• 2 months ago
Transcript
00:00Now, you go through there. Come on, you come past me. Good dogs.
00:15Hello, and welcome to Gardener's World. At this time of year, one of the key things you
00:21can do to keep the garden looking good is just keep propping and supporting it. There
00:26is a tendency for things to flop a bit and sag. Just go around propping plants up, staking
00:35them, supporting them. Just keep that energy going for a few more weeks.
00:41Now, today we have a special programme because we shall be devoting it to gardening and health,
00:50both the good health that so many of us feel when we are out in our gardens in all weathers,
00:57surrounded by plants and a place that we love. It does us good.
01:02But we're also looking at gardening and ill health and the growing awareness that gardening
01:09can help alleviate the symptoms of both mental and physical pain.
01:17So for the next 60 minutes, we shall be looking at that close relationship between gardening
01:23and the quality of our lives.
01:28Coming up on today's programme, Arit visits the Blackthorn Trust Physic Garden in Kent,
01:34where therapy, gardening and socialising go hand in hand.
01:38Coming to Blackthorn, each part and each stage of the programme brought me back to life.
01:45And Adam has been to visit a garden in Oxfordshire created for and by people living with Parkinson's.
01:51You get the chance to actually do things that you forgot you could do again. And surprisingly,
01:56when you come here, you suddenly find out that you think you've got a problem, but next
01:58minute you're on your knees putting plants in.
02:02And I shall be here at Longmeadow, in the garden that I love, and doing the thing that
02:07makes me feel healthier and happier than anything else in the world.
02:14I normally use these bean sticks to support beans or clematis or any other climber, but
02:41today this is acting as a measuring rod, because I want to trim these Irish hues.
02:47That's going to be done in two stages, and I'm using this stick to make sure that they
02:53are all the same height.
02:56And the problem with Irish hues is they start out life like all of us, slim and upright
03:01and not needing any support at all.
03:03But then, like most of us, middle age kicks in, gravity starts to have a stronger effect
03:09and they sag in the middle.
03:11Now, you can tie them up, and these are all tied, and that helps a lot, but if you can
03:17trim them from early on, they do hold their shape much better.
03:22But the first thing I want to do is to take the tops off and then I'll tackle the sides.
03:35That's nice and strong, there we go.
03:43So there's the line.
03:45For you, whether it be Irish hue or normal hue, a hedge, topiary or tree, if you cut
03:54it any time from the beginning of August through to the end of October, it will stay nice and
04:00crisp all through winter right through to next May when it starts to grow again.
04:18Having established the height, that is not half of it, because the next stage is to trim
04:23the sides, and they are a lot more shaggy than they look because they're tied in at
04:29the moment with strong twine.
04:41As these branches have grown, the weight and gravity have combined to splay them out, and
04:49if I had cut these back regularly when they were young, they would be shorter and much
04:55denser and they would have stayed upright.
04:58So that's the first lesson.
04:59If you have bought fastidious hue, clip it regularly, once a year, every year from the
05:05moment you get it.
05:06However, what I'm going to do is give it a light trim and then tie it all back up again.
05:18The reason why I grow so much yew and box and evergreens of all kinds in this garden
05:24is partly so the garden looks good in winter, but mainly because it makes me, the gardener,
05:31feel so much better in winter because the shining green in the garden is a great source
05:38of comfort and increasingly, doctors and the whole medical profession are finding that
05:44gardening can be a very powerful medicine.
05:48And Arit went down to Maidstone in Kent to visit a project where doctors are beginning
05:53to prescribe gardening as part of the road to health.
06:00For a long time, I've truly believed that being out in green space is really good for
06:09us.
06:10It's something that we need as a natural therapy on a regular basis.
06:14But what is it about a garden or that outside space that is so healing?
06:24The theory of spending time in green spaces and prescribing gardening instead of pills
06:30is gaining momentum.
06:32I've come to the Blackthorn Trust Garden in Kent.
06:36It's been set up to help those suffering from mental health issues and to help people manage
06:41chronic pain.
06:43Patients can be referred by a doctor when traditional approaches aren't working.
06:48Susanna Odlin is a therapy coordinator here.
06:53So you would come in, referred, and then what happens?
06:56Most people are very depressed or have lost their confidence.
07:00Most people are in a very dark place when they arrive.
07:03So together we find out what they hope to gain from being here.
07:09Alongside counselling and therapy, patients are encouraged to spend vital time in the
07:14garden with others.
07:16We often socialise people first and because we all need this sense of belonging, that's
07:22also part of a well-being.
07:24The garden can be a very safe and gentle place to start.
07:29Some of the people would say, I feel completely dead inside.
07:32So working in the garden enlivens the senses again.
07:36And the senses are really our gateway to the world.
07:40It's really lovely, isn't it, thinking that that living material can quite literally bring
07:45somebody back to life again, really.
07:48Yeah, absolutely.
07:51They base their principles on the teachings of the respected scientist and philosopher
07:55Dr Rudolf Steiner, who believed in a holistic approach to gardening, where plants and people
08:01benefit each other in a symbiotic way, much like that seen in nature.
08:08Lisa has been coming here for nearly two years after a car accident left her with chronic
08:13back pain.
08:16I was never really interested in flowers, plants or anything before my accident and
08:21before finding Blackthorn.
08:24Now they're just wonderful, the beauty of them and the peace that it brings to me.
08:28I get lost in it.
08:31What do you think you'd be doing if you wasn't at Blackthorn?
08:35I'd probably be at home, laid flat, with lots of medication and not really doing anything.
08:46But coming to Blackthorn, each part and each stage of the programme brought me back to
08:51life.
08:57Vivienne was prescribed the garden to address the effects of social isolation, while Mark's
09:03just been coming here for a few months.
09:05So Mark, what brought you to Blackthorn?
09:09I came here because I was disabled a couple of years ago and I've been in constant pain
09:17and found that daily living was just about managing my pain and managing the anxieties
09:22and problems that come with it.
09:24And I came to Blackthorn and it's given me a bit of space for me so that I've got something
09:29I can look forward to.
09:31There's something about being sort of close to the plants, it really makes you feel grounded
09:36and connected and that's what this place does, it makes you feel connected.
09:41We take an interest in each other, you know, and other people's problems and it just sort
09:47of alleviates yours.
09:49Do you think you'd get the same benefit if we were just sat down at a cafe, having a
09:53chat?
09:54No.
09:55No.
09:56Why's that?
09:57I don't feel in my head in pain, being here, there's just something about it.
10:04Gardening, there's only one way to say it, it's good for you.
10:09It certainly is.
10:15Paul used to come here to treat his depression and social anxiety.
10:21So do you think you know what it was specifically about the gardening that was helping your
10:27particular condition?
10:30One thing I noticed over the time of being here is that I had a growing sense of the
10:35interconnected nature of things.
10:37That was really important for me.
10:40On a personal level I was quite broken and I needed to come back together so it felt
10:46like the gardening facilitated that.
10:48Having that awareness that everything changes, everything's transient, definitely gave me
10:52a sense of hope for the future.
10:54I'm a self-employed gardener.
10:57Oh really?
10:58That's keeping me very busy.
10:59That's brilliant.
11:00The fact that now a therapy has now become your work, it just goes to show doesn't it?
11:07You know, how things can just turn around with a bit of time and patience like our lovely
11:13plants need.
11:14Yeah, absolutely.
11:15It's clear that prescription gardening is working for the people here and it's looking
11:22I'm hopeful that green medicine could be offered to more people in the future.
11:28It's predicted that in the next five years, social prescribers working with the NHS will
11:33give out 900,000 appointments a year which will include gardening.
11:40All of these stories are a compelling argument for how gardening can be a medicine.
11:45It can relax, it can rejuvenate and it can help with social interaction and all of those
11:51benefits are not only good for the body but for the mind and spirit too.
12:09I do think that it's really good that the medical profession is seeing gardening as
12:13something that they can prescribe and use as part of their armoury to heal people.
12:19And given that the stats show that one in four people at some time in their lives do
12:23seek help for mental health problems, there is clearly a real need for everything possible.
12:31And I know for myself that when things are really bad, if I can get myself out into the
12:36garden and start to garden, I invariably feel better.
12:42That however you come at it, whoever prescribes it or gets you to do it, gardening heals.
12:47Now I don't know if I've healed this tree but I think it looks better.
12:52It's been topped, it's been cut back, it's been tied up, it's had another trim and now
12:58I've just got another seven to do.
13:02Now that is going to be quite a long job but by way of a little bit of light relief, I'm
13:11just going to plant a couple of hydrangeas.
13:28I've got very keen on hydrangeas recently.
13:31They used to be desperately unfashionable.
13:34I'm delighted that more and more people are growing them.
13:37Now the first one that I'm going to put into this gap here is perhaps the most popular
13:44current variety of all which is called Annabelle.
13:47This is a hydrangea arborescens and its distinguishing feature are these great mop heads or white
13:55mass flower heads and likes sort of semi-woodland so it's good for shade.
14:04It's hardy, certainly down to about minus 25 which will cope for most of us.
14:09I often get letters about people saying that they haven't flowered.
14:13Almost invariably it's because they've got too dry.
14:15So one thing they hate more than anything else is drying out too much.
14:29Okay that's one hydrangea.
14:31The other one is a bit different.
14:41Whereas Annabelle is almost muscular in its profusion of flower, the lace caps like this
14:48one, this is hydrangea villosa, are very different.
14:52The foliage is different and also the flowers are much more floaty.
14:56They're elegant.
15:01Nevertheless, they grow in much the same way and light dappled shade is perfect.
15:08This will grow up to about five foot.
15:11So a very good plant for a border because it's not going to block it out or dominate
15:16it, yet at the same time it's going to have real presence and substance.
15:20Now it is really important I give these a good soak.
15:32Now I've said that gardens heal, but the truth is that there are some illnesses that
15:38neither gardens nor anything else can cure.
15:41But what gardens can do is improve the quality of life, however ill you are.
15:48And Adam went to South Oxfordshire to visit a community garden set up by those with Parkinson's disease.
16:02Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition which affects the brain and can
16:07cause symptoms which include shaking of the hands or arms, muscle stiffness and slowness
16:13of movement.
16:14Despite research, there is still no cure for it.
16:17This is incredible if this is just done from seed.
16:20Ewan Stutt set up a charity for people with Parkinson's and created this garden a year ago.
16:28Who's involved?
16:29How does it work?
16:31It's friends, family and the message has gone out from there and that's what we're
16:35all about with the Parkinson's element really is to create awareness and get people involved
16:42really and a sense of community.
16:45When were you first diagnosed?
16:47I was diagnosed when I was 41, which is seven years ago now, because I was working at the
16:53time.
16:54I've got a young family and you've been given this diagnosis of this progressive,
17:02degenerative condition.
17:05What do you do?
17:06So actually from my point of view, it's a case of trying to crack on and do the normal
17:12things, but actually the acceptance of the diagnosis is huge.
17:17So what do you feel the garden brings to the community?
17:20It brings a space that people can come and relax.
17:23The availability to talk about Parkinson's, they have a mindset of they're going to
17:28be interacting with people with disabilities.
17:37You really seem to have connected with the natural world.
17:41It's something that I really enjoy.
17:43I always enjoyed walking and getting out and about, but now to be having the opportunity
17:51to create, I think that's probably what it is actually, is that creativity.
17:55I've been a very creative person throughout my whole life.
17:58I was diagnosed seven years ago.
18:00If you'd have seen me on day two of diagnosis, we wouldn't have been having this conversation.
18:05No, I bet we wouldn't.
18:16I'm really impressed with how much they have achieved.
18:20They always seem to have a project on the go, and I'm going to help them with a sensory garden.
18:29So Adam, if we start trying to work out a rough guideline or a framework.
18:34Yeah, so if we get them laid out, mate.
18:36So it's sometimes quite nice, rather than just putting a block of three or a line, it's
18:41just to give yourself something to build off and maybe work that one there, and then we
18:45can start to arrange the others around it.
18:48So today we're creating a garden which is all about the senses.
18:52Is there an importance of that connection with Parkinson's itself?
18:57There is in many ways.
18:58A lot of Parkinson's sufferers actually lose the sense of smell.
19:01But if you can't use your smell, you've still got the sense of touch.
19:04So how often do you come down here?
19:06I get down as often as I can.
19:08You get the chance to actually do things that you forgot you could do again.
19:12A lot of people with Parkinson's have problems with balance.
19:15And it's surprising, when you come here, you suddenly find out that you think you've got
19:18a problem, but next minute you're on your knees putting plants in.
19:21And you think, well, how did I get here?
19:23So when were you first diagnosed?
19:25About nine years ago.
19:27The way I describe it is that my world fell apart.
19:30I was given the diagnosis, that was the end of life, I thought, at the time.
19:35I'm a very positive person, and Parkinson's can actually affect you in that way.
19:40Emotionally, you can become quite negative.
19:42So to have something like this that pushes you on, moves you forward,
19:46because the actual involvement of working in a garden,
19:49I can forget that I've got Parkinson's, and that is really great.
19:53You're actually doing something, aren't you?
19:55Yes, you're achieving.
19:58And Parkinson's doesn't want you to achieve,
20:00Parkinson's wants you to close down physically, emotionally, mentally.
20:05And something like this just triggers all those responses
20:08and makes us, keeps us human.
20:10Keeps us moving big.
20:12I like that, mate, keeps us moving big.
20:20You know, one thing that strikes me straight away about Parkinson's
20:24is it can be incredibly isolating.
20:27And this garden, even as a social space, really breaks those barriers down.
20:31And then on top of that, it's educating the community.
20:36Paul Mayhew-Archer is a stand-up comedian and co-writer of Vicar of Dibley.
20:41He has Parkinson's and is a regular visitor to the garden.
20:45What I really love about coming here
20:48is that mostly I'm in a community where people are moving very quickly,
20:52and I'm moving very slowly.
20:54But plants grow very slowly.
20:58They grow even more slowly than me.
21:01So I feel sort of at home.
21:04You're at speed.
21:05Yes, I'm up to speed, if not in excessive speed of the plant.
21:09I think what's blown me away today is how you've all found your way.
21:14You know, Ewan's found the garden, shared the garden.
21:17You've got your humour, you know, for bringing those together.
21:21Yes, and I think it's very important
21:25that we do share these different things with the communities.
21:30Sharing the space has been one of Ewan's biggest aims.
21:33He's invited students from the local primary school
21:36to help create a bug hotel
21:39and plant up a wildlife area with the volunteers.
21:43What he's done is he's got children to come in,
21:47do some gardening, which is fun,
21:49and then along the side of it, they discover about Parkinson's
21:53and discover that people with Parkinson's are not strange beings.
21:56They're just normal beings who just happen to have an illness.
22:00What sort of insects do you think we're going to find in there?
22:03Spiders.
22:04Yeah, lots of spiders, I bet.
22:07How big do you think that one's going to grow?
22:09I think it's quite tall, isn't it?
22:11Quite tall.
22:12The great thing about having Parkinson's
22:14is that if ever there's anything difficult to do,
22:17you know, like heavy lifting or heavy digging or anything,
22:21I can just say, I just can't manage that.
22:23You can't do that!
22:25I can get out of doing anything at all labour-intensive.
22:29You've got it fully worked out.
22:31I can say at any point, I just need a bit of a lie down now,
22:34thank you very much indeed.
22:40For me, what stood out today is Ewan
22:42and how he's driven this forward.
22:45It's like the stone that's been dropped in the pond
22:48and it's just rippling out into the community.
22:56BIRDS CHIRP
23:10What I really like about that
23:12is the way that it enables people to transcend their illness.
23:17It must be so easy, especially when you're first diagnosed,
23:20to be defined by such a serious disease as that.
23:25And yet, a simple garden shared with other people
23:29means that you can go beyond that
23:32and find yourself doing things you thought you couldn't do anymore
23:36and investing in a future that is pretty simple,
23:39pretty straightforward, but full of the joy and the richness of life.
23:43That is very powerful, Mitz.
23:46This is radicchio palorosa.
23:50And it's been a good year for it.
23:52But by this time, what you can get are the outer leaves
23:57closing over the inner ones,
23:59and rather like bald roses, forming a carapace,
24:02which then rots and the whole thing looks rather nasty.
24:05But you can just take them away,
24:07and don't worry if they're a bit slimy,
24:09because underneath, they will still be there.
24:12And the other thing about all chicory
24:15is that you cut it off and it regrows.
24:18So we may well get two or even three harvests from this.
24:27Now, still to come,
24:29we meet a woman who has discovered the healing power of gardening
24:33through her love of roses.
24:35I've had these desperately dark days,
24:38and had no idea, really, what was happening.
24:42I just believed that it was how everybody felt.
24:46But first, we join Joe
24:48at a garden that he designed for Stoke Mandeville Hospital
24:52in Buckinghamshire.
25:02Garden design is always a challenge.
25:05Garden design is always a challenge.
25:08It's brain-stretching,
25:10and working with the elements can be testing.
25:13But sometimes the brief is really, really big.
25:18Just over two years ago,
25:20the windows of the National Spinal Injury Centre
25:23at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
25:25looked out over shrubs and grass.
25:27But with uneven paths and a slope,
25:30it was out of reach for many patients.
25:36The nature of spinal injuries
25:38often involves long spells in hospital and many challenges,
25:42including the potential loss of privacy.
25:46But a charity called Horatio's Garden
25:49is on a mission to build an accessible garden
25:52for every NHS spinal centre in the UK.
25:56Jackie Martin-Loff is the head gardener here.
26:00The brief for the garden was to create a very beautiful garden
26:04365 days a year
26:06that was patient-friendly for a patient in a chair or in a bed,
26:10so no right angles, smooth curves,
26:13but also for them to be able to reach some of the flowers
26:17and tend to some of the flowers
26:19or to come along and pick the sweet peas.
26:22That was also an important part of the brief.
26:26But the list of requirements went on.
26:29Patients in wheelchairs and beds are extremely vulnerable,
26:33so the paths had to be wide and the surface pancake-flat,
26:37because even the tiniest bump can be extremely painful.
26:41So the first thing to do was bring in the diggers.
26:45In all, around 2,500 tonnes of earth were removed.
26:49Beds were built, the surface smoothed.
26:53And we came up with this.
26:58Almost half an acre of flat landscape garden
27:01to give patients access to nature and more independence.
27:10It's also got an accessible greenhouse,
27:12big enough for two beds and an outdoor garden room,
27:15where they can make a couple with their families
27:18and sit indoors or out.
27:22There's a series of seating pods,
27:25all created with these sinuous curved lines,
27:28and they vary in sizes.
27:30Some are larger for larger gatherings
27:32and some much smaller, intimate spaces.
27:35And the planting for privacy at the moment
27:38are things like the grasses and the verbena.
27:40But over time, these yews that have been planted,
27:44they're going to create these organic blobs
27:46and add a little bit more height.
27:48And if you're in a wheelchair or a bed,
27:50it won't take long before it creates that separation between the areas.
27:59Now, movement is a key element in any garden,
28:03but here it felt particularly important
28:06because of the clinical environment within the hospital.
28:10So the way to get movement in is through moving water,
28:14which also adds a lovely sound too.
28:17And then we've got this curved wall behind it,
28:19which bounces the sound around the garden
28:21and into the wards when the doors are open.
28:29The site is also a bit of a wind tunnel,
28:31so we played with that too.
28:34Grasses of all heights waft in the wind,
28:36and as they grow, the trees are joining in.
28:44Fundamentally, I wanted to celebrate nature in all its glory
28:48and bring it right into the hospital grounds,
28:50in fact, right up to the hospital windows and doors.
28:54Now, I knew it would work from a design point of view,
28:57but I didn't realise the impact it was going to have.
29:05Hannah Mosin is 18.
29:07She's had multiple operations for a spinal cord injury,
29:11and so far, she and her mother, Anissa,
29:14have lived in this hospital for over seven months.
29:20At the beginning, I didn't want to leave my room.
29:24I kind of felt like my room was a safety blanket.
29:28You have days where you don't want to talk to anyone
29:31or you don't want to do anything,
29:33and it's not a good trap to kind of fall into
29:36because it can lead to depression and things.
29:39So it's really nice to come out here
29:42and just sit here and look at all the plants or talk to people.
29:47But now, I love getting up and coming out here.
29:51I look forward to that during the day.
29:56When Hannah was being hoisted and was in the bed and unable to move,
30:01it was quite nice.
30:03We were in this ward and they would bring her bed out, the whole bed.
30:07Even if she said no, they said,
30:09no, you need to get out and get some fresh air,
30:11and so we just come out with a bed.
30:13And you have multiple beds in here.
30:16And the families, you know, like sitting with their loved ones
30:19and just enjoying the plants and the air.
30:22It's really lovely.
30:24A few hours later, you could just see her changing and just bubbly,
30:28and you can see her like I can see my daughter back,
30:31you know, like not the depressed one.
30:33I could just see her being happy and jolly.
30:41Sarah Wilson came to this spinal unit nine months ago
30:45as a result of a horse-riding accident.
30:48Her youngest daughter is three years old.
30:52Having children visit you in hospital,
30:54you know, children by nature are quite noisy at times,
30:57so being able to come out here and they can play
31:00and just have some space where you feel that that's OK
31:03rather than you're waking someone up
31:05or, you know, you're in the way in a ward environment,
31:07it's made a big difference to them.
31:09Previous hospital I was in, I was on a top floor ward with no windows,
31:13very hot, very stuffy, very uninviting environment for children.
31:17But here, they love coming here, love visiting me, which is amazing.
31:25As well as the patients tending plants in the greenhouse,
31:28there are activities and workshops here,
31:31including a recent one about propagation that's open to everyone.
31:36They were able to wheel my bed out
31:38and I was able to join in on the propagation workshop,
31:40which was really good fun.
31:42How was it propagating from your bed or in your bed?
31:44Propagating in your bed or on your bed?
31:46Both, in and on.
31:48So, yeah, they just sat me up slightly
31:50and I was just able to put the pots on my lap
31:52and, yeah, everybody just helps us and gets involved
31:55and, yeah, it was a really lovely afternoon
31:57and being stuck inside for so long,
31:59it meant a lot to be back outside
32:01and enjoying the time with other patients.
32:06This garden at Stoke Mandeville has been open for just a year,
32:09so there's masses of growing and filling out that's still to come.
32:13But already it's had a positive impact.
32:18I think it surprises us all, really,
32:20the power that a garden can have over our mood
32:23each time we step out into it.
32:25There is one patient in particular who comes out in his electric chair
32:29and because the garden has been designed on these beautiful curves,
32:34he follows the curves of the garden
32:36and just works his way around the entirety,
32:39looking at the planting and taking the garden in several times.
32:43He doesn't just do one lap, completely within his own world.
32:46Yeah, it's very special.
32:51This has been a massive project.
32:56I can honestly say this is the most important garden I have ever designed
33:02and it proves to me the power of nature
33:05and that gardens really can be life-changing.
33:09It's been such a privilege to be a part of it
33:13and the result has been truly overwhelming.
33:29It's wonderful to see the transformative effect that Joe's garden has
33:36and it looks superb and I'm sure that it will go on
33:39to be a magical and really important place
33:42and part of the healing process.
33:44And I say this with some experience
33:47because a long time ago, over 40 years ago,
33:49my twin sister had a bad car crash and broke her neck
33:52and spent many months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
33:55and I used to go up there weekly to visit her
33:58and although the hospital were wonderful
34:00and they did everything they could,
34:02a garden like that would have transformed it.
34:05So I'm really pleased to see it there.
34:23This is the job I always really like
34:25which is planting up spring bulbs in pots
34:28and particularly the group that I'm going to be planting now which are iris.
34:31Now most people think of irises as bearded irises
34:35but the irises that I love at the beginning of the year are much smaller.
34:40An iris reticulata, for example.
34:42And if you put them into pots, they're these little jewel-like displays
34:46and they can look absolutely fabulous as early as February
34:50and flower right through till April, depending which variety you do.
34:54But all of them demand a very particular type of compost.
34:58In fact, this compost is the bee's knees
35:01because I've mixed up a peat-free coir-based compost
35:05with quite a lot of our sieved leaf mould
35:08and the leaf mould opens it out.
35:10These bulbs like a nice loose root run
35:12but that isn't enough in itself.
35:14You need to go another step beyond that
35:16and add plenty of grit.
35:18So I'm going to mix them up.
35:20So if I put in half a bucket of that
35:25and then add the same quantity of grit
35:31that much
35:35mix it all up
35:43the result is truly a very gritty mix.
35:48Now, alpine pans like this have very large drainage holes
35:54and that's on purpose.
35:56But what it does mean
35:58is that you have to cover them up to a certain extent
36:01otherwise all the soil falls out.
36:03And this is where crocks come in.
36:05So pop that in the bottom
36:07and then we can just put in a layer
36:13like that
36:16about half full
36:18and then you plant the bulbs onto it.
36:20Now I'm going to start with one of my favourites
36:22and a really well-known RS called Harmony.
36:24This lovely, clear, bright blue flower.
36:29As always, pointy end up
36:31just place them in the pot.
36:33Now when you're planting in a container
36:35you can plant much closer
36:37than if you're doing in a border of any kind
36:39but they should never be touching.
36:41There should always be some clear air around them.
36:44Cover them over
36:46with another layer of compost.
36:52Now what I like to do at this point
36:54is then cover that with a layer of clean grit
36:56and this serves two purposes.
36:59One, it looks nice
37:01but secondly, it stops any of the compost splashing up
37:07when you water it or it's out in the rain
37:09and marking the petals
37:11because remember these are going to be small.
37:13When they only rise a few inches above the pot
37:15it keeps them looking at their very best.
37:21What I want to plant into this little pan
37:24is one of my favourite RSs.
37:26It may be my favourite to look at
37:28but I have to say it's one of my least favourite to pronounce
37:30and I'm bound to get this wrong.
37:32So if you are Dutch, I apologise in advance.
37:35It is called JS Dijt.
37:38D-I-J-T.
37:41Beautiful, intense purple and mauve petals.
38:01Now at this stage, the thing to do
38:04is give them a good water,
38:06let that drain
38:08and put them somewhere that is protected
38:11but not from cold.
38:13It doesn't matter if they freeze absolutely solid
38:16but what they do need protection from is too much rain.
38:19Ideally, underneath glass
38:22so they're getting the sunshine
38:24but they're not getting the water
38:26and they will be at their very best
38:28round about the end of February, the beginning of March.
38:31Now, plants have a powerful effect on all of us
38:35and I'm talking about these
38:37as treasures in the middle of winter
38:39and there's no doubt about it
38:41that one of the reasons I like them
38:43is because I don't like winter, I get very depressed in winter
38:45and it lifts that gloom
38:47and some people can develop
38:49a close emotional, even spiritual relationship
38:53with certain plants
38:55that really help them get through their lives
38:58and we went to visit
39:00Michel Thomas in Saffron Wardroom
39:03who has developed a deep and abiding love
39:06for her beautiful roses.
39:13I find the best medicine for me
39:15is literally just putting my boots on,
39:18stepping outside, breathing in the fresh air,
39:21getting stuck into my gardening.
39:23It really does soothe the soul.
39:33My name is Michel Thomas
39:35and I love roses,
39:37I love gardening
39:39and I now have
39:41approximately 230 roses in my garden.
39:44I adore them for the smell,
39:46the colour,
39:48the shapes of some of them,
39:50especially the single roses
39:52and I love cutting them,
39:54bringing them into the house
39:56so then you've got the scent around you in the house.
39:59I love everything about roses really.
40:07I first noticed I was struggling
40:09with mental health problems
40:11probably when I was round about an 11
40:14and away at school.
40:16I knew I got very, very homesick,
40:18I knew I didn't like school
40:20but I did think that everybody felt the way I felt
40:23where you had these absolutely immensely dark days
40:27but I carried on,
40:29I worked in London,
40:31a number of different jobs,
40:33I got married,
40:35I had my daughter Ria
40:37and then when Ria was two
40:39I went on and had my son Miles
40:42but sadly when he was just a few weeks old
40:45he died.
40:47That obviously knocked me for six
40:49but I carried on,
40:51I ended up having my three sons
40:54Tom, Ollie and Barney
40:56but I still had these desperately dark days
41:00and had no idea really what was happening.
41:05I still just believed that it was how everybody felt.
41:09I mean everybody gets bad days
41:11and it was only through
41:14having to see my doctor really quite a lot
41:18with not feeling I was coping
41:21did we discover that
41:23there was actually something wrong with me
41:26and I was suffering from a type of bipolar
41:29along with also PTSD.
41:39About 27 years ago
41:41my daughter bought me a tiny little rose
41:45but this rose was in a little plastic pot
41:48and I kept it in the kitchen.
41:50I didn't know back then
41:52that you needed to plant roses out in the garden
41:56I kept it inside, its leaves fell off
41:58it looked seriously ill
42:00so then I did eventually bring it outside
42:03I had no borders, nothing
42:05just an expansive lawn
42:08so I dug a hole and plonked it in.
42:1127 years later it's still here
42:14we've had our moments when it hasn't looked too great
42:17but I've learnt to prune them
42:20feed them
42:22and it's actually now doing very well.
42:25And then the other little ones that I have down here
42:29are all from my boys.
42:33I added these ones
42:35which I allow to go much higher
42:37so you kind of get this different shape in the border
42:40but that was the beginning of my garden
42:42and this was it.
42:44But I didn't see the connection back then
42:46that doing all of this was actually helping me feel better.
42:55I don't know the names of anything
42:57it just doesn't bother me what they're called
42:59I just like them to be well, healthy
43:01and look beautiful really.
43:03In fact it's far more interesting when everybody tells me
43:06that, oh I see you've got this or I see you've got that
43:09and I sort of say, have I?
43:16So this rose is actually one that my husband gave me
43:20probably about eight years ago
43:23however when he gave it to me
43:26it looked like it was dying
43:28it was sort of just one little branch
43:30that looked very, very sad
43:32but luckily it didn't die
43:34and it kept going and is now doing relatively well.
43:37It really does have the look of velvet
43:41with its dark centre
43:44and I think it really is suited here
43:46against the lightness of the house
43:48and next to the lemon roses as well.
43:59This is one of my favourite spots in the garden
44:02I absolutely love sitting here
44:05especially in the evenings
44:07when the sun's going down
44:09but it throws this light out on the flowers in front of me
44:12and the smell is absolutely beautiful
44:15it is so peaceful as it starts to turn dark
44:19it really is a lovely spot to sit.
44:24I think my roses have probably done so well
44:27because I do care for them
44:29I do my very best to look after them
44:31and in a sense that makes me feel
44:34they must care about me too.
44:37Two years ago when all my children had left home
44:42I decided I really wanted to do something with the garden
44:46and that's when I discovered the NGS
44:50National Garden Scheme
44:52so I now opened the public
44:54and I think through doing that
44:56it makes me have to garden all the time
45:00you know, you want it looking nice
45:02when I'm mentally not feeling good
45:04I still have to go outside to garden
45:07so in a way it's almost been the cure.
45:11I do love the fact that I'm raising money for charities
45:15but this year as well
45:17money's going to MIND
45:19which of course is for the mental health problems
45:22and that really does matter to me.
45:26I finally realise after all these years
45:29that if I'm gardening I'm going to be okay
45:33I feel safe, happy and it works.
45:56Michel has learnt the one true secret of good gardening
46:03and that is love.
46:05If you love your garden
46:08if you love your plants
46:10that love is returned
46:12and what happens is something bigger than you
46:15and bigger than the garden
46:17and that is where the magic lies.
46:20Now I love roses too
46:22Now I love roses too
46:24This one called the Pilgrim
46:26flowers magnificently in late May through to early July
46:30and then it has a bit of a rest and then it comes back
46:33and it started out life as a shrub rose
46:36but it wants to climb
46:38so I've put up good strong support
46:41and I'm training this shrub up as a climber
46:44and it is starting to climb
46:46so as far as I'm concerned that's fantastic
46:48because not only will I have this lovely flower
46:50but I will have it soaring up towards the sky.
46:53Now all of us who garden
46:56whether we feel completely well
46:59or if we're struggling mentally or physically
47:02acknowledge that gardening helps
47:05it makes us feel better
47:07but there's very little research being done on this
47:10the good news is that it is beginning
47:13and more people are looking at this and saying what is going on
47:16why is this happening
47:18how does it happen and how can we make it happen even more
47:22and Arit has been to investigate.
47:29I was brought up in Hertfordshire
47:31surrounded by a green belt of countryside
47:34but when I moved to London about 20 years ago
47:36I'd get these urges to have to be in nature
47:39and would head to Richmond Park
47:41since then it has got me thinking
47:44that there must be more to being in nature
47:47than it just being a nice thing to do
47:50that somewhere in our DNA
47:52we are hardwired to respond to it.
47:58American journalist Florence Williams
48:00travelled worldwide and gathered scientific evidence
48:03which is completely changing the way we think about
48:06the impact of nature, green spaces and gardens on us.
48:12What exactly was it for you that set you off on your journey?
48:16I spent 20 years living in the mountains
48:19in the American West
48:21and I had to move to Washington DC
48:23into the heart of the city.
48:25I felt really anxious being in that urban environment
48:28I felt depressed, I wasn't sleeping well
48:31and I started to really wonder
48:33if I was experiencing something
48:35people called nature deficit disorder
48:38which is the idea that when we are disconnected from nature
48:41we just don't feel our best
48:43and it turns out that there is a lot of evidence now
48:45from different researchers
48:47and different laboratories around the world
48:49asking these exact questions
48:51and I wanted to go to the places that were really doing
48:53the cutting edge research
48:55showing what these different experiences and environments did
48:58to our brains and to our bodies.
49:00Wow.
49:09What was it that the scientists were looking for?
49:12They were really looking at this concept of biophilia
49:15which is the notion that as humans
49:18we evolved outside in natural landscapes
49:21and so our nervous systems are really built
49:23to understand those landscapes.
49:25So when we are in them, on some level
49:27even subconsciously
49:29we just feel more at home there.
49:31Okay, and so was there anywhere in particular
49:34you could see that in action?
49:36There is. The first place I went was Japan
49:39and people in Japan are very stressed out
49:41they work really long hours
49:43and so the government is really promoting
49:45this idea of forest bathing.
49:53What that means is going on these trails
49:56and in Japan they are actually called therapy trails
49:59where people practice engaging all of their senses.
50:04They take some time to pay attention to the smells
50:08and to the sounds
50:10and to the feeling of the breeze on their skin
50:14and what this does is it puts them in the present moment
50:17and it turns out the research really shows
50:19that if you are after stress reduction
50:21that opening up of the senses
50:23really changes your physiology.
50:25It can lower your blood pressure
50:27it calms your respiration rate
50:30it actually can lower your cortisol levels
50:33and that's a stress hormone
50:35and this happens after just 15 minutes
50:37of being outside engaging your senses.
50:46Some of the things that researchers are finding out
50:48when they measure brain waves
50:50in people who are outside in nature
50:52compared to people who are outside in cities
50:54is that our frontal cortex
50:56which is sort of our thinking brain
50:58really start to deactivate
51:00when we are outside in nature
51:02as our sensory brains come online
51:04and what this does
51:06is it actually gives our thinking brains
51:08a little bit of a rest
51:10almost like a muscle that gets overused
51:12in modern life
51:14when we are in our workplaces all day long
51:16and on our devices
51:18and so that when we go back to work
51:20after a short break outside
51:22we are actually more productive
51:24we are more creative
51:26we can think more clearly.
51:30What's remarkable
51:32is that countries like Japan and South Korea
51:34are now so taken with the evidence
51:36of the impact of forest bathing
51:38they are building it
51:40into some of their healthcare programs.
51:42Some doctors are prescribing time outside
51:44there are a number of classes
51:46in these countries
51:48for women who are pregnant
51:50for cancer patients
51:52for people who have worker burnout
51:54so it's focused sometimes
51:56on different groups of people
51:58but anyone can go out
52:00and enjoy these healing forests
52:02and feel some of these effects.
52:04There is hard evidence
52:06that we need nature.
52:08There is and you know
52:10we live in an evidence based culture
52:12so in order to change people's behaviours
52:14in order to change the way schools
52:16spend time with their children
52:18in order to change the way doctors
52:20might treat patients
52:22they need this evidence
52:24so it's really exciting
52:26that we are getting more all the time.
52:28Well I'm sure that people would enjoy a walk
52:30more than another tablet.
52:36The scientific evidence
52:38for the health benefits of nature is there
52:40but how much time in green spaces
52:42and in our gardens
52:44do we actually need?
52:46There is a recent study
52:48out of England specifically looking
52:50at the question of dose
52:52and they came up with a very specific recommendation
52:54after surveying thousands of people
52:56and they ended up recommending
52:58two hours a week
53:00of time outside.
53:02I would have thought it would have been more actually.
53:04Well some people think that may sound like a lot
53:06but you know it can break down to
53:0820 or 30 minutes a day
53:10in fact there is a very generous way to look at nature
53:12which is sometimes it's just a neighbourhood
53:14filled with trees
53:16sometimes it's sitting in a
53:18in a beautiful space or a park
53:20or even a courtyard in your workplace
53:22where you can see some trees
53:24maybe see some clouds, feel some natural daylight
53:26so there are lots of different ways
53:28to think about nature
53:30it doesn't have to be something pristine
53:32and perfect.
53:34It's great to know that all of this
53:36evidence just backs up
53:38what we know anyway
53:40and that is to be outside in nature.
53:42No more excuses, let's go.
53:49Birds chirping
54:01The thing that I find really striking about that
54:03is how little time you need
54:05to be outside
54:07to have a beneficial effect.
54:09Two hours a week is hardly more
54:11than 15 minutes a day
54:13and as gardeners
54:15we're outside much more than that
54:17and it does show even if you just go out
54:19and do a bit of deadheading, a little bit of tidying up
54:21it is going to do you good
54:23and obviously
54:25if you can do more than that
54:27so much the better.
54:29Now here in the greenhouse
54:31I've got a little bit
54:33of a problem
54:35and that's coming from flies and butterflies
54:37would you believe it
54:39because the grapes have been really good
54:41but they're not quite ripe yet
54:43but the flies and the butterflies
54:45have been feasting off them for the last few weeks
54:47and then I realised
54:49that I'd taken
54:51all my pitcher plants, these saracenias
54:53the carnivorous plants
54:55out of the greenhouse where they've been for the last 4 or 5 years
54:57and put them outside
54:59where they've been very happy
55:01but the flies in here
55:03have increased
55:05so the carnivorous plants
55:07I think were doing a much better job
55:09in previous years than I'd given them credit for
55:11so I'm bringing them back
55:13and the thing about saracenias
55:15as well as all carnivorous plants
55:17is they are bog plants
55:19they like to be wet all the time
55:21so they need to be standing in a tray of sorts
55:23you just keep that tray topped up
55:25and you must use rainwater
55:27so
55:29you just
55:31every day in summer
55:33and then in winter
55:35you just need to do it about once a week
55:37they can dry off a little bit more
55:39but never dry out completely
55:41you have to keep these in a greenhouse
55:43they're much hardier than you might think
55:45I've had some outside that are frozen solid
55:47and they've still survived
55:49but if you do keep them
55:51in a greenhouse
55:53they do a very good job for you
55:55now talking of jobs
55:57here are some jobs for you this weekend
55:59music
56:09now is a good time to take
56:11rose cutting
56:13choose a nice vigorous
56:15growth about the thickness of a pencil
56:17this can be subdivided into
56:19lengths about 6 to 9 inches long
56:21but make sure that you mark the
56:23bottom of each piece by cutting it at an angle
56:25remove
56:27either all or most of the leaves
56:29and then bury the cuttings
56:31in a gritty compost
56:33so only the top is showing
56:35put this to one side
56:37it doesn't need any special protection
56:39and leave it over winter
56:41and it will start to show signs of growth next spring
56:43music
56:45music
56:47music
56:49before you bring any plants into the greenhouse
56:51to store over winter
56:53it's a good idea to give it a thorough clean
56:55vinegar mixed with water
56:57is superb at cleaning glass
56:59this will do two things
57:01improve the light levels
57:03particularly at a time of year when they are low anyway
57:05and also reduce the risk of
57:07virus and disease spreading to your stored plants
57:09music
57:11music
57:13music
57:15I love pears
57:17but they do need careful handling
57:19because they don't ripen on the tree
57:21lift each fruit
57:23carefully
57:25and if it's ready it will come away in your hand
57:27avoid bruising it
57:29and either store it in a cool dark place
57:31or you can hasten
57:33ripening by putting them on a sunny
57:35windowsill
57:37music
57:39music
57:41music
57:43Well that's it for today
57:45and if there's anything that you want
57:47to find out more about
57:49whether it be about gardening
57:51or gardening and health
57:53then do go to our website
57:55and what I would say
57:57from personal experience
57:59that particularly at this time of year
58:01as the weather is bound to get worse
58:03and the days are getting shorter and shorter
58:05is get outside every day
58:07if you possibly can
58:09if you've got a garden
58:11get into your garden and do something
58:13and if you haven't got a garden
58:15go for a walk
58:17and you will feel better
58:19next week but at the later time
58:21of 8.30pm
58:23but it's going to be worth the wait
58:25because we've got a programme filled
58:27with beautiful berries
58:29I'll see you then, bye bye
58:31music
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