0:00:02 > 0:00:04Behind Northern Ireland's streets and fences
0:00:04 > 0:00:06lie some amazing hidden gardens -
0:00:06 > 0:00:08private spaces with passionate owners,
0:00:08 > 0:00:10open just a few days a year.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Now, two top gardening experts, Diarmuid Gavin and Helen Dillon,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18are going to be searching for the best.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20They'll be looking for great design...
0:00:20 > 0:00:21This is the contented garden.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- It's a gin and tonic garden, isn't it?- Isn't it?
0:00:23 > 0:00:25..beautiful planting...
0:00:25 > 0:00:28- It's a bit kind of roundabouty. - That's terribly depressing.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30..and great gardening practice...
0:00:30 > 0:00:31Oh, this is heaven.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34- This is my deadly enemy. - Absolutely awful.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38..as the nervous owners wait inside for the verdict.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39Hopefully they'll be kind to us.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43I'm anxious about what they think about my planting and my choice,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and do they think I'm totally mad?
0:00:45 > 0:00:49This time, three gardens created out of nothing.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52If you gave me a skip, I could improve this garden.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I'm afraid it was very Parks Department.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56So which garden will be best?
0:01:01 > 0:01:06First up is the Georgian town centre of Hillsborough, in County Down.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Today, the high street is deserted.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10There's a special visit looming.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12They have the bunting out, they knew you were coming.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15No, they put it up for you, Diarmuid, I know that.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17They've put it up for the Queen! What are you trying to say?
0:01:17 > 0:01:19That's why there's not much traffic.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21She likes her garden, does the Queen.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23She loves gardening, isn't that nice?
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Gardening and racing.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Through an ordinary high street archway
0:01:28 > 0:01:30lies something totally unexpected.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Artist Dawn Mitchell has spent more than a quarter of a century
0:01:35 > 0:01:38turning a total wasteland into a magical garden.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Sometimes people come in and go, "Oh, did you buy it like this?"
0:01:41 > 0:01:44And sadly not! It took a lot of work.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46She still works hard at it.
0:01:46 > 0:01:47Four hours a day.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49And people go, "Oh, my word!"
0:01:49 > 0:01:51But I don't really notice it, really.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Dawn has created a series of what she calls rooms.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58The first is an area for entertaining guests.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It has a small central lawn,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02surrounded by packed herbaceous borders
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and lots of little pathways tempting you on.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It has just organically grown, I suppose,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10and I'm a bit of a romantic and I am an artist as well.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13So as something else appears, I make another little area.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Through one of the archways,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20she has created a second area for relaxation and meditation.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Then another archway leads to her third room,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25based on Victorian garden designs
0:02:25 > 0:02:28and dominated at one end by a huge gunnera.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The gardens that mean most to me are gardens that hold me,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33that I don't want to leave.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34I want to sit, I want to linger,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I want to see what's round a little corner.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37And I think that's what makes
0:02:37 > 0:02:41basically a long, straight, Georgian plot interesting -
0:02:41 > 0:02:45the little rooms and the little meandering paths.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Diarmuid Gavin is one of the UK's top garden designers
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and has won gold at Chelsea.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Top gardening author Helen Dillon
0:02:52 > 0:02:54owns Ireland's most famous private garden.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Together, they will argue over the garden, as Dawn waits inside.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It's a very odd feeling,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04that two wonderful gardeners are in my garden
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and I'm not there with them.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Interested to hear what they think and what they feel
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and do they think I am totally mad?
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Straight off the street is a fuchsia arch.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15Isn't this beautiful, Helen,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19the way the fuchsia is creating an archway at the entrance?
0:03:19 > 0:03:21I love this fuchsia because it is the pale pink form
0:03:21 > 0:03:24of the one that's naturalised all over Ireland.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26But this pale one is absolutely adorable.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28And it's happy anywhere, and tuppence to boot.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Everybody thinks it's Irish but it comes from Chile.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32And this is a beautiful foreigner.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35And that really is all about gardening in this country.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37We really appreciate aliens -
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- plants coming in from distant lands.- Exactly.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And people never say how wonderful Ireland is
0:03:42 > 0:03:44for the astonishing range of kit we can grow,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48despite being geographically the same level as Newfoundland.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50They're impressed by the entrance,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54but what about the first of Dawn's garden rooms, for entertaining?
0:03:54 > 0:03:57And on to the beautiful little patch of green lawn.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59It's just a glade, a grass...
0:03:59 > 0:04:01And the other thing I think this garden has got,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03I think it's got huge charm.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05It's very clever the way...
0:04:05 > 0:04:08OK, we're standing at the centre of this circular lawn
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and yet there's pathways bringing you, teasing you,
0:04:11 > 0:04:12really everywhere.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16And that is so important in any sized garden.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Before exploring the pathways,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Diarmuid has an issue with a plant pot.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24This is nit-picking, OK, I know it's nit-picking.
0:04:24 > 0:04:25I love containers.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I think they have a place, they make wonderful focal points.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30But if I was having a container here,
0:04:30 > 0:04:35I would have a large long tom pot in terracotta.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38None of this kind of Indonesian glazed stuff.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41There's no need to give it a good kick, dear boy.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The first room may have fallen on the pots
0:04:43 > 0:04:45but what about the second?
0:04:45 > 0:04:47This is supposed to be more tranquil,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50with statues and lots of seating options.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52I think this is a really beautiful bit.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54It gets better and better.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56But the stark whiteness of the seats,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59although they're wonderful seats, I think they jump out at you.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- White is an awfully strong colour. - You're such a stick-in-the-mud.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- I'm not a stick-in-the-mud!- You are!
0:05:05 > 0:05:08You lot want to sit there and show off gently in your little tent,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- your private tent.- It works.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12My only problem is the colour,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15not the lovely swingy things that I'm longing to lie down in.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17But if somebody my age gets into that,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19they're never going to get out again.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I think it's very welcoming to the visitor.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24There's all these seats all over the garden saying,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27"Please sit down and enjoy my garden just like I do."
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- That's right. - Which is very attractive.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- It's a gin and tonic garden, isn't it?- Isn't it? It is.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Do you know what I adore? Come here, you!
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- Do you know what I adore about this garden?- What?
0:05:38 > 0:05:42I adore the fact that there are some of the most common garden plants
0:05:42 > 0:05:44that everybody would be familiar with,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46just repeated, repeated, repeated.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47There's about 20 plants.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52- Geraniums, choisyas, roses, hydrangeas...- Aquilegias.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Aquilegias. And you see them everywhere you look.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Then there's the occasional spark, likes that blue mecanopsis.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01So anybody could create this garden.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03All these plants want to grow in our gardens.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Yeah, it doesn't depend on choice plants, it depends on lovely,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08floating, flowing design,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11with lovely mixes of easy plants
0:06:11 > 0:06:12that are not going to let you down
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and the odd delicious delicacy.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18The third and final compartment of Dawn's garden
0:06:18 > 0:06:21is her Victorian sanctuary.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- Look at this! - Wow, my goodness me.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Oh, this is high Victoriana, isn't it?
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And a lovely Victorian sort of hideaway.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Oh, this is heaven.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Laurel... Look at that pond!
0:06:37 > 0:06:40And look at your man up the end there, big happy gunnera.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42An enormous gunnera.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45With six...eight-foot leaves.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46That has to be in water.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49It has to be in water! It couldn't be that big.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Well, I've seen them grow... If it's damp, it will grow.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Maybe they dug out and they lined it with plastic.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Well, I want to see how it's done because I want to copy that.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- Just hang on a minute.- She's going up the creek without a paddle!
0:07:00 > 0:07:05I tell you what this is, it's heavenly, cool, damp pie.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09- Dr Livingstone, I presume! - Listen, listen.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Feel that. Feel that, it's lovely.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Lovely, lovely damp stuff.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Lovely damp stuff. No wonder it's doing so well.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Now, Diarmuid, what do you think of these containers?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24I think they are equally hideous.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Well, you are a naughty boy...
0:07:26 > 0:07:27but I agree.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Do you know, you just realise the importance of where you place seats.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34The view that's framed up there, through the tunnel,
0:07:34 > 0:07:35it is pure delight.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44You know, Helen, this isn't the type of garden I design
0:07:44 > 0:07:48or I plant or I kind of create in my head.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52- It is, though, the type of garden that I absolutely love.- Me too.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Well, here we go!
0:07:57 > 0:08:01At last it is time for Dawn to be put out of her misery.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06It takes real imagination to see a spot that is completely bare
0:08:06 > 0:08:08and have a vision of how it's going to turn out.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10I made a few big mistakes at the start -
0:08:10 > 0:08:12buying a beautiful plant I loved
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and putting it where I wanted it,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17then realising you have to look at those plants and see where
0:08:17 > 0:08:20they want to be and the position, the planting, all of that.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Something would sit and wither at the side here
0:08:22 > 0:08:23and it would be wonderful over here.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So just sitting and saying, if you're doing a garden,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28go and sit and find out where the birds are,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31where the sun is, where the damp patch is,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33where the dry patch is, and then love that
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and work with that and then you get a wonderful garden.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38- Beautifully said, beautifully said. - Thank you.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Dawn, have you got any tips for people starting
0:08:41 > 0:08:44with a relatively big garden and an empty palette?
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Slugs and snails love it here
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and when I pick 20 or 100 out of the hostas,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I think they're gone and of course they're not.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54What do you actually do about the slugs and snails?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I actually get a clove, a full clove of garlic,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- put it in a large pot of water... - A clove or a whole bulb?
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- Sorry, a bulb.- A whole bulb. - A bulb, sorry.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05..and set it in a big pot of water and let it bubble and simmer
0:09:05 > 0:09:07and get lovely, thick garlicky water
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and put it down and the slugs and snails don't like that.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Do they die or do they run off and hide?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14They don't like it, I think they disappear.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- I don't see any dead ones. - That's incredibly useful advice
0:09:17 > 0:09:19because it isn't putting out any poison
0:09:19 > 0:09:21that would be damaging to your dogs.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Diarmuid and Helen are going to be judging
0:09:27 > 0:09:29which of three gardens is best
0:09:29 > 0:09:30at the end of the programme.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The next is in Carrowdore, just outside Greyabbey in County Down.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Richard and Beverly Britton have transformed an old quarry
0:09:39 > 0:09:42into three acres of fairy woodland trails.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45These surround a stunning central strip of lawn,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48leading to a pond they created out of the quarry,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52which provided stone for airfields in World War II.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55It's been quite a lot of work just to clear the site
0:09:55 > 0:09:57and make it halfway presentable.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Since buying the site 15 years ago,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02civil servant Richard and teacher Beverly
0:10:02 > 0:10:05have tried hard to make use of local materials.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09And there's an old dump across the road from us
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and the dump owner allowed us to go in and scavenge,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16and get various bits of rock and other bits and pieces out of it.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Which earned us the nickname Stig of the Dump from some of our neighbours!
0:10:20 > 0:10:21Richard is particularly proud
0:10:21 > 0:10:24of salvaging a collection of wrought iron gates.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We got them fixed and again painted them white.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Just as a point of interest within the garden.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31You're going from one part of the garden into another part,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33it's nice just to go through the gate.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Beverly is the muscle of the team.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40We had a lot of natural stone and I like building the stone walls.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43I've the biggest biceps in Greyabbey at the moment!
0:10:43 > 0:10:45And she has an eye for a bargain.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49We do tend to go to some of the local places
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and look at the reduced section.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54But the biggest cost of all is the time the garden demands.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57We spend a few hours every Saturday and every Sunday in the garden,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00and then evenings as well in the summertime.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03So what will Diarmuid and Helen make our Stigs of the Dump?
0:11:03 > 0:11:06I hope they don't slip on the brick steps!
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Hopefully they'll be kind to us. At the end of the day, just enjoy it.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Hopefully!
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Straightaway, Diarmuid sees something he doesn't like -
0:11:16 > 0:11:17the driveway.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20It is pure magic, Helen, it is a theatrical set.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I have rarely seen such a nice view in a garden
0:11:23 > 0:11:25- but I want to change it. - I knew you would, I knew you would!
0:11:25 > 0:11:27I tell you why, I'd get rid of the driveway.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I don't know what I'd do, maybe grass,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and I would have a formal rectangular lawn there,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34wonderful borders on either side.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Maybe the only formal part of this garden.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39So you've got the incredible formality in the wilderness.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- Carved out.- Yes, carved out!
0:11:43 > 0:11:47The garden features thousands of purple and white foxgloves,
0:11:47 > 0:11:48mostly grown from seed by Beverly.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I have to just tell you one thing about this foxglove.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54You know people always want white ones, rather than mixed,
0:11:54 > 0:11:55although I loved mixed.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58To tell which the white ones are when they're seedlings,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01you simply take one of the leaves off
0:12:01 > 0:12:03and look at the back of the leaf.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06And if it is completely white and completely without pink,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09you're going to get a white plant.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- Wow!- So you can make a whole group of white foxgloves.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14So if you look at the back of the pink ones, there will be
0:12:14 > 0:12:17a faint flush of pink. Do you see down at the bottom, there?
0:12:17 > 0:12:20So that is all white on the mid rib at the back
0:12:20 > 0:12:22and all pink on the mid rib at the back.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24So you know when they're very small seedlings
0:12:24 > 0:12:26what colour they are going to be.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Wherever you go, one colour jumps out at you.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33This garden, it seems, has a bad case of the blues.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Blue paint is everywhere in this garden,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37but do you know where it comes from?
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It comes from La Majorelle garden in Marrakech,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41the Yves Saint Laurent garden.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48- That's right. But how did it get to these islands?- I would like to know.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Somebody recreated La Majorelle at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1993.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I went along, was about to do a television show, used it,
0:12:56 > 0:13:01stole the idea, used it in a garden and Titchmarsh picked it up.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04So now you're knocking it flat?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06I am knocking it flat anyway, cos I don't think it works.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10I was wrong, Titchmarsh was wrong, Yves Saint Laurent, he got it right.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- He got it right because he had different light.- He had taste!
0:13:13 > 0:13:15And taste is an issue for Helen
0:13:15 > 0:13:18when it comes to Richard's recycled white gates.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Well, the white there is jumping out at me, the white of the gate.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23We don't need to be invited in that gate.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25The trail does that, the ferns do that.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27The wild wood is asking us in.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Do you know, if you gave me a day, a skip,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33I could improve this garden just by removing things.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And if you give me £100, I will remove HIM!
0:13:38 > 0:13:42This water is absolutely beautiful. You can't see a sniff of the edge.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44You can't see any plastic or anything like that.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46All the water lilies are in flower.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It's so beautiful and so enchanting,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52except for that red thing, which to me means pure suburbia.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57The most unique aspect of the garden
0:13:57 > 0:14:01is to be found in the fairyland forest.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Well, this is just heaven.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Just the feel of it.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11To walk on this with bare feet must be wonderfully cool.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- Well, this is a moss garden. - This is wonderful.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16In the Orient, this would be highly prized.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18This is so heavenly.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22- Heaven, except I see another Titchmarsh.- I think you do.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26You know, Diarmuid, I think it would be awfully nice without this path.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Yes.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29Yeah, it doesn't need it.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The paths are lined with Beverly's handbuilt dry stone walls.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37But Helen and Diarmuid aren't sure about them.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- Oh...- Is the problem with this...
0:14:39 > 0:14:43is it because it is a bit too higgledy-piggledy? Do we need it?
0:14:43 > 0:14:45No need for all these stone walls.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49This is a rustic woodland, it's been carved out of a woodland.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Have you ever seen a nicer tree than this oak?
0:14:53 > 0:14:56So therefore you don't need to define the space around it,
0:14:56 > 0:14:57it's almost sinful.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Do you know what the point of these bridges were?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07What was the point about them?
0:15:07 > 0:15:11It's an oriental design, from Chinese and then Japanese gardens.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The point was they were quite steep walking up
0:15:14 > 0:15:18so you stopped to catch your breath
0:15:18 > 0:15:20and you looked right and left and admired the view,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- and then you walked down carefully. - Excellent.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Well, who lives here? What sort of person lives here?
0:15:30 > 0:15:32The king of the fairies.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33And the queen of the fairies.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35They're not afraid of hard work.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40They have explored the best that a rather difficult site had to offer.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42It's absolutely heavenly.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44But they used to live in suburbia.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46And maybe they learned it
0:15:46 > 0:15:48from watching bad television gardening programmes,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50- such as...- What are you trying to say?!
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Maybe they learned it from that.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- What are you trying to say, Helen Dillon?- Well, possibly.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And perhaps if they hadn't seen
0:15:56 > 0:15:58any bad television gardening programmes,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- they wouldn't have done all that. - Oh, go away, would you?!
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- Nervous?- Looking forward to this.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Finally, it's time to meet the owners.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Lovely to meet you.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Utterly enchanted with the garden.
0:16:11 > 0:16:1499.8% of it.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17And how do you make that wonderful green moss?
0:16:17 > 0:16:19It's just sort of growing naturally.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21I think by strimming
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and then blowing the leaves off on a regular basis,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25it's just growing naturally
0:16:25 > 0:16:28and it is very pretty and it's a lovely green colour.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32We feel you have really gone with what likes to grow here,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34and you have made the best of what likes to grow here.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37And you've repeated plants, and that settles the eye.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It does, it's beautifully settled.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44One thing, we didn't terribly like the blue, was one of the things.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Who was the fan of Alan Titchmarsh?
0:16:48 > 0:16:51We've been watching Ground Force on a series link in the other room!
0:16:51 > 0:16:54You were right!
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Maybe you've introduced notes of suburbia into this place
0:16:58 > 0:16:59that shouldn't be here.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The stonework, also, what do you like about that?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05It gives me something to do.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06And I like jigsaw puzzles
0:17:06 > 0:17:11and it creates a bit of a boundary to divide the garden...
0:17:11 > 0:17:15- Different parts of the garden. - ..but also keep it together,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17if that makes sense.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19On the other hand, if you hadn't done it in areas...
0:17:19 > 0:17:22- You needed to do it to begin with. - ..you wouldn't have created that picture.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27But then now it's matured, some of those woodland areas are heaven,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31but to my eye, one might take some of the stones away.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Our final garden is also in the countryside,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40this time near Kells in County Antrim.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45The garden has been created around a river and a stunning modern home.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Both garden and house have been masterminded by the owner,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56architect Jane Burnside, with low maintenance in mind.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59My husband and I both work full-time and I have two teenage sons and,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03well, they're not that enthusiastic about garden maintenance.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05But they do help.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08So with, you know, with that in mind,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11we had to make the garden practical.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15So the woodland area's all barked and a membrane down,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18so I can deal with the weeds with herbicides.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22As an architect, Jane is very conscious
0:18:22 > 0:18:25that the house and garden should work together.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Now, with changes in technology,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31you can get that connection between inside and outside.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33So it becomes even more important
0:18:33 > 0:18:35that when you are sitting at your table
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and looking out at your garden,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41that you're looking out at something.
0:18:42 > 0:18:48I like having my coffee break out on the big oak logs.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52You get the sound of the water, you get the morning sun there
0:18:52 > 0:18:56and if I'm lucky, my three wild ducks will come and join me.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So, is Jane looking forward to a visit from our two
0:19:00 > 0:19:02horticultural heroes?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06I think Diarmuid will probably like the more contemporary side.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11But would probably have wanted to be much more extravagant.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17And Helen would probably like the more traditional side, and all
0:19:17 > 0:19:21the sort of luscious tropical feel that we've created there.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23That would be my guess.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Well, let's find out.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27I love the surrounding trees.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30A very contemporary home.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I find this wonderfully rural out there,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36while this, I find the planting a bit...
0:19:36 > 0:19:40- I hesitate to say this, a bit kind of roundabouty.- It is, and yet...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Hold on, hold on, hold on.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47- This is my deadly enemy.- Absolutely awful. Awful.- Horrible stuff.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And you can just imagine the kind of landscaper
0:19:50 > 0:19:52who goes up to the house and says,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"Madam, I can get rid of all these weeds for you, no trouble at all."
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Spread down this horrible plastic stuff
0:19:58 > 0:19:59and then you spread this on top,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03which won't work properly because it's not in contact with the ground.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05And it's too dry.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08You cannot avoid seeing it. Look at it, how ugly it is.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11It takes away the illusion. You can see it everywhere coming up.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14It's that whole thing, what people want, low-maintenance gardening,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- soulless gardening.- And if you've got dogs, particularly,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21when a dog goes to the loo, the stuff sits on the surface forever.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23So first impressions are not great.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26But very soon, things start looking up.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Immediately you get over here,
0:20:28 > 0:20:33- you're welcomed to sit down on these wonderful benches.- I love this.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- I love this bench. - And that's so pretty.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Look at the gunnera, the lysichiton, the hostas.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And this beautiful water course and the ducks.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46But then you get over into suburbia, if you look there.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Yeah, that's terribly depressing.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53There is some really choice planting there. Judicious planting.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Here it is just...- I mean,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58the scale of what's over there is perfect for the landscape.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00But this is spotty-dotty.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01It is a mixed bag, isn't it?
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- That convolvulus has got on the box...- I have to say,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- I think the convolvulus is brilliant.- Yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Beautiful specimen, lovely, silvery leaves.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13Rare to see then that nice.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16This is a plant that must have full sun.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It must have good drainage. It wants sun all day.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21It doesn't just want two hours in the morning,
0:21:21 > 0:21:22it wants from six to eight hours.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- What have you found? - And let me explain why.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Have a look at that leaf.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29And what makes that leaf silver or grey
0:21:29 > 0:21:32is that it is covered in millions of tiny hairs.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33Millions of tiny hairs.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36And that indicates that it comes from a very sunny place,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38because the hairs stop water evaporation.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40And they protect it from hot sun.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So that is a clue that this is a sun-loving plant,
0:21:43 > 0:21:44comes from the Mediterranean -
0:21:44 > 0:21:48on no account shove it under a tree because it won't look like that.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Really, really good.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The river bank is crowded with healthy ferns, skunk cabbage
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and gunnera.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- Nice view from here.- Yeah...
0:22:01 > 0:22:02You're not sure?
0:22:02 > 0:22:05It's my least favourite aspect of the house.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08No, I've suddenly seen the reflection. Isn't that rather good?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- Yes.- And then we've got this lovely primula here.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14People think of primulas as little things.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18And little beautiful things, sweet things that you see in fields
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- in early spring.- Exactly, March.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23But it's a water-loving primula and when it is fully out,
0:22:23 > 0:22:24it will be up to about here.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Beautiful primrose yellow.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29So if you've got a really damp waterside place,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32this would be blissfully happy, and naturalise itself.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34This is a true species. If you went to the Himalayas,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37you'd be finding that precise plant
0:22:37 > 0:22:39growing in the wild, exactly like that.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Compared to most plants in this garden,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43you've got off very lightly!
0:22:43 > 0:22:45HELEN LAUGHS
0:22:48 > 0:22:52The other side of the house shows the full scale of Jane's vision.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56What I love here is the transition
0:22:56 > 0:22:59between the plain, large terrace there
0:22:59 > 0:23:02and then instead of going straight into the grass,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06it has that beautiful, beautiful panel with the white edge.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I absolutely love it.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- And the cloud of sage...- Beautifully done.- Purple sage around that.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Beautifully done.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19- It's slightly...slightly Ibiza-like, isn't it?- Is it?
0:23:19 > 0:23:23- It's slightly stylish... - It's certainly stylish.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26And slightly cold for our climate.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Yeah, but when the sun comes out, it will be absolutely perfect.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Yeah, but therein lies the problem.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36- What do you think about the birches so close to the house?- I love them.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39You have to be slightly brave because the roots of birch
0:23:39 > 0:23:43are surface, some of them go along the surface.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46They will probably invade some of that lawn in time
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and they may even lift some paving.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I still think it's worth doing.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- I think they're exquisite.- Exquisite.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- What is my issue here, then? - Yes, what is the issue?
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- Get your issue first and then start arguing.- It's too show-housey.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- Too show-housey?- Too perfect. - I think it's lovely-housey.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09100 metres from the front of the house,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Jane has managed to hang on to two magnificent old oaks.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15The secret to this whole landscape
0:24:15 > 0:24:18are these bowls that have been carved out.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22But you see, it's so clever. As you know but not everybody else does,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25if you change the level of soil around a tree, you kill it,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29because it rots the bark, kills the tree, ultimately, this beautiful oak.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Therefore it's so clever to have made that shallow bowl
0:24:31 > 0:24:35for the tree to live in, which hasn't affected the level around the tree,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and then raised up the soil well out here, which doesn't matter.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And it's just perfect because it looks beatable,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42apart from being perfect for keeping the tree alive.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Yeah, and it is such an interesting, subtle indentation on the landscape,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49- but so welcoming when you see it. - Isn't it?
0:24:53 > 0:24:56But what sort of person do you think lives here, Diarmuid?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58This house screams design.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- Doesn't it just? - Every inch is planned.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Did you say they might be an architect?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I think there's an architect.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I think there's an architect somewhere here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10There are A's for Architect everywhere. Let's go and meet them.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- Hello, Helen.- Hello, Jane.- I'm very, very pleased to meet you.- Ditto.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20- Hi, Jane, Diarmuid.- You're welcome, you're welcome.- Thank you very much.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22This is a great treat, particularly the house
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- and the birches planted among it. I adore it.- Oh, well, thank you.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Thank you. I'm very pleased with the birches.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32It blends the house and the garden quite nicely together.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Sorry, I was saying I absolutely adore that plain panel of grass
0:25:37 > 0:25:39there, with the white edge. I think it is heavenly.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- Well, that's my swimming pool. - Is it?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46This is my wee bit of Ibiza here.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So instead of having the perfect infinity edge swimming pool,
0:25:49 > 0:25:55- I've got the Irish version, which is...- The lawn?- The infinity lawn.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59We love the natural planting around and the introduced trees.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04- Some of the other planting jars, we feel.- Oh, right, OK.- The royal "we".
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Look, a lovely smile!
0:26:06 > 0:26:07What a lovely smile!
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It's just so beautiful, this bit...
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- Uh-huh?- It doesn't quite go with some of the plants,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18say, at the entrance as you come down the drive, there. They look...
0:26:18 > 0:26:20- sort of like they don't really belong here.- Yes, well,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24the bit coming down the drive, the peninsula bed as we call it,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I love it because when I drive in
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I've got this carpetty, woodlandy colour.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34When you mention woodland, I think of ferns popping up
0:26:34 > 0:26:38and maybe some native bluebells and whatever, not these traffic lights,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42kind of, you know, on and off blinking at you.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Whereas your background, the water course, and here...
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- It is so beautiful.- I am in heaven. - Oh, well, I'm glad you love it.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Absolutely, absolutely love it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57So, three fantastic gardens that anyone would be proud of.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00But which one will Diarmuid and Helen decide is the best?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Using classic judging criteria
0:27:02 > 0:27:05of design, planting and good gardening practice,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Diarmuid and Helen will try to come up with a winner.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12First, Jane's contemporary slice of Ibiza.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Here was somebody with a vision.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19She reinvented an Irish cottage
0:27:19 > 0:27:24and created a garden from Ibiza to match it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27And then she contrasted it with the natural landscape beyond.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29The planting, unfortunately,
0:27:29 > 0:27:34was the aspect of this garden that really let it down for me.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I'm afraid it was very Parks Department.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39What about the second garden,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Richard and Beverly's fairyland, with splashes of Titchmarsh blue?
0:27:43 > 0:27:47I loved stepping into their world, delving deep into their world.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50There were areas that weren't quite there for me.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I think if you're going to be that good, you can
0:27:53 > 0:27:54do something with that driveway.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57And I also think some of the meandering stone walls,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59we just didn't need them. There were so many beautiful glades.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01It was beautiful without them.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03I mean, bearing in mind that they started from nothing,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06I think they are doing extraordinarily well.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07Finally, they considered
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Dawn's multi-chambered Hillsborough paradise.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12I absolutely loved it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I loved the way it was all hung on the series of arches.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I loved the excitement of entering one room after another
0:28:19 > 0:28:21and having different things.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Well, I just thought this was the most perfect garden.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27But there was one extraordinary thing which
0:28:27 > 0:28:30swings it for me in Dawn's favour.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33When we went down towards the end of the garden
0:28:33 > 0:28:38and we saw sight of that gunnera and you dug through the moist mulch,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41- and that's what was feeding that. - She really knows what she's doing.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43She knows what she's doing. Well done, Dawn.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46So, congratulations, then, to our winner, Dawn Mitchell,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49edging it against some very high quality competition.
0:28:49 > 0:28:50Oh, wonderful, thank you!
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Well done to Dawn.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55We've really enjoyed seeing some more wonderful gardens.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57- See you next time.- See you.- Goodbye.