- 5/21/2025
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome back to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, an event supported by the
00:21Newt in Somerset.
00:22Now it might be raining outside but that isn't stopping us as we still have loads of tips
00:27and tricks for you to try at home as today our team of gardening experts help you make
00:34the most of your budget and that is music to my ears because there's so much magic here
00:40it is the best of the best.
00:41You want to have a great garden but not spend too much.
00:44Exactly we want to recreate it on our own budget don't we.
00:47Well yesterday was a big day because the RHS handed out their medals and today it's time
00:51to hand over the power to you as we launch the BBC RHS People's Choice Award.
00:57It's your chance to vote for your favourite large show garden over the next hour the team
01:02will be guiding you through all six of this year's contenders.
01:06Well let's get cracking coming up Chris has been on the hunt to find the clever design
01:10hacks that can save you some cash.
01:13I've learned a few tips of the trade including how to save something destined for the recycling
01:19centre and turning it into a Chelsea showstopper.
01:24And I'll be catching up with keen gardener and West End star Leighton Williams about
01:29the ideas here at Chelsea he wants to take home for his courtyard garden.
01:34Plus Carol has tips to get a beautiful border on a budget.
01:38I'll show you the flowers you can grow from seed that'll keep on giving year after year.
01:45And does unwinding in a bath after a long day sound dreamy well I'm learning how to
01:50use your favourite flowers to create scented wax melts and bath salts to help you create
01:55an affordable spa experience at home.
01:59Oh good news it's not raining so I've run out quickly fingers crossed it remains that
02:04way.
02:05Now we have so much advice for you on the show with our focus today on how to create
02:10a beautiful space on a budget.
02:12Toby has joined me on the garden of the future we love this garden don't we.
02:17It has been designed by Josh Parker and Matthew Butler and focuses on the challenges of the
02:22extreme weather we now face as gardeners.
02:25It's got such an important message this you know that old adage give a man a fish you
02:29feed him for a meal teach him how to fish you feed him for life well that in essence
02:33is what this garden is about and so many of the techniques so many of the ways that plants
02:36are grown are gardening on a budget but also a budget that's economical to the planet.
02:41That's what we all want to hear I mean talking of rain and I did get soaked earlier on it
02:46seems to be boom or bust we either have rain for weeks and weeks or we don't have any.
02:52Well yeah this is it and I think one of the principal messages from this garden is collect
02:55what falls from the sky.
02:57Rainwater obviously is free I mean when you pay a water bill you realise the true price
03:01of the old H2O don't you incredible how expensive it can be but you know plants like rainwater
03:07more than what comes from the tap it's full of nutrients a water but so many people don't
03:11have them and that's a nice small one isn't it yeah in nurseries you call that a dip trough
03:16you get a washing can hold it by the handle and then tip it up so that you just got the
03:20spout drop that into the water catch hold of the handle and you water without bending
03:24over you know I mean collect it's very easy and also all the insects all the bugs like
03:28it as well good for the wildlife well it's nature's way all those bugs are food for the
03:32plants I'm looking as we're walking along trying to be careful because you know there's
03:37lettuces here along with the flowers I don't want to tread on anything but is that a good
03:41idea to have planting together well it breaks away from the idea of monocultures having
03:45just a big patch of beans that can be attacked by a single aphid or enjoys that mix up your
03:51plants it makes them grow much better and sometimes they help each other the beans growing
03:55on these supports which are made from sticks gathered from this very garden they fix nitrogen
04:00from the air turn it into food for other plants and their neighbors so they're feeding the
04:05soil without you spending any money on fertilizers and also no effort no they also shade the
04:10plants below so you need less water this is nice yeah and because you've got plants growing
04:14cheek to jowl with some flowers mixed in those flowers are drawing in beneficial insects
04:20that will eat aphids that would normally be eating your plants again not only you're getting
04:23rid of the chemicals for feeding the soil you're getting rid of the chemicals that are
04:27the pesticides what about companion planting that you hear about so much yeah yeah well
04:32a lot of plants help each other providing shade for the soil providing cover for other
04:38seedlings to come up and some of them just nurture their neighbors they just in feeding
04:43the soil providing moisture with the roots and encouraging life in the soil and that
04:47just gives your whole garden a boost it does i'm absolutely loving it sun has come out
04:51it's showing it off at its finest isn't it toby thank you very much indeed now to help
04:58you create an affordable garden that still packs a punch sue is over in the great pavilion
05:04with hero plants that will give you the most bang for your buck
05:13it may seem daunting planning a new border one trip to the garden center and costs mount
05:18up but with careful plant selection and some simple gardening technique one plant can turn
05:24into many filling your borders saving you money and giving you a deep sense of satisfaction
05:30a good place to start are self seeders these are plants that flower and then drop their
05:40seed around them naturally filling up the border and one of these are fox gloves these
05:47are biennials that means they make leaves in the first year and flowers in the second
05:52year and what flowers they are magnificent spires and the bees can't resist them once
06:01the bees have pollinated them each flower will contain about a hundred seeds so there
06:06could be thousands on one stem and you can let them scatter around where the plant is
06:10or you can take the stem down and move it elsewhere in the garden and give it a shake
06:14and you'll get fox gloves there another way to get loads more plants is by division and
06:24geraniums really suit this this lovely white one here you dig up in the spring or the autumn
06:30you chop the leaves back and you separate it either by strong hands or a spade and then
06:35plant the separate plants throughout the border in a couple of years you can do that
06:39again and gradually you'll get the same plant running through the border which will look
06:44really considered with other plants you don't even need to worry about division you can
06:53just take cuttings for example from this lovely chamomile which I've got at home I simply
06:59look for a non-flowering branch and cut it just below a leaf node then I pop it into
07:05the soil wherever I want it and in a couple of weeks it's taken root it really is that
07:11simple finally there are plants that are brought into you delivered on the wind or brought
07:21in by animals some people call them weeds and others call them wildflowers starting
07:28with annuals the seed sown it makes a flower it sets more seeds all in one year we've got
07:34corn marigolds poppies corn flowers with a startling pop of color into the border
07:40and finally the humble red clover it's a great ground cover plant and a magnet for bees and
07:49will help suppress other weeds that might not be great for your plants so before you
07:56get your weeding fork out have a think ask yourself is this plant working for me can
08:02we together build a beautiful border that won't break the bank thanks Sue and it's not just
08:11planting where you can save a bit of money upcycling something from around the home or
08:15even the local recycling center can give you a garden with a high-end finish as Chris has
08:20been to find out recycling and repurposing is not only great for your pocket but great for
08:28the planet too so if you're looking for some upscaling inspiration where better than right
08:34here at Chelsea and look at this for a great example of upcycling or repurposing the designer
08:43has taken old Chelsea pensioner uniforms and turned them into covers for the scatter cushions
08:50you could do with a much-loved jacket or old pair of jeans not only you saving money reducing waste
08:56but it's got a story and a sentimental value as well brilliant and how about this for giving
09:07something old a new lease of life this beautiful wall behind me has been made entirely from
09:14bricks that are over 300 years old just showing us that just because something's old doesn't mean
09:20to say it can't still have a purpose another great way this designer has made the most of
09:27the materials they have is this beautiful pathway made entirely from offcuts from the paving slabs
09:33just over there now you don't need to do a whole pathway you could just create beautiful edging
09:39around the borders or a separate little paving area but just use what you've got look at this
09:47wonderful waterfall behind me it's been made entirely from reclaimed stone and slate from a
09:54church bridge an old house in Devon the wood for the path has been taken from an old disused railway
10:02track and I really love the raised beds made from old logs which is not only perfect for your wallet
10:08but also great for wildlife as well I'm here with Ashley and there's a really interesting story behind
10:19these tiles actually tell me how have you made these so the tiles are made from discarded shells
10:25from a local restaurant we process them to create our own lime so instead of using concrete and
10:30that's the basis of the tile and that's how we got this effect and we've used them throughout
10:36the floor so this is made just from discarded shells yes sea shells and some sand and that is
10:43it so really sustainable and we also took the shell powder and used it in the glazing in our
10:50pots as well and that's what brings out the kind of bluey green hues and creates that watery effect
10:56we throw away so many shells each year from the kind of the restaurant industry and I just wanted
11:01to look at ways we could start to reuse them in the garden so it saves you money saves you water
11:08and reduces pest damage and looks good I mean what a great idea
11:12and just goes to show you can repurpose almost anything
11:22thanks for that Chris some great recycling tips which I sometimes use myself
11:26and will also help you save the cash now to unwind after a busy day I love nothing more than
11:32lighting a candle and having a bath and today I'm in heaven as I'm learning how to use my
11:37favorite flowers from the garden to create a home spa experience that won't cost the earth
11:42and telling me how is Tara Carlisle-Swift who is an exhibitor here at Chelsea
11:47hi Tara thank you so much for having me you don't know how excited I am about this and me too
11:52because this is something I buy but if I know how to make it yeah it's saving money yeah and
11:57that's what we're going to do we're going to learn how to turn wax melts that we've already bought
12:01and used we're going to learn how to turn them into new wax melts and to make lovely gifts for
12:05friend and family or to send our own home fantastic so when you use a wax melt you're left with a disc
12:11of wax that is useless afterwards so we're going to learn how to melt this down and add some
12:16fragrance and some botanicals and turn it into beautiful wax melts for ourselves brilliant and
12:22again we're using old bits and bobs around the house 100% it's so important to reuse and recycle
12:28okay so you can also use the bottom bits of candles that you've got here absolutely so you
12:33can scrape out old candle jars soya wax which is what we're using today is super soft so simply
12:38with a spoon you can scrape the wax out tip it into a double boiler and you can use your old
12:43discs that we've saved into some old jam jars you can reuse all this wax instead of putting it in
12:48the bin or in the recycling we can reuse it and make things it's brilliant superb so we've melted
12:53some down already haven't we yeah so we've already melted some of our discs into here
12:58into liquid wax okay and we're going to find your favorite scent and add some botanicals
13:02to it and again when you're using steam and hot wax it's always good to be careful isn't it is
13:08you must be super careful if you've used paraffin wax melts they can get quite hot so be super
13:12careful we're using soya today which burns at a much lower temperature so it won't hurt you if
13:17you spill it on yourself so we're going to pour the wax that we've already melted it only takes a
13:22minute or two to melt the wax down and then we're going to pour it into our jug would you pop the
13:27jug there for me please thank you so much thank you tip that in so we're going to tip that into
13:32our jug until we've got about 100 ml of wax there we go and then we're going to add some essential
13:40oils now we want you to just use essential oils you've got around the house whichever are your
13:44favorite now we were chatting and i know you love lavender don't you she used it everywhere
13:51and it's so calming it gives a lovely spa-like relaxing experience at home lavender so it is a
13:56perfect one and most of us have it around because the whole point of this is to use stuff we've got
14:00in the kitchen cupboards so would you like to add some lavender oil that one there yeah so if you'd
14:06like to add about 10 drops into 100 ml of wax okay thank you count one two three four five yeah
14:14that's about 10 perfect and we're going to give it a good stir then we're going to pour it into
14:20our moulds now we're using silicone ice cube trays you can use those as well so we're going
14:26to simply pour them in with a nice steady hand doing my best here it's quite tricky isn't it
14:32you have to concentrate let's talk about the flowers so these flowers are flowers that we've
14:36deadheaded throughout the season you don't need to go out and buy anything you can use stuff from
14:41your own garden so we've simply got some sweet pea petals we've got some lavender that we've
14:47cut back at the end of the season and you're gonna save them into empty jam jars that you've washed
14:52out throughout the year and save them ready to do these crafts it's a perfect way of reusing and
14:57recycling in the garden we've also got some spray roses that have dried and they dry beautifully
15:05i think these are going to look fantastic okay we'll be back a little bit later to see the
15:09finished result and tara will also be showing us how to make a floral bath fizz with just a few
15:14simple ingredients oh angelica i can see the concentration you were really getting into that
15:21now it's nearly time to open the vote for the bbc rhs people's choice award as you at home
15:27get to be the judges and choose your favorite large show garden before we tell you how you
15:33can vote toby and francis are here to guide you through all the large show gardens in contention
15:39here they are with the first three
15:41the glass house is a garden that highlights the transformative effect of horticulture
15:51a sensory and immersive space centered around an elliptical and translucent pavilion the
15:58planting palette consists of deep reds muted pinks and purples and rainwater is captured from the
16:03pavilion roof and feeds into a real and a series of pools there's minimal hard landscaping in this
16:10garden but the stone that's here is made from reclaimed repurposed or waste off cuts from
16:16british quarries and the pavilion itself is constructed from recycled and colored acrylic
16:22on pivoting screens 75 of this garden is given over to planting with structure coming in the
16:30form of trees and copper beach domes grasses and ferns give texture and flowers provide color
16:38scent and something for the wildlife
16:45the hospice uk garden has been inspired by the designer's plant hunting trips to the
16:50mountainous regions of the mediterranean it's designed as a hospice garden for patients their
16:57families and staff it has fully accessible pathways that lead their way through communal
17:04to more secluded areas textured rendered walls and large boulders mimic the mediterranean
17:12and a series of steam bent oat benches curve their way through the garden
17:19tonally the planting is a mixture of silvers and olive greens with brighter flowers like
17:25poppies woven through there are roses for scent figs for fruit and the crowns of the
17:31trees are being lifted so users of the garden can get up close and touch the bark
17:36for another sensory experience
17:45the hospital field arts garden takes its inspiration from a contemporary art centre on
17:50the east coast of scotland it's an abstract and sculptural representation of a coastal landscape
17:56with wind-blown sand shapes and resilient coastal planting the bothy that's the building
18:02at the back provides a space for artists to take inspiration from the garden the dunes
18:08are deliberately designed to evoke the ribs of old timber boats their color echoes the steel
18:16on the boundary and the rusty face of the bothy the soft landscaping is a showcase for coastal
18:24plants with the emphasis on foliage and texture conifers provide height and on top of the sand
18:32dunes are drought lovers like californian poppies and centranthus while moisture loving plants
18:38poke through the sand by the pool in the dunes that's the first three gardens on main avenue
18:45there's still another three large show gardens to see coming up a little later but first i brought
18:52you into the great pavilion to tap into the expert knowledge from one of the growers in here today
18:58we're getting tips to grow your best ever peonies from alec white at primrose hall peonies well
19:04first of all alec i've got to say congratulations on the gold medal thank you you must be thrilled
19:09but looking at this beautiful display the first thing it says to me is i want to grow peonies
19:14like this in my garden how easy are they to grow well that's the great thing about peonies nicky
19:20they are so easy to grow perfect for beginners the first thing is to buy a well-established mature
19:25plant first of all secondly is to plant it at the correct depth thirdly in full sun if you can they
19:31will take part shade but in the main full sun is best and to make sure that you have free draining
19:36soil any soil will do doesn't really matter as long as it's free draining and you can grow them
19:40throughout the uk across the uk up in scotland down in cornwall they're perfectly happy over here
19:46and what about the varieties there's so many different ones here are there particular ones
19:51that are easier to grow perhaps for beginners like me they're all very easy and that's part
19:56of their real charm so you can choose and what time of year should you plant them because obviously
20:01everybody wants the flowers don't they is there a particular time if you're buying containerized
20:06plants you can plant them at any time of the year if you're buying bare root then you do need to buy
20:10them in the autumn time rather than we've had so many questions about peonies ali can i pick your
20:16brains lynn hopkins says i've had a peony for five years and it's had loads of flowers but this year
20:22i've only got one bud opening what's gone wrong with it that's a really interesting question if
20:27your peony has flowered in the past but now it's not flowering that's probably down to one or two
20:32things the first thing is sunlight they do like lots of sunlight to flower they last a long time
20:39maybe 70 80 years they live for decades really and in that time the plants around them will
20:43grow up and create shade so you might have to cut some bushes back but if it's got plenty of
20:48light it will flower really well the other thing that might cause it to stop flowering is if you
20:52bury it now if you're a really diligent gardener and you're mulching your borders you're probably
20:57burying it and it's really important that peonies are planted very shallow just like here right on
21:05the surface so that the root doesn't want to be any more than about an inch below the surface
21:09otherwise it will never flower so if you mulch your borders be careful because you will bury
21:13be careful with your borders abby do you want to come in and join us you've got a question haven't
21:17you you love your peonies i love peonies and i've just got my first garden which is a basement space
21:23so very limited on light and i just wondered is there any options for me well i'm assuming you're
21:28going to put your peony in a big pot yes great they prefer to be in the ground but they will
21:32live in a big pot you're going to have to look after it a bit more water it feed it etc
21:36they do like lots of lights so depending on your light levels you might struggle but there are some
21:40varieties that will tolerate more shade than others one of them is claire de lune another
21:45one could be something like white wings now white wings is a favorite of mine it's really really big
21:50big white single flowers big yellow center the bees love it it's beautifully fragrant
21:55i think that's the one i'd go for fantastic news thank you worth coming today wasn't it
22:00thank you thanks very much alec again congratulations thank you for letting us join
22:05you today thank you i've come to dibbley's exhibit to get some advice about houseplants
22:11and i'm joined by paul thanks for being here now you specialize in having houseplants without
22:17compromising on color indoors isn't that right absolutely i mean i think there's been so many
22:22plants around over the years just greenhouse plants and i think it's now time to be growing
22:26all those really vibrant color colorful house plants like streptocarpus especially it's all
22:31about being bold and bright with color here at chelsea this year yeah exactly and i think that's
22:36really important it's great for you and it feels really good to have those colorful plants around
22:40you in the house so what specific plants do you specialize in so we grow streptocarpus so it's
22:47the same family as the st paulia it's a really easy house plant we grow begonias the foliage
22:51begonias so again even though they're prone for the foliage they have lots and lots of color
22:56vibrant colors in in the leaves as well so that's kind of kind of what we specialize in because
23:00these look great and what i love is that you can still have this vibrant display inside because it
23:06can be quite daunting that's why i like the green ones you like they're easy inside exactly as long
23:10as you don't over water and that's always the important thing and they're really easy to look
23:14after and they last year after year so they're really good value so people we have customers
23:18today oh i've got still got my planter bought off you 50 years ago which is not great for us
23:22necessarily but they keep on buying more plants but so it's really good actually and it's what
23:26you mentioned value there how can we get value for money when it comes to house plants well house
23:30plants a lot of these plants that we grow are really easy to take leaf cuttings from as well
23:35so you just take a leaf cutting and you'll get more and more plants just from that first plant
23:38you had okay so you don't need to have specialist knowledge it can still be manageable yep exactly
23:43are there any gadgets that we can use to help us yeah i mean self-watering is one thing we can
23:49think about because it's always difficult to remember to water all your house plants so if
23:53you have something like uh you can get water reservoirs so you can just pour the water on
23:58the top and it slowly goes into the plant you can get these things here so these will fit on the
24:03side of a self-watering pot and the sort of buoy in it will go up and down telling you how much
24:08water's in there and tell you when you need to water it all sorts of other gadgets like a water
24:13meters uh and and your self-watering tray so you can go away for a week go away for two weeks and
24:18not worry about your house plants and they don't have to cost a bomb either no some of them are
24:22really cheap as well so if you shop around you will find some really good ones and experiment
24:25with them some work better than others and some work with different kinds of plants as well that's
24:29been really helpful thank you so much for my pleasure ah some great advice there i love my
24:36house plants i've probably got too many now we have plenty more tips for you today from the rhs
24:42chelsea flower show 2025 an event supported by the newt in somerset i'll be revealing the winner
24:50of the rhs small garden of the year an award given by the rhs judges first though carol has been
24:59around the showground to find out the best budget busting tips from the visitors right here at chelsea
25:07i suppose it's usually me who's trying to give you all sorts of budget saving tips but today
25:13i want to reverse our roles i want to find out from visitors here if they've got any
25:19really good ideas for saving money and growing plants
25:27budget saving tip yeah i'm all about budget saving me plants for free that's what we like yeah things
25:33plants for free that's what we like yeah things that spread things that set seed
25:38growing stuff if you can from seed as much as possible
25:44me and my friend share um cuttings so she has a much bigger garden than me so i take cuttings
25:49from hers and plant them up and then she takes ones from mine as well my dad's a bit obsessed
25:53with water butts over in cheshire he's got about six all around his new bungalow he's
25:57obsessed with collecting water exactly a little bit of sweet pea planting mine would be
26:08um growing my vegetables from seed uh fruit and vegetables so actually
26:13your last crop of tomatoes save the seeds
26:20we've got a bit of a southeast london sort of plant swap going on at the moment
26:24yeah um so yeah sharing you know some little seedlings things that self-seeded in the garden
26:30and i love the idea of using sand maybe a mulch in it might keep slugs at bay what better than
26:36just going into the supermarket buying a pot of basil and just splitting it and you could
26:40put that on make about five plants from the same thing you can make more than one yeah indeed
26:45what a load of marvellous tips but the one thing they have in common
26:53is that they show you really that gardening need not be expensive
27:01it's great to hear some of your budget busting tips then i'm going to be trying a few of those
27:06when i get back to my own garden now i am delighted to be joined by passionate gardener
27:11and star of stage and screen and a strictly sensation Leighton Williams hello hello and
27:18welcome to Chelsea thank you so much i must say passionate gardener might be a little bit of a
27:23stretch okay how should we rename you after this experience um budding passionate is that budding
27:28a passionate gardener first time here first time here and i must say it's absolutely wild and
27:35beautiful but it's quite overwhelming there's a lot going on it is in a good way yeah it's
27:39extraordinary you walk through those gates and you're just hit by this amazing sight of so many
27:45beautiful gardens and you've got the great pavilion i mean you've got to explore all of this
27:49stunning and what you guys probably don't see is that like when we're doing these things and
27:53walking through the gardens it's almost like we've got an audience and i can't help but give
27:57them a little wink give them a little cha-cha-cha and i'm supposed to be looking at the plants but
28:02i just want to do a high kick darling the star of the shows is always the flowers that's what
28:07when you're here so tell us about being a budding passionate gardener because you've just bought a
28:14new property with your partner yes what's the garden like so a couple years ago i got my property
28:19my partner's moving in soon but luckily his dad is a landscaper and he came in to do a good one
28:26he really fixed it up because it was just looking a bit drab and inside my flat is just so much
28:30colour there's oranges there's red there's pink on the wallpaper literally on the roof it's very
28:36vibrant and there's lots of personality so i want that to be reflected in the garden as well did you
28:40have a garden as a child we did but sorry mom i always apologize when i come to my mom because
28:47she wasn't much of a gardener and that's fine brothers sisters granddad grandma granddad
28:53granddad's got granddad's got a green shed and everything is that what they're called
28:57a green shed yeah a green shed yeah no it's not what's it called i know myself no what's it when
29:02they you could have a greenhouse there you go see budding budding so what do you need to do while
29:10you're here what do you want to take home for your garden well do you know what i love some of the
29:15structural things as well obviously the plants are the main event but i've literally just walked past
29:20a unicorn like there's everything you need here everything i thought it was just flowers here but
29:24we're giving i mean around my where i live in dunwich you can walk around on a sunday and pretty
29:30much find things outside people's houses i'm not saying do that but if you need to i got a sun
29:35lounger the other day well if you need specialist plants she says slightly moving on from lifting
29:40things no i didn't steal it for free yes only joking only joking but seriously with your garden
29:48it's a courtyard yes a little l shape and if you've got sort of shade and things like that
29:52here you can find plants for every single garden to fit every single budget as well and that's the
29:57great thing when you're wandering around with the experts they will help you in that so what do you
30:02want do you want a calming garden do you want a vibrant garden i've got um i've got myself like
30:07some like a seating area outside so if the weather's nice it's nice to go out and just have
30:12brekkie um do you grow your own food yeah we've got a little patch yeah yeah i mean my boyfriend
30:18does all the cooking now i'm not exactly doing myself a good in here am i you could be growing
30:22lettuces radishes you could do all of that we've got um we've got the herb her patch yeah yeah
30:28i can't tell you what's growing in there but we've got her patch everything is here also i know you
30:32are passionate about house plants oh yes so i like living things inside the house so i mean i have
30:38someone who helps me with my plants because i will it's the watering i feel like i feel like i'm not
30:44the only one people will understand it's not that easy watering it's a science but you will learn
30:50more and you've got to experiment you've got to try it that's the only way i overdo it sometimes
30:55i'm like oh you look like you need some love and i chuck a hole and then a week later you are fine
31:00this is the start for you the start of your gardening journey this is a new beginning for
31:05me i'm really happy to be here you're gonna love your time here enjoy it take it all home with you
31:11and improve that garden literally no because i will please pay for it thank you so much thank you
31:16thank you
31:20it's time to look at the remaining three large show gardens hoping to win
31:24your vote in the coveted bbc rhs people's choice award
31:28here's toby and francis with the remaining three contenders
31:36this is the king's trust garden inspired by challenging environments this garden draws
31:42parallels between plants ability to survive in hostile landscapes
31:47and that of young peoples to thrive given the right conditions
31:52pathways guide the visitors into a more intimate space here beneath these pine trees
31:57and there are three meter high glass panels which are screen printed with an artist's impression
32:02of seed dispersal all the materials are either reclaimed recycled or recyclable
32:09the garden features woodland planting with pinus nigra pop hornbeam and narrow-leafed privets
32:16and the layers beneath are silvers and greys with accent colors all the plants have been chosen for
32:21their resilience their adaptability and their ability to grow and disperse seeds successfully
32:29the avenard intelligent garden is designed to showcase how cutting-edge technology
32:34can help with the success of urban planting schemes sensors are attached to the trees
32:39which collect data which is fed into monitors in the pavilion allowing the trees to talk to
32:46the gardener the cladding on the pavilion is made by adding mycelium which is the root of the
32:53gardener the cladding on the pavilion is made by adding mycelium which is the root-like structures
32:59of fungi to waste wood pulp the green roof is planted using woodland plants so perennials
33:06ferns and grasses and inside the pavilion there is a room dedicated to the growing of edible
33:13mushrooms the back half of the garden features a biodiverse matrix of forest garden plants
33:20so lots of edibles and lots of medicinal plants this half of the garden has a stream
33:26that runs the whole length and along it the planting palette is colorful
33:37charno niwa a japanese tea garden built using traditional japanese craftsmanship
33:43is designed to be a small corner of a much larger garden in an ancient capital of japan
33:49a tea house sits in an elevated position to offer views over the garden gravel raked to
33:55represent water runs down the slope through boulders to a real stream that circles around
34:02the tea house and collects in a pool at the bottom of the slope the planting has been inspired by an
34:09area between the mountain foothills and the farmland known in japan as the satayama trees
34:15have been carefully placed to provide shade and include a collection of aces and miniature bonsai
34:22no soil is on show stones give way to gravel and gravel gives way to moss the designer's
34:29trademark feature well now you see all of the large show gardens in contention and it's nearly
34:36time for you to have your say we're going to be sharing all the details of how to vote at the end
34:41of the show now earlier chelsea exhibitor tara carlisle swift showed us how to turn your favorite
34:46flowers into relaxing wax melts and here's the results we made these earlier they look amazing
34:52thank you so much yeah they look great and they're so easy to make aren't they and you simply pop a
34:56tea light under your wax melter and you can fill your home with fragrance for hours i surprised
35:01you you didn't think i'd be that good i didn't know you were brilliant you did really well okay
35:05now we're moving on to bath salts now yes yeah so we're going to show how to make this lovely luxury
35:12bath salt to fizz that you can use at home or you can gift it's absolutely beautiful thank you yeah
35:18and it's super easy to make using things you've got around your house or that are affordable from
35:22your local supermarket or or whole food store um and again it's using things that we've deadheaded
35:27in the garden throughout the year there's some spray roses from a bouquet i was gifted some
35:32lavender that we cut back at the end of the season use things you've got around here this
35:36is about making affordable gifts which i'm all about so let's get cracking let's get cracking
35:41so we're going to add these ingredients in and you're going to do the mixing for me okay i'm
35:45here for you so first of all we've got a quarter cup of epsom salts now epsom salts are brilliant
35:50for they're full of magnesium and they're great for creating a relaxing spa like experience at
35:55home so if you'd like to tip all that in for me there we go then we're going to add in a half cup
36:00of bicarb of soda which again we all have in our kitchen cupboards so we may as well make some use
36:05of it or you can buy at your local supermarket again you know a pound for a great big tub it's
36:12super affordable and great to do with the kids great crafts and again if you're making it yourself
36:16you're saving loads of money yeah absolutely and it's more personal to give a gift that you've
36:20made yourself as well is more personal and it's a lovely thing to do at home with your with your
36:24family so our next ingredient is a quarter cup of citric acid now you must be careful if you're
36:30handling this in its rawest scent rawest way but in your bath it'll be perfectly fine so just give
36:35it a nice good stir and mixing it up with all these other things yeah absolutely now this last
36:42ingredient is optional but i think it makes it look so pretty and beautiful now this is pink
36:46himalayan sea salt we're going to add in a quarter cup of this it gives it a lovely pink colour
36:51through as you tip it in shall i tip that in for you there we go look how pretty that is
36:55yeah it just lifts it doesn't it yeah it just gives it a nice pop of colour
37:00and i'm assuming now we add the essential oils so now we get the fun bits we get to add some
37:05botanicals and some essential oil and i think we've already agreed lavender is our favourite
37:10so we're going to go for this to create a lovely relaxing bath experience so for this size i would
37:15add about 10 drops of essential oil in so we're going to simply add
37:20we're going to add that let's add a bit more for extra measure there we go give that a really good
37:24mix and then we're going to use jars that we've saved throughout the year jam jars anything that
37:30beauty jars anything that you've got that is a beautiful glass vessel pop it in your dishwasher
37:34clean it out and then we can reuse it so we're going to fill it back yeah and you can add in
37:38your lavender into the bowl or you can layer it throughout in the vessel i'm going to save that
37:42rose save that for the end and just keep popping in yeah you can add a little bit more if you
37:48and just keep popping in yeah you can add some lavender in keep going give it a little mix
37:54and then what i like to do is put some nice showy flowers on the top some roses or some
38:00hydrangea petals you've dried anything that gives it a nice pop of colour on the top
38:05oh this is so much so now if you just add all your fizz in put it all in yeah give it a good
38:13i'm going to put a bit more of these in yeah yeah perfect okay
38:20if i do a bit more i've just a little bit more yeah you may as well use it all if it's for a
38:24friend i don't want them to think this is enough to make one big jar but um if you're using smaller
38:28jars obviously you can make a few gifts all right done that and then i'm going to pop my
38:32pop some nice spray roses on the top again these are just dead headed out the garden
38:37perfect and voila you've done this before you've done this before look how beautiful that looks
38:42so if you'd like to tip some into the warm water we've got here you can see the lovely
38:46fizz effect you'll get at home so just give it a good glug into the bar
38:52oh you can imagine being in that it's incredible isn't it and it's so satisfying you can smell
38:58the lavender as it comes up and it's so relaxing to create a nice spa experience
39:03it's definitely a self-care ritual isn't it i feel all zen thank you so much you're so welcome
39:07thank you right we've got more money saving advice to you now from carol who
39:12has some tips and tricks to get a packed border on a budget
39:20one of the most enjoyable and the cheapest ways of filling your garden with flowers
39:26is to grow them from seed take foxgloves for example if you sow the seed at this time of year
39:33into a little seed tray seed compost sprinkle it on the top bit of grit on the top up will come your
39:39seedlings keep on potting them on and when you've got a nice big rosette plant them out in your
39:46garden if you want something softer how about this plant this is hesperus otherwise known as sweet
39:53rocket because it's gloriously perfumed and it pumps out its perfume in the evening you can throw
40:00seed around or grow it the same way as the foxglove with all that money you've saved from growing
40:07everything from seed why not invest in a shrub which has beautiful perfume during the day this
40:14is aliagnus quicksilver and it'll go on looking beautiful right the way through the summer and
40:21into the autumn every garden needs a tree and trees come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes
40:37some have got a single trunk and some like this beautiful birch have several trunks they're called
40:43multi-stemmed so a tree like this is going to be quite expensive but you can buy saplings they're
40:50called whips they're young trees with a single trunk and you can bung them all together in the
40:56same hole that way they'll grow really quickly really rapidly as they compete with each other
41:02for light and you'll very soon have a tree like this for much much less
41:07well you may not have room for a tree nor even a border but you can still have a garden in a pot
41:21you can recycle any sort of container and what's more you can grow almost anything in it you can
41:28grow stuff from seed or as they've done here you can grow perennials plants that go on year after
41:36year if you've got smaller containers you can grow just one plant in there so you can really
41:42appreciate its beauty or as they've done here you can combine plants together really exciting ways
41:49to use plants and why not add a bit of extra pizzazz with a bulb or two here they've used
41:57is absolutely glorious so however you're saving money enjoy your garden whatever its size
42:11thanks carol it is so satisfying growing from seed and it does save you a little bit of money
42:16as well now if your border is particularly shady it can be both tricky and pricey to plant
42:22so i'm going to go and put some of your shady questions to expert grower lynn moore here in the
42:27pavilion but first let's go back in time to join lynn as she prepared for her first ever chelsea
42:36i've gardened all my life as far back as i can remember
42:39and granddad used to let me pick snowdrops with him when i was really teeny tiny
42:45my name is lynn moore and once upon a time i was a fingerprint expert based at new scotland yard
42:51working for the met police forensic bureau
42:55sadly i had to retire on ill health back in 2016
43:00having to give up work i took the decision my dream was going to come true and i was going to
43:05have my own nursery more and more plants is a small family-run nursery we specialise in
43:14we specialise in shade tolerant and woodland plants
43:20during my career when i was based in the office we were very much the backroom boys
43:25it wasn't us in front of the camera i suppose thinking about the shade plants they're not
43:30always the shining lights of the garden and i think maybe that's why i i love the shade
43:37plant so much because a little bit like me they're the backroom boys really
43:42as part of our preparation for chelsea we have to make sure that we primp and preen
43:47all of the plants within an inch of their life to make sure that they look absolutely stunning
43:53this is a hack and a clover if we look really closely
43:57we'll see that the stems are actually flushed with red and purple
44:04looking at the two that are most asked about the first one would be deep shade but a very dry soil
44:12and a lot of people think this is the most difficult area to plant in the garden
44:16but we have a whole list of plants that will do really well from the euphorbia here through to
44:24geranium faeum and this particular cultivar is springtime so has really interesting foliage
44:31as well as these dark sort of purpley red flowers fantastic pollinator plant but the
44:37interest in foliage means you have extra interest in colour for a lot longer period
44:43the second condition that we are often asked about is if you have a damp wet boggy soil even
44:51and what can grow there something of interest right now would be the guillem and this is
44:58scarlet tempest flowers for many weeks and sometimes if conditions stay moist for it
45:05and it doesn't get too hot then it'll have subsequent flushes of flowers all the way
45:09through the summer too this is what i call the inner sanctum and this is where some of the show
45:23plants have taken residence this is one of the plants that i'm desperate to take to chelsea
45:32this is cynelis it looks otherworldly to me we have this sort of little forest of umbrellas
45:39that eventually will open out for me there's something sort of quite malevolent about it
45:48one group of plants that we're really hoping makes it to chelsea is this little collection
45:53of ferns they mysteriously appeared in granddad's garden and grew there for probably 25 30 years
46:00they've now come to live with me we're really hoping
46:04that these new fronds will unfurl in time for the show
46:12we're so delighted to be part of chelsea and i'm just trying to keep the worry and the fears at bay
46:22for 25 years i was this backroom girl sort of plodding away unseen by anybody
46:29and then all of a sudden you're you're thrust into the spotlight and then you're at the most
46:34prestigious show in the world and it doesn't feel quite real right now
46:43now lyn that was back in 2022 and now you're back for your fourth year does it still feel like a
46:48dream coming into the floral pavilion at chelsea is always a dream when we started the nursery
46:57being at chelsea was always going to be the pinnacle almost like our olympics if you like
47:02so being back here is always a dream come true it's amazing it's really really great now tell
47:07us about your top tips for shady plants we say it more and more that the best thing to do
47:12is to identify in your garden what your light levels are now that's going to change probably
47:17from day to day and even hour to hour and it's not going to be the same everywhere so if you can
47:23find out where the light levels are the strongest and where they you're in quite deep shade that
47:29will help you sort of pinpoint the plants you need and also to try and find out what the moisture
47:35levels are in your soil so is it quite a moist soil or is it quite a well-drained soil because
47:40again that will influence the plants that you you need to consider but how do you get all this
47:45information where's the best place to go and source it so if you're a big show like this or
47:50a little plant fair talk to the nursery people we're encyclopedias really and we will talk
47:58unendingly at you about all the plants we grow if you're at a garden center then check the labels
48:05on the back of the plants because again they'll give you quite a lot of information now i've got
48:09a viewer question from anne hill she says my elliognes hedge is in the shade until about
48:13three o'clock and i'd like to add some color what should i plant under it so i would imagine at the
48:18base of a hedge the soil is going to be quite dry so one of some of the best plants that you could
48:24think of you could consider would be the hardy geraniums and on the stand we've actually got
48:31two examples one would be the geranium nodosum and we have two different types of geranium
48:37canterbrigians and both of those would be great in a dry soil and then this is from chris says
48:43which plants are best for shady areas under two large trees again think how the light levels move
48:51through those trees and on the sunny days the shade is going to be far more intense than a
48:56cloudy day i know that sounds really silly but it really affects how the sun moves around and
49:03the intensity of the sun really affects the shade so map out those areas and then consider contacting
49:10or a specialist nursery or think about doing some research online to identify the plants that are
49:16right for you the particular areas well you are an encyclopedia lindy thank you so much you're very
49:21welcome before we share the details of how to vote in the bbc rhs people's choice award it's time to
49:31exclusively reveal which of the smaller gardens the rhs judges chose as the rhs small garden of
49:39the year here's the moment they surprised the winners i am thrilled that you have the small
49:56well joe and laura a huge congratulations did it come as a huge surprise to you
50:01absolutely yeah absolutely because you're always thinking about the medal and then after that i
50:07suppose it's just not it wasn't really on our radar so it's it yeah we're up at and we're
50:12completely delighted i bet you are i bet you are now this is a beautiful garden sort of based on
50:17where you live in norfolk and one of the sayings of norfolk is to to slow down and i think you've
50:23managed that in this garden wonderfully yeah we really wanted the garden to be incredibly restful
50:29and to encourage that slowing down of pace so that people can enjoy the space and enjoy the
50:37natural environment around them joe today on the show we're talking about budgets how people can
50:42get more from their outside space what are some of the tips you would recommend for people because
50:46just standing here in this garden i fully appreciate you know it's got a gold medal
50:50it's the highest of standards but how can we take those elements and be kind to our pockets
50:56yeah absolutely i think one of the key things would be our boundary wall um which is made up
51:00of just modular gabions or or cages you see them a lot around the coast they're a really
51:06cost-effective way of building up a boundary retaining soil but also we've used them in a
51:12very aesthetic way um at quite low cost so over 50 of our material there is reclaimed we've got
51:19house brick we've got roof tile we've got um off cuts of stone and in the top we've also got um
51:26norfolk water reed which is a really easy to obtain material so we could actually replicate
51:32this at home by using reclaimed material and i mean this is such a showpiece but quite easy
51:38to do or complicated all it is is a labor of love so if you've got time um then you can definitely
51:44achieve it you don't need a lot of money to achieve this well it's certainly a labor of love
51:48and you've got a gold medal and every achievement you could possibly hope for
51:52thank you so much and enjoy the rest of the week we love your garden thank you thank you
51:57congratulations to joe and laura well it's time now to open our midweek chelsea garden clinic with
52:02toby should we get cracking yeah are you ready yes okay this is from patsy she says my holly
52:08ilex alaska are losing leaves what can i do i can't see any apparent bugs what do you know i've
52:14heard so many stories of hollies losing their leaves because there's this new disease
52:18right that's bouncing up in rainfall and causing the skirts of the plants to disappear
52:23causing the skirts of the plants to disappear it's kind of a natural thing it will come and go
52:27but it sounds to me like because she's got one that's named for with the alaska on the back of
52:31it i just simply think like all evergreen trees they're evergreen they keep the leaves in winter
52:36but then they do drop them at one point in the year and hollies do that now they have a little
52:41shed as the new leaves come through so perfectly natural it's almost like a strain of flu that
52:45comes and goes yeah for the first one the second one it's just evergreen trees don't keep their
52:49leaves forever they've got a reboot and get new ones every now and then okay brilliant hope you've
52:54got a question from kate hello i've got a north facing fence with an evergreen jasmine growing on
53:00it and it's a big conifer behind which seems to be killing the jasmine every time we plant it have
53:05you got any recommendations of anything else yeah you're gonna need something why do you plant that
53:10big conifer honestly no it's not our garden somebody else's garden well you're gonna need
53:14something with muscle there you're gonna need something that's tough and able to cope with the
53:18drought caused by the conifer i'd go with a climbing hydrangea and when you plant it cut an
53:24old plastic bottle in half and put it in the soil next to it as a funnel and that way you can keep
53:28it watered while it's establishing and i'll tell you what that will outrun the conifer in about 10
53:32years so yeah you'll be glad of it thank you good advice how about this one from sarah my four-year-old
53:37rose in a pot hasn't survived this winter at all so far it has one bud and the stems are growing
53:44and that were growing and are dying back is there anything i could do to try and revive it
53:48it sounds like a real disaster give sarah some hope well i would almost definitely consider
53:53getting another one but there is a good chance of rebooting roses chop them back really hard
53:58stick in a new pot give it some tlc and you know keep your fingers crossed that could bounce back
54:04for you it's a little bit of faith yeah i think so okay alice over from the u.s with a question
54:09i'm wondering is it possible to get banana trees to fruit in the uk i uh i live in a climate that's
54:16very similar and i haven't been able to get my banana tree to fruit well not the type of bananas
54:22that you buy from the supermarkets the ones that taste good in my garden in devon i get bananas to
54:26grow but they're japanese bananas and the fruits they're really abundant but they're full of seeds
54:31and they taste disgusting so you can show off about them or give them to the neighbors perhaps
54:35but you wouldn't want to eat them yourself oh lovely thank you come all this way for advice
54:39i like that yeah time for one more yeah let's do one more um hi there so this is abby hi i've got a
54:45crab apple tree a prairie fire and it's growing really well uh the first year when i had it lots
54:50of flowers but the last two years not many flowers lots of foliage though um and i was wondering if
54:55you had any tips often plants when they're establishing and growing they put on lots of
54:59leafy growth lots of stems at the expense of flowers and then they settle down and often you
55:04get one year where you get loads of blooms loads of blossom and you pay for it the next year it's
55:09called biennial bearing it's really common in apple trees edible ones as well as crab apples
55:14so just hang in there one thing that always helps around apple trees that aren't blooming very well
55:18is put a mulch down just improves the growth improves the potential for blossom yeah there
55:22you go thank you thanks a lot it's hard because when you have that wonderful season you want it
55:26again you gotta pay for something thank you so much toby now we love hearing from you so if you
55:32have any questions to put to our experts in our chelsea garden clinic go to our facebook page
55:37now earlier we showed you all the contenders for this year's bbc rhs people's choice award
55:44the vote is about to open so here's a quick recap of all six gardens in the running
55:52the glasshouse garden designed by joe thompson
55:55hospice uk garden of compassion designed by tom hovland
56:12the king's trust garden seeding success designed by joe perkins
56:17the hospital field art garden designed by nigel dunnett
56:32the avenade intelligent garden designed by tom massey and jay arne
56:42chino niwa the japanese tea garden designed by kazuyuki isahara
56:47now you've all seen the contenders for this year's bbc rhs people's choice award to help
56:58us launch the vote our warrant officer archie and color sergeant alan who live literally just
57:03over there in sw3 thank you so much for joining us today our pleasure oh we're honored we are
57:10honored having a good show we're having a wonderful show thank you we're in capable
57:14hands with you aren't we well it's time to hand the power over to you at home okay i think we
57:21should have a countdown we got audience everyone ready should we do it in three
57:25okay ready three two one the vote is officially open
57:37a massive thank you to the chelsea pensioners now to cast your vote go to bbc.co.uk
57:44chelsea where you'll find details of all six large show gardens plus the terms and conditions
57:50and privacy notice the vote is now open and closes at 8 p.m tomorrow thursday yes the 22nd of may
57:59remember please don't vote if you're watching on demand you don't have long to vote and the
58:06winner will be revealed on friday evening on bbc one with sophie and adam that's all we've got time
58:13for today we'll be back at 2 p.m tomorrow with tips on how to make the most of nature in your
58:19garden and i'll be catching up with a couple who love to garden tv presenter kelly brooke
58:25and her husband jeremy parisi monty and i will be back on bbc2 this evening where they'll be
58:31discovering how chelsea is encouraging us all to garden together bye for now big waves
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