Weston-super-Mare Garden Rescue

With her can-do attitude, love of simple gardens,

and decades of experience,

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 gardens.

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

-Oh, good turn.

-That's amazing, isn't it?

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

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 are meeting frustrated garden owners across the country...

Not a lot going on, is there?

-Not a lot.

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

..and we'll each pitch them a design, based on their needs...

Wow!

..and budget.

That sounds amazing.

Doesn't look like it could be our garden.

-The winner...

-Charlie!

-Yeah!

..brings their design to life.

Hold on, hold on.

Sweet as a nut.

..and the loser has to help them build it.

Keep working, keep working, boy!

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy.

This is what happens...

Just get on with it! Sometime today will be good.

..when different styles collide...

I think your brother is throwing the toys out of his pram.

Right, are we doing this?

..to turn garden dreams into reality.

-Open your eyes.

-Oh, it's lovely!

-Wow!

-Look at that!

Wow! It's not our garden!

It's time for Charlie and the Rich brothers

to find out about today's garden challenge.

Here we have Corrina and Richard and their lovely family.

Oh, isn't that a lovely photo?

And they are from Weston-Super-Mare

and they have a new-build property, but in a traditional cottage style.

Richard, a contracts manager, and psychotherapist Corrina

bought their home in Weston-Super-Mare three years ago.

Although Corrina and Richard fell in love with the house,

the garden leaves a lot to be desired.

Here is their garden.

-That looks busy.

-It's a funny old shape.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's a bit of an odd shape.

It wraps around the house a little bit,

which could be quite fun, leaves different spaces.

But, at the moment, it's a real mismatch.

-It's all over the place.

-We've got slabs, gravel, artificial lawn...

-Yeah.

-Decking.

-Decking.

The garden is a disaster.

We don't know what to do with it. It's a really awkward shape.

I wouldn't say we are gardeners, really.

I think we want a really lovely garden.

We just have absolutely no clue of where to begin,

what plants to choose.

And there's another important reason

why they need to sort out their uneven garden.

We have three children and Ronnie, the littlest,

has a disability called Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome,

which is a muscle wasting disease.

It's progressive, so it gets worse as you get older.

Basically means he is unsure on his feet

and suffers with balance problems.

Things like that, really.

So he needs something where it is flat,

somewhere he can really enjoy coming outside and playing, I'd say.

Yeah, definitely.

And with only a £3,000 budget,

the designers are going to have their work cut out.

Not the biggest amount of money, but it's not the largest garden.

No, it's quite a small space, by the looks of things.

Yeah. One thing this garden needs is kind of a simplified design

and a bit of unity.

And a bit of planting cos there doesn't seem

to be actually any plants.

No. There are some existing materials,

so I think we can re-use some of them, help the budget stretch.

I think, all in all, it's a garden that just needs to be united

and needs to be really safe and functional for the whole family.

Charlie and the Rich brothers love a challenge

so they head to Weston-Super-Mare to get a first-hand look

at what they are dealing with.

With each of them hoping to win the contract,

they'll be on the lookout for anything that gives them an edge.

Oh, the excitement, the excitement!

Oh, nice wall!

It is a nice bit of stonework, isn't it?

Yeah. Turf might have seen better days.

-A little bit.

-Not much of a level going on there.

-No.

-A bit all over the place.

It gives it away that it's not real as well, I think.

Perhaps they lift it up and sweep all the leaves underneath.

It's a little bit chaotic at the moment.

-Disjointed.

-Very disjointed.

It hasn't got a purpose.

No theme other than the walls.

At the moment, it's just open. Void of anything.

The boys head inside to see if they can pick up any clues

about the couple's taste,

while Charlie meets Corrina and Richard

to find out what happened to all their plants.

Well, tell me about your garden.

-It's a bit sad.

-I've noticed it's a little bit sad.

There's no plants, Richard.

Well, there is a story behind that.

We did have some plants

and then we had an idea to start doing the garden ourselves.

Keen to get the ball rolling,

Corrina hired someone to clear the garden.

I went out one day and I came back

and some man had come round and taken everything out of the garden.

Stripped back bare.

I thought it would be easier to start with a blank canvas.

OK. A lot of people do that.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-I think it may have been a mistake.

This is cosy, isn't it?

Really nice, yeah.

It has quite a nice bit of warmth to it, doesn't it?

Some deep colours, lovely upholstery as well with the tartan.

And this?

-Not real.

-No.

-Wallpaper, fooled me.

-Yeah.

Cos there's a nice stone wall outside.

I think what they've done is try to replicate that same texture

and that same authenticity of, like, tradition and naturalness.

Yeah. I think it's kind of very much what the house is about.

It's quite new, isn't it?

But they've tied in a lot of classic elements.

Yeah. And that's pretty...

It is, yeah. You've got your single room here.

-Yeah.

-But through the glass doors,

it's actually very much connected to that space there.

Yeah, it actually makes really usable space.

So the children obviously use the garden a lot,

but do you guys use it?

Yes, we do. We really like to entertain.

For Christmas dinner, we had 18 people.

So we always have barbecues and summer drinks

and we try and entertain outside as much as we can,

as much as the weather will let us.

So you want it functional, you want to unite it,

you want to make it look bigger.

But is there a style?

I would say modern cottage,

-if that's possible.

-Modern cottage?

-Yeah.

I like all the cottage planting and those sort of types of plants.

But still sort of some of the modern clean lines

-as well that go along with that.

-OK.

Oh! That works well, doesn't it?

You can see how that works really nicely.

-Yeah.

-You've got two very individual rooms, but through this,

they've got a lovely connectivity.

If there was a party here or something,

it could be one big space.

Yeah. I think what is so nice as well

is the fact that you do have these two different areas.

And, you know, in the garden, it's nice to have maybe

those different personalities within the...

Yeah, well, you could have the cosy living space

and the more open dining space.

Yeah. Maybe have some kind of way of connecting them

-without feeling as if they are one.

-Yeah.

So, if I had to pin you down to sort of three things that are a must,

what would they be?

I would say the levels in the garden, it needs to be flat.

-So, level surface.

-Mm-hmm.

The artificial turf...

Artificial grass, yes.

And, obviously, it's not all about the kids,

so a nice entertaining space.

-A grown-up side. So...

-This small space has got to work really hard.

-Yeah.

-Really hard.

-We are expecting you to work miracles.

No pressure, then(!)

The couple have put in a tall order for a modern yet traditional garden

that's big enough for entertaining,

but, most importantly, is safe enough

for Ronnie to play in

and all for just £3,000.

Charlie and the Rich brothers will compete against each other

to come up with a design that will work

within Corrina and Richard's budget.

The couple will then have to choose a winner

and whoever loses will have to help the winner build the garden.

The budget will be used to cover the cost of the materials

for their new garden, while the labour will be supplied by Charlie,

the Rich brothers and their team of landscapers.

It's time for the designers to pitch their ideas.

-You ready for this?

-I'm excited!

The Rich brothers have seen how the couple like

to blend traditional and modern elements.

OK!

How will this feature in their design?

While Charlie knows they want a garden

that works for all the family and their many friends.

Here we go!

How will she make the most of the couple's small space?

So the main concept of our design

is we want to create this very traditional-feeling garden,

but also have quite a modern structure to it.

And as you can see from the plan,

the zones are very much the same within the garden,

but their function and their appearance has changed dramatically.

Harry and David plan to spruce up the decking

and replace the artificial lawn with a new properly laid one.

But while the brothers are redesigning

the dividing-up of the space,

Charlie is getting rid of most of that.

It's a garden of two halves and I've simplified the design.

By simplifying it, it's going to make the garden look bigger.

This is a step out from your conservatory.

I've made it bigger and then this is all one level,

right the way through.

The wider step and level ground

will make the garden much safer for Ronnie to run around in

and a large area of artificial turf

will make a good play area for all the children.

The adults will have their own patio, set at a 45 degree angle.

It will really make the garden feel bigger

and be an ideal space for a party.

Harry and David are also thinking about the couple's guests.

Really, we wanted to create this as a bit more of an adult space.

We want to keep it as a dining area.

A dining table in the middle of the garden

and a more informal cosy space at the bottom,

providing two separate but interconnecting spaces

for entertaining with feature walls framing each area.

If you've got lots of friends around,

then these walls become lovely areas

just to perch and enjoy a coffee or a drink.

The brothers have given the couple ample seating

in their entertaining spaces,

while Charlie wants to heat things up in her design.

So, the paving is terracotta, to warm the garden up.

Down at the end here,

we've got this feature of terracotta pots to draw your eye out

and that's going to look good all year round.

I'm using quite a few evergreens to get some structure there.

Charlie knows the couple are not the keenest of gardeners

so has given them lots of easy to care for plants.

Harry and David have also gone for a low-maintenance approach,

but have a specific theme in mind.

We are going to tailor it around

a bit more of a natural woodland-style garden

so use things that are quite soft, some early flowering,

things like bluebells maybe, some hellebores.

So it will always be quite luscious and green,

but maybe have things like foxgloves that come up and astrantias

they give that lovely little burst of white.

And then what we thought would be really nice maybe in this spot here

was to use a slightly more ornamental tree,

so maybe something like a cherry, which blossomed.

So, small growing, quite dappled,

but gives you a lovely focal point in the garden.

The brothers have chosen native woodland planting in their design.

But Charlie has warmer climates in mind.

To make it colourful and glamorous,

I've got lots of Mediterranean plants

that, you know, have got aromatic smells as well as lovely colours,

but also will look after themselves.

So, it's sort of that Mediterranean lifestyle,

being outside as much as you possibly can,

when the weather allows.

Does that sort of appeal?

-Yes, definitely.

-Definitely, yes.

I like it.

So, will the couple go for the Rich brothers' zoned woodland wonderland?

Or Charlie's Mediterranean party garden?

It's time to decide.

-It is all one level.

-Yeah.

And the larger step coming out from the house is easier as well.

-It makes it a lot easier for Ronnie.

-Yeah.

It has got that nice Mediterranean feel.

You know... I just think on dull days,

it's going to look that much brighter.

I really simplified it, down to two areas.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Adult entertainment, children.

I really like the way that the garden

has been divided up into different areas,

almost like different zones.

If you've got a small garden, sometimes by putting more into it,

which is in contrast to yours, you make it feel bigger.

Does it not make it look more cluttered?

Not if it's carefully done.

I love the idea of the cherry tree.

-Yeah.

-I love cherry blossom and that's really nice.

I think this is modern cottage, which is sort of what we wanted.

I could see us in that.

This is closer, I think,

to what I would like the garden to be like.

I think I like this one.

Richard is taken with Charlie's warm Mediterranean tiles

and larger area for the children to play in.

But Corrina loves the Rich brothers' modern cottage garden

and it is exactly what she asked for.

Only one design can win, so whose will it be?

Hello!

Hi, guys.

OK. So, we've decided to go with...

..Charlie.

It's the diagonal that did it.

-It is, yeah.

-We've chosen this one, I think, mainly because you said

it is going to make the garden look bigger.

-I think that was what sold it for us.

-Yeah, yeah.

We thought as well that the kids would have

sort of a bit more area to play in as well.

It was so hard to choose, though,

cos I absolutely loved, like, the dwarf walls in the boys' design.

It felt really modern, but you kept the decking

-and I can't bear the deck.

-We would have got rid of it!

Too late, too late. It's mine!

It's mine!

Charlie is thrilled.

But with a modest budget and a lot of work to do,

she's really going to need the boys' help.

It is early morning in a wet Weston-Super-Mare

and project manager Bonnie and head landscaper Scott

are poring over Charlie's plan.

-Cool.

-This is all terracotta tiles

to give a nice Mediterranean feel

and Charlie wants to lay them on the diagonal

-to give the illusion of the space being bigger.

-Nice!

-That'll make your job a bit easier.

-Brilliant.

-Nice slanted step as well.

-Yeah.

This is a sleeper raised bed.

-OK.

-And these are all just lower normal ground level raised beds

and then this is artificial grass.

-We're going to take all the deck up and...

-OK.

-And lay that grass.

There's no time to waste

so the team are clearing the decks

and getting rid of all those uneven surfaces.

First to go is that horrible old artificial turf.

Now, that is how not to lay artificial grass.

I know, yeah. It's been rolled out like a mat, hasn't it?

The grass that we are going to get has got a much deeper pile.

-There we go.

-Is that for me?

For you, yeah.

That came up easy.

Now the turf is up, Bonnie has spotted a running form of bamboo

that could take over if left unchecked.

Look at this. The roots have just gone everywhere.

This is a dwarf bamboo and it pops up in cracks, between pavings.

This is a really good example of why you need to be careful

where you plant it because you need to contain the roots

and make sure that this doesn't happen.

To ensure they end up with one level surface,

the team have hired a mini digger.

But Bonnie is worried it might not fit

down the narrow path to the garden.

This is the moment of truth.

If we can't get this digger through this very small gap,

we are going to have to dig it all out by hand,

which is a bit of a mission.

There's a lot to do in the garden

and if the team are forced to dig out by hand,

they really will be squeezed for time.

Wait, wait, we need to turn that way quite a bit now

cos of the blade.

That's it.

-Good.

-Like a challenge, don't we?

Yeah, we do.

Lucky, that! Good job.

Good job. Glad I'm not driving the digger!

-Excellent. We are in.

-Woohoo!

I'm really glad we managed to get that in.

The team are relieved.

The digger will save them hours of backbreaking work.

But it does come at a cost.

So, to eke out every penny of the budget,

Charlie has asked the team to salvage

as much of the existing materials as possible

so they can be reused elsewhere in the garden.

So, these are perfectly good strong decking boards.

It's a shame to throw them away,

so we are going to try and re-use them

to save on sleepers in the raised beds.

It's not just the decking.

The stones and soil from the old planter are also being earmarked.

This garden is like a treasure trove, isn't it?

Yeah, there's loads of stuff in here.

We can use that soil as well for the raised bed.

-Yeah.

-Instead of buying any more topsoil.

-Yeah.

One, two, three.

Even the old arbour will be given a new lease of life later

with a lick of paint.

-4.3.

-Right, OK.

Bonnie and Scott mark out and prepare the ground

so they can begin to lay the patio tiles.

Good. Nice and big.

It's yellow.

I thought it would cheer us up, a bit of sunshine.

4.3 that way.

The garden is progressing well.

-4.3.

-Cool.

And Charlie and the Rich brothers arrive on site.

Charlie is not wasting any time in cracking the whip.

Right, then, boys.

My design. Budget is tight.

So there's going to be lots and lots of recycling.

-I love it.

-I want your noggins working today,

thinking about how we can get the garden done on a very tight budget,

-so recycle, recycle.

-No problem.

-But first up,

I've seen you both do some amazing sculpting with turf...

You are teeing us up!

I am going to challenge you with laying some artificial grass.

That's different end of the spectrum, isn't it?

It is. It's a really good surface for the children,

very versatile,

and I'm going to be doing some raised beds and pointing.

While David and Harry sort out the materials they need for the turf,

Charlie gets the lay of the land.

This area here is going to be the artificial grass.

Now we've cleared the deck out and the trellis,

it's made this area look really huge,

which is going to be great for the children.

So that's what the boys are going to be doing.

Then down this end is the adults' part of the garden.

So, big patio area.

Scott and Seb are really impressed with the tiles that I've chosen

cos they are nice and small,

which makes life really easy, doesn't it, boys?

Yeah, look at them smiling away!

Then we've got the raised beds.

It's not really raised, it's just up a bit to add a bit of interest.

I am going to also use this timber, recycle it from the decking,

to set it slightly off of the wall because if you are digging,

sometimes you can flick the soil up and it will bank up

and then dampness will get in on the inside of the house

and you really don't want that.

To fill the new raised bed,

Charlie will be using the soil from the old planter.

While she gets to work on the other side of the garden,

the boys are talking turf.

Corrina and Richard really wanted

to have artificial turf in their garden,

so what we are going to do

is we are going to create this large expanse in the back section.

Artificial turf used to be known as that greengrocer display carpet,

but it's got a lot, lot better.

As you can see here, we've actually got a range of qualities.

This is the cheaper version.

It's definitely less thick and less dense

and looks more artificial,

whereas you grade up to this guy here,

it's actually thicker, looks really real,

you've got a variation of colours

and actually got a little bit of thatch in there

so it looks really, really good.

What we are going to do is we are going to use offcuts of turf

and when me and Harry first thought of offcuts, we thought...

I thought we were going to get patches of this to do it!

I thought that would be a long old day.

But some of the offcuts are about four by four metres.

They are huge. What that means is we are going to stretch the budget,

it's going to go a lot further cos they are cheaper.

But it does mean we are going to be piecing together some seams.

-That's high-risk.

-I know.

Yeah. Charlie has entrusted us to patch this together.

Better get a move on, then!

But before the brothers can lay the turf,

they need to create a solid, even surface,

using a layer each of hardcore and sand.

It hasn't taken Charlie long to fill the beds with soil

and she's already moving on to planting.

Now, this raised bed here,

I'm just going to put a structure of planting in for Corrina,

leaving space so the kids can do some planting as well later on.

I'm going to have mainly herbs and aromatic plants here.

But we've got this lovely skimmia - scented, nice evergreen,

makes a nice round shape, you don't have to worry about clipping it.

Cistus, which is really Mediterranean.

The foliage is aromatic and it flowers all through the summer

so that will be really pretty.

This one has got white flowers with a yellow centre.

I reckon that's about there.

Then we've got some lavenders.

English lavender, so it's quite loose and floppy,

so it will flop over the sides of the raised beds

and when they come out the door, they will get that waft of scent.

And of course you can use the flowers when you are baking

and it flavours the sugar.

And then some herbs because it's really handy having herbs

just outside the kitchen door.

So we've got rosemary and parsley.

Scott, it's looking lovely.

I really like the colour. How do you think it's going?

Well, looking at the paw print on this,

I'd say it's going very "pawly".

SHE LAUGHS INSINCERELY

Don't give up the day job, will you?

I'll keep laying tiles then, shall I?

The first layer of the groundwork for the turf is down

and the boys are using a wacker plate to flatten the hardcore

before a layer of sand can be brought in.

Charlie wants to build a custom-made sunken table,

which will provide a useful surface

when Richard and Corrina are entertaining.

I'm thinking a nice chunky table,

but actually sort of cemented into the ground.

-Right, OK.

-So that the children can't pull it over on them

if they climb up on it and it can be used for anything.

-OK.

-I've got this recycled timber.

-Yeah.

-I've got some spare sleepers

so I'm thinking sleepers will make the legs, four legs, unusually...

SHE LAUGHS

So four legs, like that, concrete is in.

We've got four spare sleepers out the front.

-Yeah.

-So they could be the top.

-OK.

-That would make it really nice and chunky.

So, how high is that going to make that there table?

Well, these are 2.4s,

so I reckon they go in the ground about a foot

and we've got about a 3ft table. About that high.

That's good. Just right for barbecuing.

-And...

-And a beer.

-Yeah.

Mediterranean gardens are designed to be relaxed,

but you don't need a place in Provence

to create the holiday atmosphere of laid-back entertaining.

You can get the same effect in a British back yard.

Award-winning garden designer Jack Dunckley

has transported a slice of Tuscany

to the middle of the Sussex countryside.

So, what we've done here

is we've created this amazing Tuscan courtyard garden.

This originally used to be a car park

and the client wanted a really sort of lovely entertaining space.

There's lots of areas where people can mingle

and have drinks and socialise.

Tuscan and Mediterranean gardens have become popular

cos people want to kind of bring a little bit of holiday home.

It's nice to sit outside and not have to fly two hours away

to have a bit of paradise.

It's never been easier to create your own bit of paradise

in your back garden and following a few simple rules

will make it even easier.

In Mediterranean gardens,

the planting is secondary to the hard landscaping,

so start with the hardware.

Mediterranean gardens tend to have terracotta pots.

They tend to use kind of rustic materials, stone.

We've used compact gravel, which is a really durable surface.

It's quite a soft, sandy colour.

It's not loose, like ordinary shingle.

And think about form, clean lines and structure.

I've put in a certain amount of specimen planters.

I've got six amazing bay standards

that create this avenue down to the fire pit.

I've also got quite big palm trees in terracotta pots

to kind of give a bit of atmosphere

around the boundary of the garden

and also you've got the kind of undulating hills behind.

So this kind of nestled behind the hill

creates that really atmospheric place.

But you don't need acres of land

to create your own Mediterranean garden.

It's definitely possible to create

a Mediterranean garden in a small space.

It's about choosing the correct materials, the right planting.

If it is very small, then go for one specimen feature tree,

like a palm tree or an olive in a terracotta pot.

Nor does it have to be expensive.

Designing and building a garden like this doesn't have to be difficult

and you can source lots of materials at local garden centres -

palm trees, specimen plant pots.

Some of the materials we use here weren't overly expensive,

but have that right look and feel.

And Jack has a top tip for any small garden.

If you've got a small garden and you want to make it appear bigger,

then the best thing to do is tackle the boundaries.

If you've got a brown enclosing fence,

it's really kind of dark and it would be nice to lighten it up,

put some planting on it, maybe give it a touch of paint

to really kind of brighten up your space

and then look at linear lines

and the longest point of your garden,

put a focal point in,

cos that will draw your eye to the longest part.

There's no time to relax back in the garden, though.

Charlie's asked the brothers to pot up some of her Mediterranean plants.

As nothing in this garden is going to waste,

Harry is taking some of the tile cut-offs to aid him in his task.

Charlie wanted to use these twisted stem olives in her design

and they really do depict the Mediterranean.

Growing in the wild, they need free draining soil

and that's what I want to replicate now in this pot.

To start with, I'm just going to put a bottom layer

of these broken-up slabs. They are from the garden

so we are recycling them.

Because olive trees need free draining soil

if they are going to thrive,

placing the tiles in the bottom of the pot

will help any excess water to drain more freely.

And then all I'm going to do now

is I'm going to add some soil into the pot,

some leftover gravel from the garden.

Mix it in.

So it really depicts the kind of conditions of the Mediterranean.

The only thing left to do now is plant the olive tree.

In the garden, Charlie is making a statement.

First big statement plant coming through.

So I'm thinking about here-ish, I think, that's going to be.

Wow! Beautiful.

Outside, David is getting in on the Mediterranean action.

The bay tree is another great Mediterranean plant.

Really versatile and you can shape it into almost any object.

You can make it into, like, balls, pyramids, lollipops.

And you can use the leaves in cooking,

which is really cool, in loads of dishes.

We are actually going to plait the stems,

but we are still going to create that lollipop shape on top.

So we are going to remove some of these stems and just leave three.

There's no going back after this!

Perfect!

Cool!

And what I've got to do now is just chop off the top,

just to encourage the outward growth.

-Right, all done.

-Looks good, Dave.

Cheers! Thank you.

Charlie and Scott are marking out the planting borders

that will separate the patio and turf areas of the garden.

Just come out another foot.

And she's had a thrifty idea.

Entranceway.

She's going to bring the pergola that Richard and Corrina have

into the front of the garden and use it as an entranceway

between the children's and adults' areas.

David and Harry have turned their attention

back to the artificial lawn and are levelling out the sand

before laying a membrane

to suppress any weeds that may try to sprout up.

While Charlie is thinking about childproof planting,

kicking off with a spotted laurel.

It is a really robust useful plant, evergreen,

it will take being in shade, in dry conditions,

and when the football comes hurtling this way, it will put up with it.

The other great thing about having plants as a barrier

is they actually absorb sound.

You are better off having a hedge of plants

than you are a brick wall or a fence.

So it will make it quieter and dampen the sound down,

which is what you will always need when it comes to young children.

Charlie is also emphasising the Mediterranean theme

with her other shrubs and trees.

So, this is going to be an evergreen shrub border

and I've gone for a contrast of textures and shapes.

We've got the round box balls

that contrast with the spiky leaves of the phormium

and then my favourite, pencil cypress,

Cupressus sempervirens,

which means "forever green",

and they are these tall, upright columns of foliage.

When you see them growing around the lakes of Italy,

they do actually clip them so that they get really neat

and compact all the way up.

But that is going to basically end up

as a really textured evergreen hedge border,

which will look good all year round.

I have gone for threes with the Cupressus sempervirens.

Always a good thing to arrange in threes.

Having said that, I've been a bit radical and gone for a two.

That can sometimes work as well.

There are lots of other plants that work well

to create that warm Mediterranean look all year round,

But that can also cope with our rather colder,

wetter British climate without needing a lot of fuss.

The plants we've got here are very kind of drought resistant.

They don't need to be watered that much.

In the summer, this garden completely comes to life

and you've got lots of amazing purples.

There's grasses and you are going to have

sort of movement of the grasses in the wind.

As you can see behind, we've got these amazing line of cypresses.

You can source these trees in England,

but we decided for that extra kind of Tuscan feel,

we'd go out to Italy and source them.

Herbs play an important role in Mediterranean planting.

They are handy to have for the barbecue and alfresco dining

and will provide a lovely aroma on hot summer days.

You've got rosemary, you've got lavender,

you've got the olive trees as well

that kind of give that lovely kind of silvery foliage to it.

When you've had a busy day at work, coming back to this garden

instantly creates that relaxing, tranquil effect.

Fingers crossed!

Not bad. Looking green, that's a good start!

After all that preparation,

the boys are finally rolling out the larger of the two turf offcuts.

They make sure it's in the correct position...

I need to come this way.

..then cut the edges to fit.

Perfect! So, that's the turf cut now, up against the edging.

All we need to do is tack it in, nice and firm.

Charlie is planting up her final bed.

This border here, we are going to have lots of evergreens again

so they stand out against these beautiful walls.

Phormium tenax Variegatum - tenax means "tough"

and if you've ever tried to pull a dead phormium leaf off,

you'll know why it's tough.

Then we've got fatsia, which have got these big palm, glossy leaves.

They are going to get about this big.

Then we've got the box balls to pick up those box balls

and then a bit of colour with the cistus.

Corrina and Richard wanted low-maintenance and, literally,

there is nothing to do to these plants at all.

So they can just leave them to grow

and that will just give it a nice interest on this wall

and I've got a few little ideas for this section

to make it a real focal point, looking out from the kitchen.

David and Harry cut the second offcut of turf to size.

Yeah, nice fold!

A bit more than you think.

And then carefully use a special glue

to join the two different pieces together,

making the match-up between the two as seamless as possible.

As a finishing touch,

the brothers rake the artificial turf to further disguise the join

and a quick brush makes our penny-wise lawn

look fuller and more natural.

-How does it feel?

-It's great!

I love the way you've brought out the texture of my planting

-by making it all shaggy.

-Yeah, all planned.

-Yeah, right.

-All part of the master plan.

But it is worth it. Definitely worth it

and it's a great area for the children.

-So much bigger now.

-Versatile.

-Green.

-Green. Low-maintenance.

Do you think she's got to hoover it occasionally?

-Or brush it.

-Brush it.

-I'm enjoying this.

Doesn't it does make a difference? Look at that.

Well, don't spend too long doing this

cos I've got another little job for you, I have to say.

But you'll soon be done.

So, just here.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-You know,

the archway out the front that looks like it's landed...

-Yes.

-Just there.

-Shall we get the archway?

-Yeah.

While the boys fetch the old pergola from the front garden,

Charlie is attaching planting baskets to the wall.

This wall is a lovely wall, but it's a bit dominant in the garden,

so I want to break up the space with some planting

and walls are a great vertical space for extra plants.

Now, these are really good value hanging baskets,

just little wicker ones,

and because I am not convinced that Corrina and Richard

will look after them really well,

I've gone for plants that are going to be tolerant

of a little neglect, shall we say?

So I've got things like sedum, which is a succulent.

We've got mat-forming ajuga and some grasses.

Ivy... They will all put up with maybe drying out fractionally.

And I'm putting them in diagonals

to pick up the whole diagonal design of the garden

and it should really sort of break the wall up nicely.

And to get some continuity with the planting,

I've done the same type of planting here on these three...

Like that, so you see, exactly the same.

And then...

..I'm then using the same planting in the other three.

Just about the right height to water.

And the last one up there.

I think that looks lovely. Really breaks the wall up.

And the maintenance should be reasonably OK.

With the wall planters hung,

it's time to put the finishing touches in place...

..before Richard and Corrina see their new garden for the first time.

A beast of a table.

Walk her in.

Are you in?

Perfect!

-Nice!

-Locked in.

-Last one.

-Last tile going down.

-Oh, beauty.

-Beauty.

Look at that.

Before they called Charlie and the Rich brothers,

Corrina and Richard's garden was one big trip hazard...

..with a jumble of different levels, surfaces and materials.

Now, with a £3,000 revamp, the chaos has been swept away

and the garden feels much larger and less cluttered.

The spacious terracotta patio is the perfect place for a party

and cost £280.

They even have their own custom-built bar, which cost £36.

The easy to maintain wall planters brighten up the end of the garden

and cost only £92.

While the olive and bay trees add a flavour of the Mediterranean

at a cost of £130.

The terracotta pots continue the theme and cost £200.

As does the sound deflecting planting bed,

featuring the cypress trees,

each costing £35.

The pergola was moved free of charge from the front garden

and the arbour has been repositioned and given a £22 lick of paint.

And finally, Ronnie and his siblings can run around safely

on their level crease-free artificial lawn...

..which cost a total of £510.

Richard and Corrina spent three years hating their old garden.

Can Charlie make them fall in love with their new one?

Close your eyes.

We are going to step down...

Yeah? That's one step.

-Two steps...

-Tickly under there?

Go forward a bit. It's all right,

-you're not going to fall off an abyss, I promise.

-OK.

I'm so excited.

OK? You can open your eyes.

Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

-Oh, my God!

-So, does that view say to you,

"I want to come out into the garden"?

-Definitely.

-I don't think we could live inside.

I think we just live out here. It's so beautiful.

It's totally transformed.

-It's amazing.

-It is amazing.

-Hey, they love it.

-They love it.

-Some good first impressions.

-It is, yeah.

I mean, having that patio out on the front

-makes such a difference, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you think it is going to be a big enough area

for you to entertain friends and family?

I think so, don't you?

-It's massive. It's amazing!

-We could have a party.

I think they'll use that space a lot for entertaining.

Yeah, they seem like the party type.

They do, don't they? Yeah!

Is it actually our garden?

-You are not going to be ill on me, are you?

-No.

Sorry, I just love it.

It's going to look great all year round

because they're evergreens - no maintenance.

And these will fill up to about the top of your wall

and give you lots of textures and that will fill in.

We've got the pots there just as a focal point.

Planters, yes, they will need a bit of watering occasionally,

but they are really robust plants.

And if you really get into your gardening,

you can change them for some colourful hanging geraniums.

OK. Yeah, yeah.

They look brilliant. I love them. They look really, really great.

-Really great.

-Just outside your back door, this raised bed here,

it's literally going to be a scented evergreen border.

We've got rosemary and parsley, lavender...

'It's a really cool little bed, isn't it?'

Right outside the house. I like the herbs in it as well.

-Perfect for the kids to get involved.

-Yeah.

I just can't believe it!

I literally, like...

-Just...

-Gobsmacked.

-Yeah.

-In the time you've had and the budget and everything else,

-unbelievable.

-It looks like a million bucks.

'Walking down to the archway now.'

Through into our bit of lawn.

I mean, probably the best bit of the garden.

Don't tell Charlie or anything, but that is...

The boys can play football whatever the weather.

Ronnie can just walk out...

-There's no steps.

-No steps.

-Other than that one out there.

-No trip hazards.

All you need to do to make it look lovely

is just rake it up occasionally.

-OK.

-I don't know about that!

-THEY LAUGH

With just £3,000 to spend, Charlie had to make every penny count.

But do Corrina and Richard think it was money well spent?

I never thought it could be this good.

-No.

-Not with the budget we gave them.

And I just think Charlie and the team

have just done the most amazing job.

Charlie and the team have done a fantastic job.

-We are delighted, aren't we?

-Fantastic.

Thank you, guys, so much.