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00:00Hello, welcome back to Gardener's World.
00:10Now, it might be spring by name,
00:13but it's certainly not by nature today here at Longmeadow.
00:16We've had a smattering of snow, we've got more forecast,
00:19and there is an icy wind cutting in from the east.
00:22It is distinctly chilly.
00:25And I'd planned to show you the spring garden in all its glory,
00:28because it's been good so far this year.
00:30It's still got snowdrops, crocuses coming through,
00:33daffodils, hellebores,
00:35these early perennials starting to kick into flower.
00:38But today they have been bent by cold and a bit of snow.
00:42They're beginning to reassert themselves.
00:44And if you find, at this time of year,
00:46you get a batch of bad weather, which we do get, don't worry.
00:50The plants will recover with extraordinary speed.
00:53They may look as though they've died,
00:55but a bit of sunshine and they'll be as good as new within a day.
01:00We've been busy over winter, made some changes,
01:02and I'll show you those.
01:04We've got more planned and, of course, lots to be getting on with.
01:07So it's great to be back.
01:12On tonight's programme, we visit a garden in Wolverhampton
01:16with a surprise around every corner.
01:19A smallish suburban garden doesn't have to be boring.
01:24You just feel as if you're in another world.
01:29And Adam Frost shows how,
01:31with a bit of imagination and some clever design,
01:34you can make every space count.
01:36I think this is one mistake that so many people make.
01:39They start building their garden before they've really measured it.
01:44MUSIC FADES
01:54Longmeadow has had a robust winter.
01:57We've had a lot of weather,
01:59including a very heavy fall of snow in December.
02:03In one day, we had about two foot of snow,
02:05and the effect was literally to crush things.
02:08So the grass borders, which can look the best thing in the whole garden,
02:11was just flattened.
02:12All this damage was done in one day,
02:14and now they're ready to be cleared,
02:16and as soon as the weather gets a bit better,
02:18that's going to be one of the first jobs.
02:20Come on.
02:25Well, the fickleness of March weather
02:27is certainly living up to its name.
02:29We've got a blizzard, we've got sunshine,
02:31who knows what we'll get next.
02:33But before Christmas, as well as heavy snow,
02:35we had a really cold night.
02:37It's got down to minus 14 here at Longmeadow,
02:41and the effects were pretty lethal to some of these herbs.
02:44The bays, for example, didn't like it at all.
02:47They're actually not dead.
02:49The top is, but at the base you can see there is green growth.
02:52But it means that these have lost their structural value.
02:55I'll dig them up, see if we can salvage them,
02:57but replace them, and probably with more of these RSUs.
03:02I put these in in autumn
03:04and we've got a brand-new avenue here in the herb garden.
03:08And I think it's looking great and I'm really excited about it.
03:12But there's another change which is even more dramatic.
03:24The real big change is here.
03:27Now, for nearly 20 years, we've had a greenhouse here
03:31and it's done us proud.
03:32It's been here every summer, salad crops in the winter,
03:35and it's worked fine.
03:36But gradually it started falling apart,
03:39and by the end of last year it was positively dangerous.
03:42So that has been taken away.
03:44And this space, which has now revealed quite a nice big area,
03:49is going to become my new paradise garden.
03:53I spent a lot of last year travelling around,
03:55filming paradise gardens, and it made a big impression.
03:58What I want to make here is my own paradise garden.
04:02It will involve formal water, a building, a rill,
04:07borders, hedges, hard surfaces,
04:11and that will all unveil itself as we progress throughout the year.
04:15This is this year's big project.
04:19I really love starting a new project.
04:24And with some inspiration and a bit of imagination,
04:27really you can achieve anything.
04:29And we certainly discovered that last August
04:31when we visited a garden in Wolverhampton.
04:34Now, originally this had been an unremarkable suburban back garden.
04:39Now it's been transformed.
04:43Well, we call it the garden of surprises
04:46because the idea is that as you go round the garden,
04:51you come round a corner and go,
04:54oh, I wasn't expecting that.
04:57We first moved here in 1990.
05:00The garden was just lawn and conifers
05:03and nothing else really.
05:06We wanted it to be a garden where you couldn't see it all in one go.
05:11So we decided to make it a garden of surprises.
05:15We wanted it to be a garden where you couldn't see it all in one go.
05:19So we decided to make it a garden of surprises.
05:23A garden where you couldn't see it all in one go.
05:27We wanted to try and divide it up and so it gradually evolved.
05:31There wasn't a plan, was there?
05:36I'm the creative director
05:38and I'm particularly interested in the different uses of plants
05:42but also the myths that exist about the plants
05:46in the countries that they came from.
05:49My role is more mundane
05:51in that someone has to do all of the maintenance and the propagation.
05:55When we've agreed that we need a structure in the garden,
05:59I'm the one that builds it.
06:01A lot of the enclosure of the garden
06:04is actually coming from borrowed trees in neighbouring gardens
06:09which helps give it its special atmosphere.
06:12The two issues with the trees is dryness and light
06:16for growing plants underneath them.
06:18One of the obvious things to do was to put some structures in
06:22where we couldn't grow anything.
06:24I've been to Japan a couple of times
06:27and was inspired by their gardening.
06:30I built this Japanese tea house
06:33and we've picked a range of plants
06:36and arranged them that gives a Japanese flavour to it.
06:39With the different types of bamboo we've got,
06:42we've got three or four aces here.
06:45We've brought some features such as the dragon.
06:56This is the Indian ink plant
06:59and it comes from North America.
07:02It's also called pokeweed.
07:04It has spikes of white flowers
07:06and then it has these wonderful red berries
07:10that go black over time.
07:12It does this in one season.
07:15It's quite good tempered, part shade.
07:18It's not especially bothered about moisture
07:21and it was used by the Native Americans
07:25to make wall paint and dyes for textiles
07:29but it was also used by the early settlers in America to make ink.
07:35And there is a story that the American Declaration of Independence
07:40was actually written in ink made from this plant.
07:49This is another interesting group of plants, agaves.
07:53They come from Mexico and Middle America
07:56and they grow in the desert.
07:58They can make agave syrup
08:01and they can also produce sisal to make textiles with.
08:06We have all sorts of interesting comments
08:09from visitors to the garden.
08:11Some of them I find wandering around in the middle of the garden
08:15saying, I'm lost, where am I?
08:17Which is really what we're trying to achieve,
08:20that people are in another world.
08:23The folly, which looks like the corner of a monastery.
08:27Somebody said to me,
08:29oh, I didn't know there was a ruined monastery in Wolverhampton.
08:33I said, well, there isn't.
08:35The inspiration for the summer house came from Castle Cough
08:39where we like the arts and crafts effect that was created.
08:43It's been built with reclaimed stone
08:46and reclaimed doors and windows from a very old summer house
08:50that stood here and hopefully gives a very warm feeling
08:54when you can sit here on a late afternoon with the sun
08:57and have a view of the summer house border
09:00and the mock folly at the bottom.
09:06This is the 1939 brick air raid shelter,
09:11which, as you can see, we've turned into a shell grotto.
09:15The themes are designed by Anne
09:18and represent fire, earth, air and water and day and night.
09:22The time it took to do this was probably seven years.
09:27It was one of those things where you start off with a good idea
09:31and then much later you suddenly think,
09:33why on earth did we get into this?
09:35But you can't get out of it.
09:43A smallish suburban garden doesn't have to be boring.
09:47We're only a mile and a half away from the town centre,
09:52but you just feel as if you're in another world
09:56because of the way it wraps round you.
09:59That's what a garden needs to be.
10:01It needs to take you to another place.
10:14I think that does show that if you've got some imagination
10:17and a little bit of drive, you can do anything in your garden.
10:21Just go for it.
10:23I'm feeling the birds, I love feeling the birds
10:25and I love watching them, so we have them on a table here
10:28outside the kitchen window.
10:29But it is important when the weather is like this,
10:32if you can, to provide them with some food.
10:35We use old logs and wood, it's got crevices,
10:39and that means that the bigger birds won't be able to hog it all.
10:42Tits and finches can get in there and work in all the cracks.
10:46A little bit of cover, so if it snows or rains hard,
10:49you've got some dry food.
10:51And again, put a few sticks and twigs down,
10:53they can get under it, they can stand on it,
10:55it makes it more interesting.
10:56You do need to include some water.
10:58Now that obviously has frozen overnight, so you need to check that.
11:01And a shallow dish, not a deep one,
11:04so that they can get in, small birds, and can drink.
11:07And if you've got it, an old dustbin lid is ideal as a birdbath.
11:13We deliberately don't cut back that brambly shrub on the wall,
11:18because that gives cover to the small birds.
11:20So if you've got a shrub, put a feeding station right in amongst it.
11:24Pigeons can't get there, the sparrowhawks can't fly in,
11:27and also it's trickier for the squirrels.
11:29Talking of squirrels, fat and suet is really important.
11:33We hang it up in cages so they can't get it.
11:36One final note.
11:38It's cold, it's a busy time for birds, they're using a lot of energy,
11:42so if you start to feed them,
11:44continue right through until we reach good weather,
11:47which will be the end of this month at least,
11:50because they use a lot of calories coming up to find the food,
11:53and if there's none there, then it's wasted energy.
11:56But I think the return and the pleasure from watching these little birds
12:01is as good as a gorgeous flowerbed.
12:09In you come, come in the wall.
12:11Come on, in you come.
12:13Ooh, it's nice to get in out of the cold.
12:17Now, one of the things that has really horrified me,
12:21looking at the garden over this winter,
12:24is the amount of plastic that we're using here.
12:27We have plastic pots, we have plastic seed tray,
12:29almost everything I buy is wrapped in plastic,
12:32and I think that that's not acceptable any more.
12:35So personally, I want to do something about it.
12:38So I'm taking stock of the plastic I'm using in the garden
12:42with the idea of cutting down.
12:44Now, I do stress I've got no answers.
12:47I'm not sure how to do this.
12:49I'm going to try lots of different things and share them with you.
12:53And if they work, great.
12:55And if they don't work, I'll be honest about it
12:57and we'll have to try something else.
12:59Now, the first thing is to take the plastic you've got
13:02and do an audit of it.
13:04So, for example, these plugs, which are very useful
13:07and we use all the time, are very flimsy.
13:10And that means that we use them a few times
13:13and they rip and they tear and we chuck them away.
13:15But what I'm going to do is use them till they drop
13:18and then replace them either with a non-plastic type of plug
13:22or something much more robust.
13:24Well, I think that's the sort of thing.
13:27Whereas this seed tray is really robust.
13:30I don't know when I bought this, probably four, five years ago.
13:33It's probably good for another three or four years.
13:36So if you're buying plastic, buy good, solid stuff
13:40because the best way to recycle is to reuse.
13:43So use it and use it and use it again.
13:46That's number one.
13:48Number two is to look for alternatives.
13:50Now, I've got various pots here.
13:52You've got pots that are made out of coir.
13:54This is the outside of coconut.
13:56You can get pots made out of miscanthus.
13:59Miscanthus is a grass.
14:01They claim to biodegrade and go on the compost heap.
14:04You can get kits to make pots out of newspaper.
14:09You can use toilet rolls.
14:11There are all kinds of different ways.
14:13But today I'm going to start doing the most obvious alternative to plastic,
14:16which is to use terracotta.
14:18There's no reason why you can't sow in terracotta pots.
14:21And if you look after them, you can use them and reuse them.
14:24It is important to sow tomatoes and chillies, in particular,
14:28as early as you can.
14:30So if you haven't sown any and you want to grow them,
14:32this is something that you really want to get on with this weekend.
14:35If you're growing them outside, there's not quite so much hurry.
14:38I'm going to take my gloves off.
14:40That's how daring I'm feeling.
14:43OK, the thing about these pots that I've got,
14:46and I've had these for a number of years in recycling,
14:48is they've got a great big hole in the bottom.
14:50So I do need to cover that over,
14:52otherwise the seed compost falls through it.
14:54And seed compost, by the way, tends to be lower in nutrients.
14:58So it's a good growing medium,
15:00but it's deliberately not too rich
15:03because we want these seeds to grow at their own pace.
15:06So let's put some on, and then we can pot them on later.
15:09Now, this is a pepper called Long Red Marconi.
15:14Not many seeds in there, so I'll just put them into my hand.
15:18That's plenty.
15:20I'm going to see if I've got my glasses,
15:22because the truth is I can't see the seeds in my hand.
15:25I can feel them, but I can't see them.
15:27Now, I really do not want these to be touching, if I can help it,
15:32because if you cram the seedlings too close together,
15:36they will, from day one, grow without the strength that you want.
15:41I've just got one more in there, and that's it.
15:44Cover those over lightly.
15:47Just a little sprinkle of compost,
15:50and you could do it with just vermiculite or grit if you've got it.
15:53And then I will water that, and with these peppers, they do need heat.
15:58Ideally, they need about 23 to 26 degrees,
16:02so if you've got a heated mat with a thermostat, then you can set it.
16:05Otherwise, on a windowsill, above a radiator.
16:08And a little tip, if you're growing chillies or peppers,
16:11is water them with warm water,
16:14because cold water cools them down, and they do need heat.
16:18Now, as well as looking at alternatives to plastic throughout this series,
16:23we're also very keen to maximise the potential of every space in the garden.
16:28It doesn't matter how small it is, every bit of space counts.
16:32And a few weeks ago, Adam Frost went to visit a small back garden in Bristol
16:36to demonstrate that you can transform even the smallest garden.
16:45Do you know, for me, designing a garden is one of the most exciting things you can do,
16:49but I get that some people find it a little bit frustrating,
16:52and maybe even daunting, especially when you're working with a really small space.
16:56But for me, just with a little bit of thought,
16:59it's amazing what you can get out of even the tiniest of gardens.
17:05Small gardens can be quite tricky, but hopefully I'm going to show you
17:09it is possible to make every space count.
17:13Right, my tiny little garden.
17:15That is a bit tight, isn't it? That step.
17:17That step is a problem. Yeah, it is. It really is.
17:21Yeah, it's quite a small space. It's tiny. It is, isn't it?
17:25What is it that gets you down and makes you feel sort of a little bit grumpy about the whole thing, I suppose?
17:31I think the walls are very impressive. I feel they're coming in on me.
17:36It's dark, it's miserable, and it just looks horrible.
17:40The floor, the deck is awful. Yeah, it looks a little bit uneven, doesn't it?
17:44And it's quite dangerous, I think.
17:46I've tried this bed, I've tried to grow flowers and pretty things,
17:50and it just doesn't respond to my kindness.
17:53I want it to feel happy. Happy? So you want it to put a smile on your face?
18:01At just three metres by six metres, Sue's garden is compact.
18:05But I'm sure we can bring new life into this dark, pokey old space.
18:10The first thing we need to do is get measured up.
18:14This might seem like an awful lot of work for a small space,
18:17but I think this is one mistake that so many people make.
18:20They start building their garden before they've really measured it.
18:24So making sure you've got everything on a piece of paper is a great way of understanding that space.
18:33The next thing you want to worry about is where the sun comes up and where the sun goes down.
18:37I mean, if your house faces north and it doesn't get a lot of light right through those winter months,
18:43and I put you a smooth surface out the back there, it's going to become really slippery and dangerous.
18:48So, you know, that light levels really affect that whole design process.
18:57I really love the curved wall, and I'm going to use that shape on the ground to create an upper level
19:03so the step outside the back door feels more comfortable.
19:07It will also help bring the wall down into the garden.
19:11This will then give me a lower, usable level where I can put some seating.
19:18I'm taking out half the raised bed to give more functional space.
19:23I'm using three main materials.
19:26Brick to link the surface area to the walls, light textured paving on the upper level,
19:32not only to make the area feel brighter, but also to make it safer to move around.
19:38Lastly, on the lower level, I'm going to use gravel,
19:42which will not only provide textural interest, but also help the area drain.
19:50As soon as the landscapers are finished, we can get on with the planting.
19:54I brought you some goodies.
19:55Wow, they look fantastic.
19:57A garden for me is never, ever really a garden until we get those plants in.
20:02Well, they're beautiful.
20:03You going to help me?
20:04Yes, please.
20:05Let's get stuck in.
20:08The first thing I want to do is add some interest to the wall
20:11with this beautiful climber that works really well in shady conditions.
20:17So we start with a hydrangea.
20:18This should leaf up well.
20:20Lovely white flower.
20:21It will self-cling to the wall.
20:23Oh, that's brilliant.
20:24But also I think it will wrap around your water feature.
20:27Even in the winter, this will look good against that wall.
20:31I think when I'm putting the gardens together,
20:33all I'm trying to do is just slowly build them up in layers.
20:36So I've got you a whole array.
20:38They look beautiful.
20:39Yeah?
20:40We've worked a lot of compost and organic matter into the soil,
20:43so it's good, moist, but shady, semi-shady conditions.
20:47The ferns are going to be brilliant.
20:48And that gives you that lovely sort of texture.
20:50Wonderful colour too, isn't it?
20:52It's beautiful, isn't it?
20:53Beautiful, isn't it?
20:54And there we go, look.
20:55I know you like your pink.
20:56I do.
20:57All right?
20:58You look at your hellebore there.
21:00Bring this sort of euphorbia across, look.
21:02Look, that pink tinge.
21:03Oh, isn't that brilliant?
21:04It matches perfectly.
21:06So it's those little bits of detail.
21:07So as that sits in, and they'll just have a little bit of relationship.
21:10Oh, they look beautiful.
21:11Just that little tone which picks up really nicely.
21:13They look gorgeous.
21:14So everything you've got in here
21:16will grow in that sort of shady or semi-shady conditions.
21:20Right.
21:21Come up every year.
21:22So you don't need replanting.
21:23That's it.
21:24Wonderful.
21:25So all I do want you to do is every year maybe put a little bit of compost back on top,
21:28some sort of food just to keep things going.
21:30Yes.
21:31And this plant here doesn't look much at the moment,
21:35but this astrantia, beautiful white flowers, look like paper.
21:40Wonderful.
21:41You know, so stunning.
21:42I'm looking forward to seeing that one.
21:43Yeah, that's lovely.
21:44And it'll keep flowering and flowering.
21:45So really all we have to do now, just get them in.
21:49When you're choosing plants for a small space, don't just think flower.
21:54Think about leaf shape, habit and texture.
21:58You can even go big and bold if you want to.
22:01But don't use plants that are too heavy as they'll block out light.
22:05Go for light and airy plants.
22:08If your space is dark,
22:10choosing flowers and foliage that are light in colour
22:13will really help lift your garden.
22:15Just make sure whatever you decide to grow will be happy in the conditions you have.
22:21Once all the plants are in, it's just the finishing touches.
22:26The last one on there.
22:28That's amazing.
22:30There you go.
22:31Thank you. It looks beautiful.
22:33It's my happy garden.
22:35It is and I love it today.
22:37You smiled so much.
22:38But take yourself back.
22:40You were scared to come out because you were worried about slipping over.
22:43It was dark. It was dingy.
22:44But I think it proves, doesn't it,
22:46that even if you've got the tiniest of space,
22:48just with a little bit of thought,
22:50you can create a really lovely little garden.
22:53Absolutely amazing.
22:54You've done a wonderful job. Thank you.
22:56I hope you enjoy it.
22:57I will.
22:58Good.
23:10Well, that does show what you can do.
23:12It doesn't matter how small the space is.
23:14And this year, we do want to celebrate small gardens.
23:17And we're running a competition.
23:20We would love to hear from you
23:22if you have a small garden,
23:25no more than 36 square metres, that's six by six,
23:28send us four pictures,
23:30not hard copies, they must be uploaded.
23:33They can be on the same day or taken across the seasons.
23:36And show the innovation and the design.
23:39We're looking for creativity.
23:40And, of course, it must be your work,
23:42not something you paid for.
23:44Then we will choose what we think are the five best gardens,
23:49come and film them, show them on the programme,
23:52so you can all have a vote.
23:54And then we will announce the winner of the competition
23:57at Gardeners World Live.
23:58And all those details are available on our website.
24:02And what we're really after is to prove
24:06that no matter how small, every space counts.
24:11FOOTSTEPS
24:19Well, although this weather does limit what you do in the garden,
24:23there's no point in trying to plant or do anything like that,
24:26there's no reason why you can't prune.
24:28And pruning in cold, frosty weather
24:30will do no harm to the plants at all.
24:32So you can do apples, you can do clematis,
24:35you can do buddleia, and you can do roses.
24:38Now is a good time.
24:39Any time in March is a great time to prune roses.
24:42Now, with shrub roses,
24:44what you're looking for is to create a good shape.
24:47This is a rose called Complicata,
24:49and you can see that it has become a tangle.
24:52Nice and healthy, it's been pruned back in autumn,
24:55but I want to thin it out.
24:57When you're reducing the tangle,
24:59what you want to think of is creating a shape
25:01where every branch, every stem, has space around it.
25:05And the real thing to remember when pruning roses
25:08is the weaker the growth, the harder you cut it.
25:12And that's counterintuitive.
25:14But you will stimulate nice strong growth
25:16by cutting back hard.
25:18So I'm going to get right in down the bottom,
25:20which is why I've bought the loppers.
25:22You see, I think that central one,
25:24which looks nice and strong, but actually is crowding the middle,
25:27that could come out.
25:29Any shoots that are damaged,
25:31you want to cut back below the damage,
25:33and any that are crossing, and they will rub against each other,
25:36and that will cause an open wound,
25:38which will be much more prone to fungal or virus infection.
25:41They need to be cut back.
25:45Come on, don't you come.
25:48Next step is to remove the weaker growth.
25:52And, in fact, I'm going to take that off right back there.
25:56We've got this, which is crossing,
25:58so that can come off there.
26:01But this is not a fine art,
26:03and I don't ever spend more than about ten minutes on any one plant.
26:07So don't feel that there is an absolute correct way to do this.
26:14But don't be frightened of it.
26:16You're not going to do any harm. These are tough plants.
26:19Now, if you haven't got roses,
26:21and you don't feel like pruning, or it's too cold,
26:23don't worry, whatever the weather,
26:25I've got some jobs for you this weekend.
26:32If you grow rhubarb, it's a good idea to force some,
26:36and the time to do this is now,
26:38before you've seen anything other than the first sign of a bud.
26:42The important thing is to exclude all light,
26:44and it really doesn't matter what you use to do this.
26:48Leave the cover on for about four weeks,
26:51and then you'll have extra succulent, sweet shoots.
27:01Now that we're in March,
27:03it's time to prune late flowering clematis like this viticella,
27:07because they produce all their flowers on new growth.
27:11This means you can cut them right back to the ground,
27:13but if you grow them in a border like I do,
27:15I've found that it's a good idea to leave a foot or two of growth,
27:19so that the new shoots begin their life
27:21without the competition of surrounding growth.
27:25More houseplants are killed by overwatering than anything else.
27:30Now, a good way to avoid this is to put a saucer underneath each pot,
27:35and never water more than once a week,
27:37and when that saucer fills up, immediately discard the residue.
27:42However, it is a good idea to mist houseplants at least once a day,
27:46and a good tip is to use rainwater rather than tap water.
27:55Well, it's certainly been a chilly start to our gardening year.
28:00But come snow, wind, rain or shine,
28:03we'll be back here at Longmeadow next week.
28:06So until then, bye-bye.
28:24www.mooji.org