:00:16. > :00:21.As gardeners, we follow fashion just like everybody else. When
:00:21. > :00:24.decking was declared the new block paving, grasses the new ferns.
:00:24. > :00:30.Water features the new ponds, we dashed out to buy them in the name
:00:30. > :00:36.of progress. It is because of these revolutions that over the years our
:00:36. > :00:43.outdoor space has evolved, but who decides what we should grow and
:00:43. > :00:53.sow? Where are the concepts born? Many would agree it is at Chelsea
:00:53. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :01:03.Flower Show. Once a year the best designers and growers help shape
:01:03. > :01:09.the the the future. Chris Beardshaw discovers Chelsea's plans for an
:01:09. > :01:11.irrigation nation. Planting to his own tune, musician and artist,
:01:11. > :01:21.Goldie reveals his gardening passions.
:01:21. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:27.Me, Goldie, drum and base man, vegetables. Can you believe it?
:01:27. > :01:32.Paul Barney shows his taste. I have to keep my wife off this
:01:32. > :01:35.because she is really dying to use it for cooking.
:01:35. > :01:39.Welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show supported by M&G Investments.
:01:39. > :01:46.It is day four of Chelsea and today is one of the busiest and hottest
:01:46. > :01:50.yet. So forgive me taking off my jacket and if I get into a pool by
:01:50. > :01:54.the end of the programme, you will know why. It is a Chelsea first.
:01:54. > :01:59.The gates were open to anyone lucky enough to have a ticket. As soon as
:01:59. > :02:03.the gates open, the crowds head down there and along there, the
:02:03. > :02:07.Rock Bank to see the show gardens. This year, it has been spectacular.
:02:07. > :02:13.It has been fantastic. It is so busy down there though. Have you
:02:13. > :02:18.tried to walk through? I have. It has been difficult. Did you see
:02:18. > :02:24.Furzey Gardens and Chris Beardshaw's garden today? I did.
:02:24. > :02:28.It was awash with golden balloons. He has been working with this
:02:28. > :02:35.wonderful team of kids with learning difficulties. He rang them
:02:35. > :02:43.and said, "We got a Gold Medal.". There was a huge crowd of them.
:02:43. > :02:47.Do you think Chris cried again? He has not admitted to it it! The
:02:47. > :02:50.mission is to pro provoke opinion and influence how we think and
:02:50. > :02:54.challenge decisions and even persuade us as to what we should
:02:54. > :02:57.buy. This year there is a message filtering through about planning
:02:57. > :03:07.for a future where water can no longer be taken for granted. Chris
:03:07. > :03:14.
:03:14. > :03:19.went to look at the designs show garden designers this year is
:03:19. > :03:23.the sustainable management of water. Of course, the big question is why
:03:23. > :03:27.should gardeners be concerned about that? This season more than any
:03:27. > :03:32.demonstrates just what can happen when seasonal variations cause
:03:32. > :03:37.drought and deluge. For gardeners, there is a more fundamental reason
:03:37. > :03:40.why we should be concerned with how we manage water within our plots
:03:40. > :03:48.and that's that the plants that we grow and fall in love with, that
:03:48. > :03:53.create our landscapes, are governed by water. The nutrients and the
:03:54. > :04:00.organisms that release the nutrients, they rely on water being
:04:00. > :04:08.present in the soil and in the plant. This Blue Water Garden is an
:04:08. > :04:12.example of what can be done. A subtle adjustment of typeography
:04:12. > :04:17.encourages the rainwater to flow towards the beds and towards the
:04:17. > :04:20.reservoirs at its heart. Plants have been selected for their
:04:20. > :04:28.Charles Kennedyistics of being -- characteristics of being able to
:04:28. > :04:38.cleanse the water before come nothing the reservoirs. Examples of
:04:38. > :04:40.
:04:40. > :04:43.that luzula luzula nivea, the choice of plant material all able
:04:43. > :04:47.cope with deluge and long-term drought.
:04:47. > :04:53.Management of water doesn't necessarily dictate the style of
:04:53. > :05:00.your design solution as demonstrated here. Where gutter
:05:00. > :05:06.down pipes and water butts are converted to sculptural features.
:05:06. > :05:09.It is no surprise that here amongst the fresh gardens, there are
:05:09. > :05:12.innovative design solutions in terms of water management. On the
:05:12. > :05:17.soft machine garden here, grey water. That's water that's been
:05:17. > :05:21.used in the house ends up in a tank in the garden. And then, when you
:05:21. > :05:25.exercise, pedalling the bike, the water is pumped out of the grey
:05:25. > :05:35.water tank, via this front axle and the pump here up into the green
:05:35. > :05:35.
:05:35. > :05:40.wall. The green wall has a volcanic sub strait, which helps cleanse out
:05:40. > :05:50.the toxins and pollutants. That cleansed water ends up in a fresh
:05:50. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:58.reservoir in the garden. It can be used for for irrigation.
:05:58. > :06:02.This garden shows real innovation in breaking the tradition and
:06:02. > :06:07.inefficient link between rain that falls on a roof and it being wasted
:06:07. > :06:10.as it spills down a gutter. What they have done here is to simulate
:06:10. > :06:16.the roof-line, the water drains through into a traditional gutter,
:06:16. > :06:20.into a down pipe and a water butt and there is a watering can here,
:06:20. > :06:24.but then any overflow goes into a reservoir. The really exciting
:06:24. > :06:34.thing is what happens when you want to irrigate because this is linked
:06:34. > :06:36.
:06:36. > :06:41.to a series of of rills which are permeable. Water isn't wasted, it
:06:41. > :06:46.goes to where the plants need it at the roots. This is an old technique.
:06:46. > :06:53.In fact, it is the very technique that was employed by the ancient
:06:53. > :07:03.Egyptians. They were able to take walk from the Nile and pull the
:07:03. > :07:06.
:07:06. > :07:10.sluicegate and suddenly the If you press the Red Button, you
:07:11. > :07:16.can find out more about how weather has an impact on the way gardens
:07:16. > :07:22.are designed to deal with extremes in our weather patterns. Don't
:07:22. > :07:28.press yet! Wait until after the programme!
:07:29. > :07:35.Over the last few months, the weather has been causing jip.
:07:35. > :07:39.Yesterday, I caught up with Alys Fowler.
:07:39. > :07:44.It has been a fiendish spring to start vegetable growing. We were
:07:44. > :07:51.lulled by that warm March and it got cold.
:07:51. > :07:58.Cold and anything you attempted to sow, rotted.
:07:58. > :08:01.You would encourage people, there is time, start sewing now? Plenty
:08:01. > :08:04.of time to catch up, particularly if it will stay like this. It will
:08:04. > :08:10.be fine. There is no problem. When you come here, where is the
:08:10. > :08:13.first place you head? I headed straight to Edulis. He is a
:08:13. > :08:17.specialist grower of rare and unusual edibles. I knew it was his
:08:17. > :08:23.first time at Chelsea and I couldn't wait to see what he
:08:23. > :08:25.brought. No disappointments. I fell in love
:08:25. > :08:31.No disappointments. I fell in love with this plant.
:08:31. > :08:37.Now I have a fantasy of making a woodland of it.
:08:37. > :08:41.Once it was peas and beans and giant cabbages!
:08:41. > :08:46.What's the trend forward? What are the things that are coming in that
:08:46. > :08:50.are surprising? There is going to be a big trend around perennial
:08:51. > :09:00.vegetables because they offer a low maintenance plan. You don't have to
:09:00. > :09:03.be there sowing every spring. that? Artichokes, but Edulis is
:09:03. > :09:07.putting all sorts of extraordinary things.
:09:07. > :09:11.Do we need to be more adventurous? You need to have a balance. The
:09:12. > :09:17.unusual stuff, you can't survive, they are little tastes of things.
:09:17. > :09:23.You still need your potatoes and carrots.
:09:23. > :09:28.You have a wonderful system? I have been looking for a solution to grow
:09:28. > :09:32.peas in pots. It is a charming pattern and you get three of them
:09:32. > :09:42.so you can interlock them. I think peas and sweet peas and
:09:42. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:54.gothic arches are a cut above the with gothic arch peas supports!
:09:54. > :09:58.With 85% of people in the UK living in towns and cities, gardens make
:09:58. > :10:04.up a huge amount of the landscape so the things we grow and how we
:10:04. > :10:07.grow them can have more effect than we think. Rachel, has been taking a
:10:07. > :10:17.look around the RHS environment marquee to find out how working
:10:17. > :10:20.
:10:20. > :10:24.together in our back gardens can large and impressive show gardens
:10:25. > :10:29.and beautiful plants. There is also a strong educational message and
:10:29. > :10:33.I'm here on the garden designed by the University of Leeds where they
:10:33. > :10:37.are getting the message across about how much you can grow in a
:10:37. > :10:40.small space. It is delicious and looks beautiful and most
:10:40. > :10:44.importantly, you are cutting down on the food miles. If you are
:10:44. > :10:49.growing your own, well you want to maximise that crop by encouraging
:10:49. > :10:56.lots of beneficial, pollinating bees and insects into the garden.
:10:56. > :10:58.So give them their own tailor-made environment. Well, water
:10:58. > :11:03.conservation and management has become a key issue. Particularly
:11:03. > :11:07.now that we are experiencing often periods of dry weather and then
:11:07. > :11:12.sometimes a deluge, flash flooding as a result. So this garden, I
:11:12. > :11:18.think, tackles these problems with real style and panache and here you
:11:18. > :11:23.have this roof which is designed to absorb any rain and instead of the
:11:23. > :11:28.run off coming down the the drain, this arrangement takes it down into
:11:28. > :11:31.the water butt and any surplus can go into this graphled area and the
:11:31. > :11:36.plants like having their feet just that little bit more wet so they
:11:36. > :11:41.can cope with any extra run off. It looks good. It is extremely
:11:41. > :11:46.practical. The other important message is to
:11:46. > :11:49.minimise the amount of carbon dioxide that gets released into
:11:49. > :11:53.atmosphere and you can help with that by planting plenty of trees
:11:53. > :11:57.and shrubs and that helps to lock the carbon into the stems, into the
:11:57. > :12:02.roots and actually into the soil itself. The other important thing
:12:02. > :12:07.and it is so easy to do, is make your own compost. Don't buy it in.
:12:07. > :12:09.You don't need a big space. This compost bin is not very large and
:12:10. > :12:19.it is quick and easy to do and better for the environment and
:12:20. > :12:26.
:12:26. > :12:31.berry festival. It has been a feature since 1967. Sadly, Ken
:12:31. > :12:36.passed away last year, but his family and staff are committed to
:12:36. > :12:42.growing fruit and inspiring other people to do the same. Roj, his son,
:12:42. > :12:46.this -- Roger, his son, this is a tradition you were brought up in.
:12:46. > :12:52.Dad started off in the Army and the family were in London, four
:12:52. > :12:56.brothers, and he decided to be a fruit grower. He studied in
:12:56. > :13:00.Chelmsford and and bought a farm at Clacton-on-Sea.
:13:00. > :13:04.Are people still as keen on them? The great thing about them, these
:13:04. > :13:10.are the soft fruits that you can grow in a small space as witnessed
:13:10. > :13:16.by your pots? These are self- watering tower pots. Strawberries
:13:16. > :13:20.don't like being overwatered. So it is drawn up... It is drawn up
:13:20. > :13:25.rather than rained down on. It is marvellous. It is an easy way of
:13:25. > :13:29.growing. Keep them for three years. Give us a ring and put some more in.
:13:29. > :13:34.The big thing about growing your own, is it still up there or
:13:34. > :13:44.sliding a bit? We have moved into trees, but dad has always been
:13:44. > :13:47.known as the strawberry man. Yes. Can I say the KM of Strawberries!
:13:47. > :13:57.He never finished his book. He started it, but never got to the
:13:57. > :13:58.
:13:58. > :14:05.end of it, The Rise And Fall Of A Strawberry Grower.
:14:05. > :14:10.You have the Ken Muir straw better? Well, we had -- the Ken Muir
:14:10. > :14:15.strawberry? Well, we had to do something for the old boy.
:14:15. > :14:25.Can I try some? You know, I have always wanted to do this. Will you
:14:25. > :14:29.
:14:29. > :14:30.pray for a re-take? Oh. Is that lovely? It is my first
:14:30. > :14:36.English strawberry and it is fab. Ken Muir good on you. Don't talk
:14:36. > :14:39.with your mouth full, Alan. Inspiring people to grow their own
:14:39. > :14:43.is a passion. For Paul Barney it is a mission, he prides himself on
:14:43. > :14:48.growing the most exotic, of course, for him, variety is the spice of
:14:48. > :14:58.life. We caught up with Paul in a not so tropical Berkshire to see
:14:58. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:16.what he had on the menu for his anyone who likes to eat something
:15:16. > :15:19.from their garden. I have always been very passionate about planting,
:15:19. > :15:23.since I was a little boy, growing vegetables for the local flower
:15:23. > :15:32.show. It is good fun to introduce people to new plants and get them
:15:32. > :15:36.to try them. I am at my happiest when I am doing this. I think of
:15:36. > :15:41.myself as a plant hunter, in the loosest sense, in that I am always
:15:41. > :15:45.looking for something unusual, something which is out of the
:15:45. > :15:50.ordinary. I counted yesterday, I have been to 68 countries
:15:50. > :15:54.altogether. It seems I have been travelling for a long time, and one
:15:54. > :16:00.of my greatest joy is is going to a forest which I have not been too,
:16:00. > :16:05.and sometimes you can go in and you will not be recognising anything,
:16:05. > :16:13.it is like a wonderland. I just grow plants for the love of them.
:16:13. > :16:17.If I love a plant, I will grow it. These are some I collected in
:16:17. > :16:22.Georgia. It takes me back to the meadow I was sitting in, having a
:16:22. > :16:32.picnic. These were from the corner of that field. And now, they have
:16:32. > :16:35.
:16:35. > :16:40.come up! Designing the exhibit at Chelsea, I really tried to display
:16:40. > :16:46.a range of unusual edible plants, which also can look fantastic. And
:16:46. > :16:50.so, you have got a bit of both, you can have a plant which is going to
:16:50. > :16:55.look great as well as produce something edible or medicinal. I
:16:55. > :17:00.have got plants from most continents. We have got America,
:17:00. > :17:08.Asia, Europe, Africa. We have got a pretty good Brabazon taken from all
:17:08. > :17:15.over the world. I found this one, which has this wonderful foliage,
:17:15. > :17:25.in a market in India. I have to keep my wife off this, because she
:17:25. > :17:26.
:17:26. > :17:30.is really dying to use it for cooking. It is used a lot for onion
:17:30. > :17:36.bhajis and she looks at it enviously. This one is marvellous.
:17:36. > :17:41.The flowers come out like little dancing ladies, to about 2ft. The
:17:41. > :17:45.amazing thing is, it flowers again on its leaves are later in the year.
:17:46. > :17:52.So it is a double whammy. With any luck, they will be ready for
:17:52. > :17:57.Chelsea. And we have got a plant here which is really tasty, this
:17:57. > :18:05.one, known as the cuckoo flower. For me, it is an easy watercress.
:18:05. > :18:11.It is just delicious. One of the plants that we Lavin the nursery is
:18:11. > :18:18.the giant Himalayan rhubarb. It has proved to be a monster. The first
:18:18. > :18:24.flower spikes were 15ft high, which is ridiculous. The leaves were
:18:24. > :18:30.ridiculously big. But this one has fantastic, large, rhubarb stalks,
:18:30. > :18:35.and tastes just like rhubarb, with a bit of apple. I have had a few
:18:35. > :18:40.sleepless nights worrying about what could possibly go wrong, and
:18:40. > :18:45.whether I have remembered everything, and that is still an
:18:45. > :18:49.ongoing process! I am nervous about what to expect at Chelsea, because
:18:49. > :18:55.it is just going there and not knowing. If you have done a show
:18:55. > :19:00.before, you know what to expect and it is a lot easier. Just the number
:19:00. > :19:03.of variables at Chelsea, gold would be lovely, but that would be a bit
:19:03. > :19:10.of a high expectation. I would not be unhappy with anything less,
:19:10. > :19:14.seeing as it is my first time. This might be your first Chelsea,
:19:14. > :19:20.but you have already got a great fan, Alice Fowler, who came to me
:19:20. > :19:27.yesterday, raving about your edible plants. So, you must be pleased to
:19:27. > :19:32.be here, how did you get on? We got a silver, and we were very happy.
:19:32. > :19:38.have got to ask you about the dancing ladies - did they make it?
:19:38. > :19:43.Unfortunately they did not make it. Maybe another year. And the giant
:19:44. > :19:52.rhubarb? That did make it, yes, it has grown about 2 two since we have
:19:52. > :19:59.been here! One thing which has caught my eye is this one. It is a
:19:59. > :20:04.pretty thing, but it really stings. What is special about this one? It
:20:04. > :20:09.is a lovely, dainty plant, with a really long flowering season. It
:20:09. > :20:19.will come into flower in April and finish probably late October. That
:20:19. > :20:22.
:20:22. > :20:27.is superb. It is a tremendous performance, from one plant. This
:20:27. > :20:32.one is the purple form of cow parsley - you seem to have
:20:32. > :20:38.something bigger. I am very fond of growing the purple angelica, which
:20:38. > :20:47.is a lovely foil for other plants in the garden. Does it come through
:20:47. > :20:53.from seed? It does, you will get a high proportion of seedlings.
:20:53. > :20:59.you have to weed out the green ones? I actually like to keep a few,
:20:59. > :21:03.to get the degradation of tones, the mixture of the tones together.
:21:03. > :21:11.Sometimes you will get them to flower again from the same stock,
:21:11. > :21:18.but usually they will die after flowering. I think I will go for a
:21:18. > :21:22.forest of purple Angelica. Many congratulations. Well, one man's
:21:22. > :21:26.orange is another man's something else, and here at Chelsea, although
:21:26. > :21:33.we are all good friends, there are moments, quite frankly, when I
:21:33. > :21:39.would rather be alone. Andy Sturgeon has been showing that on
:21:39. > :21:45.occasions, well-defined boundaries can be a good thing. Most of our
:21:45. > :21:51.gardens have quite ordinary fences, hedges and walls. But the
:21:51. > :22:00.boundaries can be an integral part of the design. This year at Chelsea,
:22:00. > :22:06.there are some ingenious solutions as to how to enclose your garden.
:22:06. > :22:11.These walls in the World Vision garden are made from a special
:22:11. > :22:15.steel, which is now being used in architecture all over the world.
:22:15. > :22:25.The horizontal lines create a bold statement, contrasting to the
:22:25. > :22:25.
:22:25. > :22:30.vertical trunks of the trees. The colours mix perfectly. In this
:22:30. > :22:33.garden, they have got a solid boundary, but it is alive. It is a
:22:33. > :22:43.piece of living architecture. Not only does it increase the amount of
:22:43. > :22:45.
:22:45. > :22:54.growing space in the garden, but it adds fantastic depth and texture.
:22:54. > :23:01.This Land's End garden may not appear to be pushing any boundaries
:23:01. > :23:06.it is all about biodiversity and attracting wildlife. This native
:23:06. > :23:10.field maple hedge is a wonderful habitat for insects and birdlife.
:23:10. > :23:14.This wall, which is made from locally sourced, Cornish stone,
:23:14. > :23:24.will become a great home for all sorts of insects which will provide
:23:24. > :23:26.
:23:26. > :23:31.a great food source for birds. Here in this rooftop garden, they
:23:31. > :23:34.have got a living hedge, up on stilts. It is ideal for screening
:23:34. > :23:44.neighbouring buildings, and it takes up very little valuable space
:23:44. > :23:48.
:23:48. > :23:54.field too claustrophobic, you could just go for a partial screen, like
:23:54. > :24:00.this one, in the Caravan Club Garden. This screen lets light come
:24:00. > :24:09.through it, so it does not feel too enclosed. It works like a net
:24:09. > :24:13.curtain, because I can see out that other people cannot easily see him.
:24:13. > :24:17.This garden has no vertical barrier whatsoever. It just has this
:24:17. > :24:22.beautiful, simple water feature which goes around the garden,
:24:22. > :24:25.defining the space. The plants are unrestrained, and the views from
:24:25. > :24:35.within are unrestricted. It goes to show that when it comes to
:24:35. > :24:37.
:24:37. > :24:43.boundaries, there are no limits. I am very happy to have a hedge,
:24:43. > :24:48.but anyway, we gardeners are diverse lot. We do not have a funny
:24:48. > :24:54.handshake or anything, the first you might learn about a person's
:24:54. > :24:58.green credentials is when carrots get mentioned over the garden fence.
:24:58. > :25:02.But it is always a pleasure to share your passion with somebody
:25:02. > :25:08.new, especially when they are as enthusiastic as you are. I would
:25:08. > :25:11.never have suspected that musician and artist Goldie was a member of
:25:11. > :25:20.the Gardening Club. But last week we caught up with him in his
:25:20. > :25:25.outdoor sanctuary, and he could not wait to show us around.
:25:25. > :25:31.Welcome to my garden, my little safe haven. It was an absolute bomb
:25:31. > :25:37.when I came here, it was terrible. I did not really pay any attention
:25:37. > :25:42.to it. It was concrete, all mashed up. I have always liked Japan, my
:25:42. > :25:47.wife is Japanese. I wanted to give it that kind of theme, very minimal
:25:47. > :25:52.as well. I lived a life of chaos for so long, and they always say,
:25:52. > :25:56.there is a science in chaos, it works itself out. For me, I am
:25:56. > :26:06.working this out, and it is coming out nicely. I like to pleasantly
:26:06. > :26:08.
:26:08. > :26:13.surprised people. He has been growing that one for 25 years. It
:26:14. > :26:18.is nice seeing stuff change. When you're young, it is like olives,
:26:18. > :26:24.you get older, you start to have an appreciation for them. I guess my
:26:24. > :26:28.wife is my biggest influence. She really brings out the sun for me.
:26:28. > :26:36.She really inspired me to get in the garden and do stuff. She loves
:26:36. > :26:41.cooking, she loves gardening. She is half Japanese, half Dutch. So,
:26:41. > :26:45.maybe tulips have got something to do with it. It is really nice,
:26:45. > :26:52.because even the little bamboos that I have got, they are really
:26:52. > :26:55.beautiful, really lovely. A lot of them, we lost half of this side
:26:55. > :27:05.because of the frost, we had a lot of babies in, and it was a
:27:05. > :27:07.
:27:07. > :27:14.nightmare. My dad is from Miami, I practically lived in Miami for a
:27:14. > :27:19.couple of years. The first thing I saw was palm trees on the way to my
:27:19. > :27:29.dad's. It was one of those things, I had them when they were about
:27:29. > :27:33.
:27:33. > :27:37.this high. But how they have grown?! This will be my first year
:27:37. > :27:45.at Chelsea, I will be looking for ideas, some neat fencing ideas, and
:27:45. > :27:54.also some topical stuff, which is durable. I want to try to pull in a
:27:54. > :28:00.lot of different stuff, to bring in some things to fillet out a little
:28:00. > :28:05.bit. I just got into vegetables for the last three years, and every
:28:05. > :28:10.year, I have had a fantastic crop. Meet, vegetables - can you believe
:28:10. > :28:18.it? What is the world coming to? I was growing courgette Skomer runner
:28:18. > :28:22.beans, garlic, potatoes, everything. And then the frost came this year
:28:22. > :28:31.and killed it all. It is like me being in a nightclub and not
:28:31. > :28:41.playing any music. It is terrible. Birds singing, empty vegetable
:28:41. > :28:43.
:28:43. > :28:48.patch - not good. Come on, sun! My vegetable needs you!
:28:48. > :28:56.Goldie, few people would have thought you were a gardener.
:28:56. > :29:02.would have thought it? You did not have a childhood which was much
:29:02. > :29:08.involved with a garden in. Not at all. For a few years of your life,
:29:08. > :29:12.gardening was not on your list. Definitely not. A friend of mine,
:29:12. > :29:16.Richard, said to me, you have got to sort that garden out. He said,
:29:16. > :29:21.let me show you what you can do with it. He came in and he went,
:29:21. > :29:24.but these here, move that around. I thought, hang on a minute, that's
:29:24. > :29:31.really nice. It changed my perception. Then my wife got hold
:29:31. > :29:37.of me, and said, let's put some Japanese stuff in. She said, do you
:29:37. > :29:44.like these? Do you like them? And then she brought me some Japanese
:29:44. > :29:54.Maples. As soon as I started with that Japanese Dean, it took off
:29:54. > :30:01.
:30:01. > :30:06.from there. So that was the moment. Does it come when you get a bit of
:30:06. > :30:11.land that's your responsibility? You felt, "Yes, I ought to do
:30:11. > :30:17.something." I was always in a tight environment and I never liked that
:30:17. > :30:21.stuff, but having space, it is a work in progress. My wife always
:30:21. > :30:25.says it is a work in progress. Going off and getting ideas and try
:30:25. > :30:31.and working out what that work in progress might be. There is
:30:31. > :30:35.something missing, because it is spaced out... You have room for a
:30:35. > :30:38.few more features. But your veg patch, we have all
:30:38. > :30:41.suffered this year because it was cold.
:30:42. > :30:45.I was supplying my local store. I never thought it would be one of
:30:45. > :30:50.those things I would think about and I would go to the local
:30:50. > :30:55.supermarket and you would buy stuff and think that's all right, it is
:30:55. > :31:00.yellow. Ritchie said, you have got this going on, let me sort the veg
:31:00. > :31:04.patch out now. Second tier. We started growing this veg and then
:31:04. > :31:11.it started getting enormous, the beans were coming out like this.
:31:11. > :31:15.Right, a bit of stir fry. I'm eating it and it is just white and
:31:15. > :31:20.it stays fresh for days. I feel with all the healthy eating and
:31:20. > :31:25.stuff like that. Do you see yourself going on with
:31:25. > :31:33.this and developing it and taking it on. It doesn't sound like a
:31:33. > :31:39.flash in the pan? There is a couple of palms here and I'm thinking
:31:39. > :31:46."mine is bigger." Maybe next year. Well, you have done Maestro, I
:31:46. > :31:49.think you ought to do Chelsea. I have got palms to remind me of
:31:49. > :31:56.Miami and I have had these two close together and one is yellow,
:31:56. > :32:01.flowering and one has got black seeds. The chap just said to me,
:32:01. > :32:06."You are pollinating. You have got male and female." The seeds will
:32:06. > :32:11.make palms. Lovely to see you.
:32:11. > :32:15.We will catch up with you later when you have had a tour around the
:32:15. > :32:19.gardens! Still plenty to come on the RHS
:32:19. > :32:29.Chelsea Flower Show supported by M&G Investments.
:32:29. > :32:29.
:32:29. > :32:35.Boxing match - designers have explain why they have gone all
:32:35. > :32:41.heavy metal. The colours dominating the show.
:32:41. > :32:45.Rachel talks to Jo Thompson about parking the very first caravan on
:32:45. > :32:49.Main Avenue. I never thought I would get so
:32:49. > :32:54.emotional... About a tin box. She is just gorgeous.
:32:54. > :32:59.The clipping of evergreen plants into ornamental shapes has been
:32:59. > :33:04.drifting in and out of fashion since Roman times. It was launched
:33:04. > :33:10.on its journey across Britain introducing a formal element to our
:33:10. > :33:14.gardens that remained ever since. The 18th century saw it become
:33:14. > :33:18.unfashionable. The Second World War bombed it. Its popularity has ebbed
:33:18. > :33:24.and flowed. This year it is make ago comeback and versions can be
:33:24. > :33:34.seen defining gardens across the showground. Carol went to see why
:33:34. > :33:50.
:33:50. > :33:54.the qualifications to make these shapes. For a start, it is
:33:54. > :33:59.evergreen. It has dense growth and it has small leaves, but this year
:33:59. > :34:04.at Chelsea, people have used all sorts of different plants in very
:34:04. > :34:14.imaginive ways to do just -- imagine stiff way to say just the
:34:14. > :34:18.
:34:18. > :34:22.same -- imagine stiff ways to do the same. This is ilex crentia. It
:34:22. > :34:27.is a Japanese plant and it is used in Japan and the States to do just
:34:27. > :34:33.this sort of work. It is little known in this country,
:34:33. > :34:42.but I think it has a great future. The use of these formal topiary
:34:42. > :34:49.shapes rising out from foamy, froths of informal planting. I
:34:49. > :34:53.would never of dreamt of using these as topiary, but it works
:34:53. > :35:01.beautifully, but you have to keep on the ball when it comes to
:35:01. > :35:06.snipping with the secretary secateurs.
:35:06. > :35:15.At first sight this garden looks very formal and traditional, but
:35:15. > :35:21.look again! Each one of these wonderful U-figures is different.
:35:22. > :35:28.On closer inspection, having expected these figures to have been
:35:28. > :35:32.arranged perfectly, you realise that they are not at all. They are
:35:32. > :35:40.askew and you can imagine during the night that these enormous
:35:40. > :35:44.figures probably move around a bit! This is what you call tra call
:35:44. > :35:50.traditional topiary with a twist. Whichever plant you choose, and
:35:51. > :36:00.however you care to display it, there is no doubt that topiary adds
:36:01. > :36:03.
:36:03. > :36:10.a touch of class or should it be charge that had you brought topiary
:36:10. > :36:15.into Chelsea showground and make it popular. How do you plead? Guilty.
:36:15. > :36:20.Why do you like it? I like the way it provides scale and stops the eye
:36:20. > :36:24.travelling around the garden too much and it helps anchor anchor
:36:24. > :36:28.buildings into the land landscape. It is a great connector between the
:36:28. > :36:32.landscape and the house. I love the art of clipping of the topiary. It
:36:32. > :36:39.is one of the disciplines that I love.
:36:39. > :36:45.Carol said yours is like little people. There is a personality to
:36:45. > :36:48.to topiary? They are standing guard and they have a different character
:36:48. > :36:52.and Jason from the Australian Garden is worried that one had a
:36:52. > :36:55.bigger head than the other. That's the attraction. It off set the
:36:55. > :37:05.symmetry that's going on there. Why do you think topiary went out?
:37:05. > :37:08.
:37:08. > :37:11.I don't think it has, has it? Little corners.
:37:11. > :37:19.Capability Brown. It is the great landscape movement
:37:19. > :37:25.and they cleared the twidly bits away. It has always hung on? I I I
:37:25. > :37:30.think it survived in cottage gardens and manor houses. In the
:37:30. > :37:35.big important gardens, it did get lost. It is not as popular, but it
:37:35. > :37:40.is something that I feel is very much of our gardening heritage and
:37:40. > :37:44.you do see it, most villages that you go to, you will find topiary
:37:44. > :37:48.plants and it has a revival and it is something that I have used for
:37:48. > :37:51.years and years. So you would like to think that you
:37:51. > :37:56.are bringing it back? I don't think it has gone away. The thing I like
:37:56. > :38:00.about it. I like using sculpture and it is a good second best. It is
:38:00. > :38:04.cheaper than buying a sculpture and you can do anything and it engages
:38:04. > :38:09.you with the garden. I have 130 of them in my garden,
:38:09. > :38:19.cones and balls and pyramids. I love them. Thank you very much for
:38:19. > :38:22.
:38:22. > :38:26.championing topiary. beginnings of Chelsea Flower Show
:38:26. > :38:30.and each year it becomes difficult for a designer and exhibitor to
:38:30. > :38:35.bring something new to the showground, but that is what the
:38:35. > :38:39.horticultural world expects. This year Jo Thompson has broken ground
:38:39. > :38:44.and broken rules by bringing the first caravan on to Main Avenue.
:38:44. > :38:47.Her vision is to celebrate our obsession for holidaying in the
:38:47. > :38:57.British countryside. But also to remind us that our journey can
:38:57. > :39:06.
:39:06. > :39:11.to go on a caravanning holiday. A few years ago, my children, they
:39:11. > :39:16.were so desperate for us to go camping or caravanning and I did
:39:16. > :39:22.research online for luxury caravans and ended up on this site that was
:39:22. > :39:31.full of these 1950s trailers, American trailers and it was the
:39:31. > :39:35.best holiday I've ever had. I got on to this site and tipped
:39:35. > :39:39.the children out of the caravan, into a field, and I didn't see them
:39:39. > :39:43.for a week! It is something new to have a
:39:43. > :39:47.caravan in a Chelsea show garden. I think caravanning is becoming
:39:47. > :39:51.fashionable again. It is interesting when I've talked to
:39:51. > :39:57.people about this garden, their reaction is warm towards caravans
:39:57. > :40:05.and just like all things 50s, vintage, we have gone from the term
:40:05. > :40:10.glamping this glamorous camping to glam caravanning which I think is
:40:10. > :40:15.lovely. When I started designing this garden, it was really meant to
:40:15. > :40:20.be a garden with a caravan sitting in the corner that was an extra
:40:20. > :40:28.room and looking through holiday photos, just to get inspiration, I
:40:28. > :40:31.saw Doris in the background. Doris is a 1950s vintage Fisher caravan
:40:31. > :40:35.which aren't made anymore. Aluminium, the paint stripped back
:40:35. > :40:40.and she is beautiful, she is like a giant toaster. I made a phone call
:40:40. > :40:46.and got measurements and realised she would be perfect, she will be
:40:46. > :40:51.towed from the Isle of Wight up the motorway into London and on to the
:40:51. > :40:58.showground and I think it's, again, I can't imagine her in a queue with
:40:58. > :41:08.all these huge, articulated lorries all around her, but I think it will
:41:08. > :41:13.
:41:13. > :41:17.be great and I can't wait to see day. At least once a day. The dog
:41:17. > :41:23.would like to come three or four times a day if possible and it
:41:23. > :41:28.really feels British. I don't think you can get anything more British
:41:28. > :41:34.than a bluebell wood in the spring time.
:41:34. > :41:38.Bluebells, primroses, the ladies smock or cuckoo flowers. Each time
:41:38. > :41:42.of year, there is something else to catch the eye.
:41:42. > :41:46.I love how you have got all these strong verticals of the trees and
:41:46. > :41:49.they are not all in the distance, some are in the foreground and you
:41:49. > :41:55.look through to other planting. I love the way it is all really loose
:41:55. > :42:00.as well and there is no, it isn't a manicured planting and I don't
:42:00. > :42:05.think any of the arrangements of of flowers and plants and treesI ever
:42:05. > :42:12.put together could be called manicured. It is always a bit loose,
:42:12. > :42:18.a bit, it is natural. I really hope that when people see
:42:18. > :42:23.this garden at Chelsea, they can look at it and understand it. You
:42:24. > :42:29.know, it isn't a concept actual garden t it is a ten by ten meter
:42:29. > :42:39.space so a lot of people have that sized garden and I just want it to
:42:39. > :42:39.
:42:39. > :42:44.there, is one of my favourite gardens. I love it. Every time I
:42:44. > :42:51.walk past, I get another peep. How do you feel the design transferred
:42:51. > :42:55.on to this space? It is a really simple design. It was based on the
:42:55. > :43:01.diagonal. We have the caravan at the far end and I wanted to break
:43:01. > :43:07.up the view as you look towards it. So we have got this this rill and
:43:07. > :43:10.and benches sitting on the rill and when it came together, it worked.
:43:10. > :43:15.Miraculously. So how do you feel about the judges' response to the
:43:15. > :43:20.garden? I was pleased with their response. It is my first time on
:43:20. > :43:24.Main Avenue and being up here with the big boys was faunting and --
:43:24. > :43:27.daunting and when we got silver, it was brilliant. It was more than I
:43:27. > :43:35.could have wished for. One of the things that really
:43:35. > :43:39.speaks to me is your planting. It is so beautiful. What's the
:43:39. > :43:45.inspiration behind that? Well, I live in Kent and I'm
:43:45. > :43:50.surrounded by hedgerows and verges full of cow parsley and I wanted to
:43:50. > :43:54.bring bring those into the garden setting and mix them up with roses,
:43:54. > :43:59.the more traditional garden plants and give that looser, relaxed feel.
:43:59. > :44:03.What about Doris? Surely you aren't going to be able to part with her
:44:03. > :44:06.after the show? I have fallen in love with her. I have really fallen
:44:06. > :44:10.in love with her. I never thought I would get so emotional about a tin
:44:10. > :44:14.box. She is gorgeous. She has a personality of her own. She has
:44:14. > :44:17.given the garden a character. Everything has come from her and
:44:17. > :44:21.she is great. Well, she makes the garden, but all
:44:22. > :44:25.of it is beautiful. Congratulations. This year, there is plenty of
:44:25. > :44:29.reason to stay home and enjoy a staycation. The jubilee and the
:44:29. > :44:34.Olympics for starters, but when the sun comes out and you can't beat
:44:34. > :44:44.the UK landscape and all its wild and floral beauty. A camping,
:44:44. > :44:54.glamping, hotel, motels, tempting enough to stay at home? We asked
:44:54. > :44:56.
:44:56. > :45:02.people where they preferred to special to me because I spent a lot
:45:02. > :45:07.of my childhood there, it is Devon. Sussex at this time of year is
:45:07. > :45:11.absolutely resplendent. If there was a place that I was particularly
:45:11. > :45:16.fond of holidaying in, I am certainly not going to tell you.
:45:16. > :45:25.Devon and Cornwall is the most wonderful place to go. I am a Devon
:45:25. > :45:31.girl. Anywhere out of London, in August! I love Scotland, but I am
:45:31. > :45:38.spiritually linked to Cumbria. Actually, stick to the UK, it is a
:45:38. > :45:46.fabulous place. I would recommend, I have to say many places in Wales.
:45:46. > :45:53.Northumbria was a real gem. I have to admit, in the winter, I drift
:45:53. > :46:00.away to the Caribbean. I love this country so much. They always say,
:46:00. > :46:05.if you could just guarantee the weather, you would never go abroad!
:46:05. > :46:08.So, Devon and Cornwall would seem to be the place the celebrities go
:46:08. > :46:13.to for their staycation. It is only because they have not discovered
:46:13. > :46:19.the Isle of Wight. You can never tell why they come here, is it the
:46:19. > :46:25.glamour or the gardening? Earlier, unlikely Gardener Goldie joined us
:46:26. > :46:29.to share his this is are macro for palm trees. -- his passion for
:46:29. > :46:37.countries. He wanted some inspiration for his own garden, so
:46:37. > :46:42.we accompanied him as he soaked up the sides. She is the one who got
:46:42. > :46:52.me into this in the first place. Look at that. What does it remind
:46:52. > :46:56.you of? Captain's Log, start date... I have just found the most amazing
:46:56. > :47:01.collection of flowers. We have just come across the lagoon, we do not
:47:01. > :47:09.know what this creature is. Let's start with the world's tiniest palm
:47:09. > :47:15.tree. Let's start with your gold medal, first! Here you go. When did
:47:15. > :47:24.palm trees first come here? In the Victorian era. They were classical
:47:24. > :47:30.plans, which were used to decorate places, and they were brought back
:47:30. > :47:37.by the explorers of the day. That is very impressive. There is a few
:47:37. > :47:47.more than I thought there would be. Watch out, incoming! It is really
:47:47. > :47:49.
:47:49. > :47:54.lovely. This is probably, for me, what I would love to achieve in the
:47:54. > :47:58.corner of my garden. It is very, very beautiful. I don't know how
:47:58. > :48:08.they have done this, how they have put the Morse on the side of the
:48:08. > :48:18.shed. I need to have a little shed now. It is very inspiring. The one
:48:18. > :48:24.
:48:24. > :48:34.last thing will be to go down that slide. Dermot's slide. Tally ho!
:48:34. > :48:45.
:48:45. > :48:49.Chelsea is scouring the Showground for inspiration. This year there
:48:49. > :48:56.are plenty of ideas to take away, even if you only have a tiny garden
:48:56. > :49:00.space. This display is exactly the sort of thing I mean. It is called
:49:01. > :49:06.the Space Race, and the idea is to make use of every corner of your
:49:06. > :49:13.garden, no matter how tiny, particularly in urban spaces. This
:49:13. > :49:20.one is called square foot Gardening. We have got a raised bed, and the
:49:20. > :49:24.idea is that each space contains different crops. You can put in her
:49:24. > :49:29.letters, harvest what you need for that day, and then the plant goes
:49:29. > :49:33.on growing. Other things, as they finish, take them up and put
:49:33. > :49:38.something else in to replace it. It really is maximum productivity.
:49:38. > :49:42.This is a wonderful idea. It is another raised bed, but it is
:49:42. > :49:48.stepped, so you can have different types of soil in there. Around the
:49:48. > :49:52.edge, we have got herbs, things which need really sharp drainage,
:49:52. > :49:55.like the lavender and the thyme. In the middle section we have got
:49:55. > :50:04.vegetables which not only taste good but they look good, too. We
:50:04. > :50:09.have got broad beans, more thyme, and I love the idea of the bamboo,
:50:09. > :50:18.and the irrigation coming down. It takes up almost no space. This
:50:18. > :50:22.garden is absolutely full of ideas, it is genius. Well, you do not need
:50:22. > :50:25.acres of space to grow fruit and vegetables, either. There are some
:50:25. > :50:31.really good ideas here on this stand. Look at this beautiful
:50:31. > :50:36.raised bed, absolutely full of salads and herbs. You can make it
:50:36. > :50:41.any shape at all. Just look at the space you have got available, and
:50:41. > :50:47.create something which fits. Taking the idea of growing plants in a
:50:47. > :50:51.container, how about this? These are dwarf varieties of peach.
:50:51. > :50:56.Perfectly suited to growing long term in a container. Finally, we
:50:56. > :51:01.have got different ways of growing plants, to maximise the space. If
:51:01. > :51:11.you cannot go out, you can quite often go Upper wall. These are
:51:11. > :51:14.
:51:14. > :51:20.pairs. You can follow it through to the extreme, and go even higher.
:51:20. > :51:29.You can plant underneath as well. Again, more herbs at the base. So,
:51:29. > :51:33.if it is fruit you fancy, do not let a lack of space put you off. If
:51:33. > :51:37.walking around the Showground makes you wish you had an enormous garden,
:51:37. > :51:42.and you only have room for a single pot, just look at what you can do
:51:42. > :51:49.with that pot. It is all about selecting really compact varieties.
:51:49. > :51:54.Once you have chosen your plants, the Chelsea Showground is awash
:51:54. > :52:04.with inspiration for what colours to choose. We went out to look at
:52:04. > :52:04.
:52:04. > :52:11.some of the, they -- some of the colours dominating this year's show.
:52:11. > :52:21.A new range of colours is creeping in a long Main Avenue. Chelsea has
:52:21. > :52:21.
:52:21. > :52:25.a metallic. -- Chelsea has gone metallic. For the last decade or so,
:52:25. > :52:29.the colour schemes have been a very tasteful blend of purples and
:52:29. > :52:35.pastels. It is good to see that a new colour palette is coming
:52:35. > :52:39.through. In this garden, they have used a sculpture, and the bronze
:52:39. > :52:42.colour has been echoed in the planting. We often hear that the
:52:42. > :52:52.devil is in the detail when it comes to aiming for a gold medal.
:52:52. > :52:55.
:52:55. > :53:02.That detail applies to the planting, too. The colours are matched,
:53:02. > :53:07.linking the borders together. You can see this colour everywhere. My
:53:07. > :53:13.favourite are these ones. These orange flowers are absolutely loved
:53:13. > :53:18.by bees. Again, helping to join the whole of the planting scheme
:53:18. > :53:24.together. The copper and bronze colours give warmth to a garden.
:53:24. > :53:32.Meanwhile, silver is the colour of light and energy. One man has
:53:32. > :53:36.created a cathedral to this silvery shade with his show garden. He has
:53:36. > :53:40.used plants which are covered in tiny hairs, which makes them silver.
:53:40. > :53:49.They are to protect the plant in its Mediterranean home from bright
:53:49. > :53:53.sunshine. The same goes for these lavenders. Again, the silver of the
:53:53. > :53:58.leaves protects it and reflect the heat of the sun. It is not just in
:53:58. > :54:03.the planting, the dominant feature of this garden is the water. There
:54:03. > :54:07.is this shimmering pond in the middle, and then an arcade of water
:54:07. > :54:16.coming down the side. If you want to see the brightest plant in this
:54:16. > :54:23.garden, you have to go up on to the terrace. It is an alpine plant.
:54:23. > :54:28.Give it your sunniest spot. I just love the colour scheme of this
:54:28. > :54:35.garden, it is so out of the ordinary. It is summed up by these
:54:35. > :54:39.irises. They have an apricot colour about them. As you come back into
:54:39. > :54:42.the garden, the colour scheme becomes more apparent. On a sunny
:54:42. > :54:50.day like this, it is wonderful, the light comes down through the
:54:51. > :54:56.cherries at the back. It is like being in a golden, summer day. The
:54:56. > :55:06.overall effect of this garden is one of gold. With the Olympics
:55:06. > :55:10.
:55:11. > :55:20.around the corner, let's hope we Marathon, and I am carrying the
:55:21. > :55:27.
:55:27. > :55:37.Olympic Torch! Tell me about it! has been designed by Maggie, and it
:55:37. > :55:37.
:55:38. > :55:43.won the gold medal. We have got some delightful, spiky flowers in
:55:43. > :55:48.the centre, and carnations on the bottom. Give him going to tell you
:55:48. > :55:58.about my arrangement. It is not mine at all. It is designed by
:55:58. > :56:03.
:56:03. > :56:09.Julian, from Covent Garden academy of Flowers. Wonderful. It is great,
:56:09. > :56:19.we do try to cover flower arranging as well. Florists as well, that is
:56:19. > :56:20.
:56:20. > :56:27.the professional way of saying it. I do not want anybody to think that
:56:27. > :56:32.we do not pay any attention to it. Using specific objects to draw
:56:32. > :56:37.people's attention to a part of the garden is one trick used by
:56:37. > :56:47.gardeners. We took to the Showground to take a look at this
:56:47. > :56:47.
:56:47. > :57:32.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:57:32. > :57:42.are # a rare and priceless work of art.
:57:42. > :57:42.
:57:42. > :57:50.# I am right by your side. # I cannot tell you why.
:57:50. > :57:55.# To be in love with a masterpiece. # After all, nothing is
:57:55. > :58:03.indestructible. I do love a nice bit of sculpture.
:58:03. > :58:10.It is your turn now. Yes, it is my turn. We have that in common with
:58:10. > :58:15.the Olympics - gold, silver and bronze at Chelsea! That's all for
:58:15. > :58:22.tonight. We will be back tomorrow at 12:30pm. And we will be back on
:58:22. > :58:29.BBC Two as well. You can press the red button straight after the show