Oxton, Birkenhead 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...

-Look at it turn.

-It's amazing.

..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.

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

-You look confused.

-I am. Go for it!

-..and budget.

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

-The winner...

-Charlie!

-Yeah, awesome!

..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 would be good.

..when different styles collide...

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

-Yes.

-Right, are we doing this?

..to turn garden dreams into reality.

Wow!

Oh, my goodness.

-Wow!

-Look at that!

Oh, my God!

Wow!

It's time for Charlie and the Rich brothers to get cracking

on this week's garden challenge.

This is Gareth.

And, not stating the obvious, he is a professional musician.

I'm not even sure what instrument that is!

I think it's a bassoon, so, yeah...

And he's in Merseyside, and this is his garden.

And it's his first garden.

He's done a little bit of gardening in it and really quite enjoys it.

But doesn't really know where to go.

For the first time, Gareth,

a bassoonist in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,

has a garden he can finally call his own.

However, his new plot in Oxton, Birkenhead,

is leaving him a little uninspired.

I've never had a garden before, so I've bought a lawn mower,

and that's about as far as I've got, really.

The idea of doing a garden overwhelms me

because I have no idea of what would work and what wouldn't work.

And what's possible within the space I've got.

But there's a problem with the garden,

leaving half of it unusable.

The main issues around the garden is the fact that it slopes downwards,

and also to the sides.

The patio area is useful, but I find the lawn is not used at all.

It's basically dead space.

The one thing you can't really see from these pictures,

but he did mention, is the garden, sort of,

suddenly slopes off down this corner.

I think that can be really exciting sometimes,

to have a small garden with a drastic level change.

Quite interesting to come up with a creative solution.

-Yes, it makes you do something different, doesn't it?

-Yes.

Different could be just what the doctor ordered,

because there's stiff competition from the neighbours,

who open their gardens to the public once a year.

The pressure's on.

But, will he ever be able to work out how to use that mower?

The village I live in on the Wirral

has a secret gardens event every year,

where lots of the houses open their gardens to the public

and you can look round them.

And I realised my garden wasn't quite up to scratch, really.

And that's not the only request.

Gareth's living room is on the second floor of his house,

so the garden will often be looked down on from there.

It's really important the design looks good from above,

because you're always looking down on it from the living room,

and from the bedrooms.

Clearly, Gareth wants something with the wow factor,

so he isn't holding back on the budget.

In my budget I've got about £4,000,

which I've saved really hard for,

and I wanted to put that much in

because I really view it as an extra room, really.

And budget, £4,000.

-Very nice.

-Yes, I've got a smile on my face for that.

-That's good.

I'm very proud of how I've got the house so far,

and I want the garden to live up to the same idea of the house.

Not necessarily in a retro way,

but a kind of cool designed area is what I'm looking for really.

To me that's a really cool brief.

I mean, giving us a bit of scope to be creative.

And, kind of, give him some amazing entertaining space.

-And show off, maybe.

-Show off with something a bit different.

-Yes.

To get a better idea of the job, the designers head to Oxton

to meet Gareth and see the garden for themselves.

Now, this house is like an upside-down house, yes?

Where in sort of day-time, you're living in the middle floor.

So you're looking down on the garden.

It's not just important from the ground level.

You're going to view it from the garden,

and also from upstairs, and that's where we're going, check it out upstairs.

And I'll have a chat with Gareth and see what he's got in mind.

The brothers head inside to see what they can discover

about Gareth's style and taste.

Lovely and open in here, isn't it?

Yeah, stunning space, really beautiful.

Kind of, like, nicely laid out and the furniture...

Danish furniture, you've got to love it.

Yeah, it's minimal, isn't it? Clean, really good lines.

And these windows are incredible.

To have two massive windows like this looking down to the garden

makes that really important.

It seems Gareth has a fondness for a certain colour.

-It's nice and smart in here, isn't it?

-Yeah, really cool.

I picked up on the orange in the living room, the blinds,

but it's a running theme, isn't it?

Yes, we've got the microwave, the telephone, the blinds...

As well as the retro theme, there's definitely a hint of industrialism.

The metal splash back there,

-and that cage there, very industrial indeed.

-Yes.

Meanwhile outside Charlie is getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Now, tell me about your garden. This is your first garden, isn't it?

It is, it's the first house I've ever owned with a garden,

so it's all very new to me, really.

And who uses the garden?

I use it, friends come over, especially in the summer,

-for barbecues, that sort of thing.

-Hang out, chill.

-Yeah, exactly.

-What else do we need to consider about the garden?

The main living accommodation is on the first floor,

so you're always looking down at the garden.

OK, so that's your main hanging out area in the day time?

Yeah, so a bit of structure would be good.

The Californian blocks, the flowery blocks,

do you love them or hate them?

It's either, either normally.

I must say I love them, I think they're really cool

in a kind of retro way.

-Yes, so out they're in?

-Yes, that's the idea, isn't it, I think.

So, you'd like to keep those, or have something with those.

Yes, something about them would be good, I think.

A little bird tells me that the garden might be open to the public.

Well, Oxton every year does have a secret gardens event,

where people open their gardens to the public.

It's partly what inspired me to have a look at my own garden, really,

so it might be something I could consider.

-A bit nerve-racking, though, isn't it?

-Definitely, yes!

Are there any plants that you would really, sort of, like?

Any types of plants you like?

Yes, I like colours, I like herbaceous planting,

but I also like straight lines and structure.

So, we're saying extension of the house, big entertainment area,

definitely like the Californian blocks,

and maybe make it so cool that you can open it to the public.

Yes, that sounds perfect.

The rival designers waste no more time and set to work

to come up with some show-stopping designs to win Gareth over.

Each of them will come up with a design to suit the brief

and the budget.

Then Gareth will have to choose one design over the other,

and the loser will help the winner build the garden.

The £4,000 will be used to buy all the materials for the new garden,

but on top of that, Charlie and the Rich brothers,

along with their usual team of landscapers,

will provide the labour.

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

-Hello.

-Hello.

Charlie kicks off, offering up a modern style,

and remembering that it's a space to be viewed from above.

I've tried to give you a garden that has got some of the features in it,

but keeping it quite contemporary,

and with a good form to it from above.

So, this is your renewed patio.

I am going with slabs, white slabs,

that will make it look quite sleek and contemporary.

But the boys come out fighting, too.

They propose a garden that matches the interior of Gareth's home.

We wanted to make sure that we gave you a garden that complimented

the interior of your house because it's beautiful.

We wanted to make sure that the outside did the inside justice.

-OK.

-So, it's really cool, stylish, it's very unique.

We haven't forgotten that it's a garden that will be looked down upon

not just be within, so we wanted to make sure we mimic the clean lines

and the structure, and, kind of,

the functionality of the furniture in your house.

And provide that when you're looking down on it.

Charlie has a winning plan for addressing that slope at the far end

of the garden.

But this is a deck that basically sails out over the dip.

So, you'll be able to sit on the edge and dangle your feet.

Because this area here, I'm going to go for a jungle feel.

Lots of really dramatic plants.

Um... Arundo donax, fatsias...

and you can sit there in the evening.

But the brothers also have an ingenious idea,

an equally knockout feature

which will address the level issue in the garden.

We didn't want to do the ordinary.

We wanted to do something really cool, really different.

And extremely unique.

So what we've done is we've put in, sat down into the land,

this cube self-contained unit

that's level inside, but the land works around it.

It's made out of Cor-Ten steel,

so it's like steel that's been allowed to rust and oxidise,

so it's got a really textured, orange, bright, vibrant finish.

So it's going to be really cool, really different, and memorable.

Brilliant.

The brothers may have played their ace card,

but Charlie's also thinking outside the box.

She knows just how much Gareth loves those Californian blocks.

These sections here are feature walls.

Using your Californian blocks, but upright.

To create some interest.

So, you want to go down because you won't be able to see

this bit of the garden, it'll draw you down.

And just to add a bit more colour,

I've put some glass blocks in between,

and then we're going to uplight them at night.

-Wow.

-So that will... Especially this one here,

so that will be drawing you down to this entertainment area.

But drawing for a second time on Gareth's love of the colour orange,

the brothers have one final card left to play.

What we'd like to use in here is a grass called Molinia

and in the summer it's this lovely, kind of, green.

Then as autumn comes it turns vivid orange.

You know, the perennials, we would like to choose

things like Persicaria and Helinium,

which are, like, perennials, which have this red tone.

-OK.

-So, the whole garden is going to have that warmth to it.

-Brilliant.

-I don't know whether it says cool, but it does say fun.

No, it does.

Gareth can only choose one design, so whose will it be?

See you in a bit.

Will he opt for the Rich brothers' weathered steel box

that's set into the slope, and their vibrant array of orange plants,

or will he go for Charlie's suspended deck

and a revamped Californian blocks?

-How was that?

-Yeah, good.

So, what was your nod back to the '70s retro feel?

We've made this, like, steel box that, kind of, sits in the garden.

So we just sat that box in there and just create this level inside.

Then everything else just works off that.

Wow! That's really cool cool!

-Hopefully.

-I think I understand.

But will Gareth think it's as cool?

I love the way that it's on really different levels,

so you're out the door, then you're down a level,

then you're onto a different level. I think that'll look amazing.

I also like the orange nature of the planting, the way that's going to,

sort of, offset against the colour of the steel.

See, I used the Californian blocks as structural uprights

with some glass and then uplit them.

Oh, that sounds cool, as well.

In Charlie's design, I love the actual planting and lighting.

So it's going to be really hard to decide which one to pick.

Time for the moment of truth.

Gareth is ready to reveal the winner.

-Come on!

-All right, all right.

Very, very hard decision,

because both designs were absolutely awesome.

But, after much deliberation, the design I've chosen is...

Yeah!

Woo! Cheers, Gareth. So, what made you go for this one?

What swung it was the steel square box feature,

utilising part of the garden that doesn't get used.

I just thought it was so innovative and would look amazing from the top,

and also be a really useful space.

So, the Rich brothers have emerged the victors this time.

But, with a transformation on this scale

it will take the know-how of all three gardeners

to make this unusual project a success.

It's early morning in Oxton, and project manager Bowen,

along with his team Lee, Andy, and Steve, have arrived to get cracking,

whilst the brothers are away finalising their choice of plants.

Here we go.

We've got this big Cor-Ten steel box,

which we're going to sit into the ground.

-Great stuff.

-Then we get it stripped off and levelling.

-Digger in?

-Yeah, digger in.

-Let's crack on.

Meanwhile, outside on the road, the materials are starting to arrive.

Steel's here. We'll need all hands on deck to get this off.

Weathered steel, sometimes known as Cor-Ten steel, has been oxidised

to create a striking and protective rust-like surface.

Orange in colour, it has extra resistance to the elements,

meaning low-maintenance costs,

and therefore it's perfect for long lasting outdoor structure.

They've weathered all the outside for us.

What with, real weather?

-Yeah, real weather.

-You use real weather to weather it?

-Imported.

Next job is to dismantle and recycle those Californian blocks

to create some steps down into the garden.

But will they be able to salvage any?

You'll get an odd one, but you won't get many,

because they're so weak.

It's not looking good so far.

Is that one?

Just put that on the grass.

And finally, one block salvaged,

let's hope they can save enough for the brothers' plans.

California, here we come!

Meanwhile, the digger's arrived.

What's the problem?

But it appears that all is not well.

-Oh, no.

-We'll be all right.

-Can we get through?

It doesn't seem to want to start.

It's flat-lining.

Quick!

Bowen takes control and searches for another machine.

What's the verdict, Bowen?

But sadly it doesn't look like one's available for another three hours.

I'm trying every company.

You can't have it all. We've got sunshine.

Meanwhile, the boys get on with some other jobs.

After a long wait, the search is over and in comes digger number two.

Or does it?

Fingers crossed, crack into it this afternoon,

it'll be a long, hard night, and you never know, we might get it done.

-Straighten that up.

-It ain't going.

-No.

Straighten this up, mate. Straighten that back.

And, before long, it's mission aborted for digger number two.

Although, clearly spirits are still high, but don't try this at home.

We're here, we're here!

32 slabs.

And it's back to that paving.

At least there's something to be getting on with.

Meanwhile outside, digger number three has come to save the day.

If the team don't manage to get this one in,

they'll be almost a day behind schedule.

Let's hope their luck changes.

Unfortunately, it's 20 millimetres wider than the door frame,

so we're not actually going to get this one in, either.

Third time lucky has not quite been so lucky yet.

-We've had no luck today, have we?

-No, we've had some bad luck today.

A decision has been made.

It's off with that door frame, thanks to Steve.

But are their fortunes about to change?

755!

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Something's rubbing!

Something's rubbing somewhere.

And it's over the threshold finally.

A digger has made it through to the garden.

Right, sun's come out, let's dig.

At last the levelling can begin.

Who knew one small digger, or the lack of one,

could cause so many problems?

And finally they can make a start on constructing the star feature

of the brothers' design, the weathered steel box.

With all the setbacks, there's still a long way to go,

and the question is, will the team have done enough

before the designers arrive?

And it's time for the brothers to divvy up the tasks ahead.

Right, guys, I think we all thought it was going to be a bit of hassle

getting the weathered steel in.

Turns out that was a breeze, but everything else decided to go wrong.

No, it's thumbs up from now on, yeah?

-Yes.

-Plain sailing!

-Oh, good.

What we'll do... Obviously, the main focus in that garden is the weathered steel.

But there are some California blocks that Gareth loved,

so we'll think how we're going to use them.

And it is quite a small garden,

but we've got lots of lovely native trees and shrubs.

So it's going to feel quite wooded, quite native,

so it's going to be perfect.

So, small and perfect, yeah?

Yes, Charlie.

THEY CHUCKLE

Tall but perfect.

Let's hope they're happy with progress so far.

-Wow! Isn't this looking good?

-Yeah.

-It's fab.

I don't know why I'm so surprised.

Neither do I.

You can already see how the new patio

has made a massive difference to the garden. Putting down these new,

modern, contemporary slabs has made a big difference compared to that

orange-and-pink Battenburg mismatched slabs

that were here before. And it really links nicely with the interior,

and I feel like it really draws you out into the new dining space.

The Californian blocks made up a kind of wall by here,

which almost disconnected the upper terrace from the lower terrace.

We got rid of that, which allows that to flow down.

But, also, Gareth loved those Californian blocks,

so we wanted to re-use them.

So we've got this raised planter on the upper terrace.

And we're also using them as the risers for the steps.

And these are going to sit in here, like that,

and create a lovely little transition space

from the top terrace into the lower area.

And here, we're going to have a gravel path that leads down into

the main feature in the garden.

Gareth put a lot of focus and effort into the design of his house.

And we really wanted to emphasise this outdoor room in the garden.

And I think the weathered-steel box does it perfectly.

What we wanted to create was this quite immersive space,

so the top terrace, lovely and hot.

This lower terrace, we want to introduce birch

and hawthorn and hazel. So it's going to be this, like,

slightly wooded feeling and a lovely dappled space to go and sit.

There's two sides of it up at the moment.

Imagine having the other two - it'll really close you off.

Inside, it's not just going to be gravel.

We'll have pockets of plants, we're going to have benches,

and we're going to have a tree, as well.

So it's just going to be a garden within a garden, pretty much.

Meanwhile, Charlie's starting work on an unusual project for the fence.

All gardens have boundaries,

whether it's a hedge or a fence.

The thing about fences is they are not a thing of beauty.

And you can go, sort of, one of two ways.

You can either make it disappear, which Gareth has done down there -

he's painted it, sort of, a black colour,

so you see the plants but you don't see the fence.

Or you embrace it and make it pop, which is what I'm going to do here.

I'm going along the route of Mondrian,

the artist, the blocks of colour.

And we're going to use oranges and yellows and make it really vibrant.

And it sort of lends itself,

because it's already got these bits of timber.

But I might need to put a few more in, so...

I'm thinking, one about there.

But it's important to choose the right colours

if it's going to be a true work of art.

Think about this. Three colours.

One, two...

Cos they can't be the same, can they?

Meanwhile, Andy is getting creative

with those recycled Californian blocks...

..whilst Bowen's lining the steps so weeds can't poke through.

Now, Andy needs to saw some blocks in half - carefully -

because they only just managed to salvage enough.

And it's not long before...

..a step.

Meanwhile, Steve is cracking on

constructing the key feature of the garden.

This garden's going really well. We've started welding

the weathered steel together, so the box is actually being created.

As you can see down here,

they're just putting the other corner on, as well.

So you really start to feel the space.

You get an idea of it. It's going to feel nice and enclosed,

nice and cosy,

and it's just something quite different. I really like it.

At the far end of the garden, Harry's addressing crowd control.

What I'm doing here is I'm removing this hypericum,

because it's grown too close to the salvia,

and it's kind of crowding it out.

So we're going to transplant it.

And this salvia's absolutely stunning.

It's got a gorgeous scent

and a beautiful kind of scarlet-red flower.

And this space is very, kind of, wild.

We've got geraniums, crocosmia, Welsh poppy, bluebells,

and forget-me-nots. We want this space to feel quite undefined,

quite natural. But we're also going to introduce a few of our own

perennials down here, and shrubs.

It's going to have a sense of unity, but still lovely and wild.

If I can get it out...

Wow!

Charlie's numbering each of the panels

to show which colours she intends to paint them.

So, ones.

Ooh, hello, hello. Ooh, one.

One.

Two. One. One.

One. That's a definite one there.

What have you gone and done?

It'll all be fine. Don't worry.

It's just going to be white and black.

Love it. If it's urban grey, Charlie, we're happy.

Well, I can mix the black and white together

-and get urban grey, if you want.

-Ooh, yeah! Now we're talking.

At one point, it seemed a long way off but, thankfully,

the weathered-steel box is really starting to take shape.

Meanwhile, the Californian blocks are being put to yet more good use,

in the shape of a raised bed.

And the brothers are bringing in some trees

that will sit inside the steel box.

I'm bringing in some of the birch trees, placing them in the garden,

and you can see how it instantly transforms the space.

It's uplifted it, given it a lot of vertical height.

One of the key points of bringing the trees in

is to help screen off the houses back there.

And these trees are key, as well,

because this box is quite flat,

and it just kind of carries your eye through to the back wall.

But what these trees do is they add a bit of vertical height.

And when Gareth's up in his living room, looking down on the garden,

they're going to create a lovely little natural screen that's going

to filter his view through to the houses

and altogether make it a really nice, intimate,

quite immersive space.

At the other end of the garden,

it looks like Charlie's still enjoying her painting.

-I'm going to leave those four for you.

-No problemo.

-Dare I start another colour?

-Yes.

Woohoo!

The excitement! Another colour.

I'm so enjoying this job.

Now that the steel box has been securely welded together,

the next job is to pin it down.

All I'm doing now is I'm staking them

from the bottom with a steel rod.

As you can see, the inside of these boxes are still silver,

whereas the outside has been pre-rusted.

So, over time, this is going to rust and compliment

and be exactly the same as the outside.

-More pegs for you, sir.

-Thank you very much.

There you go. And also, that patina,

that rust is the secret behind why it's used so much in industry

and in architecture. What it's doing is

it's reacting with the oxygen within the atmosphere.

And that's creating a rust.

But what weathered steel has - the make up of it

has the ability to control that rusting process.

So, as opposed to something like mild steel...

What that does is that reacts,

rusts, then starts to flake, and it starts to degrade down.

Whereas weathered steel controls that and you get this kind of

soft, powdery rust on the surface.

And that will continue for two to three years.

Then after that, it'll stabilise. And that means you've got

this continual rust on it, continual protection.

What's so good about the weathered steel is you don't need to paint it,

whereas normal steel, like a mild steel, you will have to paint it,

and that's something you have to repeat.

You'll have to constantly repeat to protect it.

That's why weathered steel is a perfect option.

That's good, cos I'm fed up with painting.

Outside, the rest of the team are starting to think about seating

for the steel box.

Lee and Andy are constructing a simple timber structure.

Meanwhile, the trees that will go inside the steel box need planting.

To do that, the brothers are cutting holes for them

in the weed-resistant membrane.

And with the holes dug, the trees can finally go in.

That's gorgeous.

Cos you've actually got branches coming out over a little bit.

Outside, Lee is finishing off that seating.

For extra strength, he's gluing the legs into place and then screwing in

the fixings, skilfully ensuring that the screws themselves are invisible.

There's more to positioning these trees than first meets the eye.

The brothers are attempting to create a woodland

at the end of Gareth's garden.

It's really important to think about the positioning of trees and shrubs in your garden.

What me and Harry wanted to do in this garden is replicate a woodland.

And if you're wandering through a woodland, you get different layers

of vegetation. So, first off, you have your canopy layer.

That'll be the trees. So the birch here are creating that.

And we've positioned them to act as a nice screen from the houses,

onlooking windows, but also to give that nice bit of dappled shade.

And beneath the canopy layer you then have the shrub layer.

So we've got hawthorn and we've got hazel for that.

They're going to act, again, to obscure views,

those natural screens,

but help to divide the space a little bit more than the trees are.

Then below that, you'd have the field layer, which is the planting.

And we've got things like foxgloves and ferns.

So with the trees, shrubs and the planting,

hopefully Gareth will be transported into a British woodland.

Charlie's Mondrian-style fence is coming along beautifully.

Wow!

Apparently I've got to do a dab now, whatever that is.

Dab of paint. Fish.

But apparently it's something like that.

An elephant?!

Show me.

I feel like Harry'd be better suited to this.

Going on what Charlie did, is it, like, a...?

-That's it.

-Let's have a look.

-There you go.

-I don't know.

-I'm not street enough.

-Neither am I.

-Oh, dear.

Charlie's wall will certainly make a big statement in Gareth's garden,

but will it curry favour with the residents of Oxton?

Once a year, the residents of this village-like community of Birkenhead

come together to reveal their secrets,

including what exactly it is that lies behind their high stone walls.

Jade Little is one of the organisers of their Secret Gardens event.

Secret Gardens is a community event that takes place every year.

It's been running for 17 years now.

And it's to promote the conservation area.

We have 20 gardens open each year.

Lots of entertainment for families to come to.

And it's just a wonderful event, particularly when the sun's shining.

It's very much a community-inspired affair.

People in the village love their gardens.

And it was realised that...

Let them show them off,

let people come in and see what these gardens are like.

And it was also an opportunity

to have an event that brought the community together

and also to make money for local charities.

It doesn't matter what size your garden is -

everyone is welcome to take part.

We've got modern properties and period properties.

We welcome everybody to offer their garden for Secret Gardens.

One of those couples, Tom and Ruth,

have a very popular garden that visitors flock to.

When we open our garden to the public,

it seems to just make all of our hard work worthwhile.

People come in.

They're astounded by what they see.

They ask questions.

They tell us about their gardens and what they're going to do,

and what they hope to do.

A lot of it is that it does give people ideas,

even very simple things, like we have... On a couple of walls,

we've got mirrors. People have gone away from here saying,

"Oh, yeah, we must get a mirror and put it on the wall."

-It's small things, in the main.

-Mm.

Not all the gardens are large.

Ann and Phil also love inviting people into their smaller space.

It's not a competition for the best-kept garden.

Because that's quite a daunting prospect for most people.

They would worry about too many weeds

or the paths weren't clear and so on.

The garden just has to reflect the house and garden together,

the relationship between the property and the garden.

They should do a garden that reflects their interests,

and who they are.

Certainly, I would recommend it.

My advice to anyone who's opening their garden for the first time is,

enjoy the day.

Because the visitors are lovely.

They ask lots of questions

and they're extremely complimentary about everybody's garden.

So, relax, have a glass of wine in your garden and enjoy the day.

Around the corner, back in Gareth's garden,

they're a long way off relaxing.

Look what I've got here for you, boys.

Oh, dream!

-One for there.

-I'll hold that for you.

-Not quite sure what this bit does.

-Nice.

That's going to be dowelled into that. Other way, Andy. Like that.

-Something...

-Nice.

-..like that.

There's a really lovely detail here, as well, that you can see.

What Lee's done is he's just notched a little bit out of the first

bit of timber that you sit on.

That's instead of just attaching them as two separate things.

It makes them, kind of, join as one. There's some secret screwing here,

so they've screwed a hole, let the screw go in,

and glued it in so it holds it nice and tight.

But it does give the appearance it's been notched out and it's just fitting in nice and snug.

Before long, the postholes have been dug

and the seats are dropped into position.

And Andy's giving it a test run -

just to check that it works, of course.

The weathered-steel box isn't the only metal in this space.

Tying in with the industrial theme,

the brothers are using offcuts of steel

as dividers down at the end of the garden.

These pieces of metal are offcuts from a steel fabrication company.

What they've done is they've laser-cut out these shapes,

but that's left this really ornamental framework.

They're not rusted at the moment.

But over time, they will weather and they will rust,

same as the weathered steel. So that'll link in nicely.

And I think it'll accentuate that industrial feeling in the garden.

Charlie's almost finished that wall, although it has been a team effort.

Lee's been a demon on the carpentry, as ever.

Meanwhile, the more delicate planting is being arranged.

The work of the Garden Rescue team isn't far from done.

And finally, Charlie gets to do some gardening at last!

So, we've reused the Californian blocks

to make this little raised planter.

I mean, these really do say retro '70s.

Thought about painting them

but I didn't know whether that might be a step too far.

But what I am going to do is pick up the colours of that wall

in the planting here. So, we've got the black of the ophiopogon,

and then I'm going to use some French and African marigolds.

In the '70s, you used to see these in rows

all the way round people's front gardens.

So it's got that real, sort of, retro feel.

And if he doesn't like them, they only last a year,

so he can plant something else instead.

So, now, I don't know whether to do them random.

I fancy quite doing them in blocks.

What do you think? So when you look down on it,

it does look like my fence over there.

I'll have one like that, and one like that.

I have to say, this planting is totally opposite

to the very tasteful, elegant woodland feel

of the bottom half of the garden.

But it's quite fun.

They may have got off to a difficult start but, with a change of luck,

Gareth's garden is nearly ready for its reveal.

There's one last job - compacting the bound gravel

with a wacker plate to form a practical and long-lasting surface.

And then the final touch -

an upcycled oak table for Gareth to rest a cold drink upon

on a long summer's evening.

Before Gareth called on the help of Charlie and the Rich brothers,

his garden was nothing more than an empty, sloping,

blank space, devoid of character.

Now his garden has had a £4,000 makeover.

And the brothers have spent every penny

on creating a stylish and totally unique space

that makes a stunning extension to Gareth's home.

Charlie transformed the dull wooden fence by creating a colourful

Mondrian-style art feature at a cost of £60.

As well as keeping some of the existing planting

at the end of the garden, the brothers invested £335

in additional trees and herbaceous plants

to create a secluded woodland feel.

The team salvaged some of Gareth's treasured Californian blocks,

transforming them into raised beds and decorative steps,

topped with offcuts of the limestone paving.

And last but certainly not least, costing £2,250,

the boys spent over half their budget on the weathered-steel box,

a stunning and unique addition to Gareth's garden

that totally transforms the space.

It's time to find out if the Rich brothers have delivered.

Right, so, me and Dave love your house,

and we loved everything about it. So we did feel a little bit of pressure

in creating a garden that is going to match that

and, obviously, a space that you're going to love.

We know you love that industrial look, definitely a bit of orange.

So, open your eyes and have a look at your garden.

What do you think?

It's awesome. I can't believe it.

This doesn't look like the same garden.

It's absolutely amazing.

It has changed a lot, hasn't it?

Thank you so much. It's absolutely incredible.

Well, that's a good result.

What do you think about the box?

-The steel box.

-I love it.

Cos I... You told me about it and I visualised it but I had no idea,

actually, what it was going to look like, and it's amazing.

I love the way it goes... Like, this is totally open,

and it goes down into a whole new space.

-Yes.

-It's like a usable space, as well.

It's absolutely... Oh, my goodness.

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Yeah, look at that.

It does look pretty cool, I have to say. I think he likes it.

Charlie's created you a Mondrian...

That's... It's brilliant.

-Do you want to have a little wander down?

-Yeah, absolutely. Awesome.

You've totally used my retro Californian blocks.

Yes, we used them on the step. We've also used them in a little planter

-over there.

-Amazing.

-Go down and have a look at the woodland area.

Down here is the woodland understory planting.

So, we've kept some of the things that you had.

-Yes.

-Because you loved that kind of wild, unkempt look.

-Definitely.

We've just introduced a few foxgloves and ferns,

things like filipendula that will grow up.

-They're kind of woodland understory planting.

-Yeah.

So it should be really, really cool.

I think it looks so private, as well,

-the way you put a tree in the corner makes the whole thing really intimate.

-Yeah.

The trees have added so much to this garden.

It kind of gives it that really cosy feeling.

Can you see yourself using this space to entertain in the evenings?

Definitely. You've made the whole thing so private, as well.

It's brilliant.

It does give an extra, totally fresh, new area

to the house.

-It was £4,000.

-It was, yes.

-Do you think it's money well spent?

Definitely. It's like a whole new room of my house.

-It's absolutely brilliant.

-Do you think it complements...

Is it your favourite room now?

Yes, it's much better than any I could think of, yeah.

-It's brilliant.

-The million-dollar question,

something that's been looming all day...

We know you wanted to open it to the public.

Is that something you would be willing to do now you see it?

I think so, yeah. I'll have to get on to the authorities

but, yeah, I reckon. I think people would love to see it, yes.

£4,000 was a lot of money to spend. So once the dust has settled,

is Gareth still happy with the end results?

The garden has surpassed my expectations.

Now I think it's my favourite room of the house.

I'm most looking forward to seeing how the garden evolves

over the next year,

and possibly seeing if I could open it to the village.