Gardeners' World 2020 Episode 2: 27 March 2020

Monty Don welcomes us to Longmeadow for the second programme of this series of Gardeners' World 2020.

Monty is already at work digging up some Pak Choi that have gone to seed.

They have also been attacked by pigeons or pheasants that have torn off the leaves.

The bed is cleared to make way for spring vegetables once the bed has been prepared.

Snowdrops
Once the snowdrops have started to fade, usually about a month after flowering it is the perfect time for lifting and dividing the clumps.

They do spread by seed but this is a slow processes and can be grown from bulbs but the best way to get more is to divide them and replant where you want them.

After digging up a clump you gently prise them apart into 2 clumps and in a year they will have doubled in size.

If you do this every couple of years your display of Snowdrops will grow and grow into a drift.

Monty shows us a nice healthy bulb with good roots and tells us never to cut the foliage back as this feeds the bulb for next year.

Monty only planted this drift of Snowdrops 4 years ago as singular plants and they have quickly spread along the border.

Snowdrops thrive in slightly damp woodland conditions, they like to be by trees and never flourish in an open space.

The other bed is just 2 years old and after cutting back the hedge they look very sparse.

Monty takes his dug up clumps to fill the gaps.

He does not want them to look like a row so staggers the planting.

They should not be left to dry out and will need watering in if the weather is dry, although unlikely for this time of year!

Once the leaves have died back they will look after themselves getting ready for the next flowering season.

Last month they went to visit Steve Owen and his National collection of Snowdrops.

Snowdrop collectors are know as Galanthophiles!

Snowdrop means milk flower!

They have 1900 varieties of Snowdrops in the collection and each year he tries to obtain new varieties for the collection.

When he gets a new variety he leaves it in the pot to bulk up and grow healthy.

As they get bigger they get moved on to bigger pots out of the greenhouse to 'middle school'.

He feeds them on Tomato feed, seaweed feed and are not fussy about what they are fed.

Some of the snowdrops are quite valuable 1 plant can sell for £150.

They come in all price ranges, 'Treasure Island' Snowdrop costs over £200.

The 'Ginns Imperati' Snowdrop is just £4-£5 and is readily available.

Once the Snowdrops are a lot bigger they move on to 'upper school' and they get put into aquatic pots and put in the ground.

They like drainage and you can then lift the pots to replace the compost or check on them.

The Snowdrop he has named after himself is worth £6,000 and it has taken him 17 years to find the right Snowdrop to put his name too.

Cutting back

Monty is cutting back last year growth on his Penstemon which won't flower until June.

His Daphne is in flower, he says they usually don't do very well for him but it is looking very beautiful.

Magnolias

A breath taking spring display of Magnolias are discovered by Nick Bailey when he visited Caerhays Estate in Cornwall.

'Bold but delicate, brief but memorable, feared but admired' is how Nick described them, saying they are a plant of contradictions.

If you haven't got one now a good time to get one!

Magnolias flower before they produce any leaves and in Winter they are covered in buds just waiting for the early Spring to open.

Fossil records show they existed over 25 million years ago and their ancestors even further back.

They evolved to be pollinated by beetles and the rubber tough outer flowers and the centre was also tough so they were not damaged by them.

Magnolias cover in a huge range of size, colour and form and there is one suitable for every situation.

The wild 'Campbellii Alba' is a huge tree with flowers as big as your head that are suitable for a very large garden.

There are small, compact Magnolias to suit a small garden like 'Ballerina' while has white loose petals and many more of them.

It flowers for a lot longer and its branches are packed with buds, it is suitable for an average garden or can be grown in a container to keep it small.

The average flowering period is just 2 weeks, which may not seem long compared to other flowers but do provide an amazing Prelude to Spring.

Planning ahead for Summer - Dahlias
Monty in his Dahlia store getting them out to check them.

He put them away in November and lifted them just after the first frost.

Monty stores them in plastic, its ok to use and reuse your plastic just don't throw it away!

The variety he has stored in plastic and old compost is 'Chimborazo' which is for the Jewel garden with its bright red and yellow blooms.

He brushes off the compost to inspect the condition of them to check they are nice and plump and not shrivelled or rotten.

He cuts off any rotten and shrivelled ones.

He can either pot them up with fresh compost and leave them somewhere cool or force them with heat by putting them above a radiator or heated mat.

Monty pots them with fresh compost and puts it in the greenhouse on a heated mat.

He will take cuttings from it in about 4 weeks time.

Withypitts Dahlias West Sussex has a huge selection.

Last September they went to meet Richard Ramsey when the Dahlias are at there best.

This year they will cut 30,000 stems for event florists.

They require big perfect blooms like 'Cafe au Lait' which is the bridal Dahlia because of its stunning colour.

There is a huge variety of shapes, colours and sizes.

They can have different colour combinations, Pom Poms or huge decorative flowers.

They grow better from a rooted cutting than from a tuber (left from tuber right from cutting).

To get a nice flower on a long stem they take out the side shoots.

He has a 'Dahlia eye' and this means he knows what is right his granddaughter Jemima also has this talent.

Annuals
One plant Monty cant do without in his Jewel garden is Tithonia.

They come from Mexico and the rich orange is essential part of the bright colour scheme.

He soaks some Coir plugs for 5-10 minutes in water until they swell up.

Monty uses his trusted wet pencil to plant the seed and then turns the pencil round to push the seeds in.

He is also planting the Cup and Saucer Vine, a climber which flowers in mid Summer until the first frost.

These are planted on their edge, and don't cover them as the light will germinate them.

They both do need heat to germinate and by doing it now you should have strong plants by the time it is to plant out.

Now is the time to prune apple and pears.

This will stimulate regrowth but there will be no fruit on it for 2-4 years.

The aim is to create an open framework.

Now is the time to cut back ferns to reveal the knuckle where the new fronds will uncurl from.

Put a layer of organic material on your borders in Spring.

It can be homemade compost or any shop bought but its best to add a thick layer to a small area than spread it out too much and there wont be any benefit.

Pond
Monty is by his pond and in the last few days it has been jam packed with frogs, mating and producing a lot of frog spawn.

What frogs like is still, shallow water.

Leave it alone, don't clean it or add plants etc and leave the frogs to spawn.

The tadpoles will hatch and the frogs leave the pond in Summer where they will spend most of the time busily eating your slugs.

These are hidden treasure to the garden as well as fascinating to watch.

Monty says his goodbyes and how now the clocks go forward it gives us even more time in the garden to enjoy.

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Gardeners' World 2020 Episode 2: 27 March 2020

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