0:00:12 > 0:00:15- Good results, are you quite happy? - Not bad at all, not bad.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Hello and welcome to Beechgrove on a morning that a wee bit brisk,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22- a wee bit parky.- Isn't it just? - We've got jumpers on today.- Yeah.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25It's harvest time and, of course, for these courgettes,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28- we are knee deep in them. - We are!- Explain yourself, madam.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30- OK, it was nine varieties, wasn't it, George?- Yes.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Because they were on this slope and we had problems with the sweet peas
0:00:33 > 0:00:37not performing so well, we thought, right, one variety
0:00:37 > 0:00:39starting at the top and then going all the way down
0:00:39 > 0:00:41- and then doing the reverse. - On the other side, yeah.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Then we've cropped them and been counting the numbers
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and it hasn't made any difference from the two plants.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51- The results?- The results, well, this is the top one.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55- 49 courgettes, that's the number, not by weight.- From two plants?
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- From two plants.- The message I get out of that, is for a family
0:00:59 > 0:01:02- with a small garden, you only need one plant.- You do, I think so.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05You know, I would certainly say these top four, or five
0:01:05 > 0:01:08are absolutely fantastic from 49 right down to 39.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13What's interesting is the two stripy ones, they haven't performed.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18Is that because they've got the marrow gene with the stripe in them?
0:01:18 > 0:01:24You wonder. And, I think, lookwise, I prefer the yellow and dark green,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27- rather than the pale green. - It changes the colour of your soup!
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Is there any difference in flavour between yellow and green?
0:01:32 > 0:01:34- I would say... - Or, is it all just the look of it?
0:01:34 > 0:01:39I think it more is the look of it but they are far more fleshy
0:01:39 > 0:01:40than the ordinary ones, you know.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42In the centre, a bit softer.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46I have to say, from a cooking point of view, not that I do a lot of cooking, you do.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- I think that's easier for slicing. - Easier for slicing and frying.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53The other thing, which I've seen, when you go to the show bench,
0:01:53 > 0:01:58local flowers shows, what you get is they'll walk past the round ones
0:01:58 > 0:02:01and they'll give all the prizes to the long, traditional ones.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04- They need separate classes... - Separate classes for them.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08- Other than, OK, in a salad. - In a salad they're really nice.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12- And soup.- Soup... Courgette cake. - Oh, no.- Oh, yes, come on.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- Carrot cake, courgette cake. - Absolutely delicious.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17You'll be putting it in the gin and tonic next!
0:02:17 > 0:02:19- I don't know about that.- Maybe not.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Draw the line somewhere. Meanwhile, in the rest of the programme...
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Now is that not a fabulous view?
0:02:27 > 0:02:30The Bass Rock, North Berwick Law...
0:02:30 > 0:02:31Where am I today?
0:02:33 > 0:02:37And it's a kaleidoscope of colour for this week's garden visit.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42I can hardly believe that here we are well into August
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and it's the first chance we've had to look at our chrysanthemums.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50In the cut flower plots we have one border here, spray chrysanthemums.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53In other words, the head's taken out of the plant early on
0:02:53 > 0:02:55and then you get several stems that grow
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and they are left as they are
0:02:57 > 0:02:59and they will allow produce a nice cluster of flowers
0:02:59 > 0:03:01at the top of the stem.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Incidentally, two things...
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The method of staking, this netting is absolutely ideal.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08The plants just grow up through it, no problem at all.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14But, more importantly, there's a serious attack of capsid bug damage,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18sucking the sap, causing holes and it's been bad in a lot of things
0:03:18 > 0:03:21this year, you've got to spray early and keep on top of it.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24You never see the capsid, they are very fast moving.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Over this side, we disbud all the stems.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30We take the head out early on, get several stems growing
0:03:30 > 0:03:34and disbud them, so we finish up with lovely, big flowers
0:03:34 > 0:03:35at the top of the stem.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Problems here, look at this one here.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41It's only happening with one or two plants.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The head is going pretty flaccid and it's discoloured.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I don't know of a pest, I don't know of a disease, either,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53that does that. I wonder if it's perhaps a virus.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We'll take some samples, send them back to supplier of the cuttings
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and try and find the answer to that. There we go.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Today I'm in south east Scotland at the junction between
0:04:11 > 0:04:12Berwickshire and East Lothian.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I've told you before, this is God's own country.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Look at these sweet peas.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18There can't possible be a problem corner here.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23You know, Marion and Lex McIntyre say they have a problem
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and it's a problem with a slope, let's go and find out.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34Well, I was admiring your sweet peas at the front, Marion.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- I don't know how you can have a problem here.- Well, we do.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The problem is the banking, with the slope.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44All the soil, and that, running off.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48- It's accumulating at the bottom, we're getting a lot of weeds.- Yeah.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- If you want to do anything with the yard here...- Which we want to do
0:04:51 > 0:04:53but we cannae do until we get rid of this.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58When you get a slope like this, the problem is an angle of repose,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01where we have a slope like that which lies at a certain angle
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and if you go beyond that angle and make it too steep,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06everything runs off.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08We'll put some battens on the top of this,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11we've got some stones that will fit into the banking, as well.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Then we'll plant it up.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I've got some plants here, some of which give a nod to the fact
0:05:16 > 0:05:17- that we're close to the sea.- Right.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And others which are good, soil binding plants
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- and that, hopefully, hopefully will make the banking stable.- Yeah.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- Murray, are you related? - It's my mother, aye.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36You cannae help that you're related and get roped into this.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40What I want to do then, we'll take this soil back.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47What we want to do, we've got some battens and other rocks
0:05:47 > 0:05:49which we're going to put into the slope.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52I need to clear the top of the wall, so we can bed the other bit in.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56And, if you get in amongst these, as well...
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- That looks like hard work. - It's no easy, so it must be.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Just skin these weeds off and we'll get them away, as well.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We'll clean that up and I'll go down and see what this lot's up to.
0:06:07 > 0:06:08OK? Good lad.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Right, that's Murray working at the top.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18So, down at this end... Marion, you were wanting to save
0:06:18 > 0:06:22- one or two of these plants, weren't you?- Yeah.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25We'll dig out some of these ones that are here.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27They will be rooted into the banking.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Have you got your spade? Can you get a spade in there?
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Well, just leave a wee space because we're going to put a plant in-between, Murray.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02What I want to do, I want a number of stones which will fit
0:07:02 > 0:07:05into the banking. The idea is they're going to act as retainers
0:07:05 > 0:07:07for the soil, stop the soil running down
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and create little planting pockets at the back.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14What you are looking for is a stone which has a reasonable face on it,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17which will look out will be something reasonable to look at.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20If I tilt that backwards, like that.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23We've actually got a slope which is running back the way.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24Do you see that?
0:07:24 > 0:07:29That slope, there, will be running back into the soil.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31All this when you're putting stones into a slope,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33make sure that they run back in the way,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35then the water that hits that goes back in.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38The roots of the plants will be at the back of that stone
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and they'll get all the benefit of the water
0:07:40 > 0:07:44that's running through in the back. Whereas, if you plant it like that,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46all the water runs off.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48The plant gets dry.
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Which is not what you want.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Also, the stone will fall off.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02You want a small one?
0:08:02 > 0:08:03THEY LAUGH
0:08:03 > 0:08:05There's a bright boy, there's a bright boy.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12While we're building this little corner,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14the noise in the background is Callum.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19He's put the posts in and he's going to pin the battens back
0:08:19 > 0:08:21to the posts with some wire.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24He's just stapling the wire onto the inside of the battens
0:08:24 > 0:08:26so that it doesn't move out.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Some theme's running through this in that we've got
0:08:40 > 0:08:42some things which are from the moorlands.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45That is moor matgrass, which will actually grow well here.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It's not far away from where I've seen it already.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- The geranium...- Mm-hm.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52That's one if you go onto Dunbar golf course, for example,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- you'll see that.- That's gorgeous. - You like that, don't you?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- I really do like that. - That's sea holly.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01That will do you because it's dry on this banking. That loves dryness.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03I've got this grass at the front here,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07which is Carex prairie fire and that will go well with these.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10The coppers and oranges in that go well with that.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Look, see, look at that.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- See.- Lovely.- Wavy hair-grass.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Right, what do you think, Marion?
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- I'm quite happy. - Happy with that?- Mm-hm.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28All we need to do is plant what's lying there
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and then the stuff that's in the wheelbarrow.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- Do you remember we lifted the geraniums.- Yeah.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35You've got to put them in, just at the back the boards.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- Just so they... - Come over the boards, aye.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- Then the final act is... - Watering them.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Make sure they're well watered.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45You'll need to water them at least three or four times
0:09:45 > 0:09:47over the next fortnight, even if it rains.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- Aye, I know.- I want you to look like and idiot and stand with a hosepipe
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- when it's raining.- It's really dry, the wall. I know it's dry.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- Anyway, we'll get the trowels and we'll get these planted.- OK.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15- Well, Marion, when we arrived this was what just a...?- A slope.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18A slope. And, I have to say, when it's just a slope
0:10:18 > 0:10:21you don't really want to look after it because it's a menace,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- it's a nuisance.- It was.- Now we've done this, you've now got a focus,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- you've got plants in there.- Mm-hm.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30You've got stones and things that give it a little bit of character.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32- Now it's worth looking after. - It's lovely.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35We've had great fun. I don't think we've stopped laughing
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- all the way through. - Is that you or me?- What?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40I think that was you. I think it's excitement! ALL LAUGH
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Well, this is a time of year when a gardener's mind turns to
0:10:56 > 0:10:58a bit of propagation.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02I'm going to talk about propagating shrubs from cuttings
0:11:02 > 0:11:05because the growth on the shrubs now is just beginning to harden up
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and just to firm up - we call them semi-ripe cuttings.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Make the cuttings and put them in a sun frame.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Last year, we didn't have this fantouche affair here
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and we made a sun frame out of a plastic crate.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22There you see some of the cuttings that have rooted successfully
0:11:22 > 0:11:24that are just looking for a home.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27There are some Cotoneaster, Spirea, Berberis there.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30I'm doing it again but this time we've got a really nice
0:11:30 > 0:11:33piece of kit here, which is part of our cold frame system.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37You rely on the fact that the walls have insulation properties
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and the top, will magnify the sun's rays
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and you'll get a nice sun heat in here.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45It's called a sun frame, for that reason.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49We have got about 20cm of compost in the bottom here
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and it's made up of 50% peat,
0:11:52 > 0:11:5525% perlite and 25% sand.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58If you missed the first one, I was meaning peat.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00It's an ideal rooting medium.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03There we are, about eight inches of it, 20 cm of it in the bottom.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Now we turn to the materials themselves.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Plants that you will recognise. I've made a few here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14For example, this Weigelia, the variegated form of it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17We can make tip cuttings
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and when finished they are like that,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22tip cuttings.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Cut just below a node,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26treat it with hormone rooting powder
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and then popped into the frame.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Taking the...
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I'll firm them up later.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Where'd you get the material? There's a typical branch.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Look at all that cutting material there.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45You can take simple cuttings, or slightly more complicated.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49For example, if I take Viburnum bodnantense Dawn.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Here we have a cutting which is what I call...
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's a heel cutting.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58An old bit of wood, there's the old stuff.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00It's beginning to firm up at the base
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and now I just pull that off like so.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07You finish up with a little tale.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Trim the tail with a sharp knife
0:13:09 > 0:13:11and into the hormone rooting powder,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13shake off the excess,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15pop it into the frame.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Like so... There's another one.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Now then, the real ticklish one is this Berberis.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27This is the way some people like to do them.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30I've made one or two cuttings, as I say, they are a bit ticklish.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32There it is.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35A little side shoot with a bit of the old stem,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38trimmed with a knife or sharp secateurs.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Clean the bottom of the stem, into the hormone powder
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and pop it into the frame.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46What we expect, of course,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50is the sun heat will raise the temperature.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54The plants, the little cuttings will heel over.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56You must give it some ventilation
0:13:56 > 0:13:59but you also must shade at the height of the day.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01You know, from about 11 o'clock until two.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04The rest of the time you need the sun heat in there.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08They will callus over and they will remain quite happy over winter.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10As soon as the days lengthen in the spring,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12and the temperatures start to rise,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16they will root and you will have a harvest of nice young plants
0:14:16 > 0:14:20to plant in the garden or to give away to your friends, just like these there.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25In contrast to Jim, I've actually moved under cover.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I'm going to be looking at a particular group of house plants.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31It's house plants that produce plantlets and, I think,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34the classic is the spider plant.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37What it does, is it forms these little babies
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and these are absolutely great for propagating.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Plants for free, as Jim was saying.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Very often when you read the books,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48it tells you that you can plant it a little bit like a strawberry runner.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50You could put that into a pot
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and once you know it's rooted, you can
0:14:53 > 0:14:56then detach it from the mother plant.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00However, you usually find that the roots have already started to form
0:15:00 > 0:15:03and, I think, it's easier just to take them off,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07pop them in a pot with some nice, moist compost.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10After that, once you've firmed it in,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14I would then put one of these little lids on top
0:15:14 > 0:15:18and you want to really keep this in the shade.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20It's a good idea if you've got the vent
0:15:20 > 0:15:23so once it starts to root you can open that up.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26It really is simple propagation.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It's the same for this plant here.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31I've already taken a few of the plantlets off.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34The common name for this one, a couple of names that I know,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38the Strawberry geranium and it's got a lovely pink leaves underneath
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and also Mother of Thousands.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45As I say, it is so simple to propagate these.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48This is a plant that I absolutely adore because I love the ferns.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51This one is the Mother spleenwort,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55also called the chicken and hen fern.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00This produces tiny little bulbules on the main fronds
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and once you see it has formed,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07at least let's say four or five of these tiny fronds,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09that's the time to remove it.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Then just pop it into that moist compost.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Then, finally, this is a beautiful plant, as well.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18It's a succulent,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20it's a Ceropegia.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Hearts Entangled is one of the names.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25It forms from tiny little tubers.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27You can maybe just see in there.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29A bit like a tuberous begonia.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Because it's a succulent, I want to use really gritty compost.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35What happens is...
0:16:35 > 0:16:37You see this little plantlet here.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39That is where the tuber starts to form.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43They haven't started yet, so my idea is to...
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I've started it already, there's a little clip
0:16:46 > 0:16:49that I'm going to pop on
0:16:49 > 0:16:51and I'm going to wind this around the pot.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I should end up with four or five little plants here
0:16:58 > 0:17:01but we have got to wait for those to finally root,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05or produce those tubers and then I would detach it from the main plant.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07It really is easy.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Carole has just been telling you about little plantlets in the conservatory.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14We are in the show veg tent here, or tunnel,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and look at this, look at that for show leeks.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18That's not too bad, is it?
0:17:18 > 0:17:22That is a pot leek and that has been grown in one year.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Leeks generally are biennial plants.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28They spend one year vegetative and growing
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and the second year they produce a flower head.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34There is the flower head of the leek.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37What we do with that, however, if you're growing pot leeks or
0:17:37 > 0:17:40growing some of the very long show leeks is...
0:17:40 > 0:17:42There's your flower head.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44You shave it. You shave it like.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48What happens then is that stimulates the leek to produce
0:17:48 > 0:17:49little bulbules.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51It produces small plantlets on the top.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54That's one which has got one or two in the top.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56There is one done there, look at that.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59That's just absolutely covered with hair on the top.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02The bottom of each of those hairs is a little plantlet.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05You take those off, you plant them into compost.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07There we have them there.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10We can put them into this compost and what that means is I've
0:18:10 > 0:18:13got a superb start on anybody that's growing things from seed.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15These will go into heat.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18They will be kept warm over winter and they will start growing,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21December, January, February.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23By next year, we should have pot leeks like that.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Here's hoping.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28How's this for a hurricane hammered garden?
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Well, here's a familiar sight - the Moray Firth and the Keswick Bridge.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38And I'm heading to Balloch on the outskirts of Inverness
0:18:38 > 0:18:42to a wonderful garden that is owned by Billy and Linda Lowrie.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Here we are, Carole, in the garden.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Been here 29 years.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Got the garden looking more or less in a fashion
0:18:59 > 0:19:00that I'm quite happy with.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Beechgrove Garden comes to visit and a hurricane descends on us!
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- We've become... - You certainly did, yes!
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Well, I think it looks beautiful, really colourful.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12And I think we have to mention the begonias, the Nonstops
0:19:12 > 0:19:13and the semperflorens.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15They don't mind these weather conditions.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18No, no. I have grown them for many, many years.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22For value for money, I don't think you'll get a better bedding plant.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Now, you say value for money, how do you grow your plants?
0:19:25 > 0:19:29It's usually split half and half between plug plants,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31which I grow on in the greenhouse,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and from whichever garden centre is offering the best deal,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36basically, locally.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38I will purchase and top up with that.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- But I do try and grow some myself as well.- OK. So some from seed?
0:19:41 > 0:19:44- Absolutely.- What sort of things do you try from seed?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Try from seed is my marigolds,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50which is the large-headed French variety, and my lobelia.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53I sow my lobelia in March in my greenhouse.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57And I've got a wee propagator that I... I take them all on from there.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00I tend to plant them out in the last week in May.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- That's my planting-out week. - Now, that's interesting.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06- Cos we tend to be the first of June. - Yes.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10- And I think this area has its own little microclimate.- Absolutely, yes.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13And this little spot here is quite sheltered.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16We just have to watch for the frosts but, as I say,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19sometimes I'll pull it forward and maybe plant earlier.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21But it's usually the last week in May
0:20:21 > 0:20:23is when I like to get the bedding plants in.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25It's been quite successful.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Well, apart from the great weather, look at these hanging baskets!
0:20:28 > 0:20:31They are absolutely amazing!
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Started off probably 15 years ago,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and myself and my neighbour, Fred, had a wee competition,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40a battle of the baskets, as it were - just very friendly sort of thing.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42So is that just... You've just hooked it in?
0:20:42 > 0:20:43Absolutely, just hooked in, yeah.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Just attach a device through it and hook the one below it.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- What about the watering? I see you've got the tubes.- Yes.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53After many evenings standing here with an arm and watering away,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57I decided that I should invest in a wee microsystem.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58It's just small-bore piping.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00But it is quite nice to come home from work
0:21:00 > 0:21:02and just plug in the hose, go and have a cup of tea,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05come back 20 minutes later and they're all watered.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I can't imagine you sitting down, actually,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09cos I would imagine you're working in this garden a lot.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- Yes.- The grass is immaculate. - The grass is...
0:21:13 > 0:21:14It's come on this year.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Every year I look at it in the spring and say,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18"Oh, gosh, look, there's weeds in here."
0:21:18 > 0:21:23- But like everything in life, if you water it, feed it...- Do the edges.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25- ..do the edges, it will reward you.- Absolutely.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29And I think it's good to have grass, because it shows off the borders.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- A good lawn sets off the rest of the garden.- Absolutely. Yeah.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35And then the arch, I mean, it frames this garden.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Yes, it was always my intention to try and split the two,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39so that you were looking through an arch.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43But I actually erected it in memory of a very dear friend of mine
0:21:43 > 0:21:46who passed away with cancer, so, I think about him
0:21:46 > 0:21:48when I pass underneath it from time to time.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00What's important to you in a garden?
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Well, I think initially, it's visual impact.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Also, smell is equally important to me,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09and the actual physical touching of plants.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- Mm!- The feeliness of it. - It's a lovely cut leaf, isn't it?
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Absolutely beautiful. And just brush against you.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- And the bark as well. - The bark is gorgeous, yes.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19A lot of people don't realise how pretty they are.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I've got a few of them that I've actually stripped the branches off
0:22:22 > 0:22:26just to expose the trunk... That one in particular is nice as well.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29You also mentioned perfume. And you've got lilies everywhere.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Yeah, absolutely love the smell of lilies.
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Er, sweet peas.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Roses.
0:22:35 > 0:22:36And I've even got a lilac here,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40um, which, sitting of an evening,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42is absolutely wonderful.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45The sweet pea scent wafts over from there,
0:22:45 > 0:22:46- lilies, et cetera. Beautiful.- Yeah.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Now, I mean, that lily there, do you know the name of it?
0:22:49 > 0:22:50No, no, I don't actually.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53And I don't bother too much with names, to be perfectly honest.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I class myself as a "lost label" gardener!
0:22:56 > 0:22:59If I see something and I like it - take it home, plant it,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and that's it, basically.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- Yeah. And I think a lot of people are like that, quite honestly.- Yeah.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06You know, sitting here, there's a wee discovery,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- cos that's your compost area. - It is indeed, yes.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I started the compost bins probably about four years ago.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16And I leave it in for about two years - just water it,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19don't do anything, don't turn it, don't mix it.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23And the compost that I get out of it absolutely surprised me,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25and, I must say, pleasantly surprised
0:23:25 > 0:23:27at the quality of the stuff that came out.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29I think the other success, Billy,
0:23:29 > 0:23:30is the fact that you've screened it so well.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33- Yes.- With the bamboos and the clematis.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35- I mean, that is a good idea.- Yes.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37As soon as I put any structure up,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41I always see how many roses can I get, clematis, anything!
0:23:41 > 0:23:46I've put the bamboos in pots to try and stop the spread of the roots
0:23:46 > 0:23:48too much, and they seem happy enough.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51They get very little looking after, and it works well.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00You know, I also think you're a bit of a perfectionist,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04because that water feature, that has got to be spot on.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05It has indeed. Yes.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Or it will not flow over all sides of the thing,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11so, yes, it took a bit of time to level it out.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- And I love Japanese gardens.- Yes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17That's the feature that I put in just a couple of years ago.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Absolutely passionate about acers, as I said to you before.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23And I think just the form of the leaves, the colour,
0:24:23 > 0:24:24and they're all so different.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27It just...just fascinates me.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30They're really... They are a passion of mine, I would have to say.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32And you've got a sense of humour, Billy.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33- "Billy's Burn."- Billy's Burn, yes!
0:24:33 > 0:24:35There's no point in having a waterway
0:24:35 > 0:24:37without having a sign on it,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and that's my wee rustic sign!
0:24:39 > 0:24:40HE LAUGHS
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I think it's gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46What makes me laugh is I'm trying to introduce moss on the bridge.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I'd never realised how difficult it is to establish moss,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51cos you look around and you see moss on the walls.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53So you try to actually get it to grow.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I had it established over the winter,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- and come the spring, the birds decided that...- Nesting material!
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Yes. And they took the whole lot away.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04But it is establishing in little patches.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07And once that sort of breaks down... It's quite nice.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09I do like it, I must say.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- So you maybe do sit here with a gin and tonic or something.- Absolutely.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Well, not gin and tonic. It's more the amber nectar
0:25:14 > 0:25:17that's quite nice of an evening. Just the one or two fingers!
0:25:17 > 0:25:20I'm quite happy here, you know.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21THEY LAUGH
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Eryngium agavifolium is one of these dry-land plants
0:25:29 > 0:25:31that is loved by bees and flies and wasps.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34And there's lots of it now. So it gets pollinated.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38The seed then, when it's ready, falls onto the ground round about.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41And because it's falling on gravel next to a path here,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44these germinate, cos that's just the conditions they like.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46You can lift those, pot them up...
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Plants for free!
0:25:53 > 0:25:55More plants for free...
0:25:55 > 0:25:57If you're needing more strawberry plants
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and you already have a good stock, look for these young runners here.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04That's the first one out from the main plant itself.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I don't want it to go any further, so I'm going to chop that off there.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10There's plenty other runners.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12You take the primary young plant
0:26:12 > 0:26:15and then with a wire clip - this happens to be a paperclip -
0:26:15 > 0:26:18clip it down like so
0:26:18 > 0:26:21into a little bit of compost.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23And once it has rooted,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25then you cut the umbilical cord -
0:26:25 > 0:26:27new plant, ready to be planted wherever you like.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Now, some of you may remember that I was practising the "Chelsea Chop".
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Now, that was back in May time,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36cutting back these phlox.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38And the whole idea was that I was going to end up
0:26:38 > 0:26:40with more compact plants,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and it's all about extending the flowering season.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45So the ones behind me, they weren't touched,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47they're flowering their heads off.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And here's buds to come. So it does work.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Don't the lettuce look good? This is a second sowing.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Mm-hm. You've managed to maintain the lattice. It looks stunning.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Super. And these dark colours...
0:27:00 > 0:27:01- I love that really dark one. - Yeah.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03- Taste as good?- No. THEY LAUGH
0:27:03 > 0:27:07- They're very bitter! - They're only for show?- Yeah.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Well, speaking about show, then,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11we've lifted all our potatoes in containers,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and "Winston" is good for a show bench,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and I'm so pleased with the results there.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18That is such a smooth and wonderfully consistent potato.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21- Yes. 3kg.- A decent crop.- 3kg. - How many tubers?
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- Only three tubers.- Wow. - So that's good. It's worth doing.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- That's right.- Yes, indeedy.- And then alstroemerias in pots. Beautiful.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32These compact ones, these are absolutely fantastic. aren't they?
0:27:32 > 0:27:33What would you pick, George?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35I'd pick that one, that blush one there, "Sunlight".
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- That's superb. - Beautiful, the stripes.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I like this one, actually, the fuchsia pink one, "Machu".
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I think there are more to go, more to show. I think...
0:27:44 > 0:27:47- I want to see almost the foliage covered.- How hardy do you think?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Well, when you look in the catalogue
0:27:49 > 0:27:51it does actually say that you should lift them.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Personally, I'd be putting them into the greenhouse.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56That's assuming that they are planted in the ground.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58They're imports. I would definitely think before...
0:27:58 > 0:28:01You know, the temperature in the last week or so
0:28:01 > 0:28:02has been down to three in...
0:28:02 > 0:28:04- OK, in the glens.- Yes.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07But it's a harbinger... It's a sign of autumn coming on.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09I would put them in the greenhouse.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11If you'd like any more information,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14perhaps about the alstroemerias, it's all in the factsheet.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16And the easiest way to access that is online.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18- Next week... - George, what are you doing?
0:28:18 > 0:28:21- I am going to sow some green manure next week.- What a good idea!
0:28:21 > 0:28:24I'm starting the process all over again by sowing
0:28:24 > 0:28:25and planting veg for next year.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And we didn't mention these ruddy courgettes!
0:28:28 > 0:28:29THEY LAUGH
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- Have you had enough today? - Stuffed courgettes?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- Till next week. Bye-bye.- Bye. - Goodbye.