:00:46. > :00:53.to the RHS GROANS., supported by M&G Investments. The Royal Hospital
:00:53. > :00:57.has welcomed the floor all circus through its gates and for six
:00:57. > :01:01.precious days the garden is transformed into a blue been a
:01:01. > :01:07.beacon of horticulture. The event has seen everything over the years,
:01:07. > :01:13.the latest fashions, plants both common and foreign, the quirky and
:01:13. > :01:18.the flirty. Do not call it that! It might be 100 years old, but it is
:01:18. > :01:24.not past it. It has a reputation for cutting-edge ideas and setting
:01:24. > :01:29.trends. Tonight, we celebrate some of Chelsea's greatest eureka
:01:29. > :01:34.moments and most of all looking forward to what comes next. Coming
:01:34. > :01:39.up on cutting edge Chelsea, birthday surprise. Artist Marc
:01:39. > :01:44.Quinn reveals his latest work, especially commissioned sculpture.
:01:44. > :01:49.I wanted to make something about the way we transform nature when we
:01:49. > :01:54.buy plants. The Gardener's Apprentice, twice winner of the
:01:54. > :02:00.best show award. Cleve West and his teacher John Brookes share their
:02:00. > :02:07.passion for the future of garden design. And a Viking's approach.
:02:07. > :02:11.Sandi Toksvig explains her garden. Me and Mr David, my builder,
:02:11. > :02:20.designed the garden on the back of an envelope. I am worried people
:02:20. > :02:25.will say, what was she thinking? This year, there are 34 large and
:02:25. > :02:29.small gardens. At first glance, the aspirational planting and clever
:02:29. > :02:34.use of space appealed to the gardener in every one. Who would
:02:34. > :02:40.not want to design a Chelsea back yard? But to dig deeper and there
:02:40. > :02:45.is almost always a hidden garden agenda lurking. Some designers want
:02:45. > :02:49.to provoke opinion. Others to deliver a message. And there are
:02:49. > :02:56.the visionary designs, which look forward, to try to sow the seeds of
:02:56. > :03:01.change. Chris Beardshaw is taking a look at possible gardening future.
:03:01. > :03:07.One of the exciting things about the show gardens is that they allow
:03:07. > :03:12.designers to indulge themselves in a feast of conceptual design. That
:03:12. > :03:17.is quite extraordinary because designers can then explore ideas
:03:17. > :03:21.such as by adversity and the need to include space for wildlife. That
:03:21. > :03:28.does not mean you have to compromise design. The Brewin
:03:28. > :03:34.Dolphin is a perfect example of how the two can sit together. For more,
:03:34. > :03:38.geometric, it has borders and his sophisticated. It is for more and
:03:38. > :03:47.the planting is delightfully natural. It uses species we are
:03:47. > :03:51.familiar with. Things such as those from wild flower meadows, knitted
:03:51. > :03:56.together. It is better choreographed than perhaps nature
:03:56. > :04:04.would orchestrate. The end result is that you end up with a wonderful
:04:04. > :04:14.palette. Nature's sweet Sinnatt and enjoys. It does not matter -- it
:04:14. > :04:17.
:04:17. > :04:27.sweeps him. -- in. This garden by Kate Gould explores and ornamental
:04:27. > :04:32.woodland. The pride of place taken by this. It is dripping with bells,
:04:32. > :04:42.fluted be the veins of magenta. An extraordinary plant for an acid
:04:42. > :04:47.soil. It is joined by other woodland plants. Step forward and
:04:47. > :04:55.you emerge into a woodland edge, with herbaceous planting. Feminine
:04:55. > :05:00.and delightful. There are geraniums and others. It has a delicacy. What
:05:01. > :05:05.is unusual about the scheme is it is not just about planting. When
:05:05. > :05:10.you explore the landscaping, you are faced with industrial and a
:05:10. > :05:16.very aggressive, traditionally rejected architecture. It uses
:05:16. > :05:22.concrete and steel. There are even shopping trollies. The story is
:05:22. > :05:26.about reconsidering our impressions of Architecture. Because if we get
:05:26. > :05:36.the right to bail of femininity over the surface, a garden can
:05:36. > :05:36.
:05:36. > :05:42.emerge in the most unlikely place - - veil. This is a wonderful piece
:05:42. > :05:52.of work that explores a classical myth. The art in a sacred Forest.
:05:52. > :05:52.
:05:52. > :05:59.There are no trees. They are represented in stylised form. The
:05:59. > :06:05.slits emit line, as if there is sunshine -- they emit light. There
:06:05. > :06:11.are artificial sounds, capturing the spirit of the wildlife. The
:06:11. > :06:21.rain dripping through the canopy. Within, there is a grass Alter. At
:06:21. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:32.the opposite end, a chaise longue. It stimulates you to think and it
:06:32. > :06:37.stimulates the senses. We have aromatic plants as you brush
:06:37. > :06:42.through. The wonderful thing about the show gardens is that not
:06:42. > :06:47.everything you see is transferred to our own plants, but you can be
:06:47. > :06:57.sure that the ability to think of a concept will filter down into our
:06:57. > :06:58.
:06:58. > :07:03.own. Sculpture has been used in the
:07:03. > :07:09.garden for many years, adding a narrative and visual focal point.
:07:09. > :07:18.At Chelsea, there is a lot of inspiration. It gives you ideas
:07:18. > :07:28.about how you use sculpture in the garden. This beautiful bronze, it
:07:28. > :07:28.
:07:28. > :07:38.is of Orpheus. It is wonderful. It has the backdrop. Do not figure in
:07:38. > :07:43.
:07:43. > :07:48.lots of plants and make it messy, made its -- make it sing out. Chris
:07:48. > :07:55.Beardshaw has used three sculptures. They tell the story of living with
:07:55. > :07:59.arthritis. Two of them of by a sculptor called Gillespie. This is
:08:00. > :08:09.called to the limit. It has an energy. Like the wind is blowing
:08:10. > :08:11.
:08:11. > :08:19.right to cross -- across it. The siting of the piece at the end is
:08:19. > :08:25.perfect. The other pieces on the other side of the hedge, adjacent
:08:25. > :08:31.to the glass room. It is made of bronze. But it has woodland Acorn,
:08:31. > :08:39.which creates an amazing texture. It is one of my favourites. It has
:08:39. > :08:46.no plants around it. It feels like a sculpture in an art gallery.
:08:46. > :08:50.Referred sculpture is this piece. It was commissioned specifically
:08:50. > :09:00.for the garden. It reflects the freedom from the pain. It comes out
:09:00. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:13.of the planting. You might think, I can do that. Just by some chicken
:09:13. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:20.wire. If you start, take an easier shape. Just your first attempt.
:09:20. > :09:25.Sculpture in the garden does not have to be sculpture. It can be
:09:25. > :09:33.something that looks sculptural and sits in the planting. It can be
:09:33. > :09:38.home-made. Philip Johnson, the designer, created this bee hive out
:09:38. > :09:45.of recycled materials. They include a rusty wheel and different types
:09:45. > :09:55.of timber. It creates a habitat for the insects. It is a sculptural
:09:55. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:04.form and great for wildlife. Adam Frost sculpted bee hive has
:10:04. > :10:08.been causing a stir. You can find out more about the message behind
:10:08. > :10:13.the garden by pressing the red button after the show. If you want
:10:13. > :10:22.cutting edge sculpture, Marc Quinn is your man. He does not shy away
:10:22. > :10:28.from controversy. His works include Alison Lapper Pregnant. He also
:10:28. > :10:33.created Planet, a giant baby. The latest work has brought him to
:10:33. > :10:42.Chelsea. We are standing in front of it. This is a painted, sculpted
:10:42. > :10:52.or kit. Why that? I wanted to make a something about the transition
:10:52. > :10:54.
:10:54. > :11:00.between artificial nature -- orchid. It is about man influencing nature.
:11:00. > :11:05.With the layer of paint, there are 18, you have become as going
:11:05. > :11:13.through it. It is almost like an X- ray photograph of the energy of
:11:13. > :11:19.nature. Underneath that it is bronze. How do you start? I start
:11:19. > :11:25.with a flower I buy at the nursery. I made a mould of it. I make a
:11:25. > :11:31.bigger one and finally the big size. I cast in bronze and did the
:11:31. > :11:38.painting. I rubbed it back. It is a generous thing to do because it
:11:38. > :11:46.will be auctioned for the appeal fund. Does horticulture matter for
:11:46. > :11:52.you? The planet, nature, it matters. It is one of the most important
:11:52. > :11:58.themes in my work and things in the wild. The future is young people.
:11:58. > :12:04.To help young people get into gardening seems to be a no-brainer.
:12:04. > :12:08.What about the show? I have come every year for the past six years.
:12:09. > :12:13.Fighting the old ladies on the last day to buy flowers to photograph or
:12:13. > :12:19.to turn into sculpture. When I was asked to do the garden, it was a
:12:19. > :12:25.no-brainer. It has been a great, eye-catching sculpture. Reflected
:12:25. > :12:31.in the water. Good to meet you. Chelsea has grown from strength to
:12:31. > :12:34.strength because the exhibitors continuously improve their ability
:12:34. > :12:41.to capture the horticultural mood. They set the trends rather than
:12:41. > :12:47.follow. This year, brothers Paul and Tom Harfleet chose the world of
:12:47. > :12:51.social networks for their garden. We caught up with them at home.
:12:51. > :13:01.Pondering their latest design and getting ready to launch their
:13:01. > :13:03.
:13:03. > :13:09.creation to an online world. What does the garden represent?
:13:09. > :13:14.should be about new ideas. Our I think it is the opportunity to
:13:14. > :13:24.explore new technology. I feel it represents a glimpse into the
:13:24. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:31.future of garden design. Definitely future of garden design. Definitely
:13:31. > :13:36.about the future of garden design. Social media is interesting. It has
:13:36. > :13:39.changed my practice. As an artist, you think about what you are doing
:13:39. > :13:46.and Twitter and Facebook can catch a writ and you can share ideas
:13:46. > :13:56.easily. It has become another platform to share ideas through
:13:56. > :13:59.
:13:59. > :14:05.animations we make and images we My background in horticulture and
:14:05. > :14:09.landscape design and his in fine art will always mean we will find a
:14:09. > :14:15.project that connected us. I am interested in collaboration in
:14:15. > :14:21.terms of the thinking and what Concepts can support a garden.
:14:21. > :14:25.makes my work better because he looks at it in a different way.
:14:25. > :14:30.is about facilitating the designs and the innovation in design
:14:30. > :14:40.technology. He looks at it as a piece of art and I have to look at
:14:40. > :14:46.
:14:46. > :14:52.it practically in that how will be In 2010, the RHS Hampton Court
:14:52. > :14:57.Palace Flower Show, we collaborated on a project garden. It is a
:14:57. > :15:01.concept I devise seven or eight years ago where I plant pansies at
:15:01. > :15:07.the sight of homophobic abuse on the street. Tom thought it would be
:15:07. > :15:17.an interesting idea to bring it into a garden context. It got a
:15:17. > :15:17.
:15:17. > :29:30.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 852 seconds
:29:30. > :29:34.gold medal and best conceptual Vikings arrived and the bad things
:29:34. > :29:44.they did, and I do not think it is true. I think they came with nice
:29:44. > :29:45.
:29:46. > :29:52.sweaters to sell and a game. This is an ancient Viking game. The
:29:52. > :29:57.object is to get rid of the soldiers of the other side. It is
:29:57. > :30:03.one of those games that is fantastically simple. We have had
:30:03. > :30:07.games that have lasted for five hours. That is the referee. The
:30:07. > :30:11.thing about the referee is that I am the only person in the family
:30:11. > :30:21.who speaks referee and when she makes an adjudication, I have to
:30:21. > :30:24.
:30:24. > :30:29.interpret. I win quite a lot! I am a keen gardener. I do not know a
:30:29. > :30:33.huge amount about it. What I have noticed is that not everything
:30:33. > :30:40.takes to the sea air. I put in lavender and it seems to have done
:30:40. > :30:46.well. I am hoping to do a bank of lavender. I like to great things to
:30:46. > :30:50.eat. We have put in rhubarb. At the moment, it is still with us. I am
:30:50. > :30:55.terribly impressed with the old tree, which has been here for a
:30:55. > :30:59.long time. I thought it was dead but it seems to be doing well. It
:30:59. > :31:09.is a survivor. There must be things that will do well and I want to
:31:09. > :31:16.find out what those are. I have the dream view. The one that I wanted
:31:16. > :31:23.to have, which is the feeling of the sea, which I love. I like Kana.
:31:23. > :31:28.We have this great blank canvas. -- I like colour. I am obsessed with
:31:28. > :31:36.fragrance. I'm want a garden that makes you feel heady when you walk
:31:36. > :31:42.into it. -- I want to have. Things that attract butterflies and to
:31:42. > :31:52.have the birds come in. We have a bird feeder and bird baths. I want
:31:52. > :31:53.
:31:53. > :32:01.to encourage wildlife to visit. What a blissful spot. How lucky and
:32:01. > :32:06.my? Not a lot of plot material. felt embarrassed showing it to you.
:32:06. > :32:12.We did it on the back of an envelope. The basics are there.
:32:12. > :32:17.Viking game looks great. It is a game which you think is easy and it
:32:17. > :32:27.can turn in a moment. Anybody can play. The little ones can throw a
:32:27. > :32:30.
:32:30. > :32:35.stick and so can the old or players. There is a desire on your part, now
:32:35. > :32:39.you have the framework, gardening is the reverse of painting a
:32:39. > :32:46.picture where you find the frame for it. In gardening you make the
:32:46. > :32:50.frame. I know the different things I want in the garden. There are
:32:50. > :32:58.four terraces. I want each of them to have a different theme.
:32:58. > :33:05.Meditative, fragrant, calm. I do not know what is going to last. I
:33:05. > :33:12.know how salty it is. You will find the time of year when the sorts
:33:13. > :33:18.brave blows in. There are people here who know about seaside plants
:33:18. > :33:25.-- salt. You can have a belt to bring down the wind before it gets
:33:25. > :33:29.into the garden. Have you been here before? Many times. I am a regular.
:33:30. > :33:33.I do not have the time to garden but I am always inspired when I
:33:33. > :33:40.come here. And this garden is the first time I have started from
:33:40. > :33:46.scratch. I will be looking at the show in a different way. I like
:33:46. > :33:52.when you said you come here and your shoulders go down. 165,000
:33:52. > :33:56.come here. It is relaxation and a passion. There are many people but
:33:56. > :34:01.everybody gets a chance to have a look. If you say excuse me for a
:34:01. > :34:05.moment, everybody is friendly. There is no aggression, it is a
:34:05. > :34:11.lovely day out and we have sunshine. Did you have parental
:34:11. > :34:16.encouragement? My grandfather was a keen gardener and my mother has a
:34:16. > :34:20.fantastic garden. We call it the Secret Garden. I think the garden
:34:20. > :34:25.should surprise you. When you do not expect something, something
:34:25. > :34:31.funny, something quirky, I like those things. It is interesting
:34:31. > :34:36.what you say about the nature of the people. Do you approve of
:34:36. > :34:42.gardeners as a raised? And also everybody is well-dressed. But
:34:42. > :34:47.nobody here is scared to get their hands into the soil and dig down
:34:47. > :34:53.deep and make things grow as best they can. I like to get grubby in
:34:53. > :35:01.the garden. You are a proper garden! You have to get down there
:35:01. > :35:05.and find those plants. there is still plenty to come on the
:35:05. > :35:11.programme. Diarmuid Gavin shares memories of
:35:11. > :35:18.Chelsea and tells us what he thinks about the centenary show. It is not
:35:18. > :35:25.a great Chelsea. In your opinion. In my opinion. And Rachel de Thame
:35:25. > :35:33.is in the Great Pavilion, celebrating a perennial favourite.
:35:33. > :35:37.The Heuchera display has two new varieties not seen in the UK.
:35:37. > :35:43.alpine grower Chris Birchall brings precious plants to Chelsea for the
:35:43. > :35:50.first time. You do not know whether the plant will be ready, but I am
:35:50. > :35:55.sure it will work out all right on the day. I think. I hope! Over the
:35:55. > :35:59.past hundred years, the show has been patronised by people whose
:35:59. > :36:06.families can trace their history to the early days of the show. Alan
:36:07. > :36:16.Bloom was a famous name who showed here in 1931. His son Adrian flew
:36:17. > :36:20.
:36:20. > :36:27.the flag and continues with -- Horticultural endeavour. You
:36:27. > :36:31.brought showmanship to Chelsea. brought conifers. They were not
:36:31. > :36:35.popular in those years. The dwarf type I started to collect and bring
:36:35. > :36:45.to Chelsea. My father had the perennials. I needed something
:36:45. > :36:46.
:36:46. > :36:51.myself. We also had other plants. Red ace, the first to be protected.
:36:51. > :36:57.Somebody had attempted to steal the cutting the previous September. I
:36:57. > :37:03.thought this is a valuable plant, we'd better have a security guard.
:37:03. > :37:08.There always has to be her first one. We had a stand of its own and
:37:08. > :37:13.a conifer exhibit in the marquee. And a perennial exhibit. We covered
:37:13. > :37:23.Chelsea quite a bit. There were plants we still used today. Like
:37:23. > :37:24.
:37:24. > :37:28.these two. Palace Purple. I use it all the time. The Palace Purple was
:37:28. > :37:33.raised at Kew Gardens. We showed it for the first time in 1983 and
:37:33. > :37:37.probably did not realise what it would lead to. As far as the
:37:37. > :37:44.geranium is concerned, it was a chance seedling that somebody said
:37:44. > :37:50.to me and thought it was a weather, a hybrid, hardy geranium. -- it was
:37:50. > :37:55.a winner. They named it after the lady, Rozanne. It took a long time
:37:55. > :38:00.to get it produced and available to share it at Chelsea. We had an
:38:00. > :38:05.exhibit where it flowed down as a river to the side of the stand.
:38:05. > :38:10.They are examples of the rest is history. Plants that changed the
:38:10. > :38:17.face of the world. These plants have been specially chosen by the
:38:17. > :38:22.RHS as a plant of the decade. There are 10 in total. On Saturday, one
:38:22. > :38:29.of them will be crowned the plant for the centenary and that an award
:38:29. > :38:33.will be decided by you. To find out more, go to the website.
:38:33. > :38:39.The Palace Purple caused a sensation when he launched it in
:38:39. > :38:45.1983. Since then it has become a must-have in borders. Rachel is in
:38:45. > :38:49.the great papillae and discovering why we should be shouting
:38:49. > :38:55.Hallelujah for Heucheras. Since Adrian introduced Palace Purple,
:38:55. > :39:03.there has been an explosion in breeding new Heucheras. They are
:39:03. > :39:07.close to 1,000 with something for everyone. They are natives of
:39:07. > :39:14.wooded and rocky sites in North America with some species coming
:39:14. > :39:19.from Mexico. They are wonderful for filling gaps towards the front of
:39:19. > :39:25.the border, where they provide an excellent foil to other flowering
:39:25. > :39:32.perennials. The display is showcasing two new varieties not
:39:32. > :39:39.seen in the UK. This one has large leaves and the calm of a copper
:39:39. > :39:47.cattle. This is smaller, it has a beautiful dark colouring. It has
:39:47. > :39:53.lucky pink flowers which are quite large. Not only of a beautiful,
:39:53. > :40:00.they take sunshine. You can open -- Grove them in open, south-facing
:40:00. > :40:10.positions. What many Scouts they will be winners -- you can grow
:40:10. > :40:10.
:40:10. > :40:16.them. And there are three new varieties. Lovely and compact, each
:40:16. > :40:23.one of them and covered in flowers until the autumn. What is your
:40:23. > :40:28.advice for getting the best from them? If you have growth at the
:40:28. > :40:32.bottom and growth at the top, you need to snap those tall bits of ant
:40:32. > :40:42.the Grove at the bottom will come on. If they have growth the top,
:40:42. > :40:44.
:40:44. > :40:50.take it and bury it lower but not the crowns. Evergreen. What is not
:40:50. > :40:55.to like about then? Here they are using them as I like to do in my
:40:55. > :41:00.own garden. They are feeling the front of the border with colour. It
:41:00. > :41:07.also picks up on this. Beautiful how they work together. Through
:41:07. > :41:12.here, the colour working beautifully. They even have them up
:41:12. > :41:19.on the green wall. I have not done that in my garden. Having seen it,
:41:19. > :41:24.I just might. Now designers making an impression.
:41:24. > :41:28.Diarmuid Gavin has been a regular over the years and his gardens
:41:28. > :41:33.caused a stir. It is nice to see you again. When did you first come
:41:34. > :41:40.here? I wandered in with a wheelbarrow. I had walked around
:41:40. > :41:45.Sloane Square with a wheelbarrow and came here, to that plot, �300
:41:45. > :41:49.and three weeks to build a garden. Because somebody had dropped out.
:41:49. > :41:55.They had rejected our plans but when the person dropped out they
:41:55. > :42:01.said please come and do it. remember the National Lottery
:42:01. > :42:07.garden. You always seem to want to cause a stir. It was to say, look
:42:07. > :42:17.at this. That is not true. It is the impression. I do not want to
:42:17. > :42:23.
:42:23. > :42:30.cause a stir, I want to create my child would -- childhood dream. IC
:42:30. > :42:38.the world and gardens in a different way to most people.
:42:38. > :42:43.cannot see people coming up and saying I will have that. The point
:42:43. > :42:49.is to stimulate imagination. In that particular case, with the
:42:49. > :42:55.urbanisation of society, could we have a garden on a limited foot
:42:55. > :43:01.print above each other. Experiment, fantasy. Not taking it too
:43:01. > :43:08.seriously. What do you make of it this year? When I came in on Monday
:43:08. > :43:14.I was sad. It is not a great Chelsea. In your opinion. In my
:43:14. > :43:20.opinion. I hesitate to say that because I know what everybody has
:43:20. > :43:29.been through for each garden. There is not a lot of great imagination.
:43:29. > :43:35.I like what Philippa has done. I'd like somebody planting Bali. I like
:43:35. > :43:40.Stoke-on-Trent and the NSPCC. There are beautiful pictures. We have
:43:40. > :43:46.cutting-edge designers. Surely they appealed you? They are very nice,
:43:47. > :43:56.but, in a way, I have seen it before. Not wanting to mention any
:43:56. > :44:02.particular parts, they lack passion. I am sad about that. If I were a
:44:02. > :44:07.child watching at home, I would wonder why I want to be a gardener
:44:07. > :44:14.because there is nothing that jumps out at me. Would you come back?
:44:14. > :44:18.is my home. Chelsea changed my life. RHS is the best organisation in the
:44:18. > :44:23.world. They give you the opportunity to show off. I would be
:44:23. > :44:29.back in a moment. With National Lottery balls, with Chelsea
:44:29. > :44:35.pensioners. I have another idea. is like Michael Caine at the end of
:44:35. > :44:39.the Italian Job. When he has an idea, be very afraid. For alpine
:44:39. > :44:46.grower Chris Birchall, the centenary year is to be his first
:44:46. > :44:56.time. We visited him as he prepared his plants for the most famous
:44:56. > :44:56.
:44:56. > :45:41.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 852 seconds
:45:41. > :45:46.plant is a plant that grows above the tree line. With regard to the