0:00:02 > 0:00:06Fabulous flowers, luscious lawns, veggie plots and backyards.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08What does your garden say about you?
0:00:08 > 0:00:11If it's crying out for an overhaul,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14or you simply need help to get started, then we're here to inspire you.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18- We're happy!- We have got to get started.- We're having a chat. - Is that a good shot for you?
0:00:18 > 0:00:24I'm Chris Beardshaw, passionate horticulturalist, landscape architect and mad, keen cyclist.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I propagated my first seeds when I was four
0:00:26 > 0:00:28and haven't looked back since.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30- HE SNEEZES - Excuse me!
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Is that broad appreciation?
0:00:32 > 0:00:36And I'm Colin Donaldson, builder, landscape gardener
0:00:36 > 0:00:40and mad, keen biker. For me, it's always been about the property
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and the landscape working together.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45If there's heavy machinery involved, then all the better!
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Are you trying to get a tune out of that?!
0:00:48 > 0:00:52We're on a mission to help six families transform their gardens,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54so let's get up and grow.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24David and Karen Fitzsimons, and son, Ben, live in busy Bangor.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26When we first met the Fitzsimons,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30they had a typical 1970s concrete flag front garden.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Which we really enjoyed destroying.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34But in fairness,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38we also enjoyed putting a new knot garden back,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41that's much more in keeping with the arts and crafts style of the house.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47It's also full of flowers.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Guys, something good has happened here.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Yes, it certainly has. And all come out in bloom.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54It's really brought a bit of life back into the front.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Yes, I think that's the word, it's alive.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59She's described it as genius, I think, by the way.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02I described it as genius, or you said it was genius?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04I very often refer to my own projects.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I wait for compliments and they very rarely arrive.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10I think, also, it's worth just highlighting
0:02:10 > 0:02:13the fact that this is a very polite response to
0:02:13 > 0:02:18the challenges of the front garden. And that is, in a way, why it works.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21But I think you can do something entirely different in the back.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25You can do something which is dramatic, which is really bold,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28so if this has got you looked, then I think we can really push the boat out.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33The front garden is busy and noisy,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36but the back has a totally different feel.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40I think one of the interesting things about this space is
0:02:40 > 0:02:41just how a secluded it feels.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45And the difference between the front and the back, the back,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- it's just, it is quite nice here, I quite like it.- Yeah.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- It's tranquil, it's quiet. - That was one of the things that lead us to buy it.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Talk to me about the orientation. Where does the sun rise?
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- And where does the sun set?- The sun rises in the morning, over here.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00And then from about one in the afternoon,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03this starts to heat up, the wall in front of us here.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05The detail that you've gone into shows that you have
0:03:05 > 0:03:07followed the sun around, used the space.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09What about style?
0:03:09 > 0:03:11What do you want this space to look like?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13I think, clean, modern lines.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Really, that is the style of what we want.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Minimalistic, but with texture and interest.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22What about flowers? Because all the plants that you have in here,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24they're quite masculine plants.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- The beer garden, it's a beer garden. - You're not hankering after your bachelor days, are you?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Just get the Tiki Ball out, and it would be perfect!
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Clear all that away and what we're left with is the big, open space.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Clean sheet and start from scratch and work out the best design.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43OK, that's great. I've said too much!
0:03:43 > 0:03:45It may be a courtyard garden,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48but there's plenty of horticultural clutter to clear.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52That's not the most comfortable church pew, I don't think!
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Just how many pots can one small family amass?
0:03:55 > 0:03:59You're going to take somebody's eye out with that.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04See, this is a nice garden. We should aim for something like this, don't you think?
0:04:04 > 0:04:08- A couple of cowboys did that!- You need a bit of paving in here, David.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14- And then put those pots on top of it?- Are you sure these have to go?
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Oh, yes. David's courgettes, Carole's vines, it's all going.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- Now is not a good point to say you liked it where it was.- Yeah, OK.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24You should have done that first, maybe.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I'll carry your wedding train. Always the bridesmaid.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28You said it, Chris!
0:04:30 > 0:04:33You don't want to watch me do this. It might take some time.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38That's it, David, show it who's the boss!
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Yes!
0:04:47 > 0:04:52It's much easier to see what we have to play with now that it's all cleared. What are you thinking?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55If we can encourage them to adopt that twist so that you're using that
0:04:55 > 0:05:00diagonal across the courtyard, I think that could be quite exciting.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The design process here is quite straightforward.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08It's about linking the view from the house with the garage wall.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Without making a lot of the garage wall.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And get the eye to turn the corner and maximise
0:05:13 > 0:05:17the space. It's a very tight courtyard, just a few square metres.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19So what did you get?
0:05:19 > 0:05:24I'm getting sort of wild and contemporary and formal and stylish.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Any paving materials, any furniture,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30has got to be very contemporary and very minimal.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33That would be the way I would go, to just clean up the lines.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37The plant is an explosion of everything on the perimeter.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40So I've chucked a couple of spanners into the works just to see,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45did they really want this simple, minimalist, structured look.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I think it's got to have a very exotic feel,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and almost, it's got to have too much foliage in it.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53What we're ending up with is radically different
0:05:53 > 0:05:56to what we were told was required.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- Bananas.- Yeah, big waxy, heavy leaves.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Yeah, I think we have to encourage them
0:06:02 > 0:06:04to use it as a living space.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08I think that is a good idea.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13However, it's a slow process and you just bring people along with you.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17Yes, that's nice.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19And as part of taking them along with us,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24a visit to the garden centre to spark some ideas, good and bad.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- Hi, there. - Is this on the shopping list?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Is that the sort of water feature you were thinking about?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34It's...it is a feature!
0:06:35 > 0:06:41- Wow! Look at this! I feel as if it should rock. - Yes, it's a bit like a boat.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46I imagine this is what it's like if you were inside a Bushmills whisky barrel.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Do you like the enclosed foliage feel of a space like this?
0:06:51 > 0:06:55- Are your eyes allowed to drift through?- Yes. There's bound to be something here.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58It's been interesting to discuss the back garden and our ideas,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01because I think whilst we have a feel for the function
0:07:01 > 0:07:03and what we would like it to do,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06there is a huge amount we have to learn.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08I have no concept of planting
0:07:08 > 0:07:10and what would work and what wouldn't work.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- Blue pots, these are nice. - I like the green.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21- Now, this is the definition of twee.- Look, Colin, a mini-me.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24This is like stepping into Sweden in your back garden.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26It's got a fondue set and everything.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Yes, but it's bigger than your courtyard.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Oh, that's really comfortable.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33This is working. Carol and David seem clear on what
0:07:33 > 0:07:35they like and what they don't like.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38- It's a jungle, but there's space. - And just immediately, you go... - HE SIGHS
0:07:41 > 0:07:47- So, we wanted to see how you felt about that.- Yes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50We had a great day at the Gardening Ireland show.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54It was a good opportunity to look around and see.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56It gave us lots of ideas.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Back in the garden, time to take out the old raised bed.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Is the term sledgehammer to crack a nut relevant here?
0:08:02 > 0:08:06What are you doing to my garden? I like those flagstones. Can you put them back up?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10I'll move back.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17- Is this your favourite bit, Colin, the destruction?- Yes, it is.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20If Colin can knock it down, he will.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23What have you got that's draining out of the kitchen?
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- Washing machine and the sink. - That is not the washing machine.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32- That's the tumble dryer. - No. It's the old oil line.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Yes, that's the old oil line. No dead body. Not yet.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39You trying to tell us something, David?
0:08:39 > 0:08:44Originally, the longest view in the courtyard was that.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- To that wall. - Yeah, whereas now...
0:08:46 > 0:08:51Now, the longest view is actually a diagonal, through there.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Which means that it makes sense to, instead of going with
0:08:54 > 0:08:57the geometry, which is that way, to hit it on the angles.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59It's interesting to look into a space
0:08:59 > 0:09:02where, instead of hitting a dead end, especially a close dead end,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04the eyes are encouraged to venture around.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07You want to go from one space to the other.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11What?! We were happy!
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- We were having a chat! - This is design talk.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Is there a skip to fill out there?
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Give me 300 off the corner of that wall.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24That's the 300 between the 200 and the 400.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Do you want help with this or not?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31This is a sunny part of the garden. I think we need to sit here.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35It immediately shapes the way that you use the garden, to go in diagonals.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40- I just said that.- I didn't hear him. Just thinking about other things.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43You can say it much more concisely than I do, that's the thing.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Without waving his arms around as well.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50There's a pencil scribble on a bit of paper on a scale plan.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53That's transferred onto the ground with a spray line.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And that gives us an opportunity to literally walk the space
0:09:56 > 0:10:01and see whether that paper copy when transferred to reality, actually works.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- So, if you can cite it through. - Yeah, it's a lot of pressure.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10- It looks good. I think. You look lovely, Colin.- Thanks.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16- That's March, now give us April. - Maybe take the T-shirt off.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18My garden gnome.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23A square, back to that one.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- What do you think, Carol? - I think it looks very complicated.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Do you know what would be worth doing? Just to get David to bring two benches back out
0:10:39 > 0:10:44- and put one in here and put another one over there. - Just practice?- Yeah.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Just practise lifting.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51I like what you've done with the place.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- This is it.- Finished? - Pink wall, breeze blocks, old seats - it looks well.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Nice and safe, I was going to say I'll take the one on the side.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01You can shout at one another across.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05What will happen is, you'll step out and there will be virtually no step between
0:11:05 > 0:11:08floor level in there and floor level here. All of this is on one level
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and then you step down under the stones surface there.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Everything here's raised bed with planting away up here.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Everything behind what we plant is irrelevant.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24And you're enclosed in planting. I'm standing in the middle of a planting bed. That comes to here.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27This line is a raised bed running straight through.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Herbs planted in here. Planting all the way behind.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34And all the way in here.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37And to break up this, so it doesn't look like a big ballroom, an area of lawn.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Close mowed, bowling green, quality grass
0:11:40 > 0:11:43that you can sit out on and Ben can play out on in the centre,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46all flushed through with the paving.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48- Fantastic.- Absolutely.
0:11:48 > 0:11:54It really extends it into another room of the house that you want to come out and walk and sit.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- I think that's the way you guys like to live.- Absolutely.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Sit inside and see what do you think. See if the object of beauty is...
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Such a beautiful object, that is!
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- Just out of interest, which object of beauty are you looking at? - THEY LAUGH
0:12:08 > 0:12:10You'll cause offence to somebody.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13That lovely chair in the middle!
0:12:13 > 0:12:17It's really good. It just leads your eye straight out and across.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23It really wants you to just go and have a peek and see what else is there. Wonderful.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24- Can we build it?- Yes. Work away.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Very excited.- Excited.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33Challenging as well to see what we can do with Colin and Chris
0:12:33 > 0:12:37and the ideas they come up with and we can work together to do that.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42We are definitely trying to open their minds up to other variations.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45The other variation is the exact opposite of what they asked for.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48I'm really looking forward to seeing it come together now.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Let's have a bit of a recap, Chris.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56OK, we started by creating a simple, welcoming front garden
0:12:56 > 0:12:58and then we moved to the back.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01The space here allows us to play with angles design-wise
0:13:01 > 0:13:05to draw the eye around and make the most of the total space.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07It feels a lot bigger.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Even though it's actually a relatively small space, it's taken a lot to clear it.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Now it's clear, we've got a design structure.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Let's let the trusty Declan get on with building it
0:13:17 > 0:13:22and see what Carol and David make of an off-the-wall suggestion for planting style.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35OK, Chris, I've brought you to the tropical ravine
0:13:35 > 0:13:38here in the Botanic, which may seem a bit extreme
0:13:38 > 0:13:42considering we're talking about contemporary gardens in Bangor.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It's got everything that I believe they should see.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48The ambience, first of all. It's so tranquil.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53It's something that I think we need the guys to experience.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00What do you make of being down here amongst the plants,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03under the canopy with the light filtering through?
0:14:03 > 0:14:08It's lovely, I think it feels very protective, very enclosed, but nicely so.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But this isn't what you started to describe
0:14:11 > 0:14:14when we sat down and talked about what we might be able to achieve.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17We've done a wee trick and brought you to the exact opposite of what
0:14:17 > 0:14:21you're asking for, just to really give it to good rattle to see.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25You described it being minimal, contemporary and chic.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I feel as though it's quite private and intimate,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30yet you can still see the sky is still there.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32So there is the light coming through.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36That was an important point, you didn't want to loose the openness.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39There's not a lot of colour of flowers here.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It's the abundance of green, that very verdant nature
0:14:43 > 0:14:46that creates the sense of enclosure the sense of calm,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49intimacy that you can reach out and you have to push the plants away.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53That's part of the character and the personality
0:14:53 > 0:14:58and I think if we can achieve some of that in your garden, then we're on the right route.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00The purpose of taking them to the ravine was to just
0:15:00 > 0:15:03blow all the cobwebs away and give them something.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05"Wow! We didn't think of anything like this."
0:15:05 > 0:15:10There's no reason you can't grow things like bananas in Bangor, you know?
0:15:10 > 0:15:16Banana plants!? Give me a call.
0:15:16 > 0:15:22I was surprised that they were so open to just how intense it was.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- Frankly, I couldn't live in a space like that.- It was the middle of Belfast,
0:15:27 > 0:15:32busy-ness going round it, yet it was tranquil, calm, and that was
0:15:32 > 0:15:35to do with the planting, the colours,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40the...space that was created there, with thinking, "This is just nice."
0:15:40 > 0:15:41You can just go...
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Much better to start off with a brilliant idea and make it workable,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49rather than start with something half-baked and try to make it exciting. It doesn't work.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- Looks like that worked, Chris.- So far, so good. Back in the garden,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Declan's started to put the walls up and the timber framework
0:15:58 > 0:16:00to support the decking.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Back from the jungle wilderness. We've managed to change
0:16:03 > 0:16:08any idea you had of a formal garden into a crazy, leafy environment.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10But the boys have been busy here.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15You get a sense now of what it will be like to come out on the same level. That's interesting.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19You can see already that that'll be a natural lead in and out of the house.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24And if you cast your mind forwards to when the planting comes in
0:16:24 > 0:16:27and some high tree-planting, pleached trees, which come across
0:16:27 > 0:16:31the top of the garage to break that severe skyline,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34then you start to see the similarity between what you can achieve here
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and what we've just seen. The other benefit in going to see it
0:16:37 > 0:16:39is that Colin and I would have just said,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42"It's big, it's green and it's leafy," a lot.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44And you would have said, "Great!"
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Do you think Declan's noticed I've stopped working?
0:16:49 > 0:16:54No, he's in a trance. We need to get on. There's a surprising amount of work to do for such a small space.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56This is me getting on with it.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I'll just get my surgeon's gloves on for hands that do dishes
0:16:59 > 0:17:02or build decks or finish raised beds.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14And another one of our new sayings. "Every home should have a Declan."
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Are you trying to come off a board in the house? It's not.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29It's got a line through. We'll have to do a slither cos that looks awful from inside.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32That's fine. I'd rather see a slither there
0:17:32 > 0:17:35because the main focus will be here and you won't be looking at that.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37So we'll just slither that.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41For everyone else's benefit, what is a slither?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I have no idea. I was just bluffing it.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49I know. I thought it would take a while. It's all in the measurement.
0:17:52 > 0:17:58If anything, that's going in a bit to your left. My left, sorry.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- Can you move your nose round that way a bit?- No.- There you go.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05That's spot-on.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Where you have a space which has to be quite tactile,
0:18:08 > 0:18:09which is warm to step out on,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12especially if you're bare-foot in the summer,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15then decking or its substitutes can work really well.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Decking is looking good, but we may have a wee problem.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- But what space do you leave in them?- Space there.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- That's not far-out.- Perfect.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30- Does that expand? - It will in the heat.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Why can Chris not just design something that's straight?
0:18:36 > 0:18:39You won't be whingeing when you see the finished result.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42I know about the finished result, but we have to get there...
0:18:42 > 0:18:47- I just thought you'd like the challenge.- ..sometime this year. - 'You tell him, Dec!'
0:18:52 > 0:18:57- I think it looks too wide. - That's not going to work.- Hmm?
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- That's not going to work. That's way, way too wide.- Oops!
0:19:00 > 0:19:03That's... The stuff has come pre-set.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08That's just a ridiculous expansion joint. You'll lose all sorts of things down there.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Including your high heels.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13How would we do that?
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- Have you got any high-heeled shoes in there?- Certainly.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Do you normally work in high-heeled shoes?
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Colin's looking for them. We'll have to do a bit of a test here. - What are you trying to do?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- See if they'd fall through the hole.- I'm more thinking what Ben would put through it.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Well, it's your call.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35I think we scrap the deck today and do the paving because that will be a circus.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44I tell you what. Can we get some biscuits?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- Wee wooden biscuits?- Yeah. - Obviously a technical term.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Not a nice custard cream?
0:19:49 > 0:19:54- We just need a three-mil expansion gap.- A beeswing?- Two beeswings.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56- Double them up.- Beeswings folded in half.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59How quickly can we make the biscuits?
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Because we can counter-sink on the edge
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and then biscuit all the way through and drill in at 45 degrees.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07- About five minutes. - Fine, let's do that, then.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09I think it might just work.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Good thinking, Batman. Biscuits all round.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Can you tap that in? And then put that in.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- And those screws through the top? - But that's a much better solution. We should patent that.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29- One for Dragon's Den. - Yeah. Do you think?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33- What else were you going to put on Dragon's Den?- A slither.- A slither.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Will it be called a beeswing slither?
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- Can you make me some slithers, then? - Right away.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45- 'While Declan makes some slithers and biscuits...- Sounds more like a cooking programme! But it's working.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50'Though it's held us up significantly. We need to crack on
0:20:50 > 0:20:52'and get the gravel into those beds for drainage.'
0:20:52 > 0:20:55If we were to get this square... It's not getting done.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59What are the jobs that need doing? I sense a bit of flapping going on.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03- No. Let's see.- We know who to blame.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08- "Let's see", isn't a team attitude. - I thought he was being a big girl's blouse
0:21:08 > 0:21:13because of the amount of work until I came today.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15'Big girl's blouse? Our Declan? Really?'
0:21:15 > 0:21:19I believe because I want to believe. It doesn't matter whether it's true or not.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Girls, give me a shout if you need your brow mopped. There's a bit of sweat appearing.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28If there's thinking to be done, it's over here.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- 'You were the one with the pretty gloves on. Just get on with filling the beds.- Yes, sir!
0:21:33 > 0:21:35'The raised beds are taking a lot of filling
0:21:35 > 0:21:39'with tons and tons of topsoil over the gravel.'
0:21:41 > 0:21:46Can you get me a Tesco bag or something? Just to throw that into.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Or any other bag, but like that.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Other supermarkets are available. - Other bags. That's right.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Come back half an hour later and it's foamed out
0:21:58 > 0:22:01like an overblown washing machine.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05I'm going to take a break and do some dressmaking with Carol.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Right. We're using your dressmaking skills.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12This will stop any soil running in under the deck,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15which will inevitably end up in the drains.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20'The soil that's going in here will allow the turf to grow in the centre of the deck.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:27We tried to get chintz, but the budget didn't stretch.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30We did say contemporary. Wouldn't be chintzy.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- Doing a good job there, Colin. - Thank you very little!
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Time for another recap, Chris.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41After clearing the site, we saw the design potential.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Then we took Carol and David to the ravine for planting inspiration.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Then I came up with that brilliant idea about slithers and biscuits for the composite decking.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Modest as ever. While I did some dressmaking,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56filled beds, filled beds and filled beds.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Whinge, whinge, whinge.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Worth it, though. Look at it now. Beds all done and painted.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Deck finished. Lovely cobbled paving down.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11David even painted the house
0:23:11 > 0:23:14and walls to match my favourite touch, the outside sofas.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Nice to see it now it's all painted. It makes such a difference.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24It brings the whole space together, having that unity of the paint.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It just means you get one image instead of lots of little fragments.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31And the decking actually is working very well as well.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36- It proves that we know what we're talking about.- Somebody does! - Have you done this before?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And then you've just got the planting to get in.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40You remember back to the Botanics
0:23:40 > 0:23:42and we were standing in that fernery?
0:23:42 > 0:23:46That's the feel we're after. So we've got the structure
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and the plants will now start to develop
0:23:48 > 0:23:50that real kind of oasis feel about it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53By the end of today, once the life goes into it, the plants,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55you'll notice a big big change.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Shall we get on with it? Or shall we stand staring at it?
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- I've got nice pink gardening gloves for you.- Great. I'll need them.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05..are you going to bring me and where are we going to?
0:24:05 > 0:24:07- School. First day.- School!
0:24:07 > 0:24:09You've got your school uniform on, that's right.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13So, Chris, while Ben goes off for his first day at school
0:24:13 > 0:24:17on a chilly day, you have us doing a fussy, fiddly job.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Bet we're still here when Ben gets back.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23One of the great things about using
0:24:23 > 0:24:27limes in this pleached way, this really hardcore trained way,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31is that they're so well behaved, and they provide a green foil.
0:24:31 > 0:24:32One down, nine to go.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36- Daddy, are you nearly finished digging?- It might be some time.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Do you want to come and help me?
0:24:42 > 0:24:46- Mummy, that's a bit messy. - It is a little bit messy.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51So, still here when Ben's back. At least he's back for the dancing.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- See if you can catch Colin up. - He's caught me!- Got him!
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- That's cheating!- I got him!
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- You know that humid tropical feel that you get in the Botanics? - Just like today.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09It's exactly like today. Which is why we've got the plants
0:25:09 > 0:25:13which will create that same atmosphere. So, dense planting with a very eclectic mix.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17There's plants here from all over the world. For instance, there's the Musa here,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21which is one from the Japanese Highlands.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26A banana. This goes up and up and up. Great big, long leaves.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- This is the Bangor banana plant? - This is a wonderful little plant.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Right next to that is a plant from New Zealand.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35This New Zealand flax, the Phormiums.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37And then the date palm from the Canaries.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39So all over the world these plants are coming.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43But the basic principle is that they just spill over one another.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45And when you sit on the bench here,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49you feel as if they're wrapping you up and within a couple of seasons,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52you will feel as though you're back in that Temperate House at the Botanics.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56- When do we get our first banana fruit?- Who knows?
0:25:56 > 0:26:00There's plenty to look at before you get the bananas. You can have the neighbours on
0:26:00 > 0:26:02because just nip to the local supermarket
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and wire a few bananas on and say, "Look, bananas!"
0:26:05 > 0:26:09'Hmm. Bananas in Bangor? Has a nice ring to it, though.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11'Is that a sceptic in the garden?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14'Here's something that'll grow fine. A bit of turf.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17'Wash down the new cobbles. Final touches to the planting.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20'Not good for my fingernails.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25'And then, finally, washing off the walls.'
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Where we're sitting now used to just be concrete.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42When we sat with Colin and Chris at the beginning,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46we couldn't have imagined that this is what we would have ended up with,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49but it very much fits all the needs that we talked about.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Dave and Carol have really embraced
0:26:56 > 0:26:59what Chris and I have kind of chucked at them.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Initially, what they were asking for is not what they got.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06But what they got I think is what they really wanted.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I think it will completely transform the way that they live
0:27:12 > 0:27:14and the way that the family unite
0:27:14 > 0:27:17because they'll be able to share all of that space together.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26All the spaces are welcoming. They're exciting
0:27:26 > 0:27:28and they're vibrant
0:27:28 > 0:27:30because there's life now in the garden.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33And you just want to be in them.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35'This is the very satisfying bit.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40'The garden's beautifully planted - it's lush, it's verdant -
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'but the space is chic and contemporary.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And yet, at night time, when you've got the outside light on,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50it just seems part of that cosiness.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Even in this weather, such colour and brightness at night.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03- You want go out there even though it is raining.- You do! Yeah.
0:28:05 > 0:28:11That old, grey space outside has now become
0:28:11 > 0:28:16a place to grow up in as a house and as a family. It's fantastic.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19And when you go back to work, in one word,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24how do you describe how you feel about the garden now?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28- One word?- One word from me is hard. "Beyond wildest dreams".
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Is that three words? That's a phrase. One phrase. Is that OK?
0:28:32 > 0:28:36- We'll give you a phrase.- Beyond wildest dreams. Never imagined.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40- They're not bad at what they do. - It turns out they know what they're talking about, yes.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:54 > 0:28:58E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk