0:00:02 > 0:00:05Fabulous flowers, luscious lawns, verdant veggie plots and backyards.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08What does your garden say about you?
0:00:08 > 0:00:12If it's crying out for an overhaul or you simply need help to get started,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14then we're here to inspire you.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- We're happy. - Is that a good shot for you?
0:00:17 > 0:00:20I'm Chris Beardshaw - passionate horticulturist,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22landscape architect and mad-keen cyclist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28I propagated my first seeds when I was four and haven't looked back since.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30HE SNEEZES Excuse me.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Is that broad appreciation?
0:00:32 > 0:00:37And I'm Colin Donaldson - builder, landscape gardener and mad-keen biker.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40For me, it's always been about the property
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and the landscape working together.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44If there's heavy machinery involved, all the better.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Are you trying to get a tune out of that?
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Bah! We're on a mission to help six families transform their gardens.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55So let's get up and grow!
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Paul Malone is a graphic designer who works in the heart of Belfast.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27However, he lives with his Great Dane,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32far away from the busyness of Belfast in a converted church near Templepatrick.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Around his home lies two acres of potential,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39but at the moment it's fair to say it's a wilderness.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Paul is a self-confessed gardening virgin.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45To be honest, I don't know an awful lot about gardening
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and I don't pretend to at any stage.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51So that's precisely why we, on our first visit,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54attempted to ease him into gardening
0:01:54 > 0:01:57by building him just a small wildlife pond.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01I'm not sure what your definition of small is, Chris, but it looks well.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07It's not the finished article, but you've been a busy boy.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10I feel it's definitely getting there.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14There's a more colour, more green and less brown, which is a good thing.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16But, I mean, I think this is a good start.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It's one of the things that we need to now think
0:02:18 > 0:02:23a bit more broadly about how you incorporate it within the rest of the site.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24At the moment you've got a field.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26This isn't a garden, this is a field.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29What sort of gardener do I think I'll be?
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I hope I'm going to be a keen gardener.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36I hope I'm going to be an empty vessel
0:02:36 > 0:02:40waiting for all this knowledge and all this experience to come to me.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'Two acres and a virgin - I think we've got a bit of a challenge on here, Chris.'
0:02:44 > 0:02:47We need to get to grips with what the possibilities are.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49What the potential is for out here.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52As long as it's easy to keep and I don't have to
0:02:52 > 0:02:54give up the day job to be here every day.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56You have to start to distil
0:02:56 > 0:03:00what's actually going to work here and what you need on the site.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04So let's distil ideas. The second is let's clean the site.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07At the moment, you can't look at that. We have to annihilate it.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10And then look at that as a blank piece of paper
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and find out what we can start to impose on the site.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15I love learning about new things.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And this is an exciting project.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20So hopefully I can do it justice
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and hopefully I'll become a good gardener.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29With two acres of scrub facing us,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33I'm pleased you volunteered to be the man who went to mow.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35I note that you and Paul made a sharp exit there.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39No, no, this is called an inspirational visit.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42We headed off to the stunning gardens at Greenmount College.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48These gardens are laid out in a series of little inspirational packages.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53Don't worry about budgets or practicalities or your own knowledge, nothing.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56What I'm interested in is your passion. What stimulates you?
0:04:05 > 0:04:09There was pretty gardens, there was very well manicured gardens,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11there was wild gardens, there was shady gardens.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14It just showed me what a garden really can be.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Are you an informal or a formal man?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23What is it that does it for you?
0:04:23 > 0:04:26I contradict myself.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Being a designer, I love straight lines and organised grids
0:04:31 > 0:04:32and things to be in their place,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35but for me, that's not a garden.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39For me a garden is, it's curves, you know, it's things poking out.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43It's different plants being beside each other.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I think the garden Paul wants is still ahead of him.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48He talks about what wanting it wild,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53but even the wildest gardens need meticulous planning.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55This is brilliant because
0:04:55 > 0:04:58you've just hit exactly what the problem is with your garden.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Your tendency is to go informal and to be relaxed
0:05:01 > 0:05:02and to be a little bit hands off,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05but put the structure in it and you have something
0:05:05 > 0:05:08which stands up and it's proud of itself.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Today, we've ripped the grass away from this site and it's enabled us
0:05:18 > 0:05:22to have a clear vision of what it's all about.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25It's such a difference now you've put that mower through.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Well, it's taken this to give us clarity
0:05:28 > 0:05:31about what the site is about and really to expose the imperfections.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34It's the first time that we've seen the boundaries
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and you're right with imperfections, just look at that fence.
0:05:38 > 0:05:39It's just hiding the building.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44What's the point in having a building like that if you're going to screen it off?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47It was a site within a site. Now, it's the whole thing.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Faced with a blank canvas
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and a series of rather spasmodic ideas
0:05:51 > 0:05:53which is what we found at Paul's site,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57there has got to be some discipline.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Some order brought to the ideas. You've got to have a vision
0:06:00 > 0:06:04of what this thing is going to be like once it's mature.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09I think by leading him bit by bit and getting him to maintain
0:06:09 > 0:06:10little areas at the time,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13we can maybe pull this one through, but it's a big ask.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- It's got to happen, hasn't it? - It definitely does.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22OK, Chris, enough talking about it, we need some of your doodles.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Let's deal with the first things.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I think that the sense of coming in here
0:06:27 > 0:06:32and being able to park your vehicle in this zone here
0:06:32 > 0:06:37is a real intrusion into the site, because for me this is all garden.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Anything down here is garden.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- OK.- I mean, I think there's a need to put some sort of division there.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47So that immediately means that this zone becomes
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- A serviceable area. - I can get a car park in there.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56You can get a race track in there, not just a car park.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I love the idea of keeping this private
0:06:58 > 0:07:02so whenever friends are up or whatever, you can go,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04"And here's the garden."
0:07:04 > 0:07:07See if you like the next bit. THEY ALL LAUGH
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Creating a good design is like playing poker -
0:07:10 > 0:07:12never, ever reveal your hand all at once!
0:07:12 > 0:07:15The ground floor is kitchen window, clearly that has to be
0:07:15 > 0:07:19a view that rewards, if you let me take that fence down.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- What have you got here? - A big shed.- A big shed.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- It wasn't me!- Knock the shed down and look at the view you get.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Great for an evening terrace.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30But this becomes a really key area of the garden here.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I reckon up here somewhere there should be a collection space.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38That's the punctuation, that's the full stop.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- It's a focal point. - You're beginning to see the zones that we're creating,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and each one will have its own little different type of maintenance.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47So what we need to do then
0:07:47 > 0:07:49is to think about what happens in these spaces
0:07:49 > 0:07:51and the garden has to become more informal.
0:07:51 > 0:07:58Then if we can drop some sort of circular lawn in there,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00it'll give you the same gain...
0:08:00 > 0:08:04- A focal point that way and that way. - Exactly.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I can't tell you how excited I am about this.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09That's great cos we thought you'd hate it.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12- Concrete it all.- We can go now.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- Drawing it out is easy.- Yeah.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Putting it on the ground and then bringing it to fruition
0:08:18 > 0:08:20is entirely different.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24It's all very well having this and paying for it,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26but Paul has now got to step up to the mark.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30We're only here to steer him to make sure he gets what he really wants.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32If I could do it half the justice
0:08:32 > 0:08:35that it looks as if it could be on paper,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37it would be an immense place.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41First thing to do is a little marking out and measuring.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- Do we measure down? - Measure centre line of window to corner of building.
0:08:47 > 0:08:506.5.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52That's 9.30.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55That's six and a half to there.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58'There's no doubt the task that lies ahead of Paul is enormous.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02'I mean, it's a two-acre field that he's trying to tame.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I don't know many experienced gardeners
0:09:05 > 0:09:09who would be prepared to take it on even in a relatively relaxed way.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13I'll run up there with 30 metres.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'I said a little marking and measuring, perhaps that was an understatement!'
0:09:20 > 0:09:23We need to bring that one through here.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Do you want some help?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Thank you, sir.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30That's the radius of the circle.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33'But finally and after a very long day,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36'this part of the garden started to take shape.'
0:09:38 > 0:09:42And when we returned a few weeks later,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Paul's mission had been to clear the site and cut the grass.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50There's a new family member... Which is this.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56It's affectionately called Timmy because it's a Westwood,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- so it's Tim Westwood. - 'Do you get that?'
0:09:58 > 0:10:00'No idea, just smile.'
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Everybody laughs at that.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07It sounds really bad whenever people talk about my relationship with Timmy,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10I actually do know my girlfriend is jealous.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11I bet on a summer's evening
0:10:11 > 0:10:15- you come out here and stroke Timmy, don't you?- Rub WD 40.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19I do feel slightly uneasy about the relationship between Timmy and Paul.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Every now and again it's good to get out of the house
0:10:22 > 0:10:24and spend quality time with him.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28- Go and caress Timmy! - OK.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33'Oh, dear! What have we unleashed?
0:10:33 > 0:10:38'We? But what a difference he's made clearing that fence and all that rubbish.'
0:10:38 > 0:10:41This is the back door, will be the back door.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42And that's the view you get.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45You know, it's a limitless view of landscape.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47I know we looked over the rubbish the last time
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and you could see this, it didn't encompass all of this.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I think the most important step that he made
0:10:54 > 0:10:58was just taking those fences and those horrible raised beds
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and the awful sheds away.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02That's the gate into the front garden
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and we'll have a hedge across there, another gate coming through,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09a terrace so that you can kind of walk-out of the kitchen door
0:11:09 > 0:11:10and come out to that point.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13When you sit here you've got the view into a garden here
0:11:13 > 0:11:16which is associated with the building,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18you've got the view through to the old gate,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and then you've got that view down through the rest of the garden.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- And we can deal with developing all that as time goes on.- OK.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Happy? Do you think we've got enough material?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34This is where the real work starts.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Now time for some big toys with big horsepower.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40You've ordered in lots of them - and such pretty colours too!
0:11:40 > 0:11:45But having never had a garden here, we've got to scrape and level.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49It has been tough, I'm not going to pretend it hasn't been,
0:11:49 > 0:11:54but all we've done is moved soil and moved bricks and moved sand, you know?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57It's important to get the levels right
0:11:57 > 0:12:00especially coming out of the house.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04And the old rule, it's so much nicer to come out nearly at floor level.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- OK.- It's my old rule.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09The old rule that I expect everybody to know.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13If you come out on this level, then this whole section of garden
0:12:13 > 0:12:17will be at the same level and then we'll step down into that piece of garden there,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20so you're on an elevated platform up here.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22There's a switch, I think, that's been turned on.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27And Paul seems to have a purpose in relation to his garden.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29And that's a really important step
0:12:29 > 0:12:32because without that, the garden doesn't emerge.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I think he's on a roll.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37I'm learning the whole process.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43It's OK.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The red lines are roughly the finished level with sand.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53The bottom of the red marker will be great, roughly.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56We don't want to go any further than that, OK?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Once you've got this whacked,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- we'll spray mark it so we've got more of an accurate... - Have you seen the whacker?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I thought it was a hairdryer.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Are we better pressing it out with our thumbs?
0:13:13 > 0:13:18If you get everyone onto the patio, I'll get everyone on to the terrace.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Chris says "terrace".
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Terrace every time.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And I say probably terrace too, but today I've been saying patio.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30I'll start a terrace, you can start a patio at the other we'll meet in the middle.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34The terrace was constructed out of a series of sandstone sets
0:13:34 > 0:13:38that Paul had found amongst the rubble once the site was cleared.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45That day Paul thought that we were done
0:13:45 > 0:13:47ripping up his garden, but he was wrong!
0:13:47 > 0:13:51But this isn't ripping up, technically this is fluffing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52What, Chris?
0:13:52 > 0:13:57I think once we've run that through a few times that will fluff it up quite nicely.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Because what we want to try and do, Paul,
0:13:59 > 0:14:04is get that area of the garden a little bit fluffy so we can seed it.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08I'm trying to visualise where there are pegs in the ground,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and then I'll be able to tell the difference between
0:14:11 > 0:14:14what is lawn and what's going to be wilder, at a glance.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16We will have to annihilate this again.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I believe you'd like to fluff it up.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22You talk to any gardener and any gardener will tell you that fluffing is what...
0:14:22 > 0:14:26On a cool summer's day, being fluffed is probably the bit that they...
0:14:26 > 0:14:27So we're a couple of fluffers?
0:14:29 > 0:14:32So, yeah, the idea is to get the garden to the position
0:14:32 > 0:14:36where we can then start to get some green coming back.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40I'm not sure out of my comfort zone. It's a lack of knowledge.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44I like starting a task that I know I'm capable of.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48At the minute, I feel I'm slightly out of my depth with landscaping.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51You know, I look forward to being a gardener.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I never really want to be a landscaper.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57You can stand and, you know, gaze at your naval for as long as you like,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02but nothing happens unless you really seize it and do something about it.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Don't get me wrong, I'm not work-shy.
0:15:05 > 0:15:11I don't mind getting my hands dirty and moving things and doing stuff.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15I have a certain amount of apprehension because it's work that I'm not used to.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19OK. So jobs for today.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I want to scruff this up and then you can come in and fluff it.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Scruff it. You're a scruffer now!
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Let's have a modicum of decorum here.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30This is serious gardening.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- By the end of today, we should have something that looks more garden than field.- OK.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40So, Chris, is that you scruffing or fluffing?
0:15:43 > 0:15:47Another vital component of a flowery garden has just been delivered.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54So far once, Chris, Paul is giving you a lesson on the machine!
0:15:54 > 0:15:58This isn't just any old machine, this, of course, is Timmy!
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- Has it been ridden by anyone else before?- No.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Be gentle with him!
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- Put on the cutter.- OK.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16'Chris, don't pull that lever. Oh!'
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Paul. I think I've upset Timmy.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Out of gear.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Did you kill Timmy?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31He's a bit temperamental.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38He just needed a stroke?
0:16:38 > 0:16:43After years of Paul parking and driving all over this site,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46it really does need a good rotovating.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50And are you going to tell him it all needs to be raked by hand?
0:16:50 > 0:16:53To leave Paul to rake this,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56it would be like leaving him Everest to climb.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59He'll do it. I have confidence.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Chris, Paul wants to know what you've been doing with Timmy while he's been raking.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16A bit of definition to the shapes really
0:17:16 > 0:17:20so that this path will take you round to the pond.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26How come you get the dry seat and do you know how it works?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30INAUDIBLE
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Four seasons in one day, that's normal in Templepatrick.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Wait for the sun to come out.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- How long will that be?- Tomorrow.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Ah, good, just the right weather for some more raking for Paul.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50OK, time to give Paul something new to get his teeth into,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54laying turf and seeding a new lawn.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58You need it to look a bit like the top of a crumble.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- OK.- It's got to have that sort of consistency about it.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05And then get your seed, you need a handful per metre square. It sounds very precise
0:18:05 > 0:18:08in an area like this. The best thing to do is roughly mark out,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11that's a about a metre square that I've just raked there.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13And then just roughly mark out...
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Well, if you just get used to how much seed is being spread,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19you'll find it very easy to gauge it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23And then all you need to do is just give it a shake.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26You can see the seeds are pretty evenly distributed.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29You might get a cut before winter, but you might not.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30Don't worry if you don't.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The manure can go in next and then a layer of topsoil.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40I'll throw a scoop in here and then load you with some sha-la-la.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43OK. Is that a cocktail?
0:18:47 > 0:18:48It's a bit ripe, isn't it?
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Your dog is going to love that.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Is that a new aftershave you're wearing?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Here. It's too much that.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03It's just pure...shinola!
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Sorry, I can't hear.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10It's pure...shinola!
0:19:10 > 0:19:12You can taste it, can't you?
0:19:17 > 0:19:21And of course, the only thing worse than trying to dig it in,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25is to be foolish enough to try and rotovate it in or even stand up in it!
0:19:31 > 0:19:32Whoa.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37If he needs to get his manhole, he can pull the geotextile back.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41- Oh, you know it all. - And it will stop the weeds from coming through too.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45After all the machinery and ground preparation...
0:19:45 > 0:19:47the plants arrive.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50One of the great things about a garden like this
0:19:50 > 0:19:53is that you can play with the arrangement of the plant materials.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58And the good thing about all of these plants is they're easy to maintain.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01It's a very informal, it's a very relaxed garden.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07So the basic principle is to sort out the rhythm first, that's created by the phormiums.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Then blocks of flower colour with the leucanthemums.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Then think about the way the grasses move.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19And then an under carpet of things like the geraniums and the filipendulas.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23And the whole thing will just mesh together.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27One thing you have to do in spring, when the new shoots start to come through,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30just cut everything down to about 15 centimetres in height.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34That's the only maintenance you'll do apart from pulling out the odd weed.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- Everything?- Everything.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43It's like somebody has made me a colouring book.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46They've drawn in the lines and I just have to shade in
0:20:46 > 0:20:48the areas as and when I can.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I can see me spending more time out here doing things,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54pottering and things cos I want it to look
0:20:54 > 0:20:57as good as I think Chris has it in his head.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02OK, Chris, time for a recap.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05The challenge of this site is tying the spaces together.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The new terrace and planting around the house,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11the fine grass avenue, mown lawns through an orchard
0:21:11 > 0:21:14and right down reaching off to the wildlife pond.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17I would say that Paul has a two-acre field
0:21:17 > 0:21:20that we're slowly turning into a two-acre garden.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24And what I want to do now is at the opposite end of the garden
0:21:24 > 0:21:29- create a fire pit, with a clock face of tree planting.- Say what?
0:21:29 > 0:21:31We just need to mark a centre circle
0:21:31 > 0:21:34and then put in ring in for the trees and things.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36We could just use your feet.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38A 12-inch foot!
0:21:43 > 0:21:46If we just spin it around.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- I'd put them near that. - That's seven metres.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53- I think six.- Really? - And you've got 12 trees.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- OK.- So what you need to do is organise a clock face.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- Or would you like to put in giant numbers?- Numbers, please.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Giant birthday cake numbers.
0:22:03 > 0:22:04You can align it perfectly
0:22:04 > 0:22:08so that the sun comes through at summer solstice if you want it to.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- Do you want to do that? - I think that would be nice.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15What I don't want is for somebody who just says yes all the time
0:22:15 > 0:22:16because we're not always right.
0:22:16 > 0:22:1936, every three metres.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23What?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Isn't it?
0:22:31 > 0:22:33I like the way you wander around then,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38confidently, when no-one can see, you just go, "Yeah, that's looking great."
0:22:38 > 0:22:41That's going to be the most cockeyed compass I've ever seen.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Are they generating any stone out of that?
0:22:52 > 0:22:53Can you manage that one all right?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Ah, that's no problem.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Have you seen The Flintstones?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01We'll just tell him that's where the sun is setting, shall we?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03It will sometime in his lifetime.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07What we need is for somebody who asks questions and challenges
0:23:07 > 0:23:11because we may have missed something. He lives here. We may have missed a trick.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15That stone there is sunset at summer solstice.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18So how do you want your seats, do you want them,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21one, two, three four on the compass points?
0:23:21 > 0:23:23OK. Yeah, perfect.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Do I've a disclaimer here?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Hit it, not me!
0:23:34 > 0:23:36How accurate are you with the holes?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- Are you digging exactly where your cane is?- Yeah.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46What is he doing?
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Are you trying to get a tune out of that?
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- What's that all about? - It's like super glue.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56- You're digging them in the wrong place.- Why?- They don't line up.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- I'm digging them right on the X. - They don't line through.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02You must have limped at this point.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08We've got more mess with a digger than a man with a spade.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- 'Cane marker - what cane? - Stop grinning at me and look where you're going?'
0:24:15 > 0:24:20If you put the fertiliser into your planting hole
0:24:20 > 0:24:23all it does is encourage rich growth of root in the planting hole.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25It doesn't encourage interaction.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29When you start fertilising, do it in a ring that's about a metre outside
0:24:29 > 0:24:33of where the canopy is and that will encourage the roots to chase out.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36The following year you can do it outside again and again,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40and you encourage that constant root growth out from the centre.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44This is carpinus betulus fastigiata.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47- I'll never remember that. - Which is the upright hornbeam.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Hornbeam is a native plant, but this is an upright form
0:24:51 > 0:24:54so it forms a really nice candle-flame shape.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56It'll make this inner bit look almost private.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59What you're trying to do is create a visual link between
0:24:59 > 0:25:01that part of the garden and this part.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03And that's what these trees will do.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Create an identity in this part of the garden
0:25:05 > 0:25:08where normally you wouldn't have bothered venturing.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Young plants will over time
0:25:12 > 0:25:16bring an air of formality to what was once wilderness.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Close mown lawns, wild flower meadows, an orchard,
0:25:21 > 0:25:27a wildlife pond and ornamental planting around the house complete the ensemble.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31I'm really enjoying it now because there's the direction.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34I can see an end goal. I can see what it'll be like.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I want to do this justice so I don't mind spending that time.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44It is extra work, but it's enjoyable extra work.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It's important to remember this isn't an instant fix.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55It's going to take time for the plants to mature.
0:25:55 > 0:26:01But, more importantly, Paul has to feel as though he can live in and around his new garden.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05I look forward to sitting down here with a can of beer
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and sitting by a fire. I think it'll be amazing.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09In two or three years time!
0:26:11 > 0:26:15In a garden like this, the fire pit serves not only as a focal point,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19but also as a great social space for friends and family,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22a chance to sit at the end of the meadows
0:26:22 > 0:26:26and look back at the glory of the rest of the garden.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36When the sun is starting to set, there's a calm amongst the plants.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41With gardeners as well, everything pauses before it gets dark. It's a lovely time of night.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49This garden now is on the starting blocks.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Paul has to develop it from now on in
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and the structure is set up to enable him to do that.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59The only way of dealing with a wilderness site like this was to impose that structure.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04It may look quite bold and quite austere initially,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07but now Paul can personalise it.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11The garden is a series of discreet spaces, you're teased from one space to the next.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13You're constantly discovering.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16And that sense of being able to deliver different views,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20slightly different cameo features as you progress through
0:27:20 > 0:27:22keeps us interested in our gardens.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29When I go into work and say, "What did you do at the weekend?"
0:27:29 > 0:27:34They go, "I went to the pub," or "I played video games." I go, "I've done something."
0:27:34 > 0:27:37You've proved to yourself, I think, that you can garden.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41And when we came, I don't think there was much confidence
0:27:41 > 0:27:43that you could get, you know, a stick to grow.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46But look, you've been sowing grass seed over there.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49That's better than Wembley.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51He's probably a legend in his own living room
0:27:51 > 0:27:55when it comes to gardening, but I believe he will take it on board
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and get stuck in and really enjoy it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05The space before all this began, it was a field.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12But now I refer to it as a garden.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20By next spring it should be a really beautiful place.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26There's no reason why, by the close of the year,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30this garden doesn't feel just like a very special paradise garden,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Paul's piece of paradise.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Page one of the maintenance regime that Colin is going put together for you, will say,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43maintenance, crossed out, gardening.
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