:00:31. > :00:33.Hello and welcome to the first of two programmes
:00:34. > :00:35.from the Royal Horticultural Society's Flower Show,
:00:36. > :00:46.Tatton Park in Cheshire. As usual, the show is set in the
:00:47. > :00:51.middle of the glory is grounds of Tatton Park in Cheshire. And as
:00:52. > :00:55.ever, this is one big garden party. And this year, there is a real
:00:56. > :01:03.feeling of carnival, not just from the exhibits joining in, but also an
:01:04. > :01:07.actual marching parade as well. Look at these butterflies. They are so
:01:08. > :01:12.beautiful and you can see absolutely everything from this vantage point,
:01:13. > :01:19.including all of the pavilions. And the one I am going to be heading for
:01:20. > :01:21.is the RHS Summer Fruit and Vegetable Competition Pavilion.
:01:22. > :01:33.Meanwhile, enjoy the music and the view. And as well as a full marquee,
:01:34. > :01:37.which is full of late flowering summer plans, which are such a
:01:38. > :01:42.distinctive feature of Tatton, there are 25 show gardens, 11th in the
:01:43. > :01:49.Large Garden category and 14 small ones. Toby Buckland joined me to
:01:50. > :01:58.take a look -- 11. We are starting with a bang. This is
:01:59. > :02:04.a garden designed by Pete Probert, called the Narrows because it is a
:02:05. > :02:13.space that most of us can recognise, your average back garden. People, a
:02:14. > :02:17.seasoned show garden person, has put together a tapestry of vivid colours
:02:18. > :02:22.and has been clever with the design, linking it with a chinking
:02:23. > :02:27.pad. There is something that everybody, even the wildlife. Upon
:02:28. > :02:33.the dipping, children's area with the lawn and some equipment, and
:02:34. > :02:36.over here is a cosy, contemplative zone for entertaining and kicking
:02:37. > :02:42.back in the summer. What I like about this is it has the feeling of
:02:43. > :02:47.privacy thanks to this oak fence. But cos there are gaps in it, that
:02:48. > :02:57.lets the light through, it makes it a good place to grow lots of plans.
:02:58. > :03:02.-- plan tos. This garden is called The Threatened
:03:03. > :03:07.Islands Of Southeast Asia, by Chester zoo, and these things
:03:08. > :03:10.peeking out to represent us and our voyage of discovery as we learn
:03:11. > :03:16.about this part of the world, moving towards a ruined Buddhist temple
:03:17. > :03:20.representing the missing flora and fauna, and it relates to an exhibit
:03:21. > :03:26.Chester zoo will put our next year. The planting exists to promote the
:03:27. > :03:33.feel of a lost jungle. It works wonderfully.
:03:34. > :03:39.This is Vogue. It is a proper show garden, by which I mean a garden
:03:40. > :03:44.built for show. It is based around a stage, or a theatre. You are just in
:03:45. > :03:48.front of the cheap seats and I am walking billboards, or more
:03:49. > :03:52.specifically, over crisply cut York stone paving. There are even wings
:03:53. > :03:58.to sit in, should you want a bit of privacy. It is surrounded by a
:03:59. > :04:04.tranquil will and backed by an incredibly expensive sculpture. I
:04:05. > :04:07.could see this in a swanky restaurant behind the homes of the
:04:08. > :04:13.well-heeled, because the planting in these box tears is very fashionable.
:04:14. > :04:20.This season's colours are coastal, there is frothing stackers and
:04:21. > :04:24.topped off with a blue sky of agapanthus. This is a garden
:04:25. > :04:34.designed to wow. It says, look at me, aren't I stylish? If you had a
:04:35. > :04:41.garden like this, you would be. Every year at Tatton Park, the
:04:42. > :04:47.Tatton Park team itself put on a show garden and this year, it is
:04:48. > :04:54.based upon the centenary of the beginning of the First World War.
:04:55. > :04:57.There is one letter to the gardener's chronicle from a
:04:58. > :05:00.lieutenant and he notes that in a completely blitzed out Belgian
:05:01. > :05:07.village with scarcely a wall standing, and -- an extraordinary
:05:08. > :05:14.number of garden plants were grown coming through the potholes up the
:05:15. > :05:18.charred ruins. So this has the imagined Belgian garden as it might
:05:19. > :05:22.have been before the war and then the German trenches come in and the
:05:23. > :05:29.war takes hold and devastated. And then, based on the letter, the
:05:30. > :05:32.plants that are growing back despite the bombardment, despite the
:05:33. > :05:38.devastation. And the final section is the garden as it is today, lost,
:05:39. > :05:48.disappeared, but the ghosts of the past lie beneath the ground.
:05:49. > :05:53.A Taste of Wythenshawe by Reaseheath College is a contemporary kitchen
:05:54. > :05:59.garden with pillars for love edibles. Its design is rooted in
:06:00. > :06:03.history, because Wythenshawe was a garden city and, as such, it was
:06:04. > :06:07.built around the tenants of the Garden City movement which is what
:06:08. > :06:11.is best for the countryside is best for the city, and that in turn is
:06:12. > :06:15.best but the people. So it is a design with heart. It is also a
:06:16. > :06:22.design with some natty features. I love this hydroponic salad table.
:06:23. > :06:24.Take a few, have a bite. And steel reinforced trees, these rods that
:06:25. > :06:31.are normally put into concrete dripping with runner beans. One
:06:32. > :06:35.final thing, these lines represent a proposed tramway or Metro link
:06:36. > :06:40.between Wythenshawe and Manchester City centre. So not only does this
:06:41. > :06:41.design offer a taste of the now, it offers a Taste of Wythenshawe's
:06:42. > :07:09.future as well. Here in the floral marquee, it is
:07:10. > :07:14.evident that this has been a bumper year, perhaps one of the best I have
:07:15. > :07:19.ever seen. Tatton is one of the last great shows of the season and it is
:07:20. > :07:22.almost as though all of these plants have been saving themselves up for
:07:23. > :07:31.this very moment. Everything is looking at its beautiful best.
:07:32. > :07:34.Aren't they magnificent? Normally, when you see hanging baskets, it is
:07:35. > :07:39.all about how those plans are combined. But on this stand, they
:07:40. > :07:44.have taken a truly original approach. Every basket contains just
:07:45. > :07:50.one planned, so you can see it at its best, in the round. -- one
:07:51. > :07:54.plant. Just look at this blend differs begonia, these lovely
:07:55. > :07:58.voluptuous flowers in gorgeous shades of yellow and orange.
:07:59. > :08:00.voluptuous flowers in gorgeous shades of yellow and And I haven't
:08:01. > :08:09.chosen it just because it goes with my dress, either!
:08:10. > :08:12.Hanging baskets go on looking great for months on end, but some of the
:08:13. > :08:17.rest of the garden is beginning to wind down, even maybe looking a bit
:08:18. > :08:23.tatty. And just when you think it is all over, along comes this gang of
:08:24. > :08:39.firecrackers, reds, oranges and yellows, setting the place alight.
:08:40. > :08:48.But which of these sumptuous shades do you go for? I love these vivid
:08:49. > :08:52.yellows and those deep, sumptuous reds. But if you can't make your
:08:53. > :09:06.mind up, how about this one? It combines them both. In amongst all
:09:07. > :09:09.of those fiery razzmatazz, what is needed is a breathing space, and
:09:10. > :09:19.grass is a breathing space, and grasses give you just that.
:09:20. > :09:24.Beautiful form and texture. And this one, you have this elegance, with
:09:25. > :09:29.the beautiful, soft, fluffy heads. It is almost like a feather boa. I
:09:30. > :09:38.feel like throwing it over my shoulder, but at least I can run my
:09:39. > :09:45.fingers through it. Hydrangea is a hydrangea is hydrangea. Or is it?
:09:46. > :09:49.They are such familiar plants, and yet during the last few years, they
:09:50. > :09:55.have had a real renaissance, and they seem to have reached the height
:09:56. > :10:06.of their flower power and popularity at this year's Tatton show.
:10:07. > :10:16.Those wishy-washy old-fashioned pinks and blues have been replaced
:10:17. > :10:21.by a plethora of brilliant colours. This purple, rich and luxurious
:10:22. > :10:25.crimson and almost shocking pink. Far from reaching the end of their
:10:26. > :10:33.performance, you feel as though they are just building up to a final
:10:34. > :10:37.crescendo. Hydrangeas are planned that I am
:10:38. > :10:43.learning to love. Of course, plants on their own, they can be
:10:44. > :10:47.beautifully attractive, but it is the combination of plants that makes
:10:48. > :10:55.aboard a interesting. So hydrangea, gentle pink and mauve, create a
:10:56. > :11:04.gentle environment, but if you put an energetic planned together, it
:11:05. > :11:08.transforms. This Echinacea creates more energy with the yellow. Perhaps
:11:09. > :11:14.not entirely comfortable, but it ramps things up. So how do you use
:11:15. > :11:15.plants in combination and how will it influence how your garden
:11:16. > :11:34.appears? Increasingly at shows like Tatton,
:11:35. > :11:45.plant stalls are increasing their wares in combination and this caught
:11:46. > :11:51.my eye. It is the grass across -- mixed with the cosmos. You have the
:11:52. > :11:55.delicacy of the grass with the purity and intensity of the cosmos
:11:56. > :11:59.flowers and the way they hold themselves. But the two together and
:12:00. > :12:09.you have a really dramatic, elegant mixture. -- put. Violent contrasts
:12:10. > :12:15.can actually have a harmony of their own, so this Echinacea tomato soup
:12:16. > :12:21.with the salvia, complete opposites, but sitting comfortably.
:12:22. > :12:25.But you can be more subtle. Look at the way that the colours of the
:12:26. > :12:36.Salvia and the claim at his art almost identical but very different
:12:37. > :12:42.habits -- Clematis. You are using a combination that is very subtle
:12:43. > :12:47.indeed. And it is not just flowers that you
:12:48. > :12:53.have to think how they work together. Sometimes as they fade and
:12:54. > :12:57.fall their seed heads, that can make interesting combinations. So these
:12:58. > :13:02.grasses and the clovers beneath them on a rough piece of ground have a
:13:03. > :13:05.beauty as well. Whatever plants you choose, however much you love them,
:13:06. > :13:16.they are only as good as their neighbours.
:13:17. > :13:22.The gardens here at Tatton are packed with clever design ideas that
:13:23. > :13:26.you can adapt for your own back garden, and ever garden needs a
:13:27. > :13:31.seat. This is a seed that has it all. It is comfortable, as all
:13:32. > :13:33.garden furniture should be, but it is a focal point, it draws you in
:13:34. > :13:36.and invite you into a space. is a focal point, it draws you in
:13:37. > :13:41.and invite you into a This is obviously made of steel and is the
:13:42. > :13:46.spoke and expensive, but seats do not have to be like that. A simple
:13:47. > :13:52.swing is just as effective. And in the same way, you save space at
:13:53. > :13:56.ground level for shading the plans. Every garden needs are packed and if
:13:57. > :14:01.you have a lot of timber and stone behind your shed, you can build one
:14:02. > :14:06.like this. Shuttered sides with angular gravel held between. Into
:14:07. > :14:11.the gravel, stones and pieces of wood have been set. Because of the
:14:12. > :14:16.pointy edges, it is locked in place with no concrete necessary. Talking
:14:17. > :14:21.of concrete, it is not a material that has to be as dull and drab as a
:14:22. > :14:26.motorway bridge. If you are clever, you can make it sparkle. When this
:14:27. > :14:30.was drying, terracotta pots was pushed into the surface and when it
:14:31. > :14:39.was dry, it has been polished and, like Italian marble. -- it has come
:14:40. > :14:43.up like Italian marble. I like that peephole. They are very fashionable
:14:44. > :14:46.at the moment, a great way of framing the view and giving a
:14:47. > :14:51.different perspective on a garden. It is also a way of adding another
:14:52. > :14:56.dimensional and that is what these raised beds are doing. Usually, soil
:14:57. > :15:01.filled boxes are about function but here they are bad form, defining the
:15:02. > :15:05.entrance and exit to the garden, as well as giving this space a good,
:15:06. > :15:15.strong character that stays with it even when the flowers in the Borders
:15:16. > :15:18.have gone to ground. What about these fluttering silk screens? They
:15:19. > :15:24.hang like washing on a line. I can see this is an idea that could catch
:15:25. > :15:29.on. It is so simple to create. Like pop-up restaurants and pop-up shops,
:15:30. > :15:35.this is a pop-up garden boundary. There giving privacy for parties as
:15:36. > :15:42.and when you need it. It is fun and useful.
:15:43. > :15:47.Raised beds are of course a way of squeezing space, even from tiny
:15:48. > :15:52.gardens and this design, which is based on one of those difficult to
:15:53. > :15:58.plant corner plots does just that. The beds are not square, they are
:15:59. > :16:01.tapered and set out in a fashion, running north-to-south. That is
:16:02. > :16:06.important. It means as the sun passes over the tops during the day
:16:07. > :16:19.t vegetables in the rows get plenty of light on both sides.
:16:20. > :16:26.We Brits love growing our own fruit and veg. We don't just like growing
:16:27. > :16:31.it. Some of us love showing it too. Now, here at Tatton, under the roof
:16:32. > :16:39.of this marquee, amateur growers have gathered together from all over
:16:40. > :16:48.the country to show their very best produce at the RHS Summer Fruit and
:16:49. > :16:55.Vegetable Competition. It is nail-biting stuff! .
:16:56. > :17:00.So, Jim, you are a seasoned competitor. How long have you been
:17:01. > :17:09.doing it? Well, I first started when I was about eight. Not so long then!
:17:10. > :17:13.No, no, no. It is 76 years ago. Are you getting better at it, do you
:17:14. > :17:18.think? You get better if you have more time. I've got that. Yes. What
:17:19. > :17:26.inspires you to grow stuff like this? The Lord's creation. The fact
:17:27. > :17:32.that such a small seed can do what it does and produce such beautiful
:17:33. > :17:43.flowers, lovely vegetables. I look after nature. I feed all the birds
:17:44. > :17:50.and everything. I think they are brilliant!
:17:51. > :18:02.Nobody knows more about exhibiting fruit than Jim from whichesly. This
:18:03. > :18:07.is a -- from Wisley. This is a magnificent display. Show us what
:18:08. > :18:12.you have been doing? I have put all the strigs in one direction. They
:18:13. > :18:20.are what the redcurrants hang off. They are full of berries. No empty
:18:21. > :18:26.ones on your plate! No. This is a typical ripe colour. This is
:18:27. > :18:33.magnificent. You are busy. I will let you get on with it. But thank
:18:34. > :18:40.you. That's OK! Years ago, I used to enter all
:18:41. > :18:44.fruits and vegetables. I have brought some of my own redcurrants
:18:45. > :18:47.from my garden. I am longing to know how they get on over here, so I will
:18:48. > :19:02.sneak them in and see how I get on. They don't really compare, you know,
:19:03. > :19:08.but I hope my redcurrants don't leave me red-faced!
:19:09. > :19:16.Well, we will see how Carol does later on in the show. Without bees,
:19:17. > :19:19.there would be no fruit here on the show. There'd be no fruit for us to
:19:20. > :19:25.eat at all. Manchester City Council have a campaign to encourage as many
:19:26. > :19:36.bees as possible into the city's parks and gardens.
:19:37. > :19:42.The bee is Manchester's symbol and has been since the beginning of the
:19:43. > :19:47.Industrial Revolution, which Manchester was very key in. It
:19:48. > :19:55.symbolises the work ethic of the people of Manchester.
:19:56. > :20:01.It's a symbol that you can see all around the city, particularly in the
:20:02. > :20:11.Town Hall itself, where there are the bee mo saybacks. But -- mosaics.
:20:12. > :20:21.Also in Manchester's coat of arms itself. There are actually real bees
:20:22. > :20:27.in Manchester now, which people may not realise. There are beehives in
:20:28. > :20:32.unexpected places, such as on top of art galleries and on top of
:20:33. > :20:37.Manchester's Arndale Centre and the Cathedral. The planting surrounding
:20:38. > :20:39.the cathedral now is being changed to maximise the foraging
:20:40. > :20:54.possibilities for the bees. There is quite a team here that
:20:55. > :21:00.looks after the bees. The entire cathedral team is involved. Our
:21:01. > :21:05.volunteers and the one thing about buildings like this is that we've
:21:06. > :21:10.got very, very high roofs. The bees are pretty safe up there. They are
:21:11. > :21:13.pretty comfortable and things can flourish, even in an urban
:21:14. > :21:17.environment. One of the great stories I do love about this, was
:21:18. > :21:22.the Queen came to Manchester last November. I understand on her way
:21:23. > :21:27.back to London on the Royal train, they opened a jar of this and had it
:21:28. > :21:33.with their afternoon tea. We had a lovely letter afterwards, saying how
:21:34. > :21:41.much she enjoyed the honey. We are here at Frog Lane Park, with the
:21:42. > :21:51.Friends of Fromming Lane park. They will plant some seeds and it is to
:21:52. > :21:56.transform them into wild meadows. We want educate and inform people about
:21:57. > :22:04.the natural environment in the city. Not only does it look amazing and
:22:05. > :22:13.wonderful, but it is fantastic for insects, invertebrates and other di
:22:14. > :22:19.yo diversity. The outcomes are much more positive.
:22:20. > :22:25.It is this change in approach to planting that has really sort of
:22:26. > :22:31.inspired this year's Tatton's flowerbed entry. Hence it is called
:22:32. > :22:36."the bee roads to Manchester." The main strand is a road, running
:22:37. > :22:40.through with the city centre, depicted with beehives. The
:22:41. > :22:45.flowerbed itself is a bedding competition. To demonstrate
:22:46. > :22:51.naturalised planting using bedding plants is quite difficult, but it is
:22:52. > :22:54.giving that impact and feel of more naturalised planting, but still
:22:55. > :22:56.fitting within the confines of what the flowerbed competition is
:22:57. > :23:18.actually about. Sarah, how did you do? We got
:23:19. > :23:23.silver-gilt. We are so excited. You have displayed a complicated idea of
:23:24. > :23:28.how bees see colour. Talk me through this. This shows the colours as we
:23:29. > :23:32.see them. The other flower boxes to demonstrate how bees see these
:23:33. > :23:39.colours in a different way. They see in ultraviolet. I know you had quite
:23:40. > :23:44.a lot of conflict between the concept and a formal bedding
:23:45. > :23:48.competition? Yes. The formal bedding competition is about using bedding
:23:49. > :23:52.plants. It is about demonstrating that change that we are trying to
:23:53. > :23:57.effect. There's a lot of herbs in here, which you can mix in with more
:23:58. > :24:02.traditional annual bedding to use as companion planting and still have
:24:03. > :24:06.the impact, but it still provides nectar-rich fields and pastures. I
:24:07. > :24:09.am sure the public will not only enjoy the way it looks, but learn
:24:10. > :24:30.something. I hope so. Thank you. These flowerbed displays by Park
:24:31. > :24:34.Departments have become famous here. As well as two from Manchester there
:24:35. > :24:39.are nine other designs. The reason they are so loved is because bedding
:24:40. > :24:44.plants are unique. They can be grown from seed in the spring and planted
:24:45. > :24:52.out to tell stories which are mediate to -- immediate to get.
:24:53. > :24:55.Birmingham City Council, 100 years on commemorates the First World War.
:24:56. > :25:02.Here is a soldier pushing his trolley of ammunition up through the
:25:03. > :25:08.mud. Interestingly, the mud is created from a perennial plant. A
:25:09. > :25:21.lovely plant for shade that one. A lovely meed co-from Cosmos and mill
:25:22. > :25:24.let. There are the -- created from Cosmso and millet.
:25:25. > :25:30.This shows a pathway of plants leading to a better, happier future.
:25:31. > :25:34.There are not only flowers that look fabulous right now, they will keep
:25:35. > :25:40.going right through to the first frosts of autumn.
:25:41. > :25:45.This though is the height of floral flowerbed design. The judges gave it
:25:46. > :25:55.the award for best in the show. Look at the density of the planting
:25:56. > :26:01.- there's not an inch of soil in sight sight. It is from St Helier.
:26:02. > :26:06.It even has Stars and Stripes. That's what I think. Let's see what
:26:07. > :26:10.the visitors make of this floral feast. I like the grasses and the
:26:11. > :26:14.ferns together. I wouldn't think to do that usually. I have been told
:26:15. > :26:19.they like dark conditions with moisture. With the right fern that
:26:20. > :26:25.is really effective. We like them because if you look at them closely,
:26:26. > :26:31.they are spiky and pretty. You can take bits away that you could - I
:26:32. > :26:34.suppose if you only have a small garden like mine. It is
:26:35. > :26:36.extraordinary, the creativity and the energy - just brilliant! Looks
:26:37. > :26:53.beautiful! I can't bear the suspense. Any
:26:54. > :26:58.second now this will be cut and I will see how I have done. We are all
:26:59. > :27:06.ready for you now! Thank you very much!
:27:07. > :27:12.I've got highly commended! I don't believe it! Fantastic! I thought
:27:13. > :27:17.they might have chucked them out and said they were not good enough!
:27:18. > :27:24.Hello, congratulations. Thank you very much. It is a wonderful
:27:25. > :27:29.exhibit. Really? It was well worth its prize. You were unlucky in a way
:27:30. > :27:34.because this exhibit here... That won first prize. That won first
:27:35. > :27:38.prize, also won the award for the best dish of fruit in the
:27:39. > :27:43.single-dish classes. So, it was the best around here. Can I also make
:27:44. > :27:49.your day a little bit better by presenting you with this? It is a
:27:50. > :27:54.certificate to mark your achievement. Congratulations! Oh,
:27:55. > :27:57.look at this! Look! I will tell you what, if I had a mantelpiece it
:27:58. > :28:20.would go straight on there! Just look at what I have won!
:28:21. > :28:24.That is really good and brave of you to go, because I tell you what, they
:28:25. > :28:31.know a thing or two about growing fruit and veg in this part of the
:28:32. > :28:36.world. That is it for tonight. We will be back tomorrow night at 7.
:28:37. > :28:42.30pm on BBC Two. I will look at the smaller show gardens along with Toby
:28:43. > :28:46.and Adam Frost, the Gold Medal winning Chelsea designer is looking
:28:47. > :28:52.at the young garden designers. I will be in the floral marquee,
:28:53. > :28:59.looking at plants that rely on earth, air, fire and water. It is
:29:00. > :29:06.really exciting. See you tomorrow night. Until then, goodbye. Goodbye.