Episode 9 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

It is the first show at the weekend slots cannot wait to get in. Where

have you come from? Australia. What have you come to see? The gardens.

Have a very nice day. I promise you, no rain. There has literally been a

stampede to get through. Had he been here before? It is my third time. Is

this your first time? My second. I've been here once 15 years ago. It

is another day of floral celebration.

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

supported by M investments. We?re amidst crowds enjoying

the show gardens. On Tuesday the RHS judges decided

that The Laurent Perrier garden designed by Luciano Giubbilieu

was their Best in Show but did you agree with that decision?

Would you have chosen differently? Well now you can

because we're giving you the chance to decide which large garden you

think should win the title of the BBC RHS People?s Choice Award.

Here is the voting information. Today's voting day. From the day to

midnight tonight, you will be able to vote for your favourite large

show garden. All you need to do is call this number:

Alternatively, vote online. You can also find our terms and conditions

on the website. Get ready, because here is a reminder of all 16

fantastic gardens, back-to-back. So get voting. So, apologies to any

of you who may already have been looking at nominees earlier today.

All the information was all mine but we had a technical issue earlier

today. And the full list of nominees was not displayed for a short time.

That is now fixed so you can see all the gardens online now. The lines

close at midnight, so make sure you vote before then. Monty and Joe will

be announcing the winner tomorrow night on BBC Two at eight o'clock.

Now all week we?ve been meeting some very familiar faces and asking them

to bring their mums to Chelsea for a look around the show.

We?ve found that it?s often our mums who spark our interest in gardening.

Today we're joined by Countryfile's leading lady Ellie Harrison.

Thank you for coming down. It is a delight here. But what sparks your

passion for the countryside, plants, flowers and wildlife? I started off

in a very rural spot. We lived at the end of each track in a valley

with wildlife all around us. And then we moved. We moved to a house

with an acre of sprawling Arden. It was so big we could not see the

edges. And just when romping through it and enjoy nature that way. We

will meet your mother and a little while but did she inspire you when

it came to gardening? She is really green fingered. I am not the best, I

am more about wild planting and nature, rather than gardening. I am

not particularly green fingered. I learned from her as a goal but she

hasn't great natural knowledge. -- she has great natural knowledge.

What are your memories of your garden when you were little? Weaver

on the side of the steep valley so there was no ball games or anything.

We get lots of handstands. I know that sounds ridiculous! We would

make perfume from grinding up petals. We would test of the goose

breeze, and just muck about. The garden had wild edges, and we would

romp into these minds. It was pretty wild. And as your mum get involved

with your garden or leave you to it? She gets massively involved. But I

have a much bigger space. Again, it is on the side of the valley. And my

aim is to restore the grassland, to bring back wild flowers. So I'm

getting cows in to start the process. I'm not that into the

farming side of it, but they are great for grazing. You looking

forward to looking around Chelsea with your mother? Inspired?

Absolutely. She always has a project on ago and I could do with loads of

help. It a lovely day. What is she going to be looking forward to when

she tours the gardens? We have the Artisan gardens, the pavilion... She

is going to be looking forward to seeing the plants, particularly

things relating to the First World War. She has some rays beds, that is

her current project. Me, I will be looking at the wild flowers. We will

be looking forward to meeting your mother later in the programme.

leading lady Ellie Harrison. This is a great place

for inspiration. But the common question every year

is, how do I take home a little bit of Chelsea magic?

Well it?s all about zooming into the detail and one of the best places to

do that is in a garden on a scale that most people can relate to.

The small garden category. In small gardens, where space is

limited, you have to make the most of every square inch. And that means

using the boundaries. This is a clever trick, huge blocks of

textured granite, which lifts the boundary treatment into a work of

art, it piece of sculpture. And here is a good way to bring more planting

into a small garden. These walls become very fashionable, and the way

they work is that water pours down. Each of these plants is on a shelf

underwater flows down with the nutrients, and then out at the

bottom. You need to think carefully about flooring in a small space

because it normally makes up a big chunk of the design. The typical

thing is to use paving stones, which are all the same size, but you can

mix it up. You can use thin strips and broader pieces. It is

complicated but it is worth it. Paving can feel quite hard and

brutal and a softer, more forgiving material is a self binding gravel

like this. It is warm and friendly, made up of small stones and dust.

And you compact it and wallet and it makes a hard surface. The result was

a few loose stones on the top but it does not get kicked around like

gravel. This edging is the sort of finishing touch that really lifts a

garden. You could make it out of timber, or any other sort of

material, but the idea of separating plants from the path like this is

really good. And it lifts them up and displays them really well.

This is a neat idea to accessorise your garden. You can buy this moss

from a florist and it is pinned into his friends. And then you spray with

water to keep it alive. It is like a work of art. Water can really had an

extra time mentioned to a small garden. And lots of you have been

asking us how to do it. So later on, we will be donning our Doctor

Buckland hats and dispensing wisdom. But it is not just small gardens

that are full of inspiration. There is something to suit everybody in

the great pavilion and this week, The small garden category.

Christine Walkden's has been like a child in

a sweet shop roaming the nurseries, seeking out her top ten plants.

dark green foliage, metallic flowers, silver flowers. Mixed

borders, cut flowers and even in containers. I want to see what they

have got here, and I think it is something very special. Neptune is

gold. What is this about? It is a totally new combination. Instead of

the blue and green that you would expect, yellow foliage which does

not earn in the sun. And eventually, you will get this them turning

electric blue, right the way up to here. The head will go blue, and the

foreigners will stay gold. What a fantastic combination! That is one

hell of a good garden plant. An excellent new plant. Most people

know that I've not like formality flowers, but the sumptuous,

voluptuous elegance of the David Austin Roses means that this plant

has to be included in my ten every year. Michael, why another pink

rose? This is the only via Rose Austin, beautiful in the bud and

even more beautiful when fully open. It flowers repeatedly. Believes set

off the flowers beautifully and it is very healthy. No blackspots or

mildew. And a wonderful with. All roses should have a wonderful

fragrance. -- a wonderful older. This week, Toby has been doing a

sterling job solving in your garden design problems. Thousands of you

have been getting in touch for advice. He has got his work cut out.

It is my mission to help you solve your design dilemmas by looking for

solutions in the Chelsea gardens. And I have had many e-mails relating

to water features. Of course, what is an essential element of the main

show gardens. Chris has been in touch he lives in Cardiff and he has

made a good start on his water feature. Three years have passed and

he is still at the first base camp. You do not want to do too much

digging, Chris, so I suggest you buy prefabricated liners, solid, and set

them in and out of the bank, connecting them with rails. It will

look fantastic. It does not have to be expensive. Israel is bespoke, but

you can save by going to a scrap yard and getting short lengths.

Another tip, don't skimp on the pump. A small pump, if it dribbles,

it will never look any good. Our next question from Sarah and

Stewart. They want to know where to put their plants. The best place to

put it is away from deciduous trees but in semi-shade. That way the

least don't fall into the water in autumn. And then the water getting

too hot in the summer as well. And this is very important from David.

How do you hide your lino? The best thing to use is angular stones.

Angular stones locked together and you can build them right up behind

your marginal planting so you get a nice, naturalistic, soft edge. The

other thing is, you can place them in the base to create stepping

stones to help you maintain your pond. But lastly, it allows any

wildlife that falls in to clamber out safe and sound. I've come to the

Great Pavilion to answer a question from Stuart in Bristol, who wants to

know whether he needs electricity for his modest water feature in his

courtyard. The answer is no. You don't need much space because their

dwarf water plants which will fit into a tiny container quite happily.

This is a beautiful white water lily and if you combine that with water

violets, you don't need to squirt the hosepipe into get bubble and air

and life back into the roots. My favourite for a container has the

best Latin name of all the water plants. It flowers from May right

through to November. What a name! You can always rely on Toby to come

up with the answers. We've been meeting some very familiar faces

this week and asking them to bring along their mothers. Lovely ladies,

who, over the years, have been offering parental horticultural

guidance to their offspring. We met a pair who have taken a look around

and we tagged along to find out what they thought.

This is glorious, isn't it? My sort of colouring! Just amazing! So this

is the First World War garden. Yes. Look at the old-fashioned plants.

I've seen at the back this little habitat wall. For all of the

creatures. Right up your street! It is a very, very poignant and

beautiful garden and one I would very much like. What are your first

impressions? Wonderful! I adore Chelsea and this year we have the

weather and the gardens and I love the whole thing. There are lots of

wild flowers that appeal to me. Lots of flowers I can't name but you can.

Was there a lot of this in the garden growing up? I remember

massively wild patches. Did you deliberately leave those? No! They

got left because I didn't have the time and I was very much into the

formal planting, but as time has gone on, I am into the world life

with my bug Hotel is. Actually, this is good. We have trees, water and

then feeding, which will come from all of the flowering plants. I've

seen bees on here already. I wouldn't say no to a garden like

this. Would you not? No. Another great war-inspired garden,

like what we saw at the beginning, and this is when all of the

gardeners would have been sent to war so they all went to seed a bit,

the gardens. This is extremely beautiful. Very useful. It's built

up so I can think about this with my garden. And it's planted so they

keep the disease of the way, so it is planted in a specific way. Gosh!

Get you! It also reminds me of a garden we had grown up because you

were very keen to teach us all. You have actually grown something, it

looks good and tastes good. I was always very proud of that.

Do you know, there is so much to see out there, it is almost impossible

to see everything. Tomorrow we will be meeting TV historian Dan Snow and

his mum. Rachel has been prowling the Great Pavilion on the lookout

for floral recipes. The idea is just like planning a meal and it is all

about choosing the writing gradients. Today she has a chocolate

theme for you. -- the right ingredients.

I am an unashamed chocoholic but I am convinced I can capture that

richness and sweetness in a planting combination. There are different

forms of this everywhere and they have this wonderful dark foliage,

really chocolatey. Here it is wonderful and Lacey. This one is

slightly larger and then you have these very pretty sprays of flowers.

Sometimes they are quite white, like white chocolate sprinkles. That is

such an easy-going plant. It just wants to grow. In fact, it can get

quite thuggish, so no special treatment needed. If you want to

keep it in check and encourage lots of nice, new foliage, cut it back in

the autumn and then you will have this fantastic backdrop for a whole

range of plants. My next ingredient is also very easy

going in the garden. In fact, very prolific. It is a perennial

aquilegia, which are my favourites at this time of year. Not only for

this beautiful foliage but the flowers are so delicate and pretty

as well. And lots of them are in very dark, chocolatey colours. You

have the dark and the white on the same flower. Delicious!

For variety, I think what is needed is a really strong vertical accent

and they don't get much more vertical than Lupin is. And these

are just wonderful. This one, Masterpiece, with that rich, intense

colour which perfectly matches our chocolate theme. I'm standing here,

the core is almost overpowering, and it is something unexpected with

Lupin. -- the smell. This corner of the positively Stoke-on-Trent garden

is like a chocolate selection box. We have these in the middle with the

lacy foliage. And then the vertical accent of the Lupin towards the

front and lots of these dark, inky aquilegia. This dark, chocolatey

colour. Then we have peonies, roses, irises, all those colours of

black fondant, cherry and Rothbury. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop!

-- Rasberry. I've got a funny feeling that will

be very popular for a recipe this season. As well as all the delicious

plants on show here in the Great Pavilion, there is a huge section

dedicated solely to the art of forestry. Last week on the

countdown, we met Sarah, a relative newcomer to forestry, who is here

for the third time competing for the award. We joined her on her road to

Chelsea. I just love being surrounded by fresh flowers and the

colour just hits you immediately. I am like a child in a sweet shop

because there is so much choice and I just love putting flowers

together. This is my favourite bit. When you've got all your flowers

laid out ready and you can start putting it all together. I'm making

a gorgeous bouquet for somebody that you know they are just going to be

so thrilled to have and it will brighten up their day. Slow -- so

florists have the best job in the world because they can bring cheer

to people who need it. The seeds for my passion started when I was really

tiny. My mum had a beautiful garden and I remember her being in the

garden all the time. I had always played with flowers because I used

to watch her do flowers all the time and every opportunity, I would try

to do something with flowers. I was opening a tearoom and I knew a

little tiny room in the middle of nowhere needed something else and I

had a light bulb moment, and thought, I know, I will be a

florist! So I ran the local agricultural College and said, I'm

going to be a florist in six weeks time. Can you help? And it was

altered from there. This one is natural bouquet. And it all started

from there. This is really bringing this alive. I'm a real

perfectionist. Everything has to be just so. And I don't know what that

means but I know when I've done it and I'm happy with it. I graduated

in 2011 and the same year, the same may, I had only got through to the

RHS Chelsea finals. -- May. It was extraordinary because we were

watching the Chelsea programmes on the Monday night with Alan

Titchmarsh saying, here we are at Chelsea, gardeners strive for years

to get here. And I nearly fell sick because I thought, that is going to

be me in three days time. And it dawned on me what a big deal at

once. And then I got a silver medal. It was just amazing, incredible.

This year, we have to make a fantasy floral dress to be worn at a crystal

themed ball. I would love gold but if I don't get a medal at all, then

who cares? I've got to Chelsea three times and I've only been a florist

for five years. So how amazing is that!

So, Sarah, put us out of our misery. How did you do? I got a gold! We are

also delighted for you. I'm going to cry again! You're allowed to cry

because you said you were sick with nerves. I hate results but I never

thought I'd get gold. I was hoped to get gold one day but I'm here! It

means everything. I've done it for my mum, really. She passed away a

few years ago and she always wanted to come to Chelsea and now I'm

standing in her garden and I've won a gold medal. Lisa Fowler did the

most beautiful dress. Pink and white with wings and the detail was

incredible. I saw last night when they were staging it and I thought

it was amazing. Your creation was amazing, magnificent. So what's next

for you? A big glass of pins and then I'm going to enjoy Chelsea and

sleep like a log tonight! -- a glass of pins food. We wish you all the

best and we know how much it means. Congratulations. Thank you very

much. I don't know anyone who doesn't like receiving a floral

arrangement. I know I do. But do you know the darker side of plants? To

look at them, you would never know the tactics they use.

Let me introduce you to a pack of super predators. This little guy has

broken free so I can show you. He is almost salivating in anticipation!

This sticky substance is a nectar that they used to your M6 in as

their prey. -- they used to attract insects in. The insect gets woozy

and falls down into and acidic mix of digestive juices. They grow in

areas which are really low in minerals like nitrogen, so they have

had to resort to hunting for their prey.

These guys are straight out of a science fiction film. Proper CGI!

And some varieties have invisible markings, invisible to us and

insects, and under UV light, it guides the insect to their doom.

So, here I am on the forest floor, entering a whole new world of

danger. And who would have thought a rhododendron that is so pretty could

be poisonous? What they do is they pack their leaves filled with toxins

that act just like weedkiller, and when they pop down to the soil and

rocks, they deposit these in a big circle around the plant, suppressing

the growth of anything that isn't a rhododendron. Effectively, it is a

territorial dispute with chemical warfare. You might expect that kind

of behaviour from snakes or insects but from suburban shrubbery?!

of this South African acacia are these vicious thorns. But it also

has a secondary chemical method of defending itself. When the plans are

under attack, they give off a volatile chemicals that can be

detected by other trees. Suddenly there are leaves become better. It

is like a smoke signal to let them know and attack is underway. --,

bitter. Trees are not just capable of

messaging each other and communicating. They can actually

share resources through an underground network that works like

telephone lines or the web. And it is made of living fundi. -- fundi.

In the wild, some trees are not only capable of detecting their closest

genetic relatives, but they can even shunt sugar along through an

underground network to feed them. They are literally rearing their

young. So when you are next planting a

garden, remember it may look tranquil on the surface but it is

really just like high school. There is so much hidden politics going on.

I do not think how will look plans in the same way ever again. This

year, there are a few gardens that have a split personality with

planting that could not be more opposite. These designs offer

inspiration to look for plans that suit a whole range of different

aspects. This is from Moors to the Sea

designed by Alan Titchmarsh. It coast.

At the top of the garden, they have used to burn ins, adapted well to

this environment. In the winter, they lose their leaves. So the wind

can hit them without losing their leaves. Down here, at the opposite

end of the scale, a native fern, hunkered down in the damp soil

behind a wall. But as you move through to the coast, the

environment is totally different. And the plants have to deal with the

salt laden wind, and the way that they do that is in a number of

special adaptations. A thick leaf, the same thing with these rosettes,

hunkered down, hidden from the window. And finally, this shiny,

green hedging plant. It stops all that water from evaporating and

transpiring. If you have light shade in your

garden, it really opens up the possibilities for planting. It was

the garden is not bombarded with so many elements. For example, this

plant grows in a reasonably dry soil if it is in the shade, so it helps

in the long-term. It is the perfect spot for firms. In an acidic soil,

these will spread everywhere and blanket out of the weeds. But in the

full sun, the possibilities are endless. There is so much to choose

from. One of my favourite plants here, a wonderful little plans. And

then finally the front, are merely a maritime. And then in this garden,

from wet to woodland. If I had the choice, I would have damp soil in my

garden because you can grow one of my favourite Lance, which contrasts

with almost anything else. And the swathes of plans that will bulk up

fast in a damp soil. And this plant is one of the stars. Those wine

coloured spikes are so dramatic. At the back of the garden, we move into

the woodland area. Innovative shade, you can grow the Angelica. And this

can come up with you do not expect it because it's self seeds. And

finally, any white flour will clean out from the shadows and ring your

garden to life. -- flour. I'm with the man who knows all about

planting for all conditions. Not just in the garden. He has to look

after the whole city. Chris Jones is the nurseries manager at Birmingham

City Council. Nice to meet you. This is an incredibly deserve it. Marking

the Centenary of World War I. -- incredible exhibit. Tell me about

the detail. The poppies have been made into a waterfall. We have

whistles, which they would use to go over the trenches. There is a

replica of the steam train that used to go to the front. And then we have

replicated the trenches. And that has proved very popular. One thing

that catches my eye, it is the delicacy of the planting. I started

planting these earlier last year. Ten weeks before we come down, we

recreate the winter period for them, to make them colour up. And all the

other stuff is feeding through the months, to try to time it so that it

all comes out at the same time. And you look after all the parks and

gardens in Birmingham? I am responsible for all the mercenaries.

How much hard work is that? We do two and a half million plans a year.

There is a lot of work and planning involved. And as a balancing act,

Chelsea must take up a lot of time? Yes. We try to promote the city, and

the team works on it all year. All the hard work has paid off because

you have been awarded the president award, a special award given by the

President. It can go to any exhibit, any garden in the hall of

the grounds, and you have won it. Congratulations. We are over the

moon because we feel that that is recognition of the hard work that

the team puts in to recreate it. And think the quality speaks for itself.

Congratulations. The range of bedding on this exhibit is a

veritable feast of inspiration if you are looking to make an instant

impact. If you want plants that keep coming back year on year, Carol has

some advice. The Chelsea Flower Show comes back

every year, and so do your herbaceous perennials. If you look

after them. But there is one way of extending the season and it is all

to do with Chelsea. It is called the Chelsea Chop. All the plans that

have been brought here at the peak of perfection, all in flour. So it

is quite difficult to find something that we could demonstrate on. But

this is something that you could do at home right now. The idea with

late flowering perennials is to reduce the length. Towards the end

of May, or you do is get in there with a sharp pair of secateurs and

go down to a leaf node, about eight inches above the plant, and chop.

Once you have chopped it, instead of throwing this on the compost bin, it

is a really good idea, providing that the end of these stems are

actually solid, and not hollow, to take some cuttings. You can be very

thrifty and produce several plants from this. But each one of these is

going to make a good cutting. And all you do is make sure you have cut

under a leaf node, and strip the leaves. Take off any of those

flowers, and then cut around a pot -- Place the cuttings around a pot.

One good watering and they will have rooted at the time that the plant

recovers. Another way of making sure that you

do not have straggly plants, another Chelsea Chop Mobot a different one.

Things like this geranium Brookside, which has gone over the top. It is a

beautiful plant but you do not want your flowers lying on the floor. So

you take a big implement. And you go right down to the base. What a

brute! It looks very fierce and severe, this kind of treatment,

their promise you that within a few weeks, this plant will have

recovered. There will be a mound of green foliage and with a bit of

luck, you will get a second flower later in the summer. The Chelsea

Chop is ideal treatment. This plant, in your garden it will not be

flowering yet, because most flowers of this type flower towards the end

of June, July and August. But at Chelsea time, either take your

secateurs and reduce the whole thing to about nine inches or so from the

ground, or you can be really canny and just go in and take individual

stems out throughout the whole clump. That means that the ones you

have let alone will flower first and the others, they will come on. It

means that you get along to flowering. So a longer display. --

Pro12 and flowering. And you could try the same treatment with this

plant, and they could looks so beautiful in combination. But on the

stem, as with the Killie, there are little shoots which will eventually

flower. Or you are doing when you chop this town is getting rid of

that bit of flower but preparing to have masses more later on in the

season. Anything that guarantees extra flowering for a long time has

to be a great idea. So here is to the Chelsea Chop.

You have been sending us pictures of your gardens this week. We have a

few here. I love this one. It is from Adrian Hancock. It is a front

garden, but it is beautiful. It is quite formal, but it is impressive

what you can do in such a small space.

And Graham has sent us this garden. It is a Japanese competition going

on. This one is beautiful. We have had thousands of people sending us

photographs. That is all we have time for today. Don't forget, the

lines are now open for you to start voting for your favourite large

garden in the BBC People's choice award. Everything you need to know

about taking part is on our website, or you can press the red button

straight after the show. The lines close in midnight to night, so make

sure you vote for your favourite garden before them. The winner will

be announced by Monty and Joel tomorrow night at eight o'clock on

BBC Two. We will be back tomorrow on BBC One at 3pm with Dan Snow and his

mother. We will see you then. Buy. -- bye-bye.