0:00:02 > 0:00:05Fabulous flowers, luscious lawns, verdant veggie plots in backyards.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08What does your garden say about you?
0:00:08 > 0:00:14If it's crying out for an overhaul or you simply need help to get started, we're here to inspire you.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15We're happy!
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Is that a good shot for you?
0:00:17 > 0:00:20I'm Chris Beardshaw, passionate horticulturist,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24landscape architect and mad keen cyclist.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29I propagated my first seeds when I was four and haven't looked back since.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31SNEEZES Is that a roar of appreciation?!
0:00:31 > 0:00:37And I'm Colin Donaldson. Builder, landscape gardener and mad keen biker.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41For me, it's always been about the property and landscape working together.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44If there's heavy machinery involved, all the better.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Trying to get a tune out of that?
0:00:49 > 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 > 0:01:25In among the rolling hills of County Tyrone, schoolteachers Dave and Julie Hardy
0:01:25 > 0:01:27have just finished building their dream home.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Dave and Julie are passionate about growing their own produce,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35especially now there is a new addition to the family - baby Theo.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Neither of us are afraid to get our hands dirty. Get stuck in.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42As long as somebody permits!
0:01:44 > 0:01:50On our first visit, we set about giving Dave and Julie a starter pack for growing their own.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54That was a seriously busy day, building raised beds then filling them in with edible plants.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59Then fighting with the polys to get the frame up before the rain came and nightfall.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00Get some more bags of topsoil!
0:02:00 > 0:02:06It was busy, but we gave Dave and Julie those basic tools and look what they did!
0:02:06 > 0:02:11They filled the polythene tunnel full of edibles that can be picked and taken straight to the kitchen.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Nice bird, Chris. He's like you're doppelganger.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Everything is just together.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19We can come out and spend a couple of hours out here.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24We can just walk away and the time just flies by.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27We're still obviously getting used to having Theo as well.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I'm used to just going and doing things and remembering that I have to take the pram with me.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36I can't seem to find wellies that small yet, but we will get there.
0:02:36 > 0:02:42School finished today so now I have got eight or nine weeks off where I can really get stuck in.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47This looks like a proper productive garden, so does it feel like a productive garden?
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Yeah, it has been really nice to come out and almost pick
0:02:50 > 0:02:53which lettuce you're going to have for tea tonight.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56You end up eating half of it before you get in!
0:02:56 > 0:02:59"One for me, one for the bucket."
0:03:00 > 0:03:04- Would you like to increase the size of this?- Yeah.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Things we haven't got in, like potatoes.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Anything like that just occupies so much space.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13You have to be generous with the amount of space you dedicate.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I suggest we start to look around to see where we can make those larger beds.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Because those beds will be very different to the beds we have got over here.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24That's the next logical step, if you invest that extra time.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27You think this is absorbing, if you want a bit of extra time
0:03:27 > 0:03:30but greater rewards, then bigger beds are the way to go.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Now, with the summer coming around,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36hopefully we will get some good weather and we can get out
0:03:36 > 0:03:38and together we can get some stuff done.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- Three metre and then 900 path. - Then we can always shoot it down.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49'So, Chris, you decided that we should build some more, bigger beds. Isn't that a little ambitious?'
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Extending the area may seem like a strange thing to be doing,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56given that the guys are in that early stage of getting familiar
0:03:56 > 0:03:59with how the fruits and veg are starting to settle down.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04But actually, by making the space larger, the range of produce they can grow
0:04:04 > 0:04:08suddenly becomes extended and also the nature of that produce.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15'Bit early for a drink that strong, isn't it?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'I needed that before the Chris "maths for paths" class.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:24Three beds, four metres by three metres with a 900 path between.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30And if we want to put a hedge in here, there's not enough room for a path AND a hedge, obviously.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34You are looking here for about a metre off of this fence.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Say that's 11.30. You are looking for 10.30.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And that would give you 500 for a hedge.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And a 500 path, which is a very narrow path.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49- Would 600 be too narrow? - Just walk your wheelbarrow through, that's the easiest thing to do.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53- That's a shiny new wheelbarrow. - It is. I killed the other one!
0:04:53 > 0:04:57- You could get away with a 600. - Yes, I think 700, to be safe.- Yeah.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00If you go with 700 path, then?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05'Good crops rely on one thing. Good muck.'
0:05:05 > 0:05:09It's still steaming. That's how you know it's good stuff.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I think if we just get it in through the gate? Yeah.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14That's great, super, thanks.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22That'd take the lungs out of you!
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Before the muck can be dug in, the builders' rubble has to be dug out.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34In order to dig those beds, it would be a week's work and it would be too punishing to even attempt.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39But yet again, digger at hand, job done in an hour.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48- Big Al is making a great job! - He is. He knows what he's doing.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52A good digger man, you could spend hours just standing and watching.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Is that why you stand and watch me for so long?!
0:05:55 > 0:05:58You just admiring my handiwork? I thought you were idle!
0:05:59 > 0:06:04It was never happening, was it, with the spade? Rubbish soil. Everything else was great!
0:06:04 > 0:06:11There's nothing more frustrating than sowing your crops and looking at them and they're not performing.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17With the larger beds in deep soil, you can grow the deep-rooted plants.
0:06:17 > 0:06:24Even a humble carrot. When you think of a carrot, the root you eat could be six, ten inches long.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28But the taproot can go down three or four metres. Horseradish, 12 metres.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30A horseradish will penetrate the ground.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33All you'd end up with is novelty vegetables if you grew on this.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Which would keep us mildly entertained for an hour or so.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47While the digger was weaving its magic, I took a little time out in the tunnel with Dave
0:06:47 > 0:06:49to see what he has already managed to grow.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58There have been colossal changes since we were last standing here.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- You can get in now.- A bit warmer? I'm in shorts.
0:07:01 > 0:07:08I have ended up building two raised beds and made them nice and long and just got plenty of stuff in.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11I'm just trying things, really.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Your tomatoes are coming along nicely.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15They're all at different stages.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- You've gone for the natural pest control with the marigolds? - Thought I'd give it a go.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23And you have stuck by "what grows together, goes together"
0:07:23 > 0:07:26with your basil sitting in amongst your tomatoes, there?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30This is a Thai one. And I just love the smell,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34I end up picking it and rubbing it on my fingers.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37It's just lovely. It really is.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44'Oh, look. A small load. Well, 20 tonnes of topsoil.'
0:07:44 > 0:07:49'Yes, I can sense a big job for me coming on. Where is the digger?'
0:07:49 > 0:07:51- That would be good for your spuds. - Excellent.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56- Shall we go and plant some trees and leave Colin?- Where is the shovel?
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- You could equally divide that. - Wait till you see!
0:08:01 > 0:08:07When you think, you are harvesting fruits and veggies, there is a lot of products going out of the garden,
0:08:07 > 0:08:08you've got to put a lot going in.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13And that is essentially in the form of nutrients, organic matter.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17The nice thing about doing this to the garden is you can play with anything.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19You can put in anything you like.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23So I wondered if you wanted to have a play with these wee beasties?
0:08:23 > 0:08:28This is a very special hazel. The latest craze in hazel growing.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30And the roots are impregnated with a fungus.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Actually, most fungi are not at all a problem to plants.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37They co-exist with the plants around us.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43So this is a mycorrhizal fungi, and the result is once you plant it
0:08:43 > 0:08:45and they start to grow, you get truffles.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49So the principle is that you should end up with these.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Two little black truffles. £35 for two truffles.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02So if, in five years' time, you get two truffles, you've hit the jackpot.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Excellent. - They are dead easy to grow.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Truffles are not necessarily going to create great crops here but that doesn't matter.
0:09:10 > 0:09:17That single truffle Dave harvests in five years will be the best truffle he has ever tasted.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I need a pig to start sniffing them out.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24They're good at finding them but also eat them, so it could become a very expensive pig.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29- You're much better off with a Jack Russell.- A Jack Russell?
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'Is there anything you don't know, Chris? Do some real work!'
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I sense you are feeling the pressure today, sir?
0:09:38 > 0:09:40One more.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53One of the lovely things about your garden is the way that
0:09:53 > 0:09:57the land wraps around the building and almost encapsulates it,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and it gives you an opportunity to play with different spaces.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03You get a completely different character if you come round
0:10:03 > 0:10:08from the veggie gardens at that end, round into this blank canvas.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11This is going to be what you're going to see all the time
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- and you want something pretty. - When the sun comes out...
0:10:13 > 0:10:18- And it does.- ..this is quite a nice space.- Yes, nice and sheltered.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23And logic would have it that this is a space that you spill out of the sitting room into.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27A space out here, a garden around it, with viewing from that end,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31viewing from this end and viewing from the house itself.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Excellent. Sounds good.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38At the moment, it is just a bare piece of soil, really,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40and not even that - it's mud.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43'Here we go for another one of Chris's designs on the back of a fag packet.'
0:10:43 > 0:10:45A landing, almost.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48A seating area or a dining area in the centre of the garden
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and then rose garden around.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54'Then Dave had to seek approval from the missus.'
0:10:54 > 0:10:56COW MOOS
0:10:56 > 0:10:57'Is that a yes?'
0:10:57 > 0:10:58COW MOOS AGAIN
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Have we got approval from the boss to continue?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- Yes.- She's all right with that, is she?- Yep.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05She likes the view from the kitchen window?
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Yes, she can stand there when she's doing the dishes and look out.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13You walked away from the window before you said that!
0:11:16 > 0:11:18That's your linking path through.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23It's just been a bit of a mud bath.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26So it'll be quite nice to actually have an area as it grows
0:11:26 > 0:11:31over the next few weeks or months that we can then sit and enjoy.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33I hope everybody likes tomatoes.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39'Home-grown tomatoes are like sweeties. And talking of sweeties,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41'here's two kids in a sweetie shop.'
0:11:42 > 0:11:45This packaging's perfect for Colin, look.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47"Planting instructions." "This way up."
0:11:47 > 0:11:48Keep it simple, I say.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51- Does this feel like Christmas? - It does.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55If you look over here, there's somewhere...
0:11:58 > 0:12:00There it is... There we go.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02That one.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Just grab a leaf in there.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Two, four, six,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15- eight, nine leaflets.- Mm-hm.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18And this one...five leaflets.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Right.- Old rose, new rose.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25All the new rose varieties have five leaflets, occasionally seven,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28but the older ones have all got sevens or nines.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31You get a much better flowering season with these things.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36- With the newer roses?- With the newer roses. The disadvantage is that they are more susceptible to disease.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40You know, you never see rosa rugosa with mildew and black spot,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42whereas the new varieties, you tend to,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46so the breeders are now trying to breed some of the resilience of the old varieties
0:12:46 > 0:12:47back into the new ones.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50so there's a right old mix here.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- Did you know there's a Chris Beardshaw rose?- Is there?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- Which obviously will take pride of place in your garden.- Yes.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57And it's a kind of...
0:12:57 > 0:12:59It's a masculine sort of rose,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01in a shade of...babydoll pink.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02DAVE LAUGHS
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Quite feminine. I'm in touch with my feminine side. I get it from Colin.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10What I want to do is something which is full of fragrance,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13full of blooms, based around roses, and a large seating area.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17'Chris, you go, girl!'
0:13:17 > 0:13:22'There's nothing wrong with two boys getting in touch with their feminine side. Where's Colin gone?'
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'Urgent business in Tuscany, I think you'll find.'
0:13:25 > 0:13:30'Well, while you were away, we built more beds - this time for ornamental plants,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'and in particular, our rather fabulous roses.'
0:13:36 > 0:13:38I've tried to move away from that rather funereal look
0:13:38 > 0:13:42that we grew up with as kids, which is rose, rose, rose, nothing on the ground -
0:13:42 > 0:13:44just sort of bleached out.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46That's what gave roses such a bad reputation.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49This is a slightly different way of doing it,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52insomuch as we're using a whole host of different roses,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55different flowering styles and lengths, and different habits,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58so some are upright, like Fantin-Latour in the centre -
0:13:58 > 0:14:02it's one of those big, fluted... almost like a kind of champagne vase.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03It's a very grand plant.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Framing that on either side, slightly darker colours,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09just to add a little bit of warmth to the garden.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12And on this side, it's frilly, it's froufrou,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14it's almost like a kind of ballerina's tutu...
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Darcey Bussell. So you've got Darcey Bussell in the garden.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21You can claim at school you've had Darcey Bussell in the garden.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24And then, you introduce some more pastel shades.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28And you'll find also the herbaceous will help to protect the roses, too.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30This is quite a general mix of herbaceous
0:14:30 > 0:14:34but they've been chosen so that they either just peep through
0:14:34 > 0:14:38the branches and leaves of the roses without impeding their growth,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41or they spread around underneath, a little bit like a carpet,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and nestle themselves against the understory.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Neither will affect the roses - they'll actually enhance their performance.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Roses don't like being alone. They're very gregarious -
0:14:51 > 0:14:53they like to be partnered with other plants.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Much better to treat them as they deserve -
0:14:56 > 0:14:58the queen of the shrub border.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03Then surround them with all their ladies in waiting - the glamorous herbaceous plants
0:15:03 > 0:15:07that will just very politely play around underneath the skirt of the roses.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27'Fair play, though, Chris - by the time we were both back, Dave and Julie had put in
0:15:27 > 0:15:32'a huge amount of work to their garden again, on both the productive side and the ornamental side,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34'and look at it now.'
0:15:36 > 0:15:41Chris, I was away for one day and this has sprung up.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47Mm. You know sometimes you have to make decisions about what you want in life?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- Yeah?- Sometimes those things are very ephemeral and...you know,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56and sometimes you want to go for something that's got a bit more substance and meaning to it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So, you know, you opted for the St Tropez spray-on tan,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04after ten days of relaxing by a swimming pool, dangling our pinkies in the water.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Well, there's certainly some fragrance around here.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11And the roses are fighting, very manfully,
0:16:11 > 0:16:18through the rather...abundant and ripe smell of the mushroom compost.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23The mushroom compost we used to use, and it stinks!
0:16:23 > 0:16:27There's no two ways about it. But it is very good and they're beside a mushroom farm.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- Go and stick a fork into it and see what happens. - It'll just melt the fork.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35'And that's not the only surprise. Something else new.'
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Now, guys, just behind us, this rose garden has sprung up.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- Mm-hm.- I knew nothing about it, but it's great.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And over here, something else has been happening.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I've laid a bit of lawn
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and we're planning actually to change it slightly.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54We're thinking about having a slightly larger area
0:16:54 > 0:16:56down this area here against the wall.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00So we can barbecue and entertain.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Dave had always talked about... He wanted a barbecue area.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07He wanted it over there because you get the...obviously, the evening sun.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13But we didn't realise just how much he wanted to entertain there.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- We've been able to say... - We don't like it.- It's not that...
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Well, no. It's not that we didn't like it. We just....
0:17:19 > 0:17:23There was an area we wanted to change slightly and we've been able to.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25And what happens to the... to the lawn, now?
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Are we foreshortening it much?
0:17:27 > 0:17:30We were having a chat about it, bringing it in.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Probably to round about where this one is here.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Worth just thinking about the size of those elements, though.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Because if you've got a hedge,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43your hedge is going to be 50 centimetres minimum - width,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46in order for it to be a decent height.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48And for it to look like a proper hedge.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So that's going to take you to about there.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55If you're reducing the size of your border down by 60,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57you end up with a border less than a metre wide.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- Which is...- Which is, it's going to look meaningless.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04So I think we're in danger of trying to include too many elements in here
0:18:04 > 0:18:08and it may be worth considering keeping the borders where they are
0:18:08 > 0:18:11but doing away with the lawn.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Much better to say, well, this area where the lawn is,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16that's going to be hard surface, then you've still got room
0:18:16 > 0:18:20for some decent sized borders and your barbecue.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22If you take that centre line off the path,
0:18:22 > 0:18:23you can still utilise that.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27So you can come in here to a permanent barbecue fixed in here.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31So you've got the facility and then you can have a couple of low walls
0:18:31 > 0:18:33coming out with prep surfaces, cos there's always,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35what do you do with your utensils and food?
0:18:35 > 0:18:38You've got things you want to put down when you're...
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Trays and...
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Either side becomes planting.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44You could put a tree there which gives you height.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48You could create a great little outdoor kitchen.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Then the borders drift out from that
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and when you want to serve the food
0:18:52 > 0:18:55you walk out and you've got your dining area out here.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And I think if you went for a relatively loose surface here.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02- Maybe going along those lines then, today.- OK.- Yeah?
0:19:02 > 0:19:07The whole thing has a much more edible and organic feel about it.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Amongst this rather more formal structure.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11And that's great,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14it doesn't distract from what we'd originally proposed.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18It just means that it means a lot more to Dave and Julie.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Is that an accurate size, do you think, of the table you might get?
0:19:22 > 0:19:28I would think so, you could get... Yeah, that would be ideal.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33The turf would be fine if it's left and it is beautifully laid turf, Roger.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Unfortunately it does have to become hard surface. Sorry.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39DAVE LAUGHS
0:19:42 > 0:19:47Are you making a mess of that? COLIN LAUGHS
0:19:47 > 0:19:49COLIN GRUNTS
0:19:49 > 0:19:53'Look at this fine example of an Olympic athlete.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56'That's what you get for taking time off.'
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Wow, that's rooted in!
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Now you've torn it!
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Is it easier putting it down or lifting it up, Roger?
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Hooray!
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Do you want a seat?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20'Move over, Dec. I'll show you how to do it.'
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I had that problem yesterday. Right, go.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24See if I can do it first time.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27ENGINE RUNS
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Oh-ho-ho!
0:20:29 > 0:20:31When a child has a little bit too much sugar
0:20:31 > 0:20:33they get a bit excitable.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Just watch your foot.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38And a bit hysterical.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40That's what's happening now.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45He just had a few too many of those blue sweeties at lunch.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47'Stop making me laugh.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51'I'm trying to plant those fruit bushes in a straight line.'
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Are you going for the staggered line?
0:20:55 > 0:20:57What are you talking about?
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Don't let Declan see that, otherwise he'll have his string line out, correcting that.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07He's going to go absolutely OCD to make sure his aren't.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11I think we're going to overtake each other!
0:21:11 > 0:21:13CHRIS LAUGHS
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Look what a mess you made.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Look, mine's all neatly... Look! See?
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Trees. Where shall we put them, where would you like them?
0:21:26 > 0:21:29We've got walnuts, filberts.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30What is a filbert?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Well, a filbert... This is a filbert.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Cos we were looking at the labels and we were wondering what...
0:21:36 > 0:21:40You have probably seen them in a mixed bag of nuts.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- OK.- At Halloween-ish time.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46You know a hazelnut is round? Whereas a filbert is more egg-shaped.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51- So it's more like that. - Like an almond, almost.- Yeah. Oh, there's a picture.- Oh yes.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- Aha.- It's got those kind of big, shaggy ears to them.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It's more prolific than the hazelnut, more likely to get nuts on it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03'The work is really moving on. You rotavated the area for the nuttery
0:22:03 > 0:22:08'while Roger was left with the job of mulching the new rose beds with ripe mushroom compost.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12'And now, Chris, for your next trick.'
0:22:14 > 0:22:17This project's at a stage where we're making big steps forward,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20partially because Dave's been working whilst we've been away,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23so he's really seized the initiative
0:22:23 > 0:22:25and moved the project forward,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28which means every time Colin and I come in, we can move forward even further.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30So it's almost a game of catch-up.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35- So the frame is starting to form, isn't it?- Yep. - It gives you an idea.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37'From what I expected at the beginning,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40'we've - to an extent - got something completely different.'
0:22:40 > 0:22:42Now, the new space is going to be far, far better.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48'It's nice to have the grass area, but we'll have so much grass to the back.'
0:22:48 > 0:22:55- It'll be nice to have the more entertaining, social adult space, really.- Yes.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57'And speaking of adult entertainment...'
0:22:57 > 0:23:00When this comes up, you throw that one that way instead of underneath.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02There you go. That's it.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11'Time for a recap, Chris.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14'This started out being about Dave and Julie wanting to grow more
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'of their own, so we set them up with a polytunnel and raised beds.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22'Then we prepared yet more ground to make a small orchard for fruit bushes.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'The final touch was to plant a nuttery.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29'Julie and Dave will now be able to go from fork to fork, garden to kitchen.'
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'But this garden is a game of two halves
0:23:33 > 0:23:37'and it's also important to have a social space, and in this case,
0:23:37 > 0:23:43'we built an outdoor kitchen diner surrounded by the heady scent of roses.'
0:23:43 > 0:23:49This is like landscaping with the man from the Milk Tray advert.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53And someone out of Brokeback Mountain, just looking at our outfits...
0:23:53 > 0:23:54COLIN LAUGHS
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I brought my work shirt.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01We need to get some sort of harmony between our outfits.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03I'm going to go and get my shirt on.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10'Dave and Julie really worked their socks off over the summer to fill the new beds
0:24:10 > 0:24:15'to capacity with edibles in the productive side of the garden.'
0:24:15 > 0:24:17'And on the ornamental side,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22'they can relax amongst the bountiful borders and fabulous fragrances.'
0:24:22 > 0:24:25It's nice to see this with sunshine on it, and drying up as well.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30- You wet it down to compact it. - I was expecting it to be more dust.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35I know it's quarry dust, but I was expecting it to be more... You know, sink into it.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39I think you can get hung up on the type of product that you use,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41thinking that's where the beauty comes from.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46Really, when the plants start filling, this really isn't that important.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50If any of your friends comment on the surface instead of the plants,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54you need to think about your friends more carefully, really!
0:24:54 > 0:24:56'Dave has rendered the wall.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'The barbecue area is nearly finished and now he and Chris
0:24:59 > 0:25:03'are planting something a little unusual for Northern Ireland, figs.'
0:25:03 > 0:25:10- Have you resolved the barbecue? - Yeah, we're planning on getting it rendered, the same as the wall.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13- So this will be cooking in here? - Cooking.
0:25:13 > 0:25:14That's prep and serving.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Yes. Cooking here.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18And then another bit of granite worktop here.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20So you can set things, utensils.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24It's a great spot, especially on a day like today.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Will it be finished for this afternoon, by the time we...?
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Hmm... Maybe not. We could maybe stand the gas barbecue in there for now.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34We'll get Colin. He's good at gassing!
0:25:36 > 0:25:42You spend so much time in the garden creating good planting and rooting, for most plants.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47Figs are the opposite - you spend a lot of time digging a big hole and then filling it full of rubbish.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Give it good, fertile growing conditions and it's just away.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54I mean, I've got brown turkey at home and it goes up 12, 15ft a year.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59The idea is to give it poor rooting conditions, which reduces the size of the leaf.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02It reduces the vigour of the plant, and you end up with
0:26:02 > 0:26:05the plant panicking and producing lots of fruit.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- OK.- So we'll make little boxes and backfill with rubble.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11A little soil as well, and then plant the figs into that
0:26:11 > 0:26:13and it'll help to hold them back a little bit.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18'The figs are going to need a little support to spread across Dave's new wall.'
0:26:18 > 0:26:21That's 120 there. Will I mark it?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Just leave me little kisses on the wall.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26If you do the same on that end, I'll start drilling.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Oh, a sneaky one.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47He tried to do the undertaking thing again.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- Look at the record.- Oh!
0:26:51 > 0:26:55What I didn't want at the beginning was it all done for you.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59I didn't want to be sat in the house, or go away for a weekend
0:26:59 > 0:27:01and come back and, "Ta-da! You've got a garden."
0:27:01 > 0:27:06- Yeah, it's something that we have been able to work on together. - Mm-hm.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I think it's just fabulous.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10I used to be quite good at this.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Blame having children. That's what it is.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17You should never play this sober.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- Thank you.- This must be the nicest bowl arena ever.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24It's brilliant. It's like a picture frame, almost,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28just frames all the different areas and it really works.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33It's completely not what I was expecting, but I'm so pleased with it.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36- Really happy with it.- It's a great learning environment for Theo,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41and, crikey - I'd have loved to have had a garden like this when I was growing up.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45It's going to be really enjoyable to see it develop and grow.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- Did we win that one?- Course.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53- Is that 4-0 or 5-0?- I lost count. - No! We won the first one.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- The second one? - That was just practising.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- Oh, right.- We weren't competitive at that point.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59We let you win.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14On a lovely crisp morning with the frost, like this morning,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It just looks fantastic, the whole area.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Just thinking, "That's ours! We're able to go out and use that space."
0:28:22 > 0:28:29The first time everybody came, Theo was five days old
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and he's now six months old, so within six months,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36we've done what we were probably planning on doing over four or five years.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38- Maybe even six.- Probably even six!
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Look at you, giving away smiles.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:55 > 0:29:00E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk