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Gardening Made Easy | Step-by-Step Gardening at Blue Diamond's Bridgemere Show Gardens | Episode 17 — Transcript

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0:01In this episode, [music] bring the
0:03mountains to your garden with an Alpine
0:05container.
0:08How to get the best from minuses.
0:10And smarter ways to water your plants
0:12during the drier months.
0:16Welcome [music] to step-by-step
0:18gardening with me, David Domoney, at the
0:20very beautiful Blue Diamond [music]
0:21Garden Centres, Bridgemere Show Gardens.
0:37Now, our plant of the month is a big
0:39summer flowering favorite. Almost a a
0:42kaleidoscope of flower color. The
0:45beautiful hydrangea. And it's an all
0:47year round plant. Summer flowers, lovely
0:50foliage, you get autumn color, the dried
0:53flowers you can use for Christmas
0:55decorations.
0:56And then in spring, along the stems,
0:58it's one of the first shrubs to come
1:01into leaf. Lots of like little green
1:03flames coming up around the outside of
1:06the branches. You get a lot of bang for
1:08your buck with the hydrangeas. Now, just
1:10take a look at the flowers. Huge,
1:13blowsy, almost globes about the size of
1:16a grapefruit.
1:18In the center, you see a little tiny
1:20dot. That's actually the flower. Around
1:22the outside, these aren't petals. These
1:24are sepals that protect the flower
1:27within. And these sepals around the
1:28outside gain color to attract
1:31pollinators in.
1:33And that's why they dry so easily during
1:37the winter months as dried flowers on
1:39the plant, rather than if they were
1:41petals, just falling off. And in that,
1:44there's the beauty that gives it color
1:46during the winter. Now, interesting,
1:49in Cornwall and Devon, you'll see an
1:52awful lot of blue hydrangeas out and
1:55about. Now, these are Hydrangea
1:57macrophylla. These particular varieties
2:00can change the color of the flower
2:02depending on the acidity of the soil.
2:04Below seven pH, they're blue. But, on
2:08the South Downs and the chalky areas
2:11that are very alkaline,
2:13they're pink. So, the Hydrangea mophead
2:16can change its color dependent on the
2:19type of soil.
2:21Most Hydrangeas [music] originate from
2:23China.
2:24They've been popular over here for over
2:26200 years since [music] the plant
2:28hunters first brought them over.
2:32And they do very well in the British
2:33climate.
2:36Now, there are a lot of plant breeders
2:38that are looking at Hydrangeas and new
2:40varieties are coming in all the time.
2:42This particular one has been bred to
2:44hold its color rather than change color.
2:47This one's known as Deep Purple Dance.
2:50And take a little closer look right in
2:52the center there.
2:54And the little flower head, the pinprick
2:56in the middle is a beautiful azure blue
2:59there with this marvelous burgundy outer
3:02parts. It's gorgeous.
3:05Now, these are lacecap Hydrangeas. And
3:09rather than the globe, they're almost
3:11like side plates or or saucer shapes,
3:14flat. Lovely florets coming around the
3:17outside opening first and then finally
3:20varieties opening in the middle. And
3:23look at the colors here. Look at these
3:25ones here.
3:26Green opening out to pink around the
3:29outside. That is gorgeous, almost
3:31glowing in its color. And here,
3:35apple blossom.
3:38Hydrangeas like drained but moist soil
3:41and partial shade. Some morning sunlight
3:44with afternoon [music] shade is where
3:45they perform best.
3:48The exact best conditions can depend on
3:51the species and variety.
3:54Take a [music] look at this one here,
3:56hydrangea paniculata, almost cone-like
4:00in the shape of its flowers. And again,
4:02the little sepals just opening up around
4:05the outside. This is a slightly later
4:08flowering variety, and funnily enough,
4:10more tolerant to drier conditions.
4:15A classic larger species is hydrangea
4:18arborescens, which tends to have very
4:20large rounded flower heads that are
4:22usually white or a tinge of green.
4:26And down here,
4:28we have
4:29a trailing variety. And if you've got a
4:32wall, you can plant it on the top of the
4:34wall to cascade down.
4:37It doesn't end there. There's also
4:39climbing hydrangeas, too. This variety
4:42is petiolaris, lovely lace cap or fine
4:47and beautiful with a little florets just
4:50on the outer side, these sepals here.
4:52Now, it's got little roots, so it roots
4:55into the wall and climbs that way.
4:58Suitable for a north location, so if
5:01you're looking for a climber in a darker
5:02area, hydrangea petiolaris really does
5:06the business. So, many different types,
5:09masses of amount of color, and different
5:12habits as well. Plant of the month, I
5:14give you hydrangea.
5:22There are few plants as stunning as a
5:24flowering wisteria in spring.
5:27But whether they're growing up a house
5:29or over a pergola, the secret to keeping
5:31them looking good and flowering well
5:34>> [music]
5:34>> is all in the pruning. Here's what you
5:35should be doing in summer.
5:42Summer is a great time to prune your
5:44wisteria. They are beasts, they do half
5:47grow. It's finished flowering and it's
5:50having its growth spurt. And now's the
5:52time to get right in amongst it and
5:54prune some of these whippy strands out.
5:58Otherwise, they end up in your gutters,
6:01around your windows, in the door frames,
6:03and the like. And if you don't prune
6:05them, you you lose control.
6:08But where to start with a mess like
6:10this?
6:11Actually, it's quite simple.
6:14The secret is is You can see where the
6:15old wood is, just here. If I follow this
6:19branch along, about the fifth bud, 1 2 3
6:234 5, and take this whole strand off
6:27here.
6:28Now, one thing to remember whilst you're
6:31cutting is to cut it at an angle away
6:35from the leaf. So, you're angling it, so
6:37it's not going into the joint of the
6:38leaf, just away, and give that a snip.
6:41There we are. I don't want to do the
6:43detail pruning now, cuz I can't really
6:45see the framework of what the branches
6:47are. I'm keeping it really under
6:49control. And I'm only cutting things
6:51that I don't need to train. Now, this
6:54branch here, I'm going to use to train
6:57just underneath the window here. So, if
7:00you've got some that you're looking to
7:02push in a certain direction, don't cut
7:05those. Train those.
7:08Now, it really helps giving your
7:10wisteria a prune now, cuz it encourages
7:12the plant to flower. But more
7:14importantly, if you were to prune it and
7:16leave it till next spring,
7:18a lot of these whippy branches will be
7:20hiding the flowers that you have got
7:23growing.
7:24And of course, if you're allowing a
7:25little bit more light into the plant,
7:29you're also helping the wood to ripen as
7:31well, because the sun's getting through,
7:34and so is the air.
7:36Hey, here we are. Here's something
7:37interesting. Look down here.
7:39If you don't do it, look at this one.
7:40This one
7:42is in fact growing back into itself and
7:46starting to re-wrap
7:48itself along the main trunk area. So,
7:51what I'm going to do is disconnect
7:55this one here
7:57and take it out
7:59from around
8:01the trunk.
8:03Untangle it, so to speak.
8:06There we are. It's got caught.
8:10Look, it's even sprouting from the base.
8:13You just need to chop those off. Just
8:15clean everything up. Keep it as
8:17uncongested as you can.
8:21Now, this one here is a bit of a woody
8:23one,
8:24but it's not really needed in the
8:25framework. So, I'm going to remove this.
8:27Listen, don't be shy. E- Even if you've
8:29got a wisteria that you haven't pruned
8:31for a while, summer is a great time just
8:34to get control
8:36enough to make it easy for you during
8:38the winter.
8:40And then,
8:41when it's winter, this plant loses all
8:44its leaves and you can clearly see the
8:46wooden framework underneath. And that's
8:48when you get in and do the more detailed
8:51pruning. But, this way, you've got it
8:53under control and it makes the job of
8:54winter pruning so much easier.
8:59There we are. All under control. Couple
9:01of minutes job [music]
9:03and it helps the wisteria not only look
9:05good, but flower, too, [music] for next
9:07year.
9:14Now, we're into the summer and the sun
9:16is shining. The occasional job of
9:18watering becomes a daily task. But, what
9:21happens if you're busy? What happens if
9:23you go on holiday?
9:25I'm going to give you some hints and
9:27tips on how you can set up automatic
9:30watering systems that help you take care
9:33of your plants.
9:39The first one is very easy.
9:42It's one of these little spikes.
9:45These spikes here you attach onto
9:47bottles and at the bottom there's tiny
9:49holes that release water over a period
9:52of time. Now, let me just show you. I'm
9:53just using an old plastic bottle.
9:57Fill it up
9:59with water.
10:02And then you attach the adapter straight
10:05on.
10:06There we go.
10:08Turn it upside down.
10:10Well, you can see that's that's flowing
10:12just a little bit too quick.
10:14The secret of success with these is
10:16calibrating the flow. And you do that
10:20with a little bit of kitchen roll,
10:22inserting it in there to slow down the
10:25amount of water. Now, I've done this one
10:27earlier. As you can see, it's already
10:29fitted in there.
10:31And now
10:35you can see it's just a slow drip cuz
10:38that's what you want, a regular constant
10:40supply of water. And you just insert it
10:43down
10:44next to your plant.
10:46If you're going away for longer than a
10:48day or two, or you don't want to keep
10:50refilling it,
10:51you can of course use bigger bottles.
10:54But of course, you have got to keep
10:56topping these up as they run out. If
10:58you're looking for something a bit more
11:00elaborate, well, we've got that too.
11:06Now, this is an automatic watering
11:09system.
11:10And just like any kit that you buy or
11:14get given,
11:15it always looks much more complicated
11:17than you think. It usually ends up being
11:19left in a box in the shed. I'm going to
11:21set one up here with you and we can see
11:24together how easy it's going to be.
11:29The box should contain everything you
11:31need except batteries. [music]
11:33There are all sorts there, from pipes to
11:35drippers and fixings, but don't [music]
11:38be overwhelmed.
11:39To get started, you need the controller,
11:42the larger pipe, and a flow controller.
11:47Now, the first thing I've done is out of
11:49the box, I've taken the timing
11:50controller. And with a little adapter
11:53that you get, that fits on
11:56to your tap.
11:59And then you attach
12:00the timing controller
12:02to that.
12:04Now, I've already inserted the batteries
12:07into the control panel, and I'm just
12:09taking off
12:10this normal hose adapter on the bottom,
12:14and instead putting this flow regulator
12:18instead. It helps keep a constant flow
12:21to the drippers, and that just screws in
12:24to take its place.
12:27Make sure it's well
12:30in position and tight.
12:32Now, I've got to attach the feeding pipe
12:35to the bottom.
12:36And it's just a push on.
12:39Now, in the kit, some of those bags are
12:41just full of hose tidies, so you can
12:44attach it to the fence or peg it down
12:46and the like. But for the sake of this
12:48demonstration, I'm going to get straight
12:50to the business end.
12:54>> [sighs]
12:54>> Now, there are a couple of options with
12:56this, and this is the easiest one. You
12:58just
13:00peg it down,
13:01and run it as a line quite close to your
13:04plants.
13:07And then,
13:08where your plant is close to the pipe,
13:11with this little widget, you poke a hole
13:13in it,
13:14and push in one of these little
13:16drippers.
13:17And then, when the automatic system
13:19comes on,
13:20this drips water in and take care of
13:22this plant. And as you snake it around
13:24your borders, you can be sure every
13:27plant has access to water automatically.
13:31For hanging baskets and pots, the thin
13:34hose comes into play.
13:37Now, the secret with your pots and
13:39containers is to try and get the hose as
13:42close to them as possible. You don't
13:43actually need them to rest on the top of
13:46the containers because we're going to
13:47get something to help the water make
13:50that journey. And that is a small bit of
13:52pipe,
13:54a little bit of feeder that drops the
13:56water into the pot, and a small
13:59connector that connects the little hose
14:01onto the big one. And of course, the all
14:04important widget.
14:06Now, what I'm going to do is just make a
14:08hole
14:09in the main hose using the spike end of
14:13the little widget. And you can hear it
14:15click.
14:17There you go.
14:18Next, use the connector. And what you do
14:21is you insert it into the bottom of the
14:23widget. So, you've got this piece in
14:25like that.
14:27And then, with a bit of pressure, push
14:29it in
14:30and then start twisting it to screw it
14:33in.
14:34The next thing is I get hold of the
14:36hose.
14:38And then,
14:40with a bit of wiggling
14:42and a bit of pressure,
14:44it makes a good connection
14:46to the to the main hose.
14:49Next,
14:50this has two ends. The smooth end is
14:54where the water comes out. The one
14:56that's slightly ribbed here,
14:58that helps hold the hose on. And with a
15:00little bit of pressure
15:02and wiggling, it connects it onto the
15:04small hose.
15:05And then, I just
15:07stick it into position,
15:09ready to take the water to this
15:11individual plant.
15:12Now, if you've got a lot of pots and
15:14containers, you can make this stretch a
15:16bit further by looking out for one of
15:18these little things in in packaging.
15:20It's a little T-bar junction,
15:22effectively, enabling me to have one
15:25hose coming from the the the main feed
15:28going off and splitting to do two pots.
15:31Rather than one just in there, one comes
15:33out to do two. Let me just show you what
15:36I've done here. So, with that little
15:38connector
15:39I've connected two pipes on
15:42with two
15:43individual feeders
15:45and this little short pipe here
15:47to connect into the main one.
15:49With these little spaghetti lines, you
15:52can create little diversions, one to do
15:54one container, one to do a window box,
15:57and a whole host of others. And because
15:59you're splitting them as they go
16:01it just makes it flexible. You can make
16:03it bespoke for what you have.
16:07And I've even got a nice long one here
16:11for my hanging basket.
16:13No matter what system you use, there is
16:15one more important job.
16:18Now, if you don't put anything on the
16:20end,
16:20>> [laughter]
16:20>> the water just comes straight out, and
16:22that's where this bit of kit comes in.
16:25Thread it through like that.
16:27Bend over the end.
16:32Tuck it in.
16:34And that seals it.
16:36Perfect.
16:37Everything automatically watered.
16:40Then you've got to program it. You can
16:42set it for how long it waters and how
16:45often it waters, all dependent of the
16:47weather, of course. The one thing to do
16:49though, remember
16:50to turn
16:51your tap on first.
17:01A great job to do at this time of year
17:04to get lots more free plants is to lift
17:08up your irises and divide them. There
17:11are different types of iris.
17:13These are bearded iris, [music] iris
17:16germanica.
17:17They have large blowsy blooms in a range
17:20of colors that can flower from April to
17:23June depending on the variety.
17:26Now, the first thing you notice when you
17:27see irises you've got this lovely
17:29sword-like foliage coming out in a fan
17:32and then you've got these knobbly bits
17:35at the bottom. These are rhizomes and
17:37they're on the surface of the soil cuz
17:39they like to warm up from the sun and
17:41that helps generate the activity of the
17:43plant to perform really well with
17:46flowering.
17:47Now, the issue is is once that's
17:49finished it produces other rhizomes and
17:52then it starts to spread out and then
17:54eventually you end up with a bit of a
17:56bald patch where the foliage is on the
17:58outside and the knobbly clumps of the
18:00rhizomes are in the middle. It's not
18:02only that, if it gets too congested it
18:05also inhibits some of the flowering.
18:07They don't quite perform as well. So,
18:10after about 3 to 4 years, maybe even 5,
18:14that's a really good time to start
18:16declumping. And the best time to do the
18:19splitting is about 6 weeks after it's
18:22finished flowering. So, now is a really
18:24good time.
18:27These irises [music] aren't too bad
18:29but they're perfect for me to
18:31demonstrate with.
18:32Lift them up by digging around the plant
18:35[music] a few inches both outside and
18:38under the roots and then gently [music]
18:40lift out the entire clump.
18:44Here we are.
18:45A rhizome clump.
18:47And to split them up it's a lot easier
18:49than you think.
18:50Now, I'm not going to use any tools cuz
18:52I don't want to damage the rhizome
18:53itself. I'm going to use my hands and
18:56then literally
18:57pull
18:59it apart like that.
19:01Oh, look. There's two there.
19:04There's one in this one here.
19:05I could in fact probably cut it in half
19:07again and have two but for the for the
19:09sake of this I'm going to leave it as
19:11one plant to get on the grow quite
19:13early. And then I've got another one
19:16perfect just here. Now, the next thing
19:18I'm going to do
19:19is reduce the foliage down a little bit.
19:22Because the roots have been out of the
19:24ground, they've not fully anchored in.
19:26Sometimes with this big foliage here,
19:27the wind blows it and can rock it in
19:29position. But if I take some of the
19:31foliage down, what that'll do is make it
19:33a little bit more stable in its
19:35position.
19:37So, I'm reducing it
19:39down by about half
19:42just to make sure there's enough foliage
19:44for the plant to photosynthesize and
19:45obviously produce energy for it to grow,
19:48but not tall enough to make it unstable.
19:50I'll just take away any of the old
19:53leaves
19:54that have died back as well, taking the
19:55opportunity just to give it a clean up.
20:02There we are. A brand new plant to put
20:04in. Let's get it in the ground.
20:09Now, the secret with planting is to
20:10always remember this rhizome must be on
20:13the surface of the soil, not underneath
20:16the soil, cuz it needs the sun to warm
20:18it.
20:19A lot of the questions I get from people
20:21saying, "My iris aren't flowering pretty
20:23well." And I ask them, "Lift them up.
20:26Lift them up.
20:27Let that sun kiss its back.
20:30And you plant them the distance between
20:3325 and 30 cm from the next iris. And
20:37just firm it well in.
20:39Make sure the rhizome's all clear.
20:42And it's ready to grow.
20:49Many garden centers have areas dedicated
20:52to alpines, a mix of brightly colored
20:55flowers and succulent plants.
20:58They're great in a rockery or a pot.
21:00And with the summer holidays here,
21:02they're great fun [music] to plant up
21:04with the kids, too.
21:11>> Now, these are all little alpines.
21:14They're not all from the Alps, but they
21:16are from rocky regions or also
21:19mountainous areas. Usually quite a small
21:21root system cuz they're used to growing
21:23in stones and outcroppings and the like.
21:26Usually baking sun on top of them as
21:29well.
21:30The best container for alpines is a
21:32shallow container. They haven't got deep
21:34root systems. You don't want a big pot
21:36that can hold a lot of moisture cuz they
21:38don't like that. And these shallow ones
21:40fit the bill perfectly. Inside, I put a
21:43mixture. A combination of 50% peat-free
21:46compost and 50%
21:49horticultural grit. And horticultural
21:51grit is just many small stones, but it's
21:54also got a bit of sand in it as well.
21:57And this combination aids drainage,
22:00which helps the plants not sit in too
22:02much water.
22:04You can also add a few features as well.
22:07Stones or rocks, something that gives it
22:09a little bit of character, feeling as if
22:12it's mountainous. Or
22:14broken bits of pots. This is from an old
22:16strawberry pot. I'm going to nestle this
22:18into the corner here just to give a bit
22:21of structure and interest.
22:24Now, it's onto the plants.
22:25The first one
22:27is a little erodium here. Take a close
22:31look at the flower.
22:33Beautiful vein markings in The thing
22:35about alpines,
22:37it's all about the detail.
22:40Beautiful foliage underneath. In fact,
22:43I'm going to pop this plant through the
22:46hole that you can see there just at the
22:49back. Tease the head through. I'm poking
22:52it in the back here.
22:54Take your time.
22:55Enjoy it.
22:57It is a
22:59sensory moment. Oh, that's lovely.
23:02There we go. And a little bit of compost
23:06just at the back
23:08to fill in.
23:10Good thing about the little rhodium, it
23:12flowers for quite a long period of time.
23:15Spring right the way through into
23:19into late summer.
23:21In the front
23:23I'm going to plant saponaria. It's
23:26another carpeting plant.
23:29Now, it gets its name
23:31from the
23:33from the Latin
23:35sapo
23:37or even the Italian
23:39sapone
23:40meaning soap. Both the leaves and the
23:43roots themselves when immersed in water
23:47contains soap qualities. And I'm
23:49positioning it here for these beautiful
23:52pink flowers. Again, from spring through
23:55into summer that this plant is going to
23:57cascade down the front.
24:01Now, the next plant I'm putting in
24:03is a must as an alpine. It's a sedum.
24:07Stonecrop is its other name. If you take
24:10a look at the detail
24:12of the leaves, little tiny
24:14thick lobes of leaves, and each one of
24:17them is holding moisture, which makes it
24:20a particularly good plant for areas that
24:23experience a great deal of drought.
24:26These lovely little flowers, very dainty
24:29as a But everything is about detail, and
24:32that's appreciation here. It's these
24:34dainty flowers sitting just above this
24:37beautiful foliage. So, I'm going to
24:39nestle that just by the side of the
24:41container there. So, that's going to
24:43grow into that, and again, cascade down
24:47the sides. And look at the different
24:48texture of the foliage as well, and the
24:51combination of the flowers. It's
24:53starting to become a a very interesting
24:55container.
24:57Next up,
24:58a little Saxifraga mossy. Look at this
25:00plant. Spongy, moss-like foliage, and
25:04then on these spikes here,
25:07lovely flowers
25:09born right above, as if as if they're a
25:11cloud floating above it. When we was
25:13kids, we loved this plant cuz my dad had
25:15one in the back garden, and because
25:17again, it's a carpet, it grew over the
25:19wall and down the wall. And we used to
25:21be able to lift it up, and it was like a
25:23mat of the foliage underneath. We used
25:25to hide secret notes and things like
25:27that behind it. It is a lovely little
25:29plant.
25:30So, I'm going to position this at the
25:32back to use the height of the flowers
25:35when it comes into bloom.
25:39Now, there is still space in this pot.
25:43Originally, I had in mind to plant this
25:44sempervivum.
25:46The issue is, if you start to cram it
25:48in,
25:49it starts not to look like an alpine
25:52pot, more just a pot packed with plants.
25:55You're trying to make a scene more than
25:59a planted container. So, from where
26:02you're looking at this side, you can see
26:03the nice rim of the pot, and there's a
26:06little bit of gap in between either
26:09side, of which I will be adding some
26:12grit to give it a sort of like a
26:15a rocky feeling. It gives a chance of
26:18the container and the grit to be part of
26:21the feature, and give it some
26:22personality.
26:24You also want space for the plants to
26:26grow. These will be in this container
26:29for years and years, so give them a a
26:31little bit of breathing space. And the
26:33other thing that's key with alpines is
26:37they don't like too much water. So, by
26:39leaving some gaps with the gravel, you
26:41can water the ground rather than they
26:43leaving moisture on the foliage.
26:46And a little bit of grit
26:48in the back of the container just here,
26:50as well,
26:52finishes it off looking great from that
26:54side.
26:56This side,
26:58this side, and even this one as well.
27:01So, it's a feature container rather than
27:04just a pot full of plants.
27:11Fancy getting the kids gardening? We've
27:13got five sets of Kent & Stowe kids
27:15gardening tools to give away, and
27:17entering is completely free.
27:21Click on the link in the description and
27:22leave a comment [music] below on the
27:24gardening topic you'd like me to cover
27:26in a future episode. Open to UK
27:28residents only. Closes the 16th of July,
27:312026 at 11:59 p.m.
27:33>> [music]
27:33>> Terms and conditions apply.
27:36Well, that's it for this episode. I hope
27:38you enjoyed it. If there's any gardening
27:40activity you'd like me to cover in a
27:42future episode, please put it in the
27:44comments below. And why [music] not
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27:48free gardening content.
27:50Thanks for watching. Enjoy your garden.

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