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super garden s17e01
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00:05Woodies. Your super garden starts here.
00:11Emily, Owen, Sean, Janani, Adrian.
00:18Five garden designers competing to create the super garden.
00:24Alright, let's get going everyone. Happy faces, come on.
00:27Got it.
00:29The winner will get to join the ranks of Ireland's top gardeners
00:32when they recreate their design at Ireland's premier garden event.
00:36Bored be a bloom.
00:41I'm a grower of everything, ain't I?
00:43How much scar was that crying for us?
00:45Could have been a bit of sabotage, you wouldn't even know.
00:47We're here to win.
00:48And to do that, the designers will need to impress our judges.
00:51And they are former super garden winner and Woodies ambassador,
00:55Brian Burke.
00:57Garden design lecturer, Monica Alvarez, representing Dulux exteriors.
01:02And horticulturalist, Karl Marx, from Bored Beer.
01:10Five designers, but only one is going to bloom.
01:20Ashbourne is the home of this year's super garden.
01:23This brand new development, mill race, has been built by Meath County Council for Social Housing.
01:29Each designer has a budget of 15,000 euro to spend on their garden.
01:34And just over three weeks to complete the job.
01:38On your marks, get set, garden.
01:44This week's designer is Owen Montane Barry, from Lucan, County Dublin.
01:49I would absolutely love to go to bloom.
01:51I've been going to bloom since I was younger.
01:53Just to look at the show gardens, look at plants.
01:56If I could win this competition and go with my design, it would mean so much to me.
02:00Gardening is in Owen's blood.
02:02His parents met working in a garden centre.
02:04And 25-year-old Owen has been helping in his dad's landscaping business
02:08since he learned how to operate a mini-digger.
02:11He has just graduated from the Botanic Gardens with a degree in horticulture
02:16and is now keen to plough his own furrow.
02:19With a blank canvas, you know, that's always good to see potatoes growing.
02:23I have to incorporate that somehow.
02:25Having seen their garden, it's time for Owen to meet the people he is designing for.
02:29Single dad, Anthony Murphy, who works in communications,
02:33and his daughter, Alicia, who is studying law in Trinity College.
02:37I think it would be nice to have, like, a social space
02:39where you can have people over and, like, enjoy the garden together.
02:43Yeah, so, like, we could cook out here.
02:44Like, we don't really have any area for sitting down and having people over.
02:48So, is there any particular colours that would be your favourite
02:51that I could incorporate into the space?
02:53Ooh!
02:54Is that a point of contention?
02:56Someone has some colours that he likes.
02:58Yeah, she knows.
03:00So, everything's orange and blue, pretty much.
03:02He loves a bit of orange and blue.
03:04Yeah, yeah.
03:04I like them, Tom. It's lovely to meet you.
03:06You too.
03:06It's just getting the ratios correct.
03:09Just a nice balance between usable but show garden.
03:13I do think I'm the man for the job.
03:15I just, I think I can win. I hope so.
03:17And here is the design that Owen hopes will bring him to bloom,
03:21the All Seasons Garden.
03:23Existing concrete will be replaced with paving for a bistro table and chairs.
03:28There's a flower bed directly outside the window of Anthony's home office,
03:32offering enticing views of the garden.
03:34In the centre and along the wall and rear fence are raised beds in Connemara Walling,
03:40with mixed planting of exotic blooms as well as vegetables and herbs for Anthony's cooking.
03:46The pergola has comfortable seating, sheltered by Owen's centrepiece,
03:50a corner wall of solid glass blocks in a mix of striking colours,
03:55including Anthony's favourites, blue and orange.
04:00The mini-diggers are lined up on the starting grid and Owen is in pole position.
04:06So, day one, I got dropped here. No car.
04:10We're looking to take the concrete out and dig up the sod.
04:13A whole lot of concrete, yes.
04:15Half the garden only concrete, so hopefully it's not reinforced, it comes up easy,
04:19but, you know, I have to wait and see.
04:26After a hitch, he finds the switch, and Owen is off.
04:32But the concrete is tougher than he hoped, and so is the job ahead.
04:36My fears came into real life, so it's six inches and it's reinforced,
04:42so that's your spanner in the works.
04:45You can plan everything, but as soon as it boots hit the ground,
04:47everything goes messed up.
04:50So, like, I'm just expecting things to happen.
04:53If something's going too well, I'm expecting something to go wrong.
04:55Over the fence, Adrian's team has already gone for lunch,
04:58and Owen steals a sneaky peek.
05:01So, we'll see how they're getting on.
05:02Hopefully, not too much for ahead of me.
05:05Oh, yeah.
05:06Well, they're flying along now.
05:07I'm a bit delayed now myself, but...
05:10If it's coming out for them easy enough, you know what I mean,
05:12it gives me a bit of confidence, I guess, that it's going to come out easy for me.
05:15Hopefully.
05:26Look, it took a bit longer than I would have liked, you know what I mean?
05:28Ideally, I would have liked to get it all done today, but, look,
05:31it's a bit different when you're the boss, man, you know what I mean?
05:33You're thinking about a hundred different things that have yet to come,
05:36that you've yet to do, you know what I mean?
05:37This might affect that.
05:38It's just, it all adds up and weighs on you.
05:41Whether you want it or not, it does.
05:43Hopefully, the rest of it goes a bit more smoother than this,
05:45but we'll see what happens.
05:46But after a long, hard day, Owen discovered his householder was unhappy with his plans.
05:52So I was wrapping up the tools, and then Anthony came out to me and said that he didn't like
05:57the design.
05:58It was just kind of a gut punch, really.
06:00It was like, I don't know, it was just a hard day of breaking out concrete,
06:05and it kind of knocked me on my arse a bit, you know?
06:07And I thought, I'd listen to him.
06:09At the end of the day, I wanted to win, and I wanted to look like a show garden, so...
06:13Owen is working under a cloud now, but at least brother Jack and dad Alan show up to help.
06:19The cavalry's arrived.
06:20Alan is a landscaper himself, and usually is Owen's boss.
06:25Well, I taught him all the good things, and anything else, he picked up.
06:28Isn't that right?
06:29Yeah.
06:29All the bad habits I picked up myself, you know, of course.
06:31I'm struggling to, you know, to deal with this role reversal, you know?
06:35Yeah.
06:35So you have to be nice to me now, you know?
06:36You haven't mentioned a tea break yet, what's the story?
06:39When you work enough, I'll give you one.
06:42The team gets bigger, and the pace picks up.
06:46A tough but fair boss, Owen finally gives a tea break and some introductions.
06:52That's my youngest brother, Callum.
06:53I mean, that's my mam.
06:54All family.
06:56Besides the cat.
06:57This is my nanny, she's coming to help.
06:59She wanted to see the gardens, and she said she'd have any paints.
07:02Or maybe he's writing the digger.
07:04But Owen is still troubled by the issue with Anthony.
07:07I wouldn't have thought he would have got much sleep last night, because I think it was playing on his
07:10mind.
07:10He had put so much effort into his original design, that I think it knocked him a little bit, confidence
07:15-wise.
07:16He thought he had it nailed.
07:17He did have a nail.
07:18It was just that Owen could see the bigger picture, because he sees what it looked like in the end
07:22in his head.
07:22The client maybe is struggling a little bit with that.
07:24So, Owen arranges a meeting with Anthony and Alicia.
07:27So my design, I don't know, here he is.
07:31So I had a bed underneath the window in your dad's room, because he has his computer right there beside
07:36the window.
07:37So I wanted, you know, if he got overwhelmed at work, that he could look into his flower bed that
07:40would be at his window.
07:42Then I have a veg bed, because when I came, you know, the first thing I seen was the three
07:45big veg beds.
07:46I decided that I'd get the glass blocks, so you can get them in different colours.
07:50So I was trying to incorporate as much orange and blue, just because I knew you liked it.
07:54Yeah, so, like, the only issue I had with it was that, because that's kind of covered the seating area
08:01that's in the corner.
08:02It's going to be shadowed, and where I was hoping it would be more central.
08:08I don't think that the features of the glass and stuff, it just doesn't sit right when I move it
08:16around.
08:16I know it's disappointing to hear.
08:17You said that you wanted to get a cooking area, so I was thinking maybe I could slightly encroach on
08:24the veg bed here,
08:25and I could build you a brick barbecue into it, so that you could cook and then...
08:28Yeah, I like that idea.
08:29Have the veg, like, right beside you?
08:31Have the veg, have herbs or...
08:32Yeah, I was hoping for something like that.
08:34So, and then if you want to have your friends over, you could be away from the house, you know.
08:38You know, when I was younger, I didn't want my mum and dad listening to what I was talking about
08:41with my friends or girlfriends, you know, so...
08:43I know you've put a lot of work into it.
08:45I just, I really hope that when, if you see it, that maybe you can...
08:48Do you know what, we've discussed it a little bit more now as well, so, like, I kind of like
08:51the idea of walking around the back of it and that.
08:54I like how, like, circular it is. Like, you can kind of get everywhere from everywhere, do you get me?
08:58I hope that you get a nice garden, and I hope we can win. I hope we can win.
09:01Yeah, I hope you win too.
09:02Let's all go to bloom.
09:04That's a relief, but there's no time to rest. Let's get this patio started.
09:15Just bind each edge with the corner. You chip it. You think I'm wrecking the brick, but it looks better.
09:24Big decisions have to be made now.
09:25Next comes the pergola.
09:29We're trying to make it so that, when we get the glass blocks installed, it's in a frame, essentially, like
09:33a picture frame.
09:35The workers in Adrian's garden next door take a sneak peek under the fence.
09:39I have to say, I'm actually loving having Adrian as a next door neighbour, if you would. He's gas.
09:44Adrian is gas, and always good for a gossip. Today, he's jealous of competitor Sean over at number 30, and
09:50his fancy tiles.
09:52Well, he said the whole lot of that, right? Now, this is his words, not mine. They reckon it costs
09:56about 600 quid. The whole lot.
09:59That's not true.
10:00No. And he said, he said...
10:01I'm sure that thing is like...
10:02It's not true. It's not true.
10:04He said that's all seconds, because it's all chipped at the edges and such like. I won't mind his secretary.
10:09She gets good distance.
10:09Yeah, I think so, yeah. I'm obviously missing the trick, yeah.
10:12I'm trying to keep on top of stuff, but like, I'm slow. I know I'm slow, like, because I don't,
10:16I just don't have the knowledge and experience.
10:18Some people have a lot more help, you know, ready to go straight away, but we're all getting there, like...
10:26Owen's own team of helpers keeps expanding, and he keeps them working.
10:30Don't you know that's the sound of the men? They're working on the chain, yeah.
10:38I'm having a great time. As soon as I go home, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, you know what I
10:41mean?
10:41Like, it's like a holiday, really. Even though there's a lot of work involved, I'm having a blast.
10:45Pergola in place, it's time to build Owen's centerpiece, a corner wall of coloured glass blocks.
10:51It's definitely a wow factor, I say. I'm very, very pleased.
10:54Owen's wow factor is done just in time, as judge Monica Alvarez pays a visit.
10:59Well, talk to me about this magnificent garden.
11:03Anthony, he loves orange and blue, so...
11:06I have to stop you there.
11:08My two favourite colours are orange and blue, yes.
11:12Your garden is quite formal, but bringing something like orange into it is quite nice, and it kind of, it's
11:21outside the box.
11:22So, in terms of colour, let's take that box as a positive. Good, I'm happy.
11:27Owen, in terms of these pillars, what's your intention there?
11:30I was going to render them originally, but then I had another idea where I thought I would tile them.
11:34Oh, okay.
11:35Can I be very cheeky and make a recommendation that you look for something mosaic with a small square that
11:42would have the same feature as your main feature in the pergola, with orange, blue, green and white.
11:49And that way, what you're adding a little bit of balance, and you're ticking the box for design.
11:57Thank you for the constructive criticism, and I will definitely think and reflect on what you said to me.
12:01Brilliant. Well done. And I look forward to seeing the finished product.
12:05That was a successful judge's visit, so there's lots to be positive about, isn't there?
12:10Well, I mean, obviously you could smash the window, you could do anything.
12:13A disaster could happen at any moment, I suppose. The pergola could fall apart.
12:17The fence could fall down. We'd drill a hole to the wall, the whole wall could fall over, you know.
12:20But if bad things are going to happen, we just have to deal with them when they show up.
12:23Coming up, bad things are going to happen, because there's a storm a-coming.
12:28We have brought the concrete in, and the concrete is being washed out.
12:39Woodies. Your super garden starts here.
12:54Back in Ashbourne County, Meath, designer Owen needs to finish his raised beds in time for planting day.
13:01But it keeps raining.
13:03We have brought the concrete in, and the concrete is being washed out.
13:06The blocks aren't getting the suction needed to hold them in place.
13:08I might just go home and start crying, to be honest. It's just one of them.
13:12We're just so reliant at this particular moment on being dry.
13:16There'll be no planting if there's no beds, you know what I mean?
13:18But there's no time for tears, as Owen is off to Woody's with the other designers,
13:23where each of them has been given €5,000 to spend on plants from Irish nurseries.
13:28Owen has recently graduated with a degree in horticulture,
13:32and he can showcase his expertise in his all-seasons garden.
13:36It's a play on words, so I can use ornamentals, but I can also use edible plants.
13:40So I have some apple trees, I have some thyme, basil, sage,
13:44but we also have other ornamentals, such as rudubecchia, salvias,
13:48so all the pollinators can be happy.
13:49Like the pollinators, Owen has his own favourites.
13:52The plant that I'm holding in my hand is Festuca glauca intense blue.
13:57It's an evergreen grass, and it's a nice big blue colour.
13:59The person who lives in the house of Anthony, he loves blue, so I thought it would be a great
14:03choice for him.
14:06The rain may have blown over, but Owen is still under a cloud.
14:11It's like a never-ending list of things to do in my head.
14:14I have to cement the cappings down, I have to do some haunching,
14:17I have to take out this timber edging, I have to bring in gravel.
14:21I actually have to whack the hard core underneath and then bring in gravel.
14:23Cut the damp-proof course down, tile the walls, I need to just get another bag of sand.
14:29I have to have more soil to go around, I have to do the two gullies.
14:36Just a list of never-ending.
14:38But there's a football match on today for Liverpool,
14:40so my construction team is demanding that they finish before that.
14:48Planting day has arrived, when all of Owen's competitors become his helpers
14:53for the day.
14:54Good morning everyone, nice to see you.
14:56So I think the first cause of action would probably be the olive.
15:01I don't know how many people are going to need to do this,
15:02I think it might be all hands on deck.
15:04It's a big job, but Sean offers some special assistance.
15:08I have a machine there you can use.
15:10Yeah, that would be ideal.
15:12Sean to the rescue.
15:13The only thing designers love more than plants is plant-related toys,
15:17and this is a giant one.
15:19That is a beast.
15:20It's like jumbo jet wheels.
15:23Yeah, it is.
15:23It is, just like the front end of an aircraft.
15:26Go on, get on.
15:26There you go.
15:28No, behind you.
15:30Look.
15:30Oh, I see.
15:32Wow.
15:33Heavy.
15:36It has been Owen's dream to feature a mature olive tree in a garden design.
15:41This one is 120 years old and came from Italy.
15:45No wonder it cost 740 euros.
15:48Right, Owen, we're off now.
15:49OK.
15:50We'll just leave it there.
15:51It turns out that was the easy part.
15:59Keep going.
16:01Keep going.
16:04Keep going.
16:04Three, two, one, roll.
16:06Three, two, one, roll.
16:09Three, two, one, roll.
16:11Don't go in there.
16:12Tree's going in there.
16:14Well, if anyone's going to get killed by their tree, I think it should be me.
16:16you know. Where's Owen these days? Well, he got plenty with an Ollie.
16:28Yeah, that looks great. That's exactly what I wanted.
16:30Good job. Pretty.
16:32What's the next plan, boss?
16:34Oh, yeah. There's more to do, isn't there?
16:36There certainly is, and Judge Carol Marks is arriving to join the fun.
16:41Good morning, everybody.
16:43Morning, Carol.
16:43Morning, Carol.
16:44What's going into the hole there?
16:46An Arbutus unido.
16:47It's, yeah, a fantastic plant.
16:49Of course, the Clarny strawberry tree, native to Ireland, even though it is a Mediterranean plant.
16:55The seeds came millennia ago to Ireland. Nobody knows quite how, but you can see why it's called the strawberry
17:02tree with those lovely red fruits.
17:04Lovely red berries.
17:05Yeah, yeah. Now, the one thing about it is, unido means eat one because they taste horrible.
17:11If you bite into one, you'll never do it again.
17:14But can Owen resist?
17:16Thumbs up, I suppose.
17:20Yeah, I'm stepping off my knee again.
17:23Yes, definitely unido, eat one.
17:24Yeah.
17:25Okay, let's go and have a look.
17:32Owen's plant choices have impressed Carol.
17:35I love this ornamental archichoke here.
17:38Very architectural.
17:39The bees love it.
17:40I just think it looks spectacular.
17:41Like, when I've seen them, I said, I have to have them in.
17:43I know they'll get big.
17:44They will, for sure.
17:46But, yeah, he's willing to prune.
17:47So, that's always good to hear, you know.
17:50Meanwhile, the heavy lifting continues.
17:53For some.
17:55I think they've got it.
18:04Pleased with progress, Carol makes her exit.
18:07I can't wait to see the finished garden.
18:10Bye, Carol.
18:11I wasn't sure initially when I saw the plants on the trolleys.
18:14There's quite a mixture.
18:15But I think he has coordinated them really well.
18:18He's thought it through.
18:20Just in the back there.
18:21He's made it interesting for his homeowner.
18:24Planting day gives designers a chance to bond.
18:27So, I saw Owen's family all sitting outside together,
18:29having a little tea break,
18:30and they'd all been in here working.
18:32That was quite nice.
18:33That's nice having the family over.
18:35Is this mature enough to eat the olives?
18:37Yeah, yeah.
18:38I believe it's more mature than you are, Adrian.
18:41It's more than 63 years old.
18:43There we go.
18:44The olive was a big, big challenge to get in.
18:46It took a lot out of the five of us.
18:48We're all wrecked now.
18:49We all want to go to bloom.
18:50We all want to win.
18:51But, like, we're all friendly and nice.
18:53We're all friendly to each other.
18:54It's not, like, cutthroat.
18:56Finally, Owen releases his helpers
18:58and reflects on a great day's work.
19:00Yeah, things are working better than I expected.
19:02I'm waiting for disaster to strike, though,
19:04at the 11th hour.
19:05You know, that's kind of how these things go.
19:06Riding high, and then the low comes soon enough, I'd say.
19:10With only days left to go,
19:12there are lots of vital jobs still to do.
19:15If I let go, it should stay, yeah.
19:19It's just kind of anxiety, really, that has me glued here.
19:22As they race against the clock, Owen's exhaustion kicks in.
19:29Oh, I'm wrecked.
19:31I can't wait to sleep.
19:34This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever worked on someone's garden.
19:38So, if I don't win, I'll be devastated, to say the least.
19:47It's the final day, and time for the finishing touches.
19:50His mum and me would be very proud of him.
19:52Because it is a big achievement for him.
19:54Nanny refuses to stay away, even on her special day.
19:57Today's my nan's birthday.
19:59She's nowhere else she's got to spend her birthday than Supergarden, I suppose.
20:03A barbecue for Anthony is the final piece of the build.
20:15What a day.
20:16What a garden.
20:18What a team.
20:19Yay!
20:20We are done.
20:22When the sun has gone down there, I had a look and I got a little bit emotional.
20:30Oh, it's hard going.
20:32Between me and my family, there's just so much work and it's so hard.
20:37It's just nice to see it all pay off, really.
20:42Three weeks ago, this was what Owen was given to transform into his all seasons garden for Anthony and daughter
20:50Alicia.
20:50This is Owen Montaigne Barry's entry to Supergarden.
21:25And someone is really thrilled to view it all.
21:26Monica, Carol and Brian arrive to view Owen's garden.
21:31This very, very Mediterranean.
21:33I feel at home.
21:34Thank you, Owen.
21:36Did Owen's all-seasons garden tickle the judges' taste buds?
21:40Time to find out.
21:42Hi, Owen.
21:43Hi, Carl.
21:43Great to see you. Great to see the garden finished.
21:45Thank you very much.
21:45It's looking great.
21:47And are you happy with the overall space you've given to the planting?
21:50Yeah, I mean, I had originally designed them slightly bigger,
21:53but when it came to actually functioning and walking around the garden,
21:56I realised I had to make it slightly shorter.
21:58It would just be very tight otherwise, so.
22:00I mean, you can solve that problem by adding a little bit of a canopy.
22:04That's what I feel the garden is lacking, is the canopy over you.
22:09So even though you have a smaller space, you could have solved that problem.
22:13I didn't want to block too much of the light because I wanted my glass to catch it,
22:18because when the light shines through it, each block gets reflected onto the patio inside.
22:22I agree with Monica.
22:23I would have liked to see more height,
22:25but in terms of your colour combinations, they're really, really good.
22:29Just at the top of the Connemara walling,
22:31we have a little bit of a sliver just to finish off the last piece.
22:35It could have been dry laid, just to see where you were going to land.
22:38Lucky mistake, I suppose.
22:40I was so concerned about the corners that when it came to the middle,
22:45I realised, oh, yeah, I should have.
22:48The coloured glass block on, fabulous feature.
22:51Can you explain to me why you picked that particular location for it?
22:55I wanted it to be in the pergola, a bit of sun.
23:00It comes from here and goes around, so it shines through,
23:02and then when it comes back around the evening,
23:04it'll shine back through into the flower bed.
23:05You know, Alicia, the householder's daughter,
23:08she can have her friends over, and it's a bit of privacy.
23:11Do you think that this is a bloomish garden?
23:14I tried my very best to make it a bloomish garden.
23:16I suppose it's down to you, but I think it is.
23:19There's a bit of veg, fruit, a bit of herbs, unique features.
23:23I mean, I'm biased, obviously, but, yeah, I do think it's a bloom.
23:26Well, you have finished a very beautiful garden.
23:29Well done.
23:31I felt like I was going into the shark tank there a bit,
23:33but, like, they're going to find stuff.
23:35They're judges, they have a trained eye, you know.
23:37I think I did well.
23:38Young guy, mid-20s, first foray into garden design and construction.
23:43Bloom-worthy features everywhere you look.
23:45I had my doubts in the beginning, but I went really down and blind.
23:48The place looks amazing.
23:50It's like I just love the garden.
23:51It's all just so, like, colourful and, like,
23:55you just can't not smile when you see it.
23:58It just feels real, like, happy or something.
23:59Will Owns All Seasons Garden be the one that wins the competition,
24:03or will it be next week's creation by software engineer
24:07turned garden designer, Janani Rajkumar?
24:10The decisions she's going to make are either going to bring that concept home
24:13or compromise it beyond redemption.
24:15Go to rte.ie slash supergarden for details on everything you love
24:20in Owns Garden Design.
24:53.
24:54.
24:54.
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