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00:32For nearly a decade the garden rescue team have made dreams come true for hundreds of garden
00:39owners across the UK. Open your eyes. Oh man wow. Oh my. That is incredible. Oh wow. Oh my god.
00:54That's fantastic. No matter the
00:57challenge. It's just coming down a little harder the rain. If this weather keeps on as it is we're not
01:02going to have anything to see it. And no matter the garden. I tell you what Flo it's a little
01:08bit smaller than I thought. We've got the job done. That's brilliant. But the one question I always get asked
01:15is what happens to the gardens after we leave. Well now. Oh my goodness me. It's my turn to be
01:26amazed. Whoa.
01:28Can you recognise me? No. I'm going back. Hey Liz. Hi Charlie. To my favourite garden rescues. Charlie. You named
01:38her after me. Including some of our very first. You're a little bit bigger than when I last saw you
01:44both. To find out what happened. Whoa. Look at that. After we packed up our space.
01:51You kept the swing. You kept the swing. The pine tree's definitely taken off. Hello. You've turned it into an
01:59amazing space. I don't think we could have really dreamt this at all.
02:12This time I head to the seaside. Oh my. Whoa. What do you think then? To see what's happened to
02:22a garden we transformed five years ago.
02:25And as for my pond. It doesn't look anything like when I designed it. No. It's mine now. Catch up.
02:32Hello Kim. With the owner of the steepest plot we've ever tackled.
02:37How are you? Nice to see you again. I have to ask. Where's my table?
02:41How are you? Cool. And reveal how one of our gardens has helped a couple on the road to recovery.
02:51This incredible garden keeps on giving day after day, year after year. Charlie, this is for you.
03:04Over the years the garden rescue team has been lucky enough to build gardens in some of the prettiest parts
03:11of Britain.
03:17One of my favourites was in South Wales, where Harry, David and I found ourselves five years ago.
03:26I've got to say, already loving the view. That view. Wow. What a backdrop. Beautiful.
03:35Him and Simon's plot in Kum Khan was eye-wateringly steep.
03:39I haven't forgotten that slope.
03:42But it did have one redeeming feature.
03:45I have to say, the view is absolutely spectacular from there.
03:51Yeah. Yeah. You've got different views at different levels.
03:55I know. It's not a bad spot, is it?
03:57It's why we fell in love with it. So go on. You've obviously done the lower bit of the house.
04:02Yes. Yeah. Look at that. And then look at this. What happened?
04:04And then look at this. What happened?
04:05You're stopped because... Yes.
04:07Because we know nothing about gardens with terraces. We're quite good if it's on the flat.
04:13This was a challenge that we really felt we needed a bit of specialist support.
04:16Yeah. Yep.
04:22The couple had £5,000 to spend and had begun levelling the garden into three different sections.
04:32Hello. Yeah. Here we go. Wow.
04:36So I proposed a design that turned the bottom level into a formal entertainment area.
04:42With the garden becoming more relaxed the higher up you went.
04:46The bow tie comes undone when you get to here.
04:49Mine boggles, darling. And then you throw it away when you get up to here.
04:53But those cheeky rich brothers had a clever plan.
04:57OK. So this is our design.
05:00Their design was inspired by the view of the Welsh mountains.
05:06We know that you wanted to have somewhere that you could sit and actually spend time
05:09but also feel like you were sitting amongst and within the surrounding landscape.
05:13With weathered steel walls on each level and a seating area surrounded by native trees.
05:20I'm delighted to see that you've both incorporated the idea of a drink in the evening.
05:25I'd be glad. What else do you use a gun for? Sundance.
05:27Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
05:29And darn it, they went and won it.
05:31Here we go. That's our choice.
05:35It's absolutely beautiful. Thank you, boys. Lovely.
05:38Not at all. Very exciting.
05:40That was the easy part.
05:45Aren't we getting everything in and out of here?
05:47Oh, yeah. I was kind of hoping you wouldn't ask that.
05:49There's no diggers. There's none of that.
05:51So it's buckets, isn't it? Fuck it. Let's do it.
05:55With several tonnes of soil to move.
05:58We are doing all right. To me. To you. To me.
06:02And several metres of steel to put in.
06:05Don't get it wrong, Dave.
06:10I left the boys to it and headed to the top of the garden to come up with a bit
06:15of quirky sculpture using an old sewing machine that Kim had thrown out.
06:21Found a cow. And I found these stars, which are quite noisy, which I quite like.
06:27And I'm thinking that along the nursery rhyme, you know, and the cow jumped over the moon.
06:32And then we're going to put the stars here.
06:35So a little bit of chime. So the cow's attached and it's nice and loose like that.
06:40So that when it jiggles, it'll be like it's jumping around.
06:43The stars are up. Just going to get some turf in there and put a moon in it.
06:49Once that was done, it was on with the planting.
06:54Let's get busy.
06:58And finally, thanks to hundreds of perennials and grasses,
07:06Kim and Simon's new garden was ready for them to see.
07:17What had been a muddy hillside was now a garden, as beautiful as the surrounding landscape.
07:28So, three, two, one, open your eyes.
07:32Oh, look at that.
07:35That is unbelievable.
07:37Oh, my gosh. Oh, wow.
07:38Is it really the same place?
07:40No, it's not at all.
07:41No, it's not.
07:42No.
07:43What do you think?
07:45That's just amazing.
07:46That's incredible.
07:47Yeah, thanks.
07:48Thanks so much.
07:49Yay!
07:51No worries.
07:52It's a pleasure.
07:53I can't believe you've done this.
07:56I'm just, I'm absolutely overwhelmed.
07:59Nice. That's brilliant, guys.
08:01It's absolutely incredible.
08:03You know, you've just transformed into wasteland.
08:06You've just created something so special.
08:10But, I mean, this top level's all about that view.
08:13Kim, you mentioned you'd love something quirky and unexpected in the garden.
08:17Exactly. I did, yeah.
08:18And we've got the cow that jumps over the moon of cheese.
08:22So, obviously, you watch the sun go down and you eat the moon.
08:26I'm loving it.
08:27I'm loving it.
08:29Kim and Simon may have loved the garden five years ago.
08:33But what I want to know is, do they still love it now?
08:38Hello, Kim.
08:39How are you? Nice to see you again.
08:41And you.
08:42The garden looks very green from here.
08:45Wow.
08:46Yeah, it's come a long way.
08:49In five years, Kim and Simon's garden has undergone a dramatic change.
08:58When we left, the view up the garden was full of plants that had yet to mature.
09:08Now those same borders have filled out beautifully.
09:18Back then, the steel landscaping was less of a feature.
09:23Now the metal has rusted to a nice patina, defining each section of the garden.
09:34I have to say, I can already see behind you the steel that's weathered beautifully.
09:42I mean, that colour is so gorgeous against the very verdant green.
09:47It is, isn't it? I know. And beautiful even in winter.
09:50Absolutely gorgeous.
09:52And do you use the garden more now?
09:55We use the garden all the time.
09:56I think before you guys came in and helped us, we really couldn't use it.
10:00We just sat at the front of the house.
10:02So we're in it all the time, even in winter.
10:05If there's a bit of sun, we're out here.
10:06You've got that beautiful backdrop of the hills behind.
10:10And that's what you wanted to capture and bring into the garden,
10:13which Harry and David did with their design, didn't they?
10:16They did.
10:17I mean, they really make it feel like the mountain behind me
10:20just keeps on coming into this garden.
10:23You don't really see the boundary, which is, you know, it's fabulous.
10:26Yeah.
10:27And it looks natural.
10:28It looks like it belongs.
10:29Yeah, that's great.
10:30I can't wait for you to show me round the garden.
10:33I'm just going to walk with you up the steps.
10:35OK.
10:36So we're in the middle tier now.
10:38So it's probably my favourite spot in the garden.
10:42It's really developed quite well now, look.
10:46When we left, the middle section was still open and exposed.
10:51Now the planting has matured, it's much more private.
10:55Yeah.
10:56All the trees have grown.
10:58You've got neighbours either side, but you can't see them, can you really?
11:01You can actually be quite private in this garden.
11:03There are spaces where you can get to where you can't see anybody.
11:06And then, because then you go up another tier, don't you?
11:11This little bit here is the grassy one.
11:14That's where I was, at the very, very top.
11:17Yes, right.
11:20Everything that's been done since you guys left us has been about wildlife.
11:24Right.
11:25Everything building bug hotels, hedgehog houses.
11:27Oh, fantastic.
11:29And I have to ask, because I spent quite a lot of time up there, where's my table?
11:35Has it gone?
11:37We loved your idea.
11:38And so we kept those sewing machine legs and we just made it into a slightly bigger table.
11:44Oh, so it's more of a barbecue table now.
11:46It's now at the bottom of the garden and well used.
11:50Just so lovely to see the garden and I'm so pleased that you're enjoying it, you and Simon.
11:56So, well done for looking after it so well.
11:59Yeah, we certainly do love it.
12:01So, thanks for all your help at the time.
12:04All right.
12:05Bye.
12:06Bye.
12:12I'm loving how Kim and Simon's garden has turned out.
12:18But my next garden revisit was a very different challenge.
12:24I'm in sunny shore and by sea on the south coast to see one of my favourite garden rescue builds.
12:31Six years ago, David and John needed our help to mark a very special occasion in their lives.
12:40We'd moved from a big flat with a small balcony to a small house with a big garden.
12:45Neither of us were gardeners, were we?
12:48And it just had the biggest, barest lawn and a few, a dozen roses down the side.
12:55And that's all it was.
12:55And we didn't know what we wanted.
12:57But we just, having watched Garden Rescue, I just thought, well, they'd be able to give us the idea what
13:03we need to do.
13:04One of the main kind of motives behind that was where we were getting married and then we wanted a
13:10reception here in the garden.
13:12I'd got it into my head that the garden was such a long garden.
13:17So if we had 30 or 40 people in the garden, it wouldn't be a crowded mess.
13:24And that's where Harry, David and I came in.
13:29I mean, it's blank, but it's very, very long and narrow.
13:31It's a huge garden.
13:32I mean, I'm thinking rooms.
13:34Not too many rooms, though, because it's a big old garden.
13:36Yeah!
13:37Tackle a couple of rooms, maybe.
13:39With the big day just months away.
13:42Hello!
13:44Hello, hello, hello.
13:45The boys and I wasted no time coming up with two designs perfect for a party.
13:51Colour, definitely colour.
13:52So I've given you three distinct rooms.
13:56Traditional vegetable herb garden, or not garden.
14:00A contemporary entertainment area.
14:03And a wildlife chill-out zone just for you.
14:08My design took a more traditional approach, while Harry and David went for curvy and relaxed.
14:16So we wanted to give you an informal English courtyard garden.
14:21And that was split up into different spaces that gave you different uses.
14:25Both our designs divided the long garden into separate rooms.
14:30It doesn't look like our garden, does it?
14:32Very good, thank you.
14:36For David and John, choosing between the two wasn't easy.
14:41God, David, this is tricky.
14:44We genuinely didn't agree straight away on which one we wanted.
14:48And then, eventually, we did settle on Charlie's.
14:51David and Harry are so nice, I didn't want to offend them.
14:54And they put their heart and soul into it.
14:56And I'm thinking, they're going to be so disappointed when we pick Charlie's.
15:00But when all was said and done, I wasn't complaining.
15:06I'm slightly worried now.
15:08Just grabbed everything that we wanted from the garden.
15:11So looking forward to having that.
15:13Brilliant.
15:16It was then up to the team to bring my design to life.
15:20And it wasn't long before the scale of what I designed started to hit home.
15:27Who designed this garden?
15:29Stupid person.
15:32By the house, I designed the first room to be a modern version of a formal knock garden.
15:38There we are.
15:39So that's pretty plumb now with the string line.
15:40With two symmetrical borders and a pergola over the top, creating a grand entrance.
15:47Andy and I started on the second room.
15:51Which would take a while.
15:54It featured a giant water feature with stepping stones across it.
15:59Pull that one out a bit.
16:01Yeah.
16:01And a central seating area with borders on either side, planted with shrubs.
16:08So we've got bamboos to give a bit of height.
16:11And then we've got this salix exigua, which is known as coyote willow.
16:17And I just love the shadows that they create on the paving.
16:21Coming through on a squeaky barrow.
16:23Beautiful plant.
16:24And finally, at the back, was a private seating area featuring a statement tree that everyone loved.
16:32It is absolutely gorgeous.
16:36And a swing seat...
16:38Let's have a look at this thing, then.
16:39..that wasn't so popular.
16:41Oh, my, my!
16:43How...
16:44How 70s is that?
16:47Fair winds and calm seas meant the build went mostly to plan.
16:54And it wasn't long before David and John's new garden was ready to be seen.
16:59We're right next to David. David's...
17:01And when we were told we could open our eyes...
17:04John, David, would you like to open your eyes?
17:08I literally could not believe what we were seeing.
17:13I just never expected it to be as beautiful as it was.
17:17Oh, my God!
17:19Blooming!
17:20Excellent.
17:21Really excellent.
17:22And you saved the honeysuckle.
17:24Doesn't it look amazing?
17:25Amazing!
17:27What had been a lifeless strip of land...
17:33..was now a garden fit for a party...
17:39..with an elegant reception room near the house...
17:44..a central seating area with a tranquil water feature...
17:49..and a private nook to take in the evening sun.
17:54Oh, my Lord! Look at that!
17:57Herbs!
17:58..your not garden, your potashare that's got herbs...
18:02..because you're into your cookies.
18:04It's absolutely lovely.
18:05Lilies?
18:06Lilies.
18:07Just to make it look pretty as well.
18:09So, come explore your new pergola, which, I have to say, I mean, it just...
18:15..it's quite elegant.
18:16And now we've got this central pathway going from the patio all the way to the very end.
18:22And it was symmetrical on both sides.
18:25But you could see the different sections on both sides.
18:29And I remember looking at it and I went...
18:31It's like walking down some stately home and you've got a big view down there.
18:35It's beautiful.
18:38Well, I thought when I said it, oh, my God, what have I said?
18:42What I didn't realise is that it would feature prominently in the programme
18:46and in the trailers for the whole series.
18:49Yes.
18:49Well, everybody that we met...
18:51..how's your stately home, David?
18:57This is just the perfect size.
18:59It's exactly what we wanted.
19:01The plants are all going to grow up, but they're going to be very open,
19:05so it won't block your neighbours.
19:07Yeah.
19:07Just screen it slightly.
19:08When I saw the plan and everything, I was just thinking,
19:11oh, I don't know, is it big enough for that and everything,
19:13but it fits really well.
19:16He'll be shouting, bring me a glass of wine.
19:19I won't get that chance.
19:20Just the bottle, really.
19:28Now I'm back in Shoreham by sea.
19:31The wedding must have happened because David and John are still here.
19:34But by all accounts,
19:36the garden hasn't turned out quite the way we thought.
19:39I am worried about Charlotte seeing the garden
19:41because I'm worried that she's going to say,
19:43oh, you've let it go to rock and ruin.
19:45It is very, very different to that initial picture
19:49that she put in our map.
19:52Hello, John, David.
19:54Hello, Charlie.
19:55Nice to see you again.
19:56It's been a long time.
19:58Nice to see you as well.
19:59How are you doing?
19:59I'm good.
20:00I'm good.
20:01Let's have a look.
20:01Oh, yeah.
20:02Yeah, you took the punch, David.
20:04We certainly did.
20:05You weren't fibbing.
20:06We had the big party and everything.
20:07I have to say, I'm very excited to see the garden.
20:09Well, I'm excited to show you, but I hope you recognise it.
20:12It's very, very different.
20:14I'm really excited to see the garden now.
20:16Totally different than yours.
20:16Oh, hi, come on.
20:22Oh, this is exciting.
20:24So, here we are in the garden.
20:26Please follow us.
20:26Right.
20:26See, this is what you went through.
20:28Yeah, it is exactly the same.
20:34Oh, my...
20:34Whoa!
20:35What do you think, then?
20:37Can you recognise it?
20:38No!
20:40Five years after I last saw it, the garden I designed...
20:47..has grown into something wild and wonderful.
20:52I want to run down there.
20:54It's a secret garden.
20:55What's at the bottom of the garden?
20:57Yeah, well, you'll soon see, but I'll tell you the truth.
20:59I was really worried about you seeing it, thinking,
21:01I was just going to hate it.
21:02Let it go, overgrown and everything.
21:04I was really, really worried about that.
21:06No, I love the fact, you know, we come in, give you the basis,
21:10and then you take it from there.
21:12I was thinking that you wanted it quite modern and slick.
21:15That's why I was amazed that you chose my design.
21:18So, to see it like that, it just looks fantastic.
21:31John, David, I mean, having the garden done
21:33was really all about celebrating the wedding, wasn't it?
21:37It certainly was, and it was a great day.
21:40We had how many people?
21:41Between 50 or 60, something like that.
21:44Wow!
21:44I know it's a big garden, but, goodness,
21:46every area must have been used.
21:49Every area.
21:49Yeah, absolutely.
21:50So, it was a really great space,
21:52and people came, and those that had seen the garden before...
21:57So, they noticed a little bit of a difference?
21:59Just a bit, yeah.
22:00So, they thought, they adored it.
22:02They thought the transformation was amazing.
22:06What looked different then is even more different now.
22:14The entrance to the garden was quite formal.
22:18Not anymore.
22:22The Knot Garden's turned into a cottage garden, really, hasn't it?
22:26Yeah, I think so.
22:26And, you know, the lavender falling over the edge,
22:29you knock against it, you get the scent.
22:30And, to be honest, I was expecting that you'd keep that cross shape
22:34by trimming it as soon as it's flowered,
22:37finished flowering, cut into it.
22:38Yeah.
22:38But you like the informality.
22:40And we like the way it flows,
22:41but also, never having had a garden before,
22:44I didn't know when you were supposed to get it,
22:46and when you weren't.
22:46Okay.
22:47And, but we like the lavender when it dried out as well,
22:50so we still got the scent as well.
22:52Right.
22:52So, but if you like it natural and like that,
22:55you could take some cuttings
22:57and really get into the garden inside.
22:59I'm amazed.
23:00I didn't realise you hadn't really been used to a garden.
23:02We'd had a balcony in the flats.
23:05From one extreme to the other then.
23:07Yes, it was.
23:07What were you thinking?
23:09We need shark garden rescue to help us.
23:11That's what we were thinking.
23:13As well as the lavender in the borders,
23:15I planted several roses
23:20that are now absolutely gigantic.
23:24I mean, the roses, they're looking amazing.
23:28I mean, they were so small when they went in, weren't they?
23:30They were down quite low.
23:31Very, very low.
23:32And look at them now right up here.
23:35I mean, gorgeous.
23:36And I mean, this one's tottering by gently.
23:39It's very simple, elegant rose, open, great for the wildlife.
23:43And then you've got the Roald Dahl up there,
23:45which is much more sort of traditional,
23:49blousy, cottage garden rose, isn't it?
23:51It is.
23:52And it forms clusters that create like a lovely dome
23:55when it's in full bloom.
23:56And that's all you see, a bed of peach.
23:58It's just, it's lovely.
24:00If the not garden was a surprise...
24:04This is just fantastic.
24:07It's my favourite bit.
24:08Look, amazing, secret garden.
24:11Wow!
24:13Nothing prepares you for what's happened to the middle of the garden.
24:19Wow!
24:20It's amazing!
24:21Look at it!
24:23It's gorgeous.
24:26What was originally designed to be an open patio
24:29with elegant borders...
24:33..has grown into a hidden garden.
24:37I'm loving it!
24:40This is the best.
24:41Yeah, I'm absolutely loving this area
24:45with the willows and the movement.
24:47I knew there was going to be movement,
24:48but I was expecting that you'd keep them down about this height
24:51and let them shoot up each year, but you've let them go right up.
24:55MUSIC PLAYS
25:06But I just didn't want to lose this shape as well.
25:10It's gorgeous.
25:10It's almost like it's arched over to make, like, a vaulted ceiling.
25:15It is, it's beautiful.
25:16And it keeps the temperature down in here.
25:18Last year, when it was 40 degrees around here,
25:22it was 25 in here.
25:23It was beautiful.
25:24You wouldn't know that this garden belonged to that garden.
25:29Totally, no.
25:29And as for my pond,
25:31it doesn't look anything like when I designed it.
25:34No, it's mine now.
25:35It's yours now.
25:36I mean, it was very modern, clean lines,
25:39two little spray fountains and some raised planters.
25:42We had roses in the raised planters.
25:44I don't know if you remember,
25:45but then when we got flooded one year,
25:47they just died back in there.
25:50So I've planted two grasses on either side.
25:52And they're doing very, very well.
25:53And they like the shade.
25:55You said that you wanted low maintenance.
25:57I know.
25:58Yeah.
25:58And that's not low maintenance.
26:00There's a wildlife pond now.
26:02It was underwater.
26:02So that's when the wildlife came in.
26:04And once we saw the first frogs and newts,
26:07we were never going to go back to anything.
26:08No, right.
26:09It's full of tadpoles.
26:10Tadpoles, newts, everything's in there.
26:12It's absolutely gorgeous.
26:13Originally, this was meant to be the sort of reception party area
26:17for the wedding.
26:18There was only one person had an accident in the pond.
26:20I was going to say.
26:21That was me.
26:22Oh, champagne!
26:23So you ended up in the water feature.
26:25My very contemporary water feature on your wedding day in...
26:30Well, there you go.
26:32And do you sit down here lots?
26:33A lot, yeah.
26:34Yeah?
26:34We do.
26:35Quite often sit here and just have a glass of wine.
26:37You wouldn't even know there's any houses around you,
26:39to be honest.
26:40No, not here.
26:40That's really secluded.
26:42It's lovely.
26:42That's really...
26:43It's done what you said.
26:44It'll give us a little bit of privacy.
26:47The whole garden's private now,
26:48but this gave us our privacy straight away.
26:51And all the silver...
26:53A silver colour.
26:54All the trees around here.
26:55And that's just lovely, the way it catches the light.
26:58And I forgot about the bamboo as well.
27:00Yeah, I like the black bamboo.
27:02That's evergreen.
27:03So in winter, when all this has died back,
27:06we've still got something to look at
27:08and it sways in the wind and everything there.
27:10But the black stems, they're very, very nice.
27:13Beautiful.
27:14Again, with those,
27:15if you really want to make the black stems sort of show up,
27:18just clear the lower sort of two metre and a half
27:23of all these little bits.
27:24And you just...
27:25You see the stems, but you still get that movement.
27:28Yeah.
27:28And do you feel calm in this area?
27:30Yeah, very much.
27:30Very much.
27:32Each bit of the garden, as we're coming along,
27:33I'm getting more and more amazed.
27:35I mean, I think this bit in the garden is absolutely incredible
27:38and not quite as I imagined it would have been,
27:42but spectacular.
27:43It is.
27:44It's a lovely part of it, but there's more yet, Charlie.
27:46OK.
27:46You've not seen the rest of it.
27:54Five years ago, I designed the rear of the garden
27:57to be a seating area to enjoy the evening sun.
28:01I can't wait to see how it looks now.
28:09My, this bit's changed so much!
28:12Look!
28:14Goodness me!
28:16You kept the swing!
28:18You kept the swing!
28:20I said...
28:20It was a big debate.
28:22I said, that swing will go instantly.
28:25As soon as you'd all gone, I said to John,
28:27you know, the minute we know they don't have to come back,
28:30we're just going to get rid of that.
28:31It's just not us, it's not in keeping with the garden.
28:34And then fell in love with it.
28:36Why did you fall in love with it?
28:38It's so private down here.
28:40Even before, the bamboo was the first to grow up.
28:43You can't see anything.
28:44So you sit in that, and you would be,
28:46you could be anywhere, a knot in a garden,
28:50where you can, you can't see the house or anything like that.
28:52No, you can't see any of the houses, you wouldn't know.
28:54So this is like your second secret garden.
28:56It is.
28:56Just for one person or two.
28:58Yeah, no.
28:58We tried two, it didn't work.
29:01So, I mean, that's great.
29:03But it's me mainly.
29:04Yeah.
29:04I love it in there.
29:10The swing seat may be a hit,
29:13but the maple tree isn't doing quite so well.
29:21Now, this was the main feature tree, wasn't it?
29:25It was, definitely.
29:26It doesn't look like it's done particularly well.
29:29It did struggle when we first, the first winter we flooded.
29:33The next spring it was very, very hot, so it scorched the leaves.
29:37Maples don't like being in full sun.
29:40Right.
29:40They can put up with it being wet, especially if they're dormant.
29:46Bigger specimens are more difficult to actually establish in a garden,
29:51because you've got to look after them so much more.
29:53It takes a while for them to balance up.
29:56Yeah.
29:56So in some ways you're better off putting small in and letting it grow.
30:00But I wanted to put something in that looked dramatic.
30:05Although there's nice growth up there,
30:08what I would do is probably take this down here and then here.
30:12OK.
30:13Because you've got this lovely growth here,
30:15and then that will sort of dome over.
30:18Then with your archway, it's going to still be a feature at the end of the walkway,
30:23but it still keeps this area here secret.
30:26So you look through the arches, but you still won't see your hanging seat.
30:33Right.
30:35On the original sort of garden design,
30:38this was the main focal point at the end of the garden walkway.
30:43It was, yes.
30:43But now, because the gardens are so separate from each other,
30:49this is a focal point in this garden,
30:51and there's something totally different in the other bit of the garden,
30:54which is amazing.
30:55It is.
30:56Each area's got its own focal point now,
30:58and this still features heavily down here,
31:01but we just love every part of it.
31:05It's clear how much the couple loved the garden,
31:08even if the garden rescue experience
31:11wasn't entirely what they were expecting.
31:16Well, I always thought the programme was about the garden.
31:18So, you know, you never think you're going to be recognised
31:21or anything like that, and people do.
31:24They do, do they?
31:24They do mention it, yeah, all the time.
31:26Well, we're in a big department store once,
31:30oddly, buying a new television.
31:31Right.
31:31And on the screens, you know, about 30 screens,
31:36came up garden rescue.
31:37But I was on it.
31:38No!
31:39So, yeah.
31:40Oh, God.
31:4265-inch screens.
31:44With you guys everywhere on each shot.
31:46Were people going?
31:47No, no, we ran.
31:49You ran?
31:50We chose the TV we wanted,
31:51and we got out very, very quickly.
31:52Play quickly and leave.
31:54So, yeah, it was...
31:56But it was fun.
31:58Yeah.
31:58It was a fun experience,
31:59so absolutely no regrets.
32:01OK.
32:03I love how much David and John have embraced the garden we built,
32:08and I've got an idea that could help them enjoy it even more.
32:14I love what you've done with the garden.
32:16It looks fantastic.
32:17I have got some ideas for your not garden,
32:20or should I say cottage garden,
32:22which will pick up the cottage sort of effect,
32:26but also wildlife, because I know you're keen about that.
32:29That's what we want.
32:29So, you are for that.
32:30Who's helping me?
32:32That'll be me, then.
32:33So, you're on tea duty, then?
32:34I think I am, yeah.
32:35OK, well, come on, let's get on.
32:43All right, then, David, let's get these odd pots out.
32:46OK.
32:47All right, then.
32:47So, you get that one.
32:48And we get those out the way.
32:50More space for more plants.
32:53Five years ago, my design for the two not garden borders
32:57featured a low hedge of lavender in the middle.
33:01So, I'm using the lavender to create a cross.
33:05I'm going to put herbs around.
33:07So, I'm just arranging them in sort of a symmetrical pattern.
33:13And then what we're going to do is sort of mirror image it
33:17on the other side of the path.
33:26The herbs may be long gone, but the lavender is still here.
33:30So, it's time for a new plan.
33:34OK, so then, Charlie, what do you want me to do, then?
33:36Well, do you want to start tackling this end?
33:38Just a little bit of weeding, like digging over, prepping it.
33:41Yeah, no problem.
33:41Yeah.
33:45My idea for this sort of what was the not garden
33:48is now cottage garden.
33:49What I wanted to do is bring in some extra plants.
33:53One, to give more of a cottagey effect,
33:55but also to bring in lots of wildlife.
34:03I'm adding plants that will complement the lavender and the roses.
34:11So, I've got this serratostigma, which is a sub shrub.
34:15It gets to about two foot high, so it just links the rose down to the lavender.
34:20Then I've got a hebe over there, which is evergreen.
34:24It gives a nice round shape, and you'll have flowers at a different time of the year.
34:30Serratostigma wilmartianum.
34:31I love it.
34:33It's got these bright green leaves, but then it's got these very intense azure blue clusters of flowers at the
34:42end of the stems.
34:43And it really doesn't like really wet soil.
34:47Now, the great thing is, is these not gardens here are raised up.
34:52So, even though the garden floods further down, the roots of this serratostigma will be protected.
35:00So, it won't be that wet.
35:03How are you going over there, David?
35:06Well, it's all done.
35:07I can do something else if you want.
35:08Do you want to come up and do these Verbena benariensis?
35:12Do you like those?
35:13I do. They're lovely.
35:15Another great addition to a cottage garden border are annuals.
35:19In the gaps, I'm adding yellow and pink status.
35:23They'll only last a year, but they'll do the job until the perennials fill out.
35:30Fantastic for the wildlife.
35:32The bees and butterflies and hoverflies love them.
35:35And it just adds that pop of colour for not much in the way of money.
35:43So, this border looks quite different from when I was planting it the first time.
35:52So, David, are you done and dusted over there?
35:55I think so, finally, yeah.
35:57Yeah? What do you think?
35:57I think it looks amazing.
36:00So different to where it was first thing this morning.
36:02It's not much at the moment, but it won't be long before it fills out to create a pretty cottage
36:08garden bed.
36:10The bees and hoverflies are loving it already.
36:13They are. You can see.
36:14Really, really good.
36:15Thank you so much.
36:16And I know what to do now in future.
36:21John and David's garden has been on quite a journey.
36:25From the unloved plot we first took on, to the stylish modern space we built.
36:35And now, five years later, a wildlife-friendly garden.
36:49I mean, I have to say, you're right.
36:51The garden is so different than I thought you were going to keep it.
36:56But you've turned it into an amazing space.
36:59And for me, you know, we designed them and it's lovely to come back and see how it's actually being
37:06used.
37:07Yeah.
37:07And how you've enjoyed the garden.
37:09Well, it is a used garden.
37:11Every day we use it.
37:12Friends and family come round and we always gravitate towards the garden.
37:16We never stay inside.
37:17It's just lovely.
37:19It really is.
37:19It's more than we hoped for.
37:27On Garden Rescue, we've built many gardens to help people escape from the stresses of life.
37:36And look!
37:38Maya, look!
37:40What is that feeling?
37:47Wow!
37:48That's unbelievable.
37:50That's insane.
37:51That is amazing, honestly.
37:53The last garden on my list came about after a life-changing event.
37:59Three years ago, Sue and Baz in Hampshire reached out to us after the first wave of the pandemic.
38:08Hi, I'm Sue.
38:09And I'm Baz.
38:10And we've invited Garden Rescue to come and rescue our garden.
38:14I'm a remedial therapist.
38:16I work as an operating theatre technician.
38:19And unfortunately, April this year, I contracted the coronavirus.
38:24An ambulance picked me up and took me to the local hospital.
38:29I was put in an induced coma.
38:32And that lasted for almost three months.
38:38Sadly, the couple's garden wasn't helping Baz with his recovery.
38:44It doesn't have anything of interest.
38:46It's just laid very flat with quite boring borders.
38:53My winning design promised to bring some tranquility and harmony to the couple's bland garden.
39:00We are going to pimp this shed up.
39:03And was based on a classic Japanese style.
39:06And then what I think I will do is dress through this with bark.
39:12With a dry riverbed.
39:14So I walk in on a lovely cobbled beach.
39:18An elegant pergola for Baz to relax under.
39:23They're going in lovely these, mate.
39:24Spot on.
39:26And two elegant trees.
39:28An Acer.
39:30Pretty.
39:30And a stunning snowball tree.
39:34Gets covered in beautiful white flowers that hang down.
39:42With harmony the key to the design, every element had to work hand in hand.
39:48And in no time at all, Baz and Sue's blank space had become a calming zen garden.
39:58Do you want to open your eyes?
40:00Yes.
40:02Wow.
40:03Amazing.
40:04Oh my God, Charlie.
40:07That is unbelievable.
40:09I cannot take it all in.
40:14Three years on, Baz and Sue are still in caution.
40:18And so is my garden.
40:21But what we left behind now looks quite different.
40:26And they love it more than ever.
40:32I think the gardeners played such a huge part.
40:35A major part in his recovery.
40:37There was nothing medically that could be done.
40:39He just had to recover.
40:41What the gardeners done is given him that zest back.
40:46I think my favourite part is coming through the woodland walk
40:49and doing the complete circuit.
40:51This is the blossom glade.
40:53This is the garnet maple that Charlie planted.
40:56Very Japanese.
40:57Starting to really fill out nicely.
40:59We have the viburnum on the right here.
41:01This gives the most amazing perfume early on in the year.
41:04Yes.
41:05That's really comfortable.
41:07Is it?
41:08Yeah.
41:09My favourite part of the garden is actually somewhere to sit.
41:12Whereas before it was just grass.
41:14And you can see virtually the whole garden in its mature state.
41:20And it's fantastic.
41:24And here we have the snowbell tree.
41:26Four years down the line.
41:28Much more mature.
41:29And actually flowering properly.
41:32It's beautiful actually.
41:34The perfume in the evening is really, really heady.
41:36And it has these lovely tiny, Charlie described them perfectly,
41:41these lovely little cups that have the golden centres.
41:43But it is quite Japanese.
41:51Another area that's looking good is the dry riverbed.
41:58The stones have aged and the ferns and grasses either side have matured nicely.
42:07So we've got that feeling that there was once water here and now it's dried up.
42:12But it leads you to that wonderful pond in the centre.
42:14So almost like a little bit of a secret garden there.
42:19Three years ago, this garden went from a blank suburban plot to a peaceful Zen garden.
42:27Now it's a lush, calming sanctuary.
42:33Four years down the line, I'm walking much better.
42:37Not quite 100%, but I'm back to full-time work.
42:41And I feel much, much better.
42:43And seeing life in a different way.
42:48And I'm taking every opportunity that comes along.
42:53You can't really put into words how it adds to our life on a daily basis.
42:58And this incredible garden keeps on giving day after day, year after year.
43:03And just such a wonderful place to be.
43:05And we feel really, really lucky and incredibly grateful.
43:09I actually had this made.
43:12Charlie, this is for you.
43:14So, good job, Charlie.
43:21It's been great to see the gardens we built looking better than ever.
43:27But the joy for me is discovering how the owners have come to love them.
43:34It's not just a garden that was built for them.
43:37It's their garden now.
44:08you
44:43you
45:13you
45:43you
46:13you
46:43you
47:13you
47:43you
48:13you
48:58you
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