Episode 22 Gardeners' World


Episode 22

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Transcript


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Hello.

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Welcome to Gardeners' World.

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The other week I wanted to cut this, but it was too wet -

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but now it's dry enough,

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and the scythe is doing a fairly good job.

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I'll clear this away and then run the mower over it

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and it will become a lawn again for the rest of the summer -

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but, of course, all this is geared towards

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a really good display of bulbs,

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and I'm now going to add perennial wild flowers later on next year.

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On tonight's programme,

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Rachel visits a garden near Bath,

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created to combine careful control

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with exuberant colour.

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Flo Headlam makes her second visit to a fledgling community garden

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in the village of Potterne, in Wiltshire

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to see how the work is progressing.

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We visit a nursery in Manchester,

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raising plants that will thrive on little more

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than the air that you breathe.

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There's going to be quite a lot of material from the cricket pitch

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and the other bits of long grass we have -

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but it will all compost.

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What all compost is made out of is green material,

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which are sort of fresh leaves, typically grass clippings,

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and brown material, which is dead or dried stuff or cardboard,

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straw, bracken, that kind of thing.

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The green material is relatively high in nitrogen...

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..and the brown material is very high in carbon,

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and you need both to make good compost -

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and the general rule,

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if you have the same volume of brown material as green material,

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you won't go far wrong.

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We chuck everything into a holding bay.

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Whatever comes from the kitchen or the garden -

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as long as it hasn't been cooked,

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doesn't involve fat or meat -

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and the reason for that is cos that attracts rodents.

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Once a week, that is chopped up.

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Now, you can do it by mowing, you can use a shredder,

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you can just chop it with an old axe or something,

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but the more that you can chop it up, the better it is -

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and that comes into this,

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the first bay,

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and you can see, here, if I open that out,

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it's hot.

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It's really heating up. In fact, that's too hot to put my hand in -

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and that steam coming out is entirely generated

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by the digestive systems of bacteria.

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That, when it's full, gets turned into here -

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and now it's cooled down quite a lot.

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It's still not ready,

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but it's looking recognisably like compost -

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and by turning it, we're adding oxygen,

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and that regenerates the bacterial activity.

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It comes into this bay - and this was a bit wet,

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so I've covered it with old cardboard -

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and as I move it,

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there's a lot of scurrying activity from woodlice,

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beetles, brandlings.

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You don't have to add them, they appear from nowhere.

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When this is full,

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it goes into this bay,

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and this really is 100% ready for delivery -

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and, when it's ready, you can handle it,

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it smells nice,

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just faintly of a woodland floor.

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It's clean, it's appetising,

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and it's just PACKED with goodness for the garden.

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That goodness is largely bacterial and fungal -

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it's not so much a feed as a life giver.

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It regenerates the soil.

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Now, this system is quite large -

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we have these big bays, there's a big quantity -

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but in principle, you can do it in a small garden with small containers.

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Ideally, you have three.

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They could be old dustbins, they'll work fine,

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and as long as you keep turning it,

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it WILL make a good compost -

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and if you can't turn,

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a much simpler way to make compost is simply make a heap,

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chuck it all in a heap, build it up, and in time,

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it'll be about a year to two years,

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the inside of the heap will look exactly like that.

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So, you take your pick.

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If you want to make it in 3-6 months, you do this system.

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If you want to make it in two years, you make a slow heap -

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but don't waste any material,

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because the goodness that goes back into the garden

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and the life and the energy,

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can't be matched by anything else...

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..and the reason why we make compost

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is to make our gardens more productive,

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more beautiful and healthier -

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and Rachel has been to visit

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a garden that is unquestionably beautiful.

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It all starts with colour for Jenny Woodall,

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a former fashion buyer who swapped A-line skirts and seasonal styles

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for agapanthus and salvia,

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and created a beautiful garden at her home in Bradford-on-Avon.

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Built in a walled setting,

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this formal townhouse garden is a riot of colour,

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with symmetry at its heart.

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-Jenny, I don't want to startle you...

-Oh!

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-..but I came straight through.

-Hello, Rachel, hello.

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I can see why you're so busy -

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it's hardly what I would call a low-maintenance garden, is it?

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No.

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No weeds, lots of symmetry,

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lots of standing to attention, control freakery.

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Shipshape and Bristol fashion.

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Absolutely. If you move, you might get snipped!

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Jenny's developed a garden with a very formal framework,

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but it's the planting within the borders that really catches the eye.

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I get the feeling, Jenny, that this is what it's all about for you,

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painting these colours across the garden.

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-It's so beautiful.

-Perennials.

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Ah, a perennial lady.

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I'm a perennial lady, and that's what I always go for.

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And I suppose perhaps the other thing is that

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my starting point is always colour -

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and I always used to like... the pinks had to be a bluey pink,

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so that they all melded together,

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but now I'm learning that perhaps... I'd like something shouting,

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two plants next door to each other that shout.

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And they cause you to wake up and... Oh, fantastic! Shock!

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And you've got that here,

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because you've got things like this lovely soft pink of the phlox,

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and then the rudbeckias...

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Like - wow! You know, this bright, strong yellow,

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and the thalictrum, all hazy and mauve and very soft again...

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..and you've got the Stipa gigantea, which is sort of a veil...

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Waving around and, yes, light, airy movement, yeah.

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Now, these absolutely immaculate stretches of lawn,

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which are so pristine, and so perfect...

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I am almost afraid to walk on them!

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Feel I ought to hover!

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Well, again, it's, it's my control freakery.

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You know, I like to look out on an absolutely straight line,

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and then I like my planting to be soft, to be a complete contrast.

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Apart from the fact that,

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actually, it's very, very easy to keep with the shears,

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because the shears just glide along the metal edging

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and you don't start causing a wiggly line.

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-That's one of my favourite jobs, actually, edging the lawn.

-Yes, yes.

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I remember doing that with my dad when I was little,

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-it was one of my jobs that he gave me.

-Yes, absolutely.

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Well, when you're standing here, actually,

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you see the shape of the beds you've created,

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and if you were to take that side and flip it over on top,

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you'd have the same flowers in the centre.

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Yes, in the same place, yes.

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This way of using symmetry

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and mirroring the planting along a pair of borders

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is a very tried and tested technique.

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They're not very deep borders,

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but it just works brilliantly.

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I love this pergola.

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Not only because it's giving you some height,

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and the sort of framework,

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but you've got these lovely little gaps through,

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so you've got individual snapshots.

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-Yes.

-Pictures, as you walk around the garden.

-Yes.

-It's beautiful.

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Well, I try to create atmosphere,

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and that's enticing you to go round the path

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and go and have a look at whatever's happening over there.

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I mean, it's working, because I'm drawn,

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I want to go down there and have a look.

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Right.

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Oh, yes. This just works beautifully now, looking back along there...

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and I love that you've got the height with the yews,

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-so there's nice vertical shapes at the end of each row.

-Yes.

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Yes, well, it draws your eye through, doesn't it?

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It's so pretty with the rose, as well.

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Yes, the mutabilis, yes.

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You've got that colour sort of brought through

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-with the penstemon, as well...

-Yes.

-..and then again into the sedum.

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-Yes.

-Well, I think I'm going to steal that.

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I'm telling you right now,

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I'm going to plan that combination in my own garden. I love it.

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CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

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CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

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CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

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There is no question that the relationship

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between really tightly controlled structure,

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with symmetry and balance,

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and then exuberant free planting within it

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can be very successful indeed -

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and if you're trying to organise colour, one of the best aids to that

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is, simply take pictures - and here at Longmeadow,

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I take pictures two, three times a week,

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and come next January, February,

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when I'm thinking about plants and seeds and how I'm going to plant,

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I go through all the pictures at different times of the year,

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and work on them, and actually go back 10, 15 years.

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It's SO useful.

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Now, here in the Jewel garden, there's real exuberance,

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and at this time of year, a real lushness -

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and that's great for most plants.

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However, succulents hate it.

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So, if I want to grow succulents, and I do,

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I have to create special conditions for them.

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Come on, come on.

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Go on. Go on.

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HE CHIVVIES THEM ALONG

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I've got this range of succulents growing in pots

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so I can give them the conditions they like,

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and the range, although by no means a collection, is varied.

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It goes from these extraordinary Namibian stone plants, the lithops.

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We have aeoniums, we've got echeverias,

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and most of them can be propagated from cuttings.

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Now, echeverias will take very easily from leaf cuttings.

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Now cutting, in a sense, is the wrong word,

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because the last thing you want to do is actually cut it.

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You want to tear it off from the stem -

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and if that sounds a bit drastic,

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it's really important you take it off at the base

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with a little piece of the stem attached.

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You have to twist and pull, and there it comes -

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and what you need to look for is a C shaped section,

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like that there.

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And then you know that it's come off properly.

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Whereas if it's clean, it'll never form any roots.

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So, if I take a pot, here -

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and I've got cutting mix with lots of grit and sand in it -

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and I just put in...

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..that much there, about two thirds full,

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and then top it up, right to the brim with grit...

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..and then you simply take the leaf like that

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and push it in,

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just so it touches the compost.

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Do not water them for at least a week,

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and then, after a week or so,

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you can give them a water - and you only need to water them once a week.

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Now, that's actually very easy, very straightforward,

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as long as you take the whole leaf.

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There is no problems with that -

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and much easier are sempervivums, houseleeks.

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You can see here that this is wanting to make new plants

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by these babies coming through,

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and all you have to do is detach them,

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and place them on a piece of gritty compost,

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and they are away.

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You can just pull that off like that,

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that one we could take off...

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So I can just simply sink that in like that, and that should be fine.

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This one here,

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and that one there...

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..and those will grow.

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They really, really are easy.

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Now, aeoniums are dramatic,

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and a little bit more complicated when it comes to cuttings.

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I've got two types here.

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I've got Zwartkop,

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which has got these rich, almost black chocolaty foliage,

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and then Voodoo,

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which is a mixture of ruby red and luminescent green.

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Now, Zwartkop has got material,

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these side shoots lend themselves to cuttings,

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and, actually, I took some the other day,

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because what you should do, conventionally,

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is take the cuttings and then leave them for a week,

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to let them callous over...

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and, ideally, the base -

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and you can see this is happening -

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should be dry and have a scar over the end of it.

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However, I know that commercial growers don't worry about that,

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they just take the cuttings and do them.

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So, now, just push the plant in.

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About halfway up.

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So, I've got a really good stem,

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and that way, if it takes,

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I've got a statuesque plant to begin with.

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Finally, and most radically of all,

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you can take aeonium cuttings...

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..which will leave you a bare stem

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which will then resprout -

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and, for example, this Zwartkop is unbalanced.

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I'd like some more side shoots.

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So what I have heard you can do -

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and I have to say I've never done this,

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so if it goes wrong, I'm losing a plant -

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is you cut that in half.

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The cutting must come from green growth,

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so I'll take that near the top,

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and then this lower area should resprout.

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So...

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time to make the big cut.

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Here we are.

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Right.

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That, I hope...

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will resprout, giving me a bushy new aeonium.

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This, although it's really large, is a potential cutting.

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What I am going to do is take some of the lower leaves off

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to let air in around it, to stop it being too moist...

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..and reduce the stem to about like that.

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So, I am going to push that in,

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so it's just touching the compost,

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and then I'm going to pack grit around it.

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Will it work?

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Well, we're all going to find out in the next few weeks and months.

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Now, if you think that succulents are tough,

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you ain't seen nothing.

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Because we went to Manchester to visit a couple of growers

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who are raising their plants on thin air.

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Air plants are so different from any other plants

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that you could be mistaken for believing

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that they are from another planet.

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Their entire life is different from another plant's.

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There's no compost, no pot,

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they don't go in the ground,

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they're taking everything in through the leaves.

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They're just a weird plant that's otherworldly.

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About 10 or 12 years ago, I got my first air plant,

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which was a bit of a disaster -

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but I don't like being defeated,

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and from there, as you can see from behind me,

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it became a bit of an obsession.

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I used to work in insurance, for many years.

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So, basically, working in an office,

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you are seeing four walls every day -

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and eventually I started to work on a part-time basis for Graham,

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helping out in his nursery - got me outdoors.

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Got a bit of feel for that, started to love it,

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and then as he moved onto the air plants,

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I moved with him and the rest is history.

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I love me air plants.

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Air plants are known as tillandsia, that's the proper name for them.

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They are a member of the bromeliad family,

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which is the same plant family as the common pineapple.

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They differ slightly

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in the respect that tillandsia are all epiphytic in growth,

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which means they take all the water and nutrients in and out of the air.

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Generally speaking, air plants come from central and southern America,

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mostly Latin America,

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but some species do extend as far north

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as the southern states of the USA.

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There's two basic types of air plants

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which most species of tillandsia can be divided into.

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You get the mesic type, that tend to be from rainforest environments.

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They have much lusher green leaves,

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because they're used to more humidity and less light.

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On the other side of the fence,

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you've got the xeric type of tillandsia

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which tend to be from desert environments,

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where they're used to a lot of sun beating down on them,

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so they're the ones with the more silvery leaf,

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and the silver's caused by little hair-like trichomes on the leafs

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that help to reflect the sunlight.

0:18:170:18:20

Unlike most plants,

0:18:200:18:21

tillandsia use a specialised form of photosynthesis

0:18:210:18:24

that's known as crassulacean acid metabolism.

0:18:240:18:26

What that effectively means is the plants hold their breath all day.

0:18:260:18:30

This is to prevent losing moisture through the leaves

0:18:300:18:33

and through the breathing in the daytime.

0:18:330:18:35

So while the night-time temperatures are much cooler,

0:18:350:18:38

that's when they choose to do all their breathing.

0:18:380:18:40

As a result of that,

0:18:400:18:42

tillandsia are one of the few plants

0:18:420:18:44

that never breathe out carbon dioxide.

0:18:440:18:46

This is one of my favourite air plants, Tillandsia usneoides,

0:18:490:18:53

better known as Spanish moss or Old Man's Beard.

0:18:530:18:55

It's prevalent in places like Florida,

0:18:550:18:59

where you see it growing from trees.

0:18:590:19:01

A bit of it'll get caught on the wind, snag on another tree,

0:19:010:19:03

the next thing you know you have got a colony of usneoides

0:19:030:19:06

that can bring trees down because of the sheer weight of it.

0:19:060:19:09

This is Tillandsia albida,

0:19:100:19:12

this is one of my favourites in the nursery.

0:19:120:19:15

The reason I love it

0:19:150:19:16

is, one, for its structure and its form,

0:19:160:19:19

but also it sort of pops up for fun, it has lots of babies -

0:19:190:19:21

and around the nursery

0:19:210:19:23

I find tiny little, little babies as they've fallen off,

0:19:230:19:28

and I pick them up and put them on these trays, and they grow,

0:19:280:19:32

and, eventually, they're beauties.

0:19:320:19:35

About ten years old.

0:19:350:19:37

This is Tillandsia ionantha Mexico.

0:19:370:19:38

It's one of the easiest plants to grow.

0:19:380:19:41

Anything with ionantha in the name means it's pretty near bulletproof,

0:19:410:19:44

as air plants go.

0:19:440:19:46

You've got that nice red colour which contrasts fantastically

0:19:460:19:49

with the purple flowers.

0:19:490:19:51

Air plants flower, but not many have fragrance.

0:19:510:19:54

Now, this one, crocata Copper Penny,

0:19:540:19:57

absolutely beautiful fragrance.

0:19:570:19:58

Makes it one of my favourites in the nursery -

0:19:580:20:00

and when this one is in flower,

0:20:000:20:02

quite often on a nice sunny day,

0:20:020:20:04

you can smell it throughout the greenhouse.

0:20:040:20:07

Keeping air plants at home is actually really easy.

0:20:120:20:14

Probably one of the easiest house plants you can have.

0:20:140:20:17

They don't need an awful lot of care.

0:20:170:20:19

They will stand a bit of neglect,

0:20:190:20:20

and they'll always tell you if they need a bit more water,

0:20:200:20:23

cos you might get a bit of browning at the end of the leaves,

0:20:230:20:25

or the leaves might start to curl in on themselves,

0:20:250:20:27

so they're telling you that they need a little bit more water.

0:20:270:20:30

You can use a spray bottle,

0:20:300:20:31

and just mist the plant perhaps once a week,

0:20:310:20:34

and you could also...

0:20:340:20:35

Say perhaps you've got your air plant in a terrarium,

0:20:350:20:38

and you don't want to get that bowl wet, whatever.

0:20:380:20:41

Take the plant out, put it in a bowl of water for about an hour,

0:20:410:20:43

let it soak up what it wants,

0:20:430:20:45

and then let it drain out thoroughly,

0:20:450:20:46

and pop it in you back in your bowl, and there you are.

0:20:460:20:49

Use perhaps bottled water, or rainwater,

0:20:490:20:52

because you want to watch out for hard water,

0:20:520:20:55

cos that can actually damage the plants,

0:20:550:20:56

cos of the metals in the water.

0:20:560:20:58

Air plants can be put literally anywhere in your house,

0:20:590:21:02

but as long as they get some natural light -

0:21:020:21:04

but what they don't want is the full direct sunlight.

0:21:040:21:07

That can actually damage and scorch the plants.

0:21:070:21:09

If you were to put an air plant in compost

0:21:100:21:12

or any kind of soil or whatever,

0:21:120:21:14

because that's damp and wet,

0:21:140:21:17

what will happen is that the air plant itself will start to rot

0:21:170:21:20

and it will unfortunately kill the air plant.

0:21:200:21:22

So it wants to be sat in a dry environment.

0:21:220:21:24

We feed all our plants once a month.

0:21:260:21:27

We use a foliar feed,

0:21:270:21:29

which means the feed is in contact with the leaf of the plant.

0:21:290:21:32

It's important with an air plant feed

0:21:320:21:34

to make sure that you get the right kind of feed.

0:21:340:21:36

Most plant feeds contain a high level of urea

0:21:360:21:38

as the nitrogen source.

0:21:380:21:40

So when you're looking for a feed,

0:21:410:21:43

just look for that statement on the bottle, "Contains no urea."

0:21:430:21:47

A decent tillandsia feed or decent orchid feed

0:21:470:21:50

is perfectly adequate.

0:21:500:21:52

We dilute it down,

0:21:520:21:54

spray it on once a month, job done.

0:21:540:21:56

People grow air plants in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.

0:22:010:22:04

A lot of people still use terrariums,

0:22:040:22:06

a glass bowl with a bit of gravel in the bottom and some air plants.

0:22:060:22:10

Other people will attach them to bog wood,

0:22:100:22:12

we have even had people make mirror frames out of them

0:22:120:22:15

to hang in the bathroom.

0:22:150:22:17

So they're really versatile plants

0:22:170:22:19

and they're really limited by your imagination.

0:22:190:22:22

When I look at the air plants,

0:22:220:22:23

especially the ones we have here,

0:22:230:22:25

I think they just give you so much joy.

0:22:250:22:27

We get a lot of customers say what a joy they bring to them, as well,

0:22:270:22:31

and how much fun the plants are,

0:22:310:22:32

so they always give you a smile.

0:22:320:22:34

Even if you know nothing about a plant,

0:22:510:22:54

or you've decided it is not your thing,

0:22:540:22:56

to see people's enthusiasm for something always inspires,

0:22:560:23:01

and sometimes provokes you to do it yourself.

0:23:010:23:03

These are fascinating.

0:23:030:23:04

And if you get an old log...

0:23:040:23:06

..and just stick them in.

0:23:080:23:10

You can glue them in if you want, but you don't need to,

0:23:100:23:12

you can just attach them in into cracks and crevices,

0:23:120:23:15

and we could probably work that into there.

0:23:150:23:20

All these air plants will survive perfectly well,

0:23:200:23:26

just resting on that.

0:23:260:23:27

Just put that on your windowsill,

0:23:270:23:29

and that's it.

0:23:290:23:31

If you put it in the bathroom, it will enjoy the humidity,

0:23:310:23:34

otherwise mist it once a week with rainwater

0:23:340:23:38

and that is literally all you have to do,

0:23:380:23:40

and these will grow fine -

0:23:400:23:41

and if you don't want a log, well,

0:23:410:23:43

you can always buy something like this Spanish moss

0:23:430:23:46

and hang it up,

0:23:460:23:48

and that will grow quite happily in your home.

0:23:480:23:51

Now my guess is, for anybody that doesn't have access to a garden,

0:23:530:23:57

or is not even particularly interested in gardening,

0:23:570:23:59

this could be a really good introduction.

0:23:590:24:01

Fascinating, if you've got a windowsill or a small flat -

0:24:010:24:04

but there are people who don't have gardens who would love one...

0:24:040:24:07

..and are really keen to share a community space if that's possible,

0:24:080:24:13

and Flo Headlam is making her second visit to the community garden

0:24:130:24:17

in Potterne, in Wiltshire,

0:24:170:24:19

which is beginning to take shape.

0:24:190:24:21

It's been a month since Joe and I first visited

0:24:270:24:30

the community garden here in Potterne.

0:24:300:24:31

It's a typical village, made up of a mix of properties big and small,

0:24:340:24:38

a local pub -

0:24:380:24:39

but nowhere just to hang out with your neighbours...

0:24:390:24:42

except for a wonderful secret garden hidden up that alley.

0:24:420:24:46

When we first came here last month,

0:24:480:24:50

there was an unloved plot with no real reason to spend any time here.

0:24:500:24:55

But galvanised by local youth worker Steve Dewar,

0:24:550:24:58

the people of the village wanted to transform this space

0:24:580:25:01

into something they can all use.

0:25:010:25:02

Last month, Joe worked with Steve to come up with a design

0:25:040:25:08

to give a real heart to the garden...

0:25:080:25:10

..and having been involved with community projects before,

0:25:110:25:14

I'm back here to offer support, advice and encouragement,

0:25:140:25:18

to help keep momentum going on this project.

0:25:180:25:20

Oh, wow!

0:25:220:25:23

So from the last time to now,

0:25:230:25:25

you've put the path down,

0:25:250:25:26

-and it's great because you've direction coming in.

-Yeah.

0:25:260:25:29

and you've got the central space.

0:25:290:25:31

The willow arch is looking good. It's coming back, isn't it?

0:25:310:25:34

-Yeah.

-Looking fresh - and then it leads to the central area

0:25:340:25:37

-which is going to be the kind of main hub, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:25:370:25:39

-The main social area.

-Yeah.

0:25:390:25:41

So everything will then lead off that,

0:25:410:25:42

so we're looking at five different sections

0:25:420:25:44

with each area giving a slightly different thing to the space.

0:25:440:25:47

-Different activity.

-Yeah.

0:25:470:25:48

OK, great. Sounds like you've got some design skills yourself.

0:25:480:25:51

Well, when people come together and just chat about it,

0:25:510:25:53

and everyone's got a little bit of input and I thought, yeah,

0:25:530:25:56

we'd kind of go with what everyone agrees with.

0:25:560:25:58

What's the journey been like with the garden?

0:26:000:26:02

The biggest challenge is always people.

0:26:020:26:04

The joys of working with people,

0:26:040:26:06

and different expectations,

0:26:060:26:08

and everyone's got a view.

0:26:080:26:09

Logistics, probably, is the second challenge,

0:26:090:26:12

because of the narrow access that we have,

0:26:120:26:13

and trying to move equipment through.

0:26:130:26:16

The path was the biggest logistical problem that we've had -

0:26:160:26:20

now that's been done. I think third is just communication.

0:26:200:26:22

You can only communicate with people when you've made that contact.

0:26:220:26:26

So we're just looking at how actually we make that contact

0:26:260:26:28

with people that we've not had contact with before,

0:26:280:26:30

across the village, but also in the wider area,

0:26:300:26:33

and then just maintaining it.

0:26:330:26:34

-It's tough, it's not easy.

-It's tough!

0:26:340:26:36

You take some flak for it, because people have different views,

0:26:360:26:40

but it's the nature of the job that I'm in,

0:26:400:26:42

I enjoy working with people,

0:26:420:26:44

to actually bring people together,

0:26:440:26:46

to build a community,

0:26:460:26:47

to face those challenges together.

0:26:470:26:49

If life was easy, it would be a bit boring.

0:26:510:26:53

This isn't easy, and it's definitely not boring.

0:26:530:26:55

Well, there's no chance of getting bored when I'm around.

0:26:580:27:00

There's planting to be done!

0:27:000:27:02

One of the driving forces behind this community garden

0:27:030:27:06

is teaching children about the local bugs and birds,

0:27:060:27:09

so I've brought along Stephen Davis, from the local wildlife trust.

0:27:090:27:13

Why is it important to have a wildlife area, do you think?

0:27:130:27:15

Well, it's absolutely wonderful for children, in particular.

0:27:150:27:19

They have a wonderful connection with the natural world.

0:27:190:27:22

They're very, very observant.

0:27:220:27:24

I mean, Will here has just found about 15 beetle larvae

0:27:240:27:27

and he's wandering around like this showing them to everybody -

0:27:270:27:30

so there's a very natural interest in the natural world.

0:27:300:27:34

Mel, you're the head teacher at the local primary school.

0:27:350:27:38

Why is it important for you to have wildlife areas?

0:27:380:27:41

Because it's bringing, isn't it, learning to life?

0:27:410:27:43

So I think, you know, I'm not saying a library's not engaging,

0:27:430:27:47

but Will, out here, learning about the real world

0:27:470:27:51

in a real environment,

0:27:510:27:52

he'll remember this a lot more, won't he? Than reading it in print -

0:27:520:27:55

and hopefully this will really excite him to go back to the library

0:27:550:27:58

and to find out more. So it's a fantastic teaching space.

0:27:580:28:01

Absolutely. What's good to plant?

0:28:010:28:04

It's good to plant a diversity of plants,

0:28:040:28:06

so some that have very open, flat surfaces,

0:28:060:28:09

so the nectar is very close to the top of the flower,

0:28:090:28:12

some with long tubes,

0:28:120:28:14

so you get a diversity of insects,

0:28:140:28:17

some which have long tongues, small tongues,

0:28:170:28:19

and they can reach down and get that nectar -

0:28:190:28:21

and in doing that,

0:28:210:28:23

they interact with the pollen,

0:28:230:28:25

and they take the pollen away to another flower

0:28:250:28:27

and provide that fertilisation of the flower.

0:28:270:28:30

Stephen's recommended lots of plants that pollinators love,

0:28:300:28:33

and I can't help but get involved.

0:28:330:28:35

This is my favourite bit.

0:28:350:28:37

It would be nice to have the rudbeckias sort of curving round.

0:28:370:28:40

Yeah.

0:28:400:28:41

So I am so happy that the local gardening club popped in,

0:28:430:28:46

spades at the ready.

0:28:460:28:48

We've got loads of plants here, loads of plants,

0:28:480:28:50

and I think once we've got everything in place

0:28:500:28:53

and we've got a sense of where we're going to plant everything,

0:28:530:28:55

it's going to look fantastic.

0:28:550:28:57

We've got instant colour,

0:28:570:28:58

we've got the beautiful Verbena bonariensis,

0:28:580:29:00

we've got the lovely rudbeckia, that colour is just stunning.

0:29:000:29:04

It's exciting, because it's looking like a garden now!

0:29:040:29:06

Isn't it great to see the kids getting all mucky in the garden?

0:29:100:29:13

While Steve starts planting up a more shady spot,

0:29:130:29:16

some other children are getting into building bug hotels.

0:29:160:29:20

Right, guys, we just want to use as many different materials as we can,

0:29:200:29:22

cos it'll just attract as many insects as possible

0:29:220:29:25

into our gardens.

0:29:250:29:26

I moved mine, it's this one, it's moving around...

0:29:260:29:28

This is what Steve had in mind

0:29:310:29:33

when we first talked about this community garden,

0:29:330:29:37

it's bringing people together.

0:29:370:29:38

And that's happened here today.

0:29:380:29:40

We've got kids out here who have been digging,

0:29:400:29:44

lifting soil, lifting turf,

0:29:440:29:46

they've been making bug hotels,

0:29:460:29:48

we've had the gardening club,

0:29:480:29:49

another generation who've come to help out and lend their expertise -

0:29:490:29:54

and mums, you know, and their kids, sitting around,

0:29:540:29:57

people are just hanging out, but enjoying the space.

0:29:570:30:00

It just fills me with pleasure to see them here,

0:30:000:30:04

and being involved.

0:30:040:30:05

I've been involved in a few community projects like that myself,

0:30:180:30:22

and I do know they take a while to build momentum,

0:30:220:30:24

but once it's there,

0:30:240:30:26

they get a life of their own,

0:30:260:30:27

and something special really can happen -

0:30:270:30:29

and we will be going back for another visit in a few weeks' time.

0:30:290:30:33

Now, still to come on tonight's programme...

0:30:330:30:36

Adam Frost visits Hyde Hall,

0:30:360:30:38

and sees the new vegetable garden that they've created there

0:30:380:30:42

over the last year...

0:30:420:30:43

Let's see what it's like.

0:30:450:30:46

-Wow, that's, like, really, bang!

-It's amazing!

0:30:490:30:50

..but first, it's time for topiary Nigel to have his annual trim.

0:30:520:30:57

So, Nigel, you've got to stay and be the model.

0:30:570:30:59

You can see it's made out of yew, Taxus baccata.

0:30:590:31:03

I planted it three years ago -

0:31:030:31:05

plenty of growth, you can see,

0:31:050:31:06

lots of good growth on it,

0:31:060:31:08

so I need to cut it back.

0:31:080:31:10

Good boy. Come here, come here, I want to...

0:31:120:31:14

Not you, cos it's not a Nellie picture!

0:31:140:31:16

Right, stay there.

0:31:160:31:17

Just take a bit more off Nigel.

0:31:190:31:21

His tail has gone berserk,

0:31:350:31:36

but that sometimes happens anyway.

0:31:360:31:38

I think that's as far as I can take it for the moment.

0:31:460:31:49

It won't ever be as beautiful as the real thing, but it's fun.

0:31:490:31:52

The whole point about topiary is that it's part sculpture,

0:31:520:31:57

part horticulture,

0:31:570:31:58

and part mucking about -

0:31:580:32:00

and mucking about is as good as the other two bits, easily.

0:32:000:32:04

Now, some people take topiary seriously

0:32:050:32:08

and are extraordinarily good at it,

0:32:080:32:10

and I went down to Dorset the other day,

0:32:100:32:13

to visit a master craftsman in the art of topiary.

0:32:130:32:18

Jake Hobson is not only an expert sculptor of plants,

0:32:270:32:32

but he's also studied extensively in Japan...

0:32:320:32:36

..and the Japanese take the training and pruning of plants

0:32:370:32:42

very seriously indeed.

0:32:420:32:44

So it seems to me that that combination,

0:32:440:32:47

although I don't want to make a specifically Japanese garden...

0:32:470:32:50

..is something that I can learn an awful lot from.

0:32:510:32:54

Jake's style of topiary,

0:32:580:32:59

often referred to as cloud pruning,

0:32:590:33:02

is a technique that's used to create these elegant and fluid shapes,

0:33:020:33:07

and they are a far cry from the rigid and formal topiary

0:33:070:33:11

that we've come to associate with our gardens.

0:33:110:33:13

-Hello, Jake.

-Hello.

0:33:170:33:19

It's nice to see you in action, very good.

0:33:210:33:23

How are you doing?

0:33:230:33:24

So, one of the things that I noticed on my only visit to Japan

0:33:240:33:28

was that in all the time I was there,

0:33:280:33:30

I never once saw a garden tree that wasn't clipped or topiarised

0:33:300:33:35

or trained in some way.

0:33:350:33:36

Exactly, they're always perfect, yeah.

0:33:360:33:39

So, is that the basis of your style, and what you do?

0:33:390:33:42

That's the origin of my style, yeah.

0:33:420:33:46

Since I came back to England 15 years ago,

0:33:460:33:48

I've kind of merged what I was excited by in Japan

0:33:480:33:51

and what I'm excited by in England.

0:33:510:33:53

The culture of clipped box is European,

0:33:530:33:56

but the Japanese way of not making it a formal row of perfect shapes

0:33:560:34:00

but a natural... Sort of evoking hillsides or clouds

0:34:000:34:04

or forests or mountains,

0:34:040:34:06

and I've kind of developed a term, organic topiary,

0:34:060:34:09

to describe a little bit of Japanese,

0:34:090:34:11

a little bit of formal topiary,

0:34:110:34:13

a little bit of European style...

0:34:130:34:15

but it's a more natural, organic feel -

0:34:150:34:17

so, I'm inspired by nature.

0:34:170:34:19

OK, so it's a hybrid, but it's a very cultured one?

0:34:190:34:23

Very, very cultured, and very Japanese.

0:34:230:34:25

I've always got Japan ringing in the back of my head.

0:34:250:34:27

I like this sort of talk, this is good.

0:34:270:34:30

In practical terms, you've got these series of box plants,

0:34:300:34:33

looking lovely and healthy - I'm deeply envious of you.

0:34:330:34:37

What are you looking for, what are you trying to achieve as you cut?

0:34:370:34:40

Is there a particular approach you need to it?

0:34:400:34:43

Yeah, I'm after a sort of, well, a continuity,

0:34:430:34:45

a regularity going over the whole thing,

0:34:450:34:49

and if it's this kind of shape, this kind of rounded shape,

0:34:490:34:51

I think about the shape as I'm doing it,

0:34:510:34:53

and I think about how a shape isn't just one-dimensional

0:34:530:34:56

but it goes over the whole way round, so I follow it like that.

0:34:560:34:59

And I can't help but notice you're using your shears upside down.

0:34:590:35:03

Yeah, absolutely, because I'm going over the circle like that.

0:35:030:35:05

If I was up against a hedge, I'd have it like that,

0:35:050:35:08

to go straight with that.

0:35:080:35:09

If you can't use box,

0:35:090:35:11

if you have to look for alternatives,

0:35:110:35:14

what do you recommend?

0:35:140:35:16

Well, nothing does box like box -

0:35:160:35:18

and I think the idea is we've got to get box out of our minds,

0:35:180:35:21

and then there's loads of other things.

0:35:210:35:22

Favourites of mine are small leafed evergreens,

0:35:220:35:25

like Phillyrea latifolia, a very good one,

0:35:250:35:27

Osmanthus burkwoodii, things like that.

0:35:270:35:30

They tend to be bigger, they're shrubs and small trees,

0:35:300:35:33

rather than what we think of as a smaller plant -

0:35:330:35:35

but, you know, a box would get to 20 feet,

0:35:350:35:37

-if you had 100 years spare.

-Yeah.

0:35:370:35:38

Well, it's good to have some alternatives to box

0:35:410:35:44

that will thrive in my garden in Herefordshire...

0:35:440:35:46

..but I've asked Jake to show me some of the tricks of his trade

0:35:470:35:50

on his cloud pruned phillyrea.

0:35:500:35:52

What are particularly the virtues of phillyrea?

0:35:530:35:56

It's small leafed, relatively,

0:35:560:35:58

it's not as small as a box plant,

0:35:580:36:00

but it's smaller than many plants, which means it's tidy and tight,

0:36:000:36:03

-and you can work on quite a small scale.

-Yeah.

0:36:030:36:06

It is dense, and it's a pretty nice colour, it's a good green.

0:36:060:36:10

And healthy?

0:36:100:36:11

Very healthy, yeah.

0:36:110:36:12

They're a Mediterranean plant,

0:36:120:36:14

they like to be slightly on the drier side.

0:36:140:36:16

They don't want to be in a swamp.

0:36:160:36:18

That leads onto my next question,

0:36:180:36:20

because where I am, in winter,

0:36:200:36:23

it manages to be both wet and cold simultaneously -

0:36:230:36:27

and a lot of plants hate that combination.

0:36:270:36:29

How does it cope?

0:36:290:36:30

Hardy in Dorset.

0:36:320:36:33

Yeah, but you're... you're in sunny Dorset!

0:36:330:36:36

Hardy in Dorset, hardy in the bottom half of England.

0:36:360:36:39

-Let's have a go at that.

-So if you're south of sort of...

0:36:390:36:42

..the Wash to the Bristol Channel line,

0:36:430:36:46

you'd say that it's a good punt?

0:36:460:36:48

-I'd say it's a great punt, yeah.

-Right, yeah.

0:36:480:36:50

The temptation...

0:36:530:36:54

Well, there's one temptation which is to take much too much off

0:36:540:36:57

in one go, but the other temptation is to be too bitty,

0:36:570:37:00

and only pick off the bits that look big -

0:37:000:37:02

but...I know full well that this is going to keep growing,

0:37:020:37:05

because we're now in early August,

0:37:050:37:07

and we've got another six to eight weeks of growth,

0:37:070:37:10

and we've got to be quite strict with it.

0:37:100:37:12

-That's looking good.

-That's it -

0:37:120:37:14

and then, occasionally, with topiary,

0:37:140:37:15

you get some sort of harder, woodier stuff out towards the top,

0:37:150:37:18

bits like that.

0:37:180:37:19

And I tend to, with a pair of secateurs

0:37:190:37:21

or another pair of clippers,

0:37:210:37:22

just go in and just take out the woodier stuff.

0:37:220:37:24

If you run your hands through it, it'll all feel soft and fluffy

0:37:250:37:28

-rather than hard and brittle.

-Yeah. And how often do you cut this?

0:37:280:37:31

I try to cut this twice a year,

0:37:310:37:33

most evergreens twice a year.

0:37:330:37:35

Typically, sometime in June and then a tidy up in the autumn, basically.

0:37:350:37:38

So it lasts all winter.

0:37:380:37:40

So you've got it through the winter, which is where it's most important,

0:37:400:37:43

because there's nothing else to look at.

0:37:430:37:45

OK, let's have a look.

0:37:460:37:47

For a lot of people, cloud pruning,

0:37:530:37:55

and just the very nature of clouds,

0:37:550:37:57

is that they come in, and then they billow,

0:37:570:38:00

rather than these clearly defined tiers that you're creating.

0:38:000:38:05

Yes. I mean, there's two different approaches

0:38:050:38:06

and you can do this kind of continuous thing, like you said -

0:38:060:38:09

but I like the look where you've got definite branches

0:38:090:38:11

and definite black space between each branch.

0:38:110:38:14

So the size, the shape,

0:38:140:38:16

the proportion of that space is every bit as important

0:38:160:38:20

-as the more solid shapes above and below it?

-Exactly, it defines them.

0:38:200:38:23

I suppose one keeps coming back to this thing

0:38:280:38:31

that you go with what the plant is inclined to do,

0:38:310:38:35

and what you are inclined to do at that moment.

0:38:350:38:39

Yeah, that's the thing -

0:38:390:38:40

and it always changes from there.

0:38:400:38:42

What looks and feels right for you this year

0:38:420:38:44

might not be the same next year.

0:38:440:38:46

It's a very free-form, subjective approach,

0:38:460:38:49

rather than the European thing of creating these shapes, you know,

0:38:490:38:53

you want a cone, a pyramid, a ball.

0:38:530:38:56

Absolutely, it's not a sculpture.

0:38:560:38:58

It's a living thing.

0:38:580:38:59

It works, doesn't it?

0:38:590:39:01

Because what you're describing is something that is very liberating.

0:39:010:39:04

There are no rules.

0:39:040:39:06

Use good tools,

0:39:060:39:07

keep them sharp,

0:39:070:39:09

look after the plants,

0:39:090:39:11

and just go with it, let it happen.

0:39:110:39:13

I think it looks really good.

0:39:130:39:15

Sometimes plants will form a kind of topiary without any clipping at all.

0:39:400:39:46

I've planted a pair of Irish yews

0:39:460:39:48

either side of the path and this doorway.

0:39:480:39:51

This is Taxus baccata Fastigiata,

0:39:510:39:55

and they create a living topiary.

0:39:550:39:58

So that gives us an architectural, very dramatic statement,

0:39:580:40:02

and they're great plants for that.

0:40:020:40:04

The other really good thing these pair of Irish yews are doing for me

0:40:050:40:09

is tying together two parts of the garden.

0:40:090:40:12

The herb garden is doing really well, it's fully functional,

0:40:120:40:16

and there's not a lot to happen in there -

0:40:160:40:18

but this part of the garden has hardly been touched,

0:40:180:40:21

and it's time to develop it -

0:40:210:40:23

and, in fact, it's not a coincidence that I went down to Dorset

0:40:230:40:26

to see Jake in action, because we want to make topiary here

0:40:260:40:30

of a free-flowing, not necessarily Japanese, but organic kind.

0:40:300:40:35

All these plants here, and I've got loads more,

0:40:350:40:38

have been grown from cuttings -

0:40:380:40:40

and they have cost me absolutely nothing.

0:40:400:40:42

However, I am restricted in some ways

0:40:420:40:44

because I can't use normal box -

0:40:440:40:47

that's Buxus sempervirens, or suffruticosa -

0:40:470:40:50

but what I can use, and I intend to,

0:40:500:40:53

is this very thick leaf box.

0:40:530:40:56

This is a variety called Handsworthiensis,

0:40:560:40:59

and I've still got it elsewhere in the garden,

0:40:590:41:02

and it seems to be both pretty much resistant to blight,

0:41:020:41:05

and if it does get it, it recovers.

0:41:050:41:07

Now, it's worth pointing out to you that if you find box,

0:41:070:41:11

and I quite often get people asking me this,

0:41:110:41:13

that has these orange leaves,

0:41:130:41:16

looking very sickly.

0:41:160:41:18

This is not box blight.

0:41:180:41:21

It's a classic sign of stress -

0:41:210:41:23

and the reason why they're like this,

0:41:230:41:25

because this has been in this container for two years,

0:41:250:41:28

it's outgrown all the nutrients,

0:41:280:41:30

and, poor thing, it's starving.

0:41:300:41:32

This will recover.

0:41:320:41:34

So, don't worry if you've got orange leaves on your box.

0:41:340:41:37

This is a slow process, and because it's organic,

0:41:380:41:40

I'm not going to try and plant them all in one go,

0:41:400:41:42

I'm just going to start building up and adding in plants -

0:41:420:41:46

but on the corners here, on both sides,

0:41:460:41:49

I want to have a yew...sort of blob that will spill out over the path,

0:41:490:41:54

and I'm going to do that by planting these four cuttings in a square.

0:41:540:42:00

So, by placing these four plants, that will grow together,

0:42:000:42:04

and effectively become one,

0:42:040:42:06

we immediately create a mass,

0:42:060:42:09

and in a year or two, can start clipping that -

0:42:090:42:11

and you'll notice that I've chosen plants

0:42:110:42:13

that do not have a leader.

0:42:130:42:14

They're spreading automatically so that makes them suitable

0:42:150:42:18

for this fairly low, horizontal shape

0:42:180:42:22

which can be clipped tight.

0:42:220:42:23

Yew is a tough plant,

0:42:260:42:28

it will grow in chalk, it will grow in acidic soil,

0:42:280:42:30

it will grow in full sun, it will grow in some shade.

0:42:300:42:33

But it will not grow in waterlogged soil.

0:42:330:42:37

It really must have good drainage.

0:42:370:42:39

Right. That's not too bad,

0:42:450:42:47

but I am going to add a bucket-load of grit...

0:42:470:42:49

..because you can never have too much.

0:42:510:42:54

I'm just going to spread that on...

0:42:540:42:55

..and dig it in.

0:42:580:42:59

Right, we can plant.

0:43:080:43:10

Now, I have got some mycorrhizal powder...

0:43:100:43:13

..which is always worth adding

0:43:140:43:16

if you're planting any tree or shrub because it will speed up

0:43:160:43:20

the relationship between the mycorrhizae fungi in the soil

0:43:200:43:24

and the plants that will feed it with sugars -

0:43:240:43:28

and for the plant to get established,

0:43:280:43:31

this really, really helps.

0:43:310:43:32

The thing about mycorrhizae,

0:43:430:43:44

there has to be direct contact with the roots.

0:43:440:43:47

What I do is just rub it in, like that...

0:43:470:43:50

..and that goes like that...

0:43:560:43:58

..and I won't be thinking about clipping these

0:44:070:44:09

for another year or so.

0:44:090:44:11

We'll just let them get established.

0:44:110:44:13

Now we move over to the Handsworthiensis.

0:44:140:44:17

This will never be a low blob,

0:44:170:44:19

this wants to be fairly upright,

0:44:190:44:20

and my vision is that we have these lower shapes

0:44:200:44:23

morphing into the taller ones and then going down again.

0:44:230:44:27

So the whole thing flows.

0:44:270:44:28

You'll notice that for both the yew and the box,

0:44:500:44:53

I haven't added any compost,

0:44:530:44:56

or manure or soil improver underneath them...

0:44:560:44:58

..and that's for a reason -

0:44:590:45:01

because if you do that in a planting hole,

0:45:010:45:03

it encourages the roots to stay in the planting hole.

0:45:030:45:06

It's just simply much nicer in there than it is out in the soil...

0:45:060:45:09

..and for a healthy plant,

0:45:100:45:12

it has got to get out into the soil, whatever that soil is like.

0:45:120:45:15

Right, I'm just going to gently firm that in.

0:45:170:45:19

Well, that is a modest beginning

0:45:250:45:26

to something that will take weeks or even months

0:45:260:45:30

to be planted and develop.

0:45:300:45:32

Now, three years ago, almost to the day,

0:45:330:45:35

I visited RHS Hyde Hall for the first time,

0:45:350:45:38

and I was really impressed by their vegetable garden,

0:45:380:45:41

and the way that they grew them.

0:45:410:45:42

Well, they've moved on,

0:45:420:45:44

because they have created a brand-new,

0:45:440:45:46

much bigger vegetable garden,

0:45:460:45:48

and Adam Frost went along to have a look.

0:45:480:45:50

Do you know, over the last couple of years,

0:45:580:45:59

I've been lucky enough to work with the team here at Hyde Hall,

0:45:590:46:02

helping design different parts of this garden,

0:46:020:46:04

and I have really fallen in love with it -

0:46:040:46:07

but earlier on in July, they opened a new veg garden...

0:46:070:46:09

but this is not a normal kitchen garden.

0:46:090:46:12

It's all about pushing boundaries,

0:46:120:46:14

and seeing what we can grow in that UK environment -

0:46:140:46:17

and I'm feeling a little childlike,

0:46:170:46:19

and I can't wait to go and have a look.

0:46:190:46:21

RHS Hyde Hall in Essex

0:46:240:46:25

is situated in one of the driest parts of the country,

0:46:250:46:28

and the new fruit and vegetable garden aims to experiment,

0:46:280:46:31

growing edibles from all around the world.

0:46:310:46:34

For a vegetable garden, it's an unusual circular design,

0:46:350:46:38

divided into four quarters, each planted with edibles.

0:46:380:46:41

You've got North America, South America,

0:46:430:46:46

Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

0:46:460:46:48

Overseeing the garden is horticulturalist Matthew Oliver.

0:46:500:46:53

Well, here we are, mate, in Europe,

0:46:570:46:58

which is a place I suppose most people recognise

0:46:580:47:00

what you're growing here.

0:47:000:47:01

This could be a herbaceous border, could it?

0:47:010:47:03

Yeah, a lot of these are garden plants, if you like -

0:47:030:47:06

but lots of edible petals as well

0:47:060:47:07

which are really fashionable at the moment.

0:47:070:47:09

Yeah, something like this borage which is an annual,

0:47:090:47:11

but the flowers are absolutely stunning.

0:47:110:47:13

Yeah, a lot of people don't really realise that you can eat the petals,

0:47:130:47:17

just peel them off,

0:47:170:47:18

decorate salads, use them in drinks,

0:47:180:47:19

-those kind of things.

-Yeah,

0:47:190:47:21

I've seen them set in ice cubes and dropped into a drink.

0:47:210:47:24

-Yeah, yeah.

-But Europe just doesn't stop at the obvious, does it?

0:47:240:47:26

There is more interesting bits and pieces.

0:47:260:47:28

Yeah, yeah, we've got a few different unusuals in here.

0:47:280:47:30

This is agretti, very similar to samphire,

0:47:370:47:40

but much easier to grow.

0:47:400:47:41

Seed in the spring for this.

0:47:410:47:42

Samphire's incredibly salty.

0:47:420:47:44

So has it got that same...?

0:47:440:47:45

Yeah, this has got that same sort of slightly salty taste to it,

0:47:450:47:48

that crisp crunchiness as well.

0:47:480:47:49

-You can try some if you want.

-Can I?

0:47:490:47:51

Let's see what it's like.

0:47:510:47:52

-Wow, that's, like, really, bang!

-It's amazing.

0:47:560:47:58

So it'll work well with fish dishes, that kind of thing.

0:47:580:48:01

Hark at you, he's behaving like a cook now!

0:48:010:48:03

I think this is definitely worth a shout, that's lovely.

0:48:040:48:06

These are plants, you know,

0:48:150:48:17

you really do recognise from North America, aren't they?

0:48:170:48:19

Yeah, very traditionally North American agriculture

0:48:190:48:22

type plants in here. So, think Native American -

0:48:220:48:24

so we've got the sweetcorn, lots of climbing beans,

0:48:240:48:28

and then lots of pumpkins and squashes, as well.

0:48:280:48:30

But anything more unusual in North America?

0:48:300:48:32

Yeah, we've got some wonderberries, which are very unusual.

0:48:320:48:34

Right, let's go and have a look at those.

0:48:340:48:36

Just by looking at it,

0:48:400:48:41

you can tell that it's related to deadly nightshade -

0:48:410:48:44

but this one is edible.

0:48:440:48:45

Which would instantly scare the life out of me,

0:48:450:48:47

so that makes the point, at home, this is a weed, really, in a sense,

0:48:470:48:50

so do not go into the garden and just eat it.

0:48:500:48:52

This has been bred, obviously, to eat.

0:48:520:48:54

Yeah, this is a hybrid one,

0:48:540:48:55

and the berries on these ARE edible,

0:48:550:48:57

but they have to be ripe first.

0:48:570:48:59

So don't eat them green, either.

0:48:590:49:00

Once they lose their shine a little bit, that's when they're ripe,

0:49:000:49:03

and then brilliant in sort of pies, tarts, jams, that sort of stuff.

0:49:030:49:08

Fantastic.

0:49:080:49:09

South America says to me potatoes -

0:49:180:49:20

but obviously there's a whole lot more.

0:49:200:49:22

-Yeah.

-Squashes?

0:49:220:49:23

Yeah, shark fin melon, different species of squash,

0:49:230:49:27

yeah, loads of different stuff, lots of tuberous roots,

0:49:270:49:30

-cannas, yacon.

-Cannas, you know, most people would think,

0:49:300:49:33

a plant, we grow it in a border, but you can eat the tubers, can't you?

0:49:330:49:36

-Yeah, eat the tuberous roots of those.

-And down here?

0:49:360:49:38

This is oca. so for me, this is a plant that really summarises

0:49:380:49:41

everything we're trying to do.

0:49:410:49:42

It's slightly unusual,

0:49:420:49:44

people won't have heard of it,

0:49:440:49:45

but it's something that could have a good stab

0:49:450:49:48

at growing at home.

0:49:480:49:49

Yeah, it's a tiny little, sort of like a tuber, isn't it?

0:49:490:49:51

Yeah, sort of a stem tuber,

0:49:510:49:54

forms sort of big swollen roots,

0:49:540:49:57

kind of pinky reds, creamy colours.

0:49:570:49:59

A really versatile crop, as well, in the kitchen.

0:49:590:50:02

In South America, where they come from,

0:50:020:50:04

these rival potato in terms of importance as a staple crop,

0:50:040:50:08

and they can do here as well,

0:50:080:50:10

with a little bit of breeding work on them.

0:50:100:50:11

Yeah, I've eaten them and they were an awful lot better

0:50:110:50:14

once I put a bit of garlic butter on them, you know?

0:50:140:50:16

But actually...

0:50:160:50:17

front of a border, inter-planted,

0:50:170:50:19

-they're a lovely little plant, aren't they?

-Yeah.

0:50:190:50:21

Propagation wise, how are you going to do these for next year?

0:50:210:50:24

So, these you just save back a few tubers when you dig them up.

0:50:240:50:27

Store them somewhere sort of cool, frost free,

0:50:270:50:30

and then just pot them up and start them into growth again

0:50:300:50:33

next March time, something like that.

0:50:330:50:35

So you start them inside and then bring them out,

0:50:350:50:36

-and plant them out?

-Yeah, they're a tender plant,

0:50:360:50:39

so need protecting from the frost early in the season.

0:50:390:50:41

The Asian continent is incredible, isn't it?

0:50:490:50:52

It's definitely, in terms of range of plants, the most diverse area.

0:50:520:50:55

I've just gone and bought this plant,

0:50:550:50:57

and these I find absolutely fascinating.

0:50:570:50:59

It's an Egyptian onion.

0:50:590:51:01

Yes, or otherwise known as a walking onion.

0:51:010:51:03

One of the more unusual plants in the garden.

0:51:030:51:06

It forms these sort of tiny bulbils

0:51:060:51:08

on the top of the stems,

0:51:080:51:09

that then fall over, touch the ground,

0:51:090:51:11

take root and then begin to march their way across the garden.

0:51:110:51:14

That, for me, is just absolutely fantastic.

0:51:140:51:16

This is one part of the garden where we're really pushing our luck

0:51:220:51:25

with what we can do, it's highly experimental.

0:51:250:51:28

In theory, we shouldn't be able to grow these things in Essex.

0:51:280:51:31

So you've actually got soya beans in here, yeah?

0:51:310:51:33

There are a few in there, where they've flowered,

0:51:330:51:35

and just the beans starting to form.

0:51:350:51:37

So, hopefully, if we have a decent summer,

0:51:370:51:39

these might make it through to harvest, I'd be well chuffed.

0:51:390:51:41

Do you know what, we shouldn't forget you're growing this

0:51:410:51:44

on a hillside in the driest part of the country.

0:51:440:51:47

So if you can have a go, people at home should have half a chance,

0:51:470:51:50

-shouldn't they?

-Definitely, that's what we're trying to do,

0:51:500:51:53

is inspire people to go away and do a bit of grow your own.

0:51:530:51:55

Well, I tell you what, you are definitely doing that.

0:51:550:51:57

Thank you.

0:51:570:51:58

I've had a really wonderful day,

0:52:060:52:08

and this garden is absolutely packed full of ideas...

0:52:080:52:11

..but it makes you realise that ultimately what we eat

0:52:120:52:15

and what we put on our tables is driven by our supermarkets,

0:52:150:52:18

and that there proves that there is so much out there

0:52:180:52:21

that we can grow that's edible -

0:52:210:52:23

and if you grow your own,

0:52:230:52:25

why not just push it a little bit more?

0:52:250:52:27

It could be that it's something exotic

0:52:400:52:44

that inspires you to grow vegetables,

0:52:440:52:45

it could be, as largely is the case with myself,

0:52:450:52:47

that you just try and grow really good ordinary veg

0:52:470:52:51

that are as delicious as possible, it doesn't matter.

0:52:510:52:54

What matters is that you give it a go.

0:52:540:52:57

Try and grow something you could take into the kitchen and enjoy,

0:52:570:53:02

whatever that might be...

0:53:020:53:04

..and if you think you haven't got any room for vegetables,

0:53:080:53:11

you can grow them in containers.

0:53:110:53:12

I sowed three containers here about five weeks ago.

0:53:120:53:15

One of carrots, another of a mixture called mesclun,

0:53:150:53:18

and the other of a combination of red and green salad bowl.

0:53:180:53:23

The carrots need thinning,

0:53:230:53:24

the mesclun has got a little bit of flea beetle action,

0:53:240:53:27

those round holes you get,

0:53:270:53:28

but perfectly edible -

0:53:280:53:30

and the germination on the lettuce is a little bit thin,

0:53:300:53:34

but that's the reality of growing vegetables.

0:53:340:53:36

It's never perfect.

0:53:360:53:38

But it's ALWAYS a good thing to do.

0:53:380:53:40

Now, these need thinning, simply by pulling them out.

0:53:400:53:44

When you thin carrots,

0:53:440:53:45

there is always a danger of attracting carrot fly,

0:53:450:53:49

because they can smell from up to half a mile away -

0:53:490:53:51

but at this time of year,

0:53:510:53:52

the cycle of the fly means that it's not too much of a problem.

0:53:520:53:56

So, we're just at random gently pulling out the roots,

0:53:570:54:00

so that those that remain will grow bigger.

0:54:000:54:03

Well, this is a small job,

0:54:040:54:07

but a good one -

0:54:070:54:08

and here are some more for this weekend.

0:54:080:54:10

If you grow rhododendrons, azaleas or camellias in pots,

0:54:210:54:25

it's not uncommon for the buds to fall off before they open in spring,

0:54:250:54:29

and that is because the plants are too dry now.

0:54:290:54:32

So, give them a good soak using rainwater...

0:54:330:54:36

..now, and every week for the next six to eight weeks,

0:54:370:54:41

and this will ensure good flowering next spring.

0:54:410:54:44

As summer fruiting raspberries are coming to an end,

0:54:490:54:51

autumn fruiting ones are really coming into their own...

0:54:510:54:54

but the plants can sprawl all over the place.

0:54:540:54:57

So support them temporarily, using canes and string,

0:54:580:55:02

and this will tidy them up and make them much easier to pick.

0:55:020:55:05

If you sow spinach seed now,

0:55:090:55:12

it will germinate very quickly,

0:55:120:55:14

and give you a harvest from late autumn,

0:55:140:55:16

right through the winter,

0:55:160:55:18

into next spring.

0:55:180:55:19

I sow my seed in drills,

0:55:200:55:21

and just cover them lightly over with a rake.

0:55:210:55:25

If it's very dry, I will, of course, water them.

0:55:250:55:28

I planted this banana,

0:55:400:55:42

this is the Ensete ventricosum,

0:55:420:55:44

in a slightly odd place this year.

0:55:440:55:48

It can't be properly enjoyed from the main drag in the Jewel garden,

0:55:480:55:51

but you come round the corner and here it is, it's very resplendent,

0:55:510:55:54

and all you have to do is just prune off any of the more ragged branches.

0:55:540:55:59

Get a knife, it cuts very easily...

0:55:590:56:01

and it tidies it up -

0:56:010:56:03

and it's enjoyed our summer weather.

0:56:030:56:06

It's had enough sun, it's had enough water, I haven't watered it once -

0:56:060:56:10

and even if for us humans

0:56:100:56:12

it hasn't felt like the most brilliant of summers,

0:56:120:56:15

obviously, in banana terms,

0:56:150:56:16

it hasn't done badly at all -

0:56:160:56:18

and until we get frost, this will be absolutely fine.

0:56:180:56:21

However, let's see what we've got in store for us

0:56:210:56:24

with the weather in our gardens this weekend.

0:56:240:56:27

Come along. Come on, now.

0:57:060:57:08

Come on.

0:57:090:57:10

Come along, dogs.

0:57:120:57:14

Come on, there's a good girl, do you want to come up? No?

0:57:140:57:17

Well, that's it for today.

0:57:180:57:20

Don't forget, it is bank holiday weekend,

0:57:200:57:23

our last break before Christmas,

0:57:230:57:25

and it's still summer!

0:57:250:57:27

So get outside and enjoy yourself in the garden,

0:57:270:57:31

whatever that means for you -

0:57:310:57:34

and I'll see you back here at Longmeadow

0:57:340:57:36

at the same time next week.

0:57:360:57:37

Till then, bye-bye.

0:57:370:57:39

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