > 0:08:26and go for a walk round the garden, have a bit of a relax.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27Sounds good to me!
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Basically, a cliff, really, you're gardening on!
0:08:39 > 0:08:43We are on the cliff. It is three acres, but we only garden two.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Is it difficult to garden?- Yes!
0:08:49 > 0:08:53It is, but because we have terraced it, we've made it easier.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- You can stand and rest on the paths. - OK.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And then you go up into the beds to do whatever you need to do.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Aside from that, you must have other challenging conditions.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07The soil is very poor and that suits the plants that we grow.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10They like low nutrient conditions, so that is fine.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12The sea is very close, so we get salt spray,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14so that doesn't do things any good either.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19- And wind? I imagine...- The wind... - Storms and gales.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24- From the east and from the north. - So, you have it all, really.- We do.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27But you still manage to grow some lovely species, which is nice.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30This is a particularly favourite part of the garden.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35The astromelia and crocosmia and the euphorbia, all flowering together.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Lovely and bright colours as well.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40I can see there is erigeron everywhere,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42is that a favourite plant?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- It is.- It is everywhere. - It goes so well with the granite.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- It is very...- Beautiful, yeah.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Ooh! That way.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- Turn round and come down backwards.- Yeah.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04This is just a light bit of weeding for you?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Absolutely, just a light bit of weeding.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07We don't do this very often,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11but a couple of times a year when we have to take out the bramble,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and this makes all the difference, because you have your feet on
0:10:14 > 0:10:19the ground, you are steady, safe, and you can weed easily.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- So you need a bit of a head for heights, then?- You do.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- It is quite fun though.- It is. - Quite a novel way to do it.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Absolutely, yes. Extreme gardening. - Yes!
0:10:32 > 0:10:36- These rocks are incredible. - They are absolutely wonderful.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Quite fantastic. We had to uncover them, but once we did,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42then we realised we needed a path through here.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43I was going to say, the terrain,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45working round it must be really hard.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Do you actually garden here? - Yes, we do, a little.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51A lot of this is self-sown,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55but we have this miniature gunnera, which is, well...
0:10:55 > 0:10:57That is amazing. So small.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00When you think of gunnera, it's a great enormous thing.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05If it was here, it would take over everything.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15So, is this the lowest part of the garden?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Yes, this is as far down as we garden.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22It's shady, damp, perfect for tree ferns.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25In fact, they do so well they spore everywhere and we get
0:11:25 > 0:11:31thousands of baby tree ferns, which go off into the trade.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Really?- You probably, if you buy one it may have come from this garden.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36- That is amazing.- Yes.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Having walked down all of this way, how on earth do you get all this
0:11:42 > 0:11:46stuff, gravel and everything, down this far, is it with a wheelbarrow?
0:11:46 > 0:11:51No, we send it down pipes, and the pipes go about
0:11:51 > 0:11:54a third of the way down, so to get down here, we probably have to
0:11:54 > 0:11:59move the hopper three times, so it keeps us pretty fit.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10I'm only halfway up the garden. The house is way up there.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15And the bottom is somewhere far down there, and I just...
0:12:15 > 0:12:18I can't imagine gardening this on a daily basis, the two of them
0:12:18 > 0:12:23coming up and down these paths with compost and plants and tools.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It must be absolutely exhausting!
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Well, thank you very much for showing me round,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38it has been a very steep learning curve!
0:12:38 > 0:12:41It's been a real pleasure to have you here, we have enjoyed it.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Thank you very much. But there is one thing I am worrying about.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47I know now how to get everything down,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50but how on earth do you get it all back up again?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I will give you this, and I will show you.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- There is a little trick we learned in Nepal...- OK!
0:12:55 > 0:12:59..which does make a big difference to carrying stuff up.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Now, that is you get a bag like this,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06put it over your shoulder, on your forehead,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and then off you go.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13Wow!
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Robert and Carol certainly have their work cut out here,
0:13:17 > 0:13:18but it's a fantastic garden,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and it certainly is on the edge, in every way.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36But a garden doesn't have to be on a sheer rocky slope to capture
0:13:36 > 0:13:41the spirit of the mountains and the plants that thrive there.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44This summer, Joe Swift set out to uncover some of our most
0:13:44 > 0:13:46outstanding rock gardens.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50And in the first of a new series, he visits Branklyn in Perthshire.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56We fell out of love with the rock garden around the mid 1970s,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59along with shagpile carpets and avocado bathroom suites.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And the reason for that, I think,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05was that we lost the original concept of what they are all about.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09They became a fad, people had to have them, so they started
0:14:09 > 0:14:12piling up soil in the corner of their garden, chucking a few
0:14:12 > 0:14:17rocks on and creating something that resembled a giant currant bun!
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Now, I want to show you over the next few weeks that
0:14:20 > 0:14:24rock gardens don't have to be how we remember them.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30This year, more than 80 huge pieces of rock were seen
0:14:30 > 0:14:34at Chelsea Flower Show, and countless smaller ones too.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Now, many of them were in gold medal winning gardens,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40such as Cleve West's Exmoor-inspired garden
0:14:40 > 0:14:43and Andy Sturgeon's Best in Show.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Now, we don't all want dramatic slabs of granite,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48but even on a smaller scale,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and with complementary planting alongside,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54they can make a stunning garden feature.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Rockeries were popular with the Victorians and the Edwardians,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03who wanted to grow and show off the exquisite little plants that were
0:15:03 > 0:15:07being discovered in the mountainous regions from all over the world.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Now, the challenge for gardeners was to recreate the conditions
0:15:11 > 0:15:14in Britain where these plants would thrive.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24At their home in Scotland in the 1920s, Dorothy and John Renton
0:15:24 > 0:15:27set out to build a series of rock gardens that would support
0:15:27 > 0:15:30their growing collection of exotic plants
0:15:30 > 0:15:32from the four corners of the globe.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37'Branklyn has been nurtured by head gardener Steve McNamara
0:15:37 > 0:15:39'for the past 20 years.'
0:15:40 > 0:15:44So, Steve, how did the Rentons go about creating this rockery?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Well, they started off, when they first came here in the 1920s,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51they got all the rocks from Kinnoull Hill, which is just behind us,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54and brought them down by steam engine.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58And then they had to manhandle everything in here to lay it out.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It's well-drained, it's loamy, you know, the type of soil is
0:16:01 > 0:16:06really good here, so it made a great place for a rockery, actually.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09We are a little bit late in the season for the alpines,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11but there's still plenty going on here.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Still plenty of colour. Lovely little diorama here.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Yeah, we now grow the much shorter ones,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and it's more appropriate, really, for a rockery.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And we've got the likes of Bulbinella hookeri,
0:16:22 > 0:16:23the Maori onion, it's called.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27- I love that.- It's happy and it's growing like mad, you know.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29And what's this one here, the green carpet?
0:16:29 > 0:16:33That is the vegetable sheep, Raoulia haastii.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36You can see the way it grows over the rocks and everything,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37it's a lovely thing, actually.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40People are fascinated, because it is rock-hard if you touch it.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45It's fantastic, it's like a miniature landscape all of its own.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48So it's not just alpines, you've got plants from all over the world.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51You're not snobby or a purist about it.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54No, I mean, the Rentons just collected plants from all over,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58because they were just interested in growing them and, you know,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02you can grow what you like, as long as you've got the right conditions.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I see you've got lots of these planters sort of
0:17:12 > 0:17:14knocking around the place, haven't you?
0:17:14 > 0:17:15I really like these.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18I have to say, these stone containers with the moss and lichen,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21they look like they've been here for ever, but I guess they are
0:17:21 > 0:17:26a great way of getting a mini rockery into a smaller garden.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Not everybody has got acres of the stuff.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32No, that's right, so this is a bit more manageable.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34So, you don't feed these plants a lot,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36is it getting some minerals from the rock itself?
0:17:36 > 0:17:38It's getting minerals from the rock.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42If you think of a scree slope, you know, all the rocks there,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45not much soil, but there's loads and loads of minerals, and that
0:17:45 > 0:17:49is what we are giving it here, all this gravel is giving it minerals.
0:17:49 > 0:17:55Again, you're trying to sort of emulate the slope of a mountainside.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57And OK, it's a little vignette of it,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00but it's still quite effective, you know?
0:18:07 > 0:18:08Come along!
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Well, of course, I'm old enough to remember when rock gardens
0:18:14 > 0:18:15were very much the rage,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19but it is funny how they went completely out of fashion.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21But I'm glad they're coming back,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23they're fabulous and they're interesting,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24and we should relish them.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31And you don't need to have a great big rock garden
0:18:31 > 0:18:33to enjoy rock plants.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38They look very, very good in stone troughs or pots.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Now, I've got a couple of troughs and I originally planted them up
0:18:42 > 0:18:45in the Cottage Garden about three years ago.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Then last winter, when we had a really wet winter,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I couldn't work out why everything was dying.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Cut a long story short, we looked and lifted it and found that
0:18:55 > 0:18:58the central plug had been blocked,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and basically the plants drowned.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04They can take any amount of cold, they can take any amount
0:19:04 > 0:19:08of sunshine, but they cannot take sitting in the wet.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13So drainage is paramount, and if you give them that, they're fine.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16So, a big drainage hole, I've made some extra ones, but as long
0:19:16 > 0:19:19as that doesn't get blocked, that shouldn't be too bad, so I'm going
0:19:19 > 0:19:23to cover that over and I'm going to put some grit in the bottom.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Because what I don't want is the roots to come down
0:19:29 > 0:19:32and then sit in a puddle.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34For the actual compost mix,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37you cannot be too well-drained.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39I've got our standard mix here,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43which has peat-free compost mixed with our garden compost,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47a bit of soil, a little bit of leaf mould and some grit.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And I'm going to add to that 50-50 pure grit.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01We don't want that.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Now, the plants.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07One of the many lovely things about alpine and rockery plants is
0:20:07 > 0:20:11they tend to be quite cheap and you can buy all kinds of different ones
0:20:11 > 0:20:13without breaking the bank.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18A little saxifrage, like this one, Whitehill,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21which has beautiful little white flowers on delicate long stems.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It's perfect, absolutely perfect.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Now, this is an Androsace.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Very happy in these conditions,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and you can see it's got these extraordinary sort of floral type
0:20:34 > 0:20:38foliage, but in fact there are pink flowers that will come up through.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Now, an awful lot of alpine plants flower in spring,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46but the Erodiums will start to flower in June
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and go on right into autumn.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Very common sedums, but, you know,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53there's nothing wrong with being common.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54That can go over the edge.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56So, we've got plenty of flowers.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59More Erodiums.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Of course, it's always an arrangement with any container.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06That's better. That's more like it.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And planting them, of course, is easy.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23The fact they're sitting a bit proud also doesn't matter,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25cos I'm going to top this up with grit.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40OK, that's an initial planting
0:21:40 > 0:21:42and I'm going to add to that with some bulbs.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46There are a whole range of minuscule alpine bulbs that you can get,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49and I've got two, but this is a tulip, Illiensis,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52which has got little yellow flowers.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57So, we can pop that in there.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And these will flower March, April-time,
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Quite early as tulips go.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Now, I've got a daffodil here
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and I don't want any sniggering at the back.
0:22:13 > 0:22:14We're all grown up.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18This is Narcissus assoanus.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22See? Easy. And it's beautiful.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27It's got little yellow flowers and it's a tiny little daffodil.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34That can pop in there.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40So, we've got spring flowers, summer flowers, even some autumn flowers.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44And the final thing to do is I'm going to dress it with some grit.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47That will again improve the drainage,
0:22:47 > 0:22:48but also stop any splashing.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52These are very delicate flowers, so if you do get heavy rain,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55and you've got soil and compost in there, they get splashed.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01Finally, just because they hate sitting in water doesn't mean to
0:23:01 > 0:23:04say that they don't need water, so water them in really well.
0:23:06 > 0:23:07WATER SPRINKLES
0:23:07 > 0:23:09There we are. Music to my ears.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Really good drainage.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15The fact the water is running through the bottom means that
0:23:15 > 0:23:16they won't get waterlogged.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Now, this kind of gardening is very particular, very precise,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26but sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31And that's what Flo Headlam has been doing in Lewisham.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37The RHS Greening Grey Britain campaign
0:23:37 > 0:23:40has discovered that one in four gardens in the UK is paved over,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42but it doesn't have to be this way.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Today I'm in south London to tackle a front garden
0:23:45 > 0:23:49that's been unloved and forgotten for far too long.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50I need to get busy.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56The garden belongs to Nisha McGregor,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58and I know she's desperate for some help.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01So, how long have you lived here, Nisha?
0:24:01 > 0:24:05I've been here for just over ten years now, I think.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09- And tell me about the garden. - The front garden.- The front garden!
0:24:09 > 0:24:13- Well, it's been a bit of a battle between me and the weeds.- Yes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14So, that was my first thing.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18I thought if I can get on top of the weeds, then I could maybe
0:24:18 > 0:24:20inject some life into it, but it's been really difficult.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- And shade as well.- Yes.- Yeah.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Unfortunately the other side of the street gets all the sun.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28I only get sun on my part of the garden
0:24:28 > 0:24:30first thing in the morning and then it's gone.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34So, it is a challenge, cos we're on a north-facing site.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38However, I think my main thing is evergreens.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I'm passionate about evergreens, I'm a champion of evergreens,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43so, I'm thinking evergreens
0:24:43 > 0:24:45and I'm thinking some plants with coloured foliage...
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- Oh, brilliant.- ..to bring a colour palette, you know?- Oh, good.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Well, give me a few hours and come back.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52I'll get to work. See you later.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56Well, I'd better crack on.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I'm going to be busy, obviously, clearing all this stuff,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01and then I can weave my magic.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07I need to see what's underneath that membrane.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Well, this is what I thought I would find, perennial weeds,
0:25:10 > 0:25:11and in this case bindweed,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15so the most important thing is just to get rid of as much as you can.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22I'm taking great care to dig out as many of these perennial weed roots
0:25:22 > 0:25:25as I can, and the more I dig out, the less will come back.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Be thorough. It's worth it.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31So, this little trick, I love.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35I get a plank of wood, just the width of the bed,
0:25:35 > 0:25:36and you use it as a leveller.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Right, I'm ready to put up my hedge now.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50After planting the boundary line hedge, I'm going to put down
0:25:50 > 0:25:52a brand-new weed suppressant membrane
0:25:52 > 0:25:54and then position my star plants.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03This one here is my favourite plant.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05It's Pittosporum Tom Thumb.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08And then this one is another Pittosporum,
0:26:08 > 0:26:09and this one's Tandara Gold.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13And what I love about it is it's got a fine, airy quality,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17and it's got these beautiful mid-green and lime-green leaves.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20I just think it's beautiful and elegant and quite simple.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Planting through a membrane, cut the membrane, obviously.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Some people do a circle. I do a cross.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29So...
0:26:31 > 0:26:32So, I open it up.
0:26:36 > 0:26:42Oh, and another tip is, I dig a square hole for a round pot
0:26:42 > 0:26:46so the plant has lots of room to spread its roots as it goes in.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49I'm going to add some bone meal,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52just a handful, sprinkled in like that,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54because that will help with the root development and give
0:26:54 > 0:26:56the plants the best start that they can have.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58And then I'm going to place my plant.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Put all the soil back, make sure it's nice and compact,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06nice and firm, so you don't want any air pockets around the plants,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08as firm as you can go.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14All that's left for me to do is just to tidy up the soil,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19push the membrane back and that's one Tandara Gold planted.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23I'm going to put all the soft plants,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26all the ground cover plants in position now before I plant up.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31All the plants I've chosen are good for shade.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I've got ferns, I've got Alchemilla mollis,
0:27:34 > 0:27:39which has a beautiful lime green, sort of acid green flower.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43That sits really nicely with the Heuchera and they have really tall
0:27:43 > 0:27:47flower spikes as well, so gorgeous. And Liriope.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49So, altogether, I think they work really well,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51it's a really good combination.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55They will brighten this spot and just add some really soft colour.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00And I'm adding another burst of colour with this window box,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04which I planted with pink cyclamen, heather and variegated ivy.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08The finishing touch is to add some gravel just to make it
0:28:08 > 0:28:10beautiful and presentable.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Well, that's it. The garden is complete.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15I hope Nisha likes it.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- Come and have a look.- Oooh! - See what you think.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Oh, my God, that's lovely.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26- I can't believe this is my garden. - This is your garden now, yes.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Oh, my gosh. I'll definitely be spending more time out here.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31I won't be scared to come out here because of the spiders
0:28:31 > 0:28:35- hiding under the weeds. - Put a chair here, you know.- I know!
0:28:35 > 0:28:37A bit of Prosecco out the front.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42It's absolutely beautiful.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45It's elegant, sophisticated, it's just like you said.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- Thank you so much. - My pleasure, thank you.- Thank you.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57I think that's inspiring.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00It does show you that whatever the conditions, wherever you are,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02where there's a will,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04there is a way.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13I get a lot of questions and e-mails and letters from people about fruit.
0:29:13 > 0:29:14This is a very typical e-mail
0:29:14 > 0:29:17which I've had from Dick Keeling in London.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21He's sent me a picture here which shows a new branch
0:29:21 > 0:29:27covered with a kind of white woolly froth.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31This is the protective layers around the woolly aphid.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36The nymphs spin this material to stop birds eating them.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Like all aphids, they are sap-suckers,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42so they'll suck the sap of the new shoots
0:29:42 > 0:29:46where the bark is thin and they can get through.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49That will slightly weaken the plant but hardly at all.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52The important thing is it doesn't affect the flowering
0:29:52 > 0:29:55or the subsequent fruiting.
0:29:55 > 0:30:01My attitude to this is that your garden is full of myriad
0:30:01 > 0:30:06small creatures, the vast majority of which do no harm.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08You share your garden with them.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11In practice, the woolly aphid parents are now flying away
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and the nymphs may well overwinter in crevices in the bark.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18You can clear away the wool with a brush or with water,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22but best of all, you can not worry about it.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Now, still to come on the programme,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28we rejoin Adam in his garden in Lincolnshire.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31What I want to get done today lay some of the paths here.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Something I actually call picking paths.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36And the garden designer Mark Lane
0:30:36 > 0:30:40shows us around his own garden in Canterbury.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43It's really about just having fun
0:30:43 > 0:30:45and getting out there and having a go.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53But first, earlier this summer I paid a long overdue return visit
0:30:53 > 0:30:57to a garden that's tucked away in a leafy Dublin suburb.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03This garden is the life's work of the celebrated gardener and
0:31:03 > 0:31:09writer Helen Dillon and is famous among plant lovers the world over.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12In the 25 years that it's been open to the public,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15it has inspired thousands of visitors
0:31:15 > 0:31:17with its variety of garden rows,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21each filled with an array of beautiful and unusual plants,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24all surrounding the centrepiece,
0:31:24 > 0:31:30an elegant canal flanked by borders plangent with colour.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Helen, I came here 21 years ago and this was lawn.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41That lawn was nurtured within an inch of its life.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43There was great obsession with this lawn,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45so I thought the best thing to do was we take away the lawn
0:31:45 > 0:31:48and make something terribly plain that nobody can be worried about.
0:31:48 > 0:31:54This slightly compensates for the confusion and all the stuff.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57You call it conf... This "stuff", as you call it.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02The most incredible intensity of floriferousness.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06I find colour terribly exciting,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10and that's not fashionable at the moment.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12I do have people coming here and they got their eyes nearly shut
0:32:12 > 0:32:15because of the whole strain of looking at all this colour
0:32:15 > 0:32:18and they say, "I only want green and white."
0:32:18 > 0:32:22"I only want green and white," and I think, "Well, too bad,"
0:32:22 > 0:32:24or something ruder.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Yes, I suspect something ruder, and good for you.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Well, I like colour too
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and I think that the excitement and energy of it...
0:32:32 > 0:32:34It's the energy of them clashing with each other.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- You see that orange rose over there? - Yes.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40That's absolutely oomph, it's called Warm Welcome.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42- Yeah.- Have you met it before?
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- No, but to be truthful... - You can't stand it?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47It's not I can't stand it THERE.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50I tend to view orange roses with a great deal of suspicion.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53- One does, but they illuminate the place.- Yes.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57- Were you always a really keen gardener?- Really. Boringly keen.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59I've been gardening all my life. I love gardening.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- Yeah. - Can't live without it, actually.
0:33:02 > 0:33:03And what is it that drives you?
0:33:03 > 0:33:06It's the only thing that makes me feel calm, relatively calm.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09It's a kind of playing, it's a kind of...
0:33:09 > 0:33:12I would get lost in myself, it's the only thing I can lose myself in.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15See, I like this idea of playing. I've always thought that...
0:33:15 > 0:33:17gardening is grown-ups going outside to play.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20That to me is exactly what it is,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23exactly what it is and I can remember just how I felt
0:33:23 > 0:33:27as I put in my first polyanthus and I thought, God, that's gorgeous,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30- isn't that gorgeous? And it was only one plant, one polyanthus.- Yes.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33I get the same pleasure out of one polyanthus as all this,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35it's the same thing, it's the same kick.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Where have you drawn your horticultural inspiration from?
0:33:38 > 0:33:42God knows. I am not educated, my dear. I left school at 16.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46That was it. And, er, so, I suppose I'm educating myself.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Nonstop reading,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51particularly old gardening books, and I've been terribly lucky
0:33:51 > 0:33:54in travelling in lots of places in the world to look at the plants.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57But that's the lesson, isn't it? Trust yourself, trust your eyes.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Yeah, yeah, learn and particularly, go and look at what other people
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- are growing, even if it's only just somebody in the next-door village. - Yeah.- And get an idea.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08Longing for ideas, you can get very good ideas in very bad gardens.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11There's something that I always feel is that wonderful plants
0:34:11 > 0:34:14can make bad gardens and boring plants can make good gardens.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16- That's an excellent point.- Yeah.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19This is a very sophisticated garden. You know, it's very...
0:34:19 > 0:34:22it's quite frankly grand, and yet you're happy to have
0:34:22 > 0:34:26dustbins and plastic pots and things on display. Why's that?
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Well, I'm very keen on dustbins.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32- Dustbins are excellent for growing, er, roses...- Right.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- ..because you've got a deep root run.- Yeah.
0:34:35 > 0:34:36They'll do for five years in a dustbin,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38provided you feed them.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40If all you've got room for is one bin,
0:34:40 > 0:34:42you can do a cracking good job.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46I'm doing a sort of mobile gardening thing, particularly with things like
0:34:46 > 0:34:50lilies, which look wonderful for three weeks and there's no reason
0:34:50 > 0:34:54for them to block up a good bit of the border for the other 49 weeks.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56BIRDS TWEET
0:34:56 > 0:34:57To me, the garden was always a stage,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00it's a stage in which I am moving the players
0:35:00 > 0:35:02and if I get bored of the player, the player
0:35:02 > 0:35:04will just have to go and get on with it in the yard, quite frankly.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07If it's a lovely player, it can come out to the front.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08It has to be a stage.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12But all this is about to change,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15because after 44 years spent creating
0:35:15 > 0:35:16and tending her masterpiece,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Helen has decided that she needs a new challenge.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24So, you've made this intensely beautiful garden,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- and now you're going. - I know, because it's the time.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I just want to go while I'm strong enough to go,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34and I used to think that I could watch it quietly fall to bits.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37I've now decided I can't do that, I'd rather leave it
0:35:37 > 0:35:41in its full glory and play at something new. I'll be making
0:35:41 > 0:35:45a new very small garden, but I'm going to be thinking about it
0:35:45 > 0:35:49and enjoying it and changing it and just getting excited about it.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53A lot of people would say that at a certain age
0:35:53 > 0:35:58it's time to wind down and do less and not have... Less of a challenge,
0:35:58 > 0:35:59so where's that come from?
0:35:59 > 0:36:04That's the whole joy of the challenge, you silly boy. Really.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06That is the fun, isn't it?
0:36:06 > 0:36:09I'm with you, I'm with you on that.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13But Helen is not leaving everything behind.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Some of her favourite plants will find a home in her new garden.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21There's no point taking plants you can easily get,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24but there's great point in taking a plant like this,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28which is my favourite, er, slightly mauve melianthus.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30It's distinctly mauve, isn't it? Gosh...
0:36:30 > 0:36:32And it gets more distinct as summer continues.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Has that melianthus got a special name?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38- It's called Purple Haze. - OK, Purple Haze.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40So, that's one. OK, another?
0:36:40 > 0:36:41- Step this way.- Right.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50So, Monty, what do you think of this spiky-looking customer?
0:36:50 > 0:36:52It's very singular, is what I think.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55It's a Pseudopanax Crassifolius from New Zealand
0:36:55 > 0:36:56and the interesting thing is
0:36:56 > 0:36:59it's evolved in that extraordinary form
0:36:59 > 0:37:03because it wanted to stop itself being eaten by a giant extinct bird.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05The grazing moa used to eat it.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07This plant, when it gets to about 15,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09it completely changes how it looks
0:37:09 > 0:37:11and it ends up looking like that there.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14It is amazing, this, isn't it?
0:37:14 > 0:37:18How evolution has enabled it to...disguise itself.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21I will be taking this with me because I love it.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25Although Helen has spent more than half her life creating this garden,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29her eyes are fixed firmly on the future.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32What intrigues me listening and actually looking at you with
0:37:32 > 0:37:37a twinkle in your eye, you don't seem upset by it, by leaving.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Because I'm excited by going - the creation is the excitement,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44because there's no room to create anything here.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45I can't take that bed to bits,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47I actually think that's the best I can make that bed.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49- It's done.- It's done, it's done,
0:37:49 > 0:37:51and it's like painting a picture, I don't want to go on
0:37:51 > 0:37:54doing the same picture, coming down every morning
0:37:54 > 0:37:56give it another little spot there, another little,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59little bit of pink possibly there. I want a new picture.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14I loved seeing Helen's garden again, and one thing you can be sure,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16that if she paints a new picture,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19it may be a miniature compared to that,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22but it will be, in its own way, another masterpiece.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Now, something that struck me very strongly about the way that
0:38:26 > 0:38:29Helen uses colour in her borders
0:38:29 > 0:38:32is she's constantly adding plants in,
0:38:32 > 0:38:37either in pots, or on top of pots, and what I'm going to do
0:38:37 > 0:38:41is something that goes against most of the advice that I'd give you.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Normally I'd say, look for small plants, particularly perennials,
0:38:45 > 0:38:46don't buy plants in flower,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50because they're spending energy that you want in your own garden,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53but I've been and found plants
0:38:53 > 0:38:56that are in full flower
0:38:56 > 0:38:59and got all the tones and colours I want to add to the garden.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03They are only going to stay in flower for a week or two at most,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05but it'll give me a chance to experiment
0:39:05 > 0:39:09with places to plant them to look best next year.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14It's a kind of dress rehearsal. So, for example, I've got this helenium.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16It's called Mardi Gras.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Lovely caramel, orange colours coming through
0:39:20 > 0:39:23and it fits in with the David Howard Dahlias
0:39:23 > 0:39:25and the cannas and the sunflowers,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28but actually, if you analyse this section,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30this corner of the bed in the Jewel Garden,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32it's flat and green
0:39:32 > 0:39:35and these iris sibirica are not contributing much,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40but if I can get in there and add that in at that height,
0:39:40 > 0:39:44one of the ways of doing it is to put a pot there, like that...
0:39:45 > 0:39:49It lifts it and if it grows into that, that's a good height,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52there's no point in propping up a plant that is never
0:39:52 > 0:39:54going to reach that final height,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57but if you can get a plant that's sort of half its size
0:39:57 > 0:39:59and then lift it up,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02that's a good indicator of where to plant it for next year,
0:40:02 > 0:40:03or you can make a group out of it.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05And I bought these in threes,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08because I'm looking for a hit of colour.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10And the point is, at this time of year,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13these plants will be fine in the small pots
0:40:13 > 0:40:15for the next two, three weeks,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18and if I like it, I can plant them in that spot.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22If, on reflection, I think it's not going to work, well,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I simply just pick them up and move them. How's that looking?
0:40:25 > 0:40:26Yes, that's much better.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28So I'll take that one out.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33I've got a Crocosmia 'Harlequin',
0:40:34 > 0:40:36which has got exactly the same colour range
0:40:36 > 0:40:38as the Helenium Mardi Gras.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41You can see, I love crocosmias, anyway.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44And 'Lucifer', for example, is long over,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47that's the crocosmia of bright, brilliant red,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50but some of them are much more subtle, and flower later.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53You see, I think that's great, so if I take another pot...
0:40:55 > 0:40:59..and pop that in here, pop that down.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05See, the colour is ideal, and the whole point about this is
0:41:05 > 0:41:10this is a great time of year to be planning for next July,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13August and September.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16Go and buy plants, move them around, get height, get texture,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20get colour, and you can see what they're going to look like,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24you can plant it and know next year at this time they will come up
0:41:24 > 0:41:28and they'll be in the right place, giving you the right colour,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31and that is a real advantage.
0:41:32 > 0:41:38Now, this is for fine-tuning, it's finessing an existing garden
0:41:38 > 0:41:42to try and get it as good as it can be every single day of the year,
0:41:42 > 0:41:47whereas for Adam, in his new garden in Lincolnshire,
0:41:47 > 0:41:52he's still very much at the stage of creating from the ground up.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59It's mid-August and I've just returned from the family holiday.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02The feeling, though, when you get back home in your own garden
0:42:02 > 0:42:03is just wonderful.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07I think in the UK, if we've got the weather,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10I don't think there's anywhere more beautiful in the world, and...
0:42:10 > 0:42:12out early in the mornings, walking round
0:42:12 > 0:42:15this space here that, I mean, I'm calling the meadow area,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18round the back end of the woodland, is beautiful.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22But I wanted to get into this area,
0:42:22 > 0:42:26so all I did was took the lawnmower, cut these paths through.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30It's already got structure in here, so these brilliant old shrubs,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33I've got that scent from philadelphus, lilacs,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36but then I've got the edibles, the sorbus, and even the hawthorn,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39you know, they used to eat the leaf and the flower
0:42:39 > 0:42:40and call it bread and cheese.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Bit bitter for me, but I love those little stories.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46So, I've been out taking pictures in the lanes and I'm really going to
0:42:46 > 0:42:50start to work out what are those plants we can use
0:42:50 > 0:42:52to bring into this meadow that are edible?
0:42:52 > 0:42:56I think what I'll do in the winter is literally lift the canopies
0:42:56 > 0:43:00and then I can start to add these edible plants, all the way through.
0:43:05 > 0:43:06At the moment,
0:43:06 > 0:43:09I'm really chuffed to bits with the progress of my veg garden.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11The base for the greenhouse is coming along
0:43:11 > 0:43:13and the cooking area is done.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16The two sets of weather still planters are in place
0:43:16 > 0:43:19and all my raised beds are looking great.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23Most of the hard-core base for the paths is down.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28Now I just want to add a few really useful design details.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32What I want to get done today is lay some little paths in here,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34something that I actually call "picking paths".
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Sometimes when you create a bigger bed,
0:43:36 > 0:43:38you can't actually get in there, so I can't get into weed,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41I can't get in to pick the goodies that are going to come off the bed
0:43:41 > 0:43:44and what I don't want to be doing is trampling all over this bed,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47taking the mud on my boots, across the gravel
0:43:47 > 0:43:48and across the rest of the garden,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51so the idea is the big, long paths that go in between
0:43:51 > 0:43:54the gravel beds, they run straight through these beds.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58I'm going to use a mix that's six parts ballast and one part cement
0:43:58 > 0:44:00for the footings.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04The bricks for the path are 60 millimetres deep.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07And they sit on a ten mil bed, so I need to establish some pegs
0:44:07 > 0:44:11that sit at 70 mil below the finish level of the path.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17These pegs set my levels as I'm laying my concrete mix,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20but they will stay in place once the footings set.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24And all I'm doing is finding the top of those pegs.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27You know then that it's not only going to give you something firm
0:44:27 > 0:44:30to build off, but it's not going to go anywhere.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Just check that it's going to fit.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36There you go, brick's going to be level across the top,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40fingers go in, which means I can get a nice bed all the way through.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41You're probably thinking,
0:44:41 > 0:44:43actually, that's an awful lot of effort to go to
0:44:43 > 0:44:45for a tiny little bit of pathing,
0:44:45 > 0:44:48but actually, I don't want it to move. I can put the bricks
0:44:48 > 0:44:50straight on top of the soil and the soil gets wet,
0:44:50 > 0:44:52I pull some vegetables up
0:44:52 > 0:44:53and everything's moving all over the place.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55So, I think, do you know what?
0:44:55 > 0:44:57If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02The mortar needs at least 24 hours to set,
0:45:02 > 0:45:04but I won't be sitting around waiting.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06There's plenty of jobs to be cracking on with.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Today, my boys Jacob and his younger brother Oakley
0:45:10 > 0:45:12need a hand with some new arrivals.
0:45:14 > 0:45:15Right.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17Here we go.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22All right, mate. Look.
0:45:22 > 0:45:23Little blue one.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25HENS CLUCK
0:45:27 > 0:45:29So, these two think they're going to be businessmen,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32so they're going to set themselves up a little business.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35As far as selling the eggs, they've already made their brand,
0:45:35 > 0:45:36they've got their boxes,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38he's going to make some little flyers, take them into school.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41I think it's a great way for the youngsters
0:45:41 > 0:45:43not only to understand where their food comes from, but that
0:45:43 > 0:45:46responsibility of looking after something, which I think is great.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49And obviously make their old man a millionaire.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53Since I've returned from holiday,
0:45:53 > 0:45:55I've put together a full planting plan
0:45:55 > 0:45:58for the new foraging border in the front garden.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04I'll give you some idea actually about how I approach...
0:46:04 > 0:46:05planting design, really.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08First of all, I actually choose more or less like a pallet,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10so I look at the plants that I want to use,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13make sure they all grow well in the space.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Sometimes when I'm designing I have a word floating around in my head -
0:46:16 > 0:46:19this one, you know, is food, it's foraging, but exotic,
0:46:19 > 0:46:21it creates a certain atmosphere for me.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24The next thing I do is I start to put in my trees
0:46:24 > 0:46:25and my large shrubs,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and you'll see that these are worked all the way through the space.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31I'm going to need that height, need something to break the sky
0:46:31 > 0:46:34and actually break one area to the next area.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37The taxus domes I planted when we first moved in
0:46:37 > 0:46:38have really bounced back
0:46:38 > 0:46:40and they're providing the framework
0:46:40 > 0:46:42for the rest of the structural planting.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45So the next thing to go in will be my smaller shrubs,
0:46:45 > 0:46:48and you'll see from the colours on my plan that I, I like to
0:46:48 > 0:46:51actually repeat a certain shrub here and I'll repeat it
0:46:51 > 0:46:54a little bit further up the border,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56then the herbaceous plants go in,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58and that's really my border put together.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00And the last little bit that I love doing
0:47:00 > 0:47:02is what I called "drift planting",
0:47:02 > 0:47:04so you'll see these big old shades of planting,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07- and it's more or less if I just go... - MAKES WHOOSHING SOUND
0:47:07 > 0:47:09..and they're self-seeded over.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12They're the ones that give me that natural feel and that feeling
0:47:12 > 0:47:15that this garden really wants to take on a sort of a...
0:47:15 > 0:47:16a life of its own.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28While Adam's garden is still very much work in progress,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32the garden designer Mark Lane has created a space
0:47:32 > 0:47:35that is both beautiful and works well for him.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38And earlier this summer, he showed us around.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43As a garden designer, but also as a gardener,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45here in my own garden,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48it's a perfect playground for me to experiment
0:47:48 > 0:47:50with choice of materials,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53as well as plants and different plant combinations.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59but it's really about just having fun
0:47:59 > 0:48:02and getting out there and having a go.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14I love this small border.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19It's actually a range of pinks, it's my rose and peony border,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and here we have Rose "Princess Anne",
0:48:22 > 0:48:25and it's still in full flower.
0:48:25 > 0:48:26And right in front of me
0:48:26 > 0:48:30is Hydrangea paniculata "Vanille Fraise",
0:48:30 > 0:48:31and then behind,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33the Japanese anemones.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35Now, this front part of my garden
0:48:35 > 0:48:39is probably about a third of an acre, so it's a large area,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42and we don't have an endless pot of money.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46So we've actually used gravel underfoot.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48Now, gravel, some people think,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50"Well, it's not a very good material to use,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53"especially for people in wheelchairs."
0:48:53 > 0:48:55But if you actually lay it right,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57it can really work well.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01If you tamp down a good Type 1 base,
0:49:01 > 0:49:07and then tamp down granular, angular gravel on top of that,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and then dress it with a finished layer,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13you get a very solid surface.
0:49:13 > 0:49:14And then, as you come up,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17we've used gravel boards as edgers.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21I've used a fence capping on top.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Now, that does two things.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26One, well, I think it looks great.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31But it also hides a white LED strip light all the way around,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34and that goes around the whole of this part of the garden.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38So, at night-time, the whole borders just lift,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42and they look like they're floating on top of the pale gravel.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46And then, as we come from the gravel boards,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50we have these lovely green low hedges.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Now, this is Ligustrum ovalifolium,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56which is a large-leaf privet.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Some people might shy away from privet,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01thinking it's a bit ugly compared to box.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05But when I tell you that it comes in at about a third of the price,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08and might need a bit more trimming than box,
0:50:08 > 0:50:12it still creates a wonderful, dense hedge.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15And if you're actually worried about the size of the leaf,
0:50:15 > 0:50:17I mean, that's quite a large leaf,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20you can go for the smaller leafed privet,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24Ligustrum delavayanium, or the Delavay Privet.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27And I've used that elsewhere on my lollipops,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and they work brilliantly,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32and they look just like box.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34Go for privet, it's a good choice.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45I really love my blue-and-yellow border,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48it is simplicity itself,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50just two colours.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53And here are some really great tips which I've learned.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57Use big, bold drifts of colours, such as the yellow rudbeckia,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00and then, as a contrast, dotted amongst them,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02are these jewels of blue
0:51:02 > 0:51:05from the aster and the agapanthus.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10Now, agapanthus are great plants to keep inside their pots,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14because it actually constricts them and makes them flower more.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17And then the beauty of that is you can pick that pot up
0:51:17 > 0:51:20and move it around your border to fill a space.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25And then, behind me is the Achillea "Cloth Of Gold",
0:51:25 > 0:51:28which, when you cut back at the end of May,
0:51:28 > 0:51:30around the Chelsea chop time,
0:51:30 > 0:51:33it allows the flowers to grow at different heights,
0:51:33 > 0:51:37giving a much more natural feel to the plant itself,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40and then gives a natural flow to the border.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01This is our white garden, and it's actually quite a new garden,
0:52:01 > 0:52:05it's only five months old, but it's already looking really full.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08People always think, "Well, white, is that really just it?"
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Well, when you actually look at plants, there are obviously
0:52:11 > 0:52:15different shapes and different forms, so you have the daisy heads
0:52:15 > 0:52:19of the cosmos, then you have these beautiful umbelifers,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21which are quite flat on top,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24but they are made of tiny little pinheads.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27And when you put them together, they just work.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I absolutely love this part of the garden.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40It's exuberant, it's colourful.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44I'm surrounded by it,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46from every single angle,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49and it's plants, there's shrubs,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52there are grasses, there's trees -
0:52:52 > 0:52:53everything that forms a garden,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57and I just think it's incredible.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00It's like someone has lit a match inside of me,
0:53:00 > 0:53:01and it's just growing,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04I just love this whole feeling that
0:53:04 > 0:53:06the plants are actually almost hugging me.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11And, for me, that just gives me a great warmth inside.
0:53:17 > 0:53:23You know, it doesn't matter how much you rationalise your planting
0:53:23 > 0:53:26or intellectualise the design of your garden.
0:53:26 > 0:53:31If it doesn't get you by the heart, it's not going to work.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Now, what next?
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Oh, I know. Jobs!
0:53:43 > 0:53:47If you've got a bare piece of ground on your allotment or veg patch,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49it's too late to sow any seeds,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52but it's a good idea to cover the ground
0:53:52 > 0:53:54with a generous layer of compost.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56You don't need to dig it in,
0:53:56 > 0:54:00just leave it for the weather and the worms to incorporate,
0:54:00 > 0:54:05and it will be ready for use as soon as the ground warms up next spring.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Now is a really good time to take salvia cuttings.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Look for a nice, strong shoot growing at 45 degrees
0:54:14 > 0:54:17between the main stem and a leaf.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21And as always, choose a shoot that does NOT have a flower bud.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Pot them up with really well-drained compost,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28put them somewhere warm, water them well,
0:54:28 > 0:54:33and they should root and be ready for planting out next spring.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38It's Michaelmas, and harvest time.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42And if you've put all the work and trouble into growing vegetables
0:54:42 > 0:54:44across the spring and summer,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47do be sure to harvest as many of them as you can.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05I know that some people find chard a little bit intimidating.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11I've got a very, very simple recipe that we've eaten here for years.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15For this recipe, you just need the leaves.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25Just warm up a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27and gently warm it, you don't want it fizzing.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30And then a couple of cloves of garlic,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33soften that in the oil.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Now, at this time of year, we've got lots of fresh chillies -
0:55:35 > 0:55:37this is a jalapeno,
0:55:37 > 0:55:39but chilli flakes will do just as well.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48There we go, give that a gentle stir around.
0:55:49 > 0:55:54You don't want either the chilli or the garlic to brown,
0:55:54 > 0:55:56it's just softening.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58Now, you've washed the chard.
0:55:58 > 0:55:59Just drain it lightly,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02and you want to keep some of the water,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05and then break it up a bit,
0:56:05 > 0:56:06pop that in.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11Stir it around and leave to cook,
0:56:11 > 0:56:15and the whole point about chard is it's like spinach.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17You know how you have that thing with spinach,
0:56:17 > 0:56:20you get a large pan and you cram it full of leaves,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22and it reduces to that much.
0:56:22 > 0:56:27Well, this will reduce to about that much!
0:56:27 > 0:56:28A bit of salt.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33And the juice of a lemon.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38You can either serve this as a vegetable,
0:56:38 > 0:56:42or, as I like to eat it best of all, is as bruschetta.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Just get some good bread -
0:56:44 > 0:56:47I like sourdough bread - toast it,
0:56:47 > 0:56:52and then serve this on the bread.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56It makes a really good starter.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Let's let that cook a bit.
0:57:05 > 0:57:06Mmm!
0:57:09 > 0:57:11I love this vegetable,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13and it's a great way to eat it.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18And we've been growing chard and eating it like this and other ways
0:57:18 > 0:57:21for the last 25 years, and I never get tired of it.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24But however you cook your vegetables, enjoy it.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29And I'll see you back here at Longmeadow next week.
0:57:29 > 0:57:30Till then, bye-bye.