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Britain’s rich horticultural history is being lost. More and more front and back gardens are paved over - for development, for parking spaces, or because families don’t have the time or inclination to manage these spaces. The trend for easy-to-maintain lawns, patios and paving…
Wild Flowers – Monty Don In his revival campaign, Monty Don finds out that you really do reap what you sow. Since the first half of the 20th century, 98 per cent of wild flower meadows in Britain have been lost - a statistic that which Monty finds shocking. He passionately believes that it’s not too late to do something about this and gardeners all over the UK can grow our beautiful native wild flowers. Front Gardens – Joe Swift In the past, our front gardens were highly valued and we used them to show off our gardening prowess, but sadly over time, front gardens have been paved over for parking and turned into a no-man’s land between the street and front door. Joe Swift is determined that we return our front gardens to their former glory.
Topiary – Rachel De Thame Today, topiary is mostly seen as the preserve of stately homes and formal gardens, out of reach from the rest of us. Rachel de Thame however, thinks that it’s time that this great tradition of trimming and shaping plants returns to all our gardens. Roof Gardens – James Wong James Wong is up on the roof for his revival. Roof Gardens were at their height in the first half of the 20th century but they fell from grace and he now believes the time has come to return them to their rightful place, in a celebration of our gardening heritage.
Cottage Gardens – Carol Klein As a passionate plantswoman, Carol Klein wants us all to embrace one of the most iconic and quintessentially British styles of gardening in her revival – the cottage garden. House Plants – Tom Hart Dyke Plant hunter and gardener Tom Hart Dyke is championing house plants in his revival. House plants were once revered by the Victorians but now they are much maligned, seen as dull and boring, something you would associate with being forgotten on a windowsill or gathering dust on your granny’s sideboard. As a plant hunter, Tom wants us all to fall back in love with the house plant, and hosts his campaign from the Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley.
Cut Flowers – Rachel De Thame In her revival, Rachel de Thame investigates the decline of Britain’s cut-flower industry. On her campaign she visits New Covent Garden and discovers that 90 per cent of our cut flowers are imported. She also meets a man in Cumbria who has dedicated his life to growing sweet peas. Cut flowers are big business and £120 million a year is forked out on wedding flowers. This is something close to Rachel’s heart, as she recently arranged the flowers for her daughter’s wedding and showcased the flowers she is passionate about bringing back into all our homes. Trees – Joe Swift Today only 2 per cent of Britain is covered in ancient woodland and, in our gardens, we’ve fallen out of love with trees, which is why they are the focus of Joe Swift’s revival. He loves them and as a garden designer, trees are the first things he considers when laying out a garden.
Rock Gardens – Carol Klein Carol Klein shares her infectious passion for a style of gardening that is in much need of a revival. Rock gardens were at the pinnacle of Victorian garden fashion. Carol opens up the horticultural display cabinet to the finest remaining examples across the country. Herb Gardens – Toby Buckland Toby Buckland loves plants that you can grow and actually use. Throughout history, herbs have been used in medicine, to stimulate the senses and, of course, as a flavouring in food - but he thinks there’s a danger that our knowledge and understanding of these plants is being lost. Tucked away on the banks of the Thames, The Chelsea Physic Garden is the base for Toby’s Herb Garden Revival.
Glasshouses – Diarmuid Gavin In our own homes we’ve lost sight of the potential for growing under glass. In this episode, Chelsea gold-medal-winning designer Diarmuid Gavin wants us to use glasshouses to restore a sense of adventure, flair and excitement to our gardens. The base for his revival is the Great Glasshouse of the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Shrubs – Matt James Matt James believes that shrubs deliver by the bucket load. Fantastic for privacy and screening, backdrops, focal points, fragrance, flower and foliage, they have been overlooked and ignored for too long but that is about to change. Matt thinks they can give a garden so much and in his revival he wants people to rediscover and appreciate the importance of this amazing group of plants.
Ponds – Charlie Dimmock Ever since she was a young girl, Charlie Dimmock has been fascinated by water and, in her revival, wants us all to celebrate water and wildlife in our gardens. Pollution, redevelopment and demand for water have resulted in the loss of half a million natural ponds over the last century, and Charlie believes now is the time for us all to take the plunge and do something about it. Stumperies – Chris Beardshaw In his revival, Chris Beardshaw wants to return a Victorian curiosity – the stumpery - to our back gardens. Similar to rock gardens but created from upturned stumps, logs, roots and pieces of bark, they were created to display the spoils of intrepid Victorian plant hunters.
Lawns – Sarah Raven In her revival, Sarah Raven investigates why the British are so proud of their lawns. She visits Worcester College Oxford, to catch a glimpse of lawn perfection and talks to author Tom Fort about the lawn's history and why it has fallen from favour. Tropical Gardens – James Wong For James Wong, no other gardening style can match tropical gardens when it comes to sheer spectacle, the thrill of innovation and a sense of fun. Seen as unfashionable, expensive and a lot of hard work, tropical gardening has fallen by the wayside and James is determined to revive it.
Fruit Trees – Toby Buckland Ninety per cent of all our fruit is imported and with our orchards disappearing, we’re in danger of losing our great fruit-growing heritage. As a gardener with a passion for growing produce, Toby Buckland wants to put home-grown fruit back on the menu. Ornamental Bedding - Christine Walkden Ornamental bedding was at its glorious, colourful peak during the Victorian era but high costs and high maintenance meant it ran out of steam and crashed out of fashion. Christine Walkden has always loved this decadent style of gardening and wants it back in our gardens.
Herbaceous Borders – Chris Beardshaw The herbaceous border is a truly iconic British garden feature. The number of perennial plants required, the intricacies of the designs, space required and extensive maintenance, all contributed to the herbaceous border falling out of favour with gardeners in recent years. Chris Beardshaw believes that this trend can be reversed and that these incredible displays of floral fireworks should return to our gardens once more. Kitchen Gardens – Alys Fowler Grow your own has been in full swing for the last few years but Alys Fowler wants to revive the original concept of the kitchen garden, not just the allotment or veg patch at the bottom of the garden. She thinks the garden should be a place of great ornamental beauty that provides us with food all year round.
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A politically charged mini-series researched and written by Duncan Campbell which saw dramatic Special Branch raids on BBC Scotland. An entire production office was loaded into transit vans and confiscated by the police. + One: 'The Secret Constitution' about secret Cabinet committees that amount to a secret decision making system at the highest levels of power in the United Kingdom. + Two: 'In Time of Crisis' about secret preparations for war that began in 1982 within every NATO country. This programme revealed what Britain would do. + Three: 'A Gap In Our Defences' about bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners who have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War II. + Four: 'We're All Data Now' about the Data Protection Act. + Five: 'Association of Chief Police Officers' and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order. + Six: 'Communications' with particular reference to Zircon spy satellites ...
The enormous popularity of recent British dramas such as Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and Sherlock, has led to vast interest in the real-life stories and history of the icons of Great Britain. Each episode of this series visits a famous British building or institution to explore its past and present, meeting a wide range of experts and historians along the way.
Monty Don travels to Spain, discovering gardens across the country’s diverse landscape and exploring its rich and varied history and culture. In Episode 1, he visits historic and modern gardens around the harsh central plains of Spain. In Episode 2, he continues his journey through Spain, visiting the gardens of the South. In the final episode, he discovers gardens in the lesser-known green and mountainous North of Spain.
