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.

Monty Don has travelled up and down the country

visiting amateur gardeners with bold ambitions.

He's scrutinised their plans

and pushed them out of their comfort zones.

Going out into deeper, darkest unknown territory!

It's not been easy...

I hate it.

Argh!

..but everyone's worked incredibly hard...

Both of us want to sleep for a week, pretty much.

You've had your tea break, come on.

..and the transformations have been extraordinary.

It's just incredible, it really is.

I declare this garden open!

CHEERING

I do believe that everybody, however small the garden, can cultivate

a big dream.

-Here they come.

-Here they come.

This is like an identification parade, isn't it?

This time, Monty is helping two sets of ambitious gardeners,

each facing challenges on a very different scale.

That's it!

One may be a tiny urban courtyard, but the dream is off the scale.

My big dream for this place is for it to become a tropical garden.

The other is a larger space

but has to fulfil the dreams of a whole community.

It's a blank canvas at the moment, really.

I'd like it to provide inspiration to the children.

Both are tackling complicated projects,

and are desperate for Monty's advice.

If you don't want it there, move it.

God, that was so much bigger than I thought it was.

This is just a bundle of fibrous roots.

Doesn't look like anything.

With absolutely no gardening experience whatsoever between them,

can they possibly manage it?

I've got this big dream,

but we just don't know how to get it into reality.

We've got the time, we've got some money,

but we don't have the... We don't have the knowledge.

Our first garden is a private urban retreat in Hackney

in north-east London.

A year ago, Carla and Stewart moved into this 1990s bungalow,

with a tiny patch of garden tucked behind it

measuring only 20 square metres.

This is the back garden, and at the moment it's just very bare.

It's surrounded by walls and there's a shed,

big tree and a dead tree

and peeling paint.

I think it's amazing that we even have any garden space at all.

But Carla has a very particular dream for the tiny back courtyard,

inspired by her childhood in the Philippines.

With little idea where to start,

the couple are thrilled and relieved to hear that Monty will give them

a hand in creating their tropical paradise.

We need him to guide us on how we can make the most out of it.

It's such a small space,

that I think the planting would be very important.

And there's a couple of plants that we put in since we moved in,

but it hasn't really kind of moved on very much from that.

Monty's skills might be needed on another front, too.

We've got, like, a banana plant, haven't we? So we've had countless

-arguments about where the best place to put that is.

-Yeah.

We really need an adjudicator for that one.

I'd like to be proved right, but I'll probably be proved wrong!

Our second garden belongs to a whole community.

This large space is used as a play area by St Mary's Primary School

in the village of Hawkshaw, near Bury in Lancashire.

It's also shared with the whole village.

And the members of the PTA - the Parents and Teachers Association -

feel they can be doing so much more with this 300 square metres of land.

At the moment, it's just grass, it's just patio.

And we want it to be exciting, we want it to draw people in, don't we?

It's never been maintained,

and it's something the school has just neglected, really.

But it's something that the PTA have taken on.

Helen and Jenny are both parents with children at the school

and Claire is the school secretary.

We've got this lovely space

that we can make use of for the whole school.

We want it to be like a journey, where people can go around the path

-and it just feels like they've experienced something.

-Yeah.

The bottom area, we want to really bring to life, don't we?

Yeah, sensory area.

Nature area, the stumpery, the bug hotel.

The three mothers have big dreams

and the backing of the whole community.

But it's Monty's help they need more than anything.

We're a bit overwhelmed.

Without him, we wouldn't be able to finish this to the standard we want.

No.

It's the merry month of May.

With the sap rising and everything bursting into fresh leaf,

it's a great time to make a start on a new garden project.

Monty is on his way to Hackney to meet Carla and Stewart,

and see what he can do to help them with their project.

Can't imagine what he's going to say about our garden.

I don't think he's going to tear the design to pieces,

-but I'm kind of bracing myself just in case.

-Yeah!

-Hi, Monty.

-Hello, hello.

-Welcome.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, too.

-Hello.

-Hello.

The couple can't wait to show him the courtyard.

So this is the space.

-Mm-hm.

-Well, it's interesting!

It's nice. What do you want from this garden when it's finished?

We'd like it to look like a tropical garden.

-Why tropical?

-I'm from the Philippines.

-Yeah.

-So I had a really great childhood there.

Having banana trees and coconut trees.

We might be pushed to get coconuts.

-Yeah!

-Yeah. So you want a piece of the Philippines?

-Yes.

-Do you share that vision or is this entirely yours?

It came from Carla but I'm definitely fully on board.

We went to the Philippines last year and had an amazing time.

Carla and Stewart look pleased to have laid out their dream before

Britain's favourite gardener. But will he approve?

Often when people say something like that, the next half-hour

is a process of gently sort of disillusioning them of

all their dreams and hopes and fantasies.

Because we're in the UK, it's cold and it's wet and it's miserable.

However, here in the middle of London,

with these nice high walls all around,

I think there's a real chance of doing something genuinely exotic

-and lush.

-Well, that's good news.

Now for some practical tips.

Do you want to repaint those walls, or strip them back to brick?

We kind of like the faded look.

-Right.

-With the paint kind of flicking off as it is...

-Yeah.

-..we don't think it's that great for the garden.

Well, I would be inclined to maximise the light...

-OK.

-..because the walls are great shelter,

but they are going to block the light to a certain extent,

which brings us to the next point,

is what sort of budget you're talking about.

£2,000, haven't we?

-Yeah.

-Which is quite generous for what is a relatively small space.

Yeah.

With their dream outlined and the budget approved,

it's time to look at their ideas in more detail.

This is very professional.

-Did you do this?

-No, Carla did.

-I did it.

The couple's plan is to cover the old concrete paving with a pebbled

texture. The space will be dominated by a barbecue,

dining and fire pit right in the middle.

Adding to their existing plans,

they want to place dramatic exotics such as bananas

and canna round the edges of the paving,

and site a large bamboo near the old tree in the corner.

Black stone pebble paving, presumably this patch here.

-Yeah.

-Why?

I think being able to sort of go out

there barefoot when it's nice and hot. It's part of my nostalgia.

I just think the way it is now,

-you would never dream of going out there barefoot.

-I agree.

Having approved of the pebbled surface,

Monty now suggests a better use for it.

There is no actual path of any kind.

You can, if you want,

take your guests on a route, even in a very small garden.

Cool.

But he's also noticed a potential mistake that needs addressing.

You've got a very scruffy existing tree that is about as un-Philippine

as it can be.

This is prime real estate, OK?

-OK.

-So we want prime Filipino plants.

I think what you have to do is clear out everything, including that tree.

-Really?

-I would take it down.

Chainsaw time. It's not going to fit in your story.

Yeah.

By removing the tree,

Monty explains they can put their tender tropical plants there

and make better use of the sunny side of the courtyard.

Your south-west corner,

which is going to be sunny from mid-afternoon to the evening,

is going to have your best plants,

or at least your plants that like heat the most.

And he finds the ideal spot for their banana palm.

The banana will fare best in the hottest spot.

Monty reckons the couple should scrap everything

and paint the walls white.

A new path through their luscious planting would create a jungly

sense of mystery. And their more tender exotic plants like the banana

should be sited in the sunniest corner to help them survive

the British winter.

With the plan in good shape, Monty goes back to the courtyard

because he's spotted some plants, like this passion flower,

which need attention right now.

If you do want to salvage some plants, just a few little tips.

If we take this passion flower,

it's planted much too close to the wall. When you plant wall plants,

keep them at least a foot away from the wall.

So, back where my foot is now, there. And angle them in.

And the reason for that is, rain never falls dead vertical.

It falls at an angle, hits the wall, and the wall soaks it up.

So they get dry. Now, I'll dig that up.

Monty sets to work to save the passion flower...

-Dig round.

-..and shows the couple how to pot up plants

until they're ready to be put in the newly created tropical garden.

Now, you can see - it's a nice example, actually -

look how the roots have grown since it's been planted.

-When did you plant this?

-About six weeks ago.

So it is growing well. I put my hand in this.

I'm assuming this is compost.

-Yes.

-A bit in the bottom.

And just gently pop it in like that.

And, actually, there's no need to even add any more.

Give it a good soak, let that soak in and then give it some more.

And do that once a week.

And put it somewhere out of direct sunlight, and out of the wind.

And with the plants in their temporary pots,

Monty leaves Carla and Stewart with a final word of advice.

I think that's as far as I can go on this. What you now have to do

is just clear away all plants

unless you actively want them in that position.

All surfaces, whether it be brick, gravel, paving.

If you don't want it there, move it.

And, hopefully, this will be transformed.

And then we'll do more transforming together. Good.

I think what we've got at the moment has a lot of potential.

-Definitely.

-You realise there is a surprising amount of space there.

What they need to do now is to possess the space.

Not worry about details, but keep the big picture clear in their mind

and then plan a route towards achieving that.

Having Monty here today has really spurred us on to kind of get

-cracking and rip everything up...

-Yeah.

-..as he was recommending.

Yeah.

And then we can work towards creating that Philippine paradise

that they want.

It's June. Monty is making his way to Hawkshaw,

to meet the gardening dream team at St Mary's School.

We're really, really excited about it because he's going to give us

that expertise and guidance that we just haven't got.

-The children are very excited, aren't they?

-Yeah.

You say to the children, "Monty Don's coming."

Showed them a picture of him and said, "Do you know him?"

Yeah, they all recognised him.

Monty wants to see what he can do

to help the PTA group transform their boring site.

-Hello.

-Hello! Nice to meet you.

-Hello, I'm Monty.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Hello.

-Hi. Come on in.

-Come in.

-Ah, is this the plot?

-It is.

Most of this large space is grassed over,

but with little else in the way of plants.

There's a functional but plain patio at the top of the slope

and a stage-like decked area

at the bottom with some existing fixed seating.

At the moment, it's mainly used by St Mary's youngest schoolchildren,

as parent and PTA member Helen explains to Monty.

We've got from age 4 to 11 here in the school. So at the moment,

it's mainly utilised by a reception and year one children.

The rest of the children aren't really getting any benefit

from the space. So we kind of wanted

to bring that in by growing vegetables and different plants,

eventually run a gardening club and involve the children.

-Which is great.

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

So, a play area for small children and a garden that can be gardened by

-the older children.

-Yeah. That's it.

-OK.

But that's not all.

The garden will have to serve a third purpose, too.

All this has to be kept for community use.

Does that mean that the local community's got to have access

-to the garden?

-Yes.

-Not in school time, but at weekends and evenings.

-Yeah.

-And how do you think they will use it?

We're hoping once we've got things, like,

we're growing our own vegetables and things like that,

after school, pick your children up and then come and get some salad out

the garden and take it home.

With three groups to please,

there's the vital question of how to pay for it all.

What sort of budget have you got?

We've put aside £3,000 of the PTA fund

to get things going with the hope that we'll get a bit more.

OK. Let's see some plans.

-Come on. Lead on.

-Let's go.

-Let's have a look at it.

Monty's beginning to realise that this is a big community-sized dream.

But can everyone get what they want?

The mothers are keen to make the space fun for the youngest children,

and a place for the older ones to learn,

so they plan to add five raised beds for veg growing,

and create both a nature area

and a herb garden right in the middle of the space.

To one side of the old decking area,

they want to create a feature known as a stumpery,

a kind of rockery but made with tree stumps.

Now what have we got here? Stumpery!

-Yes.

-Yes.

-I haven't seen a stumpery made for a while.

What makes you want to do a stumpery?

We just thought it was something different

-that would be nice for the children.

-It's a great idea.

First get your stumps.

-Yes.

-We've got some stumps. We've got a selection of logs and stumps.

-We're very lucky.

-We're not quite clear on whether they're right,

what we've bought, but we have.

But Monty thinks their plans

for other wildlife areas are rather vague.

Tell me what you envisaged by nature area. What do you mean by it?

We wanted anything that would attract as much wildlife as possible,

just for the children to learn from.

So you're planting specifically for bees and insects?

-Yes, yes.

-OK. And you're encouraging birds and frogs.

-Yeah.

-OK.

So Monty cautiously suggests an idea

that would definitely encourage wildlife.

If you really want a nature area, what about a pond?

We did discuss it, but we were worried about the safety aspect

-with having children playing.

-Well, it is a worry.

How old are the youngest children, four?

-Four.

-And they would always be supervised?

-Oh, yeah.

The real danger for a pond is to toddlers.

So, how shallow can we get away with in terms of a pond?

You need a very shallow area.

I mean, so that the beach starts out the water.

-Yeah.

-And it's literally just a little bit of water.

Clearly, you can't take any risks,

but I think what would be good would be to set the challenges -

can we make a wildlife friendly pond

that is also safe for children of four and over?

Overall, Monty recommends they create bigger,

more densely planted nature areas,

and build fewer but larger raised veg beds.

But most importantly, he suggests they move their herb garden

from prime position in the middle of the garden

to make way for a more exciting feature -

a child-safe wildlife pond.

-So, happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yeah, really happy.

Keen not to let go of the country's top gardener just yet,

the mothers have called in some helpers

so they can get going right away.

Monty sets them to work clearing out unwanted features,

while he turns his attention to the stumpery.

A stumpery is supposed to be like a rockery, but made with large,

gnarled tree stumps.

Plants can be added in the crevices between the stumps,

and it will soon become a haven for wildlife.

But have his keen amateurs really got the right basic materials?

This is just a bundle of fibrous roots.

That doesn't look like anything.

-I can't see anything here that I would include in a stumpery.

-OK.

Oh, dear. That's a blow for the keen community gardeners.

Luckily, Monty has a new plan.

We could just build a wall up.

As you say, like a wooden rockery...

-Yeah.

-..and plant in the pockets.

You literally just stack them up like you have and...

Like a bug hotel. So, animals get in and you can have mice and dormice.

And then they decompose, and that's really good for fungi,

it's really good for beetles.

We could take stuff in and start to work out what it would look like.

-Do you want to do that?

-Yeah.

It may end up more of a loggery than a stumpery.

But who cares? As long as the insects make their new homes here.

-Yeah.

-I would say the next thing to do is get some logs in.

See what planting spaces there are, then start planting.

Monty gets his enthusiastic team to start bringing the biggest logs,

to create the right sort of wall.

If you're going to plant,

this is a perfect sort of naturally formed space.

-Yeah.

-The whole point of this is a bit of inspiration.

-Yeah.

-A guide. You get a feeling for what you're after.

Once the loggery stumpery has taken shape, Monty shows them how to make

planting pockets using topsoil and compost.

And it's ready to act as host to any passing bugs.

It's been a long day, but everyone is left positive and focused.

It's a very particular project.

You've got to have educational space,

you've got to have a playground and a beautiful garden.

It's got to fulfil a number of quite conflicting demands.

We've got more of a definite vision now of where we're heading to.

-Definitely.

-Whereas before it was a bit vague. And now we're quite set

-on what we're heading for.

-Yeah.

-And how to do it, as well.

-Yeah.

I have no worries on that account,

because if anyone can do it, I think they can.

INDISTINCT CHAT

Summer has well and truly arrived.

Carla and Stewart need to learn about the type of plants they could

include in their tropical garden, so Monty has sent them to visit

a gardener who's trodden the very same path.

Hi, Nick.

20 years ago, Nick, who works in software sales,

moved into this traditional semi in Leeds.

Like Carla and Stewart,

he dreamt of turning his back garden into an exotic paradise.

The result is impressive.

Welcome to the jungle garden.

Wow. Amazing.

I want to do a jungle garden at our house.

I mean, it's not as big as this.

-Where did you start?

-When we moved in, all of this was lawn, all the

way to the back, and I decided I wanted to do jungle gardening.

Nick has created zigzagging paths,

boardwalks and bridges to lead visitors on a jungle journey -

just as Monty suggested for Carla and Stewart's space.

Oh, my goodness - water!

It's a design technique that creates the illusion of a much larger space

and gives exciting possibilities for positioning,

and then viewing the best plants.

Where are we going? This is quite an adventure.

The garden is packed with well-chosen, big star plants.

Plants that look exotic, but which are surprisingly hardy.

What do you think are the ones that are really useful to have,

to have the colour and the leaves during winter?

Two really good, fit-and-forget plants.

The hardiest palm you can get,

Trachycarpus fortunei, windmill palm.

-OK.

-Next to it is a plant you might see in many people's gardens,

which is this strappy one here.

-Yeah.

-Cordyline.

-Oh.

-Right.

They'll take frost down to about minus 18.

Right, OK. That's good to know. Does a fern tree keep its leaf over...?

Yes, the tree fern does keep it.

If it's a mild winter, you should be OK with that in London.

-Yeah.

-The tree ferns will keep their leaves, fronds, in winter, yeah.

Yeah.

With 20 years' experience of creating the tropical look

in a British garden,

Nick has two plants he thinks are absolute essentials.

And he has another clever planting trick.

Most people right now are going for summer bedding.

-Yeah.

-Petunias, Marigolds, lobelia and that kind of thing.

For the jungle garden,

we use things like from the house plant department.

You see the one with the red flower spathe on the right-hand side?

-Yeah.

-That's anthurium.

Better known as a house plant.

-Yes.

-And then next to that is impatiens New Guinea hybrids,

the red one.

They just go to add a sort of a tropical zing every now and again.

-Completely.

-Yeah.

Nick explains that he's positioned

his most dramatic specimens in prime spots.

Gunnera manicata. It's a real star of the jungle garden.

-Yeah! It's huge.

-You can walk underneath it.

-Yeah.

-You get huge leaves.

This is like the epitome of jungle gardening for me, this plant.

Monty said it would be an inspirational day,

but I hadn't expected how inspirational.

Seeing Nick and experiencing his big dream,

we've realised just the depth that can be involved,

-and how much more we can do.

-And how much more ambitious we could be.

Like, kind of not being too scared of massive plants.

Their exotic journey is over

but Carla and Stewart leave with a souvenir -

a baby Gunnera for their own garden.

-Oh, thank you so much, Nick.

-OK.

-Amazing. Enjoy your Gunnera.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Spurred on by their visit, Carla and Stewart get straight down to work.

Fully kitted out for the job in hand,

they decide it's time to clear their space.

And that means tackling that spiky tree in the corner.

We're literally killing it today.

So I'm not...

-Or it kills us.

-Yeah, or it can kill us!

-You OK?

-Yep.

-Oh!

-God, that was so much bigger than I thought it was.

-Yeah, that's huge.

-Like Monty said before,

if we have a small space then we need to make the most of that space.

So you should get rid of anything

that is kind of constraining you in that sense.

So I don't feel too bad.

Monty's advice has encouraged them to be bold,

and Carla and Stewart will soon be ready for the next step.

The gardening mums from St Mary's need inspiration for their new

community garden come playground.

So Monty's sent them here, to Sizergh Castle,

a historic house in the Lake District.

Sizergh's beautiful and wildlife-rich gardens

include a pond, a stumpery and a superb kitchen garden.

A source of fresh ideas for the mums, and fun for the children.

Wow. It's like our pond.

Look at that! Hey, guys, look at this pond.

KIDS CHAT EXCITEDLY

There's a bird walking on the lily pads!

-Oh, yeah!

-Oh, that is so cute.

Monty suggested a pond would attract wildlife and be lots of fun,

as they're about find out.

-Hi, guys.

-Hi.

-Hi, Sam!

-Hello.

-Do you guys want to have a go at pond dipping?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Warden Sam is an expert at pond dipping, and it's his job to help

the children learn and have fun around Sizergh's pond.

I got a daddy one and a baby.

-You did, didn't you?

-I got something!

Careful with your stick.

He's just a little one.

-Did you catch that little one?

-Yeah.

I catched that big one.

Oh, yes, I got a pond skater!

I have no idea what it is.

-What what is?

-That.

That's a pond skater, but it's a bit...

-I think you might have squashed him a little bit.

-I got a pond skater!

-He might be all right.

-I think it's gone down well.

I think it's gone down really, really well, yeah.

The pond dipping is clearly a success,

and Sam has plenty of tips for the novice gardeners.

Is there anything we can do to encourage that kind of wildlife into

-our pond?

-The best way that things are going to get into your pond

is probably going to be from birds coming in and having maybe eggs

stuck on their legs, or pooing in the pond, sort of thing.

So if you can make the rest of your garden like a wildlife haven,

an incentive for them to come in, everything will happen.

Sizergh also boasts a magnificent stumpery, and warden Susan

is keen to show it off.

This is sort of our take on a stumpery.

-OK.

-But you can equally, you know, do your own version.

We have four national collections of hardy fern here.

So we wanted somewhere to show them off.

So although it's not a play area,

we would encourage children to come in and see all the different shapes

and so on, and wildlife that it attracts.

So I think just the whole concept of our garden is that we want our children to be

-able to access every part of it, don't we?

-Yeah.

-So it's not ideal,

but they are going to climb all over everything.

We're going to have to just bear that in mind, I think.

Susan gives them some tips about plants that would survive children

climbing all over them.

What you could do there is choose some of the more sort of tough

and sort of hardy ferns.

We've got one further up which looks very prehistoric, actually,

and it's quite tough.

So if you choose the right plants,

they should sort of withstand a bit of rough and tumble, let's say.

I think this has given us the inspiration to go back and look at

our stump, well, loggery again and...

It's our version. Like, you know how you got your version?

Well, brilliant. I mean, that's - for me - what it's all about,

is giving people inspiration, really.

This is also a perfect garden to get

ideas from, for their wildlife planting.

Can I just ask you what this is?

Cautleya robusta. It's ginger lily.

-Right.

-And it would be great, actually, for your plot,

because it spreads quite readily.

So it can fill in sort of spaces quite easily.

Great for butterflies, bees and hoverflies.

Oh, it would be perfect for the nature area, then, wouldn't it?

Yeah, it would.

And the advice comes with a bit extra.

I'm sure I could pot some up for you.

-Oh, yeah, thank you.

-Be fabulous.

All in all, a great day. But who got the most out of it?

-What do you guys think of pond dipping, then?

-It's really good.

-Really good?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Go on, then, Sam.

-What do you reckon?

-It's spectacular.

Spectacular? Flipping heck.

I think this has made our big dream bigger,

-in a way.

-Yeah.

-Because we can see more now what's actually achievable,

what we could get to in the end.

Our other dreamers in Hackney

are determined to get their tropical garden under way.

Although their courtyard is a mere four by five metres,

Monty suggested they can still create a jungly sense of mystery

by making a winding path.

But first, he said they needed to clear the space, so they've chucked

out everything that doesn't fit their tropical theme.

They've even painted over the peeling old brickwork,

just as Monty recommended.

Next on their list is to invest in some exotic plants.

It's three weeks since Monty first visited St Mary's community garden,

and he'll soon be back to inspect progress.

The gardening team is anxious to see what he thinks.

I think we have come a long way, but I feel we have and we haven't.

I don't want him to come and think, "What have you been doing?"

They've cracked on in several areas,

including splashing out on a substantial path.

And encouraged by their experiences at Sizergh,

they've even made a start on the wildlife pond.

We've moved the herb garden over, haven't we?

-Because the central focus now is the pond...

-Yeah.

-..rather than

the herb garden, which is better,

-because a herb garden is not really a central focus, is it?

-No.

It's a bit more exciting for the children to have a pond, isn't it?

But what everyone wants to know is what will Monty say to all of this?

Any community project can, if it's not careful,

become a horse designed by a committee.

In other words, a camel. And it doesn't quite please anybody,

because it's trying to please everybody.

And I wonder to what extent

this key group of strong women

are keeping the reins and steering it?

-Morning!

-Hi!

-Good morning. How are you? Nice to see you.

One kiss this time, for speed.

OK, nice to see you. So, what are we doing?

They have a surprise in store for Monty,

and Britain's top gardener is about to be tested.

Why am I standing here like a lemon?

THEY LAUGH

Explain to me.

Because we asked all the children today to bring a plant in

for the community garden. It could be absolutely anything.

So we have no idea what's coming up.

Here they come.

Best foot forward, everybody, it's plants on parade.

Look at what we've got there.

-You've got a chilli.

-Sweet pepper.

-Sweet pepper, I'm sorry.

-I make mistakes all the time! Rhubarb!

-Wow!

Inviting plant donations will help to stretch the budget but,

perhaps more importantly,

the team is hoping it will encourage the older children to feel more part

of the garden project.

You've got a heather. Good.

This is like an identification parade, isn't it?

THEY LAUGH There we go.

More mint. Keep on coming, that's lovely.

Oregano.

That's fantastic.

They will be fine here. In fact, they could stay here for days

as long as someone watered them occasionally. Shall we get on?

Because I think it's going to rain. THEY LAUGH

It's time to get Monty's reaction to the pond.

There is one problem which I noticed, which is, it's on a slope.

Yes.

And water finds a level.

-Always.

-We kind of forgot about that.

So that, if the water filled up to the highest point here,

my guess is that it would hit to about there.

-Oh, yeah.

-So, why don't I dig a bit, and someone else bring soil in

-and we'll do it like that?

-Can we use turf?

Yes, we can use turf.

Turf would be good. But rather than chuck it, I would place it.

And with everyone mucking in to help, the problem is soon put right.

What you need to do is, if we need to fill up, we need to start here...

-Right.

-..and backfill in,

because you're going to have a liner over the top of this,

so if we turn it upside down like that, and like that,

and we build it up, you start to build up a kind of bank.

That is dead level.

-Yay!

-So that's the height.

Put that bit on that side...

Monty wants to create a planting shelf within the pond along one side

before stretching a liner over the whole thing.

Are we keeping the plants in the pots, not burying them in the soil?

No, you keep them in the pots.

Ah, I didn't know that.

You can bury them in the soil, but the soil's usually too rich.

-Right, OK.

-And also, where's the soil going to be?

It's underneath the liner, isn't it?

-I thought we'd cut a hole in the liner.

-No...

You cut a hole in the liner... LAUGHTER

-..where does the water go?

-Yeah, through the hole!

What a relief to have an expert on board.

Thank goodness we didn't attempt this on our own!

Now they need to spread a thin layer of sand to protect the rubberised

liner from being punctured.

A liner to a pond, if you imagine you've put on skin-tight rubber...

Every wrinkle and fold will be revealed!

Steady, Monty!

Once it has been seen it cannot be unseen!

LAUGHTER

The better we make the preparatory surface,

the better and the easier it is to put the liner on.

So, if we put the sand in and then spread it...

Just spread it evenly out. It only needs to be about an inch thick.

-That's good.

-And just when it's needed,

reinforcements arrive to lend a hand.

Don't scrape it over the ground. Lift it up if you can.

OK?

Well done.

Monty shows them the next step -

weighing down the liner with stones once it's in just the right place.

Then it's ready to be filled.

While that's happening, Monty's sent the children on an errand.

Monty?

-We've been down to the river.

-Right.

-Got buckets of water.

Oh, well done. I think of this as a soup.

And what you do is, if you add it to that water,

it then becomes full of life - not life you can see -

and then gradually that will feed into other life,

and then we put plants in, that will get richer.

So, who's going to have the honour of pouring it in? If I just go...

-Who's that?

-Evie.

I call this pond Lake Evie.

Go on.

I name this pond...

There you go, go on, pour it in.

Well done. That's it.

-It's so heavy.

-OK, I'll give you a hand. Go on. Off you go. You do it.

It's Lake Evie!

Well done.

Now that's got life in it.

And with the rain adding to the other ingredients,

everyone stands back and admires the day's work.

There's a lot to take off the to-do list.

Look at it. You've got a path,

a pond full of water, no less, and full of water that's pretty level,

which is a miracle, given where we started from!

And you've got fabulous plants.

So that's great. So when I come back I expect it all to come together.

He was really positive about everything.

It's all gone really well.

And the pond... We clearly couldn't have done the pond without him being

here today.

All right, I'm going to wash my hands, get my gear,

-then I'm on the road. Bye-bye.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

He's got the same enthusiasm as us, so he kind of like...

-It's infectious, isn't it?

-Absolutely, yeah.

Well, we've managed to get quite a lot done today and if they get as

much pleasure - parents, children and local community alike -

from the finished product as they seem to be getting from making it,

then it's going to spread a lot of happiness around.

It's high summer and the city is bathed in gorgeous sunshine

and luscious greenery.

Since his last trip to Hackney more than a month ago,

Carla and Stewart invested in a stack of plants,

but which should go where?

Cue a much-needed visit from their mentor.

It was clear to me when I left here last time

that to get the tropical feel that Carla wants,

they've got to wipe the slate clean. Get rid of the tree. Get rid of

every trace of English garden and start anew with a completely

different palette of plants.

The plant pound is at the front of the bungalow.

-Oh, you have been shopping.

-Yes.

How much did that cost?

£347.

£347?

-Yes.

-I think that's quite good value.

-We thought so.

-Yeah.

Monty approves of their choices,

but he does spot a problem.

One immediate thing that would give me cause for alarm is,

some of these plants I certainly wouldn't dream of growing outside

-in winter.

-Oh, really?

-Do you have any winter protection lined up?

Yeah, I guess a lot of fleecing will happen.

-Yeah, particularly with the banana.

-Hay and straw.

Fine. That's absolutely fine.

Good. Right, let's go and put that money to good use.

So, in no particular order...

To make every penny work as hard as possible,

Monty shares his golden rule -

choose where to place the biggest star plants first before filling in

with the smaller ones.

So they're starting with their absolute key plant,

that long-suffering banana.

The couple have been arguing about where to place it for nearly a year.

Can one of you come and help?

What we have to do is hold this down

and then I'll try and pull it out.

-There you go. It's coming.

-Excellent.

There we go. There we go.

OK, let's move the pot.

And you can see...

every square inch of the pot has been used up for roots.

-Yeah.

-And this poor thing is wanting to spread its wings.

Right, where do you want it?

Probably just where it was.

Really? Right there?

When planting anything large,

Monty's rule of thumb is to dig the hole wide,

so it can spread its hungry roots.

And where, like here, the soil is poor, add plenty of nutrition.

Do you have any manure or compost?

We've got some compost, yeah.

With half a bag of compost added and forked in, Monty does the honours.

That's about the height we want it in.

Let these roots out a bit.

If you hold that upright, going to put a little bit more compost

around it and then we'll push the soil back in.

-So, essentially, we are using the hole like a container.

-OK.

As Monty points out, these big plants are going to need looking

after like pot plants for ever,

with additional feeding and watering when needed.

What you want to do is get water down to those roots down the bottom.

Really give it a drink.

Next, Monty suggests planting this luscious canna,

which will soon produce large orangey-yellow flowers.

Perfect for that hot, tropical look.

Like bananas, they like moisture,

they like heat and they like food.

OK, it's good that they sit next to each other, then.

Yeah. But, again,

the more nutrition you give them, the better they'll perform.

Carla and Stewart are learning that every aspect of their garden

will need a lot of care if they're to realise their dream.

I think without Monty we might have rushed ahead with planting stuff

and I think I can be a bit sort of gung ho with these sorts of things.

Monty coming in and showing us how to plant and sort of looking at our

soil and sort of, yeah, coming to the conclusion that it's not very

good but giving us advice on how we can improve it

was really, really useful.

For Carla and Stewart to create the rich, lush, exotic effect they want,

they do need a rich soil. And they don't have that at the moment.

That's going to have to come with time

and lots of mulching, year after year.

It's the end of August.

The harvest is underway, and the community of Hawkshaw

is making use of a spell of good weather to get the project finished

before Monty's final visit. The pressure is on.

-All the big things are done, aren't they?

-Yes.

We're on to the lots of fiddly small things.

Yeah. A lot of finishing touches to do, really.

Yeah. We're going to put the fence round the pond.

Hopefully, we will have time to do it.

Hopefully!

This is going to be a busy week, isn't it? But we'll get there.

Better get cracking, then. Top of the list is to make good use

of the ginger lily donated by Sizergh,

something the mums thought would encourage nectar-hungry insects

into the garden.

If we try and split it into a few pieces and we spread it around

the garden, then, then we've not just got one.

I'm just a bit frightened about splitting it, because the roots

are all joined together and I obviously don't want to lose it

cos we do really, really like it.

It takes guts to chop into the roots like this,

and Helen's growing confidence as a gardener is clear to see.

-There we go.

-It's like slicing a cake.

-It is.

And Jenny's convictions about what to do with their stumpery

speaks volumes about her budding gardening skills.

It would be nice to recreate in our own way what we saw at Sizergh,

in their stumpery, you know, like,

adding our own things into it that aren't necessarily

traditional stumpery plants.

Yeah, I felt quite happy after we'd been to Sizergh

because, at the end of the day,

we've sort of made our own version of a stumpery.

Their self-assurance about their ideas has come a long way.

Things in Hackney have been moving on as well since Monty last

lent a hand. But Carla and Stewart's tiny garden still needs

to make a big leap forward.

Luckily, sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know.

Since Monty's been here,

we have done a bit of planting and then we thought we'd better get some

paving done, so we had some friends over who were amazing.

They came over with an angle grinder

and they just cut them out into some nice curves for us.

They came to help us, but they ended up doing most of it themselves.

Now they'll be able to lay the underfoot pebble texture

that evokes Carla's childhood in the Philippines.

We've never done anything like this before, so...

We've been told that we can lay them outside but this is more of

an experiment, so hopefully it'll work.

And before long, Monty's back to see how they're getting on.

I know that Carla and Stewart have wanted to create a lush,

tropical feel in their garden.

With the plants they've chosen, I'm sure that will happen.

But the difference between making a good idea sort of work and creating

a great garden is attention to detail.

It can be lush and exuberant

but every leaf and every part of the garden must be finessed,

particularly in one as small as theirs.

Carla and Stewart have spread out to the front of the bungalow,

where they've been experimenting with one such detail.

Are orchids something that you have a special interest in?

Yeah, my mum had an orchid garden when I was little.

Just stop there, that's really grand.

"My mum had an orchid garden."

That's not something you hear every day in the streets of Hackney.

-No.

-Your mother had hanging orchids?

-Yeah.

-What were they hanging from?

They were hanging from dried coconuts.

-You won't to be able to get dried coconuts?

-Well, actually, we do.

We tried drying our own coconuts.

But they ended up coming out a bit wrong.

Carla's idea is to turn these coconut shells into hanging pots

for her orchids.

This is one I made earlier.

This is like a farcical Blue Peter programme.

Here you have a lovely orchid. How will you fix them to it?

-I don't know.

-OK.

All right, work in progress.

And how are you hanging them so they don't fall sideways?

It's completely fine for them to fall sideways.

OK, good. No, listen, I'll bow to your superior knowledge on this.

because I've never had even one hanging orchid garden in my life.

When I think about your garden,

detail needs to be really precise.

And this is a really good example

of the kind of detail I was thinking about, cos that's what you will see.

Yeah.

Carla also wants Monty's approval of another key element of her Filipino

dream garden.

Now, I don't know what this is.

It looks to me, it could be a bridge, it could be a path,

-it could be a building.

-Yeah, a bit of both but not the last.

-A bridge and a path.

-A bridge and a path.

-Tell me how you're using it and what you've got to do.

-We want to lay

this out in the garden and form a kind of pathway through the plants.

So that's going behind the banana?

Exactly, it's kind of weaving behind the banana.

And then next to this path we're going to have some vertical

structures embedded in the ground

-and that's what we're thinking of hanging some plants off.

-Yeah.

Leaving them to finish their jungle hideaway,

Monty will be back in just a couple more weeks to see the final result.

In Hawkshaw, it's the last day of the school holidays and time for the

garden project to be completed before the start of the new term.

Monty's on his way to see whether the St Mary's team have pulled off

their ambitious dream.

But the weather forecast is atrocious.

This project is unlike any kind of private garden because it has to

deal and please so many people

and different kinds of people from the very youngest child at school

to local people who may have lived here for 80 years or more.

But no garden could have had more enthusiasm and more goodwill

poured into it, so let's hope that all that amounts to something

that is going to please everybody.

Last time Monty was here was the last day of term

and there's a lot happened since then.

It would be so nice if he approves

of what we've done so far, wouldn't it?

I think he will. I think he'll be amazed.

I'm getting excited.

It's only six weeks since Monty first visited.

Then, it was a large but underused space with boring features,

almost devoid of educational or fun value.

The PTA team have worked a miracle.

They've transformed it into a colourful,

fun-packed area that has something for everyone.

There you are. It's come alive.

-Yes.

-It is looking fantastic.

The new path guides visitors on a special journey of discovery,

from the vegetables in the raised beds to the wildlife in the pond,

from the bug hotels crawling with guests to their unique take

on a Victorian stumpery.

Helen, Jenny and Clare have been

the ringleaders in putting real life into this one-time blank canvas.

But they've shared the fun with the whole community.

-You must have worked very hard.

-We really have.

-We have, yeah.

-And what do the children think of it?

-They love it, yeah.

There's something in every little bit that you see little clumps

of children going, "What's this?" And it's really great.

Well, there's lots here. I love the signs.

"Pond rules - one at a time.

"Don't lean on the rail. Don't squash the frogs."

And the mosaic, where did that come from?

That was just buried on the wall here and not really appreciated.

Right. Let's go back. In the corner was going to be a stumpery.

-And your stumps were a little bit stumpy, weren't they?

-Yeah...

-So that's become a...

-Rockery.

-It's really nice.

I really like that.

The veg are looking great, cos they started very late.

Yeah, and we didn't really have much hope for them,

but we really think they've done well.

The children are dead excited that it's grown, aren't they?

They're really excited when they come down and see that it's grown.

So do people come from the houses round and take stuff?

Yeah. And parents after school can come down and get something, yeah.

But the piece de resistance is the wildlife pond,

something the team would never have dared tackle

without Monty's encouragement.

So the children come running over the bridge,

which is good fun.

-Do they like it?

-They love it.

-They think it's... They look for frogs.

-Yeah.

We were hesitant about the idea of a pond because we thought,

you know, water and children, it might be difficult,

but we are really glad we've done it now.

I think it's added the wow factor to our garden.

How much have you actually spent?

To get it to this point, I think about 4,000.

And, ultimately, it's money well spent. We're happy with it.

You may not be able to measure it in pounds, shillings and pence

but you can certainly measure it in the sum of human happiness.

Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

And what British garden would be complete without one final detail -

the predicted downpour.

But not even that has kept the community away.

The children are so excited about it.

There's so much learning will go on, with the different plants

we'll be growing, with the pond, which has already got frogs in it,

which is just lovely.

It's great that our children and our friends' children are going to grow

up and have this all to look forward to.

From a piece of grass to what we've got now is a credit to everybody

that's done it.

It's a wonderful thing and it's been a privilege to watch it

being made and it's an even greater privilege to declare it open.

So, I declare this garden open!

CHEERING

Fantastic! Very good.

I applaud you.

A small group of very dedicated, passionate,

enthusiastic women have combined to create not just the garden,

but a complicated one that's fulfilling lots of roles

and pleasing lots of people.

When we started, this was our big dream.

It sparked something within us

that we didn't think we would be able to do.

But now we've got even bigger dreams.

Yeah. We've surpassed what we wanted to do.

This is a garden that will survive

any amount of weather or whatever life can throw at it,

because it's made with real passion,

and it shines.

In Hackney, it's the big day.

How far will Monty think Carla and Stewart have come since their first

tentative steps as novice gardeners?

When I first came here and Carla and Stewart explained their dream of

having a tropical, exotic garden,

that would remind them of the Philippines, I thought that's

really interesting but not particularly unusual.

What fascinates me, and what I want to see now,

is how they've taken that idea and then personalised it,

how they've used detail, sometimes quite small detail,

to make this exotic garden their own.

When people have asked us what Monty's role is in this project,

my main answer is that he is our mentor.

And, as with any mentor, when you actually finish something,

you really want their approval.

And he has... What he's seen so far he has liked,

so a small part of my mind thinks he's going to turn up and hate it,

but I think that's unlikely,

-so, yeah, I'm sure it's going to be fine.

-Yeah.

Less than four months ago,

Carla and Stewart's tiny back courtyard was a scruffy little box

with flaking brick walls

and a large, unloved spiky tree in one corner.

Now it's been completely transformed into a private, tropical retreat.

Well, look at it. It's great!

They've cleanly divided the space into two areas with a bold,

curving cobbled path creating the sensuous underfoot texture

Carla craved.

They've planted a dazzling array of tropical plants including bananas,

a windmill palm, a Gunnera given to them by Nick, and canna lilies.

Their home-made bamboo pathways

and seating evoke a simple Filipino style.

The hanging frames support the colourful orchids that remind Carla

of her childhood.

Now it's time for a full review.

It feels quirky and slightly odd, which I like. Are you happy with it?

-Very happy.

-Very happy, yeah.

I think it's better than what we envisaged.

What were the key details that you felt made it come alive?

I think definitely some of the plants,

like the crested wattle

really reminds me of the tamarind and maybe the bamboo structures

and the actual architectural features.

Your bamboo path, I see has got in.

-Yes.

-And that's worked.

-Good.

-And does it work as a path?

-Yes.

-Yeah, the plants have grown quite a lot into the path,

so we need to maybe do some trimming.

And at the last moment,

Carla has added one special detail that brings back those important

childhood memories.

The bag is actually quite personal,

I think, cos that's something that's really Filipino,

-having those bags.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-And that was a last-minute thing yesterday.

-Right, good.

-And these pebbles as well. That was a big part, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

So tell me about the budget.

-How's that gone?

-Well, we initially said £2,000.

We haven't gone too badly. I think we've spent about 2,200.

That's reasonable, I think.

-Yeah.

-Given that you didn't know what you were doing!

-Exactly!

Actually, it's not unreasonable

to transform part of your household into a completely new living space,

-is it?

-Completely.

-And that's what it's become.

-Yes.

Now they have Monty's seal of approval,

it's time for family and friends to see what the couple have been up to.

And amongst them, a familiar face.

They've done an amazing job.

It is just full of tropical,

zingy plants, mad jungly leaves.

It's brilliant.

When I came out of their patio door,

it's not what you expect to see in a small courtyard in Hackney.

Even Stewart's mum has only seen the garden for the first time.

So proud of both of them.

Stewart has never touched a garden in his life,

so to be able to bring this to fruition is just incredible.

All that's needed now is for Monty

to give this tropical courtyard dream an appropriate send-off.

Right, I think it's time we made this garden official, don't you?

We shall drink to a future of constant tropical lushness

and endless pruning! So, cheers.

-ALL:

-Cheers!

-What do you want to call this garden?

-The Jungalow.

The Jungalow, right.

I christen this garden the Jungalow.

Oh, yes, look!

CHEERING

We're watering it!

One of the things that I've enjoyed about this is how uncomplicated

it's been. Carla and Stewart had an idea of what they wanted and,

with minimal fuss, they've just set about making it happen,

even though they've had to learn a lot along the way,

and I suspect they're going to enjoy it with the same lack of fuss.

They've got a new hobby, quite a serious hobby, which is gardening.

And I know that is something that's lifelong,

so that's kind of a great thing.

I think I feel a bit sad because it's the end of the process, well,

this part of the process, that we both really enjoyed kind of the

different steps and learning different things about the plants,

but I guess that's not going to come to an end.

-No.

-We should try not to be too sad.