0:00:03 > 0:00:07- CHRISTINE WALKDEN:- Britain has some of the finest gardens anywhere in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11For me, it's about getting in amongst the wonderful plants that
0:00:11 > 0:00:12flourish in this country
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and sharing the passion of the people who tend them.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20However, there is another way to enjoy a garden.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27And that's to get up above it.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31I love ballooning,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35because you get to see the world below in a whole new light.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38From up here, you get a real sense of how the garden
0:00:38 > 0:00:40sits in the landscape.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43How the terrain and the climate has shaped it.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47And I want you to share that experience with me.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Today, we're firing up the burners to get a bird's eye view
0:01:11 > 0:01:15of the glorious countryside of one of England's largest shires.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22We're above Hampshire.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25It's an enormous county.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30It's also one of the warmest and the sunniest in the country.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Roughly halfway between the east and the west ends of England's south
0:01:35 > 0:01:38coast, Hampshire's countryside has something for everyone.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43The landscape is just like a tapestry.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49From open shoreline to ancient forests, rolling hills
0:01:49 > 0:01:51and river valleys.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55It's staggeringly beautiful.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Yet let's not forget what I'm up here for.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02I'm looking at gardens, and Hampshire's got some real belters.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Today I'll be sampling perfumed perfection.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12The scent will knock your socks off.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14One, two, three - hoist away!
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Trying my hand at underwater weeding.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19- Don't you come near me, mate! - HE LAUGHS
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And saying thank you for a lifetime's dedication to gardening.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26He who would have beautiful roses in his garden
0:02:26 > 0:02:27must have beautiful roses...
0:02:27 > 0:02:29- Roses in his heart. - There you go.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- Well, that's wonderful. wonderful. - THEY CHEER
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Today I'm visiting Hampshire's picturesque Test Valley
0:02:40 > 0:02:43to explore one of the county's most important rose gardens.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50This is so exciting. I'm above Mottisfont Abbey.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51It's unbelievable.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Converted from a medieval priory, this grand Georgian country house
0:02:58 > 0:03:01is set in 34 acres of beautiful riverside gardens.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This National Trust-run estate attracts a whopping
0:03:06 > 0:03:08quarter of a million visitors each year,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12who flock here to see arguably the most famous rose garden in Britain.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18And what could be the country's largest living trees.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Those flipping plane trees!
0:03:21 > 0:03:23God, they look big from down there,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26but from up here, look at the vastness of them!
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Look at the walled garden. Oh, the colour!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Wow!
0:03:36 > 0:03:40You can see the pedestrian strands running through, those pathways,
0:03:40 > 0:03:45the enclosed areas, how the trees just melt into it.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46It's really exciting.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And I'm just itching to get down there and have a look.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00But where better to start than the jewel in Mottisfont's crown -
0:04:00 > 0:04:01its walled garden.
0:04:05 > 0:04:06Step in here in June
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and you'll plunge yourself into a sea of plump-petalled,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14blush-coloured, old-fashioned garden roses in full bloom.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17Look at that!
0:04:17 > 0:04:22You just salivate at the very sight of these things.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24This four-acre plot is full to bursting with
0:04:24 > 0:04:28over 700 varieties of wonderful heritage roses,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31which evoke the romance of bygone days
0:04:31 > 0:04:34and they're a feast for the senses.
0:04:34 > 0:04:41The blousiness, the gentleness and the scent will knock your socks off.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Mottisfont is home to Britain's National Collection of old roses,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50so the team here certainly has got its work cut out.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54David Stone has been Head Gardener for nearly four decades
0:04:54 > 0:04:56and is passionate about his work.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I think all gardeners have got a creative spirit.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03This is what gardening is all about -
0:05:03 > 0:05:05creating and developing beauty.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08One of the things I got from growing
0:05:08 > 0:05:11was this sense of the miracle of life.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15You know, you put a tiny dried-up little seed in the soil,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20water it, and in a few days or maybe a few weeks later,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22green leaves appear and then a stalk
0:05:22 > 0:05:24and then it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26It's absolutely amazing.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29After a lifetime's work, David will shortly hand over
0:05:29 > 0:05:33responsibility for Mottisfont's garden to a new guardian
0:05:33 > 0:05:35who will plant the seeds for another generation.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41But before he goes, I'm keen to hear all about his experiences here,
0:05:41 > 0:05:42over the years.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46David, it was roses that brought you here, wasn't it?
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Absolutely, yeah.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I mean, Mottisfont then was the only place you could go to actually have
0:05:52 > 0:05:55hands-on experience of working with these old roses,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58because, quite simply, they weren't grown anywhere else.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00So this was the one and only garden
0:06:00 > 0:06:03and it was my one and only opportunity to work with these roses.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05And what a lucky lad you are.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Where did your passion for roses come from?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12I guess, well, from boyhood really.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Um, my father, who worked in a shop,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19used to give me the rejects from the roses and I used to take them home
0:06:19 > 0:06:21and put them in a bucket and try to grow them.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24But one year, I had a success.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27A Peace rose that actually grew and survived
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and I planted it in a bucket with some dirt
0:06:29 > 0:06:30and, a few months later,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32it produced this wonderful bloom
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and I'd never seen anything so beautiful in all my life
0:06:35 > 0:06:37and I was hooked from there.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41- And it only takes one bloom. - Exactly.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43And it can influence your life forever.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Yeah, yeah.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47For me, it was three campanulas stuffed in the bath
0:06:47 > 0:06:50during Blackburn Wakes Week and they were blooming when I got home.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55David inherited the custodianship of the garden
0:06:55 > 0:06:57from Graham Stuart Thomas,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00one of the most important figures of 20th-century gardening.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05He created Mottisfont in the early 1970s
0:07:05 > 0:07:08to house his own collection of old-fashioned roses.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12At the time, these blooms were disappearing fast,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16replaced in popularity by the modern rose which could flower several
0:07:16 > 0:07:18times a year, not just once.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24But when David first started here in 1976,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26he was Graham's right-hand man.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- What was your relationship with him? - He was a perfectionist.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35He knew exactly what he wanted out of the Mottisfont garden
0:07:35 > 0:07:37and it was my job to understand that,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41to understand his planting ethos, to capture his vision
0:07:41 > 0:07:47and try to present him with the garden that he first desired.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50But, you know, he was quite terrifying.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Oh, he was. I was scared stiff of him as a young man.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55He was very passionate about his plants.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Very passionate about his garden, very demanding.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00He's known for that passion.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Not just roses, but other plants as well, wasn't he?
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Anything that grew in the ground, he loved.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08What do you think Graham passed to you?
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Knowledge, most of all.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Knowledge, not so much about the care of roses,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15cos I had to learn that myself,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19but knowledge about the history of roses, the various varieties,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22how they came about, that sort of thing.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Thanks to Graham Stuart Thomas's stunning planting
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and David's dedication to realising his vision,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Mottisfont changed our perception of the old-fashioned rose,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37reinventing it as a fashionable garden plant.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46For me, this is simply the most beautiful rose garden in Britain.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Now, you may think a rose is a rose is a rose.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54But you'd be wrong.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Garden roses come in all sorts of shapes and colours and sizes,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02but my favourite are the old-fashioned ones.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04An old garden rose is defined as any rose that
0:09:04 > 0:09:09existed before the introduction of the first modern rose in 1867.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13But what are the differences?
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Well, unlike the stiff modern rose,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18old-fashioned roses are rosette in shape.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Their blooms are blush-coloured, white, pink, red and purple,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27whereas the modern rose also comes in shades of yellow and orange.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Real old roses flower only once a year
0:09:29 > 0:09:34but the memory of their wonderful fragrance stays with you forever.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54In his four decades here, David Stone has helped make Mottisfont
0:09:54 > 0:09:57a world famous garden, a real gem.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00But now the heavy responsibility for maintaining it,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02along with the rest of the estate,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05is about to pass to a right whipper-snapper -
0:10:05 > 0:10:0724-year-old Jonny Bass.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12So, to ease the pressure of this daunting inheritance,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16I'm meeting him away from those treasured roses.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20So what's your background, Jonny?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23This is the only thing I've ever really wanted to do.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28I started when I was 14, in my local plant nursery,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30and carried on from there, really.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34What do you mean that it's what you wanted to do?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's just the only job I've ever envisioned doing.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Some people want to be a policeman,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41some people want to be Superman,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44I've wanted to be head gardener on a big country estate.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46And you're about to become that, aren't you?
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Yes, that's right.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Do you find it intimidating?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52You're not just taking on any old rose garden.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54This is internationally famous.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56You know, you think of Mottisfont Abbey
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and you think of excellence of these roses.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Are you scared?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02I'm a little bit nervous
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and I'm, yes, a little bit intimidated.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07But most of all, I just can't wait to get in and get going.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09And how are you going to move things forward?
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Well, I mean, there's always scope to increase our collection of roses.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The more rare varieties we can get, the better, in my opinion.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Do you have a favourite rose?
0:11:19 > 0:11:21It's so hard to pick one particular rose.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26But I think I would say Adelaide d'Orleans.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Absolutely lovely. Graceful, elegant and very, very beautiful.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Yes, very much so.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40Jonny's certainly got his work cut out for him here at Mottisfont.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Beyond the walls of the rose garden there are 30 more glorious
0:11:43 > 0:11:48acres of formal gardens, gently sweeping parkland,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52velvet lawns and ancient trees to look after.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Now, I'm never one to shy away from a bit of hard graft
0:11:57 > 0:11:59so when the lad asked me if I'd mind helping him
0:11:59 > 0:12:03with a spot of scything down the river, I jumped at the chance.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08OK, then. Come on. What's this about?
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Well, we're going to jump in and we're going to do a little
0:12:10 > 0:12:12bit of weed cutting.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15- It's going to be a great laugh. - For who?
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I'm looking forward to seeing you wielding a scythe.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Hey, I can wield a scythe.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23I don't know if I can wield a scythe in there though, mind.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24- Let's go for it, then. - We'll get these on.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26- I'm in for this. - And we'll jump in.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29Hey, are these meant for men?
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Us women have curves you know, and bulges.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36SHE LAUGHS
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Shall I give you a hand?
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- Come on - pull, pull me into them. - We'll do some hoisting. You ready?
0:12:42 > 0:12:46- One, two, three - hoist away! - SHE LAUGHS
0:12:46 > 0:12:49OK, we're nearly there. Look.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The things I do.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- Are we ready? - OK, let's give it a go.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00You got it? Excellent.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02You keep it low, don't you?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- Keep it low. - Yeah, and a nice sweeping action.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- A nice sweeping action. - Yeah, we'll have a...
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Have a quick go like that, you'll see it float up.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Hey, it worked. Look at that. Yeah, look.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Hey, no getting into this.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16- Don't you come near me, mate! - HE LAUGHS
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Else I'll get you! This is quite hard work, isn't it?
0:13:20 > 0:13:21It is a bit of hard work.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26And, you know, I'm surprised that it's part of your sort of remit.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So, you know, we tend to think of Mottisfont for its roses,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31but, you know, why are you actually doing this?
0:13:31 > 0:13:33What's it about?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Well, it's all about the management of the water systems here.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Clearing off some of the weed
0:13:37 > 0:13:40so that we can produce nice clear gravel beds
0:13:40 > 0:13:43for the spawning of the trout and the salmon.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46This stretch of water is a man-made branch of the Test,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49the world famous trout-fishing river.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53The monks who founded Mottisfont diverted the water here to improve
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and farm the land around the abbey.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59So when did the monks actually come here?
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Well, the priory was first built in 1201,
0:14:02 > 0:14:07so we've got well over 800 years of history here and for them,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11it was all about what they can get from the land and what they can use.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Monks were the great gardeners and farmers of the Middle Ages.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18They created kitchen gardens, vineyards
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and orchards to produce food, herbs and flower gardens to make drugs
0:14:22 > 0:14:26for their infirmaries, and would use the outdoor space for contemplation.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Pilgrims came from far and wide to visit the abbey and drink the clear
0:14:31 > 0:14:35waters of the natural chalk spring that bubbles up in the grounds.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And did the monks use it for making a little tipple?
0:14:41 > 0:14:44They most certainly did, yes, yeah.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46The cellarium on the bottom of the house
0:14:46 > 0:14:49was where they would sit in there and brew their beer.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53And what finer water could you use than natural spring water
0:14:53 > 0:14:54from a chalk stream?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- Absolutely - right on your doorstep. - That's it. Perfect.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59We're never going to finish it at this rate,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01so come on and then we can clear off.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02I think dry land beckons.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07The abbey was dissolved in the 16th century
0:15:07 > 0:15:10and Mottisfont became a private home, rebuilt and remodelled
0:15:10 > 0:15:12over the centuries by its owners.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20By the turn of the 19th century,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25the use of landscape as a feature of great gardens was fairly widespread.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29One of the best ways to appreciate that is by looking down from above.
0:15:30 > 0:15:36And what's exciting for me is I can see how the formal garden sits in
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and then blends off into the landscape.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The river just running around as a ribbon.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49And a classic example of blending landscape
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and formal garden is Chawton House,
0:15:52 > 0:15:5436 miles down the road from Mottisfont,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57and a regular haunt of Hampshire's most famous daughter.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Jane Austen did almost all of her mature writing here,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05the Hampshire home of her brother Edward.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09She lived with her mother and sister in a cottage in the grounds of this
0:16:09 > 0:16:13fine Elizabethan manor, set in parkland and walled gardens,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16designed and laid out in the 18th century.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20During this period in garden design, there was a fashion amongst
0:16:20 > 0:16:25the rich for remodelling estate parkland as 'natural' landscapes,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28which spread beyond the boundaries of the house and formal gardens.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Dr Stephen Bending is a senior lecturer in English
0:16:35 > 0:16:37at the University of Southampton,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and an aficionado of Austen's life and writings.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46These big park landscapes are created with their serpentine paths
0:16:46 > 0:16:49running through them, with their open spaces,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53are imagined as places which allow for a liberty of movement.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57And a language is often used of liberty, which is associated with
0:16:57 > 0:17:00these gardens, but it's a language often associated with men.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01It's also the case, though,
0:17:01 > 0:17:07that there are spaces which are imagined to be specifically for women
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and these are frequently enclosed, confined and so on.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13So there's a way in which kitchen gardens
0:17:13 > 0:17:18and flower gardens are thought of as the proper domain for women.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21The formal garden was considered as an extension to the house,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24so was a safe place for women to be.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26In Austen's day, unmarried young women
0:17:26 > 0:17:30and men weren't supposed to be left alone together.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34But a perfectly respectable stroll around the garden sometimes offered
0:17:34 > 0:17:37opportunities for a bit of a kiss and a cuddle
0:17:37 > 0:17:39that was lacking in the house.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Most of the proposal scenes in Austen's novels take place outside.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47But there was also something else beyond the confines
0:17:47 > 0:17:49of the walled garden.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50What we see in Austen, I think,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54is a recognition that women can move beyond those spaces.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57That sense of boundaries, of proper boundaries
0:17:57 > 0:18:01and of stepping beyond them, moving beyond the boundary is more
0:18:01 > 0:18:04dangerous for women, but also more exciting.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06One of Jane Austen's best-loved heroines is
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13a woman who is rather unconventional by the standards of the time.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16When she hears that her sister is ill,
0:18:16 > 0:18:17rather than wait for a carriage,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21rather than think that she should take a horse, starts to just walk
0:18:21 > 0:18:27across these open spaces to get to Netherfield, to get to her sister.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31"Crossing field after field, at a quick pace, jumping over stiles
0:18:31 > 0:18:34"and springing over puddles, with impatient activity,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37"and finding herself at last within view of the house."
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Now, once she gets there, the responses to the way in which
0:18:41 > 0:18:48she's moved through that landscape, how she has behaved, become important
0:18:48 > 0:18:51because, on the one hand, she's met with disapproval
0:18:51 > 0:18:57from the women at Netherfield, who are fashionable city women,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01who disapprove of her and say she's got muddy shoes,
0:19:01 > 0:19:06she's got muddy stockings, that this is not a decorous form of behaviour.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09On the other hand, the men, including Mr Darcy,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13who she'll finally marry, look at her and think she looks beautiful,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15she has a sparkle in her eyes,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18the exercise has done marvellous things to her complexion.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21There you go, ladies!
0:19:21 > 0:19:25A bit of colour in the cheeks can do wonders for your love life.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29The garden at Chawton was a great inspiration to Jane Austen
0:19:29 > 0:19:32and she loved walking in the woods there.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Trees play an important role at Mottisfont too.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Having nurtured 30 acres of ancient woodland,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43David is now handing over that responsibility,
0:19:43 > 0:19:48together with those precious roses, to his protege, Jonny Bass.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50David, Mottisfont's known for its roses,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53but there are other special areas aren't there, as well?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Oh, we've got some marvellous trees in and around the abbey grounds.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And when were they planted?
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Well, most of the trees, the major trees,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04were planted in the mid 18th century, I would have thought.
0:20:04 > 0:20:11- OK, and are they all as magnificent as this green cathedral? - Not quite.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13I mean, come on. I mean, look at that!
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- That's a tree and a half! - That is a tree and a half, isn't it?
0:20:17 > 0:20:22This was probably planted round about 1720, 1730
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and it's supposed to be the largest tree in the country,
0:20:25 > 0:20:26in the area covered by its branches,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30so when you're standing underneath here and looking up into that crown,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33you're standing underneath the largest living thing in the country.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- Oh, oh! - It's incredible, isn't it?
0:20:36 > 0:20:40It's... I mean, truly, truly amazing.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- And the stories it could tell.- Yeah.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46The gardens here at Mottisfont are magical.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It's no wonder David has chosen to spend
0:20:49 > 0:20:51so much of his working life here.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55As the head gardener, you know, everybody's got this idyllic
0:20:55 > 0:20:57impression that you've got this fantastic job,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00but there must be moments when you're both pulling your hair out.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01So where do you disappear to?
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Do you have a special spot, David, in the garden,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05that you disappear to?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Well, I did have a special place, until recently
0:21:08 > 0:21:12and that was down by the font, there was a lovely catalpa,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14an Indian bean tree with a bench underneath
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and when things got too hot for me in the rose garden,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I'd pop down there for five minutes
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and just chill out in the shade of the tree with the music of the water
0:21:24 > 0:21:26rippling over the cascade
0:21:26 > 0:21:28and that would just calm me down,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32restore me and I could get back into the business again.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36That catalpa blew down in the January storms.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I really did feel its loss.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Whenever you lose a tree, it's like losing a friend.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44That was like losing a special friend.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49You come into work one morning and there it is flat out on the ground.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51- Laid flat.- Yeah.- Dead.- Yeah.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52- Gone.- Yeah.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59That's one of the hardest things about being a gardener,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02the loss of plants you've nurtured and loved for years.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09But I wonder, how did that Indian bean tree get to an English country
0:22:09 > 0:22:11garden in the first place?
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Hampshire's got two vast expanses of green space.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Going into Sussex, the South Down National Park.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And to the west of the county is the deep green vastness
0:22:21 > 0:22:23of the New Forest.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26And sitting between the two,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30we've got what some people would call the perfect port.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Historians believe there's been a port at Portsmouth
0:22:34 > 0:22:36for around 2,500 years.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Duncan Redford is a naval historian with a particular
0:22:41 > 0:22:43interest in Portsmouth.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46The Romans recognised that Portsmouth Harbour was an ideal
0:22:46 > 0:22:49place for Saxon raiding parties
0:22:49 > 0:22:53and they built Portchester Castle to defend the area.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Once fortified, the area's natural geography allowed the port to
0:22:57 > 0:23:00come into its own as an ideal trading post.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Portsmouth Harbour is an excellent natural harbour.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08It's got a very narrow harbour mouth,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10which makes it easy to defend.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13It's got that really good anchorage just off shore, Spithead,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15where ships that are ready to be used
0:23:15 > 0:23:19can wait, be resupplied, can wait for the right wind, the right tide
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and then go off and do their business.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24It's also relatively sheltered.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26The Isle of Wight acts as a massive windbreak.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30So that means that the prevailing winds, when they come in,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34don't come thundering across Spithead, causing damage to ships.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35It's nice and sheltered.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38So it's the combination of all these different factors that make
0:23:38 > 0:23:43Portsmouth a good natural harbour and a good place for a port.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Today, Portsmouth is one of the UK's busiest container ports,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49specialising in fruit imports.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54In fact, 70% of the bananas eaten in this country come through here.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Over the years, Portsmouth's docks have seen plenty of comings
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and goings, of people and goods.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Bananas aren't the only exotic item to make landfall here.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Hundreds of species of plants have been brought to these
0:24:09 > 0:24:13shores by the intrepid plant collectors of bygone days,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16perhaps including David's beloved Indian bean tree.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21And one of them made his home here in Hampshire,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25and created the world famous Hillier's nursery and arboretum.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Look at that.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37Five miles from Mottisfont is another very spectacular garden,
0:24:37 > 0:24:43created by a legendary figure with phenomenal determination
0:24:43 > 0:24:44and it's down there.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56It was established in 1953
0:24:56 > 0:25:00by the distinguished plantsman Sir Harold Hillier,
0:25:00 > 0:25:05and covers 180 acres of undulating Hampshire countryside.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09There are over 42,000 species of hardy trees
0:25:09 > 0:25:12and shrubs from around the world, that grow here.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Look at the rhododendrons.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18In this one garden you'll find 12 national plant collections
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and over 500 champion trees.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And it's beautiful. Look at this. Look!
0:25:30 > 0:25:32And alongside the garden,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35lie the vast glasshouses of the Hillier nursery business.
0:25:36 > 0:25:43Look at that. Wow, look at the glass.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Sir Harold was a busy man.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49He not only created a world-famous garden, he also revolutionised the
0:25:49 > 0:25:53sale of plants to the great British public, introducing a mail-order
0:25:53 > 0:25:58service and opening some of the first garden centres in the country.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Production horticulture. Look at that. That is amazing.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09God, a sheet of glass. Look at it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Chances are you've got one of their plants in your garden.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24I've got to go and have a look. I've got to go and have a shufti.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I've come to meet Sir Harold's youngest son, Robert,
0:26:27 > 0:26:32to find out more about his dad and the history of this great garden.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34What was your dad like?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Oh, he was a lovely man. He was very, very genuine.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39How did it start and how did this site develop?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Well, I think, when he bought this place, which we were told was to be
0:26:42 > 0:26:46a nursery, or that's what we thought, he saw the potential of it
0:26:46 > 0:26:50as a collection of plants, as a home for plants and that's what
0:26:50 > 0:26:55he was passionate about most and that's what he wanted to do.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56And do you think, for him,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00it was pound notes or the plants that really motivated him?
0:27:00 > 0:27:04That's a very easy question to answer. It was always the plants.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09And although sometimes, when he'd got a very special plant
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and he knew a lord or a lady who wanted to buy it,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16I think the price was quite steep.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21- THEY LAUGH - Lovely.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24All the while Sir Harold was developing the land for the family's
0:27:24 > 0:27:26nursery business,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30he was also forever trying to find room for his own plant collection.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33He even dug up the tennis courts.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38This area, which was so hilly and slopey, when I came here,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40I was actually tobogganed down this hill.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Can you imagine this with all the trees? But Dad started here.
0:27:44 > 0:27:483.5-acre plot and he wanted to start planting
0:27:48 > 0:27:52the collection of trees and so this part of land, he thought,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55wouldn't be used commercially, so this is the right place to plant.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58But he knew he had to conserve them to save them and they'd be
0:27:58 > 0:28:02available as mother plants, you know, for seed and cuttings
0:28:02 > 0:28:04and so on, propagation generally.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Sir Harold's ambition was to create as great a collection of plants as
0:28:09 > 0:28:13he was able and, by the mid-1970s, he'd realised it.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18The garden covered 110 acres but it was too big a responsibility,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21so he handed it over to the Hampshire County Council.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24It's going from strength to strength
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and I'm sure Dad would have been very, very proud of it.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I think your dad would have been blown away by it.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35The garden's new managers have maintained Sir Harold's original
0:28:35 > 0:28:39vision, while creating new features like this double Centenary Border.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47The herbaceous border is a collection of perennials,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51planted closely together to create a dramatic effect through colour,
0:28:51 > 0:28:56scale or shape, and is a feature of many British gardens.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01This style of planting
0:29:01 > 0:29:04first became popular here in the Victorian period.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08But what really made them popular was the work of Gertrude Jekyll.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15She was one of the most influential designers of 20th-century British
0:29:15 > 0:29:16gardening.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21Her herbaceous planting typically featured a graduated colour palette.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27The Centenary Border here at Hillier's is the length of two
0:29:27 > 0:29:28cricket pitches.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Although the Hillier family may no longer own it,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39their connection with the garden remains strong.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Fran Clifton married into the family
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and has been head gardener here for the last 12 years.
0:29:48 > 0:29:49I'm joining her for a quick chat
0:29:49 > 0:29:52while she does a little bit of planting in the herbaceous border
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Hi, Fran, can I give you a hand?
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Oh, brilliant! Hi, Christine. Yeah! Grab a fork.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Great. So what are you planting here?
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Oh, I'm just popping a last few salvias in actually,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07just to complete the borders and fill the gaps.
0:30:07 > 0:30:08OK. Well, which one's this?
0:30:08 > 0:30:12This is Salvia leucantha, a lovely flowering one from Mexico actually,
0:30:12 > 0:30:13so great stuff.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Absolutely lovely blue flowers but it's got that white little tongue
0:30:16 > 0:30:19out, that always reminds me of kids who are going, "Uh, uh, uh, uh."
0:30:19 > 0:30:21- THEY LAUGH - I love it.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26Long-flowering salvias such as Salvia leucantha are popular garden
0:30:26 > 0:30:29plants in the summer herbaceous border.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Salvias are a relative of the herb, sage.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34These tall, flowering plants produce spikes of small,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37densely packed blooms, in shades of blue and violet.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42What's your role? What do you feel about this garden?
0:30:42 > 0:30:46What excites you about it all?
0:30:46 > 0:30:49Well, I've been coming in every morning for the last 20 years.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50It's pretty special.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52And seeing the things grow.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Just seeing it develop over the years.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56And how did you get into it?
0:30:56 > 0:30:59It was always my passion actually, from, right from an early age,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02as a teenager really, or a 10-year-old, really.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Wow. Tell me about that because I started when I was ten.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Oh, great stuff.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Well, a friend of mine had a nursery
0:31:08 > 0:31:11and I would always just help every Saturday, to just propagate plants
0:31:11 > 0:31:14and pot them on and look after them and water them and...
0:31:14 > 0:31:16And what was it that turned you on?
0:31:16 > 0:31:20It's being in the outdoors and enjoying that
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and also seeing things grow and develop and actually,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25people enjoying the outdoors as well.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29So it's doing something for other people, which they like, which is lovely.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Yeah. I mean it's a great joy.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34When it kicks in and it grabs you, it's got you forever.
0:31:34 > 0:31:35And it keeps going, doesn't it? Yes.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37It does.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39And would you water these in at all?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42They'll probably water them towards the end of the day,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44then when it gets a bit cooler as well.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47So, you know, when people whack on water in the heat of the day,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49it's a waste of time, isn't it? Cos most of it evaporates off.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51Goes up in the air, really.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- So first thing in the morning or last thing at night. - Last thing at night is good.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57So I think we're done, aren't we? So let's cover up our footprints.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Yeah, and that'll make a nice froth, won't it?
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Absolutely.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05- Do you garden at home? - I do.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07So you've got your own little garden
0:32:07 > 0:32:09and then you've got a big playground.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Yes, yes, absolutely and it's good fun, actually. It really is.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Big back garden though, isn't it?
0:32:15 > 0:32:17THEY LAUGH
0:32:40 > 0:32:43This part of England is heavily populated, with over a million
0:32:43 > 0:32:48and a half people living within the county's boundaries.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49Most on the coast.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54But there's something I've come to realise about gardens over the years.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56It's not just their location that matters.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59They're all about people and passion.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02A little patch of green in a crowded city can give a huge
0:33:02 > 0:33:03amount of pleasure.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10And just 10 miles south of me is inner-city Southampton, where the
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Ropewalk Community Garden is doing just that!
0:33:16 > 0:33:19It's on the site of an old factory and provides a green space where
0:33:19 > 0:33:23people can relax and enjoy learning about gardening.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30The brains behind the project are husband and wife team Branka...
0:33:30 > 0:33:32The roots have started growing around.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Come on, let's go.
0:33:34 > 0:33:35..and Paul Butler.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37I'm going to roll this towards me.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Pick an insect, and see if you can catch it.
0:33:40 > 0:33:41Are we ready?
0:33:41 > 0:33:43- ALL:- Yeah. - Good.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47We get a whole range of people in the garden, from young to old.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49There are no green spaces here. This is it.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56So in a very diverse community, this is a space they can all enjoy.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Gardens like this are a little oasis where people can escape the hustle
0:34:04 > 0:34:07and bustle of the city.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10I've been coming here for the last four years, you know.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12So we come here to barbecue, do stuff, you know.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15For the adults that come from different communities,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18the countryside they might come from is completely different.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20We had a gardening course and people were asking us,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24so what is it, how can I grow it, what can I grow?
0:34:24 > 0:34:31Just found a place that I can get rid of energy in a positive way.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37Get out, from instead of sitting in, watching telly.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41People need to get out to appreciate trees and nature and wildlife.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43What have we got?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45As well as offering gardening advice,
0:34:45 > 0:34:50Paul and Branka run a special creepy-crawly course for children.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54See, you've got two different types of centipede here, look.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58It's really important that the children can see what wildlife
0:34:58 > 0:35:00looks like and that it is not dangerous.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02You know, the worms do not have any teeth.
0:35:02 > 0:35:08I found him crawling along. It's slimy.
0:35:08 > 0:35:09It feels tickly.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16OK, so today we are going to plant up some nettles for these little
0:35:16 > 0:35:20guys and then we're going to plant up some grasses and hopefully,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23when we have next generation, they will be able to eat the nettle
0:35:23 > 0:35:26we planted and there will be many, many more.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Hopefully we'll have hundreds.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33So you two start making holes there and how about Lillian and Joseph,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35they start making some holes here?
0:35:36 > 0:35:39These children are learning real gardening skills
0:35:39 > 0:35:41and having fun at the same time.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45I think it's brilliant, and so do their parents.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48They enjoy the space. I mean, obviously this garden provides much
0:35:48 > 0:35:51more space than we've got at home and it's encouraged us, at home,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54to sort of grow tomatoes and strawberries and lavender, which the
0:35:54 > 0:35:57kids love looking at the butterflies and bees and things on the lavender.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Let's hope these youngsters get the gardening bug.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05I like finding all the little insects and stuff.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09I think they enjoy it a lot.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12But it's also a chance to have a bit of fun and get a bit messy and...
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Yes!
0:36:14 > 0:36:15SHE LAUGHS
0:36:15 > 0:36:17That's really muddy. Well done.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20You can't beat a bit of dirt.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42After nearly 40 years, David Stone, head gardener at Mottisfont,
0:36:42 > 0:36:43is about to retire.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Letting go is a bittersweet feeling.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53It may be difficult in years to come, I don't know.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56You know, one of the things I am looking forward to in retirement,
0:36:56 > 0:37:01is waking up at six o'clock on a January morning, pulling back
0:37:01 > 0:37:06the curtains and knowing that I can get back into bed again.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12But should he feel like popping into the garden, I'd like to
0:37:12 > 0:37:16re-create his special spot by replacing his Indian bean tree.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20And I know just the man.
0:37:20 > 0:37:25Martin Hillier is Robert's nephew, and Sir Harold's grandson.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30This is a native of North America and China,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34introduced back in the 1800s into Britain.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37It's one of the best for leaf shape, leaf size
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and there aren't many golden trees that we can put in the garden.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42It's a really, really gorgeous tree.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45If you're lucky enough to have the space in your own garden,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48this could just be the ticket.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52It's a fast grower, loves sunny spots in well-drained soil,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54and is generally frost resistant.
0:37:54 > 0:37:55What more could you want?
0:37:58 > 0:37:59Transporting a tree needs care.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Down.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07But I know it's in safe hands and it'll soon be on its way.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Managing a world-renowned garden like the spectacular Mottisfont is
0:38:16 > 0:38:20a daunting task, and David's are very big shoes for his successor,
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Jonny Bass, to step into.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26And before David joins the rest of his team for a farewell drink,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28Jonny's got to plant the new bean tree.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34By heck, Jonny, you're working hard at that.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36I know, yes, it's a big hole. Really big hole.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Now, have you checked that it's going to go in there?
0:38:38 > 0:38:41It's going to go in, no problem at all.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44- You're absolutely confident? - I'm sure. We just need help.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46- Yeah, well, you and me ain't going to shift that.- No.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48No, I'm going to recruit some lads.
0:38:48 > 0:38:49- Good idea. - Hang on a minute.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53This young bean tree looks small now, but in years to come, visitors
0:38:53 > 0:38:57to Mottisfont will be able to sit beneath its wonderful parasol-like
0:38:57 > 0:39:02canopy, just like David used to with the one that he lost in the storm.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04That is going to sit lovely.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11- Now, it's a bit of a hot day, Jonny. - It is warm.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14You know, how are we going to make sure this tree survives?
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Well, we're going to have to keep a close eye on it.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Plenty of irrigation and we'll just keep looking at it for the first
0:39:19 > 0:39:22couple of weeks, make sure we're staying in.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27I know where David is, so I'm going to go and find him
0:39:27 > 0:39:28and then we'll surprise him.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- Perfect.- Yeah?
0:39:30 > 0:39:32It's the end of an era here at Mottisfont
0:39:32 > 0:39:35and David's colleagues will miss him.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38I've only been here just under two years, but I always saw him
0:39:38 > 0:39:42as the head of the garden, wasn't he? The fount of all knowledge.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46I think David was a fantastic example of how the National Trust
0:39:46 > 0:39:50and someone with such an enthusiasm for the gardens can come together to
0:39:50 > 0:39:53make something so special, which people want to enjoy forever more.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56He's a bit like a father figure for the property, actually
0:39:56 > 0:39:57and we were saying this last week.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00It's going to be really funny when he's not there.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03He's so wise. We will really miss him.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07But before David joins the party, I want to grab a quiet chat with him.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13What do you actually think you're going to do every day, you know?
0:40:13 > 0:40:17You know, does it excite you? Does it frighten you?
0:40:17 > 0:40:19What are your emotions?
0:40:19 > 0:40:22I've got to learn what it means to be a husband again.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24You know, gardeners' partners,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28whether it's husbands or wives or whatever, for so much of their lives
0:40:28 > 0:40:34they take second place to the garden and, you know, my wife has been
0:40:34 > 0:40:37so patient with me over the years, that it's about time
0:40:37 > 0:40:41I need to actually start giving her the time that she deserves.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44So we're going to buy ourselves a little camper van
0:40:44 > 0:40:49and we're just going to go off wherever and whenever we fancy.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51- That is lovely.- Yeah.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01Look at this absolutely breathtaking garden, you know, and perhaps,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06you know, as a gardener, I sometimes think we don't see the creation.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10We don't appreciate what we're giving on a daily basis.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14The pleasure, the highlights. You know, in 15 years' time,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17somebody's going to be stood in the garden, saying, "I went to
0:41:17 > 0:41:20"Mottisfont Abbey and I saw this beautiful rose and it's given me
0:41:20 > 0:41:25"pleasure for years," and that's because you planted a rose here.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28And what an amazing tribute to leave.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34- Well, that is what gardening is all about, isn't it?- Should be.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38THEY APPLAUD AND CHEER
0:41:40 > 0:41:45A bean tree. My very own bean tree.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47There you go.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52Absolutely brilliant. Wow.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55- There you go. - What can I say? What can I say?
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Well, I just thought that we should leave you with something that means
0:41:58 > 0:42:00something very special to you
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and that you can pass on to future generations.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05I really do appreciate that. It's wonderful.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07- So your own golden bean tree. - That's wonderful.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Yeah, well, what can I say, except thank you all very much.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14So, Jonny, do you think it's... you know, does it look all right?
0:42:14 > 0:42:18I think it looks absolutely perfect. It's a present for you, boss.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20You can come and sit under here again,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22when you decide to come for a wander round the garden
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and keep a check to make sure I'm doing it right.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27You can keep a watch from here.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31And I've got a little personal present for you.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- Had this made up for you. - My goodness.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- So you can still work while you're at home.- What is it?
0:42:36 > 0:42:38HE LAUGHS
0:42:38 > 0:42:41There's a lovely little inscription on the handle there,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43which I know is a personal favourite of yours.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Well, I haven't got my glasses.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47- From Dean Hold. Will I read it to you?- Please do.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51"He who would have beautiful roses in his garden must have..."
0:42:51 > 0:42:53"Beautiful roses in his heart."
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- There you go. - Oh, that's wonderful.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56SHE CHEERS
0:43:03 > 0:43:04Well, what can I say?
0:43:04 > 0:43:08And this is just the right size for the wife to use.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10THEY LAUGH
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- Here's to David.- Thanks very much. - Cheers, David.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I've had the most amazing day in Hampshire.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27Some real characters, old gardeners passing on to new gardeners,
0:43:27 > 0:43:34planting trees, keeping regeneration going, the fragrance of roses.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Couldn't be better.