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00:00Sowing the seeds for gardens and outdoor spaces that everyone can love with Alan Titchmarsh's
00:06Gardening Club brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
00:18Welcome back to my gardening club right here in my own garden. As a new gardening season begins
00:26we'll once again be celebrating the people, plants and places that make UK gardening
00:33so extraordinary. This series will show that gardening really is for everyone,
00:38whether you're caring for plants on a windowsill, growing vegetables in an allotment patch or
00:44transforming a community space. We'll journey across the length and breadth of the British
00:50Isles uncovering renowned gardens, inventive designs and creative green spaces of all sizes
00:58and we'll be sharing even more practical tips, techniques and fresh ideas to help you transform
01:05your garden into a beautiful rewarding space whatever its size. Our gardening club family
01:13is at the heart of it all, answering your gardening questions, championing sustainability,
01:19shining a spotlight on the unsung horticultural heroes and sharing their passion for all things
01:27green. So grab a cuppa, settle in and get ready to grow. Welcome to my gardening club.
01:35As early spring arrives it might still be chilly and believe me it is but
01:40the garden is already starting to come alive with renewed vitality. Sheets of snowdrops
01:47pushing up in woodland and among the grassy edges of verges. Don't they look gorgeous and they just
01:54give you that promise of things to come. As the season progresses I'm sure you'll be
02:00don't they look gorgeous and they just give you that promise of things to come.
02:04As do these dwarf irises. I planted these little bulbs in autumn. Four days ago they were green
02:13shoots but no sign of flowers so I brought them indoors on the kitchen windowsill and in four
02:18days that warmth has brought out the flowers on frozen planet with these pale blue confections
02:26and pauline a really rich deep purple with this white etching. It really lifts your spirits
02:33doesn't it when you see things are actually coming back again and it's the ideal time of year to start
02:39preparing for the summer months. So put on your trusty old gardening coat, dust off the tools
02:45and get ready to sow some seeds. We'll be with you every step of the way whether you're an old hound
02:51an enthusiastic novice or you just like to dabble we're here to offer a fuss-free approach to
02:58gardening. In the next hour my gardening club team will share their knowledge to ensure you have
03:04a bountiful year. Horticulturists Camilla Bassett-Smith will take us on the trip to the
03:10world-renowned Eden Project in Cornwall to delve into some of their iconic plant collections.
03:16We'll learn about an inspiring community garden in inner city London that's training up the next
03:22generation of environmental gardeners and Anna Greenland will return once again from her Suffolk
03:29garden to answer one of your gardening queries but first we'll meet our new houseplant guru Claire.
03:37She really knows her snake plants from her succulents and over the series she'll be passing
03:43on her tips tricks and enthusiasm so we can all nurture a healthy haven indoors. Today she's here
03:51to show us some of her favourite easy care houseplants to help you with your very own collection.
04:00Hello my name's Claire and I currently live in a one-bedroom flat with over 300 houseplants.
04:06Across the series I'll be sharing all the tips and tricks that I've learned so whether or not you're
04:09a beginner, have a few houseplants and want to improve what you know
04:12or have a collection to rival mine there'll be lots of tips for everyone.
04:20I found indoor gardening in my early 20s when I was living without an outdoor space at the time
04:25and I was just longing for some greenery in my home. I didn't know anything about houseplants
04:29at the time I was just really into gardening and I was just really into gardening.
04:33I didn't know anything about houseplants at the time I just loved the way that they looked
04:37so over the years I've just absolutely loved getting to learn about them and figure out what
04:41they like and what they don't like and plants like this one here for example this one's an alacasia.
04:48This is a type of plant that when I first started out I would have struggled so much with and in
04:53fact I did I killed quite a few of them but from everything I've learned over the last few years I
04:59now feel really really confident with this type of plant and I've got I think about 15 different
05:04species of alacasia in my collection now. So today I would love to take you through some of
05:10the plants that I deem to be really fantastic beginner plants that anybody no matter what
05:14your experience can grow at home. This is one here that I would highly recommend for beginners
05:26this is the hoia gracilis and obviously it's a beautiful plant foliage wise it's got such a
05:31lovely texture to it but this one will not only survive but thrive in lower levels of light.
05:37It's putting out so much growth for me at the moment and amazingly this plant is also non-toxic
05:42so if you've got small children or pets it's a really really really good shout.
05:47And this is a really really easy one this is the raphidophora tetrasperma commonly known as
06:00monstera minima and as you can see I've trained my one here to go all the way around the doors
06:05which just frames the space really nicely and this is also one that does amazingly well in
06:11lower levels of light it's currently about four meters back from a window and I chopped this plant
06:17back to about there this time last year so everything you're looking at here is new growth
06:22which just goes to show how quick it is to grow.
06:32And this one is commonly known as the golden pothos and this is a plant that can be grown
06:37in many different ways but primarily as a hanging plant as you can see it like this
06:42or it can be grown on a moss pole and when it's grown in that way it can really size up and its
06:47foliage can get really big but this is a wonderful one if you're not quite sure when you should be
06:52watering this is a really good one to tell you because its leaves will typically curl like that
06:58and that's a really good indicator that it's ready for some water.
07:01And this is one of my favorite plants this is an aglaonema and aglaonema is such a wonderful
07:12genus of plants if you're just getting into house plants and aglaonema as a genus typically has
07:17beautiful striking patterns across its foliage this is just one type and I find this one
07:23incredibly easy to grow especially because I'm growing it in semi-hydroponics which means I've
07:28got a little reservoir of water at the bottom of my pot and I find that that just helps to keep
07:33the plant really happy and it's actually one of my lowest maintenance for that reason
07:37but I'll be talking to you more about semi-hydroponic growing as the series continues.
07:48Thanks Claire there's nothing better than seeing house plants flourish it's a testament
07:54to all your care and nurture throughout the year. My favorite house plants well
07:59pelargoniums they give you such brilliant color but they do need a really bright windowsill which
08:05is why I tend to grow mine in the greenhouse and take them in for a few days on the windowsill and
08:10bring them back out again so they don't get too leggy. One of my favorites is Thomas Earl this
08:16bright scarlet pelargonium in a large pot now because I'm trying to train it up the end of
08:21the greenhouse this is seldom out of flower even in winter. I do love geraniums as we call them
08:28even though they are really probably pelargoniums. Next one of our gardening club favorites Camilla
08:34Bassett-Smith takes us on a very special adventure down south to the Eden Project one of the most
08:41renowned gardens on the planet and she's starting a journey at the famed Mediterranean biome.
09:04You join me today in Cornwall where we'll be taking a look at the world-renowned Eden Project.
09:09What was once an abandoned clay pit is now home to a collection of stunning biomes
09:14showcasing over a thousand species of plants from around the globe.
09:19We'll be taking a closer look at some of these plants as well as talking to
09:22some of the people that make it a world leader in innovation discovery and sustainability.
09:29So Catherine tell me a little bit about how this amazing project started. Well it didn't look like
09:34this 25 years ago and so Eden is actually created inside a china clay pit so it was a virtually
09:41empty pit desolate of soil not really the ideal starting place for a botanic garden.
09:46There had to be a lot of vision really to imagine this I guess. Absolutely and so what we
09:51got here is a Mediterranean climate and a humid tropic climate and of course our own temperate
09:56climate outside. So how did it all come together I mean funding all of these things? So lots of
10:01different people were approached and a lot of the funding came through the Millennium Commission
10:05it was one of the Millennium Projects. I think two million people came in that first year I mean it
10:10was cited as being one of the wonders of the world what an incredible project.
10:14And so what we've got here is a collection of plants from around the globe and so we've got
10:19one of the wonders of the world what an incredible place. People were coming to see the architecture
10:24and like the innovation not just the plants. Now we're very lucky today because we have got Eden
10:29all to ourselves because you're closed to the public for maintenance. Yes this is a really
10:34valuable time of year for us so it means things like we can get cherry pickers in and they can
10:39be active all day it's a great time for the team to work together and not to be interrupted.
10:44And talking of the team working together you've got two of your excellent team here
10:48working on this spectacular olive. I mean it's just beautiful. This olive is spectacular and
10:53it's estimated to be about a thousand years old. That is incredible isn't it all those nooks and
10:59crannies. It is incredible but and think about like what this tree has lived through what it's
11:04experienced in its lifetime. So what are your team doing then at the moment? So we are doing our annual
11:09prune of them and here in the biome we would do that early in the year but outside you would be
11:14thinking about pruning an olive tree sort of late spring early summer. Well that's it you don't want
11:18to make those wounds when it's still frost about because that causes damage doesn't it? Absolutely
11:22that's really important and also if you're not confident about your pruning a good tip is to
11:28not prune too heavily. It's always possible to prune a little bit off and then prune a bit more
11:32off. It's not so easy to stick it back on again afterwards. Is it like a haircut? Absolutely.
11:37Gently does it? Yeah. Well I'd love to get up there but there is plenty more to see. Oh yes there is.
11:50So Catherine these domes look incredible but are they friendly for the plants? They look amazing
11:55don't they but they've actually been designed very carefully as well so the domes each ensure that
12:01they gain as much heat from the sun so that we're reducing the amount of energy that we need to put
12:06in to keep the temperatures up and then the heat that we do put into the biomes we source from a
12:11deep geothermal well. We collect all the water off the roof so everything we do we try to think what
12:18is the most sort of nature friendly respectful way that we can operate to ensure a sustainable
12:24approach. Now we've seen some of the ancient plants the olives or the palms do you have any
12:28new plants this year you're excited about? I am really excited about some brand new plants this
12:32year which are new to Eden and today is the day that we're bringing them in and planting them and
12:38we believe that they're new to the UK as well. That's so exciting so actually this is a first.
12:43It is a first and I am genuinely really excited about it. I can't wait to see them. Let's go and have a look.
12:53Uh-huh kangaroo paws they're stunning I've never seen so many together in one place and certainly
12:59not this colour. You've not seen one like this one before? No never I've only ever seen them in I think
13:04reddy orange colour. That's very much the normal pink reds and oranges so these are absolute brand
13:10new ones to cultivation which have been bred in Western Australia at King's Park at the Botanical
13:15Garden so it's not actually the flowers that are coloured if you look carefully you can see that
13:20they're green and it's the hairs on top of the surface that produce the colour. Incredible plants
13:25now people in this country would grow them as a house plant? You can grow them as a house plant
13:29they do like a lot of light so somewhere really really bright and sunny good heat in the summer
13:35I definitely don't want to be frosted in the winter and they're also grown as cut flowers.
13:39So are these going in the ground today? Yes they're going in the bed just over here. Whole tray? Yes the whole tray.
13:49This is the area we're going to be planting them so if I pass them in and we just start spreading
13:53them out about so 40 centimetres. Place them nicely wonderful and planting them here as annual
14:00bedding but will you treat them as annuals? In Western Australia they treat them as annuals
14:03but here we actually find that they grow and will last for two or three years and so we'll use them
14:08as a semi-permanent planting. Which is great because again as you were talking about sustainability
14:13keeping them going you know this is something we're going to see more and more of here.
14:17So how does that look? That looks great. Lovely okay well we've got a lot to be getting on with
14:22haven't we? We have.
14:34Thanks Camilla. It's always such a treat to visit an innovative space like the Eden Project isn't it?
14:40She'll be back later in this episode to show us more green treasures from Cornwall.
14:45I've got one green treasure here I love this. This is my Calamondin orange. Tiny oranges
14:50rather bitter but the orange blossom which is about to open fills my greenhouse with fragrance.
14:58Oh it is lovely and all citrus fruits can go outdoors in the summer but they do need frost
15:02protection in winter. So come September, October in they come into the greenhouse and they stay
15:08here until about May when I risk putting them out again. Time now to stick the kettle on.
15:14After the break eco-gardener Anna Greenland reveals how she plans her garden
15:20for a bumper vegetable harvest.
15:24Soaking up the sunshine with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club brought to you by Green Thumb
15:30Lawn Treatment Service.
15:35Digging the weekend with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club brought to you by Green Thumb
15:41Lawn Treatment Service.
16:01You know early spring in the garden on a sunny morning it's intoxicating as you see the old
16:08make way for the new. In the gradual warming soil and lengthening days daffodils trumpet
16:16their sunshine colours. Bright tulips sway in the breeze and delicate crocuses peek through the soil
16:25but knowing where to begin can feel a bit daunting. So every week our experts will be answering a
16:32viewer's question that'll help you get going. How do you plan to get the most from your spring
16:39vegetable planting? That's the viewer's question our returning Gardening Club expert Anna Greenland
16:46is answering today.
16:57Hi I'm Anna Greenland and for the past 10 years I've been growing food for some of the country's
17:01top chefs and restaurants but now I'm passionate about helping you to grow your own food to give
17:07you the confidence to get outside and get gardening. Across the series I'll be answering
17:12your questions on how to grow the incredible food you've always wanted and we'll be kicking
17:17things off with a question from Scott from York who asks how can I successfully plan for the veg
17:23growing year ahead? Perfect timing Scott early spring is the ideal time to get planning and
17:29while it can all seem a little bit daunting especially if you're new to growing I'm going
17:33to break it down into some really simple steps. So the first thing you're going to want to do is
17:46measure your growing space and that will dictate how much really you have to grow. I like planning
17:51my beds to be rectangular or square if you have a circular bed it's possible but it's just slightly
17:57more challenging to work with. I like a four foot width because I have paths either side and it means
18:03I can reach the middle from the paths. The next thing to do is decide what you want to grow and
18:13that's the fun part. So if you've got a smaller space things that give you a lot of bang for your
18:18buck over a long period of time so things like the kales, the chards, the leafy greens, salads
18:24they're things that you can keep picking. If you have got more room then you could experiment
18:29with more perennial crops things like asparagus is lovely, rhubarb, you could grow more fruit,
18:36bushes, raspberries, strawberries, things like that. One of the key things to remember when you're
18:41planning a veg garden is growing for succession and that simply means that you're sowing constantly
18:47across the season as opposed to just sowing once and then getting one big glut and being overwhelmed
18:53by that. Today I'm going to be working on a bed that includes broad beans and peas and it's
19:04important when you're planning your garden that you work out the spacings of these particular
19:09crops as they're going into the bed. So now we've got everything planned out let's go outside and
19:14put it into action. So I'm just going to clear out, we've got some beetroot here so I'm going
19:26to keep the ones that are looking good and then just clearing out any weeds so it doesn't have
19:32to be immaculate just get the worst of it out and then you can get your compost down on top.
19:36This tool is called a broad fork and it's brilliant because it goes into the soil
19:48and it aerates it but it just lifts it and lets the air in without having to disrupt it too much.
19:55So I'm just going to work down the bed with this tool and then we'll be able to lay the compost on
20:01top. So I'm going to be planting broad beans in this section of the bed and I'm going to use my
20:12trusty dibber so I'm essentially making holes 20 centimeters apart and dropping the seed in
20:18and it's as simple as that and I'm sowing them direct into the soil because that can be done in
20:22March. I've got my broad beans in, I've raked it over and now I'm going to make my teepee for my
20:33peas. So I've got some hazel rods that I've coppiced from a hedgerow nearby, it's really
20:39great as a natural material to make your teepee from. I've used a metal rod to make holes in the
20:47soil first and then hopefully we should be able to push these in quite easily.
20:55I'm using eight upright rods here and I reckon the diameter is, well it's probably about four foot,
21:04but I say three foot's probably your minimum diameter you want to be. You want to have enough
21:09to be able to grow a decent amount of peas around it.
21:13I think we're ready to gather them together at the top now and I've got some jute string that
21:18I'm going to use for that. I'm going to try just weaving it in and out a little bit as well
21:24because I think that might make it a bit stronger.
21:30This is silver birch, this time of year the silver birch is nice and soft so it's quite bendy
21:38and easy to weave. So I'm going to put some pieces in the ground down low because the peas actually,
21:48unlike beans that will climb up an individual pole, the peas put out their little tendrils
21:54and they like things to grab onto low down. So these little bits here will make a perfect
22:00little branching system for them to hold on to.
22:08I'm using my trusty dibber again to make some holes. These are about six inches,
22:1415 centimetres apart and then I'm going to sow my peas into these. I'll probably do two,
22:20maybe three seeds per hole. I'm sowing this variety called Purple Magnolia and it's got
22:26really lovely purple pods and then the flowers are beautiful too, they're sort of bi-coloured
22:32purpley pink flowers so it's a really nice variety.
22:38I'm just dropping two seeds in each hole and I'll see how I get on. I might go back round
22:45and add in another one if I have enough seed.
22:51So there you have it, there's some veg bed planning for you but just remember if things
22:55don't go to plan and you have some issues with pests or diseases or weather issues,
23:00there's always other things you can put in so just remain flexible.
23:09Thank you Anna. It's true you know, you just need a bit of planning to get the most out of
23:14your garden space. Now taking care of your soil is crucial, it's the foundation of a thriving garden
23:22and everything that grows and this is the perfect time of year to prepare your soil for spring and
23:29summer planting. Here on my veg patch, clear, nothing gone in just yet but I'm just working in
23:36some organic enrichment on the top. You can buy soil improver in bags or you can use garden compost
23:42or well-rotted manure. In the old days we used to double dig and dig our veg patches. Nowadays
23:50we just tend to go for surface cultivation so spread your organic enrichment on the top then
23:57lightly fork it in, let it settle for a few days before you get out there with your sowing and
24:02your planting. Though at the moment I think you'd be better off just waiting a few weeks until the
24:07soil warms up a bit, that does mean you've got plenty of time to prepare the earth because
24:13remember what goes in must come up. Each week our gardening club champions will be under the
24:21spotlight as they answer our five questions. They're crafted to inspire you at home so grab
24:29your notepad for some insightful tips and tricks. First in line is Henry Agg, a garden designer and horticulturist.
24:37My earliest gardening memory has to be from when I was a young boy badgering my dad on whether or not he could build my own raised bed in his kitchen garden. I remember the excitement of sowing seeds and the anticipation of things growing but also as a kid I was very very impatient so it just gave me a
25:07little bit of a lesson on being patient and waiting for nature to do its thing.
25:18One of my favourite hacks in the garden is what I call chop and drop. Now it's a way to create free
25:23mulch, it's completely sustainable and it's what I do here in my garden. In February I chop all of
25:29the herbaceous border down, all of the grasses to tiny little chunks, spread it out and let it mulch
25:35in situ and that's a way of me saving money, time and effort as well.
25:44My favourite gardening tool has to be my trusty post hole digger. This is what I use the most in
25:52the garden. Now it's quite unusual because you'd think gardeners typically turn to their spade for
25:56planting herbaceous perennials but I've got really solid ground, I'm on a chalky cliff and this has
26:02become my best friend. I use it for planting, I use it for construction, it goes with me absolutely
26:09everywhere. Now gardening is all about learning from our mistakes and I've made plenty in the
26:20past but one of my biggest fails was with one of my core beds. I was mulching it with my own
26:25garden compost but didn't kill off those perennial weeds through my composting process so when I
26:30spread it across my main bed it looked fine on the surface but next season all of those
26:37perennial weeds started to spread and gather up and I've been forever clearing it out.
26:47I absolutely love two categories of plants, roses and grasses but I have to give it to grasses,
26:53they're the unsung hero to any garden. They provide structure all year round, they provide
26:59movement and they make a perfect backdrop for planting. Great tips there from Henry and he'll
27:05be back throughout the series to answer some of your DIY gardening questions too. We've plenty
27:12more in store for you on today's show. After the break we'll head up to Yorkshire to meet a
27:17passionate gardener who's created an inspirational garden outside his own back door. See you after
27:24the break when I've done a bit more digging in the organic enrichment. Feeding alfresco with
27:31Allantich Marshes Gardening Club brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
27:40Regular watering with Allantich Marshes Gardening Club
27:46brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
27:49Breathing in the fresh air, savouring the fragrance of freshly opening flowers and feeling the earth beneath your hands isn't just good for your body, it's food for your soul, connects you with the earth, a chance to slow down and feel at one with nature and find a moment of calm and clarity in the midst of a busy life.
28:18Every week we'll be heading down the garden path to meet dedicated gardeners to explore their
28:24cherished green spaces that reflect the heart and passion they pour into them. Today Rob Smith
28:33is opening the gates to his glorious Yorkshire garden, offering inspiration and a glimpse into
28:40the soul-soothing rewards of cultivating your own piece of paradise.
28:51My name is Rob Smith and I'm a keen vegetable gardener and author.
28:57So this is my garden, I like to call it the kitchen garden, basically my back garden,
29:01half my back garden has been turned into, dedicated to growing vegetables and edibles.
29:07I think in a day and age where everyone is connected to their phone or a screen or technology, just to be able to be outside, actually hands in the dirt, doing what we've done for hundreds if not thousands of years is just amazing, the fact that you can take a little seed that looks like a stone and it grows into a beetroot or a cabbage or tomatoes, it's just magical watching that grow and being part of it.
29:36Tending these things and then at the end of the year being able to have a massive feast on everything that you've grown.
29:44I think the funniest thing for gardeners, especially those that love
29:48veggies and things that change on a daily basis, is getting up in the morning, you make yourself a cup
29:55of tea, cup of coffee, whatever, sometimes you don't even get out your pyjamas or dressing gown
30:00and you walk into the garden and you check on your seedlings or you go and check on your tomatoes to
30:04see if they're actually ripening and in any other walk of life if you saw someone dressed in their pyjamas
30:09or a dressing gown, steaming cup of tea, not done their hair, in their slippers,
30:13looking at tomatoes at half six in the morning as it gets light, I think you'd think they were crackers.
30:30It's almost like that golden hour isn't it, as the sun starts going down you've been in the garden
30:33all day long, you're a little bit shattered, you're ready to go in but you just want to
30:39take those five minutes to sit, appreciate all the hard work you've done. Even if it's little rewards
30:44like you've managed to pick a posy of sweet peas to take into the house and they smell gorgeous,
30:49just something like that that makes you smile, it's got to be enjoyable. Experiment a bit and
30:55don't be scared to fail and remember if you do fail it's just experience, that's all it is.
31:01You never fail when you come to gardening, you just grow.
31:08Thanks Rob, a lovely film there, courtesy of Aid Sellers. I love that special moment when the sun's
31:15going down and you just take a break to look at all your hard work, breathe in the fresh air and
31:23just enjoy the fruits of your labours. Oh, if only we could bottle that, eh? Next we're heading back
31:30to Cornwall with Camilla at the Eden Project and this time she's exploring the tropical haven
31:36in the extraordinary rainforest biome. I've already seen the ancient trees and other stunning
31:49plants in the Mediterranean biome here at the Eden Project but there's more for me to visit.
31:56Next I'm going to meet Aaron who is in charge of this incredible rainforest biome and what
32:01makes it different to other collections across the country is, yes, it's an amazing display
32:06of tropical plants but it's actually one of the largest indoor rainforests in the world.
32:15So Aaron, you're the man in charge here. Temperature's certainly gone up a bit since
32:19the last biome I was in and you're busy at work, so what's going on here?
32:23So John is here pruning our ficus benjamina which you will probably recognise as a common
32:28houseplant. But not that size, I mean usually they're like that or a bit bigger. This guy has
32:33been growing like freely in optimal conditions so this is what you would see in the wild in any
32:39tropical areas of the world. We have to go up every few months to trim it back so it doesn't
32:45touch the structure. But I guess in the house it's not going to grow that big because they're in pots
32:49so they're not going to be going through people's roofs. No, they need a lot of light,
32:53high humidity and heat. Well we'll leave your chap up there to get on with it and come have
32:58a look at some more things. So this place is breathtaking, it really is everything you
33:07expect it's going to be and more. But you have your roots in this sort of environment,
33:13don't you? How did it all start for you? Well I was very little, I was probably three years old
33:18and I have my first memory of African violets with my grandmother. I remember seeing them in
33:24her windowsill and just, I don't know, it just made me love plants. And that's back at home in
33:31Mexico, is that right? Back in Mexico City, yes. I went to university to study biology
33:36and then I specialised in plants. Okay and what brought you to this country then? My wife. Ah,
33:42it was true love, love of plants and love of a good woman. What is it that makes this space so
33:47perfect for tropical plants? The plants have created their own micro-environments. We used
33:53to have misters at the beginning to create these high humidity conditions, then as plants grow
33:59we don't need them anymore. So clever, they're doing their thing without any assistance then.
34:04It is incredible. There is just such a wealth of plants here from all the palms, cycads, ferns,
34:11but I've just spotted what I think, is that chocolate? It is chocolate. Ah, see I'm good
34:18with my chocolate. And you are in luck, we have lots of pots at the moment. But look at them all
34:23clustering up the trunk, that's fascinating isn't it? And what else do you have? You have lots of
34:27other fruiting bodies here. We have papayas, bananas and some star fruits. And you are in
34:34luck, we can try them. Oh, well this is my best day yet, show me the way.
34:46There it is. Ah, I see them. Well I'm not going up there are you? We will be using this ball pruner.
34:53Uh-huh, okay. And it's a very safe way of doing it. Up it goes. Wow.
35:00Ah, excellent. Well this is perfect. Here it is. Wow, beautiful shape, you can understand why
35:08they're popular. But I've never tried one, I've never tried a fresh one, I've seen them dried.
35:12Let's try one. Okay, I'd love to. We can just cut slices of it. Yep. You can peel it off or eat the
35:21whole thing. Oh, that's so sweet. It's delicious. This is a Southeast Asian plant, but it's grown
35:28in most tropical areas of the world. But this is all very well, and these plants are beautiful,
35:32but we can't really grow these at home in our gardens. So have you got anything else here that
35:36we can do at home? I will show you, we have the perfect plants.
35:40So ginger, it is native to Southeast Asia, but it is grown in every tropical area of the world.
35:47And something we really recognize in the kitchen, and it's so used, isn't it?
35:51So tell me about the ginger you've got here then. So this ginger was harvested from last year's
35:56season. This one here has been soaking in water for a few days, and then it's been
36:03So this ginger was harvested from last year's season. This one here has been soaking
36:10overnight. So you can see these growth points. And this is perfect to go into the ground.
36:17So that soaking triggers the growth, really? It does. And it softens the skin,
36:22so it will grow quicker. A little bit like you would do with a sweet pea seed or something when
36:25you're growing those. Very similar. Okay, so what would you do then? Show me the perfect way to
36:30plant ginger. Yes, they will all have a growing point. So the process here is really easy.
36:37We just grab our piece of ginger. What we're going to do is stick the ginger in the ground.
36:44Does it matter which way up, presumably? No, not really for us. As long as you can see the
36:48growing points facing up, and then just cover it with soil. Okay, that easy. If you were to do it
36:54in your home, in a pot, you can use any sunny windowsill if you have one. So keep it warm.
37:00And then how long before you see anything, before the shoots start to emerge? I would say four to
37:06six weeks in the spring. And then you've got fresh ginger for your kitchen.
37:17Oh, great insights there, Camilla. The possibilities of growing tropical plants in your own garden are
37:24endless. With a few hints and tips. Thanks, Camilla. Stay with us. After the break, we'll head to
37:32inner-city London to learn about an inspiring community garden that's training up the next
37:38generation of environmental gardeners. Growing Outside with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club,
37:47brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
37:52Watching them blossom with Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club,
37:58brought to you by Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service.
38:07It's not just out in the countryside where you'll find unique and award-winning green spaces.
38:14In our inner cities, countless community projects show that an inspiring garden can flourish
38:20in even the most unexpected places. Let's welcome the newest member of our Gardening Club family,
38:27Errol Ruben Fernandez. A passionate gardener dedicated to community engagement and sustainable
38:34practices, Errol is the head of horticulture at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London.
38:40His mission is to make gardening accessible, eco-friendly and enjoyable for everyone.
38:47Today, Errol is visiting a special inner-city garden created
38:51by the community, for the community, that nurtures both plants and people.
38:58Today, I'm at Woolworth Garden, a small but vibrant community garden, right in the heart
39:03of central London. For over 35 years, this space has been a refuge, a place of learning and a hub
39:09of inspiration. The team here have dedicated themselves to teaching sustainable gardening
39:14skills, empowering the community to grow and thrive. Today, I'm at Woolworth Garden,
39:20a small but vibrant community garden, right in the heart of central London. For over 35 years,
39:26empowering the community to support biodiversity and bringing people together.
39:37So Sarah, this place seems absolutely wonderful. Could you tell me a bit about how it got started?
39:43It used to have some old Victorian houses on it and they were demolished to make way for new
39:50housing, but the money ran out and it was sort of fenced off and left to grow wild.
39:55And then some members of the local community moved in, took over the garden and eventually
40:01got a lease from the council to open it as a community garden. So what would you say the
40:06core purpose of the garden is? The garden's a place for nature, for sustainability and
40:13encouraging biodiversity, but also a place for knowledge and nurture. So we train people with
40:22level two environmental gardening courses. That's an accredited course that can lead you into a
40:27career in horticulture. We also run garden therapy sessions and grow back sessions that help build
40:35people's confidence. Sounds absolutely fantastic. I mean, it's such an amazingly valuable resource
40:40for those people. And then all the while, sort of practicing sustainable gardening practice and
40:46sort of promoting biodiversity. Yeah, I mean, we really want people to garden for wildlife,
40:52not be in competition or exclude wildlife from the kind of gardening practices that they do
40:58going forward. Walking past the glass houses, I noticed that there's so much going on in there.
41:03They're packed to the rafters. What have you got coming out? What are you growing? Well, we grow
41:08a whole range of plants that go on to be sold in the plant centre. And of course, your local
41:14community has got a fantastic nursery with all these unusual plants right on their doorstep.
41:20I'm actually quite envious of that.
41:30So Kaya, how did you first come to be aware of Woolworth Garden? Well, I walked past it for a
41:36number of years. And at that point, I was having a bit of a hard time in life in terms of my career,
41:42my social network. So I came and I did a short social horticultural therapy course here. And at
41:48that point, I knew I loved gardening, but I was a little bit intimidated. Yeah. What sort of things
41:53did you do on that course then? We learned how to sow from seeds. We were just around plants. We
42:00spent time in here. Absorbing the magic. Absorbing, just looking and enjoying the smells. And I think
42:07nothing's scary. Then I went on to enrol for the Level 2 City and Guilds course. So now I'm a
42:14fully qualified gardener. Before you were a gardener, what was your line of work before? I spent
42:2230 years in the public sector, particularly in social work. I mean, the thought of changing
42:27careers at 50 was daunting. And, you know, to come through these doors and not just get
42:34confident and familiar with the plants, but then to get a recognised qualification
42:39and a totally new vocation has been life changing. It really has. You can see the joy in your face.
42:46Fantastic. Yeah, absolutely.
42:58There's just so much happening here in the garden. They truly embrace the power of sustainability
43:04and providing valuable work opportunities for the local community.
43:07So I thought it was only right to help out with a little project.
43:10We've got this Eupatorium cannabinum, flowers in the summer, really fantastic for pollinators.
43:19And I thought that after meeting the guys, it'd be nice to roll up my sleeves,
43:22help them out with a bit of a task. And what we want to do is propagate this. And the way
43:28that we're going to propagate this is through division.
43:33And I'm joined in this task by three horticulture students, Shah, Carey and Yasmin.
43:38I've come to Woolworth for the first time and I'm just amazed at this beautiful place.
43:45It's been fantastic. So we're going to be doing some division today.
43:49So we've got this lovely Eupatorium cannabinum. Cannabinum means hemp-like.
43:55So what we need to do is divide this up. So if you each want to take a pot or two,
44:02you just want each piece to have at least one, possibly two stems on each bit.
44:08Is that all the roots that you're cutting through?
44:10Yeah, you can actually be, it looks really brutal. Like I'm chopping up cake, basically.
44:17There's going to be a lot of growth points and where you cut the roots,
44:20you actually trigger the roots to produce more.
44:23You get a little bit of soil in the bottom of a pot.
44:26You want to think about the level at which that plant is. You don't want it to be too deep.
44:31And that looks good. And we're just backfilling around that plant. You want to leave some room
44:37so that it can be watered without the water just spilling over the edge.
44:41So that's fantastic there, Yasmin. Yeah, that's brilliant.
44:44It's really important that you make good contact between the soil and the roots.
44:49We must label this correctly. In that state, it could be anything really.
44:55We've got Woolworth Garden, WG, Eupatorium, Cannabinum.
45:00Is there a best time of year to do this sort of thing?
45:03This time of year is really good. Like you want the plant to be dormant.
45:06So in autumn, winter is a really good time to be doing
45:11your divisions of various herbaceous plants in the garden.
45:14How big do they get? Are they quite big?
45:16It's a big old plant. We'll take up an area for about a metre.
45:22And it's about a metre tall too.
45:26Just give them a really good drink. That's it.
45:28These will probably be ready to plant out in the spring, maybe late spring.
45:35When they start putting on some growth, they'll be ready to get out in the garden.
45:38OK, so if you're up for it, there's quite a lot more that we could do
45:42that we could lift and divide. So if you want to give me a hand, that'd be amazing.
45:55I just think this place is just genuinely magical.
45:58Like it feels like such an oasis and you hear that said so much.
46:02But this place sits in a truly urban environment and is just a magnet for wildlife.
46:09It's a magnet for the local community.
46:12Everybody here is just having a fantastic time learning so much,
46:17but all the while sort of embracing sustainable principles.
46:21They're growing together, plants, but also literally themselves.
46:25Genuinely excited about coming back in the future.
46:33Good to see Errol and the students hard at work there.
46:36That's all for today, but our Gardening Club journey is just beginning.
46:41Whether you're curating a vibrant houseplant collection,
46:45exploring one of the world's most enchanting gardens,
46:48planting a veg patch bursting with promise,
46:51or nurturing blooms that bring joy year after year.
46:56We're here to guide and inspire.
46:59And as spring gently unfolds, we'll be there every step of the way
47:05to help you breathe new life into your spaces and grow something truly special.
47:11I'll see you next time for more tips, tricks and insights from our Gardening Club.
47:18Until then, whatever the weather, enjoy your garden.
47:29So
47:35do
47:54Alan Titchmarsh's Gardening Club, brought to you by Green Thumb.