:00:32. > :00:34.Good evening and welcome to the Royal Horticultural Society?s
:00:35. > :00:39.Stand by for a week of glorious gardens as the leading
:00:40. > :00:42.lights of horticulture present their passion and hard work at
:00:43. > :00:49.Will their efforts step up to the mark and meet
:00:50. > :00:54.Across the week on BBC1 and BBC2 we?ll be showcasing the highest
:00:55. > :00:59.standards in horticulture at this event supported by M+G Investments.
:01:00. > :01:05.He?s back as a garden designer on Main Avenue!
:01:06. > :01:09.I?ll be catching up with Alan Titchmarsh to see how he is marking
:01:10. > :01:14.The stars have also been casting their vote at the show.
:01:15. > :01:24.Benedict Cumberbatch will be telling us what gardening means to him.
:01:25. > :01:30.I have only got a roof terrace, but it is such a lovely wonderful,
:01:31. > :01:34.contemplative place. And we?ll be championing
:01:35. > :01:48.neighbourhood spirit as we celebrate And the gardens are finished and
:01:49. > :01:52.there is nothing more that designers can do. They had to leave them
:01:53. > :01:58.alone, there is nothing more they can do, it is set in stone. We have
:01:59. > :02:04.seen lots of designers pacing up and down whilst the judges have been
:02:05. > :02:13.examining them in close detail. They will be better going, having a lie
:02:14. > :02:14.down and a cup of tea. Tomorrow the judges will have made their
:02:15. > :02:16.decisions. And we?ll be championing
:02:17. > :02:19.neighbourhood spirit as we celebrate And the gardens are finished and
:02:20. > :02:24.there is nothing more that designers can do. They had to leave them
:02:25. > :02:27.alone, there is nothing more they can do, it is set in stone. We have
:02:28. > :02:41.seen lots of designers pacing up and And all eyes are on the gardens and
:02:42. > :02:47.Monday is when the press get a sneak preview of the gardens, flowers and
:02:48. > :03:00.designs on display. Earlier on, I ventured out to ask them what they
:03:01. > :03:04.thought of this year's show. You are a young horticulturalist and write
:03:05. > :03:11.about gardens, what do you make of this? It is incredible. This is one
:03:12. > :03:15.of my favourites. This year there has been quite a naturalistic
:03:16. > :03:19.approach to planting. They are planting a lot of pastel colours,
:03:20. > :03:24.which personally is my favourite planting scheme. I will be tweeting
:03:25. > :03:32.about this garden and many of the others. You write about gardens
:03:33. > :03:41.which you run and one of the theme is about young designers like Matt
:03:42. > :03:44.Keatley who has joined us this year and done this garden. It is
:03:45. > :03:47.contrasting planting and it is phenomenal and it is great to see
:03:48. > :03:58.young designers coming through as well. That is what the people
:03:59. > :03:58.young designers coming through as write about Chelsea think about the
:03:59. > :04:02.gardens, but what write about Chelsea think about the
:04:03. > :04:09.celebrities who have come here today? This caught my eye, I
:04:10. > :04:15.absolutely love it. It is very natural and wild, a bit like my
:04:16. > :04:22.garden. You come here and you see this and then, let it grow, it is
:04:23. > :04:29.beautiful. It is such a great event and to day with this weather it is
:04:30. > :04:38.very rare in England that you think you need a bit of shade. The R.N.
:04:39. > :04:40.Garden is lovely. It has beautifully planted walls which I find
:04:41. > :04:48.interesting and the sound of trickling water. And overhanging,
:04:49. > :04:59.dangerous bits. And a cracking use of glass. Behind us here there are
:05:00. > :05:07.grasses in between. In the old days people would say it was like having
:05:08. > :05:13.weeds coming up, but it is lovely. So many people are talking about the
:05:14. > :05:18.planting. It is so unnatural, the grasses, the Euphorbia and the
:05:19. > :05:22.irises. A lot of people leaving Chelsea this evening will be
:05:23. > :05:29.inspired, and they will be saying, I can do this at home.
:05:30. > :05:32.The three different garden categories being judged here
:05:33. > :05:35.at Chelsea are the Show Gardens, Fresh Gardens and Artisan Gardens.
:05:36. > :05:37.These gardens are judged on precise criteria.
:05:38. > :05:40.James Alexander Sinclair, one of the RHS Judging Panel,
:05:41. > :05:55.I know you are trying to be transparent and there is a different
:05:56. > :06:00.judging system this year. In the past the judging system has been a
:06:01. > :06:06.bit obtuse catering. There are nine separate criteria. You get excellent
:06:07. > :06:11.could, very good, satisfactory or poorer. You get points for those
:06:12. > :06:17.things. We end up with a precise number and that tells you what medal
:06:18. > :06:25.you have got. Does it change each year? A bit like O-levels and
:06:26. > :06:32.A-levels? We are always looking to fiddle around and change and improve
:06:33. > :06:39.the judging system. At the moment we have got a good system. We tried
:06:40. > :06:44.this at Cardiff and now Chelsea. Do the designers get to see the marks
:06:45. > :06:49.at the end? Yes, each designer will be given a piece of paper and on it
:06:50. > :06:55.it will say, for my planting design I got very good, for my brief I got
:06:56. > :07:00.excellent. They will see the areas they need to improve to get a better
:07:01. > :07:09.medal next year. It sounds like a good idea. Over 100 exhibitors in
:07:10. > :07:12.the great Pavilion are all aiming for the most prestigious awards. One
:07:13. > :07:19.lucky notary will be given the Diamond Jubilee award for the best
:07:20. > :07:28.pavilion exhibit. Yesterday our own Princess of the pavilion, Carol
:07:29. > :07:42.Klein, chose her runners and riders. And this amazing exhibit has to be a
:07:43. > :07:47.contender. The very first thing the judges are looking for is endeavour.
:07:48. > :07:57.How could they have tried harder? There are plants here that are
:07:58. > :08:04.astonishing. Everything is looking as fresh as a daisy. Two other
:08:05. > :08:09.qualities the judges are looking for our originality and innovation and
:08:10. > :08:16.every inch of this smacks of those. This display shows how man can
:08:17. > :08:21.emulate nature to produce wonderful constructions. How about this
:08:22. > :08:28.lovely, wicker chair based on a bird's nest. But the most innovative
:08:29. > :08:32.and original aspect of the entire stand is this centrepiece, a
:08:33. > :08:38.portrait of Nelson Mandela, and it is composed of these. The rosettes
:08:39. > :08:45.of South Africa's National Plant, the protea. They have broken off all
:08:46. > :08:50.the petals to reveal the centre and used each one of those to make this
:08:51. > :09:00.wonderful picture. How is that for innovation? Another question the
:09:01. > :09:08.judges ask is how difficult I these plants to grow? All of this is
:09:09. > :09:14.composed of box. It is indigenous and you will find it up and down the
:09:15. > :09:20.country. The answer to that is very easy. But to perfect these specimens
:09:21. > :09:24.to this high standard in some cases takes 25 years of careful cosseting
:09:25. > :09:30.and work. Another criteria the judges are looking for is what kind
:09:31. > :09:35.of overall impression does this stand create? In the case of this
:09:36. > :09:49.stand it is pure drama and absolute impact. What the judges are
:09:50. > :09:54.interested in is how this stand is put together. Plant associations,
:09:55. > :10:08.form, texture and colour. I just love this corner. This bright orange
:10:09. > :10:11.set against the indigo purple. With the hostel in the background it is
:10:12. > :10:26.beautiful. I hope the judges agree with me. We will find out tomorrow
:10:27. > :10:32.who got the Diamond Jubilee award. One man in a very different role is
:10:33. > :10:35.none other than Mr Alan Titchmarsh celebrating his 50 years in
:10:36. > :10:43.horticulture and the Golden anniversary of Britain in Bloom.
:10:44. > :10:49.Welcome to my beach hut. Your last exhibit was in 1985 and this is not
:10:50. > :10:54.to be judged, it is an exhibit. Yes, it is to celebrate 50 years of
:10:55. > :11:00.Britain in Bloom and 50 years in this career. I started in your
:11:01. > :11:06.chair. Right up at the back are the Yorkshire moors and Ilkley Moor is
:11:07. > :11:10.where I was brought up and did my apprenticeship. I worked my way down
:11:11. > :11:16.the country and ended up on the Isle of White, so the beach bit at the
:11:17. > :11:25.front is the Isle of White. You have condensed it all into one space very
:11:26. > :11:34.cleverly. The dry stone walls came down from Yorkshire. I spent a day
:11:35. > :11:42.putting moors in between. You looked like you were actually loving it?
:11:43. > :11:49.Somebody asked me what does it feel like presenting and not gardening?
:11:50. > :11:54.But I garden every day. The Australians have been helping to
:11:55. > :12:00.build this as well. They had to be involved in Chelsea in one way and
:12:01. > :12:10.they picked on you. It is an English garden made by Australians. And you
:12:11. > :12:18.have got one slightly wobbly plant, is that what you meant? They grow
:12:19. > :12:23.like that, it is a bit of fun. And you are worried about your water not
:12:24. > :12:31.clearing. The tide is just beginning to come in. Every shell is hand laid
:12:32. > :12:40.on the beach. And this is all about the anniversary of Britain in Bloom
:12:41. > :12:46.and it is not all about you. No, it is to celebrate the breadth of the
:12:47. > :12:51.flora in Britain. It is all here, reminding us of how lucky we are
:12:52. > :12:55.that we can grow so much. And also the importance of community
:12:56. > :13:03.gardening and getting together and enriching life. Would you like to be
:13:04. > :13:09.judged by the judging panel? Not having to go for a medal takes the
:13:10. > :13:14.pressure off. I brought the medal I won in 1985 to put in the back of
:13:15. > :13:20.the beach hut. I have got a gold medal already. It is contemporary
:13:21. > :13:25.and cutting edge. You are breaking barriers here. It is not a garden,
:13:26. > :13:31.it is an education of two bits of British countryside. I love gardens
:13:32. > :13:39.I want to be in, not that I want to look at, and I like being in this
:13:40. > :13:53.one. Congratulations. Everyone and myself, we all love it. In both Alan
:13:54. > :13:59.and any other garden in the People's choice award, but today the
:14:00. > :14:04.showground of new faces, and it's my great pleasure to
:14:05. > :14:07.showground of new faces, and it's my Lovely to see you. Gardening is
:14:08. > :14:13.something you were introduced to your mother. As a lot of children
:14:14. > :14:17.are. I spent more time decimating their efforts and my grandparents
:14:18. > :14:21.before them. Gardens are wonderful things. I live in the city and I
:14:22. > :14:24.have a roof terrace and I need help with it and I am barely resident for
:14:25. > :14:30.more than three weeks or a month at a time, but it is a wonderful,
:14:31. > :14:36.beautiful, content relative outlet for some headspace and to get away
:14:37. > :14:37.from the pace of the city. Even my patch of garden has been influenced
:14:38. > :14:44.by what my mum did, patch of garden has been influenced
:14:45. > :14:47.watches what she did. -- which is what she did. I am picking up tips
:14:48. > :14:50.but I can't profess any great knowledge
:14:51. > :14:54.but I can't profess any great involves. What would you love in
:14:55. > :15:02.your garden? I love wisteria. I think it is just a beautiful thing,
:15:03. > :15:05.especially with Victorian and Georgian architecture and it is such
:15:06. > :15:15.an archetypal site in London, so that gives me a thrill when I see
:15:16. > :15:27.that. Apart from that, there was a problem with one plant which
:15:28. > :15:32.suffered frost and bad weather. It does show you that even if there is
:15:33. > :15:38.a small place, terrace, a roof terrace, it shows what you can do in
:15:39. > :15:42.a small area. You can be very imaginative. We are standing in the
:15:43. > :15:52.most extraordinary garden. Matthew is only 29. 23. It is extraordinary
:15:53. > :15:57.the amount of imagination here. The acreage is modest, but it is
:15:58. > :16:06.beautiful what you can do. There is a great influence this year on the
:16:07. > :16:11.young designers, the under 30s. It's really impressive. It's always a
:16:12. > :16:14.heartbreaking moment if the time between -- the tie between the
:16:15. > :16:19.generations on the other is severed and you don't get that as you get
:16:20. > :16:22.into your gardening. I am very conscious of doing that stuff with
:16:23. > :16:28.my mum and dad, because they have been doing it properly for about 20
:16:29. > :16:32.years with their cottage garden. We will hear a lot more from you and
:16:33. > :16:37.your mother later run, but that will be on BBC Two. Benedict and his
:16:38. > :16:39.mother will be joining Monty Don on BBC Two right after this programme,
:16:40. > :16:43.and you can see what they thought of the show.
:16:44. > :16:46.In 1964 Britain in Bloom was set up to add some
:16:47. > :16:51.50 years on, it?s still going strong and inside the Great Pavilion
:16:52. > :16:54.an exhibit created by a regular to Chelsea, horticulturalist
:16:55. > :16:56.and designer Jon Wheatley, celebrates this anniversary.
:16:57. > :16:59.Jon?s display concentrates upon the South West of England
:17:00. > :17:02.and its involvement with the competition over the years.
:17:03. > :17:07.We caught up with him last month as he visited the city that has been a
:17:08. > :17:27.We are actually creating something to celebrate the involvement of
:17:28. > :17:32.Southwest in Bloom for the last 50 years. It was the first win of
:17:33. > :17:37.Britian In Bloom, and horticulture has always been high on the agenda.
:17:38. > :17:44.Bath is a world Heritage city and a beautiful place to live.
:17:45. > :17:50.The Parade Gardens, they are a major tourist venue, iconic, especially
:17:51. > :17:59.the 3-D features which have been some of the best in the world.
:18:00. > :18:04.Really, people just love to see things that are on television,
:18:05. > :18:08.particularly with the young children. I have stood and watched
:18:09. > :18:18.young people look at these features and they go absolutely, wow, wow,
:18:19. > :18:23.wow. The Magic roundabout, what a wonderful opportunity to create
:18:24. > :18:28.something in 3-D. The wonderful one balls. I remember them going with
:18:29. > :18:35.our own children to go and see them, and that led to the Herbs.
:18:36. > :18:37.They were used in Bath last year, and how we will get them to London
:18:38. > :18:51.is a big challenge. It is not easy to create 3-D
:18:52. > :18:54.features at all. It's not like planting plants into a horizontal
:18:55. > :18:57.scale. We are dealing with the vertical scale, which is always a
:18:58. > :19:03.challenge for anybody in horticulture. They are built on
:19:04. > :19:07.metal frames and packed with soil and moss, and the plants are planted
:19:08. > :19:16.in them. They then required special maintenance and culture and watering
:19:17. > :19:19.and feeding. In fact, you are at one of the highest levels of skill,
:19:20. > :19:24.halted culturally, which is why it is so important to involve
:19:25. > :19:29.apprentices -- 40 culturally. That is why we are trying to recreate the
:19:30. > :19:35.horticultural skill that was lost in the last 25 or 30 years.
:19:36. > :19:42.For me, 50 years pass, and that is wonderful, all well and good, but
:19:43. > :19:46.the most important thing is how we can take Britian In Bloom onto the
:19:47. > :19:50.next 50 years. That is why we are doing the exhibit at Chelsea,
:19:51. > :19:59.because we want to show people that horticulture is such a wonderful
:20:00. > :20:00.thing to be involved with. So what does the next 50 years hold for
:20:01. > :20:02.Britian In Bloom? Yesterday I had a chance to catch up
:20:03. > :20:13.with Jon as he put We see you here now, and we have
:20:14. > :20:19.been pressed -- transported to the beaches of south-west England. We
:20:20. > :20:23.have created North Devon. We tried to represent many of the things we
:20:24. > :20:27.do in the South West. We grope subtropical plants in the sunshine.
:20:28. > :20:32.We do these wonderful carpet bedding scenes -- we grow subtropical
:20:33. > :20:35.plants. We celebrate adversity of the South West. It was difficult to
:20:36. > :20:40.get in here and I drove in all the way from Bath but we arrived in one
:20:41. > :20:43.piece. One thing you were talking about in the film was about the
:20:44. > :20:47.challenge for the next generation, the next 50 years for Britian In
:20:48. > :20:52.Bloom. How do you think it will progress? I've been involved in it
:20:53. > :20:57.the many years. It started off with hanging baskets, but now it has
:20:58. > :20:59.changed will stop its about communities and people and the power
:21:00. > :21:02.changed will stop its about of flowers. It is about engaging
:21:03. > :21:06.through schools and youth clubs with young people in this wonderful,
:21:07. > :21:11.vocational hobby and also the career called horticulture. Growing plants
:21:12. > :21:15.is one of the most wonderful things anybody can do, and we are working
:21:16. > :21:20.with groups all around the country to engage young people in producing
:21:21. > :21:25.food to eat, healthy living schemes and some wonderful projects. We have
:21:26. > :21:30.some children here to look at the vegetables you have produced. The
:21:31. > :21:36.cabbages, and the electric pink chard, that was inspirational.
:21:37. > :21:40.Inspiration is the key. That is what we have to do. I stand behind the
:21:41. > :21:46.people who look at the exhibits, and the children say wow. It captures
:21:47. > :21:51.the imagination. Involvement of communities and schools, even this
:21:52. > :21:56.which has been done by children from Scotland who sent south down for us.
:21:57. > :22:01.-- stuff down. Are you optimistic for the next 50 years of Britian In
:22:02. > :22:04.Bloom? It's one of the best things I've ever been involved with and I
:22:05. > :22:11.hope everybody can get involved throughout the country. John, thank
:22:12. > :22:13.you. Absolutely beautiful when the light catches it.
:22:14. > :22:16.The great thing about Chelsea is that it is a hotbed of ideas
:22:17. > :22:22.If your garden is home to a problem bed or border and you?ve
:22:23. > :22:24.lost your gardening spark then that?s where gardening presenter and
:22:25. > :22:30.Last night we asked for you to send in your gardening
:22:31. > :22:33.dilemmas and since then he has been ploughing through them.
:22:34. > :22:47.Thanks to all of you who took the time to write in and share images.
:22:48. > :22:51.As we suspected, a lot of problem gardens out there. An amazing number
:22:52. > :22:54.of you want to have a bit more privacy or block out the neighbours
:22:55. > :22:58.to hide an ugly boundary, and to be honest, Chelsea is the perfect place
:22:59. > :23:03.to do it because all of this was a park a few weeks ago, and now with a
:23:04. > :23:08.bit of clever design and some masquerade and disguise, you would
:23:09. > :23:13.never know. This is the Telegraph Garden and it is the perfect place
:23:14. > :23:21.to address our first customer to my clinic, Debbie Jenkins. I shouldn't
:23:22. > :23:25.laugh. It is a huge garden but she's made the classic mistake of planting
:23:26. > :23:30.conifers to take the edge off and hide it. I say it's a mistake,
:23:31. > :23:34.because if you plant a conifer next to anything, all you get is a great
:23:35. > :23:40.big green living arrow that highlights it even more and points
:23:41. > :23:43.to it. The thing you have to do to hide something bigger than yours, is
:23:44. > :23:47.to put the screen further in the garden. Because of the perspective,
:23:48. > :23:52.it's closer to you and it hides more behind it. That's exactly what has
:23:53. > :23:58.been done with these lime trees. You can achieve the same effect with
:23:59. > :24:02.maybe an evergreen jasmine and you get plenty of height and you would
:24:03. > :24:09.not need planning permission. Best of all, you would have some sent in
:24:10. > :24:13.your garden over summer. -- something that smells nice. Next in
:24:14. > :24:17.the clinic, Matt from Walton something that smells nice. Next in
:24:18. > :24:26.Thames, his garden is nice enough, the fence panel, but do not plant a
:24:27. > :24:29.climber and the stems will be bear against the woodwork and all of the
:24:30. > :24:32.foliage and flowers will be on the top. What you want to think about is
:24:33. > :24:36.hedging. Whatever you choose top. What you want to think about is
:24:37. > :24:40.make sure you do not spare the hose in the first year so the roots can
:24:41. > :24:47.get established. If you do that, you won't go far wrong. If you are after
:24:48. > :24:51.blooms to brighten up a boring boundary fence, there's no better
:24:52. > :24:55.place than the Great Pavilion for inspiration. There is no better
:24:56. > :24:59.plant group than this. Paula in London has a terrace and she wants
:25:00. > :25:04.climbers back in London has a terrace and she wants climbers back
:25:05. > :25:11.and. But if you want to claim a test for a breezy situation, whenever you
:25:12. > :25:15.plant these in a container, the trick is to line the insides of the
:25:16. > :25:19.pot with newspaper. Particularly if it's up on a terrace. That way the
:25:20. > :25:21.newspaper will insulate the roots from the harsh effects of the sun.
:25:22. > :25:30.They hate having hot roots. in solving then don?t forget to mail
:25:31. > :25:33.us at mychelsea@bbc.co.uk and Toby will see
:25:34. > :25:36.if he can come up with a solution. It's been an incredibly
:25:37. > :25:51.exciting day here at Chelsea. The judges have made their minds up,
:25:52. > :25:54.They exhibitors well, face a long night
:25:55. > :25:59.Just before we close the evening here on BBC 1, Joe
:26:00. > :26:08.it is all about explaining it through plants and hard materials.
:26:09. > :26:12.John Everest, you can really interact with the garden. The
:26:13. > :26:17.Artisan gardens have shown good craft, and there are three I love.
:26:18. > :26:23.The Potters garden. I was looking at the topiary garden. There are chess
:26:24. > :26:36.pieces. I was channelling my inner Alice in Wonderland. My bet for the
:26:37. > :26:40.Best in show is Ishihara. It's a game changer. Every space has
:26:41. > :26:45.something to there. These gardens are always stunning. On main avenue
:26:46. > :26:50.there were three definite goals, and we're standing on one of them, this
:26:51. > :26:58.is perfection. A hard landscape and it is that Chris kissed I have ever
:26:59. > :27:03.sleep -- and it is the most crisp I have ever seen. Dina Lohan in the
:27:04. > :27:09.middle in the second one, but beautiful. -- then a lawn. Every
:27:10. > :27:14.time I go back to the third one, it's got real depth it gets better
:27:15. > :27:20.better. I think he's the best plants, and I think he will get Best
:27:21. > :27:23.in show. Sticking your neck out. We will have to wait to find out.
:27:24. > :27:27.Well, those are some of our thoughts but we want to know what you think.
:27:28. > :27:31.All this week we are inviting you to vote for your favourite large garden
:27:32. > :27:36.To help you decide, over the next three days our Red Button coverage
:27:37. > :27:38.will see designers Chris Beardshaw and Ann-Marie Powell previewing all
:27:39. > :27:42.16 of the large gardens that are in the running for your votes.
:27:43. > :27:51.The first five are available to view by pressing your Red Button.
:27:52. > :27:54.Gardening is very much at the forefront of Chelsea but another
:27:55. > :28:03.highlight today is the customary visit paid by Her Majesty the Queen.
:28:04. > :28:11.She came to see your garden in 2012. She did and it was very surreal. It
:28:12. > :28:15.was the Teenage Cancer Trust garden. She turned up and asked me
:28:16. > :28:21.questions and it was a huge moment. She watches the Chelsea Flower
:28:22. > :28:24.Show, which was an honour. A lot of the designers today have said it is
:28:25. > :28:30.surreal being on the gardens because they were building sites a few weeks
:28:31. > :28:37.ago, and then suddenly the Queen did it as well. It's a building site,
:28:38. > :28:41.lots of noise, and then the cameras turned up, then they turn up and
:28:42. > :28:47.they stop work and we have just started. It's amazing. You can see a
:28:48. > :28:50.full report on the Queen's visit by switching onto BBC Two. Where I will
:28:51. > :28:53.be joining Monty Don. Together we?ll be providing
:28:54. > :28:56.a fresh take on this year's show which will unearth the details
:28:57. > :28:59.and provide further analysis on the gardens and exhibits that are
:29:00. > :29:02.new to Chelsea this year. I'll be back here with Joe
:29:03. > :29:05.at the end of the week. Let's hope the sign keeps shining
:29:06. > :29:08.all week. -- the sun keeps shining. Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with
:29:09. > :29:24.your 90 second update. Resume the search
:29:25. > :29:27.for these four British sailors