Summer Gardening with Carol Klein

As summer reaches its climax at Glebe Cottage garden in Devon, Carol Klein introduces us to a group of plants that really provides the drum roll to peak summer time: the daisy. Whether it be the bold, hot colours of heleniums and dahlias, or others, like early flowering asters that display themselves more quietly, daisies thrive in the most surprising spots and mingle brilliantly alongside other summer treasures. There's a daisy to suit all types of conditions. Carol makes a visit to the wild and gorgeous north Devon coast to have a look at one particular wild daisy to find out more about its native roots, and she spots a few other fascinating wild plants that thrive in this dry, exposed and harsh seaside habitat. Among them is the brilliantly named Hottentot fig, with its succulent, flashy leaves and dazzlingly coloured flowers, as well as contrastingly spikey sea hollies. Back in the garden, Carol introduces us to the raised ‘seaside bed' she's constructed to allow her to grow a range of similar plants that wouldn't survive in her heavy clay soil, including the charming Mexican daisy. But there are a myriad of daisies that will thrive in Glebe's main beds and borders, and Carol undertakes a round of clearing, cutting back and planting afresh to revive the parts of the garden that are looking particularly tired and dusty. In the veg garden, things are getting wild. Carol catches up on some harvesting, and shows us her statuesque artichokes, now reaching for the sky — amazingly, these monsters are members of the daisy family! To keep the edibles coming, Carol sows some more brassicas and shows us how to protect them from the onslaught of the aptly named cabbage white butterfly.