Garden Rescue - Season 10 Episode 29 Liverpool
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00:00The Garden Rescue Team are on a mission to make garden dreams come true.
00:07Charlie Dimmock, Lee Burkill, Flo Hedlum and Chris Hull are here to answer your gardening
00:27emergencies. Each week two of our designers will go head to head.
00:46And whichever designer loses helps the winner build the garden.
00:57Turning garden dreams. Open your eyes. That's so overwhelmed.
01:02Into reality. That is amazing.
01:10Today the team are tackling a nightmare garden in Liverpool.
01:13They are through the legs. Me and Latrice met online didn't we over Covid time.
01:22We met about four years ago. Yep. During lockdown.
01:24Mm-hmm. I think she fell for me straight away didn't you. So it's that hard to deny.
01:30Oh goodness me. Can we cut that?
01:36The couple share two children from previous relationships.
01:40These are pretty aren't they, these wildflowers. I know, I know.
01:43As a family we love nothing more than going for nice countryside walks.
01:47Taking the dog out and that, yeah. Yeah, and just getting out into nature.
01:51When I say wildflowers, that's what I mean.
01:54Liverpool is lovely. It's a hustling, bustling city, but
01:58when you step out into nature and into that sort of country here, there's nothing more like it.
02:02Andrew and Latrice bought a house together 12 months ago in need of modernisation.
02:08We've actually done quite a lot ourselves. Yeah, you're really handy as well.
02:12So, yeah, helps being an electrician. But you are really handy.
02:16So we've tried to do a few bits and bobs ourselves to to bring it up to scratch.
02:21But one part of the house has them beat.
02:24I think it's the garden that is our biggest challenge, isn't it?
02:28I think because we're not really gardeners and like we don't really know much about gardeners.
02:32Like if you said a house, the house, I think we're good with that.
02:36When they moved in, the garden had one especially scary feature.
02:41Oh, the summer house. So we joke with the kids that it was,
02:45it was like a haunted house at the bottom of the garden. It really was dilapidated.
02:49Well, at night it had two horrible lights on it, didn't it?
02:52It looked like a witch's little cabin. It looked very haunted.
02:55It looked very haunted, so that had to go.
02:59It's the moment the shed comes down.
03:06Taking the shed down has meant that we're left with this.
03:09Yeah, a big brick wall. A massive brick wall.
03:13It's a bit of a monstrosity and not great to look at.
03:17As well as the wall, a giant concrete slab is also an eyesore.
03:22We just haven't got a clue what we're going to do with that.
03:26And the rest of the garden isn't much better.
03:29We step onto this garden and it's depressing to say the least.
03:33Yes.
03:34We've got these trip hazard paving stones where the kids have actually tripped over them.
03:39Yeah, they're just terrible.
03:39I know, and then you've got a mismatch of planting.
03:43Some of it's dead, as you can see.
03:45We don't even know what half this stuff is, to be honest.
03:49There is one thing in the garden that's a success.
03:51This is one of my makeshifts for now, play areas for the kids.
03:56Actually, they do.
03:58Yeah, but as you can see, you're surrounded by these conifers.
04:03All this garden needs is a push in the right direction.
04:06I think when you come outside, it does have a lot of potential.
04:10It's a nice, big space.
04:13Yeah.
04:14But we're just at a loss of what to do with it now.
04:18And it really does need some help.
04:20Yeah, we definitely need help.
04:24Lee and new designer Amelia are hoping they'll be the one to design Latrice and Andrew's dream garden.
04:32Okay, so, Latrice and Andrew.
04:35Okay, they look very happy.
04:36They do, yeah, very smiley.
04:38You can kind of tell that someone has at some point gardened here.
04:42Yeah.
04:42But it looks very much like it's been left and everything's been strimmed back.
04:46Yeah, there's a bit of an intention here, isn't there,
04:48with the pathway leading out from the house,
04:50but then not too much going on around the boundaries.
04:53It's a bit of a blank canvas in a way, isn't it?
04:55Yeah, it's crying out for some purpose and a bit of pizzazz, I think.
04:58Definitely.
04:59So, I wonder what they want?
05:00Okay, shall we have a look?
05:02Yeah, let's take a look.
05:04What we'd really love is to be able to walk through the garden
05:09and be transported to a wildflower wilderness.
05:12I mean, they've already got the wilderness.
05:14It's just making it a bit more pretty.
05:15Yeah, making it a bit more palatable, I think, isn't it?
05:18Lots of colour, lots of plants.
05:19Yeah, lots of plants.
05:21Even if we don't know what they are.
05:22Don't know any names!
05:24This is sounding super naturalistic.
05:27Yeah, yeah.
05:27Can you go up my street, this one?
05:28We'd love to be able to not see that great big brick wall at the back
05:34as an eyesore.
05:35And at the end of the garden, a bit of a destination, so...
05:38Yeah, someone's come to somewhere they're covered for me.
05:42Journey to it.
05:42Eyes, yeah, somewhere where I can hide away from the kids.
05:45So, a covered seating area, that should be pretty doable.
05:48Hmm.
05:48Yeah, I don't think we're asking for much, though, are we?
05:50I don't think so.
05:51I don't think so, no.
05:52So, help!
05:52I think you've got this.
05:55So, Neela, what's the budget on this one?
05:57So, the budget, Lee, is four and a half grand.
05:59Ah, for all of those things.
06:01Yeah, so that budget is going to have to stretch pretty far.
06:05So, Lea, have you got any instant thoughts about how you're going to tackle this one?
06:09I'm trying to work out that man cave area, but to be honest,
06:12it's the wildflower planting that's really got me excited.
06:14Okay.
06:15I think also this idea of zoning the garden is interesting,
06:18so I think I've got a few ideas there.
06:20Yeah.
06:21We'll see.
06:21Lee and Amelia will create designs in line with the £4,500 budget.
06:30Latrice and Andrew have to pick their favourite,
06:33which the losing designer will help build.
06:36The designers and top team of landscapers provide the labour for free,
06:40leaving the entire budget to spend on materials and plants.
06:48Right, shall we have a look at this one, then?
06:49Latrice and Andrew, I know what you'd really like for your garden
06:53is a whimsical, cottage-style retreat,
06:56and I really think this design delivers that.
06:59Latrice and Andrew, this is my wildflower wilderness garden for you.
07:03Wow!
07:04I've designed you this zigzag boardwalk through the garden using wooden decking,
07:09and it's going to give this really modern geometric shape
07:13and a journey to the garden.
07:14I like that it's on this side of the garden as well.
07:17You've still got that lawn area.
07:19So, as you come out of the house here, you'll have a new paved section,
07:23and in and amongst that will be a lovely little seating area.
07:27Well, you start to have a coffee outside.
07:29I've included a reclaimed stone trough here as a water feature,
07:33and that will be a lovely bubbling noise in the background.
07:37After a long day, you can sit here, relax, and listen to the sound of soothing water.
07:42That's exactly what we wanted, isn't it?
07:44Mm-hm.
07:45You'll notice that I've kept a lot of your existing shrubs and trees to give that maturity,
07:49but I'm going to bulk them up with some beautiful, interesting specimens,
07:53such as shrub roses, maybe some pittosporums.
07:56OK.
07:57By having shrubs that flower in spring and also in winter,
08:01they're going to keep this garden looking amazing all year round with minimal maintenance.
08:05On the left-hand side, I've included these log piles,
08:09and these are great for the kids to really get involved in nature.
08:13Yeah, the children would definitely get stuck in with them.
08:17Lee has also included something for the kids to get involved with in his design.
08:21I've given you these three metal-raised planters that are going to be this beautiful sage green colour,
08:28and I'm going to plant you some bullet-proof beginner veggies, such as chard, winter kale.
08:33I might give you some more exotic herbs as well so that you can pop them in a cocktail.
08:36Now, as we leave the central part of the garden, we're heading to the back part,
08:40which, Andrew, is your area.
08:43I know you wanted your very own man cave, and I've given you the cave of all caves.
08:48There we go.
08:48There we go.
08:49It's your area.
08:50There we go.
08:51Get away from yous.
08:52I've created you with this large seating area with a rustic tin reef
08:57that you can sit at least eight people under there.
08:59And the beauty of this part of the garden, Andrew, is that when it rains,
09:02you're going to hear that plinky-plunk noise on the tin reef.
09:05But I know top of the wish list for you, Latrice and Andrew,
09:09was to have some sort of pergola or covered seating area at the back of the garden.
09:13And I know you're particularly inspired by Japanese and Scandinavian types of design.
09:18So she's picked up on that.
09:20That's really good.
09:20Yeah, she has.
09:21That's what she's gone for, hasn't she?
09:22So the way I've achieved that is to use these upright timber posts and then thin tension wire.
09:29And what that will allow you to do is grow lots of lovely, evergreen, strong-smelling jasmine.
09:34I quite like that it's a natural canopy with the jasmine.
09:37Mm-hm.
09:38I've also given you this wilderness barbecue where you can cook food or simply use as a fire pit
09:44in those summer evenings to sit out and look at the stars.
09:47I've designed you this raised square water feature so that when you're sat on the bench in this part of the garden,
09:53you can reach over, put hands in the water, see the jets and watch wildlife come and go as it pleases.
10:00No, I like that.
10:01To bring privacy to this area, I've used these silver birch reclaimed trunks
10:06as posts to provide a really soft screen.
10:09Now, along the boundaries at the moment, the fence isn't doing much for the garden.
10:14So what I've proposed here is to use more tension wire along the fencing and to plant evergreen jasmine.
10:21No, I like that.
10:22So I really hope you love this design as much as I do. I'd love to build it for you.
10:27I think it could be really special. We could go on a lovely countryside meadow journey together.
10:33I love the design. I hope you do too. So please pick me.
10:36Oh, thank you, Amelia.
10:38No matter what you want to do in the garden, Latrice and Andrew, you can do that with these three zones.
10:43This is a garden for all seasons.
10:45I like that. I really like that.
10:48Yeah, he's done that last night. Yeah, I don't feel well.
10:51Both designs have embraced the theme, but with completely different approaches.
10:56Oh!
10:57Oh!
11:00Here we go.
11:02It's up to Latrice and Andrew to decide which one they'll go for.
11:06Shall we start with Amelia's?
11:08Erm, I think I really like the big lawn, the big grass. I'm really into that.
11:12The children can play?
11:13Yeah, I'm assuming we can play 40 or get on the cricket.
11:16I think I like the way she's listened to our thoughts about having, like, that wildflower,
11:21the meadow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:22The planting's quite muted.
11:24Shall we have a look at Lees?
11:26Lots of lovely planting going along here. Yeah.
11:29I really like this pathway that sort of takes you up through the garden to the...
11:32Zigzag.
11:33..to the back.
11:34No, I really like that.
11:35And then we've got the water feature as well.
11:36Yeah, I really like the planters in the middle, I think.
11:39Do you know where you can plant them?
11:40See, I'm not so sure about that because it leaves less space for the children to run around in the lawns area.
11:45Do you know what I'm not for about that, you know?
11:47Erm...
11:47Personally, I'm really struggling here to pick one.
11:53OK, so Latrice and Andrew have got back to us.
11:55I wonder how wild they want to go.
11:57I know. Shall we have a look?
11:58OK.
11:59Hi, Lee. Hi, Amelia. Hi, Lee. Hi, Amelia.
12:01Erm, thank you so much for your designs.
12:03Erm, we've had a really tough time choosing between the two.
12:06It's been very tough, very tough.
12:08Do you know, we've given them such a tough choice.
12:10We have.
12:11Erm, Lee, we really loved the sort of back area of the garden,
12:15erm, where you've got that covered seating area.
12:18But is the man cave manly enough?
12:20Ah, the age-old question.
12:21I think with that lovely tin roof, that's a manly man cave.
12:24Testosterone.
12:24Absolutely.
12:25But, Amelia, is it like...
12:27We loved the open grass area.
12:29Yeah, and you paid attention to the fencing,
12:32adding a bit of interest with the jasmine on the fencing.
12:34So, your design was super soft, and I loved that about it.
12:37Really clean and modern. Thank you.
12:39So, it's been a real, real struggle.
12:41It's been a tough decision.
12:42We have thought long and hard about it. Very.
12:45We have come to a decision.
12:46Yep.
12:47And the designer that we would like to rescue our garden is...
12:52Got to go with...
12:53With...
12:57Lee!
12:58Oh, well done!
13:00Aw!
13:01Do you know, I was loving yours, to be honest.
13:03I was loving yours. I think it's brilliant.
13:05So, well done.
13:06You know what?
13:06I reckon we're going to have such a good time with this sort of one.
13:08I think so.
13:09I'm really excited about getting stuck in and building this man cave.
13:13Very exciting.
13:14But I know that we both love that wildlife planting.
13:16Yes.
13:17Really rich planting palette.
13:18So, I think we're just going to have the best day ever.
13:20Loads of plants.
13:20Can't wait.
13:21I'll get my spade ready.
13:22Yeah.
13:22Fantastic.
13:23Well done.
13:27Dan and his landscaping team have got just two days
13:29to leap Lee's design off the paper
13:32and into Latrice and Andrew's back garden.
13:36Morning all.
13:36Morning.
13:37Right, and welcome to Liverpool.
13:40Quite a bit to do in this garden.
13:42As you can see, it's quite a mature garden,
13:44but nothing really happening to it.
13:46The patio is staying, and thankfully, the concrete pad is staying.
13:50We're going to have a zigzag deck path,
13:53which will lead us from the existing patio down to this area here,
13:57where we'll have some crazy paving and some decorative stone.
14:00We've got this nice large arbor at the rear of the garden,
14:02and also this bespoke bench area.
14:05Just in front of that, we're going to have a nice water feature again,
14:07so quite a bit to do.
14:09What about these three trees?
14:10Are we taking them out?
14:11Well, it's not really on the schedule, Danny,
14:13but I reckon they do need to come out.
14:14And we are planting more trees, so.
14:15Yeah.
14:16Well, we've got the digger coming.
14:17We've got a digger.
14:18Digger Danny.
14:19Let's go.
14:19Let's go.
14:20We're going to take these three conifers out.
14:26They're really past their best now.
14:29Individually, they would have been quite nice trees,
14:31but the way that they've been planted in between these,
14:33the Burnham and Anasa here,
14:35and then they've had the tops cut off previously,
14:38and they're just, now all they're going to do is grow that way,
14:40which is exactly what we don't want them to do.
14:44Making space for some new tree planting
14:46has uncovered a hidden treasure.
14:48Look at this, a mangle.
14:50It's about as old as you, isn't it?
14:52Yeah.
14:55With so many out-of-control trees in the garden,
14:58they're getting a good trim back.
15:00I've just spoken to Lee about this cherry tree.
15:03As you can see, it's seen better days.
15:05It's an awkward shape.
15:07It has this 90-degree turn.
15:10More worryingly, it's also diseased.
15:13But waste not want not.
15:15What he's going to do is he's going to actually reuse the trunk
15:18and replant a similar cherry tree in its place.
15:21It's not ideal.
15:22You know, we don't like taking trees out.
15:24It's got to go.
15:26The crew are also upcycling the old lawn
15:29as a flat base for new grass to sit over.
15:31To save on waste and a little bit of time,
15:36we're turning the turf over.
15:38So we've been over it with a turf cutter
15:40and now we're just flipping it over.
15:41So grass side down.
15:43This will allow the turf to rot.
15:45It's perfectly good practice.
15:47We will top dress over here so that it's nice and flat
15:50for the new lawn to go on.
15:51And because the soil is so free draining,
15:53it's not compacted and there's very little weed in the existing lawn,
15:57we should be able to provide them with a well-fed lovely flat lawn for the future.
16:08While Danny is on digger duty to shift the last of the conifers,
16:11the next job is to set the post into the existing base.
16:17All right, Kyle, one post coming up.
16:20For Lee's man cave.
16:22It's beautiful, Chloe. I've never seen beauty like it.
16:25One of the great things about having a concrete base
16:29is that with the uprights, we can actually fix them with some heavy-duty L-shaped brackets
16:34onto the concrete pad, onto the post, and, you know, it saves us a lot of digging,
16:39but also there's not enough space for us to actually dig a post hole in here.
16:44So it works out quite well in our favour, actually.
16:49With the clock ticking,
16:50it's time to start crafting the frames for the 10-metre raised boardwalk.
16:56It's a bit like making a deck.
16:58We use the same sort of principles.
16:59We make a wooden subframe and then we clad the boardwalk treads on top.
17:04Because it's quite a long span,
17:06we're having to join two pieces of framework together here.
17:09To strengthen all of this framework out, we'll put some membrane underneath
17:16to stop any weeds or grass going up through.
17:19And then we post it all into the ground so it doesn't bounce up and down when you walk on it.
17:24With the top section complete, the team can make a start on the decking boards.
17:29We've built it so it's 1.2 metres wide.
17:32Our planks are 3.6 metres, so we can get three boards out of one plank,
17:37which is great because it saves on wastage and hopefully save a bit on time as well.
17:42The boardwalk's well underway and the gang have even managed to build the base for a raised water feature.
17:50Right, I'm going.
17:52But there's still plenty to be done.
17:54Yeah, that's looking good.
17:56What's needed is a pair of designers to turn this promising space into something dreamy.
18:06But the following morning, the team are a designer down.
18:10Now you might be wondering why I'm flying solo today and that's because Amelia unfortunately is ill.
18:16However, that means that the landscapers are going to have me right behind them all day.
18:21Can't wait for this one.
18:24Oh gosh, this garden looks really different.
18:26There's been so much cleared out of this garden, you can really see it now.
18:30Those old tatty conifers that were on the way out have gone and the space is really broad
18:36and super long as well. And the beauty of this design is it's going to take them on a journey.
18:40And the way that I've designed it is to use this deck to help segment the garden.
18:45Now, normally I would give a part of this garden to Amelia,
18:48but I'm going to have to do it all myself today with some help from these amazing landscapers.
18:52Now, I'm really pleased with the deck.
18:54It cuts the garden up and it's a nice way to transition through the garden.
18:58And what I want to do is maybe put a few more details into the deck.
19:01So it's not just a boardwalk, it's got a style to it.
19:04The boardwalk leads down to the middle section of the garden,
19:08where Lee's keen to preserve a space for the little people.
19:11This is going to be this huge lawn ready for the kids, whether they want to camp,
19:15play basketball or just sit and relax in the sun.
19:20And at the very bottom of the garden, Andrew gets a grown-up version of the man cave.
19:27Now, this, guys, is looking humongous.
19:30Because we've gone with the concrete pad rather than trying to take it up,
19:32we've got this really big space. It is massive, isn't it?
19:35Yes, it is.
19:37I think one of the biggest burglars we've done, but, yeah, we are getting there.
19:40Yeah. I mean, we need that tin roof because that wall is so huge,
19:44it's going to kind of counterbalance it, because all you can see at the moment is brick,
19:47as if it's pushing that back so it doesn't feel like, you know,
19:50you're about to be covered in all that brickwork.
19:52And then down here, we're going to have this really big square pond.
19:56Right, we've got loads to do.
20:00First on Lee's to-do list is the raised deck path.
20:03Ah, Susie, this decking is looking fantastic.
20:07But I reckon we can lift this to the next level,
20:10maybe with some interesting details on each of the corners.
20:13Definitely. So I've got these two offcuts here that we can play with.
20:17So I've put 45s on one end, and then we've got the straight end,
20:21so we can just offer it up.
20:22So we could use these 45s, almost like a mitre.
20:25Yeah.
20:26So that in these corners, you've got almost like a frame or a pattern
20:30that will then slow Latrice and Andrew down as they walk through the decking.
20:34Be a nice little design detail.
20:35I mean, it's going to take a bit more time, isn't it?
20:37Yeah, but it'll make this look really posh.
20:41Creating something bespoke in the garden doesn't have to break the bank.
20:45So if you're designing your own garden, you might not be able to afford clay pavers,
20:49but you could use engineering bricks in a similar fashion.
20:53And it's just all about those little details and tweaks
20:55that take your design from great to fantastic.
21:00But whatever you attempt in your own space, precision is key.
21:07Now, the tricky thing with angles is you kind of either get them or you don't,
21:11and I don't, which is why I'm glad I've got Susie.
21:13But you need to make sure that once you've finished one run,
21:17you flip the angle round, because if not, you're going to end up with the wrong angle
21:20trying to marry up.
21:21So for this run, they're all that way, but for the next run,
21:26they all need to be that way and then be clipped together.
21:29Right, I think I'm ready for the next one, Susie.
21:31That's all.
21:38It's so confusing.
21:39It's what I mean with the angles.
21:41Do you know, look at that.
21:43It perfectly marries up.
21:45We've got this pattern that looks seamless.
21:47It's going to look absolutely beautiful.
21:50Whilst Susie cracks on with the decking,
21:52Lee turns his attention to lining the pond with a protective fleece.
21:56Now, what I love about this kind of fleece is it's actually made from recycled bits.
22:01You can see bits of old granny's cardigan, people's jeans,
22:04and it's all been reformed, so super lightweight on the carbon footprint.
22:09Now, this recycled pond liner is about £15 for 10 metres,
22:13so it's really good value.
22:14You'll get loads of pond coverage out of that,
22:16so we can probably use the off-cuts for another pond.
22:20Just needs trimming to size.
22:22It's like nibbling away.
22:27You'd have some time tomorrow, wouldn't you?
22:29Now, whilst this garden is full of details,
22:31I've gone for the smallest pair of scissors,
22:33meaning it's taking forever, but it's going to be super neat.
22:37Last snip, and it just needs smoothing into place.
22:40Right, now, this is the difficult bit, Kyle.
22:42Me and you are going to battle to get this in with the least creases possible.
22:47I kind of have to lower it in gently, gently.
22:52The best way to lose the creases is to fill it up with water, isn't it?
22:55Give it a bit of a push and a pull.
22:57Time to fill her up and get these creases out.
23:06At the back of the garden,
23:07Dan's tackling the seating in Lee's giant man cave.
23:10Well, I'm just doing the legs for the bench at the moment,
23:15still trying to work out.
23:17But one of the ideas that me and Kyle had,
23:19because Lee wants the bench at 300 depth,
23:23the actual railway sleeves are 200,
23:24so we use the decking as a fascia,
23:27and also it ties in with Lee's deck path board,
23:31whatever he calls it.
23:32It's a boardwalk!
23:33Yeah, there we go.
23:34A boardwalk, there we go.
23:35So, yeah, so the facing of the bench will tie in with Lee's boardwalk.
23:41Last plank going down.
23:44Look at this.
23:47This decking, it's like a catwalk.
23:50Feel like I'm on the streets of Milan.
23:52Strutting your stuff.
23:53Strutting me stuff.
23:54Do you think Latrice will like it?
23:55It's good.
23:56It's nice to be elevated in the garden.
23:58Yeah, that's it.
23:59Gives you a clean runway through all the plants as well.
24:01Bit of definition.
24:02Yeah.
24:03Talking of plants, there's a distinct lack of them at the moment.
24:05There is, and that's sad.
24:08Time to change that.
24:08Yeah.
24:11The van is full to the brim of serene wildflowers and trees.
24:16Oh, look at this.
24:17Oh, I told you I was going to bring you the wilderness.
24:20We've got some gorgeous herbaceous perennials.
24:23We've got old-fashioned Achillea, Mace.
24:25We've got Feverfew, Verbena, some beautiful classic roses.
24:29We've also got some rather masculine trees,
24:32like that silver birch and grasses,
24:34to make sure that Andrew feels like he's right at home in his man cave.
24:37Ooh, exciting times.
24:40There are some absolutely beautiful plants.
24:43And what I really wanted to do for Latrice and Andrew was give them a really soft planting palette.
24:49Something that looks wild.
24:50But there are also a few pops of blue and the odd bright white plant just to really lift the scheme.
24:56But for the majority, it's kind of this bulletproof soft planting that's really easy to look at
25:01and will just be really delicate without being too much maintenance.
25:05Things like the pitosporum, good old lavender, stuff that I know is going to thrive here,
25:09but gives the illusion of being really delicate and pristine.
25:14Ooh, can't wait to get these in now.
25:16I knew I should have stayed at ballet school.
25:21Meanwhile, work's progressing on the man cave.
25:24Dan and I have finished all the supports for this bench.
25:27We've just got to put the tops on.
25:30We're using this six for two, which gives it a nice chunky feel,
25:33which has sort of been keeping the rest of this timber structure here.
25:36Lee's angled design even extends to the pond.
25:42OK, so let's get these beautifully mitered caps on, Kyle.
25:47And what I love about this detail is it mirrors the same detail on the boardwalk.
25:53We're using the same materials around the garden on repetition, repeat, repeat, repeat.
25:58And by using repetition in any form of design, you bring consistency and cohesion.
26:03And all of a sudden, everything starts talking the same language.
26:06Doesn't it, Kyle?
26:07Indeed.
26:09With the wood fixed in place, there's only one way to test it out.
26:14There is still quite a lot to do, so what do we think is the most pressing job next?
26:18I'm thinking turf, looking at that wobbly, wobbly land.
26:20Yeah, definitely.
26:21Top floor turf.
26:22And Dan?
26:23Still got the pot on the roof on that.
26:24Yeah.
26:25Yep. Plus paving here on the decorative stone.
26:27Yeah, still quite a bit.
26:29Right, has everyone cooled off?
26:30Yes.
26:31Right, come on, let's carry on.
26:32Come on.
26:34With only a few hours to go, Lee's keen to get going with the rest of the plants.
26:38Come on, come on, come on.
26:39Take me, come on.
26:46So, I like to bring you some wild cards sometimes, you know I do.
26:50OK.
26:50And I get a bit carried away when I'm browsing the nurseries and I see pretty things like this.
26:55Ooh.
26:56And I thought that's, it's an abelia.
26:57It'll cover the fence, won't it?
26:59Very nice.
26:59It's a bit of shrubbage.
27:01I can't go in the wrong direction.
27:03Don't cut you in the corners.
27:06All right, so let's just pull this back a little bit and then...
27:09Would you do the honours of spinning around?
27:11Yeah, yeah, I'll have a look.
27:12A bit more that way, a little bit more...
27:15Oh, that's looking good from here.
27:18One little tiny micro return.
27:20Right, stop.
27:20Right, Jack, come here and have a look.
27:23I think we're on the money with that.
27:25It's nice and sprawling.
27:26You can kind of see the front, but we've got this little tease.
27:29Yeah.
27:30The little shoulder tickler.
27:32Like a little off the shoulder number.
27:35And the beauty of the multi-stem birch is that if it gets a bit too big,
27:38Latrice or Andrew can just prune it back and nip it.
27:41It's like it's been thought about.
27:42It's like it's been thought about. You're dead clever.
27:44Should we grab our spades?
27:45We're back together.
27:47Meanwhile, Kyle's tool of choice?
27:50A simple hammer to break things up.
27:53I'm crazy paving my favourite.
27:55Literally just smashing up these beautiful slabs.
27:57The upshot is it's really easy to lay.
28:01Just scattered about, a bit of gravel in between.
28:04Jobs are good'n't.
28:06Lee's design is making the most of the budget,
28:09reusing other materials in the garden.
28:14It's never nice removing plants and trees from gardens,
28:17and I try to avoid it at all costs.
28:19But in this case, the cherry tree was in a really bad shape for two reasons.
28:23The first is that it's been pruned at a really strange 90-degree angle,
28:27which means that over time, it's probably going to collapse
28:30because all the growth is coming out laterally.
28:32The second reason, which is a bit more sinister, is the canker,
28:36which is a disease that cherry trees can get,
28:38especially if you prune them in winter when they're really vulnerable.
28:41And you can see that there are these kind of bulging welts,
28:44where it's been pruned, that are now oozing.
28:47But the good news is, I'm going to recycle this tree
28:50and also plant a bird cherry, which is a similar specimen to this one,
28:53that will attract birds.
28:55But I've had an idea so that Latrice can see this cherry tree,
28:58even though it's gone, by using it amongst the silver birch poles
29:02that are going to separate off this part of the garden.
29:05So it's gone but not forgotten, it's got a second life,
29:08and it's also got a new friend with a beautiful new prunus paddus.
29:11The beauty of the bird cherry is, as its name suggests,
29:24in late summer when it's covered in cherries,
29:27they are a prime food source for all sorts of birds.
29:31Now, you wouldn't want to eat the cherries yourself
29:33unless you were going to make tart jams,
29:35because they are very sour and they can give you a bit of a sickly feeling.
29:39So my advice would be to leave them for the birds.
29:42Now, with the prunus paddus, this bird cherry,
29:45it's going to bring to the garden what I like to call plant associations,
29:50which means that because there's already a cherry over there
29:53and we've got a beautiful purple cherry over there,
29:55we add a third one and we get the association.
29:58Cherry, cherry, cherry. Delicious.
30:00With time pressing on, there's still 16 square metres of lawn to lay.
30:08I'm doing a little landscape shuffle,
30:10because we've brought new topsoil in to go underneath where the turf's going,
30:13and obviously it's all fluffy, so what we do is we paddle along on it like this,
30:17compact it down enough.
30:19So now Danny's waddled on it, I'm going to flatten it off all nice,
30:24so that when we roll the turf out, there won't be any dips or ridges.
30:31Meanwhile, Lee's planting the silver birch.
30:34Ah, lovely stuff.
30:37Now, this silver birch really is one of the showpieces of the garden.
30:42They're a really good value tree that kind of suits most gardens.
30:46You can also get it in different forms or habits, as that's known,
30:50whether it's multi-stem, single-stem, vestigiate, canopy-formed.
30:54And because this is a multi-stem, it means that back when this tree was a baby,
30:59it was coppiced, cut back at the main stem,
31:02which then means that the next two laterals down send out side shoots.
31:05And then again, a year or two after, you coppice those,
31:09and you end up with this multi-stem form, but it restricts its vigour.
31:12And I think that Latrice and Andrew are going to love this,
31:15because it does immediately give that feeling of maybe being in Norway.
31:18You get that feeling of the wilderness emerge, albeit with lots of control.
31:28With the work steadily progressing,
31:30it's time to bring in the backbone of the garden, the perennials.
31:34Oh, we've got some lovely shrubs here, Jack.
31:39Time to see where they're going to live.
31:41I think these budliers are going to get nice and big,
31:44so if you pull that forward...
31:46I think that'll be nice, because it'll fill that space there.
31:49And we've got these other white shrubs, we've got the potentilla,
31:51we've got another budlier, but I don't think we should go matchy-matchy.
31:55I think if we throw that one over there, we can kind of do a bit of a ping-pong.
32:00A bit of a ping-pong with plumps.
32:02A bit of a ping-pong.
32:03Achieving a natural planting scheme in a garden actually takes some planning.
32:08Mixing height and form will give the impression of a wild meadow.
32:14We've still got that massive wall at the back, don't forget.
32:16What this design's trying to do is to graduate down to the house,
32:19so it's less of a, and more of a...
32:24But even a gentle wild garden needs a focal point.
32:27Well, the star of the shows are these really fussy delphiniums, bright blue.
32:34Just look at that contrast there.
32:36You've got a number of battles when you're trying to grow these.
32:38The first is the slugs in spring.
32:40They tend to munch off all the basal growth so they never get past go.
32:43The second is staking them, because without stakes, they grow really tall,
32:47flop over, and they get battered.
32:49But I reckon for Latrice, she's got a fighting chance, but it's nice to give her something
32:52that's a little bit different, because it really will make her want to get her green fingers growing.
32:56With the ground planting well underway.
33:01Oh, do you know what, Jax?
33:05Oh, I kind of like floating around in these.
33:08I know, I feel like I'm in a coracle.
33:10It's time to find a home for the raised planters.
33:14Now, in the original design, I had three of these raised planters beautifully arranged in a bit of a triangle shape,
33:20where I envisioned Latrice and the kids running around them planting things.
33:24But Latrice has asked us if we could move them into the bed so they can have even more lawn.
33:29And because we are accommodating garden designers, I've decided to move them into this bed.
33:34And actually, we've still got the impact of them, because it's going to raise the planting.
33:38And I reckon, once they've started to grow things in here that they succeed with,
33:42they'll soon start adding a few more to the lawn, especially as the kids grow up.
33:47With the end of the day drawing in, the man cave roof is the last thing to go in.
33:53Roof, sir.
33:55It's a race against time, this. We're trying to get this tin roof on, and it's turned up really late,
33:59so we're up against it a bit.
34:01Something I'm really looking forward to seeing is the actual build at the bottom of it.
34:06Yeah, absolutely.
34:07The little seated area.
34:08Yeah, hopefully they're not having too much trouble putting that off with the roof.
34:12Definitely.
34:15Each of the six sections must be precision laid to avoid a leaky tin roof for Latrice and Andrew.
34:22As long as it's nice at the front, that's what we want.
34:26Really starting to come together.
34:27But we've still got the birch posts, we've got the water feature, we've got the pond plants.
34:31Let's finish that bench off.
34:36As the final plants go in, Lee turns his attention to the pond.
34:42For Latrice and Andrew, I've picked a few really easy pond plants.
34:46We've got things like this yonkers here, this corkscrew rush, and on the other side, we've got
34:51another yonkers, but it's got a slightly different stem, but with the same style flower.
34:56These will fill out over the next sort of six months, but it's time for the big reveal.
35:00Let's see if the pond pump actually works.
35:06Look at that, as if by magic, we've got a really relaxing bell fountain.
35:10Nothing too fancy-dancy.
35:12Listen to that sound.
35:14You can barely hear any of the background noise.
35:16There will be peace and quiet once Kyle's finished digging the holes for Lee's recycled silver birch posts.
35:24The final piece of the wilderness jigsaw, the birch posts.
35:31These are going to look great.
35:34As the garden enters the final stages, Lee's silver birch posts go in,
35:41the last of the gravel is laid, the raised planters are filled, and Susie's got the final touch.
35:52How does that look, Lee?
35:53Oh, do you know, it looks lovely, because we've already got the cherry there, there and there,
35:56and we're moving to the birch. Oh, feeling rather rustic now.
36:02In just two days, the team have transformed Latrice and Andrew's garden into a wonderful family wilderness.
36:09Oh, do you know what, it's been a really difficult day, poor Amelia couldn't make it because she was ill,
36:14but just look at the results. Looks lovely, really nice.
36:18What's your favourite bits? I think I like the catwalk, Lee.
36:21I think maybe you should do a little strut on the catwalk.
36:24I knew that you would like the catwalk, Dad. Yeah.
36:26Yeah. Go on, Dad, show us how it's done.
36:28Yeah, they've got legs. They've definitely got their legs.
36:30Shall we get them out? Yeah.
36:33Come on, go for it.
36:34Two days ago, Latrice and Andrew had a sizeable chunk of garden that had become a nightmare space.
36:45A knocked down summer house had left a concrete jungle at the back.
36:49There was no sign of plant life and even the kids' play area was overrun by overgrowth.
36:56Now, with a budget of £4,500, it's been transformed into a sophisticated spot.
37:03Before, where there was nothing, now stands colourful, meadow-like planting.
37:13Once, where there was just muddy grass, now there's a Scandi-inspired bespoke decked path
37:21and a huge entertainment spot, complete with water feature, fire pit and even a man cave.
37:29Keep moving forward with your eyes shut.
37:30OK. Just follow me.
37:33But will it be all that Latrice and Andrew hoped for?
37:37You wanted a garden that you could use with the whole family.
37:41Now, Latrice, you in particular wanted this cottage feel where you felt like you were
37:45probably running through a meadow rather than being in inner city Liverpool.
37:49And Andrew, you really wanted the man cave of all man caves.
37:53And then, on top of all of that, you wanted it to feel like it was a Scandi wilderness.
37:58So, whenever you're ready, open your eyes.
38:06Oh, my God!
38:07Oh, my God!
38:08What?
38:11You're joking!
38:13Oh, my God!
38:15Oh, my God!
38:16That is absolutely amazing!
38:17That's...
38:18That's mad!
38:19Oh!
38:20Oh, if I come in, like...
38:21I didn't want you to use my sword.
38:22Oh, my God!
38:23Oh, my God!
38:24You're going to swing!
38:24You've got the planters in there!
38:26What?
38:27Oh, the fire pit!
38:28Oh, my God!
38:29Oh, my God!
38:29Oh, I can't...
38:30That's...
38:31That's mad!
38:33It's too much taken.
38:34Yeah, it is a lot compared to when it started with.
38:36What?
38:37I can't believe that!
38:38Don't miss my garden!
38:39I mean, Latrice, you wanted to walk through a meadow.
38:42It is beautiful.
38:42What do you think?
38:43It's beautiful.
38:44That is...
38:44The colours are absolutely gorgeous.
38:47I love the wood as well.
38:49That's such a good idea.
38:50The, like, purples, the yellows, the whites.
38:51Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:52But have a look at the deck as well, because it's boardwalk.
38:54And the deck, yeah, yeah.
38:55We've got this beautiful mitre cut and all these details.
38:57This is what we want.
38:58Yeah, because we can just, like, wallhompt it.
38:59Oh, my God!
39:00It's just too much to take that.
39:02I can't believe the difference.
39:04Before, the garden had no focus to draw you out.
39:09But now, the decked pathway leads the way
39:12to their own flowery meadow.
39:14It is like you're walking through a park or something, isn't it?
39:16Do you like through a country park?
39:18I'm just...
39:18I'm just speechless.
39:19I'm just shocked.
39:20It's absolutely beautiful.
39:22Oh, my God.
39:22And all the plants are absolutely...
39:24Yeah, it's gorgeous.
39:25I mean, you wanted really classic plants like roses.
39:28So we've given you these really easy shrub roses.
39:31But I've also given you, Latrice, a few challenges.
39:33OK.
39:34So we've got these bright blue electric delphiniums.
39:38Gorgeous, yeah.
39:38They're going to be difficult to look after,
39:40but I know you're going to be able to look after them.
39:42Yes, we'll try our best.
39:43Yeah, definitely, definitely.
39:43It's definitely absolutely beautiful.
39:46The colour as well we've got in there.
39:47Gorgeous.
39:47There's so many colours.
39:48It's just like being in that wildflower sort of meadow.
39:52That's amazing.
39:52That's what we wanted.
39:53It's just in shock.
39:55So we've been through Latrice's meadow.
39:56Shall we take a walk round to the rest of the garden?
39:58Definitely, yeah.
39:58Yeah.
40:00That's your existing shrub.
40:01Is that ours?
40:02Was that the one that was massive?
40:03Yeah.
40:04Oh.
40:04So that's had a bit of a hard prune to tame it.
40:06Yeah.
40:07But we've also blended things like Miscanthus, Artemisia,
40:11really easy, unusual herbaceous plants that are going to get quite tall.
40:14So all of this will just fill up with that really soft one.
40:17Yeah.
40:18Once, the grassed area felt like a muddy, open space.
40:22Now, a touch of wood upcycling has created natural zoning.
40:27What do you think of the lawn?
40:28I'm made up.
40:29You've kept, yeah, the grass.
40:30Yeah.
40:30Yeah.
40:31Absolutely.
40:32We really wanted that bit of lawn areas.
40:34Yeah.
40:35The children want to play on it if you want to sunbathe or whatever, so.
40:39I know that originally the raised planters were in the lawn
40:41and you wanted me to move them.
40:42So we've added them into that back border.
40:44That is perfect.
40:44That is perfect, yeah.
40:46Because I like the way they're spaced out.
40:47Yeah, it's brilliant.
40:48It feels bigger to me.
40:50It does.
40:50It feels like it's got a purpose because you've got to travel through.
40:53OK, so let's walk over to the barbecue area.
40:56Now part of the design was these recycled rustic birch posts.
41:01They're beautiful.
41:01They're beautiful.
41:02They've got lots of character.
41:03Yeah, the lad's definitely going to use them as a goal post.
41:06And also you've got your multi-stem birch tree over there that's alive, unlike these posts.
41:10So they kind of, they blend together really well as well.
41:14Nah, it's lovely.
41:15Should we make a final move into the back part of the garden?
41:17Sure, yeah.
41:20So this part of the garden used to have what I was nicknaming your creepy cabin.
41:25Yeah.
41:25Yeah, it was, yeah.
41:26It was.
41:27We called it the witch's den.
41:28Yeah.
41:29It's had a fine.
41:31Gone is the vast concrete wall and huge concrete slab at the back of the garden.
41:37Replaced with a sleek entertaining space, complete with barbecue area, water feature,
41:43and a special spot for Andrew.
41:46So what do you think of the space?
41:47This is better than anything.
41:49Because when you said about a water feature as well, I didn't expect it to be that big.
41:52Yeah.
41:52And that looked that good.
41:54That looks amazing.
41:55And you mentioned about it bubbling and it's just doing that.
41:58And you can imagine just sitting there with a glass of wine and just chilling in the evening.
42:02And right, so let's take a look finally at this man cave.
42:06Now, it was a case of go big or go home.
42:10Is it big enough?
42:11This is definitely big enough.
42:13Yeah.
42:14I can't believe how big you made it.
42:15It is.
42:16Yeah, it is really big.
42:17Brilliant.
42:18The fact that it's covered is, you know.
42:20That's amazing.
42:21But it does mean that we can enjoy the garden in all weathers.
42:24And I think what's lovely is this is your original concrete base.
42:26Yeah.
42:26But it blends in so well with the other colour palettes.
42:28Yeah, yeah.
42:30I feel like that sort of natural, the Scandi vibe.
42:33Yeah.
42:34You've brought that here.
42:35Got very natural with it.
42:36Love it.
42:36So I know that you wanted there for storage, which is why we've left this open.
42:40Whether you put shed there in the future, storage boxes, bites, whatever.
42:43Yeah.
42:44Perfect.
42:44Absolutely.
42:45Yeah.
42:45You've thought of everything.
42:47Tell you what, let's have a final look back at the house through the garden.
42:50Okay.
42:52Now, what do you think of this view?
42:54Yeah.
42:55It's gorgeous.
42:57I can't believe what you've done.
42:58You've ticked every single box.
43:01It's going to be manageable for you.
43:02It's going to start you off on your gardening journey.
43:03Yeah.
43:04If you get better at gardening, you might start to edge the borders further into that lawn.
43:07Who knows?
43:08Can't wait just to enjoy it again.
43:09Yeah.
43:10Definitely.
43:10Definitely.
43:11Can't wait.
43:11Yeah.
43:12Can't wait to show it off.
43:16It is the garden of our dreams.
43:17It's definitely going to change our lives, isn't it?
43:19Yeah.
43:19Absolutely.
43:20We're going to entertain.
43:21Yeah, definitely.
43:22Children are going to enjoy it.
43:24We couldn't have asked for anything better.
43:26Love it.
43:26Yeah.
43:27It's amazing.
43:27It's amazing.
43:29It's amazing.
43:30It's amazing.
43:31It's amazing.
43:32It's amazing.
43:33It's amazing.
43:34It's amazing.
43:35It's amazing.
43:36It's amazing.
43:37It's amazing.
43:38It's amazing.
43:39It's amazing.
43:40It's amazing.
43:41It's amazing.
43:42It's amazing.
43:43It's amazing.
43:44It's amazing.
43:45It's amazing.
43:46It's amazing.
43:47It's amazing.
43:48It's amazing.
43:49It's amazing.
43:50It's amazing.
43:51It's amazing.
43:52It's amazing.
43:53It's amazing.
43:54It's amazing.
43:55It's amazing.
43:56It's amazing.
43:57It's amazing.
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