0:00:01 > 0:00:03Come on.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10Hello. Welcome back to a new series of Gardeners' World.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12And on a day like today,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14with the sun shining
0:00:14 > 0:00:17and flowers appearing from every corner,
0:00:17 > 0:00:22you can actually sense spring coursing through your veins.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25It's a wonderful time of year.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27And this is a special year for us, too,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31because not only do we have many more one-hour programmes
0:00:31 > 0:00:35that we will fill with lots of gardeners and gardening,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38but also, it's our 50th anniversary.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41So, an awful lot to celebrate.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43It's great to be back,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45the dogs seem to be happy,
0:00:45 > 0:00:46the sun is shining.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Let's get going.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54On tonight's programme, we catch up with Adam Frost,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58who, last summer, fulfilled a long-held dream
0:00:58 > 0:01:01to visit Packwood House in Warwickshire
0:01:01 > 0:01:04to see its spectacular herbaceous borders.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09And in the first of a new series,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Carol celebrates some of our horticultural heroes,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15beginning with Beth Chatto,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18whose pioneering approach to planting
0:01:18 > 0:01:20has been hugely influential.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37It's been a long winter,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but it's also been quite a busy one for us, here at Longmeadow,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and we've done one or two really quite big things.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I suppose the most dramatic was that we were visited by
0:01:46 > 0:01:50tree surgeons to take down seven trees.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52And whilst that's made a big difference,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54it hasn't left a big hole.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56The garden, I think, is the better for it.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59We took a line of four trees down there,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01so the mound will get more light,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and we took three out of the copse,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and the reason for that was both to let more light into the Jewel Garden
0:02:06 > 0:02:10and also increase the airflow, to tackle fungal problems
0:02:10 > 0:02:12that we were beginning to get
0:02:12 > 0:02:15so, hopefully, everything will improve.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26There have been a lot of changes in the garden
0:02:26 > 0:02:29but by far the biggest and most dramatic
0:02:29 > 0:02:31is through here.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Now, this area we called the Box Ball Yard,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and if you've not seen it before,
0:02:37 > 0:02:44it used to have 64 magnificent pebbles made out of box.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46But in recent years,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48that beauty became very tarnished
0:02:48 > 0:02:52by box blight, and looked increasingly tattered
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and brown and 'orrible.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59So, we've ripped them all out, and they've all been burned.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02At the same time, we took out what was a par terre here,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05made out of box, which also had box blight,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and we've taken out four large Portuguese laurels
0:03:08 > 0:03:12and a big pair of holly hedges against that wall.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15The plan is to enlarge the area in the middle
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and make it an eating area
0:03:17 > 0:03:20with a barbecue, have some pleach lines there and here,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23so this is a separate space,
0:03:23 > 0:03:28but it will open out onto what will be a big new herb garden.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29And finally,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32on a shady east-facing wall,
0:03:32 > 0:03:37I want to prove that you really can have magnificent climbers,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40even in a quite unlikely position.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Now, talking of climbers, in the Cottage Garden,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45which hasn't undergone much change,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48there are climbers that need attention right now.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00The Cottage Garden has been planted with a lot of different clematis,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02but all along the back here,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04they are of a certain type,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09which are romantically known as group three clematis,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and what that means is they are late-flowering.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16Those that flower in spring, like a Montana, are group one.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18The group two are the great big flowers
0:04:18 > 0:04:20you get in May and June,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22and the late-flowering ones,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26like Viticella, don't produce any flowers at all before June.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29But they can go on flowering with small flowers
0:04:29 > 0:04:32right into autumn, and that's what these do.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Now, because they are late-flowering,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39you can prune them really hard now, in March.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41And they are producing masses of growth,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and you can see that this one here,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46all this is last year's growth.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And there are lots of new shoots appearing,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and they will carry this year's crop.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55So, at the very least, we went to reduce all that excess,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59but in fact, to get a nice, healthy batch of growth,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02clothed with flowers from the base right the way up,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05you have to be more ruthless than that.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Take your secateurs and be bold!
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Cut right down.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14And that can actually go to the compost heap
0:05:14 > 0:05:17because, although it's very dry, it will shred.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I'm going to remove the supports
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and get some new bean sticks,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32because these have been in for about four years,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and I always use those for kindling for the fire,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37so nothing gets wasted.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41There we go.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Don't be put off or worried if it seems to be
0:05:44 > 0:05:47a mass of twigs rising up out the ground.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Just a tiny little bud is all you need for new life.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Now, putting together a mixture of plants is, of course,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00the great creative pleasure that you get in any garden.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05We saw last year Adam Frost slowly start to work on his
0:06:05 > 0:06:08brand-new garden in Lincolnshire,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12and this year, part of that process will be creating
0:06:12 > 0:06:14a new herbaceous border.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18But last summer, he went to the National Trust's Packwood House
0:06:18 > 0:06:22in Warwickshire to get inspiration.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I'm feeling a really lucky boy.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35It's early in the morning. I've been allowed into this place,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Packwood House, which is a garden that I've wanted to see
0:06:37 > 0:06:39for absolutely ages.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41It's just me, birds,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43a few sheep in the background,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45and I get to actually soak this garden up
0:06:45 > 0:06:48for the next couple of hours before the public come in.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Packwood is a restored Tudor farmhouse
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and, for me, a real jewel in the National Trust crown.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It's famous for its iconic yew topiary,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04but also its long herbaceous borders.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10A visitor in the 1920s described it as a house to dream of
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and a garden to dream in, and do you know? I couldn't agree more.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17This place truly is magical.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I walked in and you'll think I'm barking mad but, actually,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I got goose bumps.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24There was a physical reaction to this garden,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and I think why is it fired off a load of memories.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29The first thing I'm doing is walking along a herbaceous border
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and there's a yucca pops up.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35It reminds me of my nan, 1970s. Very sort of retro.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38But, actually, in this context, looks absolutely stunning.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It's worked in there with things like verbena,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and the herbaceous bring it alive and turn it into
0:07:44 > 0:07:47a completely different animal. I mean, this place, for me,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52is absolutely stacked out with inspiration that I can take home.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Mick Evans is the head gardener.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01He's been here at Packwood for 17 years
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and has been responsible for developing
0:08:04 > 0:08:07the contemporary mingled planting style.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Originally, the planting, when I came here,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12was known as "the mingled style",
0:08:12 > 0:08:17which was a style described by a well-known Victorian garden writer,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19John Claudius Loudon,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23as small groups of plants singularly planted,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27repeating themselves throughout the whole length of the border
0:08:27 > 0:08:29in a kind of a rhythm, a pattern.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33The style of planting at Packwood evolved to meet the demands
0:08:33 > 0:08:35of the longer opening season.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39By introducing structural and textural planting into the borders,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42not only has Mick made the mingled style more contemporary,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47but plants like yucca and phormium work really well over winter.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50So we'll have our sort of stalwart herbaceous plants -
0:08:50 > 0:08:54achillea, heliopsis, heleniums, those sorts of plants,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and they show off these wonderful, tender perennials.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00So they create their own structure as well, then, the herbaceous,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03as they go through? Yes. Cos if you're repeating everything,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05there is that kind of coherence.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06It's easy to read, if you see what I mean.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09It's a rhythm. It's like musical, isn't it? It is. It's the rhythm.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And then, after that, you said you put through half-hardy.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15We'll use a lot of salvias. I mean, I'm a great fan of salvias.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17And the intensity of colour,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19working so well against these kind of lovely greens...
0:09:19 > 0:09:21It's mingled in with tithonia.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24And the other thing as well that stands out for me
0:09:24 > 0:09:27is leaf shape. Difference in size of leaves,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30again, just helps to create the kind of depth
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and a different feel to the whole planting.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Otherwise, if everything is just all about colour,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39sometimes that can be a little bit monotonous.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46What's so clever about the borders
0:09:46 > 0:09:49is the plant palette really complements the architecture.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The overall effect is one that creates borders and plantings
0:09:54 > 0:09:58that work in total harmony with the buildings and surroundings.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05I love just to have five minutes stood somewhere in a garden.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I think...I just want to ask the head gardener,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10where would you come and stand in this garden?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Oddly enough, about right here, actually.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Cos it's about the best viewing point.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19The one in front of you right now is looking over the sunken garden
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and then beyond to the yellow border
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and then to the range of buildings beyond that,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29and the harmony of the brickwork and those colours,
0:10:29 > 0:10:34using yellows and blues, works really well in one sort of view.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Then if you come on a diagonal and you look towards the house,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42then beyond that, we borrow a bit of the garden outside.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44We've got this lovely copper beech.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47So you're borrowing that landscape, bringing it back into this space.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50That's it. We've got these big black rosettes on the aeoniums,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54and of course the copper beech is equally as black,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57and it just creates this wonderful cohesive unit.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Someone else could just borrow next door's tree.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I think that's a cracking little tip.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You've been here 17 years. Yeah. You thinking of leaving, or...?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07No, I'm jealously guarding this place. Yeah, I thought you might be.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Do you know what? I'd happily come and work here every day.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14The place has sort of blown me away. I'm glad to hear it.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21RAIN FALLS
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Come on.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The very best borders have that element,
0:11:29 > 0:11:34where every plant, every individual flower, is in its place.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Dancing together.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41It's lovely to see summer sunshine and summer flowers,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45but spring sunshine has disappeared.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50It has been replaced by wet and grey and it's turned a bit chilly,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52so I'm going indoors.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05As it happens, I've got work to do in here.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Cos I haven't yet pruned this vine.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12This is Black Hamburgh, a delicious dessert grape.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14It's actually planted outside the greenhouse,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16but I'm training it inside.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And convention has always had it, sometimes quite fiercely,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22that you must prune a vine in December and January
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and if you leave it too late, it'll bleed to death.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29And I always believed that, and pruned it rigidly
0:12:29 > 0:12:31round about New Year.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But last year I went and visited Sarah Bell,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37at the National Collection of Vines,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and she was very clear about this. She said that's an old wives' tale.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44You can go on pruning until the first buds start to break,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46and it certainly will do no harm
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to prune your vine now, in March,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51although I would recommend it was something you did
0:12:51 > 0:12:54sooner rather than later. So I'm going to prune this today.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57The key thing to remember about vines
0:12:57 > 0:13:02is that it's the new growth that provides the fruit.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04So what I want to do
0:13:04 > 0:13:08is to cut back all side shoots from these rods and thin them a bit,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11because last year, I made the classic mistake
0:13:11 > 0:13:14of everybody who starts to grow a vine,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17is I had too many grapes.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22And what you must go for is quality, with a dessert grape,
0:13:22 > 0:13:23not quantity.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Far better to have 20 or 30 beautiful bunches of grapes
0:13:28 > 0:13:31than 200 rather dodgy ones.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35You might have to move, Nige. I'm sorry.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37But you don't have to go out in the wet.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Right. Here we go. Out here.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51What I'm aiming for is no more than two bunches of grapes per rod.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59And the fact that I'm pruning now, in March, is not a problem.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And in fact there's all kinds of pruning "laws"
0:14:02 > 0:14:07that if you can't disregard, you can certainly bend.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10For example, roses, you can prune as late as May.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12They'll just flower a little bit later.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14I often don't prune my buddleia till April
0:14:14 > 0:14:17because if it's cold and miserable in March,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19there's nothing gained.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22So don't be frightened, keep it simple,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26and just remember that what you prune back to is structure
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and all the new growth will bear the fruit.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Come on, let's go.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51This is when having a potting shed is a luxury.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57Now, this is our 50th anniversary year,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00and to celebrate it, amongst other things - because believe you me,
0:15:00 > 0:15:02we intend to party hard all year -
0:15:02 > 0:15:06we are looking for our golden jubilee plant.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08This is the plant that's had
0:15:08 > 0:15:10the biggest impact on gardens or gardening
0:15:10 > 0:15:14since Gardeners' World started 50 years ago.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Not necessarily our favourite one or the one that we like most,
0:15:17 > 0:15:22but the one that has really changed the way we garden.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And over the course of the next few weeks
0:15:25 > 0:15:27all of us here at Gardeners' World, all the presenters,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31will be making the case for the plant that they think
0:15:31 > 0:15:33has had most impact.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38And then we shall ask you to select one of those plants
0:15:38 > 0:15:40that we've all had our view on.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45And the result will be announced at our big anniversary bash
0:15:45 > 0:15:48at Gardeners' World Live in June.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50So I'm going to set the ball running,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52and I have chosen bedding plants.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57You have to think what it was like 50 years ago.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Three things happened that changed gardening for ever.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04The first was the advent of the garden centre.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06The second thing was the spread of the car.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11And the third thing was that garden centres were open on a Sunday.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13But there were no other shops open on a Sunday,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17so you'd get in your car, fill your boots,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19come home and plant it out.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23And bedding has always been bright, it's colourful, it's cheerful.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26On a day like today, when it's grey and wet and cold,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29we can get some bedding plants and brighten the whole place up.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34And you can see, here, we've got pansies, we've got primulas,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36their colours go from rich
0:16:36 > 0:16:40to frankly outrageously garish. Doesn't matter.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Whatever you want, you can have, and I love them.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45So I'm going to plant up a couple of pots,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48I'm going to put some compost in the bottom, peat-free,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51mixed with a bit of drainage material and leaf mould.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55And I'm going to pot these up with this.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58This is Primula Gold-laced.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01It's got a kind of elegance and delicacy that I like.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06So that can go in there. And like all primulas,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09it does best in light shade,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12cool - doesn't like to be burnt by hot sun -
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and be kept fairly moist.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15And that's a pretty good start.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21As well as plants, inevitably people, gardeners,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24have influenced and had a huge impact
0:17:24 > 0:17:26on the way we garden at home.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28We've all got our own horticultural heroes.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33But some stand head and shoulders above all the rest,
0:17:33 > 0:17:38and over the coming weeks, Carol Klein will be meeting some of them.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44And she starts with perhaps our greatest living gardener of all -
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Beth Chatto.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Beth Chatto was born in 1923.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Her career started here in Essex,
0:18:02 > 0:18:07and since then, she's gone on to become one of the most celebrated
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and influential gardeners in the entire world.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18In 1960, Beth and her husband Andrew built a house near Colchester
0:18:18 > 0:18:23on a huge plot of land that didn't look too promising -
0:18:23 > 0:18:26covered in brambles and with both boggy and dry areas.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29But Beth embraced the conditions
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and created a garden using plants that thrived in these environments.
0:18:33 > 0:18:39In doing so, she pioneered a new approach to gardening.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43It's a philosophy that's informed her entire gardening life and had
0:18:43 > 0:18:47a huge influence on the way most of us garden.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It's quite simply, "Right plant, right place."
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Beth, when you first came here with Andrew,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04didn't you feel hugely daunted by the task in front of you?
0:19:04 > 0:19:11Well, no, I don't think so because I think I have learnt to take
0:19:11 > 0:19:15things a step at a time. I never imagined it becoming like this.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I couldn't imagine it looking like this in 50 years' time,
0:19:20 > 0:19:21in the same way that now,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24we can't imagine what it's going to look like in another 50 years.
0:19:24 > 0:19:30So you weren't put off by the actual...by the brambles or the
0:19:30 > 0:19:35sort of conditions here? No, fortunately I did have a staff.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39I'd just started a nursery and I'd got good people helping me.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Everybody was enthusiastic.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46It must be one of the most oft-quoted phrases in
0:19:46 > 0:19:49horticulture, in gardening, but "right plant, right place".
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Did you ever imagine that your idea, this concept,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59would take hold in the way it is and so many people would use it
0:19:59 > 0:20:02as a kind of mantra for their garden?
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Well, I am thankful that they have.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08I hope they understand what it means.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12It doesn't just necessarily mean planting a climber on a wall.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16It does mean planting something in the conditions to which,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18by nature, it was intended.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21In other words, shade-loving plants in the shade,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25damp plants in soil that doesn't dry out, etc.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28One of the things that always strikes me is that far from seeing
0:20:28 > 0:20:34these places as problematic, you actually see them as an opportunity.
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Absolutely, they are.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39They are an opportunity to turn them from being a problem into one
0:20:39 > 0:20:42of the showpieces, if you like, of the garden,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46whether it is a hot, dry gravel garden up there or whether it is a
0:20:46 > 0:20:51boggy garden down here or whether it is a shady woodland.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58David Ward has been working with Beth for more than 30 years.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05So, how big is the whole area of the garden, David?
0:21:05 > 0:21:07The gardens are about six acres.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11The gravel garden was planted up in spring '91, '92,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12that sort of area.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Beth had always wanted to find somewhere to grow all her
0:21:15 > 0:21:18drought-loving plants, which she had amassed quite a collection of.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Being in this area, driest part of the country, East Anglia, of course.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26It was on a trip to New Zealand with Christopher Lloyd,
0:21:26 > 0:21:31they went out for a picnic and they had a picnic by a dried-up riverbed,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35a sort of ravine, and Beth remembered this image in her head.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38That was what she based this design on.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41So, in actual fact, you have never watered this gravel garden?
0:21:41 > 0:21:45The idea, really, was to find plants that were suitable to survive
0:21:45 > 0:21:46in somebody's front garden with
0:21:46 > 0:21:50no watering, and that's what we wanted to do here. We never water.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53We were tempted, we had a couple of dry years.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55We were worried the plants were going to die because
0:21:55 > 0:21:57they were shrivelling up.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00But now we know that is their mechanism, just sit there and
0:22:00 > 0:22:02survive, wait until it cools down and does rain.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Would you say that your philosophy to gardening
0:22:04 > 0:22:06has changed through working with Beth?
0:22:06 > 0:22:09As Beth always says, she could never really understand why people
0:22:09 > 0:22:13found it so different because, to her, it was common sense.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Put shade-loving plants together,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18your dry-loving and moisture-loving plants together.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Right plant, right place.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32I'm very conscious of the fact that I have got a lot more space here.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35The average garden today is pitifully small
0:22:35 > 0:22:38but you can grow, for example,
0:22:38 > 0:22:45snowdrops or hostas or all of these things in small areas.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50People have got hot, baked front gardens where they can have
0:22:50 > 0:22:54lovely silvery-grey plants, or they have got dark, shady back places
0:22:54 > 0:22:59where they can grow hostas and ferns and things like that.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03It's fun, turning what could be a problem into an advantage.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Have you always found gardening fun?
0:23:05 > 0:23:08You always seem to be happy in your garden.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13Yes, it is life-giving. It is life-giving. It is.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19You have been awarded the OBE, the Victoria Medal of Honour,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24doctorates here, there and everywhere. Ten Chelsea gold medals.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25I am grateful for them.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27But they don't keep me living, you know,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31they give me a kick now and again but you forget about them, really.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37It is the achieving which is the fun, more than the achievement.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39I can't get up every morning and feel
0:23:39 > 0:23:42a lot better because I have got an OBE!
0:23:44 > 0:23:48But you can get up in the morning and feel better when you see
0:23:48 > 0:23:51your garden? Absolutely, yes, I can.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55I am very grateful, even today, when I'm not really terribly fit,
0:23:55 > 0:24:00but that I can come out, see it and talk to you.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01And so are we. Good.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I have had the pleasure of meeting Beth
0:24:17 > 0:24:19a number of times and visiting her garden.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Every time, I come away just filled with ideas and plans and
0:24:24 > 0:24:26refer to her books all the time.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29She is certainly a giant amongst gardeners.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Obviously her main point of finding a place where plants will be
0:24:34 > 0:24:38completely at home is always applicable but at the moment
0:24:38 > 0:24:42in the garden, this is a plant that applies to more than anything else.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45It is one of the fabulous black Ballard's strains
0:24:45 > 0:24:49of Oriental hybrid hellebores. Look at it.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52But planting it here in these borders,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55I finally found out exactly what these hellebores like,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59which is some shade but some sun.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Plenty of moisture but not waterlogged.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Here, when we have cut down some of the trees,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07we let a little bit more light in, but there is shade.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12It is quite heavy soil. They love it. However, if hellebores
0:25:12 > 0:25:15aren't your thing or you don't want to add them to your garden,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17here's some jobs you can be doing this weekend.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28The best way to plant or increase your snowdrops is to move
0:25:28 > 0:25:30them now, just after flowering.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35Find a good clump, dig it up, don't try and break it into
0:25:35 > 0:25:38individual bulbs but divide it into sections.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43Re-plant a section into the original hole and then take the extra
0:25:43 > 0:25:47piece or pieces and create a new clump to spread them.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Even though for many of us the soil in our vegetable gardens and
0:25:53 > 0:25:56allotments is too wet and too cold,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01you can begin preparation for this year's harvest.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05I'm sowing some broad beans into plugs.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Put them somewhere sheltered, and it doesn't have to be warm,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and they will germinate and be ready to plant out in about
0:26:11 > 0:26:14a month's time when the ground has warmed up.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Unlike summer-fruiting varieties which produce their fruit on
0:26:21 > 0:26:22the previous year's canes,
0:26:22 > 0:26:28autumn-fruiting raspberries all bear their harvest on new shoots.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32This means that all of last year's growth can be cut
0:26:32 > 0:26:34right to the ground and cleared away.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The weather today has been typically March.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50We have had lovely sunshine, horrible cold rain and now
0:26:50 > 0:26:53it's sort of brightening up and feeling quite mild.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57So let's see what the weather has in store for us gardeners this weekend.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Let's see what's on the cards for a spot of gardening this weekend.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13A couple of points, Saturday's a good day,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16a dry day at least for most of us.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Rain will arrive on Sunday, and then Sunday night,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23it is going to turn chilly, even a frost around in some
0:27:23 > 0:27:24western areas of the UK.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27So here is the weather for the short-term.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30We have got a little bit of rain, not a lot, maybe crossing
0:27:30 > 0:27:32northern parts of England, but really, most of Scotland
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and Northern Ireland, the bulk of England and Wales
0:27:35 > 0:27:38enjoying fine weather, warm and sunny in the south.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42We could see the temperatures up to 18 degrees on Saturday,
0:27:42 > 0:27:48and then this is what happens as we head into Sunday -
0:27:48 > 0:27:49All of this,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52I don't think we will see a lot of rain, but it certainly will turn
0:27:52 > 0:27:55damp in our gardens and some of that rain will hang round right
0:27:55 > 0:27:57into the afternoon, particularly in the eastern areas,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Late in the day we will see some sunshine in the west and that cooler
0:28:01 > 0:28:03air arrives so that means that Sunday night turns chilly,
0:28:03 > 0:28:03and we could see pockets of frost anywhere here.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05to visit Packwood House in Warwickshire
0:28:11 > 0:28:14You can see the wood pile behind me
0:28:14 > 0:28:16is what happened to the trees being cut down.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19They will keep us warm next winter.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I have got big plans here for the orchard, real transformation.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27But that'll have to wait because we have run out of time for this week.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31But I will see you back here at Longmeadow at the same time
0:28:31 > 0:28:35next week. Until then, bye-bye. Come on.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Let's Sing And Dance exploded onto our screens,