Episode 1 Big Dreams Small Spaces

Do you dream of having your own special outdoor space?

A small garden which you can admire, enjoy and call your own.

And then you stop and think,

"I have no idea how to make it." Well, you're not alone.

Over the past year, Monty Don has travelled up

and down the country visiting amateur gardeners

and working with them to make their dreams come true.

He's cast a critical eye over their plans...

-Don't be too horrified, Monty!

-Everything is possible.

-I know it seems unusual.

-It's just profoundly unusual!

..and given advice.

-Just pinch that off.

-They took so long to grow!

He's got stuck in.

-Monty's gone in MY garden!

-Oh, my goodness!

And everybody has worked incredibly hard.

-Look at the size of that!

-The results are truly exciting.

It's really nice.

CHEERING

I do believe that everybody, however small their garden,

can cultivate a big dream.

This time, Monty is meeting two sets of amateur gardeners

who have high hopes for their own back gardens.

I know nothing about woodlands, nothing about trees.

We've never done anything like this before

and we probably won't do anything like this again.

Please!

From a wild wasteland...

He's on a warpath!

-What have I done?

-Were you angry this morning?

..to a treacherous slope.

Cutting the grass is a nightmare.

You've had a couple of close shaves, haven't you? Yes.

Will they succeed in building their dream?

I've never done a project like this before

and I think it is quite ambitious.

-We've got to live with it.

-Yes, for ever!

-Mm.

-Mm.

Our first garden is in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Owners Glenn and Zoe fell in love with the spectacular views

and snapped it up eight months ago.

It's our first house together.

So it's the house that, hopefully, is going to grow with us.

But at the moment the garden is completely unusable.

It slopes one way and it also slopes sideways,

so it kind of dips down in one corner.

There's very little level ground there.

There's a series of steps that are too small for you to walk

safely down.

-And it's not particularly nice to look at either, I don't think.

-No.

I like grass, but just to have grass and nothing else...

Cutting the grass is a nightmare.

He's had a couple of close shaves, haven't you? Yes.

The pair are desperate for a space they can enjoy with family

and friends without being worried someone might roll away!

It needs to be a garden we can sit in and enjoy being in.

It's got another important purpose this year, too.

-We also getting married at the end of the year.

-Yes.

We decided to grow something in the garden

that we can have at our wedding.

-In October.

-Yes. So...

I've got some leeks growing, how about them?

-They'll do, won't they?

-Mm!

Our second garden belongs to Nighat.

When she started looking for allotment plots

in the London Borough of Barnet,

she had an unusual reason for needing some outside space.

I'm renting this plot because I wanted a space for my bees.

A passionate beekeeper, Nighat's hives are being delivered in August.

But this plot isn't quite ready yet for its new inhabitants.

It's very pretty to look at but it's completely overgrown.

Weeds, the trees have overgrown.

For 30 years nobody has been looking after it.

It's going to be very challenging

and I have to clear up this place and see what's here.

Nighat is enlisting the help of all her family,

particularly her husband, Kausar.

It's quite a difficult terrain, but she's quite tenacious.

And she's set herself a mammoth challenge of creating

somewhere beautiful as well as functional.

I know nothing about woodlands, I know nothing about trees.

It will be a real learning curve for me.

As an environmental consultant, Nighat is a stickler for detail.

She's almost a perfectionist,

so when she makes decisions she looks at all the options.

I like to research everything as much as I can

and then I will make a decision.

It can be quite annoying for others but that's the way I work.

With spring in the air,

Monty is on his way to Salisbury to meet Glenn and Zoe.

We're trying to guess what he would drink.

We thought perhaps something organic,

like hot water with some mint leaves on it or something.

Yeah.

-Hello!

-Oh, hello!

-Hello.

-Zoe.

-Yes, Monty. Pleased to meet you.

Hi, Monty.

I've been to Salisbury a number of times,

-I've never been up looking over the city.

-We are quite high.

Fantastic! A beautiful view, but I suppose it means you have a slope.

-Yes.

-Quite a slope.

-There is a downside, literally.

-Let's go and have a look.

-OK.

-OK.

-Right, I see. So you've got a steep slope.

-Yes.

Quite a big flat area, though, at the top.

-And I guess these trees shade it out.

-Mm.

-Do they completely shade it?

-Not really, no.

I'd say about half to three-quarters.

Can I go down the bottom and look back up

-so I can get a picture of it?

-Yeah, do.

-It doesn't feel like you're going anywhere, does it?

-No.

-It's the road to nowhere.

-Yeah.

To make a small garden work,

you have to be ruthless about what you leave out, not what you put in.

-OK.

-And actually, the more you leave out, usually the better it is.

-Right.

-You just can't have the garden of your dreams

because it's not big enough to take it.

But you can have a dream garden.

There is a difference between the two.

We've also got a deadline that we've set ourselves,

-in that we're both getting married...

-To each other, I hope?

-To each other, yes!

-Yes.

-Thank you.

In the autumn, so we've got the impetus to try

and produce something, whatever that might be.

What is the date?

-24th October.

-Right.

-Yeah.

Intrigued by the challenge,

Monty is keen to look at Glenn and Zoe's plan.

The pair want to keep the existing patio area at the top of the garden.

They wish to extend the existing path

until it curves around the garden to a raised decking area.

They intend to create a further seating area at the opposite

corner of the garden.

They would like to use the bottom section of the garden

for shade-loving plants

and create more planting pockets at the top of the garden.

-My initial reaction is that it's not ambitious enough.

-Mm-hm.

You've drawn your blank canvas, then you've put on the wall

where it is, you've put on the path where it is.

Part of our problem is that whilst we were going with

the existing steps to take us down the garden,

but where are we going when we get down there? And there is nowhere.

See, I really think, from a garden design point of view, that this

-is really bad design, because it doesn't take you anywhere.

-No.

This is true.

It's done because it's the easiest way to traverse the slope.

Yeah.

For what it's worth, I think you should jettison this path

and everything to do with it.

OK.

It's a road to nowhere.

I would make this into two distinct terraces,

with a wall supporting them, parallel to the house.

The steps down, I'd take from the terrace...

At the moment,

it's the first time we've thought of having straight lines in the garden.

-I know, that's something I never would have thought of.

-No.

-No.

I don't know why. I don't know.

I'm quite surprised, actually, because I didn't think that...

-Why didn't we think of it?

-I think it would create more planting.

-Definitely.

-You'd definitely have more planting.

These have a lot more planting.

This top terrace has plenty of sunlight. It's not at all difficult.

The mood, you know, it could be subtle, it could be soft,

-it could be really strong...

-Yes.

Down the bottom you'd have a much more sophisticated

blend of plants, which essentially are woodland.

-Right.

-Because they're in semi-shade.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-What's your budget?

-ZOE LAUGHS

Well, we had a budget and we've kind of doubled it just in case.

-So it was...it's £2,000.

-Right.

-You'll spend 2,000.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Monty's idea involves keeping the existing patio area

and losing all the grass in the garden.

He suggests building two separate terraces with a path running

straight down the middle.

Losing the decking at the bottom to allow more

opportunity for extending the shady plants into a woodland area

and filling both terraces with lots of curvy, sinuous planting to

create interest when looking down from the top of the slope.

This garden gets ten out of ten for being problematic.

It's small, it's shady, it's on a very steep slope and the soil is...

really bad.

However...it's a lovely site. It's got a great view.

And I think one could make it good, but not using anything that's here.

For Monty to come in and say get rid of all the grass, that's stunning.

I would scrap the lot. Be radical. Start again.

This is our one main chance, and if we don't take full advantage

of Monty being here with us this summer, we're never going to do it.

-And we need to be happy with it.

-Absolutely.

-Because we've got to live with it.

-Yes. For ever!

-Mm.

-Mm.

A few days later and Monty is in Barnet to see if he can help

Nighat turn her ramshackle plot into a peaceful haven.

Hopefully, I'll get some really good advice from Monty.

He'll see the place, he'll see its challenges

and hopefully he'll roll up his sleeves and help me out a bit.

And the whole allotment are feeling excited.

I love Monty Don!

I think that's fantastic that he's coming here.

What's your primary desire here?

What I really want to do is actually keep bees.

I have kept bees,

and by pure coincidence I'm just starting to do so again this week.

-Wonderful!

-So I've got a swarm being delivered on Friday.

So I'm keen to learn from you.

But as I understand it, they need to be as south-facing as possible,

with an uninterrupted flight path.

I was thinking of positioning some hives at the end over there,

-where they would catch the morning light.

-What's it going to look like?

There should be a path connecting both these areas.

The other thing which I want are herbs.

And I want to grow things in patches.

-How much is this going to cost? What's the budget?

-£300-£500.

-OK.

But I'll see!

Before exploring further,

Monty is keen to work out exactly

what Nighat has planned for the space.

I love the way you've charted the sun.

Do you know, that's the first plan I've ever seen where

someone's done that.

It's so important and good.

Nighat plans to leave all existing trees on the plot as they are.

Following the contours of the land will allow her to find

natural pathways.

She intends to build a water feature at the top of the plot.

An area for hives will be surrounded with planting

to provide forage for the bees.

Further pockets of planting for vegetables

and herbs will be spaced around the plot.

-Your biggest problem is shade.

-The trees.

-What is a good time to prune them?

-Well...

the simple answer is about six months ago.

-Oh...

-But in practice, for what you're doing, just do it.

I mean, I could move the pond here, maybe. It gets more sun.

It would certainly get more sun. I mean, there is a commonsense thing

which is, if you have a pond at the lowest point in your garden...

Yes, it does make sense. I should know better.

..then it's going to drain better

and also it will be easier for light.

You must clear the excess nettles,

the excess growth from the trees, particularly at the lower levels.

And all rubble, hardcore, old wood and what have you.

Monty has had an even bigger idea for the planting scheme.

-How much do you know about permaculture?

-Very little.

Permaculture uses trees,

uses shrubs in clearings where you grow crops that need more sun.

You don't try and alter the basic conditions, so if it's desert,

you grow in desert, if it's woodland, you keep the woodland.

You've got your fruit trees.

You can have plants climbing up them, you can

-have low shrubs, you can have ground...

-OK.

It's almost a sort of idealised permaculture plot, isn't it?

Monty believes Nighat needs to clear the site properly

and remove all rubble, hardcore and nettles.

Prune the trees back to allow much more light into the space.

Move the pond from the top to the bottom of the garden.

Level the area and create a raised site for the hives.

Allow for pockets of planting which will thrive in a forest setting.

Use the natural framework from her trees to train vegetables

and berries.

Choose herbs and vegetables which will survive in this

unconventional allotment setting.

Just get back!

And Monty is determined to get cracking straightaway.

NIGHAT LAUGHS

He's on...

a war path!

-Now...

-Oh, dear.

-What have I done?

-Destruction!

Were you angry this morning?

Believe you me, this will grow back faster than you'll want it to.

-When you're pollarding, you can see these cut points.

-Yeah.

-By cutting back to there, it'll reshoot.

-OK.

Because you're letting light into this space.

-When you cut a branch like that, you always undercut it...

-Oh, really?

..like that...and then cut slightly away from the trunk.

..so that...

so that it doesn't tear.

There you go.

See, now light comes in here and this is a circle of light now.

Yes.

When I come back, you should have everything you want cleared cleared.

OK.

And then we can think about planting or maybe making a pond

-or whatever it is.

-All right.

I'm very aware that I seem like this terrible brute.

He's just destroyed the place.

But unless Nighat really gets stuck in and deals with

the problems on the ground, her lovely plans won't come to fruition.

One of the good things is that I can see how I can

position my beehives and what will be a good space to keep them in.

A little bit of applied brutality may be exactly what she needs now.

Tough advice from Monty.

Will Nighat be able to pick up where he's left off?

Back in Salisbury, Glenn and Zoe have had to do some rethinking

since their favourite gardener left.

Monty's suggested plan involved building two terraces with

a path straight down the middle.

I really was uncomfortable with that because it was too...boring.

So we've taken half of his suggestion but we've added to it.

Instead of having two sections that were going to be

symmetrical and exactly the same,

we've made a little path that sort of kinks off,

dog-legs at an angle, so that it adds a little bit more interest.

For the terrace, we're going to use wood blocks built with a peg system.

And they are relatively easy to put together.

Once you've got them level and square,

it's just like a big Lego set made of wood.

I think it's here.

-Oh, crikey!

-ZOE SQUEALS

I'm too excited!

Oh, crumbs!

Hope he's got a brake on that.

ZOE GASPS THEATRICALLY

SHE GASPS AND GIGGLES

The thing is with Zoe, you never know what she's thinking(!)

She's such a closed book.

SHE SQUEALS

SHE LAUGHS EXCITEDLY

Now all they need to do is to work out how to build them.

-So the peg would go in from that side...

-Yeah.

-It'll all become clear when we build it.

-So this is the whole thing?

Yeah.

Meanwhile, in Barnet, Nighat has got her friends

and family on hand to help get her site ready for the bees.

Today, we're going to level the place where the hives

are going to be kept.

She's taken Monty's advice and started clearing the plot.

But they've already come up against a problem.

We just found a lot of glass,

so we're just trying to remove as much as we can.

Are you OK?

I hope it wasn't a whole greenhouse!

That means there'll be plenty of glass!

There are layers and layers of glass...

With the glass removed,

they can now get on with building a raised wall for the hives.

-Put these in here.

-OK.

The rest of the allotment are intrigued.

How on earth is she going to put some bees into this little space?

She's using a plot which was not used for a long, long time.

It was considered as one of the difficult plots.

I think everybody is encouraging and making sure that she

gets as much help as possible to make the project work.

But before she can move on to the next stage,

Nighat needs to explore Monty's big idea for her dream garden.

So she and Kausar are off to Hampshire to find out how

they can turn their tiny plot into a productive paradise.

Chapel Cottages is a working forest garden filled with edible

and sustainable plants.

The owners, Maddy and Tim Harland,

are eager to explain how it all works.

-NIGHAT:

-Wow!

What we've tried to do with the forest garden is to emulate

the different layers of a native woodland,

which has a top canopy, middle canopy and ground cover.

So you think about the natural woodland

and how a natural woodland grows and all the niches and where

the light is, and then you swap it for edible,

useful or medicinal plants.

One of the problems I have is there's not enough

light in the plot I have.

One of the tricks of forest gardening is that you have

to plant at the right distances.

So if you're doing it from scratch, you have to think,

what will the mature canopy of that tree be?

Nighat's plot is not identical to this one,

but she can certainly use the same principles to achieve her dream.

If I was going to grow vegetables, I would want to do it

something like this, near the shed,

in a raised bed, in a no-dig system.

So if I'm starting from scratch, how do I go about it?

When I'm starting on top of grass or weeds, I would actually do

a whole layer of cardboard to totally suppress the weeds.

And then on top of that I would add garden compost, manure.

You're not double-digging,

you're not forking over the plot every spring before you plant.

Chapel Cottages also employ natural methods of pest control.

Slugs are delicate creatures

and they don't like crossing grit and spiky things.

We save all of our eggshells and we break them up.

I've got charcoal here, they don't like climbing on charcoal.

So we'll put the barbecue leftovers on it.

And trees are used as a natural framework for growing.

Here's a great example of an Oregon Thornless blackberry

which does well in a woodland-type environment.

It's using the apple tree there as a framework.

I think that's a really good idea.

Although it's a challenge to create an edible forest garden,

Maddy and Tim rely on certain plants which thrive in these conditions.

Apples, pears and figs can be grown

between the taller canopies of trees.

Shade-tolerant soft fruits, such as currants

and Japanese wineberries, flourish on the woodland edge.

Mint or wild flowers work as excellent ground cover.

But Nighat is already worrying about getting it right.

What if I get it all wrong?

I think I've got these plants which may not be appropriate for the area.

I just want them because I like them.

There's no harm in experimenting.

No, we experiment still and always try to push the edge of possibility.

-Sometimes you have to admit when you're beaten and nature wins.

-Yes!

One of the things I'd like to take back from this is

the stacking of all the trees, the shrubs and the ground cover.

I think it's brilliant. Some of the plants I'm not so sure what the names are.

We need a long list of names, definitely.

Oh, my gosh, that means shopping.

-Are you going to come and help me shop?

-I will try my best.

Which means you won't!

Since Monty's last trip to Salisbury two months ago,

Glenn and Zoe have radically changed their design.

They now intend to build two terraces,

with steps down the side

leading to a woodland area.

And they've already started the groundwork.

It's like a builder's archaeological dig, isn't it?

If you take that, take your pick. Ha-ha! Take your pick!

Glenn and Zoe's garden is such an extreme site

that the critical thing was that they acknowledged that,

and used it to their advantage.

Today, I want to see them tackle the site.

Until they've got their groundwork sorted,

nothing else can really happen at all.

I honestly have no idea what he's going to think.

-He might be appalled.

-He'll love it. He'll love it.

-You reckon?

-Yeah, yeah. He will.

-OK.

He'll say, "It's fantastic, Glenn and Zoe."

Let me get at it and let me help you dig it out, right now. Yeah.

Is this to do with the garden or the house?

It's to do with the garden and it's going to be our terrace walls.

Really? And how does that work?

It fits together very nicely with a peg and block system.

-To make a wooden wall?

-Yeah.

-Very good. Have you used it before?

I've seen it before and I've had a little practice,

but not used it before.

I'm not even seen it before, so I'm intrigued.

-Right, let's go and have a look.

-Good.

-Oh, you've been busy!

-Yes.

-Oh, yes.

What we've decided to do, when we first heard the word terracing,

we just think of two straight banks of brick or blocks or sleepers.

But we wanted to put this little kick in the path,

just so that when you look down the path, you can't see the end of it.

Oh, nice. Well, I like it. I like the fact that you've arrived at it.

-Because it's very different to what you originally planned.

-Oh, yeah.

-Hugely.

-Remind me what your overall budget was?

-We said it was £2,000.

-Right. How much did this system cost?

-Pretty much almost that.

-Give or take a few pennies.

-Just the wood itself.

So, with the budget already blown,

Glenn and Zoe have called in a few favours

to help get those terraces in.

We need to find the levels of the bottom of the trench.

We need to get rid of the spoil tips. Let's do it.

But it's not long before Monty discovers a problem.

There's a concrete pad here.

We can break it.

Yeah.

It's a ridiculous thing to say. But might it be easier to step up here?

-Glenn?

-Yeah?

-There's a decision to be made.

-Right.

-It's probably yours to make.

-OK.

There's some slabs in under here, they go way back.

We either have to dig this out, to go down another inch, or we step up.

Well, we'll step it up, then.

-Does that mean we've got to fill some in now?

-Yeah.

While the boys start to fill the trench back in,

Zoe steals Monty away to ask his advice on her seedlings.

This is nit-picky. It's a false economy not to fill seed trays up

-with compost.

-NOT to?

-Yes.

-OK.

Because the more compost you have in there,

the longer the root run can be. And the healthier they grow.

What I do is, I fill right to the brim then just wipe the excess off.

-OK.

-You notice how they're growing? They're all leaning to the light.

-Which means they're not getting enough light.

-OK.

So, if you can put them somewhere they get a little bit more light,

or turn them, at least once a day, they won't be craning their necks.

Your Rudbeckia, completely healthy, nice little plant.

If we take that out and have a look, nice root system there.

-That's ready to either pot on or plant out.

-Right, OK.

Ideally, in a pot, you just have whatever that is,

a centimetre of fresh compost for it to grow into.

Don't be temped to get the biggest pot you've got and think,

"That will grow enormous."

It won't do it any good at all. And it's a complete waste of compost.

When you're potting on, just put some underneath, not too much,

as I say, doesn't need a vast amount.

That's too much.

There we go, that's plenty. Like that.

And just gently filter round.

Yeah, give it a tap.

Oh, not that much!

This is just long and laborious at the moment.

Oh, sweet peas, great. Now, these you can pinch out.

-OK.

-You see that?

-If I go in there and just pinch above that...

-Oh, my goodness.

-Just pinch that off. There you go.

-OK.

I could even be more radical than that and go right down to there.

SHE GASPS

-But they took so long to grow!

-Go on, you do it. Be brave.

What you're encouraging are side shoots and a bushier plant.

-And you'll have more flowers for longer.

-I never knew this.

Time for Monty to see whether the troops have moved onto building.

I realise it's taking a long time, but it's for us two,

and I know we wouldn't be happy if it wasn't right.

Also, once you've got it right up to that level,

-then it will speed up hugely.

-Absolutely.

Setting aside the slow progress,

Monty persuades the pair to dream on with their planting.

Once we've put the structure in,

we're going to be left with three very definite areas.

We've got the area at the bottom.

It's really going to be a place to make a woodland...

-Which'll be nice.

-..spring bulbs, that kind of thing.

We'd like a sort of cottage garden, rambling, chock-full,

but to be able to intermingle vegetables in amongst that as well.

-And then the last one?

-A grassy prairie level.

-Cor!

-Sucks teeth in amazement!

-Well, in my opinion, you've got one too many elements there.

-Right.

My advice would be at this stage to drop one of those three things

because you don't have a big enough garden.

They would fight each other.

I think your advice makes sense, Monty.

That's twice Monty has told them to change their plans.

Will they listen this time?

I love this garden, because it's got real ambition.

And that's always exciting.

But I can see today that Glenn is disappointed.

Partly because this system he's bought into

is proving quite tricky to set up,

and partly because I think he wanted to show me

that it would work and we'd get more done.

The actual building of the garden has gone very slow,

very frustrating.

Still a lot more work to do,

but I'm sure Glenn will get there on his own!

The critical thing is, how will they put it together

so that they don't try and just cram it full of plants?

It's time for Monty to return to Barnet,

to see if Nighat has come any closer

to creating a sanctuary for her bees.

Since his last trip, Nighat has cleared the site and moved the pond.

Inspired by her trip to Chapel Cottages,

she has also started designing a forest garden.

When I was last here,

I left fascinated by what Nighat was attempting to do,

because make no bones about this,

it's really difficult transforming a horribly overgrown site,

and all kinds of rubbish in the ground, into an allotment.

I've dug a pond, which is more like a trap.

And he may have some opinions about that.

There's going to be an awful lot of physical work,

and some of it quite tricky. So I'm not sure what I'm going to find.

This is still my dream garden.

I'm really, really excited about what potential it holds.

And I think, I hope Monty can come and throw more light

and help me on the way.

Today, Nighat has got her daughter, Abia, with her.

Oh, I see that's starting to reshoot. I remember hacking away at that.

Yes. It grows really fast.

-And you've pruned this elder beautifully.

-Well, I got some help.

We took a lot of time over it,

because we wanted to make sure it had a nice character.

I'm not quite sure what you do want to do in terms of planting.

I'm not sure, I'm hoping you can help me.

Let's try and find some answers.

Determined to help Nighat decide,

Monty explores what's already growing in the garden.

-Oh, you've got lots here.

-OK, yeah.

-It's a bit rough.

What is this on the ground?

It's all over the place.

-Do you like it?

-Yes, it's nice, but it seems very invasive.

I'm thinking of taking it on the other side...

-No, no, no, don't take it anywhere. It's ground elder.

-OK.

One of the most invasive weeds you can have in your garden.

-I get more letters on how to get rid of this than anything else.

-Really?

To get rid of it, you'd have to dig it all out.

And because you've got trees and shrubs,

the roots will be entwined in the roots of those,

you won't get rid of it.

I would suggest keeping it and growing into it.

Monty looks for more clues in the herbs.

-You've got some oregano and thyme, and I love this one.

-Basil.

-And it's cinnamon basil.

-Basil is a tropical plant.

-I know.

So they like hot, rich, fairly damp.

Oops!

And they are completely tender. They will not survive any frost at all.

-Really?

-So if you plant them outside, that's absolutely fine,

but they'll just die as soon as there's a touch of frost,

-black, over.

-Really?

I mean, you've got, with great respect,

quite a curious mixture of plants there.

You've got Lewisia, you've got hostas.

Monty has spotted a major problem.

So far, there isn't much for the poor old bees.

Let me just be clear about what you need.

You're looking for a succession of flowers

-for your bees from early spring right through.

-Yes.

You want plants for shade, you want some herbs,

you want some sunny plants.

There's only one thing for it.

I think we should do some shopping. We owe it to ourselves and the site.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Right.

So, instead of taking her husband Kausar shopping,

Nighat is going with the nation's favourite gardener.

What do you think of this?

This is a Pyracantha, Firethorn.

-Mm-hmm.

-And you can see that it's got

-this mass of small white flowers.

-Yes.

-And bees love them.

-Yes, they do, I can see a lot of them.

I would have thought for you it was a really good plant,

and I would strongly recommend.

And how do I know about the health of the plant?

Well, you look at the plant. Does it look healthy?

Just to your eye, straight away.

To me, this looks like a perfectly healthy plant.

And then the next thing I would do, and I think you should,

-is turn it upside down and take it out the pot.

-Really?

If it falls apart, it means it hasn't been in the pot long enough

-for the roots to fill it up.

-Right.

And that is a very healthy plant.

You can see the roots have reached the outside,

it's not pot-bound, I would say an extremely well looked after plant.

-But Nighat is struggling to decide.

-Do you want both?

-Um...

-The bees would thank you.

-Maybe. Maybe I'll take them.

-Why don't you take both?

-OK.

Remember, we're buying flowers for spring, quite deliberately.

-So this is a spring flowering plant.

-Absolutely.

-OK, let's put that in.

-And I can't tempt you to go for that one as well?

-I...

I could take it.

Go on. You can never have too many plants in this life.

-I have to look after them!

-All right.

Ah, now, here we go, gooseberries.

-OK.

-Gooseberries and redcurrants, I would strongly recommend.

The last thing you want is inward growing growth,

you want outward growing growth.

So this has been pruned almost exactly wrong.

So it's been pruned just above a bud that's growing inwards,

whereas actually, that should be going the opposite direction.

In fact, none of these have been pruned well.

-Invicta's good, I grow Invicta.

-Are they for dessert?

No, Invicta is a cooking one.

Gooseberry fool, gooseberry pie, gooseberry jam. Gooseberry crumble.

There is no way of eating gooseberry that isn't a divine experience.

Looks like you're getting some gooseberries then, Nighat!

Onto the herbs.

-A little group of oregano there. Do you want that?

-OK.

How many do you want? You want more than one?

Maybe we'll just go for a few. Three. You'd go for three?

I'd go for 10 myself. I'm that kind of guy.

What about rosemary?

-I have one rosemary.

-But one rosemary is nothing.

-OK!

-Let's put another one in. There.

-No, come on, get more. You need...

Because you want lots of flowers,

-and you want great bushes of rosemary.

-No, it grows too big.

-Just one more.

-SHE LAUGHS

Looks like Nighat is as reluctant as her husband

when it comes to shopping.

-Thyme?

-I love this, I'll have a few.

What do you call a few? 15?

It says here, you get 10 for 15 quid,

-so we want to buy at least 10.

-All right.

Let's get more of this and more of the Corsican mint. OK?

I like... You see, you're coming round to my way of thinking. OK.

-Is this lavender?

-Yes. Take a tray.

-No, we're not.

-Why not?

I have to plant them by the tray!

That's no problem.

-They just go bang, bang, bang, in the ground.

-No. Four.

Fine. Four plants it is.

They're like an old married couple, these two!

Time to get planting. And Monty is feeling victorious.

-Aren't you grateful that I made you buy so much?

-I'm not so sure.

After it's planted, maybe.

Before we plant anything, place everything where you think

it might go, then stand back, move things around.

Then when you're ready, plant the whole lot.

-OK, that sounds good.

-So, let's start with big plants.

-About here?

-Don't agonise at this stage.

Near the willow, get it out there. This is putting paint on the canvas.

We're not trying to fine-tune it.

Lavender grows best, very good drainage,

full sunshine, alkaline soil.

Do you want to put some lavender behind

and then put the smaller herbs in front?

Yes, and I could maybe buy some more lavender.

You see, I was trying to tell you to buy it.

You should have bought a tray.

Perhaps Nighat should have heeded the voice of experience.

With placing complete, Monty sets about getting them in the ground.

But it's tougher than expected.

This is really terrible.

It's like planting into concrete.

Luckily, Nighat is on hand with her mattock.

-Everybody out of my way. I'm a bit clumsy.

-Very good.

-But Monty won't stop there.

-I want to help you plant one more thing.

-OK.

-I suggest the lavender, because that is completely different.

-And you're saying it's clay down below?

-Yes.

So if we dig out a much bigger hole than the lavender wants.

Now, at the bottom of the hole,

I'll put a handful of stone for drainage.

So we pop that in there like that.

And what that means is,

the lavender roots won't be sitting in a puddle, ever.

You don't need to add any compost beneath it.

-Right.

-Put it on top.

If you have a healthy, well-fed soil,

you will have a healthy, well-fed plant.

I think Monty was pleased, I'm not sure how much.

My one worry is that everything is a little bit over-intellectualised.

Over-debated.

And there are times when you just have to just act

and follow your intuition.

Monty was very ruthless about putting plants down,

put them down and then think. Do first and then think.

I'm just the opposite. We got a lot done. This would not have been done.

And with only eight weeks to go before the bees arrive,

can Nighat change her ways?

Summer is racing past and Glenn and Zoe really need to start

their planting if they're going to have any flowers for their big day.

So, they're off to Sussex to meet the gardener

and writer Sarah Raven at her home.

Perch Hill is an old dairy farm house with a garden entirely

dedicated to growing cut flowers.

Are you both completely clear about the difference between

-an annual and a biannual and a perennial?

-Bit sketchy.

If you could run through it, that would be great.

So, an annual is basically something that forms roots, leaves, flowers,

set seeds and dies within 12 months,

but actually often it's a lot less than that.

And a biannual, they are things that you sew in May and June

and they flower April, May, June the following year and then they die.

OK.

And a perennial is something that you plant

and it gets better and better every year.

Everything in the garden here is cut and come again,

because that means you get a huge amount of productivity

from a very small space. And if I just explain what that means...

with a plant like this salvia.

So, if you see here, if I cut out that leader there,

there's already another bud below it.

And so by removing that, you promote that development.

And so that becomes a flower in a week's time.

And so that's really what cut and come again means,

the more you pick, the more it flowers.

But you always want to pick immediately above a pair of leaves

because that's where the auxiliary buds will form.

But Glenn is concerned about their deadline.

What about October, will there be anything around to pick?

Yes, totally.

I mean, this garden, we have plenty to pick

from the middle of March until the middle of November.

And you just choose your sewing times.

That's the beauty of annuals, it's not like perennials

where they have this set flowering time.

With annuals, you can pretty much manipulate them.

I had no idea about that.

You read the back of a seed packet and it gives you a sewing time,

we've been looking at things, thinking, we've missed it.

So there's no point. But you're saying, no, just carry on and do it.

Yeah, totally. Yeah, you'll have plenty,

-you'll have really loads.

-Great.

Sarah wants to find out exactly what Glenn and Zoe want at their wedding.

What colours are you thinking of particularly?

Well, we're drawn to the purples,

that's a bit of a theme going through.

Do you like the Cerinthe?

-Yes, definitely like that.

-OK, well, you can definitely grow that.

That takes 10 to 12 weeks from sowing to flowering.

-And do you like that Salvia viridis?

-Yes, that's lovely.

Sew that now and that will definitely be flowering in October.

-What date in October is it?

-The 24th.

OK, yeah, that will definitely be flowering.

Let's just go for a wander

and find a few other things that you like the look of.

Sarah is confident cut flowers can be grown to suit every season.

She suggests planting sweet peas to flower in early spring.

Dahlias for a summer bloom.

Chrysanthemums for autumn colour.

And Daphne to create winter interest.

Glenn and Zoe have chosen a mixture of flowers and foliage,

including a rose called Rhapsody In Blue, salvia,

penstemon,

Euphorbia, and Cerinthe.

There's just enough time to create the perfect bridal bouquet.

Anything that you are a little bit worried that might flop,

and basically, to be honest,

everything here I think I would condition carefully.

I've stripped the bottom leaves off,

and then I'm going to plunge them in boiling water like that.

The point of the primary foliage, is what I call it,

is you literally want to feel that

you've got a circle of flower in the air.

So I think of it like a plant sieve hovering in the air

and then I can just slot things through the sieve,

and the sieve will hold it in place, the other stems.

If you're a gardener and you like gardening-y bunches of flowers,

then having six, it just works every time.

And three foliage, three flowers, it just makes it feel like

you've got a handful of your gardening.

So are any of those colours to do with your dress at all?

-None of them.

-Right, so, that's the biggest clue I've had so far, then!

-Right.

-I didn't know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it.

It's been better than I thought, I've learned so much from Sarah.

To think that we could have flowers like this at our wedding

in October is quite stunning.

-We'll see!

-OK, yes, watch this space.

Over in Barnet, Nighat and her daughter

were inspired by Monty's infectious enthusiasm.

Let's plant this one, OK?

And even when the going gets tough...

This is going to be a nightmare.

Danger, men at work! Man at work.

I'm not a man. What's this?

SHE LAUGHS

..Nighat is determined to push on.

It looks quite straight from here.

I think when you're close up, it feels like it's not as straight.

But from a distance it looks fine.

But after a few weeks of working hard,

she hits a problem with her new pond.

We dug it out, we lined it, we put the underlay, everything.

And then when we started filling it,

the problem was that the gradient on this plot is such that

one side is lower than the other.

Luckily, Nighat's son Hamza is there to help out.

He's going to try and help me level this pond.

We're going to try and use what's on site.

I've got some sand,

and I need some muscle power so I think he's the person for the job.

So, is it higher on your end?

We'll make it higher.

Oh, my gosh. We need more. Do you think it should go all the way?

-Should be fine over here.

-Shall we check?

I've never done a project like this before.

I've never made a pond, I've never had an allotment plot before,

and I think this is quite ambitious for me.

Let's just bring all of them in, circle them all the way around here.

And then we'll see...what happens.

You think we should use this?

Just maybe to make it smoother on the side?

Is Nighat dithering over her decisions?

I think I'm not that fussy about things,

but sometimes other people think differently.

Finally, between the two of them, they manage to level the pond.

She's really passionate about this place.

She's worked hard to try and renovate,

just completely change this place from what it was.

But perhaps Nighat has slipped back into deliberating rather than doing.

I usually plan that I will achieve three tasks,

and in the end I have only achieved one at the end of the day,

so obviously something's not quite right.

In Salisbury,

Glenn and Zoe have finally nearly finished the terracing.

I knew this would happen.

This whole devastation area that we've created,

and you think, "Oh, what have we done?"

-We have to go forwards because we can't put it back how it was.

-Yeah.

After meeting Sarah Raven

they have also completely rethought their planting plan.

When she showed us how to make the beautiful bouquet it was just...

It was a moment, it really was.

-I secretly wanted to go, but...

-Why didn't you say?

-I wasn't brave enough. I'll do it in private.

-OK.

You need to actually plant something first, I'm afraid, Glenn.

Our task today is to move everything down onto the beds

and place it all out, and have a play with layouts.

We've got a range of things.

So we've put some perennials, but we've got some annuals as well.

I think we need to put in the single plants first,

and then work the duplicates in around them.

Zoe has taken on board all of Monty's advice this time

and removed the prairie level.

Since talking to Monty, I think it's made us

more aware that there would be a better flow through the garden

if the same thing was happening in both beds.

But by controlling the colour I think I've clawed back

a bit of my original idea, in that I wanted a different feel.

-I'm just thinking there.

-Yeah.

There's nothing in it, really.

You're just moving it two feet to the right.

I'm moving it almost where it was.

Yes.

I think having it another couple of feet nearer the pathway won't make

-a huge amount of difference.

-No.

Unless we put it on this corner.

Go on, then. Give it a move.

Oh, this is going to get annoying, isn't it? Quite quickly.

What do you mean "going to?"

It could go...here?

-There? Or do you want it...?

-No, I don't want it there.

Oh!

-That was decisive.

-Cos then it's in a row, and I don't...

-You don't want rows.

-No, don't want rows.

-My bit's worked out OK.

-Yeah.

If the plants don't work out then it's your fault.

Right, no pressure then(!)

Now, now, you two.

I mean, there's no logic to where I just put that.

Some of them are easy to place, but some of them are just like,

-"Oh, pick a space."

-But these are the single ones, aren't they?

At this rate you won't have anything in the ground,

let alone at your wedding!

-What do you think?

-It's a good start.

If nothing else, it's a good start.

Yeah, I'm not 100% convinced, but that's annoying me now.

Do you want me to move it? We can move...

-CROWS CAWING

-Even the crows are laughing at that.

See?

Over in Barnet,

Nighat is also having a think about where to place plants.

But in her case it's vegetables.

When Monty first came he suggested growing beans and beans up trees.

And also when I visited, they used the vertical as well to grow plants.

So this mangetout, I'm going to grow it up this hawthorn tree,

and there is some sunlight that comes here.

But the ground is covered in hawthorn seeds

which could germinate and scupper the whole plan.

This morning I was looking at the internet

and I typed in, "Green hawthorn fruit.

"Will seed germinate?"

And the first thing that came up was a video,

and I said, "I recognise that person," and that was Monty.

And one of the things that was interesting in that video

was how to test whether the seed is viable or not -

whether it will germinate or not.

The best way that Monty suggested was peel off the flesh.

All you do is drop it in water, and if it sinks it is viable,

which means it will germinate.

And that sunk, which is bad news.

OK, let's try another one.

I think I need to remove all the seeds.

It's a bit annoying, and I think what is particularly annoying

is that there are more fruit up there,

and they'll be coming down.

So I'm not even sure whether it's worth doing anything.

Should I rake it or shouldn't I?

I have no idea what to do.

Maybe I should just take a chance.

That's the spirit.

Before the plants go in, Nighat has come up with

a handy system for keeping her plants watered while she's away.

This is a 15 centimetre pot.

And you need two of them.

This hole at the bottom, for one pot you're going to seal it.

So you take any piece of broken tile and all you do is you is

you apply some waterproof glue on it

and you seal it here at the bottom.

It's like icing a cake.

Just stick them together.

You need to apply some pressure.

The pot is now sealed the bottom, sealed at the rim.

This is going to be dug into the ground, and I'm going to put water

through here and hopefully it will just permeate out from the sides.

She's giving Monty a run for his money.

Oh, nice. Just fill it up with soil.

Looks like Nighat has finally stopped over-thinking

and over-worrying.

Whether Monty is pleased or not, it doesn't matter.

It would be nice if he likes it, but it doesn't matter.

No, it does...

Well, OK, shall I say it does?

It's a big day in Barnet.

The bees have arrived.

The bees are finally here.

I'm really excited about it.

They are agitated when you move them,

so what I'm going to do is place them in the final position

where I want them to be,

and then I'll open the foam which is in front so they can fly out.

But the next hive isn't as happy.

These are a bit livelier.

They're not happy at all.

They're buzzing away at the back.

Time to see if Nighat has done enough for the bees to stay.

So the bees are now trying to orientate themselves.

They're flying all over the place, they're mapping.

This is great because they're now trying to establish their bearings.

Success.

In Salisbury, the big day has arrived,

and Glenn and Zoe are putting the final touches to their garden.

We've never done anything like this before.

And we probably won't do anything like this again.

Please.

It wouldn't have happened if we hadn't met Monty.

Only four months ago you couldn't even walk out into this garden

without taking a tumble.

Now it has been completely transformed.

Well, look at this.

The garden has been divided into two separate banks,

with a clear path leading you to not one, but two

beautifully secluded seating areas.

Both of the terraces have been generously filled with

cottage-style blooms such as geraniums and penstemon,

which in years to come will fill out and tumble over one another.

And room has been carefully left for annuals,

which will spring up in perfect time for Glenn and Zoe's wedding day.

When I left I did think that it wasn't going quite to plan

and it was taking longer than you thought.

Once everything was all churned up and we were just working in this

sort of field of ditches everywhere,

we just had to keep going forward.

Remind me what your budget was.

We said at the beginning our budget was £2,000.

OK, and what was it in reality?

-I think we went to 2,600?

-Mm-hm.

And do you think the terrace was money well spent?

I think it was worth every penny, because it's done the job.

-And of course not costed in that are the hours of work.

-Yes!

-One of the aims was to provide flowers for your wedding.

-Yes.

Is that going to happen?

Yes, because we had a wonderful time with Sarah Raven

and we made such a fantastic bouquet with her.

Don't mess with perfection.

So I've just literally stocked the garden with everything that was in that bouquet.

There will be flowers at our wedding and they will be from our garden.

With Monty's approval,

it's time for family and friends to join the party...

including some who gave a helping hand themselves.

It's been nice to help a friend, and it's always been a dream of mine

to work with someone like Monty.

So all the boxes are ticked for me.

To Glenn and Zoe and the garden.

And long may it thrive and prosper.

-To the garden.

-ALL: Cheers.

I didn't know they were going to do this much.

I thought they were maybe just going to put in a couple of steps or something,

-but they've completely transformed the garden.

-Yeah.

Of course I'm impressed by what's been achieved here.

A really tricky space has been transformed,

and now it's a workable and lovely garden.

For him to see our garden and for him to be genuinely surprised,

maybe impressed...

-He said he was, so...

-Yeah.

It was the icing on the cake, really, wasn't it?

The bees are settling in happily at Barnet,

but the weather has taken a turn for the worse.

I've got a lot to do.

It's raining, it's not the best time to do these things.

I've got a few plants to put in,

got to tidy up the dead grass over here

and a lot of rubbish lying around.

And with Monty returning to Barnet for one last time,

Nighat is a bag of nerves.

I need to get on with it.

Quickly!

I though it was very brave of Nighat to take on this allotment site,

because it was completely overgrown and there were trees

and bushes everywhere, let alone all the rubbish and the weeds.

But the success of this has to be measured by productivity.

This is an allotment, and all the theories of forest gardening

and what have you don't matter if it's not working.

-Hello.

-Hello, Monty. How are you? Good to see you again.

I'm very well.

It's lovely to be here.

And this is looking enchanting.

When Nighat found this plot four months ago

it was a wilderness of nettles and rubble.

Now it is completely unrecognisable.

The ground has been totally cleared,

with defined borders splitting up each section.

Beehives sits happily on a level area, surrounded by lush planting.

A pond provides water for the bees

and interest for local wildlife.

Vegetables and herbs, such as chilli peppers and oregano,

have been planted to complement one another in this woodland glade.

What I love is the transformation from all the promise

that was there, it's now become a garden.

I know you were slightly surprised that

I was suggesting the volume of plants you might need.

Have you planted a bit more?

I've embraced it fully!

We realised probably we needed even more than what you suggested.

-I'm dying to have a look around.

-OK.

Remind me what your budget was.

Between £300-£500.

-How much have you spent?

-Well, I think £800-£900.

So £800-£900.

So you've gone about three times over budget.

Yeah, but then the plans became bigger.

Ah, OK.

You took this on as a terrifying prospect.

It was abandoned, it was full of rubbish, it was overgrown.

Most people would have run a mile.

Yeah.

-How do you feel about it now?

-I feel really good.

What is really special about it is that it hasn't finished,

and it's an ongoing project.

Time for the whole allotment to congratulate Nighat on her big dream.

Oh, this is good.

I'm in awe, absolutely.

They have turned the space around completely.

I want to raise a piece of cake

and eat it in celebration of the allotment.

Well done.

Thank you, Monty. Thank you.

I would say hats off to Monty.

He's got life into it now.

When we first saw the allotment, we thought,

"No way this is happening."

To see what it looks like now, it's incredible how much it's changed.

I really like what Nighat's achieved.

She's created this haven for our bees. That was the goal.

On this project I think we've worked really hard

over the last three and a half months, and we've learned so much.

By helping Nighat on this project I really got

very interested in gardening.

What she's managed to do is create a wonderful and exciting beginning.

Yeah!