Gardeners World 2023 Episode 24 – Monty Don, a renowned gardening expert, meticulously plants a variety of bulbs in pots, notably the vibrant hyacinths and the classic daffodils. He generously shares his wealth of knowledge, offering invaluable tips and advice for those encountering issues with their apples and pears, particularly when these fruits have fallen prey to notorious diseases like canker and brown rot. Additionally, Monty provides an in-depth, seasonally relevant guide on the art of collecting and preserving seeds for future use.
On another note, Toby Buckland embarks on a captivating journey to Rye where he stumbles upon an eco-friendly home. This residence stands out not just for its sustainable design but also for its distinctive garden, meticulously curated with a focus on supporting and enhancing the local wildlife. As summer slowly starts to bid its farewell, Rachel de Thame embarks on a quest for late-season gardening inspiration. She finds herself in awe at a garden in Berkshire, where the borders burst with lush vegetation and a planting style that’s unexpectedly refreshing.
Diving deeper into the world of creative souls and their love for gardens, we get acquainted with a passionate singer-songwriter. For her, the garden is more than just a piece of land; it’s a sanctuary that fuels her creativity. With its myriad of colors, intriguing textures, and compelling forms, it’s easy to see how this vibrant space becomes her muse. Further north, in Yorkshire, we are introduced to a dedicated gardener who, against all climatic odds, has transformed his space into a tropical haven, reminiscent of faraway exotic locales.
Lastly, we are thrilled to showcase a collection of films sent to us by our loyal viewers, offering a glimpse into their gardening passions and pursuits.
Gardeners World 2023 Episode 24 – A Kaleidoscope of Color and Creativity
The latest episode of Gardeners World showcases an inspiring spectrum of passionate gardeners, breathtaking plant combinations, and nourishing sanctuaries.
Planting Vibrant Spring Bulbs
Renowned gardening expert Monty Don begins by meticulously planting a variety of bulbs in pots, notably the vibrant hyacinths and the classic daffodils. With decades of experience under his belt, Monty generously shares his wealth of knowledge, offering invaluable tips and advice.
When planting hyacinths, Monty recommends using a free-draining bulb fiber mix and planting the bulbs just below the surface. Place the pots in a cool spot for around 10-12 weeks before bringing them indoors. Hyacinths thrive in bright, indirect light. To encourage lush foliage, give them regular watering. Once the flowers begin to fade, ease back on watering to allow the bulbs to ripen.
For daffodils, Monty suggests using a 50:50 mix of multipurpose compost and horticultural grit. Plant the bulbs three times their height deep, placing them in bold drifts of color. Site them in full sun. Daffodils are hardy and low maintenance, requiring little watering or fertilizing. Once the leaves die back, lift and divide congested clumps to promote future flowering.
With his seasoned green thumb and passion for plants, Monty’s bulb planting tips and tricks provide invaluable guidance for gardeners seeking to incorporate these spring harbingers into their own outdoor spaces.
Combating Common Fruit Tree Diseases
However, Monty also encounters some worrying issues with his apple and pear trees – two fruits often plagued by notorious diseases like canker and brown rot.
Canker
Canker is a fungal disease that affects the wood of trees, causing cracked, warty growths that can girdle branches and eventually kill off sections of the plant. It often strikes apple and pear trees. At the first sign of symptoms, Monty recommends pruning back to healthy wood and burning all infected trimmings. Choose disease-resistant cultivars when planting new trees and ensure adequate spacing for air circulation, as humidity exacerbates the problem. Fungicides applied at bud break and throughout the growing season may help protect vulnerable trees.
Brown Rot
Whereas canker attacks the wood, brown rot is a fungal disease that ruins the fruit itself. It causes brown, mushy spots that spread quickly in humid conditions. To treat brown rot, Monty urges meticulous sanitation – remove and destroy all infected fruit. Don’t compost it. Fallen fruit also needs prompt disposal before fungal spores take hold. As a preventative measure, prune for openness and spray with fungicides at bloom time. Promptly harvest ripe fruit before the rot gains a foothold.
With Monty’s wise words of warning, apple and pear growers can arm themselves with knowledge to safeguard their beloved trees against these destructive diseases. A combination of preventative care, vigilant monitoring, and prompt treatment at the first sign of infection is key to protecting fruit yields.
The Subtle Art of Seed Saving
In addition to his firsthand planting tips, Monty also dives into the seasonally relevant art of collecting and preserving seeds for future use.
Timing is everything when it comes to harvesting seeds at their peak maturity. Watch closely and collect seeds on a dry day when seed heads or pods appear dried and brown. Store small seeds in paper envelopes or glass jars in a cool, dark place. For larger seeds like peas or beans, remove from pods and let dry further before storage.
When saving seeds from open-pollinated plants, isolate varieties by distance or barriers to prevent cross-pollination. Mark locations carefully. Turn a few heads into the garden as insurance so future generations are adapted.
For long-term viability, keep stored seeds cool and dry. Enclose a silica gel pack to absorb moisture. Test germination yearly and use oldest seeds first. With proper harvesting and storage techniques, home gardeners can preserve genetic diversity and customize selections perfectly adapted to their growing conditions.
An Eco-Friendly Wildlife Haven
Toby Buckland’s segment spotlights an eco-friendly home near Rye built with sustainability in mind. But even more impressive than the house itself is the surrounding wildlife habitat garden, meticulously designed by Kristina Clode. With native plants, varied features, and thoughtful form, this garden supports local biodiversity while retaining aesthetic appeal.
Bat houses and a pond with insect-rich water provide prime habitat for bats, an integral garden visitor. Swathes of long meadow grasses hide unseemly construction features while offering seasonal interest and food sources. A native wildflower meadow takes center stage, surrounded by a shorter flower turf that withstands foot traffic and wetness better. Shrubs and perennials provide year-round shelter and seeds. Toby favorably compares the garden layers to a complex painting, with different dimensions of interest.
This garden disproves the notion that native habitat gardens must appear unkempt. With Kristina’s designer expertise, ecosystems seamlessly intertwine with beauty and a sense of adventure. Winding paths allow exploration while mixed borders offer color. Unexpected plants like miscanthus, verbena, and dahlias thrive alongside classic natives, showing that conventional gardening wisdom can be thrown out the door when supporting wildlife. This garden demonstrates that spaces can nurture creatures, delight visitors, and make greener living achievable.
A Sanctuary Fueling Creativity
Diving deeper into the intimate link between gardens and creative souls, we are introduced to singer-songwriter Kyla La Grange. For this musical artist, her small London garden has become a sanctuary fueling inspiration.
Kyla transformed her narrow 13×42 foot plot into a whimsical, enveloping space. Withdense multi-level planting and vertical coverage, it harbors a magical, secluded atmosphere suggestive of fairy tales. different garden rooms provide sensory experiences ranging from woodland tranquility to hot tropical exuberance.
Foliage proves integral to the garden’s magic. Sweet woodruff and digitalis soften shaded corners, playing with light and dark. Bold bananas and tree ferns obscure depth and distance. Shimmering grasses cocoon secret spaces. Kyla artfully repeats colors between sun-loving echinacea, monarda, and verbena while contrasting their dramatically different textures.
This garden demonstrates imaginative possibilities even in the most constrained urban plots. Kyla’s artistry turns a simple space into a living masterpiece. Her poetic plant combinations and sense of fantasy transport visitors. For this creative singer-songwriter, the sensory enchantment of her garden sanctuary clearly provides a deep wellspring of inspiration.
A Tropical Haven Against the Odds
Further north in Yorkshire, we meet Kristofer Swaine, proving climatic constraints can be overcome to create exotic tropical gardens by exercising care and providing specialized conditions. His backyard has morphed over nine years from a blank canvas into a steamy oasis with eye-popping drama.
Tropical and subtropical specimens thrive thanks to Kristofer’s bespoke techniques. Towering palms, bananas, bamboos, and cannas lend the jungle vibe. Beds raised on railway sleepers improve drainage for Mediterranean plants. Protection like horticultural fleece, straw, and greenhouse overwintering assist marginally hardy specimens.
This gardener rejects traditional layouts in favor of artful vignettes, allowing plants to shine. Colorful annuals like amaranth self-sow. Vining Mandevilla and Dipladenia add tropical flair. Rare windowsill plants like Amicia zygomeris flourish in the backyard abundance. As Kristofer expands his exotic plant palette, his ever-evolving garden offers an experience reminiscent of travels to sultry far-flung locales. But for his children, this wonderland in their very own backyard beats any exotic vacation.
Gardening Passions of the People
In our popular gardener profile segment, we showcase a collection of inspiring films sent in by loyal viewers across the country. These offer an authentic glimpse into the diverse gardening passions that unite garden-lovers nationwide despite their different corners of the country.
Eighty-two-year old Hilary proves that age is no impediment to garden ambition in her new Derby plot. undiscouraged by its initial emptiness, she tackles building terraces and soon fills them with mouthwatering produce. Her talent for vertical gardening utilize a neighbor’s wall to support climbers. This spirited gardener’s hands-on determination shows gardening keeps her active and young at heart.
Young Logan in Bath narrates us through the transformations in his vegetable patches and fruit trees over the summer months. His garden proves itself an antidote helping him through emotional struggles. Despite battling anxieties, Logan finds calm joy tending his plants and watching them thrive under his care. Like many, he discovers gardening’s therapeutic benefits.
These viewer stories reaffirm that gardening ignites deep passion across ages. For green thumbs like Hilary and Logan, gardens provide meaning, purpose, nourishment, and emotional succor. Their devotion mirrors all gardeners who share the innate human love of nurturing new life. Although approaches may differ, at its core, gardening connects us all.
Key Takeaways:
- When planting spring flowering bulbs, follow Monty Don’s tips for optimal placement and care. Focus on good drainage and sunlight exposure.
- Be vigilant about diseases like apple canker and pear brown rot. Prune diseased wood, remove infected fruit immediately, and use preventative fungicidal sprays to protect vulnerable trees.
- Seed saving allows self-sufficiency and plants tailored to your growing conditions. Collect seeds at peak ripeness, air dry, and store in a cool, dark place.
- To create a wildlife haven, blend habitat plants and native species with aesthetically pleasing design features for maximum appeal, as shown in the Rye eco-garden.
- Gardens can be creative inspirations and soothing sanctuaries, as singer-songwriter Kyla La Grange’s imaginative city plot demonstrates.
- With careful techniques, even challenging climates can support exotic tropical plant collections for staycation fantasies, like Kristofer Swaine proves.
- Gardening fuels diverse passions in people across the country, acting as a source of joy, calm, and purpose, as the viewer profiles of Hilary and Logan exhibit.
Frequently Asked Questions – Gardeners World 2023 Episode 24
What are Monty Don’s top gardening tips?
Some of Monty’s top gardening tips include focusing on soil health by adding organic matter, being ruthless about cutting back perennials in fall, paying attention to plant combinations and structure, and making gardens wildlife-friendly by avoiding chemicals. He strongly believes gardens should be joyful, relaxing spaces.
How can I treat brown rot on my fruit trees?
To treat brown rot fungal disease, be vigilant about picking up and removing fallen fruit, which harbors spores. Dispose of infected fruit immediately – do not compost it. Improve air circulation via pruning and avoid overcrowding. Spray trees with fungicides containing chlorothalonil or myclobutanil at bloom time and intervals thereafter.
When is the best time to plant spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils?
The optimal time to plant spring bulbs is in fall, around late September to November. This allows the bulbs to establish roots before winter dormancy. Plant bulbs pointed end up at a depth 2-3 times their height. Choose a sunny, well-draining spot. Add bone meal or bulb fertilizer to soil for nutrients.
How can I attract more wildlife to my garden?
Provide food, water sources, and diverse habitats to attract wildlife. Plant native flowers, shrubs, and trees. Leave areas of long grass and leaf litter. Put up bird houses, bug hotels, and bird feeders. Add a small wildlife pond with sloping sides. Avoid chemicals. Let some veg plants flower and go to seed.
What are some good plants for small, shady gardens?
Some excellent plants for small, shaded gardens include azaleas, hellebores, heucheras, astilbes, hostas, ferns, epimediums, pulmonarias, tricyrtis, bergenias, leopard plants, lilyturfs, and varieties of ivy. Focus on foliage interest, texture, and color. Add architectural elements like containers, sculpture, and benches.
Conclusion
This latest episode of Gardeners World once again proves gardens have the power to inspire and soothe the soul. Monty Don generously shares nuggets of his hard-earned wisdom so we can emulate his successes or avoid his pitfalls. We see how gardens give even small living spaces outsized impact when crafted by imaginative, artistic hands. Against the odds, a tropical haven arises in the north by meeting plants’ specialized needs. Gardening passions transcend age and circumstances; green sanctuaries offer calm and purpose. Despite winter’s looming approach, possibilities still abound out in the garden. With insight from these experienced growers, we can expand our skills and continue nurturing plant life, even through the cooler months. Our gardens reward dedication with beauty, joy, and a sense of deep satisfaction.
