:00:00. > :00:00.observing a minute's silence in memory of the 22 people who lost
:00:00. > :00:00.their lives here in Manchester and the 59 who were injured. You are
:00:00. > :00:15.watching BBC News. Welcome back to the Chelsea Flower
:00:16. > :00:20.Show. There are so many wonderful plants
:00:21. > :00:23.from all over the world which we in the UK have embraced
:00:24. > :00:35.into our hearts and gardens. And James and Arit are taking a
:00:36. > :00:38.closer look at them in the Chengdu Garden.
:00:39. > :00:41.It's only when you really start looking at our gardens that
:00:42. > :00:44.you realise just how many of the plants we grow in the UK
:00:45. > :00:54.And they aren't just in the Great Pavilion, there are some
:00:55. > :00:56.spectacular examples of them out here on Main Avenue.
:00:57. > :00:59.I'm joined by Arit Anderson on the Chengdu Garden which solely
:01:00. > :01:11.What has caught your either most? I am always looking around at the
:01:12. > :01:15.beautiful rhododendrons, and I see them in Hyde Park, there I am in the
:01:16. > :01:22.most beautiful British place, forgetting that they come from
:01:23. > :01:27.China. Yes, in Cornwall I was asked, have I seen that incredible China
:01:28. > :01:36.Garden, 20% of the world's plants from China. I know this in the UK as
:01:37. > :01:41.an ornamental plant, but my grandmother would consider it an
:01:42. > :01:44.edible, you buy them in supermarkets, stir-fry ingredients.
:01:45. > :01:46.But on the other side of this garden, it is a whole different
:01:47. > :01:53.world showing the massive diversity that China offers.
:01:54. > :01:58.From a design perspective we are spoiled with all the flowers, but
:01:59. > :02:03.look how much interest is here. The grasses, the shrubs that we know,
:02:04. > :02:06.and that is what is important. These are the backbone plants within a
:02:07. > :02:11.garden design and planting scheme, so it is interesting to see. A
:02:12. > :02:16.fascinating use of texture, you don't just rely on colour.
:02:17. > :02:20.Absolutely, and I love the contrast, this real sense of exuberance and
:02:21. > :02:26.foliage, and we can also focus on that. I am fascinated by this. I
:02:27. > :02:38.can't see a single cultivated variety, these are all straight
:02:39. > :02:46.species. Yes, and there are so many hybrids and cultivars Alpe d'Huez.
:02:47. > :02:50.Man's Hand has created some truly amazing Asian cultivars, and one
:02:51. > :02:55.king of those is Jonathan Hogarth. He looks after the UK's national
:02:56. > :02:57.collection of small hostas. Frances Tophill will be meeting him
:02:58. > :03:00.in just a moment, but first let's find out about his
:03:01. > :03:12.path to cultivar glory. Hostas come in all different sizes,
:03:13. > :03:17.but the particular type that take my fancy are the Small and miniature
:03:18. > :03:21.ones. They are just sweet, and when they start to flower, they look like
:03:22. > :03:25.jewels, little wonderful sweet but you want to take home. There is
:03:26. > :03:28.always that one plant you can't resist when you are out shopping,
:03:29. > :03:41.and you buy it. When I got the collection, it was
:03:42. > :03:45.something that was suggested to me that we should split the plants up
:03:46. > :03:48.so that should anything happen in one area where the plants were
:03:49. > :03:54.displayed that the other area would still save that particular plant. By
:03:55. > :03:58.splitting them, that is when the problems started. I took a
:03:59. > :04:04.good-sized plant that was six years old and I split it, and both plants
:04:05. > :04:07.died. They had lost that sparked a live once you got to a point where
:04:08. > :04:10.you were splitting them, they were just too small. I needed to find an
:04:11. > :04:25.answer, and quick. Really quick. This is not that expensive, it takes
:04:26. > :04:30.a penny a day to run it, but the results are wonderful. The plastic
:04:31. > :04:36.cover reveals a trade, and underneath is the water pump. It has
:04:37. > :04:40.six little sprayers, and this creates a moist atmosphere
:04:41. > :04:46.underneath and dry at the top. This promotes the roots to start growing.
:04:47. > :04:51.And that is how the whole system works. There is no secret, it is
:04:52. > :04:55.just tap water. The first step is to cut the flowers off. You are sending
:04:56. > :05:00.the information to the plant that it's time to make roots rather than
:05:01. > :05:12.the flowers. Hold the plant with your fingers and
:05:13. > :05:19.tip it out this way. And I will just gently tease out the root system.
:05:20. > :05:24.Each one of these can become a separate plant. The genetic
:05:25. > :05:28.information that you need for this plant to be this colour and this
:05:29. > :05:36.particular type is in fact stored in here, so it's important to grab
:05:37. > :05:40.quite a bit of it. Over the next two weeks, buds will start to burst out,
:05:41. > :05:47.rude buds, and from there, that will then start to produce the plant.
:05:48. > :05:53.Here is your cutting. I am now going to put that into the air, and I am
:05:54. > :05:57.going to put it up to its little collar of the top, so the top will
:05:58. > :06:04.sit into the water and the damp atmosphere there, the top will stay
:06:05. > :06:11.dry, and you leave it for two to three weeks. So this one is now two
:06:12. > :06:16.weeks old. The roots are starting to grow again. There were three
:06:17. > :06:22.existing routes, they were half that size when it went in before. The
:06:23. > :06:28.fact is, that is now ready to pot on. I am going to take the pot and
:06:29. > :06:36.put a little soil into it, and then the magic ingredient, the micro
:06:37. > :06:44.riser. It is a fungus that grows in the wild and it will extend the
:06:45. > :06:48.plant's capability of absorbing nutrients. I will add some grit on
:06:49. > :06:54.the top and make it more difficult for vine weevil to lay its eggs into
:06:55. > :07:09.my nice new plant, and that is it, there is nothing else to it.
:07:10. > :07:20.Well, that's 251, so 251 reasons to actually prove that you can take
:07:21. > :07:30.cuttings from small hostas, and here they all are.
:07:31. > :07:36.And here are even more reasons to prove it. Just look at your stand,
:07:37. > :07:45.Jonathan Fawzi yellow I am very pleased to be here. The RHS have
:07:46. > :07:54.been so kind, and we do like to show them off. A lot of hard work has
:07:55. > :07:58.gone into making these perfect. There was quite a bit of worry, you
:07:59. > :08:02.have to be careful of the leaves, they have to be perfect and the
:08:03. > :08:07.best, because this is the best show in the world, so here we are showing
:08:08. > :08:13.off, and here are my friends. Any new additions this year? Yes,
:08:14. > :08:18.miniskirt is the new one, and it is in the centre of my stand. This is
:08:19. > :08:21.the first time it has been available in England. It is a beautiful plant
:08:22. > :08:44.with a wide. This is my habit and
:08:45. > :08:54.obsession. It looks lovely, congratulations. Thank you so much.
:08:55. > :09:00.I do love a hosta, nearly as much as the slugs in my garden do.
:09:01. > :09:03.Now all week we're looking at the Radio 2 Feel Good Gardens
:09:04. > :09:10.and today we have a feast for the eyes.
:09:11. > :09:16.I have just left the listening garden.
:09:17. > :09:19.I'm heading over to the Colour Cutting Garden dedicated to sight
:09:20. > :09:22.to meet its Radio 2 champion, and TV golden girl, Anneka Rice.
:09:23. > :09:25.A keen gardener herself, we caught up with her lending a hand
:09:26. > :09:41.What a blaze of colour, this is beautiful. Isn't it just? You must
:09:42. > :09:52.be delighted. I am so in my element, I am almost dribbling. To be told
:09:53. > :09:57.you were going to have a garden at Chelsea was an amazing shock, and
:09:58. > :10:00.when they told me who I was doing it with, and I can't tell you how Sarah
:10:01. > :10:08.Raven and Tricia Guild have both been such a massive part of my life.
:10:09. > :10:11.The inspiration is the Colour Cutting Garden, the opposite of the
:10:12. > :10:19.very formal stylised gardens you might get. This is all about
:10:20. > :10:26.voluptuousness and just an Augean colour. Are you a big Gardner
:10:27. > :10:31.yourself? I am pining for the garden we used to have which was a
:10:32. > :10:36.beautiful Cotswolds garden. Now that you have been here for the bills,
:10:37. > :10:40.what do you make of it? When you see Chelsea and you see it so finished
:10:41. > :10:45.and manicured, you imagine all of the big trees are always there, but
:10:46. > :10:53.every single blade of grass, tree, branch, is brought in, so to see it
:10:54. > :11:01.unfold is gripping. Anneka, will you give me a hand with the delphiniums?
:11:02. > :11:04.What was your thinking behind this? It is a cutting garden, so
:11:05. > :11:11.everything is cut and come again to a certain extent, so in a few
:11:12. > :11:14.mornings, all of the flowers you pick will grow back again. But it
:11:15. > :11:26.has really come together, I couldn't be happier.
:11:27. > :11:40.Anneka, look at you, still hard at it. You are a lady who never stops.
:11:41. > :11:43.This has been such a joy. And a little bird has told me you have
:11:44. > :11:49.been down here practically every hour that there is. The thing is, I
:11:50. > :11:52.couldn't wear to put my name to be involved with something and then
:11:53. > :11:59.just turn up at the end, so I kept e-mailing Sarah Raven and saying,
:12:00. > :12:06.give me a task. I am such a fan of hers, so to be in her wake doing
:12:07. > :12:12.menial tasks, I am very happy to take anything to the skip, do some
:12:13. > :12:17.watering, copy runs. And this all starts in childhood. You have loved
:12:18. > :12:20.gardening since you were little? My family were great gardeners, so my
:12:21. > :12:26.memory is doing that thing little children do, having a toy lawn mower
:12:27. > :12:29.and going up and down behind my dad. And at school, we went to an
:12:30. > :12:37.inspired primary school that had little gardens, so each child had a
:12:38. > :12:42.tiny area to tend, and that plant a seed, literally. It does. How
:12:43. > :12:47.important you think that has been from being a little girl to seeing
:12:48. > :12:52.it through, to having this passion, and what it does for us as well. I
:12:53. > :12:56.think so, because my happiest memories as a child were in the
:12:57. > :13:01.garden. I loved it so much, and it is nourishment for the soul. And the
:13:02. > :13:05.most gratifying thing has been seeing everyone come to this garden,
:13:06. > :13:12.and people yesterday were calling it the goofy smile garden, because it
:13:13. > :13:15.reminds people of their life, and it makes your heart sing when there is
:13:16. > :13:22.something so beautiful. There is nothing fussy or pretentious or
:13:23. > :13:29.formal, and Sarah Raven who is such a genius, we all decided when we sat
:13:30. > :13:34.down, her and Tricia Guild and I, we didn't want a polite garden, and I
:13:35. > :13:38.think we can safely say this is not. It is an explosion of colour, which
:13:39. > :13:43.we know you love. You have a lot of colour in your London garden. While
:13:44. > :13:47.you're here, will you have a spare minute to go out and explore the
:13:48. > :13:50.grounds and get inspiration? The great thing about being here all
:13:51. > :13:55.this week and seeing everything rising from the ground literally is
:13:56. > :14:00.getting to talk to a lot of people, so I have got lots of ideas, and
:14:01. > :14:06.that's been such a privilege, because usually I just come on press
:14:07. > :14:13.day, but now I have been here is one of the workers. Any one thing you
:14:14. > :14:16.are looking at for? I am looking out for things that are good for the
:14:17. > :14:23.climate change we seem to be having. More Mediterranean? Yes, maybe a fig
:14:24. > :14:27.tree or an olive tree, and I have spotted the most beautiful one. You
:14:28. > :14:27.are going to be De your homework. Congratulations on this beautiful
:14:28. > :14:30.garden. And we'll catch up with Anneka
:14:31. > :14:33.to find out how she's got on later in the show but for now it's
:14:34. > :14:36.over to Rachel de Thame. This year, she's showing us
:14:37. > :14:40.how there is something for everyone here at Chelsea
:14:41. > :14:44.whatever your garden or situation. Every day she's picking out a one
:14:45. > :14:47.metre square section on a garden border in order to reveal how
:14:48. > :14:49.and why it works so well. Today, in-keeping with the golden
:14:50. > :14:55.hue of medal's day she's focusing Lots of plants love a south
:14:56. > :15:10.facing sunny garden. And I'm not just talking
:15:11. > :15:14.about drought-tolerant plants. If you pay special attention
:15:15. > :15:17.to watering there are several truly wonderful plants that will thrive
:15:18. > :15:28.in a sunny position. I love this corner of the garden,
:15:29. > :15:31.this square metre. It's a mixed Matrix planting because they're
:15:32. > :15:35.repeated and dotted through the planting. We've got things at the
:15:36. > :15:40.lower level, California poppy there, and that lovely bright colour and
:15:41. > :15:45.this's picked up here as well. Then we come through the planting with
:15:46. > :15:52.these plants which will take a bit of shade, these are astranias.
:15:53. > :16:01.They're coming through the softness of this one, which gives you that
:16:02. > :16:09.lovely flattened top to the flower, a Pimpinelia. We have these tall
:16:10. > :16:13.vertical accent plants just poking through, things like Beaujolais
:16:14. > :16:19.which I adore. We have irises coming out into flower and this lovely tall
:16:20. > :16:25.spikes pale linkth pink of the Lenaria. The whole thing is softened
:16:26. > :16:28.beautifully by plants that mould and bring everything together. We have
:16:29. > :16:36.the bronze fennel towards the front and that builds up into this lovely
:16:37. > :16:39.grass. Of course, this is Chelsea's show garden planting, so there are
:16:40. > :16:42.lots of plants crammed in very closely together. In your own
:16:43. > :16:46.garden, you would give everything a bit more space to breathe and
:16:47. > :16:51.develop and become bigger individual plants. So to create an effect like
:16:52. > :16:56.this will depend very much on how you put the plants together. Here
:16:57. > :16:59.they're really very much just dotted through making sure there is a
:17:00. > :17:05.lovely balance and flow. If you can achieve that, you'll have this
:17:06. > :17:14.wonderful soft, romantic effect. Plants come with their own likes and
:17:15. > :17:15.dislikes. If you get that right, you'll enjoy the fruits of their
:17:16. > :17:19.labours for many years to come. However, some plants aren't as picky
:17:20. > :17:22.as others and one we Brits all know and love that can grow pretty much
:17:23. > :17:31.anywhere is the native Primrose. Melvyn Jones reveals they're far
:17:32. > :17:49.from commonplace. Primrose I found in Asia and Japan,
:17:50. > :17:57.I love the simplicity of them. These Japanese with their love of plants
:17:58. > :18:01.are the ones that have made the Siboldians what they are today. It's
:18:02. > :18:08.identified in the earliest garden books of Japan, so it's an old,
:18:09. > :18:11.established plant form. There is a Japanese flower translating along
:18:12. > :18:16.the lines of even grasses have cherry Blossom flowers in Japan, the
:18:17. > :18:20.land of the cherry Blossom. The Japanese Gods Jewth used to
:18:21. > :18:24.cultivate the most wonderful gardens with the wonderful cherry trees that
:18:25. > :18:28.bloomed over the streams and lakes. Unfortunately, the Blossom tended to
:18:29. > :18:34.fall too quickly and the Gods were so upset after all their efforts
:18:35. > :18:39.that it was such a short blooming that they Creted in future when it
:18:40. > :18:44.fell it would come over the grasses and the grasses would flower and
:18:45. > :18:53.happen there would be a Primula and that formed this. It's a wonderful
:18:54. > :18:57.plant. The blooms are so nice and there is such a nice variation in
:18:58. > :19:03.them. It's typical of many of the plants the Japanese like to grow.
:19:04. > :19:10.They'll look for the variety. Primulas with good for that, they're
:19:11. > :19:15.promiscuous and variable but the Siboldia, it goes from magenta,
:19:16. > :19:22.pink, through the blue shades up to the pure whites like this. Because
:19:23. > :19:26.they feel almost pastelly in colour, you can put any variety together and
:19:27. > :19:42.they'll look as if they're suited and compliment each other. In the
:19:43. > :19:55.wild, the closest form we have here is the Sumizomegenji.
:19:56. > :20:02.We have tried it in edge of woodland conditions which they thrive in
:20:03. > :20:05.because they love the leaf mould and they do well there. Obviously, you
:20:06. > :20:11.need a bit of light also for the flowers to come out. Very popular
:20:12. > :20:17.form is this one, which is called snow glaik. It looks really delicate
:20:18. > :20:22.but they're reliable, happy in our conditions. They'll normally come
:20:23. > :20:27.into flower mid to late February. You will have them flowering mid to
:20:28. > :20:32.end of June. Don't be deceived by the fact they look delicate, they're
:20:33. > :20:38.quite forgiving and if the right place, they'll reward you for years.
:20:39. > :20:44.We've been having a bit of an Asian theme running through today's show
:20:45. > :20:47.and lo and behold here is another plant with its roots steeped
:20:48. > :20:57.How's this year been for you? It's been difficult. The season started
:20:58. > :21:01.early, the flowers were in flower about five weeks earlier than we'd
:21:02. > :21:07.expect them to be. We have struggled to get here but we have managed to
:21:08. > :21:11.bring a display here in a traditional Japanese form. We have
:21:12. > :21:17.done it but it's not as nice as we'd have liked. To me this looks
:21:18. > :21:20.spectacular, but through March and April I was thinking about the
:21:21. > :21:24.exhibitors because there's only so much you can do with nature, you are
:21:25. > :21:28.restricted by certain plants. Yes. What did you do in the medal stakes?
:21:29. > :21:34.We got to silver. The judges were right. I totally agree with them.
:21:35. > :21:38.We'd have liked more, but the season prevented it. Next year we'll come
:21:39. > :21:42.back stronger. It's frustrating. I heard you had the most spectacular
:21:43. > :21:47.new introduction that you almost got to the show but not quite. Quietly
:21:48. > :21:54.fell out of flower four days ago... Four days? ! Yes, it's one that we
:21:55. > :21:58.got from Alan Bloom's garden, one he raised many years ago, it's been
:21:59. > :22:02.name and is being sold in support of a charity for special Olympics, so
:22:03. > :22:07.we'd have loved to have brought it here but unfortunately again we were
:22:08. > :22:11.beaten by the weather. You don't have necessarily all the plants but
:22:12. > :22:15.you have all the information. I have questions from Facebook. You love
:22:16. > :22:20.shady plants. Even else Sa asks, moved into a house with a huge
:22:21. > :22:23.conifer, the soil is full of roots and well-established weeds, no idea
:22:24. > :22:28.what to plant in the dry shade. What a nightmare. Nightmare having a
:22:29. > :22:31.conifer next to you, totally agree. We do have a couple of plants in the
:22:32. > :22:44.back of the display which would cope with that. One is the Victorian
:22:45. > :22:49.Brooch. That will tolerate dry shade. Another question from Melanie
:22:50. > :22:54.Louise Watson, she asks, the opposite problem, a garden backs on
:22:55. > :22:58.to a river, very large trees from another garden shading it, nothing
:22:59. > :23:03.but nettles grow there. Desperately trawling the Internet for some nice
:23:04. > :23:11.colour and ground colour? Again, that selection is a bit close to
:23:12. > :23:17.that. Moist shade and semishade. I would recommend things like
:23:18. > :23:27.epimediums and nice spider flowers in early to mid spring. If it's
:23:28. > :23:32.dapple spring, the Siboldeii would be ideal. They'd be happy there as
:23:33. > :23:35.well. This is a plant of food plains. Even if the garden floods,
:23:36. > :23:39.they'll survive and produce that colour? In Japan, the rivers flood
:23:40. > :23:44.and bring up the silt which covers the plants and then it drains away
:23:45. > :23:46.and that's how they get a lot of the new nutrients and keep going.
:23:47. > :23:49.Thanks, Melvyn. Earlier on we saw Anneka Rice
:23:50. > :23:52.who told us about her desire to bring the Mediterranean
:23:53. > :23:53.into her London garden and salt water problem due
:23:54. > :24:05.to living by the sea. I've obviously been here a lot
:24:06. > :24:11.during the week because our Colour Cutting Garden is just up there and
:24:12. > :24:21.I saw all of this take shape, being planted up. There was one thing I
:24:22. > :24:24.saw in particular, I think it's over there... When we first met on that
:24:25. > :24:30.Tuesday you were here and there was just this olive tree at that stage.
:24:31. > :24:34.I have no idea about this, I had no idea it was all going on. It's so
:24:35. > :24:39.sculptural. How many hundreds of years old would that tree be? I
:24:40. > :24:44.think it's probably 100 years. It's very hard to tell. It's such a
:24:45. > :24:49.beautiful character the tree. I'll be keeping my eye open for the right
:24:50. > :24:54.tree and each one is like a piece of sculpture I think. It is. It is
:24:55. > :24:59.architectural, it's beautiful. In our London garden, the garden is set
:25:00. > :25:03.up as a Mediterranean garden with bright orange walls and pots and
:25:04. > :25:08.herbs. I think an ancient olive would probably be a good accent. I
:25:09. > :25:13.love the way you have contrasted with the silver green with the under
:25:14. > :25:17.planting because you have Marguerite and Salvias. That's right. The
:25:18. > :25:21.under-planting is important to create a setting for theologiley and
:25:22. > :25:26.you can do this in your garden as well. The olive will need large
:25:27. > :25:30.planters. There are plenty of opportunities to under-plant.
:25:31. > :25:35.Because it's a dry zone plant, we have used Mediterranean plants like
:25:36. > :25:41.the culinary herbs and there's culinary sage down there and the
:25:42. > :25:47.ornamental sage we have used. The Marguerite love it dry and it's a
:25:48. > :25:52.perfect environment for those. This is a very good, dry grass called
:25:53. > :25:55.Prairie Fire. We are talking about the dry climate the whole time. It
:25:56. > :25:58.will probably rain for the rest of the year! We have to say
:25:59. > :26:05.congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Yes. I
:26:06. > :26:11.mean, that is your third? Third, yes. I'm very pleased. They're still
:26:12. > :26:16.hard-won, you work very hard at it.iful to think carefully how you
:26:17. > :26:18.are going to present your ideas and we are thrilled -- you have to think
:26:19. > :26:40.carefully. Monty and Joe will be back tonight.
:26:41. > :26:43.They'll be looking at the Best Show Garden coveted award. That is it
:26:44. > :26:46.from us, see you tomorrow. Bye.