Gardeners World S51e29 19-10-18
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to Gardener's World.
00:14The sun is shining, it's the most glorious October day, and I'm starting to harvest
00:19one of my favourite vegetables of the season.
00:22This is chicory, it's a radicchio, called Rosso de Treviso, and it has long pointed
00:28leaves as opposed to the more common round radicchio, and they all share the common
00:34characteristic of having these red, beautiful leaves, and a bitter edge to them.
00:41And the key to growing them, and to eating and cooking them, is to not let the bitterness
00:46outweigh the sweetness that is also in the leaf.
00:50That has got quite a lot of green on it, so it's going to be bitter, and not very nice
00:54to eat.
00:55But once you get inside, where it's been blanched by the outer leaves, and you get
01:01pure white stems, that will be delicious.
01:05And you can eat it raw in a salad, you can cook it, you can eat it however you like,
01:08and it will stand any amount of bad weather.
01:11So I'll still be cutting and eating this, and it'll be re-growing right through the
01:15winter months.
01:16But for the moment, it's autumn, and let's celebrate it.
01:23Coming up on today's program, Carol revels in the glorious autumnal colours at Hidcote
01:30Gardens.
01:31There are so many wonderful plants, all dressed up in gold, oranges, russets and reds.
01:40Adam meets a truly inspirational young gardener.
01:44I help plants grow by moving them in a little cart towards the sun.
01:48I just wanted to do something that would improve gardening, because that's what I love doing.
01:54And I shall be planting some crab apples into my new paradise garden.
01:59And although it's a lovely day today, I know that there is going to be some harsh weather
02:03ahead, so I shall be preparing the garden to take whatever winter can throw at it.
02:09It is easy, and all too human, on a day like this, when the sun is warm and the light is
02:28just sparkling through the branches, to think that autumn is going to run and run.
02:34But you know, and I know, that winter can pounce, and we need to prepare for that.
02:40Now, cannas, I leave until they look unhappy, and as long as they're still flowering, that
02:47means they're okay.
02:50With a dahlia, they can actually take some frost damage, and you can see the frost has
02:55hit this, but when you see the leaves blacken, that is the time to dig them up.
03:01And that can vary from garden to garden.
03:04So what I'm going to do is lift this whole David Howard that has been frosted.
03:10Now, the first thing to do is to cut it back.
03:14If you live in the South, and you've got free-draining soil, then you can, of course, leave them
03:20in the ground, and a lot of people do leave dahlias in.
03:23If you do leave them in the ground, cut them back and put a thick layer of mulch over the
03:27top as just a little added protection.
03:31Right, let's dig this up.
03:38The important thing at this stage is to get as much out of the ground as possible without
03:44damaging it.
03:45So I'll dig round it.
03:48Right, there we are.
03:53One thing, do make sure that you keep the label with it, because by the time the foliage
03:58is gone and you're just down to tubers, dahlias are really difficult to identify, almost impossible.
04:05Right, that's stage one.
04:09Let's go to stage two.
04:21The first thing to do is just tidy up the top growth.
04:25You need to leave about somewhere between three and six inches.
04:31Okay, the idea is to get as much soil off as possible.
04:38Just tease the soil off, and the reason why it's coming off is twofold.
04:44On the one hand, there may well be the odd slug in there, which will quietly feast on
04:51the tubers all winter long, and on the other, there could be a little bit of disease or
04:57virus that's soil-borne, which we don't want to put into storage.
05:02Okay, that's a good, solid block of tuber, and that's really encouraging.
05:08Okay, now I'm going to wash these.
05:24Now, this is obviously very wet, and with dahlias, it's a trade-off between keeping
05:30the tubers moist, because the worst thing that can happen is they dry out, but at the
05:34same time, not putting it away with too much dampness, because that can foster mold.
05:41So you leave it to dry, and you can do that upside down.
05:44If there's any moisture in these hollow stems, it literally drains out, and the tubers will
05:49come to no harm at all for a few days, even up to a week, if need be, if they're stored
05:54in a cool, dark place indoors.
05:57But sooner or later, when it's dry, you need to prepare it to last through right through
06:01till next spring.
06:03Now, we use these crates a lot, and actually, this one's too small.
06:10There's so much tuber on there.
06:11I'm going to take this out.
06:13I've got a bigger one, a little bit deeper.
06:17Put some newspaper in the bottom, like that, and then pop the dahlia in.
06:27I want to stress at this point that I would let this dry out for 48 hours.
06:33This is just a demonstration.
06:35And then, fill around it with either spent compost.
06:40I've got here some coir, which is very good.
06:42If you've got vermiculite, perlite, even sand.
06:46All we're trying to do is stop the tubers drying out.
06:50That's the main purpose of it, as well as adding a little bit of protection against
06:55the cold.
06:56You don't want it to grow.
07:00Once the tubers are covered, whether they be in a pot or a box like this, put them somewhere
07:05cool and dark.
07:06It could be in a garage or a cellar, a shed, anywhere which is reasonably rodent-free and
07:13definitely frost-free.
07:15And if you put the effort into looking after them at this stage of the year, then you can
07:20know with confidence that they will be in the best possible nick to shine in all their
07:25glory next summer.
07:27Now, in fact, the things that are shining brightest in the garden at this point are
07:32not flowers at all.
07:33They're berries.
07:34This is the season above all of them, berry.
07:38And we went to three gardens in Dumfries and Galloway to see berries at their finest.
07:44I love the winter berries for the colour, the shape, the intensity.
07:57Walking around the garden in the wintertime really pulls you around the garden.
08:01When you see one cluster of berries, it makes you want to walk to another one.
08:05The vibrant colours lighten up the dark areas and the dark evenings.
08:12The berries really is just a seed pod that's grown on the tree.
08:19There is a fleshy protection which really protects the seed.
08:24Also the colour of the berry helps to attract different wildlife to help distribute them
08:28around the garden.
08:29The blackbirds and thrushes, the field fairs we've even seen in, we've even seen squirrels
08:34coming up to investigate and try them out at different areas.
08:38And when they drop to the ground, we've seen little field mice coming in and eating away
08:42at them.
08:43So they give a bounty of food to lots of different wildlife within the garden.
08:52Cotoneaster is a magnificent plant for the garden, underrated in our gardens.
08:58The vibrance of the berries at this time of year is magnificent.
09:05This is a Cotoneaster, a hybridis pendulous, and it says in its name pendulous.
09:11It's grown gracefully back down in a lovely dome aspect.
09:15It's a mature variety, so not overpowering, but holds a lovely shape within the garden.
09:23The berries are a bright racing car red, really shiny, lots of huge clusters.
09:31In a few weeks' time, the leaves will change to a lovely orange-red, right through to a deep purple.
09:44We also have damarai, which is a great one for going over rocks, over walls, or anything
09:49over the ground to hide an old stump in the garden.
09:52The plant itself's got habitat of just spread and continually long branches going along
09:57the ground.
09:58And the berries on it are really red, but not as heavy clusters, but more abundance throughout.
10:05We're in the wall garden with pyracantha, sole dior, and it's been growing as a wall
10:15climber to really enhance a dark area in the colder, weary winter months.
10:21The berries, as you can see, are very intense, a bright yellow, and huge clusters throughout.
10:27Birds are constantly jumping on and off this plant throughout the day.
10:33You often see members of the public watching them coming on and off.
10:42I'm most passionate about hollies.
10:48They range from the variegation, to the colours of the berries, to the heights, the shapes,
10:53the compactness, to the spread in ones, even ones without any leaves in particular.
10:58The yellow and the red brightness intensity of the berries at this time of year really
11:03brings them into their best to showcase in the garden.
11:13To guarantee the berries on the hollies, you really need to understand that some are self-fertile
11:18and will produce their own berries, but others you need to really have both male and female
11:23present and keeping them very close together within the garden.
11:29This holly is called amber.
11:31You'll see that the berries are starting off quite a green, but going through to a really
11:36strong vibrant yellow colour.
11:44There's a variety called Crenata marisiae.
11:47It's really an interesting holly.
11:49I like it because its arrangement of leaves are in whorls, with its little black berries
11:53significant at this time of year, and it's quite compact and it's a dwarf holly, not
12:00big overpowering for a smaller garden.
12:12It's joyful seeing the berries.
12:15Everything else is in shut down mode, but the berries really entice you to have a really
12:18close up look at them.
12:39I think my favourite berries at this time of year are the rose hips.
12:42They can either be in clusters like this rambler rose, scrambling through the apple tree, or
12:49you get larger berries on shrubs like this Charlotte glut.
12:53But they all feel like a real bonus after the flowers of summer.
12:56Of course, to get the hips, you must leave flowers on.
12:59If you deadhead all the flowers, you'll not have any hips at all.
13:05Did you know that aubergines, avocados, oranges and lemons, grapes, tomatoes, are all berries?
13:14Whereas blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are technically not berries at all.
13:20They're clusters of fruitlets to make up a fruit.
13:22Confusing, isn't it?
13:24Where's your ball?
13:26Look.
13:27Pick it up.
13:29It's been a tough year for Dicksonia antarctica.
13:32That's the tree fern we have here.
13:34It only just came through winter.
13:36But if the hard winter wasn't bad enough, for them, they've had a hard summer.
13:40Because tree ferns love mild, damp conditions.
13:45Well, it's been too hot and dry for them this year.
13:48You just need to get in here and protect this top section.
13:53There's a sort of soft cone in there, which can freeze in the winter.
13:57And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:00And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the summer.
14:03And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:06And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:09And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:12And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:15And if you don't protect it, it'll freeze again in the spring.
14:17Which can freeze.
14:18And if that freezes up, then you can lose it easily.
14:21So the first thing to do is to get some straw, if you can.
14:24But failing that, I suppose you could use shredded paper,
14:27some bracken, or some packing material.
14:30And stuff it into that cone.
14:33You may have to change that if it's very wet.
14:36Because if it gets sodden and then freezes,
14:39then you get a block of ice in there, which can be no good.
14:41But that's what we're trying to avoid.
14:44And then tie the leaves up.
14:46And these are going to be cut off next spring.
14:53And then the area we really need to protect with tree ferns
14:57is from there to there.
15:01This is the vulnerable spot.
15:03So the best thing to do is to get some really good thick fleece
15:08and wrap it round.
15:10And tie that on.
15:12And then what I'm going to do is hide it.
15:15Because I think this looks really ugly.
15:18Looks like a bandage in the garden.
15:21So I've got an old sack.
15:23And I'm going to wrap that round just for decorum.
15:33That looks a little bit nicer.
15:45Well, that is pretty well protected from winter.
15:49And as a last resort, I can always lift them.
15:51They've got very, very small roots.
15:53So I can dig them up, lift them and bring them into the greenhouse
15:56if we get prolonged, really bad weather.
15:58But that will be the very last resort.
16:16The Paradise Garden has come along since you last saw it.
16:22It's starting to look more like a garden
16:25and less like a building site.
16:27But you can now see the symmetrical square space
16:31of four beds around a water feature in the middle.
16:35We've got pots with these key fruits in it,
16:38the olives and the citrus.
16:42But the water feature has been a main piece of work.
16:46And this is sitting on a concrete tank.
16:50And then there is a mesh, a really strong mesh
16:53that goes over the top of it.
16:55And the water just goes through the cracks
16:58in between the flagstones back down below.
17:01Now, we've used corten steel for the edging,
17:04but I think it's time that we turned on the pump.
17:08Obviously, your electric connection has to be cabled
17:11and put in properly.
17:13Ours comes underneath this path.
17:16Never put it wherever you're going to plant.
17:19And actually, at the moment, it just comes to a point by the hedge.
17:22And then we will get an electrician in to connect up to the supply,
17:26have all the right connections and fittings.
17:28Just for the moment, we've got it on an extension lead
17:31just to try it out.
17:33Even so, with an extension lead,
17:35it's a good idea to have a circuit breaker.
17:38They're cheap and easy to buy,
17:40and that just does mean there is no danger at all.
17:43So, if I plug this in, it should connect up to the pump,
17:47and we can have it working.
17:57I have deliberately set the pump very low.
18:01I just want a gentle bubble of water to make a burbling sound.
18:07Water in paradise gardens is a symbol of life,
18:12but it is never meant to be overly dramatic.
18:15The sound should tinkle rather than splash.
18:19What we want to create is a sense of calm and peace.
18:26Now, last summer at Gardener's World Live,
18:30in one of the talks that I give,
18:32I was asked a really good question
18:34by somebody who clearly was a good and interested gardener,
18:39so I gave the best answer I could.
18:41What made it extra special was that that questioner
18:44turned out to be just nine years old.
18:47We were intrigued by this,
18:49so Adam went to meet Arthur and his family
18:52in their own garden.
18:59So, Arthur, tell me when you first started watching Gardener's World.
19:02It was the one episode
19:04where you were designing a community garden, I think.
19:07Right.
19:08And I just saw it, and I was just like,
19:11I've got to know more about gardening and do more.
19:14And when did you first become interested in gardening?
19:17I was about one year old,
19:19and my grandma first got me into it.
19:21She was big on gardening.
19:23And, Dad, were you into it at all?
19:25No, not at all.
19:26I thought gardening was all about cutting the grass, really.
19:29It was Arthur who got me into it.
19:31I love working with Arthur in the garden.
19:33Are you going to show me around? Yeah.
19:35Right, lead the way.
19:44You look like you love fruit trees.
19:46Are you going to tell me a little bit about these?
19:48Yeah, so I've got the crabapple here.
19:50Yeah.
19:51Planted when I was five or four years old,
19:54I think I was four,
19:55and it's rooted in quite well.
19:57So you come out and do water them a lot and look after them, yeah?
20:00Only if they look like they need it.
20:02If they don't need it, I don't want to
20:04because I don't want to overwater them.
20:06No.
20:07And these two up here, what are these two?
20:09Well, they're both plums.
20:11This is a green-gauge plum.
20:13So do you give this any sort of pruning?
20:15I gave it a pruning this year.
20:17Yeah.
20:18When Monty said, jobs for the weekend, prune your plum trees.
20:22And this one, so what's this called?
20:24This is an apple.
20:26I think it's called Jonathan.
20:28Yeah.
20:29It's along a trellis, so it's trained
20:31so that it gets more side branches along the bottom.
20:35Yeah.
20:36And aren't they the ones that produce the fruit?
20:38Yeah, they are, mate, they are.
20:39And obviously, if you grow it like that,
20:41you could get more into a space, can't you?
20:43Yeah, you can get more fruit as well.
20:45It won't be that long before you'll have loads of fruit on there.
20:47No, it won't be.
20:53Not only has Arthur got amazing horticultural knowledge,
20:57he's developed a cracking invention
20:59to make our lives easier in the garden.
21:02It helps plants grow by moving them in a little cart towards the sun.
21:06I just wanted to do something that would improve gardening
21:10because that's what I love doing.
21:12His school entered his idea
21:14into the Little Inventors North 2030 Challenge
21:18to create something useful for the future.
21:21From over 2,000 entries,
21:2316 were chosen to be made into prototypes
21:27and one of those was Arthur's Super Grow 11,000.
21:32It's a simple track which allows a plant pot
21:34to move along and follow the sun.
21:37So, if it was in a garden, there would be solar panels on it
21:40and whatever part gets the most sun,
21:42the plant pot would be attracted to on a little rail
21:46and then the flower would follow it.
21:49Wow, so in a sense what you're saying is there would be sensors on there
21:52that move the plant out to give it the right amount of sun
21:56and then move it back into the shelter when it would need it.
21:58That's incredible.
21:59Yeah, so it would grow much faster.
22:01That's brilliant.
22:04Arthur's making the most of having me here.
22:06He wants a hand to fill a raised bed for his younger sister, Charlotte,
22:10who has special needs and loves spending time with him in the garden.
22:14He's also got some plants in his nursery area that he wants to show me.
22:20This is where I propagate and experiment.
22:22I've experimented with can you do cuttings with large branches?
22:27That's brilliant.
22:28So, what have we got? Talk me through the experiments
22:30and the lovely plants that you've got here.
22:32Yeah, I've got a little blueberry plant here.
22:35I've got one blueberry on it.
22:37You have, haven't you? You've got one little blueberry.
22:39We went to the shop especially to buy some ericaceous compost,
22:43which it's in right now.
22:44Exactly, so they like those more acid conditions, don't they?
22:47Yeah, they do.
22:48Why have you planted this one like this?
22:50Because my sister has a disability and she'll really like the sensory of it.
22:54You can just feel that grass and the pungent sense of the lavender.
22:59It's sort of taken over the thing.
23:01Yeah, exactly.
23:02It looks like a guy with a weird hairdo.
23:06Arthur's asked me to help him pick out some more plants for his new sensory bed,
23:11so we've come to the local garden centre to choose plants
23:14that his sister Charlotte would love to touch and smell.
23:18Put your hand through a few of them.
23:20Yeah.
23:21Have a smell.
23:22So, that thyme, look.
23:23Yeah.
23:24That smells fantastic, doesn't it?
23:27Mint there, that's quite nice, isn't it?
23:29Yeah, it is.
23:30You like that one?
23:31Beautiful, variegated colour.
23:33Yeah.
23:35And actually, this little one here, look how tactile that is.
23:39Do that and now smell your hands.
23:43Oh, wow, that is nice.
23:44And do you know what that's good for? Camomile.
23:46Isn't it good for making tea?
23:48It is.
23:54With the plants chosen, Arthur and I have got some work to do.
24:00What is it that you really love about gardening?
24:03It's just, it's so satisfying to do it.
24:06It is.
24:07And also, it teaches you that things need looking after,
24:10things need caring for, don't they?
24:12See, I left that tree there and didn't do anything with it.
24:16It would just die.
24:17You've got to care for stuff.
24:19It's fantastic, isn't it?
24:21This has got good fibrous roots.
24:23It has, hasn't it? Look at that.
24:25So, when you grow up then, do you think you'd do it as a living?
24:28Yeah.
24:29Yeah?
24:30I want to get other people into it
24:32because it's good to do gardening.
24:35It is good to do gardening.
24:37And maybe when I'm really old, you know, you could come and help me.
24:40What do you reckon?
24:41Yeah, that would be great.
24:43Come on then.
24:48Now it's time to see what Arthur's sister Charlotte thinks to a new raised bed.
24:52You've done a great job, guys.
24:56Oh, you like the touchy one?
24:59Yeah.
25:01Is that cool?
25:02Judging by Charlotte's reaction, I'd say she loves it.
25:06Oh, that's cool.
25:11Oh, is he going to have a feel of it?
25:12You want me to have a feel of it?
25:15It's cool.
25:17Wow.
25:18Are you going to try?
25:20Yeah, oh, it's cool, isn't it?
25:23All the way over.
25:25Yeah, is this a smelly one too?
25:27Yeah, fennel.
25:28Yeah.
25:29It's obvious Arthur gets so much from creating a garden that all his family can enjoy.
25:35What do you think of your sensory garden?
25:37Can you choose a sign to tell me what you think of it?
25:41Oh, you think it's good.
25:44Brilliant.
25:45And for me, that is what it's all about.
26:00Well, they are a lovely family and I bet the parents are very proud of both of them.
26:05And it does show that gardening is accessible and can be enriching for everybody.
26:11It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, how old you are, how you are.
26:14There is so much to get from it.
26:17Now, a plant that I get a lot from in terms of beauty is mecanopsis.
26:20This is the Himalayan poppy, lovely blue flowers in May.
26:26And it's one of those plants that is notoriously difficult to grow.
26:31Because it's only really happy in cool, dampish summers and mild, dampish winters and in ericaceous soil.
26:40But I've got a few plants here and I'm going to do the best I can for them.
26:44And at this stage of the year, that means mulching them.
26:47What you mulch them with is quite important.
26:51What I've got here is composted bracken and that's ideal because it's acidic.
26:59The first thing to do is cut them back.
27:02So just take off this year's stems.
27:11Remove any competing plants that I don't want in there.
27:16And then when you're mulching like this, the mulch wants to be generous.
27:22A layer that is sort of four to six inches deep is ideal.
27:28Because what that's going to do is, A, keep the moisture in.
27:31And B, be a really good insulating layer just to keep the plants cosy over winter.
27:37And it will of course work into the soil by next spring.
27:40Now still to come, we go to Shropshire to meet Wade Muggleton.
27:45The man that is slightly obsessed by apples.
27:49So this apple tree has seven different apples growing on the same tree.
27:53And a whole orchard on one tree, what more could you want?
27:57But first, we join Nick, who visits a family run nursery in Worcestershire.
28:03In search of the perfect tree for his garden.
28:07In search of the perfect tree for a small garden.
28:20Trees are the green lungs of our towns and countryside.
28:24Towering cathedrals of nature, shading our parks, forests and woodland.
28:29And of course, our gardens too.
28:33There are lots of reasons to add trees into our gardens.
28:38They provide privacy, year-round interest, a fantastic home for wildlife.
28:43But perhaps most importantly, they provide an incredible majesty to our gardens.
28:49But lots of people are worried about planting them.
28:52They fear that roots will penetrate the foundations of the property and damage it.
28:56Or that large canopies will shade out the plot and prevent other plants from growing.
29:01But I believe if you select the right compact cultivars,
29:05it's possible to have a tree in a garden of any size.
29:09It's a bit like swapping a majestic cathedral for a much more modest spire.
29:18I've come to meet Stephanie Dunn-James.
29:20She knows her stuff when it comes to trees.
29:23She's fourth generation of a family of tree growers.
29:27I was fully immersed from an early age.
29:29And, yeah, some might say it's probably in my blood.
29:32So what do trees mean to you as part of your life?
29:35I just think they're just so important in a garden and landscape setting.
29:39You know, they're so good for the environment.
29:41They give back with fruit, with flower.
29:44One of my favourites has to be Malus aros, which is a crabapple.
29:50As you can see, it's got beautiful, glossy purple leaves.
29:53And these really are like this all the way through the summer.
29:55It's got lovely spring flower, pink, various pink spring flower.
30:00Also crabapples in the autumn.
30:02It's a tree that really is great for all seasons.
30:15Gardeners often approach me with concerns
30:18that tree roots are going to cause subsidence to their properties.
30:21But the truth is subsidence only really occurs on heavy clay soils.
30:26And it's normally triggered by water-hungry trees like oaks or like willows.
30:31The only thing you need to be aware of is the eventual width of the canopy
30:35to make sure you plant the tree far enough away from the house
30:38that its branches aren't going to be bashing against the windows or the walls.
30:42That way you'll have a happy house and a happy tree.
30:52Sorbus or mountain ash might not be the first tree you think about
30:56when you're planting up a small garden.
30:58But they really are perfect for petite plots.
31:01Now, they start the season with these delicate pinnate leaves.
31:05And they look great.
31:07And the best thing about them is that they cast a dappled shade.
31:10Now, as you come into late spring and early summer,
31:13they produce beautiful pendulous clusters of white flowers,
31:17which eventually turn into fantastic berries.
31:20And across the cultivars there are an incredible range of colours available.
31:24There are pinks, whites, oranges, yellows.
31:27And a particular favourite of mine is this, which is Sorbus Pink Charm.
31:32And you can see these berries have got an almost luminous glow to them.
31:36Now, they're here in autumn, but they'll go well on into the winter as well
31:40before the birds eventually take them.
31:42And one thing that makes this Sorbus such a good small garden tree
31:46is that it starts out columnar, it'll eventually open out,
31:50but it only ever gets to three metres high.
31:53Now, on top of that, it's virtually free of pest and disease.
31:57So for small gardens, you'd have to go a long way to beat this particular Sorbus.
32:04Another fantastic tree for bringing colour to the garden in autumn
32:09is Circis Canadensis Forest Pansy.
32:13It makes a really attractive small specimen tree of about three metres
32:19and is often clothed with foliage all the way to the ground.
32:23And it's the foliage that makes it special.
32:26Now, if you're thinking about introducing a tree into your garden this time of year,
32:30it's the perfect moment to do it.
32:32In fact, all the way through autumn, winter, and into early spring.
32:37There are two approaches you can take.
32:39Through that cold period over winter, you can get hold of bare-root trees,
32:43which are much cheaper.
32:45But if you're planting at other times of year,
32:47then you can use canadensis trees,
32:49and you can get hold of bare-root trees, which are much cheaper.
32:52But if you're planting at other times of year,
32:54then you can use containerised trees.
32:56They're available all year round.
32:58The key thing with those is to make sure you water, water, water
33:02to ensure they establish well.
33:06Bechelor or birch can make fantastic small garden trees,
33:10and this is a great example.
33:12This is Bechelor Yoss,
33:14and what you're seeing is essentially the full-grown tree,
33:17and it only goes up to about four metres high.
33:20And what makes it special, like all of the birches, of course,
33:23it has this beautiful glowing white bark.
33:26And the way to really show that off is to have plenty of underplanting,
33:30which highlights those tones,
33:32and then evergreens behind will really make those colours pop out in winter.
33:37Talking bark, this tree behind me is Prunus serrula,
33:42and it has some of the best bark you could possibly introduce to your garden.
33:48It looks especially stunning when it's peeling away and it's backlit.
33:52No matter what time of year, it looks spectacular in your garden.
34:01Trees are such a fundamental part of our landscape,
34:05but they're not restricted to the vast specimens you see in public parks and big gardens.
34:10There's a host of small, compact trees
34:13that can deliver interest 365 days a year in the tiniest of spaces
34:18and bring life to your garden.
34:33I couldn't agree more that there is not a garden, however tiny,
34:38that can't take a tree.
34:42And I've planted lots here at Longmeadow,
34:44and the one thing that I've learnt above all else
34:47is that you get as much pleasure from watching them grow from a little sapling
34:52as you do from seeing a 400-year-old oak.
34:56So plant trees and grow with them.
35:00And that's what I'm going to do now.
35:12I'm actually going to plant four trees here in the Paradise Garden.
35:18Now, Paradise Gardens always had lots of fruit.
35:22They were essentially fruit gardens rather than flower gardens.
35:27So what I'm planting are four apple trees,
35:30but they're crab apples,
35:33because they will give beautiful blossom in spring,
35:37they won't get too big,
35:39and then I've got the lovely jewel-like little fruit,
35:43which also make great crab apple jelly.
35:45And actually crab apples are also very good pollinators for apples.
35:48So if you've got an apple and it's not producing fruit,
35:51think of planting a crab to pollinate it.
35:53And I'm going to put one in the dead centre of each of these beds.
35:57I'll show you.
36:01Because these beds are so symmetrical,
36:04it is important that I plant in the dead centre of the beds
36:08and they're lined up.
36:10So I've put a small stick at the centre of the outside.
36:14So if I just draw across, I can pop that there.
36:23X marks the spot.
36:29So let's get the first one in.
36:32Now, the board is to cut compaction to a minimum.
36:37I've gone to a lot of trouble to prepare the beds.
36:40It's crazy to walk all over them.
36:42Now, I've chosen a variety called Everest.
36:46Everest is a glorious crab.
36:48It has fantastic white flowers that open out from pink buds,
36:53and then golden fruit that stay on the tree for a long time,
36:58and the birds love them too.
37:00We've gone to quite a lot of trouble
37:03to choose four identical plants in height and shape.
37:07I just want to keep the symmetry and the balance.
37:19It's really important when you're planting any tree
37:22to keep the soil level above the soil level that you're planting into.
37:28There's a temptation to plant it in a saucer,
37:30and actually that can only do harm.
37:32If it gets too wet, that's really bad news.
37:34So if you put it on a slight mound, the roots will grow down
37:38and they will find the moisture and they will anchor nice and strongly.
37:42If you're planting in open ground,
37:44it's generally better to stake a tree at 45 degrees
37:49into the prevailing wind.
37:51But clearly in a border, that's no good at all.
37:53A, it will look horrible, and B, get in the way.
37:56So I'm going to plant it upright,
37:58and I want it quite close to the tree.
38:03It means banging the stake through the edge of the root ball,
38:07which might do a little bit of damage to the roots,
38:10but it will do no long-term harm to the tree.
38:15With any tree, you should stake it for at least two years.
38:22Tread that in firmly.
38:27Tree ties are designed to go round the stake
38:32and then form a figure of eight,
38:34so that there is some movement, but it stops it moving too much.
38:40Now, at this stage, before I backfill any more,
38:44I'm going to give it a really good soak.
38:50Let that soak in thoroughly, and then backfill the soil
38:54and then give it a good mulch.
38:57It is important, because the mulching will do three things.
39:00It will stop competition from weeds,
39:02it will keep the moisture in,
39:04and it will feed into the soil
39:07and feed those small roots that are near the surface.
39:10Think of an area a metre in diameter around the tree,
39:14mulched about that thick.
39:17It's a really generous mulch.
39:19And this adds to my collection of apples.
39:22In my collection of apples, I've got over 50 now of various kinds,
39:26but I have to say that pales into insignificance
39:29compared to Wade Muggleton.
39:32So we went to South Shropshire to see him and his apples.
39:38It's said that millions saw the apple fall.
39:42But Newton was the one who asked why.
39:44Hmm.
39:46We've got a lot of animals.
39:48Seven cattle, seven chickens, guinea pigs.
39:52But I suppose my passion really is the apples.
39:55I've got a collection of 102 varieties.
39:57There are 30 here in the garden
39:59and another 72 in my orchard up the road.
40:04So most of the varieties we've got here are heritage varieties.
40:07So we've got apples that cook well,
40:09apples for eating, apples for juicing,
40:11but virtually all my collection you would never see in the shops.
40:14Modern apples tend to be much of a muchness
40:16in that they're very sweet and they're very juicy.
40:18And people have been conditioned these days
40:20to eat these crisp, sweet apples,
40:22whereas historically there would have been a huge range
40:25of flavours and textures and all sorts of characteristics.
40:29Well, I often get asked by people what I would recommend
40:32and I always say, well, I can't really answer that
40:34because I don't know what you would like.
40:36So what you really need to do is try as many apples as you possibly can,
40:40find the one that you really like
40:42and then go and source it as a tree
40:44from a specialist fruit tree nursery.
40:48See, I could mention a few of them, but the local ones,
40:50but they're very obscure, people won't have heard of them,
40:53the ones that...
40:55So do you want me to mention more mainstream, common things
40:58like Bramley and Newton Wonder
41:00as opposed to Lord Hindlip or something
41:02that no-one will ever have heard of
41:04because it's a very obscure local apple.
41:07My favourite apple here in the garden is probably May Queen.
41:10It is, it's that one right there in the middle.
41:14This is May Queen,
41:16a variety which a chap in the 20s called Bunyard,
41:19who wrote a fruit manual,
41:21said he couldn't believe it wasn't more popular
41:23because it's the perfect garden tree.
41:25It's a very reliable cropper,
41:27so it's only grown that much this year
41:29so you don't have to prune it and fight the pruning
41:31and it has a really nice crisp taste.
41:37A great example of a heritage apple is Pittmaston Pineapple
41:40because they're small, yellow and spotty.
41:42Pittmaston Pineapple.
41:45It tastes amazing.
41:47Has a very deep, rich, honeyed flavour.
41:49Good apple for children.
41:51Quite small. Children often only eat half an apple.
41:55But you'll never see it in the shops
41:57because it doesn't have the visual appeal.
42:03The rarest apple I've probably got
42:05is something called Jones's Seedling
42:07which you won't find in any book by that name
42:09but it was grown around the Tembury Wells area
42:12probably around the time of the Second World War.
42:14We found one ancient surviving tree
42:16that we took graftwood from
42:18and we've not found any others.
42:20So that's probably the rarest apple in my collection.
42:24An apple is ripe when it comes away from the tree easily
42:27when you can lift it and it comes away in your hand
42:29and you don't have to twist or pull at it.
42:32Also, if you cut an apple in half
42:34and the pips are the colour of dark chocolate
42:36that is a good indication that they're fully ripe.
42:40Historically, it would have been really important
42:42to grow some keeping varieties
42:44that you could store down through the winter.
42:46Some apples were grown specifically
42:48for their keeping quality.
42:50Something like Scotch Bridget, which is a very dry apple
42:53will keep through till Easter.
42:55The general rule is the ones that stay on the tree
42:57into November are the ones that will keep.
43:00I store mine in old mushroom boxes.
43:02I don't wrap them up in newspaper
43:04because you can't see what's going on if they're wrapped up.
43:06It's essential that they are perfect specimens
43:08anything with a scratch or a bruise is not going to keep
43:11and will just deteriorate quickly.
43:13And when you put them in the trays
43:15they mustn't touch each other because if one does go bad
43:17it will quickly spread to the others.
43:22If you plant the pip out of an apple
43:24it will grow into an apple tree and it will produce apples
43:27but those apples will be different
43:29from the apple that the pips came out of
43:31and that's because there'll be a cross.
43:34So in order to get the variety you want
43:36you need to propagate it vegetatively
43:39which means taking a cutting and grafting it.
43:44So if you wanted to add a variety to an existing tree
43:47you would do it in March when the sap's rising.
43:50This would be the branch of your existing tree
43:52so you use what I call a shirt collar graft.
43:55So you push the knife in until you feel it go through the bark
43:59and you then lever the bark up
44:01either side making a sort of shirt collar
44:04and you then take your cutting or your scion
44:07which is the variety you want
44:09and you put a splice cut on that
44:13and then you literally push it down the shirt collar
44:17until it sits in there
44:19and it's all about cambium to cambium contact.
44:23And that's how you add one variety onto an existing tree.
44:30So this apple tree has seven different apples growing on the same tree
44:34it was originally this crab apple Malus John Downey
44:38and over the years I've added various eaters to it.
44:41So we've got some nice lime green limelights up here
44:44we've got some kids orange red
44:46there are some Spartans, the purple ones up the top
44:49and then there's Herefordshire Russets on the end
44:52we've got a few Sandling Duchess in the middle here
44:55and then down the end we've got some Scrumptious
44:58an early red eater.
45:00So we've got seven different varieties on the same tree
45:02and a whole orchard on one tree, what more could you want?
45:08Perhaps the most famous apple tree in Britain is the Bramley seedling
45:11and that was grown from a pip
45:13by a small girl called Mary Ann Brailsford in about 1810
45:17in a small village in Nottinghamshire
45:19and in theory every Bramley in the world
45:21is a graft of a graft of a graft of that one original tree.
45:27There is a saying that if you don't like apples
45:29it's because you haven't found the one that's for you
45:31and there's an apple for everybody
45:32there are sharp apples, sweet apples
45:34hard apples, soft apples, fluffy apples
45:36apples that look like lemons, apples that taste of honey
45:39there's even one that supposedly tastes of coffee
45:41that's king coffee that is
45:43that's supposed to taste of coffee
45:45but I've never really managed to detect it.
45:50And when you grow an apple tree
45:51you are essentially growing a piece of living history.
46:02Come on.
46:06It is always inspiring to see someone
46:09who has a real passion for their subject
46:12and you can grow two, three, four different kinds of apple
46:16however small your garden.
46:18Remember there are step-overs, cordons, espaliers
46:21and to have those apples that you can't buy anywhere
46:26and to relish them as a treat is a wonderful thing.
46:30Now I think I've probably reached the point here
46:33in the Paradise Garden where I will stop for the season.
46:36There are tulips to plant and they will go in next month
46:39but I'll leave the rest of the planting till next spring
46:42and in an age when everything is an instant fix
46:45I like the way this garden is slowly growing
46:49and it will go on growing over the next year or so.
46:53Now on a day like today everything looks fantastic
46:56in fact this is one of the most glorious days of the year
46:59and it does remind you that autumn has joys of its own
47:04and Carol has been to Hidcote
47:06to find and celebrate the treasures of autumn.
47:27The showy blooms of summer may have disappeared
47:31but this time of year has its own colour to offer.
47:36There are so many wonderful plants
47:38all dressed up in gold, oranges, russets and reds.
47:44The autumn garden party is in full swing.
47:48It's a glorious time to be in the garden.
47:57The change in the colour of leaves on our trees
48:01is the very first sign of autumn
48:04and there are so many different varieties of trees.
48:10Japanese maples are the archetypal trees for autumn colour.
48:16Even those with coloured foliage though
48:18adopt more brilliant hues at this time of year.
48:27Well the trees are glorious
48:29but perhaps it's this plant that produces
48:32the most pyrotechnic display of the whole of autumn
48:36and it's a vine.
48:37It's Phytis cognitii
48:40and it's surely one of the most rapacious plants ever.
48:44It'll climb way up into the trees
48:47all along fences, hedges, nothing stops it.
48:51If you're growing it in a small garden
48:53then you really have to train it well
48:55but what it's renowned for is this colour.
48:58Normally most leaves are green.
49:01This vine still has some green leaves
49:03and that's chlorophyll that's produced within the leaf
49:06which feeds the plant.
49:08As temperatures plummet and day length shortens
49:12that chlorophyll is reabsorbed into the plant
49:15and as it is, the colours that were underneath it
49:19within the leaves, these yellows, russets, oranges and reds
49:23is exposed and that's what gives us this glorious autumn colour.
49:34When you see some plants come out in the garden
49:37then you just know it's autumn
49:39and probably the most typical is the Michaelmas daisy.
49:43These great huge clouds of flowers
49:46that just flower with free abandon everywhere.
49:51This is Ceratostigma wilmotianum.
49:54It's just a green presence all the way through the summer
49:58but then when autumn arrives, the fireworks really begin.
50:02You get these brilliant blue flowers
50:04accompanied by red, orange, amber, russet leaves.
50:09What a glorious concoction.
50:21As well as shrubs and herbaceous plants
50:24there are a whole load of bulbs
50:26that actually use the autumn to shoot through the ground
50:30and give their finest display.
50:32Things like these autumn flowering crocus.
50:36Beautiful chalices of lavender
50:39with great big orange stamens.
50:42And don't they look just perfect with these fallen flowers.
50:47These are true crocus
50:49but there are other bulbs that look very, very similar.
50:53Colchicums.
50:54But they're members of the lily family
50:56and if you're going to plant them, plant them really, really deep
51:00and they'll reward you with those beautiful flowers year after year.
51:04But right now, I'm down with the crocus and enjoying every moment.
51:18There are plants here in the iconic Red Borders at Hidcote
51:23that are in their autumn glory too.
51:26Things like this berberis.
51:28It's been dark and mysterious all through the summer
51:31but now its leaves are changing to reds, ambers, glowing colours
51:37and each little branch has tiny red dots
51:42There's a lovely cotinus
51:44that's got these big, gorgeous, dark, dark leaves
51:47which are getting redder by the day.
51:50It's been pruned so that it makes these big leaves and strong shoots.
51:55But alongside it are plants that have been going strong since the summer
52:00but they've joined in with the autumn.
52:03This is a very, very special plant.
52:07It's been flowering since June
52:09and it will go on flowering right the way through to the frost.
52:12It's covered in buds.
52:14And this is an idea that anybody can try in their own garden.
52:18You don't need these huge, huge borders to put summer flowering stuff
52:22which continues to flower into the autumn
52:25alongside the flowers that are in their autumn glory.
52:29It's a very, very special plant.
52:32It's covering in stuff which continues to flower into the autumn
52:36alongside things which are renowned for being at their best in this season.
52:56This garden's absolutely exquisite
52:59and its beds are completely composed of plants which are tender
53:04that have just been bedded out.
53:07Running right the way through everything
53:10is this lovely, deep, rusty-orange Bidens
53:15and it contrasts so beautifully with the big purple leaves of that eupatorium.
53:20And it's not just the colour and the form.
53:23You've got all these differences in texture.
53:26It's soft and fluffy and other things like the Focrea
53:30with big, sharp, pointy leaves.
53:33I think it's delightful and it's something that anybody could achieve
53:37and you don't even need big borders like this.
53:40You could do the whole thing in a pot.
53:43Add a little Miscanthus, this one's Morning Light
53:46and you'll still achieve the same effect.
53:49I think it's brilliant.
53:57If we choose our plants carefully, autumn can become the very zenith of the year.
54:03We can fill our gardens with plants with brilliant hues and textures
54:09that shine out as everything else starts to mellow and fade.
54:27AMARILLES
54:33Well, here's a plant of the season, if there ever was one
54:36and it's presented itself to me like a gift
54:38because this is the first time that this Amarilles has ever flowered for me.
54:43It didn't flower last year, although I planted it then
54:46and now, look, it's flowering.
54:49Amarilles are a cross between Amaryllis and Nerines
54:53and this one is called Emmanuel
54:55and it's got the most lovely, delicate pink flowers
54:58but it's quite big, but with the elegance of a Nerine.
55:02And like Nerines, they do like a really good summer bake.
55:06So put them in the hottest, sunniest spot that you have
55:10and then they'll start to flower in September, October
55:12and go on well into November.
55:14Now, it's supposed to be hardy down to minus ten.
55:19I wouldn't risk that.
55:21I think once it gets really cold and we start to regularly get frost
55:24this will go into the greenhouse.
55:26But until then, I'm going to enjoy it outside as much as possible.
55:30Now, talking about having fun outside
55:33here are some jobs for this weekend.
55:45If you sow a few peas in pots now
55:49you can get an early harvest next summer.
55:54Use a normal, peat-free compost
55:56and I sow two or three peas per three-inch pot.
55:59Cover them over and put them somewhere protected
56:02but you don't need any extra heat.
56:04Watch out for mice, but otherwise they will quietly grow over winter
56:08and can be planted out as soon as the soil warms up next spring.
56:13Tender plants like my eucomis that are grown in pots
56:17should be bought in undercover
56:19before there is any risk of frost damage.
56:22Put them somewhere frost-free
56:24like a greenhouse, cold frame or conservatory
56:27and keep them pretty dry over winter.
56:35One of the best ways to keep them dry
56:39One of the best ways of cutting down on plastic use
56:43is to reuse existing plastic.
56:46So take all your plastic pots and containers
56:49wash them, get rid of all traces of soil and any risk of disease
56:53and look after them over the winter
56:56so they're ready for reuse next spring.
57:08A job that isn't just for this weekend
57:11that will go on for the next six weeks or so
57:14is gathering leaves.
57:16At Longmeadow we do that not as a tidying process
57:19but as a harvest
57:21because leaves make leaf mould.
57:24You can't buy leaf mould, I don't quite know why, but you can't.
57:27It breaks down rather differently to compost
57:30and you get this lovely, light, fluffy material
57:33which is what we call a leaf mould.
57:36It's a fluffy material which is not so nutritious
57:39but you can use it as a superb mulch and soil conditioner anywhere.
57:44It's great added to a potting mix
57:47and I love leaf mould.
57:54Well that's it for today and also for this year
57:58but I'm glad the sun has shone for us
58:01and of course it's not the end of the gardening year
58:03there's still lots to do
58:05and I hope you have a really good winter
58:08and I'll see you back here at Longmeadow next spring.
58:11Until then, bye bye.
58:13You get bored of being up there, did you?
58:15Oh dear, you were very good.
58:18Good girl.