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00:00Hello, welcome to Gardener's World, and welcome back to Longmeadow.
00:20And in the week I've been away, the garden has definitely changed.
00:25We're now in a new season, that lovely moment as summer fades and autumn is yet to really
00:32build up.
00:33And September light can be the best of the whole year.
00:37It combines elegance and delicacy with a clarity that you don't get at any other time of year.
00:45And the crops and the harvests are entering a new phase too, the sweetcorn.
00:50You can tell when they're ready to harvest because the tassels at the end darken and
00:54fall and then when you open them out, there inside you have the lovely glowing grains
01:00of corn.
01:01And just boil them till they're ready, a bit of butter, salt and pepper, it's messy but
01:06it's really delicious.
01:07And we've got lots for you today, a full hour long programme and it will be a full hour
01:14for the rest of the series.
01:20On today's programme, wildlife champion Kate Bradbury delves into the fascinating and mysterious
01:26world of the solitary bee.
01:28They literally fly under our radar, but they have the most amazing life cycles and I'm
01:34completely in love with them.
01:37Nick Bailey breathes in the heady fragrance of night scented plants.
01:42Particularly special thing about this plant is that the flowers are so white that they
01:46glow out of the twilight while at the same time emitting a delicious scent.
01:53And I shall be planting some Japanese anemones and adding winter salad crops here in the vegetable garden.
01:59September is bulb planting time and if you're buying bulbs, this is something to get on
02:19with.
02:20Now this bank has been long grass right through into August and then cut and I want to cover
02:26this with wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus.
02:32The flowers are pale yellow and exquisitely delicate and when you see a great mass of
02:38them spilling out of a wood into the edge of a field or down a bank, nothing in springtime
02:44can be lovelier.
02:45When it comes to planting, if it's level, the best thing to do is just throw them on
02:51the ground, plant them where they land.
02:52Can't do that here because they'd roll down the hill.
02:55So I'm just going to make a hole like that and pop each bulb in.
03:00But it is important to plant twice the depth of the bulb because otherwise they may well
03:06not flower because they're not deep enough.
03:16Wild daffodils spread by seed as much as by creating new bulbs.
03:23And of course, in order for the seed to set and become fertile, you mustn't cut off the
03:29seed heads.
03:32So it's very important when you plant them into grass not to cut the grass until at least
03:37the middle of June.
03:45Now this is one of those gardening jobs that is slow.
03:48It's going to take a little while to do and it will take a little while before it looks
03:53at its best.
03:54So this is about investing into a hopeful and beautiful future.
04:01Now Frances took on an allotment this year and that's a bit of an investment because
04:05there's a lot of weeding and clearing to do before you can even begin.
04:08And then you have to set it up.
04:10And she spent much of the summer traveling around, looking for inspiration, visiting
04:14different types of allotment.
04:17Now she's returning to base camp to prepare for the coming season.
04:25When I started out on this year's allotment adventure, the first place I visited was the
04:29beautiful allotments in Beaumaris on Anglesey.
04:33The main reason for my trip was to see how the plot holders coped with growing their
04:37produce despite being in a very exposed coastal location.
04:43And I discovered that not only did they cope, but they really thrived.
04:50What I learned from them, I'm now bringing back home to Kent.
04:55Living by the sea allows me to make use of a good natural and free resource for the allotment
05:04which is the seaweed.
05:05It makes a really, really good fertilizer.
05:08But what I'm doing is just working above the shoreline and taking the dry stuff that's
05:13definitely not attached to anything.
05:17Now I have checked with the council and they're very happy for me to take as much as I like.
05:23But it's very important to be mindful about the local wildlife, so never take anything
05:27in the spring or the autumn when lots of creatures will be living in it and foraging from it.
05:33Perfect.
05:35Seaweed is a brilliant fertilizer for my allotment.
05:42It's full of nutrients to help plants grow.
05:51It's got all the main components like magnesium and potassium, but it's also got lots of trace
05:56elements like zinc and iron, which are really, really useful to all plant growth.
06:01And what I'm just going to do here is just mulch the ground with this in a kind of thin
06:06layer that will feed it.
06:08I'm not going to grow in this for the rest of the year, but next spring this ground will
06:11be nice and the mulch will also suppress those weeds hopefully as well.
06:15There we go.
06:20Salt can damage certain species, so give it a couple of weeks before putting seaweed directly
06:25onto any plants.
06:27Elsewhere on my plot, things aren't looking quite so rosy.
06:33It looks like my potatoes are suffering from something rather unpleasant.
06:39My potato plants have all but disappeared over the last few weeks and looking around
06:44at all the other plots, I think it's blight that I have, although there are lots of different
06:47things that can affect them.
06:48I'm pretty sure that's what it is.
06:50Now the foliage has really, really died back and what I'm doing is now just harvesting
06:54as many potatoes as I can before they completely rot away.
06:59Yes, it's a relief to see these are actually all right.
07:03The potatoes themselves are completely fine, but oh look, there's a rotten one.
07:09As you can see, it really does affect the ones where it gets in and because blight is
07:13a fungus, blight needs moisture to move around.
07:15Any fungus needs moisture to move around.
07:18So I think this probably came in, in about June time, we had a lot of dry weather, which
07:22will have weakened the potatoes and then that rain will have allowed the fungus to set in.
07:26But what I did do was plant my tomatoes in the greenhouse because they're in the same
07:31family and they're susceptible to the same thing, so they're safe, but these ones unfortunately
07:37need to come up and anything I remove that is affected will need to be burned.
07:47Look at that.
07:48Even when things go wrong, it just makes it all worthwhile to dig up something amazing
07:52like that.
07:53It's kind of like magic.
07:54I love this.
07:57It's not all bad news, as I now have space in my beds to grow something else.
08:02Now you might think it's a little bit late in the season to start growing new things
08:08from scratch, but in fact it's not too late, you just have to pick the things that you
08:11sow quite carefully.
08:13The soil's lovely and warm and hopefully we'll begin to get a little bit more rain now that
08:17the autumn's beginning to be just around the corner.
08:20So what I'm doing here is just adding a little bit of compost to this now that I've dug out
08:24the potatoes, giving it a lovely fine tilth, removing any big clumps of very baked soil.
08:33And then I'm going to fill this whole bed with micro-veg.
08:38Micro-veg, also known as micro-greens, can give you a great result in a relatively short
08:42space of time.
08:46This might look daft, but just after having forked over the soil, I'm just compressing
08:50it slightly to turn the macro-pores into meso-pores, which gives the perfect balance
08:58of air and water in the soil.
09:02The meso-pores are the spaces between the soil itself, and doing this little dance pushes
09:07the soil particles together just the right amount to help the ground retain moisture.
09:12And that helps the seeds germinate and the plants grow at their best.
09:20So the bed is all prepped, and now what I'm going to do is just sow the seeds in straight
09:24rows along the edges of these planks so I know exactly where they are.
09:30And these aren't actually technically micro-green vegetables, micro-green just means that you
09:35pick them as soon as they've germinated, so these ones are all kinds of veg, I've got
09:39loads of different things.
09:44When you're growing micro-veg, you can sow a lot more densely than you normally would
09:54because they're not going to be competing with each other because they're never going
09:56to get too big, and you want to maximise your crop.
09:59So it's not a cheap way of growing veg, but it's very nutritious, and it's about all you
10:05can do at this time of year, so there we go.
10:09Right, pea shoots sorted.
10:12I've got lots of lovely seeds to sow, things like kohlrabi, mustard, radish, and these
10:18micro-red cabbage seeds, which come in a handy layer of paper for sowing in tight blocks.
10:25There's another big job I need to do today, and I have a friend coming along to help me
10:28with it, so I'd better crack on before he arrives.
10:39It's nice to see Frances back in her allotment, having travelled the length and breadth of
10:46the country getting ideas, and we will be going back there to see who's joining her
10:51later on in the programme.
10:52And it struck me that she mentioned that it had been really dry down in her corner of
10:57Kent.
10:58Well, it hasn't been dry here in Herefordshire.
11:00In fact, we've had a particularly wet, quite cool summer, and there's been good and bad
11:05things.
11:06The downside is that the flowers have been great and are still going strong.
11:10The coneflowers, the echinacea and the rubeccia I planted a few weeks ago are really hitting
11:15their stride, and the borders are still looking fresh well into September.
11:20The downside is that we've got more fungal problems in this mild and damp summer, and
11:27the worst of it is box blight that has come back to Longmeadow with a vengeance, and it
11:32just devastates the hedges.
11:35And box is increasingly becoming a really difficult plant to sustain as the climate
11:41changes.
11:42Come on.
11:52I've got two trays of two of my favourite winter salad leaves.
11:59The first is rocket.
12:02And this is the annual rocket.
12:04It's lovely and peppery, but it is inclined to bolt and set seed if the weather gets very
12:09warm.
12:10So it's great for growing in autumn and spring, and it will overwinter if it's not too cold.
12:16And the other is mitsuna.
12:18This is a Japanese green, also peppery, and this is a cut-and-come-again plant, just like
12:24the rocket.
12:25So you can either take individual leaves from plants, or you can cut the whole thing and
12:28it will re-sprout.
12:30Just prepare a till, and then I've got a board to give me spacing, like that.
12:47Now the mitsuna was sown about five weeks ago.
12:55It's a little late to sow rocket or mitsuna now, but you can buy young plants in garden
13:02centres.
13:11The key thing is don't plant them too close together.
13:15Mitsuna is quite a big plant.
13:17It can cover an area about a foot or so wide and a foot or so high, so give it room to
13:21grow.
13:28I might have to protect them a bit if it's cold, round about minus four, minus five.
13:34So cloches or fleece need to be on hand.
13:44That's a double row of mitsuna.
13:47I'll now put in a single row of rocket, and then put in two or three more rows of rocket
13:52when I've cleared the squashes, which I have to say are looking pretty good.
14:09Now the wildlife author Kate Bradbury has written extensively and brilliantly about
14:14her observations of wildlife in her garden and on her allotment, but she's keen to champion
14:21bees and not perhaps the kind of bee that you and I are most familiar with.
14:29Bees.
14:32We know they're crucial pollinators, but for me, bees are the most fascinating creatures
14:37on the planet.
14:38There's around 270 species of bee in the UK.
14:45Just one of those is the honeybee.
14:47There's 24 species of bumblebee, but the rest, around 250 species, are solitary bees.
14:57Most of us don't even know that solitary bees exist.
14:59They literally fly under our radar, but they have the most amazing life cycles, and I'm
15:04completely in love with them.
15:09Unlike honey or bumblebees, solitary bees don't live in colonies.
15:13Instead, they spend most of their lives on their own, laying eggs, pollinating plants,
15:19and making amazing nests.
15:23Around 70% nest underground, like mining bees, but many are cavity nesters, seeking out holes
15:30in trees and hollow stems.
15:34So my allotment, which is fairly wild, can be a hive of activity.
15:39These teasels flowered last summer, I left them in place for the goldfinches to take
15:43the seed in autumn, and then I left them further so that as they started to rot down and decay,
15:49they would expose their hollow stems, and any bees that happened upon them might choose
15:53to nest here.
15:57Bed branches are a favourite too, and lots of solitary bees seek out all sorts of holes
16:01in the wood.
16:03The trouble is, in our tidy world, we clear away plants in the autumn and chop down old
16:09trees, which can leave bees a little bit short of homes, but that's where bee hotels can
16:14come in.
16:20Well-maintained bee hotels are a good way to give bees a home in your garden, but it's
16:25important to know a bit about them.
16:28It's not always a case of putting one up and leaving them to it.
16:33Solitary bees are essentially looking for a warm, dry, safe space to lay their eggs,
16:39ideally free from parasites and predators.
16:43And different types of bee use different materials to make their nests.
16:51Back in spring, in my relatively new garden, one of the first things I did was to dig a
16:56pond.
16:58I popped up a bee hotel too, and within weeks solitary bees arrived.
17:07Solitary red mason bees are one of the two species you're likely to find in your hotel,
17:12and they build great nests.
17:15They use mud, collecting it from the side of puddles or my pond, and line their nests
17:21to protect them from pests and predators.
17:24They lay an egg on top of a little cake of pollen and nectar to feed their larvae once
17:29they hatch, and use more mud to seal up the chamber.
17:36Red masons nest around April and May, but in July the other classic solitary bee species
17:42arrive in our gardens and hotels, leaving a distinctive telltale sign.
17:49In summer, leafcutter bees are using leaves to line their nests in this bee hotel, but
17:55I've also just seen a leafcutter bee using the petals of my chamomile to finish her nest
18:00off, which is something I've not seen before.
18:04They usually cut chunks out of soft green leaves to protect their eggs, but this leafcutter
18:10is slicing a yellow chamomile petal.
18:15She's just finishing the last wall of her nest, and when the new bees hatch next summer,
18:20they'll simply cut their way out to freedom.
18:24They make these lovely cigar-like tubes.
18:27This is one from last year, and you can just see where they've chewed their way out.
18:34This bee hotel is a shop-bought one, but it's easy to build a simple version in your own
18:38garden.
18:42The aim is to recreate what they have in the wild, but do it as closely as possible.
18:50So filling a long wooden box with tubes is a homemade version of the hollow stems.
18:57It's really important the box has a back on it, and the tubes are lengthy, because a solitary
19:02bee mum will only lay female eggs right at the back of a long nest, as they're safer
19:08there.
19:09She lays males at the front.
19:13These tubes are specially designed for solitary bees.
19:17Ten to fifteen centimetres are considered long enough, and having an end on the tube
19:22or a back on the box makes it even safer.
19:27These cardboard tubes are really good.
19:28They've got this internal layer, which the bees nest in, and then this thicker, outer
19:33protective layer, which prevents parasitic wasps from getting in and laying their eggs
19:38on the bees.
19:39And then all you need to do at the end of the year is replace these, but keep this to
19:43use again.
19:47There's much debate among bee experts about using bamboo for solitary bees.
19:52As the outside is tough, it's good protection for the eggs, but be careful about cutting.
19:58And like the cardboard tubes, you can have these dead ends where the leaf nodes were.
20:03If you cut them really well, you can make sure they're at the end.
20:07This is good news for the bees, because it provides an extra layer of protection from
20:10parasites at the back.
20:14And as bamboo can be sharp, make sure you remove any splinters around the cut edges
20:19and check the insides.
20:20But to keep your bees really safe, just like the cardboard, you still need to replace these
20:25every year.
20:29Putting in different diameter tubes will suit different bees, and pack them in tight before
20:35attaching the hotel securely to a wall.
20:39That way the eggs won't tumble off the pollen.
20:42South-facing at about head height is the usual advice, so they stay warm and safe from ground
20:47predators, though my leaf cutters out the front are nesting at about a metre.
20:55So once you've got your bee hotel up, the main thing then to do is just keep an eye
20:59out for cobwebs forming over the bee hotel and spiders sheltering in the tunnels, because
21:04otherwise they will quickly make a meal of all your lovely bees.
21:08My hotel goes into a cold shed in the winter to keep it safe from rain and hungry birds.
21:16And in March I put new tubes in the hotel, with the old ones on a plate under a flower
21:21pot with a little roof to stay dry.
21:25But watching these bees hatching out in spring and flying out of the flower pot is the best
21:31thing ever.
21:37There's lots of information online about looking after shop-bought hotels, but do make sure
21:42they're just designed for solitary bees, and preferably come apart for cleaning.
21:50And the other thing to consider is to get your neighbours involved, because the more
21:53of us that create these habitats for bees, the more bees there'll be.
22:14I confess that I am only really beginning to appreciate how fascinating solitary bees
22:20are.
22:21They have rather taken the headlines.
22:23But solitary bees are so numerous and so important, and we are learning more and more
22:28about them all the time.
22:30Which means that if you do make a bee hotel, or buy one, that's fantastic.
22:35But keep up to date with information, because we're learning more about how best to look
22:38after them.
22:39And bear in mind that it's not a one-off thing.
22:41You're going to have to maintain it, clean it, and look after it.
22:48These new borders on the mound are attracting loads of insects, mainly, I have to say, down
22:53to the ammy.
22:54This is ammy visnaga, these rounded umbels of white flower, which bees, hoverflies, flies
23:02absolutely love.
23:03And they mix in with the nicotiana alata, which smells fantastic in the evening.
23:08The verbena benariensis, which butterflies love.
23:11But the sunflower was not planted by me.
23:14This is a gatecrasher, an intruder.
23:16And I have to say, quite a welcome one, too.
23:18So we'll leave them, and in fact, let them die back, and then the stems may well become
23:23a home for a bee or two.
23:26Still to visit a gardener, as he prepares to enter his dahlias and giant marrow in the
23:32local show.
23:34The marrow is the, because...
23:38But first, we just see Botanic Garden, as he selects his favourite plants for their
23:44evening fragrance.
23:53What's special about this time of year is there's a whole host of plants that wait all
23:58day until the evening light before they release their magical floral scent.
24:04These are the mysterious night-scented plants.
24:13Because every species of plant has their own circadian rhythms, which control the timings
24:18of when to flower, grow, set seed, and lose leaves, as well as give off scent.
24:25Plants even adjust their timekeeping with the seasons, causing them to grow most efficiently,
24:29and means they know when to flower during the day, to attract the most amount of insects
24:33for pollination.
24:35And evening-scented flowers are as appealing to us as they are to some of our most vital
24:41pollinators, moths.
24:45As the flower opens, it releases a combination of microscopic compounds and oils, unique
24:50to each plant, which dissipate into the air.
24:53Moths can detect the scent from several miles away, and that's the signal they need to visit
24:58the flower.
24:59Once a flower's been pollinated, they reduce the amount of scent released, which directs
25:04insects to un-pollinated flowers, and ensures they get a good meal in return.
25:12The heady scent of this Nicotiana sylvestris is much loved by night-flying moths, and it
25:18releases its scent just at the beginning of dusk, to draw them in.
25:24Now around the world, moths and butterflies have co-evolved with species like this, to
25:29have especially long tongues, so they can get to the good stuff at the bottom of the
25:33flower.
25:35Now there's not a UK species of moth or butterfly that can get right into these corolla tubes,
25:39but there is a different form of Nicotiana you can grow, called a larter.
25:44Now it's an annual, and you can grow it very easily through the borders.
25:47It's perfectly good enough to bring in our moths and butterflies, so if it's good enough
25:51for them, I think the scent's good enough for us too.
25:56There are over 2,500 species of moth in the UK, compared to just 59 species of butterfly.
26:03But sadly, their populations are in decline.
26:06But by planting evening-scented, nectar-rich plants, which have specifically evolved to
26:11attract nocturnal insects, we can give our moths the sustenance they need.
26:18This gorgeous plant is Brugmansia, better known as angel trumpets.
26:24And for me, I think it's got the best of the night scents.
26:27It's heady and exotic, and it can fill a whole garden very easily.
26:31You can just sow a seed in February, keep it under glass, grow it on through summer,
26:36and extraordinarily, it'll get to six foot or so by late summer, and start producing
26:41these fantastic trumpet blooms.
26:43But it's part of the Solanaceae family, or the deadly nightshade family, and for that
26:47reason, it's extremely poisonous.
26:50So you need to wear gloves when you're dealing with it, keep it away from children, but make
26:54sure all of those precautions are in place, and you'll have a gorgeous, deliciously night-scented
26:59plant.
27:01One of the easiest ways to get exquisite night scent into your garden is to grow a jasmine.
27:15Now, there are many forms and varieties available, but this particular one is Jasminum officinale.
27:21Now, it's self-twining, so it's very easy to grow on a trellis.
27:25You can cut it down hard each year, and it'll produce masses of new growth, and then these
27:29delicious night-scented blooms.
27:31A particularly special thing about this plant is that the flowers are so pale and so white
27:37that they glow out of the twilight, while at the same time, emitting a delicious scent.
27:44Research shows that pale colours are the last to disappear at dark, which means the flowers
27:48are more visible to the moths, but they also stand out for us, too.
27:53So if you scatter pale-coloured, evening-scented plants through your garden, they'll be the
27:58very last colour to disappear at dusk.
28:08Perhaps the most iconic of all the night-scented plants is this, Onythra bionis, or the evening
28:14primrose.
28:15Now, it's very easy to grow from seed, and does quite well on poor soils.
28:19It will also self-seed, so you need to make sure it doesn't spread too widely in your
28:22garden.
28:23But up here is where the magic happens.
28:26So this is the remnants of last night's bloom.
28:29It will have stayed open all night and emitted that delicious lemony scent, and then tonight,
28:34this is the one that's going to open and bloom through till dawn.
28:54During the day, this little fella looked like a series of red berries, but in fact
28:59what it was, was all the petals closed up, and they're red on their back, so they give
29:03that effect, and then as dusk starts to fall, they slowly open and reveal this luminous
29:09white tone.
29:10Now, this is a Zeluzianskia, and it's one called Varta.
29:14It's great for growing on rock gardens, or you can grow it in pots as well, and it has
29:18a very delicate night scent, but if you want the really powerful night scent, the one to
29:24go for is Zeluzianskia Copensis.
29:27It's absolutely sublime, and it can fill a whole back garden with the smallest of plants.
29:38As night falls, the evening primrose have finally popped open, they're beautiful flowers,
29:44and are releasing scent.
29:45So by introducing night-scented plants like this to your garden, you can know that they're
29:51both good for you, and good for the moths too.
29:58Of course, Nick is absolutely right, that if you have white flowers, they light up the
30:12evening, and especially at this time of year, when our evenings are getting shorter and
30:16shorter.
30:17But they're not just good for moths either.
30:20Things like this white buddleia is just as attractive to butterflies as the blue or purple
30:25versions.
30:26And when it comes to fragrance, I still think that sweet peas are as good as anything.
30:33This has been flowering along with our other sweet peas since June, and looks like it's
30:37got plenty of flowers left in it for another few weeks yet.
30:41Come on, old boy.
30:46I want to take some cuttings, but these are not soft cuttings, or semi-ripe, or even hardwood.
30:55These are root cuttings.
30:57Now root cutting, essentially, is just a piece of root that creates a new plant.
31:01And around this time of year is a very good time.
31:03And I've got here an acanthus.
31:05Now this is acanthus spinosus, and takes incredibly well from cuttings.
31:08In fact, this plant was a root cutting about six or seven years ago.
31:13And what you can see is you get these roots.
31:16Now the first thing that you have to get right with root cuttings is to get them the right
31:19way up.
31:20And in fact, this is upside down.
31:21The thicker part of the root is at the top.
31:24So you need to cut them into sections about three inches long.
31:29And the convention is to cut the top straight across, and the bottom at an angle, like that.
31:38So then cut the top straight, bottom at an angle.
31:43Now I know that that is the right way up.
31:45If I put it in upside down, no chance at all.
31:51Get a good gritty compost.
31:54So if you get a peat-free compost, and just add some perlite or grit to it, and then simply
32:04push the cuttings the right way up in just level with the surface, like that.
32:10We'll put another one there.
32:12Push that in, and then cover that over with some grit.
32:22Now that can go into a cold frame, or inside a greenhouse, it doesn't have to be heated
32:30if you've got it, and leave it over winter.
32:33It'll start to show growth next spring, and then each one, when they're showing fresh
32:38growth, can be potted up, grown on, planted out next spring, and you've got yourself a
32:43nice new little plant.
32:45And oriental poppies, for example, do very well like that.
32:50Now if you have a new plant, and I'm going to plant these anemones later on, before you
32:54plant them, one way to do this is divide, but you can also take root cuttings.
32:59So if I take that out of the pot, you can see that there are roots, they're not very
33:06big, and they're certainly not big enough to cut up and place vertically into the soil.
33:13For that, you want to be thinking of sort of pencil size.
33:16But this type of root here, I can still take root cuttings from.
33:19So what I'm looking for are the thickest roots that we've got here, so I'll just cut that
33:25like that, and take that, that, and there's another nice bear, that's good.
33:36Now this time, I'm not going to place these vertically, but horizontally, but I'm just
33:42going to clean them off slightly, and then if I take the roots and just place them on
33:52the surface, like that, and like all cuttings, whether it comes from a stem or not, it'll
34:05be absolutely true to the parent.
34:09Like the acanthus, I'll put that in a cold frame, water it, make sure it doesn't dry
34:13out completely.
34:14What I do is water them once a week from now until about November, leave them over winter,
34:19and then start watering them again as you see new growth, and they can be potted.
34:22If you can get a new plant from a cutting of any kind, there is a real sense of triumph.
34:27That's enough.
34:28But there are growers who want to just have the best and be seen to be the best by their
34:35peer group, and we went down to Dorset to visit Charlie McCormick and his home as he
34:40prepares to enter his prize plants at the local flower show.
34:52The show bug for me started in New Zealand, growing up on a farm, and my grandparents
34:59were big into the showing world, and they got me into showing vegetables and flowers.
35:10This year I'm trying to just focus on a couple of things, the giant vegetables and the dahlias.
35:19Dahlias for me are an exciting flower because there's such a range.
35:25You can get cactus, and then you can get giant, like dinner plate ones, and then there's
35:29the tiny pom poms, and they come in the most outrageous, lousy, garish colours, which just
35:35make you so happy.
35:38We moved down here to Dorset.
35:40I got involved in the community and I realised there was a Melkplast show, which is basically
35:45like living in New Zealand because it's all exactly the same, how it works, sheep, horticulture,
35:51forestry, baking, preserves.
35:56I've got about 30 entries in this year.
35:59I'm going to pick as much as I can.
36:05Three years ago I decided I wanted to grow more flowers for some crazy reason, so I decided
36:10to dig up the lawn.
36:16This is Bearberry Pip.
36:18It's my first year of growing it, but it definitely needs a cover over it, just because the purple
36:24varieties tend to fade in the sun, so they lose their true colour around the bottom.
36:30I like the colour, so I just grew it this year, and it's great for in the house, but
36:33I don't know how well it will do at the show.
36:39The last few years I've left the dahlia tubers in here only because we're so close to the
36:46sea that we don't get the hard frost that you do get up north.
36:51I don't really have any secrets to growing them, I just think that just keep the earwigs
36:57and slugs at bay as much as you can.
37:00I tend to go out at night with my flashlight and pick off the slugs and the snails and
37:07dispose of them that way.
37:15The best time to pick dahlias is in the morning, because they are full of water.
37:21The earlier you pick them, the more water they've got in their stems.
37:31I'm just going to start grading the best, which ones are bruised.
37:36At the moment, I can imagine there are a lot of people all over Dorset preparing for the
37:43Melt Player show.
37:45I'm a bit nervous about the dahlias, but I'm quite excited about other things, about my
37:49marrow.
37:54The marrow is about to be cut to go to the show, and my husband Ben hopefully is going
38:00to help me lift it.
38:02How are we going to do this, Maisie?
38:06With the marrow and the pumpkin competition, it all goes on weight, it's not about beauty
38:10or anything, it's first or nothing.
38:15The marrow is the one that I really want to win, because so much love has gone into that
38:22marrow for the last three months.
38:27The umbrella over the marrow is to allow the marrow to grow without its skin getting hard,
38:34because if the direct sunlight hits the marrow, it means that the skin will harden, which
38:39means that the marrow can't expand as quickly as you want it to.
38:47Is this the one you want?
38:48Yeah, that's perfect.
38:53The beast is revealed.
38:54This is quite terrifying.
38:56Okay.
38:57Okay.
38:58Yeah.
38:59Look at that, that is revolting.
39:13Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
39:18I'm feeling pretty mixed about how the show is going to go this year, because I know that
39:24there's always quite stiff competition, but I'd be very happy if I got a few prizes.
39:36Showing definitely takes me out of my comfort zone.
39:42When I arrive at the show, I'm quite a sort of reserved, shy person, but once you're in
39:49there and you sort of start chatting to people, you get really revved up.
39:5444.6.
39:55Pretty good.
39:56That was it last year, right?
39:57Yeah.
39:58Good.
39:5915 kilograms heavier than last year.
40:00Right.
40:01I don't know how I feel about the competition.
40:07Fingers crossed about the marrow, but all will be revealed tomorrow.
40:35Judging is such a strict part of the flower and vegetable world.
40:40The judging normally takes about three or four hours, and then all the cards get written
40:45out and placed on the exhibits.
40:48When it's first open, it's like this mad rush because everyone wants to see how they've
40:52done.
40:53And should we give that a highly commended?
40:58The judging is always such a tense moment because I haven't actually seen how the flowers
41:03have done yet.
41:04So I'm pretty nervous.
41:05When I came in last night, there were a high quality of dahlias, and mine are quite bruised
41:13on the back.
41:14So I'm a bit worried about that, but I think everyone's in the same boat.
41:17Those are far too young.
41:19What a shame.
41:22People have their own views, but when it comes down to the judge's decision, that's final.
41:30The Delpo show this year has been an amazing, amazing, amazing show for me.
41:36I'm so happy with how my dahlias have done this year.
41:40I got awarded six first prizes, and I won the Dahlia Cup, which is given to the person
41:47who has gained most points out of all the dahlia classes.
41:53Now it's the terrifying bit.
41:55How did my marrow do?
41:58I am so excited that my marrow has won first prize because that was the one thing that
42:03I really, really, really wanted to win at this show.
42:07And all that sort of nurturing it's got for the last three months and to win first is
42:11just amazing.
42:21I love a really good village show, but one thing always puzzles me.
42:26All that giant veg.
42:28When the show's over, what happens to it?
42:35Now, these are the Japanese anemones that I took the root cuttings from earlier.
42:41It's a variety called Honorine Joubert, and I have another white group there called Whirlwind.
42:49They've got slightly more fluffy petals, and I want to pick up this rhythm of the Japanese
42:54anemones shining white out of the shade, because this is quite a shady bed and it can
43:01get very dry.
43:02And Japanese anemones are brilliant plants for dry shade and to give color from late
43:08summer right into autumn.
43:11So I'm just going to plant a group in here.
43:16They do like to have reasonably good drainage, so don't choose a boggy piece of ground.
43:29These are a lovely clear white with yellow center, but you can get Japanese anemones
43:34in almost every shade of pink as well.
43:38So we'll plant that so it's not sunk below ground level, but...
43:49Okay, that will go in there.
43:53Now I said that this is a plant that is completely happy in dry shade, but that doesn't mean
43:57to say that you don't water it in.
44:00Now there is just one slight word of warning about Japanese anemones, which is that sometimes,
44:10not always, in their second year it looks like they've got a problem, that they don't
44:14flower so well, they're not growing so strongly, that's not uncommon.
44:19It's just that they take time to get used to their new position.
44:22Bear with it, it's nothing that you've done, and then in the year after that they will
44:27be absolutely rip-roaring away and completely happy for years and years.
44:31These are very long-lived plants and they are really good doers.
44:36Now we're returning to Frances on her allotment, where she is expecting a visitor.
44:49My allotment's come on a long way since I first got it in January, but today there's
44:53a job that I need an extra pair of hands for.
44:55My cabbages, which are growing really well, need a little bit of protection from the pigeons
45:00and the caterpillars that find them irresistible, and it looks like my helper's just arriving.
45:13I hope it's up some hard graft.
45:20Hello.
45:21How are you?
45:22I'm good, thank you. How are you? Welcome.
45:24A little bit of advice, alright? Next time you take on an allotment, just one that maybe is a little bit easier to find.
45:30Did you get lost?
45:31I got lost. I got lost.
45:33Well, come and see it.
45:34You've got a list, haven't you?
45:35I've got some things that I could do with some help with, yeah. Have you got tools?
45:38I have, I've got loads of tools.
45:40Nice.
45:41Right, here we go.
45:47Careful of the fence. I've not put gates in yet.
45:50I presume you've got a rabbit problem, have you?
45:52Yes.
45:55I've got cabbages growing, and they're doing alright.
45:58Yeah.
45:59But I'd like to have something that I can cover to protect them from the butterflies, really.
46:03Yeah, yeah.
46:04So, yeah, some kind of frame.
46:09Roughly how big do you want it, mate?
46:11Six...
46:12Yeah, I like that.
46:14So...
46:15Don't tell me you're one of those people who measures the wood.
46:18What would you do if you didn't let me speak? It'd be brilliant.
46:22So, if we...
46:24Just so people might want to have a go at home,
46:26what about if we go for about 600?
46:28Yeah, let's do that.
46:32Four of these, and then these will be the corner posts.
46:36In general, has it been alright down here?
46:38Yeah.
46:39Have you met many people down here?
46:41Yeah. Yeah, everyone's really friendly.
46:43Really friendly. That's one of the keys, isn't it?
46:46And also, you know, the old boy or the old girl who's been doing it for years,
46:50they've got that local knowledge.
46:52Oh, totally.
46:54And then you can understand what to grow, what not to grow.
46:58This is just roofing lath, so this is all treated timber.
47:01Right, so that'll be completely good in the outdoors.
47:05This sturdy frame might seem extreme to protect a few vegetables.
47:10But cabbage white butterflies, or more specifically, their caterpillars,
47:14will cause serious damage to plants like cabbage,
47:16cauliflowers, nasturtiums, and even turnips.
47:21And if those caterpillars get established,
47:23you'll have a brassica massacre on your hands.
47:29Now the wood is cut and drilled, we're ready to build the frame.
47:34So, find yourself a lovely flat piece of ground.
47:37Nice flat piece of ground to work on.
47:39You can only work with what you've got, you know.
47:41I know, I know.
47:43So if we just square those, hold them tight to the end.
47:47There you go.
47:52So that's one.
47:53There we go.
47:54Put that there.
47:56Right, so.
47:57Coming together.
47:59Right, then the other side.
48:00The other side.
48:01The other side.
48:02The other side.
48:03Right, so.
48:04Coming together.
48:06Right, then the other side.
48:07So if that one comes over there.
48:10So this is the sides.
48:12There we go.
48:13Quite a nice simple framework.
48:16All our timber posts are screwed together to make a basic box frame.
48:22And we've drilled pilot holes at each end to stop the wood splitting as we screw it together.
48:26There we go.
48:28Super.
48:30Then we add some diagonal crossbars to stabilise it.
48:37And finally, it's time to cover the whole thing in netting.
48:41It's actually mosquito netting, but I figure that will keep butterflies out nice and easily.
48:47Unfortunately it's plastic and I'm really trying to reduce the plastic I'm using.
48:50But this is really hard wearing and so it should last for many, many years.
48:54Especially on this lovely solid frame.
48:59This fine mesh is ideal as it will stop the butterflies entering and laying their eggs.
49:03And later on, it'll keep off the pigeons.
49:07But the other benefit is that little birds won't get entangled or trapped, unlike larger netting.
49:13And of course, my brassicas will still get plenty of light and airflow.
49:18We're using a staple gun to attach it.
49:25This is very cosy.
49:30I feel a bit like we're in...
49:31I feel like I'm at primary school suddenly, do you?
49:34I feel like we're in some sort of kids programme.
49:37Like a puppet show.
49:38This is wasted as a gardening thing.
49:42Cut the right bits off.
49:44We put a top on.
49:48Just pull that tight along there.
49:49That's great because not only... I think this is good because it is windy up here, isn't it?
49:54It is very windy up here.
49:55And it will just stop it going all over the place.
50:00It's a little bit like wrapping presents, but it has to be very neat.
50:06There we go.
50:08The remaining side of the frame is designed to lift up, creating a giant flap,
50:12so I can still access and harvest my vegetables.
50:16It's looking really good, actually.
50:19Right, shall we put it in place?
50:20Yeah.
50:24Good?
50:25Yep.
50:26Right, you lead the way.
50:28Cabbages are over here.
50:31If you reverse, can you go that way at all?
50:34Sorry, I'll let you guide your end.
50:36Okay, yeah, so if we get it...
50:37Yeah.
50:40Great.
50:41Right.
50:42There you go.
50:43If we put a bit of weight there.
50:45That looks amazing.
50:46It's all right, isn't it?
50:47Yeah.
50:48It might seem like a lot of work, but it'll last for years.
50:50Absolutely, and it's not over yet.
50:52It might seem like a lot of work, but it'll last for years.
50:54Absolutely, and it's not overengineered, because although it's quite a lot of cabbages,
50:58it gives them loads of room to grow, but for my seedlings in the spring,
51:01and for overwintering things, it's just perfect.
51:04Yeah, so it'd be brilliant for frost, wouldn't it?
51:06Just put a bit of extra cover, fleece and everything.
51:08Exactly.
51:09Job done.
51:10Great, thank you.
51:11Thank you for coming and helping me.
51:12Ah, but you know you turned up at my house with a present?
51:15Yeah.
51:16I've got something for you.
51:18Have you?
51:19Yeah.
51:20Cool.
51:21Surprise.
51:30Okay, you're going to have to enlighten me as to what this gift is.
51:34You'll love it.
51:35You'll love it.
51:36Okay.
51:37Is this a bench?
51:38It will be.
51:41Pretty solid under there.
51:43If you want, next time you choose an allotment, I'll come with you.
51:51The bench goes in in three stages.
51:54First, we dig some holes to support the base.
51:59The legs are made from a sleeper, cut into three sections.
52:02And for the seat, Adam's used some reclaimed scaffold boards,
52:05which are really cheap, but hard-wearing.
52:08Then we pop it in, level it up,
52:11backfill with plenty of earth, and there you have it.
52:15Just what I need after a hard day on the allotment.
52:18A lovely spot to sit and soak it all in.
52:23That is so good.
52:25Thank you so much for that.
52:27This is amazing.
52:28It's all right, it's a pleasure.
52:29But you are right about one thing, though.
52:31Go on.
52:32I need a kettle.
52:33To be honest with you, I think I could do with a pint.
52:36Yeah, that'd be nice.
52:37That'd be good.
52:38I'm not waiting for your hops, though.
52:40No.
52:41Not at this rate.
52:43No, thank you so much for coming, and thank you so much for this.
52:46It's really touching that you made that.
52:48It's beautiful.
52:59Well, that is a very high-class frame.
53:02But useful, really useful, for protecting cabbages and brassica,
53:06and also seedlings next year.
53:08But some things need more than just a mesh.
53:12They need extra heat and light.
53:15And, of course, those have to be grown in a greenhouse.
53:17Now, certainly this year, the chilies have done much better than they ever would have done outside,
53:21and also have been growing melons, and they've been really successful.
53:25When I went away, they were nowhere near ripe,
53:27and I thought it would take maybe another two or three weeks.
53:29But, having come back, the whole greenhouse smells opulently of ripe melon.
53:36And then this one, which has come away from the parent plant,
53:39if I take this out, the smell of that is rich and intense,
53:43and more to the point, if I press it, it's soft,
53:46which means to me that that is ready for eating.
53:49So I think we should try it.
53:57This is a variety called savanne.
53:59Now, I've never grown this variety before.
54:01Let's try this.
54:08Feels right.
54:14It's very good.
54:16That is a real success. I'm delighted.
54:19And I will definitely sow this again next spring.
54:22But, things to do before then.
54:25Here are some jobs for this weekend.
54:28If you have a pond of any kind,
54:31now is the time to cut back and remove
54:34any decaying or fallen plant material
54:37that would otherwise run down into the water,
54:40because this would increase fertility
54:43and the chances of more diseases.
54:46So, if you have a pond of any kind,
54:49now is the time to cut back and remove
54:52any decaying or fallen plant material
54:55and the chances of more duckweed or algae.
54:59And this is a job you may need to return to
55:01on a number of occasions between now and the end of autumn.
55:11It's a good idea to take verbena benariensis cuttings now.
55:15Look for nice, straight growth without a flowering bud,
55:18growing between the stem and the leaf.
55:25Remove most of the foliage
55:27and insert the cuttings into a very gritty compost.
55:31Water them and then keep them misted,
55:34either by spraying regularly or putting inside a propagator.
55:38They should root over the next few weeks
55:41and be ready to pot on and grow outside next spring.
55:51Unlike red currants,
55:53red currants produce their best fruit
55:55on first and second year growth.
55:58So it's a good idea to remove a third of each bush
56:02at this time of year.
56:04Cut right down at the base of the oldest shoots,
56:07leaving plenty of light and air and room for new shoots to grow.
56:13You'll often hear people refer to gardens in September
56:17as fading elegantly, and of course they do by and large.
56:21But not the jaw garden here at the very heart of Longmeadow.
56:25In September, it reaches its richest intensity.
56:30All the cannas and the dahlias and the sunflowers
56:35and the cordelia, all the flowers,
56:38all the cannas and the dahlias and the sunflowers
56:41and the cordelia work together
56:44to make something that is positively pulsating with rich colour.
56:50But there's one plant this year that has given me a special pleasure.
56:57Last year, somebody gave me a couple of gingers
57:00and I popped them in a border and they grew perfectly well,
57:03and then I lifted them and kept them in the protection
57:06of my house over winter and bought them out again in spring.
57:09And instead of planting them in the border,
57:11I put one each in a large pot and they've done very well.
57:15It's not just that they're healthy and they're starting to flower,
57:18but they form such a good structure in a pot.
57:21They've got grandeur and presence and they're clearly very happy.
57:26And that's how I'm going to grow them next year.
57:28It's a really good development for me.
57:31But that's it for this week.
57:33I'll be back here at Longmeadow at the same time next week.
57:36So join me then for another full 60-minute programme.
57:40Until then, bye-bye.
58:03.