Episode 15 The Beechgrove Garden

Well, hello, and welcome to Beechgrove Garden.

We're making our monthly visit to the fruit house and at the present,

all of these side shoots of the vine are being chopped off.

We want to put the energy into the trusses of fruit.

Talking about developing trusses of fruit, have a look at this cherry.

The variety is Sweetheart and isn't that looking...?

Stay back! Don't go any closer!

Isn't that wonderful? Beautiful fruits, not quite ready.

Another week or so. The real reason for being here is our strawberries.

We've come to the next stage in the wee saga of producing strawberries for most of the season.

We started off picking this lot on 7 June

and we've just taken the last pick.

The totals are, for Dalisette, this one here,

is 1.75 total - from 24 young plants, by the way.

And then Elegance - 2.095 kilos from 24 plants.

Then by far and the way the best is Sonata with 3.655 kilos

off 24 little single one-year plants.

That total is almost as much as these two put together.

As it so happens, by common consent, Sonata is also the best flavour.

Now, the next stage in this process, of course, is to take these out.

Like so.

And put the young'uns back, which are the same varieties.

Now, the picking focus turns to the crop in the fields.

We've got Honeoye, Cambridge Favourite, Alice,

Symphony, all out there.

That will keep us going for the next month or so.

Then come back to the varieties here.

Now, in the rest of the programme...

I'm in Perth, looking at a unique collection of lilies,

specifically bred for the Scottish climate.

This week, our problem corner is in the garden.

And it's a rather wet one!

You join me as I'm just about to sow some biennial seeds

and some over-wintering veg.

The things I mean are wallflower, myosotis,

bellis - grieves me to sow daisies but they're part of the spring scene.

Canterbury Bells, hollyhocks, honesty,

Brompton stock, that sort of thing.

Then cabbages, lettuce and so on, that will cover the winter.

A wee bit late with the biennials. You'd normally put them in in June.

There's so much to do, it got forgotten about. Happens here, as everywhere else. It's my fault.

Anyway, rows six inches apart, 15cm, if you like.

In the new kind of decimal thingummy. Draw a drill.

Half an inch, to an inch deep.

Like so.

Sow them, firm it up, give them a watering.

I'm hoping to push these forward cos I've got a nice raised bed.

I can put an envirofleece cover over and keep them moving.

When these seedlings are big enough to handle, I can prick them out

into a growing-on bed, about the middle of August.

By the time we put them into the flowering position in October,

we should have some really handsome plants.

The first one I'm doing is wallflower,

Fire King Improved. I'm not very fond of mixtures.

I like straight colours, and then you can mix them as you will.

So I've got Crock Of Gold and this one, Fire King Improved.

Sowing from hand.

Sow them quite thinly

so that I get nice sturdy seedlings.

The vegetable seeds will also become available

from the nursery men in September, October time,

as plants.

I shall compare ours with the plants at that time and see which is best.

A bit like Carole did with the leeks,

to see whether they're any cheaper, better or whatever.

Time alone will tell. How often have I said that this season, eh?

So that's wallflower Fire King Improved.

I shall be here for a while. I've got a lot of stuff to do.

Our problem corner involves our own water feature.

It starts at the top pond, and it's surrounded by beautiful heathers

to give 12 months interest in the year.

From the moorland pond, the stream glides and flows for 60 feet,

right down to the waterfall.

From the running water, we have our main pond,

which acts as a focal point to the garden.

It's full of all kinds of aquatic life.

So, finally, the water pitches up here, in the bog garden.

The whole liner has followed right the way through.

I think it's looking nice now.

-Some plants are really beautiful.

-There's some lovely things.

-That blue primula, I think looks stunning.

-In the sunshine.

The bog cotton, really soft and airy.

Wonderful, but the problem is the reed.

That dwarf reed has gone through everything.

In this corner, it's just a bit... well towsey looking.

-So this is our problem corner!

-It is!

We need to contain it a bit, perhaps add another feature.

We were thinking perhaps a little beach.

Yeah. We could do a bit of sunbathing.

Then put in one or two moisture-loving plants.

I was also inspired when I went to Dollar with Rosemary Jarvis.

She had carnivorous plants.

-I thought, could we add a little area?

-We could.

They are so wonderful to look at closely.

We need them close to the bridge. Perhaps here.

-Where it's really moist.

-That's important.

-So we'll put them there, beach up there.

-Yeah.

I don't think we'll be getting out the deckchairs. This is hard work.

This could be fun. I don't know my left from my right.

Mike, I think it's your right. I want you to go round the tree.

-No. Yeah. No. Come round the tree.

-Round the other side.

George, are you going to come down...? That's right.

Just go slightly round it and I think we curve it round.

I'll probably end up moving it myself!

-ALL LAUGH

-Where have I heard that before?

So that's about it.

The next stage is we've got to lift out all of that Juncus.

We'll save one or two of the plants. That is a lot of work.

-SQUELCH

-Oh! Donald!

-George, that's pretty good, getting rid of that reed.

-Not bad at all.

We've skimmed off the juncus down far enough to get the roots away,

which is really important cos it's a wee bit of a thug.

-So the next job is getting the topsoil in.

-Yeah.

-Cue Mike!

And the landscape fabric.

Topsoil, landscape fabric then follow these contours.

Yeah. We'd better get out the way because we've another job to do.

We're creating... What would you call it?

-It's a little sanctuary or enclave.

-For our carnivorous plants.

-Which I'm quite excited about.

-You've got a cane here.

I hope not to beat me with!

This basket is where we're going to plant.

We need a spot where there's plenty of water.

-And we've got to get that depth.

-Are they in the water?

-An inch above the water.

-That's a recommendation?

-Yeah.

We've got to be careful that we don't pierce the pond liner.

-How far are you going to go?

-If I go down there...

-You've gone quite a way.

-There's the depth.

-So, more digging.

LAUGHTER

-Lovely noises!

-Carole, please(!)

SQUELCHING

This is a new venture for us. I hope we know what we're doing.

Of course we do! It's a wee bit "suck it and see" sort of idea.

We've got the basket.

-It's like a big pond basket!

-Filled it with landscape fabric

and mixture of sterile sustainable peat and sphagnum moss.

Mixed that all through together

then we've got these beautiful pitcher plants, beautifully packed.

Sarracenia... I'm reading the label. ..purpurea, sub-species purpurea.

The thing that is important is that they grow in nothing.

There's to be no fertility...

No. Because... It's a bit gruesome.

They live on insects.

Yes. They trap the flies. The flies go down inside the pitcher.

So, once they're all in,

we decorate the edge with sphagnum moss.

I hope they survive the winter!

They go to sleep in the winter. There's no flies, then.

-They're sensible.

-We've got to do the beach next.

-That's right.

George, come rain or shine, we carry on!

This is a lovely colour combination.

The Ligularia, that maroon foliage, with the golden Carex.

We can really see that against the gravel.

I've got two iris, Iris kaempferi and Iris ensata.

At the front of that, we've got primula beesiana.

The same plants that were in here, more or less. Now we can see them.

We can see them and they love boggy conditions, thank goodness!

-We have got to finish off the beach.

-Then is matron coming for us?

-We really need another bag...

-In this space here?

-Yeah.

-This is what you meant by a good day out?

-This is the deckchair!

-Forgotten the factor 35(!)

-And the lollies!

But it looks good when you look at it from here. It looks splendid.

It's really pleasing to the eye.

You could even have a wander down the beach.

I can almost hear the ocean lapping on the shore.

SEA GULLS CRY

Every year, in response to viewers' letters and sometimes press publicity,

we have a look at a few new plants.

Here we have the garvineas, a new name perhaps,

derived from the Barberton daisy from South Africa, the gerbera.

They haven't flowered yet but the trial's to see whether they're winter hardy or not.

With the winters last year and the year before, it's quite a test.

To have a proper look at garvinea, we've brought in some mature plants.

Look at these gorgeous colours!

The colours we'd expect to see in the gerberas we're so fond of.

These were planted out when the frost had passed and they're doing stunningly well.

They need to be regularly dead-headed.

I think my favourite is Jilly, here,

which is a brilliant orange colour.

Bit of trouble. One of them there, Lisa, I think,

isn't very well - something's eating its roots or it's got mildew -

but on the whole, they are very successful.

They'll only prove to be a long-term success if these fellas come through the winter.

Now, across here,

a little observation of a range of single-flower dahlias.

I've been conscious that the range of colours has been extending.

Most of them derive, originally, from the Bishop of Llandaff,

dark foliage and a scarlet flower.

These are labelled the Bishop's children!

The plant breeders have got a hold of it

and we've got a whole range of colour.

Very reliable. They're weather-proof because they're single flowers.

Ideal for filling gaps here and there,

or perhaps even using in bedding schemes.

Carole's got more goodies to show you.

Sadly, I'm going to start with a baddie, and it's this pak choi.

Something has really been enjoying it.

The gardeners first of all put down slug pellets.

We found out later it was pigeons. They absolutely love them.

This plant is part of our trial here of an ornamental potager.

Pak choi belongs to the Brassica family.

So does the kale. We've got two varieties in here.

Black Tuscany, which is also green, has been attacked by the pigeons.

But the variety called Red Boar hasn't been touched at all.

Maybe they don't like red.

We need to come back to this in a few weeks.

I think it's going to look stunning.

The star at the back here is a penstemon,

and the variety's called Arctic Fox.

It's very hardy. It came through the winter and has been flowering for weeks.

The other varieties, most of those came through the winter.

We put in cuttings which have been over-wintered in the greenhouse.

They're really slow. There's just one or two buds about to come.

At the front, we've got the heucheras.

This variety is Crimson Curls.

I think it's wonderful foliage

and also these delicate flower heads on them at the moment.

Heucheras are great. They're evergreen and give you interest 12 months of the year.

A variety I'd like to mention is Marmalade.

A lovely name and a lovely plant. Then we move on to our border here.

The everlasting plants, or plants that you can, basically, dry,

whether it's flowered or grasses.

I've done a bit of picking. This is quaking grass.

You want to cut them while these seed heads are still green.

Then you can either put it in a tub like this

or hang it upside down to dry.

The other grass are Agrostis, ornamental Cloud Grass.

Isn't that delicate? You just do the same type of thing.

We've another grass here. This is the Hare's-tail.

That seed head has gone far too far over.

This is what you're looking for.

Lovely and soft to touch.

Unfortunately, I was really hoping to pick some of the Acroclinium,

but they love the sunshine.

These buds are closed. As soon as you get sunshine, they open up.

That's the time you want to pick them.

Strip off the foliage lower down. To dry those, hang them upside down.

This is the garden of Madeline Tinson in Perth.

In the acre of ground that surrounds her house,

she has a wonderful range of plants.

This is the heart of my garden - my beautiful Spanish chestnut tree.

-It's a beautiful shape.

-Absolutely stunning.

I'm quite mesmerised by it. So, how old? Any idea?

We've been told around about 300 years old.

The way to tell how old it is, I've been told,

-is for all of us to gather round.

-CAROLE LAUGHS

You can calculate how many people is what the year is.

-A sweet chestnut is the other name for it.

-Yes.

-We do get chestnuts on it.

-Wonderful.

-It survived the storms a few weeks ago?

-It did, indeed.

But we had quite a lot of damage. Limbs came down. Leaves came down.

The next morning, it was if a herd of elephants had wandered through!

-Once we cleared it up, it was fine!

-I love trees but I also love plants.

-Let's have a look round.

-OK.

-Gosh! What an unusual rose. What's the name of that?

-It's called Crazy For You.

I liked it when I saw it and bought it.

Some people say it's got a pot of paint thrown at it.

-It's got a nice fragrance.

-I like it, too.

But a lot of people may prefer the more traditional.

The David Austin roses are what we all imagine

-as a perfect rose with a beautiful perfume.

-Scent's important.

I like the way you've closed the arch, not only with laburnum

but a lot of companion planting.

There are roses to come.

Obviously, the honeysuckles are just going over.

-And we've got clematis later on.

-More plants!

-Indeed, yes.

The main reason I'm here is to look at your collection of lilies,

in particular, the North hybrids.

Flowering over here is Karen North, and this one is Peggy,

who's being a bit shy.

What do we mean by North hybrids?

Dr North developed them, through embryo culture,

at the institute at Invergowrie.

-And these are the results.

-He was based at the Scottish Crop Research Institute.

-Near Dundee.

-And you have more of the collection?

-I do, indeed.

What a wonderful colour range you've got and this is only part of the collection.

These are flowering at the moment, but there are plenty more to come.

So, Dr Christopher North bred these, but where did he start?

He started about the late '60s.

He had, up until then, been breeding Brassicas and this was a sideline.

He started with the Asiatics, the yellow one and the orangey one.

The sort of flower you see when you walk into the supermarket to buy flowers.

Bright yellow Asiatics that don't have a perfume.

From his research there, he moved on

to use that skill to develop the Greek Gods and the Ladies.

Specifically, he wanted to breed lilies

that were ideal for the Scottish climate.

-Hardy, withstand a lot of rainfall and wind.

-And didn't need staking.

-Which is really important.

-And they have withstood the Scottish climate.

-They do grow in gardens.

-So you're saying these are the Greek Gods?

These are the Greek Gods. He'd been on holiday in Crete.

Hence, he used the Greek Gods. This is Pan.

He used the species lilies.

This particular one, Lankongense is the parent.

What he did was, he got the parent plants.

He then got the embryo, which was put into a test tube.

When that developed, then he got these unique lilies.

-Sadly, they're not available commercially.

-No.

They were not commercially viable.

He did try, and there still are nurseries that have got them,

but no, they haven't been in the florists because of the shape.

This is more your typical orange, Turk's Cap lily.

That's the one most people will find growing in their garden, Tiger Lily.

Then we have Eros.

All from the Greek Gods.

These are the Ladies over here.

These are the Ladies. That's Barbara.

I like the name on that one cos my mother's name is Barbara.

-That is something I would love to grow.

-Then Peggy.

-She wasn't in flower in the border.

-That's correct.

In the front border where we saw Karen. She's flowering in the pot.

-A lovely big flower.

-Lovely.

You are trying to build up this collection to eventually get the national collection.

-I would like to. That's my ambition.

-But it's not complete yet.

Unfortunately not.

-If anybody out there has got this one here called Pandora.

-She's quite big and blousy.

Yes. And another one that's missing from my collection is this, Minos.

Coming back to the Turk's Cap appearance.

Then the Holy Grail, if anybody out there has it,

Adonis from the Greek series.

-That matches my shirt!

-I would love to see it.

If anyone out there knows anything about those lilies,

do get in touch - all the information is in the fact sheet.

I know we're into July, but I want to take you back to the first programme in April.

We had that terrible winter and we were looking at some sad plants.

I was here in the seaside garden, looking at this Phlomis. Very sad!

Now behind me, look how it's recovered.

Lovely green foliage, and we've even got some flowers.

It's quite an old plant.

What I was suggesting was we'd take some cuttings, get those rooted,

and we will replace it.

So that's a good news story.

Next the Olearia, looking rather sad.

But if you trace it to the base,

we have got some growth.

What we need to do is cut that back and, hopefully, in a few years,

we'll end up with a bush this size again.

I'm not sure what Jim will think about that.

Maybe we need to get a replacement plant. That's what he might suggest.

Also, tree lupins.

They were incredibly sad but we've got flower now, really healthy.

And the Artemisia. This is it back in April.

Again, looking very old and woody. I was suggesting we take cuttings.

But look at it!

It's a real success story so I'm going to leave that alone.

Now we're going to do a question and answer session, Jim.

I heard that comment you made earlier.

-Would you replace it?

-Yeah. Chuck it out.

-It is quite tiny, isn't it?

-Yes.

-What about this one?

Well, here we've got from the Isle of Lewis,

glasshouse crops grown by Angus Kenyon.

You hang on to that.

We've got... There's a sequence to them.

That, that and that tomato.

-Cold conditions.

-Purely cold.

Nutrition gets out of balance and you get that on the older leaves.

The same sort of conditions on cucumber.

It looks like deficiency but if you think

that you're probably growing these in a good compost,

why should they show nutritional problems?

Because the system's not functioning efficiently.

-It's more weather conditions.

-Yes.

But here's one that's different.

This is a tomato with pitted marks

on the back of the foliage.

You get these brown spots where you've had moisture and the sun...

Scorches it, but that would be on the top.

When you've got plants and leaves all close together

in low light, high humidity conditions,

as the plants transpire the liquid out of the stoma,

which are mostly on the underside of the leaf,

there's nowhere for it to go so it stays there and it bursts the cells.

That's when you get these.

It's very bad on geraniums growing commercially when they're tight together.

-Smelly water butts! You've got the answer to this!

-Smelly water butts!

-Janice Boyle's got a problem.

-There are several,

but here's a mild sterilant called Citrox.

The derivation is from citrus.

-That works a treat.

-Do you have to put it in every so often?

-Regularly.

I use it for watering cans.

They get a bit manky sometimes.

Mrs Mavis Flemming from Invergowrie, troublesome weed on the lawn.

I don't know how you feel. You get mixtures with fertilisers, weed killer and moss killer.

-Yeah.

-I prefer to use the straightforward weed killer.

Yes. I don't think it's the best way to do things.

The plants need feed. Once they're fed and growing well,

you then treat the diseases or the pests or whatever, the weeds.

I would make up some glyphosate and paint it on the leaves.

If you're very careful, you will kill the weed.

The problem is getting the last tip of the root out.

You leave a bit in and it comes up.

We've a bush rose here called the Generous Gardener.

It's been threatened by the fact that the root stock,

on which it's grafted, is beginning to take over.

What I've got to do is to try and get rid of these at the base by...

See how I'm trying to break it off?

If I break it off like that,

I destroy the ring of buds round the base that cause it to start all over again.

That's one success. Here's another one. Break it out.

And then, finally,

the one underneath.

This will come away fine after that.

Now that these broad beans are in full flower, what I want to do

is nip out the tops.

There's two reasons for this.

One, it helps to uniform the broad bean pods when they mature.

The second reason is to prevent against black bean aphid.

They particularly like the young shoots.

Jim, it's that time of year when we're pruning back the candles on the cloud pruning.

-What do you think?

-I think it gets better and better and better.

-It's nice featuring it when the doubting Thomases aren't here.

-It works well.

It's quite a long job to prune them back but it's a nice feature.

I hated the thought that we'd lose this plant altogether.

How it's been converted, it's looking rather nice.

If you'd like any more information about this week's programme,

perhaps Madeline's garden, as it's open by appointment,

and those strawberry varieties, it's all in the fact sheet.

The easiest way to access that is online.

Next week, I shall be in the veg plots again. Surprise, surprise(!)

We'll be looking at whether the fertiliser has worked or not in the brassicas and amongst the tatties.

-There we go. That's it.

-It is.

-Nothing more?

-Nothing more! May it be warmer! Goodbye.

-Bye bye.

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