Episode 2 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

A heady scent of flowers, a sea of beautiful gardens

It can only mean one thing - The greatest flower show

It's a star-studded occasion with the gardening glitterati

and press in full attendance for the first look at the

We'll be bringing you exclusive coverage of all the glitz

and glamour as we explore the stunning gardens and the floral

festival taking place inside the Great Pavilion.

So sit back and relax, as we've got your VIP pass

Welcome to the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show,

an event supported by M Investments.

The party is in full swing on Main Avenue as the gardens

and exhibits celebrate the show's opening day.

The gardens are looking magnificent in the sunshine, and today

we will take you for a look at some of these incredible creations.

Coming up, we'll be meeting some of the green-fingered celebrities

who make this annual pilgrimage to discover the very latest trends

Carol Klein takes us on a plant safari around the Great Pavilion,

which is brimming with floral perfection.

And Frances Tophill joins Chelsea Pensioner Barbra Whilds

on a tour of the showground as they hunt

I did he want to get in touch with us you can tweak us at hashtag BBC

Chelsea. But before we get started,

a taste of excitement Chelsea has a carnival atmosphere.

Right now famous faces and VIPs are flooding into the showground. They

make a beeline for Main Avenue which is where the large gardens are and

where some of the best designers show off their skills. I am standing

in the Welcome to Yorkshire garden. They are trying to cut and paste an

ecosystem from hundreds of miles away, lift it up and drop it into

urban London and hope you suspend your disbelief. They are doing it in

clever ways. Hidden in this undergrowth believe it or not is

speaker which is piping out the sounds of the Yorkshire coast line.

Things like seagulls and rippling waves. They are not just audible but

visual as well. This water feature is rippling waves to mimic the

coastline. They are doing it by a nautical buoy which is bobbing up

and down. There is this incredible intention to detail which Chelsea is

all about. We will be following this garden's journey to Chelsea and

interviewing its designer Tracy Foster on tonight's BBC Two

programme. We have an exciting new element

to the showground this year. To mark their 50th Birthday,

BBC Radio 2 has teamed up with the RHS to create

a new category of gardens. There are five of them,

each designed to celebrate the five senses - taste,

touch, smell, sight and sound. And many of the familiar faces

from Radio 2 are here I was lucky to join in the hubbub

when I caught up with Jeremy Vine earlier.

You have all created these fantastic gardens celebrating the senses and

this is all about touch? Yes, there are five senses and five gardens. We

think ours is the guest. We are trying not to say too loudly! You

can plunge your hand here into these pines. It is a cloud pruned pine.

The designer has done what I asked. You can fall into the river here and

here, this is the Bali sensation. You imagine URA filed running

through Bali. This is the any bit which is hard to plunge or hand

into. Did you get involved with the planting and the selection of the

flowers? Inode Jo Wiley was here all week in the pouring rain getting

down and dirty. What did you plant? Let me just show you. This plant

here I planted. I spoke to the designer, a very talented man and he

said to me, ask Jeremy what is it called. It is called Canon's den.

Nearly! Canon's went. Was this the only one you did? I get tripped up

all the time on the names. We can appreciate the beauty. It will be so

popular not just today but for the rest of the week. Matt has done a

great job. You can use your touch sense here. That tree has bark

peeling off it rather like crepe paper. You can really feel it is

like a great experience. It certainly has the feel-good factor.

Enjoy your garden and the rest of the show. Jeremy, thank you.

It looks like Nicki had loads of fun chatting with Jeremy Vine here

earlier. James, how long has it been? It is probably 18 years. This

is so brave and different, tell me about it. The idea is it is a

Soundgarden. How do you get sound into Gardens? You can either play

live music which will frighten the horses or you can have whispering

grasses. The other thing about Chelsea is it is to do new and

exciting things. The idea is we are standing in a woodland glade with

soft planting around it but you look closer and it is not quite what you

expected. I love that. There is so much more to this garden than meets

the eye. You think you get it and then you suddenly notice it. In here

are speakers. That is where the sound comes from. If you play

certain frequencies of sound through water it makes different patterns.

It has all been programmed by some very clever, very young sound

artists. Some of these are like ice crystals rippling across the surface

and others are very loud. It is like taking the base out. Now it is doing

something different. It is doing weird things! It looks like Jack

Frost is painting live over the surface and then it looks like fish

jumping up and down. It is really dramatic. To be able to turn sound

into a visual form is something I have not seen before. It is fun.

Essentially what we are doing is creating a show, a visual spectacle

so you have to create sound you can see. We have a strip of gravel which

people can put their foot and there is a vibration

which travels up your leg. If you go to a concert and you stand slightly

too close to a speaker sound, you feel the music. Here, you are

feeling it and seeing it but you can't hear it. You can roughly hear

it. It is quite low. You can feel it and then you see it. On top of that,

the planting is spectacular. I have an amazing planting team who were

helping me. As you know with Chelsea, it is not just one person.

I had very talented sound artists who helped me with the speakers and

a team who helped me put this whole vision together. My brief was to

create a slightly sinister slightly spectral woodland and I think that

is what we have. It is spectacular. If there is one garden to see at

Chelsea this year, it is this one. The Chelsea Flower Show attracts

designers and growers from all over the world,

and the show's international influences can be seen

throughout the gardens. This is the Hagakure,

the hidden leaves garden. Hagakure means leaves and tree

shade, and expresses The white in the design symbolises

purity and sacredness in Japan. And this plant, Cornus kousa,

is covered in these white flowers which is symbolic

of monks' clothing. I am sitting on a mattress, which is

a traditional flooring bedding made of Rush and straw.

The designer wanted to emulate the nature and environment

in which he grew up using plants like Iris japonica and

It is peaceful and beautiful. Chelsea has a truly international

flavour. And thanks to a long line

of intrepid plant hunters, every garden is filled with flowers

and fauna from around the world. Throughout the week, our very

own plant hunter Carol Klein will be touring the Great Pavilion looking

into the origin of some Africa is such a huge continent,

varied and exciting. It has given us some of our most scintillating and

vibrant plants. What could be more British than a

good old geranium? My grandad grew them and I bet yours did as well! In

actual fact, they are not geraniums at all, they are pelargoniums, and

they take their name from the Greek word for a stalk because their seed

head resembles a stalk's bill. Although there have been cultivated

here for more than 400 years, they are definitely not British. They are

almost all from South Africa. They love the conditions they find there,

hot, dry and sunny. In the wild there are more than 200 species of

Patagonian 's. They're a more than 16,000 cultivars. They really land

themselves to hybridisation, but the thing that the great majority have

in common are the sizzling colours of their homeland. In my youth, you

seldom saw an ad the Pampas, but in the last 20 years or so, their

fortunes have really changed -- Agapanthus. Some people grow them in

their gardens, some people have them in and out of the greenhouse and

just have them outside for a glorious summer display. In almost

all cases, they are blue, with flowers as blue as an African sky

and it is that blue that seduces us all to growing them in our British

gardens. There are lots of African plants that seem really exotic, but

there are few amongst their number that we take for granted. Plants

like red-hot poker is, or as I preferred to call them, Torch

lilies. But in actual fact, we should be celebrating them. Some are

small and dainty, some are huge, fiery torches. Isn't it about time

we brought them out from the wings and into the limelight. From

pelargoniums to Agapanthus and so many other plants, we gardeners

should really say a huge thank you to Africa.

The international flavour continues in the Great Pavilion.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden have

This is their 42nd year at the show, and over the past 42 years they've

been awarded a staggering 34 gold medals.

This year's exhibit showcases South Africa's rich

James, standing here, this display is quite remarkable, isn't it? It is

just a spectacular. It transports you to the other side of the world,

but there are individual ingredients you can experiment even someone like

the UK. For example, these at the front, the pink lilac and white

flowers, you conceive those in hanging baskets, they are super easy

to grow, namesia. And what about these? Tricky in the UK, most

standard advice says that you have to grow them in a greenhouse and

bring them indoors during cold weather, but I have a friend who is

growing this at altitude in North Wales, and the secret is to keep the

roots dry in winter. And this is a beauty. This is spectacular, and

what I love about South African plants, day look beautiful. Restios

are another. A reader viewer has written into ask about watering

cacti. Always let them dry out, and maybe when they are thoroughly dry,

water them again, I water mine once a month. Thank you very much, James.

For all of the international exhibitors and visitors,

the Chelsea Flower Show still remains a quintessentially

And what could be more British than the sight

of the Chelsea Pensioners wearing their iconic scarlet

Margery and Arthur, thank you for joining us today. It is an exciting

day, and we have borrowed your grounds for the week. In actual

fact, it is a lot longer than that. What other highlights for you? The

flower show has been here, it is like having friends and family

coming back to us. Do look forward to it single year? Every year, it is

such an event, and it is known throughout the world and it is great

to be a part of. The highlight of the year, absolutely. You are going

to enjoy it with the rest of us the whole week, and you? Definitely. And

we are going to have sunshine! Thank you.

These retired service men and women live in the Royal Hospital building,

and it's in the grounds of the hospital that

Yesterday, Gardeners' World presenter Frances Tophill

went to meet one of the veterans on their allotment here on site

to see how this year's show could inspire them.

Barbara, hello. What an incredible space this series. So many

allotments, right in the centre of London and right by the Chelsea

Flower Show. It is amazing and wonderful. This is mine. I have

autumn fruiting raspberries on the way, some are fruiting raspberries,

blackberries, goose breeze, and some pink currents. I have never grown

one of those, and you have loads of fruit is already falling on the

vines. You have everything I could imagine being fitted into such a

small space, but there are few things like strawberries are not

here. Is there a reason for that? I haven't really got the ground space.

And things like tomatoes. Let's see if we can find some varieties next

door that would fit in amongst all of this. Yes. That would be

brilliant. What you make of this one, Barbara?

It is wonderful. All of the different colours and the different

leaves, wonderful. Every allotment here would hope for a plot like

this. Definitely. If you were in two minds about growing strawberries, I

bet this changes your mind. The smell coming from these is

fantastic, isn't it? This one is called Fenella, and it is good for a

wet summer, it doesn't watch like some of the others. But this one,

Cupid, is a more compact version, you could grow that in a container

and maybe hang it from the vines. We have managed to add strawberries to

your allotment. Let's see if we can find something else to really finish

it off. Can I persuade you to try a tomato?

This one is called Cherry baby. It's sweet. That is a really good

tomato! Definitely worth growing, I would say. But it is quite big, and

I know that space is an issue. So this one, patio plum, isn't it

unusual? It grows in a pot like that, and it will keep on cropping

until December if you want it to, so really prolific. So hopefully you

have had some inspiration to make your allotment even more productive

and grow even more different things. I certainly have, and thank you very

much for showing me. Lovely to meet you, and I hope you enjoy the rest

of the show. There is such an extraordinary

wealth of information here, not only in terms of how plants look but also

how they taste. This area of London has a long

horticultural history. The nearby Chelsea Physic Garden

was founded in 1673 to train apothecaries in the identification

and use of medicinal plants. Former head gardener

of the Physic Garden and Chelsea designer Nick Bailey is exploring

a fresh garden that celebrates those ancient medicinal plants

with a contemporary twist. Chelsea Flower Show is famous for

ornamental plants, but this year I'm excited to discover a garden that

focuses on plant loop was medicinal qualities. Catherine, this is a

beautiful garden. But it is about more than just the aesthetics,

right? Yes, it is about a journey of discovery of Ben Branson, the

founder. He discovered this book, the art of distillation, published

in 1651. He bought himself a copper still and started experimenting with

plants in his garden, and he developed the world's first

nonalcoholic spirit. And the garden has a distinctive modern element in

the materials and structure, and very much a traditional element on

the other side. What is the driver behind that? This whole journey was

from 1651 through modern times, and we have an abstract interpretation

of 17th-century apothecary here, and on the other side, the copper work

is kept all shiny and new, and we have lab equipment and modern-day

distillation. And these slice throughs of plant specimens. This is

through oak, and then we have pine and also Flax. Looking across the

garden, it is not just the structures and the ornamentation,

but also the planting. What has driven that? Copper is important to

alchemists, and if you look at the garden in plan view, we have a cross

and three lines that represent the chemical symbol for copper, and

moving forward, it has been essential to the process of

distillation. Why is copper significant in distillation, what

qualities does it have? It has a fantastic conductivity, so it heats

very quickly, and it is therefore very useful in the process of

distillation. Catherine, just looking at the palate you have got

here, this is a really interesting mix. We have the plant here that has

been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over a thousand years.

It is used for ailments of the liver and kidney. And the garden has a

range of more modern medicinal plants. Yes, we have plantain. And

this is something you would find growing in your lawn, it is a

British native. It is, and it is nice to have it here, sometimes

people recognise it from their childhood, but this has been found

useful to remove dirt from the RA, but also potential use in treatment

for cancer. Catherine, thank you, that has been a fantastic insight

into this fusion of ancient and modern traditional plants and modern

plants used in medicine. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Goodbye. This digitalis typifies the garden.

It was used historically by healers to deal with heart elements, and it

has made its way all the way through to modern medicine where it is used

in the same way, and it is a great reminder to us that plants are not

just about aesthetics and food, they also deliver some of our most

important medicines. You don't have to be a horticultural

expert for gardens to really move you. What I love about Chelsea is

that every year it serves as an inspiration for a whole new

generation of gardeners. One of those gardeners here today is Trevor

Nelson. So you are new to gardening? I am absolutely new to gardening,

but I have had gardens, but I haven't used them. I took it for

granted I had a garden, got a garden around, did it, never went out

there. For someone like me who can't imagine not being interested in

plants, I think it's fascinating that you can suddenly develop this

passion so quickly. How does that happen? I have fallen in love with

looking at gardens. It really hit me last year watching the coverage that

I have to come here and come to the Chelsea Flower Show, I can't believe

I'm saying that, and now I am here I am loving it. There is a big synergy

between music and gardening, one of my favourite landscape architects

said something like, architecture and landscape architecture is just

frozen music. You're supposed to have all the same principles, the

same rhythm and tempo and texture, just frozen into a three-dimensional

space. We are at the Artisan gardens here. From up music point of view,

what you think? So, this is your favourite. Yes, it

is. What musical genre does this conjure up for you? Because it has a

contemporary twist, I would say cool R You have got the water feature,

the canopy, you are secluded. Because it is so well-stocked, you

feel you are in a bigger there are so many plants. It is kind of

contemporary, but it is also nostalgic and the types of materials

and plants here. A mash up garden! I am learning how to be cool today!

What you think about this one? Definitely more traditional, looks a

bit wilder. Attached to a cottage in the country. You were talking about

musically? Folk. So what kind of music do you think

about this one? Jazz, but not jazz as you know it. 80s jazz. Very sexy,

very polished, very perfect. I think you have hit the nail on the head.

They have a forensic level of detail, there is not a single piece

of dust, and it is something you only get to see a Chelsea. It needs

to be framed and you pick it up and walk away and hang it on your wall.

It is great. Is there anything you have taken

away from this year's Chelsea? Ideas, ideas and more ideas. You

walk around and think, I want that and I want that. I have enjoyed it,

I want to come back next year. Mark, we have been enjoying you an

Gardeners' World, and we are enjoying you here at Chelsea again.

Are you looking forward to the showground on the exhibits? There is

just so much to see, so much inspiration and colour and texture,

so many things to take home. Your face is a light already! There is so

much to see, but is there one thing you are looking out for this year? I

am, looking at Meadow type planting. I have an orchard at home, and it is

about 20 metres by ten metres, not too big at all, and last year we let

the grass go along and it looked wonderful, but we felt we needed to

add some colour, so it is interesting to see this year quite a

lot of Meadow planting going on, and it is interesting to see which

colours have been used in the grasses as well, so we have some

nice muted colours which are brilliant for calming, relaxing

moods, and then also some that are really quite bright and

effervescent, and that just lifts our mood and we have that behind us

as well. Yes, you look at this display and you just smile, don't

you? You really do. How important is that when you are thinking of

planning a garden or window box? What can we look out for, those soft

rules to think, every time I look at that, will make a difference? The

main thing is to keep it simple and just mix up the textures. Sometimes

it is easy to go to a garden centre or nursery and work out some

grasses, and then just some annuals. Put in some cornflowers, wonderful

bright blue. It lifts your mood, and it also calms, as well. Blue is a

wonderful colours are doing that. Then you can intersperse white and

yellow and red, and before you know it, you have a lovely mix of colours

going on. So every time you look at, whether it is on your windowsill or

balcony or wherever it might be, it will just lift your mood

straightaway. Health benefits, so important. They really are

important. I know first-hand how important it really is to have an

outdoor space or even just some greenery and some flowers, and

again, whether that is just on a small balcony or even in your

garden. Use it and enjoy it! We will be catching up with you tomorrow

night on BBC Two, so we look forward to that.

Too many people press day is all about the celebrities. But for me

the real celebrities are the large show Gardens and the designers who

create them. To get an opportunity to get in each of the divine is a

bit better we will find out what makes them tick.

I Andrew Wilson. And I am Gavin Williams. The three words which

describe me are calm, collected and amusing. I'm volatile, exciting and

angry most of the time! No, not really!

I chose to work in garden design because it brought together fine

art, graphic design and a passionate love of the landscape and I wanted

to design beautiful things to share with people. We produce simple,

elegant spacious designs. We also like to push the boundaries slightly

and produce thought-provoking work as well. My top tip for garden

design is always to keep things simple. I think that is the essence

of good design, it is the distillation to produce something

simple. Congratulations on an incredible garden. It is called

Breaking Cammack Road ground. How has it been for you? It has been

surprisingly good. We were concerned about the integration of all the

elements. It was about integrating these structures with really

involved planting but we have managed to pull it off brilliantly.

I love gardens which contrast loose planting with chunky architecture.

How has the planting worked for you? The planting is about drift, like

the drifting thoughts of daydreaming. There are big blocks of

Salvia which we were hoping would pull out the colour stops on the

show and little sparks which sparked through the meadow. I do not

recognise those. There is a fantastic plants and its sparks off

in all sorts of different directions and then the head just floats, it

appears to just float in the planting. I have been reading about

your gardening, you have mentioned sign-ups a few times. It looks like

that. There are lots of little explosions through the garden. The

paving pattern is new ROM -based and then there are sparks. We wanted

these little flashes of energy. Have there been any dramas in the garden?

Surprisingly we have not had one. We have been waiting for it but it

never came which is why I am looking so relaxed on press day. You are

looking relaxed and the garden look incredible. I can see a Chelsea gold

on the rise in. That would be nice. Come back tomorrow! -- I can see a

Chelsea gold on the horizon. Tomorrow we will be getting under

the skin of two more of the large Now, it wouldn't be any

kind of a flower show It's a bumper year for the florists

as the British Florist Association are celebrating their 100th

anniversary, and across the week we'll be looking at some

fantastic displays. But now I'm joined by

Royal Florist Simon Lycett to help us all bring a bit of Chelsea

sparkle into our homes. Yes, it is always such a joy to see

you, Simon. What do have in store for me today? Because we are

creating the Royal bunch later on I thought it would be fun for you and

I to create a bunch which everyone at home could copy and replicate. I

see we are starting off with hydrangea. Ahead of hydrangea and

then you can use some strips of foliage. You can thread your stems

down through and bring it in and then that helps you work out at what

level. They will help you support the flowers. Little more

eco-friendly than using chicken wire. Or the foam. A lot of people

have hydrangea bush is in their garden. They have a beautiful smell.

This is the most beautiful fragrant rose. So we're not twisting, we are

using this as a structure. Do you get nervous when you do a bouquet

for Her Majesty is that who is doing it this year? Caitlin who is from

Swansea. She is 11. Will it be a long these lines? It will be smaller

for the modestly sized Royal hands. To think she will be nervous? I

think Caitlin is excited. To be at Chelsea is horticultural heaven for

a child who is interested in gardening. I have a question for

you. Deeney 's pier has been in touch. She wants to know what are

the latest trends in floristry. Is there a plant or flower that you are

seeing -- Denise Kear. I think there are. Some last four weeks in

decorations. The other trend is creating mixed colours and

arrangements in quite an informal style so it does not look too

arranged. I have broken one and I am trying to do it very softly. We will

use that later. I will make that into a little buttonhole for

someone. I need a little bit longer to perfect the magic. Yours is

looking stunning. Do we just find it at the end? It is paper covered wire

so it secures the stems without bruising them and then we trimmed

that off and trim the stems to fit in a Leave vase. Then do we have it

in the house? It can bring you more enjoyment.

We'll be bringing you exclusive coverage of Her Majesty The Queen's

annual visit to the show on BBC Two at eight o'clock this evening.

While the exhibitors and designers are waiting

for the royal seal of approval, let's hear what some of today's VIP

What's not to love about Chelsea? It is seeing all these gorgeous colours

and flowers. Oh, my gosh, it is exciting, so creative. People think

you have got to know about flowers to come here, no, you have got to

come here and worship. I come here for ideas, to see all the new things

and you have a great opportunity to talk to all the growers. I had not

been for a long time that I am loving it.

I love the varieties here and maybe I love the stands because I am a bit

of a shopper. It is fantastic, one of the great events of the year,

along with Scott, Henley and Wimbledon. It is a lovely thing to

do. It is a beautiful oasis in the heart of London. I cannot imagine

there is a more creative space on the planet than Chelsea.

The show gardens seem to have been a big hit with this year's VIPs.

Now I'm joined by two of Chelsea Flower Show's own

young stars, gold medal designers the Rich brothers.

Guys, it has been an incredible few years for you. You have been

catapulted. It feels like last year it was your Artisan garden? That was

2013 when we were first aired. Doing the little Artisan garden. It was

the pivotal point of our career being here amongst the hustle and

bustle. Huge names, it was crazy. You were still at uni then? So you

did that and you did three in a row, you did Main Avenue the next year

and people work for 20 years before they get onto Main Avenue. That is

incredible. It was our 10-year plan to get to Chelsea and with some good

luck and timing we somehow managed to do three in three years. We are

very pleased. It was a great result for us. Where has that taken US

young people getting into the industry, an industry which is not

necessarily known for its youth appeal? We have been

lucky to work with some fashion brands. That was cool. That was

maybe a different angle and they thought maybe that could be a nice

combination of industries in a way. The same direction in a way as most

people with designs. A bit of TV as well which has been fun. You have

just got a TV show out and I have just seen a book as well! When are

you coming back? We would love to be back. It is just finding the right

time and stuff like that. What has Chelsea done for you? It is unusual

to start at Chelsea, has it helped you in your career? I think being

young, coming in to Chelsea, as a designer, I think lines look at you

and think what have you done before, what can you show us? Chelsea came

up with the backbone, it was something we could lean on going

into these projects and gave us confidence as well that we knew we

could do it, and it has been absolutely incredible for us. It is

incredible how much you learn when you are catapulted into it. It is a

baptism of fire, they are not real Gardens in some ways, they're all

the challenges of designing it, the floral display and almost like a

stage set you are setting up at the same time? It is definitely a

different world. You have the same principles but you have to think

about who is viewing it and hitting your brief as well. You are letting

it grow and developing it but the stress of making sure something is

in flower or that you have captured that atmosphere, that is the

stressful bit. I cannot wait to see you back here again guys. Lovely to

see you again. Unfortunately that's

all we have time for today, but what a fantastic start

to the week. It is better killer. The first thing

people see if this wall of colour. It is great watching them -- it is

spectacular. Thank you, James. My damaged Rose has gone to good use!

Hopefully, my floral designs will get better with time.

It certainly has been a triumphant first few hours,

and there's further coverage of the inaugural day here at Chelsea

But if you're watching in Wales, we'll be on BBC Two.

Yes, Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift will be taking a look

at all the day's events, including a preview

And I'll be chatting to the comedy genius Peter Kay.

If you have a question for Monty and Joe about the show,

get in touch via #askmontyandjoe as they'll be answering your

We will see you at the same time tomorrow. Bye-bye! Told macro

bye-bye!