Gardening Club episode 9
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Sowing the seeds for gardens and outdoor spaces that everyone can love with Alan Titchmarsh's
00:06Gardening Club.
00:07Brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
00:22Welcome to my new series where I'll be celebrating the people, the plants and the places that
00:28make gardening special right across the UK.
00:31And I'll be right here in my own garden swapping notes with my Gardening Club joined by a team
00:37of passionate experts and we'll meet those at home and in the community who are breathing
00:43new life into forgotten spaces.
00:46So whether you have sprawling acres, a cosy balcony or even just a sunny windowsill, get
00:52ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in with us.
00:56Together we'll uncover tips, tricks and techniques to transform our spaces into vibrant, thriving
01:03sanctuaries that nourish the soul and inspire the spirit.
01:08So pour yourself a cuppa and get comfy.
01:11Welcome to my Gardening Club.
01:25Welcome back to my Gardening Club and to my very own garden, celebrating the fact that
01:30in late spring we can revel in a welter of blossom from glorious pink flowering cherry
01:37trees to an understory of bright blue camassias, fragrant lily of the valley, tulips, oh it's
01:44all here, filling the air with perfume and ushering in a season of floral delights.
01:50And we'll be providing plenty of delights over the next hour.
01:54David Dominy offers an insightful masterclass on crafting a captivating water feature.
02:00We explore a restorative haven providing solace for hospital patients in need of a green sanctuary.
02:08And horticulturist Camilla Bassett-Smith has some timely tips to invigorate your garden
02:13this spring.
02:14But first, throughout the series eco-gardener Anna Greenland has shown just how easy it
02:19is to create an eco-friendly garden from scratch.
02:23Today, she explores the benefits of growing plants undercover.
02:37Hi, I'm Anna Greenland and I'm an eco-gardener.
02:41I fell in love with eco-gardening when I was living in Cornwall in my early 20s and I was
02:47renting a little cottage on the north coast and it had a greenhouse in the garden and
02:52I just started tinkering around growing things and just got the bug and haven't stopped since.
02:58And then when you come to eat the produce it tastes so much better because you know
03:02that it's just been grown with good compost and lots of love in a healthy soil.
03:16Today we're going to be talking about growing undercover and if you're just starting out
03:20in your eco-friendly gardening journey then growing undercover is a really important
03:25thing to remember because you aren't going to have pesticides and synthetic fertilizers
03:30at your disposal so raising plants indoors, making them more robust before you set them
03:35out in the garden is a really helpful thing to do.
03:39I'm just planting some tomato seeds in the greenhouse and this just means that they can
03:45grow and develop with a little bit of protection before they have to be planted out.
03:52I find that if I sow a lot of my vegetable crops outside directly into the soil, they
03:58can actually be quite susceptible so they'll spring up into these lovely healthy little
04:02seedlings.
04:03But then they might get nibbled by all sorts of pests or more susceptible to the cold,
04:07more susceptible to disease and there's no way I want to use any chemicals so I find
04:12that raising my plants in a structure like a greenhouse, I almost view it like a little
04:17nursery school environment.
04:18So I'm raising and nurturing these little plants, I'm giving them the best start in
04:23life before I let them go out into the garden by themselves.
04:27Successful eco-friendly gardening begins with raising healthy and resilient plants
04:32and this starts with a little bit of shelter, protection and some TLC.
04:38You can even use a cloche and this is an old Victorian one I picked up second hand.
04:43I'm going to show you how to make a cloche.
04:46So I'm going to start off with a cloche.
04:48I'm going to start off with a cloche.
04:50I'm going to start off with a cloche.
04:52A cloche and this is an old Victorian one I picked up second hand.
04:56You can get all sorts of different ones in the shops or you could use something like
05:00a glass, big glass jar like this just to pop over a seedling.
05:09Thanks Anna and I'm certainly an advocate for growing undercover.
05:13I love my greenhouse and in May it's at its best.
05:17All these pelargoniums coming into flower, some glorious coloured foliage ones and a
05:22chance to raise seedlings and cuttings in a propagator.
05:25If you haven't got a greenhouse, a little heated propagator like this lets you get a
05:30head start on growing things and saves you quite a few bob as well.
05:34Now let's catch up with Gardening Club favourite Alex.
05:37Throughout the series he's been meticulously documenting his vegetable growing journey
05:42from the depths of winter through the emergence of early spring shoots to now where he's
05:47certainly enjoying all his hard work as he reaps the rewards of his efforts so far.
05:53My name's Alex and this year I decided to grow a vegetable garden.
05:57I started doing the odd bit of gardening about three years ago and I've realised it's
06:01one of the most rewarding feelings, being able to harvest and cook with fresh food that
06:06you've grown yourself.
06:07And when I moved back in with my parents at the beginning of this year I asked my dad
06:11if I could dig up part of his garden and plant some vegetables.
06:15Thankfully he let me do so and in January I started making plans for this year's garden project.
06:23And one of the things I've learnt over the past couple of years of gardening is that
06:27you should always plant what you really like eating.
06:30Because if you plant loads of stuff which you're not too keen on, then there's not
06:34much incentive, there's not much reason to look after it and really try your best to
06:41get a good harvest.
06:42But if you've got a dish in mind or a certain thing that you love eating, if that's in your
06:48mind whilst you're looking after this plant it helps keep on and it helps not giving up
06:53with the whole thing when things are maybe not going well, like slugs attacking your
06:57plants or diseases eating up to your onions.
07:01I put these corn plants in the ground back in May so it's taken about three months for
07:06them to get to this stage.
07:08They have been a really enjoyable plant to watch grow because they get very tall.
07:14They have an interesting flowering system where they release the male flower pollen
07:21from the top and it falls down onto the female flower underneath and it creates this
07:29well, we're about to see what it created.
07:32I was reading this morning about how you tell when a corn plant, a corn cob is ready to
07:38pick and apparently you look at the hairs on the female flower and a sign that they
07:45are ready to pick is that they go this brown colour.
07:48And also if you peel back the coating of the cob you can see the little grains of corn.
07:57This is my first ever corn harvest.
07:59I think you're meant to snap it off.
08:03Like that.
08:06Hey, I feel like a proper farmer now.
08:08Oh wow, look at that.
08:10Beautiful.
08:12Apparently each one of these hairs needs to be pollinated otherwise you'll have missing
08:19grains.
08:20I don't know if that's true but that's what I heard somewhere.
08:23So you actually need to have really good pollination which is why you plant a group
08:27of them together so that the pollen can fall down over all the corn plants and help pollinate.
08:39Wow.
08:40We got two corn cobs from one plant.
08:43This one's a little bit smaller.
08:45That's going to be dinner.
08:47Fresh corn from the garden.
08:48I never thought I'd ever grow corn.
08:51I see it in the fields around the house growing each year but I never thought I would grow
08:57it myself.
09:00Each day there's another tomato ripening.
09:05Look at those.
09:06Those are called sun gold.
09:08You can see why because they're beautiful golden orange and they taste incredible.
09:15Not bad.
09:16Beginning of August harvest.
09:18Tomatoes and corn.
09:21Oh yeah.
09:22At this time of year whilst the garden is looking pretty good and everything's growing
09:27lots I enjoy just walking around the garden with a basket or container.
09:32So something which I've been cooking so much of this year is crispy kale.
09:38Kale is kind of something which I never really have eaten in my life much.
09:42I always just think of it as a not very tasty green but I realised if you roast it it tastes
09:50incredible.
09:51These kale plants have grown really well and I just snap the stems off.
09:58There hasn't been much damage actually from the cabbage butterfly larvae.
10:04There has been some eggs but I've been able to remove most of them.
10:09You just snap the lower leaves off and you just roast them.
10:15And it takes about six, seven minutes and they go crispy with some salt, a bit of sugar,
10:22some MSG.
10:23They taste so good.
10:25And walking around the garden is like walking around a supermarket or a farmer's market.
10:30You can be quite creative and you can take your time whilst you think about what things
10:37you could make for dinner.
10:39I'm going to go for it and harvest some of my parsnips.
10:44I know that I could leave them longer and they'd get bigger but I really want to eat them as well.
10:50I've got, oh wow, parsnips.
10:54I don't think we're having parsnips for Christmas now.
10:57I just went a bit crazy.
10:59Devoured half my row of parsnips.
11:03But I needed something for my meal tonight.
11:05It was either parsnips or potatoes and I had loads of potatoes the other day so I wanted
11:10to have something different.
11:11I think that's enough for three people.
11:14So I've got a bowl for putting compost in, a bowl and a plate for putting the prepared
11:19vegetables on and I'm going to start chopping up stuff.
11:24Tomatoes.
11:26That one we've got loads of leaves and some flowers and then we've got what is really
11:30the highlight and that is my corn that I've been trying to grow all year.
11:38I really hope it tastes good.
11:42Now for the exciting bit.
11:47It's actually quite a special moment for me.
11:52It's actually quite satisfying.
11:55Cutting off these outer leaves.
11:59Oh, look at that.
12:06Oh, I just remembered I've got all these parsnips to prepare as well.
12:10So I'm going to chop them up.
12:30Salad.
12:41Look at those crunchy corns.
12:44What have we got here?
12:46We've got corn from the garden cooked two ways.
12:49Deep fried and just boiled.
12:51I've got a little pot of chived melted butter.
12:55Then we have some roasted parsnips and carrots from the garden and that is a wasp.
13:02And a salad with my tomatoes from the garden.
13:06Oh yeah, and some crispy kale.
13:09So good.
13:10Let's eat this.
13:14Most of this is from the garden.
13:27I'm very happy about that.
13:29Very happy.
13:35Loving your work, Alex. Goodness me.
13:37The fact that not only are you a gardener, but a chef too.
13:40It did look rather delicious, didn't it?
13:42Of course, do remember to wash anything from your garden that you're planning to cook,
13:46just to be on the safe side.
13:48You don't know what's been at it while you haven't.
13:51Coming up, we meet the newest member of the gardening club, Ashley Edwards,
13:55as he takes on a tour of an extraordinary garden,
13:58providing a sanctuary for hospital patients.
14:01I'll see you after the break, if I can turn myself away from all this.
14:06Watching them blossom.
14:09With Allan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club.
14:12Brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
14:16Regular watering.
14:18With Allan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club.
14:21Brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
14:36In May, gardens really come alive,
14:39offering huge benefits to anyone who steps into them.
14:43I just love this bit of rough grass that I've planted up with camassias,
14:48these tall spires of starry blue flowers,
14:51are natives of North America,
14:53but they do really well in damp grassland,
14:56and grassland that here isn't damp.
14:58I planted them several years ago,
15:00they're multi-coloured, and they're beautiful.
15:03I planted them several years ago, they multiply year on year.
15:07I do nothing to them, except cut them down when I mow the grass in the autumn,
15:11but camassia, a name to remember,
15:14and as the warmth of spring envelops us.
15:16Gardens become havens of rejuvenation,
15:19they really do provide sanctuary for both body and mind.
15:24Our newest Gardening Club member, Ashley Edwards,
15:27knows this all too well.
15:29Ashley tends an extraordinary garden in North London,
15:32offering an outdoor sanctuary for patients suffering from spinal injuries.
15:37Today, he guides us through this wonderful green space.
15:52I am Ashley Edwards, and I'm Head Gardener here
15:55at Horatio's Garden London and South East.
15:57We are a national charity,
15:59and we build beautiful functional spaces
16:02for patients in spinal injury centres in NHS hospitals.
16:11The one we're at now is in North West London, in Stanmore,
16:14at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital,
16:17and I run a team of volunteers,
16:20and yeah, we maintain this beautiful space.
16:25The patients that are here, they've all had some form of spinal injury,
16:28that could be through accidents,
16:30or it could be some sort of medical complication that's happened,
16:33and as a result of that spinal injury,
16:35many people lose some form of mobility.
16:39It's completely life-changing.
16:41It will totally flip your life upside down,
16:44and it usually happens very instantly.
16:50My name is Charlotte.
16:52I was admitted for rehab in May 2021.
16:57I've always been very active.
17:00I was a gymnast when I was young, and swimming and surfing.
17:04I surf a lot, and I love the ocean,
17:07and that's how I came to be in Costa Rica.
17:12And so on the day of my accident,
17:14I woke up very early to go for sunrise surf.
17:18I was driving this quad around,
17:20because the place where I lived was just like jungle roads.
17:23So I put on my helmet, started the quad, and started going.
17:26A lot of wind came into my face,
17:28and my helmet, which wasn't closed properly,
17:32was starting to fly away.
17:34So I took my left hand off the handlebar,
17:38and then I lost control of the quad straight away.
17:42So it just tipped, and as soon as it hit me,
17:45I was just face down in the jungle,
17:47and I felt like my body had been cut in two,
17:50and I couldn't feel anything, couldn't move.
17:55So I was stuck there in the dark, really,
17:59waiting and shouting for people to come and find me.
18:06So I was in hospital in Costa Rica for a month,
18:10and then when I arrived at the Royal London Hospital,
18:14that's when someone told me I would never walk again.
18:19And that's when I just completely, you know, lost hope.
18:25I didn't want to leave.
18:27I was thinking of, I just wanted to die.
18:30Most people who experience spinal cord injury
18:33will face this kind of really, really, really dark moment.
18:37When I arrived here, I was very depressed
18:40because of what I was told in the previous hospital.
18:43And they said, look, there's this garden,
18:45and once you're allowed to be in a wheelchair,
18:48you can go in the garden.
18:49So the first time I came in the garden,
18:52it was just so nice.
19:02The garden is separated into two halves,
19:05and you can notice around me the beds,
19:07and they've got these lovely curved edges to them,
19:10and that really helps people practicing in their wheelchairs
19:13for the first time getting around the garden.
19:15We also have this amazing raised bed,
19:17so if you're at wheelchair height,
19:19you can look at the flowers, and they're all at head height,
19:22and they're looking back at you, which is really nice.
19:25We planted thousands of bulbs in autumn,
19:27and they're all erupting from the soil now.
19:29They look fantastic.
19:30But this garden was designed to have interest all year round
19:33because people were here all year round.
19:35So we have lots of evergreens, lots of grasses in the autumn,
19:38and there's always something to see,
19:40which I love about this garden.
19:44It was so nice to be able to go outside on my own.
19:49It was just green, and it was so colourful,
19:53and I remember feeling like,
19:55OK, this is a much better place to be already.
20:06So I met Ashley in the garden,
20:09and Ashley was just this very smiley and kind person,
20:13and he really shared his passion about this garden
20:16and about how nature can heal and help.
20:22This is my favourite place on a cold day in the greenhouse,
20:25which is where I do most of my activities with patients.
20:29So I'm a trained horticultural therapist,
20:31and I use plants to help people.
20:34So this could be if somebody wants to work on their hand function,
20:38it could be that we are working with seeds.
20:41So we start off with bigger seeds like peas and beans,
20:45sowing those, which are easier to pick up,
20:47practice with those, and then we work our way down
20:49to something like a tomato seed, which is very tiny.
20:52And some people are even working on standing,
20:54so it could be that they're at the bench
20:56using their muscles to stand up at the bench while they're working.
21:01The amazing thing about sowing seeds is that
21:04you can really take hope in small things,
21:07and, you know, I've had people come in here
21:09and checking up on their seedlings at the weekends
21:11and watering and caring for them,
21:13and I think having that connection with plants and nature
21:17can really help you get through some dark times.
21:26On my left is the garden room,
21:28and this is really the social hub of the garden.
21:31It's where we have lots of activities, including music.
21:34We do painting and crafts and also gardening sometimes.
21:38It's a real hub of activity in there.
21:44On this side of the garden, we have our garden pods,
21:47which are really well used by patients here,
21:49especially for visits.
21:51Even when it's raining or snowing or windy,
21:53you can sit inside the pods, which are heated and cosy,
21:56and view the garden, watch the birds come in
21:59and watch the clouds moving and the trees and the wind.
22:05The garden was so important because meeting people
22:10and being able to talk about what's going on with them directly
22:15and they're going through exactly the same thing is so important.
22:20One of the main things that gave me hope again
22:23was to meet another patient in the garden,
22:27and he said to me, he said,
22:29you'll walk again.
22:31You'll walk again. It might take two years, but you'll walk again.
22:35I think from that point onward, I was working harder
22:39and that happened in the garden.
22:44I think when I took the first few steps,
22:47it felt...
22:49It was hope, like pure hope.
22:54I don't think I would be here right now.
22:57I might have progressed, but much slower.
23:00I don't think my mind would be as strong
23:03if I hadn't had the opportunity to get out of my world
23:07and be in the garden.
23:13I always say the garden is not just a garden,
23:17it's a breath of fresh air
23:20and it's access to nature.
23:23It's the opportunity for people who spend a long time in hospital,
23:27being in rehab when you're newly paralyzed,
23:29can be very, very long,
23:31to reconnect with nature
23:34and reconnect with the power of nature
23:37and the sounds and the colours,
23:39and you don't get sounds and colours in hospitals.
23:42You just don't.
23:44Yeah, it definitely wouldn't have been the same.
23:48For me, this has to be one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had
23:52because on a day-to-day basis,
23:54I get to see the impact that this garden has on people's lives
23:57and during probably one of the most troubling times you can go through,
24:02this garden provides a sanctuary
24:04and I feel really proud that we, as a team here,
24:07have built this community in this garden
24:10and I just feel that it changes people's lives
24:15and I see that every day.
24:23BIRDS CHIRP
24:27Oh, thank you, Ashley, and thank you, Charlotte, too,
24:30for sharing your powerful story.
24:33It is astonishing what flowers and plants can do
24:36in terms of giving us an uplift,
24:38even if we are suffering either mentally or even physically.
24:41I mean, I stand under these cherry trees,
24:44a Japanese flowering cherry, soft pink,
24:46and I think, ooh, I should really be white rather than pink, you know,
24:49but the joy it brings me against a blue sky.
24:52A brief flowering season, but goodness me, it's a glorious one.
24:56Now, throughout the series,
24:58we've been challenging some of the UK's most prominent gardeners
25:01as they tackle our Gardening in Five segment,
25:04aiming to provide plenty of tips for you at home.
25:08Today, it's the turn of our resident eco-friendly gardener,
25:11Anna Greenland.
25:13ELECTRONIC MUSIC
25:20Freedom, flavour and fun,
25:24and also maybe a little bit frustrating.
25:31I love winter squashes because they just look beautiful.
25:34They come in all shapes and sizes.
25:36They've got an amazing flavour.
25:38You can't buy them in the shops, and they're a thing of beauty.
25:42Make a no-dig bed. It's a real game-changer.
25:48I'm actually going to say my hands,
25:50because I use my hands for everything.
25:52I don't wear gloves.
25:54I like the feeling of my hands in the soil,
25:56and studies have actually shown that by putting your hands in soil,
25:59the microbes can help to boost your serotonin levels,
26:02so gardening does actually help to boost your serotonin levels.
26:06I'm going to say my hands because I use my hands for everything.
26:09You can sometimes get some frosts in spring,
26:11which will catch you out,
26:13so I like to use some horticultural fleece
26:15and use it as a bit of a blanket,
26:17laying it over my young plants and protecting them.
26:23Thanks, Anna. You're so right.
26:25Don't rush to get those plants out until you know the frosts are past.
26:28Time for a quick break, but still to come,
26:31we're going to be looking at how to keep your garden green.
26:34Don't rush to get those plants out until you know the frosts are past.
26:37Time for a quick break, but still to come,
26:40Camilla Bassett-Smith provides some tips for refreshing your garden
26:43and revitalising its beauty.
26:46See you after the break.
26:48Feeding alfresco with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club,
26:52brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
26:59Growing outside with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club,
27:03brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
27:22One of the best things about May in your garden
27:25is the irresistible urge to spend more time outdoors.
27:30Soaking up the warm sunshine and immersing yourself
27:33in the beauty of nature at her freshest and most lively.
27:37It's a great time to start thinking about giving a boost to your garden.
27:41And there's plenty we can all do to refresh our outdoor spaces,
27:45from planting colourful flowers and pruning overgrown shrubs
27:49to growing a few veg and installing new outdoor lighting.
27:53The options are endless.
27:56Camilla headed down to Surrey
27:58to meet a couple eager to give their garden a boost.
28:02Over two visits, Camilla, with a little bit of help,
28:05is going to spruce up their garden by adding some interesting plants
28:09and exploring one option for refreshing their lawn.
28:15MUSIC
28:23Today I've ventured to Farnham
28:25to meet two budding Gardening Club members,
28:28and I'm keen to discover their passion for gardening
28:31and explore just what's possible with a garden in need of some love.
28:35MUSIC
28:41Paul and Julia, thank you so much for inviting me into your garden.
28:45Just tell me a little bit about this space.
28:47What has it traditionally been used for?
28:49Well, all sorts of things, really.
28:51It's kind of evolved over the years.
28:53When we first bought the house, the children were just babies,
28:56and so it was very much an open space.
28:58I used to have the paddling pool under the chairs here with the children.
29:02It was great shade.
29:04Trampoline.
29:05Ah, love a trampoline.
29:07Went to the trampoline,
29:08but I think it's really evolved with us, actually, over the years.
29:13You've got box walls, you've got lovely olive trees as well,
29:17which are really tricky to keep going sometimes in a harsh winter.
29:20I think putting the gravel path in changed the vibe of the garden a lot.
29:25It gave it a great structure that we could then work from.
29:29I mean, there's still a lot of things I'd like to do,
29:31but then at the bottom of the garden, it's quite natural and wild,
29:35which I like because we do get a lot of wildlife coming into the garden.
29:39We get foxes and we've actually saw hedgehogs last spring,
29:42so I'm really hoping we get a hedgehog back.
29:45So you're bringing in the wildlife,
29:46but also satisfying the formal garden feeling as well.
29:49Yes.
29:50So you're doing a really good job.
29:51And so going forward, what do you want, really, your garden space to be?
29:55I think something that has got something for us
29:59and also the kids when they visit, it's really nice.
30:02Just a relaxing space that we enjoy being in.
30:05But what are some of the areas that you would like to see improved?
30:08The box. It looks great what you've done,
30:10but they've suffered from blight and caterpillars a bit.
30:12The caterpillars really took over last year.
30:15I just left them, though, because we get a lot of birds nesting
30:19and they were absolutely loving those caterpillars.
30:21Yes.
30:22It's quite fun to watch, but I think this year they need to come out.
30:25The lawn definitely needs to be improved.
30:28Every year I keep saying to myself, I'm going to sort it out this year
30:31and kind of life gets in the way and we just never get around to it.
30:34But there's a lot to do there.
30:35And often it is the last thing you think about.
30:37I mean, they are plants too, aren't they, grass?
30:39But it's very easy to just leave it.
30:41This is the year when we're going to sort it out.
30:44The winter season often leaves our outdoor spaces looking tired.
30:48Revitalising your garden at the start of the growth season in spring
30:52is a crucial window in any gardener's calendar.
30:56Before I tackle their beds and box plants in a few weeks,
31:00we'll first address their lawn.
31:02Although it appears decent from afar,
31:05walking on it feels spongy and it's overrun with moss.
31:09So I've enlisted Hannah and her colleagues to give me a hand.
31:14So here I've just taken a core sample from this edge of the lawn.
31:18So on top you can see there's a few bits of grass,
31:21so the grass is trying to get through,
31:23and it's more moss and then surface thatch.
31:26So as you go further down, you're not getting much,
31:29and it's very compact under here.
31:31So this is like everyday use on the lawn, walking up and down on it.
31:35So none of the grass can get through, it can't make any anchors to the lawn
31:38and it can't grow its roots through.
31:40So it's not helping the grass grow.
31:42To treat the overgrowth of moss and thatch,
31:45we're going to first aerate the lawn.
31:49There's multiple different ways of doing it and multiple different machines.
31:53So this one will make slits in the lawn,
31:56so it will go through with the teeth at the back
31:59and it will heave and pull the lawn
32:01and it will help to reduce any compaction in the lawn.
32:06So there's another one, it's called a hollow tine.
32:09So that one takes cores out, so as it goes over,
32:12it will take a core out of the lawn and leave it on the lawn
32:15and we clear up afterwards.
32:17And if you haven't got a machine at all, a good old fork.
32:23Next with this garden, we're looking at scarification.
32:27This is the process of removing the dead grass and moss
32:30from the surface of the lawn
32:32and can be done by machine or with a scarifying tool.
32:39Now, Hannah, a lot of material has been coming out of the lawn,
32:42but you're putting something back in.
32:44This is where we've taken out a lot of surface thatch and a lot of moss.
32:47The lawn's looking quite bare and tired,
32:49so a little bit of brand-new seed will really help it grow again.
32:59After we've completely seeded the whole lawn,
33:01we're going to go back over with 100% organic compost
33:04and that will just help cover the whole lawn
33:06and helps the lawn grow a lot more.
33:08Helps it really thrive.
33:10Really thrive, yeah.
33:15The next step is to add fertiliser.
33:17This provides vital nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.
33:30So, Paul, Julia, it's been a busy day.
33:32What are your thoughts on the work that's gone on?
33:34It's a bit of a dramatic process.
33:36Yes, but I guess it's a step backwards to go forwards.
33:39But really looking forward to seeing the end result.
33:44For Paul and Julia, this marks the beginning of their gardening club journey.
33:48Next on the list are their box plants and borders.
33:52I'll return in a month to give them a helping hand
33:55and to assess the progress of their lawn.
33:58And I can't wait to see how it comes along.
34:06Thanks, Camilla.
34:07Bit of work cut out there.
34:09Of course, there are many more options available
34:11and the trick is finding what suits your outdoor space and personal style.
34:15Sometimes, if you want a good workout,
34:18nothing beats a good old-fashioned springbok rake and a fork.
34:24An unbeatable combo.
34:26Now, time to meet our latest gardening club plantfluencer, Kirsty,
34:31to take us through her inspiring green-fingered journey.
34:42Let me reintroduce myself and my story.
34:44My name's Kirsty Ward and I started my allotment journey six years ago.
34:48I had a breakdown in my mental health and was diagnosed with PTSD
34:52after a traumatic pregnancy and birth with my second daughter.
34:56After doing lots of reading and getting lots of help,
34:58I knew that focus therapy was the best option for me.
35:01Gardening completely saved my life
35:04and has completely changed my outlook and my career too.
35:07My allotment is my sanctuary.
35:09It keeps my mind happy.
35:11Never underestimate the power that being outside in a gardening space
35:14can give our minds, bodies and wellbeing.
35:17It's more than just growing food.
35:19It's more than just tending to the ground.
35:21It's about growing and tending to ourselves as well.
35:24I wouldn't be without my allotment
35:26and I'm thankful every day for how it's changed my life.
35:33Hi, everyone.
35:34So today we're going to be planting our dahlias.
35:36Of course, you're going to need your dahlias,
35:38some compost and some buckets with some pre-drilled holes for drainage
35:42and labels so, of course, you don't forget what they are.
35:45You're then going to use a tub of water or a bowl of water
35:47to soak your dahlias in for about 20 minutes before they are planted
35:51so they are fully rehydrated.
35:53You want to start by filling up your bucket
35:55about a third of the way with some multi-purpose compost.
35:59You then want to plant your dahlias with the tuber bits facing down
36:02and obviously any sort of little sprouts poking up out of the soil.
36:06And then once you've popped them on top of the soil like so,
36:09you want to cover them with a little bit more compost around the top
36:12leaving the sprouts popping out.
36:14Now, I don't use too much compost during this process
36:17as they're only going to be grown on for a few weeks
36:19and then they're going to be planted out into the ground on my allotment.
36:23Don't forget to add your labels so you don't forget what varieties you're growing
36:27and voila, you'll soon have some dahlias growing.
36:30How exciting.
36:32And in a few months, these are the results.
36:35Thank you for visiting my little allotment
36:37and I hope you have a beautiful summer.
36:43Thanks Kirsty.
36:44And you know, I love dahlias.
36:45They come in such a stunning array of colours, shapes and sizes
36:50adding a burst of beauty for a mid to late summer
36:53when many other plants have already given their all.
36:56Plus, those long-lasting blooms make them perfect for cutting
37:00and enjoying indoors as well as out.
37:03I keep my dahlia tubers from one year to the next
37:06digging them up in autumn, sticking them just like this
37:09underneath the potting bench in my potting shed
37:12and right now, they're just about to be replanted in the soil
37:16now that these shoots have started to grow
37:18and they give me glorious colour from July onwards.
37:21After the break, David Dominey makes a splash
37:24as he delves into another viewer's query on water features in your garden.
37:29See you in a bit.
37:30Silking up the sunshine with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club
37:34brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
37:41Digging the weekend with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club
37:46brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
37:54Along with the buzzing of bees, the chirping of birds
37:58and the delicate swaying of tulips in the breeze
38:01one of my favourite sounds is that of gently trickling water
38:05from a water feature just like this one.
38:07Not only do water features transform your outdoor space
38:10into a peaceful oasis where you can unwind,
38:14commune with nature and relax
38:16but they also attract beneficial wildlife like birds and bees.
38:19They come and drink from this.
38:21It's pebbles and a transparent orb
38:24over which the water gently ripples.
38:27It's quite mesmerising if you look at it for long enough.
38:31David Dominey's back now to dispense some wisdom
38:34on creating your own bit of liquid magic.
38:52Now our question this week comes from Anne in Oldham
38:55and she wants a water feature in the garden
38:57but hasn't got enough space for a big pond.
39:00Well, no worry, Anne, because you can create water features
39:04out of the smallest things, you know, pots and containers.
39:07I love water features because I like the sound of the splashing
39:12and the rippling of water as it cascades in the garden.
39:15Now, these are copper bowls that I put in a couple of years back
39:19and I've done quite a few water features.
39:21I can't stop doing them.
39:23I've created them and they're so easy to do.
39:26And over here I've got this giant pot you can see
39:30and I've sealed the inside of that pot, put a pump in.
39:33I've actually put almost like inverted window boxes
39:36so the window boxes are inside the water themselves
39:39for aquatic plants that during the summertime, not so much now,
39:43but later on they give an absolute explosion of colour.
39:47So, Anne, I'm going to show you how you can make a water feature
39:50in your own garden in an incredibly small space
39:53and it's not as difficult as you think.
40:00I'm going to use just pots.
40:02You buy pots from many different garden centres.
40:05There's lots of different shapes and sizes
40:07and all you really want is something that can hold the water
40:11and that way, with a little pump,
40:13you can use it to create that really beautiful aquatic sound.
40:21The first thing to do is make sure that it's absolutely waterproof
40:25around the inside of the container,
40:27so I'm using a special pond sealer.
40:30It's a polyurethane.
40:32I've tipped a little bit out into a container
40:34and obviously I'm wearing gloves.
40:36It can be a little bit smelly,
40:38so make sure you do it outside or where there's plenty of ventilation.
40:42I've already given it two coats, making sure every corner is covered.
40:51Now I've done that and it's dried,
40:53I'm going to insert a pump into this to create a water feature.
40:58Then I'm going to insert this into another pot
41:02to create a planting feature.
41:04So I'm actually going to use the drainage hole at the bottom
41:09to our advantage.
41:11Now, the one thing to remember when you are choosing a pump
41:15is not to choose a massive one that's going to send a jet of water up.
41:19We want to be able to control the water,
41:21so it's really in proportion with the container itself
41:25and that's why this little pump is ideal.
41:28It's got its own little filtration system in there
41:31and a slight adjuster so you can adjust the volume of water it's moving as well.
41:36And that's just enough to be able to cycle everything I need
41:40to create a successful water feature.
41:44Now, whilst I've got it with enough play inside here,
41:48I need to seal this hole to make sure that's waterproof.
41:52And to do that, I'm using an adhesive where you take two separate sections
41:58and bond them together and that makes a really, really good seal.
42:06So once I've done this seal on the inside,
42:09So once I've done this seal on the inside,
42:12I'm going to flip it upside down and then just one round the base as well
42:17just to make sure we're belt and braces.
42:21You cannot be too careful with water.
42:32So I've waited a couple of hours and that's absolutely solid.
42:37Because I'm putting this container inside that container,
42:41I'm going to do the same thing with the wires.
42:48So I've pulled the cable right the way through
42:51and now I'm just going to lower that down into position.
42:55I want to move it over a bit here so it gives me plenty of planting room.
43:01So I've got easy access to the pump in here
43:06and all I've got to do at this end is put on a plug.
43:10The main thing with electric outside is wherever possible to use a professional.
43:15But if you're using low voltage electric like this,
43:18you need to make sure that you've got all the proper safety equipment.
43:30So this water here is going to be the reservoir.
43:34It's cycling the water through the pump out, back in again, out and back in again.
43:41Next I'm going to attach a hose to the pump
43:43that will take the water from the bottom to our water feature.
43:52Like so.
43:53Then lower it back in to the reservoir of water.
43:58So it's coming up to about this sort of height.
44:01Now, what I want to do is rest some stone at the top.
44:04So I've got a bit of plastic that I have cut to the exact square of the top
44:09and I've just handmade some stilts using bamboo canes
44:14and I'm just going to lower that in.
44:18And now I'm just going to add the embellishment.
44:21Let's have a look. I've got some slate here.
44:23There we are.
44:26Now I've got the stone sorted.
44:29I'm now going to fill this side with compost
44:32and plant it up with some beautiful plants.
44:38I've filled up with some peat-free compost.
44:41Lovely skim here. This is rubella.
44:44Let's get some primulas in. How gorgeous is that?
44:47Along the front as well. Beautiful bellis.
44:50There we go.
44:53I'm going to plant another different foliage colour,
44:56a little lavender in there.
44:58That haunting silvery blue that goes so well with the slate.
45:02Have I got space? Can I squeeze a little tiny campanula?
45:06This campanula will grow in the middle there
45:09and then come over and cascade along the front.
45:12So it's just in there as well.
45:14Oh, you were made for that. Turn you round.
45:16Oh, you were made for being in there.
45:20How gorgeous.
45:22A little finishing touches
45:24because there's a small gap around the outside here.
45:27So I thought I'd use the rest of the slate.
45:30It's all about finding the right shapes for the right spaces.
45:41So everything's in place.
45:43Nice bit of planting and a water feature.
45:46Here we go. Are we ready?
45:48Turn it on, please.
45:50There you go.
45:52A water feature. No need for a large pond or a lake.
45:56Just a tranquil sound of the water as it cascades down.
46:00Close your eyes and you can be anywhere.
46:03And there's a sunlight glint on the fluid movement of the water.
46:08It adds a touch of tranquillity into the garden.
46:13Beautiful.
46:19And as David said, when dealing with electrics,
46:23it's always advisable to seek expert advice.
46:26Don't dabble in what you don't understand.
46:29Leave the dabbling to the ducks.
46:32So from exploring water features
46:34to embracing eco-friendly gardening practices
46:37and following Alex's inspiring edible garden journey,
46:41I'm sure you'll find a lot of fun
46:44And following Alex's inspiring edible garden journey,
46:47I hope you've found plenty of inspiration today.
46:50May is just the perfect time to get out into the fresh air,
46:55to let that inspiration fuel your gardening endeavours,
46:59whether it's expanding your balcony cultivations
47:02or joining a local community garden.
47:04There are plenty of options for all of us.
47:07That's it from this gardening club for today.
47:10I'll see you next time for more tips, tricks and insights.
47:13Until then, whatever the weather, enjoy your garden.
47:44Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club.
47:46Brought to you by Green Thumb.