Episode 1 Big Dreams Small Spaces

Do you have a small garden but a big idea?

Do you know what you'd like it to look like

but no idea really of where to begin?

Well, you're not alone.

Over the last year, I've been working with people right across

the country helping them to make their garden dreams become reality.

Monty Don has listened to their hopes and plans.

It's an absolutely crazy idea and I love it.

He's given advice...

Don't be frightened to push plants into crevices.

..and he's rolled up his sleeves.

Let's not talk about it, let's just do it.

Talk about a lean, mean gardening machine.

Things haven't always gone to plan...

I thought we were going to make four of those beds.

I'm a bit worried that we might have killed it.

..but it's been worth it.

What a beautiful garden.

So happy.

Thank you, Monty. Cheers.

I do believe that however small your garden is,

everybody can cultivate a big dream.

I love the way that we British are so passionate about our gardens

and that even the smallest space can have creativity poured into it.

And this passion leads us to spend £5 billion

every year on gardening. But, in this series, I want to show that money

isn't everything and size really doesn't matter.

This time, Monty is meeting two sets of gardeners who have big dreams

for their nightmare gardens.

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

From a wild wasteland...

Woo-hoo-hoo!

..to a clay-clogged building site.

If I'm looking worried, it's because I am.

But hard work always comes before big rewards.

Cheers. Cheers, everybody.

Our first garden is in Cadeby, Doncaster.

It was recently bought along with this bungalow by Helen and Richard.

The interesting thing about this house is

we didn't actually look inside, did we, before we bought it.

It was the land, you know, we saw the potential of the garden,

we could turn it into something that we always wanted.

We would make jams and chutneys and we wanted to be able to be

picking the ingredients from the garden.

Ultimately, we want to fit a smallholding

that should be in an acre or more

into the space that we've got available here.

Unfortunately, their dream of a smallholding is currently on hold.

The garden at the moment is a wilderness, really,

it's completely overgrown,

it's not been touched for 20 years, I don't think.

I've not really explored too far.

Imagine trees that are 30 foot tall

and they should only be five or six feet tall.

It's dark, it's dank, it's incredibly...

It feels sorry for itself, it's like something out of a horror movie.

Our second garden belongs to Jan and John

from Petworth in West Sussex.

They've just finished building a granny annexe for John's mum

who will be moving from Portugal back to the UK next summer.

At the moment, the garden,

it looks like a building site cos that's what it is so...

But we have a dream, don't we?

Yes, we do.

We have grand plans to really make that into something that

feels like a piece of Portugal.

Between Jan and John, there's a very clear division of labour with

John in charge of the structural work and Jan in charge of John.

-That's not going to be a step, though, is it?

-That's part of a step

so the step is actually a piece of stone.

But it's not going to look like that?

Yes, it is going to look like that.

So John actually enjoys cutting corners but, erm,

I'm always following behind with my quality control hat on

so that is not going to be an option this time.

-CHUCKLING:

-No. No, it's not.

It's not.

Do you want it to look like this?

There will be...not conflict but an element of negotiation there

between the way Jan thinks it should be and the way I think it should be.

Truth will out.

It's late autumn and Monty has come to Cadeby in Doncaster to

help Richard and Helen plan their dream garden.

Hello, Monty. I'm Richard, very nice to meet you.

-And you're Helen.

-Nice to meet you.

Very nice to meet you, too. Show me your garden.

What are your plans for this garden?

The main aim for this garden is to get everything that we would

have in a smallholding into this back garden, roughly.

Pathway up to here, greenhouse, chickens in the corner,

pumpkin patch, asparagus beds,

and the actual raised beds for the vegetables where we're standing now.

Ultimately, this wants to be about growing fruit and veg...

-Production?

-..and productive, absolutely.

Right, what's your budget for this?

Oh, over to you, the accountant.

Oh, thank you. We've kind of earmarked about £5,000.

£5,000 is not unreasonable.

It's not generous, you could easily double that

without being extravagant at all

but if that was your budget, it could be done.

And they'll need that healthy budget to tackle

the wilderness that is currently their back garden.

-Have you done an inventory of the plants growing here?

-No.

The thing is with the garden, every time you have a look in,

you find another nook or cranny and I'm almost scared to go in.

Who knows what's going to be in there?

So, quite honestly, we've not been in all parts of this garden.

You've been here six weeks and you haven't explored the garden?

-Now, you haven't been in here.

-No.

But I went in and had a look, here's a nice apple tree. Here.

It's a nice, old specimen, covered in ivy and elder and all

sorts of things around it and if you look in, there's another one there.

These are damsons growing up through here

and this all fits in to your desire for a little smallholding.

Yes, absolutely.

They're going to bear fruit. That will be lovely.

How exciting, yeah, fantastic.

-It's a space I never knew I had.

-Yeah.

Thrilled with the discovery of fruit trees and extra space,

Richard and Helen are now keen for Monty to take

a look at their plan and root out any problems.

These are plans that I've put together, so that's the...

You're very modest, those are very good plans.

THEY CHUCKLE

Richard and Helen have a clear plan for their dream smallholding.

They intend to take the garden back to basics,

removing all the undergrowth.

With a clean slate, they want to add a greenhouse, raised vegetable beds,

a pumpkin patch, chicken run, a small lawn, and compost bins.

-What's this round the side?

-Herbs.

Because the kitchen door is here so it will be out to the...

-Right, straightaway, I see a problem with that.

-OK.

My guess is that the house will put that into shade.

Oh, yes, probably.

Herbs above all things must have sunshine.

-And then next to them?

-Compost bins.

Right, that definitely is a mistake.

Right.

Erm, you do not want compost bins right outside the back door.

I would have the compost next to the chickens.

Next to the chickens, yeah.

-And then the chicken hut will go on the compost heap.

-OK.

Greenhouse over there, which is in the north corner -

-the shadiest part of the garden.

-Right.

Not a good idea.

I think the natural thinking of the garden is

when you've got something as big as a greenhouse and a chicken hut

and run, is to naturally stick them in the corner out of the way

and we've not thought, actually,

really thought it through about where...

Well, you could have the greenhouse in the centre and move around it.

Very nice, yeah.

Helen and Richard's first job is to clear back the undergrowth

and I think they should keep some of those wonderful apple trees.

I'd move the greenhouse to the centre of the garden

so it gets as much sun as possible

and replace the lawn with a small patio

to make more room for raised beds.

Finally, they should relocate the compost bins

to the back of the garden.

Now, it's all very well to talk about gardening

but what I like to do is get stuck in.

There's a lot that needs doing so, luckily, I've got a bit of help.

Right, you ready? Come on then.

Now, we will get to see the house...

for the first time in 20 years.

To help them battle back the overgrowth, Richard and Helen

have roped in their new neighbours as well as family and friends.

We've all come here today just to help a little bit

and the lads can get in with the big stuff and really chop it down.

A top tip is to hire a professional with a chain saw.

Hey!

Woo-hoo-hoo!

And that makes speedy and safe work of demolishing overgrown trees.

What you have to realise is what we're doing is not clearing,

-we're pruning.

-Yes.

-So, actually, it will regrow with renewed vigour.

-Right.

But if you want to get rid of it,

-you've got to take the roots out.

-Right, OK.

With a tree surgeon helping, progress is forging ahead

and it's not just the garden

that's getting some well-deserved attention.

Monty's really helping. He's very, very strong.

Just watching Monty, he's like a ferret.

Talk about a lean, mean gardening machine,

he's what's known as getting right stuck in.

If you're doing this kind of work,

if you're faced with a jungle that hasn't been touched, be brave.

Don't hang about, get in there and cut.

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

-This is very comfortable.

-This is somewhere I never thought I'd be.

What I hope we've achieved, more than anything else today,

is to give Richard and Helen a boost

and to make them realise that this is not a problem, it's an opportunity.

We've learnt today that actually we're going to end up keeping

more things than we thought we were going to.

There's more apple trees than I thought there was going to be,

there's some damson trees, things like that.

The garden is going to start unveiling itself even

more now and Monty said to me that this is the fun part and it is.

I never thought I'd end up sat in a bush with Monty Don.

THEY LAUGH

So, can I just say thank you, on behalf of myself and Helen,

a big thank you to you all.

Cheers and thank you. Thank you so much, thank you.

It's a few days later down in West Sussex

and Monty has arrived at Jan and John's

ready to turn his attention to their dream of a Portuguese garden.

So, what is the big idea?

Essentially, we have a space here that you can see is pretty

much a wasteland that we want to turn into a small,

somewhat self-contained garden for my mum

who's moving into this annexe at the end of the house.

A garden for a granny flat?

That's absolutely... that's perfectly appropriate.

And what kind of garden do you want?

John's mum, my mother-in-law, lives in Portugal

and so my inspiration is to take the essence of the garden that she

has in Portugal where she lives and to bring it to West Sussex.

-A piece of Portugal.

-Yes.

So, what's her garden like now?

Er, it's not massive and it has...

It's very similar in that there's a main patio area and then

there's sort of a lot of raised beds,

a very large palm tree, and in terms of the actual plants...

-spiky.

-Spiky!

-Spiky is as technical as I can get.

You're now not going to the plant department.

What's the budget?

Well, erm, I originally put £2,000 in for the budget

but I think now probably closer to five.

I mean, I'm glad to hear you say that

because I'd much rather someone realise

-that these things are expensive.

-Yeah, and get it right.

In their plans for their Portuguese garden,

John wants to build a patio, terrace beds, and a winding path.

Jan then wants to add lots of Mediterranean plants

in purples and pinks and her piece de resistance -

a large palm tree.

-So, there's quite a lot of construction to be done.

-Yeah.

My plan, construction first, planting after.

-OK.

-That's the time plan.

Just what I was going to say.

-You've got this very noisy road.

-Yes.

Now, if she wants to sit out,

is that going to be something you need to cope with?

I think that, to me, that's one of the biggest challenges

because obviously the road is really noisy

and where she is in Portugal, she's used to it being very quiet.

And I notice you've got soil which...

looks a bit rough, to be honest.

JOHN CHUCKLES

Are you planning to bring more soil in?

-Yeah. I think we're going to have to.

-OK.

It's quite a big project, actually, although it seems a small place.

Yeah.

I like the idea of bringing a little bit of Portugal to Pepworth

but many Mediterranean plants won't be happy in this clay soil

so they should consider plants that have the look they want

but which suit their own conditions.

I also think they should consider planting a screen

to reduce road noise.

I don't think it's a good idea to force plants.

You will get a much more exotic effect

if a plant is healthy and happy

than an exotic plant clearly miserable and struggling.

So, maybe we could almost, not without losing the Portuguese theme,

almost try to get a Portuguese effect with non-Portuguese plants.

-If that makes sense?

-I don't think you're going to have much choice.

Having said that, it's mild here.

Maybe you can grow what can grow in Portugal.

Maybe you should take risks.

-Not with a big expensive palm tree.

-Well, yeah.

How much time have you got?

Er, well, I've just started a new business

so the most I've got is two days a week,

ie, the weekends, and sometimes not even that.

So, that will be my limit.

And, of course, the third party in all this, who is yet to arrive,

who may say I don't like it.

It'll be too late.

I think this project is fun.

The considerations that worry me are that, one,

we're going into winter

so there will be bad weather and that will delay things.

I thought we had quite a lot of work before

-and, I think now, we've probably realised we've got even more.

-Yeah.

Much more worrying is the fact that John is starting a new business.

Now, I've done that and I know that it will consume his life,

he'll be lucky to get two days a month not two days a week.

And I think I've realised it was all a conspiracy to make me

stick to schedules, that's why, that's why this is happening.

And the third thing is they must really be committed to the idea.

I've got homework to do, I think that's what's pretty obvious.

I like the prospect of a Portuguese garden.

What I don't want to see is half Portuguese,

half conventional country English garden.

In Cadeby, work on Richard and Helen's very small smallholding

is still going full steam ahead.

Since Monty left, it's been absolutely hectic.

We've had a lot of machinery on site,

we've had a whole team of people here in the rain and the sunshine

and everything just trying to get this back garden cleared.

Left to their own devices,

Richard and Helen would have already made some serious errors.

Fortunately, in his last visit, Monty came to the rescue.

I am a little bit anxious now with

am I still putting things in the right place?

I got so many things wrong on my plans.

Yes, there were...

We needed to tweak some of the plans,

we got things a little wrong in places.

I'd already said we'd put the raised beds,

perhaps they needed to be in a different place

because they weren't going to get sun.

We put the compost bays, they were far too close to the house.

The original position we planned for the greenhouse wasn't

the best place because it wasn't going to get enough sun.

We'd put lavender at the front in a shaded area

which was never going to work.

Monty really knows what he's talking about

and it's just nice to have an expert say to you with confidence,

"That is probably going to be better than doing that,"

and you think, you feel so much more reassured then of what you're doing.

-We have them all.

-OK, down we go.

Relieved that they have the country's top gardener

on hand to help,

Helen and Richard are setting themselves even bigger challenges.

Today, what we're trying to do is utilise the bricks that have

come out of the house because we've actually seen

in a gardening book where the pathways were made

out of reclaimed bricks in a nice pattern so I don't know if we're

going to be able to achieve that but we thought we might give it a go.

I wonder whose gardening book that's from?

It's actually Monty's book.

Thought so.

While music producer Richard uses his artistic flair

to arrange the bricks, it's down to Helen to do the heavy lifting.

It's been noted who's doing the manual labour today.

I don't know what you mean.

Richard's definitely the creative one of the two of us and when it

comes to the garden, I think he knows that's really going to help

but his creativity and his vision is going to be what we need in that.

I think it's a realistic goal we've set

and I think my strengths will be that I will do absolutely everything

in my powers to be able to get to where we want to be.

In their quest to create a Portuguese garden in Petworth,

Jan and John are on a fact-finding mission

to the gardens at East Ruston in Norfolk.

They're hoping the co-owner Graham Roboson can point out some

tropical plants that can thrive in the UK's less-than-tropical climate.

Come this way, round here and in to the desert garden.

There's a lot of purple in here, isn't there,

which is the colour scheme that we want to work with.

It's a good colour which looks well in with hot plants.

Yeah, it feels warm.

And this I had growing in my garden this year

-but it must have self-seeded itself because...

-Eschscholzia?

Is that what it is?

-They're Californian poppies.

-Ah!

They will self-seed and you can get them in a range of shades

-but they tend to all revert back to the orange.

-The orange, yeah.

-Do you like them?

-Yeah, absolutely.

Well, any colour we can splash in is good, isn't it?

Yeah. It fits with the theme.

These aren't strictly Portuguese plants but that doesn't matter

because they offer exactly what Jan and John want -

lots of colour and the stamina to stand up to the British weather.

Graham, I really like the nareens.

They obviously survive in the Mediterranean.

They like to be baked in the full sun and you can see

that their bulbs sit on the soil there, they will actually,

if you plant them in the soil,

they'll bring themselves to the surface.

OK, so they wriggle up to the top.

And they are wonderful for that shocking pink.

-They're on the list, I think.

-Good.

If you want to have something really exotic, have an agave.

And this particular one is agave Montana which we find

actually the toughest, hardiest one for growing outside

and you can see how big it is and that has grown to that size.

Nothing says sunshine more than a palm tree

and Jan is determined to have one.

That's if it can survive, of course.

I'm not really sure how hardy or easy or how fast they grow.

Well, these ones, Trachycarpus fortunei,

are as hardy as they can possibly be.

They've been grown in this country since the early 19th century,

they're as tough as old boots.

They are actually from more forest-type areas

rather than desert trees.

So, there are, there are palm trees that look like palm trees

but actually aren't from that sort of climate?

That's right and, in actual fact, they almost prefer a bit of shade

rather than being in the full sun all the time.

Ah, right, which would be perfect.

It's confirmed what Monty was saying in terms of they don't have to be

specifically Portuguese plants to give a Portuguese feel.

-I'm encouraged by all that sort of stuff.

-Good.

Spirits aren't quite as high in Cadeby where the arrival

of the flat-pack greenhouse is providing a whole heap of trouble.

But that's the thing cos both them and them are marked as 49s.

Oh, good lord.

MAN CHUCKLES

That top's 108.

Hang on, aren't these just the diagonals?

No.

We've got this really lovely greenhouse

that we now need to put up, that my lovely dad's helping us with,

but the Krypton Factor has got nothing on this greenhouse.

I think we started about three hours ago

although it does seem like three days, you know.

I don't think we're going to do much more, it's too cold.

As the temperature and Helen's patience plummet,

the greenhouse is put on ice.

-So, not quite a finished greenhouse.

-Not really.

In West Sussex, work on Jan and John's Portuguese garden has been

slow going as the UK endured the wettest winter ever recorded.

Hi tech. Where are we? Over there.

So that's the stables, so it needs to kind of come in more.

But I can move it all so if you just start bringing it over.

'Well, the winter's been pretty frustrating

'because we had these great plans, didn't we,

'and we kind of wrote down'

what we were going to do by the weekend

and then jump out of bed

and just the circumstances of the weather meant

that we could just do nothing.

So, it's going like this and then curving back into there.

'So, I would say we're probably about a month behind

'where we thought we'd be.'

Is it tea-break time?

There's a lot of pressure on you in particular,

there's a lot of work for you to do

and I do feel for you a bit actually.

-Do you really?

-Yeah, I do. I do.

Finally, there's a break in the rain and Jan and John have

called in help from friends hoping they can get back on schedule.

Jonny.

Hiya.

-You all right, John?

-I'm good, thanks, yeah.

Every time John does anything here,

he's astounded at the lack of preparation.

Right, so the idea, dude, is we're going to mark out

this raised bed around here.

With the extra manpower, John hopes to make headway on the terrace

and the walls for the raised beds

but, first, he needs to get his plan past quality control.

So, essentially, there'll be a breeze block on the internal side

of the wall and the outside of the wall, these stones will go on top.

-Be that sort of style.

-OK, but round.

-Whatever stones you want.

-OK.

-Round stones are harder to work with but...

-Why?

Well, cos they move but that's...

That's not a big whoop, is it?

No, we'll just add another day to the budget.

-OK. No, it'll be fine.

-OK.

The wet winter has not only cost Jan and John time,

it's starting to impact the budget, too.

I think we were a bit naive

when we sat down and did the original budget.

Yeah, just because there are a lot of elements that we thought

we would have time to do ourselves,

it's transpired we're going to have to pay someone else to do it.

With costs spiralling, they could really do with finding

some buried treasure.

So, this is really exciting.

Dave's just been scratching away at the surface here

and has managed to uncover the original cobbles from the stables

and if these go all the way down,

it'll save us a whole load of expense and bother of

having to get other aggregate in so, yeah, I'm excited to see these.

-That's actually going to come up quite nicely.

-It's quite a nice colour, isn't it?

What you were born to do, Jan.

-Scrubbing?

-Scrubbing.

Oh, that's come up a treat.

SHE LAUGHS

The foundations for the raised beds have been poured in concrete.

Now it's just the arduous job of building walls and terrace.

It's a lot of work, though, it's a lot of work

but John's a grafter, I've worked with him before.

He just goes at it all day long.

I think when you say to people that your mum's moving in,

it's met with varying degrees of incredulity

but, ultimately, you've got to take care of your parents, haven't you?

We probably haven't got as much done as we'd hoped

but we've got some time left in the day.

Oi, look busy!

THEY CHUCKLE

Since Monty's last visit to Cadeby four months ago,

the raised beds have gone in and the greenhouse,

after several failed attempts, has finally gone up.

However, with a history of putting things in the wrong place,

Helen and Richard are all of a dither over their favourite

gardener coming to visit.

We're excited and apprehensive about Monty returning to our garden today.

Excited because, well, Monty's back in the garden.

And we've done a lot so hopefully he'll appreciate what we've done.

Yeah, hopefully, he'll be impressed.

Slightly apprehensive that we've got things right,

I think it'll be OK.

Fingers crossed.

Look at this.

Look at this.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Monty, hi, good to see you again.

-Hello. Good to see you.

Look at this. You've done so much.

That's the reaction we wanted, that's great.

It's nice, you've done most of the things I suggested,

that always makes me feel good.

I want to have a tour of the works.

We want to show you, let's go.

So, greenhouse obviously. One tip.

-It's a real temptation with a greenhouse to use it as a hothouse.

-Yes.

It's not a hot house.

Open it up at every opportunity.

-The door's shut now, it should be open.

-Right, OK.

Grow everything so it's got just enough protection.

-BOTH:

-Right.

And then, that way, the fluctuations of temperature won't affect it

so much, you know, everything will grow stronger and better.

Get it open and get the ventilation open

and get the plants sort of toughened up.

It's very exciting.

It's good, I love the enthusiasm, that's great.

And now nice compost heaps.

I see you've got your compost bins set up, that's good.

Yes. We're quite pleased with this, quite rustic.

Pallets work well, I've used pallets a lot on my compost

and they let the air in which is essential and, you know,

when it's full, turn it and off you go again so no problem at all.

-This is good.

-Do we need to be covering it to...?

Why would you want to cover it?

To keep the heat in, I always thought they needed to be quite hot.

The heat in a compost heap is almost entirely generated by digestion.

Bacteria digesting the compost so therefore you don't...

you don't need to create that, they are creating it.

They do need oxygen, they do need moisture,

-it mustn't be too dry.

-OK, yeah.

And you can either cover it to keep the moisture in

or to stop it getting too wet.

We're putting all of the kitchen matter on there.

I'm just a little worried about what I might attract

if there's open kitchen waste.

Right, as long as you don't have meat,

fats or cooked carbohydrates, you won't attract stuff unduly.

I mean, you can't stop mice, rats, whatever, if they're around.

You will at some stage attract vermin, usually in winter,

usually when the weather is very bad or whatever.

-The best thing to get rid of them is to turn it.

-OK.

They hate disturbance.

With that tip for unwelcome friends,

Richard moves onto another part of the garden

he wants Monty's help with.

Since cutting down the overgrown trees,

the garden is open to the fields so he's decided to plant a hedge,

one that will deliver edible fruits and berries.

Planting a hedge is always the same, it doesn't matter what you plant,

but there are certain things you need to do.

First thing we have to do is dig a trench along the line of this.

We need to loosen the soil ideally about a metre wide.

Right.

Now straightaway, Monty, I'm getting resistance here,

which tends to mean...

Well, you've got to plant into reasonable soil,

so either you have to remove what's in there

or move the line of the hedge.

OK. That's what I'm up against.

Right, well, that's good. You got it out, it's a nice stone.

It is a lovely stone, yeah.

How far down is stone acceptable for this?

Er, in general, you need to go down, you need to have a clear spit.

That's the length of a spade.

To make up his hedge, Richard has chosen a selection of native

deciduous trees, which should be planted when they are still dormant.

I always say this to people, and they never really believe me

but it is so important - do not expose the roots at all, OK?

So you take one out when you need it and cover it back over.

Can I ask you why?

The feeding roots are these very, very fine roots, OK?

I mean, some of these you can't see,

so the finer the root, the more important it is for feeding.

-Right.

-If they dry out, they can die.

I think of it like surgery. if you were transplanting something,

if you were transplanting someone's finger,

you wouldn't push it on the side and say,

"OK, hang on a minute, I'm going to have a cup of tea before I do this,

-"I want to steady my nerves."

-I understand.

It would be on ice, or whatever it is.

Now this is Prunus spinosa, or blackthorn,

and has sloes.

Makes wonderful...jelly, gin.

-That's perfect.

-Really, really beautiful fruits, so that's good.

And we've got here, this is a field maple, Acer campestre.

Much underrated hedging plant and tree,

one of my favourites, actually.

Native maple, and it's a beautiful hedging plant.

We'll put the hawthorn in as well.

As a basic rule, you just dig a hole and stick them in.

I'm going to put a staggered row so it's got a zig zag.

Right.

As Helen and Richard's garden is surrounded by farmland,

mice aren't the only visitors that they'll have.

So we've decided to wrap the young trees with guards to give them

protection from rabbits.

We haven't finished. That's the planting.

Now they need a really good soak and when we've done that we'll mulch it.

OK.

OK, thanks, Monty.

And if during watering I expose roots...

We're going to mulch it, don't worry.

We're going to mulch, OK.

There you go.

It looks great. Really great, thank you.

Good. I mean I think it looks good now.

It will look fantastic in three, four, five years' time.

It'll look good still in 500 years' time.

That's really pleasing to know, isn't it?

-Yeah, really pleased with that comment.

-Good.

I think the hedge looks fantastic.

I think it's really going to work well.

It's nice that it's natural, it's nice that we can pick things from it

and then we can actually, I'm hoping, make things from it.

I've already got a recipe for hawthorn syrup in my head.

I really like visiting Richard and Helen because I like the combination

of seriousness of intent -

this is something they really want to happen -

and pleasure in the process - they are loving it and that spreads.

I think it's incredibly important to us that we get this right.

You know, we set out with a goal and I think through hard work and,

I guess, a little determination, we should be able to achieve that.

They've done a lot, but, let's be honest,

there isn't much growing yet, so if they are to achieve their goal,

they've got to do it now with plants.

Spring has arrived and safe in the knowledge

that the garden in Cadeby is on track, Monty has headed

to West Sussex for a progress visit to Jan and John's Portuguese garden.

I've chosen a perfect day to come back and visit Jan and John

at Pepworth, but there are one or two quite tricky things

I need to sort out today.

Well, there are two things that when I left last time bothered me.

One was that you are both incredibly busy. Have you had enough time?

Er, I think we are probably slightly behind where we thought we'd be.

-Quite tough.

-Yeah.

-Definitely, yeah.

-There's still a fair bit to do.

An awful lot to do I think, yeah.

The second thing is actually more difficult, because when I left

I wasn't really clear that you knew exactly what you wanted.

I think that's really fair but since we saw you,

we went on our inspiration day and that's helped enormously for me.

Well, because I think the combination of you saying

you've got to get the right plants for the right location,

and so I've somewhat put the Portuguese thing to one side

and thought I want to get that feeling, but I want plants

that I know that will work.

OK, so that's good, that's a relief.

I've got one quick question.

I've got quite a lot of agapanthus in this garden,

and I just want to ask your advice on something.

OK.

Right, which agapanthus is this?

White heaven, I think.

Cos agapanthus is perfect for your Portuguese theme.

Now what's your problem?

Well, what do you think?

It's burst the pot, it's so pot bound.

There.

Now, in almost any other plant, you would say that was terrible

and it should have been potted on.

In agapanthus, it's a really good thing,

and the old saying was, when everything was potted

in terracotta pots, you should only pot on an agapanthus

when it broke the pot.

If it's in open soil and the roots grow out,

you get lots of foliage and no flowers.

And that's the best thing?

Yeah, and if you want flowers,

you've got to constrict the roots.

You can either pot it on a little bit

and sink it in pots, and then lift them,

or you can, when you plant it,

make sure there's plenty of stone around it, but don't think

there's anything wrong there. That's perfect, that's how it should be.

Fine.

Jan's other plant purchase is a little larger.

A four-metre-high windmill palm that set her back over £600.

She sees it as the garden's centrepiece

but Monty soon takes the shine off her glittering crown.

You would not choose to plant a trachycarpus into heavy clay.

And clay is exactly what they've got.

You've got - you're lucky - you've got yellow clay.

You've got grey clay. Are you utterly wedded to a dry garden?

Well, a lot of the plants I've got aren't really that dry.

OK. Cos it's not going to be that dry.

No.

It's bad news for Jan's very expensive palm tree.

If I'm looking worried it's because I am.

Jan's plants have raised beds, which means they do not have

to plant directly into the clay subsoil,

but there's still the drainage dilemma to solve.

What we don't want it to do is to sit in a plug of water-lined clay.

-Yeah.

-What I suggest doing is digging a hole,

back filling with stone

and then get the drainage in.

Ideally, Jan would need to hire a mini digger

and churn up a good 12 inches of this subsoil with stones.

Today, though, it's down to man - or should that be Monty - power.

Easy gardening, gardening that you're not fighting

all the time, is about suiting the right plants to the right place.

It'll be OK, it'll be OK.

That's what I want to hear.

But I mean, on the plus side, you're raising the soil up,

you can dig a hole, you can put drainage in,

so it may well be fine for years and years and years.

One, two, three.

Oh, it is heavy, I tell you what.

-I'm too weak for that.

-I think if you tip it.

That's OK, you just manage the end.

That's it. There she goes.

When you are stamping on any tree,

foot facing the tree,

and go at an angle like that,

and you'll find that it anchors it in better

-and you'll do the least damage.

-OK.

-Good.

-Good morning's work.

I've thoroughly enjoyed today,

I always like planting really big, dramatic plants,

although I confess that digging through that really solid clay

wasn't a lot of fun.

At one point, I did think all was lost,

but by a matter of compromising and understanding the environment

then I think we're on a good way.

There's an awful lot more to do, but they've got seven weeks to do it in,

and when I come back, I fully expect to see it finished and transformed.

We'll be fine. Come June, it'll be like Lisbon out here.

It's a sunny spring day and Helen and Richard should be planting up

their garden but before they can start, Richard is on a mission

to find out how to grow his all-time favourite food, chillies.

Sarah Waine from West Dean Gardens

has kindly offered to give him a crash course.

-Here they all are.

-Wow.

250 of them, thereabouts, all different varieties

so just one of each.

What you really need to be aware of with this crop

is that they love light. If you don't provide light, you'll end up

with this amazingly bendy, wandy plant,

which you really don't want.

You just need to be aware of that, really.

Well, the chillies need heat for germination, you know,

about 25 degrees Celsius will cover the lot,

but if you don't have a heated glass house, inside the home would do.

At what point do you not bring them into the house?

I can't be categorical about that.

All I can say is what you're watching for are frosts.

The spicy heat of chillies is measured by the Scoville scale,

with bell peppers barely registering one unit,

all the way up to 16 million units for the most pungent of peppers.

Do you want to try some?

That would be lovely, if you've got any.

Well, one way, if you're trying a lot, my suggestion would be

that you don't actually eat them, because you infect your pallet.

Just tap it on the tip of your tongue like that and you'll get the buzz.

This one is a Fresno type.

Oh, oh. I think I got the middle.

Yes.

Oh, you're eating yours.

Just a little bit.

It delivers a boost, doesn't it?

There's just a real impact, it's fabulous.

The Thai varieties, they are wonderful plants

cos they're compact,

really showing all the chillies that are on the outside.

At 100,000 units, the Thai variety are a perennial that packs a punch,

but chilli connoisseur Richard thinks he can take the heat.

He's going in for the kill.

Oh, he is, it's got seeds in as well.

Wow. There's the heat and the taste.

It's fantastic.

That's the kind of heat I would have associated

with a fine Indian meal.

This is a Scotch Bonnet.

Very, very hot. They do have, some of them have fine flavours

if you can get over the heat,

and one way I've used that in the past

is to incorporate it into an ice cream,

like mango ice cream,

which calms down the heat but you've also got the cold of the ice cream.

I would never have thought of that.

No, the brain works overtime.

Yes. I'm not going to try that one, though.

I wouldn't. Personally, I wouldn't.

I think what I've personally learnt from the chilli experience today

is that they go from mild to off the scale,

so if there's one thing I have learnt it's heed the warning

of somebody who is an expert in chilli growing.

Over in West Sussex, it's less than a month before John's mum Margaret

will be moving back from Portugal.

Time is ticking by and there's a lot of planting still to be done.

It does put pressure on you to get it done when there's, you know,

an actual date when Mags is coming over and it has to be finished.

But I quite like having that kind of pressure,

because otherwise it just doesn't get done.

You need deadlines in life, so...

-Don't you, John?

-Oh, yeah!

To add to the stress, it's not just the mother-in-law

who will be giving her verdict.

In a few weeks, Monty will also be back to pass his final judgment.

I think we're in quite good shape, what do you think?

I'm feeling somewhat confident.

It's going to be a challenge but I think we'll do it, won't we?

We haven't got that many more weeks though, have we?

Yeah, it would only be a problem if someone was going away for a week.

That could cause a real issue.

Jan regularly flies abroad for work,

but, this time, leaving the garden in John's hands

is not a pleasant prospect.

From history, cos I go to Germany every week,

he's often forgotten to water my tomatoes

or my fledgling little cuttings,

and so there's been quite a lot of death in my greenhouse

whilst I've been overseas.

Surely he can't wreak that much havoc in a week, can he?

I really hope not, but we'll see. We'll see how he goes.

It's been several months since Monty last came to Cadeby

and with his next visit on the horizon,

Helen and Richard are working hard to make sure he'll be impressed

with their first crop of veg.

We've taken Monty's advice on most things, to be honest,

on what to do with the compost bins.

He told us to make sure we keep the greenhouse door open every day,

which we hadn't been doing, we'd been closing it,

so that was a really good tip.

I think we're completely teacher's pets when it comes to Monty

and we've followed everything that he's said,

because he knows what he's talking about

so I think we need a little halo above our heads.

Still trying to work out what to plant where.

I'm always thinking "What if I get this wrong?"

And Monty says, "Why have you done that?"

I'm constantly thinking things like that.

So I'm thinking I'm going to put pumpkins in here

and then plant the sweetcorn in the middle.

I'm quite an indecisive person anyway.

So then I spend hours going, "Shall I put that there,

"Oh, maybe that could go there, I'm not really sure."

So it's just these courgettes I don't know what to do with,

-One, two, three, four.

-Hang on, could we not do them in tubs?

Yeah, I'd like to, yeah.

It's not just Helen who's preoccupied with her plants.

Since his inspirational trip,

Richard has become slightly obsessed with chillies.

So me and the chillies, we're becoming good friends.

I think it's important to talk to your chillies.

We talk about my day at work, we talk about music,

we were listening to the football the other day.

Rich, he's got really passionate about chillies this year.

It's something I've let him take on and...

I'll deal with the tomatoes and the spinach and the courgettes

and he can look after the chillies.

This one I have, great things will come of this,

because it's called a Super Chilli, so how can it not be great?

It's not great, it's going to be super.

I mean, this one's a Yellow Perfection, absolutely no idea

other than it's going to be yellow and it has some heat.

So, the Dorset Naga, I think this could be my favourite chilli

cos this is the one that's going to give me heat beyond heat.

Whenever Richard takes on a project, he takes it on 100%

and really does everything by the book.

I've got to make sure the temperature's right

in the greenhouse, I've got to make sure the drainage is correct.

That's his project and I think he's going

to be really successful, actually.

If it doesn't work, I'll be absolutely gutted.

It's not the money, it's the fact that I've bragged about this

to my wife, so I would be absolutely devastated.

I don't even want to think about that, to be honest.

In West Sussex, summer has arrived

and so, too, has Monty for his final visit.

So I am a little bit nervous because of what Monty will say.

I mean, we really like it, I hope your mum will like it,

so, ultimately, it would be great to get a seal of approval from Monty.

Well, the palm tree hasn't died so that's got to be a positive.

It's hard for me to visualise what Jan and John's finished garden

is going to look like, but it doesn't matter what I think.

It's not been made for me.

This garden has been made for John's mother

and it's her judgment that we're all waiting for.

Last year, this garden was a building site,

clogged with clay and rubble.

Now this patch of Pepworth has been transported to Portugal.

That's fantastic, that's great. It's nice, isn't it?

I like it.

I'm really happy, I've even happier that you like it.

To combat their clay subsoil,

John and Jan have raised the garden up.

The walls and terrace built by John's own hands

hold back tonnes of gravel

that not only give a Mediterranean look but also extra drainage.

Jan has used plants in vibrant oranges and lush purples

that can stand up to the British climate and give a tropical feel.

And what better plant than a palm tree to signal

that this is a Portuguese paradise.

I like the spots of intense colour. I like that very much.

The sort of purple of the Verbena bonariensis

with the orange and the yellow of the California poppies.

Too much gravel?

The very, very simple answer is yes.

The more truthful answer is, are there too few plants?

Yes, probably.

The only thing that you didn't address is the noise.

Do you remember we talked about a barrier of some kind?

I've got a passion flower that's just starting on that wall.

They're quite voracious, aren't they,

so I'm hoping that will cover that.

Yeah, that...

You see, if we're talking about sound,

you need something much more aggressive.

Yeah, I mean what we're talking about is as dense a barrier as possible,

as tall as possible.

It all looks nice and I like the way that you want to sit here.

So, budget 5,000, what have you spent?

I think about 8,700.

But are you happy with the money you spent?

Well, to me, it's absolutely no question.

Now, what about watering?

Yeah, I've just been giving everything a good old drink.

You know there's heavy clay under there?

So there is a slight danger of water logging.

Yes.

On the other hand, new plants need a start in life.

I would water no more than once a week

and then once they look happy and you see new growth, leave them.

Now, the really important person is your mother, is she here?

She is imminent, apparently.

Oh, OK.

The question now is what the real Portuguese expert, John's mother,

will think of her new garden.

Oh, it's absolutely gorgeous, it's amazing, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely.

-Happy with it?

-Well done. Oh, it's great.

Pleasure.

Very, very touching to think they've done all this work for me, yeah.

It's absolutely gorgeous now and I love it.

Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Thank you very much indeed.

And cheers to you two.

Oh, thank you.

I like the little yellow. I've never seen those before.

-They're Californian poppies.

-Aren't they gorgeous?

That sort of slightly orangey. Yeah.

Phew! Maggie likes it.

And that's really important. But what's good,

when we were sitting around the table, was there was

a very nice atmosphere. it was a good place to sit,

and have a glass of wine, and chat, and look up through the plants,

and I think this is a garden that will get nicer and nicer as the years go by.

Oh, we've got two seals of approval, from Mags and from Monty,

so I don't think you can ask for more than that, really.

I think the space itself is now great and usable.

It's just, yeah, it needs a bit of screening cos the road is tough.

But now we've got the impetus, the motivation, the momentum,

keep it up.

Back in Cadeby, after months of hard work,

now it's the turn of Richard and Helen

to show Monty the fruits of their labour.

I think I'm slightly nervous. I mean, you know, this is Monty Don

coming back to our garden and this is it.

Yeah, I'm a bit apprehensive about what he's going to think.

It's only natural, I think, really.

I hope he doesn't spot any weeds.

I love Richard and Helen's energy and enthusiasm

and, from the outset, they set about making a home

and a garden with real zeal, but they didn't have the same confidence

about the plants as they did about the structure.

So I'm hoping now that they've gained in confidence,

the garden has grown and developed

and their vision, which was always clear, is now made real.

Last year, Helen and Richard bought this overgrown garden,

a neglected space that hadn't been tamed for 20 years.

Now their big dream has transformed this small space

into a smallholding.

-Well, nice to see you.

-Good to see you again.

-And you. How are you?

-Nice to see you.

-Your vegetables are looking magnificent.

-Thank you.

They've really taken me by surprise, actually.

Well, some of them are even bursting out of the nets, unfortunately,

but it's all good.

Where once trees and weeds ran wild,

the garden is now an organised and functional place.

The greenhouse is placed centrally to get maximum sunshine

and make a focal point for the garden.

Helen has planted raised beds of vegetables that can be cultivated

throughout the year. And any smallholding wouldn't be complete

without its very own chicken run.

When you bought this house, clearly you had a dream.

-Has that been realised?

-It's been full-on, you know.

It's been tricky to get to this stage so quickly.

-Turning what was just the most desolate and...

-Overgrown.

..yes, overgrown and unloved piece of land,

-to something now that is...

-It's the good life, isn't it?

It is, ultimately, it's the good life.

So I know it's the creation of jams and chutneys and sauces

-that really interest you, isn't it?

-Definitely.

I've got loads of courgette plants on the go,

the beans will be going into piccalilli.

I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in in the kitchen now.

And how's the greenhouse gone?

Well, the greenhouse has become a focal point of the garden.

What is also interesting is, since I had delivery of my chillies,

I've started opening the door, ventilating the greenhouse

and it's paid off.

That's a good piece of advice cos I genuinely would have just

locked it down, try and keep the heat in.

I see that this hedge that we planted is doing fine, isn't it?

Yeah, it's definitely grown and thickened out in places, yeah.

Don't be tempted to cut it yet.

However floppy it is, don't prune it till the winter

because you know summer pruning restricts growth,

-winter pruning encourages growth.

-OK. That's good.

OK, well, that's going well and a nice place to sit.

Lovely, beautiful compost heaps, I like that.

And I see you've got your hens, how long have you had these for?

These are the new arrivals, they only arrived this morning.

Oh, really, really new. They've got to get used to the place.

Yes, they are, yeah.

Your potatoes are looking positively lustrous and voluptuous, aren't they?

What variety are they?

Can't remember which varieties they are.

I think because everything's been so hectic at points,

the kind of focus has gone off the planting.

I do still feel like I'm learning a lot.

The evidence is you're really good at growing vegetables.

-Thank you.

-So whatever you're doing, you're doing right.

There's a great relief there.

All that's left for Richard and Helen to do

is share their garden with family and friends.

All your hard work, Richard.

Beautiful.

Thank you so much, you like it?

Oh, it's beautiful.

We just can't believe, you know, how it is from how it was.

I mean, it was just a wilderness.

The garden was just short of a jungle

but I think it's now panned out into something rather special.

Here we go.

Whoo!

Cheers. Cheers everybody, cheers.

And to my wife, cheers.

They've got a garden that they will be able to enjoy

and a garden that will produce what they've always wanted to do,

grow their own fruit and veg, cos they are fantastic at making jams

and chutneys, and pickles, brilliant.

-Hello, sorry to interrupt.

-No, no, not at all.

This is some chilli sauce that I've made, see what you think.

-Can I have a try?

-That is delicious.

Thank you very much.

No, just put "Monty" down. Yes, please.

-Today's been an amazing day.

-It has, yeah.

It's a bit surreal, really, you know, having Monty Don

back in your garden and all your family and friends.

Yeah, brilliant day, perfect.

What we've got is a real garden, a living garden,

and that garden is producing good food which then in turn

Richard and Helen are making into the jams and the chutneys

and the sauces which so motivate them.

But the garden is doing something else, too, something which perhaps

we undervalue but which gardens do so well.

It's making them happy.