:00:31. > :00:34.Hello and welcome to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016.
:00:35. > :00:37.It's Thursday which explains why the showground is absolutely
:00:38. > :00:43.heaving with people - it's the first day the show
:00:44. > :00:53.This is the first wave of the expected 100,000 visitors due
:00:54. > :00:58.There's a sea of heads and cameras as far as the eye can see.
:00:59. > :01:01.It's day four but there's still lots more of the Chelsea Flower Show,
:01:02. > :01:03.an event supported by M Investments, to
:01:04. > :01:10.Tonight we'll be examining the remarkable designs in both
:01:11. > :01:12.the Fresh and Artisans categories and revealing the gardens that won
:01:13. > :01:18.Also coming up later, our special guest Alex Polizzi
:01:19. > :01:20.will be sharing her thoughts on Chelsea as a shop window
:01:21. > :01:28.And speaking of making an impact, rhododendrons are back en vogue
:01:29. > :01:32.and we'll be celebrating a very special centenary.
:01:33. > :01:34.Acclaimed for his own excellence in the field of hard landscaping,
:01:35. > :01:36.multi gold winning Chelsea designer Adam Frost picks out
:01:37. > :01:39.the finer details in the construction of the gardens.
:01:40. > :01:42.Plus don't forget you don't have long left to vote for your favourite
:01:43. > :01:45.large show garden in the 'BBC RHS People's Choice
:01:46. > :01:48.award'- more to come on that but you'll find all the details
:01:49. > :01:55.on how to get involved on our website bbc.co.uk/chelsea.
:01:56. > :01:59.The small gardens may be compact in size and budget compared
:02:00. > :02:01.to their larger counterparts on Main Avenue, but they are
:02:02. > :02:16.I feel we make a big fanfare about the large gardens, and rightly so,
:02:17. > :02:22.they are amazing. But they steal thunder from the small gardens but
:02:23. > :02:26.they are more pertinent to most people's gardens? That is true.
:02:27. > :02:30.People love them. But the design, they are not always designs you can
:02:31. > :02:34.lift and take home in the large gardens. People have cleverly
:02:35. > :02:42.designed them tiering them up. So that they are almost a tableau. A
:02:43. > :02:47.picture sometimes to look through. And the judging is of course deadly
:02:48. > :02:55.serious? Of course. It always is Monty! The small gardens have been
:02:56. > :02:57.judged on criteria set by the RHS. Here is the moment that the medal
:02:58. > :03:08.decisions were revealed. Good morning. Hello. Your garden is
:03:09. > :03:17.such a talking point. Congratulations from everyone at the
:03:18. > :03:25.RHS! Hold it up. You have to hold it up. Thank you, Nikki! Thank you!
:03:26. > :03:30.Well done. Well done. Hold up your medal for everyone to see.
:03:31. > :03:33.It's a moment, it is really important for us, for the Russian
:03:34. > :03:34.designers. Congratulations on a fantastic
:03:35. > :03:47.garden. Thank you very much! We shall
:03:48. > :03:53.display that with pride. Is Juliet here? The waiting is over.
:03:54. > :03:56.Everybody received the garden with such interest and generosity, that
:03:57. > :04:00.is the real prize but, of course, this is rather nice as well! Well
:04:01. > :04:06.done. Thank you so much.
:04:07. > :04:10.That was the official small garden results but what has Toby Buckland
:04:11. > :04:22.made of them? He has given his verdict on two of the fresh gardens.
:04:23. > :04:27.The Fresh gardens are notoriously difficult to judge, the designs are
:04:28. > :04:32.so different. But if one thing unites them, never give the judges
:04:33. > :04:37.an inch. If you do, it opens up the flood gates and they look for faults
:04:38. > :04:44.everywhere. That is what happened to Lee Bestall with his design, Urban
:04:45. > :04:49.Connections. This has to meet building regulations. The path to be
:04:50. > :04:52.wide enough for wheelchairs and parents with prams to access. But
:04:53. > :04:57.these are a little mean. Once they saw that, they were on to
:04:58. > :05:01.the beds. They don't line up, the gap between the metalworks is not
:05:02. > :05:07.the same and Lee committed the cardinal sin of paving right up to
:05:08. > :05:12.the base of the birch trees, there should not even be turf touching the
:05:13. > :05:17.bark as it robs the roots of the moisture and the newt ring-fence.
:05:18. > :05:21.But that said, this is a brilliantened, I think, an
:05:22. > :05:28.influential piece of work. The planting is masterful. The right mix
:05:29. > :05:33.of ever greens and bulbs, like alliums and flowers to give a
:05:34. > :05:38.year-round interest. I tell you if the waste spices near the town where
:05:39. > :05:47.I lived had a path half as good as this on them, I would be very happy
:05:48. > :05:54.indeed. Daniel Bristow's Garden Of Potential
:05:55. > :05:59.is a garden with wow factor. That is a five-tonne rock above my head, yet
:06:00. > :06:05.it got a Silver Gilt. One down from the gold. It is a lovely space but I
:06:06. > :06:13.can only imagine, despite the fact that the exotic plants that were
:06:14. > :06:18.used, the lilies, and perhaps the gaps in the you hedge in the back,
:06:19. > :06:22.that the planting does not glow like the hard landscaping. I don't know
:06:23. > :06:26.what the judges said but is it a fair assessment, Daniel? I guess so.
:06:27. > :06:32.I like the loser planting scheme. But I can see that the judges wanted
:06:33. > :06:35.really more stonking plants and less of the spindly ones.
:06:36. > :06:39.But are you happy with the Silver Gilt? Really happy. It is about as
:06:40. > :06:46.good as I could have hoped for really. I am not one for tick boxes
:06:47. > :06:51.for the criteria. I did not even read it. I only wanted to make a
:06:52. > :06:56.really great garden. I have had a brilliant response from the public.
:06:57. > :07:00.They don't go around with a magnifying glass looking for a leaf
:07:01. > :07:05.with a hole in it. And the fresh gardens, the design is
:07:06. > :07:08.to the to read the rules but to rip up the rule book and think outside
:07:09. > :07:12.of the box. Attention to detail is not really my
:07:13. > :07:18.thing. I am more about the big idea. Fair enough. I feel uncomfortable
:07:19. > :07:21.under the boulder it is worrying! Well, it is right above your head
:07:22. > :07:23.and you are still here. Well, it is great, great work.
:07:24. > :07:29.Thank you very much. This year designer Juliet Sargeant
:07:30. > :07:32.is making her debut in the Fresh Garden category and she's
:07:33. > :07:34.here to prove that although her garden might be small,
:07:35. > :07:37.the message can be hugely powerful. Tackling the harrowing subject
:07:38. > :07:40.of slavery both past and present, we met up with her in the surprising
:07:41. > :08:01.birthplace of the inspiration I'm at the beautiful Holwood estate,
:08:02. > :08:09.almost three centuries booing, owned by William Pitt the Younger. It was
:08:10. > :08:13.here that the seeds were sewn for a piece of legislation to change the
:08:14. > :08:21.world forever. The slavery abolition act of 1833. From the early 1,500s,
:08:22. > :08:26.it is estimated that 11 million Africans were enslaved and forceable
:08:27. > :08:32.transported to the Americas. Over a period of about 350 years. By the
:08:33. > :08:38.end of the 18th century, Britain was a moisturor player in this
:08:39. > :08:43.transatlantic slave trade with about 150 slave ships leaving Liverpool,
:08:44. > :08:51.Bristol, and London each year. But... Around this time, the slave
:08:52. > :09:02.trade was also provoking rumblings of discontent. In the 178 #0s, the
:09:03. > :09:09.politicians and social reformer, William Wilberforce, spearheaded a
:09:10. > :09:16.crusade to abolish it. 1780s. It was here on May 12th, 1787 that the
:09:17. > :09:20.Prime Minister, William Pitt urged Mr Will better force to present his
:09:21. > :09:26.antislavery bill to Parliament. It may look like a pile of wood now but
:09:27. > :09:32.in those days it was a beautiful oak tree. I just love it, that there is
:09:33. > :09:35.something tangible here for us to have a look at and think about that
:09:36. > :09:53.auspicious moment. After their chat, Wilberforce wrote
:09:54. > :09:58.a passage in his diary, inscribed here on the stone bench "I resolve
:09:59. > :10:04.to give notice on a fit occasion in the House of Commons of my intention
:10:05. > :10:12.to bring forward the abolition of the slave trade" in 1807, the slave
:10:13. > :10:21.trade was banned. In 1833 slavery itself was outlawed and slaves from
:10:22. > :10:27.freed. But, sadly, that's not the end of
:10:28. > :10:33.the story of the slave trade. This is a modern day slave. Nobody
:10:34. > :10:40.is prepared to help him until we expose his polite. It is still
:10:41. > :10:44.happening in many different forms, like sex slavery, forced Labour and
:10:45. > :10:49.domestic servitude. It is estimated that there are 27 million people in
:10:50. > :10:53.slavery around the world. That is more than in the entire history of
:10:54. > :10:58.the transatlantic slave trade. But the good news is that in 2015,
:10:59. > :11:03.Parliament passed the Modern Slavery Act. They did this to bring
:11:04. > :11:08.up-to-date the old legislation. I have celebrated this with the design
:11:09. > :11:11.of a Chelsea garden in the Fresh Section, and called it the The
:11:12. > :11:16.Modern Slavery Garden. The unique thing about using a
:11:17. > :11:21.garden to express something as complex as this, is that a garden
:11:22. > :11:27.gives you so many elements to play with. We have an oak tree that we
:11:28. > :11:35.are going to put in the centre of the garden. That represents William
:11:36. > :11:42.Wilberforce. I wanted to illustrate the fact it is going on in ordinary
:11:43. > :11:47.streets behind ordinary doors. We visited some people who have been
:11:48. > :11:51.rescued from slavery in the south of England. They have quite a bit of
:11:52. > :11:57.work to do to get their lives back on track. They told us that they
:11:58. > :12:03.garden an allotment and really enjoyed doing that. We asked them to
:12:04. > :12:09.grow some of the plants we are using at The Modern Slavery Garden. At the
:12:10. > :12:14.moment on their allotment they are looking after the oak saplings that
:12:15. > :12:19.we will plant around the base of the main oak tree. I hope that people
:12:20. > :12:23.will enjoy the garden very much. But also that they will enjoy reading
:12:24. > :12:30.the story that the garden is telling.
:12:31. > :12:36.Juliet, you won a gold. That is fantastic. Congratulations! Thank
:12:37. > :12:41.you. This is a deeply provocative garden,
:12:42. > :12:46.and certainly political. What is the general reaction? I have been
:12:47. > :12:51.delighted by the reaction. People have been quite emotional,
:12:52. > :12:58.actually. Even big Burley men have been Welling up with tears. I have
:12:59. > :13:01.had workmen hi-fiving me in the streets around Chelsea. The thing
:13:02. > :13:06.that I love the most is that some teachers are saying that they will
:13:07. > :13:10.use the garden in assembly to illustrate the subject for their
:13:11. > :13:16.children in this subject of modern slavery.
:13:17. > :13:20.One cannot help notice that there have been questions raised to ask if
:13:21. > :13:24.Chelsea is the right place to do something provocative, not that,
:13:25. > :13:30.that is wrong but as deep as this. People are coming here for a day
:13:31. > :13:36.out, having a nice time, looking at pretty flowers and bang! Then they
:13:37. > :13:42.are confronted by this? I think it is fine. Absolutely fine. For me,
:13:43. > :13:49.making gardens is an art form. You may go to an art gallery for a nice
:13:50. > :13:55.day out. There you see the flowers and the paintings that could of 6 a
:13:56. > :14:01.lapped scape but also painting that provoke you differently. That is
:14:02. > :14:07.fine there, so why not in a garden? And one cannot help but point out
:14:08. > :14:11.that you are the first black female designer in the history of the show,
:14:12. > :14:16.and not enough womening coming here, so it is all coming together to
:14:17. > :14:21.tackle diversity issues? I did not mean to tackle that but it is good.
:14:22. > :14:25.In a creative see ifs, the more in the mix, the better.
:14:26. > :14:31.Did you expect people to translate the ideas to their own gardens, or
:14:32. > :14:38.do they see it as a work of art and think and react to themselves? Can
:14:39. > :14:41.horticultural absorb influences like this in a private world, or is this
:14:42. > :14:47.a show that is different from our gardens at home? With this garden
:14:48. > :14:51.there are lots of lovely plants to draw inspiration from but in your
:14:52. > :14:56.own garden you can perhaps think about using it as an art form,
:14:57. > :15:01.reflecting your own memories or the way you relate to your landscape and
:15:02. > :15:06.environment. There is no reason why even in your own home you cannot
:15:07. > :15:09.have little bit of metaphors within your garden.
:15:10. > :15:15.And the final question, you have had a huge success doing a fresh garden,
:15:16. > :15:18.are you doing a big show garden? It would have to be a real challenge,
:15:19. > :15:21.an interesting brief. But I don't think it is necessary to have a
:15:22. > :15:26.bigger garden. You can do a lot in a small space
:15:27. > :15:31.and a lot with a small budget. Well, you have done a huge amount
:15:32. > :15:32.with a small space. Many congratulations.
:15:33. > :15:36.Thank you, Monty. Of the two gold winning gardens
:15:37. > :15:39.in the Fresh category the RHS had to choose one to scope the big prize
:15:40. > :15:42.'Best Fresh Garden' and we were there to capture
:15:43. > :15:48.the moment the winner was announced. Martin and Gary. Best Fresh Garden.
:15:49. > :16:03.Many APPLAUSE.
:16:04. > :16:12.Brilliant. Well done. You deserve that, it is the most amazing garden.
:16:13. > :16:19.I am with the designers. Martin and Gary, congratulations. Everyone is
:16:20. > :16:23.talking about this garden. We are getting shots inside looking inside
:16:24. > :16:31.from above at the planting. How did you plan to this? Chris Hollins is a
:16:32. > :16:35.tremendous plantsman and he has done nine medal winning gardens and he
:16:36. > :16:42.says this is the smallest but the most difficult by a mile. And all of
:16:43. > :16:46.those mirrors. It must be confusing? We were looking through those holes
:16:47. > :16:50.and saying that there was foxglove by the left knee and if you move
:16:51. > :16:56.that a little bit to the left, and he said, there is no foxglove! It is
:16:57. > :17:03.like a of errors. And you have to climb the ladder hundreds of times.
:17:04. > :17:08.All three of us, Gary, Chris and myself did the equivalent of
:17:09. > :17:13.claiming Mont blanc last week. Looking after the garden throughout,
:17:14. > :17:18.how are the plants copping? They are delicate woodland plants who would
:17:19. > :17:23.normally not get much sunshine. And that was a problem. We got to the
:17:24. > :17:28.show and we thought we had thought of everything. It has been a long
:17:29. > :17:34.road to get here and there started life in Portugal and came to Watford
:17:35. > :17:39.and then here and we thought we had thought of everything and Chris got
:17:40. > :17:44.inside and we did not think... We had a plastic pollen and we came
:17:45. > :17:52.back and it had melted! -- for pollen. They like cool conditions.
:17:53. > :17:57.You must water them a lot. And there is shading over the top. On a sunny
:17:58. > :18:07.day like today, there is a cool, shaded woodland. Any other ideas
:18:08. > :18:11.going forward? Yes, we have ideas. But we must be very passionate about
:18:12. > :18:16.something, you must really want to do something. It'll be to see what
:18:17. > :18:20.you come up with and people are literally queueing up around the
:18:21. > :18:24.block! That is amazing! Well done, chaps! Cheers.
:18:25. > :18:27.We'll be taking an in depth look at the medal results in the Artisan
:18:28. > :18:33.But first, anyone familiar with my personal garden passions
:18:34. > :18:38.will know that I'm particularly fond of the art of topiary.
:18:39. > :18:41.So I'm delighted to see it appearing in rude health
:18:42. > :18:57.And particularly, bonsai. Derbyshire bonsai. This is a superb example of
:18:58. > :19:03.an ancient art. These plants of all kinds, oak trees, pine trees,
:19:04. > :19:15.growing in tiny parts. That is what bonsai means, grown in pots and
:19:16. > :19:16.around the showground you will find different types of training and
:19:17. > :19:30.pruning. Here is the top picks... Pruning is a craft, some might say
:19:31. > :19:34.it is an artform and here at the Flower Show you will find the best
:19:35. > :19:45.examples of training and training, shaping and sculpting -- sculpting
:19:46. > :19:49.anywhere in the world. Diarmuid Gavin has gone to time on his
:19:50. > :19:54.topiary. This magnificent hornbeam trees at the back of the garden and
:19:55. > :20:01.it might seem strange to do this to a tree, they have naturally quite a
:20:02. > :20:08.neat, compact shape so he is taking that one step further. Bay is a
:20:09. > :20:12.perfect candidate although I prefer using secateurs so that you don't
:20:13. > :20:19.cut through many individual leaves and to do this too early because
:20:20. > :20:25.these green shoots, the new leaves, and it is slightly tender so if it
:20:26. > :20:36.is soon, they will get a sharp frost and could be damaged. And of course,
:20:37. > :20:44.the twirling is optional! Boxes, the classic plant for shaping butter
:20:45. > :20:48.churn something like these bays into the spiral is very simple to do.
:20:49. > :20:54.Visibly attach string lowdown and take that around the cone, to the
:20:55. > :20:59.top and then adjust those bands to be happy with the shape and then
:21:00. > :21:03.cut, go around and make the initial cut as the guide and remove the
:21:04. > :21:07.string and Kerry Ann and if you go very deep towards the central stem
:21:08. > :21:10.you will get this sharply contoured shape and you can also leave this
:21:11. > :21:24.very loose and fluffy, like here. Athletics is not the only reason to
:21:25. > :21:30.train a planned, it is often done for productivity and with these
:21:31. > :21:33.pairs, they have input against the wall on long wires to produce
:21:34. > :21:41.horizontal lunches and that encourages the planned to send new
:21:42. > :21:48.shoots which have the putting spurs. It is important to ensure the
:21:49. > :21:53.variety of temporary or Apple is grafted onto it to one thing stock
:21:54. > :22:01.because it is naturally programmed to want to romp away. The space is
:22:02. > :22:08.at a premium, you can grow these fruit by using the ultimate in
:22:09. > :22:15.pruning and I cannot think of a nicer way to edge any path or
:22:16. > :22:22.border. It is not only human intervention that determines the
:22:23. > :22:26.shape at the plant will take. Here, the prevailing wind over many years
:22:27. > :22:30.has forced this to go sideways so we get this incredible architectural
:22:31. > :22:35.shape and sometimes nature knows best.
:22:36. > :22:39.Our guest tonight is a regular visitor to Chelsea but is best known
:22:40. > :22:41.as the tough talking businesswoman tasked with turning
:22:42. > :22:44.around failing ventures on 'The Hotel Inspector'
:22:45. > :22:46.and 'The Fixer.' And it seems Alex Polizzi's love
:22:47. > :22:55.Twelve years ago she teamed up with her mother Olga to restore 19th
:22:56. > :22:58.century Endsleigh House and gardens in Devon to its former glory.
:22:59. > :23:01.We visited them to find out more about this
:23:02. > :23:19.For me, it is a thing I have done in my life that I am proudest of, being
:23:20. > :23:24.involved in this project from the beginning, that was a real
:23:25. > :23:30.challenge. I was looking for another hotel and a friend said this is an
:23:31. > :23:34.extraordinary place full of follies and wonderful trees in Devon. We
:23:35. > :23:39.drove here and we arrived on a beautiful day, we opened the doors
:23:40. > :23:48.and walked out and we thought, we have to buy this. The house was on
:23:49. > :23:57.the most crowded state. But the garden, the river and trees and it
:23:58. > :24:02.was enough to take your breath away. -- decrepit. I love seeing this
:24:03. > :24:08.cover, this has come along over the years and it softens things up.
:24:09. > :24:12.There is so much variety in the scarring, that is what struck me.
:24:13. > :24:21.The longest continuous herbaceous border in England, apparently.
:24:22. > :24:27.Weeping beech is unusual, the Ritz and the branches, the size of it,
:24:28. > :24:34.and the age of it, it is a wonderful tree. Our favourite, this is the
:24:35. > :24:38.dell, designed to look like miniature Scottish Ballet. And all
:24:39. > :24:48.of these steps, little tunnels, it is a garden for all seasons. The
:24:49. > :24:53.Duke and Duchess of Bedford owned half of Devon and they chose this
:24:54. > :24:56.place to build their house because they thought it was the most
:24:57. > :25:02.beautiful piece of their land. Because was built by Sir Geoffrey
:25:03. > :25:11.Wyatt and the garden is by Care Act in so it is important. He was a
:25:12. > :25:17.great designer, Repton, he was carried around in his chair when
:25:18. > :25:20.designing because he had an accident and had hurt his back and it was
:25:21. > :25:25.wonderful because very little had been changed from the time of Repton
:25:26. > :25:32.and this is one of the only gardens which really shows Repton at his
:25:33. > :25:38.best. Repton was famous, every time he designed a garden, he presented
:25:39. > :25:43.this to his client, red book. I think it is very interesting, in the
:25:44. > :25:49.days before photographs, this is before and after of the grounds. I
:25:50. > :25:52.think what is ready impressive is just the sheer scale of the earth
:25:53. > :26:05.moving and foresight and the clearing. And that helps us to carry
:26:06. > :26:10.on his legacy. It would be lovely to have as many gardeners as Egypt
:26:11. > :26:18.Jakarta Duchess had. They had 35. -- the Duke and Duchess. We have 2.51
:26:19. > :26:22.part of the year and 3.5 the other part of the year and they were
:26:23. > :26:31.continuously, cutting down the trees that have fallen down. It is mulling
:26:32. > :26:37.the land, strumming, chanting, just the rose, it looks wonderful for
:26:38. > :26:47.about one month every year and that takes 11 months of hard work to get
:26:48. > :26:54.to. This is the nicest time of year for the wild flowers. Bluebells.
:26:55. > :27:00.Wild garlic. I mean, it is full of it. It does look wonderful. I love
:27:01. > :27:08.gardening. It is what I really enjoy. And here, obviously, there is
:27:09. > :27:14.scope for amazing gardening. I have never fallen out of love with this
:27:15. > :27:17.place. And every time I walk out here, onto that long, and I see that
:27:18. > :27:25.wonderful view, I remember one mother bought it. -- I remember why
:27:26. > :27:30.my mother bought it. It is fair to say that currently, I am not the
:27:31. > :27:34.garden that my mother is. But life is a learning process and gardening
:27:35. > :27:35.is something I am learning about. The Chelsea Flower Show is a
:27:36. > :27:50.wonderful way to do that. Looking at that, it is the most
:27:51. > :27:56.fantastic garden. Wonderful. One of my forebears designed the house.
:27:57. > :28:02.When you come to Chelsea, things edgy applied directly to the garden,
:28:03. > :28:07.back home, or is this more general? I have had if you disasters like the
:28:08. > :28:18.year when I came here and I got completely overtaken by the idea of
:28:19. > :28:23.Fosters. -- hostas. And I watched in despair as the snails and slugs
:28:24. > :28:28.chomped on them and I have tried several years after and I finally
:28:29. > :28:33.gave up. I have learned not to come to Chelsea and get grand ideas. It
:28:34. > :28:38.is for inspiration and it is always nice to know what is current. We
:28:39. > :28:44.have been coming for a very long time. Do you feel that these trends,
:28:45. > :28:51.do they reflect what the outside world is doing? I always find it
:28:52. > :29:00.astonishing just how fashion and gardens and art seem to find a
:29:01. > :29:04.Congress nature, if people get into a room and find the pastels and the
:29:05. > :29:08.shapes but the gardens this year have had a lot of strong Orange
:29:09. > :29:16.which I have not seen for years at Chelsea. And some of them have this
:29:17. > :29:24.vivid colour... The poppies. And that is the same as fashion and the
:29:25. > :29:27.pots of colour in fabric design. Which I know more about than
:29:28. > :29:34.gardening. And obviously there is this zeitgeist which I am not part
:29:35. > :29:41.of. I watch an admiration. You are great expert on presenting the wares
:29:42. > :29:50.and management. Are you looking with the hypercritical eye? Are you
:29:51. > :29:54.wishing for a difference? I love lots of things about Chelsea, I
:29:55. > :29:57.mainly come here for inspiration and it is good for the soul to see so
:29:58. > :30:01.much that is beautiful. The way that it is done. Obviously, one could
:30:02. > :30:11.critique anything! I think possibly we have slightly
:30:12. > :30:16.outgrown the space. Looking at what is behind us, it is not a very
:30:17. > :30:21.pleasant way. You must be incredibly dedicated to want to spend an
:30:22. > :30:25.afternoon here. It is quite hard to see the garden, and I think that is
:30:26. > :30:33.a shame. I think it is quite commercial. There is nothing against
:30:34. > :30:40.that, I have a mercantele bent myself. But, I don't know, maybe,
:30:41. > :30:44.rather grandly, I wish there was more selection going on some of the
:30:45. > :30:51.stuff that is being sold. I don't always love the stuff that is here,
:30:52. > :30:59.in a rather snobby way, maybe. I... I don't know, it is probably time. I
:31:00. > :31:04.think everything should change. Gardeners are basically,
:31:05. > :31:09.conservative people if you want to change conservative people and their
:31:10. > :31:14.gardens, do you you force them to go somewhere else? How do you go about
:31:15. > :31:20.it? I think you lay out the benefits of change. And hopefully carry
:31:21. > :31:25.conthe consensus with you. I think for everyone here it is such an
:31:26. > :31:30.opportunity to showcase it is a unique event in the horticultural
:31:31. > :31:35.calendar, envied throughout the world. Surely, surely, we cannot
:31:36. > :31:40.think we have got it perfect. One can always improve on things. There
:31:41. > :31:44.is that thought always in my head. I do sometimes wonder if some of the
:31:45. > :31:50.smaller nurseries, in particular, who put so much work coming into
:31:51. > :31:58.Chelsea, if it is worth their while? I hope it is, I mean, really,
:31:59. > :32:02.otherwise they should not do it. They shouldn't do it, for that
:32:03. > :32:08.reason but it is the grandest, best show on earth. I would not like to
:32:09. > :32:13.see all of these little businesses go out of business for the luxury of
:32:14. > :32:18.coming to Chelsea. And Chelsea would not be the same
:32:19. > :32:24.without them. If we could solve that problem, then we have it.
:32:25. > :32:30.Thank you for coming to the Chelsea flower show.
:32:31. > :32:32.Still to come tonight, we'll be celebrating
:32:33. > :32:34.the revival of the rhododendron and if you haven't had chance
:32:35. > :32:37.to vote for your favourite large show garden in the 'BBC RHS People's
:32:38. > :32:40.choice award' we've all the details coming up on how you can.
:32:41. > :32:43.But before all that, back to the small gardens.
:32:44. > :32:45.The Artisans brief is firmly rooted in the celebration
:32:46. > :33:10.This is Freddie White's Arts Crafts Garden. My favourite part of the
:33:11. > :33:16.garden is this oak frame structure. Really chunky with a view out on to
:33:17. > :33:22.the world, or, I guess, an imaginary landscape and a frame to view into
:33:23. > :33:26.it. Freddie got a silver medal, a great medal a at Chelsea. I think
:33:27. > :33:33.that the judges thought he was trying to fit too much into a small
:33:34. > :33:37.space. There are many elements but don't come together co hesively. And
:33:38. > :33:50.the plants are meant to energise and relax. In a small space it is really
:33:51. > :33:54.hard to do two things. It's a fact that gardens are getting
:33:55. > :33:59.smaller, so we have to be more clever with the space. The Japanese
:34:00. > :34:04.designer here, has shown you can create a garden that is both
:34:05. > :34:09.beautiful and also space-saving too. I think he's cracked it. So with a
:34:10. > :34:13.small footprint he created a two-tier garden. But what I like is
:34:14. > :34:19.that there is planting at this level too. He is creating the scene with
:34:20. > :34:22.the maples and the moss, so that the whole scheme is integrated at this
:34:23. > :34:26.level. As you come down the stairs, there
:34:27. > :34:31.is a vertical garden here but also coming out at you as a
:34:32. > :34:35.three-dimensional. You can get nice and close to the plants like this
:34:36. > :34:39.pine. They look like they are growing out of the walls here. And a
:34:40. > :34:43.water future. It draws you through beautifully.
:34:44. > :34:54.So we have a terrace, we have a great garden. There is even space
:34:55. > :34:59.for a car! Now, you would expect to see a Japanese import, wouldn't you,
:35:00. > :35:02.oh, no, this is Chelsea, after all! Out of the way, everybody!
:35:03. > :35:06.Out of all the gold medal winning Artisan gardens
:35:07. > :35:08.here at Chelsea, an event supported by M Investments, only one
:35:09. > :35:11.could be chosen as the best overall design of the collective bunch.
:35:12. > :35:14.It was exciting to capture the moment the RHS awarded
:35:15. > :35:23.Many, many congratulations! Thank you very much.
:35:24. > :35:26.That's amazing. Thank you.
:35:27. > :35:45.Hey, look! Sarah, huge congratulations.
:35:46. > :35:49.Best Show Garden in the Artisan category. How does it feel?
:35:50. > :35:53.Absolutely wonderful. You hope to achieve this award. It is really
:35:54. > :35:55.difficult. You never even dare to dream.
:35:56. > :36:01.You had to manage your time carefully. You have a huge exhibit
:36:02. > :36:06.here. And then the Artisan Garden as well. How has it been? Actually,
:36:07. > :36:14.managing two I found it almost easier. It allows me to approach
:36:15. > :36:19.each garden with fresh eyes. It just involved a lot of walking. I have
:36:20. > :36:24.been doing a half a marathon every day.
:36:25. > :36:29.Do you have an app for it? I do. It is good motivation! But, the garden
:36:30. > :36:36.should not have taken up so much time? This is so challenging and
:36:37. > :36:41.doing a small garden, the details is so important. In a big garden you
:36:42. > :36:44.can get away with broad gestures but here you need the detail and to
:36:45. > :36:47.engage people without overworking it.
:36:48. > :36:54.What are your favourite elements of the garden? I love the canopy,
:36:55. > :36:59.inspired by the giant can't levered fishing nets. In the morning at
:37:00. > :37:05.7.00am, the sun creeping over the trees comes through the canopy and
:37:06. > :37:11.hits the back of the boat. It is like a celestial bean dropping over
:37:12. > :37:17.the garden. It is charming. You are a record-breaker, you now
:37:18. > :37:22.have a gold medal in every single garden category. How does that feel?
:37:23. > :37:26.Well, it has not really sunk in but yes, I'm really proud.
:37:27. > :37:37.Lovely to see you, Sarah. Thank you.
:37:38. > :37:41.To win Best in Show in every single category is extraordinary.
:37:42. > :37:47.Congratulations to Sarah, I'm in awe of her! This year, there are a
:37:48. > :37:52.number of anniversary marked here supported by M Investments. The
:37:53. > :37:58.most notable is the Queen's 90th birthday. She visited the show for
:37:59. > :38:03.the 51st time on Monday. One of the celebrations, a way to mark the
:38:04. > :38:10.event, is this extraordinary floral gate. It was designed and decorated
:38:11. > :38:17.by Stephen Connolly, the man who did the floor declarations for the
:38:18. > :38:26.wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It is based on a picture
:38:27. > :38:30.of a similar gate that the Queen visited in Reigate in Surrey. And
:38:31. > :38:35.these flowers are changed every single day. So it is a living floral
:38:36. > :38:41.arrangement, spanning the entrance to the show, it seems an apt way to
:38:42. > :38:48.enter into the showground. There are a number of celebrations going on.
:38:49. > :38:57.One milestone is the centenary of the Rhododendron Society. Founded by
:38:58. > :39:01.four enthusiasts in 1916. By the end of the 19th century, different
:39:02. > :39:08.rhododendrons were coming into the country. The plants were increasing
:39:09. > :39:19.as part of our popular have been abar.
:39:20. > :39:21.As a recent introduction from China and the Himalayas,
:39:22. > :39:24.the men were keen to get these amazing plants into the nations
:39:25. > :39:27.psyche and held their first AGM here at the Royal Hospital exactly
:39:28. > :39:31.We joined Charles Williams, a direct descendant of one of this
:39:32. > :39:33.pioneering group to find out more about this exciting anniversary.
:39:34. > :39:37.My name is Charles Williams. I live in the depths of Cornwall. I
:39:38. > :39:41.grew up in horticultural. Trained by the head gardener here as a child.
:39:42. > :39:53.It has always been in my blood and in the family genes.
:39:54. > :39:56.Oh! Look at that... You tell me a rhododendron that is this yellow
:39:57. > :40:04.with this big a flower, there isn't one. This is as good as it gets.
:40:05. > :40:13.Every year people ask me the same question as to what is my favourite
:40:14. > :40:20.plant in the garden... Today it is this rhododendron in its pomp and
:40:21. > :40:26.prime, by the middle of next week it will be something else. That is what
:40:27. > :40:34.we are excited about, that is the beauty and the surprises that can
:40:35. > :40:40.emerge from a garden such as this. There are three great advantages to
:40:41. > :40:47.these rhododendrons. Firstly, the acid soil. Which they must have.
:40:48. > :40:51.Secondly, the rainfall is 55 inches in average here, so higher than the
:40:52. > :40:56.rest of the country. And what the rhododendrons like. And thirdly, and
:40:57. > :41:01.importantly, we seldom get much frost. So the plants grow for longer
:41:02. > :41:10.as they are not held back by cold winters.
:41:11. > :41:15.My great grandfather, JC Williams was the first member of the family
:41:16. > :41:24.to have a passion for rhododendrons. He was at a forefront of
:41:25. > :41:28.commissioning gorge If orest to go on expeditions to China to bring
:41:29. > :41:33.back new varieties of rhododendron. George was keen to be sent to China
:41:34. > :41:39.to earn his fame and fortune, he achieved that by the time he died in
:41:40. > :41:45.China in 1932. I think people imagine that travelling to China was
:41:46. > :41:50.something of a rather jolly holiday. But, Forest had to escape wars
:41:51. > :41:56.between feudal War Lordses by dressing in native dress and hiding
:41:57. > :42:01.in the woods to escape detection. Can you imagine the excitement? Here
:42:02. > :42:05.is a packet of seeds, we have a letter from gorge Forest that says
:42:06. > :42:10.that this is something fantastic in the wild that grows up to 30 or 40
:42:11. > :42:16.feet and you have to see it in flower as it is amazing. So what did
:42:17. > :42:23.you do? You wanted to form a society a club of like-minded people to
:42:24. > :42:33.compare notes. The Rhododendron Society was formed in 1916 by four
:42:34. > :42:40.founding members. My great uncle, PD Williams, JC Williams, and Charles
:42:41. > :42:46.Eley and John Millais. They were there to give people cuttings and to
:42:47. > :42:53.establish a wider base. The society today is a mixture of
:42:54. > :43:00.professionals in horticultural and rank amateurs but that is ultimately
:43:01. > :43:08.what a passion for a particular genus of flower is about, it is
:43:09. > :43:17.abouten owing them with others, swapping them, growing them,
:43:18. > :43:22.hybridising them and talking about them.
:43:23. > :43:28.The theme here at Chelsea is in keeping with the group of
:43:29. > :43:34.rhododendron, the plan plants, used are some of those that survived 100
:43:35. > :43:38.years ago and are still being found in China all of that time ago. This
:43:39. > :43:42.is the largest leafed rhododendron of all.
:43:43. > :43:50.What we have done is we have dug around a large root ball and we are
:43:51. > :43:56.going to gently lift it on to a wire netting platform after we have got
:43:57. > :44:01.the wire netting in place, we will put the hissian around it to keep
:44:02. > :44:07.the moisture in. Whether it flowers or not remains to be seen but the
:44:08. > :44:12.next time you see this plant again, we will all hopefully be at Chelsea.
:44:13. > :44:19.Well, I am here with three committee members of the the RHS Rhododendron
:44:20. > :44:24.Camille group. The technical name.
:44:25. > :44:31.So, Charles Williams, how does it feel to be here, 100 years on at
:44:32. > :44:35.Chelsea, you are all direct descendents of the family. How does
:44:36. > :44:40.it feel? What could be more extraordinary than to have three
:44:41. > :44:44.people still in business, still loving rhododendrons, still selling
:44:45. > :44:50.them and growing them 100 years on. Still friends? Yes! You all have the
:44:51. > :44:57.tweed on. Looking smart. Is this the traditional dress? It was then!
:44:58. > :45:06.How big is this society? Is a global? Yes, the membership, we have
:45:07. > :45:11.had a flowering of members over the past month or so, about 750 and I
:45:12. > :45:17.have been the secretary for about ten years. And I love every minute
:45:18. > :45:23.of being involved with this. It is amazing. Rarely the three of us
:45:24. > :45:32.could still be involved 100 years down the line. By pure chance. There
:45:33. > :45:34.is a lot at Chelsea. People have been choosing members of the
:45:35. > :45:41.committee, they have been choosing your favourite rhododendrons, which
:45:42. > :45:51.is not easy. We opened the survey up to the entire membership with more
:45:52. > :46:02.than 250 responses and the winner is... This plant was found in 1931,
:46:03. > :46:07.soon after the group was founded in 1950. That is fascinating, thank you
:46:08. > :46:16.for bringing this. We need a photograph to mark this occasion.
:46:17. > :46:18.Huddled together, chaps. That is definitely one for the album. Well
:46:19. > :46:31.done! Thank you. We saw the rhododendrons being
:46:32. > :46:37.bundled up carefully to be brought here to Chelsea from Cornwall and
:46:38. > :46:44.here it is. And it has not flowered yet. But it has developed this
:46:45. > :46:54.lovely foliage. This delicate, despite the leaves being large, this
:46:55. > :46:58.wonderful felted grey colouring. And the foliage of rhododendrons is
:46:59. > :47:03.often fascinating and just as beautiful. One of the problems with
:47:04. > :47:14.rhododendrons, they were everywhere when I was at school, is that you
:47:15. > :47:17.cannot grow them on alkaline soil. Until the Germans, and they have
:47:18. > :47:22.been working on this for a very long time, they developed a rhododendron
:47:23. > :47:31.that would cope with neutral conditions. This one, you can grow
:47:32. > :47:39.this with a ph of 6.5 or seven and this has a very strong root and the
:47:40. > :47:46.secret is to feed this very well. Medication is soil, pine bark, keep
:47:47. > :47:53.it moist but not saturated and that should flower and flower for years.
:47:54. > :47:54.Whilst Rhododendrons are having a renaissance,
:47:55. > :47:57.there are some plants and flowers that continue to divide opinion -
:47:58. > :48:03.So it got us thinking - of all the plants and flowers
:48:04. > :48:10.here at the show, and beyond, which are Britain's least liked?
:48:11. > :48:18.Hard to say but it is fair to say that there are lots of reasons for
:48:19. > :48:24.disliking any plant, it could be the smell reminds you of something, and
:48:25. > :48:34.for years I always hated rhododendrons because of the smell.
:48:35. > :48:39.It is Association but for me, it is the rose of Sharon, their first job
:48:40. > :48:44.was digging this out, it was like a weed and it is not very attractive,
:48:45. > :48:53.little yellow flowers. I don't mind some grass. I am much more rational,
:48:54. > :49:00.I hate a plant because it is just repulsive, ugly, and that is the
:49:01. > :49:10.begonia. Is that reasonable? I will not say that... You will not upset
:49:11. > :49:15.me. Millions of people love begonias, there are fanciers are
:49:16. > :49:20.bounced down this country. I didn't think I would end up defending
:49:21. > :49:26.begonias. We asked the team which plants they liked the least. Has to
:49:27. > :49:34.be this. Coriander. Along with about 20 percentage the population, I
:49:35. > :49:43.possess a gene that makes me perceive this as tasting soapy. It
:49:44. > :49:52.has to be the red-hot poker that I remember from childhood, the orange
:49:53. > :50:02.red top and the bottom half looks half dead. The Basque, tall and
:50:03. > :50:08.spindly, nothing to commend that. It is the ugliest plant I think I have
:50:09. > :50:16.ever met. I don't really like grass, in the form of a lawn, it is just a
:50:17. > :50:19.monoculture and imagine all of those exciting, marvellous plants you
:50:20. > :50:26.could be growing in the same space. I love my garden and it is small and
:50:27. > :50:31.nearly perfectly formed but I hate bamboo because it has taken over a
:50:32. > :50:36.one-sided that and James looked at the picture and he said this is not
:50:37. > :50:40.bamboo, that is horsetail. This is an accident waiting to happen, the
:50:41. > :50:47.leaves are like the teeth of sharks and the flowers draw you onto those
:50:48. > :50:49.spikes. Like a siren. Do not plan that unless you like spending time
:50:50. > :50:50.in Accident and Emergency. So that's our choices,
:50:51. > :50:53.but we want to know which plant Maybe you agree with some
:50:54. > :50:57.of our selections or have your own Share your choices on Twitter page
:50:58. > :51:08.@BBCFlowerShows using the hashtag. And we'll let you know the nations
:51:09. > :51:12.least loved plants tomorrow night. The key to a successful Chelsea
:51:13. > :51:14.garden is the creation of a harmonious relationship
:51:15. > :51:16.between the planting, or soft landscaping,
:51:17. > :51:18.and the hard landscaping elements A master of balancing both
:51:19. > :51:26.is designer Adam Frost, winner of no less than seven golds
:51:27. > :51:35.here in the past decade. He has been guiding us through this
:51:36. > :51:51.year's structural highlights. I love the construction of this
:51:52. > :51:57.water feature. It starts with these big blocks of stone that have been
:51:58. > :52:01.channelled out so it starts at the end and works its way down and drops
:52:02. > :52:06.into the slower pool and travels through large lumps, underneath and
:52:07. > :52:11.then drops into the slower pool. It is a lovely piece of work and on top
:52:12. > :52:17.of that we have this building but this cantilever and this lovely wall
:52:18. > :52:21.at the back with this large stone block and what stands out is that
:52:22. > :52:35.lovely little shadow feature, it feels like the roof is floating. I
:52:36. > :52:40.love the Portuguese limestone that Andy has used but because he has
:52:41. > :52:45.such big pieces of stone and they have been carved out angles, it must
:52:46. > :52:49.have been a nightmare for the stonemason, it is like putting a
:52:50. > :52:54.jigsaw together, unbelievable. And when we look at these bridges, they
:52:55. > :52:59.are lovely, rectangles, simple, but actually, they are not, every single
:53:00. > :53:08.one has been tapered and that has been finely polished. Andy has
:53:09. > :53:12.introduced these lovely steel, this Ron 's pattern, which gives lovely
:53:13. > :53:19.rhythm and they look beautiful but somebody has had to swing those in
:53:20. > :53:34.place, fix them. It is quite an astounding piece of work.
:53:35. > :53:42.I have a soft spot for stonework, my old man first got me dressing stone
:53:43. > :53:47.when I was ten years old and he had me building dry stone walls and what
:53:48. > :53:51.I love about them is the sense of place, it talks of the region and
:53:52. > :53:56.this garden is all about North Provence. And it says that. I have
:53:57. > :54:01.been there and southern Provence and when you get further south the
:54:02. > :54:10.stonework changes, North, we have this detailed, small slivers, and
:54:11. > :54:13.further south, the lumps get bigger. And James flew people in from France
:54:14. > :54:20.to build these, actual masons from that region. And behind me, this
:54:21. > :54:24.archway, the water dribbling down the back of the wall, this beautiful
:54:25. > :54:29.flooring and natural stonework that makes this lovely stream works down.
:54:30. > :54:35.This garden has been constructed absolutely beautifully. In reality,
:54:36. > :54:43.it feels like it has been here forever and that is what makes a
:54:44. > :54:46.great Chelsea garden. I am chuffed, this is the first year that
:54:47. > :54:52.landscapers have been recognised at Chelsea, with their own formal award
:54:53. > :54:56.and I am off to meet the winner. The best instruction was given to Steve
:54:57. > :55:06.Swanton. He built the energy garden for Kate West. Well done. What is it
:55:07. > :55:12.really like to get the first award? Over the years, we always strive to
:55:13. > :55:17.get every ounce out of the material and try to achieve the best out of
:55:18. > :55:21.the design so the design is happy and the client is happy and to get
:55:22. > :55:28.judged and get recognised for that is a really great thing. What is
:55:29. > :55:35.your favourite? I think the areas where we work on site, the base of
:55:36. > :55:40.the pool, we were given free rein. And the path at the front, I was
:55:41. > :55:43.vague on just how I wanted that and Steve had the idea about the larger
:55:44. > :55:50.stones with the smaller detailing. What did you like that came out of
:55:51. > :55:57.his head? The biggest thing was the two disciplines, contemporary stone
:55:58. > :56:01.and the dry stone and it just shows this is a varied skill that you have
:56:02. > :56:11.got. That is what I love about this. You collected the award? I will keep
:56:12. > :56:12.it at home! Even the designer managed to pick up the structural
:56:13. > :56:37.award? Credit! From man-made and natural structures
:56:38. > :56:39.and fewer plants have more drama than the Proteaceae family and they
:56:40. > :56:44.have a great show here. These plans are native to South Africa but they
:56:45. > :56:49.also have been thriving recently in the Tuscan villas of Italy, thanks
:56:50. > :56:53.to a corporate of a passionate growers who brought a selection of
:56:54. > :57:00.their own proteas here for the first time. You have been in charge of
:57:01. > :57:09.this? Silver and Gold medals. Your first Chelsea? We are delighted. It
:57:10. > :57:14.was a tremendous effort. These are immediately exotic plants, big
:57:15. > :57:19.impact, they look like nothing that we can grow here. What conditions do
:57:20. > :57:25.you need? Is it possible to grow these in Britain? They could grow on
:57:26. > :57:33.the south coast. In sheltered spots. They grow outside in Cornwall and in
:57:34. > :57:40.the islands. Anywhere else and in the end, they could be grown similar
:57:41. > :57:48.to citrus plants. How much cold will they take? They can take hold up to
:57:49. > :57:57.around -5, as long as the compost is kept dry. In Italy, where do they
:57:58. > :58:03.grow? I have never seen proteas near Florence, for example. At our
:58:04. > :58:08.nursery they grow under glass in conservatories. Shelter from the
:58:09. > :58:13.rain. Although they can grow outside, south of Rome. You have
:58:14. > :58:20.brought them here and they are flowering superbly. Was it easy? The
:58:21. > :58:27.biggest challenge for me was timing. For the flowering. Because proteas
:58:28. > :58:32.are at their best in April and not the end of May. I must be honest,
:58:33. > :58:41.there was a certain degree, as they say in Italy, of hoping for the
:58:42. > :58:43.best. I think the best happened! This is a superb display so thank
:58:44. > :58:54.you very much for bringing them to Chelsea. Picky. -- thank you.
:58:55. > :59:04.Time is running out to vote in the BBC RHS People's Choice awards to
:59:05. > :59:08.decide the biggest large show garden of 2016. Details of all gardens in
:59:09. > :59:15.contention and how to vote are on the website. Bbc.co.uk/chelsea.
:59:16. > :59:20.Voting has been opened since nine o'clock last night and if you have
:59:21. > :59:23.not voted yet, hurry up, you only have until 9:30pm tonight and the
:59:24. > :59:33.winner will be revealed tomorrow evening at 7:30pm. We will be back
:59:34. > :59:39.tomorrow to look at what influence this year's show will have on the
:59:40. > :59:43.future. And having a look at the gardens as you have never seen
:59:44. > :59:50.before, it up at night. And celibate implants that are wonderful in-laws.
:59:51. > :59:53.Mickey and James are back at 3:45pm on BBC 1- until then, it is goodbye
:59:54. > :00:26.from all of the team here at Chelsea. Goodbye. -- BBC One.
:00:27. > :00:28.You've got to be able to hit that target before it hits you.