Episode 3 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 absolutely a 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.

-Do it.

Talk about a lean, mean, gardening machine.

Things haven't always gone to plan...

I thought we were going to make four raised beds?

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

..but it's been worth it.

-What a beautiful garden.

-I'm so happy.

-Thank you, Monty.

-ALL: 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 week, Monty will be meeting two sets of gardeners battling

with extreme conditions.

From Welsh rock face...

I could hold your ankle.

..to a garden ravaged by salty winds...

I'm just battling the elements all the time.

..Monty will need both his brains...

-A little bit of homework...

-Yeah.

-..would have sorted this out.

-Yeah, we've learnt that lesson now.

..and his brawn...

Very impressed with Monty's strength and skills.

..to help make some dreams come true.

-Cheers, everybody.

-ALL: Cheers.

Our first garden is just a stone's throw

from Hayling Island Beach in Hampshire.

It belongs to Sharon, Marcus and their two daughters,

Holly and Grace.

Come on.

The beach is really the big attraction for us.

We're not alone, a lot of people like living by the sea

and the water certainly has a great appeal.

So much so, they've spent the last six years

filling their New England style home with nautical notes.

Now their dream is to give their small front garden

the same American seaside look.

Just very square and uninspiring, and nothing really works together.

The lawn has just sort of become worse and worse,

it's very uneven, it doesn't grow very well.

It's just dead!

And the trampoline has become a bit of an eyesore.

And when it comes to the plants,

Sharon is ready to throw in the trowel.

Most disappointing, I think, is this yew tree.

I really love this yew tree, so the top half is thriving and is

doing really nicely, but the bottom half for some reason has just died.

Er, the only thing that does make sense in the garden, to me,

is the Christmas tree,

but it's probably the only thing that I want to save in the garden.

Our second garden is in the dramatic mountains of North Wales.

After falling in love with the beautiful landscape,

Adam and his partner Andy made a snap decision to up sticks from

their city centre home and move to the picturesque village of Corris.

We were right in the centre of Bournemouth,

and towards the end of being there I just felt really hemmed in.

I wanted that feeling of space, and we've certainly got that here.

THEY LAUGH

Hello, pigs.

In search of self-sufficiency, they decided to start a smallholding.

The key thing for us was, when we moved here,

to make a living from our home.

I love going round in the morning and feeding the chickens,

the pigs, the ducks.

Hello, duckies.

Keeping them is really lovely and then we get the bonus

of the eggs and the meat.

Look, one of them is growing a lot faster than the other one.

Oi, stop it.

After two years of digging deep to establish the smallholding,

they now want to focus on creating a space

to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

The garden at the moment isn't so much a garden,

it's more a space that's kind of been neglected, because we've

been working on the animals and the produce and everything like that.

Their dream is to take their tiny garden,

level it off and make a place to entertain and relax.

The only thing standing in their way is a towering rock face,

the wet weather and their complete lack of plant knowledge.

We need plants that can withstand that and thrive

out there, we don't really know much about what to choose.

It's late autumn on Hayling Island.

Sharon and Marcus have the daunting task of showing the

country's top gardener around their rather dishevelled front garden.

So this is the area, is it?

Yes, as you can see, the grass is a bit threadbare in parts,

and the planting doesn't look very great,

but it's just very square.

Let me just be quite clear.

-The sea is, what, 300 yards away?

-Yeah, about that, yeah.

So do you get really strong winds coming in?

Very strong winds, often for days at a time, erm,

and a lot of salt actually, that's probably the bigger problem.

Right, so whatever you plant must be adapted to salt.

Absolutely, and we've realised there's no point fighting that.

OK, what's the grand plan?

The grand plan is a Cape Cod, beachy style garden.

Crikey! SHARON AND MARCUS LAUGH

As we stand on grass with... with four borders.

It's probably hard to imagine now.

I think to take up all this turf,

put some new turf down, and as part of that process,

maybe a wooden boardwalk from that gate, going towards this gate.

And then try and dig a big hole and sink the trampoline down.

Do you have to have the trampoline?

Yes, we do, our 13-year-old daughter, she competes regionally

at trampolining, and so she does need it for her practice.

Since they must keep the trampoline, Sharon and Marcus have

come up with the sensible idea of sinking it into the ground.

They also plan to re-turf the lawn

and add a wooden boardwalk to give the garden a seaside look.

So far, so good, but Monty is about to give them

a reality check on their beach dream.

I mean, when you talked about keeping some grass,

I personally would say it's a VERY bad idea.

It just won't look good. BOTH: No.

No, I have thought about that, and I have thought about, you know,

stones, again the very beachy feel to it,

but the girls do like to sit out here.

And it's not just the lawn that Monty wants to do away with.

Your Christmas tree, is that essential?

We do like the Christmas tree.

LAUGHTER

Must it REALLY stay?

We both really love pine trees and, erm...

We would like to keep it somewhere.

As it is, looking like a Christmas tree, it doesn't

fit with my concept of a Cape Cod sort of beach garden going down.

It would move very easily. The next obvious question is,

you want to rip everything out, move things around,

you're digging holes, you're making decking - what's your budget?

It's a very small budget, we only have £1,000.

I mean, £1,000 is... really tricky.

If you sort of squeeze an extra 500...

-Yes, yeah.

-..that would transform the planting, say.

If we have to find a couple more hundred for the plants,

I would like to get it right first time, because I think over

the six years we've lived here, I've probably wasted between

£700 and £800 on things that haven't survived.

Right, so that's a really good point, is that if you don't

plan it and you don't spend your money wisely, it's real loss.

-Yeah.

-I mean, you waste it.

-Yes, definitely.

My suggestions for Sharon and Marcus' beach garden

are a little more radical.

I'd like to take up the turf and cover their garden in pebbles

and plants that can resist this very salty environment.

And although their Christmas tree is the one plant that is

flourishing, in my opinion, it has to go.

I think the crucial thing is that they remain true to the basic idea.

And this is the inspiration, here is the sea, here are the plants.

Yeah, I think there were things which you automatically

assume need to be part of a garden, like a lawn.

I think it's very engrained that, you know,

a lawn has to stay as part of a garden.

As long as they don't lose their nerve,

I think it will be really, really good.

Obviously Monty had other ideas to what Marcus and I

had initially thought about. I think he's made me

realise that we can't do a half-hearted job -

if you're going to have a beachy theme,

it needs to be properly beachy.

It's been a few weeks since Monty left,

and Sharon and Marcus have had to make some difficult decisions.

But Marcus is a man with a plan,

or is it more of a case of a boy with a new toy?

Well, the plan for the day is to get as much of the heavy digging

done as possible. I have only got the digger

for the day, and it is the first time I've driven a digger,

so it's all going to be a bit of a learning curve.

HE STARTS DIGGER ENGINE

Hey!

We've, er, we've taken on board some of Monty's suggestions,

and in fact, taking the Christmas tree out is one of

the things that he said, because it wouldn't grow on a beach.

This could take a while.

Monty might approve of the plan, but not the way it's being executed.

Trees should be moved with as much earth

as possible around their roots.

Just as well spruces like this are particularly resilient.

MARCUS CHUCKLES

It's not the most delicate way to do it!

At least he has the support of his wife.

Bit shocked by the, er, hole.

The Christmas tree's gone and I think I've mentioned previously,

the Christmas tree was very important to me.

I think what we've decided is, we will probably try

and keep it alive and use it as our Christmas tree this year.

If Marcus doesn't kill it in the meantime.

Needing a helping hand to remove the old fence panels...

Watch out for the nails.

..Sharon has enlisted help from their neighbours

and Marcus' parents.

It's gone really well actually, I think, considering

we've had to battle the elements a little bit.

I'm going to move that panel.

Yeah, it's coming, it's coming.

Digging out the fence posts is proving to be much harder

-than they expected.

-Do you want me to try

and dig it out a bit so you can see?

Even the digger won't move the roots, so I don't think you're going

to be able to do very much, you can try, but...

I don't understand how big

that lump of concrete is, it seems massive.

No wonder we can't do that one, look at the size of this one.

While Marcus is overcoming obstacles,

Sharon has also realised she has hit a major snag.

Thinking through our budget of the initial £1,000,

it's not going to be enough.

Er, we've already used a huge chunk of that

on fencing and, you know, I hadn't factored in things like concrete

and the shingle that needs to go in the posts and things like that.

Monty suggested that we'd probably have to spend about

£500 on planting.

Well, I haven't got £500 left at this stage, so yes,

the budget will be revised because the planting will need to be right.

Despite several setbacks,

work presses on with their ambitious plan.

The garden's a little bit destroyed!

I'm not sure how we're going to feel about that tomorrow morning

when I open up the curtains and look at the pile of earth that is

now my front garden, but Monty persuaded us there was no

halfway measures with a beachy garden,

you do it or you don't, and as he rightly pointed out,

you don't often see lawns on the beach.

Today in North Wales, it's Adam and Andy's turn

to share their dream plans with Monty.

Until now they've been concentrating on their smallholding,

but they have ambitious plans for their plot,

which is all of three metres by three metres square.

We need a space that is a garden,

that is effectively somewhere where we can have a drink, chill out

when we're not doing all of the jobs that we're doing.

-This is the garden, huh?

-Ta-dah.

-This is it.

-Erm... yeah, it's not massive.

And how do you feel about the way that this looks now?

I love the ruggedness of it, erm, obviously it's a bit of a mess

at the moment but I think there's real potential in there.

I love the stone wall. I think we could do something interesting...

To incorporate it into something with plants.

My impression, for what it's worth, I like the way it looks now.

Tell me as clearly as you can how you imagine this when it's finished.

In terms of the space, we've got the area, the chance to change the roof

of this shed here into a flat deck to stand on, so the idea is

we can get a bigger space than we have now, so that we can...

-Double, it would double your space, wouldn't it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-And a defined area for eating, and a table.

-Yeah.

Adam and Andy dream of having space to relax,

and have come up with an ingenious solution.

By levelling off the shed roof and adding wooden decking,

they would double the size of their new garden.

It's a practical solution, but not necessarily the prettiest.

I mean, one of the problems I have about this...

..is the conjunction between a deck and all the associations of the

materials and the way it looks... with the naturalistic hillside.

-Yeah.

-So how are you going to marry those two?

Because, quite frankly, decking can look naff.

Yeah, I mean, we...

I guess that's where we're hoping for some advice and...

Could you have stone edging?

Could you make the whole thing stone? It's a stone place.

-Possibly.

-Yeah, yeah.

-You use the materials of the place.

-Yeah, yeah.

-I mean, this is about slate and stone.

-Yeah.

Are there any particular plants that you love or want to include?

Er, that might be more of your domain.

Erm, herbs.

We'd like, I like the idea of being able to...

walk out of the door to pick some herbs.

And then of course that bank

-which, as a gardener, is the thing that excites me most.

-Yeah.

I love it!

Look, you've got the little foxgloves growing in here.

-Hmm.

-Little sort of spurge and I don't even mind the grasses

seeding themselves. When it gets coarse...

-Yeah.

-..I think you then have to weed.

But you can plant in here, these are all little planting pockets.

-Yeah.

-A lot of Alpine plants would LOVE that.

-Definitely, I think that would be lovely.

-Mmm.

My interpretation of Adam and Andy's dream

is based on their need to work WITH their environment.

I think the new flat area should be replaced with local stone.

They should add more pots, bursting with flowers and herbs,

and add Alpine plants to the rocky bank.

The idea of doing it now is a reality, isn't it?

And although we always were going to do it, now we've got a

time scale and we've got expectations on us, so it's great.

-And slightly scary.

-Yeah!

The really exciting thing for me is that bank, and if I can persuade

them there is a world of plants that is fascinating, that also relates

to their love of the place, then that will be a real development.

WIND HOWLS

As winter sets in, so does the rain.

Bye-bye, fella.

Adam and Andy's dream is to create a relaxing space

where they can entertain.

At the end of his last visit, Monty left them clear instructions

to clear up the mess, including the death trap paving slabs.

Well, from the house there's a few that are OK,

and then as you come out to here, erm, they get really wobbly,

so we're going to take them all out and then we'll level the ground...

so that it's usable, because at the moment, when we had a

party before, you've got people stood around, and they're kind of

stepping off the step or the slate's moving,

and they're all wobbling around, and once you've had

a few drinks it's kind of like, "Uh-oh."

While Adam continues with the hard landscaping,

Andy has taken charge of weeding the rocky bank.

I think for us it's just making sure we're taking

the right things out and leaving the right things in.

It's better for wildlife to hand-pull weeds rather than

use pesticides, but that's not easy on a rock face.

I'm trying to take out this dead bramble here, but by doing that,

I may join the dead bramble.

-LAUGHING:

-I could hold your ankle.

I think the way to do it will be to get a ladder...from that way.

Adam and Andy couldn't be more enthusiastic,

but even they admit they don't have much of a clue.

'Gardening is something new to us, you know,

'it's not something we've done a lot of in the past.'

'I think the bit we don't know a lot about is the actual,

'the right kind of plants to choose,

'and the maintenance of those plants.'

We're certainly planting and gardening novices, definitely.

Taking self-sufficiency to the limit,

they've decided to spend as little as possible on their dream.

Only time will tell if their plan will work.

Cup of tea.

I think considering it has been pelting down all afternoon,

when you see what we've managed to do despite that,

-it's really encouraging, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Hot bath and a glass of wine?

-THEY LAUGH

While Corris has been suffering rains, back in Hayling,

winter was about to do its worst.

NEWS BULLETIN JINGLE

-RADIO NEWSREADER:

-It's eight o'clock.

A huge clean-up operation is under way this morning on Hayling Island.

Winds of up to 80mph have battered the south coast overnight.

In Hampshire, Sharon and Marcus' beach-front garden is bearing

the brunt of some of the worst storms in decades.

It's been a very unusual winter, actually,

it's been extremely stormy.

We've seen the tide and the waves

come higher than I can ever remember.

Yeah, it was far from ideal gardening weather, that's for sure.

As the winds subside, the shoreline is left scattered with driftwood.

With the budget spent,

Marcus quickly snaps up the free building material.

Er, Marcus is great, because he can basically build anything I want.

He's got a nice workshop here, so he can do all the work himself

and he really enjoys it, I mean, he makes garden furniture as

a bit of a hobby, a sideline.

What I'm starting to do is just make up the...

the framework for the boardwalk path.

Until this actually goes together,

I'm not sure it's definitely going to work, but the idea is there,

and in principle it's going to work.

Marcus and Sharon are racing ahead to achieve their dream beach garden.

The next task is to lift the turf,

lay a weed-suppressing membrane and pour on seven tons of pebbles.

It's quick to do, but even so,

Sharon can't resist taking a short cut.

We made the decision not to take up the turf because that was

an expense that we didn't really need, given our tight budget.

We don't feel we're going to have any real issues with that.

Taking the easy option could be a decision they regret,

especially with a gardening guru on his way.

So Monty might be a little bit surprised or disappointed

that we've perhaps compromised

on some of the things that he suggested.

Hopefully, you know, when he comes next week, he's going to see

a good blank canvas to be working with

and he can then give us advice on the area that he

specialises in, which is the planting side of things.

Back in Wales, a break in the weather has given

Adam and Andy an opportunity to don their protective outfits

and remove the shed roof in little under three hours.

-Got it?

-Yeah.

Now the heavy landscaping can continue.

Their plan is to infill the shed with stone

so they can level it off and create more space.

Have you got, erm, any big stuff over there that we can chuck in yet?

Er, no, not yet, but I will.

-Shall I save that?

-Yeah.

As usual, the pair are doing all the work themselves in order

to be as cost-effective as possible.

Well, so far the budget is pretty minimal. I think we've pretty

much traded and bartered everything so far, we've...

The railway sleepers are from my dad's farm,

and these old water boilers, I think they are...

but all of those we've traded for a weekend helping at the farm.

I think so far we've probably bought...

maybe a bag of cement and a bag of sand

to put the sleepers in, but that's it,

so hopefully we can kind of carry on along that vein.

To save money, the boys have come up with a penny-pinching idea.

They're swapping eggs for plants, and anything is welcome.

-Hello!

-Hiya, I've brought you some plants.

Oh, wow, thank you very much.

Oh, wow.

Better late than never!

-Oh, awesome.

-There we go - eggs.

Thank you very much.

-Wild garlic?

-Taste it.

-It's lovely.

-That's great.

-It's all yours.

-Thank you very much.

-Do you want some eggs?

-No.

-I owe you an egg.

They haven't fully laid today, so next time you're passing.

You're not working them overtime, are you?

Well, people keep giving us plants, so we're trying to squeeze

the eggs out of them as fast as we can!

Having a smallholding, it's a real connection for everybody,

you know, the village, the people in the village are amazing.

They love what we're doing and it's a really nice talking point.

-Hello, you all right?

-Hello, you all right?

ADAM LAUGHS

Everyone talks about the boys,

it's the boys with the pigs, the boys with the hens.

We just thought they'd be here a couple of months and then gone,

and they hadn't got beards so I thought they'd definitely go.

My God, these are so beautiful!

LAUGHTER

So all in all, good chaps I think, you know.

There's basically two types of townies,

those who come with no idea what the countryside is, with their dreams,

and it takes them years to sort out their problems and they make a mess

of it and learn the hard way.

And then there's the naturals, and the lads here

I would say are two of the naturals, they just know what to do.

It's been a long day moving literally a shed-load of stone,

but Adam and Andy are proud of their achievement.

-I think it feels bigger than I thought it would.

-Yeah.

Which is nice, because there's always

that danger it's going to be...

a bit of a disappointment, but I think being this far forward...

-Looks like it's always been here, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Despite their laid-back attitude, the boys are anxious about

Monty's next visit.

I think the aim is, before Monty's visit,

is to have a real blank canvas,

because we really need his help with the planting side of things

and we really could do with a bit of a hand with that, couldn't we?

It's over six months since I was last here,

and they've had lots of time to prepare the ground.

I'm hoping that by now they've removed that ugly roof

and given the rocky bank a good weed.

But the crucial thing I'm hoping that Adam and Andy will

have done is to do their homework on the kind of plants they want.

-Hello.

-Morning! You all right?

-I'm very well, nice to see you again.

-Hello.

Nice to see you. How are things?

Clearly, you've been doing things.

Things are happening, yeah, that's for sure!

Talk me through what you've done.

Well, we've sort of been focusing on the, erm,

hard landscaping and we've taken the roof off the shed

and built this wall across to tie in with what was there.

-It looks like it's always been like that.

-Yeah, yeah.

The slate, isn't it?

-It just looks like it's always been a walled garden.

-Yeah, yeah.

And pots, I see you're beginning to collect some plants.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, yeah. We've been very lucky.

And how have you got the plants? Because I saw the sign on the road.

What slightly worried me was "herbs and Alpines preferred,

"but any are welcome, all are welcome."

Well, we thought the herbs and the Alpines,

we know where they're going to go

and that they're going to work here. But I mean, there's so many

great things that people are growing in their gardens round here,

we've got the containers that we can

use to sort of keep those things going.

OK, and the bank, what have you done to the bank?

We, er, we weeded it.

So do I take it from that that it is now

as weeded as you would like it to be?

I think we wanted... This was the area where we need help,

so I think we were very cautious to take anything out.

OK, that makes sense.

So you take any tree roots out, grass out, leave the foxgloves

and then I'll come in and help you with the planting.

-Brilliant.

-Great.

While Andy follows Monty's instructions

and tackles the rock bank,

Adam's keen to show off the wall he's already started to plant up.

Yeah, this is, this is a bit chaotic, isn't it?

Erm...

When you're planting in a situation like this,

the plants really have adapted to this environment,

-so they need very, very little soil, whereas this is too much.

-Yeah.

Too much in there.

OK, I happen to have in my pocket... a suitable trowel.

-Let's get rid of all this excess.

-Yeah.

-We don't need it.

It doesn't look nice. I think with planting,

-you need to fill the available space.

-OK.

-Don't plant a small plant into an area like that.

-Yeah.

-Put a big plant in there.

-Yeah, yeah.

And you need to cram.

'The quickest way to kill Alpines is keeping them in wet conditions,

'so a mix of 50% compost with 50% grit

'will give them the drainage they need.'

So that what you've got... is a mixture like that.

So if you are putting... say we want a plant in there,

push in a little bit...and it's difficult, but just push that in

and there'll be enough nutrition and enough drainage in there that

when we push the roots in, they'll have something to stick onto.

You know, if we push that in...

-..like that, I would expect that to live and grow.

-Yeah.

And obviously it's got to... There's a slight...

You've got to get it well in, if it falls out,

-but there's no reason why that wouldn't work.

-Yeah.

-And what's that?

-Erm, good question.

-Right, OK, no good bringing plants you don't know what they are.

-Yeah.

-Because they've got to be right for here.

-Yeah.

If you don't know what that is, how can you research it?

-Uh-huh.

-And know it will be happy?

-Yeah.

Taking plants in from people, saying thank you very much

-and giving them eggs in return...

-Yeah.

-..is nice, but it may not serve you very well.

-Yeah.

That's Adam told off.

At the back of the garden, Andy is busy cleaning the rock bank to

reveal tiny cracks and crevices that will make perfect planting pockets.

You see, I like this little cliff face...

that you're exposing. When you're planting what is a rock face...

like this, clean it back, get rid of all the rubbish

which has accumulated over the years,

don't be frightened to add stone in, you know,

it's not an archaeological dig,

-you are allowed to change it as much as you like.

-Yeah.

Create a few planting pockets, but they

don't need to be too deep. Don't be frightened to

push plants into crevices and gradually build it up.

-Just take time.

-Take time and care.

-Yeah.

-I think that's the thing.

-Yeah.

'When planting a rockery, choose plants that can survive and thrive

'in little or no soil.

'Try Alpines or succulents like sempervivum.

'Mediterranean herbs like rosemary can also thrive in these conditions,

'as long as they have good drainage.'

-You're having fun, aren't you?

-I am really enjoying it.

I've got to go soon, I just want to pick out one point -

you can take your time over that, I just want to talk about these herbs.

-OK.

-I like the idea of growing herbs on the wall,

that's great, but you've got a funny mixture.

What we've got going on here are different herbs...

-Uh-huh.

-..that need different growing conditions,

cheek by jowl in the same place.

Right, Mediterranean herbs here in wet Wales will only grow well

-with really good drainage.

-Yeah.

-And poor soil.

-Yeah.

-The poorer soil, the better.

-Right.

Whereas parsley likes richer soil.

The mint will grow better in richer soil,

so I think we need to rationalise this.

Take these out, replant some of them.

Take out much of that soil, a little bit of soil and grit...

-Yeah.

-..then replant the Mediterranean.

-Great.

Why did you choose this type of soil for these particular herbs?

-Er, lack of knowledge, I think.

-Right, you just bunged them in?

-Yeah.

-A little bit of homework would have sorted this out.

Yeah, we've learnt that lesson today.

Today has been quite an education for Adam and Andy,

but there's one subject they can get full marks on.

How much do you think you've spent so far? Give me a ballpark figure,

what do you think so far, in cash, you've spent?

-Fifty quid.

-About fifty quid.

That is a-stonishing. Astonishing!

I think we kind of picked that up from doing

the smallholding as well, you know, keeping things

as tight as possible because, you know, everything that you do

that costs money is something else that you can't do elsewhere.

What would really transform this garden before I come back is,

if you could bear it,

to invest double that amount to spend on plants that you research...

-Yeah.

-..and know you really want,

-and that would grow really well here.

-Yeah.

Because I think that would transform it.

Brilliant, thank you very much.

On Hayling Island, reluctant gardener Sharon has yet to embrace

the prospect of a pebble-covered garden

and the challenge of researching salt-resistant plants.

Erm, I have to confess, I'm a bit of an instant gardener.

I do like to go to the nursery and find things that have already

got flowers on them! I like that sort of initial wow factor,

I don't really have the patience for things to...to grow.

Over the last few years, Sharon has wasted nearly £700

on plants that haven't survived.

So to nip her spending in the bud, Monty is sending her,

with Marcus, to Camber Sands in Sussex to learn about

seaside planting from

an award-winning garden designer, Jo Thompson.

Marcus sees potential for planting among pebbles,

but Sharon is still hanging on to her lawn.

What I'm very keen to avoid is it just looking like a pile of stones,

and I think the planting is going to be so important to get right.

Things like the thrift is really good, it forms that low mat.

The convolvulus is fantastic with its white flowers and

the rock rose is wonderful.

And the plant that's behind you that seems to be spreading quite nicely.

Now, I didn't plant this plant, it's lampranthrus, that's a free plant.

So that's just come in here from the beach, from the natural environment?

Yeah, and that's the great thing about this location,

is the winds bringing seeds in, the birds are bringing seeds in,

so even if you think something is a weed, I'd say

-give it a chance.

-Give it a chance.

-Definitely.

A potential free supply of seeds, courtesy of the wind,

is a great way for Sharon to save money on plants,

even if the results aren't as instant as she would like.

Last autumn, I came to Hayling Island on the Hampshire coast

to help Sharon and Marcus create their dream beach garden.

Because of the very particular conditions by the sea,

I suggested that they get rid of their turf and replace it

with pebbles, and also carefully look out salt-resistant plants.

They wanted to keep the trampoline, but have decided to bury it

so it's less of an eyesore.

Now, I've come back to see how they're getting on,

but there's one big question I want to resolve first -

have they got rid of that Christmas tree?

-Do you want to see what we've done so far?

-Uh-huh.

So we got rid of the lawn.

You got rid of the lawn. SHARON LAUGHS

-You've got a little bit of stone in. LAUGHING:

-A little bit of stone!

To see just a mass of stones down when you're used to a lawn

-is quite a different look.

-Personally, I...

It's sufficiently unusual in a garden to be

-stimulating and interesting.

-Right.

-You know, whereas lawn, you do see everywhere.

-Yes.

And it's not only the lawn that's gone.

You've got rid of the Christmas tree, ah.

-LAUGHING:

-Yes.

-I was so worried you were going to keep that.

But we did re-purpose it, it's moved to Marcus's parents.

So it still lives, it lives on and it's growing really well.

I think if you and I go through the plants you've got,

sort out the ones that you know you want in that section there...

-Right.

-..look in the back garden,

-see if there's anything there we can move, divide and add to it...

-OK.

..and then we've got planting.

The first task of the day is to uproot

a large phormium from the back garden,

a job Sharon is very happy to stand back and allow Monty to manhandle.

Very impressed with Monty's, er, strength and skills.

Cos it's a very tight place and it's a big plant.

It's heavy, be careful.

With the phormium uprooted, the next step is to clear the stones

and cut a hole in the polypropylene fabric.

A landscaping fabric like this is designed to block all light

-but let water through.

-OK.

-So it's porous, essentially.

-Yeah.

Er, the water goes between the weave.

It should stop most weeds and you can plant through it,

it's very simple. What you do,

you don't cut a hole, you cut across, so you

just cut it and it cuts very easily, like that.

And then across, like that,

Then you just fold back the quarters...

and like that...and like that...

plant into that space, then fold that back down around the plant.

So...

Right, let's put this into position.

So what we will do is back-fill very firmly.

-Right.

-You've got a lot of weight on the top.

-Yes, yeah.

-And not a lot on the bottom.

That should be, if you let go...

that should feel reasonably solid. It's not too bad, is it?

That's pretty good.

-Right, what we'll do is water that well.

-Yeah.

Real soak, tidy up and then push the stones...

-Put everything back in.

-..when the water has soaked in.

-OK.

As we are watering, much better to give it a really good soak once

a week, than a seventh of the same amount every day.

You want the water to soak in and the roots to reach down and find it.

-Whereas if you just water lightly, the water stays on the surface.

-Yes.

So all the roots have to go to the surface,

-so then, when it's dry, they dry out much quicker.

-Right.

Monty's advice seems to be sinking in, but just as Sharon was going

to the top of the class, Monty spots that the turf hasn't been lifted.

It's a lazy decision that could cause trouble later,

and it's time for a telling off.

So the turf hasn't been lifted?

No, we just decided that it was a big expense, er, you know,

to get the rest of the turf up, time-wise as well

and that putting the membrane down would kill it off anyway.

But it does make digging a little bit difficult.

Well, it was an interesting decision to make, or it was a bad decision.

-OK.

-Em, because you're planting through turf.

In time, you will kill it off

-but you're going to double your planting time.

-Right.

If you had lifted the turf,

-even if you had then inverted it, it would have been a good idea.

-OK.

-See, now, that ground is compacted and not dug.

-Yeah.

If you'd have dug it all over, lifted the turf,

dug it over, everything would grow much better

-and it would be much easier planting.

-Right.

But it's not a disaster.

Not a complete disaster, anyway.

Well, it's a good example of how people who are inexperienced

-at this sort of thing think they can get away with things.

-Yes.

No chance of that on Monty's watch.

Once you get to the planting of a border, that's the good bit,

that's the easy bit.

Although I have to say if I'd been organising this,

I would have delayed putting the stone down

until all the planting was done.

Now, this is your plant selection.

Why have you chosen these plants?

-They're all coastal plants.

-Right.

-That's one of the reasons.

Tell me what you mean by coastal plants.

-They will tolerate the wind and the salt...

-Right.

-..and also the soil conditions that we've got here.

-Right.

They're very hardy.

You've got Angelica, you've got thymes, you've got...

I see you've got Allium, what is it, Christophii?

-Yes.

-Over there.

So, a good selection of plants that will cope

-with your very specific conditions.

-Yes.

Sharon hasn't cut corners with her research,

so they can get straight down to work.

Marcus, cast your expert eye.

My expert eye, OK.

-If I perhaps put it into context.

-OK.

What I've tried to do, following Sharon's guidance,

is get drifts of white and purple with the silver foliage

so the colours are weaving through.

I guess my question would be how big are those going to get

because I think if I was laying out plants like that,

I'd be thinking that in a year's time or two years' time,

you're not going to see any of the stones,

it's just going to be solid plants.

If you feel it's too many for the effect you want,

we can just take some out.

No, I think it looks good now,

but the easy mistake to make for an amateur gardener like me

is to put too much in.

-Actually, the exact opposite is true.

-Really?

-The biggest mistake the amateur has got is putting too few.

-Oh, is it?

Cram.

-Always cram.

-Oh, OK.

-Put too many plants in and then take them out.

-OK.

Is that because you expect the worst, that some won't survive.

-No, it just looks better.

-Because it looks better.

-Too few plants just doesn't feel adequate.

-No.

Pile them in.

I think the whole process has been about learning for us

because we knew nothing really about plants.

I'm impressed that after years of killing plants,

Sharon is now doing her research carefully.

It's been great having Monty here today

because he's done some of the most amazing digging-out work

that we wouldn't have wanted to do ourselves.

But I'm a little less impressed about the impatience

when it comes to the actual gardening and I do hope

they're not tempted to cut too many corners before I come back again.

-Quick cup of tea?

-Cup of tea?

-Quick cup of tea before I go.

-I think you've earned one, Monty.

Back in Wales, Adam and Andy have had no problems

tackling the hard landscaping

but their plant knowledge could do with a helping hand.

Monty has suggested they visit Bodnant Gardens in Snowdonia

to see if head gardener, Bill Warrell, can inspire them.

OK, so here we are next to one of Bodnant's granite walls,

-you can see it's got some nice planting pockets.

-Yeah.

Er, and you can also see lots have self-seeded, now one of the

nicest things we've got in here is the Welsh Poppy,

the Meconopsis cambrica, lovely open flowers

that the bees and other insects love.

-Yes, they're good for wildlife.

-Yeah, great for wildlife.

But next to it we've got Fuchsia, one of the Fuchsias,

Fuchsia magellanica, you see it in hedgerows all over the place.

-These are grown from seeds themselves.

-Yeah.

-None of these are planted in.

-No, you can see the Campanulas.

-Yeah.

The bellflowers and of course another lovely native here

which is the toadflax.

Right, so if we plug in some plants,

how long is it going to take for that to not look...?

It depends, really.

The quickest way to do that really is to choose

-voracious self-seeders, they'll find where they're happy.

-Yeah.

And then you'll get that natural look.

It's a big learning curve but Adam and Andy are doing

their homework and investing in some well-researched plants.

The last time Monty came was really helpful

because I think we just needed, we needed his expertise

and his advice and that's, you know, why we wanted to do this.

-I think that's more than one plant. We could spread that...

-Yeah.

-We could spread that on the wall, on the slate wall.

-Yeah.

On Monty's last visit, he gave the boys strict instructions to

learn about plants and not to just bung them into any soil.

No, I didn't see it really as a telling-off,

it was more a...

It was just really constructive and really helpful, he was,

you know, making us think about what we were putting where,

why we were putting it and I think since then, we've been a lot

-more focused on what we're doing really, haven't we?

-Yeah.

These will look really good against the rock.

Finally, Adam and Andy have caught the gardening bug.

It's starting to become more than a hobby, it's getting a bit

passionate about it and about learning as much as we can.

In less than 24 hours,

Monty will be back for his final visit and if that wasn't

pressure enough, Adam and Andy are also inviting the entire village.

When they first said they were doing it, I couldn't think

how they could possibly think of making anything of what seemed to be

just a junk hole, really, so I'm still waiting to be convinced.

We'll wait and see.

On Hayling Island,

the construction of Marcus' handmade wooden boardwalk is under way.

It's the perfect accompaniment to their beach-themed garden.

Boardwalk complete, and that's not all that's changed in the garden.

I'll go get my watering can and give this a good water.

Nine months ago, Sharon was an instant gardener,

but after a little mentoring from Monty,

she's found new patience for planting.

I feel a lot more confident than I ever did before.

Because of some of the grasses that I want that haven't been easy to get

this year, I'm going to get seeds and grow my own grasses from seed.

After months of hard work,

it's Adam and Andy's garden that's the first to be revealed.

The heavens have opened

but Adam is far more concerned about Monty's impending visit.

Knowing that somebody is coming to see what you're doing

when you're doing it is a real driving force.

Monty's like an exponential version of that,

it's like he's coming

and he's actually told us and advised us on things

so it's like we want to show that we are listening and we are learning.

A year ago when I came, there was nothing.

There was just a hillside, some rocks, a few plants,

hardly a yard and an old building.

But they did have a dream

and whether that dream has been realised and the garden made

and they have become gardeners,

will now be put to the test.

Last summer, Adam and Andy's garden was a neglected space.

Hemmed in by an overgrown rock face and ugly shed roof,

it was a million miles from the relaxing place they dreamed of

and now it is transformed, but what will Monty think?

-Hello.

-Wind, rain, bluster, how lovely to see you.

Good to see you.

And good to see this. I think that looks lovely.

The old shed roof has been removed and levelled off,

providing extra room for a dining area.

The rock bank has been cleared back and planted with Alpines

and succulents which, over time, will spread among the existing ferns

and moss to create a natural-looking rockery.

And plants in containers give a pleasant pop of colour

and the floor has been covered in slate from the local quarry

so that the garden as a whole blends with the Welsh landscape.

-I always felt that was potentially a really interesting feature.

-Yeah.

And you've made the most of it, you've taken the ferns

and the moss and the stone of a Welsh hillside

and you've introduced Alpine, you know,

some that come from Middle East, and brought them in without ruining

what's there, that's a sophisticated and subtle game to play.

Yeah, it's just been a balancing act of just making sure we didn't

overpower the rock with plants and just paying attention to the

colour and shape of the delicate flowers against the solid rock.

You're talking like gardeners, you know. That's what you do.

That's the way it's done.

-So that's a 100% success, I think, fantastic.

-Thank you.

Now, I can see you've got many more pots than we had.

My own feeling, looking at them,

-is it's so far not working quite as well as the bank.

-Mm-hm.

It looks like you're being a bit more timid about the planting

than you need be,

cos with pots, there are two things to bear in mind -

the first is if you're having one plant,

-it needs to be really spectacular.

-Yeah.

If you're having more than one plant,

-then you need to pack them in.

-Yeah.

-And think that from day one, they've got to look good.

-Yeah.

I do remember last time asking you why you had chosen certain plants

and you saying, "I don't know, they were just there, you know."

-Have you done your homework as I suggested...

-Yeah.

..and tried to find out about plants?

-Yeah, we've put a folder together.

-So you've got...

So we've got a plan basically of the garden and then

we've labelled out, say, for example, this is the rock,

so we've labelled what we've planted.

Our interest, everything, has just been sparked by it, so I think...

-That's the best result possible. BOTH:

-Yeah.

Now we've finished, how much has all this cost?

Just shy of £200.

We went out, we went out and did...

Most of the budget went on plants

because from what you were saying last time.

-So, was that money well spent?

-Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

I do think, you know,

for 200 quid, you've got yourself a complete transformation.

Absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, how long before everyone arrives?

I think we've got about half an hour or so.

-Half an hour?

-We've got plenty to do.

-I'll give you a hand, come on.

-Great, thank you.

-Are the cooks allowed to have a glass of wine while they prepare?

-Yes.

-Really, seriously, congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-I think it's great, so to you both.

-Cheers.

-Yeah, cheers, thank you.

Outside, it's not only the plants that are hardy

in these extreme conditions.

This is it,

this is what we've been talking about all this time.

The heavens have opened but, you know,

it doesn't stop a Corris party.

It's made a big difference, just opened it all up.

You guys were sceptical, I could tell, when you were last here.

I wasn't sure there was enough space to do anything.

Wow! Wow, you guys have done so much.

I am impressed by what they've done here

though because it's opened it up, that's the thing I can't believe.

I mean, it was a quarter of this size,

it felt quarter of this size

and it's given me some really good ideas.

Working with Monty has been really good fun and educational.

He's given us the confidence to get stuck in and have a go.

It's a really nice start to our gardening life.

Andy and Adam dreamt of a space where

they could entertain their friends and they've made it,

but what's really exciting for me is they've also made a garden and

they've discovered, I think to their surprise, that they're gardeners.

Back down south on Hayling Island, it's Marcus and Sharon's turn

to feel the nerves about Monty's final visit.

I think when Monty made the suggestion that we should

go full-on with the beach theme, I was definitely more

convinced from the beginning than Sharon was.

I hope Monty likes it because I think we've compromised

quite a lot from what we initially thought we were going to do

and it is very, very different to what it was before.

Nearly a year ago, Monty suggested Sharon and Marcus

really commit to their dream of a beach garden.

Today, he'll find out if they succeeded.

Last autumn, Marcus and Sharon's garden was an uninspiring

rectangle of battered lawn and dying plants.

Now, they've brought the beach to their home.

-After you, Monty.

-OK, here we go.

Come and have a look.

A beachy garden.

Well, well, well.

It's fantastic, that's worked really well, are you happy?

-Very pleased.

-Really pleased, yeah, love it, absolutely love it.

The tatty lawn has now been replaced with over seven tons of stones.

Marcus has constructed a sweeping wooden boardwalk

and Sharon has added salt-resistant plants.

Finally, the unsightly trampoline has been sunk where the

Christmas tree once stood.

-You two have always had a clear idea of what you want, or what you like.

-Yes.

And my only worry was that...

you would compromise it in some way.

Yeah, that's what you said right at the beginning, wasn't it?

Yeah, and you haven't, you haven't, here it is.

Well, your advice, not to compromise, really inspired us,

certainly inspired me right from the beginning.

I think that was the key to making it work actually,

was not trying to create a little bit of beach in a garden,

it was just to do the whole thing and...

It just looks so much better.

And obviously all the plants have got to grow

and establish themselves and...

I'm glad to see that the things we put in a few weeks ago are settling.

The Alliums are starting to come out,

there doesn't seem to be any major casualties.

What have you spent?

-I think it's about 1,600.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-You think it's as much as that?

-I do.

You've transformed your living space.

How important is gardening to you?

Er, well, it never was important to me.

I used to be very much what I would call an instant gardener

and now I would have said 95% more thought into

what's gone into this garden than I've ever given to plants before.

I think that's where gardening starts to kick in.

Where you're thinking about the plants and the future

of the plants rather than the present impact of what you've done.

I think it's great, it's absolutely great

and I think you should both be very pleased and proud.

Now, it's the turn of friends and family to get their first

glimpse of Marcus and Sharon's dream beach garden.

There you go, this is it.

This is the first time I've seen it.

I'm really, really impressed, and a credit to Marcus and Sharon

for all the hard work they've done, it's amazing.

Monty said we should have taken all the turf up really

but it lets the water go through.

The garden looks fantastic when it's rained.

I was expecting more sparseness.

-It's a lot greener than I thought.

-That's what I thought as well.

I absolutely love it now, how it's done, but it was a lot of hard

work for both of them, they really worked hard at it.

And thank you, Monty. Thank you, honey.

Cheers, everybody.

ALL: Cheers.

This is a good job, well done.

Once the idea was conceived,

Marcus and Sharon have executed it with remarkable lack of fuss

and what it proves to me is that a simple idea done well

always works and small gardens can take big ideas.