Episode 17 The Beechgrove Garden

I think this is really straw hat weather,

-we should be issued with a...

-Yeah.

-Summer has arrived!

-Exactly, it has.

Hello there, welcome to Beechgrove on an absolutely delightful

-summer sunny day. Not like we've been having it of late, really.

-Mm.

-And it's nice to be back after our Olympic break. Well done, Andy!

-Yes!

But disastersville while we've been away - the potato crop,

or some of it, has been affected by potato blight.

Here is classic potato blight on the variety Kestrel.

It's been the right weather for it, hasn't it?

Absolutely, because what it needs is ten degrees centigrade plus,

for 48 hours, and 75% humidity, and we have had that, haven't we?

Because we've had so much rain.

-And of course, it's a fungal complaint, phytophthora.

-Yes indeed.

So, those conditions are ideal for the plants to become infected

-and the spores to remain active.

-But how do we deal with it?

Well, the way we've set out to do it here is,

the first row there is early potato that's been lifted anyway,

this is a second early here and that was affected by blight,

so we've taken away all the haulms, the shaws,

and we've covered them up with soil.

So really, you just want to cut that back.

Well, look at this, this is the variety Kestrel.

And there is the first shaw. And that's not all of it.

-And it's perfectly OK.

-Mm.

-So, if we remove all of that foliage there,

get them up, we can leave them.

-Yeah, don't panic is the thing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Take the foliage off, cover in soil, you are trapping the spores then,

don't lift your tubers at the same time as you are removing

the foliage, otherwise you will infect the tubers.

There is a logic, isn't there, in doing that?

-But they will be fine for weeks.

-Yes.

And then a difference on some of the other varieties...

Well, these two varieties

are actually sold as being blight resistant.

This is Athlete, and it's looking perfectly clean,

-barring one or two leaves.

-Starting to come in.

-And it's right next to that one. There's the start of it.

-Yeah.

That's what it looks like to begin with. But it's safe.

-This one, on the other hand...

-One of the best, I think.

This is Carolus.

We don't know it, we don't know how it's going to perform,

you know, but it's absolutely splendid.

This is one of the Sarpo varieties, this is Kifli,

and even this one has an odd little bit of blight in it.

And similarly with Pentland Dell on the outside.

-So, it's safe to leave these, isn't it, for now?

-Yup.

-They're not going to come to any harm, are they?

-Nope.

But I tell you what, there's a lot to be done in this garden this day, so better get a move on!

See what I've found in the Book Nook.

I'm just reading up about where I am today. I wonder where it is.

And for the sweet course in my grow-a-gardener menu,

we've come to a training establishment with a difference.

From tatties in the main veg plot to tatties on the decking.

This is a system that I like to do every year, growing earlies,

and I stress earlies, because I think it's really important that

you grow the early ones, because you can eat them straight away.

In containers, three different types of containers I've got here,

and two varieties.

So, the varieties I have are Pentland Javelin,

which I've harvested already, and Diva,

which is meant to be like Pentland Javelin, so we can compare them.

As for the three systems, we've got the typical pot that I've

used for several years, quite pleased with the results there.

Fairly large tubers. Then we go for the sack, this is a new one.

And I'm delighted with this,

because I would say this is the best crop and really large tubers.

And just to remind you, it was three tubers that we planted.

And then, the last system, which I was interested in

because it's rather clever - a pot within a pot.

So you can kind of cheat a bit and see how the tatties are doing.

And the number of tubers is great, but they are really tiny,

and I would say that's to do with the size of the container,

and I think if I was using this system again,

maybe one or just two tubers I would put in it.

So, what I need to do now is harvest these three

and we can compare the harvest.

I always get excited at this bit! Let's see.

Oh, yes, look at these.

Gosh, they are so clean! Look at the size, brilliant.

Wow! They just keep coming!

I love this job.

So, just to recap, what we have is Pentland Javelin in the front,

and behind, we've got Diva, and I'm absolutely delighted with

the results overall, not a lot of difference.

If anything, I would say Pentland Javelin -

slightly more of a harvest.

But of the three systems, the sack definitely wins, because they

are really clean potatoes and quite a sizeable potato well.

So, this system, we will use this again, because it is reusable,

definitely worth having that.

But also, it's not about necessarily the crop, is it?

It's about the taste.

So, we'll come back later in the programme and let you know

which one we prefer.

Well, now, how would you like to work in this environment?

Magic, isn't it? And the weather to match.

Well, one of the themes I've been following this year at Beechgrove

is how to grow a gardener.

I started off at Aberfeldy with some secondary school pupils

who were offered a course called rural skills,

which has got a bit of gardening in it.

Then I went to Elmwood Campus in Fife - formal courses

in a college environment.

And today, I've come to Douneside House, here in Aberdeenshire,

to meet up with an old chum who has a traineeship scheme

working in the garden.

And that old chum, now Head of Gardens here,

used to be Head Gardener at Beechgrove - Stephen McCallum.

Well, Stephen, it's very nice to see you.

-How long have you been here now?

-Coming up on ten years now, Jim.

Tell us a little bit - I know it's difficult,

but tell us a little bit about Douneside House.

Well, we're sitting outside Douneside House,

which is the former home of Lady MacRobert and her family,

surrounded by 17 acres of these magnificent gardens.

These gardens were laid out by Lady MacRobert

in the early 1900s to mid-1900s.

And of course, it's the best place to train people,

because there's a bit of everything -

it is a traditional country house, with all the stuff.

So, tell us a little bit about your training scheme.

I take four trainees per year and that's funded by the MacRobert Trust

-as a charitable activity.

-Yes.

-In support of horticultural education.

We bring them in for a year,

it's learn-while-you-earn, so they are paid,

and we give them housing on the estate,

and they are with us 40 hours a week for the full year,

so they see the full horticultural calendar and that entire cycle,

and that's an important learning process alone.

And of course, they are working side-by-side

with professional gardeners, so they're getting a real training.

Do you check on them?

We are teaching them, we assess them

and we have got regular appraisals as well.

Do they keep a diary?

They do indeed, they keep a written and a photographic diary.

They record everything that's happening over the year.

So, you take four -

I suppose there is a lot more than four who want to get a shot at this?

We've got approximately 50-plus applications every year.

Many of them come from college -

college students who are about to finish, that don't feel confident

to go into the workplace at that stage.

And I suppose, I mean, having finished their year,

they don't have a problem getting another job,

because this is an amazing piece of training.

We've got, thankfully, a very good success rate.

In fact, all four that we've got at this point

have already got something fixed up to move on to.

-Well, I'm away to talk to one or two of the present lot.

-Great.

-Rather a nice lettuce, eh?

-Yes.

-Isn't it?

Now then, Holly - you must have been destined to be a gardener,

for goodness' sake, what a lovely name!

Have you always been interested in gardening?

-Yes, I worked in my granny's garden a lot.

-Yes, yeah.

-When you left school, did you go right into gardening?

-Not quite.

There was a few years of just

-finding out what I wanted to do.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And then I came across horticulture in the Elmwood prospectus.

-Yeah.

-So, studied there are two years, getting my NC and my HNC.

-Yes.

And then after that,

I did sustainable forest management in Inverness, I did an HNC.

-I get the feeling that you were searching still.

-Yes.

-You hadn't quite found...

-Yes.

-And then it was Douneside?

-It was, yes.

And do you think this is the end of the trail,

-you've found now what you want to do?

-Yes.

After all the experience I've had here, it's really consolidated

my feelings about gardening and I realised this is what I want to do.

What's the next move for Holly?

At the end of August, I finish here at Douneside and then start

a two-year placement at Bodnant Garden in North Wales.

Oh, you lucky person, you! Oh, I love that garden.

We worked in Shropshire and visited it regularly. Stunning place.

But that also tells me something about you.

You've now been round the gamut of all these different things -

trees and shrubs are your kind of first love, would that be right?

Yes, uh-huh,

that's where I'd like to specialise, trees and shrubs, yes.

-I wish you all the best.

-Thank you.

HE CHUCKLES

Dipladenia. Oh, it's fantastic! Beautiful thing.

Here's the man I'm looking for. Craig, how are you doing?

-Hi, Jim.

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to meet you.

Now then, here we are, the first time I've had a look at a glasshouse.

My first job after I was trained was looking after a bit like this.

Absolutely stunning. I enjoyed it. Do you like this kind of stuff?

Yeah, it's great. I really enjoy it.

What's your favourite part of horticulture?

My favourite part of horticulture is alpine plants.

So, why did you come to Douneside, then?

After college, I just realised that I did not have much practical

experience, and I was struggling to find employment as a gardener,

so I thought this would be the perfect place

to develop my practical skills.

And it's done the business for you?

-Yeah, it's been great.

-What's the next stage?

-I've got a one-year training placement at RHS Wisley.

-Oh! Blimey.

Just the job, isn't it?

I mean, your chum, Holly, there - she's going away to Bodnant and

you're going to Wisley, two of the finest gardens south of the border.

Absolutely stunning.

-And will you stick with alpines, do you think?

-Hopefully.

I'd like to work with alpines in a botanic garden in the future.

-I wish you well.

-Thank you very much.

-Hello there, Stuart, how are you?

-Good, thank you.

-Good, good, good.

-Now, how long have you been here?

-It'll be nearly nine years now.

And did you start as a trainee?

Yeah, I started with the two years' training.

OK. Any gardening experience before you started?

Well, I used to help my grandad, both my grandads, in the garden at weekends and things.

-Yes, yeah.

-And then, er... I tried to get into horticulture.

I went, applied for a few jobs, four or five,

and then they kept saying, "You don't have experience,"

so I needed to...

-How do you get it if you don't have a job?

-Yes.

So, you were pointed in the direction of Douneside.

Yeah. This was perfect, ideal.

Get your training and you get your qualifications.

Now, two things about this.

The man himself must have liked the cut of your jib

to offer you a job to stay on!

-Yeah!

-Yeah?

-That's a good sign. And then, you're now training the trainees.

-Yeah, I'm training them, yeah.

-And how long has this border been planted?

-Springtime, we planted it.

-What a growing season you've had!

-It's growing like mad.

-Nearly ground cover.

-Yeah.

-And you're perfectly happy?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Good man.

-Well, thanks for that.

-Yeah!

Well, so ends my little trilogy on how to grow a gardener.

It started off in the schools, secondary schools.

I think that schools in general could do a lot more

to promote horticulture as a worthwhile career.

Then we did the formal thing, we went to the college at Cupar,

and we see this is currently the favourite way of doing it.

But finally, we've come to Douneside, here, and we've

looked at a method of training young people which is traditional,

and as far as I'm concerned, it's by far and away the best way to do it.

There you go.

Here in the cutting garden, just over a year ago,

I put in a collection of these Weeping Standard roses.

Now, they're slightly out of fashion, but hopefully,

in just a year, you can start to see why I was so keen to use them.

This is Excelsior, starting to spill down and produce

that descending canopy of blooms - a really super grower -

meeting the herbaceous plants coming in the other direction,

and it really does provide a good hierarchy of foliage,

and, of course, flowers - especially at this time of the year.

And it's quite easy to look at this and think,

"Well, it's doing well - leave it be."

But actually, if you look closely...

you can see that the young foliage is slightly carotic -

it's got sort of interveinal yellowing.

It's a classic sign that these hungry plants

really need a second boost of feed, to complement that given in spring.

So you can use a proprietary rose fertiliser.

Just scatter the granules, just a handful or so, around the base.

That provides the macronutrients -

the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Give a good mulch, then, of farmyard manure, well rotted -

that will help to keep the moisture in,

especially if this warm, dry weather continues.

And then, to really inject some energy back into the plant,

a good drench of seaweed.

And this rose here is Super Dorothy, another of the collection.

Slightly weaker in growth, and that's to be expected -

it's normal for this particular plant.

But there's one or two issues -

a little bit of dieback on some of the stems here,

so just select back to a healthy bud, prune it away,

and just clean the plant up.

And the other thing is to look up at the buds,

because some of these are struggling with a little bit of mildew,

and again, that's just really part of the seasonal challenge for roses.

So, at this time of the year,

garlic spray is the thing to reach for, because...

A good drench of garlic extract not only acts as a foliar feed,

but also, the sulphur content helps to dissuade fungal complaints

like the mildews taking hold.

The third in the collection is this one, Rosa Super Fairy,

aptly named, with these rather wonderful, full blooms.

Delicate pink.

And this one is demonstrating how we should go about pruning and managing

the plant over time, because you can see,

these stems which try and go upward

become a little bit too heavy with their buds.

As the flowers open, the stems then become downward-facing,

and then, as the season progresses, they will lignify, they'll stiffen,

and so, the true, arching, weeping habit of these Standards

starts to form.

Now, although these plants are derived from ramblers,

and with ramblers, you normally hit them hard with a pruning session

as soon as they've finished flowering,

with the Weeping Standard roses, you don't prune them like that.

You wait until they've assumed this downward-facing stem,

then you might prune off some of the side shoots,

and apart from that, you can pretty much leave them alone.

At this time of year, in fact,

it really is a case of just going in,

and pinching out some of the faded blooms.

-Jim, it's all about peas, now!

-Yes, indeed.

-It's an overpowering view, this is, isn't it?

-Isn't it?

Because we grew 14 different varieties,

-a couple of them were in pots, they've actually gone over.

-Yeah.

And first of all, the support systems.

The one right at the back with the canes has worked well.

That was a work of architecture in its own right without the peas!

The willow system, bought off the shelf -

a bit wobbly, quite honestly.

You just want to get some decent posts in at either end.

Well, you say that, I mean, I think our post system is one of the best,

with the chicken wire.

The hoop system was fine - we can use that again and again.

I fancy them for my broad beans!

-But I think the answer is, you've got to make sure you get the right variety...

-This is true.

..you know, the height, for the support.

So you've certainly grown a few.

Haven't we just? Erm... So, where do we...?

-You know, you've got your earlies...

-Yes.

-..to get an early crop.

You go for main crops, and, you know,

-this all-season one's quite good, cos there's eight peas in that pod.

-Well, that's what it's all about.

Most of the rest of them, you've got seven.

Tell me this, why do you bother growing purple-podded peas

when the peas are green?

-I know!

-That's a bit of a let-down.

And actually, I just wonder if you cook that,

-sometimes it does go green rather than staying purple.

-That's wishful thinking.

-Do you like more the traditional pea...

-Yes!

-Or going for the mangetout? Yes?

-HE LAUGHS

Traditional!

I quite like mangetout and the sugar snaps,

-when you do a bit of stir frying.

-This is true.

-And then...

But then you wouldn't know what's in it, so when you serve it, it's all chopped up.

Yeah, and I mean, it's amazing, the variety of colours as well,

and just to look at the flower colour, too.

You know, that's a heritage variety, quite pretty pea there.

It's peas we're talking about!

It's a blue flower over there with the yellow one.

Good Lord, so there is!

Now, the whole point is that there's peas, and there's tatties.

-Yes, we're onto tatties as well.

-What about the tatties?

OK, so this was the two varieties. We've both had a bit of a taste.

-Yeah, well, I liked that one.

-Yeah, and so did I.

-Oh, really?

So we end up at the end of the day,

it's Pentland Javelin rather than Diva.

I think they both had the same texture,

but that had slightly more flavour.

There's only one thing missing. Some nice beef mince!

SHE LAUGHS

That's true, and a bit of butter!

Well, this is exciting.

Today, I'm in East Lothian.

I'm in the village of Athelstaneford,

which of course is the birthplace of the Scottish flag.

And this also is where I went to primary school.

But I'm here today to look at some special gardens.

This is the garden of Alan and Nora Craig,

and it's a long, narrow garden.

Now, these narrow gardens were known as rigs.

This was a garden which would extend from the footprint of the house,

right out into the fields at the back.

It was a size that was suitable to support a family,

to supply fruit and vegetables.

I'm going to visit a few of the gardens in the village

to see how different they can all be.

'First is the traditional plot on two sides of the road

'belonging to Stephanie and Malcolm Duncan.'

-Gosh, look at that! Eh?

-HE LAUGHS

-Tropaeolum speciosum.

-It is.

-Oh, my goodness!

-And it's on a beech hedge.

-Well, yes, normally it's on yew, yes.

Now, did you plant that hedge, then?

-Yes.

-Right, so what was here before?

A field.

-Right.

-A field was here before.

Erm... And the field came right up to the edge of the cottage here.

Right in.

-So, where these farm cottages, then?

-Maybe.

Also railway workers, possibly, because of the train down the road.

Oh, I suppose so, yeah.

Now... Ha-ha!

This is something which I like.

This is an old water tank.

Yes, from the old cottage - we had to replace it.

-It's got an old penny in the bottom!

-HE LAUGHS

-For the next generation.

-In the hole. Yeah. That's excellent.

Other things, though, look at the colour you've got here with these begonias,

-you've got dahlias, you've got hydrangeas, you've got annuals in the field behind.

-Nice in summer.

It's absolutely fabulous in the summer.

But...

no vegetables?

No - they are across the road in the original garden.

-There's lots of fruit and veg.

-Good!

-Well, Malcolm.

-Hello, George.

-This is a productive space, isn't it?

Yes, it's not bad at al.

Now, was this original, then - was this what went with the house?

This would be two rigs of land, which went with the two cottages

over there, and we've joined them together.

-Right.

-So now you've got a long stretch...

We've covered it with fruit trees and things like that,

but originally it would be the tattie patch that went with the cottages over there.

Cos that was the staple diet in those days, wasn't it?

Way back at the beginning of last century.

So, enough to keep you going?

Yes, tatties, onions, leeks, a lot of soft fruit in the freezer,

apples...

And the wallflower for the colour in the spring.

Two lots of wallflower, just set out this week.

So what was in there before, then?

That was Epicures - they came up two or three weeks ago,

and Red Duke of York as well.

-Fabulous potato, Epicure, isn't it?

-Great.

-Typical of East Lothian.

-A bit of butter and oatmeal, wonderful.

Just... Oh! It'll soon be lunchtime!

THEY LAUGH

Anyway, I've got a lot of other gardens to see,

so I'll move on, and we'll see you later.

Thanks very much, George, bye.

From one of the most established gardens in the village,

I'm now going to meet Di Simcock.

-When did you arrive here?

-Well, we came here six years ago...

-Uh-huh.

-..and found this garden as a long strip of grass.

What was your plan, then? What had you thought about doing?

I had thought, in this part of the garden,

of having a horseshoe shape of perennials.

Uh-huh.

And I wanted to have a progression from spring on this side,

with the sort of cool colour scheme,

and ending up with summer flowers on this side, with a hot colour scheme.

-You see, that's quite hot there.

-Yeah, it is.

-That's working.

Any problems on the site, you know, weather-wise?

-It's very windy, in fact you can see the wind's picking up a little bit now.

-Yeah.

-And the prevailing wind comes from the west and the north.

-Uh-huh.

So this beech hedge over here is very useful as providing...

shelter from the wind.

Well, let's go and see what's beyond it - there's a greenhouse or something up there.

-I think we need to see.

-Yes, there is indeed!

-You lead on.

Ah-ha!

It's sunken!

Well, the next thing we did was to establish a greenhouse,

and as you can see, it's sunken down.

-Why?

-There were several reasons.

First of all, we didn't want to lose the view,

which is absolutely staggering, fantastic.

Secondly, as I've explained, it's a very windy site,

so I didn't want to lose my greenhouse.

Thirdly, I understood that if you sink them down,

it will help to stabilise the temperature.

-Solution to every problem, isn't there?

-Yeah.

-So I really love my greenhouse.

-Well, I'm off to see Harold now.

-OK, oh, you'll really enjoy that.

-Will I?

-Yes, you will.

-Don't tell me about it!

-OK!

THEY LAUGH

'Next on my travels, I'm off to meet Harold Vox,

'who knows a thing or two about getting places.'

So, how did you get involved in trains, Harold?

Well, I have always been interested in trains since I was a child.

What did you do, then, as a profession?

I became a teacher.

So when did they come back?

It didn't come back till... Really, I...started this year.

-Here, when you came to Athelstaneford?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Right!

-And what made you come back to it?

-Well, it was...er...

Something I thought...

for once, trains would run the way I want them to run.

THEY LAUGH

-The railway really fits into the landscape of the garden, doesn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

And it's just another wonderful way of showing how we can use

a garden for other things.

Oh, yes, yes.

-So, I've pinched a lot of vegetable land...

-Space!

-..for this here!

-It has changed over and over again.

-Thanks for showing us it!

-It's really good, really good.

-HAROLD LAUGHS

'My last visit is to an old school chum, Irene Howe's garden,

'which local garden designer Nicola Semple is going to guide me around.'

This is Irene's garden, and she's been gardening here

for more than 25 years, and she works in the local nursery.

Now, that bit shows, because everywhere you look,

there are these fantastic plants.

-Yeah.

-The more you look, the more detail you see...

-Yeah.

-..and the better it is.

I mean, look at that.

This is one of the snake-bark maples,

-now, just look at that - isn't that just fabulous?

-Yeah, it's beautiful.

Absolutely splendid.

-But this division of rooms is really something.

-Yes.

Well, as a garden designer you know that.

Yes, this is a lovely little place to come and relax.

Yeah, and then we go through this one, and we're into...

Well, a productive area.

Very productive. I think Irene could feed the village.

I mean, even in this productive area, look at that -

look at the combination over there.

-That's fabulous, isn't it?

-I know. Everything's just...piled in!

Irene says she just buys a plant when she sees it,

that she likes, then comes back,

-finds a space in the garden, and bungs it in any old place.

-HE LAUGHS

But you have to know what you're doing to get away with that.

You have to know your plants, and she obviously does.

But, you know, there's more to see, and if you want to come back

and see it, come on the open day - that's it, isn't it?

Mmm-hmm. Yeah.

'Well, I've really enjoyed this trip down memory lane today,'

and if you want to visit all of these wonderful gardens

and more besides, they'll be open on September 4th

as part of the Scotland's Gardens scheme.

One of the big challenges with summer winds,

especially with a young tree like this, in full canopy

and with rain as well, is that very often boughs will break.

That's exactly what's happened on this sweet chestnut,

so to remedy the situation, take the weight off the broken bough,

and then a quick cut...

..through the wounded specimen...

and I've deliberately left a peg on here, because what I want

is for a new shoot to come in here, to replace this hole in the canopy.

That will take place hopefully over the next season or so.

Now, we've already remarked about the lovely summer weather

that we've got at the moment, and yes, this is a fig, outside,

because it's a hardy variety.

It's a Bavarian fig called Violetta.

And I'm delighted to say, at last, after being planted in May, 2012,

we finally have one fig.

But I hope this is the start of many more to come.

A selection of summer bedding plants always turns up something new,

and this one certainly turned my head.

Look at that little Osteospermum.

It's no more than about nine inches high, it's called Blue Eyed Beauty,

it's compact, it's full of flower - that's one I would grow again.

We'll come back to them in a couple of weeks' time.

Talk a bit more.

I'm not normally a fan of pink, but I do think that that...

-...is a really spectacular sweet pea.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-What's she called?

-Valerie Harrod.

-Yeah, really nice, the frilly edge.

-Yeah.

Now, I've got two that I'm going to pick out.

-One for the perfume, the fat one there.

-Oh...

Because it is so strong, that, have you smelt that one? That's...

-Mmm.

-Cream Eggs.

I mean, I can smell it from here, cos it's up there.

-Why is it called Cream Eggs?

-I've got no...!

-Cos it certainly doesn't smell of a Creme Egg.

-No... I think...

-Doesn't look like one, either.

I don't know, there's a bit of yellow in the centre,

and then it comes out creamy and...

-purple?

-Grasping at straws, I think, probably with that one!

-But the other one...

-Either that or it's wrongly labelled!

I love the colour of this one. Emilia Fox,

and I think those two go together.

-But, I mean, I love sweet peas, anyway.

-Yeah.

Well, I think they could be down as one of the big successes

of a summer that's been pretty mixed.

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

whether it's the sweet peas or all those tatties,

it's all in the fact sheet,

and the easiest way to access that is online.

I have to say, it's been an all too brief visit to Beechgrove,

and we're away on our travels next week.

-We're going away to the north-west.

-We are.

So remember to pack...

midge cream...

SHE LAUGHS

-..wellies.

-Yes.

-..waterproofs...

Expect anything!

-Until then, bye-bye.

-Goodbye!

-Bye.