Ponds and Stumperies Great British Garden Revival

Britain has a long and proud gardening heritage.

And a passion for plants that goes back centuries.

But all is not well in our once green and pleasant land.

Front gardens paved over.

Our lawns lacklustre.

And rare wild flowers on the brink of extinction.

So we need you...

To help us...

In our campaign...

-To help rediscover...

-Our passion for gardening.

We're going to give you the best gardening tips.

And revealing British gardens that will quite simply

take your breath away.

It's time to plant.

And prune.

And sharpen your shears.

Let the Great British Garden Revival begin.

On tonight's show, Chris Beardshaw is on the campaign trail

for the stumpery.

But first, I want water and wildlife to return to our gardens.

As a child, I loved messing about with water. I still do.

I used to take the blanket weed out

and hang it round the garden to make a fairy garden.

As well as being great fun, ponds can look beautiful and, of course,

they're a really amazing habitat for some of our most treasured wildlife.

Unfortunately, over the last century, we've lost over half

a million of our natural ponds due to our demand for water, which

has lowered the water table, pollution, and also redevelopment.

I'm Charlie Dimmock, and I want us to celebrate water and wildlife

in our gardens, so join me in the Great British Pond Revival.

I'm going to be discovering how important ponds

could be for our wildlife.

If you add a small pond, no matter how small, you're going to add

a brand new eco-system into your back garden.

Taking the plunge with a new style of water gardening, and there is

something really special about being up close with the wildlife.

And, step by step, I'll show you how to build your very own mini-wildlife

pond, from the design, through every stage of the build, to planting up.

And once it starts flowering, it will just keep on going.

I'll be hosting my revival at the Brackenhurst Campus

of Nottingham Trent University.

It's home to the school of animal, rural and environmental sciences.

What makes it so special is its amazing networks of small lakes

and ponds, which are managed in a naturalistic way

to maximise their wildlife potential.

What a perfect setting for my revival.

My first job was at a garden centre that specialised in ponds

and pond plants.

I was amazed at the moods that ponds go through.

You get fabulous reflections, the colour,

very seasonal, and there's always something of interest, even in

the winter.

And, for me, water lilies are the most glamorous plant going.

But a pond has so much more to offer than just its natural beauty.

I'm meeting the university's ecologist, Dr Richard Yarnell,

to get an expert opinion on their importance.

Now Richard, here at Brackenhurst

you've got lots of ponds and wildlife.

It's fantastic, but why are you so passionate about it?

I think it started when I was a child.

We had a pond in our back garden and I would come home at lunchtime and

gaze into it and see what was going on in that different world to ours.

Now if you just put a small garden pond in,

is it really going to make much difference environmentally?

Yeah, it will make a huge difference.

The ponds in the wider countryside have been declining over the

last sort of 50 years, and there's been a big effort

to recreate these habitats.

So if you add a small pond, no matter how small,

you're going to add a brand new eco-system into your back garden.

There are species that are much maligned in the UK,

so it will make a huge difference in the conservation

efforts of freshwater species in this country.

So what type of things would we get in your average garden pond, then?

You've got things like water beetles, dragonfly larvae,

frogs and the great crested newt, my favourite.

-So it's definitely worth putting a garden pond in?

-Yes, absolutely.

Since 1945, it's estimated that one million of our rural ponds

have disappeared, and some of our native amphibians have suffered

large declines in numbers.

But we can all help to improve their plight.

The main aim of my revival is to get as many of you as possible to

put a pond in your back garden.

But first things first. Whereabouts in the back garden?

Location is key.

A pond needs lots of light to make the plants grow, to make

the pond clear and pure.

So, avoid overhanging trees that are going to shade the pond

and also, because the leaves will come off and silt the pond

so, go for a nice, open site.

Now, if you're not mad on digging, I've got a fantastic idea

that makes life nice and easy.

So the cheat is, we're going to put the pond half in the ground

and half out of the ground,

so that's going to half the digging, which is always a good thing.

So I've got a plan here.

Basically, we're going to use sleepers to surround the pond

and then it means the bit that you have to dig out is

only the very deep bit in the centre,

and then at one end of the pond we're going to have a bog garden.

That way there's going to be a nice lot of hidey holes for the wildlife,

and they'll be able to get in and out easily.

Now people get into a bit of a tizz about putting ponds in.

It's very straightforward.

As long as the pond is set level

and it holds on to the water, you can't really go wrong.

So it's definitely essential to have one of these.

So, with a spirit level to hand,

mark out where the pond is going to go, using the sleepers as a guide.

Ideally, this sort of job requires at least two pairs of hands for all

the lifting and digging.

And I've got Paul from the university's

horticultural department to lend a hand.

Now if you're putting a pond in for wildlife, you don't want to go

any smaller than about a metre square.

So we're about a metre by a metre and a half.

Now, this bit is a bit faffy, I have to say, but spend the time doing it.

It's all about preparation, and make sure it's level.

If you get these sleepers level now, then it'll be fine.

Our fascination with water goes back centuries.

From small ponds and watering holes to quench livestock on farms,

to village wells and ponds where the community would congregate,

ponds were part of both our lives and that of the wildlife round us.

On the estates of grand stately homes, wealthy owners would

entertain and promenade their guests around their water features.

The size of your lakes and how elaborate your fountains were became

more about status, money and grandeur than anything else.

When the first garden centres arrived on the scene in

the 1950s, they made ponds and water features accessible to everyone.

Come the 1970s and '80s, water gardening began to appear

more heavily in our back gardens.

But like the grand estate lakes, it was more a case of one-upmanship.

Sort of keeping up with the Joneses.

During this time, all sorts of wonderful, interesting new

products were developed

specifically for the water gardening market.

From submersible pond plants to decoy herons that don't work.

Exotic floating plants,

butyl liners and, of course, the iconic kidney-shaped,

pre-formed fibreglass pond that either came in stone or lagoon blue.

But after reaching the height of popularity in the '90s, a new

millennium dawned and the water gardening bubble finally burst.

Ponds began to fall right out of gardening fashion.

I used to work at a centre very similar to this, where a family

would come in just for a day out and would go home with the basics

to start up a pond.

And over the next six weeks, they'd be in and out

to get the pond set up and I think that's what we really need to do.

Inspire people again.

But for me, it's time to refocus our attitudes

and encourage a new era, and let the wildlife encourage us all

to have a pond in our gardens again.

The gardens at Brackenhurst were designed

and built in the popular style of Edwin Lutyens.

In the 1920s, fountains, rills and water features were popular

and the sunken Italianate gardens

and rose gardens featured beautiful formal ponds.

'But most impressive is the more naturalistic woodland area

'with its ornate bridge and boat house

'and one of the first large dew ponds to be built in the country in 1928.

'A pond on this scale is a little grand for the average back garden

'but my small pond has the same wildlife values at heart.'

There we go.

So that's the sleepers fixed together and they're level.

We've dug out the pond in the centre.

So that's 60cm from where our water level is

to the bottom of the pond

and we've now just got to line the pond with sand

so that it beds the liner.

'A soft surface is essential to prevent punctures from the stones

'in the underlying soil.

'So it's important to use a good layer of sand,

'or specialist horticultural felt, before placing the liner on top.'

Right then, Paul,

let's get this liner going.

'I would always recommend using a butyl liner

'because you can get it to fit any shape, or size, of pond.

'You need to know three key measurements.

'The maximum width, length and depth,

'so that your supplier can calculate the total area of liner that you'll need.'

I have to say, Paul, this bit is always a real fiddle, isn't it?

-It is.

-I try and get the folds really neat.

There's plenty of overhang.

Don't be tempted to cut the liner until you've filled the pond.

It's amazing how much more it will actually sink in.

Ideally you'd fill the pond with rainwater

but the likelihood of you having that much rainwater around

is limited, so we're going to have to use tap water.

Now if you spray the water in you get rid of

half of the chlorine straight away.

It will take quite a while to fill up

but once you've got some water in there you can

pull against the weight of the water to neaten up the liner.

'You're never going to get rid of every fold with a liner

'but you really won't notice when the pond is fully planted up.

'The good thing about the folds is that they are great

'little hiding places for aquatic wildlife.'

'My pond will work perfectly in any small garden

'but if you're lucky enough to have a much bigger space to play with,

'then that opens up some very exciting watery opportunities.'

Look at this for a beautiful pond.

Who wouldn't want it in your back garden?

Fabulous planting and beautiful reflections

with lots and lots of wildlife.

Just the perfect place to chill out and relax.

But there's more to this pond than meets the eye.

Wooh!

SHE LAUGHS

So what do you think of that?

A swimming pond.

I think I've got to have one. Look fantastic, great for wildlife

and entertainment!

'This inspirational, private pond belongs to a lucky family

'that live near Doncaster and mum and dad, Sarah and Will,

'took the plunge to build it just three years ago.'

This is just fabulous.

It looks like it's been here forever.

What made you go, "OK, we're going to put a swimming pond in

"rather than a traditional swimming pool?"

First off, we started doing some wild swimming holidays.

We went to Northumberland and swam in the streams and things there

and the water was so fresh and lovely on your skin

and then Sarah had heard about natural pools

and then we decided to build one.

And what do the children think about it because

some people will go, "Oh! I don't want to swim in a pond with all the bugs and that."

We're quite a hardy family.

No, but we've had quite squeamish children in here to begin with

and I just think it's so lovely and clear

and the wildlife does stay to the regeneration areas.

So you've got a big sort of clear area.

We've got a lovely clear area to swim in, which is lovely.

It has, actually, given us a place to chill out as a family.

What's the main question you get asked about it?

Probably water temperature.

The water is a lot warmer than you think and that's because

of the shallow areas, all the planted areas, the stones.

They all thermally warm the water.

It's much warmer than a non-heated conventional pool.

'It's incredible how clear the pond really is

'and it's all because the water is circulated through the planted areas

'which provide a natural filtration system.'

The water flows from this swimming area over the submerged wall,

down through the filter grip, where it's filtered and purified

-and then it's returned back through the millstones and the jets.

-OK.

The other zone is the deep water regeneration areas

and they are basically planted up with oxygenators

which work also really hard.

They absorb nutrients from the water as they grow

and they give off oxygen. They're doing two jobs, really.

-Keeps it all going?

-Yeah.

Is there a ratio that you have to have of water to plants?

Yeah, we have a 50/50.

So we have an area of swimming zone which is equal

to the regeneration zones.

-OK, so that's very similar to a normal garden pond.

-Yeah, same principle.

In that you want half the area covered with plants

-to keep it clear and balanced.

-Yeah, exactly the same principle really, isn't it?

'Not only is this swimming pond a great opportunity to exercise

'and relax, it provides an amazing habitat for all sorts

'of pond wildlife and

'Kevin Widdowson, a local education officer

'from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust,

'has come along to discover what's in the water.

-So, Kevin, what have you found?

-Hello.

We've just completed a bit of a pond dip

and what we've got in this little section here,

we've found some damselfly nymph.

-They're the ones that have got the fluffy tails at the ends?

-Yes.

That's one very good way of identifying them is by their tail.

We've also really excitingly found this dragonfly nymph over here.

I just love them, they look so prehistoric, I have to say.

-Yeah, they've got definite alien-like qualities.

-Yeah.

But what we're also looking at in here is

we've got some of the greater water boatman.

I mean, this is a fantastic swimming pond

but would you find this in your average back garden pond?

Absolutely, this is entirely indicative

of the typical wildlife that you would hope to find

in a well-maintained, well-established pond.

It may take, if you're just establishing a pond,

a couple of years to see this happen.

-But you don't need to introduce them, do you?

-No, not at all.

-That's what we don't want, but they will find it.

-They will find it.

'The swimming pond feels like a very modern

'and unique way of including water in your garden.'

Well, after talking about it,

I think it's time that I should really give it a go.

Wooh!

'I just love how the children have become so connected with the water.

'Just like I was at such an early age

'but, for the gardener, they also offer a habitat

'for a plethora of beneficial wildlife,

'from frogs keeping slug populations down,

to dragonflies feeding on aphids and gnats.'

Now, I have to say, I was always in two minds about swimming ponds.

I'd read all the blurb

but I was never quite sure that it was actually

as low maintenance as they said,

but I've been converted and there is something really special

about being up close with the wildlife.

'The planting in and around the ponds at Brackenhurst

'feature all sorts of plants.

'From water soldiers to purple loosestrife

'and, using natives like these in a rural setting

'helps to blend a water feature into the greater landscape.

'And with my pond almost full, it's time to turn to the bog garden

'which will help connect your pond and its wildlife

'to the surrounding plants in your garden.'

Now this might seem an odd time to start planting,

seeing as we've not trimmed the liner up, or fully filled the pond.

The reason for doing this is the bog garden.

If I waited until the pond was totally full, the water level

would be up here and then, digging the hole, I'd stir up all the soil

and it would roll into the pond and make the pond look all muddy.

We've got some lovely bog plants here.

This one's Lobelia cardinalis, 'Sparkling Ruby'.

It's got these every pretty magenta coloured flowers.

I have got some natives as well.

Myosotis palustris which is a forget-me-not.

A really lovely plant because that one will trail over the edge

and into the water.

And this one is a real favourite of mine.

It's a double kingcup, Caltha palustris 'Plena'.

The thing I like about this is it flowers in the spring

and then again in the autumn

and makes a lovely dome shape.

'Many bog garden plants flower in early spring time

'so they provide a welcome source of pollen and nectar

'to both bees and other pollinating insects.

'Frogs and toads also thrive in the wet soil

'and it provides lots of opportunities for insects and birds

'to land and have a quick drink.'

Right, that's the last plant in.

Now it's a case of just gently filling the pond right up

before trimming the liner back and putting the capping timber on.

'When you're ready to trim the liner, leave at least 10cm overlap

'before you make your final cut

'and then cap the liner around the top edge of the pond.'

This timber edging overhangs,

so it makes it look nice and neat and it covers up

the edge of the liner.

'Because this is a raised pond, I've designed an area to

'help our wildlife to get in and out

'using short lengths of birch branches

'and utilising some of the topsoil from the original hole.'

All the little gaps that are between the bits of log

are great for beetles,

hidey holes for frogs and newts.

It just gives them a bit of insulation

when they're hibernating over the winter time.

'A few plants on top of the logs will add an extra leafy canopy

'for wildlife to take shelter under.

'I'm using low-growing grasses and sedges

'which will provide an excellent habitat for newts and water beetles

'and some ferns and heuchera, with larger leaves,

'for frogs to hide underneath.'

'A healthy pond relies on the right combination of plants

'to keep the water clear and the pond in balance.

'Oxygenators are the plants that grow fully submerged

'under the surface

'and marginals grow with their feet firmly

'in the wet around the edges.

'I'm visiting a business that specialises in growing them.'

Merton Hall Ponds is a fantastic oasis of wildlife

and it also provides lots of lovely native plants for conservation work.

'One of our biggest issues for our natural ponds and waterways

'has been the invasion of non-native foreign species.

'These plants have caused havoc with our delicate, native ecosystems.

'I'm meeting Ash Girdler, who is one of the people trying

'to turn the tide on invasive, foreign plants.'

The government, through DEFRA, have had

a big drive in recent years to reduce the number

of non-native species

because, as you know, they can be so invasive.

You only need one of those plants to get into the environment...

And that's where the problem comes is that, come the spring,

everybody's encouraged to clean their pond out

and they think, what shall we do with this?

It's a living thing, so they run it down to the local pond,

tip it in and, all of a sudden, we've got a non-native species in the wild.

-That's happened all over the UK and it still is a major problem.

-Ah-ha.

But here there are no non-native species.

We've always, as a business, concentrated on restoring

lakes and building lakes and rivers.

So we use all of these stock ponds to actually

harvest bare root plants.

So taking a plant, pulling it up out of the pond,

without putting it into soil, or a pot, and actually taking it straight

to site to restore lakes and rivers.

'Out in our countryside, these native plants play a vital role

'in keeping our natural watercourses clean

'and they help to reduce the levels of pollutants.

'One of Ash's most high profile regeneration projects

'was to supply British species to the Lee River Valley

'during the building of the 2012 Olympic Park.

'This once-polluted site is now home to one of our nation's

'biggest wildlife friendly parklands.

'Marginal plants help to remove excess nutrients as they grow

'and deep-water aquatics help to add oxygen

'so, together, they keep the water clean and healthy.'

The important thing is plants, at the end of the day,

are the basis of all ecologies.

They're important for habitat and to give you that crystal clear water.

And that's what everybody wants, isn't it?

You don't have to have pumps,

you don't have to have filters,

you can just do it with plants.

'At Brackenhurst, British native marginal plants

'and deep water aquatics have been planted, and encouraged,

'throughout the ponds and water features across the garden.

'You can find all sorts of aquatics at your local garden centre

'but be sure to seek advice.'

So these are our marginal plants.

Marginal means that they like to be right in the water

and even have the water up and over the planting baskets.

Now I'm going to use a mixture of marginals.

Some native, some non-native

because I want to get a little bit more colour in there.

I've got Pontaderia which has got lovely heart-shaped glossy leaves

and powder blue flowers, that go through most of the summer.

Then this is a native, purple loosestrife,

and it's probably one of our most ornamental of natives,

which will bring lots of insects in to pollinate,

which will help in the garden in general.

Now I like to have quite a lot of marginals in my pond.

It makes it look more lived-in and it's great habitat for the wildlife.

When you plant them up, you put them in baskets

that have got a very fine mesh on them.

You can use garden soil as long as there is not lots of manure in it,

or chemicals, or you can buy aquatic soil.

Put a good layer of gravel on the top.

That'll stop any of the soil coming out

and a good tip is, before you put them in the pond,

give them a water, because that gets any of the loose dust out.

This one's a Scirpus zebrinus, zebra grass but it is good fun.

'Marginals and aquatics are like herbaceous plants

'in that they will need to be divided periodically.

Clear away excess 'and damaged foliage

'and repot in fresh aquatic soil.

'Before adding pond plant material to the compost heap,

'leave it on the side of the pond for a few hours,

'to allow any wildlife the chance to escape back into the water.'

Last, but not least, are the deep water group of plants.

Now these ones are the ones that do all the hard work

and help balance the pond.

So we've got oxygenators which, as it says, puts oxygen into the pond

and they're happy to go right down the very bottom.

This one's Elodea crispa.

And maintenance-wise, during the summer time

you will need to thin through the oxygenators,

so that you have about half the base of the pond covered

and you can't have a pond as far, as I'm concerned,

without a water lily.

This one is Chromatella.

It's a free flowering, yellow water lily

and the leaves are slightly mottled, especially in the spring.

Now don't worry if you put it in and the leaves are under the surface.

As long as they're not more than about 20 or 30cm below the surface

because they will come up within about three or four days.

And once it starts flowering, it will just keep on going.

'Within a few days, this pond could have birds drinking

'and bathing, pond skaters and water beetles

'and the beginnings of a natural, healthy ecosystem.

'But, across the country, there are passionate people already

'reviving our great British ponds.

'In Swanland, in East Yorkshire, the community has come together

'to breath new life into their village pond.

'The villagers get together for a big annual clear out

'and cutting back of vegetation

'and are advised by a local environmental expert, Hugh Roberts.'

We've been working with the community to encourage them

to look at their local pond.

Whether it be a large school pond, or a village, pond or a farm pond,

or even their own back garden private ponds,

to look at what needs to be done just to help to restore them,

to improve them. This pond behind us, in the early '70s

was cleared out and, from then on, they've had all sorts of problems.

Blanket weed problems...

The water was green with the algal blooms

because there was no plants to take up the nutrients.

'So four years ago, with the help of a grant,

'the villagers replanted the pond with a variety of aquatic plants.

'The reeds help to filter and trap the toxins from the surface water

'that comes off the road.

'And cutting back the plants regularly encourages them to grow

'and use up excess nutrients, keeping the water clear

'and preventing algal blooms from appearing in the summer months.'

I moved here about 16 years ago now and the pond was, actually,

one of the reasons why we decided this is where we wanted to live.

We volunteered to come out here because we want to improve the pond

and it's good fun being out here and it's just that community spirit.

We've got retired people. We've got schoolchildren.

We've got Duke of Edinburgh students.

We've had policeman help us in the past

and, year on year, more and more people are volunteering to help

because they are now getting the pleasure of seeing the pond

when it looks really good in the summer

because it's for everyone, is this.

The pond is, sort of, in the centre of the village

and there's quite a lot happens here because it's on the main street

so if the pond looks nice, then it makes the village looks nice.

It also encourages more wildlife to sort of grow and prosper.

-Flourish.

-Yeah, flourish.

Of the million and a half or so ponds we might have

in the country, there's 60% of them

that are in a poor, struggling condition.

Whether it be a big village pond like this, or a little garden pond,

it's providing that habitat for the wildlife that needs ponds.

So a little bit of work might just be enough to turn them round.

Visually ponds are beautiful

and are great for us to enjoy but they give us so much more.

Water attracts wildlife which, in turn, leads to a healthier garden

because a lot of that wildlife is predatory on those nasty bugs

that eat our plants.

So, go on, give my revival a go

and put a pond in your garden.

'Next, Chris Beardshaw is on the campaign trail for the stumpery.'

This is one of the most wonderful of all natural garden features.

It's a series of rotting tree stumps,

all gently and carefully meshed and jigsawed together

to create a sculpture.

This is a stumpery.

A key feature of the 19th century garden.

They have their roots, so to speak,

in the Victorian era of fern collecting.

'Our national obsession with ferns began in the mid-1800s

'and grew into what is referred to pteridomania, or fern madness.'

Like so many fashions, ferns eventually fell out of favour

and with them went stumperies that rotted away

into horticultural history.

However, I think stumperies deserve a revival so join me,

Chris Beardshaw, on the great British stumpery revival.

'I'm basing myself at a spectacular garden to discuss a right royal stumpery.'

Once the stumps were in place, His Royal Highness

placed out the plants how he wanted it because it is his garden

and he enjoys it so much.

'I'll be delving into the sinister side of early garden design.'

I would imagine, as a Victorian lady walking through here,

you would feel quite scared of it, really.

'And showing you how to make your own stumpery, with a twist.'

The longer it takes to rot, the more of the oyster mushrooms

you would be able to harvest.

For me there's no better place to start my revival than here.

The gardens of Highgrove Estate,

home to their Royal Highnesses,

the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

'Highgrove Gardens are amongst the most prestigious in the country.

'Enveloping the house are a series of interlinking spaces,

'each with a unique style and character.

'I'm here to take delight in perhaps one of the most unusual

'and unexpected areas,

'the imposing magical stumpery.'

This is where the peace and serenity begins.

'Created by His Royal Highness, it embodies his personal interest

'and enthusiasm for environmentalism

'and, in common with all the gardens here,

'it works with nature, not against it.

'This contemporary stumpery demonstrates the organic principles

'that inform the way this garden is managed on a daily basis.'

As a four or five-year-old nothing was better, at this time of year,

than rummaging around in a base of stumps.

Excavating the leaf litter, looking for the fruits of that season.

In this case, beech mast.

'My early memories served as an inspiration to study horticulture

'and it's exhilarating to witness

'the consequences of this ambitious stumpery on the garden.

'So I want to return to the roots of the stumpery

'from emergence and development of the idea, to the circumstances

'that led to our dwindling passion for them.

'Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire was the family home

'of the Batemans in the 19th Century.

'The gardens here are an amazing insight into the dedication,

obsessiveness and shear prowess of the Victorians.'

But it also demonstrates the extraordinary lengths

the Victorians were prepared to go to in pursuit

of their horticultural passions

because, by 1871, the Batemans had squandered their family fortune

pursuing their particular delights.

One of the most curious, but also wonderful features of Biddulph...

..is this...the stumpery.

Stumperies may have only have persisted in the world of gardening

for what amounts to the blink of an eye

but what warrants revival is their wonderful ability to contrast

with a broad, open landscape

and draw us in to the minutiae of nature.

'National Trust gardener Leslie Hirst

'explains how the meeting of minds help create this unique,

'and thought-provoking, garden art.'

Stumperies were born as a concept.

They were born here by Bateman at Biddulph

but what initiated that whole process?

How did he arrive at this rather peculiar creation?

He had a collaborator.

Edward Cooke was a marine artist, originally.

Really interested in landscapes and seascapes

and the way things interlock.

Bateman wanted somewhere to house his plants, his ferns,

and we suspected that it was Cooke that came along

and said the ideal setting for them

is very like a natural, woodland setting.

There has to be tree trunks, tree stumps.

There has to be these little pockets to show off these delicate plants.

So it's a collaboration between the two characters.

'Although no records exist, it's thought that the stumps

'came from the land that was originally cleared to make way

'for the gardens at Biddulph.'

These shapes are all new and they're all quite daunting

and I would imagine 150, 160 years ago as a Victorian lady

walking through here, you would feel quite surrounded by it.

Quite scared of it really. It's not a gentle place at all.

It's exactly that, that Cooke and Bateman must have been excited about,

that artistic grotesque nature,

very much fits in with Victorian society.

The idea that they wanted to celebrate the kind of Gothic,

the daunting, the dark, the shady side of life and this is perfect.

Everything that's growing in amongst them looks like it should be there.

It's a whole world in a little, tiny area.

It is because you can go from...

These are sort of Himalayan peaks, these great monoliths here

but then down into the river valleys with the ferns and the oxalis,

they're spilling out. I mean, it's the most beautiful arrangement.

If you wanted to create one piece of garden

that showed the whole world, that's it.

There it is in two square feet.

'Bateman's eclectic and expensive garden creations eventually

'forced him to sell the estate.

'The gardens fell derelict and the stumpery,

'like so many fashions of its time, almost rotted away into history.'

Why do you think stumperies fell out of fashion?

It was in its heyday and then, suddenly, they disappeared.

I think it is related to the mood of the time.

The fact that they're no longer...

Gardeners are wanting flamboyance and party and brightness

and joviality and this certainly isn't that.

It's also the fact that if you commit to creating

something like this, you have to maintain it.

It's an environment that is very easily

swamped by overpowering plants.

It's a lot of work to try and keep this looking the way it does.

Quite where Bateman and Cooke got the concept of the stumpery from

is perhaps uncertain but they may well have been feasting off

of the 18th century ideal of housing a hermit in the landscape,

a man who sat unwashed, unshaven and unkempt in silence

and years after his placement, the landed gentry would come along

and rescue, or enlighten, the hermit.

Whatever the origins of creations like this, there's no doubt

it houses a unique band of plants.

Back at Highgrove, I've asked head gardener, Debs Goodenough,

to share some of the trade secrets of the Royal stumpery.

How did the stumpery rise here at Highgrove?

Well, His Royal Highness really likes ferns and hostas

and hellebores and he wanted a place to display them.

So he brought in two designers and they suggested

that he plant them amongst stumps

in the Victorian style of a stumpery

and he really, really liked the idea because he loves recycling

and it was a case of recycling something that is often considered

a waste product in a very, very sort of decorative interesting style.

'When it comes to choosing which type of tree stumps to use,

'Debs is clear about the right form.'

Most of these are hard wood,

and sweet chestnut and oak are the best.

We have a few soft woods in here

but they do tend to rot away much more quickly.

'The best way to source old tree stumps is by talking to

'a local farmer, tree surgeon or landowner,

'any of which should point you in the right direction.'

The sweet chestnuts and oak have this fabulous, sort of, faces

and when you're creating the stumpery you're actually

turning them around and getting their best face forward.

His Royal Highness is really involved in that stage.

He'll have a look at the stumps and he'll say I want that bit

this way around, and facing this section of the path,

and then once the stumps were in place,

His Royal Highness placed out all the plants how he wanted it

because it is his garden and he enjoys it so much.

'A stumpery makes creative use of what's often seen as waste product.

'It also provides habitats for incredible diversity of wildlife.'

These cracks and crevices are ideal for frogs and toads to reside in.

We've got some lovely grass snakes in here too.

They'll be taking the slugs and snails and reducing the damage.

We've also got stones in here and the sound that I love

is the thrushes in the spring knocking the snails to bits.

You know, feeding their young and helping protect our hostas.

But as the hosta collection dies back for winter,

Debs is already thinking ahead to spring by planting bulbs.

This is the winter aconite which is one of my favourites.

Such a cheery, optimistic little character.

-Buttercup yellow, isn't it?

-You don't have to worry about which way they go up either.

One of the things I like about them is that they're pretty much rodent resistant.

-They're members of the buttercup family, so they're toxic to a lot of animals.

-Absolutely.

And they really don't get nibbled away.

There's something rather wonderful about planting bulbs in a stumpery

-on a day when you've got stumpery weather.

-I'm so pleased you're here today.

It really does show the stumps to their best.

Aconites are amongst the first flowers to appear in spring,

their golden yellow blooms seemingly revelling in frost and snow alike.

And in terms of managing it, do you find it a challenge or does it tend to look after itself?

Er...it does take management.

It's not one you can just plant and walk away from,

but it is one just to come and check up and enjoy it

and just keep a watchful eye.

One of the star specimens of the stumpery is the fern,

a much undervalued group of plants shrouded in mystery.

Amongst the 12,000 or more species of ferns that reside around the world,

there's not a single species that has any flowers.

This obvious lack of flower displaying the sexual parts of the plant

or fruit and seeds fascinated Victorians.

In fact, one piece of folklore says, if you were to stride over the frond of a fern on Midsummer's Eve,

you'd be rendered invisible.

Ferns still fascinate and intrigue many today.

For Dick Heywood, it's about discovering varieties from all over the globe

and testing them out in his garden in North Wales.

What I love about...walking around a garden like this

is the fact that you are genuinely travelling the globe.

Every step and every twist and turn it's a new country,

a new continent, a new environment.

Well, I've been very lucky in this.

I've been able to go to Indonesia, to Taiwan, Chile, South Africa.

And in all these places, I always come back with something and some of it survives.

Not all of it, but some of it.

Dick's fascination for global ferns

has steered him towards varieties that really thrive here in the UK.

Now this is...how ferns should be grown,

in this sort of jungle-like expression. It's the most beautiful way of growing them.

I just love jungles and I've always wanted to have...have one of my own.

-And which fern are we looking at here?

-Blechnum chilense.

It's a native of Chile and it grows so abundantly there

that I've seen diggers getting it out of the ditches. It just blocks everything.

-And...clearly very happy here in North Wales, too?

-Yes, it is, yes.

I put in two small plants and it's just gone...gone mad.

And this is evergreen? This isn't going to die back in the winter,

this is going to stand and be a really dominant plant throughout the winter months?

-That's right. yes. That's absolutely right.

-It's a real beauty.

Do you think you will ever tire of ferns? Is there a point where you think, "This is enough"?

No. I don't know how long I've got, but however long I've got, I shall always find ferns fascinating, yes.

You know, it's almost impossible to tire of ferns, such is their aesthetic diversity.

From the wonderful ferny fronds of davillia

through to the stag's horn fern.

No matter what catastrophe has descended the globe,

the ferns have been able to ride through it. And it's that quality,

the ability to survive and thrive, that makes them such great garden plants.

No matter what conditions you've got in the garden,

the ferns will provide a solution. And one solution is a stumpery.

Ferns are clearly at the heart of Prince Charles's stumpery.

These architectural, moisture-loving plants

are the perfect partner for the stumpery.

Together they provide a habitat for a plethora of beneficial garden guests,

like frogs and toads, that prey on slugs and snails.

At the edge of a woodland clearing,

I'm going to show how to create a mini-stumpery to seat a fabulous fern collection.

I'm going for a slight twist on the classic stumpery.

Instead of using traditional gnarled root stumps,

I've chosen timber offcuts and logs,

which I've part buried in the ground and back-filled with compost, ready for planting.

Once you've got the basic shape and you're happy with how the logs are arranged,

you can start to plant it out.

The real...prima donna in a stumpery is the ferns.

I'm starting by planting this good old British native.

This is the hart's tongue fern.

It's one of the most resilient and certainly one of the most versatile.

It will grow in very...chalky soils.

It will also tolerate extreme drought, which is fairly unusual for ferns.

And they're also wonderful at being able to squeeze into little crevices.

You may see them hanging off the side of buildings,

railway cuttings and even bridges.

I also want to introduce some wonderfully exotic ferns.

This one aptly named "the painted fern".

It's a really rather delicate little thing.

And a painted surface to the upper area,

this sort of purple flushed with white, almost like an intricate watercolour painting.

Because it's a little more delicate, it doesn't grow quite as large.

It's worth putting somewhere... where you can see it

and where it's protected by...the construction of your stumpery.

Finally for its sheer soft and feminine qualities,

I'm going to plant an old favourite, the maidenhair fern.

Droplets of dew and moisture

sit on the ends of these divisions in the frond.

It is the most fantastic... It looks as though it's encrusted in diamonds.

Sufficiently glamorous for the most prestigious of gardens.

So one of the things we've got here,

because stumperies are really worth...having a look at, is a seat.

A stumpery seat...made out of waste material,

surrounded by the lushness and verdant nature of ferns.

What better way of spending an afternoon in the garden

amongst these most beautiful of plants?

Fungi are another group of organisms

that thrive in the moist conditions of the stumpery.

And so I joined a group of fungal foragers in North Wales

in nature's natural stumpery, the forest.

This is the perfect time of year to get out into the countryside

and join an organised walk looking specifically at fungi.

But I'm interested in the role that fungi play

in the breaking down of timber and stumps,

how that revitalises the eco-system and how the soil comes to life.

Leading our autumnal foray today is local fungi fanatic, Kaynan Jones.

Don't pick things up.

If you see something interesting give us a shout, cos they may be rare species.

Don't eat anything. OK? LAUGHTER

-This way?

-Yes, we'll head up. Let's have a look and see if we can find anything.

While the rest of the group head off, I'm catching up with ecologist and botanist Ray Woods

to dispel the myths surrounding fungi in our gardens.

Fungi have been saddled with a bad image.

It's often believed they're the cause of death to many of our garden plants,

-but this is far from the truth.

-That's right.

Out of 12,000 species of fungi we think occur in Britain, probably more,

probably only a handful are pathogenic, they'll kill a host species.

It's not in the interests of most fungi to instantly kill the host that it's being dependant on.

Much better to live in cooperation with it.

And only things like honey fungus and silver leaf and so on,

these are the ones that the gardener needs to be aware of.

The vast majority of fungi are beneficial.

They're the building blocks of life

and emerge in all manner of wonderful shapes, sizes and colours.

Look at this gorgeous little amethyst-coloured toadstool.

You couldn't wish for more than to wake up one morning,

go out in the garden and see these wonderful amethyst deceivers

living on your log in the front garden.

And what's delightful is that the piece there that we see

is only a fraction of the organism itself.

It is literally just erupting to the surface to scatter spores,

-but there's much more going on under the surface.

-This is just the fruit body

and underneath that are tiny, fine feeding strands.

In the area that we're sitting on now,

if we were to stretch out all the fungus-feeding strands,

they would stretch for the best part of 250-300 miles.

These vast networks help feed our plants and trees

with nutrients and water.

And not only that, occasionally we find their fruiting bodies quite appealing too.

These are the famous chanterelle.

There is something called the "false chanterelle," which some people have gastric problems if they eat them.

One way to identify them is to actually smell them,

cos they've got a faint smell of apricots.

Just fried in butter with a bit of scrambled egg for breakfast,

you can't beat it.

Of course some fungi are extremely poisonous to humans

and so guided walks with an expert is the best way to forage.

As more and more fungi get to work on the fallen dead wood,

so the cycle of life begins again.

And even a young...beech has started the rejuvenation process,

they're rooting into what must be

pretty new organic matter through there.

-Just enough to hold on to that young beech.

-Yes, and benefiting

from a relationship with some of the fungi that its parents enjoyed as well.

Surprisingly, it's not only trees and plants that depend on fungi.

Almost all the insects that live in wood need the fungi as well as the wood.

The fungi will break the wood down and the beetles eat the wood.

Even the furniture beetle, the woodworm of your home,

probably eating away grandmother's finest chest at the very moment we're talking,

even that's dependant on fungi, it's got little yeast-like fungi in its gut.

It couldn't survive on its own without the help of fungi,

cos the fungi are breaking down the little bits of wood it rasps

and providing it with the vitamins that the wood alone can't provide.

What's incredible about it, even just a few square metres like this,

-it's not just the complexity of life but it's the interdependence of those individuals.

-Yes.

No-one can exist in isolation. And maybe that's the mistake we make in our gardens,

we try and isolate and celebrate one where, actually, we should be celebrating a collection,

THE collection in fact.

You can pack in the diversity perhaps better with a lump of wood

than with any other habitat in the garden.

You would just be amazed of what makes use of them.

You've got your own botanic garden and your own private little zoo,

something you can treasure and will give you enjoyment...for years to come.

So evidence that the stumpery is vital

and no question then that it should be revived.

A mature ash tree like this will have taken several generations to grow

and when it's ripped life and limb out of the ground by a passing gale,

there's a real sense that that's the end, total devastation.

But a woodland walk with the right people convinces you

that it's not the end, this is just the start.

TRAIN WHISTLE

Here at Highgrove, it's no surprise

that there is an abundance of log piles behind the scenes.

This garden is managed entirely organically

and wood plays an essential part.

But I'm going to show how the stumpery can in fact become a productive larder.

For me one of the exciting things about stumperies

is that they're not just aesthetically beautiful,

but they're also potentially hugely productive.

So, for instance, when you consider

these rather wonderful oyster mushrooms,

these are just the sort of things that you can grow in your stumpery.

To be sure you're growing an edible mushroom,

you can buy these rather convenient pre-inoculated timber dowels

from specialist mail order mushroom growers.

And these have been moistened and then placed in the mycelium of the oyster mushroom.

The mycelium is...in the world of fungi, it's the equivalent to a plant's roots.

So first you will need a freshly cut log,

which you could get from a local tree surgeon.

You use something like beech, oak or this ash log

for the very simple reason that this is a very resilient wood,

it takes a long time to rot down.

The longer it takes to rot, well, the more of the oyster mushrooms you're going to be able to harvest.

Now, getting the dowels in, well, that involves just a little bit of drilling.

You're looking for holes which are about the same diameter as the dowel

and make them about 4in, 10cm or so, apart in a diamond formation.

-DRILL WHIRS

-This shape just maximises the space

and allows the mushrooms to grow freely.

And you could do it so that the whole log

is covered in this lattice of holes.

Take a piece of dowel...

give it a tap.

Once you've got all the dowels inserted,

wrap the log in a plastic bag to hold in moisture.

Place the bag somewhere dark and cool,

under a hedge, behind a shed or amongst your new stumpery.

Then what happens is the mycelium will spend about six months

starting to push through, to digest and find its way through this wood.

And you'll know it's happening,

because they will produce very dark stains on the cut end of that timber.

That's the time when you can take the log out of that protective polythene bag

and put it out into your stumpery.

In about six months' time after that, so about 12 months after you put the dowels in,

you'll start to see the oyster mushrooms emerging.

And when you harvest, cut with a knife, don't be tempted to pull.

If you pull you'll be ripping the roots, the mycelium, out of the timber.

And enjoy...because this will keep providing a great harvest

until the log has completely rotted away and that can take several years.

A stumpery perfectly combines art, gardening and environment,

providing an inspiring stage for the unusual and exotic.

Grenville Johnson from Bristol

built his courtyard stumpery after a visit to Highgrove.

It's very much a magical place and I was so inspired by that

that I wanted to come back and replicate something on a much smaller scale

here in my garden in Bristol.

Now, I created the stumpery here using a collection of gnarled branches and the hollow tree stumps.

And they're almost like antlers.

You can actually join them together to make bizarre and surreal shapes with them.

You can make it so that if you have lighting and up-light it at night,

you can make a spectacular feature that really has the wow factor as well.

Grenville is also a huge fan of his ferns.

They provide a beautiful green and verdant backdrop to a garden.

They're also magical.

To see them after it's been raining really is a delight.

And, of course, they provide beautiful patterns at night.

My piece de resistance

is to have classical music playing in the garden,

so I've installed two outdoor speakers.

And I can relax with a glass of wine and hear my favourite classical pieces being played

while the water cascades from the stumpery, from the grotto into the wildlife pond below.

A stumpery is so much more than just a random collection of rotting timbers,

it is a world in miniature,

every part is alive.

So help me to salvage stumperies

from the compost heap of horticulture

and join the great British stumpery revival.