Episode 3 Big Dreams Small Spaces

Do you dream of having your own special outdoor space?

A small garden that 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, OK, Monty.

Everything is possible.

I know it seems unusual.

It's just profoundly unusual.

And given advice.

-Just pinch that off.

-But they took so long to grow!

He's got stuck in.

Monty Don in my garden!

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 week, Monty will be meeting two sets of gardeners with very

different urban spaces.

There are dreams of the Orient from a couple in Kent.

I really like this mossy one.

As a Japanese thing, it would be significant.

So what is its significance?

And lofty ambitions in a tiny yard in Staffordshire.

There is not really anywhere you can grow out.

-We've been thinking up.

-Up.

Up, sure, dead right. You've got to go up.

Up as high as you can.

Monty will stretch their imaginations...

It looks like a caterpillar.

Well, that's fine. Yeah.

If it's a caterpillar, then maybe that's what it is.

It looks very heavy.

..and push their abilities to new heights...

Just wonderful. Love it.

Come on, this is good.

..to help turn these small spaces into dream gardens.

Come on in.

Our first amateur gardeners live in Bromley in Kent.

Mei An and Gerard both work in the fashion industry.

Passionate about DIY, they have been painstakingly restoring

their house to their exacting standards.

We've been in this house about two and a half years.

No, a year and a half.

Feels like longer.

We bought it untouched since the '70s. There was a lot of damp.

-It was kind of...

-A lot of brown.

A lot of brown.

And so we just basically ripped it all out and started again.

But there is one area they haven't tackled. Their garden.

It's never really been maintained.

We've got kind of a sunken bit just outside the kitchen

which is waterlogged.

And also, we've got this grotty little asbestos shed.

It's all just so chaotic at the moment.

All out of inspiration, they are really counting on Monty's help.

It would be really nice for us to just have a place to entertain.

I'm really excited about Monty coming

because he's kind of a hero of mine.

Him and Alan Shearer. For me, he's the Gardening Guru.

200 miles away, in Stoke-on-Trent, live artists Anna and Andrew

and their daughter, Rowan.

They settled on the street as part of a scheme bringing young

families into the area to revive the local community.

When we applied,

we had only just found out that we were having a baby.

-So we really had everything crossed.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

With a price tag of just £1 and a loan to make the place

habitable, their dream of owning a house finally came true.

-The scheme was just really perfect, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

But while their home may have been the bargain of the century,

the small garden, measuring just 15 metres square,

leaves a lot to be desired.

Really, it isn't a garden at all.

It's pretty much a concrete slab with some pots on it.

A little corridor, in fact.

Our big dream for the space is to do something completely

different to all the other back yards.

Yeah, so that you would not imagine that it was possible to even

grow so many things in such a small space.

They are thrilled to have Monty coming in to help

fulfil their dreams, but concerns are starting to creep in.

I'm a bit nervous in case Monty comes and just thinks,

"What on earth am I doing in this tiny back yard?"

And he might just think...

..we're bonkers.

Yeah. Hopefully not.

It's April. And in Bromley,

the first of our dreamers are getting ready to meet Monty.

Just excited to sort of meet him and see what he's got to say.

There's just so much to do.

It's just so daunting.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Gerard. Nice to meet you too.

This couple have fallen in love with the idea of a Japanese garden.

Mei An's mother is from Malaysia,

but it was Gerard who came up with the Eastern idea.

-So this is it?

-This is it.

I lived in Japan a couple of years ago

and I was just wandering around there.

Especially during April, I was there during the cherry blossom

and it's just amazing.

-And we've got a lovely cherry tree.

-Yeah.

So it's come from that.

I want somewhere that's kind of peaceful.

Somewhere that is...has some sort of, I guess, Zen appeal.

But also, it's...

At the moment, it's just on two really kind of harsh levels.

So we wanted to push that back and lower the top level.

You want to dig this back here?

We're not quite sure what's actually feasible, you know. And manageable.

Well, I mean... Anything is feasible.

Years and years ago,

I used to work on building sites where we would...with a stick

and shovel, dig out spaces the whole size of this garden.

Before we go any further, what sort of money have you got?

-What's your budget?

-About 5,000.

-Yeah.

And what about labour?

-Family and friends and that's it.

-You?

-I think we are both going to do it.

-Well, that's important.

If you are both prepared to do it, that will save you a lot of money.

-So £5,000 is actually quite a healthy budget.

-Yeah.

In the area outside their kitchen,

Mei An and Gerard plan to make a large pond.

Fed by a waterfall cascading from

another pond on the level above.

The steps are being shifted to the right and will turn

into a stone path, leading down the garden to a contemporary teahouse.

Traditional Japanese planting will complete the look.

But it's soon clear they don't always see eye to eye.

Japanese-style building. What does that mean?

-Japanese tea house.

-Japanese shed.

-Japanese shed?

I think it was more like an office space or some sort of hut

with a little terrace.

I don't particularly want a building down there.

I think it needs something at the end.

It could be just a very simple space. Just somewhere to sit and be.

I mean, that's fine.

Are the plans for the pond any more defined?

-It seems to me you've got the idea you want water.

-Yeah.

And you've put it there because that's where you think it should go.

And you haven't really related it to anything else.

I'd never really envisaged there being a water feature initially.

It's Gerard's idea to sort of put that in.

So that's not sorted either.

Never mind. Monty has bigger thoughts.

And let's...let's...

be a bit more radical.

There's nothing stopping you having a river running down through,

going down a waterfall, into a pond outside the kitchen.

-It's only moving water.

-Yeah. Sure.

-What it does...

is it clarifies the theme. OK, it's a path and a stream.

-And that's the structure.

-Yeah.

I think it could be really lovely.

Finally something they can agree on.

The plan might sound very ambitious but Monty is confident it will work.

The upper pond will be replaced by a stream

snaking its way along the full length of the garden.

And flowing into a pond on the lower level.

The path will become curved,

intertwining with the stream,

and will incorporate the Japanese elements of bridges

and stepping stones.

And the overbearing teahouse will become a simpler,

but still beautiful, meditation space.

-Shall we block it out?

-Yeah, let's do it.

-What have you got?

-I've got spray paint, hoses.

Let's do one with the hose and one with the spray paint.

Right, let's have the hosepipe.

Hosepipes are a nightmare.

Ooh!

This spray paint stream and hosepipe path are actually starting to

show Mei An and Gerard what their garden might look like.

If you're walking comfortably, that's fine, isn't it?

Well, it's not a thing of beauty.

But you can start to see the idea.

I'm much happier, actually, than I was this morning.

By gaining the stream. So, yeah, to me it works better.

It's a difficult ask.

If they want to make a beautiful Japanese garden -

and of course they do -

then they are going to really have to apply themselves.

Because it's one of the toughest styles to do.

Having given our Bromley couple lots to think about,

Monty heads off to Stoke.

He's accustomed to moving mountains of mud.

So this patch of crammed concrete might come as a bit of a shock.

-Hi, I'm Andy.

-Nice to meet you, Andy.

-This is Anna.

-Hi, Monty, I'm Anna. Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Is this it?

-This is it.

-This is our yard.

-The full range of your rolling acres?

-It is.

-It is.

-This is our little yard.

-What can't be avoided, it is really tiny.

Um, so... What do you want from it?

We really want to maximise what you can do with such a tiny space.

We have a little girl who is 16 months old.

-So we want the space to be somewhere that...

-She can play.

-Yeah.

But also, we want to make somewhere we can sit together.

And we also want to make it into a tiny oasis for wildlife as well.

SHE LAUGHS

Not too many things.

It's the wildlife bit that may be really difficult,

because the nature of a good wildlife garden is it's full,

it's unruly, so you have to edit expectations.

I would suggest that somewhere pleasant to come and sit

and play and eat would be enough.

Obviously, because it is so small and there is not really

-anywhere you can grow out, we've been thinking up.

-Up.

-Sure.

Dead right. You've got to go up.

Up as high as you can. I mean, I would cover every wall.

Yeah, we would really like to try both a green wall

-and a green roof as well.

-Yeah.

-What, this roof here?

-Yeah.

That's one of the things that we don't know

whether or not it's possible. And we do have a limited budget.

What is your budget?

-Under £1,000, really.

-Right.

But we are quite good at sourcing free things and reusing,

-recycling...

-Reclaimed.

-I think that's great.

-But actually, under £1,000 is not at all scary for a space this size.

-No.

Yeah.

-If you had said 50 quid, then we've got problems.

-Yes.

We've got a few rough sketches and some books and things together.

-Yeah.

-I'd love to see them.

-OK, brilliant.

This is some of the ideas that we had about what we'd like to do.

-Obviously, there you've got green roof idea.

-Yeah.

And then we were thinking of almost a ladder system

to get access to the green roof.

Yeah, it might be a bit...

-fanciful.

-But you could make that?

-It could be something I could make.

I mean, I like that. I really like it.

Then, this along the back wall there,

could we make this entire wall green?

You could get really lovely clematis.

Anna and Andy want to make a green roof, accessed by a system

of ladders and shelves which will also house plants and artworks.

Along the narrow passage, they are planning a living wall.

And in the back corner, they'll build a herbaceous border.

But Monty has different ideas.

The living wall should be relocated

to the more manageable surface at the back.

And only use ferns, which are perfect in the shade

and give an exotic look.

They should do away with the herbaceous border.

And finally, along the passageway, they should stick to soft clematis,

that can be kept pruned back.

It seems to me that you have a series of projects.

Don't start any of them

until you've absolutely nailed the technical side of it.

It's a very small space. So you've got absolutely no room for error.

-Yeah.

-Everything is going to be on show, isn't it?

-Yeah. Absolutely.

I tell you what, I want to see it.

-You are now duty-bound to do it because I want to see it.

-Oh, good.

-Great.

-THEY LAUGH

It was quite exciting to have Monty back here in our yard.

I confess that when I first saw that tiny yard...

I felt a bit daunted.

There was really not a lot that you could do with it.

-I think he was a bit shocked at how tiny it is.

-Yeah.

He is quite tall, isn't he?

But having seen the plan, I feel very confident

that they will do something extraordinary with it.

The critical thing is that they have to get the details right.

In a small space like that, there is no forgiveness at all.

In Bromley, Mei An and Gerard's elaborate plans

for their Japanese garden have gone full steam ahead

and they've completely cleared the space.

The old steps are history.

And to construct the new ones,

Gerard's rustled up some Victorian cobblestones.

I like the fact that they are old and it's been a road and it's had

horses and carts and stuff like that driven over it.

Back in the 21st-century, it's dawning on Gerard that Monty

has left him quite a bit of work to do.

Monty left and I was like,

"Oh, my God, what have we got ourselves into?"

There is just more to do than I really thought,

to shape the banks of the stream all the way down the garden,

to put the pump in, to put the water in, to run the power.

-Nightmare.

-HE CHUCKLES

But the amount of work isn't Gerard's only concern.

He's got a tough foreman to impress.

Mei An will come home tonight

and she will probably get the spirit level out

and the first thing she'll do is she will put it on the steps

and go, "Oh, the steps aren't straight."

Yeah, she's the perfectionist. I'm not. I just sort of do it.

Yep, not level.

HE LAUGHS

Nowhere near level.

Right on cue, Mei An's back from work and it's inspection time.

Wow!

THEY LAUGH

You've been busy.

Wow. Cool.

-No. Not really.

-You've got some steps.

Yeah, do you like them?

-They look pretty neat.

-Yeah.

-By your standards.

Obviously I've got to tidy them up.

We hadn't actually carved the proper steps, had we?

So...

-Maybe it wasn't the right...

-No, we hadn't.

Gerard seems to know what's coming.

-OK, perhaps I can help you do that.

-Yeah, perhaps you can.

Yeah, they are supposed to do that as well.

-They what?

-They are supposed to sort of shift that way.

-You've got to get down and look at it.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, they do.

-Yeah.

I was so excited about you coming home, perhaps I rushed them.

When it's not right, it's not right.

Oh, no. All that hard work and it's back to the drawing board.

It's just a really higgledy-piggledy rock.

It's May,

and time for Anna and Andy to work out the details for their

small space in Stoke.

Monty has arranged a visit to the most famous horticultural

event of the year. The Chelsea Flower Show.

Garden enthusiasts flock here to celebrate

and be inspired by the world's very best gardeners,

who have taken their craft to an art form.

I've invited Anna and Andrew to Chelsea Flower Show

because I'm hoping it will inspire them

to let their artistic side really have full rein.

-You've found your way through. How are you?

-Hello.

-Well done.

I've brought you here

because it is an opportunity to see different styles of work.

On little gardens.

So we'll start in a very modern garden and then we will go

and see something more conventional later.

-Come with me.

-OK, great.

The first garden is called Dark Matter and is

a lesson in taking a complicated concept and bringing it to life.

I think what I like about it is

it shows that a garden, and it is a garden,

can be an installation, it can be whatever you want it to be.

There's a lot of elements in here that I can see are sort of my thing.

In particular, this. The large bowl, the planter.

If you put your hand in, look, it recesses inside, do you see?

-It's concrete.

-Is it?

-Painted to look rustic.

-I was wondering.

-Yeah.

We've already started thinking about using corrugated iron

but leaving it quite raw.

-Yeah.

-So this feels really, really right.

This is very different.

Stylistically, it could hardly be more different.

I've brought you here for two reasons.

One thing is the use of colour. The planting is very vibrant.

And doing all kinds of things with colour.

The second thing is the structure.

I know you were saying you wanted to build this unit.

This is not at all what I imagine to be the same style or the same

materials, but to show the height.

And you can build something that works.

I feel like the last garden was exactly your sort of style.

And this one is everything that I like in terms of the planting.

And it just feels really warm and inviting.

Use of kind of recycled tins, tools, I can imagine that's something...

-Lots of found objects.

-Right. So found material?

Yeah, I was noticing the sempervivums.

-Is that what they're called? Over there.

-Yes. In the trunk.

Yeah, and that's really lovely.

Just to think that even something which you wouldn't

think of as a pot can become a pot.

Any container, as long as it can hold soil and has got some drainage,

anything, I've potted plants up in old pairs of boots, you know?

It's really difficult what you're trying to do.

Really not easy to make a small garden.

I think you've really got to look at yourselves as artists

and craftspeople, not as gardeners.

-That's the way you'll make a good garden.

-Yeah.

-It's great. Thank you.

-Good.

Well, the important thing is now, wander around,

-absorb as much as you can. And enjoy it.

-Thank you.

I think Monty seems to have really understood what

we were trying to achieve through the two gardens that he took us to.

-We could incorporate the mesh as well, couldn't we?

-Yeah.

Today has been perfect.

Really good in terms of, you know, giving us more ideas.

You really can smell it, yeah. Sniff.

'My head's a bit too full at the moment.'

I can't quite work out what to do now.

I feel a bit like, "Wow, there are so many things we could do."

-But I think just giving it a little bit of time...

-Yeah.

..we'll filter those now

and then incorporate a few of the elements that we've seen today.

It's June, but in Bromley,

there's no time to stop and enjoy the sunshine.

Mei An and Gerard decided on a Japanese theme.

They are following Monty's ambitious suggestion to build a stream.

But it's still looking a long way off.

I'm just burying the final pipe...

..for the water that will return back up to the top of the garden.

It's been pretty full-on.

Today, I really ache.

Before, the garden sloped the wrong way,

so I had to move a lot of soil from that end to this end.

It is relentless.

The thing I'm worried about is that we do all the stuff

and the stream won't work. It's just going to be a trickle.

When is Monty coming to dig his bit of the stream?

All right?

HE CHUCKLES

At this point, most people would bring in some muscle to help out.

But Gerard has gone for a slightly different solution.

Adam is helping us. He has done quite a lot, actually.

He's my young garden apprentice.

And the project has caught his mum's attention too.

It's very exciting.

I was quite surprised when he said it was a Japanese garden,

but I understand that they are going to do a little stream.

So, yeah, that will be interesting to see what actually does happen.

Good man. I'll pay you later.

What did we say? Five stones?

No, £5.

-LAUGHING:

-£5.

50p.

Thank you. Thank your mum.

In Stoke, it's been a few weeks

since Anna and Andy's trip to Chelsea.

They've had a chance to reflect on their experience.

Being with Monty at the Chelsea Flower Show

there seemed to be like this wake of hushed voices of,

"Oh, he's Monty Don. It's Monty Don."

Don't have a great amount of experience horticulturally.

So Monty stressed the importance of us approaching our ideas as artists.

It's probably the best way for us to work with our space.

It's a little space and they've got little time.

So Andy gets going in the garden.

We've made these planters out of industrial materials

and reclaimed corrugated tin sheets.

They will eventually have three planters across the wall.

These planters down here, they are all going to have a mixture of

climbers and bedding plants in.

What I'm planning on doing with the tops is,

I've got some hazel, which are quite flexible,

and we're going to bend them along the top

and we're just going to form a quite nice, smooth surface.

These are from a coppiced hazel

that grows each year.

And it's free to a good home.

Andy cuts the hazel and fastens into place.

Next, the planters need to be lined with landscaping fabric.

It's the perfect material for planting in unusual places.

Once it's got compost up to that level,

we'll be able to fold that over and it forms a bit of a weed barrier.

Wow! Look at that!

That's nice, isn't it?

I think it looks really good.

-It's quite shallow. Actually...

-We haven't got space.

Yeah, it means that we can get by still quite easily.

With a little help from Rowan, they are nearly done.

Now come round this side and put this straight back in, OK?

The only thing to do now is to introduce the plants

to their new home.

One there.

That's if Anna can find them.

Um, and then...

It's...

that one there.

Can I pass this to you, Anna?

Give that to Rowan.

I think that's a pretty good start, that.

Mei An and Gerard are well on their way

with their Eastern-inspired space in Bromley.

But they are keen to learn more about Japanese gardens.

So Monty has sent them to Compton Acres in Bournemouth.

Charlie, the head gardener, is here to help them.

-Lovely to meet you.

-You too.

If you'd like to follow me, we'll have a look around.

This garden dates back to the 1920s and is formed around a central pond.

Water is a key element in Japanese gardens.

And it's certainly going to play a big part in Mei An

and Gerard's design.

But it's not just about the water. It's how you cross it.

These bridges here are important because they are staggered.

Folklore would have it that spirits could only travel in straight lines.

So pathways are often staggered or curved to prevent

spirits from crossing gardens.

And the frog just behind us is sat in water, laughing at the spirits

-because they are frustrated that they can't cross the water.

-OK.

Our miniature river is quite narrow. It's a foot wide.

I think we've got enough space for one stepping stone.

Can we, you know, use this idea in the path maybe, or...?

Yeah, of course.

The staggered pathways can be used either over water

-or just through the garden.

-OK.

Charlie is also keen to find out what plants they are thinking of.

Do you have differing opinions as to what should go in there?

I think we agree on what is pretty,

but then I'm maybe more...practical, I suppose.

-Yeah, I'm perhaps a bit more extravagant with my spending.

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

No Japanese garden is complete without a pine tree.

The main element is the very twisty, gnarled trunk.

They've got symbolism for longevity in the garden.

So they've got a lot of importance.

Charlie explains that in smaller gardens, slow-growing miniature

pines can give the Japanese look but on a more manageable scale.

We haven't really talked about the pine, have we?

-No.

-I think I'd like to have a pine.

-Yeah, I agree, because...

-They smell nice as well.

-Fragrant.

-It's beautiful.

It seems like Compton Acres has definitely worked its magic

and enchanted Mei An and Gerard.

-'It's amazing.

-The smell.

-It's nice and tranquil.

-The smell, the sound.'

-It's just like being in a dream.

-It's just quite lovely.

My only fear is that we can't take this sort of magic

and take it back to Bromley.

I thought I was on top of it until I came here.

It's July, and in one tiny

Stoke yard, big changes are afoot.

Anna and Andy's garden is

so small they're having to go up rather than out.

Starting with the green roof.

Task one - build a strong wooden base.

He is amazing the way he approaches projects like this.

It doesn't seem to faze him at all when actually, I think,

"God, that's quite a big deal."

Once the wood is up, Andy covers it in a waterproof layer of plastic.

This is a little bit like wrapping a giant present.

Except on a roof.

On a slope. In the wind.

Despite the tricky conditions, Andy gets through the prep work.

Now all they need is the nation's favourite gardener to pop by

and lend a hand getting the job finished.

There is no way around this. This is a truly tiny garden.

But it can take big ideas.

And what I'm hoping is that Andrew

and Anna will unleash their creativity into it

and will create a garden where they can relax and enjoy it.

-Hello. How are you?

-Hello. Nice to see you.

Well, you've been busy.

To make their green roof, Anna and Andy have ordered some

material impregnated with thousands of sedum plants.

I must be clear.

There is going to be an element of the blind leading the blind here.

I've helped plant up a couple.

I've never made one from scratch. I don't have one at home.

Well, you had better learn quickly, Monty, because the roof has arrived.

-It's here. Wow. Look at that.

-That's great.

-It's a real mass, isn't it?

-It is, yeah.

OK, let's get practical.

If we get a length of it up and get one,

-we'll find out how to do it.

-OK.

-All right.

-Ooh.

-Oh.

Are you going in first?

It looks very heavy.

Very good.

Getting it to the roof was one thing,

but it seems that the matting might not measure up to the task.

We are 5cm short.

So what I suggest is we put it up and then see what we are left with.

OK, if you can go up the ladder...

I will push it up to you.

I tell you what, I think it looks just wonderful. I love it.

Good. That's... Come on, this is good.

MONTY GRUNTS

Careful, Monty.

I just got a face full of dirt.

THEY LAUGH

That's it.

Of course, sedums are succulents, they'll last for weeks

if not months without any moisture at all.

They need practically no nutrition. So this layer of soil is plenty.

-Right.

-The felt will hold enough water for them.

It's a beautifully simple and effective set-up.

Lovely. Let's get the next one up.

Up a bit.

It looks like it's going to be a nail-biting finish.

I think we might have enough.

I think it's just going to be slightly under.

I can see it's going to be frustrating.

With the final piece of the jigsaw in place,

they are so near and yet so far.

-That's not bad.

-That's not bad.

And it looks just wonderful.

I'm...really happy with it.

I think you should be.

Aw, it looks lovely.

I don't see how it could be better.

-Do you?

-No.

-No.

-Not at all.

With one job ticked off, there is no time to rest on their laurels.

Andy is also making a structure to support Anna's living wall.

The way we want this to look is that it sort of feels

a bit like a dry stone wall.

So basically, we are just taking the pieces

and putting them to the front.

Then we are going to pack the back with soil.

-Then put plants where we think they might go?

-Yeah.

-I think so. Yeah.

-Come on then.

I like it.

The living wall is in a rather shady spot in the garden.

So Anna has chosen to fill it with ferns and something a bit fruitier.

-That's a wild strawberry. We will put one in here.

-OK.

-If that's like that...

-Yeah.

-That will grow fine.

-And then we'll put more soil over the top of it.

-OK.

Wild strawberries will grow in quite a lot of shade.

-Will they?

-Yeah. No, I use them underneath hedges.

And they grow and the spread and they are delicious.

Those little jewel-like fruits.

If we put one in there, in that gap, is that going to fit? OK.

I think it will.

There we are.

That's there.

Other plants that do well in the shade include periwinkles,

St John's wort and lily of the valley.

-That's all right.

-I think that's OK.

We'll put a bit more of that in. There we are.

As the plants go in, the wall is coming to life.

Next, the ferns.

-Into a wall or crevice, those are good-sized plants.

-Yeah.

They are really good because you can squidge them in.

-They're small, they'll grow fast, and they're cheap.

-Yeah.

-I love those. I think they're really pretty.

-Yeah. So let's...

When we first saw the house, it was completely derelict.

And there were ferns growing on the inside of the house.

-So, in fact, it connects very directly.

-Yeah.

-It's meaningful to you.

-Yeah.

-And it's going to make an interesting, beautiful garden.

-Yeah.

-Not many people can say that about their garden.

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow.

That's... Yeah, that's perfect, isn't it?

It's been a pleasure.

And when I come back, this is a small space but I'm

looking for a big transformation, which I know is there.

I can feel it. Thank you for a really enjoyable day.

-Thanks so much for your help.

-I've had a nice time.

-Thanks so much for your help.

-Good.

What really matters is that Anna

and Andrew have taken possession of the garden.

Because they are giving themselves to it and are doing things

exactly as they want to, their garden has now come alive.

Today's been really, really good. It's been a really fantastic day.

I think both myself and Monty have learned stuff today.

Doing the green roof job,

that was really...quite impressive how well, that worked out.

So I'm really happy with that.

Whilst Monty has been in Stoke helping Anna and Andy,

Gerard has been hard at work on his Japanese garden.

He's been preparing his stream and now it's time to see

if he can make it work.

His father, Gerry, has come to lend a hand.

But there's already a problem with the rubber liner.

OK. Should've got more rubber.

HE CHUCKLES

The problem is, this thing is almost twice the width we need.

We're not quite sure whether it's fully twice the width and

we can cut it in half, or whether that would leave us a bit skimped.

As always, Gerard wants to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

All right?

-Good.

-That's...

-That's for better or worse now.

Look at that. Anyone would have thought I'd have measured it.

THEY LAUGH

Get the impression with Gerard that he doesn't really plan things,

he just gets on and does them.

But he seems to work so long and hard that he gets them

done anyway, so, yeah. It's his way of working, not mine, but...

Yeah, having Monty Don come next week to have a look at your

garden does kind of get you out of bed and get you working on it.

There is one final test.

We're at a turning point.

So now it's kind of downhill, hopefully.

-Literally.

-HE LAUGHS

Baby nephew, Johnny, is here to check over proceedings.

We're going to test the water now, just to make sure it flows down.

Turn the water on.

Come on.

Here comes the water.

JOHNNY SQUEALS AND GIGGLES

It's coming. It's coming.

-Very good so far.

-I'm happy it's flowing.

There's the first puncture in the rubber.

HE LAUGHS

Up in Stoke, Anna and Andy haven't got as far as they'd hoped.

Ever the artists, they are trying to create a special, paved floor.

These are quite traditional. Especially in Stoke-on-Trent.

So we've been to a reclamation yard.

They've come from somebody's back yard.

And now they are going back into someone's back yard.

I think we are under a little bit of pressure at the moment.

There is still one of the biggest features of the design

to be done, which is the shelving.

Yeah. Yeah, a fair bit of pressure, I think,

to get it done in time. But we will crack on with it.

Monty never said it was going to be easy.

-Oh!

-You OK?

-Yeah.

What do you think so far?

Oh, it looks really good. I love it.

Just makes it completely different, doesn't it?

-Great.

-Well done. So we've just got about another 700 to lay.

-Yeah. Around that.

-Yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

It's August, and Monty is returning to Bromley to see

if he can give Mei An and Gerard a bit of help.

But there is a hint of apprehension in the air.

The stream looks particularly disappointing today.

What with all the rain, it kind of looks like a...

..a drain.

Gerard may be feeling nervous, but with a lot of hard graft,

they've already totally transformed this space.

When we first spoke to him it was like,

"Oh, we are going to have a little pond."

Then by the end of the day, it was like,

"Oh, we're going to have a stream."

I'm worried that he'll think the stream is too big.

I think when we laid it out with a hosepipe that day it

-was like this big.

-I forgot about that.

-Now it's like this big.

I know that Gerard and Mei An have gone to a lot of trouble to

be authentic to Japanese gardens.

The important thing is that they make a garden

that is true to themselves.

What I really want to achieve is to give them

the confidence to do their own thing.

This is completely transformed.

Yeah.

You've changed the angle, it seems to me.

Yeah, the garden actually sloped the wrong way.

-So you've changed the slope?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Simply by digging out and shifting the soil down?

-Yeah.

-Crikey.

-So, a lot of work.

-Yeah.

And the stream is a pretty sort of major event, isn't it?

Yes, it is. I don't think we really envisaged it being this big, but...

-It grew.

-It grew.

Always with ponds and streams,

they look much bigger before you finish them.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

To me, that's not a problem.

The challenge with this garden is that there are

so many elements to consider.

So Monty is going to take it piece by piece.

Starting with the positioning of their stones.

-This stone here...

-Mm-hm.

..to be true to the whole Japanese idea, should be in the water,

because if you think the water has rounded it and worn it away...

So the rougher the stone, the further away from the water it is.

The smoother the stone, the more in the middle it is.

That's a basic principle.

What you could do at this stage is start getting your larger stones

-and putting them at key points.

-Mm.

-Sure, yeah.

Then from that, you do the smaller ones. And so it builds up.

Let's get going. It'll be good.

This is the perfect opportunity for Mei An and Gerard to get a picture

of how their stream might look before they set anything in stone.

Quite literally.

Now, that is perfect for going in the water.

That...yeah.

See, that's the spirit. That's exactly right, yeah.

Just see how that goes.

I really like this mossy one.

But, as a Japanese thing, it would be significant.

So what is its significance?

Is it marking a turning point, a bridge?

Yeah, you see, that's doing a good job.

If you want the water to be calmer, you have small stones.

And that just makes the whole thing much smoother.

If you could put a bucket of small stones where you want

the bridge to be, let's see what it looks like.

Strongman. Just tip them in.

Slowly but surely,

the stream is starting to show a bit of Eastern promise.

-You are going to have to get more stones.

-Yeah.

I think what this has begun is, it's giving it

a kind of dynamism of its own, rather than a bit of building work.

Yeah, yeah.

Next, Monty turns his attention to shaping

the hedge in a Japanese style, using a technique called cloud pruning.

Cloud pruning is simply taking a hedge and instead of cutting

it nice and square and straight, you follow the lines.

It's called cloud pruning because it looks like a cloud.

There are certain key things to point out.

Do you see how here the growth on the top is much longer than

the growth at the bottom?

-That's because it's shading it out.

-OK.

So, in principle, it doesn't have to be every bulge,

-but in principle, the bottom wants to be wider than the top.

-OK.

But if you want it to be nice and healthy and strong

and thick at the bottom, you need to make it shallower.

-The final thing is that when you prune in summer...

-Mm-hm.

-..you tend to restrict growth.

-OK.

-When you prune in winter, you tend to promote growth.

-OK.

So in winter, you cut the weakest bits hard.

-And in summer, you cut the strongest bits hard.

-OK.

-Can I do some? Or do you want to do it?

-Of course.

So, when we're cutting, we're just clipping in that.

We are following the line of the curve.

Cutting that back a little bit harder.

We are going down into there.

-Do you want to grab another period of shears?

-Sure. Yeah.

-And just...

-Start going.

-Yeah, just start going.

And why not?

This head is shrubby honeysuckle.

Its tiny leaves make it perfect for cloud pruning.

And with practice,

some extraordinary results can be achieved.

You are going to have to cut this at least three times.

I would cut this in May,

July, early August,

and then again in September or October.

Wow, you guys have been busy.

Well, it's really easy and really good fun.

-It looks like a caterpillar.

-That's fine. It's... Yeah.

If it's a caterpillar, then maybe that's what it is.

Have fun. Enjoy it.

I like the way he works.

You know, he just kind of gets stuck in, which is

kind of how I like to work.

-Bye-bye.

-Thanks, Monty.

-Bye.

-See you soon.

I'm very impressed by the amount of work that Mei An

and Gerard have done.

They don't really trust their own judgment, I think, some of the time.

I think Monty seems more confident in our abilities

than we perhaps are.

They must do what they want to do, whether it's right or it's wrong.

And my hunch is that when I come back

and see the finished thing, it will be transformed.

If Monty believes in us, we can do it.

It's early September,

and Monty is on his way to see if Anna and Andrew

have managed to create the art-inspired garden

they were dreaming of.

There-ish.

The last few days have been quite frantic.

And there have been moments when I was a bit doubtful

about whether or not we could get everything done.

-Me too.

-Yeah.

We finished everything about 1.30 last night.

So we are a bit tired this morning.

I feel quite relieved that we've got everything in.

Built everything.

-I feel quite happy, really.

-Yeah. Me too.

I feel like we've got a better space now than

-we imagined in the beginning.

-Yeah, yeah.

And I'm really looking forward to just being able to sit here and...

Relax a bit.

I think we've worked quite well together, haven't we?

-Yeah. Yeah. We've had a bit of a laugh doing it, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-A few disagreements maybe. Not too many, actually.

We sometimes disagree on timeframe, don't we?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It's been clear from very early on that the key for Anna

and Andy has got to be to treat the garden as a work of art.

That's their route to success.

And actually, this is a garden that I've really wanted to see

almost more than any other, because it seemed to me that

if they could transform this space...

then you can make a garden anywhere.

This tiny yard, only 15 metres square, was once just

a concrete shell with a few sparse plants and nowhere to sit.

But it's been transformed into a work of art.

It's looking great!

Anna and Andy have lovingly curated the space,

packing it with things to admire in every corner.

The green roof is flourishing.

And their narrow passageway is now an oasis of colour.

The living wall has become just that, thanks to the leafy ferns.

It's a horticultural and artistic masterpiece.

I've been looking forward to this. I really have.

I'm just sort of eyes popping around, rushing everywhere.

It is looking fantastic!

-Oh, good.

-Taking in the changes.

-And the structure...

-Yeah.

-..which you talked about. You did it.

-I did.

Was that OK? Was that a problem?

It's taken a while.

It's slightly different to what I imagined,

but that doesn't matter at all.

And I love the hoist.

-With the hanging basket on it.

-Yeah.

-Did you make that?

-It's made up of bits and pieces.

-Assembled it.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

That counts as made in my book.

And walking down, I saw that the roof is still alive.

-Yes.

-Which is the least we'd expect. But looking good.

It is. It's definitely grown very well.

And your wall.

-It's done OK.

-That, to me, looks really good.

-Yeah.

-Because it doesn't look like it's been bought off the shelf.

-It feels completely comfortable and natural in that space.

-Yeah.

-And this wall is alive with plants, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It went really well.

The only thing I'm not pleased with is the clematis seems to have

really died off and hasn't done very well at all.

-I don't think it does look bad.

-OK.

If you look around, if you look in my garden,

-a lot of clematis is looking pretty threadbare by this time of year.

-OK.

So don't worry about that.

You are growing a clematis, which is a hungry plant,

-and a thirsty plant, in a container.

-Yeah.

Sharing it with other plants.

So you do need to maybe water it a bit more than you otherwise would,

-and feed it a bit.

-OK.

What I love about this garden in particular is it's

-so small that everywhere you look, there is something to see.

-Yeah.

The detail is fantastic.

And you've got your little miniature gardens here.

We saw obviously the trug garden at Chelsea,

which was really beautiful,

and I liked the idea of using the old tins.

I get a chance to sneak in a few extra plants, so yeah.

I've been trying to not buy millions of different things,

-but I think with these tiny ones...

-Cos they're small.

-Yeah.

-Let's see. Can I christen it? Can we all sit on that seat?

-Yeah, we can.

-Everybody squeeze in.

-Have to cuddle up quite a lot, I think.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's nice.

-Yeah.

This is somewhere you can look at it, just watch and see what happens.

Mm.

-And I feel this is a good place to do that.

-Yeah.

-It's nice.

Anna and Andy's original budget was £1,000,

but the brick floor came at a price and they spent almost double.

Still, it's clearly been worth it.

CHEERING

They've invited a few friends to a viewing of the garden.

And as with any good gallery opening,

they've thought of everything.

Monty, can I give you one of these?

What is it?

-This is a little hand-out that we've put together.

-It's the catalogue.

-It's the catalogue, yeah.

-Right. A Tiny Urban Yarden.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

And it ties in, this idea of it being a piece of artwork,

that's great.

Just really happy to be sharing this moment with all of you.

So...

let's declare the garden open.

-ALL:

-Cheers!

Come on in.

I just think the garden is such a credit to Anna and Andy, you know.

There is lots of materials here that I would never have thought

could be used in a garden. It's crammed full.

They seem to have expanded the garden.

It seems to be double the size that it should be.

-It's really nice. Fantastic.

-Thanks so much for your help.

-It's been really amazing.

-Well, it's fantastic to have seen it grow.

-Enjoy it. OK.

-Thanks, Monty.

-Bye.

-Bye.

I've enjoyed every stage of this garden.

They have quietly and without fuss,

very quickly latched on to what they wanted to do.

And very calmly executed it.

Because this isn't just an artwork. This is a lovely family garden.

But the two can and almost invariably will come together

and we should celebrate that.

Having not seen it since quite late last night...

..I think we were really happy with how everything looked today.

Our tiny yard was just suddenly a throng of people.

Yeah, it's been really quite exciting.

In Bromley, Mei An and Gerard's Japanese garden is almost complete.

But ever the perfectionist, Mei An still isn't happy.

When I first saw the steps, I wasn't quite sure about them.

It was more the side section

which I think made it feel a bit more kind of Gothic castle.

It's just this little extra bit I'm chipping away.

I can't imagine they are that easy to take apart

-cos they were pretty well made, you know?

-I know.

-I'm going to do it.

-SHE LAUGHS

Do you want a hand there?

-GROANING:

-I want to do it myself.

Can I just whack the whole thing with a sledgehammer?

LOUD BANGS

SHE LAUGHS

I'll get rid of that.

-There we go.

-Thank you, ma'am.

Generally, we've been working together OK.

We've been...I think...

-We've had our moments.

-THEY LAUGH

It's been a nightmare.

THEY LAUGH

-Can I talk now?

-Yeah.

Absolute nightmare.

Disagreements behind them, the garden is done.

And Monty is due back to Bromley to see the results.

But the typical British summer weather is threatening to

ruin their big day.

Absolutely hammering down since yesterday.

We got up today and thought it was fine. But then it just...

The heavens opened.

To make matters worse, there is a problem with the stream's pump.

And the rain is making the water flow hard to control.

Don't turn the pump off, Gerard.

Just keep it all going and then it will fill up.

The pump is too powerful, really.

I don't know why on earth we agreed to do a stream.

HE LAUGHS

Everything was wet.

And you're trying to tweak a river. It's just a nightmare.

You know, these things happen in life.

You've just got to go with the flow.

THEY LAUGH

Just in time for Monty's arrival, the rain stops altogether.

I hope Monty is happy with what he sees.

What would be really nice is if he actually does enjoy it.

You know, the journey.

Cos it is all about that kind of...discovery along the way.

I would be amazed if Gerard and Mei An haven't created

a finished, highly competent garden.

But that's not the point.

It's not about what I think or how impressed you are

or anyone else at all.

It's all about whether they have made a garden that they love.

Just six months ago, this garden was bland, featureless and uninspiring.

But now it's a Japanese paradise

that Monty can't fail to be impressed by.

It's a complete transformation.

It's done. It's finished.

The whole garden has been changed.

Even down to the direction it slopes.

A gentle stream intertwines with a path of traditional granite

stepping stones, taking you on an exotic journey.

Beautiful landmarks, from benches to lanterns and bridges,

wait around every corner.

Striking bamboo and delicate acers

bring the spirit of a dewy mountaintop.

Every little detail is perfect.

I love the tank. The stream going into it.

-We have a few issues with the pump.

-Yeah.

-It's just too powerful.

So what will you do? Get another pump, change it?

I've put two pairs of tights on the filter to try

and slow it down a bit. I might put a T-shirt on. See if that will work.

Dress it in a full suit and set of clothes.

Any pump always need some kind of adjustment.

I want to ask you about the tank.

That looks very stylish. Any problems with that?

-Or was that exactly as you planned?

-Only with the budget.

-Yeah.

The tank was probably twice as much as I'd have liked to have paid.

Just remind me, what was your budget?

-5,000.

-And what have you spent?

We are probably up to more like seven.

-Right, so quite substantially over budget?

-Yeah.

The stream looks incredibly natural.

It's always interesting how the gardens absorb features.

What looks like this great, big stream crashing through

like a zigzag just gently disappears.

-But it's there.

-Yeah.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, I'm really happy with the stream.

-Absolutely.

I think that makes it.

I like these round stepping stones.

They look very authentic.

Yeah, we sort of wanted to go for granite in the end.

That's actually one of the ways we overspent. But...

-SHE LAUGHS

-Well, you know.

It's amazing how quickly water will attract frogs.

I see you've already got a large frog in your water.

We do, yes. That's something that we kind of picked up

from our visit to Compton Acres.

So this is all in the spirit of a Japanese promenade garden.

I like the seat. So you are meant to stop here and sit?

Absolutely.

Here you are, this is it.

Have you had a chance to treat the garden as a place of rest and peace?

Or is it still a place of work?

It's still a place of work.

I think up until even this morning, yeah, we've been mad at it.

There's been a lot of investment. Not just of money. But of you.

There's been days where it's been horrendous but, you know,

you forget them. I think if you are going to do something, then you

may as well try and make it as amazing as you can.

We've got a few key plants.

We've got the pine, we've got a number of acers.

-Absolutely key Japanese garden plants.

-Yeah.

And you say, already it does feel like there's a journey

and we've come somewhere else.

This is a very tranquil place to kind of enjoy a cup of tea or

just be able to have some time out.

-It's become a place to go.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-A destination.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

It's time to throw open the garden to family and friends.

In particular, one surprise guest.

-Hello!

-Hello there.

I don't want to embarrass you but I think you've done heroically.

I'd like to say thank you to Monty, just for the idea. It was...

-Well, you can blame me.

-THEY LAUGH

Really big cheers to everybody involved.

-Thank you so much.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Time for the grand tour.

-I did mention the frog there.

-Yeah, I like that. Definitely.

I love it. It's beautiful.

Has Mei An always shown an interest in gardening?

-No, she knows nothing. Gerard thinks he's Superman.

-Uh-huh.

Because he tries to do everything on his own.

-And Mei An loves bullying him...

-SHE LAUGHS

So she...

MONTY LAUGHS

So that's ideal for this type of project.

-Enjoy.

-It was a pleasure.

-Thank you so much.

-And good luck.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye, Monty.

It's been great today

because we've already got some lovely memories here.

Like, with Monty coming to see it and Charlie surprising us.

I'm really happy with what we've done

and I think it's amazing we've done it in this timescale.

And I'm so happy there is no more digging.

We are definitely going to have a few drinks out here and celebrate.

I'm sure now that when Gerard and Mei An began this whole adventure

they didn't know what they were letting themselves in for.

And now they've finished it.

But you don't ever finish a garden.

Gardens are not a place, they are a journey.

So I think the best thing I can wish them is bon voyage.