Episode 12 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

It's Friday and there is only one day left to see this show.

If you haven't got a ticket to Chelsea, then you won't miss

a thing because in the next half hour we'll be offering you a front

row seat to the most famous flower show in the world.

Welcome to the 2016 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

This event supported by M Investments is full

of drama, adventurous design and inspiring ideas.

In the next half hour we will be finding out what you at home think

and who you've been voting for in the BBC RHS

Today we'll also be joining actress, Meera Syal, as she puzzles over

Mary Berry will be talking to us about her passion

But first, one of the gardens here is the Winton Beauty

of Mathematics Garden designed by Nick Bailey.

The aim of this design is to highlight the natural

algorithms that underpin all life on earth.

Do you understand? I have just about got there! You are so clever!

Well yesterday we invited mathematics mastermind

I wasn't that bad at maths at school. I seem to have forgotten it

all. Can you help? It is a beautiful garden, but it's got an equation

here... We have all these plants and they all grow according to

mathematics. Alan Turing wrote a paper and he said, if we can make a

real computer that could really think... He looked at plants and he

looked at how they grow. He found they all use mathematics. It is in

the gene. When you get a foxglove or a lupin, all the flowers are

identical. Sit to do -- it is to do with the golden ratio. What is the

golden ratio? 1.618034... No! Don't test me! There are rhythms? It's a

rhythm and a pattern. It is throughout every single plant, every

living thing? Every pine cone. There are eight spirals one way and 13 the

other way. That is every pine cone that ever existed. Wow! All these

plants have got mathematics in the way they replicate the seeds, the

leaves, everything. It is all mathematics. That is beautiful.

Learning about the way plants grow helped us build the computers we

have today. That is why these are so important. I get it now! Don't ask

me to quote this equation! Tell us about your experiences of coming to

Chelsea over the years and has it changed? For me, it never changes.

And there's always something new and it is always wonderful. I'm not a

gardener. We have a gardener. I have sold the lawnmower. My wife does the

potting. We bought a fountain here, one of the double-deckers. Frankly,

it's a pigeon's toilet! What we did this last year in October, listen to

this, this is a great tip. What we did, we went down to one of the

cheaper supermarkets and we put soil in it and we put those wallflowers

in, in October, and we have never... The pigeons haven't used it as a

toilet. We have never watered it. It's a bee... I'm a friend of

nature! He is very friendly! Those flowers are still there going into

June. Ten quid! You have green fingers and you can keep the pigeons

off your garden. Absolutely. We have had maths, your own garden, lovely

to meet you. I have got my head around it! Thanks for coming.

I just about get that. That is the more complicated side of gardening.

For most of you, gardening and Chelsea are all about the pleasure

it brings you. Thanks to all of you for getting in touch, including

Hilary, who sent in this picture of her father's beautiful garden.

Louise sent us a picture of one of her bearded irises.

Now every year there are new kids on the block here at Chelsea

and designing a large show garden is a brave and often

It can be a steep learning curve for some.

The youngest designer here is 27-year-old Sam Ovens.

Chelsea can be accused of being old school. Every now and then, a new

designer makes their way to the show. This year, Sam Ovens has been

making the headlines with his Cloudy Bay creation. I met Sam back in 2014

when he won the RHS Young Designer of the Year Award for his Skies The

Limit design. Sam - I say this to him - he does love a bit of slatted

timber. This is cedar and it's polished and planed. He tells me he

really likes using it because of the way the light plays across it,

casting shadows that change throughout the day.

As a rule, young designers don't create theatrical gardens, or

gardens that have developed from experiences in their youth because

not enough time has elapsed for them to develop into a story or

narrative. Where the young bloods always shine

is with practical gardens, family gardens. I can tell you, if my

nine-year-old daughter was here right now, we would be sat here,

shoes and socks off, feet dangling in the water like Pooh Bear and

Piglet. There is serious horticulture here. Sam has drawn on

the Cornish landscape he knows so well. A mix of heathers and grasses

and he's created a garden full of life, that is gaining a life of its

own. The hedgerow honeysuckle and the conifers are filling the air

with their pollen. I think this design has brought some common-sense

to Chelsea. The materials aren't expensive or exclusive, they are

just creatively worked. The deck is dark and light. It adds so much to

this very useful space. Aren't these concrete benches a triumph? They are

so simple, they are a timber box filled with concrete that is

polished on the top. I think this design will be very influential. Sam

has done that hardest of things - shown that it is not what you use,

but how you use it. We have come outside the Great

Pavilion now. I'm joined by Meera Syal. Are you a big gardener? Well,

I love looking at gardens and I love appreciating other people's gardens,

but not keen on doing the dirty work myself. You don't want to get your

hands dirty? It is not that. I wasn't brought up particularly with

gardening. Even though my mum grew up in a village and knew a lot about

nature. Generally, the Indian parents' idea of gardening was to

tarmac it over and put in a Swingball. We weren't brought up

with a love of that patch of green. I have seen that change a lot with

my generation, being a Londoner, so we don't have much gardens so what

you have, you really do appreciate and nurture. I have become more

interested now in just making my patch of green... You treasure that

space? Yes. How big is your patch of green? Oh gosh. I think our back

garden is 90-foot. That is not bad. Not bad for London. Still, you know,

as my son says, not big enough for a good game of football. And the front

garden is tiny. You want some inspiration, that is why you have

come here? Have you found anything? What are you looking for? We want to

redo our front and we don't have much to play with. I'm interested at

looking at the mini gardens because I want to see what you can do with a

little space that is still creative, not too high maintenance but just

gives your house some individuality and elegance, I suppose. There is a

lot you can do and the artisan gardens prove there is so much you

can do. Chelsea is a wonderfully British event. It is. I love it for

that. I was trying to think if there is anything equivalent in the world

and I'm not sure there is. It is a peculiarly British thing that we

don't apartment live like a lot of Europe. People still want a garden.

Even if it is tiny. Something about the Englishman in his castle

mentality. It is a rather wonderful thing. You have not been here very

much. How have you found it? It is very crowded. Especially around the

beautiful displays. I mean, if you want to get a selfie, you have to

join a queue! There is a lot of people just soaking in the displays

and wanting to be photographed in front of them. But I love that. It

is breathtakingly beautiful. Do you not stand there and think, this is

really quite eccentric? No, I don't. I sort of get it. I just think that

the... I'm looking at this beautiful display behind us. There's so much

of nature that we miss. We all lead very busy lives and unless you are

lucky enough to live somewhere very rural with a gorgeous view, these

little pleasures pass us by. That bumblebee climbing into that flower,

so there is something restful and good for the soul. Just look at how

beautiful that is and you can have that in your garden. You will have

to come back and your gardens will have been transformed. It will be a

haven. You are inspired already. Thank you. Pleasure.

All week we've been looking at the huge variety of different

plants on display in the gardens and within the Great Pavilion.

The judges have voted for their favourites

but you have also been busy expressing an opinion.

Last night Monty and I asked you get in touch to let us know

So do you balk at a begonia or cringe over cosmos?

Well, it seems nothing divides a nation more than a plant!

We have some people who don't like plants known as "baby sick". Is that

the scent of it? You should stop feeding your children that! Also,

lots of people's least favourite is the marigold. Do you like a

marigold? I do. They are often used in garlands outside temples in

India. The bright orange colour. Orange is the colour of Chelsea this

year. You have upset Meera here. Do you like a marigold? I'm not keen on

bright orange flowers. Very last year! You told me it was THIS year!

Pampas grass... You know what they say about that? No! I will tell you

later. People are saying it is horrible. It is a big grass. Unless

somebody chops the flowers off it. I once had to dig one out and it took

me a whole day to get one out. It is about texture and grass. There are

loads of grasses here this year. That's true.

Well, one thing is for certain, nothing divides

The rose is also a bloom that people tend to have a love/hate

relationship with, but one woman who loves it is Mary Berry.

Earlier this week, I caught up with her in the Great Pavilion

to find out about her passion for this plant.

No flower show would be complete without roses and I'm with someone

who loves roses. She's even just had one named after her, Mary Berry,

lovely to see you. This is not just a rose that's been named after you,

it is a rose you have chosen? I chose it because I love it, it is

such a strong, healthy rose. It is beautiful. It is so fragrant. You

were clear about your requirements? I chose this and I'm thrilled to

bits with it. It lasts in water. The first thing I do when I come home, a

bunch of flowers on the table. You are a very good gardener yourself, I

have seen you here many times before. You love it? You come to

Chelsea to get new ideas and there is always something. You also meet

all the growers and the producers. It is wonderful. It is a huge

opportunity to get your questions answered and go to the RHS and ask

anything. It is wonderful. You have got a new role with the RHS?

We all feel better out of doors it is so healthy.

You have become President of The National Garden Scheme, taking over

Joe Swift? We have opened our garden for 20 years. It gives such pleasure

to people. They come with a friend to get some ideas, to enjoy the

fresh air, to perhaps get a good tea.

I'm sure they get a good tea at your garden! It inspires everybody to get

going. Well, it is wonderful sitting here,

surrounded by so many fragrant roses. This is a very quintessential

English garden? Well, in my garden, the roses are the most important. I

love to pick them and bring them into the house.

Every year I have a new tradition to take home a new rose, maybe this

year it will have to be the Mary Berry rose for 2016.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. That rose really is a boosy, Mary

Berry, a lovely fragrance. A lucky woman. Well, one nation with a

penchant for all thing British is Japan. This year they have two

design teams exhibiting at Chelsea. We sent along guest reporter and

journalist, Yuko Suzuki, to find out what it has been like for them to

recreate a garden so far from home. My name is Yuko Suzuki, living in

London for ten years, getting to grips with British culture and

social quirks. This year there are two Japanese

designers, I want to find out what they really thing of this very

British affair! This is an East Meets West garden, this garden was

created by two different teams, a Japanese team and a British team all

together. So I have to find out what it was like to work with the

British? TRANSLATION: It was great fun but

obviously a little language barrier. So they needed to take out a mobile

phone and use the technology to translate! Yes, they were not very

organised but they had this powerful paper and she really enjoyed working

with them. Ishihara is the most passionate of

designers here. Why are you so excited?

He said he had so many staff working with him, it was such a big

responsibility and then he found out he got the gold, he is so relieved,

and also happy. Why do you think you keep winning gold here in Chelsea?

He's got beautiful details in his garden, that is something that he

thinks that the judges love about his garden.

He has said, that he is also the Wizard of Green! Now with all the

courthouse thousands of people at Chelsea it can be hard to see the

detail that makes the plants medal-winning. Toby Buckland has

been having a close of up look at the wonderful blooms.

There is more to the beauty of the garden than the first impression of

the leaf form and the flowers. You take the time to get up close and

examine the miracle of nature that so many blooms are. Often there are

plants with a long structure, that shape indicates that is pollinated

by humming birds, that use their bakes. That, or moths or butterflies

with long tongues to reach the nectar in the bottom. Bees don't

come close, so for the butterflies it is exclusive dining! This is a

moth orchid. It is called Little Zebra. You probably is a orchids in

the bathroom or your window sill, they are easy to grow. There is a

landing pad for the bees here, in the wild, the orchid produces a lip

to look exactly like a single species of bee, a female, ready for

fertilisation. That attracts the males, tricks them into pollinating

the plant, the males get nothing but the flowers are fertilised! It is

not just flowers that look spectacular in close-?700, fowliage

can too. This is aptly called The Buddhist

Temple. It reminds me something that you can

build in Dubai. The leaves are like a ripple running up the central

stem. It is impossibly complex. It looks man-made, engineered. Nature

is amazing. Although so much of Chelsea is about

the big picture in design, take your time, look closer, there are

miracles right under your nose. It's been a long and emotional week

for all of the exhibltors. Adam Frost checked in with some of his

old peers, to see how they are faring at the end of the busy week.

Now that the horticultural celebration is drawing to an end, it

will be nice to see how the designers are coping with the

emotion and the tension that Chelsea brings. I reckon it is time to find

out how they are dealing with the Chelsea hangover.

How are you, mate? Mr Frost! Hello, how are you? So, your first Chelsea,

what has it been like? Stressful! The judging is out of the way, the

medals are out of the way. That is gone. Now you can spend this part of

the show talking to people. I love it.

It is probably one of the few professions where you can do

something creative and people can see it in person.

Sniefrjts Queen Elizabeth loved it. Did she? Yes! Do you sleep? Yes, I

sleep. It is the air! I tend to wake in the middle of the night worrying

about the things have to do in the next day.

I have been sleeping for four hours a night. For three weeks.

You look fantastic on four hours' of sleep! I met James, I love him.

You do know he is married? Yes, damn it! I love the Chelsea gardens that

capture a mood, with a certain spirit. You can see that in the ones

that medal very well. There are designers that have been

thinking about details for months and months.

A birdie tells me you have been out on the scout? No, that is a rumour,

we all get on together. Would you come back? I would come

back. If asked to, I would come back. It is a tough gig.

This is a picture of calm personified.

You can see that the designers have poured their heart and souls into

the gardens. If they haven't a hangover now, they will when the

week is over. I saw the designers this afternoon,

they are looking exhausted. Not just the designers but everyone

working here. Everyone must lie down for a day or two after this.

What are your favourites? I think that there are two fantastic show

gardens out here and the weather has been glorious.

It really has been. The thing that sticks with me, the poppies and the

box, the antithesis of Sarcofhagaii, the holes, it is a stunner.

There are so many we cannot mention all of them. Here is a look at a few

of the Chelsea highlights. Gardening is rock and roll, and it's

good for the soul! Yeah! Well, the show gardens have been a

big highlight here at Chelsea this week. You have been voting in your

thousands. This is for the garden that you want

to win, the BBC RHS People's Choice. Now, we are about to reveal the

winner. They are talking to Joe, they think they are talking about

trees, right now. Let's surprise them.

Somebody kindly said does this have mildew... Matthew Wilson, can I

interrupt you, briefly. Hi, yes.

You have been chosen... As... BBC RHS People's Choice!

APPLAUSE. Well done. Well den. Amazing.

Congratulations! I was not expecting that.

You fooled me big time. I was just about to talk about the oak tree as

well. That is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

I mean, it's been a real labour of love, this garden. There has been a

lot of people involved in creating it. I've had a great sponsor,

Welcome to Yorkshire. They have been brilliant. We have had help from all

around the county to make a really big garden on a very small budget.

You got the silver last year, what does this mean to you? It means a

huge amount. It is people responding to the garden, responding to the

concept, finding beauty in the stone glass, in the planting. I had, I

think one of the high points was yesterday when somebody said "I'm

going to vote for your garden, and I'm from Lancashire. " So there you

go. The people of Yorkshire and

Lancashire have been behind your work. Congratulations.

Thank you very much. Well, it has been an incredible week

at Chelsea. The designers and the exhibitors have put on a superb

show. Don't go away. Switch over to BBC Two so you can join Monty and me

straight after this programme. So, for now, from both of us,

goodbye. Goodbye.

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