Gardeners World 2024 Episode 17
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to A Special Gardener's World from RHS Flower Shed, Tatton Park.
00:12And this year, Adam, it's a very special year and they are celebrating their 25th anniversary.
00:17At the same time as you were born?
00:19Similar, similar. But it's a lovely show, isn't it? Because there's a real sense of community when you come here.
00:26And it's great that they give such a good platform to young and new garden designers.
00:31But also for me, I feel like it's a turning point in the garden season.
00:35But this feels like we're celebrating the garden in the summer.
00:39High summer!
00:41Which today it is!
00:43Anyway, here's a taste of what's to come on today's programme.
00:48If you're short on space, we've got loads of inspiration.
00:51Including beautiful planting combinations and great landscaping ideas.
00:58We'll explore the floral marquee and shine a light on the best shade-loving summer plants.
01:03But that is definitely worth a go.
01:07If you want to grow fruit and veg but don't have a big garden, we'll have advice on crops to grow in pots.
01:14There's a rule, the bigger the pot, the bigger the plant will become.
01:19And Toby continues the celebration of great northern horticulture at one of Cheshire's finest historic gardens, Arley Hall.
01:28Wind the clock back 200 years and this place was at horticulture's cutting edge.
01:35Wow!
01:42Tatton is certainly celebrating its 25th anniversary in style this year.
01:47As well as all the usual treats in the floral marquee, there are show-stopping floristry displays and masterclasses in the flower school.
01:57Plenty of hands-on activities for kids to get involved.
02:01Horticultural tips and advice from an all-star line-up.
02:05And, of course, the show gardens.
02:18Walking into this show, I think we have got a busy day.
02:24It seems absolutely rammed with interest.
02:27It does, but shall we start with show gardens?
02:30No better place.
02:31What do we have here?
02:32Go on.
02:33No, it's quite traditional. I like that.
02:35There's four almost symmetrical sections that on the face of it you feel like you can see everything.
02:40But when you get to the details, you really see so much more going on.
02:44I do love these piers.
02:46Yeah.
02:47You know, which is sort of take on a sculptural take on an arts and crafts chimney.
02:51Totally, the peg tiles.
02:52Yeah, and it says to me Edwin Lutyens and that idea of the architect and then maybe the plants woman, Gertrude Jekyll.
03:00Yeah.
03:01And because you look at the sort of colour schemes, but then the materials, all local.
03:06The bricks are made locally.
03:08The stone is sourced locally.
03:10Yeah.
03:11It is celebrating all of those people.
03:13Yeah.
03:14And I do love that human connection with something that you're creating.
03:19Yeah, I get that.
03:22Shall we go see the next garden?
03:23Yeah, I mean this is probably good.
03:26This is a great start.
03:29Agreed.
03:38The first word that comes to mind walking in here is elegance.
03:42I think sometimes when we're creating gardens, we forget that tone can be set.
03:47You've got the gravel.
03:48Yeah.
03:49Pale.
03:50Then you've got the brickwork.
03:51Sits really comfortably together.
03:52Blue detail.
03:53You catch your eye.
03:54Look at the drapes there.
03:55You've got the blue.
03:56They are really nice together.
03:57They are, aren't they?
03:58And then you've got the dark backdrop and then baskets, steel edge, basket.
04:03I love these baskets.
04:05I also love how they've woven the Rosa Glorca in through the willow as well.
04:10It's like there's a relationship between the two.
04:12Yeah.
04:13What about the rest of the planting?
04:14The idea with this planting is to represent diversity.
04:17Yeah.
04:18So there's something from all corners of the world and that is to show communities from
04:23diverse backgrounds living together, working together in harmony.
04:27But I think the clever thing with this, moving forward, those times of a big drift, simplicity,
04:34are now having a go because we have to plant diversity, diversity, diversity because of
04:39environmental change and the weather in our gardens.
04:42So I think this ticks a lot of boxes.
04:45Totally.
04:55This has been designed and created for people that have been victims of crime.
05:00That's really interesting.
05:01You can feel that though, can't you?
05:03And it's very thoughtful with the way that they're seating all around the place.
05:07It's non-confrontational.
05:08I do like the little bit of cheer in the yellow of the Achillea in that corner.
05:13Everything else is very, very on one palette.
05:16And then there's a punch of yellow.
05:17I like that.
05:18But also I like it because these lovely Sassafras, which happen to be my favourite tree.
05:23They can't be your favourite tree.
05:24Why can't they be my favourite tree?
05:25Because they're my favourite tree.
05:26Are they really?
05:27They are my favourite tree, yeah.
05:29I like these as well.
05:30They start as a solid block up there, look, and then they just start to pepper their way
05:34through the space.
05:35Oh yeah, I hadn't noticed that.
05:36It's nice, isn't it?
05:37Yeah.
05:38And then you sit down and it is nice.
05:40That's quite nice as well.
05:41It is nice.
05:42Can we just stay here?
05:44I think we should.
05:46Yeah.
05:59One question I get asked an awful lot is, I've got a shady little spot in the garden.
06:05What can I do to add some more interest this time of the year?
06:10Well, let's go and see what we can find.
06:15So, one of your safest bets.
06:18Boom.
06:19Ferns.
06:20Damp shade, dry shade.
06:21You will find one that works in both.
06:24And I know they're not everybody's cup of tea.
06:26And we think colour, colour, colour.
06:28First of all, green is the colour.
06:30But think about texture, finish, calmness.
06:35That's exactly what they bring.
06:37But I need to show you this.
06:41Look at that.
06:42It's called coniogram.
06:43So that is a Chinese bamboo fern.
06:46Not a bamboo, it is a fern.
06:49Gets to about two foot.
06:51But look at the growth habit.
06:52Wonderful sort of arching.
06:54And the leaves, imagine that in a corner with just ping.
06:59But it does come with health warning.
07:02Apparently, the slugs love the new growth.
07:05So for me, that would go in a container,
07:07exactly the same as a hosta,
07:09and I would keep it well moist.
07:11But there is also a little trick
07:14that may help you out a bit with the slugs.
07:17When you're feeding things like tree ferns
07:19with a good old seaweed liquid feed,
07:21put it on top of that.
07:22And apparently, it keeps those old slugs at bay.
07:30I'm going to talk a little bit about dry shade now.
07:33And in reality, an awful lot of the plants
07:35that love dry shade and flower
07:37do their work in the spring.
07:40But it's this time of year
07:41that we really want those pops of interest.
07:44First thing you need to do is prep that soil.
07:46For me, lots of organic matter.
07:48So either leaf mold or well-rotten manure
07:51goes in more than any other place in the garden.
07:54And then I experiment.
07:56And one of the things I've experimented with
07:58that's worked well is Francois.
08:00Look at them as a group of plants.
08:02You will get a mix of sizes,
08:04but they've got this wonderful sort of
08:06green lush foliage, good shape to it,
08:09which covers the ground,
08:10clumps over a period of time.
08:11And then you get this little bottle brush type flower.
08:14This one, soft pink,
08:16but it goes through to really dark colours.
08:19But that is definitely worth a go.
08:27Now, if you're looking for a shrub,
08:30for a shady spot,
08:31you cannot go far wrong with a hydrangea.
08:34And again, I know people can be a little bit snobby,
08:37and I probably was a few years ago,
08:39but I've got back into them.
08:41That is hydrangea annabelle.
08:43Imagine that sat under a dark shady tree,
08:47poof, just singing.
08:49But in front of that, Actaea,
08:51which again is not a plant that everybody knows.
08:54I've got that growing in the garden.
08:56A different variety to that one.
08:57So you've got that dark foliage,
08:59just about to come into flower.
09:01So that's a little bit later summer.
09:02That will take good garden soil.
09:05So again, it's all about that preparation.
09:07So just go and check out these groups of plants,
09:10and I'm sure you'll find one that suits your little spot.
09:25This year's master growers are Robinson seeds,
09:28and they are known for their mammoth fruit and veg.
09:32But if you don't have the space to grow massive crops,
09:35there are plenty of things that you can grow in pots.
09:46Tomatoes and chilies are plants that we often grow in pots.
09:50And as a general rule, the bigger the container,
09:52the bigger the plant.
09:53Just look at this beautiful chili in a really lovely big pot.
09:57But you have to remember that when you have a plant in a pot,
09:59you have to provide all of its nutrients and a lot of its water,
10:03whereas in the ground it can find its own little bit.
10:05So watering them regularly, but also with a fruiting plant,
10:09about once a week when they're beginning to start fruiting,
10:11feed them with a high potash feed in with the water,
10:14and that will really help to keep them healthy.
10:16If you do have a pot and you want to grow a tomato,
10:19then look for the word patio in the name of the variety,
10:22because that gives you a clue that it will be very, very happy in a container.
10:32If you have a really small space, you can grow really small vegetables.
10:36Now these are microgreens, so they just get eaten when they are this size.
10:40This one's pea shoot, but you can grow things like sunflowers and lettuce leaves,
10:44all kinds of things.
10:45You just sow the seeds and then cut them off when they're really, really small.
10:48Salad leaves, in general, are a really good thing that you can grow in a pot.
10:52This is watercress, grown in a lovely pot,
10:54but you can also have things like coriander, lettuce, mustard, mizuna,
10:59ondi, bitters, all sorts of things that you can sow still now
11:03and maybe put them in the middle of the table,
11:05help yourself to some salad whilst you're eating your lunch,
11:07and it's a really, really nice way of growing quick and easy crops.
11:16Blueberries
11:22There are some crops that will really benefit from being grown in containers.
11:26Blueberries is the prime example.
11:28They like an acidic soil, so if you don't have acidic soil in the garden,
11:32buy an ericaceous compost, stick it in a pot, and then you can grow a blueberry.
11:37Now carrots are another crop that have quite specific soil requirements.
11:41They don't like stony soil and they don't like a heavy clay soil
11:44because those roots hit obstacles and can't break through to get really lovely, healthy carrots.
11:48So instead, a nice, deep pot full of peat-free compost
11:51will give them the conditions that they need to grow nice, deep, tap roots,
11:55which, of course, is the bit that you eat.
11:57And if you raise the pots higher than 50 centimetres,
11:59usually the carrot fly won't find them either.
12:02So it shows that sometimes there are actual benefits to growing crops in pots.
12:09Vegetables
12:15Growing plants and produce not only looks good and tastes great,
12:19but can be an activity that really brings people together.
12:22Now, a couple of weeks ago, we caught up with Christine Leung,
12:26who is a community group leader from Liverpool,
12:28who has designed and built one of the terrace gardens here at the show,
12:32with a little help from her friends.
12:35Garden design
12:40I'm a Liverpool-based garden designer with a passion for working with communities.
12:45My gardening journey started when I was a kid.
12:47My granddad was a massive grower.
12:50He came from China, so because English wasn't his first language,
12:53in order to break barriers, he'd just kind of give neighbours some extra food that he grew.
13:00There's so many growers in Bootle who are just growing and sharing,
13:03and that's what is so inviting about these community gardens.
13:12We're at St Leonard's Community Garden in Bootle,
13:14and this is where our Tatton journey began this year,
13:17and it's the vibe and the energy of this place that's been the inspiration for this year's garden.
13:23Hi!
13:30Very proud.
13:31It's the first time we've done garlic, so we'll do it again in the future.
13:38There's a real sense of community when you see people sharing things that they've created, you know,
13:42and it doesn't cost them much.
13:44It's just about will, and it's about good spirit, really, and generosity.
13:49Is that gooseberry?
13:50Yes, it could be.
13:52Yeah, there's a gooseberry bush.
13:56So this year at Tatton, we're doing a kitchen-based garden, lots of edible mixed planting.
14:03The garden's called Glean, so it implies that you can go and glean little bits every day.
14:09It's inspired by two things.
14:11One is food growing, and then it's also inspired by the wildflower projects that we do locally.
14:20So this is a street corner that was once quite a popular fly-tipping area,
14:24and we've ended up putting in a small wildflower meadow, which is sewn on rubble and mersey grit,
14:33and this is year three of flowering.
14:35As you can see, it's really thriving with wild carrots, oxeye daisy, and some viper's boo gloss.
14:41There's a lovely bee!
14:42And yeah, in an area that would otherwise just be tarmac and full of, you know, just litter swirling around quite often.
14:48So because this has worked so well, it's influenced kind of part of the design.
14:53Greening up the Gray Streets is, for me, a real joy because you're working with people who it matters to.
15:00Look at them.
15:01I know, there's loads of strawberries.
15:03They need eating now.
15:04They do?
15:05Do you want to pick some?
15:06I should get the kids in.
15:07Get the kids in.
15:08I've got to get the kids in.
15:09Do you want to pick some?
15:10I should get the kids in.
15:11Get the kids in after school.
15:12They'll have them.
15:14No one has gardens round here.
15:16We all have yards and that.
15:18And the space for learning, isn't it, and growing.
15:24I really love working with communities because you never know what's going to happen.
15:28And I do it because it's really good fun.
15:30Let's eat a leaf.
15:31Go on.
15:33I like the look of that one.
15:34No, it's an edible.
15:36It's an edible flower.
15:38It's not strong-tasting.
15:40I'm eating things I never knew I'd eat.
15:43Go for it.
15:49At Tatton we're going to have a 6 by 4 metre garden.
15:52It's an urban kind of garden and it's downsized for the show garden,
15:56but in the long term the legacy of it will be a bigger garden and a community allotment.
16:01At the front of the garden there's a rubble meadow that's sown with wildflowers
16:06and it kind of reflects the work that we've been doing in the Merseyside area.
16:10The design is for a young, sustainably conscious couple,
16:14inspired by this community garden.
16:16And we love that we've always just planted in a very wild kind of self-seeding manner
16:21because that's how we get cheap plants.
16:24The majority of the plants for this garden are grown by community volunteers
16:28in and around Bootle and Merseyside.
16:31For us, it's all about engaging volunteers and giving them that extra experience.
16:36So doing a project like a Tatton show garden really brings a bit of pressure to them,
16:41which is good, you know, it's a bit of fun, a bit of teamwork.
16:44And with it being community-led, they get to put ideas forward,
16:47they get to propagate plants and they get to see those plants there
16:52and they're judged and they're given medals, you know,
16:54so it's a really exciting project to be part of.
16:57But then you've always got the stressful bit is,
16:59are our home-grown flowers as good as the nursery ones?
17:05When you look around and you've got people either side of you,
17:08you know, with their exhibition, it's fantastic.
17:12And they're all sort of perfectionists, you know.
17:15Some of them have been doing it for years and they really are.
17:18And we're not, as you'd call them, perfectionists.
17:22We're just a group of people that love gardening
17:25and do our best for Christine.
17:29I'm feeling really stressed about all of it.
17:34But it'll be alright.
17:38These gardens are about people.
17:40And they always have to go somewhere at the end,
17:42so you have to bear that in mind for the design.
17:45So the fact that we've got a community space for it to go to is brilliant
17:48and it's their space that matters to them.
17:51So the Tatton garden, with it being a food garden,
17:53is going to end up, after the show, at a community allotment,
17:57which we've only just started building in Bootle.
18:02Greening up the grey areas of cities is really exciting
18:06because it just looks really good, doesn't it?
18:16Food is at the heart of lots of things, you know.
18:19And whether you see a plant as food
18:21or whether you learn about a plant being food
18:23is something that brings people together.
18:25So if this is an education for people in terms of edible flowers,
18:29edible foods and recycling and composting,
18:32everyone can do these things.
18:34And because we're doing it with a community-led approach,
18:37that's really exciting because you're just teaching lots of people
18:41and everyone's learning and sharing knowledge at the same time.
18:44And it's got a legacy, you know, it's got a really positive legacy.
18:48It feels like you come here and you do meet other people
18:51who are in dead similar situations
18:53and I think that's what brings people back as well.
18:57There's always someone there who you can engage with.
19:01We've built a support network for each other, really.
19:06Communities are sort of all getting so separated now
19:09and it gives all the people in Bootle somewhere to come and be
19:14and enjoy each other's company in a really nice environment.
19:19I'd be here every day if I could.
19:22It's a real something to be proud of.
19:25Oh, Jan, Fung's brought in fresh bread.
19:28How good is that?
19:31I think my grandad would be super chuffed,
19:35you know, really chuffed with what we do.
19:38I remember going into gardening thinking
19:40I don't want to be one of those guys that just, you know,
19:42puts their headsets on and mows lawns.
19:44I want to be one of these sociable gardeners.
19:46I need people around me and I think
19:49that's what brings people together, you know,
19:51the food giving, the food sharing, the food growing.
19:55Beautifying a space means that you could sit in beautiful places
19:58and talk about them
20:00and just be happier in urban areas
20:03because it doesn't look so grey.
20:06So for a volunteer to take Bootle to Tatton, it's brilliant.
20:10You really see them shine because they're talking about their work
20:13on a platform that they wouldn't normally have.
20:25Well, Christine, you're here. You made it.
20:27How has it gone? Are you pleased?
20:29I'm really pleased. It's gone really well.
20:31We're a really strong team and, yeah, it looks absolutely beautiful.
20:34It does. It looks really beautiful.
20:36What's the medal?
20:38I've got gold.
20:39Well done. That's amazing and very well deserved, I have to say.
20:42Are there any bits that you're particularly pleased with?
20:45The plants are really, really popping out with colour at the moment
20:48so I'm really pleased with them.
20:49So they're really hard to time.
20:50And then in terms of the hard landscaping,
20:52the radiator panels have definitely worked really well.
20:54They're beautiful because you wouldn't know that they're radiators
20:57really until you look closely.
20:58No, and we sourced them from a scrapyard
21:00and the chaps very kindly squashed them with their trucks
21:03and we've left them kind of just cleaned
21:06and natural looking for the aged look.
21:08And the cast iron radiator is a water butt
21:11and an old filing cabinet as a reservoir.
21:14That's really cool.
21:15So that tap at the bottom would open up
21:17and then you could fill your watering can?
21:19Yeah.
21:20That's such a good idea.
21:21Creating a show garden at a major RHS flower show
21:24is not something that everyone gets to try in their lifetime.
21:27How have your volunteers found that?
21:29They've absolutely loved it.
21:30They love the challenge and they love the excitement and the buzz
21:33of being here, you know, and showing off their work.
21:35Well, good luck with the rest of the show
21:38and I am sure that when this garden is in its final allotment
21:41it's going to continue to educate and inspire
21:43a whole new community of growers.
21:45Thank you.
21:52Just like Christine's garden, all these terrace gardens
21:55are not just full of practical ideas
21:57but lovely ones that we can use in our own gardens.
22:05This just says, welcome home.
22:09Just full of joy.
22:11Straight away you can see so many of these items in the garden
22:15are slightly unusual.
22:16They all come from a farmyard.
22:17So you come along on the path there,
22:19it's off an old machine that would have moved bales on the farm
22:23and then you come across the water feature
22:25which is an old Belfast sink.
22:26But that's slightly different shape
22:28and I can see where they used to put the soap.
22:31But I do enjoy the way the height of that sits
22:33the same as this deck.
22:34So as you come up, you're then in a slightly different space.
22:39What's the deck made of?
22:40It's an old barn door, of course it is.
22:43It's got the blue ribbon all the way around it.
22:45That ties in with the posts there
22:47but also the back wall.
22:49And in front of me, actually it's stacked out
22:52with lovely little ideas.
22:53They're bicycle chains.
22:55So they're the verticals for the sweet peas.
22:57It's really cool.
22:58It's full of detail and I suppose
23:00even though it's not a big space
23:02you could sit here and just enjoy that detail.
23:15I've now arrived in the Derbyshire Peak District.
23:19You instantly get that sense of place
23:21and I think if you can create something that feels like it belongs
23:24it becomes timeless.
23:26And what I like about this, with the planting
23:29is it feels like it's just sort of blown over the wall.
23:31There's a lot of natives in here
23:33but also plants that will self-seed.
23:35And I think going forward, climatic change,
23:39they're one group of plants that we need to go back and look at.
23:42So things like evening primrose, the chicory
23:45and then the baskums.
23:47Anyway, enough about local stuff.
23:49Look at this.
23:52Someone here loves their orchids.
23:54It shows you in a small space,
23:58tiny little greenhouse,
24:00you could come out, couldn't you?
24:02You could have half an hour, spray your orchids down.
24:04But I like the way that they're not just in here.
24:07There's little pockets around the garden
24:09so your sort of houseplants can just come out,
24:12have a little stretch, a bit of a moment in the sun.
24:16But lastly, gardeners think of everything.
24:19This is clever because obviously your orchids
24:21are not going to want to be in boiling hot sun all day long.
24:24Look at this, eh?
24:27They've even got blinds.
24:29Tiny little magnets all around the top
24:31and then you can put the blinds up
24:33and take them down.
24:35Clever.
24:42I feel like I've just walked outside of the back door.
24:45Cup of coffee in hand.
24:47Lovely early morning.
24:49Moment of peace.
24:51This feels good.
24:53I suppose, brave bit of design.
24:55It's broken into two spaces.
24:57This area feels light and airy.
24:59I think, first of all, that gravel lightens everything up.
25:02If you imagine the brick came all the way through,
25:04that would be dark.
25:06The corten would be dark.
25:08The mood would change.
25:10You've got the birch sat in the corner, light, airy.
25:12The grasses work their way through.
25:14They give a moment of peace.
25:16They play with light.
25:18They can give movement.
25:20And then, later on in the day,
25:22you could walk to the back of the garden.
25:25This arch is quite bold and heavy.
25:27You might think that it was overpowering,
25:29but it's not
25:31because that material gets picked up
25:33and it carries all the way around you,
25:35creating this raised bed.
25:37So, once you sit yourself down,
25:39you feel slightly protected.
25:41You feel safe.
25:43And then you look at the plant
25:45and that's why the mood's changed.
25:47It's quite calm.
25:49You've got the ferns in there,
25:51so there's quite a lot of green.
25:54And the anemones.
25:56As I said, it just feels
25:58like the end of the day.
26:06One of the best things about coming to these shows
26:08is we all get to see what people are buying
26:10to take back to their gardens at home.
26:16I've gone for a couple of salvias.
26:18There's a pink fern down the bottom.
26:20I see you've been doing some shopping.
26:22Yes, yes, we couldn't resist them.
26:24It's like a secure sunrise.
26:26Is that what it's called?
26:28I've no idea, probably not, but it is to me.
26:30How's that?
26:32I've messed your hair up, man. Sorry, boy.
26:38This is a phyllichtrum, by the way,
26:40and they die right back in the winter,
26:42so just chop it back
26:44and then it will regrow again the next day.
26:46Fantastic, thank you very much.
26:48Enjoy, enjoy!
26:50What are you thinking?
26:52Their colours work nice together, don't they?
26:54Yeah, and then they'll self-seed really nicely.
26:56You know what you're meant to do at this point?
26:58Just nod. Yeah, good lad, good lad.
27:00You guys look like you're walking with purpose.
27:02Are you doing more shopping?
27:04Or do we have to keep going back to the car?
27:06Do we?
27:08So there's more than just this?
27:10Are you peeing?
27:12All right, then, come on.
27:16I love the orange and the purple.
27:18It's exactly the same with my garden at the moment.
27:20I wish I could switch with you.
27:22Yes, do. Keep on relaxing.
27:26Who's this? Bentley.
27:28Bentley. That's how old Bentley is.
27:30Because I can't have the car.
27:32Exactly.
27:38Tatton is a show that is full of ideas
27:40for greening inner-city areas.
27:42Now, in an urban environment,
27:44space is at a premium, and let's face it,
27:46most of us have to find parking
27:48for at least one vehicle.
27:50So our gardens really do have to be extremely multifunctional.
27:58Now, putting all of that concrete and tarmac
28:00into our towns and cities creates something
28:02called the urban heat island effect,
28:04which is basically where towns
28:06are much hotter than our countryside.
28:08But we can cool things down
28:10by adding greenery, and that, of course,
28:12means plants.
28:14This is called the Ginnel Garden,
28:16and it's the alleyway in between terrace houses.
28:18And this one has been filled with plants.
28:20Raised beds and pots.
28:22And it's just really lovely.
28:24It shows it can be biodiverse in cities
28:26and create wildlife corridors.
28:28But also, it's a lovely communal space.
28:30You can come out here,
28:32you can meet your neighbours,
28:34and grow produce.
28:36There are lots of fruit trees in these raised beds,
28:38so you can eat your way along the alleyway, too.
28:45This garden
28:47is what a new build could be
28:49if greening the urban environment
28:51was at the forefront of the planning.
28:53The hard landscaping itself
28:55features lots of very green ideas,
28:57so there's water everywhere.
28:59And in all of that water, there are little ramps
29:01for animals to escape if they fall in.
29:03The bench is also
29:05a gabion full of slate, so that's fantastic
29:07insect habitat, as well as these
29:09upright wooden posts which have holes
29:11drilled in for solitary bees.
29:13The flowerbeds themselves are filled
29:15with pollinator-friendly plants, and I can see
29:17bees buzzing around them all over the place.
29:19Around the edge
29:21of the garden, you have native hedging.
29:23So that's really good for corridors
29:25for wildlife, and at sequestering
29:27lots of atmospheric carbon.
29:29There are also two feature trees
29:31which will also sequester that carbon.
29:33There's Prunus cirrula, and there's
29:35Hawthorn prunifolia. They're really
29:37beautiful, and that one comes complete
29:39with a bird's nest. So it just goes to show
29:41that even in a new build and a normal
29:43size garden, you can do an awful
29:45lot when it comes to making
29:47an urban environment a little bit greener.
29:59When it comes to our front gardens, in the UK
30:01we have been paving over them at
30:03a rapid rate. According to
30:05RHS research, 15 million
30:07square miles have been turned from green
30:09to grey in the last 20
30:11years, and that means that all the rain
30:13that falls runs off
30:15and doesn't drain away the polluted
30:17water, or going into the drains and overwhelming
30:19the system, which causes flooding
30:21further down the line.
30:23Now this garden offers some really interesting
30:25solutions to that problem.
30:27It's a front garden where you can park your car
30:29and still
30:31not flood the system, and there are two versions.
30:33One is all the high-tech,
30:35high-spec, modern technology,
30:37and one is made from
30:39reclaimed materials and done in more of a DIY
30:41style, but they both do the same
30:43thing. And it uses all
30:45sorts of clever methods, so
30:47free draining ground, but also
30:49capturing water wherever it lands
30:51on roofs. And the whole idea is
30:53sustainable urban drainage systems
30:55which keep water on site.
30:57Another really nice thing about this garden
30:59is that that water that's captured through the drain
31:01system comes out in a
31:03lovely rain garden, which has a bed
31:05filled with plants that can cope
31:07with periodic flooding, and it looks
31:09really fantastic, as well
31:11as utilising that water.
31:13So there are all sorts of ways you can have
31:15a car parked and still have
31:17a beautiful, sustainable,
31:19biodiverse, and hopefully
31:21un-flooded garden.
31:29I feel like we've seen
31:31so many great ideas and gardens
31:33already, but we're only just scratching
31:35the surface really, there's still so much more
31:37to see. Still
31:39to come on today's programme,
31:41we'll explore three-dimensional
31:43gardening in a new feature here at Tatton,
31:45the Creative Cubes.
31:47There will be endless
31:49ideas in the long borders, small
31:51spaces which demonstrate that anything is possible
31:53on any scale.
31:55And Toby doubles that inspiration
31:57in a visit to one of Cheshire's finest
31:59gardens.
32:01This is Arley Hall's world-famous
32:03double herbaceous border.
32:05I mean, just incredible.
32:11Now, Tatton is the only place
32:13that the RHS run a Young Designers
32:15competition, so that next
32:17generation can come and
32:19have a go on a big stage.
32:21Well, a couple of
32:23weeks ago, we caught up with
32:25Callum Corrie, who
32:27I would say has definitely
32:29thrown his hat in the ring
32:31and going for gold, in more
32:33than one way.
32:41One of the best things
32:43in life is just having a nice walk
32:45around the garden.
32:47There's so many great
32:49gardens here in the North West.
32:51It is brilliant to go out
32:53and look for them all.
32:55You start to get your, like, inspired and
32:57you start to think, like, what you can do
32:59in, like, my own garden and other people's gardens
33:01and it just makes the weekend
33:03very relaxing.
33:05I love every second of it.
33:07But then there's
33:09also another side of my life, which is a bit
33:11more crazy.
33:13By day, I'm Callum
33:15Corrie, the garden designer, but by night
33:19I'm known as Sandy Beach.
33:23Semi-pro wrestler.
33:25Right now,
33:27with both my passions, I am in the
33:29fight of my life.
33:31As well as wrestling for the Grand Prix Wrestling
33:33Championship, I'll be going
33:35full out for the gold
33:37for the young designer category at this year's
33:39Saturn Power Flower Show.
33:45The young designer category is quite a prestigious
33:47category to be in. I'm 26.
33:49I feel very lucky to be one of the two
33:51designers this year.
33:53I just get so excited to wake up and just
33:55get here. I could be a little bit of an underdog,
33:57I guess, but I think I've got a bit of
33:59fighting pedigree in me.
34:05Last year, I did a longboarder, which I achieved
34:07a gold for. So I feel like
34:09I've got a good idea of what the judges
34:11and the public are looking for in a show
34:13garden now. I feel like I've got it handled.
34:15Just like the wrestling.
34:17I'm always one of the smallest guys there, but
34:19I feel like I've handled.
34:23The design this year
34:25is a mixture of
34:27a wildlife-friendly garden and
34:29an entertaining space. I'd say
34:31it was the garden I'd wanted if I had my own
34:33home. I might also have a couple
34:35of football nets. We had a wrestling ring.
34:41We're midway point in the build.
34:43Seven days have gone and we've got seven days left.
34:45We need a lot more
34:47grass in this section, don't we?
34:49I think we want some of them in.
34:51Yeah, that might be nice.
34:53That's Becky, who's my partner.
34:55I've got family, friends
34:57and everything like that. I couldn't do it without
34:59everybody's help, so it's been going really well.
35:05Along the back, we've got all sorts of shady
35:07planting. We've got different types of ferns.
35:09And as we're coming along the
35:11front of the garden, we're going to slowly start
35:13merging into sunny planting.
35:15This is liatris.
35:17This is the only flower that I know of
35:19that starts flowering at the top
35:21and works its way down to the bottom.
35:23Normally, they start at the bottom
35:25and work their way up to the top.
35:27I might be wrong here, but if anyone knows anything
35:29different, let me know.
35:31This is one of my favourites. It's just amazing.
35:33It's like a really fluffy flower.
35:35The bees absolutely love this
35:37and I'm hoping to be fully in flower for the show.
35:43I started gardening when I was 16 and
35:45it was just more of a job to help me with my
35:47wrestling. I did my level 2
35:49RHS in horticulture,
35:51which was brilliant and
35:53as time has gone on, I absolutely love it
35:55and it's literally wrestling
35:57and gardening. They're just neck and neck
35:59in my two passions. I love them to bits.
36:01Maybe gardening
36:03is winning in a minute.
36:05But maybe I can't let people in wrestling hear that.
36:07But yeah, it is winning
36:09in a minute.
36:11We're getting there.
36:13It's all starting to tie together.
36:18I want people to know
36:20gardening is cool. It is such a
36:22cool thing. Some of the
36:24coolest people I know are gardeners.
36:26I've actually read a study recently
36:28where 1 in 18
36:30to 30 year olds think
36:32gardening is cool and more than
36:34half would rather go to a garden centre
36:36than a nightclub and I
36:38definitely would. I don't mind a night out every
36:40now and again, but I couldn't do it every weekend.
36:42But I could go to a garden centre every weekend
36:44and probably every day if I could.
36:47I've got my
36:49hornbeam tree here
36:51and my favourite feature of the garden
36:53is my little bird's nest up there.
36:55As long as that's there, I'm happy.
36:59I've chosen the plants specially
37:01for wildlife.
37:05This is a Achillea terracotta.
37:07It's brilliant for hoverflies. It's a lovely
37:09pastel orange and I've chosen this because
37:11it bounces well off the rust of the steel
37:13bench. So I've got a
37:15the rust of the steel bench.
37:17So when it's dotted around the garden
37:19the orange will echo all around it
37:21and it will tie all the garden together.
37:25I've actually got a bee on my vest there.
37:27It probably thinks I'm a flower.
37:33Wrestling and gardening
37:35is so similar in so many different ways.
37:37In the flower show, there's a lot of passionate
37:39people about. You get all the people
37:41coming up to you and you get their oohs and you get their
37:43aahs and you get them in wrestling as well.
37:45You just get them maybe a bit louder and a bit more
37:47screamed at you.
37:55When you walk through a garden, it does tell a story.
37:57The drama of the whole thing, I'm like
37:59that's amazing and you could be seeing a rose
38:01in early summer. That's your
38:03statement plant and that's bam, that's
38:05hitting you right in the face. In wrestling
38:07that might be a body slam. Bam!
38:09Bam!
38:11The teasel, that'd be
38:13like something that I'd maybe stun
38:15somebody with and maybe get them a bit wobbly.
38:17It's just such a striking structural
38:19plant.
38:23The crabapple
38:25is my finishing move.
38:27It's got flowers in the
38:29spring for pollinators and then
38:31it gets its berries so all the
38:33birds can eat the berries. That packs a lot of
38:35punch. It's just beautiful.
38:39Manchester
38:41Stanley
38:43Beach
38:47It's the dream. Wrestling on the weekend
38:49and then building a flower show, like
38:51that is literally the dream. I'm living the dream right now.
39:01Mr. Stanley
39:03Beach. If I'm a wrestler
39:05am I good or bad?
39:07You've got to be a baddie, you haven't you?
39:09You've got to be a baddie.
39:11Frosty morning, what do you reckon?
39:13I could walk on and give you one of them stairs.
39:15Frosty morning versus Sandy Beach.
39:19I tell you what though, plants
39:21people and habitat
39:23you seem to have nailed
39:25those three elements.
39:27The planting, absolutely stunning.
39:29Loads of habitat
39:31but places to use.
39:33Is that what the thinking was?
39:35I wanted it to show people like, you can come in here
39:37you can have a drink, you can have a relax. You might see
39:39a blue tit fly across the tree. You might see
39:41a hedgehog scuttle along the grass. All the
39:43wildlife in the pond, I just wanted it to come alive
39:45with wildlife because I love that kind of stuff.
39:47That's been full of bees and everything like that already
39:49so I can't wait for people to come and be like, oh it's working
39:51already. Last year
39:53a border, gold medal.
39:55This year, what did you get?
39:57Gold again.
39:59What did that feel like?
40:01The best feeling in the world. It's just incredible.
40:03I was trying not to cry
40:05and I was a bit like, oh god don't look at me.
40:07I'm absolutely buzzing.
40:09What's next? Do you need an apprentice?
40:11Looking at this
40:13I think you might be a little bit further up the chain
40:15than an apprentice.
40:17I think the next few days
40:19you stood at the front of this
40:21engaging with those beautiful people
40:23they're not just going to love this
40:25they're going to think the world of you as well.
40:27Hopefully, fingers crossed.
40:29Do you love
40:31this garden?
40:37Brilliant.
40:39Amazing.
40:45The other young designer
40:47this year is Ashley Aylett
40:49and her garden champions British native
40:51trees.
40:53Well done, Ashley.
40:55Thank you. It's really beautiful.
40:57Talk me through the garden.
40:59The garden is all about
41:01showing that since 1850
41:03we've lost 49% of our trees
41:05outside woods and what we wanted to do
41:07is show the public what they can do
41:09to stem that decline.
41:11The trees and hedging and saplings
41:13are all grown from seed in the UK
41:15to show how we need to
41:17stop pests and diseases coming in from abroad
41:19especially stuff like
41:21Dutch elm disease and ash dieback.
41:23And the trees themselves?
41:25Any particular favourites?
41:27I love a hawthorn.
41:29It's great for insects.
41:31It's small and compact and really anyone can
41:33place it in their garden.
41:35And they're edible. You can eat the leaves and the flowers
41:37and the fruits.
41:39Why would you not have one? It's the perfect tree.
41:41And a lot of the species that you've got are
41:43UK native wildflowers, aren't they?
41:45Yes, we've included the meadow sweet
41:47here and the rag robin
41:49and that's just because they're going to be much better
41:51for wildlife and gives that food
41:53source from spring to autumn
41:55as well.
41:57In terms of building this, because it's your first
41:59show garden, how has it been?
42:01Yes, it's been a whirlwind
42:03and hopefully we've made
42:05a garden that really is inspired
42:07by the countryside.
42:09You're very modest about it but you have actually won
42:11some awards for this as well.
42:13Yes, so I've won Young Designer of the
42:15Year and we've won the Construction Award.
42:17It's really well deserved.
42:19It's a beautiful garden and I really
42:21hope that everyone loves it.
42:23Music
42:25Music
42:27Music
42:29Music
42:31The long borders here at Tatton prove
42:33you do not need a lot of space
42:35to be creative.
42:37The theme this year is
42:39Make a Statement and they definitely
42:41do that.
42:43Music
42:45Music
42:47This border has got a really strong
42:49theme. It's all about
42:51Imagine you go in
42:53to an old garden and you see it's
42:55full of rubbish. What do we do? We tend to
42:57clear it away, throw it in a skip
42:59and dispose of it. Well they're saying
43:01no. Put it to one side, have
43:03a sit through. Can you
43:05re-use it? And they do really
43:07well here. You've got the gabion walls that
43:09go through the centre of space. They double
43:11up as seats but they also
43:13divide the area so you've got planting
43:15on both sides. They're full of
43:17old concrete, broken bricks,
43:19sand, and then they're planted
43:21on top. Things like sedums and
43:23thymes.
43:25And we come to the planting,
43:27things like nepetas deal with those dry
43:29conditions. The aguistash,
43:31that will bring in the pollinators.
43:33And things like the verbena there
43:35that even if there is a really bad
43:37winter, they'll seed around
43:39and then regenerate.
43:41So I think all in all, this
43:43really does do
43:45what it says it wants to.
43:47Music
43:53I like this
43:55because this does exactly what
43:57it says on the tin. And in a
43:59very elegant way. If you look
44:01those steel gabions,
44:03that's a representation of the
44:05Manchester skyline. But the
44:07next bit is that importance of green
44:09space. And I love the way that the planting
44:11sort of more or less engulfs
44:13these structures. And I
44:15think there's a really good idea here that we
44:17can all take home. And it's all about
44:19flower shapes. We all love
44:21colour, but when you go down the garden
44:23centre, see how many different
44:25shapes you can pick. Look, salvias,
44:27aryngiums, companulas,
44:29achilles. All
44:31those different shapes put
44:33together create all these different
44:35relationships and contrasts.
44:37And there ends up being just
44:39this sort of real elegance.
44:41I love it.
44:45Music
44:51This border is
44:53all about pollinators. There's
44:55water and there's logs for habitat,
44:57but there's also a huge range of different
44:59plants, mostly
45:01in blues and yellows. So for the yellows
45:03we have achillea, there's
45:05coreopsis, there's beautiful
45:07ligularia flowers, which you don't often see, but they are
45:09quite covered in bees. But also blues.
45:11So we have nepeta,
45:13there's verbenas, there's the classic
45:15lavender. And all of these colours
45:17that are on the UV spectrum are easily
45:19seen by pollinators. There's
45:21also quite a lot of white flowers and
45:23they'll be perfect for the
45:25night-time pollinators, like the moths.
45:27Music
45:31This is a really
45:33lovely border and it's representing
45:35a front garden, even complete
45:37with a willow woven door and a
45:39woven willow cat. What could be better?
45:41This garden has a small bit of paving
45:43which is completely permeable, so any rain that lands
45:45on it will drain away. And the
45:47rest of the garden is filled
45:49with plants. There's also water storage
45:51which doubles up as a wildlife
45:53pond with the rocks piled up
45:55against it. And the whole thing
45:57is to inspire people to create green
45:59wildlife corridors
46:01in urban spaces.
46:03Music
46:05Music
46:07The whole
46:09theme of this bed, rather unusually,
46:11is based on the colours of a pumpkin.
46:13It's like an updated bedding
46:15scheme. So it's got lots of oranges
46:17and reds, but also it features
46:19a couple of pumpkin plants too. And then
46:21that continues through the whole border.
46:23There are edibles and ornamentals
46:25mixed in. So you've got chard,
46:27there's courgette, there's fennel, but then
46:29there's also beautiful, bright flowers
46:31like poppies, tythonias
46:33and in amongst it are lots of perennials.
46:35It's a really, really beautiful
46:37and lovely idea.
46:39Music
46:41Music
46:43When it comes to
46:45impressive borders, Toby recently
46:47visited a garden that pretty much wrote
46:49the rule book.
46:51A few miles
46:53west of Tatton Park, across
46:55the hustle and bustle of the M6,
46:57is this place.
46:5915th century Arley Hall.
47:01It's steeped in history and surrounded
47:03by 12 acres of woodland
47:05and stunning formal gardens.
47:07Music
47:09Music
47:11Music
47:13Music
47:15The gardens here at Arley,
47:17they go way back. I'm talking
47:19early 19th century.
47:21There are formal ponds, eye-catching
47:23vistas and the architecture of
47:25Topery. Not so far
47:27as so expected you might think for a
47:29grand country garden.
47:31Wind the clock back 200 years
47:33and this place was at horticulture's
47:35cutting edge.
47:37With an idea that was so white hot
47:39it's still influencing the way
47:41we plant today.
47:43Music
47:45Music
47:47Music
47:49Music
47:51Music
47:53Music
47:55Music
47:57This is Arley Hall's
47:59world famous double herbaceous
48:01border. I mean just
48:03incredible.
48:05It's world famous for a reason because
48:07it was the first of its kind in the UK,
48:09possibly the world.
48:11When it was set out 200 years ago
48:13the idea of using herbaceous perennials,
48:15things like delphiniums and Cranesbill
48:17geraniums that die down to their
48:19roots in winter and then come up and flower
48:21every summer, I mean it was completely avant-garde.
48:23Even clustering them together in a
48:25border was a new thing, never mind
48:27having two together.
48:29So this design wasn't just brave,
48:31it was mind-blowing.
48:33Music
48:35Music
48:37The scale of this place is just
48:39incredible. The borders
48:41are a full 75
48:43metres long.
48:45Music
48:47You know that expression, go big or go home,
48:49it could have been invented for this place because this
48:51bed is 5 metres deep,
48:53path 4 metres, then another
48:555 metres of flowers.
48:57And the length, well,
48:59it's about as long as a football pitch to my eye.
49:01But you can forget jumpers for goalposts,
49:03Topry Tower's had a bit of class.
49:07The planting here is really clever
49:09because at first glance it
49:11looks like there's symmetry on either side of the
49:13path. But yeah, the same plants
49:15appear but they're not quite opposite.
49:17They're slightly out of kilter.
49:19The shaken symmetry
49:21leads the eye, one border to
49:23the next, all the way down to the end.
49:25And as you look down the border, because you've
49:27got these nodes of colour,
49:29it creates the illusion that they're joined together.
49:31It bunches them up and makes
49:33the borders look even more abundant than
49:35they actually are.
49:39Each year at Tatton Park Flower Show,
49:41designers are challenged with creating a border
49:43that's just 7 metres long
49:45and 1.8 metres wide.
49:47By my tape measure,
49:49that's exactly
49:51half of this section here.
49:53And already I can see it has all
49:55the ingredients for creating a prize winning
49:57border that you could try at home.
49:59First up, there's a good mix
50:01of foliage shapes and textures.
50:03Now I love chocolatey leaf plants
50:05because they create such wonderful
50:07contrast with their neighbours.
50:09And you see this Lysimachia, I'll put that next
50:11to the flowers on the Estrante there.
50:13See how much brighter they look?
50:15There are flowers for now with the Delphiniums
50:17and Thalictrum, but also blooms to come
50:19like the Hellenium.
50:21Most importantly in a border design
50:23that has lots of herbaceous plants,
50:25there are knitters. You see because
50:27herbaceous plants disappear and come back
50:29each year, they're always different and
50:31gaps are just an inevitable part
50:33of having a border like this.
50:35And the knitters, like Geraniums
50:37and Estrantea, because they're gently spreading,
50:39they tie the design together.
50:43Keeping these borders looking so seamless
50:45is head gardener Gordon Bailey.
50:49The plant list for Arley must go
50:51on forever.
50:53The gardens here are just so full.
50:55You must propagate an awful lot of plants.
50:57We grow something like
50:5945,000 to 50,000 plants a year
51:01for our own use.
51:03And is the idea that you're packing the borders full
51:05obviously for display, but is there any benefits
51:07to that? Does it keep down the weeds?
51:09Definitely. If you can keep the ground covered
51:11then it definitely suppresses the weeds. That's a big advantage
51:13for us, but it's really for the colour
51:15of the flowers that we're doing it.
51:17One of the things I have to say that I really admire about
51:19your garden style is you haven't just gone
51:21with the successful plants, because you know how this can be.
51:23You get a plant that does really well,
51:25it can start appearing everywhere.
51:27You curate this beautifully. Everywhere looks distinct.
51:29We do that on purpose.
51:31We don't want to see the same plants repeated
51:33all the way around the garden. So in here
51:35we've got Verbascums. They're also allowed
51:37in the herbaceous border, but we don't allow
51:39them anywhere else in the garden. If they start
51:41growing in the next area of garden, we rogue
51:43them out. For anyone gardening, that's such
51:45a good tip, because you can end up with a garden of survivors
51:47can't you? Yes. It's so easy
51:49to propagate the easy stuff.
51:51It's more challenging to work with the difficult
51:53things, so that's what we like to do. We like to push
51:55ourselves. And balance
51:57is everything
51:59in the herbaceous borders. Absolutely,
52:01yes. Just keeping the scale
52:03and the colours
52:05and the textures of the foliage
52:07and everything together. It's
52:09all got to be taken into account when you're doing it.
52:11Do you have a plan for
52:13where they all go, or do you just sort of
52:15I suppose evolve the borders
52:17every year? The border really evolves.
52:19We keep a record of what's where
52:21so we know what it is, and then on that record
52:23we make notes as to what we're going
52:25to move. Then we'll shift them
52:27around in the autumn, winter
52:29period, and then take another note
52:31again, and then start afresh the next year.
52:33So Gordon, you've been the custodian of these borders
52:35for 15 years. In that time
52:37you must have done an awful lot of staking.
52:39Oh yes, there's been a fair few
52:41that have been put into the ground, yeah. I bet you've got some
52:43good intel on how to do it. Do you want to show me
52:45what your method is? Yeah, of course I can.
52:53I see this one's outrun
52:55its original stakes, hasn't it?
52:57Yeah, it's got away from us a little bit, so we
52:59can, if you could hold that back for me
53:01there, and I'll get some canes into
53:03the front of it. So the art of this
53:05is making it look like it
53:07hasn't been supported, right? Exactly.
53:09I don't want it to look like it's
53:11trussed up like a chicken.
53:13It wants to still have a bit of natural
53:15shape to it. I'm really noticing
53:17the heat off that wall. Does it make a difference
53:19to how the plants grow on this side of the
53:21grass path compared to the other?
53:23It makes a big difference to the plants, whether
53:25they're on the south-facing wall side,
53:27which is 7-10 days ahead
53:29of the plants on the other side, which
53:31has got the hedge at the back of them. So we can use
53:33that to extend the interest from the
53:35plant groups by having them on the two
53:37different sides of the border. Anyone with a house wall,
53:39you could do a similar trick. Definitely, yep.
53:41I'm going to take the string
53:43round, I'm going to wind it round that cane.
53:45The old nurseryman's trick, twice
53:47around the cane stops the string sliding.
53:49It does.
53:51I'll swap you.
53:53There we go.
53:55You criticise
53:57my work any time you like.
53:59No, what I'm going to do now
54:01is I'm going to cut
54:03the cane down
54:05so that the plant can then
54:07actually have a bit more natural shape.
54:09And then
54:11these come in handy in the veg plot
54:13for marking the end of rows.
54:15So they're not going to go to waste.
54:17Not single-use bamboo, I like it, Gordon.
54:19Got used many times.
54:25I know it's a lot of work, Gordon,
54:27but you make it look effortless.
54:29Oh, thank you. That's what we're trying to do.
54:31We want to make it look as if
54:33it all just happened, almost as if by magic.
54:35But we know it doesn't.
54:37Oh no, no, definitely a lot of work
54:39goes into it. Genius.
54:41So these look interesting then.
54:43So creative cube.
54:45Yeah.
54:47Yeah, go on.
54:49Well, I think the concept is
54:51to show people
54:53that gardens are not just a flat surface
54:55that you plant in, but in fact
54:57they are the whole three dimensions
54:59of a garden.
55:01And I think it's really important
55:03to show people
55:05that gardens are not just a flat surface
55:07that you plant in, but in fact
55:09they are the whole three dimensions.
55:11The upright, the over-the-top
55:13bit, and it really frames
55:15the space beautifully.
55:17That framework straight away makes you
55:19very aware of the space
55:21that's not filled with plants.
55:23Like the negative space of a garden.
55:25And how it moves around and it pops up
55:27and it drops back down.
55:29You've got this big structure in the middle
55:31that starts to drive everything else.
55:33Come on, let's go and have a look at the others.
55:40This is cool.
55:42It feels like you should be in it.
55:44Yeah.
55:46Doesn't it need a person?
55:48Probably not me.
55:50This is someone's space, isn't it?
55:52The shelves, the shoes,
55:54and all the hanging bits.
55:56So yes, you do need to have someone in it.
55:58Cacti cupcake.
56:00Yes.
56:02Herb table.
56:04They've actually turned the table into a pot full of herbs.
56:06That's a really good idea.
56:08That would be great in a garden.
56:10That's really cool.
56:12Let's do the next one before I get told off
56:14for being in here.
56:16Let's go.
56:22See, this is good.
56:26It does make you smile.
56:28I think the idea of this is a 1950s living room.
56:30Complete with stripey
56:32wallpaper, chairs
56:34and table, and then a shag pile rug
56:36for Stuka.
56:38I really like it.
56:40The thing is, you would never
56:42have done this inside out
56:44concept without having had the cube
56:46in place to give the idea.
56:48I think you're right. I think what it does
56:50is it makes these
56:52just four pieces of living art.
56:54Yes, I agree with that.
56:56Slowly but surely.
56:58This I really love.
57:00Do you?
57:02I do.
57:04Because it is a near perfect
57:06piece of habitat.
57:08It's really lovely and
57:10I've just noticed these bats that are made out
57:12of the same metal that the actual cube
57:14and the owl is made out of
57:16that ties the whole thing together.
57:18The cube stops just being a box
57:20around the garden and becomes a part of
57:22the garden.
57:24I think it would be a really good tool
57:26to teach people to design.
57:28This makes you very aware
57:30of where those voids are and how
57:32you can create balance.
57:34I love the way they've all done something
57:36completely different within this
57:38small space. It just shows you what scope there is
57:40in any size garden.
57:42They really are just cool.
57:44Love them.
57:46Agreed.
57:48It's been such
57:50a lovely show this year, don't you think?
57:52It has. I've been wandering around
57:54and I now feel completely
57:56chilled. Do you?
57:58I think I feel the opposite.
58:00Now that I actually have a garden of my own
58:02I just think, I want that thing and I want this thing
58:04and maybe I'll try that.
58:06So many ideas.
58:08Walking around the Terrace Gardens
58:10there's some wonderful little ideas and then all of a sudden
58:12you come across like, oh,
58:14this is a really good idea.
58:16And then all of a sudden you come across like
58:18one of the new designers and you've got full of that excitement
58:20and this is what I want to do for a living.
58:22And then you've got the people.
58:24It is a good show.
58:26It is, it's lovely.
58:28But I'm afraid that is it from us
58:30at RHS Flower Show
58:32Tatton Park.
58:34But if you fancy coming and having a look yourself
58:36it's on all weekend.
58:38Monty, we'll be back at Longmeadow
58:40next week at 8pm but until then
58:42it's goodbye for now.
58:44Goodbye.
59:14I'm basically a human lie detector.
59:16I do a podcast
59:18on crimes against women and girls.