Episode 5 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's 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!

-Oh, my goodness.

..and everybody has worked incredibly hard.

Look at the size of that!

The results are truly exciting.

-It's really nice.

-Ooh!

-ALL CHEER

I do believe that everybody, however small their garden,

can cultivate a big dream.

This time, Monty's meeting two sets of gardeners

who want to turn their outside space into a paradise for others.

At least the woodchip's a result.

This is the Sunnyside pick your own veg patch.

From a much-needed family retreat...

-Flower.

-Behind the tree.

-That's it.

-BOTH:

-Tree!

..to a community project for the whole street...

Would you like a salad?

There you go. So, you can have that for your tea.

..it's certainly going to be a challenge to build these big dreams.

It's going to be vegetables for free.

-Wow!

-HE LAUGHS

That's very brave.

We've only got two logs, so it's got to go right.

Emma and Josh moved into their house in Findon, Worthing, one year ago.

The house was a state.

We've just slowly been doing things to it

-and then, one of the last things left is the back garden.

-Yeah.

But the garden is in a pretty bad way.

It's totally overgrown.

-It's embarrassing.

-You can't even go out there...

-No.

-..basically.

Yeah, it's encroaching on the house.

The couple need to create a family garden

for their two-year-old son Noah,

who was diagnosed with Down's syndrome at birth.

We want to create a garden for our whole family,

but specifically a garden for him.

-He's a little pickle, isn't he?

-Yeah.

He's just a lovely, little, charming boy.

He's our little champ, isn't he?

Josh taught himself to garden.

He works within the local community,

but has never undertaken a project on this scale before

and is desperate for Monty's guidance.

Josh is good at putting a plant in the ground,

but he hasn't had any experience in designing a garden.

But it's going to be a team effort all round.

I wouldn't put anything in the garden

without running it past the boss first.

You get final say,

but I think you like to make me feel like I had the final say.

-You're quite clever like that.

-Thank you.

-HE LAUGHS

-I feel like we should high-five now.

-No.

-OK.

-THEY LAUGH

Originally from Zimbabwe,

Aletheia has lived in Hitchin for the past eight years.

Passionate about gardening,

she recently started working in this field.

I am working with children with special needs

doing horticulture therapy and teaching them how to grow things.

And determined to plant up every inch of outside space,

she's now moved on to the uninspiring patch of earth

at the front of her house.

My big dream is to turn it into a vegetable garden,

and because it's the front garden,

to share what we have with our neighbours.

Aletheia wants the whole neighbourhood to get involved...

People can see how vegetables are grown.

It's something we can all enjoy and share with each other.

..and she's determined to succeed.

I'm not somebody that can sit around just being frustrated.

When there is actually things you can do at a small level,

then you should just get on and do them.

First up, Monty is on his way to Findon

to meet Emma, Josh and Noah.

They say never meet your heroes, so...

He could be a real diva.

In my dad's wedding speech, he said,

"I'm so happy that the man that Emma's marrying

"carries a picture of Monty Don in his wallet with him."

-I don't.

-(He did.)

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Josh.

-Monty.

-Hello, I'm Emma.

-Emma. Very nice to meet you.

-And this is Noah.

-Noah. Hello.

-Say hello.

-Hello, how are you?

-THEY LAUGH

-So, here it is.

-It is a bit overgrown, isn't it?

-Just a bit.

-Yeah.

-Why do you want to change it?

We want a garden that is safe for Noah to play in.

Noah spends his whole life with me standing behind him, guiding him.

It would just be so nice to have somewhere outside

where he can just grow in confidence.

Are there any specific things that you think he needs?

Noah's got hearing loss,

so we were hoping to make an area where...

Some grasses where, when you brush through it,

it encourages him to listen to the sounds.

We'd like him to have plants that he can feel and touch

and even if that's, like, from a furry leaf to soft fruits,

where it's something he can just pick and eat.

-Presumably, you want it to look nice and be nice for you too.

-Yeah.

We're not making, like, a garden for Noah.

We're making a garden which he can embrace,

but it's a family garden.

Do you have a budget for this?

-Labour-wise, I can just crack on with it.

-OK.

Plant-wise, you know, I reckon about two grand.

I feel like, with the right guidance,

-I can achieve what I want to achieve.

-OK.

The pressure is because Noah's young,

-I've got to get this garden right sort of now.

-OK.

With no time to lose,

Monty takes a look at Josh and Emma's plans.

They want to create a sensory garden for Noah.

They intend to clear the site and remove all trees,

but keep the existing shed.

They would like a central, circular lawn

with six different trees planted round the edge

with a textured path weaving round it.

In the top left of the garden will be a sensory area

full of cottage-style flowers.

In the top right will be a living willow den

surrounded by bamboo and jungle plants.

Back towards the house will be a mud kitchen

next to a living wall.

I mean, I would really now try and pin it down a bit.

So, if you said the central bed is all edible,

he can eat without harming himself at all,

and then round the outside with your cottage-garden feel,

you could focus on the plants on the edge having textures...

-Right.

-Yeah.

..and then, as it goes back in, really concentrate on the fragrance.

-Yeah, that's brilliant.

-Now, what's this planting here?

What I imagined - there's a bench here

and it changes almost as if you've gone into another country,

whereas here, you're into bamboos, grasses...

-Right.

-..maybe bananas.

-Right.

-Really almost like two worlds.

You could combine them -

your grasses and your sound here

with an edible bed in the middle

cos it would get sunshine.

And here, another central bed,

which could be touch.

If you want to maximise all the senses,

the sound of water is lovely and almost essential.

Could we not introduce some kind of running water, dripping water,

fountain that was completely child-friendly and safe?

I can see somewhere where I think it might work well.

-Do tell.

-THEY LAUGH

I think on the back of that wall there.

-It'd be interesting cos you'd have to sort of discover it.

-Exactly.

Monty believes Emma and Josh should keep the central circular lawn,

but reduce the trees around the edge for more space

and hold on to the bay tree.

Keeping the shed will allow them to attach a water feature to the wall.

He suggests simplifying the path

so that it only leads

to three defined sections.

By combining the top areas, they will have one large sensory bed

for touch, smell, sight, sound and taste.

Finally, he wants them to link the mud kitchen

to the top area with a living willow tunnel.

But before he heads off,

Monty joins a team of friends and family to get the site clear.

We should take this down, shouldn't we?

Christ! It's already so much bigger, isn't it?

Cutting it back has made it seem easier to do.

This is great.

What's Noah going to think when he comes home?

-He's going to grab a rake.

-THEY LAUGH

Monty has made quite an impression on the gang.

-Very impressive.

-Yeah, really good. Yeah.

-With his saw.

-Yeah.

-Big hands.

I thought he was going to give us instructions,

-but he really got stuck in.

-Didn't he?

-Yeah, yeah.

At the moment, I'm just a bit shocked about how much

it's all been hacked back.

And it looks a bit more daunting now.

It's always good fun clearing a garden.

There's a sense of actually getting to grips -

literally getting to grips -

and clearing away the old so you can bring in the new.

But that is just the beginning and everything from now on in,

right up until the planting, is going to be more tricky.

It's not every day you get to garden with your gardening hero.

I've had an absolutely brilliant day.

A few days later, Monty is in Hitchin

to see if he can help Aletheia tackle her big dream.

I haven't been precious of my garden at all

because now that I've got Monty Don coming to stay,

if he wants to pull it all out, fine.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Aletheia?

-Aletheia, yes.

-Now, where's the space we're going to be doing?

-The front garden.

-Oh, it's the front?

-Yeah.

Aha!

Well, I would like it to be fruit and veg

for people in the community to help themselves to it.

So, a food-is-free garden.

Front gardens have a very particular place.

They're all about appearance.

-A private space but a public face.

-Yeah.

-What you're suggesting is inviting people in...

-Yeah.

..in a way that is quite unusual.

Being able to show people that you do have the choice,

and if you just put a seed in the ground and water it,

you can do that yourself.

How are you planning to grow it?

I'm going to need raised beds

because the soil is really, really poor.

I've actually seen a design -

the system where they build a reservoir

at the bottom of the bed and then they put the soil layer on top.

What's your budget for this whole project?

Overall, I intend to spend about £200.

That's to make all the raised bed and the reservoirs

and the compost and any plants and seeds?

I'm planning on upcycling a lot of material

and, in fact, I've already been offered timber

-to put the raised beds together.

-OK, all right.

Aletheia wants to retain the basic layout of the garden

and keep the apple tree.

The side path will have an arch and trellis.

She intends to build seven raised beds to grow vegetables in.

The outer edges of the garden

will be dedicated to informal flowering plants.

Aletheia's friend Carrie has been helping put plan to paper.

My first reaction to this is that you've based it

-on what is already there.

-Mm-hm.

I would suggest going back to the drawing board

and saying, "If this was a virgin site

"and if we wanted to grow as much as possible, what would we do?"

I'm happy for everything to be changed.

You don't need to separate the flowers and the vegetables.

You can mix it up and it will look very pretty.

In terms of maximising your harvest,

our growing season is essentially April through till November.

You want to have some beds ready by mid-April.

-Yeah.

-Your idea of reservoirs - I think it's probably not necessary.

-Mm-hm.

-Spend that money you save on two other things -

one, more raised beds and two, an outside tap.

-Yeah.

-It's very therapeutic going out and watering your garden.

Yeah, I think that's a really good point.

Cos it's at the front, you'll engage with the community.

-I would get rid of your fence.

-I've never liked the fence.

You know, if you want it to be an open garden, make it open.

-Maybe, like, a low picket fence.

-Yes, that would be very nice.

What you have is a lovely, big concept

and it's exciting.

Monty believes Aletheia should start entirely from scratch

and remove the apple tree.

She should maximise the space and build even more raised beds.

These can be interplanted with flowers and vegetables

rather than keeping them separate.

As well as her arch, she should install a low picket fence

so the whole community will be encouraged

to come in and enjoy the garden.

I was slightly puzzled when I first saw this

because the space is small,

but fairly modest ambition to grow some vegetables in it.

However, as Aletheia explained the community project,

this is a really big idea.

Because it's something that's been in my mind to do,

I don't see that it's out of the ordinary.

So, when I come back,

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of raised beds

and then we can look at a way of maximising the quality

and the quantity of the plants that she grows.

Where I'd actually given myself boundaries

within this big dream, he sort of came along and went,

"Or you could just get rid of those boundaries."

That just allowed me to think bigger.

Aletheia wastes no time in getting cracking...

I quite like this colour. It reminds me of holidays in Cornwall.

SHE LAUGHS

..and, inspired by Monty's visit,

redesigns the garden to include more raised beds.

Such a small garden. Capitalising on the space is the best bet.

It's all a work in progress.

Most importantly, the word is out on the street.

-Do you want to put me to work?

-Yes, please.

If somebody has a vision, has a dream,

and they put their time and effort into it, they can make it happen.

Dreams can become reality.

If it's going to be a community garden,

getting people from the community involved from the beginning

would make people feel it's more their garden.

Since Monty's last trip to Findon,

Josh and Emma have listened to his advice too.

They have combined the top of the garden into one sensory area

and intend to link this to the house with a willow tunnel.

More than anything, we've simplified a lot of it

and we've decluttered the plan to a certain degree.

So, we've changed paths.

They have now completely cleared the garden,

laid the lawn and sown a wild flower section near the house.

And they've made one change, which is particularly significant.

We were going for six sensory trees,

but we decided to go for just three apple trees.

Because of Noah's Down's syndrome, he has an extra chromosome

and we found out that the Bramley apple tree

has an extra chromosome as well.

In order to have a Bramley apple tree grow successfully

and produce fruit, you have to plant it with two other apple trees.

Cos unlike other apple trees, it's not self-fertile.

So, the theory is that if you give it the right care and attention,

a Bramley apple can thrive in your garden

just like, given the right care and attention,

a child with Down's syndrome can thrive just like anyone else.

-Let's plant them, team!

-Yay!

-HE CHUCKLES

That James Grieve.

Does it need to go over that way a bit, though?

Well, I would quite like them in line.

-But, yeah.

-HE LAUGHS

-Whatever you say, darling.

-Put it there.

-Josh, this absolutely stinks.

-Yeah, I know.

So, the new theory is, I believe, that you have to stake...

..at a diagonal towards the wind, but I haven't got a sledgehammer.

-If you hold it like that...

-Yeah.

..then I'm going to whack it with the spade.

-SHE LAUGHS

-It's lucky I trust you.

-Yeah, if you hold it like that.

-Oh, my God.

-Mind your...

-SHE LAUGHS

-Don't worry.

-SHE SCREAMS

Wait.

Like that.

Right. And then we water it in and that's our first tree in our garden.

-Yay!

-Yay!

-I think Noah will really like looking at it

when it's this height

cos he's going to like looking at all these little blossoms, isn't he?

I know it's a very dad thing to say,

but another reason I picked them is because they never grow too big,

so they'd be perfect for climbing, I was thinking.

Shall we have a look?

Time to see if the main man likes it.

-Ah.

-That's it. Flower.

-From the tree.

-That's it.

-BOTH:

-Tree!

-Yeah!

-Good signing.

I feel like, today, just getting those three trees in

has totally changed the outlook of the garden.

Once they're actually in the ground and they're staked...

It's starting to feel more like a garden now, isn't it?

Back in Hitchin, the raised beds are in,

but before she can start planting,

Monty is keen for Aletheia to work out what's going where.

So, she's off to Wimpole Estate,

a National Trust property in Hertfordshire

with a huge working kitchen garden.

Head gardener Philip Waites is ready to show her and Carrie around.

It was built between 1790 and 1795, so it's been here a long time,

-just like me.

-THEY LAUGH

Philip wants to show Aletheia their version of raised beds.

If you've got limited space,

I wouldn't be tempted to plant big things like cabbages.

-Brassicas take up an awful lot of space...

-They do.

..for a long, long time.

So, think about smaller crops all round.

-Cut-and-come-again crops, maybe.

-Yeah, exactly.

Maybe some cut-and-come-again lettuce.

People tend to sow too many seeds at once,

but if you hold it back and just do it at two or three-week intervals,

you can get a succession of plants.

-Do you then have to dig it over again?

-No, no.

-We've got deep soil here.

-Right, OK.

-And the beauty of these raised beds

is you don't have to do too much digging.

You've got the option to plant chard in amongst the flowers.

And Philip is keen for the visitors to pick some chard themselves.

This is a really good crop to grow in a small space.

It's just keep picking it and picking it and picking it.

If you wanted the plant to keep growing,

if you just cut down the flower, does that give it a bit more?

That keeps the plant going for a little bit longer,

but, eventually, it exhausts itself

-and it just falls out of the ground.

-Oh, OK.

He is intrigued by the community purpose of Aletheia's garden.

It's going to be to allow the neighbourhood

to pick vegetables for free.

-Wow.

-HE LAUGHS

-That's very brave.

-THEY LAUGH

If they see it in my front garden,

especially if they see it going all the way through the winter,

they'll know you can actually feed yourself the whole way through.

It is possible to produce vegetables all year round.

Philip suggests sowing beetroot for spring colour,

runner beans for summer harvest,

red cabbage for autumn produce

and parsnips, which will survive those winter frosts.

Coming out here and seeing how there's so much going on,

the vegetables and the flowers and all the colour,

it just shows you that you can have a productive garden

-all the way through the year.

-A lot of advice was given.

-It was great.

-Beautiful gardens.

-Really good visit.

-Yeah.

But the real challenge for Aletheia isn't about growing vegetables.

It's about encouraging the neighbourhood

to treat her front garden as their own,

which is why the pair are now

at Cranbrook Community Food Garden in London.

Set up by estate residents, it is free to join

and members grow and share crops with each other.

Laura.

Coordinator Laura Buckley explains how the system works.

Nice to meet you, Aletheia.

-We have a start-up meeting at the beginning of the year.

-Right.

And we ask our members if there's any crops they'd like to grow.

We have a to-do list that anyone can add to

if there's a job that they would like to be done in the garden.

And we ask people to work from that list

before they do other chores in the garden.

Aletheia is keen to find out how much everyone really joins in.

How do you share the produce?

Larger, longer-growing crops like the pumpkins,

we would set a date when we were going to take them off the vines.

-Ah, yes.

-And then,

depending on how successful that crop is,

we'll either have one each or share them round.

Certain vegetables, when it's ready, it's ready, like the kale.

So, I ask people, once the leaf is at about five or six inches long,

whether you want to eat it or not, you should take it off of the plant.

That's a good idea.

And Laura has some top tips

on how to keep the locals coming back for more.

For a specific task, advertise that near your garden.

"We need help to do this specific task."

-That's a good idea.

-"We'll be doing it on this date.

"There'll be tea and cakes. Please come and help us."

We just try and keep it as many people invited into the garden.

-So, by having your events...

-Yeah.

-..and putting out requests for things.

-Yeah.

It's such a little oasis in the middle of the housing estate.

Very good day. Seeing what's possible

if communities and people put their minds to it,

what you can achieve.

In Findon, Emma and Josh have been motoring along

with their sensory garden.

The first element is a cobbled path for Noah to explore.

The idea is to encourage him to walk on it. He can crawl on it.

Walking on this is a bit more difficult

and he has to work a bit harder so it will strengthen everything.

And then you've got the grass, woodchip and then gravel,

so we've got a mix of different textures and feels.

Today, Josh's dad Bob is back

to help with the next sensory element,

a circle of woodchips complete with bench.

But they've already come up against a problem.

That's that Russian vine that was over the whole garden.

-Will it grow, then?

-Definitely.

-Right.

Look at that.

This is just to keep the worst of the weeds

from coming up through the woodchip.

HE LAUGHS

Oh. Don't lift it up, Noah.

Well, at least the woodchip's a result.

-HE LAUGHS

-Dad! Dad!

-Yeah, woodchip.

Now to build the bench,

but the boys aren't entirely sure how to go about it.

This is uncharted territory for us. I mean, we've never done this.

This is our centre stump,

so we have two railway sleepers coming along

and then they'll meet to this point.

And then you have two more stumps at the end,

but on their sides and sort of sunk in.

And the vine keeps fighting back.

Time to get the chainsaw. No going back now.

We've only got two logs, so it's got to go right.

Perfect. And now Emma adds the finishing touches.

The idea is there are lots of little nooks and crannies

for all little bugs to live in.

Noah hasn't had much experience of wildlife,

so I'm hoping that this will encourage him

to be a bit more excited about it.

In Hitchin, the garden design now maximises the space

and includes more raised beds.

Aletheia has been flooded with donations and help,

but people are still wary of it becoming a proper public garden.

It's not something that will happen overnight,

but even if it's just people walking by

and having a look and taking an interest...

Today, Aletheia is building a structure

for runner beans to grow up.

I've chosen this bit because from the front,

that bit won't be obscured.

Cos I'd like it to look attractive from the street as well.

Local gardener Paul is dropping off some soil for free.

She put it on her website.

She needed topsoil and some manure and some leaf mould,

so I said, "I've got tons of it."

Life isn't all about money. It's trying to help people along.

But he is wary of how hard it will be to get the whole estate involved.

It needs something like this in Hitchin, but more of it.

They don't grow no veg. There are allotments empty.

And Aletheia is starting to understand

just how big a challenge this little front garden has become.

I initially just had the feeling of it was a feel-good thing.

I think actual management needs to happen.

It's certainly attracting attention,

but folks are sticking to their side of the fence.

It's your garden as well. Don't be shy.

Come in with a watering can if you see something.

This is a lovely garden.

As Monty predicted, it seems the biggest challenge

is persuading the neighbourhood to treat this garden as their own.

Over in Findon,

Emma and Josh are feeling the pressure too,

but for different reasons.

A certain gardener is on his way

to find out how they've been getting on.

It was carnage when Monty was last here.

Trees almost fell on people.

You could smell the testosterone

-in the air that day.

-THEY LAUGH

When I left Josh and Emma last time,

their garden was literally falling around them.

Absolute chaos. But, of course, that was the beginning.

Having Monty like the garden,

for my own ego, is massively important

just because to get his approval,

being the king of horticulture, would be fantastic.

But more than anything, it's if Noah likes the garden.

What I really want to get on with today

is making sure the planting is right

cos what Noah needs is quite a subtle garden.

-Lovely to see you again.

-And you.

-Hello, Noah. Hello.

-Hello.

Bare soil ready for planting.

How prepared is the soil? Have you dug it?

I made a massive mistake because I dug a lot of weeds up

and then I took a Rotavator to it

and then I cultivated thousands of bindweed.

It's the classic mistake.

You shouldn't let a Rotavator near anywhere that's got any weeds in it.

You do it when the ground is completely clear of weeds,

dug over - doesn't do the digging for you -

-and then it breaks the soil up.

-Right.

And Monty has spotted another mistake.

I'm sure you're aware,

actually, some herbs are incompatible with others.

-Yeah.

-So, for example, thyme and marjoram

and rosemary are Mediterranean herbs.

They like full sun, really good drainage

-and quite poor soil.

-Yeah.

Mint, you would normally never plant

-in amongst other herbs cos it'll take over the whole thing.

-Yeah.

You could always plant it in a pot.

That's what we've done with this one.

-This is just in its little...

-Fine. That's a really good idea.

-So, what's going on behind?

-All here is just going to be plants.

Almost all of them have a sensory input.

Time to get cracking,

but Monty wants to make sure Emma and Josh understand

the fundamental rules of garden design.

You need to make a choice now how you want to approach it.

Do you want the final thing carefully planned out

or do you want it to evolve?

I think we want an evolving garden, don't we?

Things like the cosmos that have grown from seed,

they're going to all be gone next year

-and then we can put something else there.

-Yeah.

Personally, that's how I like to garden too.

Onto the next design rule.

Do you plant in blocks or drifts?

And the essential difference is

we could create a screen of miscanthus.

We could have a sort of hedge of miscanthus.

We could have them in groups of four or five

so they're really big, statement plants throughout the garden,

or we could maybe have three here

and then one over there and then another group of three,

so you're picking it up like a ribbon.

From a sensory garden point of view, drifts seem to work.

With the design agreed, it's time to position the plants accordingly.

But it's not long before Josh remembers something

he should have mentioned earlier.

What I forgot to mention is that we were planning

on putting a pergola with posts sort of there and there

up and over the...

-Where the plants are?

-Exactly.

-HE LAUGHS

-Why didn't you tell me?

-Too much Monty pressure.

This is one of Josh's mad ideas.

What do you want a pergola for?

-If it's just for climbers, you've got all these walls.

-Yeah.

-No, we'll just forget it.

-HE LAUGHS

-Is he like this all the time?

-Yes.

-Let's just get the plants.

Looks like Josh is happy to sacrifice the pergola

if it means more help from his hero Monty.

So, the verbena bonariensis have got purple flowers

that come out in a floret. Butterflies love them.

They will grow in a nice, open, sunny position.

So, this is decision time.

You either continue it to a path, which is a natural end,

or you could have slightly different planting under the tree.

So, could we, from these grasses,

go into something that's not massively different,

-but is different because...

-Exactly.

-..I've got that crocosmia Lucifer.

Brilliant. Good. That's perfect.

Monty is keen to make sure all the plants fit into the overall design.

In terms of colour,

what colour would you use to take us from ivory to red?

-Looking at the plants...

-Yes.

-..the pink poppies might go.

What they don't have is the same leaf texture as any of these,

where, basically, we've got upright leaves.

I would suggest something that holds itself a little bit more delicately.

-OK.

-And the salvia would be nice on the path.

Well, it might well work.

Monty leaves Josh to finish placing the shrubs

while he concentrates on one key sensory element with Emma.

What is it that you like about scent?

Certain smells bring up certain memories

and I just love that Noah can make his own memories from it.

Do you want to have very specific scents or just a mix?

I quite like the idea of not too many overwhelming scents.

Monty is keen to help Emma choose

the right place for the right scented plant.

-At different times of day, you can get different scents.

-Yeah.

Cos there are some plants that take up heat during the day.

That heats up the oils and as it cools,

the fragrance is released.

That nemesia needs to go near where he's going to play,

and it can grow in a little bit of shade, but not deep, deep shade.

One of my favourite and most evocative scents for me

are tobacco plants.

Immediately, I go back to my childhood.

-They do best in full sun.

-OK.

We could plant them over near the seat.

And Monty has spotted a whole group of climbers

which are perfect for a fragrant spot.

This is clearly a honeysuckle.

-Did you choose it for the flowers?

-And the smell. Yeah, it's lovely.

So, that's perfect.

So, that will grow in some shade and in some sun.

They're really good plants.

And you can grow them up trees, you can grow them on trellises,

you can grow them against a wall.

You know, they're very, very variable.

If I plant it right against the wall,

two things are going to happen.

One, the roots are going to be constricted by the wall itself

and two, when the rain comes,

the wall takes up an awful lot of the water.

So, what you do is you angle it back.

-Plant it...

-OK.

..put a cane or something up, tie it on to there.

It will grow up that and then you can train it along this.

Time to see how Josh has been getting on with the sensory border.

Are you happy with the way this is going?

Yeah, full of energy and just want to crack on with it now.

What do you think?

While you were having a rest, we were doing things.

-If you can get these in the ground, the ones we laid out today...

-Yeah.

..and then continue this system of just building up colours,

building up height, texture...

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

I come away from this garden really feeling uplifted.

It's been a real masterclass on just how to plant borders up.

I kind of feel like I needed a notebook.

If they keep the energy going, it will become a beautiful garden.

I feel really inspired and educated.

Yeah, it's got the ball rolling. Definitely.

Back in Hitchin, Aletheia has been romping along with the veg,

but it's not the community garden of her dreams just yet.

There are two critical things at this point.

The first is to make sure that the beds are made, seeds are sown

and as much is planted as possible.

And the second thing, which is equally important,

is how she is sowing the seeds

within her community and neighbourhood.

-Hello.

-Hello there.

-Oh, hello.

-Show me the detail that you've done.

-You've used scaffold boards, have you, for your raised beds?

-Yes.

-Scaffolding boards from a local scaffolding company.

-Right.

Those are somebody's rabbit or chicken hutch bits.

-And these are peas growing up them?

-Those are peas growing up them.

Your beds are more or less made,

so what about seeds, seedlings and plants?

I've got all my seedlings over there.

We've got some courgettes and tomatoes.

-Dill.

-Yeah.

-Aubergine.

-Yeah.

Chillies from chilli seed from a local restaurant.

So, we want to get this planted out today.

-As much as possible.

-Right. Whereabouts are these going to go?

Monty has got some top tips for raised beds.

I like to plant right to the edge of them

and then the roots go back inwards

-because it just allows more space in between for your other plants.

-OK.

So, let's get the corn in place first.

-Corn is wind-pollinated...

-Yes.

..so you never plant it in rows.

Always plant it in blocks.

Because if the wind always comes from this direction,

it may just blow the pollen away.

Basically, always a grid, never in just a row

-cos otherwise, there's a risk they won't pollinate.

-Yeah.

And he's also full of advice on how to pack it all in.

On raised beds like this,

I think intercropping, closer spacing than normal.

If in doubt, squeeze an extra one in.

I tend to have a basic unit of spacing,

-which everything gets spaced at, which is the span of my hand.

-Mm-hm.

I think it's more productive to have more, smaller things

than a few bigger things.

When you're planting tomatoes of any size,

-you want to bury it as deep as possible.

-Yeah.

Bury it up to the first leaves.

It'll grow roots from the stem

and it'll anchor it more firmly in the ground.

And Monty is keen to maximise all the space possible.

So, what's coming in here?

-Just simply that?

-I was going to just leave it cos of that.

-But you can't afford the luxury of that.

-Yeah.

I'd put some more bush tomatoes in there.

I would pack it in and get two bush tomatoes in there,

and then even underplant it with lettuce. One, two.

But Monty is more concerned about the real dream for this garden.

Are people coming in to pick? I mean, are you having...?

Not yet because it's still a work in progress.

-But at what...?

-Children, I have.

Yeah, but how are you going to let people know

that it's not work in progress? It's doors are open now?

-I'm going to put a sign up.

-Right.

-A proper sign.

And I did think I'm going to have to have an honesty box

-and just say, "It's all free, but..."

-"If you wish to make...

"Any donations will go towards..."

-Towards compost.

-Why not do it to a charity?

-Yes.

Whether it's the local school or a hospice.

And then, if you let people know, if you said,

"We raised £100 and that went to so-and-so"...

That's where my signpost, my notice board will come in handy.

Yeah, your notice board will come in. Very good.

With the plants in, Monty also has some tips on feed.

I'm a great fan of comfrey and nettle feed,

which, of course, has the great advantage of costing nothing,

it's organic and incredibly effective.

Luckily, Aletheia knows just the place

for a spot of comfrey and nettles.

I tend to cut it...

-..right off at the base like that.

-OK.

Comfrey, more than any other plant, seems to absorb minerals,

and also has a huge amount of protein.

But because it stores elements so very well,

it then transfers them,

so it's very good to make a tea from,

it's very good to add to a compost heap.

You can just lay the leaves on the ground.

Just lay them as a mulch. I do that with tomatoes every year.

Nettles have much more nitrogen, so they produce leaves and foliage.

Feed nettles earlier in the year to get a nice, big plant.

Then feed comfrey from about mid-June onwards

and that develops the fruit and the flowers.

-The way I do it is I cram them in and essentially, I infuse it.

-OK.

-So, I'm not pressing it, I'm not extracting it.

-OK.

Now, we just fill it up so we cover the foliage.

-Leave that for three weeks.

-OK.

-And then strain off the liquid and that is your concentrate.

-OK.

And don't use it more than once a week.

Having the nation's favourite gardener helping out

just might be beginning to draw in the locals.

-Here's Mr Charles.

-I've got some freebies for you.

Oh, excellent. Thank you very much.

-What are they? What type of tomato?

-They're tomato Roma.

-Will you be passing by and picking vegetables from here?

-Oh, yeah.

It's easy enough to do because I'm not far from here.

So, if your allotment doesn't do very well, you can come here.

-THEY LAUGH

-I can always come back here.

He was saying underplant stuff, cram things in.

The closer, the better, which I think is a great idea.

What Aletheia wants help and, I guess, support for

is the big dream of including her community,

of inviting and enticing her neighbours

to come in and help themselves. Now, I think that's hard.

Having somebody who's the gardening guru of Britain

saying, "This is a fantastic idea.

"Go ahead. Everybody, plant vegetables."

I think is really good.

In Findon, Josh has been working hard

and the garden is starting to take shape.

He is determined to create something really special for Noah.

So, he's off to Wisley Gardens in Surrey.

Founded in 1878,

the gardens are celebrated for their experimental

and diverse planting schemes,

and Josh is keen to explore their dedicated sensory garden.

Curator Colin Crosby is on hand to show him around.

-Hello, Josh. How are you?

-Not too bad.

-Good to meet you.

-Try some of those.

-Looks fantastic.

-It really is.

It's a really dark mangetout.

Really, really sweet, colourful, interesting in the garden.

-Brilliant.

-That is actually delicious.

Let me show you some other things that we've got

that might just be interesting.

-So, is this a type of phlomis?

-It is a phlomis.

Feel the leaves on it because they're very soft.

-It's almost like teddy bear's ears.

-I'm really pleased to see this

cos we've actually planted a few of these already.

This plant, it loves hot, dry, sunny positions.

-We are on really hot, sunny chalk.

-Perfect.

-Yeah.

The garden is filled with plants

which have been chosen because they stimulate a number of senses.

And look at these lovely raised benches that we've got here.

This one's got camomile in it. Just crush that and rub it.

Smell your hands there...

-Oh, yeah, that's fantastic.

-..afterwards.

And you could create a lawn of camomile at home

or maybe even a bench

so, when sitting on it, you've got that great scent.

But look over there. In a garden, a common bedding plant.

I don't know if you've ever crushed the leaf of a marigold...

-No, I haven't.

-..but it's quite a different scent.

And just crush it and smell it.

-Quite different, isn't it?

-Oh, I like that.

-You like that?

-I like that.

-See, I don't like that.

But beside it, here, we've got the sweet basil.

You can pick it straightaway and that's so instant and so satisfying.

-Yeah.

-And just the dark colour. Most basil is green.

-That just adds another dimension to it.

-Yeah, that's fantastic.

-That's quite easily available?

-That's easy to grow.

Start it off in a kitchen windowsill and then plant it outside

and just keep harvesting it all summer.

And keep planting fresh pots of it

so when it goes over, you've got more coming on.

Anyone can do it.

I'll get Noah throwing some seeds in the seed tray.

And Colin has got one more trick up his sleeve.

Now, I'll show you some mints that actually don't smell of mint.

Look in here now.

Ginger mints, chocolate mints, grapefruit mint...

-Blimey!

-..basil mint. Try that one.

-I smell mint with that one.

-Well, that's right. It's spearmint.

Smell that one and see if you get a different scent with it

-cos it should be slightly different.

-Oh, yeah. Now, that... Yeah.

-This one, they call apple mint.

-Are these widely available?

The best place to go to is a specialist nursery

-cos the advice they give is just fantastic.

-Yeah.

This garden here, what we tend to find is

it's children that get the most out of it

cos they love interacting with the plants.

To create a sensory garden,

Colin recommends planting silver sage for touch,

bright, bold sunflowers for sight,

love-in-a-mist seed heads for sound...

..chocolate cosmos for a rich, vanilla smell

and edible flowers, like nasturtiums, for taste.

The garden also contains a living willow arch,

which is exactly what Josh hopes to create back home.

Sculptor Tom Hare is happy to talk him through the technique.

What we've done is made a steel frame.

Just a very loose armature. Just a couple of lines.

What I'd like you to help me with, to start with,

-is put this base layer on...

-OK.

..with the material that I've actually soaked.

So, this time of year, because we're working with a seasoned stick,

it needs to be soaked.

You kind of feel like it's just going to snap, don't you?

-They have a fat end and a thin end.

-Right.

The fat end's referred to as the butt

and that has a lot of tension in it,

so it's really useful for kind of twisting

-and locking into the structure.

-OK.

But the whippy end, the tip, is great for tying.

-You know, so you can use it like a piece of string.

-Right.

We can put the fat end into the ground into there.

That kind of locks it off so you can draw a line vertically.

Oh, right. OK, yeah.

-Use that to tie in.

-Perfect.

I think, visually, like arcs and S's,

C shapes, they look the best.

So, if I wanted to make a window,

would I just sort of start by tying it in and bringing it round?

One suggestion could be to make the window first.

-So, make a portal, like a frame.

-Right.

What I'm going to do is work at this butt end and just draw a circle in,

and then we can just thicken that up by adding another one in.

Fits perfectly. So, what we need now is a few little tip ends.

And you can use these like string.

-This is a very basic way of creating some drama in your garden.

-Yeah.

And you can make structures and features quite quickly.

So, do you feel like you have enough techniques

to continue and finish this on your own?

-Oh, definitely not.

-THEY LAUGH

No, yeah, I do. Yeah.

With half the arch complete,

the whole trip has left Josh with a lot to think about.

It's given me a lot of inspiration.

I like having a selection of the same plant,

but each one having a different smell,

a different element. It's been brilliant.

Since Monty's visit, Aletheia has finished all the planting.

And the comfrey and nettle concoction

Monty picked with her is now ready.

So, it's started to rot down.

I've put a brick in just to weigh it all down.

It is really smelly. I'll just drain that into there...

..so that it doesn't block up the rows.

And it's about one to six parts water.

With the planting completed,

she is determined to get people through that garden gate.

Today will be a sort of mini launch.

We'll be having our fence up, so that'll be a sort of new look

so that the whole place just looks a bit more inviting.

People can see it more like their space.

The ladies from Cranbrook Community Garden

are coming to ensure the day is a success.

-You come to help me?

-Yes.

You come to help me pick some salads?

You've got a lot more beds than I imagined you'd have

in a front garden. It's looking really fantastic.

What we do in our garden,

we encourage them to pick the outer leaves.

We leave the heart for a little while,

so we use them as cut-and-come-again.

-It is, isn't it?

-Hello.

Oh, hello. You are just in time for a salad.

Oh, you are a star. My tea's not completely

-sorted yet, so...

-SHE LAUGHS

-I've got some yellow chard.

-Right.

-Ah.

-Calendula petals.

-And these are your edible flowers as well.

-Yeah.

I now have a tenuous link to Monty Don,

which I shall make sure

-I tell everybody about.

-THEY LAUGH

But Laura is concerned that while people are enjoying the produce,

they aren't yet brave enough to venture in themselves.

Normally, we would encourage people

to pick their own salads around the garden.

How come you're bagging it up today?

Well, people have been a bit shy about coming into the garden

-because it's my front garden.

-Right.

But I think if we pick it proper,

hand it to people, they might realise,

"OK, it is for picking, it is for eating.

"It's not just a show garden."

Time to put Aletheia's plan into action.

-Hey. Hello there.

-Hello, Auntie Agnes.

-They're ready for picking...

-Yeah.

-..so, any time you want to,

-just come and help yourself.

-Yes, I will.

Would you like a salad?

There you go. So, you can have that for your tea.

-Would you like a salad?

-I would love a salad.

-Thank you very much.

-Here we go.

Now you can see that they're ready for picking,

just help yourself whenever you like.

When I learn what's edible when,

then I think I would be happy to go and pick my own.

This is a beginning of my dream garden.

And Aletheia is determined not to give up.

We are the Sunnyside estate

and this is the Sunnyside pick your own veg patch.

We will be an official neighbourhood garden.

It's been a real community effort and looking at it all,

that's what the garden says to me as well - it's my community.

In Findon, Josh has brought back the willow arch

so Emma can help him finish it.

But there's a problem.

So, you hold it like that and then just start...

-Ooh.

-That actually looks quite difficult.

Tom said that we have to use this willow within a couple of days,

but I left it too long and they're all snapping,

so that's why we're out in the pouring-down rain -

cos I've kind of got to do it now.

I can imagine it being a bit easier if it was a bit more flexible,

but I think this is really good.

Looks like Emma isn't entirely convinced.

-It was nice and sunny and hot...

-Yeah.

-..when you got a fun day out at Wisley to do it.

-That's right.

And now I'm here doing it in the rain.

I came home to show you the art of willow.

Maybe I should have soaked it again.

I can't really remember what he said.

Let's make this more our own creation

and use that it keeps snapping to our advantage.

Yeah, if you have a few coming up, it could look quite cool.

-Yeah. Add more height to the garden, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

That looks really cool.

-Yeah, it works.

-It does, doesn't it?

Josh has bought some of the sensory plants he saw at Wisley as well.

So, this is camomile,

which I'm going to plant just at the front of the willow arch.

It withstands a little bit of treading on.

It can take a little bit of knocking.

And it smells fantastic.

We're planting the thyme so that when you walk onto the garden,

it releases the thymey smell.

And also, we chose this variety cos it's woolly,

so it's like getting an added, extra texture.

Back in Hitchin,

the Sunnyside vegetable patch is complete,

and people are finally starting to step inside.

I, hopefully, have shown people that it's not so taboo

to have vegetables and food in your front garden.

-Does it jump?

-It does jump.

And you can have food out of the ground the whole year round.

Time for Monty to come and formally declare this garden open.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time,

but I'm looking forward to it.

Aletheia's garden is a puzzle

and I am fascinated to see if she's had any success with this

and what people's reaction has been.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Lovely to see the garden so full.

Just five months ago,

Aletheia's front garden looked the same

as everyone else's on the street.

Now it has been utterly transformed.

The garden has been carefully designed

to include ten raised beds,

separated by a path planted up with red clover and rye.

Each bed is packed with an abundance of vegetables,

such as runner beans and chard,

which have been generously planted to maximise the space.

Edible flowers, such as calendula and pansies,

have been interplanted within the vegetables

to create colour and interest.

And each bed has been carefully labelled

to entice people into this space to pick for themselves.

I remember the first plans

were not really aggressive enough on the use of space

and I encouraged you to pack it in.

-Do you think that was the right idea?

-Oh, yes.

That was a brilliant idea. I have kept that in mind -

to just make sure that

there's always something going in the spaces.

-Remind me what your budget was.

-My budget was £200.

Thankfully, that's where the community involvement

and community coming together helped.

-How much have you spent?

-I've spent £150.

-Really?

-So, you're in under budget.

-Under budget.

How have people reacted?

That's been the best part of this garden.

People are saying, "Are you continuing this, then?"

Like, "Yes, it's an ongoing thing."

It certainly is.

The whole estate has arrived to pick their own veg for tea today.

I would just like us all

to just give Aletheia a really big hand.

The strawberries are nice and close to the pavement,

so my little daughter always sneaks through the fence

and grabs a handful on our way into town.

I'm really envious of her tomatoes

because I can't grow them in my back garden.

-Well, maybe you should grow them now in your front garden.

-Yes, I know.

I think Monty was impressed

and happy to see how people have, in fact, got involved.

It's been really good to see that people want it to continue.

I was quite sceptical about Aletheia's dream,

but if this garden sows the seed

and persuades other people to grow vegetables

and share them from their gardens, then that's a very big dream.

Back in Findon, Emma and Josh are putting the finishing touches

to their sensory garden.

To be honest, I'll be quite pleased when Monty's been

and then I can stop hearing, "Oh, I hope Monty likes it."

To have the head gardener of England say,

"You've done a good job," that's amazing.

-If he says that.

-THEY LAUGH

He hasn't seen it yet. I'm nervous.

The main purpose was to provide Noah with a safe place.

It's got to be beautiful and inspiring for the adults,

but at the same time, be a haven for Noah.

-Now, judgment day.

-THEY LAUGH

-Hello.

-Oh, hiya.

It looks fantastic.

In just five months,

Emma and Josh have managed to turn this overgrown patch of earth

into a stunning family garden.

A cobbled path leads you from a willow arch to a rustic play den...

..and round to a seating area complete with fountain.

A circular lawn is surrounded by borders

filled with colourful and fragrant plants...

..which have been chosen to fit into the sensory theme.

Grasses for touch, salvia and honeysuckle for scent,

and an array of herbs,

such as camomile and rosemary, for taste.

Has it worked out for you? Are you getting pleasure from it?

It's everything we want in a garden.

It's a total fantasy, fun garden for Noah as well.

He just loves it and he just goes off in his own little world.

Are you going to show me the path?

A real variety here, haven't you? Different types of touch.

Soft, some harder, good scent.

And it's all your sort of height too, isn't it?

-JOSH CHUCKLES

-How much did it cost?

I reckon £3,000.

It strikes me as not bad value for money, that.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

Are you still pinching yourself that it's so different?

Well, I pinch myself every morning when I look out the kitchen window.

Before, it was just awful and now we've created this.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how well

we like the planting schemes of the borders.

If he's running around and he's playing in it,

we ticked the box we wanted to achieve, you know.

I think that's clever planting on your behalf.

Oh, that's made my day. Made my year.

-Made my life.

-THEY LAUGH

Hi!

And Noah isn't the only person who is enjoying the garden.

To the garden and to Noah. To both of them.

-ALL:

-Cheers.

Wouldn't have believed it could look like this.

-It's fantastic.

-Yeah.

It's better than I expected.

This is a real achievement

and they will grow in themselves as Noah grows up with it too.

I feel that he's grown so much

from just the process of making the garden.

What this garden shows, more than anything,

is that gardens are for everybody.

I got married, had a kid

and then creating this garden over the space of a year

-have been the best parts of my life to date easily.

-Aw.

I'd recommend anyone who has a big dream to just go for it.