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Episode 18

With one of the driest summers in Britain for many years, Monty responds to viewers' questions and has plenty of advice on how to deal with drought conditions.

With one of the driest summers in Britain for many years, Monty responds to viewers' questions and has plenty of advice on how to deal with drought conditions for vegetables, fruit, flowers and containers.

Carol Klein celebrates one of the most flamboyant summer shrubs, the hydrangea, Joe Swift visits a garden which has tranquillity at its heart in both design and planting, Adam Frost gives tips on how to plant up a seating area, and Nick Bailey concludes his guide to roses with the most recent introductions.

Plus a visit to a garden planted up on a tiny budget, where over 200 containers have been filled with plants which have been either been rescued, bought cut-price or swapped.

1 hour

Nick鈥檚 favourite roses

Nick鈥檚 favourite roses

We hope you enjoyed Nick Bailey鈥檚 three-part series on the history of the rose. From old roses and hybrid teas to the popular, modern-day English rose, we think they鈥檙e beautiful and love them all. Here鈥檚 a list of the varieties Nick recommended.

Rosa 鈥楤补濒濒别谤颈苍补鈥
Rosa 鈥楤urgundy Ice鈥
Rosa 鈥楥handos Beauty鈥
Rosa x damascena
Rosa 鈥楧eep Secret鈥
Rosa gallica var. officinalis
Rosa 鈥业肠别产别谤驳鈥
Rosa 鈥楳adame Isaac P茅reire鈥
Rosa 鈥楺uatre Saisons鈥
Rosa 鈥楺ueen of Denmark鈥
Rosa 鈥楺ueen of Sweden鈥
Rosa 鈥楾homas 脿 Becket鈥

(www.findthatrose.co.uk)

The newly restored walled garden at Wynyard Hall provided the last location for our filming. It opened to the public in 2015 and is a wonderful place to see how English roses can be combined with other plants.

Wynyard Hall
Billingham
County Durham
TS22 5NF
Tel. 01740 644811

Field House Garden

Field House Garden

Rupert King has created a tranquil haven in the heart of London. His formal fish pond acts as the central axis to a green oasis full of texture and form, with the odd dot of colour here and there. The design is simple yet effective, as Joe Swift soon discovered during his visit.听

Rupert opens his garden for the NGS as part of a group opening in May, so if you鈥檇 like to drop by, check out the link below nearer the time.

(www.fieldhousegarden.co.uk)

Clapham meets Jamaica

Clapham meets Jamaica

Wayne Amiel鈥檚 25ft x 65ft north-facing garden in Clapham is packed full of plants, many of which are grown in pots. We love his ethos of bringing half-dead specimens back to life and dread to think how many he鈥檚 rescued over the years!

Wayne plans to open his garden for the NGS in 2019. For details of when and where, take a look at his blog in the spring.

听(迟耻谤谤别迟驳谤辞惫别.肠辞尘)

Gardening in a drought

When water is in short supply and there鈥檚 no end to the heatwave, looking after your garden can become a daunting task. But with a bit know-how, it鈥檚 perfectly possible to keep things ticking along. Here are our top ten tips.

鈼徧 Don鈥檛 try to water everything. It鈥檚 a complete waste of time and established plants will inevitably find their own supply deep underground. Target newly-planted specimens that haven鈥檛 had the chance to develop a good set of roots.

鈼徧 Plants growing in pots, hanging baskets and windowboxes will dry out very quickly and so must take priority when you come to water. Where possible, move them to the shade, especially if you鈥檙e about to go on holiday, and consider covering the compost with a mulch.

鈼徧 Avoid watering during the heat of the day to prevent evaporation. Early morning or last thing at night is always best.

鈼徧 One good soaking a week is far better than a quick drink every day. The roots are less likely to remain at the surface that way, making them less vulnerable to drought in the future.

鈼徧 Keep weeds under control at all times as they will compete with your plants for moisture.

鈼徧 If your lawn looks parched, don鈥檛 worry. Established lawns are far more resilient than most people think and invariably recover when the rain returns.

鈼徧 On the veg plot, focus your attention on salads, spinach and other leafy crops, along with plants that set fruit or pods, especially when they're in flower. Don鈥檛 worry about onions, carrots, parsnips or beetroot as these can fend for themselves.

鈼徧 When giving your plants a drink, concentrate on getting the water right down to the roots rather than wetting the leaves. This will help to keep powdery mildew at bay.

鈼徧 Acid-loving plants like camellias, rhododendrons and blueberries will always benefit听from being watered with rainwater. But if your water butt has run dry, tap water is better than nothing.

鈼徧 If your water butt is empty and you鈥檙e on a water meter, consider using grey water instead. Shower, bath and washing-up water containing soap or detergent is fine, so long as it鈥檚 allowed to cool down. Use it on anything you don鈥檛 intend to eat.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Hydrangea garden

Hydrangea garden

Carol鈥檚 gorgeous piece about hydrangeas was filmed in the secret walled garden at Darley Park in Derby. It holds the third largest collection of hydrangeas in the world and has National Collection status for Hydrangea paniculata. With over 800 plants on display, there鈥檚 a lot of maintenance to be done and thanks to a group of dedicated local volunteers, the garden looks amazing from the end of July right through to early October. If you鈥檙e in the area and would like to see the collection for yourself or even get involved with its upkeep, please get in touch with Hydrangea Derby.

Darley Park
Darley Abbey
Derby
DE22 1EN

(hydrangeaderby.co.uk)

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Monty Don
Presenter Nick Bailey
Presenter Adam Frost
Presenter Carol Klein
Presenter Joe Swift
Series Producer Sharon Fisher
Executive Producer Paolo Proto
Production Manager Michael Rogers

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