:00:18. > :00:22.It takes 15 months to create the floral spectacle that is the RHS
:00:22. > :00:27.Chelsea Flower Show. It is a work of slow and careful craftsmanship.
:00:27. > :00:30.Tonight we pay tribute to the talented people from designers to
:00:31. > :00:39.landscapers and no she men who make the week a perfect horticultural
:00:39. > :00:42.showcase. Coming up: Quality counts - designer Arne Maynard explains
:00:42. > :00:47.how the art of the craftsmen underlines every aspect of his
:00:47. > :00:53.gardening life. The craftsmanship of making the garden has been one
:00:53. > :00:57.of exploring and using elements that exist but reinterpreting them.
:00:57. > :01:02.Truly challenging - landscapers Mark Gregory and Andrew Loudon feel
:01:02. > :01:07.the pressure of building the perfect a dry stone hut. With 12
:01:07. > :01:13.tonnes of dry stone, it is the kind of thing that will keep you awake
:01:13. > :01:17.at night. Actor and comedian Hugh Dennis shares stories of his Sussex
:01:17. > :01:22.garden and his thoughts on this year's show. I have this tremendous
:01:22. > :01:30.urge to do that on the top. I am worried if you push down, somewhere
:01:30. > :01:35.else in the garden, something explodes.
:01:35. > :01:41.Good evening and welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, supported by
:01:41. > :01:46.M&G investments. We have been decorated tonight. I have a button
:01:46. > :01:56.hole from Canterbury College and you have a beautiful one on your
:01:56. > :01:57.
:01:57. > :02:02.wrist. Earlier on in the week, these pot are at the things for the
:02:02. > :02:06.RHS to raise money for the school garden campaign, here we are, I did
:02:06. > :02:11.one and Rachel did one and they are going up in value and can has been
:02:11. > :02:21.left behind, she has not started yet. Are you in the lead?
:02:21. > :02:23.
:02:23. > :02:31.Apparently. Start going online. Start voting and bidding for the
:02:31. > :02:41.pots. It is not fair. We only have until Sunday night. You are here on
:02:41. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:49.television. I want everyone to treat. Designer Arne Maynard
:02:49. > :02:53.returns to Chelsea this year after a 12 year absence. The triumph of
:02:53. > :02:57.his 2012 show garden is its ability to create a sense of preference to
:02:57. > :03:01.-- prominence despite its feuding existence. It is all about working
:03:01. > :03:09.in harmony with the surrounding landscape, a concept he explained
:03:09. > :03:17.when we visited his own home carved into the landscape. For me, it is
:03:17. > :03:27.really important to celebrate the morning. A even before the Sun has
:03:27. > :03:37.
:03:37. > :03:41.risen, Dawn here is the most magical experience. To experience
:03:41. > :03:46.the whole garden starting to wake up, especially when the sun starts
:03:46. > :03:52.to rise, it does not hit the House terribly early but it hits the
:03:52. > :03:58.would lands beyond and you get this amazing light. Then the garden is
:03:58. > :04:02.completely be used in this soft, low light. There is something
:04:02. > :04:12.really nice, that connection you make what the garden at that time
:04:12. > :04:13.
:04:13. > :04:17.of day. The landscape is rather overpowering, it is very big, we're
:04:17. > :04:22.at the head of the Ballee. The cracked and ship of making the
:04:22. > :04:29.garden has been one of exploring and using elements that exist but
:04:29. > :04:34.just reinterpreting them. In the kitchen garden, we have oak ageing
:04:34. > :04:37.because the native tree in Wales and around here, there is a lovely
:04:37. > :04:46.oak tree over here, it is a material from here so it doesn't
:04:46. > :04:51.jump out as being wrong. I used his will for making all but rules domes,
:04:51. > :04:56.for my bean sticks and pea sticks and the Tories used in the garden
:04:56. > :05:01.as well. Closer to the House, I have kept performs simple but as
:05:01. > :05:08.they disperse and move away from the House, they turn into native
:05:08. > :05:13.trees. It is that dissolving of the language and allowing it to become
:05:13. > :05:23.a part of its setting that hopefully creates a garden that
:05:23. > :05:26.
:05:26. > :05:30.sits comfortably within its environment. Craftsmanship in the
:05:30. > :05:34.garden is an extremely important part of the making of a garden.
:05:34. > :05:40.Something that is beautifully and made, there's a longevity about it,
:05:40. > :05:44.it will last, it is not just you provide minutes. It is using the
:05:44. > :05:48.best materials you can and using wonderful traditional skills and
:05:48. > :05:53.keeping those skills alive because these are the then years that we
:05:53. > :05:58.see in the garden and they are that things that we get drawn to. The
:05:58. > :06:07.craft and she is also horticultural, there is that scale of beautifully
:06:07. > :06:12.clipping at one item to make it something more special. The garden
:06:12. > :06:18.I designed for this year's Chelsea Flower Show is one that is very
:06:18. > :06:23.much at gardener's garden. I wanted to create a garden that was not
:06:23. > :06:26.full of structures, a garden that was made up of planted elements. I
:06:26. > :06:33.would love for the visitor to Chelsea to be able to see both my
:06:33. > :06:37.passion of gardening and also my passion for design. It is my love
:06:37. > :06:41.of architectural plants and my love of the soft perennial planting and
:06:41. > :06:45.the roses all coming together and is held together and bound together
:06:45. > :06:51.by the quality of cracked and chipped. It is something that I, as
:06:51. > :07:00.a Gardner, would love to have and would love to garden and garden it
:07:00. > :07:10.throughout the year, not just for them once of Chelsea. Are you
:07:10. > :07:13.
:07:13. > :07:18.hoping? I don't think you should be on this watercolour! It has been a
:07:18. > :07:23.while since I have been at Chelsea. The expectation is very exciting. I
:07:23. > :07:29.think it concentrates the mind. But for me, the most important thing is
:07:29. > :07:39.to do the best of my ability. As long as I feel I have achieved the
:07:39. > :07:40.
:07:40. > :07:45.best, I feel the garden is going to be very successful.
:07:45. > :07:49.It amazes me that now having seen that film, that this is so much
:07:49. > :07:55.reflecting your own garden, you have got your own garden at
:07:55. > :07:59.Chelsea? I probably have, it was not a conscious decision. I
:07:59. > :08:05.consider myself more of a Gardner and a designer so all the skills
:08:05. > :08:13.and the way I garden have been translated to here. It is about
:08:13. > :08:18.craftsmanship and journeys but also these wonderful things. Look at
:08:18. > :08:22.this astonishing pavement, would these are laid on site? They were
:08:22. > :08:26.all laid onside and I wanted to do that here because I wanted to sue
:08:26. > :08:31.the craft and ship being created here at Chelsea but you get a much
:08:31. > :08:36.better finish if you do it like that. The it is very comfortable
:08:36. > :08:40.and incredibly smooth. Where does this all go at the end of the
:08:40. > :08:49.Which? It will be demolished but we are going to recycle all of the
:08:49. > :08:54.pebbles. When you say you're a partner and not a designer, I see
:08:54. > :08:57.that in here because the same applies to me and looking at these
:08:57. > :09:02.lavender patterns going through, I love the density of the planting
:09:02. > :09:09.but that seems to immediate that. The it gives the garden a breathing
:09:09. > :09:19.space. I have put the lavenders in to put them some division, I have
:09:19. > :09:20.
:09:20. > :09:28.put them coming out at Chipping. You do have access into the border.
:09:28. > :09:33.It is you access pack? Yes. I love this idea, most of us love old-
:09:33. > :09:37.fashioned shrub roses, you have crafted these wonderful his will
:09:37. > :09:41.twigged domes to which they are growing. That is something that I
:09:42. > :09:46.create for my clients and I garden at home like this. Amid these
:09:46. > :09:49.wonderful domes each year and it is one of my favourite things in
:09:49. > :09:56.February to do. You create these domes and every year they get
:09:56. > :10:01.bigger. By winding the roses around, you get so many more Floris and it
:10:01. > :10:06.holds them all up. This is a garden which will be interesting all the
:10:06. > :10:13.time, not just for Chelsea and it is quite unusual? Yes, we have the
:10:13. > :10:19.trees, the beach Coe's Golden in the winter. You have the wonderful
:10:19. > :10:27.Petrie and the structure of the Roses. Quite often, I leave my
:10:27. > :10:31.herbaceous standing. The birds can enjoy them as well. His great
:10:31. > :10:34.achievement here is to create a real garden that offers all year
:10:34. > :10:38.round interest. That has involved a great deal of planning and thinking
:10:38. > :10:43.be on the idea of a show garden which by nature is transient. To
:10:43. > :10:46.find out how he did it, you can join him on our red button coverage
:10:46. > :10:49.at the end of this programme. Tonight we're talking about the
:10:49. > :10:54.great craftsmanship that goes into Chelsea and you only have to look
:10:54. > :10:57.at a hard landscaping in the show gardens to see the skill and
:10:57. > :11:06.precision that goes into each creation. There are many different
:11:06. > :11:11.skills on show this year. No matter how good your garden
:11:11. > :11:14.design, none of it is achievable without the skills of a very
:11:14. > :11:20.talented army of craftsmen, putting up with some tough demands and they
:11:20. > :11:29.up with some tough demands and they up with some tough demands and they
:11:29. > :11:36.really deserve recognition. In the Trailfinders garden, this sandstone
:11:36. > :11:39.wall which dominates the garden took 10 days to build like the most
:11:40. > :11:45.complicated and heavy jigsaw. Not only do all the pieces fit together
:11:45. > :11:49.perfectly, the wall leans back so all the corner pieces have been
:11:49. > :11:57.individually hand worked to create that angle and it is details like
:11:57. > :12:02.that that really left the garden. The fact that these are long beans
:12:02. > :12:06.can project from the wall and this substantial table can float above
:12:06. > :12:16.the terraced is down to clever counterbalancing, calculated by the
:12:16. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:25.engineers. Here is an incredible folly, and
:12:25. > :12:29.the designer likes to work by a for urging the woodland to find pieces
:12:29. > :12:35.of timber that suggest how he will make the structure. Here we have
:12:36. > :12:41.this incredible piece of the cherry that twists and turns and then
:12:41. > :12:50.suggests this spiral staircase. Around the sides their hour
:12:50. > :12:56.beautiful markings that go up and down here. On the sides, interwoven,
:12:56. > :13:01.Stagg oak and each piece carefully selected so it fits perfectly. When
:13:01. > :13:06.you look up, well, there is a ceiling covered with these pieces
:13:06. > :13:11.of grass, cut into the shape of leaves and powdered glass goes on
:13:11. > :13:16.top of that to make the colour and these were all created by the
:13:16. > :13:20.students. Absolutely incredible, it really personalises the whole thing.
:13:20. > :13:25.On the river is this incredible example of a that chin. It looks
:13:25. > :13:31.absolutely beautiful and I know he waited a month while it aided and
:13:32. > :13:41.became the right colour. The whole thing is a fantastic example of
:13:42. > :13:47.folk crafts. Here, it is the joiners who have
:13:47. > :13:51.stolen the show. These frames are made from thousands of individual
:13:51. > :13:56.pieces which gives this intriguing pattern and create these beautiful
:13:56. > :14:00.curves. They were crafted in the workshop then craned in and bolted
:14:00. > :14:03.down to create the backbone of the gardens. There is a lot of
:14:03. > :14:13.painstaking work here but it is what that because they are a real
:14:13. > :14:14.
:14:14. > :14:17.show-stopper. This garden is all about showcasing
:14:17. > :14:22.traditional hand-built scales and they have this wonderful shepherd's
:14:22. > :14:26.hut, a similar to the ones you would see in Slovenia. It is
:14:26. > :14:36.entirely stonewalled and is all about selecting the right piece of
:14:36. > :14:40.stone for the right place. None of it is cut, it is just about finding
:14:40. > :14:44.the right piece for the right place. It is beautiful. They have also
:14:44. > :14:49.brought all his stone over from Slovenia and it took them four days
:14:49. > :14:55.to construct here on the site which is very impressive. This garden
:14:55. > :15:04.demonstrates perfectly how skills handed down are still relevant in
:15:04. > :15:09.There is one little stone shelter that has been attracting a great
:15:09. > :15:18.deal of attention right the way through the week. It is the
:15:18. > :15:24.centrepiece of Professor Nigel's garden and it is based on Trulli
:15:24. > :15:29.Houses built on the coast of Italy. These homes were built without
:15:29. > :15:32.cement. This aloud them to be dismantled by the Italian
:15:32. > :15:39.landowners, desperate to avoid taxes after their labourers moved
:15:39. > :15:45.on. Well, landscapers Mark and Andrew planned a twist on these
:15:45. > :15:50.unique little dwellings, but their hell see adaptation hasn't been --
:15:50. > :15:56.Chelsea adapt hasn't been without challenges. We joined them a couple
:15:56. > :16:00.of weeks ago. This technique has been used for
:16:00. > :16:06.thousands of years in the Mediterranean. We have got that in
:16:06. > :16:09.the back of our mind. We think if Italian peasants have been building
:16:09. > :16:15.them, I'm sure we can pull it off here.
:16:15. > :16:20.It is twelve tonnes of dry stone. That's the kind of thing that would
:16:20. > :16:28.keep you awake at night. I have known Andy's work because I
:16:28. > :16:34.have seen his work at work and he has been on the show as a stone
:16:34. > :16:40.waller. When this job came, I knew I had to work with somebody really,
:16:40. > :16:45.really good. Yes. We have never built anything like this before.
:16:45. > :16:49.Hats off to Mark for having the vision to do it in dry stone work.
:16:49. > :16:53.It would have been easy to have something fabricated off site. It
:16:53. > :16:59.would have taken less time, but this is the real deal. I think it
:16:59. > :17:04.will pay dividends in the end. It is only day five. I think we're
:17:04. > :17:12.bang on programme. Bang on. stone we're using on the buildings,
:17:12. > :17:16.this is limestone from Dorset and we're dressing a natural face on to
:17:16. > :17:22.it. So just with a hammer, we're just chipping the stones to make
:17:22. > :17:25.them fit. As it is a round building, they are cut like pieces of pie so
:17:25. > :17:32.they fit in around the corner and there is a var variation in the
:17:32. > :17:36.colour and that adds to it when you see it in the building. There is
:17:36. > :17:40.There is blues and greys and browns and when it gets wet, that brings
:17:40. > :17:45.the colours out and it will look better again.
:17:45. > :17:51.I like to come down to Chelsea to promote dry stone walling. Show
:17:51. > :17:57.people that it is not about traditional field areas in Britain,
:17:57. > :18:04.but it can be adapted and used in a contemporary way in garden design
:18:04. > :18:12.and this is a perfect scenario to do it.
:18:12. > :18:18.There is still some way to go though. Oh yeah.
:18:18. > :18:22.We have done a rough calculation about how much stone we will need,
:18:22. > :18:32.12 tonnes. I am looking at what I have got on the ground, I have got
:18:32. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:37.three tonnes left. I know we are running out of stone. I know we are.
:18:37. > :18:44.MOBILE PHONE RINGS Hi Chris, how are you doing? The
:18:44. > :18:48.issue is I need stone here by the morning. If you can pull me out six,
:18:48. > :18:58.two plus four that look half descent I can have a lorry there
:18:58. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:07.first thing. Cheers, Chris, thanks. That's interesting. I have got two
:19:07. > :19:10.stone Masons that have run out of stone. If I can't release the staff
:19:11. > :19:14.folding, I have got three days work...
:19:14. > :19:19.MOBILE PHONE RINGS Excuse me. Mark Gregory. Are you
:19:19. > :19:29.phoning about a lorry for the morning? I need a lorry. I need a
:19:29. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:38.lorry down to to Swannich. Everything is so fast. A big
:19:38. > :19:45.problem. Somebody said, "Don't you get bored being at Chelsea?" How
:19:45. > :19:55.can you get bored doing something like this? It will be tight. We'll
:19:55. > :19:56.
:19:56. > :20:04.get it done. No pain, no gain is Mark, how many gardens have you
:20:04. > :20:08.done at Chelsea? 55 I built. What on earth did you set this
:20:08. > :20:14.challenge? This is probably the most technical thing that I built.
:20:14. > :20:20.I have built amazing gardens, but this one got me excited. I kicked
:20:20. > :20:25.against it. The craftsmanship is amazing. How
:20:25. > :20:33.many tonnes of stone? We we estimate 11 tonnes, but I got that
:20:33. > :20:37.wrong. We had 19 tonnes delivered. With the waste, it is 15 tonnes.
:20:37. > :20:47.I thought, "They must have done it against a frame." The fact that you
:20:47. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:55.built it like an egg without any frame work. I was going to put in
:20:55. > :21:03.ply, but something gets you. It is massacrism. Can you pull it
:21:03. > :21:07.off? Does it sadden you that at the end, that it will be demolished?
:21:07. > :21:15.will be rebuilt. We haven't got time to pull it down properly. It
:21:15. > :21:21.will be pushed in by machine. The sen teen me next -- ten teenry
:21:21. > :21:28.next year of the Chelsea Flower Show. Anything? I want to go
:21:28. > :21:32.building for Nigel. Nigel did all this naturalistic planting? Maybe I
:21:32. > :21:36.will come back as a designer. That would be good, design your own
:21:36. > :21:40.for 2013. I had a run in eight, nine and ten,
:21:40. > :21:45.and to come back, there is talk. But I need to find money!
:21:45. > :21:55.Hint. Hint. Whatever it is you, you get to do, I hope it looks as
:21:55. > :21:59.
:21:59. > :22:05.He is known as the much put upon father of three who struggles with
:22:05. > :22:11.adorable but frustrating. Hugh Denis is one of the country's best
:22:11. > :22:16.loved actors. Hugh took time to join us at Chelsea.
:22:16. > :22:25.They said, "You will find him on the caravan garden because he is
:22:25. > :22:29.keen on caravans. ". I wouldn't say I was keen on caravans. Until I was
:22:29. > :22:36.16, I spent every holiday in a caravan.
:22:36. > :22:41.Do you not like it? As soon as I could not go caravanning, I didn't!
:22:41. > :22:45.Maybe I'm not that keen on it. We have had great holidays.
:22:45. > :22:50.What about gardening? Are you keen on gardening? Well, my wife is a
:22:50. > :22:55.garden designer so I am keen on gardening by default if you see
:22:55. > :22:59.what I mean? My parents always had a garden and and grew grew
:22:59. > :23:04.vegetable and that kind -- vegetable and that kind of stuff.
:23:04. > :23:06.For the last 10 or 15 years, I have lived in a house where Latin names
:23:06. > :23:11.are stand. I try and keep up, but can't.
:23:11. > :23:15.But you appreciate what is out there. Has your wife educated you
:23:16. > :23:19.into knowing what you are looking at? I just love being outside. I am
:23:19. > :23:23.happier being outside than inside and being outside in a fantastic
:23:23. > :23:30.garden is great. Well, you have got it here. If you
:23:30. > :23:34.want to be in a caravan, you might as well be in Jo Thompson. I don't
:23:34. > :23:38.know how you would hitch it up and tow it.
:23:38. > :23:44.You have had a look around. Anything that would appeal to you?
:23:44. > :23:50.Well, what I like is over there. I really like Arne Maynard's garden.
:23:50. > :23:57.This is difficult to say if you have had a glass of champagne, as I
:23:57. > :24:07.have, I like beach. -- beech. I love the idea of the hedge in the
:24:07. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:12.sky. So you have hornbeams. This order, it seems. I like lines and
:24:12. > :24:16.and axis and somebody said, "It is a very male thing.". I like the
:24:16. > :24:26.order because I like, you know, I like vistas and that's going to
:24:26. > :24:34.
:24:34. > :24:36.take you to one, isn't it? If you have got two beech...
:24:36. > :24:38.LAUGHTER They are going to lead you to a
:24:38. > :24:41.fantastic vista, but I really like this kind of, again, it is very
:24:41. > :24:44.structured actually. But there is chaos within it and it is beautiful.
:24:44. > :24:47.You mind three of the unrulyest children on the planet in
:24:47. > :24:52.Outnumbered. How important do you think gardens and gardening are to
:24:52. > :24:58.children? I think they can be tremendously important actually in
:24:58. > :25:06.all sorts of ways. There is a battle that goes on in our garden
:25:06. > :25:12.between herb herbaceous planting and a football goal and in
:25:12. > :25:17.Outnumbered, it is interesting, the garden never really features in
:25:17. > :25:22.Outnumbered except to bury dead mice or pigeons or, you know, there
:25:22. > :25:27.is one episode where I catch Ben Ben trying to drill through a water
:25:27. > :25:32.main. That kind of thing, but actually, gardens and gardening,
:25:32. > :25:36.they are great. We grew vegetables with the kids very young to get
:25:36. > :25:38.them used to the idea of things growing. Just about putting effort
:25:38. > :25:42.in and watching things happen, really.
:25:42. > :25:47.It is nice to know you think it is important? Yes, it is very
:25:47. > :25:57.We will be catching up with Hugh later in the programme as he treats
:25:57. > :25:57.
:25:57. > :26:00.us to his impression of this year's Now tonight, we are looking at the
:26:00. > :26:10.outstanding craftsmanship that goes into making Chelsea and that
:26:10. > :26:26.
:26:26. > :26:31.craftsmanship can be found in the helm, is Andrew McIndoe. It is not
:26:31. > :26:38.all about you, is it, Annie. You have got a huge -- Andy. You have
:26:38. > :26:42.got a huge team. Ricky, prepared the show plants for the past 47
:26:42. > :26:46.years. There are plants like this, they are brittle so you can't just
:26:46. > :26:48.chuck it on a lorry and bring it here? No, you can't. You have got
:26:48. > :26:52.to be gentle and strong to move this.
:26:52. > :26:56.So you have got to have a technique as well, haven't you? You have to
:26:56. > :27:00.have a technique and discipline really in respecting the plant
:27:00. > :27:05.material. I know you have been coming here
:27:05. > :27:10.for a few years and have any of the skills and crafts changed in that
:27:10. > :27:14.time? I have been coming to Chelsea with Hillier for 34 years and you
:27:14. > :27:19.know, during that time, this show has changed. You have seen that
:27:19. > :27:22.yourself in the show gardens. The standards get higher and higher.
:27:22. > :27:26.It must be very important that you are building a team that has
:27:26. > :27:35.expertise within it? Within somebody else puts soft and sharp
:27:35. > :27:40.plants together in a different way, it is really interesting.
:27:41. > :27:45.We are coming to the end of the show now, but your stand always
:27:45. > :27:53.looks as fresh at the end as it did on day one. How do you achieve
:27:53. > :27:58.that? We keep pumping water in. We use plants in larger pots. We dead
:27:58. > :28:04.head and look after the plants because I want want visitors to see
:28:04. > :28:10.something on Saturday that is as good as press saw on Monday.
:28:10. > :28:15.What is this? This is the work of Alan. Alan has been with Hilliers
:28:15. > :28:19.for 50 years. It is amazing that one person can be responsible for a
:28:19. > :28:22.plant like this? What we underestimate is the amount of work
:28:22. > :28:27.that goes into something like that and how long it takes to produce.
:28:27. > :28:30.What we really all need to be looking for is plants that are good
:28:31. > :28:34.plants which are going to be enduring favourites that people
:28:34. > :28:39.like yourself can use for years to come in gardens which will deliver
:28:39. > :28:49.more than one season of interest. Well, thank goodness for people
:28:49. > :28:50.
:28:50. > :28:54.like Alan. We're halfway through our coverage
:28:54. > :28:58.of tonight's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It is evening we pay tribute
:28:58. > :29:03.to some of the talented craftsmen that make such a triumph. Coming
:29:03. > :29:08.up: Courageous show manager Alex Denman delves into the family
:29:08. > :29:13.history of one of Chelsea's early pioneers. Tales of the Orient -
:29:13. > :29:20.Carol follows in the floral footsteps of Edwardian plant hunter
:29:20. > :29:25.Ernest Chinese Wilson. This has to be one of Ernest's most exciting
:29:25. > :29:34.finds. A comedian Hugh Dennis brings us his own wry look at
:29:34. > :29:39.Chelsea this year. It seems to be easier to grow a bigger parsnip and
:29:39. > :29:42.a bigger carrot. We have spent the week looking at the big and bold
:29:42. > :29:52.here at Chelsea but we can also offer the small but perfectly
:29:52. > :29:52.
:29:52. > :29:58.formed. This is the most beautiful bonsai tree but they don't just
:29:58. > :30:05.magic their way up here, it took quite some are bringing British are
:30:05. > :30:10.grounds. Several large men, a trolley and lots of shouting and a
:30:10. > :30:19.lot of careful handling until it finally made its way up the steps
:30:19. > :30:26.to our little platform. A beautiful example. What and nerve wracking
:30:26. > :30:31.entrance! 40 years old, with several 1000 pounds. When it
:30:31. > :30:36.belongs to one person, they're not bothered by the money. You don't
:30:36. > :30:41.grow a treat for 40 years because of the finance, you grow it because
:30:41. > :30:48.you love it. A it looks older than it is. They are so beautifully
:30:48. > :30:53.trained, works of art. In nature, this would reach 80 feet. A have
:30:53. > :31:03.these wonderful implements that they cut them with. They look like
:31:03. > :31:03.
:31:03. > :31:10.surgical tools. Thanks to the bonsai Society for showing us this,
:31:10. > :31:20.it is a special piece. How is your pot doing? This is Carol's painted
:31:20. > :31:22.
:31:22. > :31:32.pot going online shortly. Can you see what it is yet? We are
:31:32. > :31:32.
:31:32. > :31:36.determined that Carol is going to be the winner. Next year will be
:31:36. > :31:40.100 years since the first official Chelsea Flower Show was launched
:31:40. > :31:46.here in the Royal Hospital Grounds. Thatcher was not the first to be
:31:46. > :31:51.staged here. In 1912, one of pioneering at nursery man persuaded
:31:51. > :31:56.the floral elite to come together in the prototype of a show. His
:31:56. > :32:01.name was Sir Harry Veitch and he heralded from a famous family his
:32:01. > :32:04.legacy to the party cultural world is huge. Today RHS show manager
:32:04. > :32:09.Alex Deadman cornets this marathon event and her passion for Chelsea
:32:09. > :32:13.has prompted her to delve into the history up so Harry and his
:32:14. > :32:23.relatives. Before the mayhem began, it she travelled to Devon to
:32:24. > :32:39.
:32:39. > :32:44.My whole life pretty much revolves around the planning of the Chelsea
:32:44. > :32:48.Flower Show so I am really keen to understand how it all started. I
:32:48. > :32:52.know about Harry Veitch and his Chelsea legacy but I am keen to
:32:52. > :32:57.understand his wider family and the contribution they made to
:32:57. > :33:02.horticulture. I am meeting up with a member of the Devon group of the
:33:02. > :33:12.charity, Plant Heritage and an expert on the life and times of the
:33:12. > :33:13.
:33:13. > :33:17.Veitch family. Welcome. Why are we here? Harry was renowned for his
:33:17. > :33:23.bare trees in Chelsea and the floor show that you have brought me here
:33:23. > :33:26.to Devon. In many ways, this is where it began because Harry's
:33:26. > :33:36.great-grandfather was John Veitch and he was the first head gardener
:33:36. > :33:40.
:33:40. > :33:47.here. He was employed to lay out the parking. He made land available
:33:47. > :33:51.for Veitch to start his own nursery. Later, John's son, James, moved the
:33:51. > :34:00.nursery to Exeter. I have brought some interesting memorabilia to
:34:01. > :34:05.show you the story. This book is an Encyclopedia of plants, introduced
:34:05. > :34:10.by the great Veitch of Russia. There is an interesting page here.
:34:11. > :34:18.It shows a family tree. I recognise him, that is Harry Veitch, isn't
:34:18. > :34:27.it? It is indeed. Here is John Veitch, his great-grandfather
:34:27. > :34:32.during the 1830s. John's son James decides to send his own a plant
:34:32. > :34:37.collector to go exploring for his own plans. The first plant hunter
:34:37. > :34:42.was William lob and these coniferous that he collected wild
:34:42. > :34:45.will be society. At the time, we had so few evergreens that these
:34:45. > :34:51.plans were truly astonishing. Harry would just have been a young boy
:34:51. > :34:58.when his first seedling trees began to change a landscape. These were
:34:58. > :35:03.being marketed by Veitch in 1855 for two Guineas each. It was a
:35:03. > :35:07.small fortune and to some people, I year's majors. Many other natives
:35:07. > :35:14.are deciduous and the evergreens were highly sought after to help
:35:14. > :35:17.cloak the landscape during those long bleak months. James Veitch was
:35:17. > :35:22.well positioned to make a lot of money on the back of his new plants
:35:22. > :35:25.but later he was joined or his son James and the two of them and the
:35:25. > :35:33.nursery together before James Junior moved to the nursery to
:35:33. > :35:38.tells it. There are some fantastic black and white photographs of the
:35:38. > :35:44.site which no sadly no longer exists. This is the King's Road,
:35:44. > :35:51.Chelsea? One of the things with family when known for were
:35:51. > :35:56.replicating the environment with the plants were coming from. They
:35:56. > :36:01.went to a lot of trouble to try and give plants the conditions they
:36:01. > :36:06.enjoyed in the wild. Not only home to exotic plants, the Nurseries in
:36:06. > :36:12.Chelsea were also where Harry grew up. He came up to London as a
:36:12. > :36:16.teenager, he finished school aged 14 in Exeter and joined the nursery
:36:16. > :36:23.but he also continued his training in Germany and in Paris, working
:36:23. > :36:27.for some leading nurseries in Paris before joining the firm in London
:36:27. > :36:32.bus-stop and if Harry at the helm, the firm added its most prosperous
:36:32. > :36:42.period of its history. He became a regular visitor to continental
:36:42. > :36:43.
:36:43. > :36:46.horticultural gatherings. 1912, Harry was pivotal in the setting up
:36:46. > :36:50.of the Royal International Horticultural Exhibition, why was
:36:50. > :36:55.this so important? Harry was so important in this event because he
:36:55. > :36:58.was the only surviving member of the 1866 committee which organised
:36:59. > :37:02.the last international horticultural exhibition at. It was
:37:02. > :37:07.his knowledge and experience that helped shape and organise the 1912
:37:07. > :37:14.show and make it a great success. Almost too keen on my role as show
:37:14. > :37:20.manager at Chelsea, it was his role will stop you or the modern Harry!
:37:20. > :37:30.I love this document, the first show of garage. Here is an
:37:30. > :37:34.interesting colour drawing. Look at that! They would have put on at the
:37:34. > :37:37.marquees for the event. This is a wonderful document for me because
:37:37. > :37:47.the show has made what was relevant at that moment in time and there
:37:47. > :37:56.
:37:56. > :38:01.are centenary celebrations in 2013, this is the most perfect document.
:38:02. > :38:05.It is impossible to overestimate the contribution that family needed
:38:05. > :38:12.to horticulture, despite the fact it was over 100 years ago that they
:38:12. > :38:21.were active? What an impact they made. Harry was one of the leaders
:38:21. > :38:29.of this flower show and he was the only night of horticulture. So it
:38:29. > :38:38.is a centenary. Sir Harry Veitch was prominent in more ways than
:38:38. > :38:43.one? He was very well respected and well loved and many of his head
:38:43. > :38:47.gardeners, they used to gather here and at that very clock of the Royal
:38:47. > :38:55.Hospital at 12 noon on Thursday of the show to raise a toast to the
:38:55. > :38:58.family. They slipped away unobtrusively for refreshment!
:38:58. > :39:04.Those were the days when head gardeners came with their top hats
:39:04. > :39:11.and morning coats and were sent around by the owners to look at the
:39:11. > :39:19.plants and make notes and go back and report. There was a great time,
:39:19. > :39:27.a great time of plant exploration and in fact, we have an exhibitor
:39:27. > :39:31.here who were one of the original exhibitors. Exactly a century ago,
:39:31. > :39:39.it was at this show that Sir Harry was knighted and have the look at
:39:39. > :39:43.the back, an advertisement for a company who are still here today.
:39:43. > :39:47.Those plans have come back into fashion and are always well loved.
:39:47. > :39:52.The Veitch family, responsible for the way our gardens are today a
:39:52. > :39:56.century on with all those things that they got it used to this
:39:56. > :40:00.country. We would never have had those, others that we see today
:40:01. > :40:09.that grace the great estates, those majestic plants and trees and it is
:40:09. > :40:13.all down to the family. Kept going in the Veitch Memorial Medal. The
:40:13. > :40:18.great legacy of the family was of course the vast number of plants
:40:18. > :40:20.they have used to Britain. At their height, and a shoe men were
:40:20. > :40:23.responsible for commissioning a whole network of plant hunters his
:40:24. > :40:27.guard the globe for new acquisitions. One of the most
:40:27. > :40:36.prolific was Ernest pulls them who earned the nickname Ernest Chinese
:40:36. > :40:40.Wilson because of his extensive travels through the country.
:40:40. > :40:46.It is easy to forget, when you see such diverse and wondrous plants at
:40:46. > :40:50.Chelsea, that we gardeners have and always had access to such
:40:50. > :40:55.incredible vocabulary of plants. Many of the plants we grow our only
:40:55. > :41:05.in our gardens as a result of the Passion, determination and courage
:41:05. > :41:06.
:41:06. > :41:10.of plant collectors. This is probably the most popular millie in
:41:10. > :41:15.probably the most popular millie in the world. It was introduced by the
:41:15. > :41:25.plant hunter, Ernest Wilson and is probably his most famous find. In
:41:25. > :41:26.
:41:26. > :41:31.1903, he was sent out by the firm, James Veitch and Son, to China. He
:41:31. > :41:38.founded in at Ballee and he couldn't believe his eyes when he
:41:38. > :41:44.saw it for the first time. He wrote about it very politically. This
:41:44. > :41:49.lily, in full bloom, greets the weary way fair, a lot in twos or
:41:49. > :41:54.threes, but in hundreds, in thousands. You can tell he really
:41:54. > :41:58.loved it. He collected lots of bulbs. They were sent back to
:41:58. > :42:02.England but the great majority of them rotted in transit will stop
:42:03. > :42:09.but he was determined to find this millie again and in 1910 he set out
:42:09. > :42:14.on another exhibition. He found it and left instructions for 6000
:42:14. > :42:19.bulbs to be collected. On his return journey, there was a massive
:42:19. > :42:24.fall of boulders which knocked out his chair and his leg was crashed.
:42:24. > :42:30.He limped ever afterwards and people called it his millie limp
:42:30. > :42:40.but when that Lily reached these shores, it was the sensation
:42:40. > :42:42.
:42:42. > :42:48.Bostock the top of that time. Its popularity has increased ever since.
:42:48. > :42:53.This has to be one of Ernest Wilson's most exciting finds. He
:42:53. > :42:57.founded after trekking into the mountains for 19 miles will stop
:42:57. > :43:05.just imagine the astonishment when he came across it! It has these
:43:05. > :43:11.wonderful soft petals. But they open up from these brilliant lads,
:43:11. > :43:21.look at that, it is just like a dragonfly emerging and gradually,
:43:21. > :43:22.
:43:22. > :43:31.it stretches out and becomes Santon or white silk. But the plant, when
:43:31. > :43:36.it sets seed, dies. But in the offing is a brand new selection.
:43:36. > :43:44.Just imagine, one day we all might be able to have a try at growing
:43:44. > :43:48.this most wonderful Ernest Wilson introduction.
:43:48. > :43:51.It has been a very busy week for the two ladies at the helm of the
:43:51. > :43:55.Royal Horticultural Society so I am delighted they have been able to
:43:55. > :43:59.find time to drop in and see us. Welcome to the director-general Sue
:43:59. > :44:04.Bigs and President and his are the banks. I know you have been working
:44:04. > :44:07.a lot to get youth involved, not just at the Chelsea Flower Show but
:44:07. > :44:13.with gardening as well, it does seem that a lot of youth have been
:44:13. > :44:16.involved here? They really have been, it is extremely exciting and
:44:16. > :44:22.particularly one stand where the children have produced all the
:44:22. > :44:32.vegetables, they have done the most wonderful part on the wall of the
:44:32. > :44:32.
:44:32. > :44:36.Queen with all their hard work and And the campaign for school
:44:36. > :44:40.gardening is getting into primary schools. There is over 18,000
:44:40. > :44:43.primary schools with a gardening initiative, but you have the idea
:44:43. > :44:46.for a bursary? Yes, we have had a range of bursaries that are
:44:46. > :44:54.encouraging younger people to come forward and go on amazing
:44:54. > :45:00.expeditions to plant,00 plant, hunt and find ways of planning seeds. We
:45:00. > :45:04.have had a new bursary that will be lucky for one lucky student to win
:45:04. > :45:13.this bursary and research into some fantastic plants.
:45:13. > :45:18.With the idea of getting people interested in in horticulture as a
:45:18. > :45:21.career. I challenge anybody not to walk
:45:21. > :45:30.around here and not see what a fantastic career it is.
:45:30. > :45:40.You have had the President's award. Who have you given it to? It took
:45:40. > :45:45.
:45:45. > :45:50.me until today to decide and I have given it to Jihae Hwang.
:45:50. > :45:59.It is the most evocative garden I have seen. The sense of detail is
:45:59. > :46:03.enormous. You almost pass it by with its rustybarbed wire until you
:46:03. > :46:07.see a a helmet. It is a moving exhibit.
:46:07. > :46:12.Yes. Well chosen. Thank you very much.
:46:12. > :46:17.One look along Main Avenue and you can see the pleasure this year's
:46:17. > :46:23.show gardens bring to the crowds here. In recent years, medical
:46:23. > :46:27.research has proved that green spaces and gardens can help in
:46:27. > :46:36.rehabilitating people. There is proof of that at Chelsea in an
:46:36. > :46:42.exhibit created by some of our wounded servicemen under going
:46:42. > :46:50.rehabilitation at Headley Court. This is the work of the guys and
:46:50. > :46:52.girls of Headley Court and they are up there with the best in the show.
:46:52. > :46:57.Gardening is therapeutic and for people who have suffered life
:46:57. > :47:00.changing injuries to find things that they can do which help them
:47:00. > :47:05.build their physical strength and regain their co-ordination and give
:47:05. > :47:09.them a sense of purpose and to be able to see something at the end of
:47:09. > :47:14.it is tremendously important. I am a physiotherapist and I am
:47:14. > :47:18.passionate about trying to enable guys to realise their full
:47:18. > :47:23.potential and I can see how you can use the outdoor environment and use
:47:23. > :47:28.the site to achieve the rehabilitation aim. I have tried to
:47:28. > :47:35.piece these together. I was deployed last year with the
:47:35. > :47:39.Royal Marines in Helmand province. On 7th July, I was on patrol and I
:47:39. > :47:44.was hit by a blast which resulted in me losing my legs and left arm.
:47:44. > :47:47.This is the first day I have been here. It is just so amazing walking
:47:47. > :47:53.about and seeing the different gardens on offer and the different
:47:53. > :47:58.people thaw meet. It is a lovely place.
:47:58. > :48:03.The concept behind our garden is not to adapt it, but to enable
:48:03. > :48:08.individuals to learn new skills. In the wheelchair, we need to teach
:48:08. > :48:11.them how to negotiate difficult obstacles. At the guard ant Headley
:48:11. > :48:14.Court we have built that feature into it and we have tried to do
:48:14. > :48:20.that here. It is good for lads to build up
:48:20. > :48:24.their endurance. A lot of lads are in their wheelchairs they lose
:48:24. > :48:30.muscles. And it is great for building up endurance and balance
:48:30. > :48:37.and it is great to get used to walking on stable ground again.
:48:38. > :48:45.To meet the guys on the trade stands and get new ideas that he
:48:45. > :48:50.can encompass -- and we can encompass. Diarmuid better watch
:48:50. > :48:54.out, we could be lifting that Gold Medal!
:48:54. > :48:59.Actor and comedian, Hugh Dennis joined us to talk about his garden
:48:59. > :49:09.and what he loves about Chelsea. He agreed to bring us his own personal
:49:09. > :49:12.
:49:12. > :49:22.reflection on the show. Sit back I like gardens. I really like
:49:22. > :49:41.
:49:41. > :49:45.gardens and I like the British is an actual man. I like this yew
:49:45. > :49:50.with a little pom-pom on the top. If you push down, somewhere else in
:49:50. > :49:55.the garden, something explodes! These gates, I think, are from a
:49:55. > :49:58.salvage yard and they are beautiful. They have a slight Mediterranean
:49:58. > :50:08.feel about them. They are Middle Eastern. They make this entrance,
:50:08. > :50:21.
:50:21. > :50:31.they look like a purple and green microphone, but mostly they look
:50:31. > :50:39.
:50:39. > :50:44.like a dandelion clock, I think. memories. We had a massive yucca in
:50:44. > :50:51.our garden and I used to ride my bike obsessively around the track
:50:51. > :50:57.which went past this yucca tree and most daysI fell off into it. It was
:50:57. > :51:03.right on the corner and a yucca tree is like nature's upturned
:51:03. > :51:13.knife block. I wouldn't have one in my garden now obviously to protect
:51:13. > :51:21.
:51:21. > :51:28.That's what it is. Holy veg vegetables. It seems easier to grow
:51:28. > :51:34.a massively long parsnip than a long carrot. I wonder why that is?
:51:34. > :51:38.Those leeks look like the thing you would feed into a machine gun.
:51:38. > :51:44.They are fantastic. Not as fantastic as this though which is a
:51:44. > :51:47.Formula One car made out of hedge. You have got to think, you know,
:51:47. > :51:52.with all the advances in Formula One technology, that's probably a
:51:52. > :52:01.bit of a mistake. If you leave this car standing for too long, it roots,
:52:01. > :52:09.does it. Every 26 laps it has to come in or a prune. The hedge
:52:09. > :52:19.people are like something out of dro of Doctor Who.
:52:19. > :52:20.
:52:21. > :52:24.This is Arne Maynard's garden. This walkway is fantastic. It is copper
:52:24. > :52:29.beech. Hedge in the sky. It is fantastic. There is a big conflict
:52:29. > :52:34.that goes on in our garden between, you know, herbaceous and
:52:34. > :52:41.beautifully planted borders and a lot of grass at the end of which is
:52:41. > :52:50.a massive football goal. Both of those bits have to be there,
:52:50. > :52:53.but I'm sort of on the football The thoughts of Hugh Dennis. We are
:52:53. > :53:00.talking about craftsmanship and what is fascinating about Chelsea
:53:00. > :53:05.is the different approaches each exhibitor brings to the table. Take
:53:05. > :53:10.James Basson. James studied fine art before moving into horticulture
:53:10. > :53:16.and that has influenced the way he has approached landscape design as
:53:16. > :53:22.How does your fine art background influence the garden you have
:53:22. > :53:27.created here? By studying nature, looking at landscape and painting
:53:27. > :53:37.and trying to bring it back to life on a canvas, I have appreciated the
:53:37. > :53:38.
:53:38. > :53:45.energy within that landscape. It does seem like a unique
:53:45. > :53:51.approach? We have started with this stone and beating this stone into
:53:51. > :53:55.this almost oil colour work surface, gave it the first pastel tone and
:53:55. > :54:00.we through the colours we had to hand and we have grown over a year
:54:00. > :54:06.to give that sort of lift and light quality. Contrasting this heavy
:54:06. > :54:13.material. You call it pudding stone. Where is
:54:13. > :54:17.the influence? We live and work in the south of France. In Nice, there
:54:17. > :54:27.is an area of pudding stone and they dig it up and throw it away.
:54:27. > :54:29.
:54:29. > :54:36.This is a natural stone and the French call it it pudding.
:54:36. > :54:40.There is hot silvery plants at the front? These plants are growing
:54:40. > :54:43.naturally in that environment. We have pushed them on and thrown them
:54:43. > :54:51.into the garden. Well, it is really superb.
:54:51. > :54:55.We are nearly at the the end of this evening's Chelsea coverage. We
:54:56. > :55:00.will be back tomorrow. But there is just enough time tonight for us to
:55:00. > :55:10.sit back and enjoy a few magic moments that will linger long in
:55:10. > :55:10.
:55:10. > :56:27.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 76 seconds
:56:27. > :56:34.Oh happy memories. It has been so wonderful watching everything come
:56:34. > :56:40.out, including, fruit. Bless her, Natalie of Tutti Fruitie says we
:56:40. > :56:43.keep meaning to come to Chelsea. We never do. So we are sending this. I
:56:43. > :56:48.am going to enjoy tucking into this. Thank you very much.
:56:48. > :56:53.Our irises have been opening nicely as you have noticed. As on its
:56:53. > :56:57.green stand, the tu tulips that were in tight bud have come out
:56:57. > :57:04.into glorious blazing bloom. It has been fabulous watching it all and
:57:04. > :57:09.it has been fabulous too, Carol watching your pot develop. We have
:57:09. > :57:14.been painting pots for the Royal Horticultural Society's campaign
:57:14. > :57:20.for school gardening. There is an auction online. Here we are. It is
:57:20. > :57:23.a little bean which begins to grow and grow and grow... Mind you don't
:57:23. > :57:28.drop it! It grows inside the pot. Go online
:57:28. > :57:34.to that well-known auction website and bid for these pots and
:57:34. > :57:43.encourage children to garden even if you don't do that and Carol's
:57:43. > :57:48.will get the most votes. With the least time. Picasso once drew that
:57:48. > :57:57.famous dove and he said, "How much can you sell that for?" He said �1
:57:57. > :58:02.million. They said, "�1 million for 15 seconds work?" He said a
:58:03. > :58:06.lifetime. We will be back tomorrow when the
:58:06. > :58:16.traditional plant sale is underway. There is a chance to catch the
:58:16. > :58:16.
:58:16. > :58:21.week's highlights on Sunday. Before then on our Red button coverage.