:15:29. > :15:38.You would still win a Gold with that one today, but not that outfit.
:15:38. > :15:47.What was I thinking? Someone said, did you go to Finchley School. I
:15:47. > :15:53.The amount of pressure to do a garden - I had been talking about
:15:53. > :15:56.it for long enough. The moment I liked best is when Nicki awarded
:15:56. > :16:06.you. Here she is with his card on the
:16:06. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:15.Alan will be delighted. He may have to be really nice to you now!
:16:15. > :16:25.only did it for you. You would ring home on your mobile to say what you
:16:25. > :16:25.
:16:25. > :16:32.got. Way back when I got mine I had to find a phonebox. Or find a
:16:32. > :16:39.pigeon. I did have more hair then. Rather more weight. The Royal
:16:39. > :16:49.Family has been linked to Chelsea since its early beginnings. Queen
:16:49. > :16:53.Mary was a regular patron. To celebrate George V's - there was a
:16:53. > :16:59.special exhibition of plants from across the empire. Her visits
:16:59. > :17:09.continues until after her husband's death. The new King George VI and
:17:09. > :17:19.They too, like so many of their subjects are keen garden lovers and
:17:19. > :17:19.
:17:19. > :17:28.seldom miss this. Our present Queen has missed only 12 shows. She
:17:28. > :17:33.delighted crowds throughout the '60s and '70s. Sadly, in 1953, a
:17:33. > :17:36.wealth of commitments prevented Her Majesty from seeing the special
:17:36. > :17:42.Commonwealth display staged in her honour. Well, 60 years later,
:17:42. > :17:47.plants from across the globe still thrill visitors to The Great
:17:47. > :17:55.Pavillion. Carol has had a look at this year's
:17:55. > :18:00.offerings. For this -- at this site for the past 100 years people and
:18:00. > :18:05.plants have gathered together to celebrate horticulture. The most
:18:05. > :18:12.incredible sights - I have never seen such a magnificent garden. It
:18:12. > :18:19.shows you the richness and glory of Australian flora. Just look at
:18:19. > :18:24.this! This is a tree which is probably prehistoric. This plant
:18:24. > :18:31.depends on fire to pro-create. It will only germinate after it has
:18:31. > :18:40.been through smoke. What a brilliant plant it is. Look at that
:18:40. > :18:45.spiky growth. All around the -- here are these bottle trees. The
:18:45. > :18:51.trunks act as reservoirs and they store water, when it comes, very,
:18:51. > :18:58.very seldom, and keep it for when it is needed. From the desert heat
:18:58. > :19:03.of Australia, to the tropical heat of the Caribbean. Do we have
:19:03. > :19:08.Chelsea Pensioners in the back? We have soldiers from the garrison at
:19:08. > :19:16.Bridge Turn. And that military theme has been continued with this
:19:16. > :19:21.flowers here all in line. The whole thing is exotic, so vibrant. Such a
:19:21. > :19:27.wonderful colour. People from all over the globe have brought their
:19:27. > :19:32.plants here. There are some from our very own island who have been
:19:32. > :19:42.out into the world to bring back plants for our delight. This is
:19:42. > :19:45.
:19:45. > :19:52.only the second time that this display has graced Chelsea with its
:19:52. > :19:58.presence. You think, what is it? It is a bamboo - not a bit of it, it
:19:58. > :20:04.is a delight. The whole stand gives you an idea
:20:04. > :20:09.of what is involved with this plant-hunting.
:20:09. > :20:19.There are all manner of certification. Through the jungle
:20:19. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :20:27.foliage you can spot this. It is really brand new. It has small
:20:27. > :20:30.flowers. It has got the most glorious purple flushed foliage in
:20:30. > :20:34.the spring. The wonderful thing about Chelsea is whether it is
:20:34. > :20:41.people from all around the globe bringing their plants with them or
:20:41. > :20:51.whether it is our own intrepid plant hunters showing their wears
:20:51. > :20:58.
:20:58. > :21:04.the whole place is full of the most One new stand in The Great
:21:04. > :21:14.Pavillion reflects the work of cut flower farms in Kenya. The Marks &
:21:14. > :21:16.
:21:16. > :21:20.Spencer gardens highlights what is Isn't that lovely. It checks how
:21:20. > :21:27.clean the water is. All the water is recycled. These roses, which are
:21:27. > :21:33.grown in Kenya, virtually on the equator are all grown on recycled
:21:33. > :21:38.water, which is done as naturally as can be, over stones, and all the
:21:38. > :21:42.roses which are grown in water. will hearten people who worry about
:21:42. > :21:48.growing roses from Kenya. They are grown sustainably. It is wonderful.
:21:48. > :21:53.It is a win-win situation. How long have you been coming here? I see
:21:53. > :21:58.you every now and again? I came here at 18. I shared a flat in
:21:58. > :22:05.Earl's Court. I came on the clear- out day. I bought an enormous lily
:22:05. > :22:11.in a pot. It was seven feet high. It was pouring with rain. An ice
:22:12. > :22:17.cream van came along and said, where are you going? I said Earl's
:22:17. > :22:24.Court. He said, there'll be one payment. I said, what is that. He
:22:24. > :22:29.said, "A kiss." Are you a keen gardener? I adore gardening. Things
:22:29. > :22:34.I want to put in. Maybe with my soil it would not work, but maybe I
:22:34. > :22:38.could have it in a pot. The garden is long and thin and mysterious.
:22:38. > :22:46.You go around a corner and it is like, I didn't know it would go on
:22:46. > :22:56.there. You love it. I love it. Quite a few familiar faces have
:22:56. > :22:59.
:22:59. > :23:03.been coming here religiously for I have been coming to Chelsea for
:23:03. > :23:08.about 11 years now. Only the latter part of my life. I love it. I have
:23:08. > :23:12.been coming for years. It is a day I look forward to. My husband and I
:23:12. > :23:16.came. We were staggering out with our pots. You cannot park, you have
:23:16. > :23:21.to be able to carry it. I was brought by my mother when I was a
:23:21. > :23:25.child. I don't remember it being this big or overwhelming. I think
:23:25. > :23:30.it is about ten yearsvy been coming regularly on the Monday mornings,
:23:30. > :23:36.which is fantastic. This is a first for me. I am a little bit, I don't
:23:36. > :23:41.know, put out it's the first for another, short, ugly, maybe
:23:41. > :23:45.strange-looking person as well - the gnome. Is that true? I used to
:23:45. > :23:49.come with my husband all the time. We always spent more money than we
:23:49. > :23:53.could afford here. I have been coming here with my mother, who
:23:53. > :23:58.loves this, since I was a little boy. This is very much my childhood
:23:58. > :24:04.and beyond. Hopefully I will bring my own kids here one day. It is the
:24:04. > :24:08.best part of the year. When ever the press office are not
:24:08. > :24:11.concentrating they mistakenly send me a ticket and I come along and
:24:11. > :24:17.pretend I know about gardening. First time I came here I didn't
:24:17. > :24:21.have a garden. Now I don't have enough time for my garden. Happy
:24:21. > :24:28.birthday, Chelsea. I came to the first one and I'm still coming!
:24:28. > :24:35.In the early years of Chelsea, the gardens on the east side of the
:24:35. > :24:42.gardens was a place to relax. In 1988 a row of tiny gardens sprang
:24:42. > :24:49.up. They disappeared as quickly as they appeared. They come back after
:24:49. > :24:53.Over the years, they have been categorised in a number of ways.
:24:53. > :25:03.They were the small gardens, then the courtyards, until now, when
:25:03. > :25:06.
:25:06. > :25:10.they finally find their nearby as The brief is to combine
:25:10. > :25:17.craftsmanship with art and conservation all in one design. It
:25:17. > :25:26.is done perfectly here, in this hebbri deian garden. It is life on
:25:26. > :25:31.the Western Isles. I love the work in this wall. This grass lintel on
:25:31. > :25:39.the top, it is a living gutter. The roots go down through the stones
:25:39. > :25:43.and help the moisture percolate out, so the walls do not get wet inside.
:25:43. > :25:49.Then there is the planting w the ferns and cotton grass, self-son
:25:49. > :25:59.from the moors. There is a veg patch by the front. I love this
:25:59. > :25:59.
:25:59. > :26:04.because in between the onions and cabbage there is kel p -- kelp.
:26:04. > :26:11.This would flavour potatoes and it will keep off the slugs. The vegs
:26:11. > :26:16.are not just for eating. Carrots would give wool a vivid orange
:26:16. > :26:21.colour. The potatoes are purple. All these elements together, they
:26:21. > :26:31.paint a picture, and a beautiful one at that, of a way of life which
:26:31. > :26:46.
:26:46. > :26:51.This is the Get Well Soon Garden. It is a med evil plot. Every plant,
:26:52. > :27:00.every leaf has a medicine use. These were used for facial
:27:00. > :27:07.eruptions and frebgls. Then this -- freckles. Then this, this was for
:27:07. > :27:13.the use of excessive alcohol intake. One I would not be without is
:27:13. > :27:23.bronds fennel, it is fabulous -- bronze fennel. It is fabulous with
:27:23. > :27:24.
:27:24. > :27:30.fish. There is this reflexology path. The
:27:30. > :27:36.pebbles push up into your feet and treat different parts of the body.
:27:36. > :27:41.It is best barefoot and on a warm day. The artisan gardens may be new
:27:41. > :27:48.comers in terms of Chelsea's 100 years, but with the pleasing
:27:48. > :27:56.stories they tell, I am sure it is a category which is here to stay.
:27:56. > :28:01.We are nearly halfway through our visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower
:28:01. > :28:08.Show, supported by M&G Investments. There is more to come on tonight's
:28:08. > :28:12.programme - Jim Durrant tells us how science has helped make orchids
:28:13. > :28:15.an affordable luxury. A day in the life - we spend a day with the man
:28:16. > :28:24.who has been working behind the scenes at Chelsea for the past 35
:28:24. > :28:27.years. And attempting tableau - Joe Swift
:28:28. > :28:34.visits The Great Pavillion stand mirroring the work of the earliest
:28:34. > :28:39.exhibiter. Now, it is at this stage of the
:28:39. > :28:45.proceedings that my learned friend and I get a little thirsty. I have
:28:45. > :28:52.arranged for cocktails for you. Here you are, you can have a choice
:28:52. > :28:58.from the non-alcoholic or the alcoholic Chelsea Fringe Collins.
:28:58. > :29:08.Rosemary and infused and mint and lemon juice, garnished with lemon.
:29:08. > :29:11.
:29:11. > :29:20.These have come from Lotty, who is at the Brunel Museum.
:29:20. > :29:26.This is the non-alcoholic and this one, elderflower... That's the one.
:29:26. > :29:31.That's the one. He gets an alcoholic cocktail. What do I get?
:29:31. > :29:35.I get a cushion! It must be my age and general condition. Stop leaning
:29:35. > :29:41.over my cushion. These were made in 1999.
:29:41. > :29:47.Val has donated this. They were made from the old marquee in '99.
:29:47. > :29:51.At my age you can do more! You can have a cocktail and a
:29:51. > :29:55.cushion. Planting perfection here and in The Great Pavillion has been
:29:55. > :30:01.a staple of Chelsea since the first year. In the years before the First
:30:01. > :30:06.World War, the staging of these floral exhibits was approached
:30:06. > :30:13.differently. These early marquees were a group of plants in beds and
:30:13. > :30:19.a set of table-top displays. That was until 1929 when one of the most
:30:19. > :30:22.famous exhibiters arrived, in the form of Sherman Hoyt, from the
:30:22. > :30:29.garden club of America Conservation Committee. Her display took the
:30:29. > :30:35.show by storm. Instead of the displays of plants lined up in rows,
:30:35. > :30:45.this showed cacti and succulents against background of American
:30:45. > :30:45.
:30:45. > :40:13.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 567 seconds
:40:13. > :40:23.I keep doing until I have my 1,000. They all have come from the same,
:40:23. > :40:27.
:40:27. > :40:32.The Chelsea Flower Show is our window to show the world, not just
:40:32. > :40:42.the UK, the world the different types of plants we have got. It is
:40:42. > :40:43.
:40:43. > :40:48.a showcase for us. McBeans plant will be this flower - we've had
:40:48. > :40:53.this plant on the nursery for 113 years this year. We are sure it
:40:53. > :41:03.went to the very first Chelsea Flower Show. It will be one of the
:41:03. > :41:08.
:41:08. > :41:14.very few that went to this year's and the first one, 100 years ago.
:41:14. > :41:19.Jim, not only is your dress giving us a flavour of 1913, I expect your
:41:19. > :41:24.stand is as well. We tried to copy as much as we could of the original
:41:24. > :41:29.group 100 years ago. There are well over 150 more plants than we
:41:29. > :41:36.normally would have. We followed it as much as we could, using the same
:41:36. > :41:41.varieties. How many plants are here? Just under 500. We normally
:41:41. > :41:47.get 300-400. Now people can go to the supermarket and put in an
:41:47. > :41:51.orchid with the frozen peas, has that made your life easier or more
:41:51. > :41:57.difficult? It has introduced a lot more people to the orchid world.
:41:57. > :42:04.You can pick up your orchid. When you want someone different you seek
:42:04. > :42:09.us out. We have a huge range we can sell you after that. What have
:42:09. > :42:15.people learnt is how long they last. You can get three months. Some may
:42:15. > :42:19.only last a couple of months. Even so, that is good going on pot plant
:42:19. > :42:25.terms. Are you as passionate as you ever were? We are doing a lot of
:42:25. > :42:34.seed work. The best flower is p one which has not flowered yet. A royal
:42:34. > :42:39.blue orchid? Well, there are some blues. We are getting there. We are
:42:39. > :42:44.getting there. Watch this space - in another 100 years time! Maybe!
:42:44. > :42:52.As you can see, orchids come in all shapes and sizes. Unless you are a
:42:52. > :43:02.specialist, like Jim, it can be different to tell your cymbidian
:43:02. > :43:03.
:43:03. > :43:09.from your fal fal from the phalanopsis.
:43:09. > :43:14.This is like a sweet shop without the calories. The most exciting
:43:14. > :43:20.thing is this little guy, looking like something out of a science
:43:20. > :43:27.fiction film. This is one of the orchids which
:43:27. > :43:31.gives the family its difficult to grow reputation. It comes from
:43:31. > :43:37.Borneo and requires the conditions all year. Almost impossible to grow
:43:37. > :43:43.in the UK. Things don't have to be this way. There are loads of types
:43:43. > :43:53.of orchids. Some are in flower all year around and are as easy to grow
:43:53. > :43:57.
:43:57. > :44:04.as an African violet. My top tip is to go for something
:44:04. > :44:11.from a tempor rate region. It looks tropical, but comes from northern
:44:11. > :44:15.regions, who enjoys cool conditions. If you have it in a hot room it
:44:15. > :44:19.does not flower well. These enjoy a resting period during the autumn.
:44:19. > :44:25.They will naturally start to yellow their leaves through autumn, at
:44:25. > :44:35.which point you reduce the watering. You cut them up at the base here.
:44:35. > :44:38.
:44:38. > :44:44.Keep these bulbs in tact. They are like a big storage organ.
:44:44. > :44:50.The ultimate has to be the moth orchid. It is one of the most
:44:50. > :44:55.democratically priced and easiest to grow. They like bright, but
:44:55. > :45:00.indetective sunlight. Not a south- facing window. These things grow
:45:00. > :45:09.typically on the branches of trees underneath a canopy. They like
:45:09. > :45:13.light, but not roasting sunshine. Watering - what you need to do is
:45:13. > :45:18.pop the plant in a sink with water, leave it there for ten minutes. It
:45:18. > :45:23.is called immersion watering. Pop it out. Let it dry and entirely dry
:45:23. > :45:27.off. You will keep it dry enough, but without the roots having a
:45:27. > :45:31.chance to rot. Who would have thought that one of
:45:31. > :45:38.the easiest of all house plants would come in such an exotic
:45:38. > :45:42.package! The history of the Chelsea Flower
:45:42. > :45:47.Show has fascinated Brent Elliott. So much so he has written a book,
:45:47. > :45:53.documenting the highs and lows of the past 100 years. Welcome. How
:45:53. > :45:57.has it changed? Is that impossible to say? A century is a long time.
:45:57. > :46:03.There have been some very dramatic changes. The most obvious one is
:46:03. > :46:08.the demise of the country house, as the primary focus of horticultural.
:46:08. > :46:13.The original, two-thirds of the exhibiters were plants and
:46:13. > :46:20.nurseries, one third were country houses, where the exhibits were set
:46:20. > :46:27.up by the gardeners, but the owners got their names in the booklets.
:46:27. > :46:32.After the Second World War country house exhibiting dropped. It was
:46:32. > :46:35.dramatic, wasn't it with all the private exhibiters and the
:46:35. > :46:42.personalities. Who were some of these astonishing people - the
:46:42. > :46:49.oddities, if you like, of the plant world? In the history of Chelsea,
:46:49. > :46:53.the memorable was Harry Wheatcroft, a rose grower in Nottinghamshire.
:46:53. > :46:58.Many of his roses become famous, not necessarily ones he bred, but
:46:58. > :47:05.ones he introduced like Peace and Fragrant Cloud. He was a great
:47:05. > :47:11.showman. During the 1950s he was a one-man Victorian revival in hair
:47:11. > :47:15.and clothing. Do you remember him? The images in that book of Chelsea
:47:15. > :47:19.are packed with people in the Victorian... It is very similar,
:47:19. > :47:22.the amount of people, and the significance of the show is
:47:22. > :47:28.incredible. It has always been important. Now it seems to be
:47:28. > :47:34.important in a different way. Is it impossible to predict how it will
:47:34. > :47:41.change in the future? Impossible. I deal with the past! Is it a better
:47:41. > :47:46.show now than it was 100 years ago? I wasn't around 100 years ago. It
:47:46. > :47:50.is better than in the 1970s, when I first started to come. I am glad
:47:50. > :47:55.about that. One thing is certain, it will
:47:55. > :48:05.continue to entice a host of well- known faces year after year. Who
:48:05. > :48:06.
:48:06. > :48:11.As soon as you come through the gates, the smells of all the
:48:11. > :48:16.flowers. It is nature at its finest. This year will be Chelsea at its
:48:16. > :48:20.finest. It is ever changing. It is evolving. It is not trying to be
:48:20. > :48:23.too outrageous. It is drawing people who don't feel
:48:23. > :48:29.as if they are part of the gardening world in there too.
:48:29. > :48:34.It is one of the places that sort of does reaffirm the fact that the
:48:34. > :48:38.world is quite a nice place because it is full of people enjoying
:48:38. > :48:43.gardens, talking about gardens, loving plants. I would like to stay
:48:43. > :48:47.here and not move from here and carry on all year round.
:48:47. > :48:53.I keep coming back because my mum and sister are always here. They
:48:53. > :48:58.are really the gardeners. I kind of do a bit of gardening. I would if I
:48:58. > :49:03.had more time. Had I been a musician I would have -- had I not
:49:03. > :49:12.been a musician, I would have been a gardener. I had a lupin named
:49:12. > :49:16.after me. I am so proud. I think now I have gone into a group of
:49:16. > :49:22.lupins. 100 years, there will be gardens and we will be zooming
:49:22. > :49:28.above to look at them. These are some of the reasons why our
:49:28. > :49:33.celebrities can not get enough of Chelsea. A host of backstage staff
:49:33. > :49:38.come back year after year. One man has been working here for Chelsea
:49:38. > :49:43.build-up for 35 years. He has marked plots to night-time security.
:49:43. > :49:53.This year we followed David to find out why he cannot keep away. What
:49:53. > :50:02.
:50:02. > :50:06.job was he engrossed in when we My job title would be "casual
:50:06. > :50:16.assistant mark-out." We mark out where the pavilions are, where all
:50:16. > :50:16.
:50:16. > :50:26.the services are. People come in and can obviously build from that.
:50:26. > :50:30.
:50:30. > :50:35.If you had everybody coming in it We work in little teams.
:50:35. > :50:40.We all have to work together. We have to work together to fit in
:50:40. > :50:45.and make the show a success. First of all, we will go around the
:50:45. > :50:51.outside of the pavilion and mark all the edges out. Then we string
:50:51. > :50:59.lines from one corner to the other corner. Then we mark off the stans
:50:59. > :51:05.in the centre. -- stands in the centre.
:51:05. > :51:10.The most challenging thing, I would say, is actually getting the
:51:10. > :51:16.infrastructure in in the first place. If it is wrong, then the
:51:16. > :51:22.rest does not fit and it causes lots of problems. This is Richard.
:51:22. > :51:26.We always have problem with Richard every year. He has a tape that does
:51:26. > :51:36.not correspond with ours. It is always his which is wrong. Am I
:51:36. > :51:44.
:51:44. > :51:48.right, Richard? No. You have a People can damage water pipes,
:51:48. > :51:55.electricity pipes - all that then have to be reinstated before the
:51:55. > :51:58.show can start. That's electrics - it an electric pit box. If anybody
:51:58. > :52:03.strikes into that, then there could be a little bit of an explosion and
:52:03. > :52:10.the same with the water. Occasionally we have had the odd
:52:10. > :52:18.error when they are spiked and you have a gush of water into the air.
:52:18. > :52:27.Very rare, but it does happen. This is our office for the duration
:52:27. > :52:33.of the show. In here we keep all the paint, all our marking
:52:33. > :52:38.equipment. We do have a cup here so we can have a cup of tea now and
:52:38. > :52:47.again. These facilities are far better than when we originally
:52:47. > :52:51.started. We would have been out in the rain now.
:52:51. > :52:54.In four-and-a-half weeks it is transformed into the Chelsea Flower
:52:54. > :53:04.Show. It is amazing if you look at the gardens which actually spring
:53:04. > :53:05.
:53:05. > :53:08.up. Then it comes down and, ten months later we start again.
:53:09. > :53:14.Everything seems to have gone smoothly. The show is up and
:53:14. > :53:17.running. You are looking smart. would like to think I can relax and
:53:17. > :53:22.would like to think I can relax and enjoy it. There is much to do D
:53:22. > :53:26.there are site signs to be erected, ropes and posts to be finished off.
:53:26. > :53:31.Then perhaps some relaxation, then it is over to Battersea Park for
:53:31. > :53:37.the buses to make sure that people can get from the park to the show
:53:37. > :53:41.and also the mobility bus, arranging that can work OK and then
:53:41. > :53:46.we will get ready for breakdown. Don't say that - are you serious -
:53:46. > :53:51.the show has only just started! must think of that early on. There
:53:51. > :53:56.is a lot to be done. You have it all planned. Are you a keen
:53:56. > :54:01.gardener? I am not a great gardener. I like to sit in them and have a
:54:01. > :54:08.glass of wine and look at the plants. As for gardening... You are
:54:08. > :54:12.in the right place. You can enjoy all these gardens around you.
:54:12. > :54:18.Didn't you have a special royal visit once you were in charge of?
:54:18. > :54:24.would not say in charge. I actually escorted Princess Diana. We used to
:54:24. > :54:30.have the hanging baskets. She was looking at the baskets, I was to
:54:30. > :54:35.make sure nobody got too close. you were security? Yes. Have a
:54:35. > :54:40.great show. It has been great meeting you. Thank you. David may