Devizes Garden Rescue

With her can-do attitude,

-love of simple gardens and decades of experience...

-Hello!

..Charlie Dimmock is one of Britain's best-loved gardeners.

Looking good, boys.

But the new kids on the gardening block are the Rich brothers.

We want to be the brothers that change people's perceptions of gardeners.

Winners of multiple medals at the Chelsea Flower Show...

-Wow!

-Get in.

-It's amazing.

..the boys have become known for their dramatic outdoor spaces.

APPLAUSE

Now these two different generations of gardening are going head-to-head.

I know they've got a gold medal, but I can come up with a few ideas.

They're meeting frustrated garden owners across the country...

The photos made it look tiny. It is, isn't it?

-I'm sure you've seen larger.

-I don't know what to do with it.

..and will each pitch them a design based on their needs and budget.

That looks really exciting.

It doesn't look like it could be our garden.

-The winner...

-Hey!

-Ta-da!

..brings their design to life.

-Hold on, hold on!

-Sweet as a nut.

And the loser has to help them build it.

I'm getting irritated now with faffing around.

This is what happens...

-Does he ever get irritating?

-All the time.

..when different styles collide...

-Who chose these?

-One, two, three.

-This looks like your design.

-Yeah.

..to turn garden dreams into reality.

-Wow!

-Open your eyes.

-Whoa!

-It's amazing.

-It's beautiful.

It's time for Charlie and the Rich brothers to discover whose

garden they're fighting over this time.

Andrea and Gary have sent these photos through.

Gary was in the Army for 15 years.

For seven years they moved about and moved to five different houses.

-Oh, wow.

-So, for the first time ever, they've got their own little plot.

After a long career in the Forces,

Gary, his wife Andrea and their three-year-old son Norman

finally have a house and garden they can call their own.

With the Army quarters you couldn't change the decoration or do

anything with the garden or do anything, really.

It had to be all plain and how you found it is how you needed to leave it.

And moving into our first very own home,

I can't...I haven't got words to describe it, really.

They must be really excited about actually having their own garden

that they can do some gardening in.

Yeah, I think we've waited a long time as a family to have

their own space, and this is the right time, and we're the right people.

So we've got to create something special.

Since moving in, they've been concentrating on doing up the house,

but now it's the garden's turn.

But it's a mess.

Having a three-year-old and three dogs trampling on it

has done nothing for the lawn, and aside from a broken shed,

there isn't much to catch the eye.

The garden space is all very plain,

and we're not really doing anything with it, really.

We're both lovers of outdoor and nature, and it would be lovely

to be able to look out your window and see lots of trees and flowers.

But we're just struggling with the whole design bit.

We've kind of got ideas in our head but just can't quite work out

where to put the right plants in the right places.

It's quite sterile, though. Hedge, shrub, lawn.

Yeah, in essence it is another blank canvas.

With indoor renovation still to complete, Andrea and Gary only

have a limited budget to create the new flower-filled haven they crave.

The budget we've got is £1,500.

-It's not a tiny garden, it's not a large garden, is it?

-No.

-This one's going to take all our creativity, isn't it?

-I think so, yeah.

At seven by eight metres, this is a big garden to try to transform

for £1,500, but at least some of it looks salvageable.

Big patio area here, that looks reasonably all right.

Yeah, they did say they wanted to leave that.

It's quite functional, good for chairs and tables,

-so we've got this bit down the bottom.

-Pressure's on.

With a new life ahead of them in a new home,

all Andrea wants is a new garden to match.

I've got you, I've got you!

With the challenge on the table,

Charlie and the Rich brothers will now go head-to-head for the chance

to make over Andrea and Gary's garden.

So they're heading to Devizes to see the garden for themselves.

They're looking for ideas that might give them an advantage

when it comes to their design.

-Ah.

-Oh, wow. Nice.

-There's a good shape.

-Yeah, there's a great little plot.

-Beautiful size.

And have you got any ideas? Are you a gardener yourself?

-No, not really.

-Don't look so worried!

-No.

-What bits of the garden do you dislike at the moment?

-Well, I dislike that bit down there.

-The roof.

Where you can see the neighbour's roof.

I'd ideally quite like a big tree or something there for the birds to go in.

-Encourage wildlife.

-Yeah, definitely encourage wildlife.

It's what our garden wants to be all about.

And we want Norman to be at home with nature,

and to learn where his food comes from.

Growing vegetables.

To really stimulate Norman, get him experiencing things, growing his own.

Something he wants to do, him and his dad.

-HARRY:

-You can take it from the garden to the kitchen.

That kind of thing, yeah.

It needs to be dog friendly and family friendly.

-Social and family friendly.

-Practical.

Practical, yeah, very practical.

Andrea's shopping list is long, and it's all got to be done for £1,500.

That's a big ask.

But before they start, the boys want to take

a quick look at what the couple have done with the house.

They've got a country-farm feel, isn't it?

Quite cottagey, isn't it? Quite authentic, quite traditional.

-The materials, look at these here.

-They're beautiful.

Beautiful paving on the floor.

-You could see that in a garden, couldn't you?

-Yeah.

They want to see if there's anything about their taste that could be reflected in the garden.

Quite muted colour in here, isn't it?

The wallpaper, you've got that blue, a Himalayan poppy blue.

-Yeah.

-You could translate that into the planting nicely, couldn't you, I think.

And natural materials, I think, is key.

We don't want anything too modern, too contemporary.

-Really nice, traditional, would link nicely with this, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

So, although you don't know your plants, do you want it minimal, or...?

No, I'd quite like lots and lots.

We would quite like lots and lots of plants and flowers, different colours.

-That's a nice dresser here, isn't it?

-Quite shabby-chic.

-It is.

I think we can look to tie that back with the garden,

maybe if they have little items we can upcycle them.

Andrea and Gary's love of nature is reflected in their taste and decor.

They will be looking for a rustic garden to match.

And would you use the garden a lot in the winter?

Yeah, we want it all year round. All weathers, really.

So, the rival designers get straight to work.

Each of them will come up with a design for Andrea, Gary and Norman

that will work within their £1,500 budget.

Andrea will then have to choose a winner, and whoever loses will

help the winner build the garden.

So, who will she go for?

Charlie is a kindred spirit when it comes to wildlife-friendly gardens.

This is a brief she is more than familiar with.

-Wow!

-OK.

But the boys are known for their contemporary designs,

so having seen Andrea's house,

can they come up with something special and upset the odds?

Here is our design.

It all comes down to this, the pitch.

So, we really wanted to stress on the point of what you guys do as a family together.

So we wanted to give you your own little patch of nature, but in your back garden.

Yeah.

-HARRY:

-One of the key elements of the design is something called

Norman's Meadow Rooms. These are two rooms set within this meadow.

It allows him to have two spaces, two different places to play.

So he can maybe set up a tent in there or something like that.

Yeah, sounds good.

I have gone down the route of dividing the garden,

so along here is like a picket fence with double gates here.

-Yeah.

-So if Norman's in here playing with his football,

you can have the dogs on the patio

-and they won't be whipping his football away.

-Yeah.

-I know you are keen on upcycling...

-Yeah.

So your timbers that you've got, the pallets and that,

I was going to use to make a potting bench,

because I can see that you're keen to learn about gardening...

Yeah, definitely.

And I'm sure Norman will love to be up there

digging, planting some seeds.

Both designers have kept family life at the centre of their designs.

However, Charlie knows that Andrea is a plant lover,

so is hoping her year-round scheme will win her over.

Plant-wise, I've gone very pretty, cottagey around here,

but incorporating some shrubs to reduce the maintenance,

and those shrubs are going to give you colour at different times of the year.

This meadow is knee-high,

so all year round you will get this different kind of flood of flowers,

which is going to look absolutely dramatic in the garden.

Wanted to bring in some cornice midwinter fire.

They've got really red stems,

so in winter they'll look quite vibrant and quite sculptural.

Witch hazel, which have a winter flower on them,

which will encourage the birds in.

-You said about the roof on the far side of the garden...

-Yeah.

So in the corner we've put a nice ornamental cherry tree.

-Yeah.

-It will really give that vibrancy to that space.

Knowing the family are keen to grow their own veg,

both designers have made room for edibles, too.

-I have incorporated vegetables in the planting.

-OK.

And that can look really pretty, because you can edge borders with

salad leaves, which cut and come again.

Over here, these are two dwarf fruit trees.

We've got two raised planters, here. Very manageable.

-A great start for you guys to grow.

-Yeah.

We've also left some room in case you want to put another one in,

in case you start going mad on the vegetable front.

LAUGHTER

Both the designers have, in very different ways,

addressed Andrea's brief.

But now the gloves are coming off, and in a bid to win, Charlie

is going straight to the heart of Andrea's passion for wildlife.

Bearing in mind you want to encourage lots of birds into

the garden, interest,

they love mixed hedges using natives and evergreens,

so all the way round the gaps here,

this is a mixed hedge using your pyracantha with beech,

hazel and things like that which the birds love to nest in,

and then I've got here a very wild woodlandy bit.

So we've got a couple of trees that are going to get high enough to

-hide the roofline.

-Yeah.

But they haven't got such dense shade that plants will grow underneath.

That's it. The pitch is over. It's now down to Andrea.

Obviously this one...

That's a selling point, having that with the two rooms.

I really like that idea.

And then this one, I like the different areas.

I like the wild part.

This is the first garden that Andrea and her family have had for themselves.

The right choice could really make a difference to them as a family.

Not sure.

Will she plump for the Rich brothers' design

with its naturalistic meadow and outdoor playroom,

or Charlie's design with its interlocking circles and

cottage-garden borders?

It's decision time.

-Hello.

-Hi. OK, so, I've chosen the winner.

Loved both designs, but I could only pick one.

And the one is...

-Hey, nice! Well done.

-I thought you were leaning the other way.

No, I loved it. I could just see it in different sections in this one.

I liked the fact there was this wild bit here with the trees

to attract the wildlife and the birds, which I really,

really wanted, and something for Norman to get involved with.

So, Charlie's wildlife planting clinched it.

But she's really going to need the boys' help on this one.

She's promised Andrea a child-friendly, dog-friendly,

wildlife-friendly and edible garden.

And has to deliver all of it for just £1,500.

It's early morning in Devizes, and the hammers are out already.

With only £1,500 to spend on this garden,

Charlie's away coming up with some last-minute upcycling ideas

to make Andrea's budget go further.

In the meantime, she's sent project manager Kate

to mark out the key features in the garden.

Charlie's design is all about circles.

Even the pergola she's proposing is round, not square.

One of the mainstays of Charlie's design are these two big

circles that are going to be brick-lined.

One with lawn and one...

lined and then infilled with bark chip around the shed.

So we're taking up some slabs from this stepway that should be

central but isn't, and we're going to move them over here and

make it central, and it will just make everything work.

With the middle of the patio repositioned, landscapers

Adam and Scott can get on with marking out exactly where the circles will be.

I'm going to dot the lines.

Scott is going to follow round with a half-moon and cut the lines

into the turf.

And we can then get a turfing iron in and lift out that ground

in between, which gives us our depth to set our bricks in.

As the dominant features in the garden,

the two circles have to be perfectly positioned.

So, having found the middle point of circle one,

Adam is using string and a spray can to get the arc spot on.

While Scott follows on behind with a half-moon edging tool to get a perfect cut.

So the easiest way to get this turf off of the lawn is to have

someone following you behind with a turfing iron, doing the hard bit.

LAUGHTER

With the areas marked out, Scott and Adam now have to figure out

how many bricks they'll need for the edge.

13 to a metre...and we're a three-metre radius,

it works out about 250 bricks for the big circle...

and then nearly another 100 to do the returns around the shed.

-It's quite a lot of bricks.

-It's a lot of bricks.

Whilst calculations go on in the back,

Charlie and the Rich brothers have arrived.

And with £1,500 to spend, the boss is on a mission.

So, with this garden, we're definitely not going to the garden

centre and not going to the builder's store to buy lots

-and lots of stuff.

-That's what I was going to be doing all day there,

-just travelling back and forth.

-The budget doesn't allow it.

But, having said that, we should be able to achieve something

really quite attractive

with the money we have got and upcycling.

-More of a challenge.

-Definitely.

My concern is...

I want to leave lots and lots of space for Norman to play,

but then I don't want it to look like a football pitch.

I want it to look like a garden.

-Yeah, just enough space to exhaust Norman.

-Yeah!

We just need to think about it and, you know, spend some time

making sure we get it exactly right.

I don't want it to look like Steptoe's yard, but...

-I don't know what Steptoe's yard is.

-Oh, you're so young.

So young, they are.

So, without further ado, Charlie sets the boys to work,

creating the second of the interlocking circles.

The bricks that will be used for the edging have arrived

and will be laid side by side rather than end to end.

-It's quite satisfying, scooping up turf.

-Yeah.

Harry and Davey's design may not have won,

but they're impressed with Charlie's choice of materials.

Charlie's used brick here and that works really nice and

with the paving that's already here,

but there are actually loads of different ways that you can do it.

Yeah. You've got cobbles.

-You could have rounded, more tumbled cobbles, couldn't you?

-Yeah.

Maybe some low hedging. Then, again, that's a very soft way of doing it.

Give it a little bit of elevation.

Whilst the circular structures start to take shape,

Charlie's upcycling mission has begun.

Upcycling's all the rage these days.

It's basically just using bits and bobs you've got laying around

that you use creatively to make something that's useful,

so environmentally it's much better because you don't create

landfill and you're reusing what you've got about.

And when you've only got £1,500 to spend on a garden,

anything free is a bonus.

Knowing the family are keen to learn about gardening,

Charlie wants them to start composting.

A new composting bin can be costly,

so Charlie is using some leftovers found at the back of the garden.

I mean, I have to say it's great Gary's got all these pallets,

-bits of timber we can use.

-Yeah.

But I don't want it to look like three pallets screwed together.

-OK. I'll put this down, out the way, for a sec.

-Yeah.

So I'm thinking...

This slat...boards across...

-Boards across the back...

-OK.

-..like that.

-Yeah.

-And then what I'd like to do is have boards that slide in.

-OK.

We're going to have to face that as well.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Not a problem.

Meanwhile, the turf has been lifted

and it's time to cement in the brick edging.

This is the mix of sand and cement we're using to lay the bricks onto.

It's five to one, which means it's five sand to one cement,

and that's your standard brick-laying mix.

With this, as it's just a feature,

it's not load-bearing and you're not walking on it,

so there doesn't need to be a layer

of hardcore beneath the cement and brick.

Getting a nice curve from straight bricks

calls for some precise laying.

What I'm going to look to do is just splay the bricks ever

so slightly at the furthest point

and what that will do is give a really nice, clean arc.

By adding circles and curves to Andrea and Gary's garden,

Charlie is adding interest to the plot.

In a standard rectangular garden,

the eye is often drawn to the fence or boundary line,

but in adding curves and arcs, the eye is drawn around the space.

But to really finish off a curved bed,

a proper landscaped edge can give the garden a professional look.

Bricks laid end to end are a traditional favourite.

Log edging is cheaper and more natural,

so works for wildlife gardens but can degrade quicker.

And, in a modern garden,

steel or aluminium edging can create seamless, flowing curves.

Back in Devizes, David's keen to see how the boss's building

project is coming along.

-Oh, here's trouble.

-What are you up to, hiding round the front?

We're on big...chippy construction site here,

and that's not potato chippies.

-What are you making?

-Compost bin.

-Oh, nice!

-Yeah.

Seems like the fun stuff.

Well, what are you doing, then?!

-I'm just collecting bricks.

-Oh, that's all right.

Oh, you're on the precision stuff.

You've watched that circle that we're doing - oh-ho-ho!

Is it an ellipse now, is it?

-Better not be an ellipse.

-HE LAUGHS

See you later.

Charlie needn't worry,

the boys and the landscapers are doing a cracking job

and really taking great care to do justice to her design.

And now they are happy with their curves,

they can further secure the bricks into place.

We're going to brush in a dry mix of sand and cement,

and that will just help bind it a little bit,

-and also neaten it up as a finish.

-And it's really easy to do, as well.

You're not having to point it with a wet mix.

-Make life easy when you can.

-Yeah, definitely.

And, as the last of the edging goes in,

Scott and Adam can breath a sigh of relief,

knowing they got their calculations correct

and ordered exactly the right amount of bricks.

-Two more?

-Yas.

In the recycling centre,

the home-made compost bin is coming along.

Charlie and Adam are putting in sliding panels,

so it will be easy for the family to access.

-Oh, look at that!

-That's not bad.

Waste not, want not is definitely the theme of the day.

Kate's got a plan to recycle all the turf that's been lifted.

She's stacking it behind the shed, grass side down,

and, in a few months' time,

all the grass will have died off and Andrea and Gary will be left

with a pile of lovely soil, perfect for potting.

Charlie's got the recycling bit between her teeth now

and has found some more treasure behind the shed.

In this garden, I'm going to include everything and the kitchen sink.

-I...

-Hey!

-I think that's going to look amazing.

-Shh!

Going to plant it up, are you?

-No. I thought it would make a great potting bench.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Like it.

-Perfect.

So there's no rest for Adam.

No sooner has he finished the composter,

he's back amongst the pallets once more.

Offer it up, as they say.

Should sit nicely.

That's... That's all right.

So the idea is this is a potting bench,

so you can put the compost in here,

so it won't spill off or blow off,

and then you can pot up on here.

But then, likewise, you can put a plug in...

And fill that with water, and Norman can play in the water

and have his cars and boats,

and maybe a bit of soil, and make a real mess,

which is great fun when you're a kid.

While Charlie channels her inner child out the front, in the garden,

there's been a slight change of plan.

Originally, this area was down as bark chip,

but Andrew loved the colour of this gravel and felt it really

kind of portrayed that country, natural feeling,

so that's what we've gone with.

I think it actually works really well because her kitchen

has this kind of colour scheme as well, so, again,

it's very soft, isn't it?

So I think, you know, it's a really nice decision.

And there's multiple colours and aggregates for gravel,

so you can fit your colour scheme or your theme with that, can't you?

Why not?

One of the reasons Andrew chose Charlie's design over the boys'

was her proposed areas for wildlife-friendly planting.

In the top right corner of the plot,

Charlie is planning a mixed native hedge for attracting the birds.

At the moment, the fence is there but it's a bit stark.

And birds actually like to be able to hop in and look around in

a hedge, and then go to the bird feeders.

If it's a big, open area like this, they're always a bit wary.

A native hedge is a mixed hedge that you'd see in the hedgerows up

and down country lanes.

It's made up of plant and shrub species native to the UK.

We've got dogwood, so that's got big, open pink flowers.

We've got viburnum, which has lovely white flowers early summer.

And then lots and lots of berries in the autumn,

which the blackbirds love.

Then we have also got privet.

BOTH: Wild privet.

And we've got hawthorn.

We've also got some beech as well...

-And hornbeam.

-Yeah.

Because the bigger the mix,

the more of the variety of insects you'll get,

so the more variety of birds and other wildlife you'll get.

They may be thin and spindly now,

but eventually these shrubs will grow and mesh together,

creating a lush wildlife-friendly hedge.

Hedges are a really great way of making a garden hospitable to birds,

but there are other things we can do

to tempt wildlife into our back yards.

Adding a pond makes a huge difference...

and it doesn't have to be a big pond either.

Just a tin bath or a half-barrel on a patio will attract wildlife.

Leaving a patch of long grass,

as Charlie has planned in Andrea and Gary's garden,

provides a habitat for grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars.

And, of course, choosing plenty of shrubs and trees with berries,

like rowan, holly and yew, will make sure there's a running buffet

for birds in the colder months.

For Andrea's new hedgerow, to make the budget go further,

Charlie's bought young plants - or whips - rather than mature shrubs.

They establish well in the ground,

especially if you plant them between late autumn and early spring.

We've got 100 whips.

We're going to do a double row and then we're going to space them out

about a foot to a foot and a bit apart,

so we're going to get 50 foot of hedge for £90 -

you couldn't do that with a solid fence.

No way.

Another way to tempt birds into the garden is with feeders,

which can be bought from any garden centre.

Charlie's ordered a couple and given the boys the job of building them.

Where is M?

M2.

Once they're loaded up with food,

these feeders will keep the birds coming back to the garden.

I've done something wrong here.

I mean, yours is looking rubbish.

But the boys are in a spot of bother.

-Instructions back out.

-HE SIGHS

They may have a Chelsea gold medal under their belts,

but, when it comes to flat pack, they're all over the shop.

I'm just trying to find... Where's the box this all came out of?

At this rate, Charlie's hedge will be fully grown and attracting

birds before the feeders are ready.

Once planted, Charlie prunes the top of each whip.

By cutting off the top section, what happens is you make all the

growth come from the shoots at the bottom,

so, of course, it gets thicker.

The hedge will be planted in no time.

But, sadly, progress is a little slower out the front.

M...times two.

There should be two of Ms.

Have a look, see if you can see an M...anywhere.

I've got my own troubles. I don't know which screw to use.

While the boys finally get to grips with the feeders,

things are moving on apace in the rest of the garden.

And, happily, the potting bench cum mud kitchen is a triumph...

Ready? Up.

Ooh, that's a lot lighter than I thought.

..and is ready to be moved into place, along with the compost bin.

-Look at that. Dream!

-It's as if it was measured.

I don't think that is...

-Here, I think.

-Just about here.

-Underneath the window.

-Beautiful.

You have been busy back there, then, have you?

Yes. See? You think I've just been drinking tea.

I'm sure you've been doing that as well as been doing this.

And pointing a bit, and moaning.

-That's where that's going, is it?

-Yeah.

How tall is Norman?

-How tall is Norman?

-How tall is he?

Is this a quiz, is it?

No, no, I haven't finished this yet.

-Oh.

-We're going to put steps.

-Oh, perfect.

They look amazing, them.

-Just using kind of bits and bobs you had around...

-Yeah.

-..it shows what you can do with just a bit of jiggery-pokery.

-Yeah.

A bit of thought...and what can you create?

-A garden!

-A garden, ah.

I put pressure on Dave then to come up with something.

You were going to say something profound, like "the only thing that

limits you is your imagination".

-Aw...you're in my head.

-LAUGHTER

Charlie may have used the leftovers from Andrea's old garden to

make the most of the limited budget,

but some gardeners consider upcycling

to be a style all of its own.

Garden designer Jeni Cairns loves reinventing old items.

She uses recycled and repurposed objects as the cornerstone of

many of her garden designs.

I grew up on a farm and my dad would never throw anything away,

and my grandma and my grandad.

I think it's sort of come down the line.

Looking around her own garden, it's clear that many of the items

she's upcycled and repurposed have an agricultural feel.

One of the things that I've made is a water feature

and I used drinking bowls out of animal shed,

and drilled holes in them

so they could create this cascade as it went down.

And I used things like metal grating for the background and then

created a pebble mosaic.

Jeni's always on the lookout for her next recycling project and

sourced as many of her materials from local salvage yards.

Her recent find was some old railway sleepers.

I had this sort of triangle area in my garden,

so I used them in a sort of fan shape set into tarmac chippings,

and then it's created this great space,

which could be an area where alpines and things that grow in gravel,

you know, could do really well,

and I think it's been a really successful part of the garden.

Jeni clearly has a great eye when it comes to spotting the

potential of a redundant object

and has a skill for making something beautiful for the garden out

of the least likely things.

I've used oil drums quite a lot more recently because

there are so many of them and they can be reused in

so many different ways.

So, using a plasma cutter,

I could cut them in half and use wood as a top to make a seat,

or I would cut the ends

and create a piece of decorative artwork to go on the wall.

Just change things, and they look new and fresh and...

I just think there's so many...

There's an endless world of possibilities.

With the recycling and upcycling complete

in Andrea and Gary's garden,

the team are cracking on with the planting.

-Charlie, we've got your trees for you.

-Okey-cokey.

Look at this. Beautiful crab apple - good choice!

Yes, lovely crab apple. Nice flowers.

I mean, look at that.

This one is red sentinel,

so it gets the red apples on it that stay on all winter.

And I've got the sorbus, so the beautiful kind of

autumn colour in berries.

It's all about that.

-It's quite a showy one for late in the season.

-Yeah.

To add height to her design, Charlie has included two trees that

will perform two key functions in the garden -

they'll provide cover and berries for the birds,

and block the unsightly rooftops at the back of the plot.

The budget means Charlie has bought smaller trees

that will eventually grow to around six metres in height.

I have to say - both planted very well.

And as you're competitive,

I would say the final finish probably goes to David here,

-because he's fluffed his up a bit.

-Woo!

All right, I'll pay you that tenner later.

LAUGHTER

While Charlie carries on with the wildlife area,

Harry and landscaper Scott are starting on the picket fence.

Andrea and Gary have three dogs, so, to help protect the new garden,

Charlie is putting in a divide between the patio and the plot.

I think it's going to be nice when this is up.

There's a nice division between the two gardens.

It's going to really define the areas.

I think if they put a little table up here

-it'll feel a bit more private, won't it?

-Yeah, definitely.

It's still quite translucent, isn't it? So you don't lose the garden.

You can see straight through, can't you?

-You can see Norman still playing.

-Yes.

But Charlie's wondering what's happened

to the last part of the veg garden.

David, would you like to help me bring in the lean-to greenhouse?

Ooh, I don't know if it's done.

-What do you mean, it's not done?

-Three quarters of the way.

Why is that, then?

Was there a piece of M that you didn't know where it went?

-It was O!

-It was O!

Well, shall we bring it in and finish it,

and see if it will fit in that spot?

I like that idea.

David's been nobbled and he's back on flat-pack detail under

Charlie's watchful eye.

The instructions are down by you, aren't they?

Well, I can tell you now, you need to put four screws

along the back there, for that.

Then you need to come and put these screws in...

because your brother seems to have had a bit of a moment there.

So we're putting a little cold frame in,

so it's sort of got polycarbonate on it,

so it's slightly insulated,

but it will be great for starting seeds off.

It will just give them that little bit of boost,

especially in the spring, and give them a little bit of protection,

until it's ready to plant them out.

So it will be quite fun for Norman.

And also, Andrea said she wanted to be growing some of her own

vegetables and plants for the garden.

The landscaping in the garden is finally coming together,

so Charlie is free to start placing out her plants in the borders.

Now, I think shrubs first, because of the structure.

The key to the planting in Charlie's design are the two beds nearest

the patio.

Shrubs will give them structure, so she places them first.

Andrea said she doesn't like a garden to look really dismal in the

winter and die back, so hebes are lovely because they've got good foliage.

This one's a blue-grey foliage, and stays small,

so it makes a little round mound.

And then we've got some purple ones that have got purply leaves,

so that's going to give her a lot of structure in the wintertime.

A lot of these shrubs might look like they're well spaced out,

but this spiraea is actually going to get quite tall, and as you

can see, the exochorda gets to that size,

so we need to give them the space.

Charlie's also adding some wigwams for growing sweet peas.

They'll pump out lovely scent next to the patio and add instant

height, which will be particularly welcome in Andrea and Gary's

garden while the new plants mature.

I mean, these sweet peas are really good value. This pot, £1.50.

And you get loads and loads of sweet peas in there.

I mean, you can split the pot in half or even into three.

But I'll just split them in half. Like that.

So they go a long way for £1.50, and they'll be flowering all summer.

That's not bad.

The one outstanding feature of Charlie's design yet to go in

is the pergola.

Adam has already concreted in the posts and they have set firm.

Thank you very much.

I always find that height gets neglected in gardens quite a lot.

Especially with this garden, there's quite a lot of detail

-on the ground, with the gravel and the bricks, isn't there?

-Yes.

-So that really lifts it up, doesn't it?

-I think it's a really nice feature, I think it's...

-Because you built it, that's why.

-Yeah, obviously.

THEY LAUGH

But I like the way it frames this circle in the lawn as well, as you walk off the patio.

I think it's really nice.

Although Adam has made this pergola himself,

there's a bewildering array available in kit form.

As long as you follow the instructions,

they're pretty straightforward to assemble.

This garden has been more than just a test of the team's design

and horticultural skills.

They've had to be bricklayers, joiners and DIY experts as well.

But it's been worth it to make Andrea and Gary's limited

budget go as far as possible.

-And we have got some vegetables to go in there.

-Oh, cool.

-Well, let's put them in, shall we?

-Yeah.

And as the last adjustments are made to the bird feeders and the

final plants go in, the garden is ready for its grand unveiling.

For years, Andrea and Gary have longed for a garden of their own,

and when they eventually got this one, it was drab and boring.

Now it's had a £1,500 makeover.

Charlie and the team have spent every penny of the budget to try

and make this garden work for all the family.

She's spent £340 on a picket fence and timber to create a stunning

pergola, which adds instant height and a gateway to the new garden.

The interlocking circles have transformed the featureless lawn.

And the bricks to edge them came at a cost of £150.

The wildlife area will mature into a welcoming B&B for birds.

It all cost £250,

but will provide endless delight for the whole family.

The new, upcycled potting bench,

compost bin and lean-to greenhouse cost just £72,

and will set the family on track with growing their own veg.

And Charlie's well-chosen planting means that as the garden matures,

it will have plenty of colour and interest,

even in the darkest months.

Andrea and Gary were prepared to stake £1,500 of their own money

on making the first garden they have ever owned

into something truly special.

It's time to find out if Charlie's design was up to the task.

-Do you think she'll like it?

-I think, definitely.

-I think so.

I think this little dog will love it as well.

He'll run around there.

You can open your eyes.

Wow.

I mean, it's a massive difference, isn't it?

From what was there. Just a bit of lawn.

-It's actually made that shed look quite nice.

-Yeah.

This is your growing area, playing area, digging.

-Norman's got a step up to the sink area.

-I love that.

Norman is going to love his little area, isn't he?

I think, yeah, he's going to go straight to it...

Straight up on!

-Over here...

-Wow, yep.

..that's all your planting.

They're quite small at the moment,

but they're going to fill this space.

This will become a lovely,

full place with lots of colour and plants.

And then we have got...

-..your mini orchard.

-Wow.

So we've got an apple tree, a plum tree and a pear tree.

Fruit-tree area. That'll be nice when they grow up.

And it's nice, they're dwarf ones,

so they're not going to drown out the whole space.

And then we've got the wildlife area,

-because you said you really wanted to get birds into the garden.

-Yeah.

So we've got some trees that are going to come up and screen.

And then we've got our native hedging,

with planting all the way through.

And then you've got your pergola.

It's lovely, yeah. Will that one climb over that?

Yes, we've got two honeysuckles, so a nice lot of scent.

But there's space for you to put your own climbers in as well.

Or, what you could do is buy some seeds, start them off in

your little cold frame there, and then plant them out.

This garden has been transformed for just £1,500.

Charlie has boxed clever with the small budget,

and recycled and reused wherever possible to try and give

Andrea and Gary the garden they have longed for.

I think it's just fabulous, I love it, it's just what I wanted.

And just how I had pictured it in my mind.

And, obviously, the plan as well.

For such a simple design and not a lot of money,

I think it's really made the garden something special.

I think my favourite bit of the whole garden is the bit

forward of the sink, and all that upcycled area.

And all that stuff's free.

The nature bit, where the birds...

I can see that's going to be really, really good.

I can't wait for the trees to open out.

And then I can see the hedging part, that's going to look really

good this time next year, when it's grown up a little bit.

It's going to look fabulous.

I think my favourite bit about the garden is the way that

you've broken up the space into rooms.

It's a very simple way of doing it,

but the end product is really strong.

It doesn't look like a garden that was just

a traditional housing-estate type of garden.

It looks a bit different now.

It was just all plain and boring,

and now it seems like we have an actual garden.

And it feels so much more homely.

It's going to be great. I love it.