0:00:02 > 0:00:04Welcome to the A-Z Of TV Gardening,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07where we sift through all your favourite TV gardening programmes
0:00:07 > 0:00:11and dig up a bumper crop of tips from the best experts in the business.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Flowers, trees, fruit and veg,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17letter by letter, they're all coming up a treat.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Everything we're looking at today begins with the letters X, Y and Z.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Here's what's coming up... The plant that gets Hugh Dennis reminiscing...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43We had a massive yucca in our garden
0:00:43 > 0:00:48and I used to ride my bike obsessively round the track.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53..and what to plant when your garden is a zoo...
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I think that people forget that zoos are about plants as well as animals.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01We should look at the environment as a whole. Here at Twycross, we're looking at the bigger picture.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Just some of the treats we have in store.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07So let's begin with X.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10In our first subject, we look at a type of gardening
0:01:10 > 0:01:13that deliberately keeps water usage to a minimum
0:01:13 > 0:01:15with plants that don't get very thirsty.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18This X is for Xeriscaping.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20To show why it can make sense,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Steve Backshall went to one of America's hottest destinations -
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Las Vegas.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Las Vegas is the fastest-growing city in the US,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34with over 4,000 people moving here every month.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It's the residents of Las Vegas that use most of its water
0:01:37 > 0:01:43for drinking, washing, sewerage, dish washers, washing machines.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47But the biggest user isn't inside the house.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51In the summer, 90 percent of domestic water is used outside
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and the greediest culprit of all - the humble lawn sprinkler.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01This water never returns to the waste-water treatment plants.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Much of it simply evaporates into the air
0:02:04 > 0:02:06and is blown away.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's lost forever to the people of the Las Vegas Valley.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17But it is possible to have a garden in the desert without wasting so much water.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21The McDoniel Elementary School has planted a new xeriscape,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23or desert-style garden.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Hilarie Robison of the Southern Nevada Water Authority explains.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33- What did it look like before? - These front areas were all covered in grass,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36which requires a lot more water than we get through rain,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39so these desert plants are much more efficient
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and can survive with an efficient amount of water.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48What's the traditional attitude of the people living around here towards water and the use of water?
0:02:48 > 0:02:50We have had such growth over the last 10 to 20 years,
0:02:50 > 0:02:57people come from different places and they don't understand the desert environment.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02They want to bring with them the plants and the shrubs and the trees from wherever they came from.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06They don't understand what it's like to live in a desert
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and how important and crucial water is to life
0:03:10 > 0:03:12and how limited a resource it is.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Why choose to set up a project here in this school?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19The school is the perfect place for education.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Young people tour the garden, learn about desert plants
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and how important water is here in the Mojave Desert.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28ALL: Whoa!
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- BOY: That's a big one. - TEACHER: OK, now we're talking!
0:03:31 > 0:03:35What's going to happen if people carry on using water the way they do now?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38If they continue to use water as they do now, we'll be in a lot of trouble.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41They need to cut back and use less water,
0:03:41 > 0:03:46and continue the quality of life that we've been able to enjoy here in Southern Nevada.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53Thanks, Steve. Some of the best plants to use in xeriscaping are cacti.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Shortly, Alys Fowler will show us how to grow a cactus.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59But first, let's meet Brian Fearn,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03who knows all about what's out there and how to handle them.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09A cactus is a plant that's lost its leaves
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and the function of the leaves has been taken over by the stem,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15which has become green.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19The spines that it's got
0:04:19 > 0:04:25are to prevent animals from getting at the water that the plant is storing.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32The ribs are to prevent the plant from bursting when it takes up water rapidly,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36so it acts like a concertina.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40I was about ten, I suppose, when the fascination first hit me.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45We were on holiday in Scarborough.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49There was a greengrocers shop adjacent to where we were staying
0:04:49 > 0:04:51which had cacti in the window,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and, of course, they look distinctly different from anything else.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08These plants have got the lifetime of trees.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11They will live to 250 years plus.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Indeed, some of the plants I've got,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17I can trace the history back to Victorian times.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20This plant, I found ten years ago
0:05:20 > 0:05:23as one plant in 20,000 seedlings.
0:05:23 > 0:05:29I grew it up and it's produced this beautiful variegated plant, which is unique.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32There's not another one in the world like it.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37The island of Madagascar has probably more weird and wonderful plants and animals
0:05:37 > 0:05:39than anywhere else in the world,
0:05:39 > 0:05:44and this, Didieria madagascariensis, is probably one of the weirdest.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48With its long, narrow leaves and long spines
0:05:48 > 0:05:51it's just a weird plant.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55One of the biggest mysteries with these plants is that they never flower,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58but if you follow a few simple rules,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01they will perform for you every year.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04You water them once a week all through the summer,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and that's a good soak, use a hosepipe.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09No water at all from October to March
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and that really is no water.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16If you water them in the winter and you keep them warm in the winter,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19they won't flower for you, it's as simple as that.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Keep them cool and keep them dry.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27If you have a whim to water them in the winter,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31take a watering can and cut the bottom out
0:06:31 > 0:06:33and then you can go through the motions
0:06:33 > 0:06:36of attempting to water them
0:06:36 > 0:06:38but never doing so!
0:06:45 > 0:06:49I'm going to sow some cactus seed for our dry garden.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53The truth about cactus is, it's a bit of a long-term relationship.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It's going to be quite a long time before I have cactus like Brian's.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59The question is, why would you bother from seed
0:06:59 > 0:07:03when little cactus, as we all know, are very, very cheap?
0:07:03 > 0:07:06There's nothing more satisfying than being able to say,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08"I grew that. That's my cactus from seed."
0:07:08 > 0:07:11So with that, I'm going to try.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Now, you need to use...
0:07:14 > 0:07:17..a really, really free-draining potting compost.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19So I've got regular potting compost over here,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and to that, I'm going to add a quarter sand
0:07:22 > 0:07:26so that it's a really free-draining mixture. That's really essential.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Because it's so free-draining, you'll need to put mesh at the bottom of the pot
0:07:30 > 0:07:33or else it'll all just run right the way through.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36And then just fill the pot up to the top.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42You need to let that soak in water until it's all completely wet,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45because only at that point can you sow.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46This is rainwater.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51I'm using rainwater because cactus generally don't like tap water. It's got a very high calcium level.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53What I'm going to sow is one of these.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56This is Echinocereus reichenbachii baileyii,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58or the Woolly Hedgehog to you and I.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02It's a really sweet little cactus. Eventually it does get bigger than this.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05It's winter-hardy in the UK.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Now, cactus seed are very, very small,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12and because they're small,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16like all seeds which are tiny,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20you only sow them on the surface, you never cover them.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27A really fine seed can just be tapped off your hand
0:08:27 > 0:08:29while gently moving...
0:08:30 > 0:08:33..around the pot.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Cactus grow in semi-desert conditions,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40so you've got to think it's really, really dry, free-draining, baked,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43and then, suddenly, there'll be this kind of downpour of rain,
0:08:43 > 0:08:49and it's in that period that the seeds take advantage of the sudden moisture from the environment
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and have to get to work really quickly.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55So I'm going to spray the surface of the compost with some more moisture,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59because it's all about keeping the humidity high,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01which is going to make these seed germinate.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05And to really, really lock that moisture in,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08I'm going to cover the whole pot with a plastic bag.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13It's a really good idea to put a label in the middle of the pot
0:09:13 > 0:09:16because that just keeps the bag from collapsing in on itself,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20and then wrap it with a rubber band
0:09:20 > 0:09:22to lock the moisture in.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28This way, I'm going to recreate really humid conditions.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32And you'll be surprised, they're quite fast to germinate.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It's thereon in that they start to grow very, very slowly.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39They need a daytime temperature of roughly 25 to 30 degrees Celsius
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and a night-time temperature of 18 to 20,
0:09:42 > 0:09:47so that's going to be the hot end of this greenhouse or, say, a baked windowsill.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Thanks, Alys.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Well, that's it for X. Let's move on to the letter Y.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57We start with a tree that's got some dark connotations.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00This Y is for the yew tree.
0:10:00 > 0:10:06Here's Joe Swift finding out why yew is top when it comes to topiary.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Packwood House is a Tudor manor house owned by the National Trust.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22The late summer borders are looking spectacular, bursting with colour,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27combining ornamental grasses, perennials and half-hardy annuals just beautifully.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31But topiary is what this garden is really famous for.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34This part of the garden is just so simple
0:10:34 > 0:10:36and has only two elements in it -
0:10:36 > 0:10:38the fresh green sward of the lawn
0:10:38 > 0:10:43contrasting with these yew pieces, the dark textured colour,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and these are like living architecture.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48But it's the scale of them that's so impressive,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and the whole garden feels like a church or a cathedral,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57so it doesn't surprise me that, they are laid out to represent the Sermon on the Mount,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00complete with 12 Apostles and four Evangelists.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02CHORAL MUSIC
0:11:05 > 0:11:08With over 100 trees and up to 40 feet high,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12it takes a bit more than snippers and shears to keep them in check.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15SAW BUZZES LOUDLY
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Whoa!
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- This is a labour of lovely, isn't it? - It certainly is.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37How long does it take you to do the whole caboodle?
0:11:37 > 0:11:41About four and a half to five months, depending on weather conditions.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43So that's nearly half the year.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45You end up with arms like an orang-utan
0:11:45 > 0:11:49after about three months of it!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Most people don't have huge pieces of sculpture like this.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56How do you get them nice and tight to start with, and keep them in shape?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What are the golden rules?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00If you've got a good, sharp pair of shears,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04that's pretty much essential for make a nice, clean cut.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08There's less chance of diseases getting into the plant.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10You don't really want to be cutting in the middle of winter,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14because if you cut below freezing, then you can be in quite a bit of trouble.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17You might get a lot of dieback.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And should you trim them every year, to shape them up?
0:12:20 > 0:12:24You'll keep the crisper shape and you'll keep the shape you want if you're cutting them once a year.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28If you've got privet, you've got to cut it two or three times a year.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Yew is wonderful. It's like the Rolls-Royce of hedging material.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35They're pretty tough, aren't they?
0:12:36 > 0:12:37We say goodbye to Y
0:12:37 > 0:12:42with a little treat from Mr Hugh Dennis, fan of the yew,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45but not of another Y, the yucca.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52I like gardens, I really like gardens.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59And I like the kind of British obsession with gardens.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04This is the Cleve West garden.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Cleve West is a garden designer,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08not, as many of you probably imagine,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11a suburb of Cleve. He's an actual man.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I like this topiarised yew,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18as I believe it is called, with the little pom-pom on the top.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I've got this tremendous urge to kind of do that with one of the tops,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25but I'm slightly worried that if you push down on the tops,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29somewhere else in the garden, something explodes.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34That's a yucca. That brings back memories.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37We had a massive yucca in our garden
0:13:37 > 0:13:42and I used to ride my bike obsessively round the kind of track
0:13:42 > 0:13:45which went past this yucca tree
0:13:45 > 0:13:49and, erm, most days, I fell off into it,
0:13:49 > 0:13:50it was right on the corner.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52A yucca tree, essentially,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56is like nature's upturned knife block.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00I wouldn't have one in my garden now, obviously, to protect my children.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Excellent. That brings us nicely onto our final letter - Z.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18Let's explore the role plants play in a very particular place,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21because this Z is for "Zoo" gardening.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Here's Ben Potterton explaining why it's important,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and how a trip to Hampton Court Palace could help inspire him.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Twycross Zoo is the World Primate Centre.
0:14:39 > 0:14:40We've been here 45 years,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43with the largest collection of primates in the world.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Monkeys aren't the easiest things to work with,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48but the site's got so much more.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52We've got a good elephant herd, giraffe, a good bird section.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57People forget that zoos are about plants as well as animals.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59We should look at the environment as a whole.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Certainly here at Twycross, we're looking at the bigger picture.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12Some of the areas, like the flamingo pool, we're trying to plant geographically.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15We've got Chilean flamingos in there, so we try and plant Chilean plants
0:15:15 > 0:15:18or, broadly, South American plants.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22In enclosures like this, it's very important to have a range of natives and non-natives.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24We've got Gunnera manicata, the giant rhubarb,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28which is a South American plant found in the same area as flamingos.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31But also, we're surrounded by Flag Iris.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Behind me, you got things like docks and stinging nettles,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37which we don't mind at the back because they're good for insects.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41So we're trying to garden the front, but leave the backs natural.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47It's important that we grow plants here for food for the animals, and we're very interested in browse.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Now, browse is shrubs and trees that we cut
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and give to our elephants, giraffes and monkeys,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57so a lot of areas here will be developed for hedging to cut for browse species.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02To check the toxicity of the plants, we look on databases, places like Kew Gardens,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and also what other zoos are doing and what plants they're using,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09so a lot of scientific work goes into it, as well.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14This is our Longhouse Aviary.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The birds in this aviary are predominantly from the Asian subcontinent.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21What we're trying to do here is plant a range of Asian plants
0:16:21 > 0:16:26that will grow happily in here, also that will be beneficial to the birds.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Underneath some of the trees and shrubs,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30we're planting a dwarf form of miscanthus,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34which is a hardy grass that we can cut once a year down to the bottom,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36and the birds will work through, they'll nest in,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40and it should just cover the ground area.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42- Underneath all this, there is decent soil.- Yes.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47'John Thompson is our head gardener here at Twycross Zoo, and has been for the last 36 years.'
0:16:47 > 0:16:49This is the new trend.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53It's not my type of work. I'm fitting in with Ben.
0:16:53 > 0:16:59You see, I was just bedding plants, roses, the colourful subjects.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03This is more, as he recalls, biodiversity.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08You need tradition in gardening. People are very quick to the new, new, new, new.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11John's, if he doesn't mind me saying, sort of 70,
0:17:11 > 0:17:16and has got that experience that me, at the age of 31, hasn't got, so it's a case of working together.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21My vision for the zoo is that we have a beautiful grounds for the public to appreciate,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25but also work with the animals and plant onto the enclosures
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and try and get a naturalistic landscape back into this site.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31That's my plan for the next few years.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33My visit to Hampton Court should be interesting.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I hope to visit the conservation area and get a few interesting plants,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and walk round the display gardens and get some ideas.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I got some good ideas last year, and hopefully, this year,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46I'll be with my camera, walking round, picking up a few tips.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Thanks, Ben. Well, we hope he did pick up those tips,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and we hope you've picked up some, too,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55now that we've completed every letter of the alphabet.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59We've reached the end of our journey through the A-Z of TV gardening.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Thanks for joining us, and see you again soon. Goodbye.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd