Lawns and Tropical

Episode 8 of 10
Sarah Raven explores the relationship between the British and their lawns. She visits Worcester College, Oxford, to catch a glimpse of lawn perfection and the winner of Britain's best lawn competition. She also discovers a radical new approach to growing lawns, with the world's first 'floral lawn' - composed solely of flowering and foliage plants and not a blade of grass in sight. With the help of a family, she road-tests three different types of lawn - a wildflower meadow, traditional grass and fake grass - with surprising results. Basing her revival campaign at Polesden Lacey in Surrey, Sarah shows how to keep lawns in tip-top condition; how to inject a splash of seasonal colour into grass by naturalising bulbs; and also how to deal with those irritating bald patches in the lawn, which are the blight of every gardener.

James Wong is determined for everyone to share in the sheer spectacle, thrill of innovation and sense of fun which tropical gardens can provide. Seen as unfashionable, expensive and too much hard work, tropical gardening has fallen by the wayside and James wants that to change. On his revival he meets like-minded tropical plant geeks, including one man who appears to have defied the laws of nature by creating a tropical paradise in his back garden in Norfolk. James gives his tips on how to care for and maintain tropical plants; explains which ones are best for sun and shade; and also reveals how to create a tropical look on a budget.