• 3 months ago
Transcript
00:00Hello. Welcome to Gardener's World. I love deadheading. It's one of those gentle, meditative
00:18jobs. By taking a spent flower and cutting right back to the next leaf, stem or bud,
00:29you're stimulating side growth, which will carry more flowers. And if you deadhead regularly,
00:36you will extend your flowering season of the roses by weeks. But the roses have had a tough
00:42time this year. Last year and the year before, they were fabulous because we had nice, hot
00:46summers. This year, certainly here at Longmeadow, we've had rain, we've had wind, it's been
00:51cold, it's been humid, and roses hate all that. And one of the side effects has been
00:55balling. Now you get balling, particularly on roses that have a mass of petals. The simpler
01:02the flower, the less likely it is to happen. But what it looks like is an acorn shape with
01:09the flower never opening because it's wrapped up in a dirty brown shell of petals. And those
01:15petals have got saturated with water, then they've dried out, and they've stiffened as
01:20a result. And that holds the rest of the petals in a vice-like grip. Now sometimes,
01:27if you just gently pull away those brown outer petals, the flower will open out. Yes, can
01:36you see that? By gently teasing it, there is a lovely rose. I love this gentle attention
01:44to detail. And although the weather hasn't been good for them, this is, after all, the
01:50season of the rose. On today's programme, Adam is in Leicestershire to help a couple
02:00transform some tricky areas in their garden. Instantly, that'll give us height at the back
02:05of this border, but the white really pops in the dark space. And gets a surprise helper.
02:12Nick has a close encounter with one of the biggest problems that many gardeners are having
02:17to deal with, the box tree caterpillar. What you see here is leaves that have been eaten,
02:25and where there is webbing, the caterpillar tends to be hiding. And I shall be tidying
02:31up the spring garden, ready for a quiet summer, and planting out my squashes and pumpkins.
02:42Come on. Good girl. This way. Now. The hostas are really fulsome at the moment, and are
03:03completely untroubled by slugs and snails. They are looking absolutely fantastic. But
03:08the pond has been pretty much left to its own devices this year. And that's a trend,
03:14really, that I'm encouraging in this area. And what this means is we now have masses
03:20of frogs, lots of newts. This morning I saw a grass snake slide off the edge down into
03:26the water. One about that big. We have more bats over the water. And of course we have
03:31dragonflies and damselflies too. And this all adds to the health of the garden, as well
03:38as being a delight. And if you want to encourage wildlife, then a pond of some sort is absolutely
03:44essential. But that doesn't mean to say that it can't and shouldn't look good. And I want
03:49to add a Japanese iris, Iris incarta, sometimes known as Iris camphorii. It doesn't look nearly
03:56so dramatic now, but they have elegant foliage and beautiful flowers. And there are two things
04:03that they absolutely must have. One is damp. If your soil is sandy or chalky or free draining,
04:12you really are going to have to beef it up with plenty of manure. The other thing is
04:15they do like acidic soil. Now I'm going to plant a little group in a gap in the border.
04:22And the other three, I'm going to submerge them in the shallows. Now, for the ones in
04:29the shallows, I've got here an aquatic basket. You can buy these from a garden center and
04:35they've got a fine mesh of holes, which means the water flows in and out, but the soil doesn't.
04:42And this is a variety called pink frost. It has a gentle pink flower, touch with right.
04:49I'm simply going to take these out of their pot and transfer them. I don't need to add
04:53any extra soil. If you are using soil in a pond, it wants to be low in nutrients. Normal
05:02garden subsoil is absolutely fine, or you can buy a special aquatic compost. But if
05:09there are too many nutrients, all that will do is feed the duckweed and the algae. And
05:17I'm going to push that in and then just by forcing it into the gap,
05:22these should stay firmly in the pot. There we go. Okay. Next step is to get in the water.
05:42This is always a tricky bit because you never quite know what's underfoot.
05:48And I want to put this in the shallowest part that I can find. So I'm looking to place this
05:54down just in the water, not too submerged, but I can't leave it in the water over winter
06:03because if this freezes over, then they won't like that at all. So I'll come and collect it
06:07round about the end of October and just put it somewhere sheltered where it can stay damp
06:13and yet not frozen solid until spring comes around again. But the other lot,
06:18I will be able to leave in the ground because I can mulch them and protect them.
06:29This is another variety called Kumo no Obi, and it has lovely deep purple flowers. And I want to
06:37plant them as a little group in a space which has been made by taking out one of the matucha,
06:44the ostrich ferns. I'm actually going to take this camassia out. Camassias are lovely,
06:53but they're very slow to die back and their leaves are quite bulky. Camassias are one of the very few
07:00bulbs, along with snowdrops and fritillaries, that like actively damp soil. And you can see
07:07this one camassia has developed one, two, three, four, five bulbs. So that will give me a hit
07:25of intense, rich purple in amongst the smoky blues of the hosta cyboldiana.
07:34Now, absolutely essential to give these a really good soak now and not let them dry out. So if it
07:41doesn't rain for about three or four days, give them a soak. Now I do garden this area around
07:48the pond, what we call the damp garden, very carefully. But at the same time, over the years,
07:52it has become looser and freer and better and better for wildlife. And I'm very happy
07:58with that process. But Arit has been to visit a garden where they have taken that a whole stage
08:04further. I'm in Suffolk, where the notion of a garden has been stretched.
08:19And to find the beauty in this garden, you need to have an open mind.
08:26Unmown grass, weeds and straggly plants. This isn't your average garden. It's a place where
08:34wildlife feels quite at home. And it's an approach that has recently come to be known as rewilding.
08:41The term rewilding was coined in conservation to mean the reintroduction of wildlife to the
08:48to mean the reintroduction of natural plant species and wildlife into areas where it may
08:53have disappeared. This concept is now being brought into how we can manage our gardens
08:58to allow the natural process of growth and decay to happen around us.
09:0610 years ago, the owner Miranda Kendall brought in gardener Brian Skilton. The brief was that he
09:13should let his imagination run wild. He took her at her word and developed a garden in which
09:19standard border plants would rub shoulders with wild ones. Brian, tell me about your
09:27ethos behind this garden. It's changed over the years. We started off fairly traditional,
09:33but we've sort of pushed the boundaries and we've allowed nature to start to take reign.
09:39It is a quite literal pushing of boundaries, isn't it? Yes, literally. I used to edge all the borders
09:46and now it's difficult to tell where the border starts and nature's taken over. In a usual garden
09:52though, we can bring wildlife in, but what exactly is it you're doing differently here?
09:57Well, we've allowed nature to come in on its own and I mean, the garden is actually set
10:04within an organic farm. The owners are very environmentally friendly and we've carried that
10:11philosophy into the garden and because we're surrounded by nature anyway, it comes into the
10:16garden literally. Seeds come in, animals come in, insects come in. We've become a self-contained unit.
10:24As we move away from the house, the garden gets wilder as plants and what we think of as weeds run riot.
10:31To the uninitiated it would look like a mess perhaps, but it's actually a haven. I'd say about
10:39a third of the plants that you see in front of you were planted. A lot of the other stuff has
10:46come in on its own. These ornamental grasses, obviously I did plant. This year in particular, I noticed a lot of ladybirds were still clinging on to the flowers, so I've decided to leave them much longer this year, but when I do cut them, anything that is cut, I do leave rather than obsessively tidying things up, because
11:03you just don't know what's underneath all of this material. In terms of self-seeding, do you take some of the self-seeders out?
11:09If it gets a bit overcrowded, yes, I might tinker here and there, but very, very little maintenance on this bed actually.
11:15There's a structure to this, you know, you've got the upright of the miscanthus and all the leaf textures adds into that design element really. It's a new way of looking at space.
11:46The mown paths and different lawn heights look fab, don't they?
11:52I find mowing at different lengths encourages different wildflowers at different times of year,
11:57and I actually introduced yellow rattle into this area, and that's suppressed the grass
12:04to allow the wildflowers to come through a lot stronger. And all the little flowers are just
12:08sitting at that little bobbing height mode, which is much more interesting than lawn, just having
12:14elements like this. Well, it's seeing beauty in something that you might otherwise take for granted.
12:23Every corner you turn, Brian's improvised with materials he's found in the garden.
12:29Fallen branches make a wildlife border, while cut logs have been made into a birdbath.
12:35This is the root system of an upturned oak tree, but Brian's left it in situ because his philosophy is that there can be more life coming out of this now it's decaying, and it's created another wonderful habitat, but there's more.
12:54It's not just the tree roots, it's the whole tree that he's left in this garden.
13:00The special thing about this space is that Brian's not only paid attention to the larger features of the garden, he's just as interested in the smaller details.
13:11I think this little corner is rather beautiful. It's got an oak tree, which I have been toporizing a little bit.
13:21Ivy, wild garlic. Ordinarily, if that was in a small space, that's a weed, take it out. But I think what you've shown here is that they're plants that just actually look wonderful all together.
13:35It's only a couple of square meters here. You could do the same at home. Yeah.
13:41I love it, but I wonder how the owner, Miranda, feels about her rewilded garden.
13:46We actually find beauty in all of the greenery, the paths, the different spaces, the different habitats. It has taken a while for us to reach that point.
13:56Sometimes over the years, I've said to Brian, do you think we should be doing that? That seems to be going a bit far, and then he will talk me through it, and I'll realize that he's right, and I'm wrong.
14:09I've really, really come to enjoy it and find it a very calm space.
14:16What is it about this garden that works? Well, I think it's about a gardener like Brian who is sensitive to the nature around him.
14:26But this garden really works because it's driven by nature. If we were able to garden like this in our own spaces, it would certainly make us feel freer, and it would connect us to the wider environment.
14:56I know that some people will find the whole idea of that quite challenging, and it does, as Eric pointed out, take on and challenge the idea of what is a garden in the first place.
15:24I think the best solution is go along if you can and see for yourself. The garden is part of the National Garden Scheme. If you go to our website, you can get all the details of when it's open.
15:34Now, introducing wildlife into the garden is generally agreed to be both good for wildlife and good for us. And you don't have to let your garden completely go in order to do that.
15:48Very simple things that will make a big difference. Have a bit of water, have a pond if you possibly can, some long grass, plenty of cover, don't be too tidy, and let seeds and berries form as food.
16:00But some seeds have to be controlled. Now, this is all cow parsley. I absolutely love cow parsley. There's almost nothing I would rather share springtime with.
16:12But you can see, look around you, the spring garden is enveloped in it and dominated by it. And now that it's finished, what I'm doing is pulling up all these plants so that I can see how things are beneath them.
16:35Now, you can see that we've got a hardy geranium, Andresii. When the flowers start to really go over, then I can cut that back hard and it will regrow.
16:46Now, in terms of cutting back, some plants are good to cut back now and some not. And we certainly don't cut back healthy leaves of Hellebores. Leave them, and in fact, they shouldn't be cut back until sort of November, December time at the earliest.
17:03With early flowering herbaceous perennials like Pulmonaria, it's a really good idea to cut those back now. That lets light and air in, and they will regrow and be all the healthier for it.
17:33All this material can be composted and will work its way back into the garden in due course to make it richer and everything grow better.
17:48But if I just left that as a heap, all the foliage would rot down quite quickly, but the stems, which are quite woody, would take much longer.
17:57So if you can shred it, that's ideal. You can try mowing it or just chop it up. Anything to break it down will help the compost hugely.
18:06Now, it doesn't matter how long you garden and how much you think you know, there's always more to learn and it's always good to get advice and help.
18:14And a few weeks ago, I did say that if any of you would like our team to help you out in your garden, then contact us.
18:21And Ruth Guntrip and Nick Hook did just that. They've got a new house and garden in Leicestershire and they don't really know how to tackle it.
18:35You know, when we take on a new house or a new garden, I think we can go one of two ways.
18:39We either get overexcited, we go into that garden, we cut things back, we dig things out.
18:44And doing that, you can really end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
18:48Or the other effect is we open the patio doors, everything feels overwhelming and just get to understand that garden.
18:57Anyway, I've come here today just to meet... Anyway, I'll be back in a second. Just bear with me. Sorry.
19:03What are you doing here?
19:10What are you doing here?
19:11I'm here to do a garden.
19:12So am I. Yeah. Monty sent me.
19:15What's he sent you for? You better come in.
19:17So you need some help, don't you?
19:18Does he think I can't cope or what?
19:20Well, probably.
19:21Seeing as Joe has turned up, we might as well make use of him.
19:26Nick and Ruth moved into their house with a 30 metre long garden a year ago.
19:32They haven't quite worked out what they want to do with it.
19:36Right, guys, you've now got two of us for a day, which is a nice surprise, I think.
19:41How can we help you?
19:42There's lots of things towards the back that it's just all overgrown.
19:45Everything's just gone a bit mad.
19:47A lot of people will be looking at your garden thinking it looks fantastic.
19:50So what do you think is lacking?
19:52I think it definitely needs some more colour in there.
19:55And for me, the terrace is such a great opportunity,
19:58but at the moment it's not looking very special at all.
20:01It's always interesting to know when you sort of take on a garden,
20:03is how much time you guys have actually got to look after it.
20:07We're planning to get married in August, so we have no time at weekends.
20:10It's probably an hour here and there just to keep on top of things.
20:13Quite a lot done in that time, so no, I think that's...
20:15I could get a lot done in that time.
20:16I'll get more done, obviously.
20:18It's a bit like being at school, you want to pick teams.
20:21It's not competition, Adam.
20:23Is it not?
20:24No.
20:25It will be a competition.
20:26We'll work into one.
20:27I thought maybe me and Ruth should go and check out the end bit.
20:30Shall we?
20:31And we'll leave you two to do whatever you've got to do.
20:33Carry on.
20:40Wow, what a view.
20:41It does definitely fizzle out.
20:43Yes, definitely.
20:44There's not a lot going on here.
20:45No, absolutely.
20:46And it would be great to really make the most of this view
20:48and create a lovely space.
20:50How do you want it to feel?
20:51Potentially quite creative.
20:52I really love writing in my spare time.
20:54I have written a novel.
20:55Days like this, why not come down and do a little bit of writing?
20:58And is there a particular style that you're looking for in this area?
21:01Well, we're quite inspired by the Scandi theme,
21:03just to add a bit more of sort of modern tones and textures to it.
21:07Well, with that in mind,
21:08the boundaries are the first thing we really need to tackle.
21:11And I've got some dark black stain with me.
21:14How do you feel about that?
21:15OK, very interesting.
21:17I mean, it's quite daring, and some people might not go for it,
21:20but actually it can be incredibly effective.
21:23Well, Joe is being creative with that paint.
21:26I'm going to take a look at another dark corner of the garden.
21:29It's an overgrown shady spot that needs a little bit of attention.
21:35So, Nick, am I right in thinking you've got a little bit more
21:37than just a general interest in this gardening lot?
21:39Absolutely.
21:40Yeah, I'm an engineer by trade,
21:41but in my spare time I'm actually studying my RHS qualifications.
21:44Fantastic.
21:45I mean, shady, dry shade is definitely one of the biggest problems
21:48people have in gardens.
21:49So if we get in there, get stuck in,
21:51and I'll just chat through some ideas as we're going.
21:54All right.
21:55Come on.
22:00If you look at what the shrubs are doing,
22:01especially that choice here at the front there,
22:03it's really looking for the light.
22:05Yeah, it wants more light than what it's getting.
22:07And you look above, the canopy's quite heavy, isn't it, in the Acer.
22:11But if you look really closely, there's some dead timber in there.
22:14So I would go up into this tree and really start to thin it out.
22:18That will let more light into here,
22:20and that will help that choice here out.
22:22Absolutely.
22:23And then some of the other shrubs,
22:24other people will just rip them out,
22:26but we can regenerate it.
22:28All you start to do is just actually find a little bud
22:31and just cut it hard back,
22:33and you'll end up with a decent shrub.
22:35All right.
22:36And just another tip while we're here,
22:37it's just bringing in lighter colours.
22:39So if I grab this digitalis,
22:43instantly that will give us height at the back of this border,
22:45but it will really lift the area.
22:48So the white really pops in the dark space.
22:50So I'm going to leave you with that.
22:52Super.
22:53Keep you busy for the weekend.
22:54But we'd better go and get that back area done for you.
22:56Let's go.
23:03That looks good, mate.
23:04It looks all right, doesn't it?
23:05Straight away, though.
23:06It feels totally different, doesn't it?
23:07I know.
23:08Dug up a few slabs,
23:09and actually the soil's not too bad underneath.
23:11There's not loads of concrete or hardcore,
23:12so we could think about planting into this as well.
23:14So if we get stuff laid out,
23:16work out where we want to put it,
23:18and then we can move it out of the way
23:19and start to lift the slabs.
23:21Well, I'll do it.
23:22I'll design it and you place it.
23:23How about that?
23:24We'll start like that, shall we?
23:25We'll see how it goes.
23:28Go on, then.
23:29You take your beloved boots.
23:30They are beautiful.
23:31They're really nice.
23:33Right.
23:34What are you thinking, mate?
23:35Well, I'm thinking
23:37sort of some sort of structure here.
23:39Yeah?
23:40It could be nicely clipped.
23:41What, just in fours or something?
23:43Yeah, fours would be good.
23:44A bit more impactful.
23:47Sorbus.
23:48Yeah.
23:49I mean, that's a big beast, that eucalyptus.
23:52Yeah.
23:53If we could maybe just put something...
23:56Right on the edge.
23:57Right on the edge.
23:58And also to give it a bit of privacy.
23:59Exactly.
24:00Blocks that one out there,
24:01but also brings this tree down into the garden.
24:04And I think as well, this is quite exposed, this space.
24:06Yeah.
24:07So maybe if they do want a little bit of dappled shade,
24:09that would just provide it.
24:10And then maybe on that side,
24:12we keep that nice and open.
24:15Tied that back in.
24:17It's that fence.
24:18Yeah.
24:19Great for wildlife.
24:21Fantastic flower.
24:22Brilliant.
24:23Look at the greens already against the black.
24:25Yeah, it's beautiful.
24:26It's great, isn't it?
24:29A couple more of these.
24:30I've got an idea.
24:31Yeah, go on.
24:32So what about,
24:33we put two up on the higher level,
24:35two on the lower level,
24:36and create like a buttress,
24:37holding it together.
24:38I really like that.
24:39I'm glad I had that idea.
24:40Yeah, yeah.
24:41I thought it might be nice.
24:42Yeah.
24:43So we've got that wall,
24:44and sort of connected two areas.
24:45And if it was nicely clipped,
24:46it'll give it that Scandi look.
24:50We are agreeing on things, Adam.
24:51Well, hang on.
24:52Something's going to happen.
24:53It's not quite right, is it?
24:54It's not quite right.
24:55The scent is just going to be contained
24:57within this space beautifully.
25:14Well, I suspect they'll work something out between them.
25:17They've got enough Chelsea gold medals between them.
25:19Anyway, we will be rejoining them,
25:21and seeing the result of their work
25:23a little bit later on.
25:25Now, this hedge came out to here
25:28a year or two back.
25:29And we cut it right back.
25:31And that did expose a bare patch of soil at its base.
25:35So we moved some ferns, primulas,
25:39and put some narcissi in it.
25:41And now is a really good time to divide primulas.
25:53And when you have a plant like that,
25:56actually you can divide that up
25:58into a number of different plants.
26:01So if I just gently with my hand
26:04ease it apart like that,
26:07there's one.
26:09We can get another one like that.
26:12And even another one there.
26:15So we have one, two, three, four,
26:19five plants from that one clump.
26:23So if I plant this up now,
26:26and I just pop it in the ground,
26:28not only will this make the border look better,
26:31it's a very good way of increasing your stock
26:34for absolutely no expense at all.
26:39To make a garden look really good,
26:41you do need quantity as much as quality.
26:45And by far the best and most practical
26:47and certainly the cheapest way of getting volume
26:50is to grow them yourself.
26:51Grow from seed.
26:52Take cuttings.
26:53Or, as with these primulas,
26:55simply divide them.
26:58Now, still to come on today's programme.
27:01Nick looks at the advances being made
27:04to combat the dreaded box tree caterpillar.
27:08And this one smells of, basically,
27:11caterpillar excrement.
27:13Fancy a sniff?
27:15OK, let's give it a go.
27:17But first we join Mark,
27:19who gives us tips on how to get rid of
27:21the dreaded box tree caterpillar.
27:24But first we join Mark,
27:26who gives us tips and tools
27:28on how he manages to create his own lovely garden.
27:39I've been gardening for 16 years in a wheelchair.
27:42I've changed the layout of the garden to suit me.
27:45And I've found some really great tools
27:48to make gardening so much easier.
27:55Before I even start thinking about gardening,
27:58I get all my tools together.
28:01Now, I found this wonderful trolley online.
28:04And it means I can keep all my tools in one place
28:07without having to keep going backwards and forwards to the shed.
28:10If you've got a box and not a trolley,
28:13that's just as good.
28:14Put all your tools in it,
28:15you can carry it around with you,
28:17and they're there just when you need them.
28:24If you have the space,
28:25an ideal width for a wheelchair-friendly path
28:28is between 100 and 120 cm.
28:31And I find a raised edge
28:33means my wheels don't end up in the borders.
28:37I have large wheels,
28:39so gravel isn't a problem for me.
28:41But if you have a manual wheelchair,
28:43then self-binding gravel or resin bound gravel
28:46are good alternatives.
28:48Tarmac would also work and be a much cheaper option.
28:51And surprisingly, it comes in many colours.
28:56I've got a real love-hate relationship with roses.
28:59My grandmother used to have roses in abundance in her garden.
29:03And as a kid, we used to have to go in deadhead
29:06and pick up all those grotty leaves every single weekend.
29:10But as a tribute to her, I suppose,
29:12I've got this lovely rose border.
29:14And it goes from dark pinks to pale pinks.
29:17I've got the most gorgeous Princess Anne
29:20and the scent is absolutely divine.
29:25But of course, some of these flowers have now gone over.
29:28So, how do I prune them?
29:30Well, some really nifty tools.
29:34This is brilliant.
29:36It's a long-handled pruner.
29:38And something which you wouldn't really associate with gardening
29:41is actually one of these pickers.
29:43You normally see these in the street
29:45where people are picking up litter.
29:47But in the garden, they're brilliant.
29:49Because what you can actually do
29:51is you can get right in there and cut them with great ease.
29:58Obviously, there are some roses that I can reach.
30:01And a great tool for that are these tiny little snips.
30:04It's got this little hook on it.
30:06This sits comfortably in the hand.
30:08And it means you don't drop them.
30:11And then you just literally go in and cut.
30:16All of you will probably have noticed
30:18that my hedge needs a really good trim.
30:20So let me just put these away
30:22and I'll show you a tool that's really good for the job.
30:27Now, these, believe me, are incredibly light.
30:31When you're going around the garden centre,
30:33it's really important to hold the tools and feel them.
30:37If they're too heavy after walking around,
30:39they're going to be too heavy when you're in your garden.
30:42But the really good thing about them also
30:44is they've got these really long handles and long blades.
30:47So it means you don't have to bend so much or lean so much
30:51in order to cut your hedge.
30:53You can literally just go in and cut away.
31:07So these are my white borders.
31:09I really love them.
31:11I've got the wonderful viburnum opulus roseum
31:14and then oxeye daisies, which will flower for months on end.
31:18But the great thing about them is that they're in this raised bed,
31:21three sleepers high, which is a perfect height for me.
31:24So I can still maintain this garden and manage it myself.
31:28But a really good tip is to plant densely.
31:32I do this throughout the whole of my garden.
31:34And by doing so, you're actually cutting out the light
31:37so that those pesky weeds cannot grow.
31:42MUSIC
31:49One of my favourite things to do in the garden is planting.
31:53I love it because I love playing with textures and colour
31:57and introducing new plants into new spaces.
32:01This is a really handy tool.
32:04It has the handle and these different attachments that you can add.
32:09I can then go right into the soil and dig my hole, ready for my plant.
32:15And then it's ready to put the dahlia in.
32:18So this is dahlia totally tangerine.
32:21And just look at the way that it picks up the pink of the geranium
32:25and the orange of the geum.
32:28It's just a perfect match.
32:30If you look on the reverse of the petal,
32:32it's also got a nice pink hue to it as well.
32:35Turn it upside down, tap the bottom and out it comes.
32:39And just look at the root system.
32:42It's just raring to go.
32:44Gently tease out those roots
32:47and then you're ready to place it into the hole.
32:51Take a grabber, pull it round the base of the plant
32:54and then you can just lower it down into the hole with ease.
32:59MUSIC
33:06So then you take the pot that the dahlia came in,
33:09scoop the soil back in around the plant
33:13and firm that soil into the ground.
33:16And job done.
33:26Even though being in a wheelchair has had a massive impact on me,
33:30it's actually been a positive one.
33:33I now see a garden from a new perspective
33:36and because I've found tools that have enabled me to continue gardening,
33:40I'm out here more than ever.
33:58That does show that you can garden.
34:01If there is a will, there is a way.
34:03Whatever the limitations you may have to deal with,
34:06and actually nowadays there are an awful lot of really good bits of kit and tools
34:10that you will find will be just right for you in your position.
34:14And Mark's garden looks absolutely lovely.
34:17Now the weather at the moment isn't very lovely,
34:20but the foxgloves are relishing it.
34:22They like these rather overcast, damp conditions.
34:25And the white ones in particular, maybe it's because it's been gloomy.
34:28They've shone out.
34:30What about this one here?
34:32This whopper with its sort of junior collection underneath
34:35must be eight, nine foot tall and still growing.
34:40This construction is intended to support my squash plants this year.
35:04It's actually not finished. I've got a little bit more to do.
35:07In past years I've grown them up tripods of these really stout posts.
35:12But this year I thought I'd build a lattice that they could grow up.
35:17So I've got these in place, I've got the crossbars,
35:20I've tied on those uprights,
35:22I now want to get the parallel horizontal bars in.
35:27The point of this is to provide a structure
35:30for the tendrils of the squash to climb onto.
35:33And squashes are heavy.
35:36So bamboo supports or lightweight canes
35:39just simply aren't going to do the job.
35:42It's a way of growing quite a large vegetable,
35:44one that takes up a lot of space in a limited situation.
35:48You do not need a big garden or an allotment to do this.
35:52Obviously for the biggest pumpkins this doesn't work.
35:55It's got to be for relatively small ones that enjoy climbing.
35:59The really big ones will grow laterally across the ground.
36:19Well that's the DIY completed. Now for some planting.
36:24These are all the same variety. It's called Uchiki Kuri.
36:28And it is the shape of an onion that is particularly good as a climber.
36:33Not too big and delicious to eat.
36:36If you haven't sown any pumpkin seeds yet, it's not too late.
36:40Because pumpkins and squashes are like warm knights if they're going to grow.
36:45So if you put some seed in the ground now,
36:48put two where you want them to grow,
36:50and if they both germinate, take out the weaker of the two.
36:53Put them somewhere with lots of sunshine,
36:55the richest soil you've got, and they should grow fast.
37:02Because I'm growing them vertically, I can fit much more into a small space
37:07because that space will be spread across this vertical pane
37:12and light and sun will be able to get at them.
37:21Right, they're planted.
37:23And the important thing is to water these in well.
37:26They really are greedy, thirsty plants.
37:39Although they've got such voracious appetites,
37:42actually squashes of all kind are pretty trouble-free.
37:45They can get powdery mildew,
37:47but that's usually because they're too dry.
37:49Other than that, they'll just grow.
37:51But there are other plants that I love that have had a tough time of late.
37:56Box, for example, which was a mainstay of the garden here at Longmeadow,
38:00was no trouble at all, and then box blight appeared,
38:04and it's had a devastating effect.
38:07But there seems to be another problem which might even be worse,
38:11which is box tree decay.
38:14And Nick went along to Ham House in Richmond
38:17because there they are trying all kinds of different methods
38:21of combating this particular problem.
38:28Commonly known as box,
38:30buxus is a true stalwart in British gardens.
38:34It's a versatile plant which can work in spaces both big and small.
38:41From large practical hedges
38:43through to 17th-century-inspired gardens like this one.
38:49But it's a plant that's seriously in the wars.
38:53First came box blight, which is a devastating fungus
38:56which causes the leaves to turn brown and the growing tips to shrivel.
39:00And then this arrived, the box tree caterpillar.
39:04And I, like so many other gardeners,
39:06know the absolute devastation this little beastie can cause.
39:10Box tree caterpillars are active from March to October.
39:14Female box moths lay their eggs on the underside of box leaves,
39:18and once these hatch, the caterpillars rapidly feed on leaves,
39:21often causing almost complete defoliation of the plant.
39:25Today, it's one of the top garden pests in the UK.
39:29One of many gardeners constantly battling box blight
39:33One of many gardeners constantly battling it
39:36is Rosie Files at Ham House in Richmond.
39:39Oh, Rosie, this is devastating.
39:41It is, and we have not done one thing to this box
39:45to control the caterpillar in two years of having it.
39:49So what you see here is leaves that have been eaten
39:54and then some webbing.
39:57And where there is webbing,
40:00the caterpillar tends to be hiding in leaves.
40:03I mean, it has an interesting life cycle, doesn't it?
40:05I think it's three times in a year it will regenerate.
40:08Last year, here, four.
40:10And I think that was to do with the hot weather.
40:12So you have to be vigilant, you have to be looking for the signs,
40:15and after a while, you do get kind of used to crawling around your box
40:19and having a proper look, and we're very lucky.
40:23Or not so lucky to find one.
40:26I mean, the devastation can be extraordinary.
40:28I first noticed it in 2014 in Chelsea.
40:31I was trying to hand-pick them off, take them off the box plants.
40:34Are your team doing that? Is it worth it?
40:36I think it's realistic in a domestic setting.
40:38If you've got a very prized area of box, it is a realistic thing to do.
40:42But bear in mind, you have to spot it,
40:45spot the signs of the caterpillar appearing first.
40:48That tends to be about sort of May time?
40:50Depends on the weather, but I think mid-May is a good time
40:53to start looking for the moth,
40:55and there are various tools that you can use to do that.
40:58Rosie's chosen to leave the problem uncontrolled in the kitchen garden
41:02and plans to replace the box hedging here.
41:06In other areas, once caterpillars are sighted,
41:09they're targeted with a biological spray.
41:12To tackle the moth, she's using various methods with the help of Chris Poole,
41:16the chairman of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society.
41:19Tell me, Chris, what's your particular approach here to dealing with the problem?
41:23I know it's multi-stranded.
41:25Yeah. The first thing, though, is you need to know
41:27whether you've got the caterpillar or the moth.
41:29Let's start with the moth.
41:31To do that, you use one of these things, a pheromone trap,
41:33easily available online.
41:35The pheromones come in a variety of different styles,
41:38sticky gels or these new ones, which if I open this one up...
41:42And so these would lure in the moth, it would get stuck
41:45and then tell you that they're present?
41:47Yeah, basically it smells of lady moth and the male moths will go for it.
41:52And this one lasts a whole season.
41:54From May through to October, that will keep the male moths coming for your trap.
41:59So it's the females that are laying the eggs,
42:02which cause the caterpillars and the problem.
42:04So why are you trapping the males?
42:06Yeah, females are laying around 700 eggs each.
42:09And why are we catching the males?
42:11Well, the males come out first from the eggs
42:13and there are twice as many males as there are females
42:15just to make sure the action happens.
42:17So they really are the indication that the problem's about to occur.
42:21Recently, Chris and his team have been trialling unique new ways
42:25to tackle box tree caterpillar, which could prove even more effective.
42:30We were contacted by a German company who have a deterrent
42:34which should stop the female moths laying their eggs
42:37and we've got some in the hedge here.
42:40In one of these pouches that is gas permeable
42:44and this one smells of basically caterpillar excrement.
42:49Fancy a sniff?
42:51OK, let's give it a go.
42:53OK. It's actually... It could be worse.
42:55It could be a lot worse. Yeah.
42:57We've got a different flavour or, in this case, a really different smell
43:01doing the same sort of thing of deterring the female moth.
43:05OK. What does that smell of?
43:09It's very herby. It is thyme.
43:11So what they found was that the female moths were repelled by the smell of thyme.
43:16And this is the thymole that's in thyme, the sort of active compound?
43:20Absolutely. And if you just grow thyme next to your box,
43:23I'm afraid that's not a strong enough concentration of it.
43:26This is much more concentrated and it should, fingers crossed, deter the moths.
43:30I mean, what's fascinating for me is, obviously,
43:33this is extracted or a concentrated form of thyme
43:36and, actually, thymole is a biocide, so it kills all living organisms,
43:40yet we manage to eat it somehow.
43:42In small doses, it doesn't hurt us,
43:44but fascinating that it can be used in this way.
43:47So this has got a distinctly nicer smell than the other product.
43:50Certainly better than the poo.
43:53Another method that could soon be available in the UK
43:56is the use of parasitic micro wasps.
43:59They lay their eggs inside the egg sacs of a box moth.
44:03Once the wasp eggs hatch, they eat the eggs of the moth.
44:07So it breaks the life cycle. It breaks the life cycle.
44:10Hopefully, next year, we'll get the licence in the UK
44:13to import these things from the Drome region in France.
44:17They arrive in the post and, inside,
44:21you'll have the microscopic wasps.
44:24Dead easy to use. Just hook it onto a branch of the box tree
44:28and, if you get the timing right, you should end up with no caterpillars.
44:34Despite the devastating effect of this pest in the UK,
44:38the range of potential treatments means there's real hope
44:42for box in our gardens in the future.
44:58Although we've certainly had our problems with box,
45:01although we've certainly had our problems with box blight,
45:04box caterpillar hasn't yet arrived at Longmeadow,
45:07and I hope it never does.
45:09It's mostly confined to London and the south-east
45:12and has been devastating there.
45:14But if you live outside that area and you spot a caterpillar,
45:18you can let the RHS know because they are monitoring its progress.
45:22If you go to our website, you'll see the links to follow
45:25and be able to contact them.
45:28Now, although we've had a miserable summer for gardeners,
45:31the soft fruit has loved this weather.
45:34By and large, mild, damp, cool summers
45:39are perfect for growing good soft fruit.
45:43And here they are all flourishing.
45:45We've got black currents, not yet ripe,
45:48but they're certainly ripening up.
45:50Plenty of currents there.
45:52There is a little bit of blistering on the leaves.
45:55What you notice on black currents,
45:57red currents and white currents quite often
45:59are the leaves puckering and blistering
46:02and very often turning quite a sort of angry red
46:05where there are scars.
46:07This is because on the underside
46:09you will find little, tiny aphids eating it.
46:13It does no harm to the plant, certainly doesn't affect the crop,
46:16doesn't look great, but it's nothing to worry about.
46:19The raspberries are enjoying this summer much more than last year,
46:23which was far too hot and dry for them.
46:25But best of all are the gooseberries.
46:28Have a look at this.
46:30They're very, very prickly.
46:33But look at that.
46:35And this is just a side shoot.
46:37These are cordon gooseberries,
46:39growing slightly unrestrainedly,
46:42but absolutely laden down with fruit.
46:45Now, I don't want those to sit in the ground,
46:48so I do need to tie them up
46:50to protect the fruit from slugs and snails.
46:56The waiter test of a gooseberry is ripe.
46:58It's just give it a squeeze.
47:00If it's rock hard, then it's not ready,
47:03but worth checking up on practically on a daily basis from now on.
47:08I think the thing I love most about growing things as a cordon
47:12is just how much fruit you get in a really limited space.
47:16There is no reason that you shouldn't grow soft fruit
47:19just because you've got a small garden,
47:21because gooseberries, redcurrants, raspberries,
47:25they all lend themselves to growing in this way.
47:28It can be on wires, it can be against a fence or a wall.
47:32And you get masses of fruit,
47:35and that incredible experience of fresh, soft fruit,
47:39it is so satisfying.
47:44Now, earlier on, we saw Adam and Jo
47:47and Ruth and Nick in Leicestershire
47:49to help them transform their garden into a space that worked for them
47:54and also give them some guidance.
47:56Well, they've got the groundwork in and they've started the project.
47:59Now we rejoin them as they start to do the good bit, the planting.
48:07Having decided on the overall design,
48:09it's time to lift the paving and dig out for the new planting areas.
48:17We're going to take out those pockets for planting back to soil
48:20and introduce topsoil with a lot of organic matter.
48:26Nick and Ruth don't like the hedge at the back,
48:28which is messy and half dead,
48:30so we've decided to take it out to make the most of the view beyond.
48:33It's illegal to cut down hedges with nests or birds in them,
48:37and advice is to observe a hedge from a distance over weeks to be sure.
48:41That's been done here, and as there are no birds or nests here,
48:44we can safely remove it.
48:48Just seeing from coming up here, it already makes such a big difference.
48:52Are you all right? Are you going to keep going?
48:54Sure, I'll go in a minute.
48:55All right, then.
48:58All done.
48:59This is what we call an organic fluid design.
49:02Now this hedge is out, this little block wall is more prominent
49:06and it's obscuring the view, so the decision is it's going to go.
49:12And it goes very easily, too.
49:21You went along there, you knocked them little breeze blocks off.
49:23You even made that look like it was hard work.
49:27The breeze blocks are the pièce de résistance.
49:36Nick, the hedge looks great.
49:37It's so much better with it out, isn't it?
49:39It really is, but it wasn't easy to do.
49:41No, well, it was for me, because I just watched you do it.
49:43Not a big of a pain.
49:44We've got to get the topsoil in next, quite a lot of topsoil,
49:46to fill up these beds.
49:47Yeah, well, happy to help.
49:48It's out the front.
49:53Does it feel scandy to you, Ruth, all of this?
49:55Well, I think it'll be a little bit scandy when it all comes together.
49:58And I'm thinking we've got to echo that time over there.
50:01Oh, look at you, echo.
50:03I'll tell you what, working with you most of the day,
50:05it feels like there's an echo.
50:08Do you know, these Deschampsia's are a grass I really love.
50:12They're a hard-working grass.
50:13I use them a lot at home.
50:15But they're there design-wise to really sort of create movement
50:19and pick up on what's going on behind me
50:21as that field grows and moves through the season.
50:25And around it, you can use these lovely little sort of dark sages.
50:29They work really well.
50:31Pick up that scent from them.
50:32And again, they're not just sitting in one place.
50:34They're repeated all the way through the space.
50:40Here you are.
50:41In fact, you can dot them in.
50:42Look, there's a little gap there.
50:43Lovely.
50:47These beech will hang over and hide the wall once they've fully matured.
50:51I want to cut them into a crisp, modern cube shape.
50:55So we've planted six of them.
50:56Two at the top, four at the bottom.
50:58And now it's a case of picking a height, which I'm going to do by eye.
51:01We don't need to get the spirit level out on these.
51:04I'm just sort of running through them.
51:06And anything above that height, I'm going to snip off.
51:09And this is going to quickly bush out and make a really solid structure.
51:14And it's going to look fantastic.
51:16And the nice thing about beech, you get a wonderful, fresh green inspiration.
51:20And in the autumn, you get those coppery tones coming through,
51:23which is going to work beautifully.
51:25And really impose some geometry onto a garden like this
51:29to hold it together all year round.
51:36Here you go, boss.
51:37We do want these.
51:38Thank you very much.
51:39I'm going to start that one over there and just work them across the area.
51:41So sometimes when you're putting plants together,
51:43not just in one place, but all over the place.
51:47And then here we've got some perennial plants
51:49that will just add lots of colour and interest through the summer.
51:52We've got foxgloves.
51:53Three foxgloves there, which will just come up
51:55and they're going to link to some of the foxgloves in the rest of the garden nicely.
51:58And this lovely phyllichthrum.
52:00It's an amazing, deep purple stem.
52:03And next to that, this allium, which is great against our fence, isn't it?
52:06Yeah, it really pops out the colour.
52:08Yeah.
52:09And then we've got some of the other flowers.
52:11We've got some of the other flowers.
52:14Yeah, it really pops out the colour.
52:15Yeah.
52:16Beautiful.
52:17So I think that's working really nicely.
52:18And then at the back, we're going to put in this climber.
52:20Trachylus bermum jasminoides.
52:22But a sweet jasmine scent.
52:24And it will just fill this space with fragrance in the summer evening.
52:28It's just beautiful.
52:29But it's also evergreen.
52:30But it's a well-behaved evergreen.
52:32Fabulous.
52:34This is a hemantime.
52:36So have a...
52:39Incredible, isn't it?
52:40It smells really good.
52:41It's brilliant, that does.
52:42But I think as well, we won't just use them in this space.
52:45I think it would be nice to just use them in the other pots as well.
52:48Spread a bit of the scent.
52:49Yeah.
52:50So the thyme will just spread out and fill this space?
52:52Yeah, just fill it nicely over the edges of the page.
52:54Yeah.
52:55And then we've got some of the other flowers.
52:57Yeah.
52:58And then we've got some of the other flowers.
53:00Yeah.
53:01And then we've got some of the other flowers.
53:02Spread them nicely over the edges of the page.
53:03Lovely.
53:04It's quite easy to maintain.
53:05Yeah, definitely.
53:12We've created planting pockets.
53:14Filled them with ornamental grasses.
53:16Herbs.
53:18Softened the boundaries with climbers and other plants.
53:24Put in beach hedges to add structure.
53:27And help create that contemporary feel that they're after.
53:31I've never really designed with anybody.
53:33You know, it's a...
53:35You've enjoyed it, though, haven't you?
53:36It's hard to do it by committee.
53:37I know, I've really enjoyed it.
53:38Well, actually, I think it's all about the results.
53:40I've put a decent day's graft in,
53:42and I think it's given them exactly what they wanted, hasn't it?
53:45Yeah, I think it works really, really nicely, actually.
53:47I mean, just lifting a few slabs, painting a bit of trellis.
53:50Yeah.
53:51Planting picks up on what's going on in the field out there.
53:53Yeah, well, I think that this transformation, you know,
53:55and I think a lot of people wouldn't be bold enough
53:57to get rid of their boundary and their little block wall
54:00and just open it out to that view.
54:02And they're getting married,
54:03and this is a lovely wedding present for them, isn't it?
54:05It is, isn't it?
54:15They look amazing, how they've been put together.
54:17Yeah, they contrast really nice, actually.
54:23We're incredibly lucky to not only have one Chelsea Flower Show winner,
54:26but two.
54:27They created an amazing design for us.
54:29And they've taught us a lot as well.
54:31Exactly.
54:32Me especially.
54:33Yeah.
54:38That view is just absolutely incredible.
54:41I love it.
54:57What's so good about that
54:58is that Adam and Jo have helped them realise
55:01what they want from their garden
55:03rather than impose a design.
55:09I've got a tray of serenthi.
55:11Now is a really good time to plant tender annuals.
55:15And it's a time of change here in the Jewell Garden
55:18and in many gardens,
55:19because all the early flowering plants
55:21that come to their peak round about the middle of June
55:25are now either on the wane or are over.
55:28So I'm literally just going to fill gaps.
55:30And so, in a few weeks' time, you won't see any bare soil.
55:33And we'll have lots and lots of colour.
55:46This is a job that I spread out over a few weeks,
55:49starting with the larger plants
55:51and then gradually filling up all the spaces.
55:53So by the end of the first week of July,
55:55it's all done and very quickly
55:57the garden takes on a whole fresh new palette.
56:00But here are some jobs for you to spread over your weekend.
56:18Now is a good time to take cuttings from tender perennials.
56:22Choose nice, straight growth without a flower or bud
56:25and cut just below a pair of leaves.
56:29Remove all the remaining foliage
56:31except for a small pair of leaves at the top.
56:33Then put the stems into either a very gritty compost
56:36or even pure perlite.
56:38Place them somewhere warm, water them,
56:41and you'll find that they will root very quickly.
56:45Although it's not looking like being a very good year for apples,
56:50trees are now producing clusters of fruit
56:53and these should be thinned to two fruits per cluster or spur.
56:58This will result in better quality, better size and healthier apples.
57:07Although many roses are still at their very best,
57:10the early flowering species roses, like Rosa canterbrigensis,
57:14have finished flowering and now can be pruned.
57:16In fact, all species roses are best pruned immediately after flowering.
57:22You can take old growth right back to the ground.
57:25But remember, next year's flowers are produced on this summer's growth.
57:41We may have had a really wet June, but the garden is still looking great.
57:45The delphiniums are as blue as ever.
57:48The Nautia macedonica, this lovely burgundy-coloured scabious,
57:53is better than I've ever known it.
57:55And the poppies, which are self-sown and pop up all over the garden,
57:59continue to delight with the range and intensity
58:03of their fragile but powerful colour.
58:06But that's it for today.
58:07I'll be back, of course, next week, but not at the normal time.
58:11We are on an hour later at 9.30.
58:14So join me then. Bye-bye.