Episode 14 The Beechgrove Garden

Hello and welcome back to Beechgrove Garden after a couple of weeks away

and the place has burgeoned because we've had unending sunshine.

A bit of cloud now, thank goodness

and so there's a lot of things to see.

Let's start off with the hardy annual border and regulars will know

that we actually sowed the seeds of these in little plugs

and planted them out here and we've got a splendid display to look at.

Now, at the same time, Carole was sowing hardy annuals

in the ground at the same time, coming on fine but quite obviously,

they're not as far on as this, and that really makes a point.

As far north as here, if we're going to get our really money's worth, we want to start early.

We'll get some favourites, with old favourites and some newcomers.

All the names well be in our fact sheet

but let's start with an old favourite, the corncockle. Agrostemma.

Absolutely stunning in its elegance and more flowers to come.

Then below it, nemophila. Isn't that stunning? Never fails with us.

It's a very popular thing.

Star of the Veldt is doing tremendously well.

That's the Dimorphotheca and so, too, does the annual candytuft.

Great display, doing well there.

Ours is a little Linaria, the toadflax. And this one, gosh!

I've been growing this one for years and years, would never miss it out.

Echium, known as viper's bugloss and the bees are going at that like the clappers.

I like, too, the Gypsophila, bridal wreath. Now one of the discoveries.

I think this calendula is a wee stoater.

Absolutely lovely. Look at that. Quite a different...

A colour break, I think it's called red buff.

That I would certainly grow again. And so, too, this one. Gilia.

Isn't it gorgeous?

Now, we'd normally see it without that eye and strangely enough,

this variety is bird's eye and it's absolutely stunning.

These are doing well and if we keep them deadheaded,

they'll flower on for weeks.

Now then, we're off to the west across the sea to...

I'll leave you to guess.

This is one of the more remote of the Hebridean islands.

A two-and-a-half hour ferry ride from Oban, short flight, brings you to this island oasis

which is ten miles long and two miles wide,

home to around 135 souls, numerous sheep, goats and cattle.

And of course a golf course. This is the island of Colonsay.

There is also a surprising variety of plant life on this beautiful wee island,

from rhododendrons to wild orchids and this gorgeous wild iris.

It's amazing what will grow in this island environment.

I could certainly get used to this.

Recent innovation on the island is the brewery

and I'll tell you what, it's got some reputation!

The minute you step off the ferry, you can really feel the wind coming in from the sea.

The first piece of land you can see is the bit right in front of the Community Hall here in Scalasaig,

which is where the community garden is going to be.

-But the first challenge is going to be finding out what's actually going to grow here.

-I think so.

But meanwhile, back to the garden on the mainland with Jim and Carole.

From the beautiful island of Colonsay,

here we are in the wild area and I think this looks really

attractive at the moment, full of flower.

What I want to take a look at is the wild flowers that I started off

on the second programme, so that's 15 weeks ago and this is the result.

We've got some lovely plug plants which are ready for planting out in this area.

And to give them a bit of a chance, what I'm going to do

is take out little pockets, take away some of the weed,

so there's not too much competition and I've already planted some of

the field scabious, which has got lovely sort of mauvey-blue flowers.

In particular, I'd like to point out this one - it's vervain, because

it is in flower and this tends to grow down south rather than up here

in Scotland, so I'm not sure how hardy it is but we will find a nice

sort of sheltered pocket for it and we'll see if it comes through next year.

Then I'm planting here the meadow cranesbill, Geranium pratense

and I'm actually adding a little bit of lime, because where it grows

in the wild, it tends to grow in a chalky situation.

I mean, it's not particularly fussy about the soil

but I thought, well, let's give it a bit of a helping hand.

Now you can see the ground is really dry, so what we're going to

have to do is give these plants a right good soaking.

Here on Colonsay, the community has rallied round

and is putting its back into the new focal point for the island.

Local development officer Morna Piper has been spearheading the project.

-Morning, Morna. How are you?

-I'm fine, thanks, George.

Now, lovely day.

-Super involvement here.

-Fantastic.

-How did you get them all involved?

Um, it was very easy, really.

They were coming to me, wanting to be involved.

I put up a poster in the shop, but every time you're working on site,

you just get people joining in spontaneously.

-What will it be used for once it's finished?

-It's really going to be a recreational space for

the whole community so we've got the village hall behind us.

People will come out from that during events, people using the shop will come and eat ice cream.

-And you didn't have this before?

-No, it was a wasteland before and it's such a central part of the island,

it's going to make an enormous difference to everybody living here.

Alan, so you're the plantsman for this project, aren't you?

So they tell me, yes.

So, what do you think of the challenges for planting in this garden?

Er, well, the main one that would be the wind.

That's the thing you've got to manage.

It just comes whipping round the corner of the garden there,

so we've got the beginnings of a shelter built in.

-What about the actual climate?

-Similar to the other Scottish islands in some ways,

but being that bit further south, when you can get out of the wind,

it's actually really rather mild.

Very rarely do we get any frost or snow.

When the rest of the country's under two foot, we've got

two inches over here.

A lot milder in the winter and well, on a sunny day like this,

in the summer, you can hardly imagine that, can you?

Garden designer Karen Laing has been working with

the community in Colonsay to help realise their ideas.

You've been involved in this community for what, three months?

Just three months. It's been quite a tight turnaround.

How did they communicate to you what they wanted?

Well, initially they had a little loose sketch

of what they were looking...and a long list of aspirations

and my role has been very much as been very much as a facilitator

to help them achieve these goals in the time that they've got, with the resources they've got,

and it has all very much been about a sustainable ethos.

Being on an island, though, and remote from the mainland,

it must be quite difficult, because everything has to be shipped in.

Oh, it's been quite a challenge and as a mainlander,

-I've found it particularly challenging.

-This is not a "wow" garden.

This is a garden which will grow with time, isn't it?

Yes, because it has to do that because of the conditions,

so we are going to be taking small seedlings and planting them

cos they'll get their feet in the ground and they're going to survive these harsh winter winds.

Before the wind comes out of there and blows them into the sea.

Using plants from all over the island will make this space

into a friendship garden and I'm sure you're used to

swapping plans with lots of other gardeners and here, the garden

is going to be filled with tried and tested plants from all over Colonsay,

as well as a few that we've brought from Beechgrove.

I think for islanders to come and sit if they're at the shop, and you can

come in here and have a blether and that'll be really nice.

Also for visitors,

often there's a long wait from coming out of your house until the ferry.

And it will be lovely to have somewhere just to sit with children.

They could run around without having cowpats and sheep poo,

everything like that. It'll be just, it'll be great.

-Hi, Moira. How are you today?

-Hello, George.

-You well?

Absolutely shattered. It's very, very hot.

-Now, you're donating some plans, and you?

-I am, yes, yes.

Take a wee rest and let's go and get them.

What a fabulous garden, isn't it?

Well, I'm quite proud of it, I have to say.

Now, you see, the thing is, that this is what we hope the community garden

will look like, because we've got the island beds here and this growth.

Now, you came here, what? Four years ago?

-This is our fourth summer on the island.

-So what was it like before?

Mostly veg. I like veg, but I'll buy it at the supermarket.

-I like my flowers, I like my colour.

-So what are you giving us?

-Osteospermum.

-Right, the yellow thing? No, that's a Lysimachia. What's this?

And this is an escallonia here.

Well, that, you see, will do wonderfully well near the sea.

It's got wonderful glossy leaves.

I'm on my way to Jan Binnie's amazing allotment

which she has created on very difficult and harsh land.

Well, Jan, this looks absolutely fabulous

but it wasn't always like this, was it?

-No, I started with just rough moor.

-Was it like that, over there?

-Yes, yes.

-How did you break from that into this?

It was too big a ground to do all in one go,

so I got hold of this black polythene

and covered the whole ground in that,

weighed it down and then as I had time and energy,

just started rolling it back a bit.

It's the time and energy together that are important, isn't it?

Now, we've got water running down here as well, which is

a wonderful feature but it's coming through a bucket.

So what are you doing here?

This is my irrigation system. My son got this set up for me.

As soon as you build a polytunnel,

nature doesn't water your plants any more,

so I said, how am I going to do this?

And there's a wee burn that comes down off the hill here,

so we've got a header tank sunk into the burn.

It feeds it in and then a tap at the bottom,

and straight into the polytunnel.

-What have you got for us?

-Yes, I've got some plans here.

If you could take them round to the community garden.

Right. So what have we got here?

It's fuchsia for the hedging, and then a wee monkey puzzle tree,

grown from seeds.

Well, that will be a spectacular thing,

and right in the front somewhere.

-But the fuchsia is so important for shelter.

-Yes, it is.

We need that here. You lead on.

Considering the particular environment on the island, Colonsey

houses a spectacular woodland garden filled with subtropical plants.

Kate Joll is the daughter of Lord and Lady Strathcona,

-who has known this sheltered garden her whole life.

-Well, my goodness.

Look at the size of this, what, Gunnera manicata? Look at that!

Is that not just fantastic! What will it be?

Six foot across and six foot long? It's a fantastic piece of foliage.

Now, you've brought me some small plants for this,

to put down at the bottom of the garden.

-How long till it gets to this size, do you think?

-A matter of moments.

-Spring to summer, we can do this.

-Oh, come on!

You have a different climate up here, after all.

In the walled garden, we're very lucky.

There's a lot of different things in here,

things like the Alchemilla mollis,

this lady's mantle, and the red valerian.

Yes, that's nice.

So, there's a whole host of things which we know will survive

-in this climate.

-Once we get the shelter going.

Once we get the shelter. And it's not just because we're

so far north that we should worry about growing things.

We can grow plenty when we're this far north.

-Possibly not on this scale.

-Oh, my goodness. Look at those.

Look at those. These are just absolutely outstanding.

-But what age?

-163 years old.

-Oh, my goodness.

We'll not see them ourselves.

We won't. If we plant them now, at 160-odd years...

By Jove, it'll take some while

for the community garden to get to there.

THEY LAUGH

THEY CHEER

We've had a very productive and lovely day in the garden, haven't we?

-It's really taking shape, isn't it?

-It is.

We've spent the afternoon getting all the plants ready as well

cos you've got different plants for different purposes and different

areas of the garden so we sorted them out.

And you've got an osteospermum here.

This is one of the donations.

Don't think you've finished when you've done that one.

-Look at the weeds.

-Never mind the weeds. Here's some other things.

Some white foxgloves and there's an escallonia.

Well, we've had a great day here, haven't we?

I wonder what they've been getting up to back at Beechgrove Garden.

-Is that ready to go?

-It a bit heavy, Chris, be careful.

-Got it.

I hope you're all right.

It's usually me in the waders, you know.

Judging by the size, I think they're tandem waders, actually.

-So this is a lovely water lily, isn't it? Collosea.

-Collosea.

Yeah, it's turn of the last century, it was bred.

It's supposed to have a fragrance.

Have a sniff, see if you can detect anything.

There is a slight fragrance.

Maybe not something that I'm that particularly keen on and,

of course, what we are doing is we're re-potting them

at the moment, which I think is a good idea.

-We don't have to do that again, do we, at the moment?

-No.

The less you can fuss with them, the better, to be honest.

Just trying to find the right level here

so that the young lily pads are on the surface.

I don't want to throw it in too deep otherwise they just disappear

-and you never see them again.

-That's right.

And I'm using an aquatic compost, which is nice and easy, isn't it?

And it's low in nutrients cos you don't want to encourage the algae.

Well, do you know, I've never made my own aquatic compost.

Cos there are recipes for subsoil and cow manure and these sorts of

things but it's much easier just to go with a proprietary mix, isn't it?

As you say, it's really convenient.

And then on the top we put the gravel. So, here we go.

-That's a beauty.

-I'll put that one in next to its partner.

And then, as it grows, you will gradually take it down.

Well, that's the idea.

Just gently lower it in, get it to the right level and when it gets to

swamping the area, we can just move it slightly deeper into the depths.

But let the flowers float on the surface.

Well, this pond, Chris, is a bit of a contrast,

isn't it, to the other one? Much smaller and very formal.

Yes, it's much more typical

of the sort of ponds that we have in our gardens these days,

rather than a great, big, naturalistic pond.

But, in a way, it's perfect for water lilies.

This is how water lilies were really fashionable in the 1920s, 1930s.

You know, they were exhibited in a very formal way in these

geometric ponds, known as water lily canals.

You know, if you had a collection of different sorts. These marliacea

are just perfect. I mean, they're the most beautiful water lilies.

They're absolutely stunning

and we're doing exactly the same as we did in the other pond.

Putting them on bricks

and then gradually, as they grow, we will lower them down.

But you've a lovely story about these.

Well, Latour-Marliac, a Frenchman,

late 1800s, became fascinated by water lilies and apparently,

we think, he crossed the white European water lily,

which was, at the time, the only hardy water lily,

with two from America, one from Mexico

and one from Sweden in this sort of massive breeding programme he had.

And he perfected water lilies.

What he introduced was a whole range of colours -

pinks, lights, yellows, all sorts of roses -

and fragrance, hardiness

and this ability to grow in very shallow pools.

-So, 60 cm maximum depth for them.

-Amazing.

But you say, "We think," because there was a problem.

Well, he died in the early 1900s

and he took all of his secrets to his grave

and nobody has ever been able to repeat

this sort of extraordinary breeding programme that he perfected.

He's the only person that ever been able to do it

and we are able to benefit from the plants that he produced.

Absolutely fascinating.

Now, we're going to even go down a further size with the water lily

and you've got a little pygmy one there.

I mean, the size of that leaf is about the size of a two pence coin.

Yeah, this one is another hybrid.

It's really good for very, very shallow pools.

Each plant needs about three square feet, so about half a barrel size,

so perfect for a patio or terrace or that sort of thing.

But only down to, what, four inches, ten inches of water?

-Something like that?

-Really, very shallow.

I mean, you can see the length of the petioles there.

-That's how deep the water needs to be.

-And we have the perfect trough.

It's silver, it'll go with the theme of the garden.

Drop them in there. There's a little collection in there.

We've got a miniature canal

and you can always pop a few extra plants in too.

You could kind of create marginal shelves

and have some marginal parts create a bit more colour.

-I think it'll look really nice.

-No excuse for not having water lilies.

It's surprising, given a little bit of warmth,

just how quickly crops start to come on.

You really have to keep on top of them.

Here's a good example of if you blink, they mature just a little

bit too quickly. The calabrese here has just got a little bit too big.

You can see the florets starting to open.

Not to worry because, although that one might be lost, it is

worth cutting it out because, if you cut it out,

what you will encourage is plenty of side shoots

and that's exactly, after harvest, what happened on this one.

You can see that second flush of side shoots

really starting to be produced and

those are definitely worth harvesting.

They're prime little crops there.

The trick is not to be too greedy from any one plant.

Leave a few of the little side shoots on and what you should get

is about an extra six to eight weeks' of harvest

as long as you're not too greedy.

Something else that flushes very quickly

and always causes a perennial discussion are the courgettes.

When is a courgette a courgette and when does it become a marrow?

Well, of course, technically, courgettes are marrows.

They're all members of the cucurbit family.

They're all part of the same family.

But the technical explanation is that if they've got to about that size,

about the size of a decent cigar, then that's a courgette.

But as soon as they get to that size, 15-20cm,

well, that is a zucchini.

And then, once they get to that size, technically, it's a marrow.

And the Italians call everything zucchini,

the French word for zucchini is courgette,

and they're all marrows.

So that probably clears it all up. Maybe.

The other rule of course is, you know your courgettes have

turned into marrows because you've gone on holiday.

And up here, we should have, yes, more crops.

This could be a red-letter day for me.

I want to get a boiling of our own potatoes,

and this is the variety "Rocket". Let's see what there is there.

-How long have these been in the ground?

-12 weeks, I reckon.

-OK.

-Look at that. That's not bad. That's all right.

-Oh, don't lose any.

THEY LAUGH

-That's not bad.

-Nice and clean.

That's pretty good for 12 weeks, isn't it?

One of the earliest of all of the earlies.

Now, if you're going to stay for dinner,

we'll need to get another one.

Back on Colonsay, the plants have all arrived from

around the island, but how is the preparation of the site progressing?

-Hello.

-So, how many men does it take to hang a gate?

Three professionals - two doctors and a teacher.

-And none of us have ever hung a gate before.

-You MUST have hung a gate!

-I've hung a gate before.

-Have you?

-Aye.

Well, you should have been here at six o'clock in the morning, then.

You two can get that tray over there.

-And this tray down by the boat?

-And that tray down by the...

-See the hedge?

-We'll take it to the boat.

-The fence.

-The fence beyond the boat?

-The boat area.

-Can you manage that?

Because she just walked away.

She says, "That one," and then walks away.

So, that's the kind of hard landscaping done, isn't it?

The borders are prepared, the gravel's down, the boat's in,

-and now it's the fun part.

-Now it's the fun part.

All the hard work has been done.

Yes, it's the planting, and you've got loads of plants.

The wind comes off the west here,

so we're going to try and create a really sturdy shelter belt,

and one of the things that grows incredibly well in the island

is griselinia.

Some pittosporum. There'll be more pittosporum coming

in the autumn, and olearia.

Those are the sort of things they use for shelter round you.

-And fuchsias, as well. These are quite tall ones, aren't they?

-Yes.

That's magellanica. They're all over the island.

So, this is the bit that's going to get the worst of the weather,

and as soon as that's established,

-that's going to protect a lot of the rest of the plants.

-That's the idea.

-That and the deciduous planting there.

-OK.

So that's going to start this process of establishing shelter.

I mean, slow and gentle.

WOMAN LAUGHS

Maybe this isn't the best place...

-Goodbye.

-Well done!

OK, back to the digging.

-So, where did this come from, then?

-Just down at Port Mhor.

Down round the other side of the island.

It washed up about a year ago.

Are there a lot of skulls and things like that get washed up? Skeletons?

Not huge, big ones, like this.

This is quite spectacular.

-The big problem here is the quality of the soil, isn't it?

-Yes.

I mean, there's precious little.

You hit rock or stone every time you go into the soil.

-So, where did you get the extra soil, then?

-This was donated.

There's a chap who's digging out the back of his garden,

just in the right time for us needing it here.

Because the thin soil gives you that, doesn't it?

That's what this site was like.

Yes, the whole thing, pretty much up to chest height.

How did that come from there to here, then?

First, we strimmed the whole lot down

so we could get an idea of the shape of the site,

and then diggers in to dig great holes for drainage,

and then just lots and lots of spadework from volunteers.

But I would like it six feet over here. That's the right direction!

THEY BOTH LAUGH

Isn't this fabulous? I absolutely love this.

It's got such a vibrant green leaves against the red.

-It's fabulous.

-Well, that's a fatsia.

Fatsia japonica.

That's a genuine seaside plant. We grow that a lot on the east coast.

It gets wonderfully glossy leaves, and things like that,

but because the leaves are so big, it'll just need a bit of shelter.

-So, I could grow that over by, couldn't I?

-Oh, you could.

-Are you thinking of taking it?

-Well, no, I won't take that one.

I might get another one!

Well, as you know, clematis are a wonderful climbing plant

for a sunny south-facing wall,

and this one is going to do just beautifully there.

But if you've either not got height or you want to cover a low space,

they're also great as a rambling plant.

Now, this one here has got gorgeous blue flowers

and what I'm going to do is plant it behind this wall

and let it just grow up and ramble over here,

so the roots are kept nice and cool behind the wall

and the top will get all the sun it needs to perform beautifully.

-Look what I got for you, George.

-Look at that! That's fantastic!

-Sarah Moss's contribution.

-That's splendid.

Well, you'd better take it in. Never get too much cake!

Whenever you're planting things in the summer,

make sure you give them a good soak

before you even take them out the pot.

Get the roots and the plant full of water,

then when you plant it,

water it again and it will grow away quite happily. That's the idea!

Now the garden's nearly complete, is it how you visualised it?

-Better.

-Is it really?

-Yeah. I'm just so pleased, actually.

-They pulled it together nicely. It really looks like a garden.

-It does.

-Big difference from the beginning.

-And everybody's so happy with it.

It's nice to have all these special things that mean something

to the island placed in it.

It's a real welcome to the island.

Smile!

Aw, surely not smiling?

-So, are you happy with the garden, then?

-Yes, it's fantastic.

We're all really delighted.

But it's also gone more smoothly, more people have turned up,

the weather's been even better than I could have hoped for,

so it's been incredibly hard work but really exciting,

-and really good fun, as well.

-There has been a lot of people here.

-Yes.

I was amazed how many people turned up first thing in the morning

then stayed for the day. We've had visitors who popped in

for a few hours instead of going to the beach,

so we couldn't have asked for more.

One of our most favourite garden plants is lady's mantle -

Alchemilla mollis.

Every year, we get letters from people saying,

"They're taking over the garden."

And we tell you every year the simple thing

is to take the best of the flowering period

and then cut them off.

If you cut the flowers off, you prevent it from seeding.

This is our first visit this year to the white garden,

and there's one or two plants looking absolutely great at the moment,

starting off with this penstemon. It's a really hardy variety

and the name is "Arctic Fox" and it looks great at the moment.

The lovely white foxglove, which is slightly unusual,

rather than the pink form,

and finally, an alpine strawberry and the fruits are white.

Willow cuttings taken at this time of the year

can have a surprising effect in the garden.

If you cut about 50 to 60 stems,

slice them up, chuck them into a bucket

and fill it with a gallon of water,

this makes a willow tea. Let it steep for about four weeks.

This tea, in theory, is hugely valuable.

Willow naturally contains salicylic acid, the root of aspirin.

The salicylic acid has the effect of inhibiting ethylene in plants.

One of the things that we know is that

the principal barrier of rooting in cuttings is ethylene

so, therefore, if we tip the tea onto the cuttings

or onto the compost, it takes out the ethylene

which means that, in theory,

our plants should root much more effectively.

Well, guys, this makes it all worthwhile,

-when you start to harvest.

-Certainly does.

It's absolutely burgeoning. What's your favourite strawberry?

I'd go for the red one here - "Honeoye". Do you want a taste?

It's funny, because I think "Honeoye"

is the sweetest and most fragrant,

but look at "Cambridge Favourite". That's the one I grew up with.

-How far we've come.

-Yes.

-This is what we expect now.

Red right the way through.

-This is one of the cucumbers - "Crystal Lemon".

-Oh, really?

-Is that going to be sliced?

-I would think so.

I wouldn't think it has a really strong flavour to it.

And lovely radish here - "Viola" and "Red Head".

-Splendid. The peaches are doing well.

-Peaches are doing very well.

-The tree is redeeming itself.

-On its last legs!

-Good crop of figs.

-They're wonderful.

But we've had to have a padlock on the door for this lot here -

aren't they absolutely stunning?

-Gorgeous.

-Guardian of the cherry!

-You have to have the first cherry, Jim.

Well, folks, that's it from here,

but we'll leave the goodbye this week

to the new community garden on Colonsay.

Look at the transformation. Isn't it just wonderful?

I can't believe how green it is now!

It looks super. We've had a wonderful time on Colonsay.

You've been fantastic, and the hospitality has been wonderful.

We've eaten cake after cake after cake!

So thank you all very much for that,

but if we're going to get that ferry, we better go.

-From all of us here on Colonsay...

-ALL: Bye!

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