Gardeners World S51e02 16-03-18
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello. Welcome to Gardener's World.
00:13Well, the winter madness of the weather seems to have gone,
00:17and what's left behind is a slightly dazed garden,
00:21but nevertheless one that is firmly in spring,
00:24and we must get on with our spring jobs.
00:26And this is one of my favourites.
00:28I'm pruning back the bleach limes,
00:31and the reason I'm pruning it back
00:33is to get back to the bare structure of the bleach branches.
00:37In this case it's to create a cube,
00:39but I've also got them lining the cottage garden.
00:42And by pruning them now,
00:44that will invigorate the plant to throw up new stems,
00:48which will provide a canopy
00:50and also give really good colour next winter.
00:53If you look at these branches here,
00:56you can see this is Tillia platyphyllos rubra,
00:59and the rubra refers to these lovely red bark on the stems,
01:03and that gives good, strong winter colour.
01:06Although the limes are really important at long weather,
01:09because we've got quite a lot of them,
01:11you can actually apply this pruning
01:13to a number of different plants,
01:15like willow, like dogwood,
01:17but if you prune them back hard now,
01:20they will respond by throwing up vigorous new shoots across summer,
01:24and by next winter those shoots will be really decorative.
01:29Now we've got lots going on today's programme,
01:31because not only am I cutting back, but I'm also planting.
01:34I've got a tree to plant, which is always a big moment in any garden.
01:43This week, Joe is planting up containers
01:46to introduce a welcome splash of colour
01:49to what can be a monochromatic march.
01:55And Carol is visiting a magnificent garden in North Wales
02:00to celebrate some extraordinary seasonal planting.
02:18In early December, we had two foot of snow in a day,
02:21and it was wet, heavy snow, and it lay on all the evergreens,
02:25and these poor old grass borders were just smashed flat.
02:29Normally, in December and even January,
02:31they're the best thing in the garden.
02:33Not this year.
02:35Anyway, it's time to clear them up
02:37and clear away all the old growth,
02:39ready for the new growth to come through.
02:46A few weeks ago,
02:48it was anything to have felt a little bit too warm.
02:53There we go.
02:55The important thing at this stage, when you're clearing grasses,
02:59is just to remove the growth that is loose.
03:04Don't yank at them, because sometimes you can pull up the whole plant
03:07and sometimes you can damage them.
03:09But however much of a muddle it looks,
03:13with all the grasses fallen and bashed,
03:16it's important to leave that over the winter months,
03:19because the last two years I've cleared this,
03:22I've found hibernating hedgehogs in amongst the grasses.
03:25And if it's not hedgehogs, it's great for birds and small mammals and insects.
03:29It's really good winter cover.
03:31Now that it's spring, obviously you can clear it away,
03:34but go steady as you go, because you never know what you'll find.
03:38Can you see how the new grass is beginning to appear?
03:43I'll cut that, I won't pull.
03:46What I want to avoid is cutting any of that back,
03:49because it grows from the base.
03:52So if you cut the top off, it looks artificially trimmed,
03:56and we want to keep nice form as it grows up.
04:00We can come back to that to tidy up,
04:03We can come back to that to tidy up,
04:06but that's starting to see next year's shoots.
04:11This is a Miscanthus, Miscanthus saciflorus,
04:15and it is really dramatic and tall,
04:18so it's good for small gardens if you want drama in a limited space.
04:22But it needs cutting back, and this is the secateur's job,
04:26because these are almost like bamboos, they're so thick.
04:34This is actually a good example, now I've cleared it.
04:38You can see how the plant is spreading out.
04:41The growth is all round the outside, and the middle is empty.
04:45And that's how it spreads, it spreads out as a ring.
04:49So what I could do is cut that in half,
04:53and replant the other half, and that will invigorate it.
04:57But not now, this is not the time to do it.
05:00But not now, this is not the time to do it.
05:03It's fine for most herbaceous plants,
05:05but grasses that are transplanted into cold soil
05:08really run a high risk of dying.
05:10So wait till you see new fresh growth,
05:13which here at Longmeadow will be well into May,
05:16and that is the time to move it.
05:19You only should cut back deciduous grasses.
05:23Now, most grasses are deciduous,
05:25so that in itself is not a hugely difficult thing,
05:28but the only good ones are evergreen.
05:30And this is a pheasant grass,
05:33and you can see there's plenty of green in there,
05:36although quite a lot of brown too.
05:39And that's pretty common.
05:41Some plants, as they get older, get browner and browner.
05:44And the way to deal with these is completely different.
05:47Don't cut them back.
05:49But using your fingers, and you may want to use gloves for this,
05:52just comb through them like that,
05:55without any dead material that wants to come.
06:02And the living green will stay put.
06:08And you just comb them out.
06:11It's a bit like brushing Nigel.
06:18Now, the one thing that grasses cannot do for you
06:21until autumn, when their seed heads appear,
06:23is give you good colour.
06:25And all of us crave colour in spring.
06:28Now, it doesn't matter how small your garden is,
06:30or even, actually, if you've got no garden at all,
06:32you can have spring colour.
06:34And Joe shows us how.
06:47March is such an unpredictable month,
06:50and as gardeners, we are desperate for spring to, well, spring.
06:55And apart from a few evergreen shrubs,
06:57the garden is dominated by bare soil and twigs.
07:01So what it really needs is a shot of colour
07:04to help segue the garden from winter into spring proper,
07:08cheat the seasons a little bit,
07:10and all you need is a pot and some creative planting.
07:21Now, this lovely evergreen skimmia.
07:24It's in flower, and then it'll have lovely berries in the autumn as well.
07:28It's an acid-loving plant,
07:30so I'm going to use ericaceous compost in here,
07:33which I think the other plants will be absolutely fine with.
07:35It's a really good plant for this time of year.
07:37Nice, glossy foliage, and this is a really good shape.
07:41Now, when you think about placing of it,
07:44are you going to put it in the middle?
07:46Is this pot going to be walked around and seen from every angle?
07:49Or is it just going to be seen from one side?
07:51And I'm thinking of placing this up against the wall,
07:54so it'll be placed towards the back,
07:56and the other plants will fill in in front of it.
07:59So I'm just going to turn it upside down,
08:02give it a good tap,
08:04and there you go.
08:06So that's going to sit at the back.
08:08In fact, do check,
08:11because a lot of plants have one good face,
08:14so make sure you've got the good face.
08:16It's a combination of gardening and flower arranging, really.
08:20Now, the next plant is...
08:22Well, it's another shrubby plant.
08:24It's a Euphorbia,
08:26and this one, Martinii,
08:28has lovely sort of ladybird-red flowers
08:32right in the middle of those bracts,
08:34and that'll pick up nicely on the purple stems of the skimmier here.
08:37And it's quite a small plant at the moment, which is nice,
08:40because it's also got a small pot.
08:43And just slightly at a sort of rakish angle.
08:47Now, I wanted something with a very different form
08:49to help break up the edges of the pot,
08:51so I went for this lovely lime-green Carex.
08:54It has some flowers on it just coming through at the moment.
08:57It's almost black.
08:59It's as if someone's gone along with a paintbrush
09:01and just added in a little bit of detail.
09:03Gives it a nice definition.
09:05Now, for the colour,
09:07and to really sort of add the icing on the cake,
09:09I've got these Polyanthus.
09:12You can get them in all sorts of colours.
09:15Really garish colours.
09:17If that's your sort of thing, then go for it.
09:19I picked just two.
09:21I went for this lovely velvety-red,
09:23which has a yellow centre,
09:25and then this butter-yellow one.
09:27And I've got some in flower, some in bud,
09:30so they're going to kick in.
09:32I've got some in flower, some in bud,
09:34so they're going to keep flowering for many weeks to come.
09:38And you just pop those into a gap
09:40where you think they're going to look good.
09:45They sort of add that mid-level to the planting.
09:51And on the lower level, I've gone for a variegated ivy
09:54to trail over the edges,
09:56which draws the eyes down the pot nicely
09:59and adds another layer of interest to the design.
10:05Well, I'm pretty pleased.
10:07I think the combination of plants go together nicely,
10:09there's good texture, and there's plenty of colour still to come.
10:13It's got a certain energy about it,
10:15which is just what we need at this time of year.
10:23If you want to go for a completely different colour scheme,
10:26obviously choose what you want,
10:28I've gone for a cooler palette,
10:30but in a way it's the same approach,
10:32in that I've gone for an evergreen shrub
10:34as the fulcrum to the design.
10:36This is a Drimis lanceolata, which is a mountain pepper,
10:40and it's got this wonderful evergreen foliage
10:42and these lovely purple stems,
10:44and it's got a beautiful scented flower a bit later in spring.
10:49I've got a grass which is nice and feathery on one side,
10:53this is a nice simple green carex,
10:56and the shots of colour in front come from this lovely primula
11:00with these rounded flowers, lovely deep purple,
11:03and with a dusting of snow, yes, doesn't it look pretty?
11:08Honestly, it's perfect.
11:10I said right at the beginning, unpredictable March,
11:14you saw it right here.
11:16But it doesn't mean that you can't get some colour
11:18in your garden with your pots.
11:21Right, you're coming with me.
11:26MUSIC
11:49Well, I love containers, and we use them all year round at Longmeadow,
11:53but in spring there is one tip that always works,
11:56and that's to condense them.
11:59Get all your pots and put them into one place,
12:02whereas if you spread them out around the garden,
12:05they do tend to get lost in the brownness of March.
12:23Now, this may look as though I'm just digging into prepared soil,
12:28but there's a big story behind this,
12:30because we did have a tree here.
12:32This is the end of the cricket pitch,
12:34the main focal point of the whole garden,
12:36and we had a horse chestnut,
12:38which I planted about 20-odd years ago and was growing well,
12:42but then it got a bleeding canker.
12:44That resulted in it splitting, it became dangerous,
12:46so we cut it down.
12:48In fact, the stump is over there.
12:50What I'm left with is a space to plant another tree,
12:54because I still need that focal point.
12:56And the tree I'm going to plant this time is a hornbeam.
13:01Now, this is in a plastic bag,
13:04but what I will do is reuse the bag
13:08and, if you can, look for bare-root trees wrapped in hessian,
13:11which there always used to be.
13:13However, the tree itself is fine,
13:15and bare-root trees are those that don't come in a pot,
13:18so I haven't lived in a pot at all.
13:20This was in a field until a couple of days ago.
13:22Now, the advantage of bare-root is that they are cheaper
13:25and you tend to have a much wider choice to choose from.
13:29Now, this is a hornbeam called Franz Fontaine.
13:33The critical thing is not to let them dry out.
13:36I don't know if you can see these little fibrous roots here.
13:39These are the feeding roots.
13:41The big ones, like this, don't matter so much at all.
13:44But if you let these dry out, they can die.
13:47So I'm going to put this on there,
13:49and actually that's pretty much perfect height.
13:52You notice I haven't added any compost to the bottom of the hole.
13:56I don't want the roots to stay in this hole.
13:59I want them to grow out of it, into the soil.
14:02And also I want this point here to be slightly higher than the surface.
14:08Never plant in a saucer,
14:10because trees are more likely to drown
14:12than they are to suffer from drought.
14:14However, I will add a little mycorrhizal fungi,
14:17which just gives it a start.
14:21The fungi lives off the sugars from the tree,
14:25and the tree has much better access to the nutrients in the soil.
14:34There are two reasons, really, why I've chosen this hornbeam.
14:37One, because it's hornbeam, it's going to be very happy in clay,
14:40it will relate to the hornbeam hedges,
14:42and that will work well.
14:44And two, because it's a fastigiate type.
14:46And I looked up fastigiate because I knew it meant an upright tree,
14:49but I didn't know the source of the word.
14:51And actually it comes from a description of lyca gable,
14:55a tree that grows to a point like the gable end of a house.
14:58That's a 17th-century word.
15:00It makes sense when you think about it,
15:02although generally it just means an upright growing tree.
15:05And in a large garden they make a good feature,
15:08but they are really good for a small garden.
15:11A real, proper, fully grown tree that doesn't take up too much space.
15:19A tree this size needs supporting for about three years.
15:24But if you're planting a tree that is five feet or less,
15:27it is better not to stake it,
15:29as it will establish secure roots more quickly.
15:33If you are using a stake, set it at 45 degrees to the tree,
15:38direct it into the prevailing wind,
15:41which in this case is from the west blowing straight down the cricket pitch,
15:45and then tie it with a tree tie,
15:47making sure that the stake and the tree can't rub.
15:52When you've done that, give it a really good soak,
15:55and then it's time to mulch.
16:00The mulch is really important.
16:02This is garden compost, which is ideal.
16:05But it doesn't matter what you use so much
16:07as to use something that is thick,
16:09because the idea is not to feed the soil particularly,
16:13but to suppress competitive weeds and grass,
16:16and to keep the moisture in.
16:19Now, this gives me instant structure, and that's exciting.
16:23But of course, like the rest of the garden,
16:26I can't wait until the leaves start to appear,
16:29and then it really will look good.
16:32Now, most of our gardens improve dramatically as spring progresses,
16:37but Carol has been to North Wales
16:40to visit one of the country's great gardens
16:43that looks good all the year round.
16:56In the early part of the year, some people feel
16:59They've just got to put up with a dismal, gloomy garden.
17:03But here at Bodnant in the Winter Garden,
17:06they demonstrate just what a magical season this can be,
17:10with colour, shape, structure,
17:13and from time to time, wafts of the most delicious perfumes.
17:30Although this is a big garden,
17:33there are lots of small cameos, beautiful sorts of associations,
17:38which are very appropriate in a much smaller space.
17:41Take this very simple combination of two plants.
17:45For a start, there's these big uprights of the Pinus mugo.
17:49This is winter gold.
17:51The clue's in its name.
17:53It's at its best during this season,
17:56and it's rising up from this carpet of white tether.
18:00This is Erica carnea springwood white.
18:03It opens all its flowers right the way through the winter
18:07and is an incredibly important source of pollen and nectar
18:12to any visiting insects.
18:14It's simple, but it's beautiful and very, very easy to maintain.
18:27Here, the combination is all about structure and texture.
18:32In the background, we've got these great columns, evergreen conifers.
18:37And here, springing out are these Acers.
18:41It's Acer conspicuum phoenix.
18:44It's rising again.
18:46And at my feet, the most glorious repetition of colour,
18:52from hellebores right through to this little Leucotho.
18:56It's called curly red.
18:58And then on to the big, plain, straightforward leaves
19:02of Beginia hellendylan.
19:04Absolute fabulous combination
19:07and something you could take any part of and do yourself.
19:22This garden is packed with all sorts of rarities and treasures,
19:26but also there are plants that we're all used to seeing.
19:30Take this one, Euonymus fortunei, silver queen.
19:34You see it in almost every sort of municipal planting scheme,
19:38which proves it's a really straightforward plant to grow.
19:42But at this time of year, it's lifted to a whole different level
19:46by having these stems of this gorgeous cornice,
19:49flowery mayor, just springing out through the top of it.
19:53It brings the whole thing to life.
19:56And there are all manner of these different coloured cornice.
20:00There's one black one here, which is called Kissel ringii,
20:04and then there's cornice alba sibirica with bright red stems
20:08and midwinter fire that's pale and orange.
20:11And in every case, you can find great plants to associate them with.
20:20Scent is one of the most alluring qualities of the winter garden.
20:25Here it's supplied by such plants as Daphne,
20:29Sarcococca and Hamamelis.
20:39But within the rest of the 80 acres, there are so many wonderful things,
20:46including some beautiful standalone specimens.
20:51Like this beautiful Arbutus andracnoides.
20:55It's a delight and its peeling bark has been rubbed by countless hands,
21:01so it's developed this fine polish.
21:04It's truly sculptural.
21:07And on the walls around about are all sorts of painterly touches.
21:12Ribes lorifolium has to be one of the most beautiful things
21:16you could ever meet in the middle of winter.
21:19It's totally exquisite.
21:32Fodnant is an inspirational garden.
21:35It's packed with creative ideas and exciting plant combinations.
21:41And if your garden isn't looking quite as bright,
21:44now's the time to plan for next winter.
21:47All you need is a few simple ideas.
21:50Incorporate a dwarf conifer with a good shape
21:54or perhaps a shrub with highly coloured branches.
21:57Surround them by evergreen ground cover
22:00and a big sprinkling of winter flowers and perhaps some early spring bulbs.
22:05That way you'll ensure that your winter garden is superb
22:10and a fitting prelude for the season to come.
22:28One of the measures of a garden is how good it looks in winter.
22:33And Bodmince certainly looks good.
22:35I actually haven't been for about ten years or more
22:39and it's high time I made a return visit.
22:42I last went in late spring. It was glorious.
22:45But having seen that, any time of year is going to be good.
22:49And these crocus have done me really well this winter.
22:53It's Crocus siberii tricolour.
22:56And they've flowered bravely through the ice and the snow
22:59and the wind and the rain.
23:01And I'll certainly be planting more of them for next winter.
23:05Now, this year we're very keen to get out
23:09and help you out in your garden as best we can.
23:12And the best way to contact us is via our Facebook page.
23:15So if you go to our Facebook page
23:17and present us with a gardening problem that you think we could help with,
23:21we may well come out and see you.
23:25Last spring, I made this new soft fruit garden
23:29and planted blackcurrants, redcurrants,
23:33cordonapples and pears and gooseberries.
23:37And I wanted to plant raspberries.
23:39But by the time I got round to it, it was too late,
23:42so I've had to wait almost 12 months to complete the planting.
23:46And it's been a long time,
23:48but I've managed to do it.
23:50Now, I do think that raspberries are a fruit
23:53that should be at the top of everyone's list.
23:55They are absolutely delicious.
23:58Now, what raspberries like is a cool, damp summer
24:02and a cool, mild winter.
24:05They don't like being too dry
24:07and they certainly don't like sitting in cold, wet soil.
24:10So I've added some compost.
24:12This will lighten it up.
24:14And then I'm going to plant a few more raspberries.
24:17I've added some compost.
24:19This will lighten it up as well as feed it.
24:22It is important to make sure you've got good drainage.
24:24So if it's really heavy clay,
24:26it's probably worth investing in a bit of grit,
24:29which will lighten it up, because these are long-lived plants.
24:31They will live for at least ten years.
24:34Now, what I've got here is some bare root.
24:36They're all the same variety.
24:38It's Glen Ample.
24:40And it will produce its fruit
24:42from the middle of June to early August.
24:45And when you're looking at buying canes,
24:48go for something with pencil-thick canes already,
24:52and you'll see the new shoots, which are appearing here,
24:56will carry next year's fruit.
24:59So summer-fruiting raspberries
25:01produce shoots one year and fruit the next.
25:05Now, I can space these out
25:08about two foot apart,
25:11which is about 60 centimetres in new money.
25:14And I don't want to put them in the ground too deep.
25:17So the point where the buds come from,
25:20that wants to be just about at soil level.
25:25The roots are fairly shallow.
25:27The woody root is not really important.
25:29What matters are these fibrous roots,
25:31which will become a mat as the plant grows.
25:34And actually, that's going to influence how you weed them,
25:37because it means you can't hoe around them, you can't fork,
25:39but what you can do is mulch them really thickly.
25:42Keep the weeds down and also keep those roots nice and cool,
25:45which is what they like.
25:48Once you've got them in the ground,
25:50tie the canes to the bottom wire,
25:52and this will stop them rocking in the wind and damaging the roots.
25:56Then give them a good soak.
26:00Now, once you've watered them,
26:02the next stage, and this is important, is to mulch them.
26:05And don't just use any old mulch.
26:08This is our Christmas tree.
26:10Put through the shredder.
26:12But what's marvellous about this is it's ericaceous,
26:15and that's what raspberries like.
26:17And that will keep them weed-free, it will keep the moisture in,
26:20and they'll be all the better for it.
26:23And basically, the one thing that is really important
26:25is do not use mushroom compost on raspberries,
26:28because it's alkaline.
26:31Now, the one point I would stress,
26:33that if you're going to plant some raspberries,
26:35do it this month.
26:37Otherwise, you'll have to wait until next February or March.
26:40But here are some jobs that you don't have to wait for,
26:43because you can do them this weekend.
26:50With any luck, the worst of the wintry weather is now past,
26:54but the soil will remain cold for a while yet.
26:57However, if you have some clotches, and failing that,
27:00fleece, cover an area of ground.
27:03And this will gradually warm the soil,
27:06so that when you're ready to sow or plant out,
27:09everything will grow much faster.
27:14Buddleias produce their flowers on new shoots,
27:18and this means that now they can be pruned hard,
27:21right down to the bottom bud, if you choose.
27:24This will stimulate fresh growth,
27:26with a good crop of flowers later in the summer.
27:32If you want to grow sweet peas from seed,
27:34this is something you must get on with now,
27:36to give the plants a chance to develop.
27:39I'm using cardboard tubes filled with a coil-based compost,
27:42and putting two seeds per tube.
27:45Put them somewhere warm to germinate,
27:47keep them watered,
27:49and then gradually harden them off before planting them out,
27:52round about the beginning of May.
28:04This is the last of this lovely witch hazel.
28:07It's Hamamelis pallida,
28:09and the yellow has all the freshness
28:12that is so good about spring.
28:15That's the last of today's programme too.
28:18That's it.
28:19Don't forget that our competition,
28:21Every Space Counts,
28:22is still open till midnight next Thursday.
28:25You can get all the details on what are the requirements,
28:28and how to enter from our website.
28:32And I shall be back here,
28:34hopefully with spring just that little bit further on,
28:37next Friday at the same time.
28:39Till then, bye-bye.
29:01www.spacetelescope.co.uk