Episode 11 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

As gardeners, we follow fashion just like everybody else. When

decking was declared the new block paving, grasses the new ferns.

Water features the new ponds, we dashed out to buy them in the name

of progress. It is because of these revolutions that over the years our

outdoor space has evolved, but who decides what we should grow and

sow? Where are the concepts born? Many would agree it is at Chelsea

Flower Show. Once a year the best designers and growers help shape

the the the future. Chris Beardshaw discovers Chelsea's plans for an

irrigation nation. Planting to his own tune, musician and artist,

Goldie reveals his gardening passions.

Me, Goldie, drum and base man, vegetables. Can you believe it?

Paul Barney shows his taste. I have to keep my wife off this

because she is really dying to use it for cooking.

Welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show supported by M&G Investments.

It is day four of Chelsea and today is one of the busiest and hottest

yet. So forgive me taking off my jacket and if I get into a pool by

the end of the programme, you will know why. It is a Chelsea first.

The gates were open to anyone lucky enough to have a ticket. As soon as

the gates open, the crowds head down there and along there, the

Rock Bank to see the show gardens. This year, it has been spectacular.

It has been fantastic. It is so busy down there though. Have you

tried to walk through? I have. It has been difficult. Did you see

Furzey Gardens and Chris Beardshaw's garden today? I did.

It was awash with golden balloons. He has been working with this

wonderful team of kids with learning difficulties. He rang them

and said, "We got a Gold Medal.". There was a huge crowd of them.

Do you think Chris cried again? He has not admitted to it it! The

mission is to pro provoke opinion and influence how we think and

challenge decisions and even persuade us as to what we should

buy. This year there is a message filtering through about planning

for a future where water can no longer be taken for granted. Chris

went to look at the designs show garden designers this year is

the sustainable management of water. Of course, the big question is why

should gardeners be concerned about that? This season more than any

demonstrates just what can happen when seasonal variations cause

drought and deluge. For gardeners, there is a more fundamental reason

why we should be concerned with how we manage water within our plots

and that's that the plants that we grow and fall in love with, that

create our landscapes, are governed by water. The nutrients and the

organisms that release the nutrients, they rely on water being

present in the soil and in the plant. This Blue Water Garden is an

example of what can be done. A subtle adjustment of typeography

encourages the rainwater to flow towards the beds and towards the

reservoirs at its heart. Plants have been selected for their

Charles Kennedyistics of being -- characteristics of being able to

cleanse the water before come nothing the reservoirs. Examples of

that luzula luzula nivea, the choice of plant material all able

cope with deluge and long-term drought.

Management of water doesn't necessarily dictate the style of

your design solution as demonstrated here. Where gutter

down pipes and water butts are converted to sculptural features.

It is no surprise that here amongst the fresh gardens, there are

innovative design solutions in terms of water management. On the

soft machine garden here, grey water. That's water that's been

used in the house ends up in a tank in the garden. And then, when you

exercise, pedalling the bike, the water is pumped out of the grey

water tank, via this front axle and the pump here up into the green

wall. The green wall has a volcanic sub strait, which helps cleanse out

the toxins and pollutants. That cleansed water ends up in a fresh

reservoir in the garden. It can be used for for irrigation.

This garden shows real innovation in breaking the tradition and

inefficient link between rain that falls on a roof and it being wasted

as it spills down a gutter. What they have done here is to simulate

the roof-line, the water drains through into a traditional gutter,

into a down pipe and a water butt and there is a watering can here,

but then any overflow goes into a reservoir. The really exciting

thing is what happens when you want to irrigate because this is linked

to a series of of rills which are permeable. Water isn't wasted, it

goes to where the plants need it at the roots. This is an old technique.

In fact, it is the very technique that was employed by the ancient

Egyptians. They were able to take walk from the Nile and pull the

sluicegate and suddenly the If you press the Red Button, you

can find out more about how weather has an impact on the way gardens

are designed to deal with extremes in our weather patterns. Don't

press yet! Wait until after the programme!

Over the last few months, the weather has been causing jip.

Yesterday, I caught up with Alys Fowler.

It has been a fiendish spring to start vegetable growing. We were

lulled by that warm March and it got cold.

Cold and anything you attempted to sow, rotted.

You would encourage people, there is time, start sewing now? Plenty

of time to catch up, particularly if it will stay like this. It will

be fine. There is no problem. When you come here, where is the

first place you head? I headed straight to Edulis. He is a

specialist grower of rare and unusual edibles. I knew it was his

first time at Chelsea and I couldn't wait to see what he

brought. No disappointments. I fell in love

No disappointments. I fell in love with this plant.

Now I have a fantasy of making a woodland of it.

Once it was peas and beans and giant cabbages!

What's the trend forward? What are the things that are coming in that

are surprising? There is going to be a big trend around perennial

vegetables because they offer a low maintenance plan. You don't have to

be there sowing every spring. that? Artichokes, but Edulis is

putting all sorts of extraordinary things.

Do we need to be more adventurous? You need to have a balance. The

unusual stuff, you can't survive, they are little tastes of things.

You still need your potatoes and carrots.

You have a wonderful system? I have been looking for a solution to grow

peas in pots. It is a charming pattern and you get three of them

so you can interlock them. I think peas and sweet peas and

gothic arches are a cut above the with gothic arch peas supports!

With 85% of people in the UK living in towns and cities, gardens make

up a huge amount of the landscape so the things we grow and how we

grow them can have more effect than we think. Rachel, has been taking a

look around the RHS environment marquee to find out how working

together in our back gardens can large and impressive show gardens

and beautiful plants. There is also a strong educational message and

I'm here on the garden designed by the University of Leeds where they

are getting the message across about how much you can grow in a

small space. It is delicious and looks beautiful and most

importantly, you are cutting down on the food miles. If you are

growing your own, well you want to maximise that crop by encouraging

lots of beneficial, pollinating bees and insects into the garden.

So give them their own tailor-made environment. Well, water

conservation and management has become a key issue. Particularly

now that we are experiencing often periods of dry weather and then

sometimes a deluge, flash flooding as a result. So this garden, I

think, tackles these problems with real style and panache and here you

have this roof which is designed to absorb any rain and instead of the

run off coming down the the drain, this arrangement takes it down into

the water butt and any surplus can go into this graphled area and the

plants like having their feet just that little bit more wet so they

can cope with any extra run off. It looks good. It is extremely

practical. The other important message is to

minimise the amount of carbon dioxide that gets released into

atmosphere and you can help with that by planting plenty of trees

and shrubs and that helps to lock the carbon into the stems, into the

roots and actually into the soil itself. The other important thing

and it is so easy to do, is make your own compost. Don't buy it in.

You don't need a big space. This compost bin is not very large and

it is quick and easy to do and better for the environment and

berry festival. It has been a feature since 1967. Sadly, Ken

passed away last year, but his family and staff are committed to

growing fruit and inspiring other people to do the same. Roj, his son,

this -- Roger, his son, this is a tradition you were brought up in.

Dad started off in the Army and the family were in London, four

brothers, and he decided to be a fruit grower. He studied in

Chelmsford and and bought a farm at Clacton-on-Sea.

Are people still as keen on them? The great thing about them, these

are the soft fruits that you can grow in a small space as witnessed

by your pots? These are self- watering tower pots. Strawberries

don't like being overwatered. So it is drawn up... It is drawn up

rather than rained down on. It is marvellous. It is an easy way of

growing. Keep them for three years. Give us a ring and put some more in.

The big thing about growing your own, is it still up there or

sliding a bit? We have moved into trees, but dad has always been

known as the strawberry man. Yes. Can I say the KM of Strawberries!

He never finished his book. He started it, but never got to the

end of it, The Rise And Fall Of A Strawberry Grower.

You have the Ken Muir straw better? Well, we had -- the Ken Muir

strawberry? Well, we had to do something for the old boy.

Can I try some? You know, I have always wanted to do this. Will you

pray for a re-take? Oh. Is that lovely? It is my first

English strawberry and it is fab. Ken Muir good on you. Don't talk

with your mouth full, Alan. Inspiring people to grow their own

is a passion. For Paul Barney it is a mission, he prides himself on

growing the most exotic, of course, for him, variety is the spice of

life. We caught up with Paul in a not so tropical Berkshire to see

what he had on the menu for his anyone who likes to eat something

from their garden. I have always been very passionate about planting,

since I was a little boy, growing vegetables for the local flower

show. It is good fun to introduce people to new plants and get them

to try them. I am at my happiest when I am doing this. I think of

myself as a plant hunter, in the loosest sense, in that I am always

looking for something unusual, something which is out of the

ordinary. I counted yesterday, I have been to 68 countries

altogether. It seems I have been travelling for a long time, and one

of my greatest joy is is going to a forest which I have not been too,

and sometimes you can go in and you will not be recognising anything,

it is like a wonderland. I just grow plants for the love of them.

If I love a plant, I will grow it. These are some I collected in

Georgia. It takes me back to the meadow I was sitting in, having a

picnic. These were from the corner of that field. And now, they have

come up! Designing the exhibit at Chelsea, I really tried to display

a range of unusual edible plants, which also can look fantastic. And

so, you have got a bit of both, you can have a plant which is going to

look great as well as produce something edible or medicinal. I

have got plants from most continents. We have got America,

Asia, Europe, Africa. We have got a pretty good Brabazon taken from all

over the world. I found this one, which has this wonderful foliage,

in a market in India. I have to keep my wife off this, because she

is really dying to use it for cooking. It is used a lot for onion

bhajis and she looks at it enviously. This one is marvellous.

The flowers come out like little dancing ladies, to about 2ft. The

amazing thing is, it flowers again on its leaves are later in the year.

So it is a double whammy. With any luck, they will be ready for

Chelsea. And we have got a plant here which is really tasty, this

one, known as the cuckoo flower. For me, it is an easy watercress.

It is just delicious. One of the plants that we Lavin the nursery is

the giant Himalayan rhubarb. It has proved to be a monster. The first

flower spikes were 15ft high, which is ridiculous. The leaves were

ridiculously big. But this one has fantastic, large, rhubarb stalks,

and tastes just like rhubarb, with a bit of apple. I have had a few

sleepless nights worrying about what could possibly go wrong, and

whether I have remembered everything, and that is still an

ongoing process! I am nervous about what to expect at Chelsea, because

it is just going there and not knowing. If you have done a show

before, you know what to expect and it is a lot easier. Just the number

of variables at Chelsea, gold would be lovely, but that would be a bit

of a high expectation. I would not be unhappy with anything less,

seeing as it is my first time. This might be your first Chelsea,

but you have already got a great fan, Alice Fowler, who came to me

yesterday, raving about your edible plants. So, you must be pleased to

be here, how did you get on? We got a silver, and we were very happy.

have got to ask you about the dancing ladies - did they make it?

Unfortunately they did not make it. Maybe another year. And the giant

rhubarb? That did make it, yes, it has grown about 2 two since we have

been here! One thing which has caught my eye is this one. It is a

pretty thing, but it really stings. What is special about this one? It

is a lovely, dainty plant, with a really long flowering season. It

will come into flower in April and finish probably late October. That

is superb. It is a tremendous performance, from one plant. This

one is the purple form of cow parsley - you seem to have

something bigger. I am very fond of growing the purple angelica, which

is a lovely foil for other plants in the garden. Does it come through

from seed? It does, you will get a high proportion of seedlings.

you have to weed out the green ones? I actually like to keep a few,

to get the degradation of tones, the mixture of the tones together.

Sometimes you will get them to flower again from the same stock,

but usually they will die after flowering. I think I will go for a

forest of purple Angelica. Many congratulations. Well, one man's

orange is another man's something else, and here at Chelsea, although

we are all good friends, there are moments, quite frankly, when I

would rather be alone. Andy Sturgeon has been showing that on

occasions, well-defined boundaries can be a good thing. Most of our

gardens have quite ordinary fences, hedges and walls. But the

boundaries can be an integral part of the design. This year at Chelsea,

there are some ingenious solutions as to how to enclose your garden.

These walls in the World Vision garden are made from a special

steel, which is now being used in architecture all over the world.

The horizontal lines create a bold statement, contrasting to the

vertical trunks of the trees. The colours mix perfectly. In this

garden, they have got a solid boundary, but it is alive. It is a

piece of living architecture. Not only does it increase the amount of

growing space in the garden, but it adds fantastic depth and texture.

This Land's End garden may not appear to be pushing any boundaries

it is all about biodiversity and attracting wildlife. This native

field maple hedge is a wonderful habitat for insects and birdlife.

This wall, which is made from locally sourced, Cornish stone,

will become a great home for all sorts of insects which will provide

a great food source for birds. Here in this rooftop garden, they

have got a living hedge, up on stilts. It is ideal for screening

neighbouring buildings, and it takes up very little valuable space

field too claustrophobic, you could just go for a partial screen, like

this one, in the Caravan Club Garden. This screen lets light come

through it, so it does not feel too enclosed. It works like a net

curtain, because I can see out that other people cannot easily see him.

This garden has no vertical barrier whatsoever. It just has this

beautiful, simple water feature which goes around the garden,

defining the space. The plants are unrestrained, and the views from

within are unrestricted. It goes to show that when it comes to

boundaries, there are no limits. I am very happy to have a hedge,

but anyway, we gardeners are diverse lot. We do not have a funny

handshake or anything, the first you might learn about a person's

green credentials is when carrots get mentioned over the garden fence.

But it is always a pleasure to share your passion with somebody

new, especially when they are as enthusiastic as you are. I would

never have suspected that musician and artist Goldie was a member of

the Gardening Club. But last week we caught up with him in his

outdoor sanctuary, and he could not wait to show us around.

Welcome to my garden, my little safe haven. It was an absolute bomb

when I came here, it was terrible. I did not really pay any attention

to it. It was concrete, all mashed up. I have always liked Japan, my

wife is Japanese. I wanted to give it that kind of theme, very minimal

as well. I lived a life of chaos for so long, and they always say,

there is a science in chaos, it works itself out. For me, I am

working this out, and it is coming out nicely. I like to pleasantly

surprised people. He has been growing that one for 25 years. It

is nice seeing stuff change. When you're young, it is like olives,

you get older, you start to have an appreciation for them. I guess my

wife is my biggest influence. She really brings out the sun for me.

She really inspired me to get in the garden and do stuff. She loves

cooking, she loves gardening. She is half Japanese, half Dutch. So,

maybe tulips have got something to do with it. It is really nice,

because even the little bamboos that I have got, they are really

beautiful, really lovely. A lot of them, we lost half of this side

because of the frost, we had a lot of babies in, and it was a

nightmare. My dad is from Miami, I practically lived in Miami for a

couple of years. The first thing I saw was palm trees on the way to my

dad's. It was one of those things, I had them when they were about

this high. But how they have grown?! This will be my first year

at Chelsea, I will be looking for ideas, some neat fencing ideas, and

also some topical stuff, which is durable. I want to try to pull in a

lot of different stuff, to bring in some things to fillet out a little

bit. I just got into vegetables for the last three years, and every

year, I have had a fantastic crop. Meet, vegetables - can you believe

it? What is the world coming to? I was growing courgette Skomer runner

beans, garlic, potatoes, everything. And then the frost came this year

and killed it all. It is like me being in a nightclub and not

playing any music. It is terrible. Birds singing, empty vegetable

patch - not good. Come on, sun! My vegetable needs you!

Goldie, few people would have thought you were a gardener.

would have thought it? You did not have a childhood which was much

involved with a garden in. Not at all. For a few years of your life,

gardening was not on your list. Definitely not. A friend of mine,

Richard, said to me, you have got to sort that garden out. He said,

let me show you what you can do with it. He came in and he went,

but these here, move that around. I thought, hang on a minute, that's

really nice. It changed my perception. Then my wife got hold

of me, and said, let's put some Japanese stuff in. She said, do you

like these? Do you like them? And then she brought me some Japanese

Maples. As soon as I started with that Japanese Dean, it took off

from there. So that was the moment. Does it come when you get a bit of

land that's your responsibility? You felt, "Yes, I ought to do

something." I was always in a tight environment and I never liked that

stuff, but having space, it is a work in progress. My wife always

says it is a work in progress. Going off and getting ideas and try

and working out what that work in progress might be. There is

something missing, because it is spaced out... You have room for a

few more features. But your veg patch, we have all

suffered this year because it was cold.

I was supplying my local store. I never thought it would be one of

those things I would think about and I would go to the local

supermarket and you would buy stuff and think that's all right, it is

yellow. Ritchie said, you have got this going on, let me sort the veg

patch out now. Second tier. We started growing this veg and then

it started getting enormous, the beans were coming out like this.

Right, a bit of stir fry. I'm eating it and it is just white and

it stays fresh for days. I feel with all the healthy eating and

stuff like that. Do you see yourself going on with

this and developing it and taking it on. It doesn't sound like a

flash in the pan? There is a couple of palms here and I'm thinking

"mine is bigger." Maybe next year. Well, you have done Maestro, I

think you ought to do Chelsea. I have got palms to remind me of

Miami and I have had these two close together and one is yellow,

flowering and one has got black seeds. The chap just said to me,

"You are pollinating. You have got male and female." The seeds will

make palms. Lovely to see you.

We will catch up with you later when you have had a tour around the

gardens! Still plenty to come on the RHS

Chelsea Flower Show supported by M&G Investments.

Boxing match - designers have explain why they have gone all

heavy metal. The colours dominating the show.

Rachel talks to Jo Thompson about parking the very first caravan on

Main Avenue. I never thought I would get so

emotional... About a tin box. She is just gorgeous.

The clipping of evergreen plants into ornamental shapes has been

drifting in and out of fashion since Roman times. It was launched

on its journey across Britain introducing a formal element to our

gardens that remained ever since. The 18th century saw it become

unfashionable. The Second World War bombed it. Its popularity has ebbed

and flowed. This year it is make ago comeback and versions can be

seen defining gardens across the showground. Carol went to see why

the qualifications to make these shapes. For a start, it is

evergreen. It has dense growth and it has small leaves, but this year

at Chelsea, people have used all sorts of different plants in very

imaginive ways to do just -- imagine stiff way to say just the

same -- imagine stiff ways to do the same. This is ilex crentia. It

is a Japanese plant and it is used in Japan and the States to do just

this sort of work. It is little known in this country,

but I think it has a great future. The use of these formal topiary

shapes rising out from foamy, froths of informal planting. I

would never of dreamt of using these as topiary, but it works

beautifully, but you have to keep on the ball when it comes to

snipping with the secretary secateurs.

At first sight this garden looks very formal and traditional, but

look again! Each one of these wonderful U-figures is different.

On closer inspection, having expected these figures to have been

arranged perfectly, you realise that they are not at all. They are

askew and you can imagine during the night that these enormous

figures probably move around a bit! This is what you call tra call

traditional topiary with a twist. Whichever plant you choose, and

however you care to display it, there is no doubt that topiary adds

a touch of class or should it be charge that had you brought topiary

into Chelsea showground and make it popular. How do you plead? Guilty.

Why do you like it? I like the way it provides scale and stops the eye

travelling around the garden too much and it helps anchor anchor

buildings into the land landscape. It is a great connector between the

landscape and the house. I love the art of clipping of the topiary. It

is one of the disciplines that I love.

Carol said yours is like little people. There is a personality to

to topiary? They are standing guard and they have a different character

and Jason from the Australian Garden is worried that one had a

bigger head than the other. That's the attraction. It off set the

symmetry that's going on there. Why do you think topiary went out?

I don't think it has, has it? Little corners.

Capability Brown. It is the great landscape movement

and they cleared the twidly bits away. It has always hung on? I I I

think it survived in cottage gardens and manor houses. In the

big important gardens, it did get lost. It is not as popular, but it

is something that I feel is very much of our gardening heritage and

you do see it, most villages that you go to, you will find topiary

plants and it has a revival and it is something that I have used for

years and years. So you would like to think that you

are bringing it back? I don't think it has gone away. The thing I like

about it. I like using sculpture and it is a good second best. It is

cheaper than buying a sculpture and you can do anything and it engages

you with the garden. I have 130 of them in my garden,

cones and balls and pyramids. I love them. Thank you very much for

championing topiary. beginnings of Chelsea Flower Show

and each year it becomes difficult for a designer and exhibitor to

bring something new to the showground, but that is what the

horticultural world expects. This year Jo Thompson has broken ground

and broken rules by bringing the first caravan on to Main Avenue.

Her vision is to celebrate our obsession for holidaying in the

British countryside. But also to remind us that our journey can

to go on a caravanning holiday. A few years ago, my children, they

were so desperate for us to go camping or caravanning and I did

research online for luxury caravans and ended up on this site that was

full of these 1950s trailers, American trailers and it was the

best holiday I've ever had. I got on to this site and tipped

the children out of the caravan, into a field, and I didn't see them

for a week! It is something new to have a

caravan in a Chelsea show garden. I think caravanning is becoming

fashionable again. It is interesting when I've talked to

people about this garden, their reaction is warm towards caravans

and just like all things 50s, vintage, we have gone from the term

glamping this glamorous camping to glam caravanning which I think is

lovely. When I started designing this garden, it was really meant to

be a garden with a caravan sitting in the corner that was an extra

room and looking through holiday photos, just to get inspiration, I

saw Doris in the background. Doris is a 1950s vintage Fisher caravan

which aren't made anymore. Aluminium, the paint stripped back

and she is beautiful, she is like a giant toaster. I made a phone call

and got measurements and realised she would be perfect, she will be

towed from the Isle of Wight up the motorway into London and on to the

showground and I think it's, again, I can't imagine her in a queue with

all these huge, articulated lorries all around her, but I think it will

be great and I can't wait to see day. At least once a day. The dog

would like to come three or four times a day if possible and it

really feels British. I don't think you can get anything more British

than a bluebell wood in the spring time.

Bluebells, primroses, the ladies smock or cuckoo flowers. Each time

of year, there is something else to catch the eye.

I love how you have got all these strong verticals of the trees and

they are not all in the distance, some are in the foreground and you

look through to other planting. I love the way it is all really loose

as well and there is no, it isn't a manicured planting and I don't

think any of the arrangements of of flowers and plants and treesI ever

put together could be called manicured. It is always a bit loose,

a bit, it is natural. I really hope that when people see

this garden at Chelsea, they can look at it and understand it. You

know, it isn't a concept actual garden t it is a ten by ten meter

space so a lot of people have that sized garden and I just want it to

there, is one of my favourite gardens. I love it. Every time I

walk past, I get another peep. How do you feel the design transferred

on to this space? It is a really simple design. It was based on the

diagonal. We have the caravan at the far end and I wanted to break

up the view as you look towards it. So we have got this this rill and

and benches sitting on the rill and when it came together, it worked.

Miraculously. So how do you feel about the judges' response to the

garden? I was pleased with their response. It is my first time on

Main Avenue and being up here with the big boys was faunting and --

daunting and when we got silver, it was brilliant. It was more than I

could have wished for. One of the things that really

speaks to me is your planting. It is so beautiful. What's the

inspiration behind that? Well, I live in Kent and I'm

surrounded by hedgerows and verges full of cow parsley and I wanted to

bring bring those into the garden setting and mix them up with roses,

the more traditional garden plants and give that looser, relaxed feel.

What about Doris? Surely you aren't going to be able to part with her

after the show? I have fallen in love with her. I have really fallen

in love with her. I never thought I would get so emotional about a tin

box. She is gorgeous. She has a personality of her own. She has

given the garden a character. Everything has come from her and

she is great. Well, she makes the garden, but all

of it is beautiful. Congratulations. This year, there is plenty of

reason to stay home and enjoy a staycation. The jubilee and the

Olympics for starters, but when the sun comes out and you can't beat

the UK landscape and all its wild and floral beauty. A camping,

glamping, hotel, motels, tempting enough to stay at home? We asked

people where they preferred to special to me because I spent a lot

of my childhood there, it is Devon. Sussex at this time of year is

absolutely resplendent. If there was a place that I was particularly

fond of holidaying in, I am certainly not going to tell you.

Devon and Cornwall is the most wonderful place to go. I am a Devon

girl. Anywhere out of London, in August! I love Scotland, but I am

spiritually linked to Cumbria. Actually, stick to the UK, it is a

fabulous place. I would recommend, I have to say many places in Wales.

Northumbria was a real gem. I have to admit, in the winter, I drift

away to the Caribbean. I love this country so much. They always say,

if you could just guarantee the weather, you would never go abroad!

So, Devon and Cornwall would seem to be the place the celebrities go

to for their staycation. It is only because they have not discovered

the Isle of Wight. You can never tell why they come here, is it the

glamour or the gardening? Earlier, unlikely Gardener Goldie joined us

to share his this is are macro for palm trees. -- his passion for

countries. He wanted some inspiration for his own garden, so

we accompanied him as he soaked up the sides. She is the one who got

me into this in the first place. Look at that. What does it remind

you of? Captain's Log, start date... I have just found the most amazing

collection of flowers. We have just come across the lagoon, we do not

know what this creature is. Let's start with the world's tiniest palm

tree. Let's start with your gold medal, first! Here you go. When did

palm trees first come here? In the Victorian era. They were classical

plans, which were used to decorate places, and they were brought back

by the explorers of the day. That is very impressive. There is a few

more than I thought there would be. Watch out, incoming! It is really

lovely. This is probably, for me, what I would love to achieve in the

corner of my garden. It is very, very beautiful. I don't know how

they have done this, how they have put the Morse on the side of the

shed. I need to have a little shed now. It is very inspiring. The one

last thing will be to go down that slide. Dermot's slide. Tally ho!

Chelsea is scouring the Showground for inspiration. This year there

are plenty of ideas to take away, even if you only have a tiny garden

space. This display is exactly the sort of thing I mean. It is called

the Space Race, and the idea is to make use of every corner of your

garden, no matter how tiny, particularly in urban spaces. This

one is called square foot Gardening. We have got a raised bed, and the

idea is that each space contains different crops. You can put in her

letters, harvest what you need for that day, and then the plant goes

on growing. Other things, as they finish, take them up and put

something else in to replace it. It really is maximum productivity.

This is a wonderful idea. It is another raised bed, but it is

stepped, so you can have different types of soil in there. Around the

edge, we have got herbs, things which need really sharp drainage,

like the lavender and the thyme. In the middle section we have got

vegetables which not only taste good but they look good, too. We

have got broad beans, more thyme, and I love the idea of the bamboo,

and the irrigation coming down. It takes up almost no space. This

garden is absolutely full of ideas, it is genius. Well, you do not need

acres of space to grow fruit and vegetables, either. There are some

really good ideas here on this stand. Look at this beautiful

raised bed, absolutely full of salads and herbs. You can make it

any shape at all. Just look at the space you have got available, and

create something which fits. Taking the idea of growing plants in a

container, how about this? These are dwarf varieties of peach.

Perfectly suited to growing long term in a container. Finally, we

have got different ways of growing plants, to maximise the space. If

you cannot go out, you can quite often go Upper wall. These are

pairs. You can follow it through to the extreme, and go even higher.

You can plant underneath as well. Again, more herbs at the base. So,

if it is fruit you fancy, do not let a lack of space put you off. If

walking around the Showground makes you wish you had an enormous garden,

and you only have room for a single pot, just look at what you can do

with that pot. It is all about selecting really compact varieties.

Once you have chosen your plants, the Chelsea Showground is awash

with inspiration for what colours to choose. We went out to look at

some of the, they -- some of the colours dominating this year's show.

A new range of colours is creeping in a long Main Avenue. Chelsea has

a metallic. -- Chelsea has gone metallic. For the last decade or so,

the colour schemes have been a very tasteful blend of purples and

pastels. It is good to see that a new colour palette is coming

through. In this garden, they have used a sculpture, and the bronze

colour has been echoed in the planting. We often hear that the

devil is in the detail when it comes to aiming for a gold medal.

That detail applies to the planting, too. The colours are matched,

linking the borders together. You can see this colour everywhere. My

favourite are these ones. These orange flowers are absolutely loved

by bees. Again, helping to join the whole of the planting scheme

together. The copper and bronze colours give warmth to a garden.

Meanwhile, silver is the colour of light and energy. One man has

created a cathedral to this silvery shade with his show garden. He has

used plants which are covered in tiny hairs, which makes them silver.

They are to protect the plant in its Mediterranean home from bright

sunshine. The same goes for these lavenders. Again, the silver of the

leaves protects it and reflect the heat of the sun. It is not just in

the planting, the dominant feature of this garden is the water. There

is this shimmering pond in the middle, and then an arcade of water

coming down the side. If you want to see the brightest plant in this

garden, you have to go up on to the terrace. It is an alpine plant.

Give it your sunniest spot. I just love the colour scheme of this

garden, it is so out of the ordinary. It is summed up by these

irises. They have an apricot colour about them. As you come back into

the garden, the colour scheme becomes more apparent. On a sunny

day like this, it is wonderful, the light comes down through the

cherries at the back. It is like being in a golden, summer day. The

overall effect of this garden is one of gold. With the Olympics

around the corner, let's hope we Marathon, and I am carrying the

Olympic Torch! Tell me about it! has been designed by Maggie, and it

won the gold medal. We have got some delightful, spiky flowers in

the centre, and carnations on the bottom. Give him going to tell you

about my arrangement. It is not mine at all. It is designed by

Julian, from Covent Garden academy of Flowers. Wonderful. It is great,

we do try to cover flower arranging as well. Florists as well, that is

the professional way of saying it. I do not want anybody to think that

we do not pay any attention to it. Using specific objects to draw

people's attention to a part of the garden is one trick used by

gardeners. We took to the Showground to take a look at this

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds

are # a rare and priceless work of art.

# I am right by your side. # I cannot tell you why.

# To be in love with a masterpiece. # After all, nothing is

indestructible. I do love a nice bit of sculpture.

It is your turn now. Yes, it is my turn. We have that in common with

the Olympics - gold, silver and bronze at Chelsea! That's all for

tonight. We will be back tomorrow at 12:30pm. And we will be back on

BBC Two as well. You can press the red button straight after the show