Rhs Chelsea Flower Show 2015 - Episode 02.

[Music] [Applause] [Music] hello and welcome welcome to the rhs Chelsea flower show here at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea we're rolling out the red carpet to greet vip's royalty and the press as they arrive there's a very British feel to this event here today no less than her majesty the queen is Paton of the rhs and has been attending this flower show since the very beginning of her 63 year a so soon she'll be joining along with the Royal Entourage enjoying this floral Extravaganza and of months of hard graph the designers and grows exhibiting here have had to lay aside their tools the rhs Chelsea flower show an event supported by m Investments is now well and truly underway now James one it's great to have you here but two you're no stranger to Chelsea are you you've designed Gardens You've Won gold medals here absolutely I feel like in totally different capacity today I'm not covered in mud I'm not freaking out about a medal it's great to actually be here and enjoy the show well that's the word isn't it enjoy the show because you look very relaxed there's no stress on those shoulders yeah I'm getting there I'm getting there but the desire and exhibitors they're going to be going through it now aren't they and I'll be able to give you the inside track of exactly what they're thinking minute by minute I know everyone here I know every security guards a name on every corner they've got me out of scrapes here before if you need to know anything I'm here for you excellent well to add to the mix of God and glitter an there are plenty of Showbiz types out in force enjoying press day and getting a sneak preview of what this show has to offer so I've already seen a couple of famous faces dotted through the crowd I was actually in the queue behind Sir Paul Smith the fashion designer which I am so excited about he must have been early he was early he like we literally the first people in here he's totally passionate and actually he's um Ching to Monty I believe this evening on BBC 2 so we'll catch up that so throughout the day we'll be catching up with them and find out what they think of this year's show now one of the busiest thorough fares at Chelsea is here on Main Avenue on either side are the 15 large show gardens taking center stage at this event he's garden designs range from elaborate retreats to striking EXO I destinations I tell you what this year the bar is set perilously High it has very high and again we've been lucky and fortunate to have a couple of days to WAND around the whole of the show gardens but the large Gardens here anything that's caught your eye to me it's got to be the diversity I mean you walk down here you've got Australia you've got lutu you've got Singapore all jostling for attention it's like the whole world of horticulture in one place without the pains are good really strong the first impression is as you walk along each Garden seems to LEAP out at you any trends that you've spotted see I'm a little bit skeptical about Chelsea Trends but what I've seen this year is a lot of fresh planting uh a couple of curvs some very naturalistic looking stuff there isn't this very rigid extremely polished formal look that's going across the gardens that's happened in previous years I like that a bit of originality a bit of difference and the color palette doesn't seem to be one dominant color being used this year it seems to be across the board difference fun originality that's what it's all about one of the most talked about Gardens here is the perfume is gardening grass designed by James basson and it really is incredible James isn't it based in provance the sun's even come out for us absolutely beautiful niy I think it's a rare opportunity you should enjoy it while it's still shining I'll do that right on Q right on Q well one of the things I think is incredible about this Garden is every designer on Main Avenue is not only going for a feeling of aesthetic they're trying to create an atmosphere that kind of undecipherable mood that you notice as soon as you walk into it you feel like you've been transported to another world and the way you do that is a forensic level of detail and I don't use that word lightly this is a garden that has supposedly been a perfumer garden that's abandoned so we have beautiful roses and a lot of traditional scentered plants but we have weed species have drifted in and invaded it and that means the designers have had to grow weeds at multiple stages of growth to mimic how they would naturally grow in that environment incredibly difficult to do but you really notice it at bags one of my favorite Gardens at the show even the bees are loving it whether or not you favor a traditional or contemporary style of garden there really is something for everyone this is the homebased Urban Retreat garden and I'm joined delighted to say by Adam Frost who designed it hello you've been very kind today letting me shelter under here rain it's horrible isn't it but in all seriousness it is a beautiful Urban Retreat bless you thank you I mean that's that's that what it's all about really that underlying story of that you know Greening those gray spaces and and dragging Wildlife from into the gods and hopefully putting a smile on your face really it certainly does even on a gray day like today because we don't all have the luxury of living in the countryside you know we often have to sit live in cities and towns all you do see is gray you do and to be fair you don't need that much on here there's little containers planted with Wild Flour you know and when the sun comes out the butterflies will come the bees will come you don't need that much to change that environment you live in you know and if we all did a little bit you know it will change our lives a little bit it just makes you smile doesn't it it certainly does and you thought of that with all your planting encouraging the wildlife exactly though there's a wonderful sort of color scheme you know that works with the materials the plants are really simple there's geraniums there's arises you know there's GMS there's Fox gloves so it's all plants that hopefully people will recognize simple collection of plants that hopefully just draws a wildlife in Adam thank you it is a joy to the eye and the senses bless thank you now we'll be getting a flavor of how the press and judges are assessing these Gardens shortly will be wishing you luck six gold medals onto your belt another sleepless night fingers crossed for tomorrow now there is so much more to Chelsea than just Gardens the great Pavilion houses over a 100 exhibits it's crawling with plant and gardening experts amongst them one of our regular Chelsea Champions Christine wton and James has been catching up with her to find out more Christine I'm lucky enough to design at Chelsea but for me if you want fullon plant geeker when it just doesn't get better than the great Pavilion you've got experts from all over the world some of which will only know one genus but they'll know everything about it I mean combined H cultural knowledge it doesn't get any better it doesn't because you got the best of the best of the best of the world here and every year you come to Chelsea and it's so exciting in here because Perfection but there's some missing gardening that I want to bust this week because there are certain stories that go along should you actually move things like panies should you actually plant irises up or down should you water drought to an plants there's all this Mystique this mystery that frightens people to death particularly when they first started so I want to try and set the record straight and ensure that gardeners aren't frightened by the very things they love that's a fascinating thing I think it's so important because I think for newbies you can be paralyzed by fear like it's Horticultural Tim taes you've got to memorize hundreds and hundreds of rules and when a rule or something it suggests that if you break it all hell's going to break it no that's that that's venturous that's actually moving that knowledge forward and the plant hasn't read the book just remember that never ever so I would say in gardening there are no mistakes there are only experiments exactly no such thing as rules they're just tips and tricks absolutely So Christine is going to set the record straight on a number of gardening mapers so let's explore the first of those [Music] Ms now there reach the story that under planting your roses disease makes them grow better and smell [Music] Beautiful so Michael you've been growing roses for over 30 years do you believe that underplanted them with things like aliens actually make them grow better or even smell better I don't know about smelling better it's probably a bit of a pong from the chives really but what it does do is attract in the beneficial insects to help control the aphids and things like that so any plants actually are great but aliums are good because they do smell they do smell quite strongly and that helps to distract apids from attacking the roses and is it just aliens that work or can you use other things anything basically that has flowers on it the great thing is to plant a great mixture that's always a secret in any Garden is not having monocultures I always like anything with blue flowers because of course there's no true blue roses anything not too suckish not too invasive is brilliant and looks really really nice it softens up the roses and it say helps with attracting the beneficial insects so you believe that underplanting will not only make the roses look better but actually has much to the Garden absolutely and what beautiful plants roses are aren [Music] they so how many of you have heard the story that you can't move these beauties [Music] such Exquisite plants Dave but what do you believe about the myth that you can move them or you can't move them well it is a myth because peeing is very easy to move but the important thing is to do it in the Autumn because that is the time of the year when the roots are active so they'll flower that following year they will providing you you don't plant them too deeply and and the buds are just below the saw surface they would hardly even notice they've moved and they'll flow the next year so Autumn's the key absolutely great [Music] and then there's always the story that these things Irish rise arms should be planted on top of the surface of the soil and the real answer to that is both yes and no because it depends on the soil type here at chelsy the plants are covered with mulsh for athetic purposes only if you do this in the garden you'll ruin your irises on a heavy soil the rise needs to be exposed to the Sun so it can ripen the wood and ensure it flowers properly on the sandy soil however if you plant it like that it's likely to blow over so you plant it slightly deeper so that the ryome is only just showing however the wind can be an issue and we can get over that problem by simply chopping the [Music] foliage now if you are after something a little bit more exotic it doesn't get any better than the Jack Aran stand I come here every year to drool over their exotic plants they look so resolutely tropical you'd have no idea that literally everything behind me can be grown perfectly well even in the coldest UK winter for me my real find here are the aracas the Cobra lies that are dotted through the garden their flowers really I guess blur the boundary between plant and animal they kind of look slightly reptilian almost like a dinosaur from Jurassic Park and in a very weird way just like the dinosaurs in the film they can change sex they all start life as male only able to produce pollen and then when they get a little bit bigger and they can support the energy demand of creating seeds they swap to becoming female and they can swap back again to becoming male and flip and flop between those for up to 20 years now also joining us this week a plantsman garden designer and allaround nice guy Toby Buckland and he's been taking a look at the small gardens in the M down and fresh [Music] categories in the dapple shade of Sarah E's Garden there's no doubt about it the focal point is this Willow seat created by artist Tom hair and as beautiful as it is it's not the only clever bit cu the planting is genius what Sarah's done here is adhere to the three rules of planting up semi shade [Music] use different shapes and shades of green to create a tapestry of foliage that will look good for most of the Year there are low lights from dark aqueles and dark primulas that kind of draw the eye in from above but most importantly she sprinkled the garden liberally with white flowers now white in full sun can wash out and look insipid but here in the dappled light it pops it it really glows whether that's from the Solomon seal the cranes build uranium the gloss whiten enemies or the sweet wood Ruff a weed that's colonizing underneath the seat so yes while this sculptural seat is a a stellar feature every Star needs an audience and the planting The Cottage Garden perennials in this Garden certainly provide a colorful one [Music] [Music] in contrast to Sarah Howard Miller has used a plant as the centerpiece in his design dark matter and you've guessed it it's a bamboo Pho stack its viac now it's a big and it can grow as tall as your house and in moist soil the cols that's the technical name for the stems get as thick as your arm just a beautiful thing but this is by no means the only architectural plant he's used there's ornamental rhubarb and Jagged Edge ligularia both good plants of moist soil and my favorite Cyprus involucratus if ever you've wondered what Papyrus looks like growing along the banks of the River Nile that's a minii version what a handsome thing it is but the planting here is mostly about movement whether that's the grassy tops of the dish Shia the nodding heads of the chives the amanth the black bamboo all the grasses have been designed to move with the breeze as if compelled by some invisible force that is what's moved these iron bars Dark Matter forces we can't see bending them like light in space when you look at it from a distance actually looks like a musical score with the plants making crotchets and Quavers what a tune they make while some of us might aspire to garden such as this the time in between garden designed by Charlie albone the fact of the matter is that most of us have to make do with what we've got but there are small ways in which you can use plants and design ideas to revamp your own space at home now all this week Rachel Tain will be bringing you her Chelsea takeaway she'll be scaring the show ground and picking out some inspiring ideas that you can use in your own Gardens at home here she is showing how you can get creative with boundaries in your [Music] garden good fences make good neighbors so the saying goes well I don't know about that but certainly the type of boundary you choose for your garden will set the tone for the whole thing [Music] this Garden has these wonderful woven hurdle panels and probably one of the most ancient types of fencing in fact and they're beautiful they're very tactile they really set the tone of the garden they're reasonably hardwar and you get a good few years out of them and infinitely variable so you can have whatever spread and height you need even very low ones I think it's absolutely beautiful in this setting I wouldn't use them in in an inner city garden but uh here they're absolutely [Music] stunning now this I would do in a contemporary space and remember when you inherit a new Garden you don't have to stick with what you've already got you can change it and I love this modern take on traditional fencing particularly because the Western red seedar boards are laid horizontally so you get this lovely long line and then that's picked up as well in these buttresses which are made of sandstone and they're laid as drystone Walling so you've got lovely little planting Pockets but these also serve a purpose because you can then join behind them those fencing panels so the whole effect is absolutely seamless I'd love this in my own garden [Music] once you've got your boundaries in place and you've set the scene the next step is to decide whether you want to clothe them with plants and climbers like this clematis are an obvious and very beautiful choice but there are also other [Music] options I just look at this here the boundaries are all about plants not only around the perimeter but here used like room dividers in the middle of the garden and these fantastic green Walls I mean they evest with plants things like ferns we've got the Mosses here we've got zad desia arm Maria and you can get all sorts of systems now different planting pockets and ways that you can put the plants in and depending on whether you've got a shady wall or a sunny wall you can choose the plants that will suit it I think they're Absol absolutely beautiful very very tactile as [Music] well and just look at this here they've even used water as the boundary they're making the most of all that movement and the play of light so be bold and make your boundaries [Music] beautiful we'll be seeing more of Rachel across the week but she's not the only Chelsea regular here back with us and mingling with the VIPs on this press day is our very own Andy [Music] sturgeon I've been coming to Chelsea for many many years both as an exhibitor and as a visitor and it never ceases to amaze me just how many VIPs and celebrities visit here every year come rain or shine [Music] Brenda is this your first time at Chelsea flow show yeah it's just so lovely and what do you think is so special about this place I mean it's renowned throughout the world people come from all over to celebrate this show and um I'm amazed I've not been here before now I I know you two have both been coming here for years haven't you we have yes how many years is it now well since the early 1760s I think we were coming before it was even invented for me I think the the the thing about Chelsea is that this is the closest thing that we have in this country to uh an internationally uh important design [Music] Forum Les I think in that frock you're the brightest thing I've seen here today I know and it's raining so I thought I'd better add a little bit of color fantastic have you come here for any particular inspiration this year uh well yeah I've sort of come to look at garden furniture I mean I love the flowers don't get me wrong I do love my flowers and I love everything else and gar I wouldn't have put those two together necessarily you're just trying to escape the rain I am trying to escape the rain although actually cuz I live in LA a lot of the time it's actually quite nice nice to see a bit of rain I quite like [Music] it no matter how long you spent here no matter how often you came if you came every day that the chelif flage is on you'd still miss something so it's there's a great sense of urgency and excitement but at the same time a sense of peace and thrill I love it do you love it I love it so there we have it it's not just the flowers that are stepping out in Star today the celebs are too and despite the weather it just goes to show that as always Chelsea flower show is a key date on London's social calendar we'll be seeing more of our celebrity visitors later but what are the exhibitors and designers in for next one man who knows all about rhs judging is James Alexandra Sinclair who joins me now because James this is a day where we get to see the gardens for the very first time everyone's enjoying them but there's serious matters at hand aren't they Monday is judging day there is a lot of work and we started about half 6 this morning early yeah early early and we l looked at the weather and thought oh dear it's going to be a wet one but judging must go on no matter what the weather is so so we've been going I've been judging The Big Show Gardens today uh so we going around the team and we finish that at about half 12 so how does the judging actually happen because there's so much to get through there are different teams different panels going around yeah we have one panel for the Big Show Gardens and then one panel that does the fresh and Artisan Gardens and then in the Pavilion there are loads of them scurrying around like rabbits because obviously it must be very difficult to judge an exhibit in the great Pavilion than a show Garden different demands different standards of perfection different ideas it's I I would I would be slightly sunk judging exhibits in in the great Pavilion because it is so detailed and it's all about the actual particular plant itself whereas in gardens which I sort of feel relatively at home in I know what I'm looking for so it's it's it's a it's a different skill it's a different discipline there's also a lot of pollen today as well isn't there in the large show gardens they're not competing against each other are they no uh we can give out as many gold medals as we want you're basic you are competing against the criteria that we set and those are exactly the same for each Garden so so I we could have loads and loads of gold medals or none at all but usually it works out you know we have a good balance so when they actually put a narrative in for the large show gardens the artisan and the fresh that's what they're judged on it's not their neighbor no no it's it's what they say what it to simplify it it's basically have you done what you said You' do so when you initially apply for a garden which is way back in September last year you say this is what my Garden's going to be about this is what it's going to have in it these are the plants I'm going to use and this is the plan of what it's going to look so we're judging on whether you have a achieved what you said you were going to achieve but if I come up with a narrative of a garden surely the way I interpret it is going to be different from you and perhaps the other five judges standing next to you oh well it's entirely up to you to make sure that we understand so so so you you you write a brief and you have two minutes to explain during there's an assessing process which happened yesterday when we do a sort of prejudging and you then have two minutes and we come to you and say right Nikki is there anything in here that you want to tell us so you can explain any sort of bits and and little bits that might be a little a bit difficult to understand so you make sure that the judges all know exactly where you're coming from and remind us of the medals that are at stake well there's the gold medal and then there's a silver guilt and a silver and a bronze and so so so it it works we can to get a gold medal at Chelsea is really quite an achievement to get a silver medal at Chelsea is pretty good as well so so we are basically looking at the Crim DEA CRM of garden design here so any medal at Chelsea is brilliant you get a gold Bal you will be happy for the rest of your life this is what they're all going for aren they throughout the site well we're going to be back very very early tomorrow morning it is medals day I don't think we're going to be late are we absolutely not there's going to be a lot of exhibitors and designers that won't be sleeping tonight we wish them the best of luck so those designers and exhibitors will arrive at the showground tomorrow morning to find out what medals they've been awarded and Nikki and I will be up bright and early to give the reaction to those results which we'll bring to you tomorrow and across the week right now I'm in the healthy City's Garden designed by Chris beardshaw we'll find out if his efforts have paid off tomorrow he has created an extraordinary Garden hasn't he James and what I love is popular in East London it's quite congested it's quite built up so the residents and the community are going to enjoy this Garden after Chelsea has finished he's really created an ey popping explosion of color total crowd pleaser and in the middle of very gray industrial e Lon this will really shine out yeah let's hope he does well tomorrow but whatever the judges make of this Garden we're offering you the chance to vote for your favorite large show Garden in the BBC rhs People's Choice Award every day this week Tony barland and amarie pal will be guiding you through five of the different Gardens over on the red button you'll also be able to see clips of those Gardens on our website the first five Gardens will'll be profiling at the Morgan Stanley healthy cities Garden by Chris beardshaw the m&g garden 20 15 The Retreat designed by Joe Thompson a perfumer garden in Grass designed by James basson the living Legacy Garden by Darwin Property Management investment designed by Andrew Wilson and Gavin mcam and the center barley hope and vulnerability Garden designed by Matt keatley so you can start voting from 1: p.m. on Thursday of course Chelsea has the highest standard of Gardens and if you think your garden is worthy of a gold medal then we'd love to see it post your pictures to # BBC team my Chelsea with your name and where you live so far we've received some absolute crackers shall I start absolutely let's go through how about this one Ken Harley's Garden in torth Staffordshire now I understand pots cuz I don't have the biggest garden in the world I think he's done a marvelous job here real variety isn't there I think a lot of people can relate to that and the good thing is the size and composition of pots means he's not going to be out there Wasing every 15 minutes you know a lot of people have lots of tiny ones but go for you know a big bold statement with that some SC sculpure in as well it's a proper Garden just in pots if you can't grow anything in a pot what's the cace one oh the the easiest one I would go for is something like an artichoke huge architectural leaves likes a lot of good drainage works wonderfully in a pot even in a small space lovely what have you got there oh gosh what have I got our garden in Bren be is near Burton on Trent and this is by Penelope and eley Emily aged 12 and seven now I love this Garden because look all the way through it's like a fairy Glenn and you can see the swings in the other they've got their penes act religious is that a Red Robin it absolutely is a red robin these are some Horticultural prodigies here this Garden is proper full-on romantic and Coty not TW at all I want to run on play those swings right now now what about this one James Gordon describes himself as a gardener trapped inside an accountant's body peckam in southeast London that's marvelous isn't it good look you can absolutely tell he's an accountant as well that is super organized there is not a blade of grass out of place he's not a brain surgeon but you know what these Gardens are all so different especially ones with the pots but they all have their merits don't they and it really does show I think your personality and you don't have to have acres and Acres of rambling hedge RS to be able to produce a beautiful garden that's what they all show I love these keep sending them in won't you we'll see you tomorrow when we'll be hot on the heels of those medals absolutely very exciting and you can catch up for more coverage from the show with Sophie rayworth and Joe Swift on BBC One tonight at 7:30 bye-bye goodbye [Music] Shane Richie and his golden war of cash