0:00:04 > 0:00:07Britain 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 > 0:00:33I love ballooning because you get to see the world below
0:00:33 > 0:00:36in a whole new light.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39From up here you get a real sense of how the garden sits
0:00:39 > 0:00:40in the landscape,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43how the terrain and the climate have shaped it.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46And I want you to share that experience with me.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Now, I'm a proud Lancashire lass,
0:01:07 > 0:01:12but today I'm heading east to visit our friendly rivals over the border.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And look at the colours of the landscape. Ohh...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34With wonderful views like these to enjoy, I'm not complaining.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Today, I'm visiting Yorkshire.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41In modern times it was split up into small regions.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45But historically, Yorkshire's the largest county in England.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Yorkshire sits in the north-east of the country, bordering the Humber
0:01:51 > 0:01:56estuary to the south and with the North Sea pounding along its coast.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59But it's the Yorkshire countryside that I'm looking forward to
0:01:59 > 0:02:02seeing from a whole new perspective.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Absolutely beautiful.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10It's a county that some people would say has the most beautiful green
0:02:10 > 0:02:15areas, with mile upon mile of Yorkshire dales
0:02:15 > 0:02:19and those fantastically exciting North Yorkshire moors.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24And the best way to get a look at Yorkshire is from up here.
0:02:24 > 0:02:31Even as a Lancastrian I can see why it's known as God's own country.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37It's going to be a breathtaking ride as I'm taking to the air to enjoy
0:02:37 > 0:02:40the hills, the dales
0:02:40 > 0:02:42and some tremendous gardens.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Today I'm visiting a pair of gardens which bring together old
0:02:47 > 0:02:49and new to stunning effect.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I'll be getting above it all to appreciate how two designers
0:02:56 > 0:03:00work their magic here, hundreds of years apart.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Hey, you get a great v... Look at that.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And I'll be finding out how an old garden has found a new
0:03:08 > 0:03:09lease of life.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I know when I've got a nice garden, cos it generally
0:03:12 > 0:03:16puts its arms around me and gives me a squeeze just like me mum.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19It's enough to make me come over all philosophical.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23To teach somebody how to garden, is to teach them about life.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31I'm on my way to visit one of Britain's most beautiful gardens.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Scampston's walled garden is the work of one of the most celebrated
0:03:36 > 0:03:39contemporary garden designers in the world.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44And from up here I'm privileged to be getting a unique
0:03:44 > 0:03:46view of one of his masterpieces.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53You can really see how this garden fits into the landscape.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57You've got the beautiful sort of basin effect of the landscape
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and then this folding around the garden of trees.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And you can see it sitting perfectly,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08slap-bang in the middle of green froth.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13The garden sits behind the magnificent Scampston Hall within
0:04:13 > 0:04:16the walls of the old vegetable plot.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Look at that. Ee-hee.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Where spuds and sprouts once grew, there are now circular flower beds,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29clipped hedges, and the fabulous modern planting.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33What you can see from up here is the hall's original kitchen garden.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36And you've got those rippling rivers of grass,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41the strong architectural pillars, but regular geometric shapes.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45A garden that's modern yet still exciting.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Some people think modern gardens can't be and truly not exciting,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52but there is a very exciting modern garden.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56And I just can't wait to get down there.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13The Scampston estate has been in the same family for over 300 years.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The house dates back to around 1800 and is one of North Yorkshire's most
0:05:18 > 0:05:20impressive stately homes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26But it's the gardens that make this place so remarkable.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And it's got two to be proud of.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34Surrounding the house are 80 acres of traditional country parkland.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39There's rolling grassland, mature trees and a tranquil lake.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It may look ever so natural
0:05:41 > 0:05:45but it was created in 1782 by one of the most famous garden designers
0:05:45 > 0:05:49this country's ever produced, Capability Brown.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58200 years later, the current owners, Sir Charles and Lady Legard,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02commissioned a modern designer to create a stunning contemporary
0:06:02 > 0:06:03garden for them.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09And that's where I'm starting my exploration of this Yorkshire gem.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Scampston Walled Garden, a garden for me
0:06:13 > 0:06:16that's taken traditional herbaceous perennials and whapped them into
0:06:16 > 0:06:21the 21st century, just proving that gardening isn't set in concrete.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28The man responsible for this remarkable garden is a Dutchman
0:06:28 > 0:06:30called Piet Oudolf.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34He's one of the leaders of a trend of gardening called
0:06:34 > 0:06:36the New Perennial movement
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and one of the most important garden designers of the last 25 years.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45The award-winning garden he designed for Scampston has become world
0:06:45 > 0:06:49famous and now attracts over 20,000 visitors a year.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Head gardener Paul Smith has been here since 2008.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- Hi, Paul. How are you?- Hi, Christine. I'm fine. How are you?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I'm fine, yep. What are you up to?
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- I'm just training in these pleached limes.- All right.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- Can I give you a hand?- Of course, yeah. Come and have a look.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08- I'll come on up.- Hop onto our platform here.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Well, better than a ladder, isn't it, at end of the day?
0:07:12 > 0:07:13That's all right.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Hey, you get a great v... Look at that.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Brilliant view over the silent garden.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22A nice bit of sunshine today, shining over there.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25And they look much more powerful actually from up here than
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- they do down there.- It's a completely different view actually.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Cos of course normally you would only see it
0:07:30 > 0:07:32from the entrance to that particular room at that side.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37But from this platform it's a bit special, a bit different.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- What are you doing here? - This is the trained limes
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- and we're aiming to get three tiers...- Right.- ..of growth on here.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Tied down horizontally and then of course the verticals will come in
0:07:47 > 0:07:49- and create a nice solid block for us.- Right.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53- So it's just a case of tying them in and taking them down.- Yes, it is.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Yeah, tying them in then reducing them down to about three buds.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59- Three buds. Can I help you, then? - Yeah, course you can. Yeah.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I'll deal with this bottom one.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03What makes Scampston so special, then?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06This is a...quite a different planting style within the walled
0:08:06 > 0:08:10garden that's very interesting. And it's a four-acre walled garden.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Of course originally it would have been the kitchen
0:08:13 > 0:08:14garden for the hall.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19But outside of this wall we've got the Capability Brown landscape.
0:08:19 > 0:08:25So what we've actually got is two distinctly different styles of garden on the same site.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- Right.- And you're responsible for the external estate as well? Yeah.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32So, what's interesting is you've got that complete contrast.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36- But the contemporary garden is also sandwiched inside these walls.- Yeah.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40So they don't interfere with each other sort of aesthetically.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41And which do you love?
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- I think probably the walled garden because it's so different.- Right.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47But I do like that traditional thing.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You know, you can go out, you can see the lake
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and the Capability Brown and all the wildlife.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53It's all good. It's all good.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Part of Piet Oudolf's philosophy is that perennials have a
0:08:58 > 0:09:01place in the garden throughout their lifespan,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03even after flowering,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05when they'd normally be cut back.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10This brings a whole new range of challenges to the head gardener.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14It's a completely different style of garden and a completely different
0:09:14 > 0:09:17cycle to the work, really, on how it goes.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20But it's still plants that come up, flower,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- then die down and repeat that cycle all the time.- Yeah. Yeah.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- It's still gardening.- Yeah. Yeah.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29You know, it's still cutting grass, it's still pulling out weeds.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33But the difference is - certainly from a maintenance point of view -
0:09:33 > 0:09:36sort of think of a traditional garden, you get very big peaks
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and troughs in the labour requirement.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40You know, the end of May, end of October.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Here the difference is maintenance-wise it's very level.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46So we're busy all year round.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- But we don't actually cut down here till February.- Don't you?
0:09:49 > 0:09:53So, traditionally of course you'd cut down in the end of November.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55You know, get everything tidied up,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57all put to bed for Christmas as the saying goes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Whereas here, this stands, so the season's a lot longer,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03there's a lot more seasonal interest. You get winter interest.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Presumably you get birds coming in to feed on the seed heads.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08- You get birds, so it's a lot more ecological as well.- Right.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10And do you have a favourite bit of the garden?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13My favourite bit is probably the perennial meadow,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- which is in the centre of the garden...- Yeah.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19..predominantly because it changes so much within one season.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23It sort of starts interest-wise about, I guess, the end of May,
0:10:23 > 0:10:24beginning of June.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29- Again it carries on right through till that February cut-down.- Right.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32You can be here year-on-year and every season it's slightly different
0:10:32 > 0:10:35because of course the weather has a different effect on how it works.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- Yeah.- So it's always interesting. It changes every day.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39It's never the same.
0:10:40 > 0:10:4215 years after it was first planned,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Paul is responsible for taking the walled garden through to maturity.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Now, this garden was designed by Piet Oudolf.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- And he has a very distinct style... - Yes.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56..a modern style of using herbaceous plants.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But are you going to be slavish to that, or are you going to move away?
0:10:59 > 0:11:00What's your vision?
0:11:00 > 0:11:04I think... You've got to stick with his overall plan.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07This is his work, it's not my work in that sense.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11I think our real plan now for the next 10 years or so,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14is to really work on the maturity of this garden.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17So we'll look at a lot of the structural plants such as these yew
0:11:17 > 0:11:19columns behind us.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22It's really getting them absolutely solid, absolutely straight,
0:11:22 > 0:11:23just as they're supposed to be,
0:11:23 > 0:11:28because that structure is the skeleton behind the overall plan.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- Yeah, I mean, it's why you're doing this to this.- Same as this.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Yeah, we want this into a completely solid block
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and then you kind of see the vision really played out.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41And, you know, that's what, a 20-25-year project?
0:11:41 > 0:11:45- But in gardening terms that's normal.- Absolutely. Yeah.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47- Right. Well, we've done this bit. - All told. Yep.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I think we can go off and do a bit more.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55I can't resist the chance to get down amongst the plants a minute
0:11:55 > 0:11:56longer.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00I'm starting my tour of the garden in Paul's favourite place,
0:12:00 > 0:12:01the perennial meadow.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06The walled garden once supplied all the fruit
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and vegetables for the big house.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12But by the 1990s, it had been derelict for 50 years.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17So Charles and Lady Legard gave Piet Oudolf a free hand to create
0:12:17 > 0:12:20a new garden within the four-acre site.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24And he created a series of separate gardens, linked by pathways.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31At the centre of the perennial meadow is the original dipping pool,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34where gardeners would have once filled their watering cans.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Oudolf loves grasses and they look spectacular in the drifts of the grass garden.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47There's fabulous modern topiary in the serpentine garden
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and the silent garden.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56The cutting garden features opulent circles of colour.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58And if you're not lucky enough to have a balloon,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02you can still see the garden from above by standing on the mount.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09But Scampston is two gardens - this one bold and contemporary,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11and the other, traditional.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18Over the walls beyond Piet Oudolf's garden the parkland that surrounds Scampston
0:13:18 > 0:13:20stretches as far as the eye can see.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24What's hard to believe is that once upon a time,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26this landscape was as revolutionary
0:13:26 > 0:13:29as the design of the walled garden is today.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36The 18th century had its own garden designers.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41And in the mid-1700s,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45the very best was a man called Lancelot "Capability" Brown.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Before Brown came along,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51gardens in the poshest houses were very formal.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54But the canny salesman would tell potential patrons
0:13:54 > 0:13:59that their parklands had the capability for improvement.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03He forged a new style and earned himself a nickname in one go.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08One of his major projects was Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Dr Oliver Cox is a historian with a special interest in gardens.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- COX:- There's a massive change that happens to the English landscape
0:14:16 > 0:14:20in the 18th century, is that we move away from working against nature
0:14:20 > 0:14:21to working with nature.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26So, nature's lines and curves are emphasised and embellished
0:14:26 > 0:14:29by architects and landscape designers such as Capability Brown.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32So, what they do is they plant trees in certain places
0:14:32 > 0:14:34to hide views
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and then you move away from these trees, there's a reveal that
0:14:37 > 0:14:40shows the house maybe or another particular vista.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44So what Brown is working with is he's trying to turn
0:14:44 > 0:14:46eyesores into eye-catchers.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50He's turning agricultural land into part of a sort of pleasurable
0:14:50 > 0:14:52view from out of the house.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The formal landscape was all about smacking you in the face
0:14:59 > 0:15:02straightaway with the big house. There it is at the end of the drive.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04You know what you're heading to.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08What happens with Capability Brown is that he delays that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12You see glimpses of the house, you catch maybe a turret here,
0:15:12 > 0:15:13a pediment there.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22And then finally at the end of this long sweeping drive is the full
0:15:22 > 0:15:23house revealed to you.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30It's all about making nature what you want it to be.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34And your view of nature is actually really quite artificial.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40There are over 150 Capability Brown gardens in the UK.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44And they're easy to spot if you know what you're looking for.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48A great example of the sort of three giveaway signs of an English
0:15:48 > 0:15:52landscape garden - that is water, trees and grass -
0:15:52 > 0:15:56is here at Blenheim Palace where we have this clump of trees here that
0:15:56 > 0:15:59hides the main front of the palace from view.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02So, again, it's this notion of delayed gratification.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07The smooth grass edges sort of roll down to the edge of the lake.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11And of course the lake, the vast body of water that is so important
0:16:11 > 0:16:15both in terms of creating a scenic picture but also in terms of use.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Of course, there are fish in there, which you can eat.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Capability Brown's landscape at Blenheim cost the fourth
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Duke of Marlborough over £20,000,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30the equivalent of nearly £3 million today.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35When it was first built, a garden like this was the ultimate status
0:16:35 > 0:16:38symbol for a rich, powerful man.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44At the time that Capability Brown was courting the rich
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and powerful...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49..Yorkshire was becoming one of the most important
0:16:49 > 0:16:51manufacturing areas of Britain.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56During the Industrial Revolution, fortunes were made from metalwork,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59coal, steel, shipping and wool.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03But in the 20th century,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06heavy industry collapsed in many parts of the country.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09And in Yorkshire many mills fell derelict.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Armley was once the world's biggest woollen mill
0:17:13 > 0:17:16and is now the site of the Yorkshire Industrial Museum.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Recently, a community group called Hyde Park Source has started
0:17:22 > 0:17:26renovating the unloved wasteland surrounding it.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Behla Hutchinson is their volunteer coordinator.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31We do quite a range of things.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35So, we do after-school groups with children doing forest school
0:17:35 > 0:17:38activities and gardening groups.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40We run supported volunteering opportunities,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43so for people who need a bit more support to come
0:17:43 > 0:17:46and volunteer with us and teach people different skills -
0:17:46 > 0:17:48construction, gardening, joinery.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52So, it's sort of the whole breadth of the community from children to
0:17:52 > 0:17:55old people, people with mental health issues,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59physical health issues, learning difficulties and disabilities.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01So, quite a wide variety.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08A year ago, the group created two special gardens - one with
0:18:08 > 0:18:11vegetables for anyone to pick,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and the other planted with plants with a special link to the mill.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17This is the colour garden.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20And it's a colour garden because we're growing all the old dye plants
0:18:20 > 0:18:23that would have been grown for use in the mill to dye the cloths and the wool.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26So, we've got plants that will make blues, greens, yellows,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28all different types of colours.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31The dye plants are bringing back a tradition that was really
0:18:31 > 0:18:33rich in Leeds and Bradford and other mill towns.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37That history's sort of been lost quite a lot, so bringing the plants
0:18:37 > 0:18:40back here and sort of showing people hands-on how to do it again has been
0:18:40 > 0:18:45really interesting and people have really enjoyed learning where colours come from.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Welcome to our dye session for today.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Debbie Tomkies is a textile expert.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52And today she's going to be demonstrating how to make natural
0:18:52 > 0:18:56- dyes from plants in the garden. - We're going to pick some leaves.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57We're also going to pick some flowers.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00And we're going to pick some roots, just see how
0:19:00 > 0:19:03we can get different dye colours from different parts of the plants.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08The group is going to make three different coloured dyes -
0:19:08 > 0:19:12yellow from coreopsis, a popular garden flower,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16red from madder roots and blue from woad leaves.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21The yellow and red are extracted by soaking the flowers
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and roots in water.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Can you see the colours already coming out of there?
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Getting the blue colour from woad leaves is a bit more complicated.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It needs a chemical helping hand.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Now, traditionally that would have been urine, but you'll be pleased to
0:19:37 > 0:19:39know we're not going down that road today.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42If you'd like to use urine at home at some point in the future,
0:19:42 > 0:19:43you're very welcome.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Instead of urine, Debbie's using sodium carbonate,
0:19:47 > 0:19:48also known as washing soda.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55A setting agent's added and the leaves and flowers are strained.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Finally, it's dyeing time.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02For the first time since the 1960s,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05there's textile work happening at Armley mill.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And it's all down to the plants popping up in the colour garden.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14But it's not just knickers that are getting a makeover here.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Regeneration is all about creating a new use for old surroundings.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23At Scampston they commissioned one of the most
0:20:23 > 0:20:26talked about contemporary gardens in Europe.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29But looking to the future isn't just about plants.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32They're nurturing the next generation of gardeners too.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Local schoolchildren can come here on work experience placements.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Seven years ago,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44gardener Tony Aconley took a young lad called Nathan under his wing.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- MAN:- He just came as a youngster,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52just a bit of experience potting in sheds
0:20:52 > 0:20:54and helping out around garden.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Left school and he keeps coming back in his summer holidays
0:20:57 > 0:20:58and helping out.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Fairly good, is Nathan.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Nathan's now a student at university.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06But ever since doing work experience he's been coming back
0:21:06 > 0:21:11here in the holidays. And he and Tony have developed quite a bond.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16I'm quicker than you are. He was 14 when he first came.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And about a foot shorter than what he is now.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24He's grown quite a bit since he come. He's always enjoyed it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27He knows most of the plants what he's dealing in,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29he knows what they are, what they're called.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Hopefully some day he'll get a good job
0:21:32 > 0:21:37and be a good gardener for somebody if he wants to go that way.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I hope he keeps coming for a bit longer actually.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44And, uh, keeping us going and making a joke and whatnot.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49I've asked Tony if he can spare Nathan for a chat.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52So, how did you manage to get the job here at Scampston?
0:21:52 > 0:21:57I started out in Year 10. I came and did two weeks' work experience here.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- Yeah.- And I've been invited back every summer since.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02They said, "Yeah, you've done a good job." So they kept me on.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Isn't that nice?
0:22:03 > 0:22:07You obviously enjoy it. But what is it that you enjoy so much?
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Well, obviously at Scampston, all the people here are really nice.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11I get on with everyone.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I mean, Tony especially in the veg garden,
0:22:14 > 0:22:15we're always having a good time, so...
0:22:15 > 0:22:17And do you have a favourite plant?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- Um, I'd probably say the Astrantia Claret.- You know some Latin.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- I know a little bit, yeah. Picked up a few.- That's terrific.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Can you name any other in this border? Show off, go on.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- We've got veronicastrum here.- Yeah. And what's this purple job?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- Salvia along the bottom.- That's impressive. What's that white job?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- A flox.- Great. And what about this great purple job?- Um, a eupatorium,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40- that.- Do you know, I'm very impressed.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- There's not many youngsters that would be able to do that.- Cheers.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Eh, I'm quite proud of you. Young horticulturalist in making.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Good on you.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Of course being good at gardening is a lot more than picking up a few
0:22:51 > 0:22:56Latin names. But you've got to agree that's impressive anyway.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Nathan took his new love of gardening home and got his mum
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and dad involved.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04My parents weren't particularly gardeners but then after I finished
0:23:04 > 0:23:06my two weeks' work experience,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I took them down to the garden at Scampston
0:23:08 > 0:23:11and showed them around and they got really into it
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and managed to sort of coerce them into letting me do a little
0:23:15 > 0:23:18bit of gardening at home and start building a bit of garden for myself.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23- WOMAN:- Once Nathan had been to Scampston,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25he came back with all these wonderful ideas,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27"We've got to have some circles, Dad.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29We'll have to do a little rock garden, Dad."
0:23:29 > 0:23:33So they were out there, worked away at it.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37And we're really proud of what he's achieved today.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40He's taught us a great deal, which is absolutely wonderful
0:23:40 > 0:23:42that you can learn from your own children.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Nathan's used the skill and plant knowledge he's picked up at Scampston
0:23:48 > 0:23:51to begin to transform his mum and dad's garden.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58It was really just two big fields, front and back.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And then we've developed the front garden
0:24:00 > 0:24:02and we've got some perennial borders.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04We've put all the flowerbeds in.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05The grasses in this area,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08they're all the same ones that they use in Scampston.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10We've got the Molinia Transparents in the centre.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I've decided to use Echinaceas around the edge just to give it a bit more colour.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17A lot of the plants in here are ones that
0:24:17 > 0:24:21I got given on my work experience, which I've grown on and then in case
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I've propagated myself just to bulk it out a bit more.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31This area was originally just a little pile of rubble and stones
0:24:31 > 0:24:33and stuff and I've changed it into a bit of a secret,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36hideaway garden at the back of the house.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38I just put a few hostas and heucheras in,
0:24:38 > 0:24:39which don't mind the shade.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41And managed to find this little fella,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43which adds a bit of character.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Nathan's been really inspired by Piet Oudolf's ideas.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54But little birds told me that flowers and grasses aren't
0:24:54 > 0:24:56actually his plants of choice.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Do you have a favourite bit of the garden?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02I'm going to have to say the veg garden, I think.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- Yeah, I really enjoy it in there. I mean...- Why?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Tony works in there a lot and I've worked in there for most of my two
0:25:07 > 0:25:09weeks' work experience with him.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The last seven years when I keep on coming back, he's been mentoring me,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14telling me what to do. I really enjoy it in there.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Very, very important, isn't it, that somebody actually nurtures,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22not only the plants but the people. And that's lovely. Right.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Shall we go down the veg garden and have a shifty?
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Yeah. No, that'd be really good.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32So, how old was you when you first came into this area of the garden?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I was 14 when I started in there.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37This is where I spent most of my first two weeks' work experience.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39And then a lot of time since as well.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- And presumably Tony was involved in this area.- Yeah.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46He worked here full-time when I first started.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48But in the last couple of years he's retired
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- and now really only looks after this in the garden.- I mean, he's
0:25:51 > 0:25:54producing some great crops, there's leeks, there's sweetcorn, lettuce,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- courgettes, beans, all sorts of things.- Yeah.- Doing a grand job.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- But I see you've got some rhubarb. - Yeah.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02We've got a bit of Yorkshire variety.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- I should flipping hope so.- Yeah.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Although most of us eat it in puddings,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15rhubarb is one of those rule breakers.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's not a fruit, it's a vegetable.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21To grow particularly tender stems rhubarb is grown in the dark,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26known as forcing. And it's even harvested by candlelight.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Having a dedicated forcing shed is beyond most of us,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34but you can buy rhubarb forcers to pop over individual plants
0:26:34 > 0:26:38to keep out the light or even improvise with a black bucket.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Yorkshire's famous for its rhubarb triangle,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46an area south of Leeds where the heavy clay soil makes the ideal
0:26:46 > 0:26:49conditions for growing the finest rhubarb in the country.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54From the late Victorian times, special trains would carry
0:26:54 > 0:26:57tons of the stuff down to London markets every day.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04They always did their best to get forced rhubarb out of Yorkshire,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06down to Covent Garden first.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Because people would pay a premium for long,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12succulent sticks that were Yorkshire.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14And the best rhubarb, even coming from a Lancastrian,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17is forced Yorkshire rhubarb.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20But having seen this, it's given me an idea.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I like to leave a memento in the gardens I visit,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27though I wouldn't want to interfere with Piet Oudolf's work.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30But coming into this vegetable garden has been
0:27:30 > 0:27:32a bit of an inspiration.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Slap-bang in the middle of the rhubarb triangle is a firm that
0:27:35 > 0:27:39produces something that's as traditional as they come.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44For over a century this family firm used the local clay to make drainage pipes.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46But 15 years ago,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49they branched out into making all sorts of garden pots.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56The factory can turn out over 1,000 a day of all shapes and sizes.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Some are decorated with bespoke plaques before they're fired in this
0:28:03 > 0:28:05massive kiln for up to five days.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Something from here might be perfect to leave behind at Scampston as a
0:28:11 > 0:28:15tribute to the wonderful way they've nurtured Nathan's love of gardening.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23If Nathan decides on a career in horticulture, he might become a head
0:28:23 > 0:28:26gardener, looking after a great estate like Scampston.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31But like so many jobs these days, gardening isn't always for life.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36A charity called Perennial helps people who work in horticulture
0:28:36 > 0:28:38when times get tough.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42And the charity owns a very special garden indeed.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46On the other side of York from Scampston is another very beautiful
0:28:46 > 0:28:49garden, hidden behind the ancient church in Adel
0:28:49 > 0:28:52lying on the outskirts of Leeds.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57This is a small garden, but its architecture is still very strong.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00There's an intimacy of each garden space.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04It's tiny, it's an acre, but it's very, very beautiful.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08This is York Gate.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17From the air it's easy to see that York Gate is a very different
0:29:17 > 0:29:21kind of garden from the rolling parks of Capability Brown or
0:29:21 > 0:29:23the sweeping naturalism of Piet Oudolf.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28This garden follows the English tradition of making garden rooms
0:29:28 > 0:29:30with walls of clipped hedges.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35The garden only covers an acre on the site of an old
0:29:35 > 0:29:38orchard in a village on the outskirts of Leeds.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45But it's full of tricks to make it seem bigger.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49The York stone paving is laid out in patterns to enlarge the space.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53There are statues to draw the eye and there's a feeling that around
0:29:53 > 0:29:57every corner and through every doorway there's a surprise in store.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02I'm here to meet my old mate, Martin,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05who's the current head gardener.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Hey, oop, our Martin. How are you?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10- Hello, Christine. How are you?- I'm good.- Lovely to see you.- And you.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13- Yeah, what you doing?- Are you coming to give us hand here?- I will.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16If you can bob round the top where I'm just taking the tops off these
0:30:16 > 0:30:19astrantias. OK. Because it's looking a bit miserable around here.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21- We've got a few plants to brighten the place up.- Right.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23You've all sorts of things.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26- So just chopping these back and then dropping stuff in.- That's right.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Just put them in temporary, just to give us a bit of late colour.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- But these astrantias, they've got really messy.- Yeah.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33We'll just cut the tops off them.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35- Get these down then.- Yep.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37So, how long have you been here now, Martin?
0:30:37 > 0:30:40- Just coming up to two years now. - Two years?!
0:30:40 > 0:30:43The thing about it is I only came here to visit the head gardener.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45And he said, "I'm retiring next week."
0:30:45 > 0:30:47And I said, "Like you do in gardening.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51"Oh, if you need a hand for a few weeks, I'll pop in." I'm still here.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53- And it is lovely. - But isn't it lovely?
0:30:53 > 0:30:56You've obviously been here long enough now to get
0:30:56 > 0:30:57an appreciation of the garden.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59So, what makes it special for you?
0:30:59 > 0:31:01It's such a fascinating garden.
0:31:01 > 0:31:0414 different rooms like a chocolate box of sweets.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07But do you know what surprises me about it, Martin?
0:31:07 > 0:31:13It's an acre but actually what's beautiful about it is its intimacy,
0:31:13 > 0:31:14each little garden.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16You could imagine this being your own garden at home
0:31:16 > 0:31:19and take ideas from it cos it's that scale.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22It's got a personality, hasn't it, this place?
0:31:22 > 0:31:24And the great thing about it is they're all different as well.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27So you can take something that you like.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30You may like pines or you may like alpines,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33or you may like woodlands or herbaceous plants.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34But you can find it here.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37I know when I've got a nice garden because it gently
0:31:37 > 0:31:40puts its arms around me and gives me a squeeze just like me mum.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42You see, and that's a lovely way.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45Because a lot of people take a lot out of the garden.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50And it's not just from plants, it's the atmosphere, it's the memories,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52it's the journey.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54It's the whole flipping caboodle.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58York Gate was the work of a family called the Spencers.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Frederick Spencer started the garden in 1951.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05And when he died his son Robin took over gardening duties.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Robin died in 1982 at the early age of 47,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14leaving his mother Sybil to look after the garden.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19In her will she left it to the charity Perennial,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22which used to be called the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25looking after horticulturalists who need help.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31It's not really that well known, but gardening is a strange occupation.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Lots of gardeners end up with tied cottages.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36- When they lose the job they lose the house.- Right.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39And they have financial problems and emotional problems.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41And that's what the charity does, it helps people around that.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44What better shop window than the garden,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47- and a garden that's as special as this.- Oh, it's amazing. It's lovely.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50- The charity does embrace.- It does.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And it is that mum giving you a cuddle.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58It's such a good cause that I'm happy to help freshen up these borders.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Even Martin's been influenced by the New Perennial movement.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05You know, a few years ago when all this grass carry-on was going about,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08people were starting to do all of this grass thing,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10I was a bit dubious about them.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12But I do really like them for this sort of situation.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Well, some of them give tremendous height and movement,
0:33:16 > 0:33:17but also grace sometimes.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20- I mean... - They do.- ..that can be quite nice.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23That's over a bit, I think.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26- Oh, look at the colour on that. - That's gorgeous, isn't it?
0:33:26 > 0:33:31Beautiful. Autumn. Autumn russets. Aww.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34But when York Gate was being planned,
0:33:34 > 0:33:39for most people grass just meant one thing - what you made a lawn out of.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47But over the past 50 years,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49ornamental grasses have become increasingly popular
0:33:49 > 0:33:53and certain varieties have become very fashionable indeed.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Pampas grass was the big thing back in the '70s.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00And today, grasses of all heights
0:34:00 > 0:34:03and colour find a place in contemporary gardens.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08Some bear beautiful flowers. Some are even scented.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13But all of them provide months of interest from their shape as well
0:34:13 > 0:34:16as bringing movement and sound into the garden.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21They're a great thing to grow and I'm glad Martin's taken to them.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- It is. It's lovely.- I think that's all right, you know.- It's smashing.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28And it's just that little bit of extra colour at this time of year.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- Not bold and brash like a bedding scheme, a hint of colour. - That's right.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34But so much of this garden is about manipulation, isn't it,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- and playing games and the rest of it?- It is, yeah.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40And there are some quirky things. There are some strange things happen in this garden.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43- And there's one I want to show you. - Come on. Let's have a look, then.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57- My God. Look at that. - It's incredible, isn't it?
0:34:57 > 0:35:01- That's amazing, Martin.- Manipulation on a grand scale.- I'll say.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03But isn't it fantastic?
0:35:04 > 0:35:06This is a cedar but it's cut
0:35:06 > 0:35:10and trimmed to look like no other cedar I've seen before.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14It's incredible to think that this is a tree not dissimilar to
0:35:14 > 0:35:18- a Christmas tree. It wants to grow 80 feet high.- And 40 foot wide.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23- I mean, it's a whacking, dirty great big tree.- But it's manipulated here.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26And it's manipulated to cover this stone wall.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Like all manipulated plants, though, it needs to be kept trimmed.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32So we're going to try and cut some of this back now.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34- So you want its whiskers clipping. - That's right, yes. Yeah.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Let's clip its whiskers.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Just trim these shoots back to the main part of the plant.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43- And that tidies it all up, makes it look nice and smooth like that.- OK.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46But, you know, why aren't you using hedge clipper?
0:35:46 > 0:35:47Well, you could use a hedge trimmer,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49but it doesn't give it that fluffy feel.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51I think the nice thing about that,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53- it's still got that fluffiness of a cedar, hasn't it?- It has, yeah.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- It has.- And with a hedge trimmer it just... I don't like them.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57They don't seem to...
0:35:57 > 0:36:01And also they nip off all the tips of the needles and then it goes brown.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- That's right. - And it looks horrible, to be honest.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04But this must be unique
0:36:04 > 0:36:07because I've never seen any one like this anywhere in the country.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09I haven't, not of this particular species.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11I mean, you see topiary and things like that.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13But I've not seen one like this before.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- It's like a bloke with a beard, it needs a shave occasionally.- It does.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- It just needs trimming now and then, as they say.- Absolutely.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22What's the vision? Are you going to take it forward? What are you going to do?
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Well, the thing about a garden like this is,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27and particularly York Gate, it's broken into 14 compartments
0:36:27 > 0:36:29and they all need different things.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32So one of the things we're going to do this autumn is replant Sybil's
0:36:32 > 0:36:36- garden.- Right.- I want to try and change these hollies behind us.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38- They obscure the view of this lovely cedar.- Yeah.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And you can't cut hollies back,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42so they're going to have to go unfortunately.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44And sometimes you've to make that decision, haven't you?
0:36:44 > 0:36:46It's not worth it, and for the time and everything else.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48Have it out and start again.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50The other exciting bit about York Gate,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52we're going to build an outside classroom.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Now, you can walk around this place and try and learn it
0:36:55 > 0:36:56and try and enjoy it.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59But what better than have a classroom where people are going to
0:36:59 > 0:37:02- teach you how to do this?- That's great, Martin, absolutely great.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04But, you know, I think we've probably done enough of this,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08- haven't we? We've done quite a bit. So, do you fancy a brew?- I do, yeah. I'm exhausted.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10I've got some lovely Yorkshire tea in house.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14I don't mind drinking that occasionally. Come on.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20It's wonderful to see that York Gate is going to carry on bringing funds
0:37:20 > 0:37:23to a very important charity for years to come
0:37:23 > 0:37:27as well as providing inspiration for the next generation of gardeners.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Today, I've been privileged to see Yorkshire from the air.
0:37:37 > 0:37:4070 years ago the sky wasn't full of balloons,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43but a very different sort of flying machine.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46During the Second World War,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48the east coast of Britain was dotted with airfields.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53One of these old bases is now the site of the Yorkshire Air Museum,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55celebrating the achievements of local flying
0:37:55 > 0:37:59heroes like Barnes Wallis and Amy Johnson.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02But there's one Yorkshireman whose contribution to
0:38:02 > 0:38:06the history of flight is not so well known.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Here among the modern jets is a replica of a very old
0:38:09 > 0:38:14and very magnificent flying machine with the fabulous
0:38:14 > 0:38:17name of the governable parachute.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Its inventor was Sir George Cayley.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Ian Reed, the director of the museum, knows his story well.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Sir George Cayley was born around 10 miles from here, near Scarborough,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30in 1773.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34When he was nine years old, he heard about the Montgolfier brothers'
0:38:34 > 0:38:35first hot-air balloon.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37And I'm sure that inspired him
0:38:37 > 0:38:41because the rest of his life was devoted to flying machines.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46This aeroplane here was the 1853 Governable Parachute.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49That's 50 years before the Wright brothers.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54You'll see it has a tail, an upper surface and a fuselage.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57And this was really the first aeroplane.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00This is how aeroplanes have been ever since
0:39:00 > 0:39:04with a fuselage, tail and wing surfaces.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And it is of course a glider. It isn't powered.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11It was pushed down a hill and used the force of gravity to take
0:39:11 > 0:39:15the aircraft off, like a modern glider today in some ways.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Sir George carried on inventing and writing about science
0:39:19 > 0:39:22until his death in 1857.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Many people think that the Wright brothers invented flying.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30But they were the first to pay tribute to the work of a pioneering Yorkshireman, Sir George Cayley.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37Following their successful flight in America in 1903, they did actually
0:39:37 > 0:39:43compliment the fact that Sir George Cayley played a very important part.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47And acknowledged him as being the father of aeronautics.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51He was a prolific inventor and a very sound scientific mind.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54And it's a very, very proud boast of Yorkshire
0:39:54 > 0:39:57to be associated with Sir George.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Back at Scampston I've arranged to meet two very special
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Yorkshiremen in the vegetable patch.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I can't leave Yorkshire without presenting Nathan
0:40:12 > 0:40:14and Tony with something to remind them of my visit.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19And the clay pot makers have done me proud.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- Hi.- NATHAN:- Are you all right?
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- How are you two?- Good, cheers. - Fine, thanks.- Great.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- Well, you might well be wondering what's under here.- Yeah.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32But gardening's all about growing and cultivating.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34And, Tony, you've cultivated Nathan.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38One of the great gifts of a gardener is he's passing on that knowledge
0:40:38 > 0:40:40and experience, the wisdom to a youngster.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And it's that cultivation that's very, very special in gardening
0:40:44 > 0:40:49because to teach somebody how to garden is to teach them about life.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51And that is very, very important.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56So, from the heart of Yorkshire something practical like rhubarb
0:40:56 > 0:41:01forcing pots. So, how's that for you, then? Made in Yorkshire.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05- Thank you. - And it actually says on it, because this is very important,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08"Nurturing tender shoots."
0:41:08 > 0:41:10And you're going off into the big, wide world.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14But I hope you'll come back and realise that gardening's all about
0:41:14 > 0:41:19looking in rhubarb pots in spring and being excited by what you find.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- So, there you are, some rhubarb forcing pots.- Thank you.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- I think we'll make good use of them. - Yeah.- Good.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- I think they'll be all right, won't they?- Cheers.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Yeah, they'll come in very useful.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34And the surprises don't end there. There's another one next door.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40I've asked friends and family to gather
0:41:40 > 0:41:42for a special celebration tea.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45This is a bit of a surprise, isn't it?
0:41:45 > 0:41:49And I'm thrilled that the guest of honour is Sir Charles Legard,
0:41:49 > 0:41:51the owner of Scampston.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54So, I'd like to ask Sir Charles just to say a few words, please.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56- Well done.- Thank you very much.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58And thank you for all the years you've spent here.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02We remember you as a young lad sweeping up leaves.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06And here we are fully grown gardener with a wonderful, I hope,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09gardening career ahead of you. You're the same height as me now.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11- You're a bit bigger.- Yeah.
0:42:12 > 0:42:13But you're a hard-working chap.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17- And I hope your career goes from strength to strength. - Thank you very much.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20- And so we've all come to join in and say thank you.- Cheers.
0:42:20 > 0:42:26And what a better way to celebrate than chomping on Yorkshire rhubarb crumble.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30So, come on. Get in there. Tea and rhubarb.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Go on. Yeah, you be Mum.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Thank you very much indeed.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37Can I have some cream, please, with my rhubarb?
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Here's to Yorkshire.
0:42:41 > 0:42:42Thank you very much.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47What a happy and tasty end to a terrific visit.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51So, has everybody got some rhubarb...that wants it? And a brew.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55From a Lancastrian to a lot of Yorkshire folk, well,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58what more could you have? So, keep growing.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03Keep producing Yorkshire rhubarb and good luck to you all.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05- ALL:- Thank you.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Today, I've revelled in seeing old and new working together.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15York Gate, once a superb private garden,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19now the pride and joy of a gardening charity.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24Armley Mill, a derelict industrial site beginning to blossom with new life.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29And Scampston where a contemporary garden sits like a gem in historic
0:43:29 > 0:43:34parkland and where old hands are inspiring young hearts.