Gardeners' World - 2010/2011 - Episode 3

It's the first weekend of spring; the temperature is gradually rising and our gardens are coming to life. The first spring flowers are beginning to bloom and the garden insects are waking up and becoming active too. With bees in mind, Toby Buckland is tidying up the Bee Border at Greenacre, cutting back the ghosts of last year's plants and selecting some nectar-rich spring flowering perennials and shrubs that can be planted now to help ensure there is sufficient food for early bees. At Glebe Cottage in Devon, Carol Klein is celebrating the extensive primula family. She takes us through the family tree, from the humble, native primrose to its more statuesque, dramatic relatives, and reveals some surprising clan members in between. She also has some top tips on propagating primulas, both from seed and root-tip cuttings. Alys Fowler is out and about in Devon seeking inspiration from a gardener who has embraced the late winter and has added much-needed colour with a beautiful collection of cyclamen, fiery willow and elegant hellebores. Full of inspiration, she returns to Greenacre with suggestions of how to recreate that winter beauty by planting a wide range of diverse hellebores.