Episode 21 The Beechgrove Garden

What a stonker of a red rose, with a beautiful perfume.

The last time I set foot in that building, I was going to a Christmas party.

It is, of course, the Dean Castle.

I was with my Aunt Mary and my cousins.

The family used to do some work for the estate -

that's why we got invited.

That same Aunt Mary's oldest son was Robert.

He was in the war. He was much older than me.

And when he came back, he started

a market garden business - glasshouses and so on,

about half a mile upstream from the Old Brig of Alloway,

Brig of Ayr, Brig O' Doon.

His name was Robert Burns.

Think about it.

In 1950, there was a Robert Burns gardening at Alloway.

How's that for coincidence?

You will recognise this is a statue of a much more famous Robert Burns,

our national bard.

Do you know, it's said

that there are more statues around the world raised to this man

than anybody else on earth?

Remarkable. This one is located in the Kay Park,

one of a number of parks

that my dear old dad helped to manage several years ago.

Decades ago.

Well, many of you will have guessed

I'm talking about my old home town of Kilmarnock.

We're involved specifically in a project that's bringing

a wee bit of direction and pride, as well as a garden,

to the community of Knockinlaw.

Jim's old home town, Kilmarnock,

is an industrial town in East Ayrshire

with a population of over 44,000,

making it the second-largest town in Ayrshire.

Here, in the town centre, is the Laigh Kirk,

a church originally built in the early 13th century,

which became the heart of the town as it grew up around about it.

Jim was actually christened in this very church,

but possibly not quite that long ago.

This is the Knockinlaw area of Kilmarnock,

where the BBC series The Scheme was filmed.

At the end of the series,

we saw the community campaigning to save their old community centre.

'Last time on The Scheme,

'one family, the Crees, were leading the fight to reopen the old community centre,

'which their mum and dad had started,

'and their family had been running as volunteers for two generations.'

Despite the building eventually being torn down,

this community never gave up.

The story continues here, and is becoming much bigger and more positive

than saving an old, dilapidated building.

Around what will be a new state-of-the-art community centre,

the people of Knockinlaw have gone one stage further.

They're going to build a community garden to wrap around the building,

to complement the building and welcome and involve everybody.

It will be called The Central Gardens.

However, there's still a lot of work to be done.

All the community gardens this year are being supported

by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

and Greenbelt Group.

Both of these groups are supporting community initiatives like this

throughout the whole of Scotland.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm in the first part of the garden to be completed -

the patio, the paved area.

It's looking beautiful.

I have with me Janet and Marion Cree.

There's always somebody that really drives these projects,

and I think this is you two ladies.

The Cree family have been involved with community initiatives for a long time?

Yes, from way back in 1970,

when Marion's parents and other members of the community

kicked off Knockinlaw Community Association.

They knocked the doors in of the old centre,

got the Salvation Army to bring beds,

and provided housing for

folk that didnae have a house

when there was severe flooding in the area.

So this is our phase one, now,

of two phases, possibly three.

And we're getting really excited now.

You must be so proud of yourselves. Marion, what's this going to mean across the community?

It's going to mean quite a lot to the community,

because we're going to have adults and children involved.

When we get a centre, it's somewhere to go, cos there's nothing.

The garden's going to give them experience how to do a garden.

-It's going to really make a difference?

-A big difference, uh-huh.

You can see here, this is definitely still work in progress.

The hall is going here, and the kids' play area.

Marion and Alistair, you've been involved in the project right from the beginning,

I believe congratulations are in order,

because you've only recently got married?

Uh-huh. We got married on the Saturday and we were out here on the Monday morning.

Well, that's complete dedication.

Why did you get involved in the first place?

I got involved through friends and family and my wife here...

Oh, that's nice to say your "wife"!

SHE LAUGHS

But it's mainly to see something good happening in the community.

It will be a place where the children can come and play

and go to different clubs and activities, and things like that.

But just as much for the elder people, as well,

there's going to be lots of different activities and things.

So it's important for all ages, really?

It's going to help everybody in the community

to come together.

Marion, what have you enjoyed so far?

I've enjoyed working with everybody,

getting out the house, seeing it actually come together

from where it started.

It started as nothing, and then it came to this.

-Aye, we've done well.

-Aye.

You enjoy the hard work?

I do so!

-Getting your hands dirty, brilliant.

-Getting in there!

THEY LAUGH

I'm here with Lynn Harris,

our veteran Beechgrove Garden designer.

George, I'm not that old!

And don't look it, I have to say.

This is a special project for you. Tell me why.

It's hugely special,

because this is where I was born and brought up.

And I'm back to my roots.

This is probably where my love of gardening started,

helping my dad edge the lawn, plant daffy bulbs,

potatoes, that sort of thing.

I suppose this is where it all started for me as a gardener.

So no way you could refuse to be involved?

In actual fact, from my bedroom window,

over there, when I was a little girl,

I could look out and see the old community hall that used to be here.

But there's no hall there at the moment.

Ah, but very shortly there will be.

There'll be a brand, spanking new hall in the middle of the garden.

This is a very unusual project for all of us,

because we're putting the cart before the horse here.

We're actually building the garden before we build the hall,

because it's going to be a modular build.

OK. So what have we got?

Well, the community... This is a very multi-purpose hall.

They wanted a multi-purpose space surrounding it.

So we've got lots of different areas

for lots of different kinds of activities,

surrounding what will be a brand-new community hall in the centre.

-Can we go and have a look?

-I think we should.

So here we are finally in the garden, George.

This area here, all the way round the perimeter here,

is going to be a massive shrub border. Lots of mature trees,

loads of wildlife-friendly stuff in the garden, as well.

Coming round to this part, we've got a lawn,

perfect for the kids.

Nice, well-drained lawn.

Leading on to an enormous patio!

SHE LAUGHS

You could do almost Shakespearian productions here.

If they're having a wedding inside, they could have the photographs out here.

And finally we come to the productive area,

which is again a fair size.

We've used this fantastic

resin-bound gravel,

which is really porous.

-It's a product called Sudscape.

-It's really good.

-It's a fantastic surface.

Quite free-draining?

Very free-draining.

So lots of raised beds here,

lots of produce for all sections of the community

to be able to grow things.

There's a fair bit to do yet.

-I know. I'm off to get on with some work.

-We'll see you later.

Meanwhile,

Jim has been out and about,

looking at some extraordinary gardens.

Two of them. Extraordinary - why?

Because they're full of bedding plants.

You know the problems you've had with bedding plants this year.

The first one he went to see was Billy McIntosh.

Well, Mr Mac,

we were advised to come and see this spectacle here.

Absolutely tremendous. How long have you been at this game?

I used to help my father. He was a kind of show gardener.

He used to grow a lot of vegetables in they days after the war,

and come on and develop 20 flowers on first show.

Sell most of them, mind you, to pubs.

-HE LAUGHS The sweet peas.

-Did he really?

He did, for his drink money.

But it's remarkable, you know,

how well this looks,

considering everybody's complaining about the weather.

Of course.

I've saw it better, in better days, without this wind

and the rain we've had, but, eh...

We've got to take it as it comes.

It's quite a good-looking bit of lawn, but I'm surprised to see it there. How d'you cut it?

With great difficulty.

I've got a sore back, every time I do it.

Cannae sort your back, nor your lawn, but I find

that it's pleasing, because it sets off...

Aye, it does.

Have you ever entered any competitions?

Not really. An inspector came round and put my name in

for the local East Ayrshire Northwest area,

and I happened to win it.

I hadn't even entered it, but there you are.

I'm going away to see another prize-winning garden -

Harry Cassidy. Do you know him?

He's my cousin's husband.

That cannae be a coincidence?

Well, he's a dedicated gardener.

He works hard.

It's a lot of effort, I can assure you.

Well, this has to be

Harry's award-winning garden.

How are you?

-Hello, Jim. Nice to see you.

-Good to see you.

How d'you do it?!

Everybody's moaning!

So they may!

THEY LAUGH

The weather, it's shocking!

-It's terrible.

-This is fantastic. So what awards have you won?

I won the Kilmarnock Northwest Area for private houses.

Uh-huh? Is that the first time?

No. I won it in 2010.

Have you got any favourites?

Begonias.

-I like begonias.

-Aye.

But you have a huge range. Do you grow all the stuff yourself?

Most of it from seed, yeah.

With the exception of begonias, of course.

I've got to buy them, and the trailing lobelia.

Do you work with plugs?

Plugs? Yeah.

And when do you start the whole process?

Usually my plugs in April.

First week in April, and I take it from there.

Just bring them on in the greenhouse,

then into the cold frames,

and then, first week in June, plant out.

And when the judges come here,

do they look at front and back, as well?

Front and back, yeah,

-I'd better have a look at the back then.

-Aye.

Wow!

We're maybe coming to the end of the season,

but you've still got a fantastic display!

I suppose it's getting the right plants first time, eh?

-Ah, well...

-What are the most reliable?

Well, you cannae beat them, Jim. The fibrous-rooted begonias.

They do well in this weather up here, the climate.

But the petunias are really fantastic just now.

I had these last year.

These are really good - great results.

Yes, but everywhere you turn, you've got them.

They're still flowering their heads off. D'you do much dead heading?

-Oh!

-HE LAUGHS

-Maybe two hours a day.

-As much as that?

-Oh, aye. Anyway.

At least two hours a day.

The other thing that caught my eye was this aster here.

It's a lovely purpley-blue.

It's a bit big for my liking.

On the packet, when I planted them,

-it was supposed to be dwarf...

-But it's no' quite as dwarf?

No, they look about 15 inches high.

I wonder if it's been up there, looking for more light?

It's possible.

It's drawn it a wee bit.

But just everywhere you turn,

you're doing fantastically well.

So, all is not lost, and you'll be back at it again next year?

-Oh, yeah.

-More prizes?

-Cannae wait.

THEY LAUGH

You'll see there's been a lot of progress at the site -

the plants coming in, which is absolutely great.

And willing helpers, too. Jim and Linda,

you've been involved right from the beginning of the project,

but also, Jim, a lot of family history here?

Yes,

my mother and my father's 41 years

in the build that was here,

before it was demolished.

Big difference, isn't it?

Big difference to see this that's coming on here, it's beautiful.

Linda, you're fairly familiar with this area,

because you've been digging this over?

Aye, two or three times, we've dug it up.

There's been more muck put on top of it, and more compost, and more muck.

-That's important.

-That's it.

-I mean, it's worth it.

It's well worth it. The place is beautiful, actually.

Absolutely gorgeous.

And I believe you've been keeping the women in order?

Yes, I've been a whip-cracker.

Well, I'm going to be the whip-cracker now.

Perhaps you can bring in the rest of the plants, and Chloe, as well.

-Right, that's lovely.

-Coming?

You'll see that there's a bit of a theme going on here.

When you take a look at the fence,

it's only a metre in height.

Now that's quite important,

because we're by a road,

and that's all to do with being able to see when the cars

come to the junction.

The plants are exactly the same.

These are all fairly dwarf.

You have things like the Hebes here.

They're evergreen, which will give us interest right through the season.

But lovely flower colour.

The yak hybrids, they only grow to about a metre in height.

And we have things like the euonymus Emerald Gaiety.

So they'll stay small,

and you'll find Carolyn has a theme with her plants, as well.

The theme for this area here is plants with spikes on them.

So they're great for a security aspect.

As you go back from the front of the garden,

we can get a bit taller, so we have a tree here.

This is a Crataegus, which had white flowers on it in the spring,

and is going to be followed by these lovely

orangey-red fruits, as well.

Pyracantha is another great plant.

Birds love it in the winter.

This variety is Soleil d'Or,

which will give us nice yellow berries.

In front of here,

mahonia. This is Charity.

This has got yellow flowers in the winter.

Very highly scented, a lovely plant.

At the front here, some mass-planting of Rosa rugosa.

You can see it has pink flowers, just about to come out.

Large pink flowers, single blooms.

Very highly scented.

Followed by these gorgeous hips at the back of them.

Bright red, almost cherry-sized hips.

What I think will be nice behind that,

we have a very nice hole being dug.

This is a Berberis atropurpurea.

That will have dark, pinky foliage,

And in front of that, bright pink flowers.

I think that'll have a nice colour combination to it.

-How are you getting on with the hole?

-Eh, good.

Good!

The bed which is going

to surround the lawn,

which is still to be laid,

is a nice mixed planting.

So it's got trees, shrubs and herbaceous.

A lot of the plants in here are good for wildlife, too.

Sorbus, or the mountain ash.

This is Joseph Rock. It has yellow berries.

Those are less favoured by the birds, so they will last

a little bit longer.

Buddleia, here,

which has finished flowering, but will be brilliant for butterflies.

But it doesn't matter that that's finished flowering,

because the perovskia, Blue Spire, is still to come.

This is important. If you're planting for wildlife,

you need to have continuity of colour and food.

It's no good having feast and famine.

In amongst this bed,

we've got Verbena bonariensis.

It's normally much taller than this,

with purple flowers on the top,

and butterflies absolutely adore that.

And this is sprinkled through the bed.

Then, at the edge, there's Alchemilla mollis,

which is going to be frothy, and it'll just foam over

the edge of the patio here.

Much more formal, at this side.

This is going to be a hedge.

It's lavender Hidcote.

Bees will adore that.

They're such good pollinators,

which is going to work really well, because there's lots of fruit, just next door.

Jean Brown, how are you?

I'm well, thank you.

You've been involved with this project from the beginning, almost?

Yes, I chair East Ayrshire North Communities Federation,

and the group are one of our members.

We've been helping them in their aspiration

to have their community facility restored...

-Right.

-..With an add-on in the form of a garden.

Well, here is the garden.

We've tried to make use of this south-facing wall.

Lesley talked of pollinating insects - we're make use of it here.

We've put in espalier trees.

They'll take up the space along the wall.

They're not going to be huge and bulky.

So, lots of trees in a small space. Great for that.

-Ideally suited to the space available?

-Absolutely right.

Then, in the corner, you recognise that one, don't you?

-Victoria.

-Good old Victoria plum.

-A great plum for the Clyde Valley, wasn't it?

-Absolutely.

-We're not far from the Clyde Valley.

-It does well in this area.

-Absolutely.

Along the back, loganberries.

Along the front, blackcurrants.

And then, some raspberries.

That's one of these new-ish varieties - that's Glen Ample.

So that should do well here.

A goosegog in the corner...

-Absolutely great.

-..for jelly.

Plenty jams and jellies now for the community.

-No reason not to get on with it.

-Right!

Margaret, I can see you've done this before.

You're a bit of a gardener?

I enjoy my garden, yes, Jim.

And we are in the productive area, I suppose.

All these beds will be filled up with fruit and vegetables...

-That's right.

-..And herbs.

-Yes.

-Here we've got sage, parsley...

-Parsley, chives.

And the other troops out here, they've got rosemary and thyme...

-Some thyme, yeah.

-Strawberries.

-Good for the soup.

-You are in the same organisation as Jean?

-That's right, yes.

She's explained the outline of it, but tell me,

do you actually give money?

No, we don't give money.

I'm the project development person,

so I help develop the projects,

and to find funders that will give them money for their projects.

-So you stay with them and see them through the project?

-Yes.

We're planting into lovely compost.

-Yes.

-This bag here, is something the local people can have,

to get recycled compost.

They buy a bag for two quid.

They can take it back and fill it as often as they like.

-We'd better get this job finished.

-OK.

We'll never get hame the nicht, otherwise.

SHE LAUGHS

Now, our Georgie Boy has to wheech off pretty quickly,

cos he's going down to Hillhead Primary School,

which is Lynn Harris' old school, by the way,

and it's still standing.

They have an absolute cracking little children's garden.

We're going to meet the principal teacher, Emma Beattie.

So, Emma, what's all this about?

This is Hillhead Primary's

Outdoor Learning Environment.

It's taken us three years to get to this stage that we're in today.

A lot of hard work from our children, our staff and our parents

to create this learning environment for our children.

But you've got an Eco flag?

We do, yes.

Flying proudly, so well done.

A lot of hard work for that.

These are the folks that have been involved in the garden, is that right?

-ALL: Yes.

-All worked in here?

-ALL: Yes.

What did you do, Derrie? What did you sew?

-Peas and carrots.

-And Morgan?

Peas and carrots.

What was your bed?

That one over there.

Everything looking OK? Kudzai,

any questions for me?

How would you stop the peas from getting damaged

when it starts to rain?

Sometimes it's because they've finished cropping,

other times, because they're too wet.

So keep the ground hoed. Sarah?

Is there any fruit and vegetables

that survive the winter?

Oh, yes. Carrots will survive the winter,

but also turnips

and cabbage and sprouts and leeks. Do you like them?

-Yes.

-Good.

Why do you have big sunflowers and small sunflowers?

We have them both here, haven't we?

I think these are just dwarf sunflowers.

If you remember the packet they were in,

it will have told you they were dwarfs.

Charlotte, you've got a question?

How tall can an apple tree get?

Because you have an apple tree there,

and worried you couldn't reach the fruit at the top.

I think it will just grow up to about

nine feet, or two metres, or something like that.

-Do you all like working in the garden?

-ALL: Yes.

What do you like best?

-Being outdoors?

-ALL: Yeah.

-Having your wellies on?

-ALL: Yeah.

Lots of enthusiasm here.

Lots of youngsters starting off in gardening here, as well.

But Jim's somewhere else.

He's away with a younger group of people.

More enthusiasm!

He's away with the Avenue Childcare Services, and he's with...?

ALL: Pauline Barbour.

There you are.

The Avenue Childcare Services is a local voluntary sector organisation,

based in the Northwest area of Kilmarnock,

providing quality care to children in East Ayrshire.

We have two main services.

There's the daycare of children aged zero to five,

and a sitter service,

care of the children aged zero to 16.

Today, we're in the nursery.

The nursery provides childcare for children

aged six weeks to five years.

Now then, Pauline, you have a lot of tyres lying about here.

What do you plan to do with them?

Our plans for the tyres was to make

flower planters with them for the children.

And vegetable planters,

so the children could get involved in planting.

Seeing the process of planting the seed,

and seeing how it grows up to the final flower.

Planting their vegetables.

Seeing that they turn into the foods that they eat

during their snack time.

And actually produce some for them to eat?

Yes, we're hoping.

Well, you've made a good start,

because you have a cracker of a greenhouse there.

Yes. We've just finished the greenhouse. It's took us a wee while.

Lots of staff and volunteers helping.

These are amongst the best sunflowers I've seen this summer.

I know.

That's special thanks to Sonia, in the upstairs room.

She's our resident gardener.

We're here for a wee while. I want to help you get started.

We'd better get the sleeves rolled up.

Aye, that's great. Thanks.

The ploy here was to use

a range of small containers for small people,

so it's easy for them to reach into them, and so on.

We've used planter bags that are readily available

off different companies.

And we've done recycling by using old tyres.

We've wired them together

and the wires are all inside,

so the kids can't get caught with the wire.

And we've put a bit of landscape fabric in the bottom,

to prevent the material from going through.

They are mobile - you can move them about to suit yourself.

There's plenty space there.

Now here come the troops,

armed with a whole range of plants.

At this time of the year, the planting has got to be limited.

It's quite late, but we've tried a few herbs,

so we're going to put in some sage and marjoram,

and basil.

'We have a few vegetable plants, and a few vegetable seeds to put in,

'like broad beans, which will come up, and so on.'

Is that nice? Look at that pretty face it's got.

SHE LAUGHS

Isn't it? Add a bit of colour - some pansies.

'Just for late colour, and it goes

'with the old sunflower theme, of course, in this wee garden.

'I think that'll keep them going,

'and hopefully it will encourage them to try and do a bit more.'

Mucky!

I think you've done a fantastic job here,

so let's have a big cheer for the gardeners. Yes?

Yes! Come on! Gie's a cheer! Come on!

THEY CHEER

They're not impressed!

But they have done a great job.

A new race of gardeners here.

It's time I was away back to the other garden. See you later.

THEY APPLAUD AND CHEER

Meanwhile, back in the garden, the plants are going in.

This is the area where it's a metre or under, and it looks great, doesn't it?

And it is. It's now all about the finishing touches.

So mulch is going down.

It's a gorgeous colour,

and it will help suppress the weeds,

which will make looking after this garden a little bit easier.

Looking after the trees, we have good stakes in, and tree ties.

That's really important, because it can get a bit windy here.

Oh, I think George is getting a bit of a lesson here!

How's it going, George?

Wonderful, it's just like icing a cake.

But it's super stuff.

It's porous.

-Water goes right through this!

-And it sets in, what, a few minutes?

-It's resin-bonded, so... Yes.

-I can't stop.

-I think it's great.

-Don't get your hands on there.

-Don't stand on it!

-I won't!

-I really like the colour.

And the grass really sets off a garden, doesn't it?

-Doesn't it just?

-We're standing on boards.

We're on boards here, so we don't stand on that and hurt it.

It's like when you decorate a room and you finally put the carpet back.

It just finishes it off.

It looks fantastic!

Yeah. This paved area, I think, is absolutely beautiful.

But a real feature... John and his team there

have got the arch going in,

and that came from the old community hall,

so that's beautiful, isn't it?

It's very significant. That's what this is all about.

Rebuilding here.

And these stones are going to be used for benches,

which will be a real attractive feature...

And that came from the old community hall, as well.

Rosemarys. A bit of scent there.

Nice sentinels, just at the entrance of that part of the garden.

And then over here, rose beds.

Lots of pretty things, and productive.

Yeah, there's some seeds that have been sewn.

The children have really enjoyed planting that.

It is a hive of activity.

That's the point. There's things here for old and young.

It's bringing everybody together.

This is another fine example

how a community can get together,

and if they're of a like mind, they can work wonders.

Because when we arrived a couple of days ago, apart from a bit of land-forming,

there was nothing here - it was bare.

Just look what can be done

with a great pile of volunteers.

This is a very special project for all sorts of reasons,

but also because it's slightly topsy-turvy.

We've got a beautiful, useful garden created now.

It's just waiting for that all-important community centre.

That'll be great when it comes, too.

Obviously, our play area for the children will go at the front of the garden.

We've mocked that up to let them see what it will look like.

But I think you'll enjoy that when it's in, won't you?

Yep!

THEY LAUGH

I think so.

While the children are playing, the adults can have a well-earned rest

on this picnic table, which is wonderful.

And, when they're working on the productive area here,

they'll get their feet wonderfully dry,

because that SUDS material just lets all the water flow away.

So it's really impressive stuff.

Well, apart from the people

that brought it together, there's a whole host of others

who have given materials in kind and so on

to bring this to fruition.

And it's been a great delight, being back in my home town.

And speaking my own native language.

THEY LAUGH

Next week, we're back in the garden but until then, from all of us here

at the new Central Gardens in Knockinlaw...!

ALL: Bye!

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