Gardeners' World S58E01
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00:00Hello, welcome to a beautiful day here at Longmeadow and a brand new series of gardeners'
00:20world. The sun is shining and of course everything is responding. The birds are singing, the flowers
00:27are growing at last and looking fantastic and a real feeling of hope of what's to come and
00:34also a feeling that we need to crack on with those winter jobs and finish them up and that
00:40includes pruning. Pruning any kind of deciduous tree or shrub is something you do need to get
00:46on with now because of course you don't want to disturb nesting birds. These are lime trees,
00:53not the limes that you eat but tilia, tilia caudata, a small leaf line and they're pleached and what
00:59that means essentially is we've got bear trunks and then a kind of hedge with this massive growth
01:05and by pruning it back every spring we can enjoy the colours of the bear stems in winter and then
01:12you get a new flush of growth with extra big foliage in summer. But it is a job that I need
01:18to do and do now. It's not just pruning of course. Masses to be getting on with at this time of year.
01:27Coming up on today's programme, Francis meets a couple who've used their passion for salvage material
01:34to help create their unique and beautiful garden. What you can't avoid is these amazing structures.
01:42Is this one of your creations, Sandy? Yes, that's a, it was an old cow feeders so we've ended up with lots
01:48of bits of junk. We travel to London to visit a gardener who's created a full sanctuary on his
01:56balcony. In terms of the colour scheme I would love to have a really tasteful garden where a lot of
02:03thought had gone into it but it's more of a tutti frutti vibe where we just put as much in as possible.
02:09Adam visits the Isle of Wight to discover how the team at Ventnor Botanic Garden are adjusting their
02:16gardening practices in the face of our changing climate. It's interesting isn't it because you're
02:22the hottest garden in the UK so you're in a litmus test for what we might be growing on the mainland in
02:2910-15 years' time.
02:35And I'm going to share with you all the big changes that we've made this winter.
02:39I said we've had big changes here but actually here in the Spring Garden we've done pretty well,
03:05nothing at all because this performs year in year out. Starts in January with the snowdrops and now
03:12you can see the hellebores and the daffodils are coming through and there'll be muscarium pulmonaria
03:18and then we'll get the tulips and finally there's a big flourish with all the cow parsley that just
03:25makes this wonderful white haze running through it and by the end of May it's all over. But while it lasts,
03:31it's fabulous.
03:47Now it may not seem like a big thing but we have increased the width of these paths. It took a lot
03:53of work. It was quite a big project but it's brilliant. It means we can bring wider wheelbarrows down but also
04:00we've dug up the strips of soil either side of them and so the borders are bigger and that means
04:05more planting and of course I'll share that with you in the coming weeks. However, more dramatic,
04:10much more dramatic, is that we have cut down apple trees. Now that may seem pretty radical or even very
04:17destructive but there is good thinking behind it. When I planted the orchard, which was back in 1996-97,
04:26I had this idea of great big trees covered with blossom and then fruit and I thought it would be
04:33like a sort of fruity wood and the idea was really good but the reality wasn't so practical because
04:39great big trees carry a huge amount of apples really high up so we couldn't reach them to pick them.
04:46Also the shade from these big trees meant that these borders were really suffering.
04:51So what we've done is we've taken down the seven apple trees that were working least well for us
04:56and all the others we've dramatically pruned, halved them. So we're going to get half the amount of
05:02apples as a result and also they'll be lowered down so we can reach them and of course it means that the
05:08beds below the trees get much more light. However, even that isn't the biggest thing that's happened in the garden this winter.
05:26It's here in the jewel garden that the biggest changes have been made. At its best it can be,
05:37I know, really magnificent but it was fading. It was losing its sparkle. So I decided that we need to
05:46start over again. This winter we've taken out as many plants as we possibly can. The next thing we've done
05:54is put in more structure. These fantastic hornbeam balls. We've made obelisks to take a rambling rose
06:02there and then there's another one on this side and we'll bring the planting back reusing as much as
06:08possible and today I'm going to be planting a rose to go up this obelisk.
06:24I've got this rose to match the one on the other side called Chevy Chase. Got a mass of red flowers and
06:43it flowers for a long time which is unusual because that is a rambling rose. A rambling rose tends to only
06:51flower once with lots of small flowers produced on the previous year's wood. Whereas climbing roses tend
06:59to have bigger flowers all produced on the current season's wood. Now it doesn't matter if you've got
07:05a climbing or a rambling rose the way of planting them is the same. You dig a hole and you put them in it. Job done. Well, almost.
07:14I'm digging quite a deep hole because the roots are quite substantial. This is a bare root rose,
07:29which is why I've got it in a bucket of water. Now roses should always be planted deeper than they
07:37come in the pot. This is the graft and this is the rootstock. This tells you how it grows. This tells you
07:44how it flowers. I like to plant it so that that is about an inch below the soil and that will stop root
07:51rock and also reduce suckers. That's about right, almost perfect. So hold that in position and then
08:01get the soil around it. You don't need to add any extra goodness to the soil because if you do you're
08:11just encouraging the roots to stay in the planting hole. Roses are tough, particularly rambling roses.
08:17They will cope with all kinds of conditions. The bare root season is roughly November to the end of
08:24February, so we're right at the edge of it. You may find it easier at this time of year to plant
08:29containerized roses. Give it a good soak. Always water any plant when you put it in, but particularly a
08:41woody plant like this. Now remember this is a rambler, so all the new growth this year will have not a
08:49single flower on it. That doesn't matter. We're just establishing it, train it to work it round the
08:54obelisk and then next year will start to flower and in year three it should be magnificent.
09:02We're going to Wiltshire now, to Melcham, where a couple have combined the knowledge and experience of
09:09horticulture and agriculture to create rather a wonderful garden.
09:22As a gardener and a huge fan of recycling, I get a tremendous thrill from going through the garden
09:29shed, finding an old trug or something like that and turning it into a planter. But imagine if not
09:36only did you have a garden shed, but you also had a huge farmyard full of goodies to upcycle.
09:50Lorraine McFarlane and her husband Sandy moved into their Tide cottage 45 years ago.
09:56She's the gardener and Sandy is a retired farm manager. They've made a glorious and diverse garden with lots of recycling.
10:11It's quite a big project. How did you approach that from the beginning?
10:13We couldn't afford to go out and buy masses and masses of plants and stuff. So I just started by,
10:21first of all, I'd have little borders around the house, but never ever spent loads and loads of money.
10:27And it's only just bit by bit, year by year, and you add something.
10:31For what you can't avoid is these amazing structures. Is this one of your creations, Sandy?
10:37Yes. It was an old cow feeders, which had got bent and damaged and was just going to be put in the skip.
10:43And I thought, oh, I'll use that. I'll bring it home. And that's how it happened. And so we've ended
10:49up with lots of bits of junk. It's lovely. And I love how this is open and you can see through. And
10:55this would be open, but you've got the fennel that actually becomes the wall. It's lovely.
11:00Fairly recently, it's just down there, what we call the potting shed. There's a window in it,
11:05right, which is actually somebody's shower door. And that was on the side of the road in the gateway.
11:13Yes. Oh, wow. That's a window. I did have to knock a hole in the wall.
11:25In this garden, it's not just the hard landscaping ideas that have come from the farm.
11:31So tell me about this meadow. Probably 20 odd years ago now,
11:34we converted the farm to organic and we ended up planting quite a lot of wildflower meadows.
11:40Right. And then when I retired, I sort of had the idea. I thought, well, I'll do the same here.
11:44It's beautiful. It's got such a range, because normally just one thing takes over, doesn't it?
11:48Yes. Yes. It's got a lovely balance. Yes.
11:50If there's too many of one thing, she'll perhaps go around and pull a few of them out. Yeah.
11:55So you don't get overcome with all one thing. You do get one or two little nasties that you don't want.
12:00Yeah. But it's just keeping an eye on it, really. I just think the look of it is so gorgeous.
12:14Lorraine is incredibly humble about her planting.
12:17And her creative eye.
12:22This garden feels so gentle and artful.
12:29The lovely thing in this garden is that these recycled elements have lost their original purpose
12:34and been turned instead into sculpture. So here we have a fence panel that's got no additional fence.
12:41There's a pergola that rather than housing seats, houses a birch tree and under planting
12:46and an archway that is not leading you anywhere, that actually is just within the bed and having
12:51climbers sprawling over it. And it's so beautifully creative. I really love it.
13:01It's helped by the structural topiary and the backdrop of the woodland that Lorraine planted.
13:06That foliage really brings this forward and allows you to see this area at its absolute best.
13:26In the woodland garden are some of Sandy's recycled seating areas.
13:30And they're incredible things. There are straight uprights holding this up, but there are also
13:38so many beautifully arranged branches, gnarled bits of tree. There's a log pile just by the side here
13:46and a huge wildlife pond down there. So clearly nature and all its creatures are as much a part of this
13:52garden as Lorraine and Sandy themselves. I have to say, I love this building.
14:00Next to it is the most handsome deadhead I have ever seen.
14:15And then a very different feel near the cottage. Lorraine said that when they first moved into the
14:22house, this was tarmac right up to the front door and it meant that Sandy would drive his truck and park
14:27it right outside the window, which she didn't like. So her solution was to remove the tarmac and instead
14:33plant up this gravel garden. It looks beautiful on its own, but it also really puts the house in this
14:39amazing setting. The planting is so lovely as well. This Spanish broom is just a glorious tree, but also
14:49the scent coming off it is incredible. I want one quite honestly. It's beautiful.
14:55And then giant oak grass, steeper gigantea. This is one of my favourite grasses, but you need
15:00quite a lot of space to grow them well. They need to sit on their own and not be encroached on by too
15:05many other plants. So here they're perfect. And actually that's the key to any gravel garden,
15:10is to give the plants room. So there's alpines here, there's thymes, there's lavenders and everything
15:16has space to breathe.
15:26And then tucked at the side of the house is an exquisite farmyard patio.
15:30These have got to be some of the most magnificent containers I've ever seen. They're actually the
15:39bottoms of the cattle feeders that Sandy used to make the pergola. They're enormous and they're filled
15:46with plants and the plant choices of Lorraine's have really set them off. So silver-leafed formium
15:52with silver-leafed echeverias and sempervivums and then the same form but a different colour
15:58in the aeonium schwarzkopf. But what's really nice is that things that you wouldn't expect,
16:02like this cyperus, which is a bog plant, and then this lady's bedstraw, which is a wildflower,
16:08have been left to grow and they really soften that hard metal structure. It looks beautiful
16:13with these little tables with succulents in higgledy-piggledy pots. It just looks so tasteful
16:20and yet all probably cost very, very little.
16:31There's thought and artistry in every crevice of this garden.
16:37Here, as a result of teamwork.
16:50When Sandy and Lorraine first got here, the garden was very much Lorraine's and the farm
16:54was Sandy's. And it's lovely to see that now this garden is shared. They both do it. And Lorraine said
17:01to me that Sandy didn't even know how creative he was until he started doing all of this stuff. And
17:06isn't it lovely to learn that about yourself and about each other after all of those years?
17:22What I especially love about Lorraine and Sandy's garden is not just that they've been so innovative
17:45and the way that they've used the bits and pieces of farm kit, but they've done it with such style.
17:52Now I've got a couple of pots here on the mound that I didn't plant up with bulbs and I want
17:57some colour in here to see me through while the rest of the bulbs come through and then I can
18:02replace it in summer. And what I've chosen for that are very simple plants starting with primulas. Now
18:08I love the native primulas, primula vulgaris, but I think it looks best in a natural setting,
18:15not necessarily when potted up. And this is where all the bread varieties come in and primulas are
18:20incredibly promiscuous. You get every shade of colour and here in the mound we've got a colour
18:27theme of pale yellow and blue. Now this has been bred, it's a variety called heritage and it's perfect
18:33because it's a little bit bigger than the native primrose, a little bit stronger which will work well
18:37in a pot. But also it's got that lovely straight primrose yellow and then the egg yolk middle. And I'm
18:45going to match that up with a blue. Now this is viola piccati blue and the softness of it is absolutely
18:53ideal. If I hold these two together you can see they've got the same tone. You've got the pale blue
18:59and the pale yellow, the pastel colours and yet on a lovely clear day like this they sing out. I'm
19:07also going to use this. This is a viola called Bouton blue. The piccati blue will carry us through
19:15the next month or so then these will kick in and we'll keep the display going until summer. When you've
19:21got a pot that you've been growing in for the previous year it's tempting to use the same compost
19:26but a lot of the goodness will be gone. So I'm going to empty out about a third of that.
19:36And then add in some garden compost just to freshen it up. So this is good long meadow compost. Add that in.
19:47Mix it up. Primulas do well in fairly rich soil. Okay that's perfect for planting. Now that can go in the
20:03middle. I'm going to place these first and these which are in plugs I can pop round the outside like this.
20:17Now I've only got two of these but what I think I will do is I'm going to split this. I just put my
20:24thumbs in and divide it. There we go. Two plants for the price of one. Just pop that in there like that.
20:35Perfect. Now we've got that lovely blue and yellow singing together.
20:41And then these plants. There's almost nothing there. It's just a little bit of green shoots
20:49appearing. But then let me reveal the roots. It's a really substantial plant. So don't be put off by
20:56the lack of growth on top. And when you go to a garden center don't be shy about taking plants out
21:01of a pot. Have a look at the roots. That's what you're buying. I can go in there. You all right Ned?
21:11You're okay chap. I'm cramming these in because I do want a really strong display. And also they're
21:19not going to stay here permanently. I will take these out round about Chelsea time and replace them. And then
21:25all these will go into the garden elsewhere. So they've got a future life but not in this pot. Now
21:30just fill in round there with a bit of compost.
21:38Right. I'm going to give that a good soak but I'm going to do the other pot first
21:41and then wash them together. And we're off to London. North London. To join a puppeteer. We don't see many
21:48of them about. But he has a glorious garden. Even though he's living a few floors above ground.
22:11Welcome to my balcony.
22:18I'm Oliver Hyman and I'm an amateur gardener.
22:25We're in North East London in Dalston in a very typical council block on the second floor.
22:31We moved in and it was completely bare the balcony. There was a bit of junk lying down that end and
22:36there was absolutely no planting. We started by adding in some pots hanging on the wall behind me
22:43and slowly over the years we've added more and more and more until
22:47as you can see things have got a little bit out of hand.
22:57In my day job I'm a puppetry director and designer and my puppets have been seen in circus,
23:03theatre, on film and in dance and I'm part of a new movement of artists trying to get that heritage
23:10craft back up and running again.
23:15My biggest critic within the gardening might be my partner Marcus.
23:21He sometimes does like to question some of my choices of putting things in particular positions
23:26or choices of plants.
23:28This foxglover is going to have to come out in a few days, isn't it?
23:31I know but I want to keep it for all the seeds. It's a self-seed, yeah.
23:34Maybe we can just move it into a less prominent place.
23:36Okay. And then these probably need deadheading as well.
23:41Unless you like them.
23:42I quite like the dead flowers. It's not so colourful but just,
23:47it's better than not having anything, isn't it?
23:48Okay. If you say so.
23:52I kind of like the fact that he has his own style and taste and I have my own and
23:56this balcony is an amalgamation of both of those things.
24:06So we've gone for a bit of a Mediterranean vibe. We get blasted by the sun all summer. We're
24:11south facing and in terms of the colour scheme, I would love to have a really tasteful garden where
24:18a lot of thought had gone into it but it's more of a tutti frutti vibe where we just
24:23put as much in as possible.
24:27This area we call it the plant theatre. We have the lovely red geraniums hanging on the wall but
24:34then we've got this wall of plants that just sort of organically look like they're growing up into
24:39the top of the balcony. It's quite a fun area because every year I sort of try different things.
24:46The great thing is it's all pot so you can just move stuff around to change up the look of it.
24:51I really love this red dahlia here. It's got such a lovely colour and although it does take up
24:58probably I would say about a sixth of our balcony, it does give you that one area that feels like you
25:05have a sort of border effect.
25:07The grapevine started from a very small plant. It loves the sun but one of the challenges here we
25:16have an overhang so depending on how hot and how sunny the summer's been it will grow at different
25:22rates. A few years ago we got a massive fruit bowl filled with delicious grapes. Last year not so good
25:30unfortunately. We do have a couple of bunches already growing here. I think they're going to be
25:35quite a good crop this year.
25:43So when we started out I didn't know much about gardening and there was actually something exciting
25:48about the challenge of growing something from scratch. We've got some teasels scattered all the
25:55way down right at the end. Planted them quite a few years ago now and they've self-seeded which is
26:02really exciting in a balcony as small as this that you can create that sense that the garden has a life
26:08of its own.
26:13Our three top tips for balcony garden. Number one, try and get as big as pots as you can manage just to
26:19limit the amount of times you have to water. Number two, grow things that you love. Don't limit yourself
26:25just to things that are supposedly good for balconies because chances are they may be great.
26:31And finally try and grow things from seed and even better take cuttings from friends so you can grow
26:37it all at home and save a bit of money. Cheers. Even though the space is small at the end of a long day
26:46the opportunity to sit here enjoy this theatre of plants that we've been able to create but also just
26:51take in the views of London. I would encourage anybody with a small space to just try it out.
26:58You're going to learn and you're going to find the things that you love the most about creating a small garden
27:04and you're going to find a small garden like this.
27:16I think that bit of advice about using bigger pots even on a balcony or a small terrace is really
27:32good because there's a temptation to try and cram lots and lots of small things into a small space
27:37but a bigger pot will give you better effect need less watering which is really important and also
27:43as Oliver said is give it a go. Of course before adding any pots do make sure that your balcony can
27:52take the extra weight. Now I started pruning the roses in February. I'd given them a once over in
27:58September with a pair of shears. We just cut them back so they don't get wind rock in winter
28:02and then from February onwards I go through them all and just take stock taking them back by about
28:08a third or a quarter and opening them up getting rid of anything that's crossing or old or damaged
28:13setting it up so the new growth will grow well and strongly and of course that will carry this year's
28:19flowers and the prunings need not be wasted. I put them over the top of all our pots that contain tulips
28:26and that deters birds squirrels rats and mice from digging away and trying to get the bulbs and then
28:34as the bulbs appear we take away all those pruned pieces burn them put the ash on the compost heap
28:41so everything is used and recycled. Now still to come on today's programme Adam visits Ventnor
28:49Botanic Garden and sees what adaptations they've had to make to their gardening as a result of climate
28:56change. If you look a little bit deeper in there there's actually a tender banana they leave it don't
29:04cover it up and it comes back every year in 10-15 years time this could be my garden. And we meet a
29:13gardener who has turned a concrete slab into a dream garden. I've got an Edwardian terraced house with a
29:20garden that is completely made from pots and containers in what I call a sort of urban cottage garden style.
29:41One of the things that I love about this time of year is that it's really intensive seed sowing time.
29:47Almost anything that you can grow from seed can be sown now whether it's tender annuals, vegetables,
29:53even cabbages ready for next winter. If you sow them now they'll be really good. Now I'm sowing tomatoes
29:58today. I tend to grow my tomatoes in the greenhouse but I also like to have some outside too. So I've got
30:05three varieties here. We've got a beefsteak variety which is Costoluto Friantino. They're absolutely
30:12delicious but they do need a bit more heat so I'm going to grow these in the greenhouse. I've got
30:15Gardener's Delight which is a really good variety if you've not grown tomatoes before. And this I
30:21will grow outside and inside. They're a really good all-round tomato. And finally Tiger Air which is
30:28an earlier one. Doesn't matter what variety you have they're grown in exactly the same way. You need a
30:34seed tray. Some compost. A peat-free compost. And let's start with Tigerella.
30:51Now I'm going to use this but a pencil does the job just as well. And just lick the end and that means
30:57that you can pick up a seed. Here we go. And then you can place it where you want.
31:05The more space, the more light, the more nutrition they have, the better they'll grow.
31:08It's a good idea to press these down gently so you get really good contact with the compost.
31:29And then cover them over. Now you can sprinkle compost on them but I like to use the Meekly Light
31:34because it's a very good way of stopping too much light getting through but letting the moisture
31:40get in. And also it doesn't form a crust. Label. Now they will need watering and then you put that
31:50in a hot place and the combination of the dampness and the heap the seeds will germinate. One way to
31:54water it is with the watering can from above. The slight disadvantage with that is there's a risk that
32:01the top layer will get water but the bottom will remain dry. And then as the roots grow they'll go
32:06into dry compost. Another way of watering which works very well is simply place them in a tray of
32:12water and let them soak it up for about 10 or 15 minutes. And then you can just top it up with a
32:17sprinkle of water maybe once every other day. Now it will need heat to germinate. So a minimum of 18
32:24degrees. So above a radiator is fine. On a windowsill obviously you've got a greenhouse so much the
32:30better. And they should start to germinate in about a week or so. Now I grow these in a greenhouse
32:38because Longmeadow is not the warmest of places. But more and more people can grow tomatoes outside
32:45and we're all adapting to the way that the climate is affecting us. And Adam is taking a look at the
32:52way that gardeners are reacting and coping. And he starts off by going to one of our most southerly gardens
33:00in the UK.
33:06Early spring is an exciting time for gardeners as bulbs begin to break and vibrant colours return to
33:15the borders. But if you think back, all that colour used to arrive with a reliability. Whereas now,
33:24spring bulbs can flower in winter. I've even picked roses, put them on the table on Christmas day.
33:32Our plants don't know whether they're coming or going.
33:35There is estimated to be 30 million gardens in the UK. And they're all being affected by a changing
33:49climate. But I want to learn more about the impact that is having on the way we're gardening.
33:58So I've come to the Isle of Wight to visit Ventnor Botanic Garden.
34:02Located on the island's south coast, it's one of Britain's warmest gardens,
34:09and has been documenting significant change. Wayne Williams is head gardener.
34:18Hello, Wayne. I'm smiling away. You've got some job there, haven't you?
34:21No, just a bit, yeah. It's a beautiful garden, though.
34:24Oh, it's a fantastic place to work. It really is.
34:26I bet it is. I bet it is. What's your main problems you're dealing with here?
34:30So the main issues here in this garden is heat and drought. In the last few years,
34:34the summers are getting obviously hotter. Yeah.
34:37And some plants are starting to suffer. Yeah. Anything in particular you think is doing really
34:41well or things that are starting to struggle? Well, obviously, this is doing too well, of course.
34:45Yeah, well, yeah. Literally, moulambacca is swallowing other plants as it's going up through.
34:49I mean, it's normally a pot plant growing inside as a house plant, but here it is becoming quite
34:54invasive, really. But there's equally some other plants here, such as hebees and pitosporum,
35:00which in the summertime, it gets too hot now, and so the leaves can go black.
35:05But actually, this is in its happy place, isn't it? Because this is what it would be doing
35:13in its own environment. Exactly. It grows like this in New Zealand.
35:16So I suppose, in a sense, the behaviour patterns of plants is changing. That's what you know it's in.
35:21It definitely is, yeah. What about flowering plants? You know,
35:24have you got things performing at odd times? Well, we have things in flower from the summertime,
35:29flowering all the way into the winter now. Yeah. And then we also have spring flowering plants
35:34flowering early. Every year on New Year's Day, the curator does a flower count. This year,
35:39it was 216 in flower on New Year's Day. Wow, 216 flowers on New Year's Day. How many of those
35:46do you think were meant to be there, roughly? Oh, about 10% or so, something like that, yeah.
35:52That's amazing but scary at the same time. Oh, it is. It really is. But it means that we've got
35:57all these fantastic plants to look at during the winter months, of course. Yeah.
36:12So, Wayne, French lavender, did it make the list? It certainly did. So that was flowering just after
36:17Christmas? Yeah, and as you can see, it's covered in flowers now and also flower buds. I mean, it's
36:21just non-stop. Yeah, it's got some new stuff. Amazing. So for you, then, that is flowering
36:2612 months of the year. Yeah. It's flowering, it's performing, it's taking nutrients and moisture
36:31out of the ground. So, you know, does it get extra food? Yeah, we do have to feed plants extra,
36:36obviously, if they keep continuously flowering, because it does almost exhaust them, really,
36:40over time. Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? Because you're the hottest garden in the UK,
36:44not that it feels like that today. No, not today. So you're a litmus test for
36:49what we might be growing on the mainland in 10, 15 years' time. Are you constantly experimenting?
36:54We certainly are. So we've actually got an aloe arborescens, a tree aloe,
36:58which is tender, normally grown under glass on the mainland, and that's in full bloom outside.
37:04So that's flowering now. It is, yeah. It's absolutely stunning. Wow. Yeah.
37:08We've more or less learned to garden with a rule book. Yes. What have you done with yours?
37:13Throughout the window. Yeah. The iDev. Yeah. And you are now reactive. Definitely, yeah. So we're
37:18watching the plants constantly, making notes and adjusting to that. Yeah.
37:37I've just passed flomus in flower, fuchsias in flower. Dailylis just coming in. I've even seen
37:44agapanthus about, but also the salvia's holding on. But the one big thing that jumps out, it's not all
37:53about that temperature. If I get in the car, about three hours north of here on the east of the country
38:02is my garden, which is dry, very much like this. So if I look at these plants and I'm thinking 10,
38:0815, 20 years time, yes, this is what might be happening in my garden. But at the same time,
38:14if I'm on the west of the country and it's wet, but warmer, then that's a completely different group
38:21of plants. So these cannas, we do leave cannas out in dry parts of the country, southeast, but
38:33they do tend to want a bit of mulching. Whereas these are fine and have been left here for absolutely
38:38years. Me at home, I couldn't do that at the moment. And if you look a little bit deeper in there,
38:45there's actually a tender banana. That's an insetti and they leave it, don't cover it up. And it comes
38:51back every year. In 10, 15 years time, this could be my garden.
39:12Look at this. That bark is incredible. And the fall is just great. It's called Lagostromia,
39:18known as a crepe myrtle. When I first saw this, it was in the Mediterranean and definitely it would
39:25have been classed as a tender tree. 20 years ago in my garden, I could not have even thought about
39:33putting one in the ground. But a couple of years ago, I bought one and took a gamble. Then it has
39:40absolutely flown. Dealt with one really cold winter. Admittedly, I've got those drier conditions.
39:46But I think that is going to be part of what we do going forward. It's just take a few more risks,
39:55add that diversity to our gardens, especially when it comes to our trees.
40:03Our gardens are evolving, whether we like it or not. And all of us are going to have to adapt to
40:11different ways of gardening. But this can also mean a host of new planting and design opportunities.
40:19Following the success of the olive grove planted 24 years ago, this year, a new citrus grove is on
40:27the horizon. Wayne, that is not something I ever thought I would see in the UK.
40:35Yeah, it's pretty amazing, isn't it? I know. So we're going to plant many more in this area and the bank
40:39beside us. And we're going to be planting what we believe is the UK's first citrus grove.
40:45So are we dropping this straight in? We are, yes.
40:50You've not really put any fertiliser or any manure or anything like that in?
40:55No, because they do grow in quite poor soils, really, anyway. And they're originally from China,
41:00but of course, people see them growing in the Mediterranean, don't they, on the holidays.
41:04Yeah. And the poor soils are there as well, so. But drainage is the key.
41:11These are great places just for gardeners to come to. And you guys are taking the risks. You're doing the
41:19experiments. If they work, they make a little note, go home and can start to do that in their own garden.
41:25Yeah, we hope to inspire many people across the UK. And I'm sure you will. We'd better get the rest of these in.
41:49As I watched that, I increasingly thought, that garden is about as different to here at Longmeadow
42:01as you could possibly conceive. It's only about 120 miles away from here. But it could be 1,000 miles,
42:07because the weather has generally got much wetter here. We're now flooding four or five times a year.
42:13So it's changing and affecting us in different ways. And this is what Adam's going to be looking at.
42:17Do you know how to make the best of it, not just how to survive?
42:21Now, I've got a clematis here that I'm going to give a big change to, because I want to dig it out,
42:28move it, and put something else in its place. Now, I would point out this is a group three clematis.
42:34That means it doesn't start to flower till June at the earliest and produces a mass of small flowers
42:41in late summer and sometimes into autumn. Group one clematis are those that flower
42:47now and group two in between. Only group three can be moved now. And if you're not sure which they are,
42:55don't do it. Now, to move it, I need to cut it back. But now is a really good time
43:00to prune late flowering clematis anyway, because they produce all their flowers on new growth.
43:08Be brave and go right back down to a low bud.
43:12If I haven't got the clematis here, I don't need the supports.
43:23I've got a number of different pots. I'm not quite sure how big the root system will be. So I've got
43:33pots of different sizes ready for that. I've got some potting compost, which I've added extra
43:40garden compost to, to make it feel at home. If you know where it wants to go, just take it straight
43:48across. Otherwise, pot it up and look after it. Clematis roots are quite substantial. So I need to
43:58take out obviously as much root as possible, because that will do least damage to the plant.
44:03Right. I'm going to need the biggest pot I've got. I'm going to put some soil in the bottom.
44:20Right. Let's see if I can lift this. Okay, this is heavy. And there's a lot of root in there. In it goes.
44:29Compost around it.
44:37And this would be perfectly okay in this pot for another year or two. But if I want to keep it in
44:43a container for more than a year, I will need to pot it on. A good rule of thumb is if you have a plant
44:49that doesn't show any signs of growth, it almost invariably means that its roots are too constrained
44:54and it needs a bigger pot. But sometimes you have to grow things in pots. And that was certainly the case
45:01when we went up to Lincolnshire to visit a gardener there.
45:04I didn't know that I could make a lovely garden. When I step in, the novelty never wears off.
45:16Lots of colour, plants which brushed my arms and legs. I'm really, really thrilled with how it's turned out.
45:22My name is Fiona Cumberpatch. I live in a small town in Lincolnshire and I've got an Edwardian
45:34terraced house with a garden that is completely made from pots and containers in what I call a sort
45:40urban cottage garden style. When we moved into the house, we wanted to create a kitchen extension
45:52with bifold doors. I thought, yes, that will be great. We'll be overlooking the garden.
46:00It is only 12 by 5 metres. I'll make big flower beds and it will be just lovely to sit in there
46:05winter or summer. Then we delivered a bit of a bombshell from the builder, which was that there
46:11was no soil. It was layers and layers of concrete. There was a clay pit underneath. So even if you did
46:18bore through, he said, it's just rubbish. I was really gutted, devastated because I thought we've
46:26created these huge doors with a view, but we're looking out on concrete. I didn't know what I was
46:33going to be able to do and it has surpassed my expectations and in a much shorter time than I thought as well.
46:47My favourite part of the garden has got to be the brick path. I'd always loved seeing them in cottage
46:53gardens. So I thought, well, we can't just have a straight path down the middle of the garden. That
46:57would look really boring. So let's curve it. So we look like we're going somewhere.
47:02My husband and I spent almost a week with a length of hose, moving it here and there with three bends,
47:09four bends. We built it with bricks from an old outhouse, which had been pulled down during our
47:15kitchen extension. And they also tie in with the rest of the house. So they have a lovely mellow tone.
47:30Even in a small garden, I wanted to create different areas. And I knew that should be possible
47:37using the path and then plants to screen off different areas. For example, we've got some bamboo
47:43that screened off part of the garden. And I also wanted a second sitting spot apart from patio. And
47:49that's by the little greenhouse. And again, I've surrounded that with plants just so that you feel immersed.
47:57I'm always looking at ways to garden on a budget. And there was lots of ways I've done that.
48:02This is my car boot corner. It's full of finds that I've gathered together over the years. I absolutely
48:10love car boot sales. So I've got a lovely old catering sieve, which I've filled with sedums. I've got a
48:17galvanised dustbin, which I've used for dahlias. And this grading panel from agricultural machinery,
48:23I think. I've got a climbing hydrangea going over there. My family are very used to me
48:29rolling up with a boot full of rubbish.
48:31I've saved money on plants too.
48:44And one way of doing that is to use perennials in pots rather than having to spend on annuals and
48:49bedding plants every year. I've had great success with salvias. I like this caradona with lovely
48:55purpley, blue stems. Also, GMs are brilliant in pots and in peter. So it's a really good way of
49:03just making my money go that bit further.
49:09We don't have a garage, so we needed a big shed. But I've painted it black to help it recede into
49:14the background. And then I went very small. I really wanted a greenhouse in my garden,
49:21but I was limited on size. I couldn't have a walk in one. So I settled on this. And inside,
49:27I grow peppers, cucumbers, herbs, but they're all miniature ones. So they just all fit in really
49:33nicely. And this way, I can have fresh crops that fit the size of the garden.
49:42I wanted to find a way to soften these rather unattractive brick walls that we inherited.
49:48So I've chosen plants that will form a screen. I've got grasses, miscanthus. I've got cupid's darts
49:54and trees. They create texture just basically to blur the boundary and keep your eye in the garden.
50:05I've used gravel over the top of the concrete. We drilled some drainage holes into it and put about an
50:11inch of gravel over the top just to soften the look. And I was amazed and it was completely unexpected
50:17about the self-seeders which have popped up. Particularly my favourite is Mimulus, which I'd
50:22had as a little pot of bedding plants. And obviously the seeds had scattered. And I've got these little
50:27pockets of colour in just an inch of gravel. They've been flowering for weeks and completely out of the blue,
50:33just appeared.
50:43While I've been making this garden, we've uncovered some old cine footage of my great-grandfather.
50:48He lived in a small terraced house with a yard with his wife and eight children. He was a champion
50:55chrysanthemum grower. People came from stately homes to buy his chrysanthemums and his backyard was just
51:02filled with the most giant greenhouse. And he would spend hours out there with his pipe and his dog
51:08jip, just growing these incredible plants. So I think it's really lovely that my great-grandfather and
51:14I both had modest spaces, terraced houses with a yard. And he created this greenhouse full of colour.
51:22And I've done the same thing. I've created my own haven. So it's a nice link across the generations.
51:35Well, certainly a beautiful garden as a result of growing everything in containers. But I don't know,
51:55some people will be thinking, well, there's an awful lot of watering. But watering needn't be a problem.
52:00I remember visiting a man who had a wonderful roof garden. And he had no irrigation system. And I
52:06asked him why. And he said, because watering is my main interaction with the garden. I come home from
52:13work, I water for half an hour, I relax, I wind down and I enjoy my plants. And I've always remembered
52:20that. And actually, I realise that I like watering too. Now, this is the reason that I've moved the
52:32clematis, to make room for this yew ball, which is the last in a sequence that I've added over the
52:39last year to the cottage garden. And what it's doing is giving me winter structure. I actually haven't
52:46bought this specially. I did have it planted over in the corner where it's been for the last couple
52:52of years. But I want to move it so I can complete the symmetrical layout. Horticulturally, what I have
53:00to think about is that what the clematis really thrives on is plenty of moisture. But what you
53:06thrives on is really good drainage. It hates being waterlogged. So I am going to add some grit to the
53:14bottom. You cannot overdo the drainage for you. I'm going to tip all of this in. This is horticultural
53:21grit. So that goes in there like that. Mix it in. That guarantees that the roots won't sit in water.
53:35Now what I need to do is just line it up. Okay, let's move it over a little. I think that's good. So,
53:52the next thing to do is to check the level. I want to make sure that the top of the roots of the plant
54:00is above the soil level of the ground. Again, that's to do with drainage.
54:07Yep, that's fine.
54:10This is a very good time to move any evergreen. Really, between now and the end of April is the
54:16perfect moment because the soil is warming up. It hasn't started to grow, so it's not making demands
54:21on the roots. And like everything that you move, it'll grow very slowly in the first year. So don't
54:26worry about that. But then once it gets established, it'll take off.
54:38Firmish in.
54:42Next step is to give it a good drink.
54:51I'm really pleased about that because that completes a job that I've been wanting to get
54:58on with for ages. And now here are your jobs for the weekend.
55:14I think one of the most important jobs you can do at this time of year is to mulch any bare soil.
55:21Use an organic material and put it on at least an inch thick and preferably twice that,
55:27because the purpose of mulching is to have a thick enough layer to block light, suppress weed growth,
55:33to keep in moisture, to stop evaporation, and to enrich the soil's fertility and structure
55:39as it slowly is worked into the ground.
55:41This is not one of the most glamorous gardening jobs, but now is a really good time to tackle
55:54perennial weeds, especially those in your borders. Dig them out with a fork, getting as much root as
55:59possible. And then when you've gathered them up, if you've got a good composting system, they will compost.
56:06But if you're in doubt, bag them up and then take them to your local green waste.
56:11Although it's a bit early to be planting seed potatoes, because the ground is a bit cold,
56:23it's a good time to chip them. Now, chitting simply means exposing them to light,
56:29so that the sprouts can get really knobbly and firm, and then they will grow quicker once they're in the
56:36ground. Check them over, find a good sprout, put that in a seed tray or an egg box works perfectly
56:43well, and then put the container on a windowsill in full light, but make sure it's frost free.
56:48So when the ground does warm up, you can plant them and you'll get an even earlier harvest.
56:53One of the seasonal jobs for this time of year is cutting back all the grasses. This is something
57:17you can do any time for the middle of February, but it does want to be done before the new growth
57:21comes through, or at least as soon as you see new growth. So all the lovely old tawny-coloured
57:28stems that have looked so good over the winter, cut them back, and then they can be taken away and
57:34added to the compost heap, or you can chop them up and just leave them on the ground as mulch.
57:39However, that's only for deciduous grasses. Where you have evergreen grasses, and we've got a steeper here,
57:46just take out any loose material, any dead material like that, to freshen it up. I find using the
57:53fingers works perfectly well. But don't at this stage divide grasses or add new ones. The ground's too cold,
58:00and they really don't like sitting in cold ground. Wait until the ground warms up, which I think will be at
58:05least till mid-April, and maybe even mid-May. So be patient on that front. And of course the great
58:10thing about grasses are, when the new growth comes through in May and June, it looks fantastically fresh
58:17and vibrant. In high summer they're noble, and in autumn they are majestic. They do an awful lot of work
58:26for the garden. But no longer today, I'm afraid, because that's it. I will see you back here at Longmeadow
58:33next week at eight o'clock. So until then, bye-bye.
59:03Bye-bye.