Episode 11 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Hello and welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, an event

supported by M Investments. Today?s the day we?ve all been

waiting for - the day that ?The People?s Choice Award? is revealed.

Voting closed at midnight last night, and in tonight?s BBC Two

programme at 8pm, Monty and Joe will be revealing which large garden

and designer you have chosen. It is amazing how many people have

gone online and devoted. It is tens of thousands. We are so passionate

about our gardens. Yes, we are. People start to get excited. I

always feel it goes to one of the more traditional gardens. Lots of

flowers, stone, wood. It could be anyone. My money is on the daily

Telegraph, I think. This year, social media has been buzzing with

the RHS Chelsea cell-free. Guess who I managed to catch when I was

walking around? Piers Morgan talking to Sophie. I seized the opportunity.

We have had thousands of votes coming in.

and designer you have chosen. Later on today?s programme:

We meet some of the budding young Chelsea

horticulturists of the future. We get a visit from another

of our well known Chelsea faces and their Mum - today it?s TV

historian Dan Snow and his mum Ann. It is the most beautiful thing in

our garden. I love these. historian Dan Snow and his mum Ann.

And Simon Lycett returns to give Chelsea Traffic Controller,

Steve Howe, how to make a beautiful summer bouquet.

He is doing brilliantly well. I think we need more wordless. There

we go! This morning, the RHS hosted a very special breakfast for budding

young horticulturists of the future. Adam, you hosted the breakfast this

morning. What exactly is it? The idea is to get more young people

into horticulture. The RHS have been brilliant. I think they are losing

kids when they going to secondary school. We really want to get into

schools and make sure that it is a real option. Because I actually

don't think that children at secondary school even look at

horticulture as an option. The idea is to give it a bit of a cake. Would

you be pleased to see it on the national curriculum? It should do,

shouldn't it? You can tie it in with sciences. It is a no-brainer. It has

been said if you cannot do anything else, become a gardener. It has to

be fun and interesting for children as they get older. I fell into this

job by accident. I was very lucky. Lawrence, why have you chosen this?

I used to go to my grandfather's allotment with him on the weekdays.

He got me doing things and I fell in love with it from a young age, from

almost walking. I fell into it that way. Then went from strength to

strength. At what age did you start? I started going to his allotment

when I was between six months and a -year-old. How about you? I also got

quite lucky. I got her job when I left school as a gardener. I never

looked back. Have you got a clear path? Or do you see it as an open,

broad canvas? Currently fairly broad. I have studied and I

currently work in a garden full time. I do not know where I am going

to go. At this point you are hands-on? Very much so. What is

fantastic as you can evolve. You can start as a gardener, landscaper,

some people would say designer! It has been an evolution. And for me,

my life is built on it. Lawrence, you got ambitions as you move into

it? I have. I have not decided where I eventually want to end up. I have

been to college and got a Tol -- level two qualification. I am

currently on a training programme. In September I am moving to Italy

for a couple of years for their diploma. But what happens after that

I'm not sure. Maybe you might end up here giving add a run for his

money. Adam is doing one more garden and he is going to walk away. I just

said to these two off-camera, maybe I could come back and help the

plant! It is a lot of hard work. Does it appeal to you?

Absolutely. And continuing this theme,

the big story at this year's Chelsea is the storming of Main Avenue

by the new young designers. On Tuesday, Hugo Bugg was awarded

gold for this, his Royal Bank Joining us is another of this

elite band of under 30-year-old John,

you were the talk of the show back in 1991, when you won gold and Best

in Show at the tender age of 25. It was nerve wracking. It really

was. I was competing against a hard-core of famous garden

designers, David Stevens and the like. The pressure was on to

actually try and keep up with them and produce a garden that was as

good as what was around me. It was better. You won Best in show. What

did that mean to you so early on in your career? Getting a gold was

fantastic, getting Best in show is like icing on the cake. Meeting the

Queen. It is a passport to go on. You have to utilise that success. I

have been working all across the world. Kuwait, Malaysia... It has

been great. A passport to go onwards and upwards. Recognised on a global

level. Another young designer that did so well this year is Hugo.

Congratulations. A gold medal. 27 years old. Remarkable achievement.

When you first arrived at Chelsea, did you feel the pressure? You are

competing. I know the gardeners do not compete against each other but

there are still garden is here with more experience? There was pressure.

But at the end of the day I knew my design. I had been revising it from

months before the show. I surround myself with a really good team. We

got our heads down and tried to realise my design to the best we

could. We did not worry what anybody else was doing. John, any advice

first Hugo? The advice would be to carry on doing what he is doing. He

has got a gold. You cannot top that, really. Carry on. I love the garden.

I think it is fantastic. And enjoy it? Yes, absolutely. Opportunities

now present themselves. How difficult is it for young designers

to get into the industry? I don't think it is so difficult. There are

courses out there. It is the awareness of those courses and the

awareness of the industry as a profession. Young people need to

realise they actually can make a living out of it. It is there if

they can find it. What do you think, John? What advice would you give

youngsters? It is hard work. You have to keep at it. Especially if

you're coming to Chelsea, you have to think about the design. You need

a sponsor, which is all-important. They are the main things. And

dedication. And dedication. Thank you both.

Opportunities for young designers are growing, and with that in mind,

there's an exciting announcement that the BBC and RHS will be making

But Chelsea is not all about the gardens, of course.

It's about the flowers, and all week, Christine Walkden has been

seeking out the most talked-about plants at Chelsea this year.

Here she is with the last two of her top ten.

One of my favourites in the garden, because it is so adaptable, the

Bucharest. You don't want to put the sun lover in the garden. In the

wrong place you will lose them. Plenty of organic matter. Keep them

well watered and wait for these aim to last nearly 12 months of the

year. -- visiting. Vicky, you're so passionate about

them. What is it that speaks to you? There is one for everyone. There is

a colour to suit every place and they are such a good garden plant.

Is there a golden rule for them? It is not an absolute set in stone

rule. If you think about the colour of your skin, if you have pale skin,

you cannot stand the song very much. Neither can the FA have a pale leaf.

-- the sunshine. You have got some new ones. We always like to

introduce new ones. My favourite has to be Phoebe's blush, named after my

Gran. It has pink leaves in the spring. As the season goes on, it

changes lots. The alert tones as well. And lovely pink flowers.

From foliage to fragrance. There is plenty of that on Victorian

violent's stand. -- by Ola's. The perennial via Ola has come of age.

These are very beautiful plants. They are good cut flowers. But to

keep them in flower for as long as possible, keep them watered and feed

them regularly. Deadhead them and then these plants will last for

years and years and years. Robert, how long have you been

growing them? I have been growing them since I was eight years old.

The passion has stayed with me ever since. They are such beautiful

plants. How do you grow a really good viola? No they need a fair

amount of TLC. They get leggy in the summertime. Given very little

pruning. They come back into flower within a week or ten days. You keep

them in a more healthy condition. What new ones have you got? We have

got a golden yellow, Sunny Jim. We have got his partner, Prunella, the

dark purple. An unusual colour. And we have the fantastic marmalade,

which is virtually two flowers on one. We have a nice pale yellow and

then it erupts into a nice grey when it starts to mature. Suitable for

patio or fur pots. Everybody can spread marmalade all of the patio

and all over the garden. All week, as well as our favourite

horticultural faces, we've invited a few other famous people to pop

along and see us and enjoy Today I'm joined by TV historian

Mr Dan Snow. Welcome to Chelsea. Thanks for

having me. It's wonderful. You have brought your mum along. You will

have time to peruse all of the stands. What kind of Gardner are

you? I am an amateur. My mum is the expert. She is brilliant. She tried

to get me interested as a young child. Now that I am old, I have

come to it. I am obsessed with cherry blossom. You change. I have a

garden. I am learning more about it. We had leek soup last night from the

garden. And of course such an exciting time of the year. We have

said goodbye to blossom but have some lovely plants coming out. The

wild Rose. You say you're not a gardener but you're very keen. And

your son has been in the garden. My sister was very neat but I was

terrible. We smashed a garage to make our garden and so we used all

the bricks to make a hill so we had a hill in our garden. Still there

today. What are you looking forward to particularly here at Chelsea? We

are like magpies, we love colour. And we are not very fashionable, so

we just off explosions of colour, so we are loving the roses and we are

going to go and have a look at those foxgloves over there. Anything that

just bursts with colour. So what is your garden like at the moment at

home? Vegetables is a big focus and we are doing really well on those,

really exciting. Now the tomatoes just emerging. So we can go in and

eat the tomatoes of the vine. And the roses always make me feel like

I'm coming home. I see and smell the roses and it makes me feel great. We

say goodbye to all those spring flowers, the daffodils, bluebells,

but there is so much more on. You know your stuff! There are the most

amazing roses over there that you have to go to first. We have the

most amazing Himalayan rose growing up through the apple trees and

coming down. It's amazing. I will catch up with you a bit late in the

show. You are certainly going to enjoy yourself. See you later.

Here in the Great Pavilion, on this very colourful exhibit,

there are contributions from over 100 schools across the UK

who took up the challenge to grow plants for Chelsea.

John, you are the coordinator for this project. What is the purpose of

it? It is to get them interested in gardening and what we have done is

stimulate the school to use gardening in the curriculum so they

can learn about the science of plant growth and about the food that they

are growing and also to enjoy the joys of actually making plants grow.

Excellent! You have been growing a few plants for this project. What

have you got there? We have Job arose. And you have been wearing

those? Yes. What has been the most fun thing about this project? I've

really liked seeing them grow and see what they do when they get big.

And just helping them. And what about you? I think it was because we

planted them from seed, so you get to see them get bigger. And have you

learnt a lot about plants and science and that sort of thing? Yes.

Photosynthesis. What? It's one son use -- a plant uses sunlight to

grow. You are sounding like experts. I think you might be after my job!

Will you be doing this again? Hopefully. What about when you leave

school? Might you go into gardening? I would like to grow tropical fruits

like oranges and lemons. Would you go somewhere hotter to do that? Yes.

I might come with you to do that! How about you? I'm going to stick to

growing normal foods, like strawberries. So you will stay here

and do that? Yes. Do you think it is more interesting to grow flowers or

fruit? I prefer growing veg because you get to eat them in the end! That

is very true. You get something from it. Thank you very much.

Well, now it's time for our daily planting recipe.

Combining the right plants in your garden is always a challenge,

All week, Rachel de Thame has been showing us how.

Today, she's concentrating on combining colour with

Do you know what Pastore tones are? Is a bit like a foxgloves here.

That's very good. Do you like that? Yes.

Sometimes, the very best part of a meal is the dessert, and today I'm

going to create an ice cream sundae from plants filled with delicious

creaminess and lots of beautiful pastels.

Although I'm looking for lots of softness and fluidity in this

recipe, I also need a partner that is really going to ground the whole

combination. I've chosen this plant, which has these wonderful ease. When

they first emerge, they are lovely and bronze and then they green up in

the summer and become beautifully coloured again as we get towards

autumn. And they send up these plumes of flowers that are very

feathery and theory, almost like the froth on a milkshake, and they are a

lovely pale, creamy tone. It is a plant that likes a moist situation

with semi-shade, so I think this is an excellent first ingredient.

Equally at home in a nice, moisture retentive soil in semi-shade is

this. This one has particularly caught my eye. It's a new variety

called Dancing Flame. They are members of the buttercup family and

you can tell that from the foliage as well as the flowers, and they

come in a range of colours bordering from orange to pale, lemon yellows.

But this one reminds me of a ball of mango sorbet.

I have found a perfect vertical accent for the recipe in the form of

these foxgloves. Our native foxglove is this, and here in front of me a

sea of them in a range of colours from pure white through these lovely

creamy yellows took a rich purple. It almost looks like a Ross Perry

report laid out in front of me. It is a biennial, which means it only

produces flowers every other year, so if you want to be sure you are

going to have them every year, you need to plant them two years in a

row and then you should never be without.

I have found my perfect ice cream sundae here in the Laurent Perrier

garden, and the designer is an Italian, the home of ice cream. So

that's a perfect fit! Right in the middle, these lovely plumes of

flowers also in a lovely soft pink in the middle. Here, the flowers are

a pale lemon colour, which is so fresh and pretty, and the digitalis,

this is also an Italian form. It has more delicate, smaller flowers and

the whole thing is soft and delicious and, I think, absolutely

beautiful. If you love that kind

of colour scheme, you may want to It's time for our resident florist

Simon Lycett to show us how. And Simon is passing

on his expertise to another would-be Today it's RHS Chelsea traffic man,

Steve Howe. Now, Steve, we nominated you because

we feel that underneath your usual So, Simon,

what do you have for us today? We are going to be creating a wild

tied bunch because we have these gentlemen 's hands! We have an

assortment of flowers. So grab some of that to start with, the

hydrangea. Use your hand or waste as a vase and start to insert different

stems. -- almost as a vase. Different shapes, different heights.

I understand that in addition to a bit of arranging, there is another

artistic side to you. This rumour has got out! There might be a

pantomime dame inside, a thespian. Yes! I play pantomime dame every

year. This year I'm going to be at Newark with Bernie Clifton. It is

such a big build-up to Chelsea that it is hard to believe! I know, I

know! They say that the camera adds weight to you so I am on a diet! I

am actually on two diets because you don't get enough food on one! I

think we've got the full measure already! Lets get back to flowers.

That looks quite difficult to hold to me. Yes, it's quite a burden to

hold it for too long, so that's why I've got some of this lovely paper

covered wire and I'm just using that and as I'm going I'm binding it

around, which will just help to anchor it, so if I want to, I can

put it down and rest my hand. And I notice you are turning it as you go.

You are not keeping the flowers stationary. It helps keep the stems

are part. You are both doing so well. I don't think I've ever seen

such long stalks. These are by the guard! And how is Steve doing? He's

doing brilliantly! Get a bit of movement in there, Steve. Twist as

you go. Use an assortment of stem. Hydrangea is good as the foliage and

then you can use a bright young stems and textures and flower forms,

which gives you a nice, loose finish. Why don't I leave you to it

and we will come back in a while and see how you've done. Don't look so

nervous! Today we've been celebrating

new talent at Chelsea. But it's not just

about garden designers. In the Great Pavilion Andy and Chris

have been meeting lots of bright young things in the wider fields

of plant science and horticulture. At the age of 18, you are the

youngest of exhibitors. Certainly in the Chelsea demographic, you are the

youngest face. What was the point that really convinced you to take

part? It was having a show here back in 2009 with my secondary school and

we managed to take the silver medal. Just seeing the diversity of the

horticultural careers here at the show was enough to set my mind and

make me think, that's what I want to do. This was created to show the

process of paper cups and how they are becoming compostable,

biodegradable, so the garden shows the whole story, right from the

nursery and the tree, right through the factory, the cup use, the

composting and the final stage where plants are being grown in the

compost made from these recycled cups, which is brilliant. Where will

you go next? I've been on an internship in Hawaii studying

tropical plants and I'm really excited about seeing them being

grown in their native environment. Now, quite by coincidence, another

Jack from the same college. Here in exhibiting. What inspired you to get

involved in gardening? My grandparents inspired me because

they all have gardens and I used to help them out around garden centres

-- go -- going around garden centres. I like seeing vegetables

and herbs because you get to see it from seed to when you eat it and

then all over again. Did you have a specific role when it came to the

stand here? Yes, I concentrated on the fruit and veg here because it is

quite a main topic for people to be able to see when they come around

and it shows you using the compost to grow the plants. Matthew, I

understand you went straight into horticulture from school? That's

right, yes. I did my GCSEs and A-levels and then did a degree in

horticulture. What made you choose that? Boys been interested in

gardening and planting and that took it to the top level, really. -- I

had always been. We put up glasshouses when we moved to this

place and we have reached the pinnacle in ending up at Chelsea.

Really happy with this. This is the real star for me. Real memories.

Yes, this is from the 2007 breeding programme. It's a really jet black

one. benefit from horticulture. For me,

horticulture benefits hugely from young people. And those of us who

are more advanced benefit immensely from their ability to be able to

think tangentially, to bring in new ideas, new technologies. It just

keeps the makes good and fresh. There is also a perception that

young people and old people like different things. So many of us are

young at heart. Those of us clinging onto our youth! You need to be

re-immersed in the ideas and vibrancy.

All week we've been exploring Chelsea through the eyes of some

Sadly it's the last of our series today, but earlier on TV historian

Dan Snow came to visit the show with his mum, Ann, and reminisce about

All of these vegetables remind me of being on vegetable Judy when I was

young. Your two sisters had little flowers and you insisted on

vegetables. I know. I think it stunted Micro. My daughter loves

pulling carrots out of the ground now. I am glad I started you off

early. Pretty jealous of that scale. That is ridiculous. How did they

manage to get it that big? Hyacinths. We have got some of those

on our kitchen table. Weir look at those colours have never seen that

colour before. These are the Himalayan rose. They are falling

through the branches. It is the most beautiful thing in the gardens. Yes,

we have these on the front of the house but they only bloom once a

year. They are lovely. Excuse me... Are you the delphinium

expert? Can we ask a question to Love Del Finian 's. They look great

for the season and the next year they collapse. If you have got heavy

soil, they won't get through the winter. They need training but they

are also quite heavy feeders. They need nutrients. I could bring them

inside but that seems crazy. It is best to leave them out. Feed, make

sure the soil is well drained. Nice one. Thank you very much. It is a

nice combination. Look at those blossoms. I love the rhododendrons.

They remind me of my childhood. You used to take me to Richmond Park.

Wisley and all those places. How your tree is doing? They are doing

well. They are about this high. We lost a lot in the winter storms. The

Southwind particularly. We have got a few Canadian maples in there for

you. More rhododendrons here. I can never get enough of these. I think

it is really great because you are here. I have been coming here for

years and years and years at night kept asking you if you want to do,

and you always too busy. Here you are. I want to show you a lot more.

Let's go! The voting

for People's Choice is now closed and we'll be announcing the winner

in our BBC Two show at 8pm tonight. So, Chris, you've been

at the helm of this and you've had to be impartial, but now the voting

has closed, I've got to ask you - Well, it's very difficult because in

a way I have had the privilege of not only presenting the coverage and

discovering it that way, but being on and off the gardens all week. You

bring an intimate relationship with all of these schemes. You very

quickly see that there is less there than you perhaps thought with some

gardens. In developing that more intimate relationship, the

integrity, the design theatre, suddenly becomes magnified. Two

schemes stand out for me that I was not initially sure about. The first

is Patrick Collins. The plans Manship is beautiful. The integrity

of the planting is sublime. The second one is MIG's garden. From the

outside I could see it was intricate. It is getting there. But

going into several times and after having been given a glass of

champagne as well, is sometimes help...! They are both head and

shoulders above everything else. The difference between the RHS judging

process and the People's choice award, is that the RHS has tried to

take out the subjectivity. The People's Choice Award is all about

emotion. They are different processes. They are. They are

equally valid. It is important to remember that none of us view our

gardens as purely objective pieces of work. There has to be an

emotional connection. There has to be some sort of spiritual

enlightenment when you walk around. There has to be something personal,

a conversation between you and the plants. It is entirely right that

the People's choice award is emotionally led. And in a way that

invalidates it. It makes it as valid as the opinion of the judges. It is

interesting what you say about how would the more you look at a garden,

if it keeps on giving, that makes it a really good garden for us to

enjoy. It doesn't matter if you are a professional or an amateur. That

is the key. You have to wake up to it every morning.

Steve, I am impressed. You do realise that Simon has done you some

traffic lights just to inspire you. We are on green. There is a queue

for you. It's behind you! Talk about being a pantomime dame! How is he

doing? Brilliantly well. We need a bit more wildness. You're getting

quite courageous. We are used to you being in charge, directing the

traffic, single -- telling us where we should go. Simon, give us some

tips. I wouldn't create something like this at home. It would scare

me. I would look at using a vey 's. I need the safety of a structure.

The joy of this is it you can use foliage from your garden and

augmented with stems from the local flower shop. The real tip is in the

preparation. Each of our flowers is sort of in their loose piles. We

have stripped most of the foliage of. We have cleaned the stems so

they are easy to handle. Have they had a good drink beforehand? They

all had a good drink. They are nice and clean. So when you put it in a

vey is, it is all good to go. -- vase. I have only ever helped my

mother once with some table decorations at a function and it

took me all day. I thought, I couldn't do this ever again. I have

only ever done it once. Doesn't seem to have stressed you read very much.

You are a very calm man. You've always have zinc on your face. That

is because of the sunshine. We have your own personal vase here, Steve.

There we are. If you want to chop the ends... You do that for me. Look

how quickly Simon does it on his. I am feeling the pressure. Simon, what

do we think? He is just about -- they are just about to go into the

traffic cone. As an assistance, you have come to the fore. -- as an

assistant. Let's see it in all its glory. Do you know what? I think for

somebody on his first attempt... How about that? He is a born

entertainer! Thank you so much. Sadly we're nearing the end

of our lunchtime programmes But there's just time to look back

and remember this year's It puts a smile on your face.

Earlier this week we asked you if you have a Chelsea garden outside

your back door and if you do, send us your pictures. We have been

overwhelmed by your response. We have had thousands of e-mails and

pictures. One that caught our eye was Adrian's garden near Midhurst.

Look at this. It is beautiful. I love the view around it. I love the

fact they are obviously such keen gardeners, the whole garden has

spilled outside! This one from Andrew in Surrey. This is an azalea

garden. It looks fantastic. If you have acid soil, they are not bad to

grow. David and Wendy Dugdale from Eastbourne. This is a B If their

garden is that beautiful, imagine what houses like. We will be putting

some of our favourite gardens on the website. If you would like to see

your gardens made Chelsea, go to the website. It is difficult, I know,

but what has your favourite part of Chelsea been? I love it when the

medals go out. Not just seeing everybody but talking to them

afterwards. It has got to be the floristry and the Telegraph Garden.

Beautiful. It is pretty special. Some great gardens.

I'm afraid that's all from us for another year, but the coverage of

You can join Sophie with Emilia Fox and her mum Joanna David at 7:30pm

this evening on BBC One, and there's that special

And there's also an hour long programme over on BBC Two at 8pm,

when Monty and Joe will be revealing the People's Choice Award and

sharing some Chelsea memories with exhibitors in the Floral Marquee.

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