The BEST episodes directed by Andy Francis
#1 - Episode 2
Gardeners' World - Season 45 - Episode 2
With the official start of spring and Mothering Sunday only days away, Monty Don and the team look at the practical ways to achieve a better looking garden at this busy time of year. Monty is selecting and planting climbing roses at his garden in Herefordshire and gives plenty of advice on how to get them to thrive. A visit to a national collection of rambling roses in Gloucestershire provides plenty of inspiration for gardeners to choose different varieties to suit different garden situations. Monty also gets on with some timely and essential border maintenance tasks that we could all be doing in our gardens this weekend. With a large part of the UK already suffering from drought conditions, Carol Klein looks at how some plants have adapted themselves to grow in the driest of soils and gives us her choice of plants which, for those of us who may not be able to water our gardens this year, should survive with the minimum of attention. And Joe Swift continues his design series looking at different gardens to find out what we could learn from their layout and how to apply those rules to our own back gardens.
#2 - Episode 4
Gardeners' World - Season 45 - Episode 4
With the garden growing apace, Monty shows us how we can take advantage of the new growth of all sorts of perennials, and begins by taking cuttings from emerging Delphiniums in his border and also from a pot grown plant. He also demonstrates the best way of planting Clematis against a wall to ensure a profusion of summer flowers, keeps on top of the seasonal seed sowing and explains why, at this time of year when growing space and plant protection is at a premium, a coldframe can be an essential bit of kit for any gardener. Carol travels to Southern Ireland looking at wild primroses and meets a remarkable man who has spent the last 35 years conserving old 19th century Irish primroses as well as breeding new varieties. We find the secrets of growing successful Clematis from a woman whose passion for them has led to her collecting and growing over 100 of them in the harsh climate of her Northumberland garden.
#3 - Episode 6
Gardeners' World - Season 45 - Episode 6
This episode is packed with know-how about how to sow a seed and ideas about improving gardens this summer. Monty begins by explaining that, by sowing a few simple seeds, he has been able to stock the beds in his walled garden with summer colour. He also carries out some timely pruning of winter flowering shrubs to ensure plenty of flowers next spring. As a response to a keen gardener's cry for help, Carol gives a masterclass on successful seed sowing and shows what mix of compost to use, how to sow different sizes of seed, how to water them and what aftercare they need. Rachel returns to her group of novice gardeners as they get going on their cut flower patch and begin sowing the easiest of all seeds to grow - hardy annuals. And the programme visits a man who last year set himself the challenge of creating a two-acre meadow in Somerset crammed with a heady mix of annual flowers with such spectacular results that it became known as the field of dreams.
#4 - Episode 8
Gardeners' World - Season 45 - Episode 8
With plenty of advice and tips on how and what to plant in a pond, Rachel de Thame joins Monty at Longmeadow to give a helping hand. Monty also gets up to date with all the seasonal jobs in the Jewel garden, from sowing his collected opium poppy seed to trying out a method of growing lilies in plunge pots for bold summer colour. Carol follows the trail of one of spring's brightest plants to an allotment in South Yorkshire and a man who has amassed a national collection of Euphorbias there. Joe visits Charles Rutherfoord, architect and chair of the Society of Garden Designers to talk to him about the unique design of his own small garden. And the confectionary colours of Primulas come under the spotlight when we go to the RHS garden at Harlow Carr to find out tips for their successful cultivation.
#5 - Episode 10
Gardeners' World - Season 45 - Episode 10
Monty Don returns to Longmeadow with inspirational ideas and plants gathered at the Malvern Spring Show. He has tips and advice for planting ferns for dry places and then turns his attention to the pond where he shares ideas on different types of water lilies and how to plant them. Carol Klein delves into the quirky world of moisture-loving ferns, discovering them in the wild and admiring their variety when she visits a restored Victorian grotto in Wales. There is also a catch-up on the novice gardeners at Didcot army barracks, as they continue to develop their cut-flower garden.