:00:25. > :00:41.Hello. Welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The show has been
:00:42. > :00:47.opened for two days and the reaction to this year's show gardens and
:00:48. > :00:51.exhibits in the Great Pavilion has been across the press. In the
:00:52. > :01:01.Independent, they are talking about youth, coming to Chelsea. As hoe it
:01:02. > :01:08.is a disgrace. Particulary if you are young and a woman. The Queen
:01:09. > :01:12.came yesterday. She found Birmingham City Council's exhibit, she found
:01:13. > :01:15.that incredibly realistic and thought it was fantastic. Talking
:01:16. > :01:19.about the trenches of the First World War, I loved this picture from
:01:20. > :01:24.The Guardian. We've got the War Horse that came to the No Man?s Land
:01:25. > :01:29.Garden. I didn't see it. I wish I had. I saw it. It was amazing. It
:01:30. > :01:37.was incredible, but at the time, there was this orang-utan! Yes, I
:01:38. > :01:41.saw it. It was so realistic this orang-utan. It started pulling my
:01:42. > :01:48.tie. One of the judges fell into the
:01:49. > :01:52.Stoke-on-Trent Pond. He just stepped backwards and went up to his knees.
:01:53. > :01:57.The Perspex stopped him falling all the way and he got out and said,
:01:58. > :02:05."That was rather cooling actually. Rather lovely." A bit of British
:02:06. > :02:09.stiff, upper lip hopefully we will have more excitement. What I know is
:02:10. > :02:16.going to happen on tonight's show, we will be unpicking why one garden
:02:17. > :02:23.received the ultimate accolade, the coveted Best in Show Award.
:02:24. > :02:32.Margaret and Susan Robinson tells us why bringing their exhibition to the
:02:33. > :02:35.Great Pavilion is a family tradition. I imagine you will be
:02:36. > :02:46.producing something like this in our garden? I really, really like this.
:02:47. > :02:53.Tuesday at Chelsea is about one thing and one thing alone and that
:02:54. > :02:58.is the medal results. Today, over 500 exhibitors across the showground
:02:59. > :03:01.received that much anticipated news from the RHS judges as to what
:03:02. > :03:08.colour medal they had received. Of course, one they all wanted was a
:03:09. > :03:16.gold! The judges decisions on the colour of the medals awarded can be
:03:17. > :03:24.make or break. Folks can get very emotional. With the tensions running
:03:25. > :03:32.high, the judges didn't keep people hanging about. Nikki Chapman was
:03:33. > :03:37.there as the medals were hand delivered.
:03:38. > :03:46.Good morning. I'm delighted to say you have won
:03:47. > :03:53.gold. This is your fifth gold at Chelsea? It is. Fantastic. What are
:03:54. > :03:58.you particularly proud of? All the elements worked, going from the hot
:03:59. > :04:03.deserty down to the sunken garden with the craftsmanship. He sounds
:04:04. > :04:07.emotional. You said a couple of days ago when we were talking about
:04:08. > :04:11.designing gardens and you said that Chelsea is the one place that you
:04:12. > :04:17.can design a garden that you dream of? When you are designing private
:04:18. > :04:24.gardens, there is taste. At Chelsea, there is no compromise, you do it
:04:25. > :04:28.exactly the way you want to do it. You have won a gold medal.
:04:29. > :04:32.Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thank you. What's
:04:33. > :04:39.so special about winning gold at Chelsea? It has been very special
:04:40. > :04:50.and flattering for me. I haven't had time to take it in. Is it torture?
:04:51. > :04:57.You know it is. I just want to know what that is and I can sleep! You've
:04:58. > :05:02.won gold for your Homebase garden. An impressive track record. How many
:05:03. > :05:06.golds now, is this on the trot? Six. Six gold medals. Someone told me
:05:07. > :05:09.that you have been up for 48 hours! Something like that! I managed to
:05:10. > :05:14.get a little bit of sleep last night. That's the length you have to
:05:15. > :05:21.go to, isn't it, to win gold here at Chelsea?
:05:22. > :05:26.Gold. Congratulations. Thank you very much.
:05:27. > :05:34.First time at Chelsea and the tender age of? 27. A gold medal. You must
:05:35. > :05:39.be one of the youngest gold medal winners that Chelsea has seen.
:05:40. > :05:43.Fantastic. Thank you very much. You never compromised and this garden is
:05:44. > :05:47.fresh and it is original and well done. Everyone like back at home and
:05:48. > :05:51.the team have all like chipped in and helped out. Yeah, really, really
:05:52. > :05:53.pleased. I can hear in your voice how much this means to you? Yeah,
:05:54. > :06:06.I'm very happy. Well done! Well, here on Main Avenue, the dust
:06:07. > :06:13.and the excitement has died down and this garden here, Waterscape has
:06:14. > :06:18.been awarded a gold medal. What makes it special is that Matthew
:06:19. > :06:28.Bugg is only 26 and this is his first large show garden and it is
:06:29. > :06:33.staggeringly good. It takes the importance of water shortage and
:06:34. > :06:38.picks it up and use the river bed that's dried up. We have watery
:06:39. > :06:42.plants and water trickling through. There is water working on the rust
:06:43. > :06:50.and this glorious river of irises which, of course, are growing out of
:06:51. > :06:54.the wet. Perhaps the white jar is a little, but that's a personal taste.
:06:55. > :07:00.This is a gold medal winning Chelsea Garden by a young man. There is a
:07:01. > :07:13.very, very bright future ahead for him.
:07:14. > :07:17.This garden is called the The Extended Spac Started off as a
:07:18. > :07:22.conceptual garden. It was going to be up there in the Fresh Garden
:07:23. > :07:28.category and they brought it down to Main Avenue and it turned into a
:07:29. > :07:32.classic outdoor room. There is a strong theme running about it. It is
:07:33. > :07:37.about sustainability and climate change. The inspiration comes from a
:07:38. > :07:42.forest in Switzerland and the damage that's been done to the pines over
:07:43. > :07:47.there. They are being depleted. We have a strong pine theme. As if I'm
:07:48. > :07:51.coming out of the woodland here with the pine beams and a pine backdrop
:07:52. > :07:58.over there and as you expect, pine trees are here as well. We have a
:07:59. > :08:05.lovely multi-stemmed pine tree over there. These pines, the lovely domes
:08:06. > :08:10.are being used. Now, you know, a lot of these designers, they have these
:08:11. > :08:14.ideas and grand schemes about the gardens, but I believe with this
:08:15. > :08:20.one, if you understand what it is about, it gives it more depth. They
:08:21. > :08:32.got silver. Well done them. I find it just staggering that this
:08:33. > :08:37.garden for Help For Heroes is his very first show garden. Not only is
:08:38. > :08:41.it moving with its story based around the recovery of soldiers from
:08:42. > :08:45.terrible injuries, but also the way that it is done, it is just a really
:08:46. > :08:48.good garden. I love the way the architecture, it is like a
:08:49. > :08:56.cathedral. There is a nave coming down. The tall hornbeams filled with
:08:57. > :09:01.colour. The intense plum colours of thistles and the lupins and the
:09:02. > :09:08.purples mixed with the whites and the cleanness of it. So your garden
:09:09. > :09:12.is a journey and you come to this end piece which is like another
:09:13. > :09:19.chapel and when you get here, there is a real sense of arrival, but a
:09:20. > :09:21.future. And that's what I get from Matthew's journey as well as the
:09:22. > :09:26.soldiers making their recovery, here is somebody entering out into a
:09:27. > :09:32.journey in garden design and what a way to start!
:09:33. > :09:39.Patrick Collins is no strange tore Chelsea. He has got a pocket full of
:09:40. > :09:43.medals and done some hugely ambitious gardens, but this is close
:09:44. > :09:49.to his heart, this garden. It is called First Touch and it is about
:09:50. > :09:55.premature -- premature babies and their families. He project managed
:09:56. > :10:00.and he had to raise the money. He is exhausted. It is a fabulous garden.
:10:01. > :10:08.It used the rock bank slope and created this stylised landscape and
:10:09. > :10:12.it charts the family's life. As it cascades down through the site, it
:10:13. > :10:16.gets calmer and calmer until it reaches the bottom and with that
:10:17. > :10:25.stylised landscape we've got wetland plants thaw would expect. They have
:10:26. > :10:28.combined beautifully and many people have come to this garden and they've
:10:29. > :10:34.looked at this garden and it is the way it has been reinterpreted this
:10:35. > :10:38.rock bank like that I like so much. You can tell when a designer put
:10:39. > :10:41.their heart and soul into a creation. I think it is fantastic
:10:42. > :10:51.and I hope you love it too. I'm joined by James Alexander
:10:52. > :10:56.Sinclair who is going to talk about some of this year's medal decisions.
:10:57. > :11:08.There are six golds and I think some of them, like for example the
:11:09. > :11:15.Perrier Garden came as no surprise. Some of the others were a bit more
:11:16. > :11:20.interesting, not contentious this year. It is interesting how you come
:11:21. > :11:24.to these decisions. You have changed your process, haven't you? We've
:11:25. > :11:28.changed the way that garden judging happens. It is more methodical and
:11:29. > :11:31.we're trying to make sure that everybody understands the way we do
:11:32. > :11:37.it rather than that this illusion that people have had that the RHS is
:11:38. > :11:43.all secretive and we want to fling it open and say, "Right, this is
:11:44. > :11:49.what you have got to do if you want to get a gold medal. " Do you
:11:50. > :11:55.compare gardens as you judge? You are judging each garden to this
:11:56. > :11:58.particular criteria, but there is a chap called the moderator and he is
:11:59. > :12:03.not a voting judge and his job is to make sure you are consistent and he
:12:04. > :12:08.will tap the chairman a say xous me, you have given a gold medal to that,
:12:09. > :12:11.look at that one you did three gardens ago. You start off and you
:12:12. > :12:16.get more and more excited and it changes. His job is to pull the
:12:17. > :12:19.reigns back sometimes. That's the thing. Some people go around the
:12:20. > :12:25.gardens and they compare a gold medal and a silver gilt and they say
:12:26. > :12:30.why did that get a silver, but that one got a gold? Because this one
:12:31. > :12:35.looks better. You have to make a judgement across-the-board whether
:12:36. > :12:38.you feel you have got it correct. It worked. It has worked. The new
:12:39. > :12:43.system worked across-the-board and I think that it is fair. The six gold
:12:44. > :12:48.medals out there. That's right. They have gun generous with them in the
:12:49. > :12:57.-- they have been generous with them in the past. You gave a gold medal
:12:58. > :13:02.to Adam Frost, but I didn't think it was as lovely as the other gold
:13:03. > :13:07.medals? It is as lovely. The full mark is 36 points. That's a range.
:13:08. > :13:13.There is a range in there. Adam fell within that range. Have you been in
:13:14. > :13:19.Adam's garden? I haven't, no. I actually, I know Adam will kill me
:13:20. > :13:24.for saying this, I know him well, but I thought that was a silver. He
:13:25. > :13:27.got golds in the past and I was worried it was his reputation. I
:13:28. > :13:33.wasn't sure about the range of plants and the variety of plants and
:13:34. > :13:37.colours. It becomes subjective, but the plants didn't have time to relax
:13:38. > :13:43.because he was up against it at the last minute, but it was maybe bowled
:13:44. > :13:48.one of them over. You look around, are you saying you have to get in to
:13:49. > :13:53.be able to judge it? Yes, you do. The public can't do that? No, the
:13:54. > :13:57.public can't. We're doing that on their behalf and you will take the
:13:58. > :14:02.public inside so they can see it. What about where you give someone a
:14:03. > :14:08.bronze which is a tough thing to do? I have had a bronze at Chelsea. It
:14:09. > :14:14.was a lovely garden too, I remember. Does it have to be about across the
:14:15. > :14:17.board or does one thing take it down? A number of little things that
:14:18. > :14:21.take it down. You don't walk into the garden and think oh my goodness
:14:22. > :14:25.this is a bronze garden. You go through the process, it is the same
:14:26. > :14:31.process. We try and keep it as scientific and as fair as possible.
:14:32. > :14:35.I know for the exhibitors, a medal can be the be all and end all, but a
:14:36. > :14:44.bronze garden can give as much pleasure as a gold medal garden,
:14:45. > :14:49.can't it? It can. As you will probably already know, 2014 marks
:14:50. > :14:54.the centenary of the beginning of World War I and this highly
:14:55. > :14:59.significant and poignant date has motivated a number of exhibitors
:15:00. > :15:07.here at Chelsea to commemorate it. Amongst them is No Man's Land, a
:15:08. > :15:12.show garden by first-time designer Charlotte Rowe. We joined her as she
:15:13. > :15:14.visited the Somme in France, a battlefield that provided highly
:15:15. > :15:35.personal inspiration for her garden. We are standing in a field at a spot
:15:36. > :15:39.where my grandfather, who was 19 at the time, would have been one of
:15:40. > :15:47.many people planning on getting ready to go over the top in July,
:15:48. > :15:50.1916. He and another 1,000 people from his Renment would have moved
:15:51. > :15:54.across to the German lines, some survived, some didn't. Around 20,000
:15:55. > :16:00.people died that day. He was lucky to come back.
:16:01. > :16:04.He was wounded, he was shot through the chest, through his back. He did
:16:05. > :16:09.get as far as the German lines, we know that. Then he hid and then was
:16:10. > :16:16.able then to start making his way back wounded. He was within moments
:16:17. > :16:21.of being blown up by German shell because he arrived back after it had
:16:22. > :16:24.blown and one of his comrades was less fortunate and he describes how
:16:25. > :16:27.they tried to make the best of it for this poor man, gave him a
:16:28. > :16:33.cigarette and tried to prop him up and how he remained cheerful to the
:16:34. > :16:37.end. He did say this instant bore on him more than anything else that
:16:38. > :16:43.happened in his time in the trenches of the futility and beast
:16:44. > :16:46.beastliness as it called it of war. It's an amazing feeling standing
:16:47. > :16:51.here on-the-spot where he probably went over, more or less, give or
:16:52. > :16:55.take a few yards. This landscape of the Somme has
:16:56. > :17:01.really informed and influenced my garden. There's traces of mine
:17:02. > :17:04.craters. There is traces of trenches and tunnelling. But it's all almost
:17:05. > :17:13.like a silent landscape because a lot is going on under the ground.
:17:14. > :17:18.We are in a very secret place, it's secret because this is not open to
:17:19. > :17:23.the public. This is an area which is part of farmer's land and they've
:17:24. > :17:30.left it to be as it is. You can see the zigzags of trenches as they were
:17:31. > :17:35.dug 100 years ago. We have used this in a way as sort of inspiration for
:17:36. > :17:40.the way we have excavated our garden to have undulating mounds running
:17:41. > :17:44.around the rear part of the garden with grass and wild flowers sort of
:17:45. > :17:48.reinhabited. It's just the pattern and the way the light plays on the
:17:49. > :17:49.grass which is absolutely amazing. You can see it's just beautiful with
:17:50. > :18:20.the trees coming through. The cemetaries were not just put
:18:21. > :18:30.somewhere, they were built where the men died and I think that's really
:18:31. > :18:36.important. This is the memorial to the missing
:18:37. > :18:40.of the Somme. Many, many men are commemorated here.
:18:41. > :18:47.It's really quite poignant. We have come across these two panels which
:18:48. > :18:51.mark the names of the people from my grandfather's regiment, the
:18:52. > :18:58.Middlesex regiment, I have even seen a name I recognise from his memoirs,
:18:59. > :19:02.and he died in the conflict, he obviously had no resting place and
:19:03. > :19:12.he is commemorated here, which is very sad.
:19:13. > :19:22.about the past, it's about the future and the present. It's called
:19:23. > :19:26.No Man's Land because it tries to configure that when people come
:19:27. > :19:29.through conflict, just in the way that landscape can regenerate and
:19:30. > :19:35.heal after terrible scarring, that the human spirit and the human body
:19:36. > :19:38.can come back and overcome and regenerate and find a new life after
:19:39. > :19:50.conflict. I am here with Charlotte on her
:19:51. > :19:55.garden and Charlotte, first of all, congratulations. Thank you. Gold
:19:56. > :19:57.medal, you must be delighted. Delighted and relieved after months
:19:58. > :20:01.of work, it's been a journey. This has been a difficult garden top do,
:20:02. > :20:04.I imagine. Technically very difficult. If ever I do a show
:20:05. > :20:09.garden again there are going to be no slopes and curves, it's almost
:20:10. > :20:14.impossible planting this in a show garden context. It is always amazing
:20:15. > :20:16.to see gardens planted as naturalistically as the slope
:20:17. > :20:21.behind. It's also full naturalistically as the slope
:20:22. > :20:26.aforeand mean -- metaphor and meaning. There is a lot of symbols.
:20:27. > :20:31.The curves are obviously indicating the undulating of traces of trenches
:20:32. > :20:33.and tunnelling work. We have got a poppy or two although we
:20:34. > :20:37.and tunnelling work. We have got a made a big thing about that at the
:20:38. > :20:43.edges. We have used wild rose, before the poppy became a symbol for
:20:44. > :20:47.the World War I, the rose was something very much associated with
:20:48. > :20:53.the men coming back. And the crater is the - the mine crater is there.
:20:54. > :20:57.All the craters you see now on the Western Front are teeming with life
:20:58. > :21:03.and vibrant again. The wall is like a trench wall but not actually a
:21:04. > :21:10.trench wall, it's conceptual. But the main feature here is meant to be
:21:11. > :21:17.like - I suppose a bunk or a box or even the trench. There is a strong
:21:18. > :21:20.personal element for you, is this now completion on that, these things
:21:21. > :21:24.are important in one's life? It's not so much closure, I found my
:21:25. > :21:28.grandfather's memoirs, I knew him terribly well. He wrote about his
:21:29. > :21:31.experience but saw the funny side of everything. I found them and thought
:21:32. > :21:36.this is amazing. He went over the top on the first day of the Battle
:21:37. > :21:41.of the Somme, 1st July, 1916, 19 years old, shot, survived, came back
:21:42. > :21:45.and went out and ended up working with Monty in North Africa in the
:21:46. > :21:49.Second World War. Also, at the same time, my grandmother who I didn't
:21:50. > :21:52.know, she got a military medal for nursing for bravery in the war.
:21:53. > :21:55.There is a real personal tie. That's the same of everybody in this
:21:56. > :21:59.country. We all have a personal tie to the World War I. You have managed
:22:00. > :22:03.to translate all that into a garden. Will you be coming back to Chelsea?
:22:04. > :22:07.I don't know, we shall see. All right, I think it's wonderful. I am
:22:08. > :22:20.sure the public will both enjoy the garden and the story behind it.
:22:21. > :22:27.Can you imagine the huge amount of work that's gone into putting on
:22:28. > :22:31.these wonderful displays in the Great Pavilion? People have been
:22:32. > :22:38.working all year and it's all been about today. Today is medals day.
:22:39. > :22:41.It's usually -- it's hugely important for every exhibitor, it's
:22:42. > :23:04.particularly significant if this is your very first time.
:23:05. > :23:11.For Brighter Blooms of Preston this is their first Chelsea. Matthew, I
:23:12. > :23:14.met you five years ago when you were doing your first display. That's
:23:15. > :23:22.right. Up north. This is looking magnificent. Thank you. You have won
:23:23. > :23:27.a silver gilt for your first Chelsea. That's right. This plant
:23:28. > :23:31.has been shortlisted for the Chelsea Plant of the Year, 2014. It's got
:23:32. > :23:36.into the top 20. Fantastic. Two reasons to celebrate. It's been
:23:37. > :23:40.fantastic. I love the display. It really shows the public exactly what
:23:41. > :23:45.the range of these wonderful flowers are. Tell us about cultivating them.
:23:46. > :23:48.They're not hardy, are they? Fine outside in the garden during the
:23:49. > :23:53.summer on the patio, warm sheltered location. But they do need to come
:23:54. > :23:58.in during the winter for frost protection. No water at all. None at
:23:59. > :24:03.all? None in the winter, completely dry. They'll get through and sprout
:24:04. > :24:09.again next year. Next spring you bring them on with gentle watering?
:24:10. > :24:14.Ideally a warmer location, greenhouse or window sill. This week
:24:15. > :24:22.has been ideal. Brilliant. Well done. Thank you very much. Another
:24:23. > :24:28.first-timer is the City of Cape Town who have won a silver gilt medal,
:24:29. > :24:32.not bad for your first display. It's composed of a sort of tapestry made
:24:33. > :24:40.up of cut blooms. All flowers which are typical of South Africa.
:24:41. > :24:41.Including their national flower. It's a glorious display of texture
:24:42. > :25:05.and colour. First-timers Drointon Nursery have a
:25:06. > :25:09.wonderful display. Silver gilt. Congratulations, it's a brilliant
:25:10. > :25:12.achievement. It's always nice to get the top award, sometimes the weather
:25:13. > :25:18.doesn't work for you and it's been a bit warm over the last few days
:25:19. > :25:22.since we have been setting up. They're intriguing and beautiful.
:25:23. > :25:26.It's a dmrorious display. Well -- glorious display. Well done. Thank
:25:27. > :25:33.you very much. This time the story's a bit different. They've been
:25:34. > :25:36.exhibiting at Chelsea for a number of years, but this is their first
:25:37. > :25:40.gold medal. How are you feeling about it, Jane? Elated. It's been a
:25:41. > :25:44.long time overdue, I think. You felt a bit frustrated in past years,
:25:45. > :25:49.haven't you about not winning the gold? I have been very frustrated in
:25:50. > :25:53.the past years, but we try and put in a selection of the different
:25:54. > :25:57.climbers. When the judges are judging, they like the wow factor
:25:58. > :26:01.and want the flower. We always do like to put something different in.
:26:02. > :26:06.We have sneaked a few in. What did you feel like doing last year when
:26:07. > :26:10.you didn't get gold? I was very, very bad-tempered, I must say. This
:26:11. > :26:15.year we didn't get the gold and I threatened to stand on Chelsea
:26:16. > :26:19.Bridge, throw all the plants in and follow with the clay pots. Not the
:26:20. > :26:24.judges, I am sure? Would have been tempting! It's absolutely brilliant
:26:25. > :26:26.to have your achievement recognised like that. Very well deserved. Thank
:26:27. > :26:40.you very much. Well done. Every Chelsea is a mixture of
:26:41. > :26:45.disappointments and triumphs. But regardless of which awards, all
:26:46. > :26:49.these exhibitors get, we should thank them all for putting on such a
:26:50. > :27:05.superb and memorable show. Anybody exhibiting in the Great
:27:06. > :27:09.Pavilion for the first time has to hit the floor running because
:27:10. > :27:21.competition to grow the best is fierce, something Tim Penrose knows
:27:22. > :27:28.well, not many go from working in a funeral parlour to buying up a hosta
:27:29. > :27:40.and then a fern nursery. Not satisfied with two businesses, he is
:27:41. > :27:47.-- showkadz casing his newest acquisition. I wanted to leave
:27:48. > :27:57.school. It's good to never be satisfied and that drive comes
:27:58. > :28:03.partially from my parents. Bowden Hostas had been owned by my
:28:04. > :28:06.parents. I could see that there was perhaps a new approach. My way
:28:07. > :28:10.wasn't always the right way. There were lots of fiascos, lots of things
:28:11. > :28:20.that didn't go to plan. But I was always trying to find different ways
:28:21. > :28:23.of doing things. After we found how things worked over the first three
:28:24. > :28:27.or four years we wanted to expand and it seemed sensible to expand
:28:28. > :28:32.into something else that was a suitable plant and ferns for me, I
:28:33. > :28:37.got excited by Ferns, one of the things that I really got excited
:28:38. > :28:40.about were tree ferns, partially because they're architecturely
:28:41. > :28:46.stunning and I realised there wasn't just the one type of tree fern but
:28:47. > :28:51.all sorts of exotic tree ferns. The black tree fern has been recorded as
:28:52. > :28:56.growing 18 inches in one year over in Ireland.
:28:57. > :29:02.Running a business is like riding a bicycle, you have to keep pedalling,
:29:03. > :29:08.otherwise you are going to fall off. It was important for us to have a
:29:09. > :29:13.next challenge. Then I saw some bamboos in the garden, they're
:29:14. > :29:17.tactile, impressive, tall, they wave in the wind which I thought was fun.
:29:18. > :29:25.I loved the fact that it was different. Then I started talking to
:29:26. > :29:28.Paul Whitaker, a legend in bamboo. This normally, as far as I have
:29:29. > :29:33.read, is a runner but it doesn't look like it's running here very
:29:34. > :29:39.fast. Well, it's all about maturity. It stayed as a tight clump probably
:29:40. > :29:46.for, let's say, ten, 15 years, maybe longer. It's now starting to mature.
:29:47. > :29:51.I like them because they're tactile. You have got the strength and you
:29:52. > :29:57.have got the Dell Cassie of some of the fine finest -- the delicacy of
:29:58. > :30:01.some of the finest leaves. But they're evergreen. The noise in the
:30:02. > :30:06.wind is a reason people actually buy them. When you are surrounded by
:30:07. > :30:15.them it's extremely soothing and you virtually hear nothing else, apart
:30:16. > :30:20.from maybe the birds. I always call the gold medals horticultural
:30:21. > :30:24.Oscars. We have won nine gold medals and the last two years we added
:30:25. > :30:29.Oscars. We have won nine gold medals fern. So we did a hostas and fern
:30:30. > :30:31.double. This year, we're going to go for three golds.
:30:32. > :30:39.How did you get on? We didn't manage a gold on the bamboo, but sometimes
:30:40. > :30:45.you win and sometimes you learn! It is great to be at Chelsea exhibiting
:30:46. > :30:51.bamboo and even to be exhibiting with PW who knows his bamboo. Paul,
:30:52. > :30:58.you are the bamboo specialist, have you brought some new varieties? It
:30:59. > :31:03.is a big first. There are a group of clump forming bamboos. So it is
:31:04. > :31:09.doubling the amount available to the public. People have got this fear.
:31:10. > :31:17.They have no fear at all because there is a wide choice of clumpers.
:31:18. > :31:26.Give us some examples? When this matures, it has sky blue cones.
:31:27. > :31:30.That's a beauty. Very dark and very hardy and tried and tested because
:31:31. > :31:35.we have had three hard winters over the last four years. I like to use
:31:36. > :31:39.them to create peuf assy without too much -- privacy without too much
:31:40. > :31:45.shade. Overlooking windows, extensions. It is a big seller. And
:31:46. > :31:58.that whole exotic look as well. Tim, what about some flowers? I don't do
:31:59. > :32:02.flowers, Tim. It is an honour to be working on the bamboos. It is beyond
:32:03. > :32:09.the obsessive and it is fun and that's what it is about. I want to
:32:10. > :32:15.work with great people. There is a lot of work to do next year. I'm
:32:16. > :32:17.looking for great people. Thank you very much.
:32:18. > :32:23.Each night this week, I'm going to be joined by people from different
:32:24. > :32:31.creative backgrounds to share their view of Chelsea. Tonight, the
:32:32. > :32:36.designers Wayne and Geraldine Hemmingway are my guests. You are no
:32:37. > :32:42.strangers to Chelsea? We had our show garden here in 2009. It was
:32:43. > :32:46.only a little small plot, but it was our take on a community garden which
:32:47. > :32:50.was more than garden, it was about exercise and getting out there and
:32:51. > :32:58.getting involved in an allotment environment. We were doing a housing
:32:59. > :33:02.development in gates head and we wanted to design something for the
:33:03. > :33:05.council. We have known and one of the big things about the housing we
:33:06. > :33:08.do is the importance of having outdoor space. Especially now in
:33:09. > :33:11.Britain house sizes are so small. You have got to be able to get
:33:12. > :33:15.outside of the you have got to have that release. So coming here you can
:33:16. > :33:20.see new ideas and the compact gardens and it is useful as
:33:21. > :33:25.inspiration for designers, not just for gardeners, for all sorts of
:33:26. > :33:28.designers, there is inspiration. I know you are keen gardeners, aren't
:33:29. > :33:34.you? You have a beautiful garden and you love it? Yeah, I mean, you know,
:33:35. > :33:39.as a family, we can't wait to get outside all the time. We have a
:33:40. > :33:46.beautiful house, but having a house that flows into the garden and
:33:47. > :33:51.Geraldine delivered awes us a wonderful life and the family flowed
:33:52. > :33:55.out into it. It is an extension of the house. We've lots going on from
:33:56. > :33:59.the barbecue area... All our kids have grown up. But as soon as the
:34:00. > :34:03.weather is fine they will want to come back. It is not to come back
:34:04. > :34:08.and slob around in the house in front of the television, it is to
:34:09. > :34:13.eat and to play and to relive their youth. So when you come to Chelsea,
:34:14. > :34:18.as professional designers and as gardeners, what are you looking for?
:34:19. > :34:21.What do you look for? I look at the garden, the planting schemes and the
:34:22. > :34:28.colour things that are going through, but I think I look for, I'm
:34:29. > :34:34.not sure I look for inspiration, but sometimes things maybe you could do
:34:35. > :34:39.things better. I don't know. That's very Geraldine. Because we have a
:34:40. > :34:42.philosophy about design is about improving things that matter. This
:34:43. > :34:46.matters. The things that are talked about and exhibited here matters in
:34:47. > :34:53.life a lot. You are naturally critics and you go around and start
:34:54. > :34:57.to say, "That could be done like that or that feels old-fashioned."
:34:58. > :35:01.Are you talking about individual gardens or the whole show?
:35:02. > :35:05.Individual gardens. I look at the restaurant and I think this could be
:35:06. > :35:09.done better. I look at the menu. You look at the show as a whole. You are
:35:10. > :35:13.concentrating more because of your love of plants and of gardens and
:35:14. > :35:21.I'm looking at it, I'm looking at what people are wearing. I like your
:35:22. > :35:25.denim suit today, sir! You are focussing in and that's the way you
:35:26. > :35:30.work together? Yes. You complement each other? Yes.
:35:31. > :35:34.Do you think anyone designer can apply themselves across the whole
:35:35. > :35:37.board? Can garden design relate to clothes and that sort of thing? Does
:35:38. > :35:42.it affect each other? Well, very much so, I think. Yeah. If you are a
:35:43. > :35:45.creative person, you are thinking about everything. You will know as a
:35:46. > :35:50.creative person that you are walking down the street and you'll think,
:35:51. > :35:53.there could be a stl route to make it safe and you will see a front
:35:54. > :36:03.garden and see that could be done like that and you'll see somebody's
:36:04. > :36:07.hair style and you think,"I quite fancy that next time." Have a walk
:36:08. > :36:22.around and fancy that next time." Have a walk
:36:23. > :36:31.make of it. Yes. Any Anyone successful - although the small
:36:32. > :36:39.gardens are compact, they are impressive. Toby has been looking to
:36:40. > :36:55.see who impressed the judges. There is Joe Thompson. Reachout by John
:36:56. > :37:01.Everest. And LDC's Design, The Mind's Eye which scooped best in
:37:02. > :37:10.designs that caught my eye even designs that caught my eye even
:37:11. > :37:18.though they missed out on gold. This garden won a silver gilt and I love
:37:19. > :37:26.it particularly the planting. It has the chocolately tones to the fennel
:37:27. > :37:34.to the iris and roses. This is western west cedar. It is a caramel
:37:35. > :37:40.colour but, it will turn a more George Clooney shade of grey. You
:37:41. > :37:54.can lift it up and put it anybody and it would be fabulous. Sophie
:37:55. > :38:01.Walker got a silver medal. This looks like a shipping container and
:38:02. > :38:06.when you look inside you are greeted by a jumble of plants. They are not
:38:07. > :38:10.positioned conventionally. This is a view into the wilderness. The work
:38:11. > :38:13.in this has been over decades, going out into the wild and collecting
:38:14. > :38:17.seed from where it grows on out into the wild and collecting
:38:18. > :38:20.tops and in gullies. Perhaps the judges awarded this garden silver
:38:21. > :38:26.because it is before its time or just a little too conceptual, but I
:38:27. > :38:31.love it. Here, amongst the hustle and bustle of Chelsea, it is like a
:38:32. > :38:35.telly port machine taking you off into the wild!
:38:36. > :38:43.The artisan gardens are always so popular with the crowds and this
:38:44. > :38:50.year two got a gold medal. There is DialAFlight Potter?s Garden and this
:38:51. > :38:57.by Kazuyuki Ishihara which got Best in Show.
:38:58. > :39:03.This garden is just a triumph. It got silver gilt, but it is beautiful
:39:04. > :39:11.and well crafted. I love the topiary and the while planting even more.
:39:12. > :39:16.There is also an element of realism here. See these lupins, but when
:39:17. > :39:20.they are over and because they are grown in pots, they can be replaced
:39:21. > :39:24.by something else. There is that real element, the crowds here at
:39:25. > :39:30.Chelsea will enjoy the most. This building, with its ancient scraped
:39:31. > :39:38.brick work, was built for the show. Isn't that magic?
:39:39. > :39:44.The roof garden by David Lewis got a bronze medal, but that doesn't mean
:39:45. > :39:49.it is not beautiful. In fact, it is unique, the colour palate used is
:39:50. > :39:58.bright and vibrant. Here, there are tenders plants, subtropical
:39:59. > :40:02.specimens and this, kay Nairy island Cranes Bill. The plants work for
:40:03. > :40:08.David, and he has chosen them because the more storeys you rise up
:40:09. > :40:13.on a building, the less chance your garden is to be frosted. It is
:40:14. > :40:17.perfect for the roof gardens of Kensington.
:40:18. > :40:23.The judges here at Chelsea have such a difficult job. I think they have
:40:24. > :40:28.done it well because some gardens don't just stand up against the
:40:29. > :40:33.strict judging criteria. As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of
:40:34. > :40:35.the be holder and the gardens here at Chelsea are certainly very
:40:36. > :40:53.beautiful. Well, here, a huge congratulations
:40:54. > :40:56.to Dibbley's Nurseries. I know Monty has been smitten by these and
:40:57. > :41:00.started to grow a few varieties. This one, Christina, is my
:41:01. > :41:07.favourite. It is gorgeous. It has a very well setty, purple flower on
:41:08. > :41:16.it. These begonias are intriguing. It is all about the foliage. This
:41:17. > :41:21.has a snail-shaped leaf. Over here, this one, this stumps me. Do I like
:41:22. > :41:27.it? Do I not like it? I know it is hairy and even a little bit scary
:41:28. > :41:36.somehow! Now, nestling amidst the sea of flora is Robinson's Nursery.
:41:37. > :41:43.This family business is run by Margaret and Susan whose ambition is
:41:44. > :41:47.to keep the strict standards set by their father and offer the next
:41:48. > :41:58.generation of vegetable growers something extra.
:41:59. > :42:09.We're the fifth generation. Prior to this, they have all been William
:42:10. > :42:14.Robinsons, but in our generation, there's Margaret and I. And then, my
:42:15. > :42:19.son is the next generation after that. Which we feel is very
:42:20. > :42:28.important. You know, to keep the line going, to keep it totally
:42:29. > :42:36.controlled over what we do. Chelsea was the exciting show. Father used
:42:37. > :42:38.to hold it in such high esteam. It is Chelsea. It is as it is today
:42:39. > :42:46.really. The old displays, well, they were 60
:42:47. > :42:53.feet long. Two-tiers. Huge arches of onions and pillars of leeks and
:42:54. > :42:58.everything is very straight. Lots and lots of straight lines. It is.
:42:59. > :43:05.And everything very balanced you know, one there and one there. It is
:43:06. > :43:10.slightly architectural I suppose and that really is not our style these
:43:11. > :43:17.days. One of the reasons we started to take plants is you know, we have
:43:18. > :43:22.got customers looking at a cone of tomatoes and saying, "How do you
:43:23. > :43:24.grow them like that?" Yes. LAUGHTER
:43:25. > :43:29.We thought well we need to show people, no, they don't grow like or
:43:30. > :43:33.in a little plastic tray! They grow on a plant so let's take the plant
:43:34. > :43:41.which is what we do. We said, well, we've got a nice plant, let's put it
:43:42. > :43:51.in a big pot and it worked, didn't it? Yes, it works. Nobody complains
:43:52. > :43:55.they can't grow a cone of tomatoes! These days people are looking for
:43:56. > :44:05.things on different criteria, can I grow it? Can I eat it? Does it taste
:44:06. > :44:09.nice? Is it viable? ? Is it do-able? Any vegetable that meets those,
:44:10. > :44:13.these it, that's what people are going to grow. It doesn't matter
:44:14. > :44:18.that it's not the traditional cabbage, carrots, potatoes, anything
:44:19. > :44:24.from any part of the world is do-able. Like our displays have to
:44:25. > :44:29.move with the times. Everything has to move along and go with the era
:44:30. > :44:36.you're living in because sometimes change is good. We have a new purple
:44:37. > :44:41.podded pea and it is a modern take on the old-fashioned Heritage
:44:42. > :44:49.Variety. Just takes up less space and it is a lovely sweet sugar snap.
:44:50. > :45:00.One of the things we always put on and it's old-fashioned is the green
:45:01. > :45:07.curly Kale and fantastic flavour and easy to grow on a balcony, ledge,
:45:08. > :45:12.and it's a super food. Absolutely full of vitamins, like spinach which
:45:13. > :45:17.creeps into how people's choice is today.
:45:18. > :45:24.Father and grandfather always expected you to be as good and do as
:45:25. > :45:28.absolutely as well as you possibly could. With everything. With
:45:29. > :45:36.everything. Whatever you do it had to be good. We love gold medals,
:45:37. > :45:39.everyone loves gold medals, that little circle of gold is
:45:40. > :45:47.magnificent, but the medal is half the award. The other half of the a
:45:48. > :45:50.award is meeting the public and getting feedback and seeing what
:45:51. > :45:58.they think. When the visitors come to the show on day one and say, wow,
:45:59. > :46:08.love this and that, whatever award we have won, it's doubled.
:46:09. > :46:12.You say that the reaction from the public doubles the value of the
:46:13. > :46:20.medal. If you double the value of your medal what have you got? We got
:46:21. > :46:26.a silver gilt, so if we double it's gold plus? Gold-plus. I always love
:46:27. > :46:30.visiting your stand. I love growing vegetables, I have grown up with the
:46:31. > :46:37.generation and you saw them in rows, it was part of a treat like a show
:46:38. > :46:41.in Chelsea Chelsea. You have had to adapt, how does that go down with
:46:42. > :46:48.the public? Really very well. The public like to see something
:46:49. > :46:53.growing. Not just vegetables in ranks, something a little bit more
:46:54. > :46:58.less formal. Do people still think things grow in the arrangement you
:46:59. > :47:04.have got there? You see everybody has a patio container and that's the
:47:05. > :47:08.way forward, start with containers. The really important thing is are
:47:09. > :47:12.you getting young people interested in vegetable growing? Yes, most
:47:13. > :47:20.definitely. The younger people are willing to try something different.
:47:21. > :47:23.Not just carrots, onions, and leeks, the established vegetables. I will
:47:24. > :47:28.stop you there, onions, you were going to bring giant onions, what
:47:29. > :47:31.happened? They're not quite ready. We don't like to force them. We
:47:32. > :47:37.don't like to rush them. We like them to grow at their own pace so
:47:38. > :47:47.the next show, there will be one or two. And they'll be at Tatton.
:47:48. > :47:55.Before I go, you have a new flat pea, can I try it? Yes. It looks
:47:56. > :47:59.beautiful and it tastes delicious. It's good, isn't it? Lovely. That's
:48:00. > :48:06.fantastic. Congratulations. And enjoy the rest of Chelsea. Thank you
:48:07. > :48:09.very much indeed, we shall. There are many women making their
:48:10. > :48:13.mark in the Great Pavilion like Susan and Margaret Robinson, but the
:48:14. > :48:19.question is why aren't there so many designing show gardens? I am joined
:48:20. > :48:25.by Anne Marie Powell, whose British Heart Foundation garden in 2011 got
:48:26. > :48:29.a silver and Sarah Eberle, your Monaco garden was a classic. This
:48:30. > :48:32.year there's five women on Main Avenue, and that's high
:48:33. > :48:36.proportionately. But the question is why are there not more women here?
:48:37. > :48:39.It's funny, it's not something in the past I have really thought about
:48:40. > :48:42.because I see all designers as my colleagues, whether they're male or
:48:43. > :48:46.female. It's an interesting point. I do think there should be more women.
:48:47. > :48:51.Why aren't they there? Sometimes I wonder whether it's about their
:48:52. > :48:56.ability to have a better life balance. It consumes your life.
:48:57. > :49:02.Maybe it's not that important to them in terms of their overall
:49:03. > :49:06.balance of life. They talk about... Lots of women, it's a huge ambition
:49:07. > :49:10.to have a garden on the Main Avenue at Chelsea, if women want to be
:49:11. > :49:15.there, we want to encourage them. In the real world there's probably more
:49:16. > :49:19.women designers than men. Why aren't they represented at Chelsea? You
:49:20. > :49:24.have two young kids, is that a factor do you think when designing a
:49:25. > :49:27.show garden? It's all-consumer. I two have two children but I work
:49:28. > :49:31.full-time and men have children too and they're here. I don't think
:49:32. > :49:35.that's a factor at all. Not at all. Sarah, you are here this year and
:49:36. > :49:38.you have a garden here. I have a small garden having only ever done
:49:39. > :49:44.Main Avenue gardens at Chelsea, I have returned with a six-metre
:49:45. > :49:47.square garden. It is a huge challenge. It's far more difficult
:49:48. > :49:53.designing and building a small garden. There is nowhere to hide. I
:49:54. > :49:59.have had probably far more stress than building the Monaco garden.
:50:00. > :50:05.It's been a learning curve. We are going to see you back here, Anne
:50:06. > :50:10.Marie? I would be delighted, yeah and hopefully you will be here too,
:50:11. > :50:13.yeah, together. We need to readdress this issue and try and encourage
:50:14. > :50:17.more women to come down here, no doubt about that. Absolutely. You
:50:18. > :50:20.have to get out there and do it, all of us!
:50:21. > :50:24.Earlier Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway joined us for a chat about
:50:25. > :50:28.the horticultural spectacle that is the Chelsea Flower Show. Before they
:50:29. > :50:29.left they promised to let us tag along as they looked around the
:50:30. > :50:42.show. I like this one. The sense of the
:50:43. > :50:47.scale and size and planting scheme and everything on this is really
:50:48. > :50:50.nice. There's one thing about the possibility overuse of marble, it
:50:51. > :50:54.seems to be going on in every garden. It's an unusual thing, there
:50:55. > :50:58.is a generation that love polished stone and marble and it feels you
:50:59. > :51:02.have arrived, it feels rich and luxurious, but to a new generation
:51:03. > :51:07.coming through it feels the opposite of that. It feels like you are
:51:08. > :51:10.trying too hard and people want things more natural and we are on
:51:11. > :51:17.the cusp of that change at the moment.
:51:18. > :51:21.This is commemorating 100 years since the outbreak of the World War
:51:22. > :51:26.I. It feels like it's been here 100 years. It does. Look at the could be
:51:27. > :51:32.tras -- contrast between the form and function of the Telegraph garden
:51:33. > :51:36.to this, it's a quantity recycled - everything is upcycled. It makes
:51:37. > :51:42.even me want to roll up my sleeves and you could say, Wayne, do this.
:51:43. > :51:46.It shows how timeless design can feel right. It's gone back to the
:51:47. > :51:51.values that were important then that are just as important today. It's
:51:52. > :51:58.really nice. Inspirational, no wonder it's won gold.
:51:59. > :52:04.Talking to the two young designers of this, they're 26 and 23, they've
:52:05. > :52:11.summed up the generational shift going on. They wanted to talk about
:52:12. > :52:18.the afteruse, it's being recycled and going to an you a tips tick
:52:19. > :52:23.centre. -- autistic centre. The use of the stones. There is imperfection
:52:24. > :52:26.everywhere. It's brilliant. That's the difference between something
:52:27. > :52:30.that's too perfect and something that's imperfect that's beautifully
:52:31. > :52:32.conceived. The planting scheme is great, as well. Really lovely. Yeah,
:52:33. > :52:44.this is us. It seems pretty apt that two young
:52:45. > :52:48.designers, 26 and 23-year-old, have captured what design is all about at
:52:49. > :52:52.the moment, about reuse, about natural. I just love the way this
:52:53. > :52:57.has more fluidity about it. A lot of the other gardens are just too
:52:58. > :53:02.formal and too precise. This can be broken down and be used in so many
:53:03. > :53:08.different ways yet still look as beautiful as here at Chelsea.
:53:09. > :53:11.Some interesting thoughts there from Wayne and Geraldine about Chelsea
:53:12. > :53:15.and the limited life of some of the show gardens. We will pick up on
:53:16. > :53:19.that idea on Friday as some of the gardens go on to have a second life.
:53:20. > :53:24.Every year on Main Avenue one large gold medal-winning show garden is
:53:25. > :53:27.chosen by the RHS judges to win the highest horticultural award there is
:53:28. > :53:41.at Chelsea. It's called Best in Show award and
:53:42. > :53:46.this year it was given to Luciano. Congratulations. What I want to know
:53:47. > :53:50.is what it took, what you think has made this garden better than any
:53:51. > :53:55.others? What work had to go into it? This is a special garden for me
:53:56. > :54:03.personally. It's my third garden here at Chelsea. With each garden
:54:04. > :54:09.what I found is you are going deeper in your understanding about yourself
:54:10. > :54:14.and with under stand understanding it's courage to make decisions and
:54:15. > :54:21.come out of your normal vocabularly and to try up this nings and ideas.
:54:22. > :54:30.What new -- to try new things and ideas. What have you tried? The
:54:31. > :54:35.trajectory, the cross and through that I met James and I worked with
:54:36. > :54:42.him and it has that essence, not just about flowers, but about values
:54:43. > :54:45.and about the way we work. What you seem to be saying, which is
:54:46. > :54:53.interesting to me, is that you have to develop as a person before your
:54:54. > :54:55.work can develop? Totally. You cannot separate that from work. It's
:54:56. > :55:03.a trajectory of collective people, cannot separate that from work. It's
:55:04. > :55:04.of sharing moments, not just in horticultural and in flowers but in
:55:05. > :55:12.moments in talking about and giving you something. One of the
:55:13. > :55:16.things that's often talked about is attention to detail. Is that
:55:17. > :55:22.something that you really focus on? I think this is very Italian to say
:55:23. > :55:31.so, the stonework is only one stone and it's cut in different ways.
:55:32. > :55:35.There are 270 millimetre of hand split faces and I suppose it's
:55:36. > :55:38.important to us. In terms of planting which I know is
:55:39. > :55:42.part of your development, part of your journey, what did you try and
:55:43. > :55:51.achieve with the flowers you have used? The first thing for me was
:55:52. > :55:58.coral, yellow and the plant, lupins as long as I can see them. Why
:55:59. > :56:02.lupins? Fergus was working with them and I thought they're beautiful
:56:03. > :56:07.plants. So it was from that moment of the moment of seeing it there. I
:56:08. > :56:14.really wanted to see the lupins in the beds. The secret of being Best
:56:15. > :56:25.in Show is personal development and lupins! Fantastic. We spotted a new
:56:26. > :56:40.and welcome phenomenon today, some of the biggest and broadest of
:56:41. > :56:43.smiles. Fabulous. That was really lovely.
:56:44. > :57:04.Congratulations. Thank you. I think this is fantastic. Really
:57:05. > :57:24.very special. I dressed for the occasion. Yeah! Hip-hip-horray!
:57:25. > :57:34.It was beautiful. It's been quite a day. But that's
:57:35. > :57:39.all we have time for tonight. The judges may have had their say today
:57:40. > :57:47.by awarding the best, but did you agree? You can cast your vote for
:57:48. > :57:53.your favourite large show garden in the BBC RHS People's Choice Award.
:57:54. > :57:58.If you press your red button after the show you will find an in-depth
:57:59. > :58:01.look at five of the gardens. You will need to keep watching every
:58:02. > :58:05.day, on Thursday you can decide which garden to vote for. We will be
:58:06. > :58:17.announcing the winning garden on Friday night. Nicki and Andy will be
:58:18. > :58:23.back tomorrow afternoon at 3.00pm on BBC1 with Darcey Bussell and her
:58:24. > :58:35.mum. Joe and I will see you tomorrow at 8.00pm on BBC2. See you