:00:13. > :00:18.Here at Chelsea 2012 the months of planning, tantrums, tears, hand
:00:18. > :00:24.wringing nail biting and pacing are finally over, because the RHS
:00:24. > :00:30.judges have debated and decided. There isn't a single exhibitor in
:00:30. > :00:34.this showground who hasn't dreamt of weigh up to one of these - a
:00:34. > :00:41.coveted gold medal. It's judgment day and we've got the results.
:00:41. > :00:46.Coming up on today's show: goals un fomed. We put the show gardens
:00:46. > :00:53.under the microscope to find out who has won what and why. The good,
:00:53. > :00:59.the glad and the lovely, meet the nursery newbies who struck gold.
:00:59. > :01:06.And a touch of drama. Actress Stephanie Cole joins us to talk all
:01:06. > :01:11.things gardening. Hello and welcome back to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show,
:01:11. > :01:15.supported by M&G Investments. It takes a lot more than a dash of je
:01:15. > :01:20.ne sais quoi to win over the judges here at Chelsea. Standards are high,
:01:20. > :01:24.because this show has a reputation to keep up. Think of it as a
:01:24. > :01:30.horticultural catwalk that the world looks to for inspiration,
:01:30. > :01:35.ground-breaking ideas and visionary concepts in garden. An oversight in
:01:35. > :01:38.the design, an unbalanced composition could all mean the
:01:38. > :01:42.difference between gold and silver gilt. Nothing less than
:01:42. > :01:46.horticultural excellence will do here. Chris, the last time we spoke
:01:46. > :01:51.you were quite adamant. You said this garden wouldn't win a gold
:01:51. > :01:56.because it wasn't fashionable. Tell us what happened. Well, we got a
:01:56. > :02:02.gold, which I'm staggered about. Congratulations! Why do you think
:02:02. > :02:08.this garden is fashionable that would go against it? It is informal,
:02:08. > :02:12.it's wide land, it is traditional, plant-rich rather than
:02:12. > :02:17.architectural-rich and those aren't the gardens that have been catching
:02:17. > :02:24.the judges' eyes in 15 years. a few thatna have thrifrd for you
:02:24. > :02:30.on gold today that are back in -- name a few that have delivered for
:02:30. > :02:34.you on gold today? Blousey bloomers are the way forward. If you like
:02:34. > :02:39.that, they loveed what they saw. This morning you were speechless.
:02:39. > :02:46.am so staggered, so pleased. We are delighted for you. Thank you.
:02:46. > :02:51.Theing a nising wait for Chelsea 2012 med adresults -- the agonising
:02:51. > :02:54.wait for Chelsea 2012 medal results ended this morning. I set my alarm
:02:54. > :02:59.clock to share in the delight and the devastation at the results that
:02:59. > :03:02.had the power to reduce grown men and women to tears were hand
:03:02. > :03:11.delivered. We are waiting for the RHS ladies to arrive, because this
:03:11. > :03:21.is what it is all about today, the much-coveted gold medal.
:03:21. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:28.Congratulations. Well done. Has it been a really hard Chelsea?
:03:28. > :03:38.Everybody knows it has. It's been a nightmare. Give me a min it, please.
:03:38. > :03:45.
:03:45. > :03:55.Thank you. This means a lot doesn't How did you do? Fantastic. We won
:03:55. > :04:03.gold! Congratulations. We got a gold? Alan will be delighted. He
:04:03. > :04:09.might have to be nice to you now. Congratulations. A gold medal.
:04:09. > :04:17.medal, guys. Well done indeed. I love this job. I get all the kisses.
:04:17. > :04:25.How do you feel? Elated. We are just heading to the artisan
:04:25. > :04:35.gardens now. How do you feel? Gutted. Are you?
:04:35. > :04:48.
:04:48. > :04:52.What an amazing morning's work. Tremendous.
:04:52. > :04:57.I have to say, the atmosphere was electric this morning, as word
:04:57. > :05:01.spread that an incredible nine gold medals had been awarded in the show
:05:01. > :05:07.gardens. Chris, when you are not winning gold medals you are a judge
:05:07. > :05:14.for the RHS. How does it work? gardens aren't judged against one
:05:14. > :05:21.another, but ointly. You can have nine, ten, 12, perhaps no gold
:05:21. > :05:26.medals. You write a brief and do you achieve your ambitions? The
:05:26. > :05:30.assessors interrogate the garden. Then they feed into the judges.
:05:30. > :05:36.They come out and giver their objective opinions. Everybody votes
:05:36. > :05:41.and hopefully you get a gold medal. For everybody at Chelsea they have
:05:41. > :05:46.to be a fantastic standard. Whether you get a bronze, a silver gilt or
:05:46. > :05:48.a gold it is an achievement. certainly is. Just like the
:05:48. > :05:53.Olympics it's the gold medals that everyone is talking about. Chris
:05:53. > :06:00.went the look at the show garden designs that hit the horticultural
:06:00. > :06:05.jackpot. Sarah Price may be a new girl on the block at Chelsea Flower
:06:05. > :06:09.Show but her first, he very first large show garden blew the judges
:06:09. > :06:14.away. I'm not alall surprised. This is a garden that set out to evoeck
:06:14. > :06:21.the spirit and the beauty, the romance of the British countryside.
:06:21. > :06:25.It does it in spades. The birch trees casting dappled shade,
:06:25. > :06:33.nestling under the Avenue here at Chelsea. The planting underneath is
:06:33. > :06:38.so beautiful and so subtle. The orchids and geranium all mingling
:06:38. > :06:48.and mixing. As you move further down the garden formality starts to
:06:48. > :06:55.creep in. The stones and rocks been herks wn and sawn. The water is --
:06:55. > :07:00.hewn. The subtle planting starts to re-emerge. This is the most
:07:00. > :07:05.difficult style of planting you can attempt - making plants look as
:07:05. > :07:15.though they want to be here ir respective of whether the crowds
:07:15. > :07:20.
:07:20. > :07:29.are lining the barriers. This was a gold. Peter Dowell's Corsican
:07:29. > :07:34.garden won a gold. Jihae Hwang's brave line from the
:07:34. > :07:40.small gardens to the Main Avenue paid off as she impressed the
:07:40. > :07:50.judges and scooped gold with her thought provoking demilitarised
:07:50. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :07:55.zone, to commemorate the anniversary of the Korean conflict.
:07:55. > :07:59.Representing the art of craftsmanship, this is a gardener's
:07:59. > :08:04.garden, packed with plants, especially the favourites, the
:08:04. > :08:12.convince essential English roses. It is incredibly formal in
:08:12. > :08:17.structure. Wonderful polished stone, a canal of mosaic pebbles, these
:08:17. > :08:22.fabulous copper beech, and dotted amongst the garden absolute
:08:22. > :08:25.formality of topiary. Primped and preened, scissors on every blade.
:08:25. > :08:30.But the real delight is what happens undertheeth that formal
:08:30. > :08:35.structure. It is the wash of herbaceous perennials, roses and
:08:35. > :08:42.annuals, the cut flowers. They sweep in like an advancing tide
:08:42. > :08:48.towards the gardener's ankles. It's a delight to be in this garden.
:08:48. > :08:53.And as we saw earlier, even though he was late, Joe Swift was playing
:08:53. > :08:58.it cool after his win for his very first Chelsea garden. Inspired by
:08:58. > :09:06.the plants and natural features on his doorstep. Joe loved his Finnish
:09:06. > :09:15.garden and the judges nodded in agreement. Gold also went to this
:09:15. > :09:23.garden, A Rural M Hurricane se, inspired by the poet John Clare.
:09:23. > :09:28.Native planting is key to this design.
:09:28. > :09:32.And gold was awarded to Andy Sturgeon's traditional Arts and
:09:32. > :09:36.Crafts garden that he updated for the modern world. The energy wave
:09:36. > :09:40.structure that weaves its way through the garden has a modern
:09:40. > :09:44.quality and the copper can complemented by the soft colour
:09:44. > :09:49.palette in the planting. What sets this garden apart is the attention
:09:49. > :09:56.to detail of a seasoned Chelsea designer. The colour of the copper
:09:56. > :10:01.picks out the colour of the catzura. There's a wonderful candy floss
:10:01. > :10:06.smell around this garden as the breeze animates the foliage. The
:10:06. > :10:11.fact that when you descend the steps, there's three steps in the
:10:11. > :10:16.classical style along the canal. There's a real sense of
:10:16. > :10:22.spaciousness in this garden. The reflective canal helps with that
:10:22. > :10:27.sense of space and liberation. But even the canal is not left to be
:10:27. > :10:37.still and static and dead. This animated in an incredibly subtle
:10:37. > :10:42.way with just a few jets creating the mur muring waves to keep your
:10:42. > :10:46.eye focused. And the planting is to die for. Large plants used with
:10:46. > :10:50.confidence, but a reserved palette. This garden has a sense of life.
:10:50. > :10:55.It's a garden you walk into and think, I really want to be here.
:10:55. > :10:59.You breathe deep, relax and take your time.
:10:59. > :11:03.The judges have awarded Diarmuid Gavin's 80 foot pyramid with a
:11:03. > :11:06.silver gilt. He also won the most creative show garden award. One
:11:06. > :11:11.thing is for sure, it will be entertaining the crowds all this
:11:11. > :11:15.week. There is one more gold to reveal but we are saving the Best
:11:15. > :11:19.in Show till last. We'll tell you later in the programme. In the
:11:19. > :11:24.Great Pavilion even the die-hard Chelsea veterans get stressed on
:11:24. > :11:29.medals day, so imagine what it is like for those who've never shown
:11:29. > :11:33.here before. In the spirit of keep calm and exhibit on, Carol went to
:11:33. > :11:38.find out how some Great Pavilion first timers had fard under the
:11:38. > :11:44.judges' glare. This year under this roof there are seven brand-new
:11:44. > :11:50.exhibitors, and of them four have won gold. All that preparation, all
:11:50. > :11:55.that work has been worthwhile. First Chelsea, first gold. Well
:11:55. > :12:00.done Gary. Thank you very much Carol. What time but come in?
:12:00. > :12:08.here at seven o'clock this morning, but I'm really delighted with the
:12:08. > :12:11.gold medal. This big wait daisy... It is fabulous. It has taken a lot
:12:11. > :12:18.of hard work, because of the way the groeg season's been, it has
:12:18. > :12:22.taken a lot of hard work to get things in flower, particularly the
:12:22. > :12:27.Celenesia. I'm pleased with how things have gone. When due make up
:12:27. > :12:32.these pots? Some of them have been made up for maybe a few months but
:12:32. > :12:39.others are left until the day we build up. Were you sitting in the
:12:39. > :12:43.van arranging them? Almost! Wherever you look, everything is
:12:43. > :12:52.just perfect. It is pristine. Your first Chelsea gold. I hope it's the
:12:52. > :12:57.first of many more. Well done. Thank you very much Carol.
:12:57. > :13:02.John has come to exhibiting rather later than most people. This is his
:13:02. > :13:08.first Chelsea. And he's pulled it off. He has won a gold. It is
:13:08. > :13:12.hardly surprising really. It's what you call bijou. He's made the most
:13:12. > :13:17.of the the whole idea of height within it. And the ferns are
:13:17. > :13:26.beautifully arranged and each one of them is a perfect specimen. Not
:13:26. > :13:30.a frond out of place. Well done. It's brilliant. Well
:13:30. > :13:35.done. Congratulations. First Chelsea, first gold. Absolutely.
:13:35. > :13:45.And how did you feel when you first saw that medal? Lost for words.
:13:45. > :13:46.
:13:46. > :13:49.That will be a first! Lit for me. You look as though you've been
:13:49. > :13:54.celebrating already? I haven't stopped crying yet. I'm going to
:13:54. > :14:00.cry again in a minute. Very well done. Thank you. There is no
:14:00. > :14:04.feeling quite like it is there? We've got our other RHS gold but
:14:04. > :14:09.this is superb. The plants are in really good condition. They managed
:14:09. > :14:13.to get here in one piece. They are looking fresh. They look as though
:14:13. > :14:20.they've been waiting for their Chelsea performance. Just like me.
:14:20. > :14:25.Congratulations. Well done. Thank you very much.
:14:25. > :14:29.The sheer diversity of the exhibits at Chelsea always surprises me.
:14:29. > :14:37.This is Nong Nooch. The design has come all the way from Thailand.
:14:37. > :14:42.They are relative new comers to -- newcomers to Chelsea. They've
:14:42. > :14:48.walked away with gold. The attention to detail is incredible.
:14:48. > :14:52.08,000 orc individuals been hand placed, which must have taken a
:14:52. > :14:57.bucket load of patience and concentration. It is quite simply
:14:57. > :15:02.exquisite. If you want to find out more about how Nong Nooch achieved
:15:02. > :15:06.this display Hart Hart later be looking closer on the Red Button
:15:07. > :15:11.after the show. The Great Pavilion isn't the only
:15:11. > :15:14.Chelsea marquee buzzing with medal news. Every year the RHS in
:15:14. > :15:18.conjunction with the British Floristry Association hosts a
:15:18. > :15:23.Chelsea Young Florist of the Year competition. Make no mistake, the
:15:23. > :15:28.art may be delicate but the rivalry between entrants is fierce. Rachel
:15:28. > :15:38.De Thame went to meet the eager youngsters des fruit be crownsed
:15:38. > :15:41.
:15:41. > :15:46.I always look forward to seeing the work created by young florist, and
:15:46. > :15:56.I met up with the events director at the British Floristry
:15:56. > :15:59.Association. We want to design and construct a chandelier to be
:15:59. > :16:09.hanging at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee dinner. It should be no
:16:09. > :16:10.
:16:10. > :16:18.longer than two metres, a -- no wider than a metre. What is it that
:16:18. > :16:24.sets a winning design apart? It is a combination of things. The judges
:16:24. > :16:29.are looking for the highest skills and standard. If you have excellent
:16:29. > :16:39.workmanship where you can't see how it is put together, you don't know
:16:39. > :16:44.how other flowers are stuck on, and the quality is of key importance
:16:44. > :16:49.with no blemishes on anything. what is really the devil in the
:16:49. > :16:57.detail? The that's right. Waiting for the result is always a nervous
:16:57. > :17:03.moment for the young florists. Good luck, everybody. I hope it goes
:17:03. > :17:13.really well. It's has been a long six months from start to finish but
:17:13. > :17:23.it gives us great pleasure to announce the RHS Young Chelsea
:17:23. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:33.florist of 2012 is Joe Massie. my God! Congratulations! My money
:17:33. > :17:38.was on about four other people. I ran out of time, on the way down
:17:38. > :17:44.here we were stopped by the traffic police. This has been the most
:17:44. > :17:50.ridiculous Chelsea ever. How many years in a row is this now? Four
:17:50. > :17:54.consecutive years. For the art is some achievement. You must be
:17:54. > :17:59.really happy. Apparently there was only 0.1 of
:17:59. > :18:06.the mark between the winner and the runner-up so next year it might be
:18:06. > :18:12.someone else's turn. Star our stage and screen Stephanie
:18:12. > :18:21.Cole is spending the day with us and where better to chat than in
:18:21. > :18:26.the fruit and veg inspired exhibit, a perfect backdrop for a grown Euro
:18:26. > :18:31.enthusiast. Welcome to Chelsea, is this your first visit? No, I have
:18:31. > :18:37.been before, always on a Monday and I love it. The problem is you can't
:18:37. > :18:42.buy anything on a Monday. You can make some purchases later today.
:18:42. > :18:48.What type of Gardner are you? frightened Gardner. I get a little
:18:48. > :18:56.bit overwhelmed at how much their areas. My garden is quite of Excise,
:18:56. > :19:00.but I do love it. I have a bit of a fear that rather than green fingers
:19:00. > :19:05.I have blocked thumbs. There must be many people out there, so take
:19:05. > :19:11.courage. Do you kill your plants with love? No not deliberately but
:19:11. > :19:17.sometimes they don't flourish. about wildlife? I love wildlife.
:19:17. > :19:24.How do you attract them? Were live in the country in a small village,
:19:24. > :19:30.I don't mean I have a small village but I'm living one. I have a small
:19:30. > :19:35.area I devote to the Wildlife and that brings everything in. They are
:19:35. > :19:42.only in the fields so they come in and have something to eat. And do
:19:42. > :19:46.you leave them to it? You yes, absolutely. You kindly gave us a
:19:46. > :19:53.tour of your garden last week. Shall we take a sneaky peek of it
:19:53. > :19:58.now? Chelsea will give me great ideas, I
:19:58. > :20:03.think. You can see more of her garden later when she joins Alan
:20:03. > :20:10.tonight at 8 o'clock on BBC Two. Right now, you are going to have a
:20:10. > :20:14.look around the show garden. Looking for anything in particular?
:20:14. > :20:23.Garden intelligent people so I can ask them constant questions. It has
:20:23. > :20:27.been a pleasure talking to you. There is still plenty to come on
:20:27. > :20:35.today's medal-winning Chelsea. We will be revealing the fresh and
:20:35. > :20:40.artisan gardens that have captivated the judges. Carol is in
:20:40. > :20:44.the Great Pavilion, meeting the nursery folk who struck gold for
:20:44. > :20:54.the first time. How did you feel when you first saw the medal?
:20:54. > :20:58.for words. It is easy to think Chelsea is all
:20:58. > :21:04.about big-name designers with big budgets on big plots, competing to
:21:04. > :21:09.be big news, but step out of the limelight and off the main avenue
:21:09. > :21:12.and there are 17 smaller gardens also competing for medals and the
:21:12. > :21:22.highly prestigious Best In Category Award. James Alexander Sinclair
:21:22. > :21:28.
:21:28. > :21:32.went to see who became an overnight This year, the small gardens have
:21:32. > :21:38.been divided into two distinct categories - first of all, the
:21:38. > :21:45.fresh gardens, and the idea is to make a small garden that is
:21:45. > :21:49.innovative, eye-catching and exciting. The designers have been
:21:49. > :21:58.encouraged to be brave and do anything they want, and they have.
:21:58. > :22:05.From bicycle powered fountains... To strange things with blue string.
:22:05. > :22:10.And even very slightly on conventional woodland retreat.
:22:10. > :22:15.There were nine entrants competing, but surprisingly only one gold was
:22:15. > :22:25.awarded so it also got Best In Category. It went to the green with
:22:25. > :22:26.
:22:26. > :22:32.garden, and reduced designer Tony Smith to floods of tears. I was
:22:32. > :22:39.going to be so cool, I was going to say "about time" but it didn't come
:22:40. > :22:45.out like that. Can you retire now? No, bigger and better next time.
:22:45. > :22:49.am thrilled, well done. Fresh gardens, a new category at
:22:49. > :22:57.Chelsea. How does it work? there was a bit of everything. That
:22:57. > :23:01.is what you need. A last the higher metals remained elusive as only two
:23:01. > :23:08.but the gardens received the silver-gilt, awarded to thomas with
:23:08. > :23:13.his soft machine garden, and the Renault garden by Jason pass on.
:23:13. > :23:19.The second lot of small gardens are the artisans and there are eight of
:23:19. > :23:29.them trying to catch the judges' eyes. The designers have to use
:23:29. > :23:35.
:23:35. > :23:45.Two won gold. This one is inspired by the wild and rugged landscape of
:23:45. > :23:49.
:23:49. > :23:55.Yorkshire, the home of the Bronte sisters. The other shows a unique
:23:55. > :24:05.and characteristic style of wonderfully wobbly Moss and pebbles
:24:05. > :24:10.
:24:10. > :24:20.and this won a gold medal and Best Congratulations, it is fantastic
:24:20. > :24:24.
:24:24. > :24:32.news. Really good! The nursery men and women in here
:24:32. > :24:36.have won 56 gold medals in total, but one of the gold winners went on
:24:36. > :24:41.to scoop the Diamond Jubilee Award, which was presented by the Queen
:24:41. > :24:47.herself. The judges deemed it to be the best exhibit in the Great
:24:47. > :24:52.Pavilion. Out of all the gold medal-winning nurseries, what was
:24:52. > :24:56.it that caught their eyes? It is very simple in terms of layout.
:24:56. > :25:02.Beautiful quality, fantastic composition and wonderfully
:25:02. > :25:07.educational. This swathe of lilies are oriental lilies. If you have
:25:07. > :25:13.acid soils, free-draining and a lot of sunshine and you want late
:25:13. > :25:23.flowers with beautiful fragrant, these are the ones to go for. In
:25:23. > :25:28.
:25:28. > :25:33.the middle, these are the Azi -- azeatics. This bird over here shows
:25:33. > :25:38.what happens if you crossed them, the hybrids. They have the warm
:25:38. > :25:42.colours, the large flowers, the fragrance, and an ability to grow
:25:42. > :25:47.in acid and alkaline soils. It is the colour of the medal that
:25:47. > :25:52.means so much to the exhibitors at Chelsea, but those who just missed
:25:52. > :25:57.out on gold still received the highly impressive silver-gilt. You
:25:57. > :26:03.are one of the many judges here, and this garden I have to say looks
:26:03. > :26:09.amazing to me. Todd's Botanics, they just missed out, didn't they?
:26:09. > :26:13.Yes, they got a silver-gilt, which as you said is very impressive.
:26:13. > :26:16.Chelsea is known internationally for its high standards and there
:26:16. > :26:21.are nine people involved in deciding the medal Ward, and on
:26:22. > :26:29.this occasion they judged it to be just below the gold medal, chiefly
:26:29. > :26:37.because of the wow factor. There are nine judges, so our opinion
:26:37. > :26:41.like very on what is the wow factor. It always comes down to opinion,
:26:42. > :26:48.and whilst not all the judges might be expert on drought planting for
:26:48. > :26:52.example, they are all experts on show technique. This is about
:26:52. > :26:58.drought tolerant plants, have they achieved that with their planting?
:26:58. > :27:03.Yes, the quality of their plants is great. They lost a few points on
:27:04. > :27:08.detail, which was very fussy. The only real question is that whilst
:27:08. > :27:13.we have a fabulous gold medal exhibit here in this part, we feel
:27:13. > :27:23.it might just slip into silver-gilt here. It is the overall impression,
:27:23. > :27:24.
:27:24. > :27:27.the flow of the stand that they just dip out on.
:27:27. > :27:31.Out of 16 show gardens entered, this year there were nine gold
:27:31. > :27:38.medal-winners but only one can go on to win the Chelsea Best In Show
:27:38. > :27:43.award. This is the show garden that the RHS judges have decided is the
:27:43. > :27:47.pinnacle in design and horticulture. I can reveal the winner of the Best
:27:47. > :27:57.In Show garden 2012 is for the second year running he keeps the
:27:57. > :28:00.
:28:00. > :28:04.ground, it is Cleve West. How does it feel? I am flummoxed. I don't
:28:04. > :28:09.know what to say, really overwhelmed. I am amazing
:28:09. > :28:16.achievement. Will you be back again next year? He not for me, I will be
:28:16. > :28:20.having a rest. It has been such an exciting morning we have had here
:28:20. > :28:25.at Chelsea Flower Show. Alan and Carol will be back tonight
:28:25. > :28:30.at 8 o'clock on BBC Two, looking in more detail at the gold-medal
:28:30. > :28:35.winning exhibit. Stephanie Cole will be showing us around her