0:00:06 > 0:00:07Ow!
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and welcome to my least favourite job of the year.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20This is a lovely bramble called Rubus tibetianus.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24But it's about as prickly as a plant knows how to be.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26And also, wherever it touches the ground
0:00:26 > 0:00:28it layers itself and makes new plants.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30And very quickly, this can become a thicket.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34So it must be cut right back to let the light in
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and then these rich, new flowers can come through.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And I tell you what, a day like today doesn't feel like spring,
0:00:40 > 0:00:41it feels like summer.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47On tonight's programme...
0:00:47 > 0:00:52We join Frances Tophill for the last time in Barbados,
0:00:52 > 0:00:55where she visits a very special tropical garden.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01And we meet Chris Baines,
0:01:01 > 0:01:07who has changed a whole generation's approach to how we treat and value
0:01:07 > 0:01:08the wildlife in our gardens.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24I mentioned a few weeks ago
0:01:24 > 0:01:28that I was planning big changes here in the orchard.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32What I'm going to do is make a soft fruit garden
0:01:32 > 0:01:36in the middle of the orchard, so we have layers of fruit.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39But there's a lot of grass to remove
0:01:39 > 0:01:41before we can even think of planting.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44And I have, in the past,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48removed turfs with this,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50which is my grandfather's turf lifter.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52And I know he used to use it, because it's his,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54it's got his initials on it.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56MMW, Matthew Montagu Wyatt.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01And the way it worked was to cut along a line with a spade.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07And then cut out slabs where you wanted the turf to go.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And then you got your turf lifter,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12and you put it in under like that,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15pushed down and slide it along.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And you have a turf.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23And you do that over all the area you need to cover.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26And you'll end up sore, exhausted
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and glad you don't have to do it again.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32However, I'm going to cheat.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33I'm going to use a machine.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42This is a turf cutter.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44You can hire them from most hire shops.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47They're not expensive, and they do a good job.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51And they certainly take an awful lot of the sweat and graft
0:02:51 > 0:02:53out of clearing an area like this.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And it doesn't matter if you're growing soft fruit,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58flowers, vegetables -
0:02:58 > 0:03:00if you've got grass and you want to grow plants,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03you've got to remove that grass before you can prepare the soil.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09And this works very simply. It's got four wheels
0:03:09 > 0:03:13and it's got a blade underneath it that just simply oscillates
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and goes underneath the turf,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17cuts it all the way along.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And then when you've finished, you can just gather it up.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Pretty good, eh?
0:03:27 > 0:03:31That is a lot easier than using grandpa's turfing spade.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36There's going to be an awful lot of barrel loads of turf,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39but none of it will be wasted.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Because I'll make a turf stack.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Now, a turf stack is made by taking individual turfs
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and stacking them grass to grass.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Leave it for six months to a year.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56And then if you slice down through it rather than across,
0:03:56 > 0:03:57you have the roots of the turf,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and the grass itself have all biodegraded,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04and what you get is an incredibly rich, crumbly loam.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Loam, really, is any soil that is filled with organic material,
0:04:08 > 0:04:09which this will be.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Brilliant for adding to potting compost,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14using to enrich a border,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18or in a big pot to give some beef to plants.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Invaluable. So don't waste the turf.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Well, this is exciting.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26And a dramatic new development here at Longmeadow.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28But I guess not that unusual.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32People are and have been growing soft fruit in allotments
0:04:32 > 0:04:34and gardens all over the land for centuries.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39But Frances Tophill spent her winter doing something
0:04:39 > 0:04:41that was distinctly unusual.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Because she was working in a botanic garden in Barbados,
0:04:46 > 0:04:47lucky thing.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48And this week, we join her
0:04:48 > 0:04:52as she sets out to visit a rather extraordinary garden.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02At just under 300 square miles, Barbados is a tiny island.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07It's one of the jewels of the Caribbean.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12With its perfect, tropical climate,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15it's home to some stunning tropical plants
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and some very special tropical gardens.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I've been here in Barbados for a while now,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and I'm getting to know the island and the people
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and everyone is so friendly.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30But the one thing I keep hearing is,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32"You must visit this amazing garden."
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Apparently, it's magical.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36So here I am, and I'm very excited.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50This awesome garden has been created in a 100 foot deep crater,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54or sinkhole, that was once described rather cruelly
0:05:54 > 0:05:57as a useless piece of land where nothing would grow.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Wow.
0:06:04 > 0:06:05It's just so big!
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Look at the height of those palms!
0:06:09 > 0:06:12All these orchids, you couldn't hope to get these in your house.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15And here they're just growing outside.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16It's really impressive.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Apart from rubbish,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27the only thing here were these incredible royal palms.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Barbadian Anthony Hunt ignored local sentiment, saw the potential,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37bought the land and created a paradise.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44So Anthony, when you decided to take on the challenge,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47how did you kind of go about creating the garden that you wanted?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Well, the first thing I had to do, of course, was build the steps.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Because when we had the steps finished,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56once we did that then you could bring all the garbage out.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58And the same time bring down the compost,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00all the plants, all the pots.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02And really all the big plants that we needed
0:07:02 > 0:07:05to use for the landscaping. Plus the statues.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17So, in terms of your planting design,
0:07:17 > 0:07:18how would you say you approached that?
0:07:18 > 0:07:23I prefer a lot of foliage for this garden because of the shade.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Because a lot of foliage would give it immense colour in the shade.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30This plant is an Acalypha,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and we brought that in from Thailand.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36And that whole area was a mass of shrubs.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37And we took them all out.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And as you can see, there's a seating area in there now.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Anthony also has a novel way of using pots
0:07:43 > 0:07:46to make the most of the warm Bajan climate.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47We have these big dishes,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49because you can instantly move them back to the nursery,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52or move them to another area where it's sunny.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54We can see the Spathoglottis.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Right now, full sun there.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58But if the sun moves off them,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01then maybe we'll put Anthuriums there.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03And then when you see the Anthuriums,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05- oh, they're beginning to burn, then you move them.- OK.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I have a huge collection of Bromeliads,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and I can march them around without any difficulty at all.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Do they like sun or shade?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15- Some like sun, some like shade.- OK!
0:08:15 > 0:08:17But you can just march them around.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19But, because they have a really stiff leaf,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21you have to be really careful.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Because if you take one out of deep shade
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and then you move it into direct sun,
0:08:25 > 0:08:26you can have burning.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28So it's knowing your plants.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And knowing your garden.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Knowing the plants, knowing the garden,
0:08:32 > 0:08:33and know where it's come from.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Anthony is constantly tweaking and refreshing the plants in his garden,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42and grows many of them himself.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45He uses one method, called air layering,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49that encourages roots to grow from the stem of an existing plant.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52So first thing you do is tear off the leaves like this.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Get them off.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00And about one inch, you just take a knife or a secateurs,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- you take the skin off all the way around, OK?- OK.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07And then, on this piece that you've got,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09where there's no bark,
0:09:09 > 0:09:10you put rooting powder.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14- Now, this is a hard wood cutting. - Yeah.- So I use for hard wood.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Once the flesh of the stem is exposed, the area is wrapped
0:09:18 > 0:09:22in damp compost and covered with foil to keep it moist.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24When the new roots have developed,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28the stem is cut below these new roots, creating a new plant.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30While the mother plant continues to flourish.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33It's a simple but effective technique
0:09:33 > 0:09:36that can be used in the UK, mainly on shrubs.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39This is one that's been air layered about six weeks ago,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and we have a new plant to put anywhere else in the garden.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I just want to say as well,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48six weeks in Barbados is not six weeks in the UK.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50I doubt very much you'd have roots like this after six weeks.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54The answer really is to, when you come on holiday,
0:09:54 > 0:09:55you want to air layer your plants.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Bring them on holiday for two months to Barbados.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00SHE LAUGHS
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The great thing about this garden is it's full of these little intimate,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17smaller spaces that force you to stop and take in the views.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20And it's a really great design tool for anyone with a big garden.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23But if you had a small, urban plot like this,
0:10:23 > 0:10:24that might be a house next to you.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27And he's put these huge bananas in.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Anything that's big can make the whole space
0:10:29 > 0:10:33feel enclosed and really, really intimate.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37The thing about this garden that's so noticeable is that it's
0:10:37 > 0:10:39absolutely crammed full of plants.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42If you weren't careful, you could very easily walk around without ever
0:10:42 > 0:10:44looking up, just looking at all the different things.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And crucially, all those plants are really foliage-driven,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51just a few little accents of small, incidental flowers.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54But then you get down to the very bottom of the sinkhole here
0:10:54 > 0:10:55and it's a big, open space,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58and it gives you a real chance for the first time
0:10:58 > 0:11:01to take in that amazing view and that steep slope.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13What does it feel like, that this is your garden?
0:11:13 > 0:11:14It's just an incredible feeling.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Every morning to wake up on site, overlooking the garden.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I just can't wait to get in the garden
0:11:20 > 0:11:24with the cool morning air and just enjoy.
0:11:38 > 0:11:44It is interesting how often that an unlikely location
0:11:44 > 0:11:46brings out the creativity in gardeners.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50You do find that you get these stunning gardens
0:11:50 > 0:11:54in sites that have been written off by an awful lot of people.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56But lovely to see it.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01Now, going from the exotic to the ordinary, but sometimes sublime.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Because it's potato-planting time.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06And anybody who grows any veg at all, sooner or later,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09is going to grow some spuds.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12But they do take up an awful lot of room,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and if you haven't got an allotment or a garden big enough
0:12:15 > 0:12:20to give over to rows of potatoes, you may be put off.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21But don't be.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Because you can grow potatoes very successfully in a bag.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Now, it could be a bin bag.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It could be an old shopping bag.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33But you can buy special potato-growing bags.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36And actually, these are very good.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Because they're strong
0:12:37 > 0:12:41and they've got holes in the bottom for drainage.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43And you can reuse them.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46And they just do the job very nicely indeed.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51You can buy a peat-free potting compost,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and that be fine and they'll grow perfectly well.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I'm actually adding a little bit of home-made compost.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02That's going to get them going to a good start.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Right.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05And fill it half full.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Now, logic says that a bag that size
0:13:12 > 0:13:15would need no more than one seed potato.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Because when you're planting them out in the ground,
0:13:18 > 0:13:19you would space them 18 inches,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22sometimes two foot apart, if they're main crop.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27But it has been found that if you crowd them in a bag,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29you actually get a better crop.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32So I'm going to put three in a bag that size.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Now, this is a variety called Orla,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and they'll be ready to harvest about the beginning of July.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39And you can see, there's a little eye there.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44And that's the shoot that's going to produce the foliage.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47If you've got three or four, rub the extras off.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49You only need one.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Pop them in with the eye sticking up.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55And then cover them over with more compost.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02And then, when the foliage reaches the top of the bag,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06you can earth it up by covering it with more compost.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09And that will encourage better tuber formation
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and also stop any risk of them getting green.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Because where the tubers see the light,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16they turn green and then they're poisonous and no good.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19So you've got to keep them covered with soil.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20You don't need to put that anywhere warm.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22You don't need to water it at this stage,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25only water it when you start to see the growth.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28That's it. Growing potatoes is easy.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32And you'll be amazed at how delicious and satisfying
0:14:32 > 0:14:36that crop of new potatoes in July is going to be.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Now, all of us garden presenters
0:14:41 > 0:14:45have been putting forward the argument for the one plant,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47the Golden Jubilee plant,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51that has had the most impact on the way that we garden and look at our
0:14:51 > 0:14:53gardens over the last 50 years.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58And this week, it's the chance for Mark Lane to put forward his case.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Echinacea has undergone an explosion in popularity
0:15:05 > 0:15:08in the last 15 to 20 years.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11It was brought over in the 18th century as a herbal remedy
0:15:11 > 0:15:14from North America, and now we use it to extend the season
0:15:14 > 0:15:18from June all the way through into autumn.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21And there are wonderful cultivars, all in different colours.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24And also different shapes and forms.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29The Greek word for Echinacea is actually echinos,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31which means hedgehog.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32And it looks just like that,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36especially when it's covered in frost through the winter months.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40My favourite is Echinacea pallida.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42It's absolutely beautiful and sublime,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and the petals are actually really elongated
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and just droop down from the central cone.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50And it just looks wonderful.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56Its impact on the naturalistic, prairie style of planting
0:15:56 > 0:15:59is why Echinacea is my Golden Jubilee plant.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07When you've heard all ten proposals,
0:16:07 > 0:16:13you'll have a chance to vote on your Golden Jubilee impact plant.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17And then we'll announce the result at Gardeners' World Live in June.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19And we'll be telling you how to that.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Now, here at Longmeadow, we've been cutting back with a vengeance.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26The grass borders have had their annual shear.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27But in the Jewel Garden,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30I've cut back the purple hazels,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32that's let in a lot more light already.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38And you can see new, fresh growth almost by the day.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Which makes it the perfect moment
0:16:40 > 0:16:43to lift and divide herbaceous perennials.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Herbaceous perennials, as the name implies,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51die right back in winter
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and then start to grow very vigorously in spring.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58This is a group of Iris sibirica,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01a lovely Iris with small,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03intense blue flowers.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09And the point about doing it at this time of year is that the roots
0:17:09 > 0:17:11are really being vigorous.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15So that if you dig them up quickly and replant,
0:17:15 > 0:17:16those roots want to grow.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19They want to get out into new conditions.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23And so, instead of checking them, in many ways it stimulates growth.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And you can see there,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30good, healthy plant, and because it will grow outwards,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32that will have renewed vigour.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Now, I do have some Iris in here.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I've got a clump growing in there
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and another one there.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48So I want to bulk it out.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50And the ideal place would be right here.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I want to fill around the roots as well as possible.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10And then give it a good soak.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13It needs moisture, particularly if it's had a shock,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15which digging it up will certainly give it.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21But also, it washes the soil in around those small roots.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And it's a really good way of making sure
0:18:23 > 0:18:25there's good contact between the feeding roots
0:18:25 > 0:18:26and the soil around it.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31What we're trying to do at this time of year
0:18:31 > 0:18:34is build the garden up so that it performs at a crescendo.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35Now, here in the Jewel Garden,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38that's going to be August, September time.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42And one of the aspects of it that I love around that time of year
0:18:42 > 0:18:46is that it is filled with glorious butterflies.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51And the growth of appreciating and valuing and encouraging wildlife
0:18:51 > 0:18:56in our gardens can be put down largely to the work of one man.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02Chris Baines, who pioneered the idea of wildlife gardening
0:19:02 > 0:19:04in the 1970s and '80s.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06And we went along to meet him.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16I grew up in Sheffield, in a family that was always out,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19always walking in the countryside, always in the garden.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22So I had a great love of nature from the very beginning.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28But I also saw most of my childhood landscape built over.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30It was, you know, the overspill area for the city.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34So the quarry pond I used to fish for newts in went,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36the hay field across the road went.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And that, I think, coloured my life quite a lot, with hindsight.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45And through the '70s, there was a big, growing awareness
0:19:45 > 0:19:49that the countryside was not the same place that had been
0:19:49 > 0:19:5010, 15 years before.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53So the whole nature conservation movement
0:19:53 > 0:19:56was beginning to build up steam.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00But it was completely preoccupied with agriculture.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The agricultural revolution, the loss of hedgerows.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05But nobody in the conservation movement
0:20:05 > 0:20:08really was looking at towns and cities.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13And the idea that there could be anything worth saving
0:20:13 > 0:20:17in the middle of towns never crossed the conservationists' mind.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22I'd also been working in problem housing areas
0:20:22 > 0:20:24in Brixton and Toxteth and Deptford.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28And what I'd been doing was working with kids, particularly.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Getting them involved in growing things.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34And it became very obvious that, actually,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37you didn't need to see otters and golden eagles.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40If you could watch a ladybird walking up a plant stem,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43that was intriguing enough on the doorstep.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46And I remember at the end of the Brixton riots in '81,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50when everything was trashed and burnt out,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54nobody had touched the sunflowers on the Tulse Hill nature garden.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Because the kids had planted them with me.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59And everybody at that estate knew that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03So I was really convinced that, actually,
0:21:03 > 0:21:08quite modest nature conservation where people lived and worked
0:21:08 > 0:21:10had a real role to play.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18I trained in horticulture in the 1960s,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20and also I spent three years at university
0:21:20 > 0:21:22being taught how to kill everything.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24And wildlife in the garden was either a pest,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26a disease or a weed.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28And the idea that you would encourage it was just...
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Nobody had really thought about it or talked about it.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34But I think the big breakthrough came when,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37for some reason, Gardeners' World invited me to do
0:21:37 > 0:21:42a kind of makeover of a raw garden on a housing estate in Peterborough.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45And I had the choice of what I did with this garden.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And halfway through the makeover, Peter Seabrook,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51who was presenting the programme then, said...
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Chris, what's your sort of master plan here?
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Well, I've designed what I've called a rich habitat garden.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59It's a garden to sit in, hopefully, rather than to slave away in.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02And I've also designed it, hopefully, to be attractive
0:22:02 > 0:22:06to lots of wildlife, to birds and butterflies and so on.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And he just looked at me with one of those looks, and he said,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13"And you really think gardeners are going to be interested in that?"
0:22:13 > 0:22:14And clearly they were,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19because I produced a leaflet to go with my rich habitat garden,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and they were inundated with requests for copies.
0:22:22 > 0:22:2512,000 people wrote in for a copy in the first two or three days.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29By the middle of the '80s,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31I really felt that there was
0:22:31 > 0:22:34a message that needed to be communicated there.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36And three things came together.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38First of all, I decided that,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41if I was going to ever reach the horticultural establishment,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Chelsea Flower Show was the place to go.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46So I created the very first wildlife garden
0:22:46 > 0:22:48at Chelsea Flower Show in '85.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And the RHS was so confused by that, that on the medal,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56it's inscribed to JC Baines for his "wildfire garden".
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Because they clearly couldn't believe anybody would be
0:22:59 > 0:23:01crazy enough to have wildlife and garden in the same sentence.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07The public loved it. Absolutely loved the garden.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Full of primroses and violets and so on.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12The second thing was that I moved house
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and decided that actually filming the change in the garden
0:23:16 > 0:23:19over a year would be a great thing to do.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And I made a programme called Bluetits And Bumblebees,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25which took a very plain and ordinary garden and over the space
0:23:25 > 0:23:29of 12 months put in a pond, grew the flowers and the wildlife came.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31And the third thing was that I wrote a book,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33How To Make A Wildlife Garden,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35because it was obvious that people wanted help,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38they needed lists of plants, they needed to know what to do.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And those three things really made a difference.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I never felt that there was a need for a complete change.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48What I've always wanted
0:23:48 > 0:23:51is for ordinary people with ordinary gardens
0:23:51 > 0:23:53to just tweak things a bit.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Not to turn them all into nature reserves, but rather to say,
0:23:56 > 0:23:57"Well actually, yeah,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00"my little garden could make a bit of a difference
0:24:00 > 0:24:03"to the wider landscape, and give me more pleasure."
0:24:04 > 0:24:07And now, if you go into any garden centre,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11you're confronted by just mountains of bird food
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and bird feeders and nest boxes.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18So there's been a complete revolution in many ways.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And from a conservation point of view,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25it's very clear that all of those gardeners making
0:24:25 > 0:24:28a little bit of difference in their own patch
0:24:28 > 0:24:32has been the salvation of frogs and dragonflies and goldfinches
0:24:32 > 0:24:34and a whole range of species.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And that gives me a great buzz, even now.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48Well, Chris has inspired and influenced a whole generation
0:24:48 > 0:24:53to value wildlife and see it as an important part of the garden.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58However, sometimes wildlife can be a little bit of a challenge.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Here in a tulip bed, I noticed yesterday a rabbit hole.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03So I filled it in.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Came out this morning, and the little blighter
0:25:06 > 0:25:09has dug in exactly the same place.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I think even the patience of the Sainted Chris Baines
0:25:12 > 0:25:15might be stretched by that rabbit.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Come on.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Well, the weather's been all over the shop today.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23We have blazing sunshine, it's been quite chilly.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26So let's see what the weather is going to be like for you
0:25:26 > 0:25:27over the next couple of days.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Well, at this time of year,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10sometimes it's hard to know where to begin in the garden.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13So here are three jobs you can focus on.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Epimediums are among the most elegant of all spring flowers.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29But this can be hidden by last year's foliage.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34So trace the delicate stems of the foliage right back to the ground
0:27:34 > 0:27:36and cut them off.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40This will reveal the flowers in all their graceful glory.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45If you grow gooseberries and leave them unpruned,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47they can become a spiny tangle.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50So cut away the centre of the bush,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53looking to create an open goblet shape.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55This will get more light to the fruit.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59It will improve ventilation, which will avoid mildew.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03And also be much less likely to suffer from gooseberry sawfly.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08There's a wide choice of herbaceous perennial
0:28:08 > 0:28:10available in garden centres at the moment.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14But many of them are in three-inch pots, and very small.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It's quite early to be planting out.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18However if you buy them now,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22pot them on in a bit of potting compost, put them to one side,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and in a month's time, they'll be bigger, stronger,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29healthy plants and you will have saved yourself a lot of money.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43This is the turf stack I was telling you about.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47With the turfs that the turf cutter has lifted,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49we have them grass side there.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53Place it down so it's grass on grass.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55This will build up. And in six months' time,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58will have rotted down and make a lovely loam.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Well, we'll have to wait for that.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03And also wait for our next programme,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05because that's it for today.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07But I'll see you back here at Longmeadow next time.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08Till then, bye-bye.