Episode 3 Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

Welcome to the 750 acres of glorious Deerpark Road which are

the setting for this year's RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

Behind me, the perfect formal gardens at Hampton Court Palace

itself. There are 60 acres of gardens that have endured over 480

years and there are currently home to about 8000 trees and one hand

and 40,000 other plants. The show is only on for seven days but in

that time, visitors can see hundreds of thousands of plants,

displayed at the peak of perfection. Up to 38 gardeners tended gardens

and 95% of the waste is recycled. There are 229 exhibitors and the

RHS has promised to recite a 96% of the green waste. Tonight we can

promise you a full 60 minutes pact of the very best the show has to

offer. Coming up: Chris Beardshaw tells us why his show garden, the

Stockman's Retreat is helping create a new generation of

passionate Landseer's. We have had our ups and downs, moments when we

have looked at the enormity of the task and we have been like a rabbit

in headlights but that is the point of the training programme. Meeting

the nursery applying the Japanese art of bonsai to our own native

trees. There is something about a bonsai that gives you such a reward

in satisfaction. It is a bit like a Rembrandt, it is an art. And the

modern day plant hunter, Tom Hart Dyke, shares his national

collection of eucalyptus. When you see it is going white, to green, to

Hello and welcome to the 2011 RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

We have been here for nearly a week now, you must have seen everything?

No way! It is such a large show and I get stuck in certain corners.

Conceptual gardens, large gardens, small gardens. I have been in the

market garden three or four times and what I love about that is that

it is inspiring, it is all about what you can do at home, not what

we can do to feel you from of ideas. There is a sense that some shows

are about that? The floral marquees are still looking good. I try to

make a diversion through there were ever I am going and they replenish

the stock on a daily basis so it is looking very fresh. The Floral

Pavilion I have been to least. We get here at 7 am in the morning so

for 15 minutes we can go and see things and I always have my

notebook in my pocket and a pen and I just write down lists of plants,

things and combinations I like. Have you seen the edible mushroom

conceptual garden? I like the reaction of people, people seem to

enjoy them. As a show like this, the big show gardens still carry

the day, they are the stars, like it or not. This one won a gold

medal and we met the Duchess of Cornwall at this garden. At Chelsea

Flower Show last year, the garden designer and presenter Chris

Beardshaw visited a garden made by a group of UK Skills, an

organisation promoting apprentices from a range of disciplines. He was

so impressed by this that this year, he is designed a garden in

conjunction with three at landscape trainees from UK Skills. The first

thing he had then do before starting work on the garden was to

visit the National Trust's garden at Hidcote Manor so that they could

learn how to mimic nature within a My team consists of three young men

who are focused and dedicated towards landscape gardening. James

from Northern Ireland has a great air of confidence about him. Ollie

is the cheeky one of the trio. Simon is the cool, calm, collected

character. It is their responsibility to build the garden

at Hampton. We got to represent the English landscape in all of its

glory in the show and encapsulate that with the exit. And digging the

lads to one of my favourite gardens, Hidcote Manor, to take a close look

at three of that habitats they will have to create - would land, meadow

and stream. The woodland is the backdrop to the garden, largely

about recreating very informal, a natural looking space. One of the

first thing that strikes you in this environment is the amount of

light blocked out by the can be at the trees. Ivy for instance, is a

dark green plant and that allows the plant to capture as much of the

light as possible. Other plants like lords and ladies, you can see

the berries are in flower. As soon as these leaves established, all of

this goes green the thing about the arrangement is that it all looks

very informal, there is no logic to how everything is laid out and this

is what we have got to try to recreate. We very often think of

meadows as being simplistic. It is grass with a few flowers in but

take a look at a small area like this, have a square metre five or

six different flooring plant species. Even with the brief glance,

there are maybe 15 or 20 species of grass in here as well. It is also

working at the role this plant is playing. It is called Yellow rattle.

You can hear that. It rattles! pushes its routes into the roots of

the surrounding grasses and sucks the life out of the grass and so

the canopy of the grass is reduced and it is this idea of almost brush

strokes of the yellow with the buttercups and this rather acid

green coming through. It is quite weighty. We have got to try to

recreate with these little jewels of the disease. -- daisies. Water

comes into different guises in the design. One is as a gentle stream

of what we have to get right is the way the plans have started to

colonise those. This little area of natural planting in here is going

to give us a very good pointer. Look at the way the plans are

establishing and have a look in there, on the banks, because they

are going right into the stream, one of two little seedlings Art

Show starting to establish themselves. It is a good

demonstration of the fact that we need a good variety of generation

of plants. There are at home in herbaceous borders but we can use

them right alongside the stream to act as a buffer between the stream

and the broader herbaceous planting that goes on next door. Definitely!

How has it been, is it amazing building this garden? It has been

amazing, especially for us. It was a great opportunity to jump into

the plants with Chris he is so enthusiastic. What is your

favourite but of the garden? stream that goes down there under

the bridge. Years! That is mine, too, because we built that. What

about you? I like the two dry-stone colours at the end which I built!

Well done, give yourself a pat on back.

The lads have done really well, we are still talking as well. It has

been a real challenge for them. We have had our ups and downs. They

have been moments when they looked at the enormity of the task and it

has been a rabbit in headlights but that is the point of the training

programme. It shows the sky is how to deal with the major task and

bring it down into smaller fragments. The garden looks

absolutely stunning. Run us through the idea behind it? The UK team

represent us at the World Schools competition in October so we had to

encapsulate a training programme that was demonstrating what a

British garden is all about so we start off at the front with a very

glamorous Borders and become around to a more priory style of planting.

Then a traditional English flower meadow. Then the cart track, the

dry-stone wall and off into the rural idyll of the agricultural

landscape. The planting does soften it so much and the detail is

incredible actually. That is the idea, it has to be a real piece of

theatre. Things like the wall on the building, hand-made bricks in

the old English garden. The track is made out of a harder material,

made in a cobbled style. What about these boulders that run through

here because they're quite a contemporary twist on the garden.

Lots of people look at this and think it is traditional in garden

terms that this is about training. A raw product with great potential,

coming to the skills programme, getting to the one that has floated

on the water. I really like that, the whole garden is wonderful, well

The Stockman's Retreat is not the only one here at Hampton Court.

Chris uses his for horticulture purposes, the arts and skills

needed to make a show garden, there are many diverse messages that the

Rachel is dealing with a very complex subject. Her last car and

got an amazing response. What you think what this garden? Obviously

the message is difficult and it is brave to go about it but it works,

regardless of the message because it has gone for it with such

enthusiasm, they had used all the bright shades of pink and

ruthlessly edited out the others. The conventional wisdom is that

only soft pastel colours work under an English spy but I think you can

challenge that. The message is, if you are using strong colours,

choose the brightest, strongest combinations and make them sing and

dance. Don't be coy. It would be a little -- a great little roof

garden. You would have to pray for some!

This is one of the gold medal winners. It is one of the best

gardens in the show and you cannot faulted on any level yet I don't

feel comfortable with it which is an odd sensation. It is a highly

accomplished garden, very well designed and planted. I feel

slightly that I am sitting on the terrace of a five-star hotel. It is

not unpleasant. But I wouldn't want to have this at home. Many people

would think, I would love to have a garden like that. We have lavenders,

evergreen barques, silver birches, there is depth to the planting.

of the things I would take away from this is that you can do things

on a horizontal level. You can plant horizontally as well. We have

the structure here that gives it the height. It is not a garden that

I will roll up my sleeves and get This is one of the most inspiring

thing I have seen. It is done by two student, Caroline and Petra who

have left clodge, so there is real talent coming through. The second

is they have taken a big idea, world harmony, and made it into a

garden. They have succeeded. It shows you can do anything with a

garden. They have taken circular pools of plants. Individual species

pools of plants. Individual species all the plants circled round,

defined by rusting metal plates. The tree, the silver birchs, a

terrible cliche in sew gardens but they have chosen a variety called

Fascination. It picks up on the digitalis on the front and on the

metal and on the leaves, so it is subtle, it is calm, and yet it is

big and inspiring. I won best in show. If you are watching last

night, you will recall there was a new range of roses introduced here.

Roses are an important part of the show but they are by no means the

only flowers you will see. Rachel has been to the floral marquee to

check out the other new Every year, nurseries, find breed

and collect new plants, and here in the floral marquee, well, many of

them are taking their first bow in Pine cottage plants is showing

beautiful South African natives. Agapanthus, this is their time of

year to shine. This one is called ind go dreams. It is very dark in

bud. Once the flowers open it retains that dark colouring, so

unusual. Below it a tug bag ya. The best thing it keeps flowering, from

spring through to autumn. But it needs good drainage, perhapss on

the patio or a raised bed with A new introduction from Bowden is

this little one called Hands Up. It is a small version. It has a lovely

up right habit. Slightly curved leaves and the leaves are really

quite thick, so has very good resistance to slugs and nails.

Sounds good to me! This is a brand- new plant. It stays nice and green

down the central area, and then this fan shape at the top becomes

paleer you get a strong contrast between that and this lovely dark

purple vaining. It is attractive and carnivorous plants are gaining

in popularity. They are easier to grow than you think. A pot with a

dish of rain water underneath. They need a good cold winter in order to

These are popular foliage plants w the bonus of pretty flowers. Until

recently much of the breeding has been going on in America, where

they are mad for them. But Heucheraholics are showing a few

that have been bred in Europe. We have one from Belgium. This is Red

Dress. Small leaf, very dark green and the underside in purple. This

this French one. A nice bright lime green, with the slightly darker

marking on the leaf. They do have a habit of working their way upwards

in the soi. They try and push out, so if that happens in your garden,

dig them up, you can divide them and replant them a bit deeper. They

will be perfectly happy. One group of plants that always attracts the

admiration of the crowds are the bon sis. This magical Japanese art

form has been dominated by men, until recently. But now, bonsai

enthusiast Chrissie has joined her fellow male exhibitors taking

skills into a new direction.Ies -- Chrissie doesn't just restrict

herself to classic Japanese trees, she has extended the practice to

There is something about a bonsai that can give you such a rewarding

satisfaction, it is like a recommend draant an a Constable.

There is an art. Something you can only bring it out from yourself,

within the tree, you can reflect that art f you like, in a living

piece of material. Bonsai actually means a translation from Japanese

to English is tree, or plant in a tray. This is a tree that is a

Chinese elm, which is the, probably the one people are most familiar

with. I started off with one of these, and a little oak tree. I

have decided to go for trees that are indigenous, and trees that are

available to us and will cope with living in this climate. This is a

tree that was taken out of a skip, five years ago. It has been a

bonsai for three years. This is a hau thorn. It was growing happily

as a hedge until the farmer decided he needed to make room for another

barn. This is a yew salvaged from a garden. This is the first stage of

coming into the world of bonsai. It is probably about 50 years old. As

it stood in the ground, as you can imagine the size of tree, there was

a huge amount of roots, which the tree now has to recover. Originally

it has tap root, the tap roots hold it into the ground. We don't need

them. So I work into the next four yier, will be to develop the

fibrous feeding roots, which is the future of the tree. The trunk, this

is amazing. It has the future of being a really good piece of

material. This tree was destined to be destroyed, and got rid of. I

have got the pleasure of keeping it going on. This one is a year two,

this part of the tree, where it was cut off from here and the base, has

actually died off, and this branch here tells me and confirms that, so

we can track back through this area, which is the live vein is coming up

from the outside and rising round the outside of this. So we now that

this part is dead. We can now work with the tree because which know

where the live veins are. This will be carved and created and made into

a tree that looks like it is dead. Not just cut off here and here.

There will be artwork applied, with drilling and kafrg out the deadwood

to create the artistic side to it. This is stage three, we can now

actually carve the wood out that we know is dead, from the taking from

the ground. You can see the live layer round the deadwood. As you

can see, the top, we have two holes. This depicts age. I mean, a lot of

ancient trees you see in nature have holes, and we have jumped

ahead and we have used carving tools to create this deadwood

appearance. We can then also apply the wires to the tree, to create

the branches. From a tree that is growing in a garden, unwanted

position, you can have something Who is to say 100 or 1,000 years

down the line my trees might still be alive. I would like to think so.

I hope to think so any way. Well Chrissie, all these creations on

your stand I love the privet and the pine over there, but people

find them tricky, they are scared of growing them. I know people

would like to, but what are your top tips on growing these? I think

the accessible ones are the indoor one, the Chinese elm, they are easy

trees to start with. You can progress to using outdoor material,

which are trees that are indigenous to this country. Far better to use,

because they would naturally prefer to be outside. The indoor trees

would need the winter care in the house and maybe outside in the

summer. What about watering and feeding? Yes, possibly on a daily

basis through the growing season. Pruning again, through the growing

season. Some weeks you may doing it twice a week, some may not be every

six weeks. So keep a gauge on how much the growing. Clip it back.

When you see something shoot out cut it back Yes, the more you can

prune them back, the more they are going to grow. The tree will know

it wants to have so many leaves to continue through the growing season.

If you cut it back, it will spring out new leaves, so the more you

prune the bet it will respond. make it sound easy. You have

brought your creations here. Lovely I love the RHS grow your own market.

Anything that encourages people to grow food, cook it, eat it, and

enjoy it is fine by me. The most spectacular stand is this. It is

The Garlic Farm, from the Isle of Wight. It does what it says on the

tin. It is all about garlic. You know, there isn't a guard none the

British Isles, that can't grow garlic successfully. There are lots

of different variety, you can plant it as early as September or late as

January. You can harvest as early in May or the end of the summer. It

People always talk about growing fruit and veg, but they don't talk

enough about growing herbs. Herbs should be essential in any garden.

They are the core of a really good edible garden. I am not necessarily

talking about fancy herbs, although it is interesting to see red

spinach. I am talking about herbs like Rosemary, sage, parsley.

Common enough but all delicious, and I think all essential. It is

really good on the Blackmoor stand to see fruit reduced right down in

size. I think everybody should grow some fruit in their garden. I know

people feel, that is, fine if you have space, by only have a small

backyard, how do I do it. You do it like this. You grow step over

variety, there is James grieve which is in the Copella garden. The

same plant. You can train fruit. Truth is, any St Paul garden can

produce wonderful food. There are a couple of guarders who set out to

prove you can grow your five a day in a smaller area as ten square

Our garden is called the five a day garden, because through the ten

square metres of planting space we are using, you can grow enough

fruit and vegetables to meet the Government's recommended five a day

guideline, every day throughout the year. We are showing you how you

could grow in a confined planting space. You can have planters on

your stairs or wall, on a patio or on a roof terrace, the thing that

is great about it, anybody can do They are probably five key pointers

behind how somebody could create their own five a day garden. One is

this deep bed method. All plants have different root depths, and of

course therefore different depth requirements in a planter. Here we

have salad crops which by and large have a similar requirement. We have

30 centimetres here, which is perfect for salad, and any deeper

and you would be putting compost in a pot you didn't need. Over here we

have carrots. It illustrates the density of planting you can achieve.

If you get the depth right. How Design tip two is to use all of the

If you are as committed as I am to tomato, realistically a greenhouse

will make a difference. Where to put it? Other than plonking it in

the middle of the lawn, I couldn't think of a solution. Until I struck

You have to make every thing you grow count. So do a bit of research

before you plunge into buying the first seeds you come across,

because the wealth to kooz from is phenomenal. These are the crystal

apple cucumbers that are going to Hampton Court for the show garden.

The only way for you to be able to enjoy one is to grow your own. That

is part of the whole joy of this five a a day garden, is widening

your taste bud experiences. When you are growing in a small

area, it is important to always have small plants growing, you can

replace gaps when you get them. These beans have come to the end of

their life now, and we have planted some aubergines, that are ready to

be potted on into containers. You are getting two crops from one

Final tip is contact with your plants. Visit them every day, look

at them, turn the leaves over, because you will find clusters --

clusters of eggs under them. If you can be brave. Wipe of the thumb,

that is it, over and done with. You have nipped the problem in the bud.

If you visit them once a week those eggs will be hatching and the first

thing you will notice is holes in the leaves. The tips we have gone

through will help you on the way to achieving the maximum yield, but of

course you don't have to do the whole thing. Pick the vegetable you

most like or the space you have got, be it is a window box or balcony

and make your own little contribution to growing your five a

day. A bit of space goes a very You're really into encouraging

people to grow their own vegetables, why is five a day so important to

you? This garden has been designed specifically to cram the maximum

amount of plants in. They are planted using a very clever method,

meeting new you can get for a bold increase from your yield. You are

able to get five a day for one person for every day out of the

year. You can get so much fun and and variety, we have managed to get

over 50 types of vegetables in his garden. Is that one of your strange

cucumbers over there? Yes it is a Crystal Apple cucumber and it grows

really easily. It produces tons of fruit. I will have to try that!

Your first time ever at Hampton Court and you got a gold medal, we

become regulars? Definitely not regulars but definitely Maybe!

It is a huge amount of work, physical and mental and time wise.

We have got other things to do as well, a business to run. It is a

Graham Earl of garden, congratulations and Never Say

Never! As Heather and Nicola had shown,

growing your own fruit and vegetables can be very satisfying.

That is something that Alice has been passion about for years. No

surprise that she made a beeline for the small gardens dedicated to

that of a growing when she visited the show earlier this week.

This is the home front garden. It is a traditional take on a second

world war vegetable garden so the lawn has been dug up and replaced

with vegetables and there is plenty of rows of cabbages, tomatoes and

onions. It is full of lots of charming period detail, you can

really immerse yourself in times gone by here. Is a proper make-do

and mend. All the hard landscaping has been recycled as for that

This garden is called the potential feast and is a very modern twist on

the cottage garden. You have edible flowers, herbs and vegetables are

all mixed together and it has an incredibly subdued and subtle

colour palette. They have also made a point of choosing vegetables that

look good. You have this crimson a broad bean that has the most

intense smell to it and you also have the lovely purple pot of peas

here and there beat should with its intense metallic waves. This is a

very attractive vegetable garden but it is not without humour. You

get to eat the walls if you want to and tomatoes tumble from above.

This is a modern take on the edible garden, an incredibly good use of

space and I can imagine gardening here.

This garden is an urban harvest and has been designed for a community

to use. What I like about the spaces how much fruit they have

managed to pack into the design so on the top layer, we have these

beautiful standard apples with their long stems with plenty of

space underneath for planting and then in the middle layer we have

the elder and along the front we have a little hedge of gooseberries

and wild strawberries. Back here when you're sitting on the seating

area, it is secluded and quiet and it gives it a lovely feeling. You

could get lost in the space and yet there is still plenty of vegetable

garden to be done. The small gardens Russia have been packed

full of vegetables. There is plenty of inspiration from the traditional

take on the old vegetable garden to something much more modern and

slick. We still have lots to come on the

programme. Gill is visiting Hampton Court's first night garden to show

that outdoor living doesn't have to come to their close when dusk

arrives. Also, I am interviewing Tom Hart Dyke who has brought his

national collection of eucalyptus here. You cannot help but love them,

can you? It is an obsessive behaviour! If there's anything you

want to know about the flower show, you can find out by going to our

Another series of thought-provoking designs are because sexual gardens

here. They are meant to combine horticulture with deep thinking.

What does it mean to you? What we try to do is represent a snapshot

of reality, is the conclusion to an intellectual journey, it is

actuality there is being displayed. A conceptual garden is at the start

of the process, when all the intellectual things took place. It

should pose more questions than offering solutions. What you think

of this garden? This one is called in during freedom and is said to

represent the service men's journey into the unknown and the potential

hostility of the Afghan atmosphere. How well does it display the

concept of harshness and transition. When you cross that wrestled, do

you feel that the threat is here in the way that it is present in

Afghanistan? It is a bit of the stage show, a representation of of

Venice - and, too obvious, I suppose. It has been beautifully

planted and in a way, it dilutes the severity of the cause and the

concept. A hands-on exhibit delivers too strong messengers, the

first of relieving the stresses and strains of everyday life, achieved

partially by creating a floral tapestry but also by some

reassuring words on the board behind me. The second is perhaps

even stronger and that is to try and encourage people to consider

that every time we view, enter or interact with a landscape, a garden

or a plant or environment, we, in some way, contribute to the

structure and composition of that article. As such, this exhibit

allows you to develop a four- dimensional sculpture, every

visitor can leave their own contribution.

This garden, at first glance, it looks like a piece of grass with

notes of rusty old post boxes around the outside. But there are

periscopes and if you look inside them, you can see into the mirror

and you can see this world of edible fungi. It is amazing, we're

looking across this microbe landscape. You cannot work out

where they are coming from and if you turn down here, the land has

been tilted up and the shaft of light is working its way down

underneath. It is quite incredible. This is everything a conceptual

garden should be. It draws you in, it is intriguing, original,

creative and, the judges loved it, they gave it gold and Best in Show.

This garden is called picturesque, it got at gold medal. It is all

about using plants as if they were in an art gallery. It is taking the

iconic pictures and representing them in plants and a message about

sustainability. This is a really strong concept and beautifully

executed. We are being encouraged to consider our plants and the

intricacy and beauty of those plants before they become museum or

exhibition pieces where the only place she can see them is as a

private exhibition. This really is a conceptual garden for me but some

are a bit hit and miss. The Kandinsky, doesn't really work for

me. Containing a plant with in a glass box and suspending it in mid-

air, encourages us to look at the detail of the plant and see it in a

new light. To see it in its true beauty, focus on the detail of the

individual. Putting it in a glass box gives an odd to Damien Hirst,

as it was in a gallery. The conceptual designers have taken a

new approach to landscape gardening, the self-confessed plant lover Tom

Hart Dyke, is the search for new plants that excites him. He has

spent years scouring the globe for new additions to his world garden

at Lullingstone Castle in Kent. His passion has made him an active

member of Plant Heritage, the world's leading plant conservation

charity which pulls together national collections of of plant

genera to protect them against extinction. He brought his own

national collection of eucalyptus this year. He cherishes it and his

aim is to persuade more people to appreciate just how special

The most widely planted tree on earth is the eucalyptus. It was my

gran he got me going at a very young age and it was how they

change their shape and size. How they adapt to climatic conditions

so well, how they change, they're absolutely amazing. Out here we got

a really good collection, 400 eucalyptus trees and some at the

age of 14, I was planting and some great ones to show you. This is

just an awesome tree, and this street was quite badly damaged in

the last winter but what you can see is doing, look at all these

group points and this is unique to a eucalyptus tree. Is a fantastic

way to adapt to a cold winter but usually through fire that has gone

through it and what is amazing is, these groups are appearing out of

the trunks will be six or eight feet long by the end of this year.

Look along here, this is to work three weeks earlier, look at them

all, bursting out. In three or four weeks' time, this tree is going to

be amass of leaves going up the stems. In here begot the lemon-

scented three. Look at this peeling bark here, fantastic, revealing

this turquoise, Jade, green colour. When you see it in the wiles of

Queensland, as it is growing from white, to blue, green stems, it is

extraordinary. The smell of this, crash it between your fingers... In

heel that straight down to your lungs and Bexhill, it is really

strong. One more time I think. Fantastic smell and straight away,

you are smelly insect repellents and lemon scented candles, that is

where it comes from. All these trees, I collected myself in his

seat formed in 1999 from the Australia and in particular from

Tasmania. Most of these are going in my stand at Hampton Court this

year and one of my most rewarding and the sour fines was this

varnished gum, the world's smallest eucalyptus tree. People say, no,

but I promise, it is a eucalyptus, destroying to three or four feet

tall at the most. This is the only ones suitable for a rockery, I kid

you not. What makes my chlorophyll boy with excitement is this one.

This is the world's rarest eucalyptus tree. What I love about

it is, its circular foliage with the growing points and you can see

from the side, pink and red stems. A fantastic plant that is hardy and

not yet known in this country. Another one that is very tender,

but the world's largest and longest eucalyptus leaf. Here, it is too

early for the fruit, but you can already start to see these waxy,

blue leaves - fantastic foliage. It can get up to 4 ft long so we got

the world's rarest, the world's smallest and the world's largest

believed eucalyptus tree. Very exciting but it makes my heart

flutter of excitement that I Your passion for eucalyptus is

apparent. You can't help but love them, can you. It is obsessive

behaviour Monty. You are not alone. A lot of people grow eucalyptus,

but a big problem seems to be they outgrow themselves. They plant them

small, and then they quickly become enormous, with all kinds of

problems. What is best way of dealing with this? Is it a question

of choosing the right plant? Absolutely. They are sold as

bedding plants when they can get to 40 feet within a handful of years.

What is the solution? Should it be better pruning or more selective

planting? Selective planting, that is back to basic, it is breaking

away into smaller plants such as the snow gun, or this one here.

Hardy but look good when small. The eucalyptus I say the people who

have them at 30, 40 feet tall, the neighbours complaining, the

foundations they maybe worried ab, you can really cut them back hard.

Take them down so they crown. They will start reshooting. The other

big question I am getting a lot of, you can't help but see, is a lot of

eucalyptus have died over the last winter. They appear to have died.

What is the best way of dealing with them? Should they be left to

see if they have regrowth 890% will regrow. Cutback to where the

growths are coming out. At what point do you decide to cutback?

They are still producing shoots. Do you leave for it a year, to autumn?

Should we be doing it now? I would do it now. 1st August by the latest.

Then that is it. They would have by the end of May starting to resprout

into June, July. Now we are getting into the middle part of July now,

and you can honestly, it will regrow and reshape into a tree that

is 20 feet tall within four or five years they have the rootstock and

the trunk, and they are ready to go. If it hasn't sprouted by August it

is time for the compost heap. They are quick to sew what they are

going to do. This is your first time here. How has it been?

Brilliant. To get Silver-Gilt was brilliant. Superb. Will you be back

after a gold next year? If I can persuade the team, we are here.

is not the only national collection holder here at Hampton Court. We

have conservationists and collectors who have brought their

plant to the plant heritage tent from all over. From Scotland, Wales,

Cornwall, even my home county of Herefordshire. Earlier this week,

Alice talked to a few of them. The Plant Heritage Marquee is one of

the hidden Jim gems here. -- hidden This year's theme is called a

living library. It displays some of the national collections. These are

every variation possible in a gene news. There are some things that

are very unusual. Some well-known and some that have been forgotten.

Dibleys is well-known for breeding these, how did it start? He my

father was a collector of plant, he enjoyed growing them. We have gone

back to some of the species and introduced them into the breeding

programme. It is just a really solid house plant isn't it It is

one of the easiest round. Put it on a windowsill. Keep it on the

slightly dry side and it will flower all the time. Why would you

bother collecting obscure species? It brings extra characteristics

into the varieties. This flowers mostly in the winter time. That we

managed to breed with a modern variety, and we ended one the next

generation hybrid that flowers all the year round. A normal one was

flower between? March and September, April time. This is the only

species that has the red flower, this is where all the modern

varieties have got reds and pink in come from. Without it they would be

blues and whites. It is important to get varieties like this growing.

It is a wonderful collection, thank you for sharing it. You are welcome.

I am very excited about finding this collection, because I didn't

realise there were so many out there. They go from the sublime to

the almost ridiculous there is one over there which has no leaves and

only Thornes. The corner is full of lovely carnations but what makes

them special? They are not just carnation, they are Malmaison

carnations which were the nower of the season for the Edwardian period.

They would be used as a cut flower? Also brought into the house for

special occasions. Why are they forgotten? They are prone to

viruses and they became difficult to propagate, but with the aid of

siens we have had them micro propagated: I see you have a Gold

Medal but not just a goad medal have a goad medal, but the best

plant heritage exhibit. I am still stunned, to be honest. I'm not.

It's a beautiful display. Thank you very much indeed for saying that.

One of the best things about heritage plant marquee is you get

to walk away with a bit of a living We are in the LOROS Hospice Garden

of Light and Reflection. Look better in the sun. It is nice to

get a bit of sunshine again. We have had lots of photos e-mailed in.

Here is a good one from Robert, who took it of the Virtual Reality

Garden. It looks good from here. It's a bauble, not a pod. OK.

like this shot. This is atmospheric. I looks like poppy seed head. I

think they are made of medal -- metal. Susie capture add wonderful

planting scheme from the garden of light and reflection. Loads of

colour. Really intense. Beautiful. And talking of reflection, Chris

has snapped Monty. See, in the BBC team, preparing to start filming.

He is focusing. He is thinking. There are lots more. If you want to

look log on to the website. I have heard a small thing, but in the

floral marquee I think somebody ha had to pull out. Then floids

stepped in. They had a week to get everything together. Saved the day.

It is their first time at the show. Really? Well done them. Impressive.

There is a brand-new garden this year, hidden under the canvas of a

black out marquee, right up near the large show gardens. There is a

reason for that. It is called a garden at night. It is dedicated to

plants that come into their own after the sun has gone down. We

Kari Beardsell has designed a garden which demmonstrated how

different it can be in the dark. Plant wise, we have things like the

silver birch which shine out in the dark, and plants like nicotiana,

white plants that work well in the dark, and some of them release a

beautiful perfume. Something like the red maple over there is

interesting, when you light it from below. You see the foliage in a

The lighting is key too. Safety is the first thing, and without them I

wouldn't be able to get across the water. But don't just stick lights

in the lawn or flower beds lighting nothing in particular. Here Kari

has done a great job. We have strip lighting and that throws a light on

to the lawn, but she has grazed the walls back, the pillars to throw

that brick into relief. The water features here, they are brilliantly

lit with the spotlights, you can't see the source of the spot but they

light the feature itself. Then again, over dining areas like this,

you want a light from above and throw a light on to an area and

make it practical. She has done a brilliant on. When the visitors

come through they go quiet, really hush, hush, because they are

responding to the moody atmosphere of this garden. If you have been

inspired by Kari's night garden you might want to equip your own garden

for night-time living. Here it is packed full of ideas. Garden

lighting when used creatively can form a wonderful ambience in the

garden and extend the long summer evenings. Solar garden lighting has

been a nice idea, using the power of the sun to light the garden at

night. But it has been frustrating because it fizzles out an hour or

two after the sun goes down. There is new technology coming through

which is interesting. So one of these has got four LEDs in it. It

punches out quite a bit of light and it will last until one or two

in the morning. An interesting development. What could be more

romantic than the garden by candle light? I like these lanterns. They

range in price from about �45, down to only, well that is �9.95 for

that lantern plus the holder. Which I think is pretty good. When you

are entertaining in the gaden you will want to cater for friends,

make sure they are well-fed. If you are a keen cook you can have the

whole kitsch none the garden. And I mean the whole kitchen, down to the

sink. We don't need that newfangled stuff, all you need is a fire pit.

While you are doing it you can use one of these. This is a charcoal

burner and you put wood in. Ideally hardwood, then a couple of hours

later, you have made your own car coal. And of course, you need

somewhere to sit in the garden, in the evening. And I have found the

perfect spot, with this seat. It is so unusual. It is made from a

recycle sardine fishing boat. I love the idea it has had a life

before and now it is being reused having another. If a hammock and a

tent had a baby, what would it be called? Now it would be called a

cocoon. It would be like this. Relaxing, you can hang it anywhere.

The perfect place to chill out. think you can't beat a good old

fashioned swing seat. After the shopping it is nice to put my feet

up. It is an enormous show. My feet are killing me. It has been

brilliant. Thought provoking designs. Stunning summer colour.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 95 seconds

And here is a taste of Hampton at Our time here is rapidly coming to

an end but the show goes on. At least until Sunday night so if you

can get down here, I highly recommend itment and two children

get in with every adult tick ticket. If you are are are coming on Sunday

the big plant sell off starts at 4.30. All the details are on the

website. The week after it close, RHS Tatton Park flower show kicks

off on 20th July and Monty, Carol, Andy and myself will be bringing

you the high lights on 21st and 2nd. Although we are leaving here, we