0:00:02 > 0:00:05Britain has a long and proud gardening heritage.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08And a passion for plants that goes back centuries.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12But all is not well in our once green and pleasant land.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16- Front gardens paved over. - Our lawns lacklustre.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21- And rare wild flowers on the brink of extinction.- So, we need you...
0:00:21 > 0:00:25- To help us...- In our campaign... - To help rediscover...
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Our passion for gardening.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We're going to give you the best gardening tips.
0:00:30 > 0:00:36Revealing British gardens that will quite simply take your breath away.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41- It's time to plant.- And prune. - And sharpen your shears.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Let the great British garden revival begin.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27On tonight's show,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Joe Swift champions the great British front garden.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But first, I'm on the wild flower revival campaign.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43When I was a child, the countryside around where I was brought up
0:01:43 > 0:01:47in north Hampshire was filled with wild flowers, all appearing
0:01:47 > 0:01:52in their season, whether they be the first primroses, the violets,
0:01:52 > 0:01:58the lanes and the fields were spangled with these lovely jewel-like flowers.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Now, that has nearly completely disappeared.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07Over 98% of our wild flower meadows have gone.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09They simply don't exist any more.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14But I passionately believe that it's not too late.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Every gardener across the country can grow our beautiful native
0:02:18 > 0:02:21wild flowers to support the rich
0:02:21 > 0:02:26and varied ecosystem that our entire world depends on.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Join me, Monty Don, for the great British wild flower revival.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41To get my revival underway,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45I'll show you how to create your own beautiful wild flower meadow.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52There. I've made my lawn looked dreadful.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55'I try my hand at harvesting
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'an ancient meadow in the traditional way.'
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- Whoops, that's not good. - He could be doing it better.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03He could be doing it a lot better.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'And I get a privileged glimpse into the botanical
0:03:06 > 0:03:08'equivalent of Fort Knox.'
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This is the world's largest biodiversity hotspot,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15- this room here. - And I can tell you, hot it is not.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26This is Pensthorpe,
0:03:26 > 0:03:31over 650 acres of wildlife reserve in Norfolk.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36And it has an incredible range of wild animals and plants,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41so is the perfect place to begin my wild flower revival.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Meadows like these are a living remnant of what our countryside
0:03:46 > 0:03:48used to look like.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52During the Second World War,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55the drive to produce more home-grown food meant that many of our meadows
0:03:55 > 0:03:59were ploughed up for cereal crops, or fertilised for extra grass.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03As a result, it is estimated that today only 2%
0:04:03 > 0:04:07of our ancient meadows, with their lovely wild flowers, survive.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12We can all play a role in bringing our wild flowers back,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15but creating the right environment for them has its challenges.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23The problem with a wild flower meadow is grass.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Where grass grows well, it tends to swamp everything else.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32Luckily, there is one flower that can solve the problem of grass
0:04:32 > 0:04:33at a stroke.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36It's a kind of magic bullet.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It's called yellow rattle, because the seed heads,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43which you can see here, rattle as you go through them.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And sometimes when you walk through a great sea of yellow rattle,
0:04:47 > 0:04:52you have these maracas rattling away at your feet.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Yellow rattle is semi-parasitic on the roots of grass,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58so it's taking the grass's vigour.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03As a result, the grass never gets strong enough to suppress
0:05:03 > 0:05:06either the rattle or other plants around it.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11And because the grass is dying back, in the wake of the yellow rattle,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13all kinds of other plants will come in.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17And you develop very quickly a lovely wild flower meadow.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24So, with yellow rattle as my secret weapon,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I'll show you a few other essential tips to ensure
0:05:27 > 0:05:33success in establishing your own patch of glorious wild flowers.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40It doesn't matter whether you're making a small area around a bench
0:05:40 > 0:05:43or a great big meadow,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46if you want to create an area of wild flowers,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49you've got to impoverish the grass as much as possible.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52So, here we have an area where the grass is looking pretty rough
0:05:52 > 0:05:55anyway, which is great. Poor grass is fantastic.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59Set your mower to its lowest level and scalp it.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Cut it so it's suffering.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07And when it is on its knees, now is the time to give it a good kicking.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Now, it helps if you have a really strong rake,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14because this means that you can really dig in.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Grass is a thug.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25It gets into the soil and then bullies its way,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27dominates its neighbours.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33The point of this brutal exercise is not to let the grass dominate
0:06:33 > 0:06:35early on in the process.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38There.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40I've made my lawn look dreadful.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45But I want bare patches of soil, because that will allow
0:06:45 > 0:06:49the wild flowers that I'm sowing a chance to establish.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54If, secretly, you've always resented the tyranny of keeping
0:06:54 > 0:06:56the perfect lawn, now is your moment.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Rip it up and sow some wild flowers
0:06:59 > 0:07:02and you will have a beautiful wild flower meadow that will
0:07:02 > 0:07:06look much nicer than the lawn for a lot less trouble.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13I've got three sets of seeds here.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16But the really important ingredient that
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I must add to it is semi-parasitic yellow rattle.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26So the yellow rattle starts my mix. This is a small scabious.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Small scabious is one of our most nectar-rich flowers, and will
0:07:30 > 0:07:34attract a huge variety of moths and butterflies to your garden.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37A little bit of hawkbit.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Rough hawkbit is a bright yellow daisy that has the ability to
0:07:40 > 0:07:45regenerate and flower again even after close cutting.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46And, finally, some knapweed.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Knapweeds are one of our longest flowering groups of wild flowers,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and will last into early autumn.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Now, you can see I've got hardly any seed in there.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03There is no point in over sowing,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06because all you'll be doing is having young plants competing with
0:08:06 > 0:08:11each other for nutrients and water and light, and that won't help.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Once they are established, they will set their own seed,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16so they will increase at a rate they can sustain.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20When it comes to sowing, we will sow them thinly.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27I'm not worried about an even distribution.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31It doesn't matter if I have a little group of one thing or a clump.
0:08:31 > 0:08:37Nature doesn't create a perfectly harmonised, co-ordinated look.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38It's patchy.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43What you now have to do is tread it in, because to get good
0:08:43 > 0:08:48germination, you need direct contact between the seed and soil.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52So, just tread over it. Like this.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Pushing the seed down against the soil.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01And where it's fallen on grass, the rain will wash it down,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05but we're just helping it on the way.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09And in just a year or two, your mini meadow could look like this.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12A tapestry of colourful wild flowers
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and home to a rich diversity of wildlife.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26The few remaining ancient meadows that still exist in the countryside
0:09:26 > 0:09:29have taken hundreds of years to evolve,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and the only way we can increase them in the future
0:09:32 > 0:09:35is by protecting them and re-establishing new ones.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Coach Road Field in East Sussex is one of our oldest meadows.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44The estate manager Keith is one of a small but passionate
0:09:44 > 0:09:48group of people across the UK who have taken up a Royal challenge.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Coronation Meadows is a project inspired by His Royal Highness,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55the Prince of Wales.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58He wanted to celebrate the 60 years of his mother's
0:09:58 > 0:10:06reign by identifying and recognising 60 surviving ancient meadows,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10so truly ancient land surviving with its species richness.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- And this is one of them? - This is one of them.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14It's been farmed totally traditionally
0:10:14 > 0:10:16since anybody can remember.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18When you say "species rich", what are you talking about?
0:10:18 > 0:10:22There might be 250 different species in this field.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24And when you start to think that each one of them will be
0:10:24 > 0:10:26a host to something,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30then you can see meadows really are the base of the conservation pyramid.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Coronation meadows like this one are a vital source of wild flower seeds
0:10:37 > 0:10:41that will provide the blueprint for more and more meadows across the UK.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47So, I'm joining volunteers and members of the Scything Association
0:10:47 > 0:10:50to make hay while the sun shines.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55You need to keep it on the ground on this kind of grass,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57press it into the grass as well.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Nearly right.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04On the ground, and even smaller steps than you were doing before.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Literally baby steps.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14For millennia, hay was cut with scythes exactly like this.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Cutting and removing the grass is essential for keeping
0:11:17 > 0:11:23the soil fertility low, which is the key to successful wild flowers.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Sorry, that's not good!
0:11:25 > 0:11:30It may look easy, but there's more to this than meets the eye.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- He could be doing it better. - He could be doing it a lot better!
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Instead of standing with a mocking look on your face
0:11:37 > 0:11:40watching my pathetic efforts! Why do you use a scythe?
0:11:40 > 0:11:41I started scything
0:11:41 > 0:11:45because I wanted a low carbon way of keeping grass down on my allotment.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47And I got hooked.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49When you get in the flow of it, it's amazing
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and the grass just falls over like it's been unzipped from the ground.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I like the way that it's not invasive.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Insects have a chance to jump out of the way,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02frogs and mice can scurry out of the way of the blade.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06When you've got a great machine, everything is just gobbled up
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and spat out.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13And there are other merits to putting the brakes on now and again.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17I've used strimmers and heavy machinery and noisy machinery
0:12:17 > 0:12:22and I've been kitted up to the eyeballs. And it's not fun.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24This, I absolutely love.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31You feel what the ground is doing more.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34You can feel how the blade is cutting through the grass.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37With a machine, things like the wild flowers, you don't
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- notice as much.- For some of the volunteers here today,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41the ancient skills of scything
0:12:41 > 0:12:45have given them a fresh perspective on modern-day farming methods.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49It's a great way of dealing with those areas that you couldn't
0:12:49 > 0:12:51otherwise deal with.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55It's those corners, they are the harbours that we've just got to
0:12:55 > 0:12:59not just protect but increase somehow.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Rather than being turned and made into hay, this freshly cut
0:13:02 > 0:13:06grass is loaded up and taken to a nearby recipient field.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10That will spread the seed so that we can make a new meadow from that.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Just like the mini meadow that I sowed earlier,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17it will take a few years to establish, but it will happen,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19and add to our tiny stock
0:13:19 > 0:13:22of beautiful meadows filled with flowers.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25We are creating something that is not just beautiful, but a
0:13:25 > 0:13:29really important seed bank,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32something to pass on to future generations.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36It's a very simple idea, but, boy, it's a powerful one too.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Back at Pensthorpe, many of the wild flower meadows have recently
0:13:49 > 0:13:53been reclaimed and reseeded from unfertile farmland
0:13:53 > 0:13:55under the watchful eye of the head warden, Ed Jones.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57On the farm here,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02we have recreated 50 acres of wild flower meadows by taking land,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06poor land, out of production and sowing them with wild flowers.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09So they are a really important part of the whole ecosystem.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10Without the wild flowers,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13we wouldn't have that huge array of wildlife here.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17We wouldn't have as many bees, butterflies, dragonflies,
0:14:17 > 0:14:18snakes, frogs.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21It is like a little micro habitat here,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and therefore there is food for birds and mammals.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The more we can encourage the wild flowers,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29the more wildlife comes into this area.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34If you are inspired to do your bit
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and champion your local wild flower meadows,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40there are lots of common wild flowers that you can collect
0:14:40 > 0:14:42as the seedheads mature in late summer.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47With over 300 species of wild flowers here, there is
0:14:47 > 0:14:49a huge variety for me to collect.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57Here we are in September, and it is a subtle tapestry that is every
0:14:57 > 0:15:01bit as beautiful as the intense colours you get in June or July.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03I love it.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07It shows you wild flowers can look good from early spring
0:15:07 > 0:15:09well into autumn.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Of course, the dried seed heads are there to be collected.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14This is knapweed.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18It looks like a dried-up scruffy thing,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20but in there we've got the seeds.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26It's fine to collect a small amount of common species when found in
0:15:26 > 0:15:30abundance, but always check and seek permission from the landowner first.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Devil's bit scabious is a stunning lilac nectar-rich wild flower
0:15:37 > 0:15:41that prefers moisture, so it is thriving here in the meadow.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45It is also the preferred food plant of the marsh fritillary butterfly.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Wild carrot, or Queen Anne's lace,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52is another common beautiful British native.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56As the flowers mature and turn to seed, the seed head closes
0:15:56 > 0:15:59to provide a shelter for all sorts of insect life.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02A very common but beautiful wild flower
0:16:02 > 0:16:04is this bird's foot trefoil.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08It's got these distinctive, really strong yellow flowers,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and they are called bird's foot trefoil
0:16:11 > 0:16:14because look at the seed here. There is the seed head.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19A very distinctive sort of hen's foot feature, these long pods
0:16:19 > 0:16:22full of little seeds, just like peas in a pod.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27However, most of us don't have the chance to collect our own seed.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30But there are special seed merchants that will grow,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34mix and supply an astonishing array for you.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37The intensively farmed fields of Norfolk might seem
0:16:37 > 0:16:41an unlikely place to find a specialist wild flower seed merchant,
0:16:41 > 0:16:46but 33 years ago, botanist Donald Macintyre chose to pioneer
0:16:46 > 0:16:49the farming of native British flowers for seed here.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53What prompted your interest in wild flowers?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I've always been a country boy, and my mum too.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59When I was a little lad, she used to take me for walks,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01looking for wild flowers.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06I can remember being a young boy of about five, my sister two,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11sitting in a field just by the church where my parents got married.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It was full of flowers. Now they've all gone.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19We cannot just eliminate all biodiversity from our environment
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- and just grow food crops.- And where do gardeners come into this?
0:17:23 > 0:17:28Today, wild gardens provide a really rich habitat for invertebrates.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I think there's been some recent research which has
0:17:30 > 0:17:35found the number of invertebrates found in gardens is greater
0:17:35 > 0:17:37than found on normal farmland.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Every year, Donald grows up to 300 species of native flowers
0:17:43 > 0:17:44and grasses.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48These must be dried, sorted and cleaned before creating
0:17:48 > 0:17:52recipes custom-made for your particular soil and situation,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55as shown to me by the manager, Richard Brown.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57- So just tip it on top?- Yep.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Is that a particular group of grasses?
0:18:02 > 0:18:04That is a selection of grasses for a clay soil.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Now we need diversity in terms of flowers.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09What would it cost to do a load of seed like this?
0:18:09 > 0:18:11The flowers are the expensive bit,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13and the grass is relatively inexpensive.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- The total for this area is something like £8,000, of which...- Sorry.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23- £8,000? For a thing of seed like this?- That's right.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But in terms of the number of seeds you're getting for that money,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30there are millions and millions.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33£20 will buy you a handful of seed mix sufficient to cover
0:18:33 > 0:18:37an area the size of a tennis court, so it is actually fantastic value.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Once the base of wild grasses is raked out,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45we're ready to add the wild flower seeds to the mix.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50How do you select what is best to add to it in terms of the diversity?
0:18:50 > 0:18:53We use the natural meadows, the few that are remaining, as our model,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56because that is a community that works.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59That gives us an idea what proportions we're aiming for.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Also, we've got to know how they behave on their own.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03I call it the hare and tortoise model.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05You've got some species like a daisy, which is a hare,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08establishes very quickly and produces a result soon,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and a cowslip is the tortoise - goes very slowly, might take two or
0:19:12 > 0:19:16three years to get there, but do a good result in the end and hang in.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21What's particularly fascinating about watching this process of seeds
0:19:21 > 0:19:25gathered from the field and got ready for delivery is how bespoke it is.
0:19:25 > 0:19:31Every conceivable situation can have a seed mix precisely to suit it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35And of course the implication for us gardeners is whatever garden
0:19:35 > 0:19:41you have, wherever it is, you can grow a wild flower mix.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51You don't have to have a field to grow wild flowers.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Back at Pensthorpe, I want to show you the easiest way to
0:19:54 > 0:19:58create your own wild flower meadow in a very modest space.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07Whilst it would be lovely to have your own wild flower meadow
0:20:07 > 0:20:11that you could scythe and gather the grass from, most of us
0:20:11 > 0:20:13don't have that opportunity
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and some of us don't have gardens at all.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Or very, very small ones.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19But there's no reason
0:20:19 > 0:20:22why you couldn't grow wild flowers in a container.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I've got an old tin bath here
0:20:24 > 0:20:27with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32And I'm going to make a little meadow based upon chalk down land.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Chalk down land has perhaps the richest
0:20:35 > 0:20:39number of species of wild flowers in the UK.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43One of its characteristics is that it is very freely drained,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48alkaline soil. So to mimic that, old smashed-up pots.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Polystyrene chips will do, anything that will improve drainage.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58On top of it, I've even got some chalk limestone
0:20:58 > 0:21:01to improve that quality of down land.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09Now, this means that the roots will get down into alkaline soil.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11They'll feel at home.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Now, on top of that, I'm putting some of the local topsoil.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18And if you don't have any soil, you could use seed compost,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20which is low in fertility.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25If in doubt, mix it with some grit to lower fertility even more,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28because these wild flowers have evolved
0:21:28 > 0:21:30to thrive in poor conditions,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35whereas their competitors - grass, docks, nettles - will romp.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39And once they romp, then they suppress those lovely wild flowers.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Right. This is now ready for planting.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44I've got a tray of plugs here,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47all chosen for their suitability for chalk down land.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52And a plug is called a plug because it's a plug of root and soil.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56And it's a very convenient way to set plants going
0:21:56 > 0:21:59which are already established. You don't have to worry about the seeds.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Now, this wild thyme...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05still got that lovely, hot, summery aroma.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09With a plug, all you have to do is make a hole with your finger
0:22:09 > 0:22:12and pop it in. It's as easy as that.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15So let's have a couple of wild thyme in there.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Now, for flowers, I've got some ox-eye daisies.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21They can take over a little bit but they're pretty.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23It's a mistake to plant them evenly.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26You want to think in terms of groups.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28These will spread and sort themselves out.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31The field scabious, Knautia arvensis,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34put a little group on this side.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Now, I've got a form of St John's wort here, Hypericum perforatum...
0:22:39 > 0:22:42..which will give us a little bit of height.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48All these, I stress, are designed to thrive in chalk down land.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53But you can get plugs for lots of different types of situation.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Now, this is not a bedding scheme.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59This will evolve and change, and some plants will die.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Others will take over and become too dominant,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05but that's the nature of a meadow.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08So all I've got to do now is just water it and leave it.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10These plants are completely hardy,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13they don't need any kind of protection, and they'll be fine.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Pensthorpe is an inspiring example
0:23:29 > 0:23:32of how acres of wild flowers can be restored.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37And shows that it is possible to turn the tide for our wild flowers
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and drastically change the numbers in their favour.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46A great meadow filled with flower is one of life's great joys.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50But the really critical part is the seed.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56Without those seeds, we can't possibly keep our wild flowers.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59So not only is it important to look after them,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02but we must treat them as precious,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05because if we lose them, they're gone for ever.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Seeds are the ultimate time capsules,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and if we can safeguard our remaining wild flower seeds
0:24:13 > 0:24:16for the future, then we can return acres of wild flower meadows
0:24:16 > 0:24:18to our landscape.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25That's exactly what the pioneering Kew's millennium seed bank
0:24:25 > 0:24:31has been doing to secure the future of our British native plants.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36This is Wakehurst Place, set in beautiful Sussex countryside.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Here they are collecting, or at least attempting to collect,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42every single seed in the world.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51In excess of 2 billion seeds are kept here.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54And these, almost the entire UK population
0:24:54 > 0:24:59of 1,300 native wild flower species, are meticulously logged.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02This collection is incredibly valuable.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05And it's stored under lock and key in an underground bunker
0:25:05 > 0:25:09which I'm getting a rare opportunity to visit.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It's got overtones of James Bond, of a nuclear bunker.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Of a bank vault.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22This is a place that is built to last.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24There's an enormous slab of steel.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28It's giving out this message that whatever is in inside here
0:25:28 > 0:25:34is both very valuable and incredibly well protected.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Now, there are cold rooms leading off from here,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38and they're really cold. Minus 20.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41So I need to put on some protective clothing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45The Arctic temperature keeps insects and pathogens at bay
0:25:45 > 0:25:48and prevents the seeds from germinating whilst in storage.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54- Hello!- Hello!- Oh, it is cold in here!- It is, yes.- Chilly!
0:25:54 > 0:25:59Janet Terry has been looking after the seed bank for the last 32 years.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Now, what I love, you walk in here
0:26:01 > 0:26:06and this marvellous high-tech building, and all these resources,
0:26:06 > 0:26:07and it's Kilner jars!
0:26:07 > 0:26:10They've proved to be probably the best container
0:26:10 > 0:26:14that we've managed to find to keep the seeds dry in the minus 20.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18In this minus 20 temperature, these will keep for how long?
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Some of them will live for hundreds of years.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Some of them will only live for tens of years.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Each one of these seeds holds the genetic blueprint
0:26:27 > 0:26:29for a species of plant,
0:26:29 > 0:26:34some of which are extremely rare and endangered in the outside world.
0:26:34 > 0:26:41So, in this room, you have the entire UK native flora,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- bar one or two...- Exactly. - ..in here.- Yeah.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47This is the world's largest biodiversity hotspot,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- this room here.- Really?- Yeah.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Just take that thought again.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57This is the world's largest biodiversity hotspot, right here.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01And I can tell you, hot it is not!
0:27:01 > 0:27:03It's freezing!
0:27:04 > 0:27:07In the last few years, this seed bank has helped to revive
0:27:07 > 0:27:10five of Britain's most endangered species.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16In this storage facility, I'm seeing the whole world of botany.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Forests, meadows, savannas,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22jungles, gardens.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Stacked up in one place.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30And when you start to think about the potential held in these vaults,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33it's not only mind-boggling but deeply reassuring.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Wild flowers are staggeringly beautiful
0:27:43 > 0:27:45but usually very undemanding to grow,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49as well as providing a vital habitat for our native wildlife.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55And once you start to grow them, you might find yourself getting hooked.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58When Linda Laxton moved house in the 1980s,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00she wanted to fill her Georgian cottage
0:28:00 > 0:28:04with the native wild flowers that she'd loved as a child.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08But after failing to find any wild flower seeds or plants to buy,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11she decided to collect a small amount of wild flower seed
0:28:11 > 0:28:12and to grow her own.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15At the end of the first year,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I'd got so many that I decided to sell them at a car boot,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and suddenly I had a business selling
0:28:20 > 0:28:25wild flowers from my back garden in an 8 x 6 greenhouse and a cold frame.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Over the next 25 years, Linda's business,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32along with her wild flowers, blossomed.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38We've now got six acres and we grow over 1 million plants a year,
0:28:38 > 0:28:44all native, and try to do our little bit to help restore the countryside.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46There's some red poppies over here, let's have a look,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48see if we can see some more bees.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Our native plants are so beautiful.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Primroses and violets and in the summer, the harebells.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Agrimony, which has lovely fluffy pink flowers on it
0:28:57 > 0:29:00and the bees and the hoverflies just swarm all over it.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Every single person that's got a garden should be considering
0:29:05 > 0:29:07putting wild flowers in there.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11We, as individuals, can actually help the decline...
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Bee, sorry!
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Well, I hope I've persuaded you that wild flowers
0:29:28 > 0:29:32are wonderful things to include in any garden.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37And it's something that, if we all care about, then we all look after
0:29:37 > 0:29:41because they belong to us and they're part of our daily lives.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46So, everybody everywhere benefits.
0:29:51 > 0:29:56'Next, Joe Swift is on another Garden Revival campaign.'
0:29:56 > 0:29:58At one point in our rich gardening heritage,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01the front garden was highly valued.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04It was the place to show off our gardening prowess.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Over time, though, this intrinsic part of our homes' design
0:30:09 > 0:30:12has fallen out of favour and simply become a no-man's land
0:30:12 > 0:30:15between the street and our front door.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20But worse than that still, it's being concreted over at an alarming rate.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24But getting rid of this planted buffer can reduce drainage
0:30:24 > 0:30:31by up to 50%, increase pollution and adversely affect our very wellbeing.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34I'm Joe Swift and I'm here to convince you to breathe new life
0:30:34 > 0:30:38into the Great British front garden.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40'On my mission, I meet the expert who wants us
0:30:40 > 0:30:43'to fight pollution through greenery.'
0:30:43 > 0:30:46If you put the plants very close to the traffic then they have a greater
0:30:46 > 0:30:51chance of soaking up the pollution and making a significant reduction.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54'I get inspired by the anti-concrete community
0:30:54 > 0:30:56'who have won awards for their planting prowess.'
0:30:56 > 0:30:59It's cleaner, it's nicer here, and the gardens look better.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01But also, everybody's talking to each other.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03There's a wonderful social cohesion.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06'And show you how to transform your own front garden
0:31:06 > 0:31:07'in a few simple steps.'
0:31:07 > 0:31:09So don't concrete them over,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12don't pave them all over, there's always a solution.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24I've come to the north-east of England where, sadly,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27some of the worst damage has been done to our front gardens.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Here, nearly half of them have been mostly paved over
0:31:30 > 0:31:35in the nation's desire to turn them into miniature car parks.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41'But there is one exception.'
0:31:41 > 0:31:46This is Rockcliffe Avenue, a terrace of 24 houses, each with their
0:31:46 > 0:31:50own strip of front garden leading out onto this charming alleyway.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53All the residents here take enormous pride in their neighbourhood,
0:31:53 > 0:31:58which makes it the perfect place to kick-start my front garden revival.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03'It all started six years ago when the neighbours came together
0:32:03 > 0:32:06'to brighten up their dingy alleyway with a few pots.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09'And the transformation was instant.'
0:32:09 > 0:32:12We used to have a lot of kids who used to cause havoc,
0:32:12 > 0:32:13and it's stopped all of that.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16And people don't drop rubbish in this street any more, neither.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20It's a different place. It's transformed it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24We all get involved and help with the weeding, dead-heading
0:32:24 > 0:32:26and contributing, basically.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33'What started with a few plants has now become the talk of the town,
0:32:33 > 0:32:38'and in 2010 they even won an award for Best Street in North Tyneside,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'and their efforts have had an even more profound effect.'
0:32:42 > 0:32:45It's definitely brought the neighbours together.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48We all come out and we all do our own pots and that.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49It's made a friendlier street.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Everybody in this street wants to natter and chat
0:32:52 > 0:32:54about the gardens, about the pots.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57So what took a quarter of an hour now takes two hours to do.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59HE LAUGHS
0:32:59 > 0:33:02I know we don't have as much time as we used to,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05and we have to think practically about how we use these spaces,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08but I'm determined to show you why it's time to
0:33:08 > 0:33:12rekindle your love of what's right outside your front door.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21'To start my revival, I'm heading to Letchworth Garden City,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24'the vision of Victorian architect Ebenezer Howard,
0:33:24 > 0:33:29'who pioneered the idea of a patch of green outside your front door.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32'I'm meeting historian Caroline Holmes to get a greater insight.'
0:33:32 > 0:33:35So I've been walking around Letchworth Garden City,
0:33:35 > 0:33:36and it's unbelievable.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40It is incredibly green, and obviously designed in the first place
0:33:40 > 0:33:44- with front gardens and green space in mind.- Absolutely, it was key.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Ebenezer Howard looked at people squashed into city centres
0:33:48 > 0:33:50and said, "No, there's no way.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53"It's not good for your health, it's not good for your wellbeing.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57"Earn city wages and live somewhere that's green and pleasant
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"and takes you back to all our roots, back to countryside."
0:34:00 > 0:34:03By giving every house a front garden,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06it provides another piece of green,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10and as you look down the streets, you have hedges and trees
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and shrubs and all the different houses in their different styles
0:34:13 > 0:34:17that are all part of the public space but still owned individually.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19And there's a sort of civic pride
0:34:19 > 0:34:22in making sure that you're not letting the side down.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24Absolutely.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26'This place really is incredible.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29'One of the reasons this Great British heritage is alive
0:34:29 > 0:34:30'and kicking in Letchworth is
0:34:30 > 0:34:34'because front gardens are protected by law here, which is
0:34:34 > 0:34:36'sadly not the case across the rest of the country,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40'where many of them have been completely paved over.'
0:34:40 > 0:34:43So when was the start of the decline of the front garden?
0:34:43 > 0:34:47I would say... I'd put it at the 1960s.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50There is increased use of cars, people need the space
0:34:50 > 0:34:54so they tend to pave it over, goodbye front garden for the moment.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57And that was it? So the car really was the beginning of the end?
0:34:57 > 0:35:01It seems very sad, but possibly it's the case.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04'So the number one obstacle in my campaign to save the front garden
0:35:04 > 0:35:06'is the question of where to park
0:35:06 > 0:35:09'the 28 million cars we have in the UK,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12'a problem that's very apparent only a few miles away.'
0:35:12 > 0:35:14I've been walking up and down this road in Watford
0:35:14 > 0:35:18for about five minutes, and some of the gardens are quite nice.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22But most of them are just car parking spaces,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and frankly, it's quite depressing.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32'In London alone over the last five years, 120,000 applications
0:35:32 > 0:35:35'were made to lower the kerb for off-street parking.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39'One major issue caused by our need for cars is loud and clear.'
0:35:39 > 0:35:41CAR HORN HONKS
0:35:41 > 0:35:45'Paving over the front garden has a dangerous effect on water drainage,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48something London Wildlife Trust Director of Policy,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50Matthew Frith, is well aware of.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54One or two front gardens on the street that have been paved over
0:35:54 > 0:35:55don't have much of an impact.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Once it starts to get to hundreds, thousands,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01which in some parts of our cities they really are,
0:36:01 > 0:36:05then all it takes is a relatively heavy rain period.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07All of a sudden, the sewers can't cope.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10So, the water has to find somewhere to go
0:36:10 > 0:36:12and that's when you get those flash floods.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16And there are parts of our cities which are already vulnerable to that
0:36:16 > 0:36:19because we have, literally, stripped our gardens away.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22David, you're an independent parking expert,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25and is your argument that we just need somewhere to park cars?
0:36:25 > 0:36:29That's right. Three-quarters of the households in Britain
0:36:29 > 0:36:31have a car, 40% of them have two cars.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34And increasingly, it's difficult to park on the road,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36and the front garden is the only place
0:36:36 > 0:36:38where they can park their cars.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Are you concerned about the environmental effect?
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Are drivers on the whole concerned about the environmental effect?
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Unfortunately, in a period of economic difficulty,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51the environment goes pretty low down on motorists' priority list.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52What do you think, Matthew?
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Do you think the front garden can be a garden
0:36:54 > 0:36:56and somewhere to park the car too?
0:36:56 > 0:36:57Absolutely.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02The clever solution is to provide parking which is hard but porous,
0:37:02 > 0:37:06so that addresses at least in some way the surface water run-off.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09But there are always spaces to put a little bit of vegetation,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12whether it's flower beds or something a little wilder,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15for wildlife, those can be done.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17And when you see it, you're being given a change,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20a kind of feeling of the community again.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Parking isn't an option on Rockcliffe Avenue here in Whitley Bay
0:37:31 > 0:37:35because the row of front gardens on the terrace are accessed
0:37:35 > 0:37:37by this beautifully planted alley.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Everything here is grown in containers.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43But if you want your front garden to be both practical and hard-wearing,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45I've got a few tips which will help you achieve it
0:37:45 > 0:37:48without turning it into a paved wasteland.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Now, if you don't think you can have a nice front garden with
0:37:56 > 0:38:00plenty of plants in it and somewhere to park the car, then think again.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04There is always a way. And this is a handy piece of kit.
0:38:04 > 0:38:09It's a reinforced hexagonal plastic mesh that goes into the ground,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11and it means that water can penetrate through it.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16At the same time, you can park your car where there's gravel or plants.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18'These plastic grids will support the weight of a car,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21'and I'm going to show you how easy it is to install them
0:38:21 > 0:38:24'as if you were starting your front garden from scratch.'
0:38:24 > 0:38:25You put a landscape fabric,
0:38:25 > 0:38:31that's this stuff, over the soil, and that will let the water drain through
0:38:31 > 0:38:34but also stop the weeds coming up through it at the same time.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37And then on top of that, we put a layer of sand...
0:38:38 > 0:38:41And then we just bed this stuff in to the top of it,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45and you can fill it with all sorts of stuff.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Say you wanted to have a lawn, you would use a nice bit of loamy
0:38:48 > 0:38:50topsoil with a bit of sand in there as well.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Don't use just garden compost from the garden centre
0:38:53 > 0:38:54cos it's not quite got the body.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58And then it's important just to pat it down as well.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Run your hand over the top to leave a nice fluffy texture,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04perfect for sowing grass seed.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Most people over-sow, they put too much down,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10so just sprinkle a light amount, generally.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14The ideal time to do this is late summer, early autumn,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17about September, October, or spring, again,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20because the temperature's warm enough for it to germinate really well.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Make sure to pat that in as well,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25so that the grass seed is in contact with the soil.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29And then keep it well watered while it establishes itself.
0:39:29 > 0:39:30And that'll green up in no time,
0:39:30 > 0:39:34you'll have a lovely lawn that you can actually drive the car over.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38But I like to mix it up a little bit. You can also use gravel.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Again, it's a really good medium, it gives a textural contrast
0:39:41 > 0:39:44to a lawn and the plants surrounding it too.
0:39:44 > 0:39:50So, just get handfuls of gravel and just fill in the gaps like that.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54And again, you can drive the car over it, and it looks really good.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57If you've already got a lawn in your front garden
0:39:57 > 0:40:00and you're thinking of turning it into a car park, well,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03why don't you use this stuff again but just turn it over,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07and what you do is actually just push it into the ground,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09a bit like a pastry-cutter, yeah?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12And that will actually let the grass grow through it but be able to
0:40:12 > 0:40:16take the weight of a car as well, so it will green up in no time.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19You can see where the car tracks go, and it's as simple as that.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23So, don't concrete them over, don't pave them all over,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25there's always a solution.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33'The next stop on my mission is Birmingham University, to find out
0:40:33 > 0:40:36'why front gardens aren't just vital for water drainage.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40'Professor Rob Mackenzie has spent 25 years studying
0:40:40 > 0:40:43'the relationship between trees and pollution.'
0:40:43 > 0:40:47I'm right behind you in the campaign to bring back the front garden
0:40:47 > 0:40:51because we've known for decades that pollution is taken up by plants.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55If you put the plants very close to the source of the pollution,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58to the traffic, then they have a greater chance of soaking up
0:40:58 > 0:41:00the pollution and making a significant reduction,
0:41:00 > 0:41:04perhaps as much as 10 or 20%. There are two effects.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07One is a purely physical effect.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10It's like putting a piece of filter paper between you
0:41:10 > 0:41:14and the pollution, capturing tiny, tiny particles on their leaves,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17and, to a certain extent, to the stems and twigs and so on.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20There is another process which is happening simultaneously,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23and that's to do with the way the plants breathe.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27So they have particular little breathing holes
0:41:27 > 0:41:29on their leaves called stomata.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32And they exchange gases through that.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34We all know that plants take up carbon dioxide,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36they release oxygen, thank goodness!
0:41:36 > 0:41:40But they also take up pollutants through these breathing holes.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43- Are some plans better than others for dealing with pollution?- Yes.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46They almost certainly are, although it's very early days for this.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50But we do know that as long as the plants have lots of leaves,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53to a certain extent we think that hair on the leaves
0:41:53 > 0:41:57is important too, then all the plants will be providing a benefit.
0:41:57 > 0:42:03Right. I'm going to tackle this issue head on and get the public planting.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05This is a really good plant for a front garden.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09I plant these all over the place. Convolvulus cneorum.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Slightly sort of hairy leaves, which Rob was talking about,
0:42:12 > 0:42:13it's good for pollution.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15'No more excuses.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17'If I pick the perfect front garden greenery...'
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Ceratostigma willmottianum...
0:42:20 > 0:42:24'And give it away for free, the nation can't say no!'
0:42:24 > 0:42:26Honeysuckle...
0:42:26 > 0:42:29'These are all tough plants that thrive in most garden soils
0:42:29 > 0:42:31'and are easy to look after.'
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Trees as well. You know, you can get a lot of trees in a front garden.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37A small tree, perfect for a front garden.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40But I'm not giving away trees! They can come and buy their own!
0:42:40 > 0:42:42What do you think this is?!
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Well, I've got some lovely plants there.
0:42:45 > 0:42:51Enough to start the campaign of transforming the nation's front gardens.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53I'm just going to need some help, I think.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Right! Better get these on board, then!
0:42:59 > 0:43:01'One small plant for mankind,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05'one giant step for the Great British front garden!'
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Right, let's give some plants away!
0:43:08 > 0:43:11'I'm starting in north London, an area I know that needs
0:43:11 > 0:43:13'some serious help.'
0:43:13 > 0:43:17There's some pretty bad ones here on the right.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Hello! Hello, darling.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21She doesn't know what's coming for her!
0:43:23 > 0:43:25- I'll be honest with you, I can't see one flower.- I know.
0:43:25 > 0:43:31- Because I put the car there.- I know, but look at all the gaps around here!
0:43:31 > 0:43:35- Around here. Look, you could put it on here in a nice big pot.- Here?
0:43:35 > 0:43:37- Here, in a nice big pot.- Yeah.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42'There are now a shocking 12 square miles of front garden
0:43:42 > 0:43:47'under paving in the capital alone, an area equivalent to 22 Hyde Parks.'
0:43:47 > 0:43:49It doesn't look like anyone's in, but honestly,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53this one desperately needs some help. I mean, look at this pot over here!
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Look at that! Look at that! I'm going to leave it there.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Does that make any difference? Not much.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01But they'll be wondering who the mystery gardener is!
0:44:01 > 0:44:03'I've definitely got my work cut out.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08'Remember, it only takes one plant to start a pollution revolution!'
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I would like you to take this plant. Yeah? It's a beautiful dianthus.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- It will keep flowering for a long time.- It's very colourful.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17Put it in a pot, take some cuttings, hand it to your neighbours.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18Get everyone growing, gardening.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Thinking about their front garden a little bit more.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23- And spread the love! - And spread the love! Exactly!
0:44:23 > 0:44:26Look at that. That is really good. Pachysandra.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28And that will spread and spread and spread.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31You never know, one day I might get you to come and...
0:44:31 > 0:44:35- Yeah, I'll give you my card later. Give me a shout.- Yeah. All right.
0:44:35 > 0:44:40OK, Lauren. Nice to meet you. Cheers. I might get a job out of that!
0:44:40 > 0:44:44- Keep spreading the word!- All right. - Cheers, thank you.- Good luck.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47'Well, seems like here at least my front garden revival
0:44:47 > 0:44:48'is off to a good start.'
0:44:51 > 0:44:54'So, greener streets for a greener planet.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58'The Rockcliffe Avenue residents are totally committed to the cause.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00'Every inch of this alleyway is helping the environment
0:45:00 > 0:45:04'and keeping our glorious front garden heritage alive.'
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Now, you don't need a lot of space in your front garden to grow
0:45:11 > 0:45:13some plants. In fact, you don't need any.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16All you need is a wall, and everyone's got one of those, right?
0:45:16 > 0:45:18A lot of people are worried about climbers on walls.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21They think, "Oh, no, it's going to damage the pointing,
0:45:21 > 0:45:22"going to damage the brickwork."
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Well, as long as the pointing and brickwork is sound before you plant,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27it's going to be absolutely fine.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29In fact, there's a school of thought that says it's protects
0:45:29 > 0:45:32the brickwork and insulates the house, too.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35So here, we've got an ugly drainpipe.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37And a lot of people have got ugly drainpipes.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Very few plants are going to actually attach themselves to plastic.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42They'll all slide down.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45So the first thing to do is put something that they're going to
0:45:45 > 0:45:48twine up or cling onto first.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52So there's this quite nifty little semi-circular trellis work.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55I've put one up already, just to save a bit of time.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57And I'm going to put the second one in.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00And it's literally a case of a few screws into the wall.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11I've chosen this lovely Clematis armandii.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15It's got these lovely glossy leaves. It's an evergreen plant.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18And clematis will grow nicely in a pot.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24And the first thing you've got to do with pots is put some drainage in.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27Well, I'm just using some old, broken-up pots.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30But you can use a bit of polystyrene, a bit of packaging.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33And then on top of that I'm using some compost.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37I'm using something with a bit of guts, really.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40This has got a little bit of composted bark added in.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Because clematis like it quite fibrous
0:46:43 > 0:46:45and they actually like to be planted quite deep.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48So don't fill it up too much.
0:46:48 > 0:46:55I'm just going to pop it out of the pot there.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Make sure it's leaning the way I want it to,
0:46:58 > 0:47:01so I can just train it up the trellis.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04And then backfill with plenty of compost.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08And there you go.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10And then I'm going to water it in because the roots
0:47:10 > 0:47:14are a little bit dry. And the clematis never likes to dry out.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19And then just on top of that nice damp compost,
0:47:19 > 0:47:23I'm going to put some beach pebbles as well.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25Clematis, they like to have their roots in shade
0:47:25 > 0:47:27and their heads in a bit of sunshine.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34Now, the next thing I want to do is just tie the clematis
0:47:34 > 0:47:38into the trellis here and just encourage it to start growing.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Actually, it's got tendrils, as you can see here,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44so it will start clinging itself. And I'm just going to get it going.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Just do simple loops.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49There's a whole range of plants that actually you could grow,
0:47:49 > 0:47:54things like roses and jasmine and ivies and even climbing hydrangeas
0:47:54 > 0:47:58and plants like that are fantastic for softening a house.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00That now won't need clipping on at all.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Once it gets going, it will actually start attaching itself
0:48:03 > 0:48:05and scramble its way up there.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09And the key is just to not let it dry out at all in a pot.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12But this guttering is dripping nicely.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15It's dripping on my head and now it's dripping into the pot.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17So, going to have to have a word with number 24!
0:48:30 > 0:48:33This is an area I'm really passionate about.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35I live not far from here at all.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38And the beloved Arsenal are just round the corner.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42And there's a community, I'm told, that are coming together through
0:48:42 > 0:48:46their front gardens here and, well, the first signs are really promising.
0:48:49 > 0:48:50'Four years ago,
0:48:50 > 0:48:54'Islington Council in north London started a wild flower seed giveaway,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57'which inspired two of the residents in the Blackstock triangle
0:48:57 > 0:49:00'to take it a step further.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03'They've now got the whole community gardening together.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05'Nicolette Jones is one of the founders
0:49:05 > 0:49:07'of this brilliant initiative.'
0:49:07 > 0:49:10How easy was it to get people on board in the first place?
0:49:10 > 0:49:11Well, it was quite easy.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14But I think there are two things you need to remember.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18One is that it works best if you are fearless about knocking on doors.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Introduce yourself, tell them who you are.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22We talk to people personally. And the second thing is,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25it's very important not to tell people what they have to do,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27to wag a finger and tell them
0:49:27 > 0:49:30they should tidy their front garden or they should plant their tree pit.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33What we did was we knocked on doors and offered them something.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36We would say, "Would you like a free window box with some flowers in it,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40"or would you like a bag with earth and some seeds
0:49:40 > 0:49:42"so that you can grow vegetables on your front path?"
0:49:42 > 0:49:44We started always by giving people something
0:49:44 > 0:49:47and the extraordinary thing was, when you give them something,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49- they give more back.- Mmmm.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52We found that we'd give people a window box, and they would start
0:49:52 > 0:49:55putting pots full of flowers on their concrete forecourt.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59'I think what they've done here is fantastic.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01'They didn't just get gardening,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04'people power helped convince the council to remove concrete
0:50:04 > 0:50:06'from some of the front gardens,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09'the key to solving that all-important drainage issue.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12'And I only have to walk a few feet from Nicolette's front door
0:50:12 > 0:50:15'to find an eager, green-fingered local.'
0:50:15 > 0:50:19We gardening people will say that if you can, thou shalt clean
0:50:19 > 0:50:22and de-weed thy neighbour's tree pits! That's what I've been doing.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25- That's a very good motto! - That's what I've been doing!
0:50:25 > 0:50:28- And that's a very good plant.- It's a pretty little plant, isn't it?
0:50:28 > 0:50:32It's lovely. And they are robust and excellent things, this time of the year in particular.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35'I'm really impressed by all the work they've done here.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38'Think I'd better lend a hand planting this Japanese anemone.'
0:50:38 > 0:50:40- It's all worth it, right? - It's totally worth it.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It's worth it because the place looks better and it's cleaner
0:50:43 > 0:50:45and it's nicer here. And the gardens look better.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47But also, everybody's talking to each other.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49It's a wonderful social cohesion.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52- So gardening can really pull people together?- Gardening has done it.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55It must give people a lot of pride in their neighbourhood?
0:50:55 > 0:51:00It certainly has. Yes, this whole process really does work.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03'Robert's not the only resident that's seeing the benefits.'
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Without the gardening initiative,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07I just don't think people would know one another like they do.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09So it has been fantastic.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12There used to be sort of gardens with nothing but concrete
0:51:12 > 0:51:16and dustbins, and now all of them have something interesting going on in them.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18As you walk past, it sort of makes you smile
0:51:18 > 0:51:21and every day or every month, there's a new garden that's looking
0:51:21 > 0:51:25nicer and nicer as people see what's happening around them.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29'The jewel in the Blackstock crown is at the end of the street,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32'a whole garden donated by two of its residents.'
0:51:32 > 0:51:37- I think it's lovely that someone would actually give their garden to the community.- It's amazing.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40It was an amazing thing. Here we are, rhubarb we're stepping over.
0:51:40 > 0:51:46- Yeah. Wow.- This, with the disco balls in it, is a glam rockery!- Oh, yes!
0:51:46 > 0:51:48- OK!- It's been several years now,
0:51:48 > 0:51:50so we've had different things each year.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53But it's great because it's been a changing array of different kinds
0:51:53 > 0:51:57of edible and decorative plants all together.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00What would you say to people who lived in a street,
0:52:00 > 0:52:01they didn't know their neighbours,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04and they didn't care much about their front gardens either?
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Well, not only have you got, potentially, a great space
0:52:06 > 0:52:09for growing food and for making something beautiful,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12a sort of shop window to your house, if you do start gardening
0:52:12 > 0:52:14the front garden, you will start to know your neighbours.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Once you know your neighbours,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19it's amazing how the sense of community can grow.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Once that grows, the benefits go beyond having a beautiful garden,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26because neighbours help each other, they feed each other's cats,
0:52:26 > 0:52:28they watch out for burglars.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30They are sort of one big family, really,
0:52:30 > 0:52:32and they help each other in all sorts of ways.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34People, you know, walk to the local shops because the streets
0:52:34 > 0:52:37and the gardens are pretty and so it's good for the local economy.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40It makes it a desirable property.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Already, the estate agents are commenting on it in this area.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49So, not only will gardening bring your community together,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52it may also add value to your house.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Well, the neighbourhood spirit is certainly alive and kicking
0:52:55 > 0:52:57here in Rockcliffe Avenue in Whitley Bay.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00All the residents muck in together to keep this alleyway
0:53:00 > 0:53:02looking absolutely fantastic.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05And it's packed full of a huge variety of plants,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08looking particularly good at the moment. This is one of my favourites.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12Cosmos. It just flowers all summer long and all you have to do
0:53:12 > 0:53:16is just keep deadheading it and more flowers will come.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Now, you might think, "Well, I haven't got time for all of that, Joe."
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Well, you're not the only one.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28- Louise, it must be lovely living here?- It's amazing. Lovely.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Surrounded by plants and gardens and keen gardeners.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Yours has got a lot of gravel in it, hasn't it?!
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Do you feel like you're letting the side down a little bit?
0:53:38 > 0:53:40- A little bit, yeah.- Yeah.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43- I need to sort of do a little bit more, I think.- And why is that?
0:53:43 > 0:53:44I think it's time.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46A lot of it's time, you know, I'm a full-time working mum.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48- So you're going to take Rhys off to school?- Yes.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50- And then you're going to work. - Yes, I am, yeah.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52- OK, well, we'll see what we can do. - OK.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55- And we'll see you back here later on. - Lovely, thank you.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00'I've only got a couple of hours to give Louise's front garden
0:54:00 > 0:54:02'a bit of a spruce up.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06'Luckily, Mike and Jenny, the street's top gardeners, are here to help.'
0:54:06 > 0:54:09- You're up for this, are you?- Yeah, sure.- Yes?- I think so!- Yes.- Good.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12- Well, let's get cracking, then! - Where shall I put this, then?
0:54:12 > 0:54:17'First job, and it's free. Let's hide that unsightly gas meter.'
0:54:17 > 0:54:20That's better. That's much better. It deflects the eye, you don't see it so much.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23And the rhododendron's going to grow a bit more. Perfect.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25'Next, the crucial stage...'
0:54:25 > 0:54:27I'm thinking, one there, one there.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30'..lay your plants out to see exactly where you want them.'
0:54:30 > 0:54:32- Two spades.- Two spades!
0:54:32 > 0:54:36'Right, time to get stuck in. Well, for Mike and Jenny...'
0:54:36 > 0:54:38- We're doing the digging, are we?! - I think so!
0:54:38 > 0:54:41- You've got the hang of it!- Yeah!
0:54:41 > 0:54:43'Start by scraping the gravel away...'
0:54:43 > 0:54:46What we need to do is get a knife.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48'Cut the landscape fabric...'
0:54:48 > 0:54:50This is lovely soil.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53'..and dig a hole that's big enough to comfortably take the roots.'
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Just break up some of the roots.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58'It's best to choose a perennial that flowers year after year,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00'like these punchy purple asters...'
0:55:01 > 0:55:03'..sunny rudbeckias...
0:55:03 > 0:55:06'and grasses which are great to break up the gravel.'
0:55:06 > 0:55:07Looks good.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10'I've also bought some annual snapdragons which will decorate
0:55:10 > 0:55:14'the drainpipe and need replacing once they die, giving Louise and Rhys
0:55:14 > 0:55:17'some fun replanting them with whatever they like.'
0:55:17 > 0:55:20That's looking really good, Mike. You've done that before, haven't you?
0:55:20 > 0:55:22A few times! Trenches.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25'We saved the biggest job till last...'
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Well, that's about perfect there.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30'A crab apple tree to give Louise some privacy
0:55:30 > 0:55:33'and the ingredients to make tasty jellies.'
0:55:33 > 0:55:34That looks really good there.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37It just instantly breaks up the space at eye level, you know.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41A small tree in a small garden really can make a difference.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Here they come.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51'Well, I love it, and the neighbours love it.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53'But what will Louise and Rhys think?'
0:55:53 > 0:55:57- Hiya.- Hi!- Good day?- Yes! - Good, good.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01Oh, wow. It's amazing!
0:56:01 > 0:56:04Gosh, what a difference.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09Mike and Jenny did most of the work, frankly! I left them to it!
0:56:09 > 0:56:12- It's lovely.- What do you think, Rhys, do you like it?
0:56:12 > 0:56:16- What's your favourite bit?- The apple tree.- The tree, the crab apple tree?
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it?
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Really pleased with it.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23It will make you feel part of the neighbourhood
0:56:23 > 0:56:24from a gardening point of view!
0:56:24 > 0:56:25Thank you!
0:56:29 > 0:56:32'Whew! It's got her seal of approval.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41'My campaign has been to show you just how important our front gardens are.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44'They're vital in our busy cities.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47'Here in Elephant and Castle, south London, Richard Reynolds
0:56:47 > 0:56:49'is on his own green crusade,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52'but went about it in a rather unusual way...'
0:56:52 > 0:56:56So I moved here to central London nine years ago,
0:56:56 > 0:56:59to a flat in this block which has no garden,
0:56:59 > 0:57:02and soon realised that this was a big frustration
0:57:02 > 0:57:07because for me, gardening as a kid was something I was obsessive about.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11So I channelled that obsession into turning the neglected
0:57:11 > 0:57:15council flower beds around this block into my front garden.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18And what began as a late night,
0:57:18 > 0:57:22illicit, secretive guerrilla activity,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26for me now is something that I do just as I would were it my own.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32'Richard's guerrilla gardening has now got the full support of the local council.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34'They're even giving him funding as his mission spreads
0:57:34 > 0:57:37'to other abandoned patches of green,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40'much to the delight of the local residents.'
0:57:40 > 0:57:44I love the flowers, I love even the fruit trees that he's growing.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47So, it's wonderful and I think there should be more of it.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49It brightens up your day, really, to be honest. Yeah.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54It makes me happy because I love the trees, the grass.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57And it's really good.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00This is an immensely satisfying place to tend.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03It's a really social space, too.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06I would encourage anyone with a bit of land at the front
0:58:06 > 0:58:10of their house, whether it's theirs or not, to go out there and tend it,
0:58:10 > 0:58:14to not only see what they can grow, but to see who they meet.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20Front gardens aren't all about keeping up appearances.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22They're about bringing people together,
0:58:22 > 0:58:25and they're great for the environment, too.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27But if we don't get out and do something about them,
0:58:27 > 0:58:31we're going to lose more and more of the Great British front garden.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd