BBC Two ‘Gardeners’ World’ British Asian special celebrates allotments

As part of the BBC’s Big British Asian Summer, the BBC Two ‘Gardeners’ World’ team set celebrate the south Asian influences on British gardens. Monty Don visited the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu temple in Neasden, London, to learn more about the melding of two cultures – the traditional Hindu mandir and its suburban London location.

Frances Tophill and Nick Bailey pick up growing advice from allotmenteers in Bradford and Birmingham who are growing all manner of Asian produce, from Mooli to Amaranth and Snake Gourds. Frances finds out what varieties of fruit and veg are popular amongst the locals and learns tips and tricks so she can grow her own.

Joe Swift meets passionate gardeners in Middlesex who have created a garden celebrating their Indian roots. We meet Bala Kompalli, a botanical horticulturist who runs the orchid unit at Kew Gardens, caring for over 10,000 species of orchid. She is currently working on a botanical survey of India.

Carol visits Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to discover the Asian plants and trees that have become commonplace in our gardens, and Arit Anderson visits the Aga Khan building in London to get a first look at a collection of newly designed Islamic gardens.

Nick Bailey and Arit Anderson also meet British Asian award-winning garden designers Cleeve West and Manoj Malde, whose background and cultural heritage have influenced their work and our gardens.

Exclusive clips from the episode are available to watch below:

Scotchman Road Allotments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06httmb

Millwood Plants
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06htvd2

Gardeners’ World (1×60′) is a BBC Studios Unscripted Production. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and David Brindley, Head of Commissioning, Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios is Paolo Proto. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Catherine Catton.