:00:33. > :00:41.Hello. Welcome to the Royal horticultural Society's Hampton
:00:42. > :00:44.Court Flower Show which is the largest annual Flower Show in the
:00:45. > :00:47.world. What a setting. Apart from the Palace you have the grounds and
:00:48. > :00:51.the deer park around it. It's just perfect. It's a great day out.
:00:52. > :00:54.There's lots of space at the show. It's relaxed. You can dangle your
:00:55. > :00:59.feet in the long water, if you fancy. I will hold to you that.
:01:00. > :01:02.Maybe by the end of the week. It's also about the flowers and there is
:01:03. > :01:07.one huge floral marquee. Growers from up and down the country, from
:01:08. > :01:12.what I have seen so far, bringing fantastic plants. You won't find
:01:13. > :01:16.many Roses, there is a marquee dedicated to Roses here. Peak rose
:01:17. > :01:21.season and if you are a rose lover that's where you head. 47 show
:01:22. > :01:25.gardens in total. Water garden, summer gardens, city gardens and
:01:26. > :01:29.those that are unique to Hampton Court, the conceptual gardens, the
:01:30. > :01:33.mind benders. Over the week we will bring you three shows covering as
:01:34. > :01:37.many of the gardens and plants and of course the people that make this
:01:38. > :01:47.one of the horticultural highlights of the year. Coming up on the RHS
:01:48. > :01:51.ham contourt Palace Flower Show. James Wong gets an exclusive look at
:01:52. > :01:57.Japanese grasses en route to Hampton Court. Rachel system in the Festival
:01:58. > :02:01.of Roses marquee on the lookout for this year's best and brightest. Mark
:02:02. > :02:07.Lane is scouring the showground for clever ideas to inspire you in your
:02:08. > :02:12.garden. There are 47 show gardens to inspire
:02:13. > :02:21.you this year. Earlier Joe and Rachel went and took
:02:22. > :02:26.their first look at some of them. This garden is called Outstanding
:02:27. > :02:28.Natural Beauty and takes inspiration from the natural forms and shapes
:02:29. > :02:34.that are seen throughout the Yorkshire landscape.
:02:35. > :02:42.My favourite bit is the different uses of York stone here. We have
:02:43. > :02:46.this wonderful dry stonewall with a rusty skullen ture element which is
:02:47. > :02:50.like tree roots embedded into it. The seats protrude out. There is sa
:02:51. > :02:54.clever use of space and it connects you with the stone. Then this
:02:55. > :02:59.clean-cut circle under foot. We are up and over a few boulders.
:03:00. > :03:04.There sa nice level change there. Then alongside this stream that runs
:03:05. > :03:09.all the way through the plot. I love the way the stone underneath is set
:03:10. > :03:13.on edge. It adds intrigue, but also adds some texture to it, as well.
:03:14. > :03:16.Then a couple of rocks stepping across the water.
:03:17. > :03:20.They add a nice sense of movement through the space.
:03:21. > :03:25.For me, the planting is a little bit confused. We have areas which are
:03:26. > :03:34.naturalistic, they work the best, but some feel overgardened. But all
:03:35. > :03:39.in all, I think this garden works. This is the Cancer Research UK Life
:03:40. > :03:43.Garden and it's very much planned around a circular theme. So you
:03:44. > :03:46.follow this path through naturalistic planting. We have
:03:47. > :03:51.natives like the Silver Birch and the hazel. Then you are taken
:03:52. > :03:59.through, it's a series of circles down into the heart of the garden.
:04:00. > :04:04.The planting here also follows this rounded theme.
:04:05. > :04:11.What this garden also does cleverly is combine all of this nature with
:04:12. > :04:16.technology. We have virtual reality headsets and when you put them on
:04:17. > :04:18.you are transported beyond Hampton Court and the garden becomes
:04:19. > :04:30.magnified and absolutely magical. Lavender is a British garden plant.
:04:31. > :04:35.A huge favourite. And one that conjures up images and a sense of
:04:36. > :04:39.high summer. But we don't normally associate lavender with farms in the
:04:40. > :04:44.UK but this is a garden set within a farm. It's complete with farm shop
:04:45. > :04:47.that I really like made out of reclaimed materials. It looks
:04:48. > :04:50.fantastic and creates a great backdrop. The garden is cleverly
:04:51. > :04:53.designed because it leads you right into the heart, into the centre
:04:54. > :04:57.here. Because it's tiered down, when you
:04:58. > :05:01.sit down you feel as if you are right in amongst the planting. You
:05:02. > :05:05.can get up nice and close to the lavender and see the bees buzzing
:05:06. > :05:10.through and butterflies on the flower spikes.
:05:11. > :05:14.This is designed by three women first-timers. Let's call them The
:05:15. > :05:15.Lavender Girls. I think they've done a really nice job. It's so relaxing
:05:16. > :05:29.here. One of the big attractions at
:05:30. > :05:34.Hampton Court is this huge marquee. It houses the Festival of Roses and
:05:35. > :05:42.that's unique to this show. This year, they're celebrating the 150th
:05:43. > :05:54.anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter. So masses to see.
:05:55. > :06:07.Even predating the birth of Beatrix Potter is one of my favourite old
:06:08. > :06:11.roses. This lovely soft lilac colour and the fragrance I can smell even
:06:12. > :06:14.from here. You get an amazing first flush of flower and after that you
:06:15. > :06:18.will get flowers here and there but not masses of them. If you want
:06:19. > :06:22.something that is going to give you that continuity of flower and has a
:06:23. > :06:26.similar look to it, then you could choose Macmillan Nurse. This was
:06:27. > :06:31.introduced within the last 20 years. The fragance isn't as good but what
:06:32. > :06:41.you do get is masses and masses of flower right into the autumn.
:06:42. > :06:50.Not many of us have room for a fabulous flower like this that can
:06:51. > :06:54.get up to about ten meeters in height. Most of us probably have
:06:55. > :07:01.space for a more compact climber or two. My eye is drawn to these two.
:07:02. > :07:05.Both are English Roses. These can be trained so they would grow to a
:07:06. > :07:10.couple of metres high so you can keep them within bounds in a smaller
:07:11. > :07:20.garden. This one is fabulous, this soft pink.
:07:21. > :07:25.Crown Princess is apricot. They've a lovely fruity fragance and this one
:07:26. > :07:31.has an extra season of interest. If you want to keep them even smaller
:07:32. > :07:32.you can treat them as a shrub and prune them back that little bit
:07:33. > :07:51.harder. Something quite different is this
:07:52. > :07:55.very simple single flowered rose. It's called Simple scan peach and
:07:56. > :07:59.aptly named. You get this darker colour in bud and then you get the
:08:00. > :08:04.graduation through to pale shades as it fully opens. This illustrates one
:08:05. > :08:08.of the best things about a single flowered rose it's because when
:08:09. > :08:13.there are masses of petals, pollinating insects can't get the
:08:14. > :08:17.nectar but here it's all fully on display and this variety is a
:08:18. > :08:24.magnet, not only for bees and hover flies. In fact, there is one right
:08:25. > :08:29.there. Hampton Court is the perfect
:08:30. > :08:32.platform for new talent. Among them is a young designer this year who's
:08:33. > :08:38.really grasped the opportunity to make his debut. We went to visit him
:08:39. > :08:40.in the south-east to see how he plans to pack an entire County into
:08:41. > :08:55.one small garden. I am a garden designer from Sussex
:08:56. > :09:02.and I am 20 years old. Quite a nice place to come.
:09:03. > :09:08.Especially with a sketch book. It's just a really peaceful place. This,
:09:09. > :09:11.for me, sums up Sussex in a nutshell. And I think it's amazing
:09:12. > :09:15.just to be able to come to these sort of places and call it your
:09:16. > :09:25.office. The design is all themed around
:09:26. > :09:31.Sussex. We are taking the natural landscape and trying to condense it
:09:32. > :09:40.into a six by four metre space, which is a challenge in itself.
:09:41. > :09:48.Back in May I was co-designing a display in the floral marquee at
:09:49. > :09:54.Chelsea Flower Show which was great fun. It was really, really useful to
:09:55. > :09:58.see Sarah's garden where she tried to fit a whole country into, I think
:09:59. > :10:01.it was a seven by five metre space. You could go into it and you could
:10:02. > :10:07.kind of feel that you were in the space and that's something I want to
:10:08. > :10:11.try to create, as well. And James Wong I met there as well
:10:12. > :10:15.and he gave me a few tips which was really nice of him. When I did my
:10:16. > :10:19.first show garden I was 24, not much older than you, and I was trying to
:10:20. > :10:22.come up with ideas and I had a big long list and I had lots of things I
:10:23. > :10:27.thought were really good and I think I fell into the trap of what lots of
:10:28. > :10:31.new designers do, and that's trying to put too much in. It's tempting to
:10:32. > :10:37.cram everything in. I think the real point of a garden is to have a
:10:38. > :10:40.simple, single idea that is perfectly expressed. You have to
:10:41. > :10:44.crystallise what Sussex means to you and that can be a childhood memory,
:10:45. > :10:48.it could be a photograph, it could be like a single view. That's all
:10:49. > :10:54.you have to do in a tiny space, you can't try to include the kitchen
:10:55. > :10:58.sink. No, no, definitely not. Meeting James gave me a lot of
:10:59. > :11:05.inspiration especially using the simplicity in the design and not
:11:06. > :11:11.overcrowding it. So, this is the Hampton Court
:11:12. > :11:17.design. We have two sculptures. Three multistemed birch trees and
:11:18. > :11:22.these two channels here, these are reflective pools.
:11:23. > :11:27.And a contemporary space we are trying to put in traditional
:11:28. > :11:32.material. We are using traditional Flint because it's all over the
:11:33. > :11:36.place. The bricks, as well, all handmade in a traditional Victorian
:11:37. > :11:38.method. Even all the plants are all pretty traditional kind of Sussex
:11:39. > :11:43.plants. We are trying to shake it up a
:11:44. > :11:52.little bit and put it in a contemporary fashion.
:11:53. > :11:56.These are our round-headed rambians and also known as the pride of
:11:57. > :12:02.Sussex and these are the main plants in our design. You can just see a
:12:03. > :12:08.little flower head coming out here and that will probably grow to
:12:09. > :12:12.around this sort of height and then pop open a beautiful iris type of
:12:13. > :12:16.flower head and it only grows in Sussex. It's a beautiful flower and
:12:17. > :12:20.it should work very nicely with the rest of our design.
:12:21. > :12:30.Sussex in a pot. Hampton for me, it would be nice to
:12:31. > :12:37.come out with a nice medal, but being there is enough for me, to be
:12:38. > :12:53.honest, at such a young age. I think it's just very cool.
:12:54. > :12:58.Will, we are here. You survived this. It's looking great how are you
:12:59. > :13:03.feeling? It's been fantastic. It really has. What are the bits you
:13:04. > :13:08.are most happy about with the build? The best thing and the main vocal
:13:09. > :13:10.points is the Flint. It was always all about the Flint and how
:13:11. > :13:15.everything drew your eye to that. Once we got those in I was happy. I
:13:16. > :13:21.knew that the garden would work. I am loving the planting here. It's
:13:22. > :13:25.loose, naturalistic. Exactly like the brief it's traditional but not
:13:26. > :13:29.stuck in the past. I never even heard of this, it looks great. It's
:13:30. > :13:33.leaning over the water to reflect it and highlight it. When I first
:13:34. > :13:36.arrived I was a little bit concerned and scared they wouldn't flower
:13:37. > :13:40.because they're an important thing being the pride of Sussex. I am
:13:41. > :13:44.really happy that they've made it on time and flowered perfectly.
:13:45. > :13:50.Anything I should to you at Chelsea help you? Definitely, the things you
:13:51. > :13:54.said about keeping it loose and keeping it, well, brief! And also
:13:55. > :14:00.the simplicity of the garden, as well. I definitely was going to have
:14:01. > :14:06.a few more bits and bobs in there but decided to take them out once I
:14:07. > :14:10.had spoken to you. My first garden was at Hampton Court and I got the
:14:11. > :14:13.same medal. It's incredible. It's so well done. It's all over, I have a
:14:14. > :14:17.great medal and moving on to the next thing now. Congratulations. Is
:14:18. > :14:21.the next thing back here? That's what I want to know? If they'll have
:14:22. > :14:25.me back, I would love to come back next year and maybe push the
:14:26. > :14:38.boundaries. Amazing. Can't wait to see it. Thank you.
:14:39. > :14:46.When I was growing up in the late 50s and early 60s, my mother had a
:14:47. > :14:51.border dedicated to just two macro plants. These were dahlias and
:14:52. > :14:55.Gladio like. In my mind, those plants are locked in that period in
:14:56. > :15:01.history. They are associated with a B-movie glamour. Only recently have
:15:02. > :15:08.we embraced dahlias and now everybody grows them as one of the
:15:09. > :15:12.stars of the late summer border. Gladioli still have not caught on
:15:13. > :15:19.for so they are not a fashionable plant. Maybe now their hour has
:15:20. > :15:25.come. Rob Evans has an exhibit of mass gladioli, here in the floral
:15:26. > :15:33.marquee, for which he has been awarded a gold medal. Rob,
:15:34. > :15:38.congratulations on the gold medal. Thank you. It is not your first
:15:39. > :15:42.comment is it? No, we have had seven gold medals at Hampton Court.
:15:43. > :15:48.Dahlias have become hugely popular. Can you do the same for gladioli?
:15:49. > :15:52.Will they become a fashionable plant? We have seen increasing sales
:15:53. > :15:57.by mainly because of the new range of colours, with the Salmons and the
:15:58. > :16:03.hybrids. They are bright and vibrant colours. Do they need the same
:16:04. > :16:10.growing conditions? Yes, the same as large gladioli. Keep the drainage on
:16:11. > :16:16.them. They do not need staking like the large gladioli. They have thin
:16:17. > :16:21.stems and blow with the wind. Do you live them every year? We lift the
:16:22. > :16:26.large ones but we have left some of the other ones in due to the milder
:16:27. > :16:31.winters. They are coming back in. Not guaranteeing that they are
:16:32. > :16:36.hardy. When is the best time to plant them? We start to plant them
:16:37. > :16:40.from the 15th of March. Let's hope people come to see your stand and
:16:41. > :16:47.take Tempra macro to their hearts and gardens. Hopefully they will use
:16:48. > :16:52.them as cut flowers as well. -- take gladioli to their hearts and
:16:53. > :17:05.gardens. Carroll has been out and about looking for plants that will
:17:06. > :17:10.shine out of your summer borders. It is July, the time of the year when
:17:11. > :17:15.we expect our gardens to be at their brilliant best. We want everything
:17:16. > :17:19.to be light, soft and gentle. For some plants but that just comes
:17:20. > :17:30.naturally. They are intrinsically romantic. If you are going to
:17:31. > :17:36.deliberately create this effect, you need to choose the right plants. How
:17:37. > :17:48.about this potent as a starting point? -- potentilla. The soft
:17:49. > :17:54.flowers scattered through its little branches. Some plants can be tall
:17:55. > :17:59.yet still create the same effect, like this delightful one here. It
:18:00. > :18:12.has excellent deportment. Elegant and very delicate.
:18:13. > :18:18.This is pemstemon. It is not how we expect them to be that they are
:18:19. > :18:24.usually big blocks of solid, vivid colour. Not in its case with it has
:18:25. > :18:28.an entirely different habit. That is the see-through plant, it loose you
:18:29. > :18:48.include beckoning you to see what is around the next corner. -- lures you
:18:49. > :19:00.in. If you want some are from Venus, what does it better than love in the
:19:01. > :19:07.mist? -- summer frothiness. What an inspired combination! This alley.
:19:08. > :19:18.Normally they are renowned for being, statuesque shapes. Allium. It
:19:19. > :19:28.furthers the whole mood of the planting. Summer for me is all about
:19:29. > :19:35.wandering through meadows. Swishing your hands through soft grasses.
:19:36. > :19:39.This planting takes its inspiration from nature. This is just the sort
:19:40. > :19:48.of thing you can see out in the wild. This beautiful plant is one of
:19:49. > :19:54.our own native plants. It is a wild carrot. Not a fussy plant for so you
:19:55. > :19:58.can grow it easily from seed. To thrive, all it needs is a sunny,
:19:59. > :20:07.well-drained spot. These flower heads floating in the sea of wispy
:20:08. > :20:21.grasses. Perfectly sums up the essence of summer frost.
:20:22. > :20:28.I have just found this nifty logs stacked in this garden. Unlike the
:20:29. > :20:34.weight is contained within this wire basket which stops it collapsing. It
:20:35. > :20:40.is a fantastic habitat for insects. The wire basket does not stop them
:20:41. > :20:45.getting in. It is perfect for wood boring beetles, ladybirds and even
:20:46. > :20:53.small reptiles. It is so simple. Hampton is packed full of ideas like
:20:54. > :21:02.this for you to take home. We scoured the showground for the very
:21:03. > :21:06.best. I love coming to the show gardens. For me, it is about the
:21:07. > :21:08.little details. Those details you can use and adapt to your own
:21:09. > :21:21.spaces. Just look at this! Such a wonderful
:21:22. > :21:27.idea. If you have a damp, shady part of the garden just like me, blue
:21:28. > :21:33.hydrangeas are a really good choice of plant. A group of them underneath
:21:34. > :21:38.the dappled shade of the bamboos and aces, the blue comes to light.
:21:39. > :21:42.Japanese philosophy is about keeping things simple. In English gardens we
:21:43. > :21:48.like to fill our borders with lots and lots of flowers. Actually, one
:21:49. > :21:52.simple hydrangea, with one firm surrounded by greenery is just
:21:53. > :22:10.wonderful. -- fern. Here is a wonderful idea. The dry
:22:11. > :22:14.stone wall. You can create something similar at home. Just actually
:22:15. > :22:19.stacked up old roofing tiles, slates, and even your old slabs.
:22:20. > :22:25.Make sure, if you're going to build one, it is safe and sound. This is
:22:26. > :22:31.something I will take home and it will go in my garden.
:22:32. > :22:37.Now, that is a brilliant idea. Don't be afraid of using black in the
:22:38. > :22:43.garden. This almost looks like scales. It trains the green but also
:22:44. > :22:48.Black is a brilliant colour to use. It actually makes the space for
:22:49. > :22:54.seeds, so your garden feels a lot bigger.
:22:55. > :23:03.And I love this idea. This is such a brilliant one. Dead trees used for a
:23:04. > :23:08.purpose, to create a wonderful pergola. The wisteria is going to
:23:09. > :23:10.wrap its way around. Over time, this will get better and better.
:23:11. > :23:31.Wonderful! This planting scheme really caught
:23:32. > :23:40.my eye. Grasses come in all shapes and forms. Philip goes to bring only
:23:41. > :23:44.has eyes for one grass, the Japanese Hakonechloa. James one went to visit
:23:45. > :23:47.him as he got his collection ready for Hampton.
:23:48. > :23:49.Canterbury Cathedral in Kent is the oldest existing
:23:50. > :23:55.It is a place of stunning architecture
:23:56. > :24:01.What is less well-known are the rarely seen
:24:02. > :24:09.collection of private gardens within the cathedral walls.
:24:10. > :24:11.There are six private gardens, all reflecting very much
:24:12. > :24:18.the personal taste of the members of the clergy who live there.
:24:19. > :24:20.There's something so magical about stepping through a doorway
:24:21. > :24:31.In between old English scented roses and Gothic architecture, it is like
:24:32. > :24:50.When I was a student, studying botany in Canterbury,
:24:51. > :24:53.And you'd never imagine it's rolling lawns, roses round every door
:24:54. > :24:58.Coming to such an imposing building, I was expecting these massive,
:24:59. > :25:01.kind of single stretches of palatial grounds.
:25:02. > :25:04.What you find instead is lots of really intimate,
:25:05. > :25:09.Even with a vegetable patch, it gives the whole space
:25:10. > :25:25.a kind of community, village green type feel.
:25:26. > :25:28.The standard of horticulture here is incredible.
:25:29. > :25:30.They've even got their own national collection.
:25:31. > :25:43.Hakonechloa macra is an ornamental grass which is native to the wet,
:25:44. > :25:48.rocky cliffs of Japan's Honshu island.
:25:49. > :25:51.The man responsible for bringing the grass here is
:25:52. > :25:54.cathedral head gardener, Philip Oostenbrink.
:25:55. > :26:06.They don't have big flowers, they don't come in loads
:26:07. > :26:09.What's so exciting about them for you?
:26:10. > :26:14.It's the way the wind sort of plays with them and they flow over
:26:15. > :26:18.They're really good as under planting as well.
:26:19. > :26:21.If you have a tree with a massive block of Hakonechloa under it,
:26:22. > :26:25.I think it is the perfect plant to grow under any tree really.
:26:26. > :26:27.Hakonechloa is one of my favourite plants.
:26:28. > :26:34.It's at the Chelsea Flower Show every year.
:26:35. > :26:41.A lot of people do say, there's only one, which is the Hakonechloa,
:26:42. > :26:44.That's the amazing thing about national collections.
:26:45. > :26:47.People think you need to have a massive commercial
:26:48. > :26:48.greenhouse in the middle of the countryside.
:26:49. > :26:51.You can have them in the living room!
:26:52. > :26:55.How are you with being judged and medals and all the stress?
:26:56. > :26:59.I asked our receiver general if I could have time off for this.
:27:00. > :27:06.He said, yes, you can, as long as he win gold.
:27:07. > :27:10.Amazing plants and divine intervention probably on your side.
:27:11. > :27:27.Philip did not get the gold medal he was hoping for but he did get a very
:27:28. > :27:33.honourable silver. Philip, you made it. It was wonderful. I liked the
:27:34. > :27:37.simplicity of the same colour pot all the way through which shows off
:27:38. > :27:42.the grasses for what they are. That is what I was hoping for. Some of
:27:43. > :27:45.them are quite similar but with the pot being neutral you can see the
:27:46. > :27:52.differences. They are subtle differences, aren't they? That one
:27:53. > :27:56.has quite striking variation. This is the normal when you see in garden
:27:57. > :28:00.centres but this one has pink streaks in autumn. I normally go for
:28:01. > :28:08.the straight green rather than variegated. That is new completely.
:28:09. > :28:14.In autumn, that one turns quite red. That is already turning. It is. It
:28:15. > :28:20.is ideal for the show. You can see more of the differences. What are
:28:21. > :28:23.your top tips for growing Hakonechloa in a pot? When they get
:28:24. > :28:30.dry, they start to curl up. The water them and within half an hour
:28:31. > :28:36.they are happy again. So far, you're experiencing is to be good. Really
:28:37. > :28:41.good actually. Will you come back to Hampton Court? I hope so, yes. I
:28:42. > :28:45.love it. Be a challenge to see how I can change the display. What you
:28:46. > :28:56.have to keep fundamental is the grasses. I think so. That is it for
:28:57. > :28:59.today. We will be back here at Hampton Court on Thursday and on
:29:00. > :29:04.Friday when our special guest Martin Clunes will be taking a closer look
:29:05. > :29:10.at the garden for dogs that we started tonight's one. I will be
:29:11. > :29:18.upset you have not bought me to see that garden. We are standing on the
:29:19. > :29:22.wetlands trust garden. This one one Best show garden. We will also be
:29:23. > :29:44.revealing rows of the year. Until Thursday, goodbye. Goodbye.
:29:45. > :29:49.Dip into a summer of amazing live music,