Gardeners' World - 2010/2011 - Episode 5

While gardeners nationwide are getting their gardens in shape over the Easter bank holiday weekend, so too are Toby Buckland, Joe Swift and Alys Fowler. Each of them is creating a back garden at Greenacre. Toby's back garden has an awkward shape with a tricky slope - typical of new-build gardens. He comes up with some innovative solutions to accommodate each family member's needs - from a traditional vegetable patch and cottage garden border to spaces for relaxation and play. Joe, in his compact garden, has some unique ideas for achieving cutting edge design without blowing the budget by using recycled and sustainable materials. He gets started by building some rammed earth walls and recommends some trees which are perfect for small gardens. 'Forest gardening' is the inspiration for Alys's plot, a method of garden planting in which each plant sustains those around it. The other idea behind a forest garden is that as many of the plants as possible provide edible fruits. Meanwhile, Carol Klein is out and about at Tresco Abbey on the Isles of Scilly, exploring the extraordinary and exotic plants that thrive in their microclimate under the care of head gardener, Mike Nelhams. While there, she also takes the opportunity to explore the Protea family. There's also a look at orchids. As well as a visit to the display at RHS Wisley, one of their experts, Lucinda Lachelin, gives a master class on how to keep orchids at home in peak condition. And popular landscape designer Dan Pearson pays a visit to the eighteenth century garden at Rousham in Oxfordshire. He reveals what makes it his favourite garden in Britain and explains why its design still manages to retain a modern edge today.