:00:12. > :00:17.As any gardener will tell you, there's a date on the calendar
:00:17. > :00:23.every May that signposts the start of a week of law sightseeing. After
:00:23. > :00:26.months of waiting, that day has finally arrived. So sit back and
:00:26. > :00:31.enjoy the 2012 Ra just Chelsea Flower Show, supported by M&G
:00:31. > :00:37.Investments. Because for those of us who love our gardens, the
:00:38. > :00:42.horticultural holidays have arrived. Coming up... Garden getaways. We
:00:42. > :00:47.take a look at the Show Gardens inspired by some of our favourite
:00:47. > :00:52.holiday haunts. Caribbean retreat. Pop legend Sir Cliff Richard shows
:00:52. > :00:56.us the secrets of his Barbados garden. As I get older, I really
:00:56. > :01:00.enjoyed that there is he to somewhere on the planet and I tried
:01:01. > :01:10.to find it. We visit the garden promoting the pleasures of the
:01:10. > :01:14.Welcome to the Royal Hospital grounds, where plants, gardens and
:01:14. > :01:18.gardeners from all over the globe have descended for the week,
:01:18. > :01:22.bringing with them the very best horticultural offerings. I will be
:01:22. > :01:27.here throughout the week on BBC One and BBC Two, joined by a host of
:01:27. > :01:34.familiar faces, including Rachel de Thame. I love Chelsea, it's my home
:01:34. > :01:38.town. Monday is very special. really good atmosphere. There is
:01:38. > :01:43.something in the air, it's the 2012 feeling, the Jubilee, the Olympics.
:01:44. > :01:47.You get a sense of something a bit special. Every year, fashions and
:01:47. > :01:52.trends change and this is the place to spot them. But we've got this
:01:52. > :01:56.new thing this year called Chelsea Fringe. First time. I like the idea
:01:56. > :02:00.that Chelsea then it filters out into the rest of London. Things
:02:00. > :02:04.like poetry readings, I hear there is also Guerilla Gardeners in.
:02:04. > :02:10.These are guys who descend in the dead of night on roundabouts and
:02:10. > :02:15.turn them into a garden. What could be better?! King and company who
:02:15. > :02:18.are exhibiting here, decided that for the Diamond Jubilee they wanted
:02:18. > :02:22.eight topiary corgi. So they commissioned the Italian nursery
:02:22. > :02:28.that grows them to grow away Corbett. You do know what a Corgi
:02:28. > :02:32.is? Of course! So this Korpi turned up and it looks more like a whippet.
:02:32. > :02:39.So they are sinking its legs into a very large pot and they are trying
:02:39. > :02:43.to fluff up its foliage. You get off and explore. A stroll through
:02:43. > :02:46.the Royal Hospital grounds this year promises to evoke memories of
:02:46. > :02:50.treasured holidays, from the Mediterranean to the Antipodes -
:02:50. > :02:57.there's a garden vacation to suit all wanderlusts. And you can't
:02:57. > :03:01.wander much further than Australia. The Trailfinders garden takes us to
:03:01. > :03:06.the eastern seaboard of Australia. Anywhere from Sydney in the south,
:03:06. > :03:10.right up to Brisbane. This, they are trying to persuade me, is what
:03:10. > :03:15.all gardens have over there. Wonderful, relaxing areas like this
:03:15. > :03:21.one. There's a hot tub here, can you see the steam rising? I can't
:03:21. > :03:25.tell you how tempting it is to leap in there. The Australians are very
:03:26. > :03:31.odd, you can tell that because yesterday they had these hot tubs
:03:31. > :03:36.outside and they've also got a bath. It proper bath. In the garden. Old
:03:36. > :03:41.people. But beautifully designed by Jason. This sitting area leads you
:03:41. > :03:45.down at steps and flagstones set in the grass. In between these
:03:45. > :03:51.wonderful fan palms. Past the barbecue and corrugated iron going
:03:51. > :03:54.rusty. It is quite intentional. What these are just represent our
:03:54. > :03:58.The Archers of Sydney Harbour Bridge, with these very neatly
:03:58. > :04:03.cantilevered lighting Dan trees sticking out. That is where you sit
:04:03. > :04:07.in the shade if the sun is beating down, as it does in Australia. But
:04:07. > :04:11.when you want to dine and sit in the sunshine, you come over to this
:04:11. > :04:18.lavishly appointed area what these wonderfully padded leather seats.
:04:18. > :04:21.The planting is unashamedly tropical, with palms down the
:04:21. > :04:26.centre and this lush planting and other exotics all the way down.
:04:26. > :04:30.This is a sure we knew exactly how a garden can be a living area in
:04:30. > :04:35.Australia, where they do have rather better weather than we have
:04:35. > :04:45.at this time of year. But for me, as well as being inspirational,
:04:45. > :04:49.it's just a very nice escape to This is a garden with a real sense
:04:49. > :04:55.of place. It's the L'Occitane Immortelle Garden, designed by
:04:55. > :04:59.Peter Dowle. In this case, the scene is Corsica, that landscape,
:04:59. > :05:05.very arid and rocky that runs up from about 400 metres down to the
:05:05. > :05:11.coast. I love this beautiful stone, it really looks authentic. The
:05:11. > :05:15.pergola around the seating area covered with vines. It is all about
:05:15. > :05:23.the landscape, but plants are adapted to these very arid growing
:05:23. > :05:27.conditions. So here you've got rose of these plants which were grown in
:05:27. > :05:34.Corsica and then brought on in Spain for the show. That real touch
:05:34. > :05:39.of authenticity. As you walk down here, you've got things like thymes
:05:39. > :05:44.and lavenders in every nook and cranny between the stones. This
:05:44. > :05:53.front section represents the coast. There are thrifts and sea kale. And
:05:53. > :05:57.there is this cork oak. You see the olives. It transports you, you are
:05:57. > :06:03.right there in Corsica, smelling that Mediterranean air. It really
:06:03. > :06:06.is beautiful. The Show Gardens are not the only
:06:06. > :06:09.exhibits offering a chance to get away from it all. There's a
:06:09. > :06:14.tantalising, tropical travelogue delighting visitors in the Great
:06:14. > :06:19.Pavilion. And who better to savour its floral flavour and garden and
:06:19. > :06:24.writer Christine Walkden. When I think of the tropics, I think of
:06:24. > :06:34.white, sandy beaches, heat and sipping rum. But I am often my
:06:34. > :06:48.
:06:48. > :06:52.adventure to find plants from the Granada, a country full of colour
:06:52. > :06:57.and flamboyance. And this is a stand which whisks you off in your
:06:57. > :07:04.dream. The colours, the heat - you can almost feel that glow! Just
:07:04. > :07:08.look at that spectacular plant. A beautiful and new colour in the
:07:08. > :07:15.range of plants. We used to having Reds and Whites and pinks, but now
:07:15. > :07:20.a beautiful mahogany red. Tropical night, a plant that can be grown at
:07:20. > :07:25.home in the conservatory. Minimum temperature of about 65 degrees
:07:25. > :07:29.Fahrenheit, high humidity. Then you just wait for those blooms to open
:07:29. > :07:35.and create a sense he was feeling as the mist of darkness descends on
:07:35. > :07:39.your conservatory. Spectacular as a cut flower. It adds a bit of zing
:07:39. > :07:49.to your living room. A really good plant and not that difficult to
:07:49. > :07:58.
:07:58. > :08:05.In my wildest of tropical dreams I would never have conjured up
:08:05. > :08:09.something like this. The brain cactus. You can almost see it
:08:09. > :08:14.moving. What a fantastically architectural planned to having a
:08:14. > :08:21.conservatory or even outside on a hot summer's day. Just dream away
:08:21. > :08:26.to the tropics. Traditionally, when we think of her Laconia, we think
:08:26. > :08:35.of vibrant, tropical flowers. But look what I've just found on my
:08:35. > :08:45.adventure. I've just arrived in the land of beauty - Jamaica. And the
:08:45. > :09:06.
:09:06. > :09:14.Chelsea first. With that hairy Here I am relaxing with a very
:09:14. > :09:21.familiar friend in Trinidad & The Swiss cheese plant that you all
:09:21. > :09:28.know because it is not, to me, just about fragrant, vibrant flowers, it
:09:28. > :09:32.is about foliage. What about this beautiful plant? This lush foliage
:09:32. > :09:38.with these heavy rains that will really make your conservatory
:09:38. > :09:48.sparkle. Plant it out in the summer and your heart area will really
:09:48. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:55.become a proper court. Four shafts We grow this as a pot plant,
:09:55. > :10:05.boringly, but let it go in your greenhouse and you will have shafts
:10:05. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:26.Tropical holidays are full of lush, vibrant flowers and foliage and
:10:26. > :10:30.exotic fruit. It's a shame I've got The Barbados Horticultural Society
:10:30. > :10:36.has been exhibiting here since 1988 and has taken a metal home every
:10:36. > :10:39.year since then. This year, with vacation in mind, their stand is
:10:39. > :10:44.entitled Summer Holiday. And that is not just because the island
:10:44. > :10:47.prides itself in its tourism, but also in acknowledgement of one of
:10:47. > :10:54.its more famous residents, the Prince of Popper himself, Sir Cliff
:10:54. > :10:59.Richard. He's been there for a while now. I've been going there
:10:59. > :11:04.since 2001. I really have enjoyed it there. If I can get away from
:11:04. > :11:08.winter, one does. My parents say to me, we are looking forward in our
:11:08. > :11:13.old age to get away to the sunlight. In those days I thought, why, why
:11:13. > :11:17.bother? You can always go there in July. But as I get older, I really
:11:17. > :11:24.enjoy the fact that there is heat somewhere in the planet and I tried
:11:24. > :11:28.to find it. Barbados, obviously the floor on here, you are used to
:11:28. > :11:31.seeing this every day. You go there through the winter. Yeah. But when
:11:31. > :11:35.you come to the flower show you find the profusion of flowers
:11:35. > :11:40.clustered together in one area, which is why I tell my friends when
:11:40. > :11:45.they say, ah, we've only got a postage stamp. Do you realise how
:11:45. > :11:50.easy it is to make a postage stamp look fabulous? At 10 plants in.
:11:50. > :11:55.Here they've got everything that I've seen in my garden, mostly.
:11:55. > :11:58.Here it is pristine. I'm catching a Here it is pristine. I'm catching a
:11:58. > :12:08.whiff of the tuberose. It does need full sun like the whole time. My
:12:08. > :12:09.
:12:09. > :12:12.guard at -- Garden sometimes Tell me about this calendar. Your
:12:12. > :12:17.calendar has been the top-selling Callander, and there are
:12:17. > :12:22.photographs of you on the beach on this calendar in Barbados. Yes,
:12:22. > :12:27.this next calendar for next year may be the last one I do in
:12:27. > :12:30.Barbados. But we've found places I have not been to before, certain
:12:30. > :12:34.beaches that was so dramatic. With every year it's got harder and
:12:34. > :12:38.harder. There has to come a point where I won't have a Number One
:12:38. > :12:43.calendar. I'm hitting that moment because they were all say, he's
:12:43. > :12:48.failed! But there will come a moment where you don't want to be
:12:48. > :12:53.photographed in your trunks! That's true, but at the moment it's fine.
:12:53. > :12:56.The papers pick up on a couple of pictures, a couple of years ago I
:12:56. > :13:01.came out of the swimming pool and they thought I'd put my head on
:13:01. > :13:05.somebody else's body! This is a sartorial one. There is one shop
:13:05. > :13:11.where I was getting changed, I had by genes on, I put this gold
:13:11. > :13:16.waistcoat on. No sides, no back, I thought - nothing else is
:13:16. > :13:21.necessary! It has been fun to do but I feel pressure now. So now...
:13:21. > :13:30.Last year we went to Florida, Orlando. Gounod's, may be Vegas
:13:30. > :13:35.would like to have pictures of me? -- who knows. It's great to talk to
:13:35. > :13:41.you. We are halfway through our coverage of tonight's Chelsea
:13:41. > :13:46.Flower Show. Still to come. Summer Holiday. The Chelsea show garden
:13:46. > :13:52.promoting the joys of a very English pastime. Caravanning. My
:13:52. > :13:57.favourite aspect of this garden is the Mini caravan here for Fido. Out
:13:57. > :14:07.of Africa. The floral travelogue all the way from South Africa's
:14:07. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:15.You can visit Chelsea all week. For those who want extra portions,
:14:15. > :14:19.pavilion tours are on the red button. They are broadcast daily
:14:19. > :14:23.from midday. The art san gardens are a magnet for visitors. Every
:14:23. > :14:29.year they delight with their perfect pocket-sized landscapes.
:14:29. > :14:33.This year, several have opted to recreate the beauty of some far-
:14:33. > :14:39.flung lands. Taking a break, James Wong has been to visit a couple of
:14:39. > :14:46.them. Join the BBC and see the world,
:14:46. > :14:52.they said. They were not far wrong. Here I have been transported to
:14:52. > :14:57.Slovenia and the cast region, with this fairytale dry meadow.
:14:57. > :15:01.Not only have we landed here, we have also travelled back in time,
:15:01. > :15:11.to a setting 100 years ago. The scene is one of a shepherd's garden,
:15:11. > :15:12.
:15:12. > :15:16.a place to escape to, to spend time and be creative.
:15:16. > :15:21.It's tricky to tell on television just how small these small gardens
:15:21. > :15:26.are. This one is probably five metres by five metres, which is not
:15:26. > :15:30.much bigger than the size of your average front room. Yet, it does a
:15:30. > :15:35.brilliant job of atmosphere. It does it really through two things -
:15:35. > :15:39.brilliant planting, which is lose and naturalistic and also has a
:15:39. > :15:44.fantastic level of detail. A bird's nest here, a shepherd's whistle
:15:44. > :15:49.casually laid out against the rock. The more you look the more you find
:15:49. > :15:55.new things. With a flight time of, well about
:15:55. > :15:59.20 seconds or so along the Serpentine walk, I am in a land
:15:59. > :16:04.which could not contrast more. You join me in the space between the
:16:04. > :16:11.mountains and the low lands of mountains and the low lands of
:16:11. > :16:16.Japan. Again, we are reminded of a bygone
:16:16. > :16:21.era, when Japanese life depended closely on nature. Spring water is
:16:21. > :16:25.usedor drinking. Leaves are used to fertilise the field. Traditional
:16:25. > :16:32.styles of planting are adhered to. Having said that, this is not a
:16:32. > :16:42.garden which is an identical reply ka of Japanese countryside, this is
:16:42. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:53.Chelsea Flower Show. It is really, in many senses, cuddly, a fairytale
:16:53. > :16:54.
:16:54. > :16:58.version of a Japanese hillside. The planting in this garden is
:16:58. > :17:03.really peared back so you can appreciate the form of each
:17:03. > :17:08.individual plant. You notice it here with this Japanese pine tree,
:17:08. > :17:13.which is windswept and spread out over, so you can appreciate its
:17:13. > :17:17.character. Very naturalistic looking. The water feature echoes
:17:17. > :17:23.some of Japan's agricultural heritage. You have things like this
:17:23. > :17:33.growing in there - common water plant here, it Japan it is eaten in
:17:33. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:37.salads and drunk in tea. A very common medicinal plant.
:17:37. > :17:44.For me, one of the best things about Chelsea is it is a truly
:17:44. > :17:50.global show. So you get to see a whole world of horticulture without
:17:50. > :17:53.even buying a plane ticket. One designer here on Main Avenue
:17:53. > :18:03.has taken the idea of the great British holiday to heart.
:18:03. > :18:09.Jo Thompson tioned foreign climates to have a staycation, courtesy of
:18:09. > :18:15.her favourite hotel - a caravan. Let me introduce you to Doris. It
:18:15. > :18:24.is a 1950's caravan which comes from the Isle of Wight. Bless her
:18:24. > :18:29.heart! A deck zigzags across this wonderful water course, polished
:18:29. > :18:33.aluminium, which reflects in more than one ways. The planting is
:18:33. > :18:42.wonderful. It is wrap-around. It is a cosy environment. In a way it is
:18:42. > :18:49.not 50's twee. It has brought the mid-50's into the 21st century.
:18:49. > :18:55.These wonderful Chinese birches here, with young twigs and white
:18:56. > :19:00.bark. Foxgloves are erupting around it. You feel as if you had to have
:19:00. > :19:04.a staycation this would be the right place to do it. There are two
:19:04. > :19:08.distinct kinds of gardens at Chelsea - those who are pushing the
:19:08. > :19:13.boat out, being cutting-edge and showing us how gardening should be
:19:13. > :19:18.developing and how garden design should be going off in its own
:19:18. > :19:22.unique direction. There are others which are romantic - they are fairy
:19:22. > :19:28.stories, they are escapes, if you like. It strikes me what Jo
:19:28. > :19:33.Thompson has done here is to marry the two together. We end one a
:19:33. > :19:36.romantic garden. It is cosy, just in a comfortable way, but which is
:19:36. > :19:44.nevertheless distinctly modern in its approach, particularly with the
:19:44. > :19:49.use of timber and the use of aluminium. To marry those two
:19:49. > :19:55.things together takes talent. My favourite thing here is the
:19:55. > :20:02.minicaravan for Fido. The dog goes up that ramp. And the down pipe, we
:20:02. > :20:06.do think about water conservation here - it fills up the dog bowl at
:20:06. > :20:11.the bottom. I have a cat who will only drink rain water. If you have
:20:11. > :20:15.a dog who will, this is the garden for you. We will catch up with Jo
:20:15. > :20:23.Thompson on Thursday, to discover how her love of caravaning began.
:20:23. > :20:31.Last year, at Chelsea, I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Hart Dyke.
:20:31. > :20:36.Tom has created the world garden at his home in lulling stone Kent. His
:20:36. > :20:42.re -- he has returned this year on a busman's holiday, to seek out
:20:42. > :20:48.some of his favourite exotic plants. That pill Grahamage has taken him
:20:48. > :20:53.to the Great Pavilion. And to the South African botanical
:20:53. > :20:58.gardens of Kistenbosch. As a travelling man, as a modern day
:20:58. > :21:00.plant-hunter I have been to every corner of our green global. I am
:21:01. > :21:05.pink with embarrassment, sweating at the brow because I have never
:21:05. > :21:11.been to the hot spot of South Africa. Here at the Kistenbosch
:21:11. > :21:16.stand, I begin my traveller's journey through four unique
:21:16. > :21:21.changing landscapes. Each has a water colour painting. It is like a
:21:21. > :21:24.picture postcard. In the middle of the grassland region of South
:21:24. > :21:28.Africa is in the centre a plant from that region.
:21:28. > :21:32.One of my favourite plants in the grassland sections, which is a
:21:32. > :21:42.habitat in northern South Africa is the bird of paradise here.
:21:42. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:49.This is not the queen bird of paradise, this is leafs like a Reed.
:21:49. > :21:53.This is more tricky to grow. It is a stunner. The leafs are so
:21:53. > :21:57.elongated like this you can see the flowers straight the way through
:21:57. > :22:05.there. A fantastic plant. My next port of
:22:05. > :22:09.call is one of the most biodiverse spots on our planet. The Western
:22:09. > :22:18.Cape. It is like a pop-up story book.
:22:18. > :22:24.You have a cart full of wine barrels. In the background, the
:22:24. > :22:31.Cape Folded Mountains. One thing of the Western Cape that instpiers me
:22:31. > :22:41.is a mixture of -- is this flower. A unique community, just from this
:22:41. > :22:51.
:22:51. > :22:56.part of the world. These three are the coastal region of South Africa,
:22:56. > :23:00.below Cape Town. A great illustrated travel-log. Through
:23:00. > :23:09.this low fisherman's wall, you have the boats in the backtkwround and
:23:09. > :23:12.in the background a coastal -- background and in the background a
:23:12. > :23:17.coastal village. You have this white sand. You feel like you are
:23:17. > :23:20.entering the coastal region of South Africa. My final destination
:23:20. > :23:25.is one of the most iconic landscapes in South Africa, one of
:23:25. > :23:31.the most arid. I love this fence post here, with the rusty barbed
:23:31. > :23:38.wire. I love the daisys on the ground here. At the end of August,
:23:38. > :23:43.beginning of September, it is covered acre after acre with a
:23:43. > :23:49.bewildering array of the daisy family. What turns my red blood
:23:49. > :23:58.cells green is one of the most iconic plants from this arid region
:23:58. > :24:03.of South Africa - the Acacia Karroo. Seeing this stand today has
:24:03. > :24:07.inspired me to go abroad and see these plants in the wild of South
:24:07. > :24:13.Africa, to go plant-hunting in this wonderful place. I am tempted to go
:24:13. > :24:18.straight up the path, through the stand. A fabulous inspiration!
:24:18. > :24:22.And Tom is leading some of our Great Pavilion tours over on the
:24:22. > :24:27.red button this year. Do join him. It is the start of a week-long
:24:27. > :24:37.celebration of all that's great in gardening. So, sit back and enjoy
:24:37. > :24:37.
:24:37. > :25:40.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 62 seconds
:25:40. > :25:43.the traditional Chelsea Monday, # It could take all night
:25:43. > :25:49.# Yeah # Get in the gove
:25:49. > :25:53.# And let the good time roll # I'm going to stay here until I
:25:53. > :25:57.soothe my soul # If you take all nightlong
:25:57. > :26:01.# Yeah # Everybody let the good time roll
:26:01. > :26:11.# We're going to stay here until we soothe our soul
:26:11. > :26:15.
:26:15. > :26:19.year in terms of judging best garden in show. We have three
:26:19. > :26:24.previous winners in best show. Arne Maynard, Cleve West and Andy
:26:24. > :26:34.Sturgeon. We have two new comers, Sarah Price, The Telegraph Garden.
:26:34. > :26:36.
:26:36. > :26:42.And Joe. We have two mavericks and Chris Beardshaw.
:26:42. > :26:49.These have not been in for years. Nobody wants to go backwards.
:26:49. > :26:55.Everybody wants at least a good a medal or better. His design - is it
:26:55. > :27:00.a garden? Is it an installation? It is sort of on the fence. It looks
:27:00. > :27:07.wonderful when you have Chelsea Pensioners. It was like a wedding
:27:07. > :27:12.cake. You had the green and the Pensioners. What causes us concern
:27:12. > :27:15.is how they will judge it, is what keeps this show fresh year on year.
:27:15. > :27:19.It's not just the same guys competing with the same things in
:27:19. > :27:22.the same way and girls of course, with Sarah. It's surely this
:27:22. > :27:27.freshness is a good idea. This controversy there will be tomorrow
:27:27. > :27:31.when the medals come out. Isn't this good for horticulture? I think
:27:32. > :27:35.we need questions all the time and what we should and shouldn't be
:27:35. > :27:40.doing. Even that new fresh category, that will do the same thing. It
:27:40. > :27:45.shakes everything up. That is really good for horticulture.
:27:45. > :27:49.everybody came to Chelsea and saw things they thought were lovely,
:27:49. > :27:53.and not edgy or dangerous it might get dull. It might. It is
:27:53. > :27:57.interesting, if you walk with people and eavesdrop and get
:27:57. > :28:00.different opinions, how people respond to the same garden and have
:28:00. > :28:05.a completely different opinion. The thing is, this year there is
:28:06. > :28:12.something for everyone. It is a broad range. I am looking for the
:28:12. > :28:17.person who wants an 80-foot Pyramid in the back of their garden!