Alfreton 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, wow! 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're 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 will each pitch them a design, based on their needs...

-You look confused.

-Yeah, I am.

-Go for it.

-..and budget.

Doesn't look like it could be our garden.

The winner...

Charlie!

-Awesome!

-..brings their design to life...

Hold on, hold on!

Sweet, isn't it?

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

Keep working, keep working, boy!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy.

This is what happens...

Just get on with it.

Some time today would be good!

..when different styles collide...

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

Right, are we doing this?

..to turn garden dreams into reality.

-Wow! It's brilliant.

-Oh, my goodness!

Wow!

-Look at that!

-Oh, my God!

Wow!

It's time for Charlie and the Rich brothers

to find out which garden

they're going to be competing over today.

This is Tom and Heather from Derbyshire,

and they've just bought their house,

their first house together.

-They look quite young, don't they?

-Quite young!

If YOU'RE saying it, they must be really young!

Tom and Heather bought their first home nearly two years ago,

and, as with many young homeowners,

they don't know where to start with their garden.

The garden, it's just really blank, I suppose.

There's a bit of a patio area,

but that's really the only bit of it that we've used.

Yeah, we haven't really got any plants that are alive

because I've killed them.

It's boring, and it's sloped,

and we just don't know what to do with it.

There is a big slope in the garden.

As you can see, it travels away from the house,

right down to the bottom of the garden.

Huge patio!

It's not really the biggest space.

I mean, you'd be squeezed just trying to fit in there.

Just two chairs and a table, but you couldn't actually sit at it.

No, just set it.

We'd really like a bigger seating area,

because, at the minute, it's so small,

we can't really do anything out there,

and we can't entertain people.

And because the garden's sloped,

you can't sit people on chairs out there

because they just topple over.

As well as needing a larger patio,

Heather has a very particular theme she'd like to see in the garden.

Really like the idea of quite a magical fairy-tale themed garden.

Maybe some fairy lights and a fire pit

that we can all sit around in the evening.

Budget's £3,500,

which is a decent amount of money, but it is quite a long garden.

There is a lot of space.

But I think it's quite important

to draw them down into the garden, somehow.

I think that's key, because, at the moment,

-it looks like that's not used at all.

-Yeah.

It looks like they just sit at the top and look down the view.

Yeah.

With a fairy-tale theme and a £3,500 budget,

the designers head to Derbyshire

to see what they can conjure up

for Tom and Heather's sloped garden.

The garden definitely slopes.

They weren't wrong there.

And look at this thing - a bit narrow, isn't it?

But it takes you on a journey to the salubrious patio.

Please do seat yourself and enjoy.

Table for two, please.

No room for a third, unfortunately.

Well, where do you put the barbecue, then?

Well, just eat off it, in place of the table.

The trees at the bottom are nice, though.

Yeah, I think when they come into leaf,

they will actually create a nice backdrop.

They've got a good bit of character to them, haven't they,

-which is quite cool.

-We need some sort of...

Inspiration. Shall we go inside?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Hopefully, there'll be more to look at.

Well, hopefully, yeah,

because we're sort of slightly stymied here, aren't we?

While Charlie's left outside,

David and Harry see if there's more to discover inside.

I definitely wasn't expecting this.

Yeah, it's so different, isn't it?

Got the tartan and the colours.

It really transports you to a Highland cabin or something.

Yeah, like antlers and deer.

And they've got deer on the cushion.

But it's kind of got a Gothic kind of feeling as well, hasn't it?

It has, yeah, quite dark, in a way.

Definitely feeling it quite mystical.

A bit of mystery, a bit of fantasy maybe.

Oh, yeah.

Outside, Charlie meets Tom and Heather

to find out if they're on the same page of the spell book.

When you say magical theme,

do you mean a few fairy lights and maybe some cute plants,

or do you mean full-on theme?

Full-on theme.

-OK.

-I love a theme.

For me, I've nothing against it, a bit of it,

but for me, perhaps, I would hold off little bit on full-on.

Make it a bit cool.

A little bit.

These are cool, aren't they?

You can really imagine that being like gnarled trees

or shrubs or something like that

would really bring that out, wouldn't it?

I think it might be quite nice if we can think about

putting some lighting or something into the garden.

That would add another dimension. That would be nice.

So, would you want to be getting rid of the slope?

Probably not, no.

It'd be quite nice to have it at different levels.

-Oh, OK.

-Yeah. Like a tiered-type thing.

So I think we're thinking some sort of seating area,

making the most of the sun in the evening down at the bottom.

So we are saying definitely bigger patio, entertaining.

A full-on singing, dancing, magical, folklore fairy?

-Yes.

-Maybe with a dark side.

So it's a bit cool when your mates come round to watch the football.

-Save a bit of face.

-And an evening seating area.

Yes. Not asking for much, are we?

Charlie and the Rich brothers are going to need to summon

all their creative powers to transform this bare back garden

into a magical fairy wonderland.

So they get straight to their drawing boards.

They'll compete against each other

to come up with a design that will work

within Tom and Heather's budget.

The couple will have to choose a winner

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

The £3,500 budget will be used to cover the cost of materials,

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.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Hey. OK.

Ready? This is our design.

So, we've learnt that you guys wanted to turn your garden

into this magical woodland,

and we've tried giving you that, but in a more natural,

slightly sympathetic way,

so almost a pixie essence of a British woodland.

So if you'd imagine you'd step out of your back door

on to this large deck,

which would be something like a larch, which would grey over time.

And it makes a big difference on having a tiny patio.

Yes. A bit.

So that would be a great space for entertaining, eating, barbecue,

just enjoying the weather, especially the morning sun, as well.

A strong start from the Rich brothers,

who have provided the larger entertaining space

that the couple asked for.

So, what does Charlie plan for the top of the garden?

So, welcome to...

..Tom and Heather's magical mystery garden.

I have gone with a staggered patio at the top

to give you a more traditional patio area

to entertain with your friends,

big enough space, and then you've still got lawn up on the top area,

but it's the journey down where you start getting

the mystical fairy feel,

so it's more like a path that used to be used

but it's been encroached back on by the plants of the wood.

Charlie's working her magic already,

with her larger patio and winding path.

What tricks do Harry and David have up their sleeve

to entice the couple down the garden?

From that deck, we've wanted to give you

this slightly more modern take on stepping stones.

So these would be like timber lintels

and it's kind of the concept

of the, almost, like, falling trees in a woodland.

-OK.

-And you'd be able to walk on them and step across

and these would lead you down on to this lower terrace here.

This terrace is sunken into the bank,

which allowed us to retain it with some logs,

so that you can plant them up with ferns

and it has this very kind of magical feeling.

Then moving on from that,

we want to put a few logs down the bottom as well,

where we let the grass grow long,

and you don't have to worry about mowing around the trees.

Definitely helpful.

The brothers have cleverly introduced a terrace

in the form of a sunken seating area,

accessed by a woodland log walkway.

They're keeping the fairy-tale theme subtle, which will suit Tom,

whereas Charlie's trying to impress Heather.

On the way down, you'll notice odd things

and they're either going to be bits of driftwood

or there're going to be stacks of stones or pebbles

so that will add interest wherever you look,

so it sort of draws you down into this lower area, that's scooped out,

so we'll make that area flatter,

and then we have a retaining wall,

and I have what I would call a dew pond,

so it's just a pool of water

that's going to reflect the moon

and it will have a little spout of water

that just drops into it, so it will be a gentle trickle.

Charlie has also gone for a sunken seating area

at the bottom of the garden,

but she's surrounded hers with quirky features,

which could be too much for Tom.

It's still all to play for,

as the designers reveal their plans for the planting.

With the shrubs and trees,

we've got things like contorted hazel and witch hazel

and mountain ash

and all these are quite kind of fantasy-based.

So it's going to give this lovely kind of gnarled look,

but it's blocking views off,

so it doesn't reveal the garden all at once,

but give you these lovely pockets

that you can explore and relax in

without feeling like everyone's watching you.

And then, what we'd like to do is introduce perennial planting,

but we'd choose things that flowered predominantly white,

and what they'll do, later on in the evening,

when the light dies down and the moon rises,

they'll illuminate, and along with some fairy lights

that can go up between the trees,

that will just make like a really magical,

-gorgeous backdrop.

-Yes.

The plants that I want to use down this area

are ones that have got a folklore to them,

so lots of ferns and elderflower.

But I'm using the black lace, so it's got very dark foliage,

which gives it a bit of a spooky feel, Tom,

and then to sort of butch it up a little bit,

we've got insectivorous plants.

So they're quite odd and weird to look at,

and then through the thick planting here, these are hazel branches,

tied together to give you an archway

where you might have to slightly bend to get through it,

so it makes it a mysterious way to get into your seating area...

..and there was silence!

THEY LAUGH

-It sounds great!

-It does.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

That's it. Time's up.

See you in a bit.

Tom and Heather are giving little away as to which design they prefer.

So all Charlie and the Rich brothers can do now is wait.

I really like these logs,

and the path through the twisty trees and the fairy lights,

and I really like the wood decking.

How did you get on with the whole magical fairy theme then?

Well, we didn't go too airy-fairy, we went kind of...

-Gnarled and rugged.

-Well, I sort of went airy-fairy,

but then with a dark twist.

This is literally your favourite brief, I think.

Yay, it's right up my street.

-Hope we win it.

-Yeah!

-It's so different.

-Yeah.

-I love the way the path...

..winds down.

And then there's this second path to go through

into the sort of seating area at the bottom.

Seating down there?

-Yes.

-Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Dug it into the bank, retained it with some logs,

we can aim to plant ferns and things like that.

-Yeah.

-Snap!

-Is that what you did exactly?

Mm-hm. Then, to butch it up, insectivorous plants.

Right.

-Wow!

-Wow! Stunned into silence.

The magic worked, the boys are quiet!

THEY LAUGH

It's not a case of which do we like and which don't we like, it's...

-I like them both.

-How do we pick one that we like marginally more?

They can only choose one.

So, will it be the Rich brothers' enchanted woodland,

with sunken seating area, fallen tree steps,

twisted hazels and large deck?

Or Charlie's full-on fairy theme

with stone stacks, dew pond, winding pathways and insect-eating plants?

It's time to find out.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-OK.

-We've made our decision.

We have, and the one we've chosen is Charlie's.

Charlie's!

I would have been so upset if you hadn't chosen mine.

-It was horrible.

-It was so tough.

It was so hard!

-DAVID:

-Good, good to hear that.

It was by a whisker.

-What was the whisker?

-I think it was the water.

-OK.

-I think the water feature.

Yeah. And I think it's... I'm just so excited.

I think it's going to be amazing.

So Charlie has charmed her way to a win,

but the brothers look less than impressed.

They know they'll be at Charlie's beck and call

in this magical garden makeover.

It's a new and rather wet day in Derbyshire

and Charlie has sent the landscaping team on ahead to get started.

Project manager Guy brings the team up to speed.

The big thing here is the level, isn't it?

There's a big drop away down to the bottom.

It is a big drop, yeah.

We've got to cut into the slope down here

and put some of that soil up here

-to level out where the terrace is up at the top.

-Yeah.

Quite a bit of earth to come out, then?

Yeah, there is.

I think we need to get the digger in, then.

I think we better get cracking.

And we need to get those waterproofs off.

Head landscaper Andy wastes no time

in clearing the slabs and turf

from the top section of the garden.

The old slabs are broken up to use as a base layer

for the new, larger patio.

And Lee takes control of the digger

to start excavating the sunken area

at the bottom of the garden.

The soil is then used to build up

and level the top section for the patio.

Is that wet enough for you there now?

A bit more?

Yeah, a tiny bit more.

With the rain easing up,

Andy's going great guns and has already started to lay the patio,

putting the slabs down in a random pattern

to give a higgledy-piggledy look.

In what appears to be a game of digger musical chairs,

Steve is now at the helm, clearing the turf for the winding path.

Right, so we're making good progress down here.

We've cut into the slope,

and this is going to be our little magical seating area

under the canopy of the trees.

Good news is the soil's looking all right.

So I think that's going to be great for the planting,

so, yeah, we're getting there.

With the patio laid,

the team turns its attention to the retaining wall for the sunken area.

-I'll get me chainsaw out.

-I'll get them marked for you.

Yeah. You mark them...

And then we'll get someone to mix some concrete for us.

Right. OK.

Yeah. I take the hint!

Charlie has chosen to use wooden sleepers,

which are strong enough to hold back the soil

and stop the rest of the slope collapsing.

And she's designed the retaining wall

to have an arched top edge

to reflect the curved shape of the sunken area.

The garden transformation is well under way

as Charlie and her two helper elves arrive on site.

I'm excited about this garden.

It's right up my street.

I love a theme. I love a theme!

So I want you guys to get quite creative.

I want you to make some good-luck stone stacks.

And then I'm doing the pond, so lots of fiddly things to do.

-Blimey!

-So we'd better get on,

because I don't want you away with the fairies.

Lots of work to do. Lots of work to do.

In the garden, Andy, Lee and Steve

are putting the finishing touches to the patio,

ready for inspection by the boss.

The landscape team have done a fabulous job here.

I mean, you can actually get a table and chairs on the patio now

and then we're going to screen this ugly step with a beech hedge,

and the path leads you down the garden

to where all the fairies are

and the mystical bit of the garden,

right down here.

I have to say, this is already my favourite bit of the garden.

A dingly dell at the bottom,

and you don't know what's down here

and this is going to be our dew pond

which is deep enough that if frogs come and breed in here,

they won't get sort of frosted or anything like that.

So it's about 15, 18 inches deep.

And then the boys are going to be putting their stone step there -

the first one, and then I think one over there

and I think they're out there practising at the moment,

making a lot of noise.

Harry and David are responsible for the racket.

They're doing a trial run of Charlie's stone towers

at the front of the house.

In folklore, balancing stones on top of one another

is supposed to bring good luck.

The taller the tower, the more luck you'll have.

But rather than balance them,

Charlie wants a more safe and secure stack,

which is why the brothers are testing out their method

before repositioning the stacks in the garden.

Charlie wanted to introduce a sculptural element

within the garden,

and she wanted us to create these stone stacks,

and as you can see from the plan,

they almost look like they're leaning.

That's really going to capture that kind of mystical feeling

at the end of the garden.

It's quite a simple sculptural element to make, as well.

So we've got a 16mm stainless steel rod in the centre

and then offsetting the holes in the stone.

So starting in the middle,

so it's central and then offsetting it to the end,

that shifts the stone out,

bringing it back the way and that's what's going to create the movement.

And what we're using is just using this power drill here.

We're using a 25mm drill bit

so it's slightly larger than the rod,

so it makes it easy to squat over.

But because we're drilling into sandstone,

you don't want to press too hard

because what that's going to do is start splitting it into layers.

So let the weight of the drill do it.

Take your time and create a nice clean hole.

Back in the garden, Charlie has lined the pond area with sand

and is trying to impress local lad, Lee,

with her version of the regional dialect.

Right then, Lee, I think it's time for that there liner.

-That there liner.

-That there liner.

That's me Derbyshire, that is.

Is it?

Ha-ha!

So, we've got the hose in

and then we've got a battery-cum-solar-powered pump

and we're going to put the solar panel in the flowerbed,

because that's probably the brightest,

most open part of the garden.

But if there's not a lot of sun, you can take the battery out,

charge it up for a couple of hours, and then it will run

for seven, eight hours nonstop, if you want it to.

And it's all housed in this weather-proof box.

Makes life really easy.

No electricians.

Makes it a bit cheaper as well.

The Rich brothers are happy with their stone stacking technique

and are now ready to recreate them in the garden.

-Sorry, Lee.

-That's all right, mate.

-Not on purpose!

-It's fairy dust!

-It is, yeah.

They're cementing in large stones to give the stacks a firm base...

I'd say a few more.

..with the steel rods driven into the ground through the middle.

OK, go with that. Let's check with the boss.

Lower.

Sculptures are a fantastic way to enhance a garden.

They provide year-round structure and interest

and when chosen and placed with care,

the garden itself can be the ideal backdrop for displaying

these architectural focal points to their fullest.

You could even create your own open-air gallery.

Michael Pearson has done exactly that at his bed and breakfast,

Austwick Hall, in the Yorkshire Dales.

We've always been art lovers

and once we'd bought the first sculpture,

we got hooked.

And then another came along, and before you know it,

you've gathered a collection together.

Formal pieces will naturally sit well in formal gardens,

but in country or woodland gardens,

you can afford to be a little wilder.

Here's our stag, sitting in amongst the trees like a real deer.

It's deliberately well hidden, so that, suddenly, you see it,

so it's quite a surprise.

And to actually go up to the piece of sculpture and feel it,

because sculpture isn't just about what it looks like,

it's the texture and the feel of the metal.

Surprising guests with a hidden artwork can add fun and intrigue.

But if you want one to take centre stage,

you can put it on a boundary line,

in the middle of a space, or at the side of a path.

And if you really want to add drama, think about framing your piece.

So, we've got this winding path

going up through this tunnel of laurel

and just framed at the end is The Head, by Sally Grant.

The placing was quite deliberate,

but the steps and the tunnel were already there,

so it's really a matter of finding the right place for the sculpture,

rather than us creating the environment round it.

As the artwork will be open to the elements,

think about how the weather might affect it.

Moss and lichen will often grow on stone and cement sculptures,

especially in damp conditions.

But sometimes it's the day-to-day changes

that can give the most striking effects.

This piece glistens after rain and becomes shiny

and in full sun, it can sparkle.

If statues and artworks don't appeal to you,

there are many other things you can use as a focal point,

from dramatic moon gates to benches and urns.

Even structural planting can draw the eye and give it a place to rest.

Michael has some advice if you want to include

sculptures or focal points in your garden.

The first point is to have a focal point

in proportion to the surroundings.

It's no good having a small sculpture

if it's going to appear small and insignificant.

And if you have too many pieces in one area,

they distract your eye. They detract, also, from each other.

You really need to give every piece its full worth.

Back in Tom and Heather's garden,

the landscapers have knocked up a simple bench out of

leftover sleepers, which will add

another focal point in the sunken area.

And David is the first one of the brothers to finish his stack.

Last stone.

-Doesn't that look good? How does that look from there?

-Really good, that is, for me.

-Far better than your brother's.

-Yeah, I agree.

Sorry, Harry!

In her design, Charlie's included two pathways down

to the lower seating area.

The main winding path and a second, more mysterious walkway,

with log steps, which Andy is starting to lay.

No! I don't want it evenly curved.

I want it to sort of go err, and then err-err.

-Higgledy-piggledy?

-Yeah, higgledy-piggledy.

A bit coming home from t'pub?

I would even wouldn't mind if you didn't use a level or your eye.

All the timbers are bent.

You try and get a landscaper to put something in like that,

they don't like it. It goes against their natural grain.

Charlie is working with slightly smaller bits of wood,

making a bundle of hazel twigs to section off part of the pond area.

So, they use these when they're retaining river banks.

Much, much bigger. I'm going to use it to retain the soil for my

insectivorous plants.

They're called faggots.

Excuse me, they've gone all a bit level all of a sudden.

Haven't they?

-That do?

-That's it. Leave it like that, with the kicky-up bit.

-I can't.

-You can't. You can't!

I can't, health and safety.

Oh, shut up!

I'll allow that.

You'll allow that. Thanks!

That's it then. Let's peg them at that.

With the position of the logs sort-of agreed upon,

they're attaching the stakes to keep them from moving.

And Charlie starts getting some greenery in

around her water feature.

When it comes to the edge of a pond,

it's always a bit fiddly and there's lots of different ways.

You could pave it. But I want this to look really quite natural.

So I'm going to use the turf

and then lay it on the liner and, OK,

the turf won't really grow that well,

but the great thing about it, it'll be moist,

because of the water from the pond and things will self-seed in it.

Things like lady's smock, fern.

So it will naturally turn into a natural bog.

And it gives a really lovely, woodlandy, dewy pond effect.

At the front of the house,

Harry and David have moved on to their next task.

Charlie wanted us to bring a new lease of life to Tom and Heather's

garden table, so what we're going to do is introduce some plants into it

and that's really going to help it tie into

that magical theme of the garden.

It's quite a simple construction.

All we're going to do is remove part of these three panels in the table.

We've then got this water container that we've cut down,

which is going to have the plants inside,

and then these are going to fit inside this bit of framework,

which then fits inside the table, when we remove these slats.

This cheap and simple idea goes to show

that you don't need to buy expensive plant pots.

Pretty much any container can be used to grow plants in,

as long as you make drainage holes at the bottom.

The table isn't the only bit of wood getting a new lease of life.

In the middle of the garden,

Charlie's included another fantasy-themed focal point,

and she's chosen to use old tree stumps.

Lee is drilling a hole into one of them,

so that it can be mounted on top of the pole.

-Can you guide it in?

-Yeah. Well, I can, but...

-To me. To me. There you go. And down.

-Mega.

-Look at that!

-You see, to me it looks like a...

Is it a stegosaurus? ..from here?

It's an -osaurus of some description.

Looks like a rhinoceros from here.

-It does.

-It does look like a rhino from here.

It's a beautiful bit of wood, isn't it?

With the garden sculptures in place, the shrubs start to come in.

Ah, that's spiky! Didn't warn me of that one, did you?

It's hawthorn. I said it had thorns on it.

-Big ones.

-I weren't listening.

-That'll teach you!

-So, I've got this spare bit of lead.

I'm thinking I want it to sort of sit underneath the pipe so,

if we cut that off flat and then nicely shape

with some veins along it and then the water can just, da-da-da,

drip off the end.

-Yeah?

-I can do that.

-Right.

-Lovely, thank you.

Whilst Lee gets creative with lead,

Charlie prepares the pond area for the insect-eating plants,

which she included to give the garden a darker twist for Tom.

Look, isn't that elegant?

Just gorgeous.

That's Sarracenia flava.

It's got sort of little caps to them.

And then we've got Sarracenia purpurea.

So look at that - how amazing is that flower?

I just love it. Really wacky.

So, you've got these pitchers that trap insects.

And what happens is, you get midges and things go down in.

They get attracted by the scent that's at the bottom of the pitcher,

but they can't get back out, because all the hairs point downwards,

so they get trapped in there and then the plant just digests them.

Lovely!

Sarracenias are native to North America,

but, given the right conditions, will do well in the UK.

They should be planted in peat or special nutrient-free compost,

and they like boggy conditions, so must be kept moist.

But they won't tolerate lime,

so in hard-water areas, boil and cool your tap water before watering.

I've grown Sarracenias for about three years now

and they've gone down quite happily to minus seven.

So you don't need to worry about that.

And I use rain water from my rain butt,

which is probably the best type of water.

And what happens over the winter, you might find that

a few of the pitchers die off and look tatty,

but then they reshoot in the spring.

You just trim off the old pitchers.

Look at that!

These aren't the only carnivorous plants

Charlie's included in the garden.

She's also given some to the Rich brothers for the table.

You've got the Venus fly trap. The Venus fly trap is definitely

one of the most famous carnivorous plants.

Insects trigger the hairs in the trap.

That closes and then it digests the insect.

And these guys are quite small, so they'll probably just catch

a few little small flies, things like that.

But they can grow big enough to get bluebottle flies

and even wasps in the summer.

And feeding them things like ham or cat food

is a bit of an urban myth.

Don't do that, because that will result in it rotting and dying back.

It's also quite tempting to poke Venus fly traps to make them close,

but this uses up valuable energy

which can weaken and damage the plant.

Each trap will only catch around three flies before it dies off.

But in a healthy plant, new traps will then grow.

This is the sundew plant.

And they have these tentacle-like leaves, with fine, red hairs

which creates this sticky substance, which looks like dew drops.

It's got quite a sweet smell,

and the insect will land on these leaves and get stuck.

And the more it kind of struggles around, the more it gets stuck,

so it's an ingenious plant and it looks amazing.

Just like the Sarracenias Charlie's planted,

these ones also need a peat compost and lime-free water.

But beware, the Venus fly trap and sundew are not winter-hardy

in the British climate.

Because this is a removable planter,

it means, in the summer months, you can have it outside,

it can catch a really nice variety of insects.

But then, when it starts getting colder in the winter,

you can take it out, put it inside the house,

put it on a light windowsill, nice bit of warmth

and then you can keep it growing all throughout the year

and bring it back out next summer.

Things are really moving on in the garden.

Steve is using limestone aggregate as a mulch

around the tree stump focal point.

Its light colour will contrast with the planting and the wood

to make the feature stand out.

And Charlie has made the budget stretch to a fire bowl,

so the garden will be usable in the evening.

The pond pump is now functioning

and the lead leaf detail is attached to hide the pipe work.

Quite like that. Quite like that.

The original grass was destroyed by the digger,

so Andy is laying new turf on both sides of the path.

And the moment David sets foot back in the garden,

Charlie finds him more work.

I have another little chore for you.

Oh, gosh! OK.

Your hazel arches.

Yeah.

-That's the one.

-Perfect in this rain, actually, underneath that.

-Nice, no problem.

-This is good planting weather.

It's good for the plants. Turns the whole place to a quagmire.

Rain or no rain, work must go on.

So we're just making a tunnel out of these hazel poles.

We're going to put a bunch of three on each side, leading round.

Bend them over, tie them.

That will create that tunnel that you wander down through.

What's going to happen is, it's going to be a lot taller arch here

and a lot lower arch at the bottom,

so you really have to crouch down to get in.

It's just going to be a little bit of fun,

a nice little secondary route in the garden.

Hazel is great for arches,

fencing and even rustic-looking bean poles,

because its branches are straight, strong and flexible.

Meanwhile, Charlie has turned her attention

to adding some fairy-themed foliage.

So, I wanted to use plants that Tom and Heather could look after

easily, but also that had some sort of folklore history to them.

This is elderflower.

It's the black lace variety,

so it's a more ornamental variety of what you see growing wild.

It has these gorgeous, big, flat flowers that you see,

that are just coming here

and they're sort of a white with a tint of pink,

and you can make elderflower wine out of them.

But it's got some fantastic stories to it.

For a start, you would never cut them down,

or if you did you'd have to ask,

because the fairies live in elderflower.

And the other story about it is the stems are hollow

and they'll supposedly take away any bad vibes

that are in the garden.

The limestone aggregate is also being used

to surface the sunken seating area and the path.

But in these cases, it's compacted down

to make it better for walking on.

Then a scattering of gravel gives it more of a woodland path feel.

Alchemilla mollis - a favourite of mine.

Has these lovely, lime-green, frothy flowers

and these soft, green leaves.

But the sort of mythology behind it

is it's called Alchemilla after alchemy.

Because when the beads of water sit on the leaf,

they thought they could grind the leaves up

and get silver and gold out of them.

And when they discovered they couldn't do that,

they then used to collect the water droplets and use it in medicines,

herbal treatments and things like that.

Nice, easy plant to grow and it will really soften this pathway.

Then we've got foxgloves.

So, these foxgloves here are one of favourites of fairies

and they quite like living in them, apparently.

And you know when you see a foxglove and it's sort of lent to one side?

That's because the fairies have gone past

and they've bowed their heads in deference to the fairies.

I'm planting camomile here on the first step, and that's because it's

a great alternative to lawn, because when you walk over it, you're going

to get that lovely, beautiful, sweet smell it produces.

And what it's supposed to do is soothe the spirit

and also act as a magnet and draw the spirits into the garden.

Flower fairies love the flowers that it produces as well.

This is the Polypodium vulgare fern and it's a native to Britain,

which means it's a very versatile fern and it can put up with a wide

variety of conditions, from moist to damp to dry,

as long as it has a bit of shade.

Here, we're using it to create these undefined edges

that leads down to Charlie's, like, kind of woodland section.

Ferns also appear in folklore.

It's said that anyone who sees a mythical fern flower

will be guaranteed a happy and rich life.

The race is now on to get the plants in the ground

and the garden finished.

-Pop it in that gap, Dave.

-Yeah.

The Rich brothers are adding colourful perennials to the border

by the patio, and Charlie is putting the finishing touches

to the tree stumps.

So these are just little globes of glass

and I've put a little bit of soil in the bottom and some moss.

I'm going to put some water in there, so it'll stay green.

And even if it dries out, the amazing thing is,

if you put a bit more water in there, it'll regenerate again.

So I think maybe one coming off there.

Yeah. Like that.

See that spider there?

-He's gone into it already, look.

-No!

Look at that. That is brilliant.

He's a happy spider.

And the spider won't be lonely, as Charlie has some other,

less lively, insects for the other globes.

And as the last plants go in the ground

and everything is given a good hosing down,

the garden is complete.

Before Tom and Heather called in the Garden Rescue team,

their boring, bare, sloping garden was in dire need of some TLC.

But now, with a fairy-tale £3,500 makeover,

it has been completely transformed.

Tom and Heather will now be able to entertain guests

on their £600 extended patio.

The higgledy-piggledy paving continues down the enchanted garden

and past an array of focal points,

including artistically placed tree stumps at £75.

And those lucky stone steps are £200.

The sunken seating area at the bottom of the garden

gives the couple a place to retreat.

The striking dew pond cost a total of £180...

..and has given a dramatic touch

with insect-eating Sarracenias at £25.

Charlie's really brought this garden to life

with £1,250 of fairy-friendly planting

including ferns, black lace elderflower and lupines.

It's time to see if Charlie has delivered the magical,

fairy-themed garden that Tom and Heather have been dreaming about.

Here we go.

OK, you can open your eyes.

Oh, my God!

It's beautiful!

-You're speechless!

-Yeah!

Oh, wow!

-That's a good reaction, isn't it?

-Yes.

So, your patio's a little bigger.

A little bit bigger, yeah, just a little bit.

Table fits on there nicely.

-Oh, it's lovely.

-Won't topple off the chairs any more.

-No!

Come and explore your meandering path.

So, this is just a really floral,

-very pretty-pretty, girlie flowerbed here.

-Yes!

-Yep.

-With lilacs and lupines.

Lots of very soft colours.

But I got the boys to man up the table,

so you've got some Venus fly traps,

-so they'll catch all the midges and flies.

-That's good.

Oh, look at that, loving the little carnivorous plants as well.

-Yeah. I'm quite proud of that table.

-I like it.

So, if you wander on down.

-Oh, the fire!

-That's awesome.

The wood's beautiful. I love it.

And then we've got our stone stacks there.

-Oh, wow!

-THEY LAUGH

It's lovely!

So, wander on down to this...

-A water feature.

-Yeah!

So, we've got your lovely insectivorous plants there.

And then you've got your little trickle of water,

so it's quite nice, and we even put you a little bench in there.

Oh, wow! Yes. I didn't notice that.

So you don't have to bring

your chairs all the way down here all the time.

Yeah, I mean, that is such a cool little area down there.

Having the carnivorous plants, the water feature.

Really tranquil little spot.

It's so lovely down here. It's like a secret escape.

Yeah. It looks completely different to how it looks from standing up

by the house. It's like we've got two gardens, I suppose.

So, do you think, design-wise, we got it right?

Definitely. And more, actually.

-I couldn't have pictured it like this.

-No.

I mean, it's just...it's...

It's perfect.

So, after the fairy dust has settled,

are Tom and Heather still spellbound by their new garden?

I think it was just such a boring garden before.

It had no personality. It had no style.

And it didn't suit us, did it, at all?

And now it's magical and beautiful

and it's exactly what I wanted.

And just the timescale as well.

The weather's not been great and to have achieved this

-in such a short time, it's...

-It's beautiful.

Couldn't have asked for anything more.