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and welcome to the BBC Gardener's World

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magazine podcast. Brought to you by

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the team here at the magazine. Join

0:51

us as we chat all things gardening with

0:54

the nation's favourite experts. Hello

0:59

and welcome to Garden Favourites with

1:01

me, Alan Titchmarsh. This is a new

1:04

series of podcasts about

1:06

some of my favourite things, not

1:08

whiskers on kittens and brown

1:11

paper packages tied up in strings. But

1:13

the plants that I love and think

1:15

are indispensable in a great garden.

1:18

You see, everyone gardens differently and

1:20

has their own favourite plants to

1:22

grow. Join me as I

1:24

share the plants and gardens that have become dear

1:26

to me over my gardening

1:28

years. British

1:33

gardens are unequalled really. When it comes

1:35

to one country that's got so much

1:37

to offer, nothing can beat us. But

1:39

every now and again, you really

1:42

do feel a need to get

1:44

out and into gardens overseas. And if

1:47

you're travelling abroad, look

1:49

up the nearest garden of note

1:52

and go and stretch yourself. Look at

1:54

plants which we find impossible to grow

1:56

over here and styles of gardening

1:58

and landscaping Which... Also, whoop

2:00

fresh new up when you come

2:02

back to your own garden! There

2:05

is no famous some Granada, I'm

2:07

falling under your spell. He noticed

2:09

a didn't sing it here but

2:12

he's you. Go to Granada in

2:14

Spain. Do make sure to go

2:16

to the Gardens of the Alhambra.

2:18

Know what Alhambra means is red

2:21

brick Kanto but that we are

2:23

discover does have some red brick

2:25

buildings. It also has the most

2:27

glorious gun the singular in member

2:30

must about the Gardens of the

2:32

Alhambra and the one next door

2:34

which. Sounds as though so it's

2:36

owned by an insurance company because

2:39

it's spelt General Life but it's

2:41

the cinema leases and when you

2:43

go to the Alhambra you will

2:45

also go to the similarly say

2:47

the tend to be side by

2:50

side and there is a huge

2:52

long narrow to now why does

2:54

in a real. Not quite

2:56

as wide as and now with this

2:58

will sound and so has assigned spotify

3:00

woods and in. To

3:03

disturb the water right the

3:05

way down this watercourse. And

3:07

will you realize about guns

3:09

in Spain? is this a

3:11

lot of them? The built

3:13

in courtyards and while we

3:15

prize sunshine and warms over

3:17

in the warmer parts of

3:19

Europe they prize coolness and

3:21

shade. And the gardens of

3:23

the Alhambra of the handler

3:25

the say a fine examples

3:27

of the sort of gardens

3:29

over there which originally was

3:31

prized by the. Moors which is

3:33

one of cold Morris Gardens that

3:36

they give you ideas to use

3:38

at home setting tiles in the

3:40

ground perhaps I should the frost

3:43

proof instead of York stone paving

3:45

using these long narrow watercourses and

3:47

creating shady corners where tree for

3:50

hims in this country for instance

3:52

will do particularly well over there.

3:54

They use a lot of semi

3:56

tropical shrubs and palms of course

3:59

to Korea ha because shades of

4:01

them is far more important than

4:03

sunshine. But I think the thing

4:06

we can always get from gardens

4:08

in a warm climate it's the

4:10

plants went suter gardens then the

4:13

style often will under a plants

4:15

you can use instead of the

4:17

ones you see and their to

4:20

create the same kind of ceiling.

4:22

me. For the made

4:24

a really my garden doesn't look

4:26

quite the missed the empress but

4:28

every time a gaze upon it

4:30

reminds me of it takes feals

4:32

to sunny Spain. Said.

4:35

The very tip of South Africa,

4:37

Just above Cape Town still

4:39

find one of the finest

4:42

botanical gardens in the world

4:44

now. I trained at Kew

4:46

Gardens which I was say

4:48

is the best botanic garden

4:50

in the world but running

4:52

it's a very close second

4:54

discussed and both near Cape

4:56

Town. The astonishing saying about

4:58

the African Tape and the

5:00

Cape is that very tip

5:02

of the continent of Africa

5:04

is that square meter square

5:06

meter. It is. Flourish sickly.

5:08

The richest place on earth.

5:11

There are more endemic species

5:13

in South Africa Endemic meaning

5:15

it grows there and nowhere

5:17

else than there are endemic

5:19

species anywhere else in the

5:22

world. Go to Custom Bush

5:24

if you find yourself keto

5:26

So Africa and marvel at

5:28

the plants which grow that

5:31

particularly one family. The protests

5:33

here: family: Protease it's King

5:35

Proteus Queen Proteus You have.

5:37

Seen them in local florist.

5:39

see a bit of the

5:41

cut them and they list

5:44

really well. That's very very

5:46

sued him. Very complex flower

5:48

centers in they just absolutely

5:50

shriek. South Africa is a

5:52

particular race of shrubs and

5:54

small trees that drop by

5:56

which to have this really

5:58

tough foliage of. The Rated:

6:00

It's got to cope with a

6:02

really serious tough climate, which is

6:05

why the plants grow the way

6:07

that they do. But. It's

6:09

the kind of flora that you

6:11

will literally see nowhere else in

6:13

the world. It's truly mind blowing

6:16

and going to cursed him bosh.

6:18

I'm looking at Table Mountain, which

6:20

hopefully won't have it's table cloth

6:22

on too many days you're there.

6:25

That's. What they call them miss that

6:27

settles on the top of Table

6:29

mountain and runs off down the

6:31

side but custom bosh botanic garden

6:33

you ever find yourself down there.

6:36

Isn't. Salute must. I.

6:39

Remember going to Paris having

6:41

read Nancy Mitford spoke the

6:43

some cleaning and being astonished

6:46

at the time as zooey

6:48

the fourteen sent his successes

6:50

Who lived in this glorious

6:53

palace that cold as possess.

6:56

It has a hall of mirrors

6:58

and chandeliers that is breathtaking in

7:01

terms of the way it sparkles,

7:03

but it also has a glorious

7:05

garden that was laid out for

7:08

Louis the fourteenth by. On

7:10

trail and not as friends

7:12

landscape architect who influenced so

7:14

many gardens all over the

7:16

world, but who supplied his

7:19

trade out there for the

7:21

something. Lots of guns over

7:23

here. In. Britain have been

7:26

influenced by their sons Hampton Court

7:28

with the way that that's planted

7:30

out parts of Chats With To

7:32

were influenced by the gardens. As

7:34

s I it's very difficult to

7:37

give a kind of impression of

7:39

the vastness of the place and

7:41

also the formality. but in spite

7:43

of the Sat with it's formal

7:46

and therefore by it's very nature

7:48

quite busy. It's also very spacious

7:50

and what says i will prove

7:52

to you is the value of

7:54

breasts. In a garden between

7:57

the various features that you're

7:59

citing. If a garden

8:01

is very small, it can be

8:03

overly busy, but it can also

8:05

be tastes as a gun designed

8:07

so that when you go out

8:09

there however small it's size and

8:11

scale it will calm you down.

8:13

Now you might say, what on

8:15

earth can you learn from the

8:17

vast acreage of Versailles that you

8:19

could put to good use in

8:21

your own garden? Well the only

8:23

thing that changes is the scale,

8:25

the way which is achieved. Is.

8:28

Exactly the same though you will

8:30

need few a workman, so if

8:32

you want to look, it's the

8:34

essence of formality and how it

8:36

can be used in your own

8:38

garden. Thing. Big: Go

8:40

to Versailles just outside

8:42

Paris and prepare to

8:44

be as a say

8:46

in common parlance. Gobsmacked.

8:51

Out in the Caribbean on

8:53

the Island of Barbados, there

8:55

is a garden, which is

8:57

not remotely formulae. It looks

8:59

like a pieces tropical forest

9:01

when you arrived. It's owned

9:03

by man, cold and indifferent,

9:06

humped with an eel me

9:08

and then it's called quite

9:10

simply, scarves. and and it's

9:12

really rather like walking through

9:14

and then purim of house

9:16

plants were you can't see

9:19

the wolves, he can't see.

9:21

The ceiling or you

9:23

can see least this

9:25

glorious tropical warms the

9:27

humidity of the rain

9:29

forest without it being

9:31

too uncomfortable and at

9:33

every turn glorious. A

9:35

vibrant oranges and services

9:37

And magenta is and

9:39

sorry yellows and I'm

9:41

buzzing scarlets. This is

9:43

a pure tropical garden

9:45

awash with bromeliads and

9:47

relatives of the Lily

9:49

and the Karma. and

9:52

you're absolutely at a loss to

9:54

describe it because it is so

9:56

rich and so vibrant it must

9:59

take it of controlling because

10:01

the growth rate out there is

10:03

incredibly rapid but of course being

10:06

tropical there are no seasons like

10:08

ours. Now I love seasons I

10:11

like the changes I like the

10:13

purge of winter the arrival of

10:15

spring the maturing of summer and

10:18

then comes the fall when the

10:20

leaves turn rosset, amber and scarless

10:22

and drop off none

10:24

of that happens in Barbados where the

10:26

climate stays the same all the year

10:29

round as a result of which you

10:31

can enjoy your boog and villier your

10:34

oleander all the

10:36

year round with these massive ebyscus

10:38

flowers what you'll also see out

10:40

there is a great preponderance

10:42

of wildlife and for me the

10:44

best form of wildlife to see out

10:46

in Hunt's garden on Barbados are the

10:49

hummingbirds hovering in front of the flowers

10:52

how do they do that how do their

10:54

wings beat so fast that you can't see

10:56

them moving as they suck the nectar from

10:59

each flower and then up in a corner

11:01

of the tea house at the very top

11:04

you'll see a hummingbird sitting on

11:06

its nest this is a closeness

11:08

to nature that's so

11:10

wonderful to enjoy and appreciate out

11:13

in the tropics so if you

11:16

want a garden that isn't over-prinked

11:18

but where stuff just can't stop

11:20

growing in an exuberant fashion Hunt's

11:23

garden in Barbados well worth a

11:25

trip if

11:28

I'm allowed to include Ireland

11:30

in my overseas gardens then

11:33

Mount Stewart is

11:36

one I would recommend wholeheartedly the

11:38

thing about Mount Stewart is that

11:40

it catches the Gulf Stream that

11:43

warm current of air which allows

11:45

gardens which are situated within its

11:48

purview to enjoy milder

11:50

temperatures than those wished upon the rest

11:52

of us Mount Stewart was

11:55

owned by the Londonderry family and

11:57

it really is worth going there

11:59

to see what you can do

12:01

if the climate is just that little

12:03

bit warmer. There are sweeping

12:05

lawns, there are borders, but there

12:07

are trees and shrubs in particular

12:10

which enjoy that warm, damp atmosphere

12:12

in the north of Ireland and

12:14

show you how important, in a

12:17

way, water is to plants.

12:19

I don't mean in terms of

12:21

being aquatic, but just the atmosphere

12:23

itself is completely to

12:26

their liking. So often over

12:28

here our summers are dry and baking,

12:30

certainly in recent years, but over

12:32

there the dampness, the softness of

12:34

the Irish climate will show you

12:37

what can be done, what can

12:39

be grown in a garden that

12:41

has a really crepicious climate. So

12:43

don't miss the house at Mount

12:45

Stuart which has been beautifully refurbished

12:47

by the National Trust, but do

12:50

take in the glories of its

12:52

garden, things you'll never have seen

12:54

growing outdoors in the British Isles.

12:56

So I sneak it in to

12:58

my garden overseas because, well

13:01

it is overseas really isn't it, over

13:04

the Irish Sea at any rate. Not

13:07

all foreign gardens take a long

13:09

time to get to. If

13:11

you can take a quick flight or hop on a

13:13

ferry across the North Sea you can

13:15

go to Holland and if you go in spring you

13:18

can enjoy the spectacle that

13:21

is kirkonof. Now this

13:23

is an astonishing garden which

13:25

is filled with trees to

13:27

act as background, but bed

13:29

after bed after bed of

13:31

spring flowering bulbs, daffodils

13:34

and hyacinths planted by the

13:36

thousand, tulips seemingly

13:38

by the million. Do

13:41

not go to kirkonof if your

13:43

idea of a garden is subtlety because it's

13:45

not subtle but it's spectacular

13:48

and if you're a gardener you're

13:50

bound to enjoy the fact that the

13:52

plants are grown so well. The

13:55

astonishing thing about kirkonof is that

13:57

it changes year on year. Each

14:00

year after flowering the bulbs are dug up.

14:02

I don't ask what happens to them I'm

14:04

sure they recycled but the

14:07

whole garden and it is massive

14:09

is Replanted each

14:11

year with different varieties in

14:13

different patterns to see

14:15

seas of Muscarraig looking

14:18

like a flowing mane upon

14:20

which ships could set sail

14:22

and then Scarlet orange yellow

14:24

tulips of every single color

14:27

apart from royal blue

14:29

We're still working on that But

14:31

tulips from Amsterdam will come to your

14:33

mind when you're gazing on the guards

14:35

at Kherkinov I think the

14:37

main thing for me is the fact that

14:40

the plants are grown so well and Garden

14:42

skills and gardening expertise even if

14:44

they're not necessarily the skills that

14:46

you yourself possess To

14:49

see them in other people Gardening in a

14:51

way that you're not used to gardening when

14:53

you're doing a few potfalls of tulips It

14:56

really will blow you away Kherkinov may

14:58

not be subtle, but my goodness

15:00

me it's spectacular If

15:03

you go to an Italy Go to

15:05

a lake Go to a

15:08

lake called Lake Maggiore and

15:10

on the islands in Lake Maggiore

15:12

you will find Gardens

15:15

that are more romantic I think

15:17

than any other garden I've ever

15:19

been to is all a

15:21

Bella is all a madre all these

15:23

little islands with different gardens on them

15:25

and Italy being that

15:28

much milder than here, but not

15:30

yet of tropical proportions Grows

15:33

a range of plants that somehow

15:35

seem familiar and which yet are really quite

15:38

exotic What you do

15:40

find if you go to a garden in Italy

15:42

set on a tiny island is

15:45

the love of views Vistas

15:47

and statues it seems that around

15:49

every corner There's a plinth with

15:52

a god or goddess looking

15:54

impassive and just standing there

15:57

But what it does point out when you look at these eutemos

16:00

gardens is the clever

16:02

use of statuary and focal points.

16:04

The plants are one thing and

16:06

there are glorious plants out there,

16:09

wonderful magnolias, wonderful cherries, all kinds

16:11

of garden plants, but I love

16:13

the way Italian gardens are not

16:15

backward when it comes to coming

16:18

forward and using statues and monuments.

16:20

A lot of them are ruined and

16:23

we used to copy that way back

16:25

in the 19th century in British gardens

16:27

in the 18th century doing a ruined

16:30

holly in the corner. The idea came

16:32

from ancient Greece and Rome, a

16:34

lot of it from Italy, and

16:36

when you go to these glorious

16:38

gardens on the islands in the

16:41

middle of Lake Maggiore, not only

16:43

will you enjoy pasta, the like

16:45

of which you've never enjoyed

16:47

for years, you'll also have

16:49

a lovely time in these gardens.

16:51

There is a feel to Italian

16:53

gardens which isn't replicated anywhere else.

16:56

They will have sweeping lawns, they will

16:58

have glorious gravel paths and

17:00

their statues and their trees which are

17:03

just that bit warmer than ours over

17:05

here. You'll know when

17:07

you're in Italy that

17:09

you're on holiday. Buongiorno.

17:12

That's it from me. Until next time, enjoy

17:15

your garden, whatever the weather. Thanks

17:19

for listening to the BBC Gardeners

17:21

World Magazine podcast. Subscribe now wherever

17:23

you get your podcasts and never

17:25

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17:27

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