Browse content similar to Stoke. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
With her can-do attitude, love of simple gardens | 0:00:03 | 0:00:06 | |
and decades of experience... | 0:00:06 | 0:00:07 | |
Hello! ..Charlie Dimmock is one of Britain's best loved gardeners. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
Looking good, boys. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:13 | |
But the new kids on the gardening block are the Rich brothers. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
We want to be the brothers that change people's perceptions of gardens. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:21 | |
Winners of multiple medals at the Chelsea Flower Show... | 0:00:21 | 0:00:24 | |
Oh, good turn. Amazing, isn't it? | 0:00:24 | 0:00:25 | |
..the boys have become known for their dramatic outdoor spaces. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:31 | |
Now these two different generations of gardening are going head-to-head. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:36 | |
I know they've got a gold medal, but I can come up with a few ideas. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:40 | |
They're meeting frustrated garden owners across the country... | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
The photos made it look tiny. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
It is, isn't it? I'm sure you've seen larger. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
I don't know what to do with it. ..and will each pitch them a design | 0:00:48 | 0:00:52 | |
based on their needs... Wow! | 0:00:52 | 0:00:54 | |
..and budget. That looks really exciting. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:56 | |
It doesn't look like it could be our garden. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:58 | |
The winner... Ta-da! | 0:00:58 | 0:01:00 | |
Woo! | 0:01:00 | 0:01:02 | |
..brings their design to life... | 0:01:02 | 0:01:03 | |
Hold on, hold on! | 0:01:03 | 0:01:05 | |
Sweet as a nut. ..and the loser has to help them build it. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
Oh, I'm getting irritated now with faffing around. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
This is what happens... | 0:01:11 | 0:01:13 | |
Does he ever get irritating? All the time. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
..when different styles collide... | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
Who chose these? One, two, three. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
This looks like your design. Yeah. | 0:01:21 | 0:01:24 | |
..to turn garden dreams into reality. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:27 | |
Wow! Open your eyes. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:29 | |
Wow! It's amazing. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:32 | |
It's beautiful. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:34 | |
It's time for Charlie and the Rich brothers to discover whose garden | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
they'll be battling over this time. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:45 | |
If you look up blank canvas in the dictionary, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
I think this garden may crop up. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
We've got Lewis and Rhys and they recently moved into a new build in | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
Stoke-on-Trent, and they've made their house their own, but they're | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
struggling with inspiration for the garden. | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
Lewis, an HR advisor, and Rhys, a catering manager, | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
both work full-time and for the last couple of years | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
have dedicated all their spare time and money to creating their perfect | 0:02:08 | 0:02:12 | |
home. We've spent so long doing the house and decorating that | 0:02:12 | 0:02:15 | |
and prioritising that, | 0:02:15 | 0:02:17 | |
that we kind of forgot about the garden. I wouldn't call it a garden. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:21 | |
Yeah, that's definitely not a garden, what's out there at the moment. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
It's just a mud bath. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
Really, really muddy, | 0:02:28 | 0:02:29 | |
waterlogged and waiting for us to do something with it. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
Rhys and Lewis would prefer their garden | 0:02:33 | 0:02:36 | |
to remind them of sunnier times. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
We're thinking a Mediterranean theme. Yeah. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
Cos we really enjoy holidays over in the Mediterranean and we quite like | 0:02:41 | 0:02:45 | |
the plants and the feel of being on holiday. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
But the garden is currently more Costa Del Sog | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
than Mediterranean bliss. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
The only things living in it are a few blades of grass, | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
the odd weed and the couple's bunny rabbit, Milo. | 0:02:56 | 0:03:01 | |
We're not very creative in the sense of we knew we'd want somewhere to | 0:03:01 | 0:03:06 | |
entertain, but how to make that look really good, | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
we're not full of ideas. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
I think that's a problem with these new builds. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
Everyone can see what they're going to do with the house, with | 0:03:13 | 0:03:15 | |
individual rooms, but when it comes to the garden, when they're given four fence panels... | 0:03:15 | 0:03:19 | |
It's going to be daunting, probably, isn't it? You can see why they've had problems. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:23 | |
It's - "Where do you start?" Yeah. Yeah. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
Not only that, but Rhys and Lewis don't always see eye to eye. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:32 | |
I like really minimalistic and modern, a bit different. | 0:03:32 | 0:03:35 | |
Whereas I'm not so much. Definitely play it safe. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
We have differences of opinion sometimes, don't we? | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
Not liking the same colours, not liking the same furniture, | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
the list is endless. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:45 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:03:45 | 0:03:46 | |
But two years of disagreeing and dithering has enabled the couple | 0:03:47 | 0:03:51 | |
to save a tidy sum for the garden makeover. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
And the budget is...? The budget is ?4,000. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
Oh! That's quite healthy, isn't it? | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
It's quite healthy. It's not a huge garden, is it? No, not at all, no. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
The possibility of a four-grand budget to do up this space | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
has whetted our designers' appetites. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:08 | |
But their design will have to win over both Rhys and Lewis, | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
and that won't be easy. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:14 | |
So our rival designers are going head-to-head for the chance | 0:04:17 | 0:04:21 | |
to transform this bleak backyard, | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
with each of them drawing up a design for Lewis and Rhys' garden | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
that will work within their budget. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
Then they're travelling to Stoke to pitch their designs to the couple | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
and whoever loses the pitch will have to help | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
the winner build the garden. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
So, who will the couple go for? | 0:04:39 | 0:04:41 | |
It's time for the pitch. Here we go. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:43 | |
Will they go for Charlie, with her years of experience | 0:04:43 | 0:04:47 | |
or the boys who are known for their contemporary spaces but might | 0:04:47 | 0:04:51 | |
struggle with the Mediterranean theme that Rhys and Lewis love? | 0:04:51 | 0:04:55 | |
Kind of grasped the fact that you want this kind of contemporary, | 0:04:55 | 0:04:58 | |
stylish, social outdoor space that's really going to entice you | 0:04:58 | 0:05:01 | |
inside the house to outside. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:03 | |
You've got some very strong, simple lines. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
It's very stylish and stylised. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
This is going to be a lovely area to sit in the morning, but then | 0:05:10 | 0:05:13 | |
this area of an evening, a bigger area. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:16 | |
You can spill down onto the lawn. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
And the deck, I was going to go with cedar, and rather than have it | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
parallel like that, I've got it on a diagonal. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
Stops it looking like a pallet, all right? | 0:05:25 | 0:05:29 | |
As you can see with the design, we've created two levels. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
We've created this lovely kind of entertainment space. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
It's got two sofas, a fire bowl and you can really sit down and just relax. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:38 | |
We've increased the terrace space. It gives you plenty of room for the barbecue. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:42 | |
While the boys are playing it safe with the structure of their garden, | 0:05:42 | 0:05:45 | |
Charlie is upping the ante. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:47 | |
She's on the ball and has remembered that the couple are overlooked in their new build. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:52 | |
To give you some privacy, | 0:05:52 | 0:05:54 | |
I've got a very simple cedar pergola, | 0:05:54 | 0:05:57 | |
and then we've got a couple of... | 0:05:57 | 0:05:59 | |
They're called small trees, they're actually large shrubs. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:01 | |
One's a Cornus controversa. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:04 | |
It's lovely because the leaves are quite small, so it doesn't create a lot | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
of dense shade, so you can still plant underneath it. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:10 | |
But it has a beautiful shape to it. In that corner, | 0:06:10 | 0:06:13 | |
an evergreen that will screen out those roofs. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
Arbutus. It's known as the strawberry tree. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
Oh, right. It has flowers and fruit at the same time. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
But not to be outdone, | 0:06:23 | 0:06:24 | |
the boys have done their homework too, incorporating the holiday theme | 0:06:24 | 0:06:28 | |
into the planting. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
The social area is surrounded by Mediterranean-style planting, | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
so we want to use things that you like, like cordylines and phormiums. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:37 | |
We're straying away from cottage style and into soft and floral and giving you | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
that real flavour of the Mediterranean, bringing back some good memories of holidays. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
And we've also put in two trees | 0:06:44 | 0:06:45 | |
and three shrubs, and they're great for vertical interest. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
Just gives it a bit of architecture in the garden | 0:06:48 | 0:06:50 | |
and great for privacy as well. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:51 | |
When you're sitting down here, you feel a bit more immersed, a bit more private. Yeah. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
Rhys and Lewis like what they see, | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
but Charlie is about to play her trump card. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:02 | |
I'd like to give you the structure of the garden, but your taste is | 0:07:02 | 0:07:06 | |
quite different from mine. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:07 | |
Personally, I would go for focal points, something like this, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:11 | |
but I can see that's not your type of thing, so I have three focal points. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
One here, back-dropped with Mediterranean planting. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:19 | |
One here and one over there, so when you're sat on the patio or sat here, | 0:07:19 | 0:07:24 | |
you can see them. But I would like you to take that budget of about ?150 | 0:07:24 | 0:07:29 | |
for each one and buy something that you would like to see in the garden. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:34 | |
Interesting. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:35 | |
Charlie's giving the couple a chance to make their own mark on the garden. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:40 | |
But will it sway them? | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
What's your initial impression of this one, then? | 0:07:42 | 0:07:44 | |
Will they choose Charlie's geometric layout... | 0:07:44 | 0:07:47 | |
I like how they've got a separate seating area up here. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:50 | |
..or the Rich brothers' secluded and stylish design? | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
Concrete is a nice look, personally, I think. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
You see, I'm not sure about that. Oh, right, OK. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:59 | |
It's decision time. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:01 | |
It's taken us ages to decide. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:07 | |
We've picked one in the end. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:09 | |
We've decided to go for... | 0:08:09 | 0:08:11 | |
Oh! | 0:08:14 | 0:08:15 | |
Cool. I'm pleased about that. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:17 | |
Well done. I'm really pleased. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
Good. I think it will make this a nice little oasis of greenery. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
I agree. We can't really go wrong, guys, can we? | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
The boys' faces say it all. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
They clearly fancied getting their hands on that four grand, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
and what's more, they now have to take orders from Charlie. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
But she's going to need them to help realise her very modern design. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:42 | |
It's early morning in Stoke and work starts on the garden. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
The new garden will feature a lot of hard landscaping, | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
so while she's off organising the plants, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:01 | |
Charlie has sent the contractors in | 0:09:01 | 0:09:03 | |
to get started on her radical design. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
The design features three contrasting areas of landscaping | 0:09:07 | 0:09:11 | |
that interlock like giant pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:15 | |
We've got this paving coming out from the house. We've got a bit of | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
planting either side of it and then the main bit for us... Is this deck. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:21 | |
..is this deck. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
With four grand to spend, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:25 | |
Charlie has gone for decking boards made from high-end cedarwood, | 0:09:25 | 0:09:28 | |
which rejects moisture, so it's less prone to splitting and twisting. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:34 | |
Now keen to make sure her landscaping jigsaw fits flawlessly, | 0:09:34 | 0:09:38 | |
Charlie's arrived on site with the boys. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
This garden is all about laying it out right in the first place because | 0:09:42 | 0:09:47 | |
it's all about getting those lines exactly right. Otherwise, | 0:09:47 | 0:09:51 | |
it's going to look a little... | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
pants. You've got that circular paving, haven't you? | 0:09:53 | 0:09:57 | |
Everything runs off that. It's all about the lines in this garden, isn't it? | 0:09:57 | 0:10:00 | |
It is indeed. There's lots of them. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:01 | |
Lots of lines. THEY LAUGH | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
Let's go and wrangle with angles. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:10:05 | 0:10:07 | |
Charlie's design is all about creating a chic, stylish space, | 0:10:07 | 0:10:12 | |
but in order to achieve that, | 0:10:12 | 0:10:13 | |
she has to take care of some practicalities first. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:17 | |
Right, now we need to move this. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:19 | |
Rhys and Lewis' plot has a slight dogleg, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
which is the perfect place to hide the shed. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
So it and Milo the bunny need to be moved. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
Onto the deck. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
Oh, hello, there we are. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
Oh, I'm crushed. Hang about, hang about! | 0:10:34 | 0:10:38 | |
And with the shed out of the way, | 0:10:38 | 0:10:40 | |
Charlie's asked the brothers to build it a new base. | 0:10:40 | 0:10:44 | |
It's nice having this little bit here, isn't it? Yes, you can't see it from the house either. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:48 | |
Which is quite nice. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:49 | |
Meanwhile, landscapers Andy and Falklan | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
can get on with laying the circular patio by the back door. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
To save time and money, | 0:11:01 | 0:11:03 | |
Charlie's chosen a patio kit of ready-cut stones. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:07 | |
Circular kits are a bit more difficult. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:11 | |
You need to lay them out dry, | 0:11:11 | 0:11:12 | |
play around with it until you get them absolutely bang on to what you | 0:11:12 | 0:11:15 | |
want. It'll save you time in the long run. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
That's why you set them out dry. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
If you lay them wet, you get that. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
So we start again. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:27 | |
The humble patio has served the British garden well for decades. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:33 | |
But in some modern gardens, | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
the traditional, rectangular area of pavers is a thing of the past. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:41 | |
Using different shapes and contrasting materials can | 0:11:43 | 0:11:46 | |
turn any area of hard landscaping | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
into a feature and focal point. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
Creating circles and semicircles makes a narrow space seem wider. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
And replacing the odd paver with planting, particularly centre plants, | 0:11:58 | 0:12:03 | |
means your patio can smell nice as well as look nice. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
In Rhys and Lewis' garden, | 0:12:10 | 0:12:11 | |
the landscaping will seamlessly lead the couple from the back door | 0:12:11 | 0:12:16 | |
to a decked seating area. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:17 | |
But the patio kit the boys are using doesn't quite fit properly. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:21 | |
Making a cardboard template first avoids wasting stones by cutting them to | 0:12:22 | 0:12:27 | |
the wrong size. That's perfect! | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
I'm happy with that. Do you think we could get away with just laying | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
the cardboard instead of a bit of stone? | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
I don't think we'll quite get away with that. It doesn't rain in Staffordshire, does it? | 0:12:35 | 0:12:39 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
And a perfect one. Yeah, smashing. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
Meanwhile, whilst Charlie assembles her plants, | 0:12:52 | 0:12:55 | |
Rhys and Lewis have asked the boys to meet them out front. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
On Charlie's suggestion, they've been shopping. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
What have you bought? We've got these two large pots. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
Nice. They're big, aren't they? Thought the curved effect was quite nice. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
They're modern and tall. We like that sort of thing. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:11 | |
And you've got something in here as well, have you? | 0:13:11 | 0:13:13 | |
We've overspent on the budget. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:15 | |
Don't tell us off. We really, really love it. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:17 | |
It's really modern. The sky. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
It's actually a water feature. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:21 | |
It's certainly very shiny and contemporary, isn't it? | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
I think it's going to look beautiful in the garden. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
So you said it was slightly over budget. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
How much did you spend on the water feature? ?300. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
So it was ?300 but there is that added cost of an electrician | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
to fit it as well, isn't there? OK. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
We really love it. We both really love it. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
Sometimes it's worth spending a little bit more and let Charlie worry | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
about the rest. THEY LAUGH | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
Harry and David can't wait to give Charlie the good news. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
Charlie? Yo! Look what we've got. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
What's that? This is the water feature. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
I don't recall ordering that. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:56 | |
No, you didn't. Whoa, that is quite big, isn't it? | 0:13:56 | 0:14:00 | |
It's definitely a feature. They've done well, I think. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:03 | |
They've spent the cash, though. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:04 | |
They've spent it all? Well... And more. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
So no going out and getting a few more plants, then? No. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
With the budget and more now well and truly spent, | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
there better not be any more surprise costs for Charlie to deal with or | 0:14:13 | 0:14:17 | |
she'll be unable to give Lewis and Rhys the garden they were expecting. | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
Do you want me to give it a little wiggle, maybe? Yeah. Yeah, not that way. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
T'other way. That way. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
She has no choice but to try and accommodate the water feature | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
into her design. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:30 | |
It's important to keep the customer happy. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:33 | |
You spray it out first. Oh, yes! | 0:14:33 | 0:14:35 | |
Make some marks and then we'll dig away. But you've got to keep it level. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
It's a nightmare putting these in. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
People always think it's going to be easy. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:42 | |
But you have to dig out the hole bigger than you need, put sand down, | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
level it and then as you backfill it, make sure you don't put it on the tilt. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:50 | |
So Charlie sets the boys to work. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
The black tank needs to sit underneath the ground and will be filled with | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
water. Once that's done, | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
Rhys and Lewis' water feature will be fixed to the top. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
The focal points that Charlie is incorporating | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
will draw the eye away from the less attractive parts of the garden | 0:15:11 | 0:15:15 | |
and focus them on the areas of interest. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:17 | |
The use of focal points in garden design isn't a modern idea. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:25 | |
It began in the formal Italian Renaissance gardens of the 15th century and | 0:15:25 | 0:15:29 | |
some of today's most famous gardens are continuing the tradition. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:33 | |
Art historian and dedicated gardener Sir Roy Strong | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
has filled his own garden, the Laskett Gardens, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
with distinctive points of interest. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
Focal points, I think, are absolutely fundamental. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
They draw the eye. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:48 | |
They depend on what we know as perspective, which is mathematical. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:53 | |
The converting lines mean distance. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:55 | |
You can also achieve it through planting colour, | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
getting softer into the distance. | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
They hold the whole composition together. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
Roy uses a range of plants, | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
statues and pots to give visitors a glimpse of something in the distance | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
and tempt them down that path. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:13 | |
Anything can make a focal point, can't it? | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
It can be rather grand, as this garden is, | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
sort of classical or mock classical bits of statuary. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
Or you may have some fabulous plant or clipped evergreen. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:24 | |
A piece of topiary can hold a whole garden together. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:27 | |
It can be a little fountain, it can be a piece of modern sculpture. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:31 | |
It can be a massive thing, | 0:16:31 | 0:16:32 | |
so I think it has to be something that has year-round value. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
It's no use having something that comes out in the spring and | 0:16:35 | 0:16:38 | |
it's just a heap of dead leaves for the other ten months of the year. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:42 | |
Hopefully, Sir Roy would approve of Lewis and Rhys' choices. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
The water feature will glisten all year round and the plants in those | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
elegant statement planters can be swapped with the seasons. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:54 | |
Whilst the electrics for the water feature go in, | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
the boys are digging the hole to house the ample reservoir. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
And Charlie is supervising the building of the bespoke pergola. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:07 | |
Rather than buy one in kit form, | 0:17:07 | 0:17:09 | |
Lee's constructing the pergola out of cedar that matches the deck. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
The pergola is really just adding a bit of height. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
And also, once the climbers are on, | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
it will screen those houses overlooking into this garden. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:22 | |
What do we think, boys? | 0:17:22 | 0:17:23 | |
Hate it. No, only joking. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
It looks great. Definitely breaks the light at the back. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
It brings it down, doesn't it? It sort of brings it down a bit. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
They can grow something up there, as well. So it's even more screening. Yeah. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
But once the final screw is in, it's time to start measuring again. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
In Charlie's design, | 0:17:41 | 0:17:43 | |
the lawn and the flower beds all work off the arc of landscaping. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:46 | |
And David has a starring role in making sure they're perfect. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:52 | |
I'm pretty pivotal. HE LAUGHS | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
By using a line, | 0:17:57 | 0:17:58 | |
Charlie can create a perfectly straight edge, which Harry then marks out | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
with line-marking paint. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:04 | |
The boys are used to building gardens with perfect lines and angles. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
Yeah, that's about perfect. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
But Charlie's finding it all a bit fiddly. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
When I was drawing this up, | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
I thought this was a really simple, straightforward design. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:21 | |
It was easier to draw than it is to make. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
Charlie's much more at home amongst her plants, | 0:18:27 | 0:18:31 | |
and she's ordered some beauties. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:33 | |
This is ?800 worth of plants, so it's a lot of plants. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:39 | |
When it comes to planting a garden from scratch | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
and there's nothing in it, | 0:18:42 | 0:18:43 | |
I would suggest the best thing to do is have something for structure that | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
is going to be there year in, year out. Something like evergreens. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
We've got fatsias and yuccas. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
And some pittosporum. Something for height. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
So we've got some small trees and climbers that will give you height, and then | 0:18:54 | 0:18:58 | |
the third thing is colour, | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
so we've got some wallflowers and some lavenders | 0:19:00 | 0:19:05 | |
and some heucheras to give, | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
you know, a bit of pizzazz and seasonal interest. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
Another design trick Charlie is using to give the garden a professional finish | 0:19:12 | 0:19:17 | |
is to edge the borders. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
So all I'm doing now is putting in some wooden edging, and we don't want it | 0:19:21 | 0:19:25 | |
to be showing too much, so I'm just digging a trench ready to peg it in. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
That will really accentuate the lines from this paving area down the garden. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:35 | |
Whilst the boys have the hard job of building the borders, | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
the boss has the fun job of filling them. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
I just want to get a few key shrubs in first, then the water feature, so | 0:19:44 | 0:19:49 | |
I can work out what plants go where. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
Since this garden is all about focal points, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
Charlie has gone to town and chosen some really special plants. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:59 | |
The tree peony is one of her favourites. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
It's got these really | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
architectural leaves that are a bluey-green colour. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:07 | |
And look, they look fantastic against the cedar deck. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:11 | |
Just beautiful. Look down there. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:13 | |
And Charlie has also kept in mind Lewis and Rhys' | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
fond memories of their holidays, | 0:20:19 | 0:20:21 | |
evoking that Mediterranean vibe | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
with the striking spiked leaves of the yucca. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:28 | |
So, how to deal with spiky plants. Because when it comes to planting | 0:20:28 | 0:20:32 | |
them, these are very, very sharp. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
I'm not worried about putting them in the garden because Rhys and Lewis | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
are grown-up adults, so they know they're spiky. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
But the best thing to do is wrap the sandwich film round and it gently | 0:20:40 | 0:20:46 | |
holds them in place. | 0:20:46 | 0:20:48 | |
You can plant them. And then at the very, very end, a pair of scissors, | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
zoop, boing! | 0:20:52 | 0:20:54 | |
Job done. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:55 | |
With some of the statement plants in place, | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
it's time to bring in the budget-busting water feature the boys selected. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
Now the reservoir is level, | 0:21:06 | 0:21:08 | |
the boys have filled it with water and submerged a pump. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
They've connected a hose to it that will circulate the water over | 0:21:13 | 0:21:17 | |
the feature when the pump is turned on. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:18 | |
Shall we take all the fittings out? | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
Right. Take them out, put them to one side. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
Put the lid on securely. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
Water features don't just have to be focal points. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:30 | |
There are many other benefits to adding one to your plot. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
Water in a garden is fantastic for wildlife and particularly for birds, | 0:21:35 | 0:21:40 | |
as it can provide an opportunity for a drink or a bath. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
The gentle trickle or gurgle of water is also fantastic | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
for drowning out background road noise. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
Whatever your garden, there's a water feature to suit it. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
Rhys and Lewis's water feature, with its super shiny finish, | 0:22:01 | 0:22:04 | |
should add a luminance to the garden even on the dullest of days. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
The other focal points they've chosen are a couple of tall metal planters. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:17 | |
Because this pot here has a really deep base, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:23 | |
I'm going to fill this with gravel and then put the pot in, | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
drill some holes where the base is | 0:22:27 | 0:22:29 | |
and then that's going to act as a water reservoir for the plants. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
The water levels are just going to hit the soil so it can draw it up, | 0:22:32 | 0:22:35 | |
but not too much that it gets swamped. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:37 | |
And Charlie is finishing it off with a pop of colour | 0:22:39 | 0:22:43 | |
to brighten up the corner. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:45 | |
Don't they look nice? | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
And the great thing about these is these Senetti aren't 100% hardy, | 0:22:47 | 0:22:52 | |
so it does mean that Lewis or Rhys can lift them out and pop them in the shed | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
if they think it's going to be a cold night. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
Charlie's solved the problem of focal points. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:04 | |
Her next job is to put some more height into the garden. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
It's overlooked from three sides, so she wants to make it more private. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:12 | |
This is one of my favourite trees. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:16 | |
It's really a large shrub. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
It's known as the wedding cake tree because it grows in these layers and | 0:23:18 | 0:23:22 | |
it's got a variegated leaf, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:24 | |
so it's got a light green with a white edge | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
and it just looks beautiful and architectural. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:31 | |
And it adds some height to the garden | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
and picks up the height of the pergola. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
And you can still grow things underneath. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:37 | |
That's why it's an ideal small tree for a small garden. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:41 | |
To offset the areas of landscaping and swathes of planting, | 0:23:45 | 0:23:49 | |
Charlie has given Harry and David the task of laying | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
a new section of lawn. | 0:23:52 | 0:23:53 | |
So I'm just preparing the soil now, | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
having this loose layer on top, which really allows the turf to knit in and root. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
After I've done this, it's really key not to stand back on it, | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
so as you can see, Dave's on a board here and it enables you to not mess up what I've already done. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:10 | |
And you just move the boards up each time and, | 0:24:10 | 0:24:12 | |
you know, work away from the prepared soil. | 0:24:12 | 0:24:16 | |
Rhys and Lewis are going to have to be vigilant about watering this lawn | 0:24:16 | 0:24:19 | |
every day for the next six weeks until it's firmly rooted. | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
This garden has tested Charlie's design skills and patience to the limit. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:33 | |
With such a big budget to spend, | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
the pressure to deliver something truly special has been intense, but | 0:24:35 | 0:24:39 | |
as the water feature is turned on... | 0:24:39 | 0:24:41 | |
It's coming. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:43 | |
Woo! Look at that. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:45 | |
It's quite nice because the whole brightness and shininess of it has | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
disappeared now the water is going down, hasn't it? Yeah. It's quite a nice sound. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
It's not going to make you want to... | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
Run to the loo. ..go to the bathroom. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:56 | |
I don't know. ..and the very last Mediterranean-style plants go in... | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
..the garden is finally ready for its grand unveiling. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
For two years, | 0:25:08 | 0:25:09 | |
Rhys and Lewis' sad plot has barely deserved to be called a garden. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
Void of life, it was neglected whilst the couple focused | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
on kitting out their dream home. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:20 | |
Now it's had a ?4,000 face-lift. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:26 | |
Charlie and the team have spent every penny of the budget to give | 0:25:29 | 0:25:33 | |
the garden a high-end gloss that she knows the couple will be hoping for. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:37 | |
She focused much of the budget on different areas of high-end landscaping. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
A ?900 circular patio is the ideal spot for morning coffee, | 0:25:48 | 0:25:54 | |
whilst the cedar deck adds a touch of luxury, | 0:25:54 | 0:25:57 | |
and is perfect for a glass of wine at the end of the day. | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
The bespoke pergola was an indulgence at ?350, | 0:26:03 | 0:26:07 | |
but adds height to the previously flat and boring plot... | 0:26:07 | 0:26:10 | |
..and will look amazing when it's covered with flowers. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:16 | |
Charlie chose to allocate more than ?1,000 to plants, | 0:26:21 | 0:26:25 | |
but the impact is immense. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
They add privacy and intimacy to the garden, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
and have that Mediterranean feel that the boys asked for. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
And Lewis and Rhys have stamped their personality on the garden too, | 0:26:36 | 0:26:40 | |
with focal points in the form of this stunning water feature | 0:26:40 | 0:26:44 | |
and two statement planters. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:45 | |
Before they called the Garden Rescue team, | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
Lewis and Rhys had no idea | 0:26:50 | 0:26:51 | |
what to do with the blank space they called their garden. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:54 | |
And to get the ultimate transformation, they staked ?4,000. | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
Keep your eyes closed. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
It's time to find out if Charlie and the boys have delivered the garden | 0:27:04 | 0:27:08 | |
they dreamed of. Rhys, this way. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:10 | |
SHE GIGGLES | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
You can open your eyes now. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:14 | |
Bloody hell. Wow! Oh, my word! | 0:27:16 | 0:27:19 | |
Is that a good "goodness me"? | 0:27:19 | 0:27:22 | |
Wow! That's very good. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:24 | |
Yeah? Oh, wow. That is really nice. Oh, thank you. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:28 | |
Loving it. Of course they are. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
Is that Mediterranean enough for you? Yes. | 0:27:31 | 0:27:33 | |
That's the type of view. The yuccas... | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
Oh, wow. It's amazing. | 0:27:36 | 0:27:38 | |
Let me get on your shoulders now, mate. Get on, get on up. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:41 | |
I have to say, you did a good job with the water feature. | 0:27:43 | 0:27:47 | |
Yes! THEY LAUGH | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
I'll give you that, even though you blew the budget. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
This will make this your own private little sanctuary in this area. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:57 | |
Oh, it's fantastic. | 0:27:57 | 0:27:58 | |
Really pleased. | 0:27:58 | 0:27:59 | |
Good. Would you employ us again, then? | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
Absolutely. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:03 | |
Right answer. We might not let you go out shopping again | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
cos we slightly blew the budget but, hey. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
What's a budget? What's a budget? | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
This garden has been built from scratch. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:18 | |
There was absolutely nothing for Charlie and the boys to work with, | 0:28:18 | 0:28:22 | |
and they've succeeded in pleasing two clients | 0:28:22 | 0:28:24 | |
with very particular taste. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:26 | |
We're going to come out here for weeks, possibly months and think, | 0:28:28 | 0:28:31 | |
"Wow, it's transformed our garden." | 0:28:31 | 0:28:33 | |
Money well spent, definitely. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:35 |