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00:00Hello, welcome to Gardener's World.
00:18This is a redcurrant bush that I'm pruning, and redcurrants, whitecurrants and gooseberries
00:24all have the same pruning regime, and now is the time to do it.
00:29And you want to get it open like a goblet, so light and air can get in, you get good
00:34ventilation and really critically, sawfly don't like laying their eggs in an open space.
00:41They like a tangle of growth at the base, and then when the caterpillars hatch out they
00:45eat their way up the bush and they can devastate it.
00:47So what I'm looking to do is just take out all inward growing branches like that, and
00:52you have to be ruthless about it, because they do grow very strongly, and then when
00:58it's a good shape just trim it back by about a quarter, and that's all you have to do really.
01:04Leave it and wait for the fruit to appear like lovely little shining red beads.
01:10Now with the weather we've been having this month, jobs like this are ones that you can
01:14just squeeze in between rain showers, and we've been playing the weather here, trying
01:18to keep the garden impetus going.
01:21So there's lots to do today, but who knows how much dodging I'll have to do to get it
01:26done.
01:31This week Nick Bailey revels in the magnificence of Magnolias, and we visit a gardener who
01:37started from scratch and created a private haven filled with glorious colour.
01:57It's now time to start thinking about summer bulbs.
02:01I grow a lot of lilies, and they're very happy in their pots over winter, and they will flower
02:06gloriously in the summer.
02:08And it's a good time to buy and to plant lilies, but this year I want to grow a few other bulbs
02:15that will flower in summer, which are perhaps a little bit less known, but just as easy
02:19and just as available.
02:21I've got three here.
02:23The first is Gloriosa, Gloriosa Superba Rothschildiana.
02:29It's a climber with fantastic orange, red and yellow flowers, which will reach about
02:35two or even three metres and flower in late summer into autumn.
02:40And by potting it up now, I will grow it on, ready to plant out when all risk of frost
02:45has gone.
02:46I'm actually not directly touching it for the moment, because not only is it poisonous
02:50if you eat it, it also can be an irritant for your skin.
02:53It will be fine for my hands, because they're calloused and they're hard, but if I touch
02:56my face or whatever, that will be a problem.
02:58So when I touch it, I will then go and wash my hands, or if you're worried about it, wear
03:02gloves from the beginning.
03:04Now at this stage, all I need to do is get a reasonably deep pot, put some ordinary peat-free
03:12compost in there.
03:15This is a coir and bark-based compost, and bury it so it's covered by about two inches
03:20of soil.
03:22I want to grow that so it's about a foot or so tall, and then I can just lift it and plant
03:27it out.
03:28An alternative would be just to simply sink the whole pot if it's big enough in the ground,
03:32because it will need lifting at the end of summer.
03:35It's not hardy.
03:38So that is one.
03:44Now I'm going to wash my hands.
03:52Okay, the next one is not poisonous at all.
03:56This is Hymenocallis festalis.
03:59This is the most extraordinary flower, with great long spider-like extensions.
04:07It is sometimes known as the spider lily or the Peruvian daffodil, and it has a glorious
04:13scent.
04:14You plant it slightly differently.
04:15You need a smaller pot, and then some compost.
04:20And this is planted so the tip is showing.
04:26So that is like that, and then just round.
04:31It is tender, so it needs looking after, and mustn't put it out until after the last frost,
04:36which normally is round about Chelsea time here.
04:39And the last one is an Amaryllis, Amaryllis belladonna.
04:43And this comes from the Cape, and they all do well in sunshine, but the Amaryllis wants
04:50as much sunshine as you can possibly give it, and really, really good drainage.
04:55So I've got both an extra mix, which has got a lot of drainage in, and I've got some grit
05:01to add to it.
05:07I'll now do a little bit of grit, like that.
05:13And you plant the Amaryllis fairly shallowly.
05:16Don't plant it too deep, but at the same time, it needs to be covered, and then pack around it.
05:29And this will flower right at the end of summer into autumn, September, even October time.
05:35So that's three very different bulbs, but they're all quite easy to grow and available
05:40in garden centres now.
05:42So a little bit of forethought at this stage, you can guarantee yourself a spectacular display
05:46in late summer.
05:48But of course, we want spectacular displays right now, and that's what Nick found when
05:54he went down to Care Hayes in Cornwall to see the magnolias in full bloom.
06:02Bold, yet delicate.
06:06Brief, but memorable.
06:08Feared, yet admired.
06:11The magnolia is a plant of contradictions, and if you haven't got one in your garden,
06:17now might just be the moment to consider introducing one.
06:22Magnolias come into bloom before they've produced any leaves.
06:26So imagine a garden in the depths of winter, cold and still, yet the magnolias, their branches,
06:34are covered in beautiful buds, creating a spectacular silhouette and the promise of
06:40life to come.
06:43Magnolias are one of the most ancient flowering plants.
06:47Along with trees such as ginkgos and metasequoias, fossil records have suggested they existed
06:53over 25 million years ago, and its ancestors go back thousands of years.
06:58But the magnolias are not the only flowering plant in the world.
07:02They're also the oldest plant in the world.
07:05Along with trees such as ginkgos and metasequoias, fossil records have suggested they existed
07:11over 25 million years ago, and its ancestors go even further back.
07:17They were one of the first flowering plants on Earth, and back then there weren't flying insects,
07:22there weren't bees, so they evolved to draw in beetles for pollination.
07:27These outer structures had to be tough and leathery so they weren't damaged by the beetle,
07:32and there was a seed-protecting device in the centre.
07:35It was also woody and tough to make sure it wasn't damaged by the beetles,
07:39so that the plant could produce future generations of beautiful magnolias.
07:49Magnolias are available in a huge range of sizes, colours and forms.
07:56Many of the wild species of magnolia, such as this Cambellii alba, tend to be absolutely vast,
08:04so they're perfect for big gardens.
08:06And look at this. Absolutely spectacular.
08:09The flowers are literally the size of my head.
08:12They've got this suffused tone which comes into the back of the petal,
08:15and then layer upon layer going into that beautiful structure in the centre.
08:20What a magnificent plant.
08:26This is Magnolia sargentia barobusta, and it's one of the biggest of all the wild species.
08:33And look at the size of this bud. Not many plants can muster anything of that scale.
08:38And of course, that then bursts open and then produces these very, very delicate pink blooms
08:44with a bust of carpels and floral structures in the centre.
08:47What more could you ask for?
08:50Spectacular as it is, we haven't all got space for 15 metre high magnolias.
08:55But thankfully, there are plenty of small, compact cultivars that will work in most gardens.
09:00And this is a good example.
09:02This is a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:05and it's a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:08and it's a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:11and it's a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:14and it's a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:17and it's a very, very delicate magnolia,
09:20and it's a very, very delicate magnolia.
09:22And this is another good example.
09:24This is Magnolia ballerina.
09:27It's very different to the typical magnolias you see.
09:30Instead of those upright facing teples, it's actually got many, many more and they're fine and open.
09:36so it's got this beautiful loose quality to the flower.
09:39You can also see it's absolutely packed with buds,
09:42so it can have a much longer flower run than many of the magnolias.
09:46it really compact.
09:59So most magnolias will only flower for about two weeks and that may lead you to question
10:05whether they're really worth growing in the garden.
10:07They can't compete with roses or jasmines that keep repeat blooming through the season
10:12but what they do is give you the most delicious tease and prelude to the spring that's just
10:19around the corner.
10:34Lucky Nick to see the magnolias looking so good.
10:37Mind you they've been really good right across the country and I shall be planting another
10:43one in a minute.
10:44Before I do that I'm just popping in a few fritillaries into this piece of ground.
10:49So these are over and above what's already growing and they're ahead of the ones in the
10:53ground because I put these into pots as a kind of insurance and they've kept them in
10:57cold frames over the winter.
10:59And you can see this is Fritillaria miliagris, the snake's head fritillary and as the flower
11:03bud emerges it has this snake-like shape to it covered with a checkerboard pattern
11:09and it's one of the very few bulbs that likes damp soil and I'm using a bulb planter to
11:16make a hole and pop the whole thing in.
11:19These are for sale now in garden centres so you can go along, buy some and A you have
11:26an immediate effect, you can see what it's going to look like and B as long as you don't
11:30cut the grass or cut back the foliage that will die back, the bulb will come back next
11:35year, it will spread by seed and it will last for generations to come.
11:42Come on you!
11:57This is the wild garden and I want to plant a magnolia in here but before I plant it it's
12:04time to start cutting back.
12:06The point about the wild garden which I started to make a couple of years ago was to maximise
12:11all the potential habitats for wildlife, hence a pond, lots of cover, some trees, shrubs
12:19and masses of flowers for pollinating insects.
12:23Now over winter it's important if you want to encourage wildlife to leave cover, leave
12:30stems that insects can get in, leave seeds, leave the whole thing untouched but now we've
12:37gone past the spring equinox, winter is gone and we can clear all this away and start thinking
12:44about it as a border that can both look great for us and be full of flowers for as long
12:50a period as possible to attract pollinating insects.
13:00There are a few snails very snug in under the cover that I'm cutting away and of course
13:06that's one of the things about encouraging wildlife in your garden, it's not all the
13:11fluffy bunny cuddly attractive things that matter.
13:16It might feel counter intuitive to give a home to slugs and snails in your garden but
13:21they are an important food source for mammals, birds and frogs and removing them entirely
13:27could upset the delicate ecosystem of your garden so if they're not doing any harm leave
13:32them alone.
13:36This is a magnolia black tulip and it has fantastic flowers, rich burgundy plum colour
13:46as dark as any magnolia that you can buy and I first got it about four years ago intended
13:52for the jewel garden and planted it in the jewel garden but for two years in a row it
13:58flowered and then got hit by frost and the whole thing looked awful and I think it would
14:04do well in here, partly because this is a sunny very sheltered site and partly because
14:10as Nick pointed out they're pollinated by beetles and that will add to the range of
14:17insects that we have here.
14:22Now the two things to be aware of when you're planting any tree or shrub for that matter
14:26is make your hole wide but not too deep and the other thing is don't add any goodness
14:33to the base of the hole, no compost or manure because all you're doing is encouraging the
14:37roots to stay put, what you want them to do is grow out into the soil and the more they
14:42grow out the bigger and the healthier and the more stable that the tree will be but
14:47what you can do is loosen the base so just dig it over.
14:54By and large magnolias like acidic soil, they don't like chalk or limestone but Sulangiana
15:02in particular and also Stirlata are very adaptable and they will grow in slightly alkaline
15:08or slightly acidic soil.
15:09I'm going to have to cut this because it's been in here for two years and it doesn't
15:17want to come out easily and I don't want to damage the roots.
15:23Magnolias have quite fleshy roots so you have to be careful when you're handling them, they're
15:27quite fragile.
15:34At this stage I'm going to hold it upright and just firm it in and I haven't staked it
15:40and I'm not going to stake it for two reasons, one because it's got a very heavy root ball
15:45and two because this is sheltered, it's quite small and by not staking it it's going to
15:50become much more flexible and adapt better to wind and if you can get away without it
15:57the tree will be much stronger as a result.
16:09Magnolias don't like to dry out so I will mulch that thickly to keep the water in and
16:13if we have another really hot dry summer just remember to give your magnolias a good drink
16:19once a week.
16:21Now last year we were very keen to champion small gardens and we paid a visit to Tessa
16:26Cousin's garden in Chippenham and it's on the small side but she certainly has made
16:32every square inch count.
16:40I created the garden five years ago when I moved to this house, I was able to start the
16:46garden from scratch. I wanted a garden where I could sit in the evening sun and read a
16:53book and have a glass of wine but I wanted also to be able to see the sky, I wanted somewhere
17:00where I could dream and be away from the world and yet part of it and so I can now sit in
17:06my garden and listen to the birds as well.
17:09When I was thinking about the design of the garden I was working as a life model at the
17:14time and so as I was reclining I had in my mind the shape of the garden so in the end
17:23I decided that straight lines would fit the house better, I could have swathes of plants
17:31and I could let the voluptuousness come from the plants.
17:35I looked at lots of styles of garden, all gardens are beautiful whether they're tropical
17:42or cottage, I wanted if it was possible in a pocket handkerchief size garden to have a more
17:49open and airy feel with a more naturalistic planting so really I want my very own prairie
17:55in my little garden here.
17:58The challenge I think is death by fence, it can be so hard because they give quite a barren feel
18:06fortunately I've got a lovely brick wall as well so I knew that I would be able to do something
18:13about the fence and actually break it up a bit.
18:17So I like to think I rescue plants, I like the poorly plant sections, I like looking for unusual
18:24plants in stalls as you go past people's houses and I found that the more unusual plants actually
18:32do as well as some of the plants which supposedly are tough old standards.
18:39The passion flower I found for three pounds in the poorly plant section of a well-known
18:46superstore and I thought oh this is not going to stand a chance but weeks later it was romping
18:53up the trellis and now it's in full bloom and it's obviously loving it there.
18:58All my plants are special to me, at the moment I'm particularly loving the Micomus Daisy and
19:07that's the variety Monk which is so floriferous and flowers right the way up till Christmas
19:13and looks particularly gorgeous just as the sun's going down it seems to glow in the evening.
19:21I'm also loving my Echinaceas, I've two varieties, the purple variety and the white swan.
19:31They are so droopy and melancholy and beautiful and blousy that I think I could never be without
19:40my Echinaceas. Another favourite of mine is the Indigofera which is growing up the trellis
19:50up the trellis and which seems to be developing into a small tree.
19:54It has very pretty pink flowers in spring which appear sporadically throughout the summer
20:01and I love how in the evening the little leaflets fold up almost as if the plant's going to sleep
20:08and then in the morning they wake up again with me.
20:11So that's a wonderful thing, I'm just hoping it's not going to grow too big.
20:16I am very fond of my little shed and you can see that the vine growing over it really loves it too.
20:23The blackbirds love the vine, the cats love sitting on the shed roof, it's a pretty little
20:28shed and I sit in it sometimes and look out, I love hearing the rain on the roof.
20:33My favourite design feature I think is the pergola. I had the idea of using concrete
20:41reinforcing rods and I discussed this with my lovely builder who initially thought I was
20:48completely mad but they went ahead with it anyway and several weeks later a big flatbed truck
20:55turns up with the whole thing on it so it arrived entirely in one piece.
21:02I think there are challenges in any garden, obviously with a smaller garden you can give
21:08Obviously with a smaller garden you can give more care and attention to the plants but there is a
21:13danger of them outgrowing their space and sometimes you have to be just a little bit ruthless.
21:21You have to make sure every plant works for its living
21:26and so if it can have more than one period of interest that's really good.
21:32Although it's a small garden I have fitted a lot in. It is easy I think to try and crowd too much
21:40into a small garden so you have to be selective. My priority has been for a little bit of height,
21:47for a shed and also a compost heap. It doubles as a slug house. I'm happy as long as the slugs
21:56I'm happy as long as the slugs remain in the compost heap but as soon as they venture out they
22:03venture out at their peril. I love my garden because it is my little haven away from the world.
22:10It's a garden I can enjoy all year round. It's my little piece of nature in the middle of the town.
22:20It's the constant surprise really of never knowing what will work and what won't
22:28so you can just gloriously do your own thing in a small garden.
22:34So
22:49it is always good to see your gardens and if you've got a smallest garden that you think is
22:56filled with beauty and has given you a huge amount of pleasure then we'd like to see it.
23:01Send us a picture and also this year if you have inherited a garden, you've bought a house or
23:07you're renting somewhere with a garden that you would like to make your own but you just don't
23:13know where to begin, Adam is on hand. He could come along and give you the benefit of all his
23:20experience and skill and set you on the road to creating your own perfect garden. Now for both
23:27those things go to our website and we look forward to seeing you.
23:42It's a busy time of year but if there is only one job that you've got time for
23:49then it surely has to be to mulch. I've got here mushroom compost which is by the way not
23:56composted mushrooms but it's cattle manure that's mixed with a lot of lime and that's what
24:01mushrooms are grown in. Mushroom compost is distinctly alkaline and that's because of the
24:07lime that's mixed into it which makes it great for most spring flowering shrubs. It's great for
24:13heavy soil but not good for plants like rhododendrons or camellias or for example raspberries
24:19and if in doubt you cannot go wrong with garden compost. Now there is one critical factor about
24:26how to apply mulch and it must be thick enough. I reckon at least two inches and you just spread
24:32it in amongst the plants. Mulching does three things really effectively simultaneously. The
24:41first thing is to blanket out the light from the soil which stops weeds growing to a large extent.
24:47The second thing it does is to keep in moisture and finally if it is made out of an organic
24:54material worms and insects will incorporate it into the topsoil and that will feed your plants
25:00and if you're doing bark you can actually pour it on quite easily.
25:07Bark is slower to break down so lasts longer. It can be ericaceous like pine bark and you would
25:15want to use around azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias, any of those ericaceous
25:21loving plants and if you're mulching around shrubs or even trees it's a good idea to pull
25:27it away from the bark so it's not tight up against it because it can rot it.
25:32I would stress that I think mulching is the best way of spending your time and money as an investment
25:40on making your garden look good and be healthy all year long. However it's not the only thing
25:49you can be doing this weekend. Here are some more jobs.
26:02If you're growing your own seeds like these chilies it is important to prick them out as
26:14soon as they develop their first true leaves and as a rule of thumb these are the second set of
26:19leaves to appear. Hold them always by a leaf and not the stem removing as much root as you can as
26:27you lift them. Pop them into a peat-free compost and plant them somewhere warm to grow on so they
26:33establish as nice strong young plants. Shallots are the cook's friend because they make bunches
26:47of deliciously sweet bulbs that store really well. The best way to grow them is from sets.
26:55Push each set into the ground so that it is half submerged and space them out about eight or nine
27:00inches apart in rows. Be careful the birds don't pull them out initially but once they start to
27:07grow they need very little attention other than to be kept weed free. If you've been storing dahlias
27:16over winter now is the time to take them out. Check them over to make sure that there are no
27:22rotten or dried up tubers and there are no slugs or snails lurking in amongst them. Cut the old
27:28stems off and then put them into a pot with ordinary peat-free compost to start them into growth.
27:39Put them somewhere frost free then when they're growing strongly around the middle of May
27:43and after the last frost they can be planted out where you want them to grow.
27:52Well it is now officially spring even though the weather so far this month
28:05has played every card it knows along a winter theme. We've had storms and floods and ice and
28:12I'm sure there's time left for thick snow but none of that seems to have stopped the flowering
28:18of the garden. It's looking good and the trees and the hedges are beginning to prickle with that
28:25energy of new green. Despite the weather it is all happening and it's going to get better
28:31but I'm afraid that's all we've got time for today so I'll see you back here at
28:35Longmeadow at the same time next week. Until then, bye-bye. Come on!
29:05you