Episode 4 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Hello and welcome to The Royal Horticultural Society's

Chelsea Flower Show 2017, an event supported

It's the opening day of the most celebrated flower show on Earth

and the world's press has descended en masse to get a first

look at what Chelsea has to offer this year.

There's been a real sense of excitement in the air,

as a host of VIPs and famous faces join the press pack

to take in the very best plants and garden design.

But you don't need a VIP pass to enjoy this year's offering,

because we will be covering every inch

here on the BBC, ensuring you don't miss a moment.

Our team of garden design and plant experts will be your guides

throughout the week sharing their specialist knowledge

Coming up on tonight's programme, Joe

and I give our first impressions of the large show gardens and we'll

be meeting designer Tracy Foster as she takes on the challenge

of bringing the rugged Yorkshire coastline to Chelsea.

We'll be meeting the Great Pavilion exhibitor whose passion for Alliums

helped establish them as a favourite in the British summer border.

Joanna Lumley is here to share her passion

for gardening and why, for her, the Chelsea Flower Show

Adam Frost will be with us throughout the week,

to show how you can use the best design ideas at Chelsea

Tonight, it's all about maximising small spaces.

And just hours ago, Her Majesty the Queen arrived

for her annual visit to the show, and we'll be bringing

As visitors arrive at the show, the first point of call is usually

Monty and I were eager to do the same, so earlier we headed down

There has always been something of the catwalk about the main show

gardens here at Chelsea. They set the fashions from which we tend to

follow. What you see here today will start popping up in gardens all over

the country in the years to come. And there have been certain trends

over the last few years which are starting to become repeated, and one

of them is to take a landscape and conceptualise it, think of Dan

Pearson or Andy Sturgeon's Gardens. And this year is no exception.

Whether that means what we are seeing are true gardens or works of

art or ideas, I don't think that matters. What matters is that you

can find something in it that is meaningful to you, and that you

enjoy it. And here we have Breaking Ground Garden and that follows that

pattern. It is based upon the landscape around Wellington College

in Berkshire, and it seem really is learning. I know that landscape, it

is heathland, although most of our heathland has disappeared over the

last 100 years, and at the back of the garden you can see a little

re-creation of his lid with its typical flora, and that great,

gritty, Sandy, acidic soil, I know because I went to school just down

the road from there, and I can smell it. And these walls which I first

thought was something to do with DNA or chemical structure, but they

represent the walls of learning, they break down and start again, and

that is how learning works. This wall has the aspirations of learning

through pupils. And here the synapses connecting the planting in

the pavement. It is flowing free and moving out, and the lines of colour

weaving and trending towards the future where education is left

behind, but never forgotten. We go back to that question, is it a

garden? Does it relate to me at home? And I think the answer is

absolutely yes, because there will be something here, something in all

the gardens at Chelsea that you can find, you can use and make your own

garden the better for it. From a damp northern European landscape to

this scorched and arid Mediterranean. The idea here is a

Maltese quarry that has been completely abandoned. So originally

the ground level would be at the top of these wonderful towers here,

these are just huge and imposing on the site, and the whole area around

has been excavated out as the quarry has been developed. But over time,

the quarry has been abandoned, and a couple have taken over the site and

turned it into a garden, and it really is a functional garden. We

have a seating area at the top with this wonderful pistachio holding the

corner as you walk down to the sunken area, and I really like this

garden because it is a landscape. It really conjures up the essence of a

landscape, but it is also an incredibly contemporary garden at

the same time, it has a very strong mood about it, and everything works

with that theme which makes it so successful. The new owners have

found these old pieces of stone on-site and they have rearranged

them and used what they can enter this sort of chequerboard effect of

stones, and I like the way that the boundary has got these saw marks cut

in to add texture and backdrop to the whole garden, because the stone

is continuous throughout the site and it gives that a real sense of

harmony. The plants have got that sense that it has been abandoned,

they have self seeded and dotted around, but there is a huge range of

endemic lance at the same time, salsify over there, and Islay of the

red Valeri and behind me. And this fantastic terrace and this water,

the colour is perfect, the quality is so tempting. As the week goes on

and the temperatures rise, I can see people diving in and enjoying this

space. I will stick my neck out on this garden, I think James is

heading for his fourth Chelsea gold medal. I have said it. Another show

garden designer, Tracy Foster, was faced with the task of capturing the

essence of Yorkshire's coastline. Sophie Raworth caught

up with Tracy onsite during the hectic three-week build,

to see if her months Your first time doing a show garden

on Main Avenue. You'd think you'd keep it kind of simple. Not so per

Tracy Foster, because she has decided to bring a slice of the

Yorkshire coastline to central London, complete with cliffs and the

sea. Tracy, it is certainly ambitious.

Explain what you are doing. What is going on here is the front of the

garden will be the water feature, and the water feature is all about

the sea, so I couldn't really do a small water feature, it had to be

quite big. How will you do that there? Yes, everybody keeps asking

me that! Richard is constructing some sort of

cliff like walls. They are beautiful behind us. Huge pieces of chalk that

we got out of the quarry, and then we will just form the land, rolling

right up to the level of the top of the cliffs, and then on the top,

that is where there will be a ruin, and it puts a bit of mood in the

garden as well. This isn't your first time at Chelsea, you have done

an Artisan garden here, but the problems of the scale is a different

kettle of fish. It has been a huge change having a massive team of

people and lots of people responsible for different things,

things I am not involved in at all. And you are standing here at the

moment, itching to get in there. I'm dying to do something that might be

useful to somebody! It is the nerve-racking bit, I can't

stand it when people are touching the trees. Is it straight, Tracy?

They are putting the steps in now. When the paths is structured in the

shape of it, and even though bits have been built, it is just random.

It isn't particularly stable. Now the sea bed is starting to be made

up, it is miles better. It is pretty much completed now, the folly, so we

have completed it with some mud and water in a bucket! Everything seems

to be OK. I guess there is time for stuff to go wrong if it is going to.

Have you not been sleeping much? I haven't been sleeping tremendously

well, no. I think that is pretty standard. You are lucky to get five

hours. But it is all coming together. Today is the big day,

getting the turf in. You have just started that? Yes, it is quite easy

to cut, it feels a bit like cheating, but I'm sure it's the

right thing for a bank like that. And the sea does ebb and flow,

doesn't it? Yes, it is really nice. It is an ambitious garden, isn't it?

You are literally bringing a Yorkshire Cliffside to Chelsea. We

knew it was an ambitious plan. I didn't want to play it safe. What's

the point? I love this hedgerow along the side of the path, which

looks more spectacular when the turf is not there. It is area and light,

and I feel it is very believable. That is one good thing about doing a

natural garden, if something goes over a bit, it looks more natural!

It helps! I like your logic. Tracy, this is quite a build. You

have really had to build up the site. Yes, we brought in a lot of

soil and had to build some strong retaining walls. Because you have a

neighbour next door. And we don't want it to fall on them! And how

have you found the experience? I have enjoyed it, it is quite hectic

and frantic on Main Avenue, a lot of coming and going, but on balance it

has been good fun. And the thing that I think people are going to

ask, is this a garden, or is it a landscape? What have you created

here? It is a garden, not in the conventional sense of a garden you

would have around the back of your town house where you would have a

table and chairs and enjoy your barbecue. But it is a garden in the

way that you might have a lake and a Himalayan planting or something like

that, maybe as part of a larger garden. I'm sure it would be fun to

own and sit in and enjoy. You are really tried to conjure up the

Yorkshire landscape, that is what this is all about. It is here to

give a message and to show people that there is something beautiful up

there and it is worth going to have a look. And all of the plants and

materials have been sourced locally? All the materials were sourced

locally, right down to the pebbles and the sand. So where are these

from? They are on loan from Flamborough Beach, they are going

back. The plants would grow there, quite unique conditions, but they

are not all grown there. And the hedgerow is stunning, it is

beautiful. I love it, it is one of the first things to go in, all quite

light and wispy, and the planting team did an amazing job on that. And

you sourced the stone from the Abbey? The stone from the Abbey is

the same sort of stone that would have been used for Whitby Abbey, but

we didn't actually take Whitby Abbey apart! I'm glad to hear it! It is

very authentic, I can hear the seagulls in the background, you have

a soundscape going on, I can smell the salt coming off the seaweed

here. That has been drying in my greenhouse for a few weeks. It is as

if I am there, the visitors will love your garden. I hope so. Lovely

to meet you, and thank you for bringing it here. Thank you.

Today, the red carpet has been rolled out for Her Majesty

In celebration of the Royal visit, Carol Klein went to discover

the regal plants holding court in the Great Pavilion.

The Great Pavilion has plenty of oil subjects, whether it is because of

their name or their colour. But amongst this sea of contenders for

the throne, some plants have a Majesty all of their own.

Haq, the trumpet to announce the entrance of the Royal Courts. These

wonderful plants with their saturated colours are really

straightforward to grow. Keep them frost free Jorinde Muller into, and

don't water them at all, and then come spring, they will burst into

growth. -- keep them frost free during the winter. Then they will

fill the whole place with their glorious music.

In the Royal Courts, surely the plant that lends itself to the role

of footman is the delphinium. Tall, stately, often in lines, they really

form the basis of the brilliant border.

Every court needs its royal jester to keep the aristocracy entertained

and bring a touch of frivolity to the proceedings. These little jester

hats bring that. They are such reliable plants and so easy to grow,

and the perfect solution if you have got dry shade bringing their dancing

flowers to really liven up the proceedings.

This stand is fit for a King. In fact, it is full of King's. The

National plan of South Africa. It makes constant attention and if you

want to grow it in this country, grow it under glass wall move to

Cornwall and the Scilly Isles! We're in a Royal presence. The Queen of

hearts is in attendance presiding over this lovely stand. It takes

centre stage and is often known as bleeding hearts with its beautiful

elegant delightful flowers. During the summer, it dies down. And if it

does not, of its own accord, take a tape from the Queen of hearts. Off

its head! This year, the RHS have teamed up

with BBC Radio 2 to celebrate the station's 50th birthday

Chelsea-style. 'The Feel Good Gardens'

are designed to be the ultimate spaces in which to relax

and indulge your senses. There are five designs, each based

around one of the five senses. This is the Texture Garden,

with its designer, Matt Keitley. Hello. Everything relates to touch?

Absolutely right. And this was difficult because you can see what

you are doing with side and you can smell fragrance, how did you

approach this? The big challenge is the public cannot move through the

space. So trying to create something that your way they want to move into

it and to walk through it and to get that tactile experience across

without touching it and going through it. That is very tricky to

do that, and it is very nice coming in here but it is a shame the public

cannot. This is one of the best parts and using this level change

hopefully makes the space better. In fact, you have won

the People's Choice award twice But there are no medals awarded. No,

that element of the page is off at the time constraints Andy King

challenge. We had eight weeks to design and prepare and get ready and

to build the garden. Was that a liberation or panic? More towards

liberating. There is something lovely about spontaneous creativity.

That initial reaction to a brief and often the first idea is the best.

What the public cannot do that I can, that is quite dense and

prickly, pine, against delivery and shiny Stones and I want to touch

them. And you have progresses. -- and you have the grass. You have the

juxtaposition. How do we do that without being scratched? You can

achieve it. We could swap the pine that is the idea with Chelsea, to

push the boundaries and do something different and hopefully we have

achieved that. Do you think a valuable element of touching our

gardens? Absolutely. For myself and you and like-minded people about the

gardens, you move into a space and you want to interact and these five

are good gardens take that element to the extreme. And I hope we have

done it. -- these 520 macro. And you have.

The Great Pavilion houses some of the nation's favourite

plants and alliums are up there with the best of them.

Peter Warmenhoven has been exhibiting in the Great Pavilion

for the past 29 years and was instrumental

in making the allium a border favourite, loved by millions.

Look at the allium, it is a sure-fire, it stand straighter and

amazing colours. Amazing hats. We are close to Amsterdam. We have

grown since 1885, it is a family company and we have 55 varieties of

bulbs. It is 15,000 square metres where the bulbs get planted and we

have around 8,000 square metres in the greenhouse. We have more than a

million bulbs outside, on the field. Our business is maybe -- mainly set

up for bulb growing but you see they start to flower and there is a

market for the flowers so we sell the flowers to the auction. It is

hard to follow them, they go all over the world, every country. These

are mature bulbs, big bulbs and most flowers. You see the thickness of

the stem. Like a well-drained soil. They do not like heavy clay, that is

all the bulbs, not just the alliums. You plant them in the autumn and

they need a cold period to produce the flower. I started mainly with

the amorous, in 1985, I started to grow allium as well. I got one

variety, purple sensation. We came to Hampton Court and the people were

really keen on alliums and intimate Craig Ewers, I sold all my bulbs

abroad and I phoned my wife, can you get bulbs? It is really crazy. I

have been showing intro -- in Chelsea, this is my 29th year. I had

my biggest success in 2013 and we were best in show. That is for a

Dutch company, which was really amazing. We still enjoy that moment.

This is my last Chelsea, being in charge. I went to hand it over to my

son. I have learned from my dad. So I am confident of doing what I am

doing. Most of the ecosystems, not to be in charge any more, he has to

make the decisions. -- it is nice to be an assistant. He has to think,

this is the right driver for the show and just enjoy it. From here,

they going to the nursery, let me prepare them and they go into cold

storage for another week because we use them for Chelsea next week. As

soon as we cut the flowers, they go straight into cold storage, the

quicker the better. The flowers, they can be there the following day

already at customs or at the florist. We know when to cut them,

to store them until the end of July. We will not give away all our

secrets. They flower about three, four weeks. This is really a long

time for a flower. A Chudley is just ten days, a week. That is why they

are maybe so popular. Hopefully, it is going to make Chelsea. Not sure

at the moment, no. We need another couple more days to get bigger and

then they need a couple of days to open. I'm not sure. But that is

nature. There is nothing we can do. We have tried it in the greenhouse,

we try everything, you know what you are doing on it, but I do not

believe it is going to make it. I am pretty proud of him. How he runs

everything and how he does everything. Yes, it is always to

look at it and you can learn a lot from him. And of course, you want to

do it your own way but still, you always look back. Finally, it is

merely end. But I do not want to be number one any more. I have donated

more than 35 years. We have lovely children and lovely grandchildren

and a lovely wife and I want to do a lot of things as well. I say goodbye

to what I ever did and I have a good feeling about it.

The alliums make it to the show, who was right? So you are right. And

Nacho? I was not sure because I thought it was not going to make it.

With all my experience, I thought, it is not going to make it. Is this

a significant moment in the nursery's history? This is the

moment to step back and let him go on because he was right and I was

wrong after 29 years. I thought I knew and I had the experience. You

have passed on that knowledge and experience. It is a beautiful plant.

It is quite unusual and quite delicate compared to the bigger

flowering plants. It is unusual and it is tall with a funny flower. You

can say that. We have two say beautiful and delicate, you can say

it is a funny flower because you grow thousands. Allium seem to be at

a pig, they are so popular, everyone grows them. Have they reached a

peak, can they go anywhere? No, they can go further, developing new

varieties. Yes, you are right, but it will go on. Absolutely. So you

will take this further and you will return to Chelsea and I hope you

will return to Chelsea every year. Are you going to let him in to help

out? Yes, he is always welcome to help me out and help me with details

if I need something, I can always go back to him and ask for help. He has

a little bit of experience! This be your last major 29th year, you hope

for a big medal? I hope for a gold medal, yes. Fingers crossed, you

never know. Fingers crossed for you both and the nursery in the future,

lovely to meet you. Bulbs like alliums play an essential

role in our gardens. Many of the plants we love

the most are in fact bulbs. Here in the Great Pavilion,

exhibitors showcase some Frances Tophill has been on the hunt

to discover the best of these buried Bulbs are a vital part of our

gardens throughout the growing season and Great Pavilion, we are

spoiled for choice. Daffodils always held beginning of spring.

Understand, there are around 70 different varieties containing

25,000 different types and they are not all yellow trumpets, you can get

pink ones and multiheaded runs and even very scented ones. So there

really is no excuse not to grow them. Daffodil is a classic bulb but

a coroner stores the same nutrient. Glad you like a little more

complicated and they need protection from the frost. Gladioli flower 100

days after planting seeds should plant some every week. But you will

agree, they are worth it. Lilies make a wonderful addition to your

garden or as cut flowers in your home and look at the colours, so

beautiful. And they could not be easier to grow. They need a

well-drained soil and some sunshine. Do not plant them too closely on the

ground containers and two times the depth of the board. Look at that

beautiful double flower and amazing stem and that is what they are all

about. Incredible! If you are a lover of bulbs, it is not too late

to plant something that will flower this year. This is a great example

and they grow anywhere that is sunny and sheltered with very good

drainage. Plant blubs slightly higher than the style and you will

have perfection throughout the autumn. -- higher than the soil.

Still to come from The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, an event

supported by M Investment: Monty will be in conversation with the

Absolutely Fabulous Joanna Lumley, who will be revealing how

she discovered her passion for gardening.

We'll discover how one designer's trek through the Canadian wilderness

inspired one of Main Avenue's most challenging designs.

And we'll be bringing you exclusive coverage,

as Her Majesty The Queen tours this year's show.

Whilst the Main Avenue show gardens often garner

the greatest attention, for me, the smaller gardens are...

All of the different types are just as interesting, both in the way that

they use their plants and in the details of design. And this is a

great example. It is only a very small footprint, but it is a

combination of architecture and garden that I love. Upstairs we have

a high-rise garden and lowdown here, a shady garden, but the views have

been framed, the materials thought about and it feels like a cohesive

design, great example of what you can do in your own space. Here we

have nice crisp box hedging and then this really lush shady environment.

These plants don't get much sun or rain, they will all be irrigated,

but we still have this wonderful textural foliage of plants like tree

ferns and changes and I really like this rusty metal trellis work that

ties in with the detail on the steps as well. It just shows you that you

can grow plants in the city in an urban environment. Plants should

always come first. They should, but the way they work with the design

should be seamless, and it does work here. I think this is one of those

gardens that gets better and better every time you look at it. These are

not the only small gardens. There is also the Artisan category.

Yesterday we made a mistake saying that Juliet Sargeant had won, but

she and fact won a gold medal, and today she has been to take a look at

the Artisan Gardens. These gardens are an opportunity for the designers

to really celebrate traditional skills of fine craftsmanship and to

enjoy working with these beautiful materials. This is the poetry lovers

garden, and the designer, Fiona Cadwallader, has created a beautiful

tranquil space. I can hear the trickle of the waterfall. She has

been quite brave in using stainless steel against the dry stonewalling,

but I think it does work, and it is a celebration of craftsmanship. And

I love the way that Fiona has created a really delicate palate of

planting. The tones of the flowers are very muted, very subtle, and

there is a lightness and airiness about the atmosphere of this

planting. But my favourite plant is this one, the fritellaria, usually

we expect those to be bright yellow or red, but this one is a dusty

purple which creates an accent for the planting, but isn't too in your

face, it is really subtle. Another Artisan Gardens celebrates the

heritage and habitat of the Norfolk Broads. It was designed by Gary

Breeze. The first thing that struck me about this garden was the

beautiful tones of the wood. What is the project were bad? It's sort of

tells a story from the tree to the sea. We have an oak tree and then

oaks that have been taken to smaller and smaller pieces of wood until we

have a boat under construction. Everything is made of natural

materials, then you put that in a natural environment and it comes

together. And it really transports us to the Norfolk Broads. I can

imagine myself there at this moment with the sunshine in and the birds

singing, all we need now is for a frog to hop into the water. Are

there any particularly rare plants? We have water soldiers that are

essential to a local dragonfly, and milk parsley which is where

swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs, and they lay them nowhere

else, so it is a full ecosystem here.

One of the great joys of Chelsea is that the gardens,

whatever their size, are awash with fresh ideas

and innovative designer tricks to be discovered.

But just how achievable are these ideas to recreate at home?

Throughout the week, multi-gold-medal-winning garden

designer Adam Frost will be revealing that it really is possible

to create a little bit of Chelsea magic in your own garden.

And tonight, he's focusing on how to make the most of your space.

Gardens seem to be shrinking by the day, but that doesn't mean you can't

have a beautiful garden. I think there are a load of ideas out there

to make a small space feel a whole lot bigger.

This really is a small garden. It is five metres by seven metres, and

there is so much going on. You might look at it and think, I couldn't do

that, and I'm not sure I could do some of the detail in the garden,

but there are so many ideas in here, it could really help you make your

space feel much bigger. In smaller gardens, we tend to forget that

actually you have more space around the garden than we have on the

surface, and we accept that we have a fence or wall, but if you think

about those boundaries, as part of the design process, you can make the

space feel bigger. And here, the back wall is sort of water wall

meets green wall. If you imagine the sort of office at home, by lifting

this building up and carrying the garden on straight under, the

proportions are beautiful. There is a lovely beach tree sitting outside

of this landscape, so imagine having a tree in a neighbour's garden,

maybe using that colour of that tree or the leaf of it to bring it into

your garden, and start to lose your boundaries, which makes your garden

feel bigger. I think it is absolutely exquisite.

Ultimately, this is really a hole in the ground, just a few steps down,

some nice seating surrounded by planting. All of a sudden it changes

the atmosphere totally, I am engaged with the garden and it feels

comfortable. My eye is at the same level as the moving grasses, the

flowers look beautiful, it is a similar thing to do. You imagine the

path closer to the house starts wide, and as it comes out into the

garden it gets thinner which makes the back wall feel much further

away. Sometimes actually just being brave enough to use a large area of

water in a small space can work really well. It is reflective and

bounces light around the garden. But on top of that, it gives the garden

space to breathe. What I really love about this space

is it is really simple. If you think about it in plan form, it is a

series of rectangles, and these beautiful slabs and change of level

slow your movement into the space, bringing you up onto this big slab

that cantilevers out over the water, and the water pushes the planting

away leaving you with the feeling that you have this really lovely

usable space. However small your garden is, there really are some

ideas out there that can make the space feel so much bigger.

For all its internationalism, Chelsea is quintessentially a

British affair, and always brings the most famous faces, especially on

the first day. Amongst them is possibly the most famous and most

British of all, Joanna Lumley. Do often? I am lucky enough to come

most years, and most years on Monday, and the first year I came, I

was 18 and I was staying with my in Earls Court, and it was Friday and

they sold off the plants, and I bought a lily that high in a pot,

and I didn't realise I had to get it back to Earls Court, I got a lift in

an ice cream van, and the fair he exacted from me was the case. But

was the sixties! And are you a keen gardener? You wouldn't be buying

plants if you were not. I am, we have a long thin garden in

Stockwell, the kind of people who sold us that has made a quarter of a

century ago had divided into three rooms. In the first bit, people

think gosh, you have a garden, then you have another bit with fish ponds

on the pear tree, and then you go down to the end with a walnut tree.

And I just adore it because we pick our own pairs, apples, plums, we

have got walnuts, but we have never managed to get one because the

squirrels get their first! Figs, lemons, about two kilos of lemons.

And do you keep them outside all winter? I don't even put stuff

around on. I couldn't do that at home. But this is London, the heat

of London. It is divine, I love it. I should add that it is what I call

a wild garden, which is how I love it. Maybe a little bit too wild! And

abandoned garden! And do you love it because of the way look is all

because of the wildlife it attracts, what is it? I am very keen on

wildlife, butterflies and insects and bees. I adore the Foxes, I

whistle them in for supper, I have something for them. Sadly some of

them have Mainge now, and the anywhere to stop that is to feed

them good dog food, which I do. We have squirrels, they are adorably

funny to watch, acrobats, lots of birds. So those are all important

for me, and the rain is all-important, we love the sweet

rain. That thing about weather, it is such an integral part of

gardening. Rather than seeing it as an enemy, it is what it is. We were

chatting earlier about having a little bit more time and a little

bit more age, and one of the things I have learned is to brace the

weather, not to see it as an enemy. And not the kind of predict how it

ought to be, take what comes, and bring with you something so that you

are not angry at cross. If you are going to be frozen, take something

in your bag to wrap around you or take off. So what do you take from

Chelsea? I just adore it here. I feel that if you didn't have a faith

and you came to Chelsea and looked at what's here, you would end up

believing in a new god, which is nature, the oldest god of all. Thank

you very much indeed. Thank you. We do worship nature, but we also

worship you, Joanna, too! Creating a show garden at Chelsea

is a monumental task, even But if your garden represents

the vast boreal forests and freshwater lakes of Canada,

and it's your first large show garden, it becomes

a challenge of epic proportion. We joined designer Charlotte

Harris on her journey The boreal wilderness is vast and

magnificent, and it would be impossible to bring that to a

Chelsea show garden, so I have tried to create a garden inspired by it

and that evokes it. The boreal is the largest intact ecosystem on

earth. It stretches across the northern hemisphere, with one third

of it in Canada. It accounts for 25% as the world's wetlands, acting as a

huge global long. Last September I was lucky enough to travel to Canada

and I recorded the adventure on my camera. But landing in Toronto was

just the first step. I had to take another two hour flight further on

before catching a float plane to the far north of Ontario.

Flying low over the boreal is a memory that will stay with me for

ever and has made this Chelsea Jenny spectacular.

So we arrived yesterday by float plane to Lake Whitewater to strikers

point, and today we are going to take these boats right across to

best island, where we will go on an exploration looking at native flora

for the boreal region. The lakes and waterways are so vast, traffic by

boat is the only way to go. And it was on the island that has started

to draw inspiration for the native flora and geology. My guide, Evelyn,

grew up in this region and knows from her elders how to identify

plants as food and medicine. So we are in this quite vast expanse of

what is called Labrador tea, and as you walk through it you can smell

it. It is a lovely smell. So wherever possible, I have tried

to find Canadian natives that suit that habitat, so I have managed to

find some Labrador tea. There was one specialist supplier in Europe,

and I managed to track it down. I came last week and it was looking a

bit dry and scrappy, but in the last week, it has really pushed an

encouragingly, and the nursery have assured me but that by the time we

get a Chelsea, it will have more growth. And here are the

gooseberries! Look at those. What do the berries taste like? Try them.

That is lovely. UC? They are sharp! I just love them. Are delicious.

Evelyn and I found the Laburnum in the forest in Canada, and I couldn't

source that anywhere over the past few months, so instead what I have

done is to select this meadowsweet. It has lobed leaves as well, and it

has the similar feel to the berries we saw in the forest.

This afternoon, we have been paddling down the river through the

boreal and we have found a bank of Iris. This is a Chelsea store what

because they look fantastic in May and I had not thought about using

them in the garden but that has given me food for thought. The

spades on them! They are just coming through. What a relief! Iris has

made the list, looking fantastic. And more exciting, we're starting to

see the little buds coming up so crossed fingers they would be

perfect for flowering for Chelsea. A bit of a Chelsea confession, I was

not going to use Jack Pines in the garden, I was going to use large

because they are native to the boreal, but I fell in love on the

expedition with their character, they look a bit like old men to me.

-- they fell in love with their character. It has been a really

amazing and nerve-racking and anxious experience. The journey has

been incredible. I felt that now was the time for me to step up as the

lead designer in my own right and to take on the challenge of a Chelsea

garden. Amazing trip. What a way to do

research for a Chelsea garden! Yes, to kick off your first Chelsea

garden, there is no better way than to be dropped in by a plane and to

travel by Canute and an incredible and Wales and epic landscape. So

many different ideas that it is hard to distil into a Show Garden. Yes, I

did not want to be a wee creation, and wanted it to inspired because

you cannot recreate the stale -- the scale of the landscape. These are

fabulous. Yes, they are so beautiful and tactile, that is granite from

Wales. And the plant. A great and shady ground cover. Yes, lovely

plant and I saw it with us going through it but we have not been able

to find those. You have had to adapt. I cannot remember the name of

this. Labrador. Fantastic and aromatic. You can make tea with it

and you can use it as a pastor for a small cut. Very handy, just in case!

If I cut myself! I like the scale and destruction. These pounds, the

character they bring, and you must have book, they are going to bring

character. They are magnificent and when I started thinking about the

Show Garden, I burst was going to put too March because that is

archetypal but after that journey, I kept seeing these magnificent pines

and I thought they were the ones. I can see why and the water is

perfectly clear, the clearest here. Out of any of the gardens. We can

paddle later! It was important to get that right because I wanted this

idea of the pristine nature of fresh water to the garden. You have helped

on a lot of gardens and I have seen you at the show many times you have

bitten the bullet and you are The Boss! Have has that been, you make

the decisions? Fantastic, there have been moments of doubt and worry in

the middle of the night at about four o'clock. And the difference is

I have worked on planting and you take one specific area, but you are

responsible now for getting it right. You have built up the

experience and created this fantastic garden, it is great to see

you at Chelsea and on Main Avenue. Well done. Thank you.

The event has become a barometer for future trends

and signposts what we can expect from our own gardens

Every show is different, with trains and challenges.

To discuss what this year's show can tell us about the future,

I'm joined by the Director General of the RHS, Sue Biggs.

Hello. It is very nice to be here at Chelsea. It is really exciting. This

year has had its own challenges, how has it been? It has had a couple of

challenges, the climate for the growers. Incredible testament to

their professionalism that they can go to the warmth and the frost in

May and the rain we had in the build-up and still the best Pavilion

and some of the best gardens we have had. That has been one set of

challenges and we did have less gardens, it in the Artisan and in

the Fresh Garden categories and in the Show Gardens, it is funny, out

of adversity we get inspiration and we have new gardens this year, the

Feel Good gardens which Radio 2 has been involved in. So good. The

quality this year is high. It is a good show. You cannot avoid the fact

and newspapers have been writing about it and people have been

phoning me asking if I would do interviews about it, which I have

not, there are noticeably fewer big gardens, why is that? I personally

think it was everything to do with what happened in the country. Our

Flower Show is part of what is happening in the country and when

our Show Garden applications go out, it was just when the Brexit vote

happened. I think it is completely understandable the chief executives

thinking of sponsoring it would have thought maybe it is not the year to

do it. It is a sponsorship issue rather than the design is not

wanting to do it? Absolutely, yes. Is it potentially good that it takes

the pressure and attention away from the Show Gardens onto the Pavilion?

It is no bad thing we have got a change of emphasis. We should be so

proud of our nurseries. It is achingly beautiful. And the small

jewels, the Artisan and the Fresh Gardens. I hope I have another

chance to torture you again, there have been recent polls on gardening

in the UK. -- I have a chance to chat with you again. Not

encouraging, in what people do know what to do and they are anxious. How

can Chelsea encourage people? It is encouraging. It is strange, only 3%

of people in our survey thought they were expert gardeners, I am not an

expert but I love gardening and it does not matter. The fact people say

they want to know more about horticulture is very encouraging and

you help at Gardeners' World and Chelsea Flower Show, on our website

with videos. I think the fact we now know those many people like

gardening and horticulture, we need to give them the tools and it does

not matter if you are not an expert. If you plant a plant, you are a

gardener. That is a good way to finish, thank you very much and I

look forward to spending a week at Chelsea! Fantastic, thank you!

As well as hosting a myriad of famous faces and VIPs,

Monday is also the day we welcome the most important visitor of them

Earlier, Sophie Raworth was with the Royal party,

The Queen has come to Chelsea man than 50 times over the years and it

is always a very big moment at this Flower Show. The Queen is now

talking to somebody who has been here 53 years and he keeps a

scrapbook at home of the Royal visits and indications and members

of the Royal family he has met over the years. You have probably been

here as many times the green! I did not like to that, probably! -- as

many times as the Queen. This is an exhibit the Queen knows very well,

Raymond and his stunning clematis. The Queen is always very interested

in it and it is a great thrill. Ian Price is from Belfast and his garden

is a representation of his struggle with depression and the Duchess of

Cambridge is keen to see it. You were showing her around the garden,

how did she find it? She said it did feel completely different from the

outside looking in to when she went inside. She was excited to go inside

the garden and experience that directly. That is what this garden

is about, feeling. What a day for you! It has been fantastic. The Duke

of Edinburgh is a regular at Chelsea and he has been so many times over

the decades and now he has announced he will step down from his Royal

duties after the summer, who knows whether he will return again!

You had a Royal chat! It was amazing, I loved it. I'm the Queen

was very interested. She said she had listened to you this morning. I

said, really? Radio 2, because it was the Chelsea Flower Show. Well

done with the garden. Thank you so much. Well, I will be listening to

Miro, with the green. OK! -- tomorrow.

Very nice to see the Queen and the Royal family and younger members.

Anyone gardening Royal or not, is good news. Nobody will have known

about the medals unless somebody has told the Queen, what you think we

will see tomorrow, the gold medals? It tough this year with eight large

show gardens and they will not be handing them out. Four gold medals,

probably three. James Basson, Chris Beardshaw with a gold medal. And

Darren Hawkes with Maggie's garden is probably a gold medal. And it

would not surprise me if Breaking Ground got one, it is very

impressive when you get on it. At the other end? Welcome to Yorkshire

is tricky and it would work better as an Artisan Garden, it takes over

a large space, it is a concept garden. Bronze and maybe Silver.

That sounds mean. A number of gardens here, they are in the

silver-gilt category and if there were more, ten, 15 gardens, they

would not hold their own against more gold medals. Interesting to see

if they get elevated. Best in Show? Quickly. Chris Beardshaw. James

Basson. Good, we have a good script. We have questions. Nadia would like

to know the strangest combination of colours that we have seen on the

gardens this year. Easy, one shrieks out, it is wonderful blue and pink

rhododendron and the two together, they are a horror story on the Silk

Road garden! You are feeling mean! On a positive note, a blue jeans

Orange and burgundy and blue and purple, Sarah Reagan showed you how

to put that together with a lot of green to grow it together. David

wants to know how designers are selected to create gardens at the

show. Briefly, it is a long process and you know better than anybody.

They have to have a good team and a sponsor and a good landscaping

company and there is a strict adjudication process and you have to

show you can deliver. You have shown that!

It's been an exciting first day here at the Chelsea Flower Show,

but I'm afraid that's all we have time for this evening.

Join us back here on BBC2 tomorrow night at the same time,

when we will be revealing who has won the most coveted prize of all -

Nicki Chapman and James Wong will be back tomorrow at 3:45 on BBC 1

to share the excitement of the medal announcements.