WG 2024 episode 21
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to Gardener's World.
00:15This cosmos is called Double Click Rose, and I've never grown it before, and it was late
00:20to flower, but boy is it worth the wait, because it has just been a mass of these glorious
00:27double pink petals, and it will go on flowering for another couple of months, or at least
00:34until the first frost.
00:36But the key to cosmos, and an awful lot of annuals at this time of year, is to keep dead
00:41hitting them daily.
00:42And if you go back to either another flower bud or a leaf, that will provoke more side
00:49shoots, and it's the side shoots that flower.
00:51Otherwise they'll just convert into seeds and put all their energy into that.
00:55And then combined with some roses, and the dahlias, and the sweet peas, and the fennel,
01:01there's still an awful lot of colour and flower left in the garden to last us through the
01:06summer.
01:08The reason why Ned, by the way, is so obsessively interested in me, because normally he's not
01:13as much as this, is because in my pocket, Ned, I've got a ball, and you've got to admit
01:18that is much more beautiful than any flower.
01:22At least it is, if you're Ned.
01:26Now, coming up on today's programme.
01:30Rachel explores a garden in Devon that has been transformed from a pig farm to a planted
01:35paradise.
01:37Although this is very much a garden, it has a naturalistic quality because it just drifts
01:43off beautifully into the hillside beyond, so it feels like it's always been here.
01:48We meet a gardener in Somerset who's filled his garden with quirky structures, all made
01:54from salvaged wood.
01:56I never use a drawing, you do it all in your head, rather like an artist with a painting.
02:02And once you start, you just keep going.
02:06Frances discovers the surprising medicinal properties of some of our favourite flowers.
02:12These are just edible as well.
02:13I mean, you could eat the petals in salad, which is what I grow them for.
02:17They're nice for garnish.
02:18It's anti-inflammatory, it's anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-haemorrhage, anti-microbial.
02:25So the list is endless, really.
02:28And I shall be pruning roses and propagating oranges.
02:48This is a grass, it's called Anamanthele lesoniana, or pheasant grass.
02:55And it has a habit of seeding itself all over the place, usually where you don't want it
03:00and where it's not easy to move it.
03:03But by seeding itself in this trough, it means that I can move it very easily and I've got
03:08somewhere where it will work perfectly.
03:17So, I will now re-home that.
03:32Now, here at the front of the grass border, I've got a gap.
03:36So, perfect for putting this grass.
03:39Now, I don't know if you can see, I've got two grasses there, one and two.
03:44And I think the best thing to do would be to separate them and fill another gap.
03:48So, if I just gently tease that apart.
03:51These are tough plants, so don't be too precious about them.
03:54With your thumbs, get in there and just tease them apart,
03:58trying to keep as much root as possible on both of them.
04:01There we go.
04:04It's as dry as a bone, but quite happy.
04:06And actually, that's one of the things about Anamanthele,
04:09is it used to be classified as part of the steeper family.
04:12And that gives you a clue of how it likes to grow.
04:14Really good drainage, doesn't mind being hot and dry,
04:17but hates sitting in too wet ground.
04:28They seed themselves very freely, so you've always got new plants.
04:32But don't expect the parent plant to live more than, well, three years is quite good.
04:38And they are not fully hardy.
04:41And although that doesn't fill the space now, it will.
04:45They grow quite big, that will easily fill that space,
04:48and do the job without any trouble at all.
04:51So that's good. Now I've got the other one here,
04:53but I don't want to put that in the grass borders,
04:55so I'll go and pop this up in the orchard beds, along with some other plants.
04:59Come on, Ed. Come on. Good boy.
05:04Good boy.
05:12The truth is, it's not just the one empty gap I've got that I want to fill.
05:18If I go around the garden, and I'm honest,
05:20it's full of gaps and spaces that appear at this time of year,
05:25partly as a result of earlier planting dying back,
05:28having done their things, whether they're bulbs or early perennials.
05:31And so the secret is to move plants around.
05:33Now, obviously, I've got this Anamanthele, which will go in here.
05:37Let's take that out, which we don't want.
05:40I have to say that the combination of Anamanthele,
05:44that likes good drainage and lots of sunshine,
05:47with Hydrangea, which likes it to be damp and have some shade,
05:53is not an obvious one. You'll never see that in the textbooks.
05:56But it will work. This is a plant that will grow almost anywhere.
06:01So we'll pop that in here, on the edge.
06:07There we go.
06:09I will, of course, have to water that and the other one I put in,
06:12but I've just got a couple more plants to put in first.
06:15And they're here.
06:16This is a Geranium Fyme that I took from the cottage garden
06:20when we took out the hedges and the pear trees.
06:23I've had them in pots, really, ever since then, almost a year,
06:27and now this will be a good place for them.
06:31That will be fine underneath the tree,
06:33because Geranium Fyme is one of the few plants
06:36that really will be perfectly healthy and happy in dry shade.
06:41I've got another one, which will pop in there.
06:46And it's just filling the gap. It's really creating ground cover.
06:49And ground cover is not glamorous, but it's really useful,
06:53because you have that understory from which, then,
06:57you can think about the colour and the forms and the shapes
07:00that you're going to build above it.
07:02Right, let's get them in the ground.
07:05Now, while I'm planting these,
07:07we're going to Newton Abbot in Devon to join Rachel,
07:10who, this time last year, went to visit a garden
07:13that has been created from one of the most inauspicious beginnings
07:18you could imagine.
07:26Stepping into this garden, it feels like it's been here forever.
07:32There's a timeless quality to the drifts of planting
07:35nestled in rolling countryside.
07:39It's hard to imagine what came before this pocket of serene loveliness,
07:45especially when, not so long ago, the garden looked very different.
07:54Jenny and Jethro Marles bought an ex-pig farm in 2002.
07:59Ten acres of concrete slabs, asbestos-filled sheds
08:03and slurry pits on a Devon hillside.
08:08Over the last 20 years, they've slowly built a series of gardens
08:12which is unrecognisable from the original space.
08:17What you've achieved here is extraordinary,
08:19but it must have been overwhelming at the very beginning.
08:22I think we had something like rose-tinted glasses on
08:25when we came here, but we were taking out bits of tractor
08:28that had been buried, all sorts of rubbish and detritus.
08:31It was a 100,000-gallon slurry tank, wasn't it, to start with,
08:34which had to be emptied, which was...
08:36That must have been fun.
08:38Yeah.
08:40It was a complete blank canvas, which was very overwhelming.
08:43Right from the beginning, we wanted it to be a place for wildlife
08:46and it just happened a lot quicker than we thought, really,
08:49as soon as you dug out the first pond.
08:51I said to Jenny, look out the window, we've got a duck!
08:54That was the first thing that appeared.
08:56And actually, the swans appeared the same week,
08:58later on in the week, just coming up the stream.
09:00As we sort of got rid of the concrete
09:02and put the greenery and the water in, the wildlife arrived.
09:13So, Jenny, did you have a very clear idea
09:16of the sort of plants you wanted to grow?
09:18I came across some books which had prairie planting in
09:21and it just grabbed me.
09:25On this scale, Jenny's prairie planting is so effective
09:29and the long borders which run next to the pond
09:32are filled with a gorgeous range of late-season perennials.
09:39Given the size of the garden,
09:41Jenny has very cleverly restricted her colour palette.
09:44So you've got these lovely soft pinks, things like the Echinacea,
09:48dark reds with the Sanguisorba, and she also uses repetition.
09:53She has the same plants moving all the way through this planting,
09:57things like the Flomis and the Bennel.
10:00And then it's all tied together beautifully
10:03with soft, melding grasses,
10:05so you've got that movement with the millennia and the steeper gigantea.
10:09It looks very simple, but it's very clever.
10:19Jenny has a particular fondness for umbilifers,
10:22which have these multiple tiny, tiny little flowers
10:25on a flattened flower head,
10:28and they're absolutely brilliant for attracting pollinators
10:31and other beneficial insects.
10:33I love this one. This is Dorcas carota,
10:35particularly because it's got that lovely, soft, rosy pink,
10:39which is so prevalent in this border,
10:42but also because of the way that after it's finished flowering,
10:45the flowers just curl up like a goblet.
10:48It's a beauty.
10:53MUSIC
11:02Although this is very much a garden,
11:05it has a naturalistic quality
11:07because they've built here this bank,
11:10which is made of the spoiled lumps of concrete and so on,
11:14and now you'd never know it,
11:16and it just drifts off beautifully into the hillside beyond,
11:19and it feels like it's always been here,
11:21and I think that's helped by the choice of plants as well.
11:24So you've got native things that you would see in the hedgerows
11:27and in the verges.
11:29There are some lovely ferns, and then this, the eupatorium,
11:32which can be sort of really big and thuggish,
11:35but actually Jenny's been very clever here too,
11:38and she's just cut down,
11:40chopped the stems around the edges in May,
11:43the Chelsea chop, effectively,
11:45and that means that you've got later flowering,
11:47so the flowers are staggered,
11:49and also they act as a kind of support for the rest of the plant,
11:52and it just looks much prettier, I think.
11:54And look at these beautiful dark purple stems.
12:00Away from the main garden,
12:02there are other areas where Jenny's experimented
12:05with the soil and growing conditions.
12:09This is just the most heavenly part of the garden.
12:12It's beautiful.
12:14You've got two meadows, very distinctly separated,
12:17so tell me what's going on on this side.
12:19Well, this is a perennial wildlife meadow,
12:22and that was seeded initially 18 years ago now,
12:25but I love it because of the variety of succession of plants
12:29you get through the year.
12:31Knapweed and I think there's some field scabious is still going,
12:34but it's quietened down a bit now.
12:37What in the perennial meadow do you think is the main criteria,
12:41the main thing you need to know?
12:43I think you're really trying to reduce the nutrients in the soil
12:46as far as you can, and we do that really by the way we manage it.
12:49So at the end of the year, the farmer comes in and cuts the hay
12:53and bales it, and then it's taken right away,
12:55and about a month later we have sheep on that eat the regrowth
12:59and make little divots around, hopefully for new flowers to seed.
13:03What about this here? These are annuals?
13:05These are annual flowers, yes, and they're completely the opposite,
13:08really, in really nutrient, high-nutrient soil they thrive in.
13:12We do add compost to this, and so early in the year,
13:15and they'll go right through now till autumn.
13:18It looks wonderful, I think it's a really good way to explain
13:22the difference between what people think of as a wildflower meadow,
13:25I think they picture this, but actually of course,
13:28British native meadows look like that.
13:31So do you feel happy with how things are at the moment?
13:34Do you think you've achieved your goal here?
13:37I think with this meadow, I love it, and it's probably at its peak.
13:41A perennial meadow is perhaps a different story.
13:44Give me another 20 years and perhaps it'll be just how I want it.
13:47What's 20 years?
13:51And beyond the prairies and meadows, the courtyard shows how Jethro
13:55and Jenny have worked with the conditions available
13:58to create a garden with a completely different feel.
14:05Unlike the really rich growing conditions elsewhere in the garden,
14:09it's built on rubble, so you've just got a spade's depth
14:12of very gritty, thin soil, but actually that's perfect
14:17for plants like this hazy blue of the Perovskia.
14:21This silvery foliage, always a good indicator of a drought-tolerant plant,
14:25and then in this corner, dominated by that architectural cardoon.
14:30But the thing I think that really ties together all the spaces
14:34in this garden is a passion for water.
14:38You've got this lovely still pool, there's a wall fountain,
14:41that lovely gentle burbling sound, and then a rather unusual water feature.
14:53This garden has gone from pig farm to paradise,
14:57but it's always daunting creating a new garden from scratch,
15:01whether it's a small patio or 10 acres.
15:04I think the guidelines are always the same.
15:06Have a plan, but be prepared to deviate from that.
15:10Also, take your time. Nobody wants an instant garden.
15:14And above all, make sure that you sit back occasionally
15:18and just enjoy the beauty you've made.
15:22MUSIC FADES
15:36Rachel is, of course, absolutely right. It's really important.
15:40However grand the task of making a garden,
15:44to find time to stop and just enjoy it.
15:47However, I'm going to focus on work now
15:50because a writing garden is a big space that needs filling.
15:54And what I've chosen is a really reliable late-summer, early-autumn flower,
16:01which is the Japanese anemone.
16:03And this is a variety called Honorine Joubert.
16:06It's very well known, and that's because it's a good one.
16:09They will last for years and years and perform in almost any situation.
16:14They don't mind shade, they don't mind it dry, they don't mind sunshine.
16:18The only thing they don't like is sitting in very soggy soil.
16:21I'm going to plant them as a little group underneath this cardou in here.
16:27And that will give a good, solid display,
16:30which then I can use to work around.
16:33Right, it's just a question of digging a hole and getting them in.
16:48Like that, like that.
16:50And then this one can go in front.
16:56Now, these will flower from now through to October, if you're lucky.
17:02And whenever you plant anything, water it in,
17:05which not only gives it a drink, but moves the soil tightly around the roots
17:09and makes good contact, but particularly at this time of year,
17:12because the soil will be dry, the weather will be warm, they need water.
17:15And if it doesn't rain for another two or three weeks,
17:18well, then give them another drink.
17:20And thereafter, they should be able to look after themselves.
17:22And they should be there for years to come.
17:26Now, we're going to Somerset to a garden near Taunton.
17:30It belongs to Nigel Palfrey.
17:32And he's created it over the last 50 years
17:35into something that is distinctly unique.
17:46My garden is therapeutic.
17:50It's always evolving.
17:52It's quirky, it's eccentric.
17:55And I suppose, as people often politely hint, it's like me.
18:02This garden has been in my family for 200 years at thereabouts.
18:09It's rather special because it's full of memories.
18:12But most of what you see, I planted from 50 to 20 years ago.
18:20My style of planting is informal, casual.
18:25The foxgloves are all self-seeded.
18:28I like the self-seeding.
18:30It's quite cheap, really.
18:33Although it's slightly overgrown, I think Breeze of Maxima is certainly one of my favourites.
18:39It's short-lived, but it's a happy plant.
18:41It draws the eye in by its colour, its texture, its tone.
18:46I love grasses because it's like a moth.
18:49When you start to study them closely, you realise what patterns, variation, colours.
18:56And I cut a few, and then I hang them up for two or three days, let them dry,
19:02and tie them up with string.
19:04And during the winter months, I can look at that.
19:12Some areas are quite controlled.
19:15There's a lot of little vistas, a lot of little garden rooms.
19:21That's part of it. That's what it makes it so interesting.
19:25Occasionally, it will come along and pull something up,
19:28but invariably, it can get on with it.
19:33These are bowers. I've always called them bowers.
19:37Essentially, it's spent young growth.
19:41This is hazel. It's out of the garden.
19:44This is the finished product.
19:46They take about two to three hours to make.
19:49I usually do these every year.
19:53I made the gate about 25 years ago.
19:58Now, this is standing dead sweet chestnut.
20:00And it's got a little hole here, so the hedgehogs can come through.
20:04And it's dog-proof.
20:07And then you've got the cotoneaster growing over that. Lovely.
20:11Come on, Ruru.
20:13Come on, Ruru.
20:16This is hamstone, which is local.
20:19It was a gate post.
20:21It was in the salvage yard.
20:23And I paid one tin of drink.
20:28I've been influenced very much by the past.
20:31Over the years, I've been doing a lot of gardening.
20:34I've been doing a lot of gardening.
20:36I've been doing a lot of gardening.
20:38I've been doing a lot of gardening.
20:40I've been doing a lot of gardening.
20:42I've been influenced very much by the past.
20:45Over the years, I've had great interests
20:48in building, architecture, horticulture, agriculture.
20:53So I've always had this interest.
20:56You go to the salvage yard, you could pick up real gems.
21:00I've just got that set for it, I suppose.
21:07When I built this garden,
21:09it was with the intention that I live here
21:12and a lot of other things, what we call nature.
21:15Birds, insects, anything.
21:19So I know I'm also contributing to wildlife.
21:25Now, these are naturally hollow.
21:28I put salvage lead on the top,
21:30and they're for bats, frogs.
21:33The great tits will go in there.
21:35The small holes, that's for blue tits.
21:40So this is my crinkle-crankle folly.
21:44And I got the idea from this branch.
21:49As you come down through, a lot of shade,
21:52so of course ferns like it.
21:55The idea is something like the Hobbit,
21:58the Lord of the Rings.
22:01Crinkle-crankle really means twisted, bent.
22:05I think it's lovely words.
22:08Years and years ago, before barbed wire,
22:11netting, string was invented,
22:14you used the resources that you had to hand.
22:18Now what does last long is sweet chestnut,
22:21standing dead, and oak.
22:29You cannot just go into a wood and take anything.
22:32You should ask permission.
22:34Quite often people say,
22:36yes, you can have it, you're welcome to it.
22:40So anyway, I started,
22:42and it's taken two bottles of whiskey,
22:45two jars of jam,
22:47a large bag of chocolate,
22:49many thank yous,
22:51and one burnt-out clutch,
22:53because I overloaded my car.
22:55We're three tons, and over a thousand screws.
23:01I always think a good garden
23:03always should be full of secrets,
23:05full of excitement,
23:07and this is excitement through here.
23:15I'm not really sure what you would call this room.
23:18We have tea in here sometimes,
23:20in the summertime it's lovely,
23:22especially when it's hot.
23:24The birds rather like it in the wintertime,
23:27and of course there's a robin up here now,
23:30which shows that I'm not the only one that likes it.
23:34I never use a drawing, you do it all in your head,
23:37rather like an artist with a painting.
23:40Usually you've got an idea,
23:42but it's in the subconscious,
23:44and once you start, you just keep going.
23:51A number of people come in and they all leave smiling,
23:54so I know that it makes people happy,
23:57and I get great pleasure out of that.
24:12I think Nigel exemplifies
24:14a really important aspect of gardening,
24:17which is just to have fun,
24:19to enjoy every aspect of it.
24:21We're so solemn about gardening,
24:23with its Latin names and rare plants,
24:25and plants that are difficult to grow,
24:27and what we should and shouldn't do.
24:29And forget that sometimes,
24:31the main reason to garden is to enjoy it.
24:34Now this is an orange,
24:37and I want to take a cutting.
24:39Most citrus, certainly commercially,
24:41are grafted onto rootstock,
24:43which means that the top part,
24:45the part that has the fruit,
24:47is one plant, and then down there,
24:49the roots that grow is another.
24:51And the roots will determine how it grows,
24:53how big, how small,
24:55how it reacts to certain soil or climatic conditions,
24:58and then the top, obviously, the fruit.
25:00So by taking a cutting,
25:02you're guaranteed to get exactly the same top,
25:05but not the same roots,
25:07so it may grow much bigger, it may grow smaller.
25:09But nevertheless, it's a good way to do it.
25:12Now what you want to look for,
25:14ideally, is one-year-old growth,
25:16and it can be as thick as a pencil.
25:18There's a nice shoot down in here,
25:20there's one perfect one,
25:22and I need to take it really low down,
25:24go nice and low,
25:26and take that out.
25:28So there I have my cut material.
25:30I now need to deal with it.
25:41Now the key thing with citrus cuttings
25:44is that they need to have
25:46a number of nodes on them.
25:48Nodes is one of those words
25:50that I think is a bit intimidating,
25:52but basically it means the bit from where leaves grow.
25:54That's all you need to worry about.
25:56So with a stem like that,
25:58we can get more than one cutting.
26:00Right, there I have,
26:02and I can take that off,
26:04I have two leaves,
26:06and one, two, three other nodes.
26:10So I've got five nodes.
26:12So that's a cutting.
26:14And I can work my way down doing that.
26:16Now, I have to say,
26:18my instincts are to reduce those leaf sizes,
26:20and you do that by cutting them in half.
26:22But I don't often take citrus cuttings.
26:25The other day I looked up
26:27all the best advice,
26:29and it was just to leave the leaves whole,
26:31so I will.
26:33Like most cuttings,
26:35they don't need any nutrition at all
26:37to grow their roots.
26:39What they need is water and oxygen.
26:41So it doesn't matter what you use,
26:43whether it be perlite, sand, grit,
26:45which is what I've got,
26:48So we'll put that into
26:50a container like that.
26:57Then these can go in the corner.
26:59So we'll push that in,
27:01and the really important thing is
27:03that they have heat and moisture.
27:06You can hand mist it,
27:08or you can do as we do with other cuttings,
27:10you can water them,
27:12and then put one of these sealed bags
27:16over the top,
27:18and then tighten it round the pot,
27:21and that will trap all the moisture
27:23that evaporates from the leaves
27:25and from the compost.
27:27And they should root in about
27:29six to eight weeks.
27:31You can either put them on
27:33when you see signs of roots
27:35and new growth,
27:37but protect them over winter.
27:39So having potted them on,
27:41they will need to be in a conservatory,
27:43on a windowsill, or in a greenhouse.
27:45In spring, you can give them the soil
27:47that they want and grow them on,
27:49and in a year or two,
27:51you'll have a marvellous new orange.
27:53Now, still to come on today's programme.
27:55Frances learns more about
27:57the health benefits
27:59of some of our favourite garden plants.
28:01I do find it so interesting
28:03that you're using these natural,
28:05often defence mechanisms of plants,
28:07and isn't it amazing that they
28:09actually can heal us too?
28:11Yeah, absolutely.
28:13That's the beauty of plant-based
28:15natural medicine.
28:17And we meet a man who fell in love
28:19with orchids at 15,
28:21and now has a collection
28:23of many thousands.
28:25I can't imagine a life without orchids.
28:27I love the challenge
28:29they give.
28:31They are hard work, they're tricky,
28:33but on the other hand,
28:35they're deeply rewarding when they flower.
28:37But first,
28:39we're going to Reading
28:41to one of your gardens.
28:45Hello, my name is Alison Taylor,
28:47and I want to share with you
28:49my passion for growing roses.
28:51I'm particularly interested
28:53in how to plant around and under
28:55the roses to enhance their beauty,
28:57and also how they complement other plants.
28:59My passion is for letting
29:01plants self-seed around my garden,
29:03creating a very loose cottage
29:05garden style, and most importantly,
29:07getting lots of free plants
29:09in the process.
29:11I started to plant these beds
29:13in 2015 with the idea of having
29:15roses as the mainframe,
29:17and creating herbaceous borders.
29:19But my passion for roses quickly took over,
29:21and they became the dominant
29:23feature.
29:25For a rose to be in this garden, they have to
29:27smell as good as they look.
29:29Every morning, I get up,
29:31and I come out in the garden, and do a
29:33sniff tour of all the roses.
29:35Here, I've planted Sedum purple
29:37emperor underneath
29:39a bright yellow rose,
29:41which is the poet's wife.
29:43The beautiful yellow flowers
29:45being highlighted
29:47spectacularly against the purple.
29:49You'll see growing alongside
29:51on the left here, Stachys,
29:53again, which was never planted in this
29:55garden. It suddenly appeared one
29:57year, having self-seeded, and I
29:59left it where it is. And every year
30:01now, it grows to true magnificence,
30:03and the fabulous purple spikes
30:05look amazing against the yellow roses.
30:09Thank you for sharing this tour
30:11of my roses. I hope
30:13you can see that after investing
30:15in the core plants, actually
30:17by letting things self-seed,
30:19and do their own thing in the garden to an
30:21extent, you can create the most
30:23amazing cottage garden look,
30:25without spending vast amounts of money.
30:35I love the idea of Alison
30:37having a sniff tour
30:39of her garden every morning.
30:41What a fabulous concept.
30:43Now, we would love
30:45to hear from you. If you've
30:47got a really good idea
30:49or technique, or device,
30:51something you've done or are doing
30:53in your garden, that you would like
30:55to share with us. And you can get
30:57all the details about how you can go
30:59about that, by going to our website.
31:01So, if you're interested,
31:03you can go about that by going
31:05to our website.
31:14Go on.
31:16Good boy.
31:20Over the years, I've planted
31:22masses of roses here at Longmeadow.
31:24I adore them. And
31:26one of the less celebrated groups
31:28of roses are species
31:30roses. And they are the
31:32rose that you find growing in the wild.
31:34They are the pure form, if you like,
31:36from which hybrids are made
31:38in their permutations to create
31:40the garden roses that we all know
31:42and love. And they have certain
31:44characteristics. The first is the flowers
31:46tend to be small and single.
31:48They're not showy, but they also
31:50have a kind of purity about them,
31:52a simplicity that
31:54I love. And, of course, the best-known species
31:56rose in this country is the dog rose you see
31:58growing in hedgerows, Rosa canina.
32:00And some of them
32:02need pruning because they
32:04do grow with real vigor.
32:06And perhaps none more so than
32:08Rosa moisei, which I've got here.
32:10The time to prune species roses
32:12is as soon as they finish flowering,
32:14which usually is sort of late
32:16July, early August. So we're a little
32:18bit late on that, but it's
32:20still perfectly okay. And
32:22if you cut it back to the height that you want
32:24it, so let's say I want it to
32:26grow that height
32:28rather than as tall as it is,
32:30so the flowers are around about
32:32filling this space, all that will happen
32:34is that you'll get this
32:36thicket of growth coming from
32:38the pruned point. So
32:40if you want to reduce the height
32:42you need to go back
32:44right down, sometimes to the
32:46ground or at least to the point at which
32:48you're happy to have the permanent structure.
32:50And then you get your side
32:52shoots going. So if I go in there
32:54like that
32:58So I'm going to take
33:00this right back down to there, so it's
33:02the same height as
33:04the other growth point.
33:06I just caught it
33:08before it friggled my head.
33:12Now you don't need to
33:14do this every year.
33:16I tend to prune species roses
33:18about once every three
33:20or four years, because
33:22I quite like them to be big.
33:24But there is a point at which they get too big.
33:26And that's going to vary
33:28according to what space you have, what your
33:30taste is, how you want them to look,
33:32and how you want them to grow. But don't be put
33:34off growing them because they grow
33:36big, don't be put off growing them because they only
33:38produce flowers once, because
33:40they have charm.
33:42Now we're going to join
33:44Francis, who last year
33:46went up to Derbyshire to visit
33:48the Walida Biodynamic Garden.
33:57Most of us garden
33:59and grow plants to enjoy
34:01them, to admire them,
34:03or to eat them. Some of us
34:05even grow plants for medicinal
34:07or health reasons.
34:09Here, that is the only
34:11reason that they're growing plants.
34:13And it is on a
34:15massive scale.
34:17Here on this 13 acre
34:19site of meadows, woodlands
34:21and gardens, every single
34:23plant is grown to use in herbal
34:25medicines and remedies.
34:27Along with her team, Jennifer Ruge
34:29is responsible for looking after and growing
34:31each and every one of these plants,
34:33from seed to harvest.
34:38So Jennifer, tell me about this garden.
34:40And this is our medicinal plant
34:42garden. We grow over 50
34:44different medicinal plants in this garden.
34:46And we grow everything
34:48biodynamic, which is organic.
34:50And we make those plants into
34:52herbal remedies, homeopathic
34:54remedies.
34:56We use the whole plant, so
34:58all the active ingredients and
35:00components go into a remedy
35:02that we make here. And I guess
35:04that's different because, yeah, it's got everything
35:06rather than just the single synthesised
35:08compound that you'd get in a
35:10pharmaceutical pill or whatever.
35:12Yeah, that's it. It's holistic. And what's the benefits
35:14of that? The benefit is that we have
35:16evolved with plants for
35:18thousands of years, so there is
35:20more bioavailability
35:22in the remedies that we
35:24use here, which will help
35:26work in our bodies.
35:28So here we've got Echinacea
35:30pallida, and that's
35:32a really good plant
35:34for its anti-inflammatory
35:36and antioxidant properties.
35:38So we use it in our skin care.
35:40We use the whole plant,
35:42so that's a fantastic example
35:44of where we use the roots,
35:46the leaves, the stems and the flowers.
35:48I'm so glad to hear
35:50because I grow this because
35:52I love it. I think it's beautiful, and so do the bees, clearly.
35:54Yeah, absolutely. They love it.
35:56So many hoverflies on them.
36:04Frances, this is my favourite
36:06plant in the garden. Is it?
36:08You probably recognise it.
36:10Althea officinalis,
36:12marshmallow, white mellow.
36:14And it's my favourite plant because it has
36:16so many different qualities.
36:18Althea, the word gives it away,
36:20derived from the Greek, to heal.
36:22Medicinally,
36:24what is used is the root.
36:26But culinary,
36:28this plant has been used
36:30for thousands of years.
36:32Yeah, loads of mallows, if not all
36:34of them are actually edible leaves,
36:36aren't they? Yeah, absolutely. The small,
36:38fresh leaves can be used in cooking.
36:40The flowers can be used for
36:42pickling. The plant itself
36:44has waters
36:46and sugars in the roots
36:48that create a bit like a gel-like
36:50substance.
36:52And the plant uses that
36:54as a protection, like a protective
36:56barrier against the elements,
36:58really. And we make use of that
37:00in plant medicine.
37:02The same substance,
37:04the gel-like substance, the mucilage,
37:06is used in skin care
37:08products. It's the same
37:10kind of protective barrier,
37:12the soothing and calming properties
37:14for sensitive skin
37:16or baby skin or people with eczema
37:18or that kind of stuff.
37:20But I do find it so interesting that you're using
37:22these natural, often
37:24defence mechanisms of plants,
37:26this barrier of mucus
37:28in the roots and the leaves, but also
37:30things like with the thyme next door, the volatile
37:32oils and phyto or plant
37:34chemicals that are in the plants,
37:36that they've evolved. And isn't it
37:38amazing that they actually can
37:40heal us too? Yeah, absolutely.
37:42That's the beauty of it.
37:44That's the beauty of plant-based natural
37:46medicine. Yeah.
38:04Thank you. Calendula.
38:06I know this
38:08is really medicinal, isn't it? But how do you
38:10use this? So we
38:12use all the plant parts
38:14above ground. It's called a herbal harvest
38:16that includes everything you see here,
38:18the flowers and the leaves
38:20and the stem. So when you
38:22pick up a flower, it's kind of a bit
38:24sticky to the touch. Yes. So
38:26Calendula has a
38:28resin inside where a lot of
38:30the active ingredients are concentrated,
38:32but also the orange colour
38:34gives away some of the properties
38:36because the more orange in colour, the more
38:38tonight it has. And these are
38:40just edible as well. I mean, you could eat the petals
38:42in salads. Yeah. That's what I grow them for.
38:44Yeah. They're nice for garnish.
38:46You can even eat the leaves.
38:48They're slightly a bit bitter, but they
38:50add a nice addition to salads as well.
38:52It's anti-inflammatory, it's
38:54anti-fungal, anti-bacterial,
38:56anti-hemorrhage, anti-microbial.
38:58So the list is endless, really.
39:00It's a very generous giving plant
39:02in terms of its properties. Isn't it
39:04fantastic? Such a common little plant.
39:06So useful. Also useful as a gardener,
39:08as a companion plant to go with other
39:10crops, keep aphids away and
39:12things like that. So such a, as you say,
39:14generous plant. Absolutely.
39:22I didn't expect to see
39:24Aconite here. Is this a medicinal
39:26plant because it's so poisonous?
39:28You're right there. Aconite is the
39:30most poisonous plant in Europe.
39:32And that's why when we're working
39:34with Aconite, we have a lot of respect for it.
39:36As in, we protect ourselves because
39:38the whole plant is poisonous, including
39:40the roots. We harvest the entire
39:42plant and we make
39:44it into a remedy that's often used
39:46if you want to treat a sudden onset
39:48of respiratory issues, like a cold.
39:50I mean, it's so obvious with something
39:52like this, which is so poisonous.
39:54And then also other poisonous plants like Foxglove
39:56and Yew, which have
39:58medicinal use too.
40:00But you just shouldn't mess around with them.
40:02I kind of also think that all plants, unless
40:04you really know what you're doing, you just shouldn't
40:06dabble and mess around with them because
40:08they can have some really powerful compounds
40:10you don't necessarily know how they'll affect you.
40:12Yeah, absolutely. Always have to consult
40:14a practitioner before taking any
40:16medication, whether it's herbal or not.
40:18Exactly. And especially if you're on medication
40:20from your doctor as well, just always double check
40:22that it's safe for you to take something else.
40:33We gardeners love our plants.
40:35Of course we do. But just
40:37sometimes we might begin to take
40:39them for granted slightly.
40:41Even common calendula
40:43or herbs like rosemary and
40:45lavender and thyme, or ornamental
40:47plants like Echinacea, have
40:49so much more about them than
40:51just the way they look.
40:53We have a whole history
40:55with these plants. And it's not
40:57just medicinal. They do all kinds of
40:59things. And it's also
41:02Now for me, the more
41:04I know about a particular species,
41:06the more respect I have for it,
41:08and the more it fascinates me.
41:25It is a timely reminder that
41:27plants aren't just categorised
41:29into looking good or tasting good
41:31or doing you good. Many, many
41:33plants work in multiple ways.
41:35And of course, historically, people have
41:37used that. Now in terms of
41:39taste, I like the look of
41:41sweet corn, but it's for
41:43the cobs that we grow them. And
41:45some of them are now ready.
41:47You can tell by looking at the tassel.
41:49If it's still green
41:51and pale, then the
41:53cob isn't right. But if, like
41:55this one here is a good one, if it's
41:57dark and has browned
41:59off, then the chances are it's
42:01ripe. And if I break this off,
42:03and when you pick them, the way to do it is just to break
42:05them. So it should just break off in
42:07my hand like that.
42:09And if we
42:11open it out...
42:13Now look at that, Ned.
42:15Look at that. The beauty
42:17of sweet corn, grown
42:19at home, is that it does
42:21have that extra edge of sweetness.
42:23And personally,
42:25I like them best just boiled,
42:27slathered with butter, and
42:29then eaten. And just don't
42:31worry about the mess. Just enjoy it.
42:37Pop that down there for the moment.
42:39I'm going to sow some turnips.
42:41On a patch of ground,
42:43if you sow turnips now when the soil is warm,
42:45they'll grow quite quickly, and they'll be ready
42:47to harvest round about October,
42:49November time. I like turnips when they're quite
42:51small. So rather than having a
42:53great big turnip that gets
42:55a little bit woody, you harvest them
42:57when they're about golf ball size.
42:59They're absolutely delicious.
43:01So I've prepared the ground.
43:03I'll just give it a light rake
43:05over.
43:07There we go.
43:11I've got two varieties here.
43:13I've got Snowball,
43:15which is a pure white turnip,
43:17and I've got Milan
43:19Purple Top, which is
43:21flatter, less of a ball,
43:23with a pinky purple top
43:25and white underneath. So let's
43:27sow the Milan
43:29Purple Top first.
43:35And just draw
43:37a drill with the side of my hands
43:39like that.
43:43An inch or so deep is plenty.
43:45Now obviously
43:47when you're sowing seeds direct,
43:49the secret is to do it as thinly
43:51as possible. So each
43:53seed will ideally be about two inches
43:55apart. Take the board up,
43:57ready for the next,
43:59which will go there.
44:05We take for granted that we grow vegetables
44:07in rows, but the reason you do
44:09is mainly so you can keep them weeded,
44:11because when they start to appear,
44:13there may well be
44:15weeds in amongst them and in between
44:17them. And in
44:19order that you can put a hoe
44:21down them and weed them successfully, you do
44:23need to know where they are likely to be.
44:25Whereas if you just broadcast them
44:27across the area, you can't do that.
44:29And that's really the best reason for
44:31growing veg in rows.
44:33Now to go from turnips, which I
44:35like very much, but I have to confess
44:37a pretty humble fare,
44:39to flowers that
44:41many would regard as the most exotic
44:43and the most beautiful
44:45in the whole of the floral
44:47kingdom.
44:53I think I love the detail of the orchids.
44:55I like the idea that it stands
44:57apart from other plants or something which you don't usually
44:59see. Something which is a bit different.
45:01I like the way the petals almost present
45:03themselves. I like the colour, I like the
45:05markings, I like the spots sometimes
45:07around the edge.
45:09In total, I have probably about
45:11100,000 orchids.
45:13Typically, I
45:15wake up and I spend about an hour saying
45:17good morning to them, making sure they're all
45:19up and awake. And then in the evening
45:21I'll spend a couple of hours just putting them
45:23to bed, making sure they're happy.
45:25We started with one greenhouse, we've ended up with
45:27four. It has grown to a bit of
45:29obsession, but it does keep me out of mischief.
45:33My love
45:35for orchids really started when I was
45:3715, where I used to grow
45:39orchids called cymbidiums.
45:41And later on in life, when I did my A-Levels,
45:43my mum gave me the opportunity
45:45of, if I did well, she'd
45:47treat me to an orchid. I've still got it now,
45:4938 years later,
45:51Cattlea recitals the name, and it still
45:53flowers to this day.
45:59When you look at the plants, sometimes they have faces
46:01on them, and those faces are characters.
46:03Each one, yeah, tells a
46:05story, and sometimes does look like
46:07a face.
46:11Each one
46:13has a different kind of beauty.
46:15There are some which have lovely long tails,
46:17other ones, they have their own natural
46:19charm of being from the UK.
46:21Other ones are very small.
46:25So in this greenhouse,
46:27we have a range of plants.
46:29I've called it the jungle, for various
46:31reasons. I'm very excited
46:33about this plant. It's called
46:35Dendrophilax lindenii.
46:37It's nicknamed the Florida Ghost Orchid.
46:39It's nearly extinct
46:41in the swamps in Florida.
46:43But we do have some here,
46:45which I have propagated from
46:47seed. And they have no
46:49leaves at all. So all the
46:51photosynthesis happens
46:53within the root, which is the green
46:55pigmentation. And they give you a
46:57lovely little white flower, about so big,
46:59with little tails. And if you're in
47:01the forest, in the swamps,
47:03it does look like a little ghost,
47:05hanging from a tree.
47:10I'm Christine Turner,
47:12and I'm Mark's mum.
47:14But I'm also known as Tina,
47:16so it's Tina Turner.
47:19Oh, that's beautiful.
47:21That's Rungsurianum.
47:23I hadn't seen that one before, but it's
47:25beautiful. How long has it been out?
47:27It's been out for about two weeks.
47:29The leaves never get wider than that,
47:31and it has these huge, gorgeous
47:33purple flowers.
47:35I could put that on my window sill.
47:37Oh, you've got all the other ones.
47:39Yes, with my Neophoenicias.
47:41I think Mark gets his love
47:43of orchids from me, because
47:45I've always loved orchids.
47:47And when I got married,
47:49I carried a white Bible
47:51with a spray of Cymbidiums
47:53on them. I've always been
47:55interested, so maybe it's in the
47:57DNA or something like that.
48:01I do waterings sometimes.
48:03So you do do waterings?
48:05It was a pure accident, it wasn't my fault.
48:07I don't think it was your fault.
48:09I don't think it was mine.
48:11You didn't tell me that I should wear a cape,
48:13did you?
48:15We have a laugh together, don't we?
48:17Not at the same time.
48:19No, we do have a laugh.
48:25Now this is a new species
48:27which I grow. It's called
48:29Neophoenicia falcata,
48:31and all of these are the same species,
48:33but they all have different forms.
48:35Really, really easy to grow.
48:37They love a windowsill, they love
48:39bright light, they can cope with the cold,
48:41and they're scented.
48:43So at night you get a fantastic perfume
48:45from them. Each of the forms
48:47vary. They actually
48:49were grown in Japan about 400 years
48:51ago. Traditionally they were grown
48:53in these little moss mounds, like this,
48:55which are hollow underneath.
48:57But nowadays, we grow
48:59all ours in bark and pumice,
49:01which is completely sustainable.
49:07So we are now where the magic happens.
49:09This is my little laboratory,
49:11and this is where we grow all the seed.
49:13The orchid seeds are like dust.
49:15It's so, so fine. And they're different
49:17to normal seeds because it doesn't
49:19carry the energy, the carbohydrates
49:21in the seed for it to
49:23grow. It's really only the DNA,
49:25the information to get it growing,
49:27which is in that seed.
49:29So we take the seed, we sterilize
49:31them, and then you put them onto this
49:33jelly plate.
49:35So essentially that's agar and nutrients
49:37and other goodies in there.
49:39We tend to keep these in the dark
49:41for 9-12 months,
49:43and if the seed is viable,
49:45they germinate,
49:47and you end up
49:49with lots of little protocorms
49:51like this. They haven't quite
49:53started developing their leaves yet,
49:55but we'll prick those out one at a time,
49:57like you would do tomatoes or dahlias,
49:59and you'd then get these larger plants
50:01which would grow within
50:0312-18 months.
50:05From sowing the seed on this jelly
50:07to the seed
50:09maturing, growing,
50:11being replated and ready to take
50:13out of here is about 3 years.
50:15I love this spot because
50:17I sit in here, there's peace and quiet,
50:19I'm not disturbed,
50:21and I can just tootle in my own little world.
50:27One of the myths about growing orchids
50:29is they all have to be in bright
50:31light the whole time, and that's not
50:33true. A lot of the orchids we grow actually
50:35prefer 50% shade, or
50:37dabbled shade. So a net curtain on
50:39a south-facing window, some of them even
50:41like north windows,
50:43where they want just shade all year round.
50:45Very few of them like bright
50:47burning light.
50:49The mistakes
50:51I think people make with orchids
50:53are that they like them to be
50:55continually wet. They hate
50:57really thick water, they love to
50:59have moisture at the roots.
51:01So check your media,
51:03check your compost, they love air
51:05at the roots. I grow
51:07everything in clear pots
51:09so you can examine the roots,
51:11you can make sure it's healthy, you can see when it needs watering,
51:13but then you can put it straight back
51:15into a black pot for it to
51:17grow happily.
51:19The mix we use is really
51:21really open, very large
51:23pieces of bark, very large
51:25pieces of pumice. So the pumice
51:27really opens it up,
51:29and what I've found helps these is if you
51:31take a large piece of pumice and just bury it
51:33under the root of it,
51:35that enables it to stay much more open
51:37as a mix.
51:39And an open mix
51:41is a good mix. Have a look
51:43around the side, make sure there's lots of
51:45gaps, you want lots of moisture in there,
51:47you don't want it to be waterlogged,
51:49or sodden in any way.
51:53I can't imagine a life
51:55without orchids.
51:57I love the challenge
51:59they give. They are
52:01hard work, they're tricky, but on the other
52:03hand they're deeply rewarding when they flower.
52:05And I think the beauty in them
52:07is just fantastic.
52:23I love
52:25the way that gardening
52:27has such a broad church, such a
52:29wide appeal. You have people like Mark who
52:31clearly have devoted his life to orchids
52:33with over 100,000 of the plants
52:35and a great expert, and others
52:37who just enjoy the space
52:39and making things up
52:41and changing it, not worrying too much about individual
52:43plants. And of course that's
52:45why gardening is so fantastic, because there is
52:47something there for everybody.
52:49Now, I have a small collection of succulents
52:51here, and they're very easy to grow
52:53from cuttings. What you need to do
52:55is choose a stem
52:57that's nice and straight. I've got a good
52:59one there. Now with most
53:01cuttings, you pot
53:03them up, you spray them, you might put them
53:05in a bag, just to keep them alive
53:07until they form roots.
53:09But with succulents,
53:11you need to let
53:13them callus first.
53:15Actually, the important thing
53:17to do at this stage is nothing.
53:19Just leave them
53:21where they will be dry
53:23like that, and the base
53:25where you cut will scar over
53:27and it won't form roots until
53:29that scar is there. And that
53:31will take at least two weeks.
53:33But actually, I've got
53:35some that I did earlier.
53:42There's a good boy.
53:44Come on.
53:49I took these cuttings
53:51about six to eight weeks
53:53ago. Normally, I would say
53:55wait until you see really positive
53:57signs of new growth or
53:59roots coming out the bottom of the pot.
54:01But for these, I think we can risk it.
54:03So what I'll do is tip them out
54:05very carefully.
54:13Well, we've certainly got some roots.
54:15What's interesting is
54:17that one there has got roots.
54:19Good roots.
54:21That one there has got roots.
54:23That?
54:25Not so much.
54:27But I can put that back in.
54:29So I'm going to put that to one side because you can see
54:31essentially, it's calloused over.
54:33It just hasn't yet formed roots.
54:35It's not the end of the road.
54:37So I've got two that I can pot up.
54:39Now, I've got some grit here
54:41because I want to make the mix
54:43really, really free-draining.
54:45So I'm just going to add it
54:47to my normal mix so I've got
54:49a really good gritty one.
54:51Like that.
54:55Pop it in.
54:57Now, rather than push this
54:59into the mix, obviously, I've got fairly
55:01fragile roots in there.
55:03So we're going to pop that like that
55:05and get my mix.
55:07Try not to break the roots
55:09and go around it.
55:11Like that.
55:13Put some grit
55:15around it
55:17and
55:19water it once
55:21and then you won't need to water that again
55:23for at least another month.
55:25And I would say from now
55:27through till next March,
55:29watering once a month is plenty.
55:31You don't need to do more than that.
55:33The danger is always from over-watering
55:35not under-watering. So that's fine.
55:37That's going to grow and be okay.
55:39I will pot this one up in the same manner
55:41but while I'm doing this,
55:43here are your jobs for the weekend.
55:55It's important to try and
55:57ripen existing tomatoes
55:59rather than developing new fruit.
56:01So cut off the plants
56:03just above the top truss
56:05with green fruits on it.
56:07Take off any excess leaves
56:09and then you can get maximum
56:11sunlight and energy
56:13into ripening those green fruits.
56:23Don't be worried if your pond
56:25has a film of algae or weed.
56:27That's perfectly normal at this time of year.
56:29But you can improve it
56:31by gently skimming off
56:33the excess and placing this
56:35on the side of the pond.
56:37Leave it there for 24 hours
56:39so any aquatic creatures can make
56:41their way back into the water
56:43and then you can take it to the compost heap.
56:49The changing climate means
56:51that our autumns are definitely
56:53getting milder and it's worth
56:55sowing some dwarf beans now
56:57for harvest in late October
56:59and even into November.
57:01Either put one seed in a plug
57:03or as I am, space them out
57:05in a tray.
57:07Cover them over,
57:09put them somewhere warm to germinate,
57:13water them
57:17and they can be planted out in about a month's time.
57:19I think the jewel garden
57:21is looking as good as
57:23it ever has done, really.
57:25And I don't take any
57:27real personal credit for that
57:29because although, of course,
57:31every year we plant
57:33and try and make it look as good as possible
57:35using a mixture of plants
57:37from Cosmos to some
57:39of the other species,
57:41I don't take any real personal credit
57:43for that because although, of course,
57:45every year we plant
57:47plants from Cosmos to Sunflowers
57:49to Zinnias,
57:51I never draw a plan.
57:53I don't lay it all out and then it's
57:55done exactly as I intend it to be.
57:57I feel my way into it.
57:59We sort of put plants where there are gaps
58:01and hope they're going to make good combinations.
58:03Well, I think they have made good combinations
58:05this year. Plants like this David Howard
58:07Dahlia and the Nasturtiums
58:09and the Gingers and then
58:11with the purple of the Clematis
58:13behind, that is working
58:15well for me. And I know that
58:17this may be a temporary thing. It'll pass and
58:19I'll never be able to replicate it exactly like
58:21this but I do enjoy it while
58:23it lasts.
58:25Well, that's it for today
58:27but I'll be back here at 8 o'clock
58:29next Friday, so until then
58:31bye-bye.
58:45Music
58:47Music
58:49Music
58:51Music
58:53Music
58:55Music
58:57Music
58:59Music