WG 2024 Episode 16
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2024.
00:12Which I have to say I think must be Britain's biggest garden party, surely Nick?
00:16Yeah, I mean it's kind of the garden equivalent of Glastonbury Festival, right, and there's
00:20just so much going on.
00:22Over in the floral marquee there are over 100 different nurseries and growers showing
00:27off their wares.
00:28There are 34 show gardens scattered all over the site.
00:33There's just so much to see and do here, it's packed full of inspiration.
00:37But you've probably been too busy to look around.
00:39I haven't had time to look around because I have been doing one of the RHS feature gardens.
00:44So it's been sort of a lot of love, a lot of labour, but I have reserved enough energy
00:49to keep going to the end of the show.
00:51Please do, well I can't wait to see it.
00:53Now there is absolutely masses coming up on today's programme.
00:58From cutting edge design ideas to the splendour of the floral marquee, we'll have plenty of
01:04advice for choosing and growing the right plants for your space.
01:09Sue wanders through the RHS allotments looking for ideas and tips we can all try at home.
01:15Rekha is on a mission to prove that anyone can grow, no matter how small your space or
01:21your budget.
01:23And we'll be revealing the RHS peat-free garden feature, designed by our very own Aarons.
01:42I do love this show, I don't know whether it's its size or the backdrop of lovely Hampton
01:47Court Palace, but it's just got a different feel to other shows I think.
01:51Yeah it really has.
01:52I love that there's so many gardens here and they all sort of demonstrate different
01:56ideas, different things you can try out, and show that on virtually any scale you can create
02:01fabulous diversity.
02:07The designers have been really clever with their approach here.
02:12Most contemporary gardens now tend to be this kind of rectilinear, interlinked kind of boxes
02:17in square forms.
02:18And it's so often kind of heavy concrete and slabs and loads of landscaping.
02:23But he's somehow got that look, but with much softer materials, so it's better for drainage,
02:28it's better for wildlife.
02:29And also has introduced water into a small space, and water is so important in the garden.
02:34You know, the pollinators need to be able to drink from it, birds as well, but also
02:39as well you're hoping to attract in those amphibians so that they can actually be eating
02:43those slugs and snails.
02:44We could do with that this year, couldn't we?
02:46The other thing as well, they've been quite bold and brave here to go for larger items
02:50in a small space.
02:51So it's acer griseum, it's pretty chunky, and so is the pergola.
02:55But actually by making that kind of bold move, I think it works proportionally.
03:04There's a strong Mediterranean vibe in this garden, isn't there, for sure.
03:08Yeah, absolutely.
03:09I really like the fact that they've used these kind of Mediterranean shrubs that you probably
03:13wouldn't have thought about growing here, what, 20, 30 years ago.
03:17So pomegranate, lovely thing, actually fruit here, that's fabulous, double orange flowers
03:22and it's gorgeous.
03:23And then over here, the pejoa, saloiana, gorgeous flowers.
03:27Really interesting to see the way the two different shrubs have been treated.
03:30So multi-stemmed here, and then taken up as a standard there.
03:33It looks great.
03:34Yeah, no, absolutely.
03:35I mean, you know, when you look at these plants, you know, they are sort of able to cope with
03:40that baking heat.
03:41You've got the lavenders, you've got the salvias, the steeper tenuisma, the herbs that are dotted
03:46throughout.
03:47And of course, I'm sure that many pollinators will enjoy visiting the achillea and the salvias
03:53too.
03:54So overall, you know, it's got a real sense of unity to this space.
04:05I think there's a lot to like about this garden, particularly the fact that this sunken section
04:11kind of lures you in and it, I don't know, it feels like a warm embrace.
04:14You're just kind of immersed in all this gorgeousness.
04:16I know, it's lovely being amongst the plants.
04:18And it's a really tight colour palette, so this blues and celebrating the purples and
04:22the whites.
04:23You can imagine that on a summer's evening, as the light goes down, this garden will really
04:27sing again because you can really see those colours come in the half-light, which is really
04:31lovely.
04:32Yeah, absolutely.
04:33I love the fact that they've run grasses all the way through the garden.
04:37It gives it that sort of slightly wild meadow quality.
04:40And of course, that's brilliant for supporting various different butterfly species, so we'll
04:45draw them into the garden.
04:46I guess also as well, you know, looking at the hardscaping, it's a very simplified palette.
04:51You know, by not using lots of different materials, it means that your eye is able to really celebrate
04:56the planting.
04:57And that's what you want in the garden, isn't it?
04:58Exactly.
04:59I think it really works.
05:09The floral marquee here at the show is absolutely packed with inspiration and loads of fabulous
05:19colour.
05:20And it never ceases to amaze me how easily you can set up a vibe or an atmosphere in
05:24a garden, purely by the choice of colours and tones that you use.
05:28I'm trying to come up with inspiration for my own garden at home.
05:33I'm just having a bit of a play with this mix of plants, and I think it's nearly perfect.
05:41You get that kind of cottage garden feel.
05:43Lots of pastels.
05:44I actually quite like that deeper tone in there as well, as a contrast.
05:47So the penstemon, the onythra, the evening primrose, this lovely nepeta.
05:52So those pinks are picking each other up.
05:54You get the darker calyx, the base of the flower there, which picks up the penstemon.
05:58It's sort of all falling together pretty well.
06:00I reckon it needs one more component.
06:03I think one of these achillea.
06:06This is quite a washed out yellow, but it picks up that yellow in the centre of the
06:12onythra.
06:13I think it actually creates quite a nice palette.
06:24One of the modern approaches you often see in contemporary gardens, particularly in towns
06:30or cities, is restricting the whole colour palette down to just one tone.
06:35Of course, this white garden is a prime example.
06:38There are all sorts of subtleties to making that work.
06:41So, to start with, you want to have different flower forms.
06:44You can have ball forms, spike forms.
06:46Really make sure they contrast with each other.
06:48But I also think it's important to have plants like this cornice that have that cream, white
06:53and green variegation.
06:55It really helps pull the whole scheme together.
06:58Something I really like to do with these monochromatic schemes is just to add in a
07:04single punchy colour.
07:06So with all these whites, if I were to add orange or lime, it would really elevate it.
07:10But actually I think what could really work here is to use this, salvia amistad.
07:15So those kind of violet tones run all the way through the white and just help elevate
07:20the scheme and bring it all together.
07:29If you're looking to create a tropical kind of vibe in your garden, one of the simplest
07:34ways is to go for a really hot palette of colours.
07:38So the mix of reds, yellows and oranges really embodies that kind of feel.
07:43But I think what really helps elevate this is this lime used all the way through.
07:48And I particularly like the little burgundy eyes on this.
07:52This is ascot rainbow.
07:53It's a form of euphorbia.
07:55The other plant which I think pulls the whole thing together is this alstroemeria.
08:00It's called Indian summer.
08:01Of course it features all the colours of the rest of the palette and it's got dark foliage
08:06which beautifully ties in to the sambucas growing up here.
08:10And so this kind of palette will absolutely whisk you away overseas and give you that
08:15tropical vibe.
08:17Of course the different colour palettes we've used and looked at goes to show that you can
08:22create a completely different atmosphere in your garden just based around the colours
08:26that you choose.
08:36Roses are one of the stars of the show at Hampton.
08:39And this year there's a new rose in the floral marquee that I'm interested in.
08:43It's been launched by an amateur grower and it's his debut at Hampton.
08:48And we caught up with him a couple of weeks ago as he prepared for the show.
08:56What fascinates me about the persica rose, just that unusualness to them.
09:02They're beautiful.
09:03They're great for the wildlife.
09:07They really do shine out and just give that little bit of a vibrancy.
09:11Yeah, I just love a good splash of colour.
09:14When they flower, they literally are sort of smiling back at you, almost like they're
09:17saying, hi there, look at me sort of thing.
09:25I'm Daniel Myhill.
09:26This is my garden here in Norfolk where I've got the national collection of rose persica hybrids.
09:36The definition of a persica rose is a rose that has that red eye.
09:41A lot of the names have the term eye in it and that is a play on the flower form and colour really.
09:47So this is for your eyes only.
09:49It was rose of the year in 2015.
09:53Smiling eyes.
09:55Eye candy.
09:57This is your lovely eyes.
09:58This is one of my favourite roses because of the sheer flower power that it has.
10:02It has that wow factor.
10:04The colours in it, a huge range from reds to oranges to pinks.
10:08For me it gives that tutti frutti, sweet shot feel.
10:16I started with roses really as a kid.
10:19I shared a bedroom with my twin brother for 16 years and really that garden became my
10:24own sanctuary, my own solace when I needed it and from there it really grew.
10:30The first time I saw a rose persica hybrid was in 2015 when I took my wife Hannah to
10:35the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
10:38The harkness stand there had a rose called Alisa, Princess of Phoenicia and it was just
10:42so different.
10:43It just stood out from everything else and it just literally captivated me.
10:50What you see here is the different colourations that the flower has.
10:54So this bloom here is the fresh flower, lovely rich pink to purple eye with a creamy flower
11:01with little touches of pink around the edges.
11:03But as this flower ages over a day or two, it goes to this more pinkier tones around
11:09the outside of the petal.
11:10Temperature, light, all affects how the roses, in terms of colour, how they look.
11:16Which colour do I prefer?
11:17Well, both.
11:18When you see these sitting next to each other, it gives the plant another dimension which
11:22I think is what creates the real interest.
11:282015 was my first rose persica hybrid.
11:31We're nine years down the line and here we are with the National Collection.
11:35It's just been a passion.
11:37I have no formal horticultural training so it's just that geekiness in me that I have,
11:43that collectaholic nature that I have as well.
11:46A bit of research, I got involved with the Rose Society UK.
11:49It just grew from there really.
11:52The National Collection comprises 55 different rose persica hybrids of which I've got about
11:58100 plants.
12:02They come in all sorts of forms.
12:05So you've got floribundas, shrub roses, you've got some new climbers coming onto the market
12:09as well.
12:11They do have a light scent.
12:12They're not the most heavy scented roses that you'll find because it's often found in roses
12:15with more petals.
12:17They're repeat flowering so if you keep deadheading them through the season, they'll reward you
12:21all the way through to the first frost, even as late as November, December time.
12:25I like the naturalistic look of planting them in a mixed bed with herbaceous perennials,
12:29with annuals and bulbous as well.
12:31So they really suit sitting next to things like lavenders, salvia caradonis, nepetas.
12:36Those purple colours really make them stand out.
12:43Rose persica hybrids, they come from a desert rose and so they retain their genetics to
12:47be able to cope with the heat that we have.
12:49I think they're really going to be a useful rose when we look at climate change.
12:52In the last few years, we've had some real extremes of temperature and we've had a period
12:56of nearly 40 degree heat for a few days here and actually they continue to flower through
13:02that period.
13:04So in terms of watering roses, when you first get your rose, either as a bare root or a
13:09potted plant, you really want to keep it well watered during its first growing season.
13:13After that, the roses don't need much, if any, water at all.
13:17So this is Your Lovely Eyes.
13:19It's been in the ground here three years now.
13:21The first year I kept it well watered, but this year, last year, hardly had a drop.
13:25If I kept watering this, it's always going to think the water's near surface, so it'll
13:29send out lots of roots in the near surface soil.
13:31If we get a period of drought, those roots are going to be really prone to that lack
13:35of water and it's going to struggle to get the moisture it needs.
13:38Whereas if it can send its roots down nice and deep, there'll be more moisture in the
13:43In having the National Collection of Rose of Persica Hybrids, for me, it's really important
13:46that I share those with people and people can see them.
13:49So for the first time ever this year, I'm going to be exhibiting at the RHS Hampton
13:53Court Palace Garden Festival.
13:55My display is going to be three stage tiers, 30 or so different varieties, to showcase
14:00all of the different varieties.
14:02I'm also going to be exhibiting the Rose of Persica Hybrids.
14:05I'm going to be exhibiting the Rose of Persica Hybrids.
14:07I'm going to be exhibiting the Rose of Persica Hybrids.
14:10Here I am, surrounded by my Hampton Court display plants.
14:13We're just under two weeks away from the show.
14:16We've got a lot of green, not much colour.
14:19My biggest worry, really, is that I just don't have any flowers.
14:22Otherwise, it will be lots of pots of green leaves.
14:30This year, I've got the enormous privilege of launching the National Collection of Rose
14:34of Persica Hybrids.
14:37This year, I've got the enormous privilege of launching a new Rose of Persica Hybrid
14:41at the show, called See You in Rose.
14:43It's a rose bred by the renowned Breeders Cordes Roses in Germany.
14:50So this here is See You in Rose, no flower on it, and I've not seen it flower in my
14:54garden yet.
14:55It's the first time I'm growing it.
14:57Lovely tight buds, hopefully will develop and open and burst ready for the show.
15:01This will be the first time that I'll see it in flower, so I'll be like a kid in
15:05Christmas at Hampton.
15:20Daniel, a couple of weeks ago everything was in green bud and now it's really flowering.
15:26How are you feeling?
15:27Yeah, relieved.
15:28Absolutely relieved is one way of looking at it.
15:30It's fantastic.
15:31We've had a week of sunshine before the show.
15:33We really needed that sunshine which brought the roses on, which gave us this great flower
15:37that we have behind us.
15:38Yes, and you've got a gold.
15:40Congratulations, well deserved.
15:42And another award.
15:43Yes, so I won the Best Plant Heritage Exhibit as well, which is just unreal really.
15:48Well, it's your first time for you at Hampton, and first time for a new rose that you've
15:53got here.
15:54Yes, so the new rose we're launching is called See You in Rose.
15:57It's a beautiful semi-double flower, pink with a darker pink centre, and also it's long flowering.
16:03It will continue to flower from mid-May all the way through to those first frosts that
16:07we'll get in November, December.
16:08So your board is going to be full of colour for about five months of the year.
16:12Yeah, so you're getting an absolutely fantastic performance from your roses.
16:16You hold the national collection of the Persica roses.
16:19Why is it important to you to conserve them?
16:22The species of rose itself is a desert plant, so it's not like what you see behind us,
16:26but it's been a sort of 200-year breeding story to take those desert plants, these garden-worthy
16:32roses that we have behind us.
16:33So to conserve that story, but also to promote British breeding, British rose breeding,
16:38it's hugely important, I think.
16:40There's definitely one on my Christmas list this year, and I'm hoping that I'll get it.
16:44Thank you for sharing all your roses with us, and congratulations, and enjoy the show.
16:50Thank you, very kindly, Lucy, thank you.
16:57The great thing about shows is that there is so much inspiration, so many plants, people
17:02wanting to get home and create the look, so I'm going to go and have a look in people's
17:06trolleys, see what they've been buying, and get to see what they've been up to.
17:12Those are for my balcony.
17:14I haven't done my balcony boxes yet.
17:16Look at that.
17:17And I saw them, and I thought, they'll look really nice with something else.
17:20Is there more shopping to be had?
17:22Definitely.
17:23Oh, yeah.
17:25We're on a castrum, beautiful.
17:28Do you know, these have got a particular compound in their flowers that bees get absolutely wasted on.
17:33So if you go out to the garden at night, once they're established, you'll see bumblebees
17:37there, just like drunk, basically.
17:40What else are you looking for?
17:42I don't know, my husband, actually.
17:44Oh, right, OK.
17:45Well, good luck.
17:46Good luck.
17:48For a foster called Devon Green, he's after my son.
17:53I have a son called Devon Green, so I bought a foster.
17:56How amazing is that?
17:58I hope your son doesn't get eaten by slugs.
18:02You seem to have a plant with no roots or pot.
18:05Oh, it fell off.
18:07I've heard that before.
18:11This, I have to say, looks like a mini border in itself.
18:15You're dragging around your own garden.
18:17I love it.
18:18So what's the plan here?
18:19They're not all mine, can I say that?
18:21Are you sure?
18:23You are such a cutie.
18:25You really are.
18:38I'm a firm believer that anyone can grow, no matter how big your budget, no matter how
18:43big your space.
18:44I'm on the lookout for some easy-win plants that are low-maintenance but do very well
18:49in pots.
18:53I really like this display.
19:02These are all container plants.
19:03They're house plants, but what I like about them is the containers.
19:07These are things you could find in a charity shop.
19:09We've got a biscuit tin full of succulents.
19:11You've got boxes, and you can even use an old casserole dish.
19:15You're actually creating a garden, but it's a mini garden.
19:18And then, of course, you have to think about what plants have gone in and make sure that
19:22they all love the same condition.
19:24These are all succulents, so they'll all do well.
19:37I really like this.
19:38We have got a really lovely arrangement of ferns.
19:41They like the shade, but they also like a bit of light.
19:44So the one addition thing you have to have is grow lights, because plants do need a bit of light.
19:53Plastic pots are a bit unsightly, so hessian or even any material would be really good
19:59just to make your container look pretty.
20:01Great idea.
20:09Here, we've got a really good display of vegetables.
20:12You can grow any vegetable in pots, but you must consider the root size.
20:16So something like carrots will need long pots.
20:18Something like lettuce can grow in a very small pot.
20:21And one lettuce per pot is perfect, because all you'll be doing is picking a few leaves at a time.
20:29I've really loved seeing everything here today.
20:31No matter how much money or space, there is something that will fit in that place.
20:36And that's what I like about using pots.
20:43The cost of living crisis
21:01With the cost of living crisis, creating a beautiful garden might feel like an expensive luxury.
21:07But the money-saving garden goes to prove that it's perfectly possible to create a beautiful space
21:13that won't cost you the earth.
21:16Self-taught gardener and social media star Anja Lautenbach helps people transform gardens on a budget.
21:24This garden is full of hard-working plants that can be easily propagated,
21:27grown from seed, by taking cuttings or by division.
21:32Anja, I have to say, your garden just feels so rich and sumptuous.
21:37Oh, I'm so glad you like it.
21:39And I really hope that people will get inspired by my approach.
21:43There's so many ways people can save money in the garden.
21:47In the first year, when we moved to our current house, I have propagated 120 lavender plants.
21:53But they were all propagated from a few plants that my neighbour offered me and said I can take cuttings from.
22:00And this is a great example, because lavender has to be pruned after flowering in late summer.
22:06If you simply remove one of the stems and reduce the lower foliage, this is a perfect cutting.
22:16There's a few other techniques you've used in the garden, so I'm guessing with the agapanthus, you'd collect seed from that?
22:21You could divide agapanthus, but it's a very exciting thing to do, to grow agapanthus from seeds.
22:27What is your top tip?
22:28I think don't think of any plant material as waste.
22:33You can turn branches into plant support, cuttings, prunings into your new plants, grass cuttings into mulch.
22:42Anything that your garden produces can be turned into something useful.
22:48Anja created the garden with plantsman Jamie Butterworth.
22:54Jamie, I have to say, the garden looks absolutely superb.
22:57Thank you so much, Nick. It's been a privilege to work with Anja.
23:00She's such an inspiration and to have the opportunity to translate her ideas and her philosophy into reality
23:08and hopefully help to inspire so many people and show them that you don't need to have a huge bank account
23:13or a huge garden or a huge amount of space in order to have greenery and plants in your life.
23:18Actually, we've tried to do it through this amazing mixed herbaceous border and show people that,
23:23although, yes, this might look quite daunting on first glance, actually, there's only 18 or so different plants in here,
23:29all of which are very easy to propagate, taking cuttings or sowing them from seeds.
23:33And actually, in just a few seasons from a few initial stock plants, you could create this very easily.
23:40You've managed to produce all of the hard landscape for next to nothing.
23:43Hard landscaping isn't my thing. I'm a plantsman, but we've really run with that money-saving theme.
23:48So we've got compost bays at the back that are upcycled, and they're actually generating compost from there.
23:53The building is made entirely out of upcycled reclaimed materials that we've been able to scavenge and find.
23:59The exterior of the building is all scaffolding boards, and even the paving is upcycled from RHS Malvern Flower Show as well.
24:05So everything has been upcycled and really continuing that message.
24:09Fantastic. Well, I think you've done an amazing job to be able to pull all of those very inexpensive items together
24:14and make them look incredibly classy, so congratulations.
24:17That's really kind. Cheers. Thank you.
24:32This feature is all about Asteraceae. It's a celebration of the beauty and diversity of the daisy family.
24:39And it's the second biggest plant family on Earth, with over 32,000 known species.
24:45It's only the orchid family that's any bigger.
24:51It includes many much-loved garden flowers, such as the sunflower, dahlias and, of course, asters,
24:58but also some less obvious edible cousins, such as lettuce, tarragon and endive.
25:08Like all families, the daisy family has some common traits,
25:12like this daisy head that's made up of tiny small florets and then surrounded by petal-like florets.
25:19However, the stems, the leaves and the roots can all be quite different.
25:29This garden is for the birds. Since 1970, Britain has lost almost a third of its wild bird population.
25:37But our gardens can play a vital role if we plant flowering species that can provide edible seeds and fruits
25:45that can really help our wild birds to have a source of food year-round.
25:50The Asteraceae family include many of these species, such as helianthus, rebeccia and echinacea,
25:58and there are so many more in this border that are here to inspire gardeners to plant these species for birds across the UK.
26:08This wildlife-friendly border really demonstrates the adaptability of the daisy family.
26:15All the plants here can tolerate sun and heat whilst being drought-resistant
26:20and not really needing to have much moisture in the soil.
26:23But then coming around the border, these plants absolutely love moisture and damp, boggy conditions.
26:30And I love the fact that the little pond here is also great for wildlife.
26:42We love the flowers of the daisy family, but we mustn't forget the foliage.
26:46They can be bold and dramatic like Sinara cardunculus or the inula.
26:50Or maybe it's the colour, that of the dahlia, you know, really dark, or the daisies.
26:55Either way, they can bring real drama into a border.
26:58Now that you've met the Asteraceae family, I'm sure that there will be at least one, if not more, that you can bring into your garden.
27:26I've been coming here to the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival for at least the last 25 years in one capacity or another.
27:35And the whole site is absolutely packed with inspiring horticulture.
27:40There are show gardens, there are allotments, there's endless veg, and of course there is the spectacular floral marquee.
27:48The whole site is absolutely full of colour and a paradise to be in at this time of year.
27:54Now, still to come on today's programme.
27:57There'll be plenty of grow-your-own inspiration on the RHS allotments.
28:02We meet the wildflower growers trying to change the public's perception of weeds.
28:07And we reveal resilient pocket planting plots chock full of ideas to help future-proof our gardens.
28:14In the next few years, the RHS will be banning the use of peat in all of the gardens and at the shows.
28:28So, this year, ARIT has created the RHS peat-free garden to prove that you can create a plant-filled paradise without the use of peat.
28:44This is looking absolutely glorious. That's my favourite garden at the show.
28:48Thank you.
28:50Of course, peat-free is something that's, I guess, really close to all of our hearts.
28:55Well, when I started to garden, I had no idea really what peat was.
28:59I was aware of it, I knew it was in our compost bag, so just merely carried on gardening.
29:04As I've learnt more about peat and peatlands, I've realised their importance.
29:09They're huge carbon stores, they store more carbon than a lot of our rainforests.
29:13Peat formation is a very slow process. It's the vegetation decaying in anaerobic, wet conditions.
29:20It takes up to 1,000 years to create one metre of peat.
29:24So, therefore, us extracting it at a huge rate means it's not replenishable in our lifetime.
29:29I think your garden here just brilliantly demonstrates that it's absolutely possible to grow just about anything peat-free.
29:37You've got all the perennials and annuals here, sumptuous colours.
29:41You've got all the edibles, you've got herbs, you've got plants that are growing in shade.
29:44I love the palette of planting you've got.
29:46Actually, I've got to ask, I don't recognise this Allium, what is it?
29:49That's Allium Summer Drummer.
29:51It's a real beauty. It can get really tall, so I love it in the border, floating across the top there.
29:57We wanted to show this vibrancy in the middle of the border,
30:00so the cooler colour palette framing the ends and then come to a crescendo.
30:05It's almost like an outdoor vase, if you like.
30:12This is such a different palette.
30:14All these shade lovers and moisture lovers and even down to the aquatic plants.
30:19All grown peat-free.
30:21The shade plants, this damp, boggier plants, pond plants.
30:25There's so much now that can be grown peat-free.
30:28Have you found the horticulture, the gardening with these alternative composts,
30:33does it sort of shift things, the way you approach things?
30:36It does. The growing media that you would use can dry out a little bit more on the top layer,
30:41so sometimes you can find that you have to water sort of little and often.
30:45And as a result of that, then the feeding regime is little and often,
30:49because what you don't want to do is overwater it and it leach out.
30:53It's experimentation for sure.
30:55I want visitors and gardeners to know that they can confidently grow plants peat-free
31:02and know that they are helping the wider environment by doing so.
31:06And I think this absolutely proves it. It's gorgeous.
31:09Thank you.
31:16Gardening with the environment in mind has been part and parcel of this year's festival.
31:20And the new resilient pocket planting gardens have seen first-time designers create small spaces
31:27packed full of great ideas to protect our gardens from climate change.
31:31And they've been mentored by gold medal winning designer Tom Massey.
31:41For me, a resilient garden is one that's in tune with nature and its location.
31:46A garden is designed to survive and thrive in the face of the climate crisis.
31:54So as gardeners, we're facing many fresh challenges, whether that is extreme heat in the summer,
31:59whether that's waterlogged wet winters, new diseases affecting plant health.
32:03It's a really challenging time to be a gardener.
32:07So, I was really excited to be asked to mentor budding designers
32:11who have the challenge of creating resilient gardens at this year's garden festival.
32:20With just three weeks left before the public and judges get to see the finished gardens,
32:24we've come to a peat-free nursery for inspiration and to see what's looking good.
32:30I actually worked in software for the last decade, so this is quite a change.
32:38I've never done anything like this before, so why not start with a show garden, I thought.
32:45Marina Lindell's design seeks to improve community life
32:48by providing healthy, nutritious food to those who cannot afford it.
32:52Every part of it is going to be edible.
32:55I'm growing some of the plants myself as well,
32:58so sometimes I have sleepless nights and I get up in the middle of the night
33:02and I'm just measuring if they have already grown a tiny bit.
33:08Not a lot of people know, but cornuscus are edible as well,
33:11so this will turn into a red berry that's an edible fruit.
33:15So Tom has been really helpful because he knows some plants that I've never heard of
33:20and they're definitely going to be included.
33:26This is Malus Turingo, it's a crabapple with a small fruit.
33:30The shape of this is a really good focal point for a show garden.
33:34You should tag it quick before anyone else does.
33:37Yeah, on it.
33:43Resilient Gardening has been integral to all the show gardens I've created,
33:47from Hampton Court last year to RHS Chelsea this year.
33:51Obviously show gardens are often large-scale projects,
33:54but these resilient pocket plantings are all about smaller spaces
33:58and attainable planting design,
34:00showing that resilience is achievable even in a really small space.
34:08We actually come from quite diverse backgrounds.
34:10Helia was a lawyer and Sonia was an interior designer
34:13and I worked in pensions and we did a career change.
34:18We volunteered on a number of show gardens over the year with our course,
34:22so it was really exciting to get the opportunity to do our very own.
34:27Sonia, Sally and Helia's garden is inspired by the resilience of children
34:31who have been impacted by traumatic events.
34:34We've chosen really vibrant, colourful plants, joyful plants really.
34:38And these are plants that people should be able to use in their gardens
34:43in the next 30 years when our climate is changing.
34:47That's such a thing of beauty.
34:49It's wonderful and look at how it moves.
34:51The movement of it I think is really important.
34:56We hear it a lot, but it's essential to get the right plant in the right place,
35:00particularly for a resilient planting design.
35:03And it's something the judges will be looking out for as well.
35:06So the designers need to be really careful.
35:08They're selecting plants that are suitable for the conditions
35:11that their garden is displaying.
35:17So this really elegant grass is Stipa Pseudoetu.
35:20It's very drought tolerant, very wind resilient.
35:22It's got fine feathery foliage, so wind passes through
35:25rather than snapping the stems.
35:27And this is a really good plant for an open, sunny, exposed site.
35:33This is Euphorbia mercenates, a really, really drought tolerant plant.
35:37It's got very succulent leaves and this kind of glaucus blue foliage
35:41is really good at reflecting the sun's heat.
35:43This would be great in a gravel garden and in a coastal location,
35:46anywhere where you need a plant tolerant of exposed and dry conditions.
35:50And it gives you this kind of year-round, evergreen Euphorbia structure.
35:54So really interesting shape and form.
35:59With increasingly wet winters, it's important to choose plants
36:02or have plants that are also tolerant of wet conditions.
36:05And this Iris, Iris chrysographes, black form,
36:07is very tolerant of boggy and waterlogged conditions.
36:10So a really great plant if you want to add that statement drama.
36:13It's got a really interesting yellow stripe as well on the petals.
36:21Do you think there will be more of these seed heads coming?
36:24There should be, yeah. You can see, if you look in,
36:26these should be spot on for Hampton Court.
36:29They're just coming through.
36:31Saatchi, James and Marco want to make a garden resilient
36:34to a future drier climate, inspired by the North Essex coast.
36:39We think resilient planting is really central to garden design
36:42and planting design going forward.
36:44Because really it all comes down to sustainability.
36:47So you don't want to be over-watering plants, using too much water.
36:50But also you don't want to be selecting plants which will die
36:53and which aren't suitable for our future growing conditions with climate change.
36:58This will be a good one. Definitely.
37:00Nice. I'll tag them quick.
37:07It's been a great day today.
37:09It really reminds me of when I was first starting out doing my first show garden.
37:12So lots of enthusiasm, lots of amazing plants have been tagged.
37:15Can't wait to see them all come together.
37:17But anything can happen with a show garden.
37:19And we'll see them at the build. We'll see how they all come together.
37:30So we're here at Hampton Court. We're on site now.
37:32And the gardens are really starting to come together.
37:36And for me, this part of a show garden build is so exciting.
37:38The ideas that you've had in your head, that have been on paper,
37:40are really starting to come to life.
37:44So Marina, tree is in. What do you think?
37:47I love it. Love the shape. Fits in perfectly.
37:52Today is all about the planting, moving plants around
37:55and seeing how they interact with each other
37:57and making sure we've got the composition and the balance and all the colours kind of right.
38:01So that's where the challenge is today.
38:04Hayley Herridge is creating an oasis for bees.
38:08I've got this salvia.
38:10Really great for all sorts of different kinds of bees and butterflies.
38:14Insects are very sensitive to climatic changes and temperature changes.
38:18So a solid network of habitat is really, really crucial.
38:21The area of gardens within the UK is bigger than all our national nature reserves combined.
38:26So if we all do a bit more in our gardens for bees and other pollinators,
38:30then combined we can actually contribute a huge effort.
38:34And I just think that is so inspiring and positive for biodiversity.
38:42You know, I think we're on track.
38:44The girls are cracking ahead. We've had some great volunteers.
38:48Everyone's really getting on.
38:51It's really interesting to see everyone's garden and then they take on the same theme.
38:55I just love it.
38:58Keep stepping back so you get an overview picture.
39:01Take photos, take everything back out and then plant it.
39:05Sarah Cotterill is constructing a rain garden filled with adaptable plants
39:09which can withstand temporary waterlogging.
39:12My day job is I'm an assistant professor in civil engineering.
39:15So a lot of my research focuses on stormwater management.
39:19In the UK, the last 18 months have been the wettest on record.
39:24So if homeowners and gardeners can start to make small changes to their gardens
39:29that are these resilient plants, I think it means they'll have gardens that are thriving
39:33rather than spending a lot of time trying to keep existing plants alive.
39:42It's not long now until the show opens.
39:44Lots of good progress but still a lot to do.
39:47I really can't wait to see the finished gardens.
40:00Tom, you are a real veteran of the RHS shows.
40:04But you've done something really different this year. You've been mentoring designers.
40:07What I find fascinating is that term resilience has kind of driven all of these different designs.
40:11But they're so different, so diverse.
40:14Yeah, I mean it's incredible to see the way they've all responded and how the gardens have come together.
40:18I genuinely feel really proud of them.
40:25So this is inspired by the North Essex coast and it's called Winds of Change.
40:28So it starts here up at the top where it's more kind of green.
40:31This feels a bit further away from the seafront.
40:33And as you move through the plants it becomes even more rugged, even more resilient.
40:37And maybe feels a bit closer to the sea.
40:39I have to say the plant choice is not only beautiful
40:42but these species really are going to be resilient to kind of salt-laden winds, to salty soils.
40:47Just a heavy kind of blast and gust.
40:50And I guess this is a really good example. Astroplex halimus.
40:53I think it's common name is saltbush, right?
40:55So it's a coastal plant, you can cope with all of those things.
40:58And I've noticed in the wild you often get these little salt crystals on the outside of the leaves.
41:02And so it's clearly drawing it through its system.
41:04It's the perfect resilient plant for the area.
41:06Yeah, very salty leaves.
41:07So if you try them great in a salad they add that little kind of zing of coastal flavour.
41:11Nice.
41:17So this is Marina's garden.
41:19And I think she's done a fantastic job here with creating this, playing with this idea.
41:23That you can have a whole load of edible plants but that have beautiful kind of ornamental quality.
41:28What I love about this garden is the playfulness.
41:30All the little pathways.
41:32As you said there's so many things that are edible or ornamental or both.
41:36And it's a really great way I think to bring community together.
41:39To provide space for people to gather.
41:41But also things for people to do.
41:42To eat, to try, to taste.
41:43Particularly for kids it's such a fun space.
41:46And I think it is really successfully done.
41:48It kind of has a lovely continuity through the whole planting.
41:51I think this kale is really special.
41:53I love that kind of deep burgundy purple tone.
41:55A splash of yellow at the top.
41:57I think it's gorgeous.
41:58And then actually interestingly down here is this tree spinach.
42:00Which again, it almost looks like an ornamental.
42:02That sort of pink centre to it.
42:04But of course you can eat it and cut it through the season.
42:06I think it's great.
42:12Tom I notice you've acquired a rather natty little brooch there.
42:16So this is actually a buff tip moth.
42:18And this has evolved to look like a birch twig.
42:21And this garden here is all about attracting moths.
42:23They've been running moth traps overnight.
42:25They've got 400 moths and 50 different species in one single night.
42:29Which I think is quite incredible really.
42:31And of course the plants that Sarah has chosen here are absolutely perfect.
42:35To support both day and night moths.
42:38So something like this little scabious.
42:40Masses of little flowers packed together.
42:42They can crawl around on the top.
42:43There's lots of pollen and nectar.
42:44And actually I think this kind of matrix planting.
42:47All sort of mashed together.
42:48It was almost like the natural meadows that these guys would hang out in.
42:52I think across all of these gardens there's so many take home ideas.
42:55Whether it's designing for drought, for flood, for pollinators.
42:58And it's just incredible how all these designers have brought these gardens together.
43:02First time designers.
43:03I feel so proud of them that they've created these incredible spaces.
43:07And really showcased that even in a tiny garden you can really celebrate resilience.
43:18Native British wildflowers form a vital part of our landscapes.
43:22They provide food for pollinators.
43:24And they provide habitat for wildlife.
43:26But what is the real difference between a wildflower and a weed?
43:31Well Charlotte and Fred Den are a farming family from Kent.
43:35On a mission to prove that wildflowers really do have a place in our gardens.
43:40My childhood was going around farms where the priority was wheat.
43:45What you're seeing now is a complete new mindset.
43:51The main part of the business is seed processing for wheat, barley, oats.
43:55And certainly more recently now processing wildflower seed for general public.
44:03We're reframing weeds.
44:05By taking our wildflowers to Hampton Court.
44:08I'd like the people who visit our display to stop and stare and think.
44:14Wow, these look like beautiful garden plants.
44:21My polytunnel's slap bang into the ground.
44:23And I'm going to use that as a platform.
44:25I'm going to use that as a platform.
44:27I'm going to use that as a platform.
44:29I'm going to use that as a platform.
44:31I'm going to use that as a platform.
44:33My polytunnel's slap bang in the middle of our grain store.
44:37It's quite an unusual setting for a wildflower grower.
44:43Cultivating the weeds that farmers were trying to get rid of in their arable fields.
44:48Most of what we're showing I've sown myself here in the tunnel.
44:53There's a bit of a misconception with wildflowers that you can just scatter and go.
44:58And up will pop this meadow effect.
45:00Especially with the annual species.
45:02You might find that there's a really strong showing in the first year.
45:05And then in the second year if those seeds haven't hit the ground again.
45:09The plants won't re-establish.
45:12So the really nice thing about sowing them into your border.
45:16Is that you can collect the seed yourself.
45:18You can re-sow them in the autumn or the spring.
45:21And you can make sure that you get those plants back again year on year.
45:25I really want to show people that they can introduce wildflowers.
45:30Into planting schemes that they already have in their gardens.
45:34So here we're showing not only a container full of veg that we can harvest and eat.
45:40But it's multi-purpose.
45:42This combination of edible plants will be coming with us to Hampton Court.
45:48And featuring as part of our wildflower display.
45:51This plant here is self-heal.
45:53The leaves are edible in the same way that you can cook spinach.
45:56So it does need to be cooked.
45:58But it gives you the same texture as spinach.
46:01The young leaves of kidney vetch are edible.
46:03You can harvest them and put them in your salads.
46:06Just like you would rocket.
46:08They're really nutrient dense.
46:10The kidney vetch is a larval food plant for the small blue butterfly.
46:14Which is in decline at the moment.
46:16It's a really vital plant.
46:18All of our native plants are doing something for nature.
46:23They've been designed to do that.
46:27So if you love poppies, plant poppies.
46:31If you have a white colour scheme.
46:34Choose things like wildcats.
46:36If you have a white colour scheme.
46:38Choose things like butterflies.
46:40If you have a white colour scheme.
46:42Choose things like butterflies.
46:44If you have a white colour scheme.
46:46Choose things like wild carrots and yarrow.
46:50You really can't go wrong.
46:54This is sanfoyne.
46:56It is one of the highest yielding nectar producing wildflowers.
47:01So it's ideal for anybody who is planting for bees.
47:05And its roots are also nitrogen fixing.
47:08So it's great for soil health.
47:11Wildflower species like sanfoyne, viper's bugloss.
47:15They replenish their nectaries.
47:17I think it's within five or ten minutes.
47:20Possibly even quicker.
47:22And there's the opportunity for another insect to come in and take a feed.
47:29Yellow rattle is the secret weapon.
47:31For encouraging wildflowers into areas of existing grass.
47:35Because it's a semi-parasitic wildflower.
47:38So it draws the nutrients away from the grass.
47:41The grass dies back.
47:43Using the soil which then wildflower seeds can establish in.
47:47So here where we've got a bit of an abundance of yellow rattle.
47:50The area's opened up.
47:52You've got other species coming through.
47:54To my right where there is no yellow rattle.
47:56The grass is thick.
47:58And other species would struggle to really break through.
48:01Unless they were very competitive such as this here.
48:04But you would struggle to get a real blend and mix of different species.
48:09If you're thinking of sowing yellow rattle.
48:11It needs to be sown fresh as soon after harvest as possible.
48:14Really from late July through till early November at the latest.
48:25I'm sowing corn cockle seeds.
48:27It's a really simple one to get going.
48:29The seeds themselves germinate readily.
48:32And from germination to flowering.
48:35It's quite a short period really of 60 to 80 days.
48:39So you'll have flowers at the end of September.
48:43When you're sowing wildflower seeds.
48:45It's really important to put them on the top of the surface.
48:48They don't need to be covered in any soil.
48:52The most important things are soil contact.
48:56And the moisture content of the soil.
48:58So get your seed and just push it firmly into the soil.
49:02And then whether or not you direct sow them out in your border or a pot.
49:07Or you sow them in a greenhouse.
49:09It's really important to keep them well watered.
49:13Ideally with rain water.
49:20Vipers bugloss is a wildflower with a purpose.
49:23It has a really strong tap root.
49:26Which goes deep down into the soil.
49:29And it's great if you have areas of compacted soil.
49:33It also works really well in chalky or dry soils.
49:37Because it's very drought resistant.
49:39It's often called vipers bugloss.
49:42Because it has a sort of serpentine appearance.
49:46The colour of its blooms sort of change as it ages.
49:50They go from a really deep blue through to a really nice pink.
49:54Then it repeat flowers as well.
49:56You can deadhead and the plant will put its energy back into producing new flowers.
50:01It's a great self-seeder.
50:03So you'll find it spread through your borders if you allow it.
50:07Or you can just cut it back before it goes to seed.
50:14Wildflowers, weeds, whatever you want to call them.
50:16They're absolutely brilliant.
50:18And should be treated more like the heroes of garden planting than the villain.
50:23So I'm really looking forward to taking them to Hampton Court.
50:28And to reframing the way that gardeners look at them.
50:40Charlotte, this looks great.
50:41How's the whole build been for you?
50:43It's been a real learning curve.
50:45But it's been a fantastic experience.
50:47And we're absolutely thrilled to be here representing wildflowers.
50:51I think a lot of people limit themselves to thinking these plants can only be in a meadow.
50:55But actually it's so lovely to see that they can be used in all these different contexts.
50:59The Viper's Bugloss there, I just think it really changes it.
51:02Putting it in a container truly shows it off.
51:04And you've done a few other interesting bits like that here.
51:07We have, yes.
51:08We've got the white clover here.
51:10We've taken it out of context.
51:11So normally you'd find it matting out across your lawn.
51:14Here we've allowed it to spill over the pot.
51:17We've ornamentalised it.
51:18It looks beautiful but it's working really hard for the environment as well.
51:23The flowers of clover are exceptionally nectar-rich.
51:25It's really important, I think, for gardeners to try and embrace some of these native plants.
51:30It's shocking.
51:31We've lost 97% of our native meadow in the last 100 years.
51:35It's really upsetting.
51:36And I think the attitude towards seeing wildflowers growing, it is starting to change.
51:42We're starting to recognise that these plants have a place.
51:46We wanted to show gardeners that if you look at them in the same way
51:50that you would look at a verbena or a cosmos,
51:53you can plant them with intention and they can look really beautiful.
51:57What you've done here just brilliantly demonstrates to gardeners
52:01that you can actually use a lot of these native plants,
52:05but to use your word, to ornamentalise them, put them into borders, provide for wildlife.
52:10And actually, these are really garden-worthy.
52:13So thank you.
52:14Thank you, Nick.
52:21I love growing vegetables, and I've got my own allotment,
52:25so I always come to look at the allotments at Hampton Court.
52:29It's full of make-do and mend creativity,
52:32and hopefully I'll find some ideas I can take home with me.
52:51So here I am in the found garden,
52:53and I'm surrounded by repurposed and recycled things.
52:56They've turned this sink into a small pond,
52:59they've used the wood as paths and crates to grow things in.
53:04And down here, I've got a lovely example of a wildlife hedge.
53:10If I had a trout, I'd be digging this one up and taking it home.
53:13This is an amaranth, and you can use the baby leaves in salads.
53:17When they get a bit bigger, you can cook them as you would do spinach.
53:20And then they send up these spires, and they produce millet seed.
53:24Great for the birds.
53:25Or you can make millet porridge.
53:33This is nature's haven tea garden.
53:36All the plants in this garden have a purpose,
53:39even some that we will consider as weeds.
53:42So many of them can be used as tea,
53:45and some of them can be used as sustenance for bees and other insects.
53:51Either side are some raised beds for people with mobility issues.
53:55And in the beds are planted lots of plants for making tea.
53:58On this side we've got chamomile, which people take in tea to help them sleep and relax.
54:04And then we've got mint and fennel, which helps with digestion.
54:07And over here we've got eucalyptus, which helps when you've got a cough or a cold.
54:16This is Grow to Learn, Learn to Grow.
54:20And all the plants on this stand have been grown by Bagshot Infant School.
54:25The children have got a really useful area,
54:28where they've made plant pots from newspapers to pot on all their seedlings.
54:32And I was just about to throw away a pallet,
54:35but I've been inspired because they've made a herb garden out of an old pallet
54:40with a self-watering, solar-powered system.
54:45This allotment proves you're never too young or too old to get growing.
55:05We've flown the flag for weeds, and now it's time to celebrate moss.
55:10And this garden certainly has done it.
55:13It's set in Manchester in a wet north-easterly situation,
55:17and that's why we've got this abundance of ferns and brunneras and hostas,
55:21all those plants that love shady conditions.
55:24But really, it's the moss that is the star plant.
55:27Moss has the ability to store more carbon than bare soil,
55:31and it's absolutely brilliant at purifying the air.
55:35And it acts like a sponge. It has the ability to soak up so much water,
55:39which slows the flow in urban settings across all of the hard landscaping.
55:44But the other thing that I think it does is transform a space.
55:48I love the way that it's creeping over this paving,
55:51really connecting and unifying the space, softening the edges
55:55and adding more green vibrancy, which is very good for our well-being.
55:59I would say, if you're looking at moss and you're looking to remove it in your space,
56:04think again. Embrace all of its wonderful benefits.
56:09MUSIC
56:26Hey, Arit. I really like this RHS feature garden.
56:29It's kind of all about shade, but it's a masterclass
56:32in, I think, the right kind of planting for shade.
56:35It's all these layers of green.
56:37And, of course, so many of these plants take on different tones.
56:40The fern is bronze in autumn. The roost takes on fantastic autumn colour.
56:44I just think it sets up a really lovely, kind of lush atmosphere.
56:47Oh, it's really lush. Kind of that calming feel.
56:50It's quite jungly feeling in there. Yeah. But look at this.
56:53Yeah, I mean, the spirit completely changes once you're through here.
56:56And, of course, this is the sunny side of the site.
56:59Beautiful palette of colours, pinks and blues running through.
57:02It's agapanthus, of course, perfect for pollinators.
57:05I'm just spotting in the distance as well that blue catenache.
57:08Just gorgeous. Oh, yeah. I really do like them.
57:11But take a look at this. I love this. I think it's so clever.
57:15It brings you up and elevates you above the actual border.
57:19So now things have gone a bit smaller.
57:21All of a sudden the grasses have come up to me.
57:23And that's what I love about these shows, that they transport you to another place.
57:27MUSIC
57:36Tell me, what's been your favourite part of the show?
57:39Oh, it's always the same for me.
57:41It's got to be the nurseries and all the plants I can buy and take home.
57:44Yeah. Well, I will be checking your bags.
57:47OK, well, I'm afraid that's all we've got time for here today
57:51at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
57:54But the show is open all the way through until Sunday.
57:57So if you can get yourself down here, there's absolutely masses to see and do.
58:01Now, Gardeners World won't be with you next week because it's Wimbledon,
58:04but in two weeks' time, Adam and Frances will be at RHS Flower Show, Tatton Park.
58:09That is Friday, a slightly earlier time of six o'clock.
58:13But until then, it's goodbye for now.
58:15Bye. Bye.
58:16MUSIC
58:19Gardening in 10 Easy Steps from Gardeners World
58:23is the complete beginner's guidebook available to buy now.
58:26And meet the mother and daughter who've inherited a huge, crumbling mansion,
58:30as told by Storyville on BBC iPlayer.
58:33Next, surprise, it's EastEnders.
58:45My name is Inspector Chetan Iqbal. I can be formidable.