0:00:02 > 0:00:06The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show
0:00:06 > 0:00:09is the most prestigious flower show on the planet.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Chelsea is the best place in the world.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15It's that one time and that one place where everything coincides.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18The best plants, the best designers, the best landscapers,
0:00:18 > 0:00:19the best materials.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Everything is there just for that one very special week in May
0:00:23 > 0:00:25that is the Chelsea Flower Show.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Every year, the best designers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds
0:00:29 > 0:00:32creating gardens in the hope of gaining global recognition.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34CHEERING
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Now, for the first time, the RHS is offering one talented amateur
0:00:38 > 0:00:40designer the chance to launch
0:00:40 > 0:00:43a brand-new career by building a garden on Main Avenue.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Hundreds applied for the biggest prize in gardening
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and six passionate designers were chosen.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Now they will have to prove they can cut it with the best of the best.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Once you get through those Chelsea gates,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00you're in with the big boys and there isn't any space for mistakes.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02They'll be advised by Joe Swift,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05one of the country's leading designers.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06That is...is bad.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08They're going to mark you down for that.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12They'll have to master different garden styles as they design...
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I just need to get it smaller, that's the main thing.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15..construct...
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Got to be so careful in case it snaps.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18..and plant...
0:01:18 > 0:01:21They're just monsters, but they're going in!
0:01:21 > 0:01:25..to impress Chelsea Flower Show judge James Alexander-Sinclair
0:01:25 > 0:01:29and gold medal-winning designer Ann-Marie Powell.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Every time I try and think about it, my mind just starts racing.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Chelsea is only a short step away now.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Last time, the six amateur designers created a cottage show garden.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55I love it. I think I've fallen in love with it already.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Steph, this is planting day.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01You've got two landscapers watching you lay a block.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04They were tested primarily on their planting skills.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05What I've managed to do,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I've managed to snip off one of the few flowers.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12After four days of hard graft, their finished gardens face
0:02:12 > 0:02:13the scrutiny of the judges.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I'm going to be brutally honest at this point,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20and I have a fearful worry that this garden is basically a mess.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Theatre is absolutely top-notch.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Sean scooped gold with his coal miner's garden.
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Jo didn't plant enough...
0:02:29 > 0:02:31God, I can't bear it. I'm not looking.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32..and was sent home.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Now, it's time for their second test.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43In this next garden, it's design skills that will be
0:02:43 > 0:02:44under particular scrutiny.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Welcome to Sudeley Castle, in the heart of The Cotswolds.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Our hunt for a great amateur garden designer continues.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55There are now five designers in the running,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and this time they're going to create a formal garden.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01One of them will get the judges' gold,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05but for one designer, the road to Chelsea ends here.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11The designers have spent the last week juggling their day jobs
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and drawing up their formal garden plans and plant lists.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21Now they need to translate them on to a four-by-four metre plot.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23- Steph?- Steph is there.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25This is me.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- There I am. - Are you two together again?
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- We're together again.- Oh, I see.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30Like that, is it, huh?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35BOTH: It's the boys versus the girls. LAUGHTER
0:03:35 > 0:03:37- Steph.- Yeah.- Come on!
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Spirits may be high, but the judges James Alexander-Sinclair
0:03:41 > 0:03:45and Ann-Marie Powell will be watching their every move.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49At least they have Joe Swift as their mentor.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- Well, hello, everybody. ALL:- Hello.- Hi.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- What a setting, hey?- Gorgeous.- For a formal garden, what could be better?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01This has been here since Richard III's time.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03You've got just four days to build a garden.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I think this took a little longer than that.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I hope you learnt a lot from last time.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- I sorted the weather out for you. - Yeah.- Whoo-hoo.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14You've got four days. Go for it.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I think it'll be harder this week cos I think
0:04:20 > 0:04:22the pressure's on. You know, we've all sussed each other out.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24And, you know, we know where the competition is.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28So, yeah, it feels as though it's gone up a notch, definitely.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32This week the bar has been raised.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Creating a formal show garden will be the ultimate test
0:04:36 > 0:04:37of their design skills.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Traditional or contemporary,
0:04:42 > 0:04:43to be strictly formal
0:04:43 > 0:04:47all the gardens should display several key characteristics.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Symmetry, crisp lines,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54a restricted plant palette
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and plenty of evergreens.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Once you know the basic rules, you can
0:04:59 > 0:05:02get as complicated or intricate as you like.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Take this garden for example,
0:05:04 > 0:05:081,200 box plants creating this incredibly strong structure.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10But it's still symmetrical.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15It folds in half this way and it folds again this way too.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And in the gaps you can put anything want.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Here, there's some papyrus and some water and some simple gravel,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26but you can put roses, perennials, annual plants...
0:05:26 > 0:05:29You can stamp your personality onto your garden.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38A gruelling four days of physical work lies ahead.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42One of the main criteria they'll be judged on at the end is design,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47and in formal gardens, the execution must be precise.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Worms are really good for the garden but they're bloody awful,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- aren't they? Urgh. And I can't bear it when you chop them in half.- What?
0:05:56 > 0:05:57- A worm.- Oh, no, did you?
0:05:57 > 0:05:59No, I just feel... I feel awful.
0:06:01 > 0:06:0442-year-old Paul Harris has spent the past two years
0:06:04 > 0:06:07changing his life to become a garden designer.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10He's taken a course in garden design at a London college
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and wants to set up his own business.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Last week he was criticised for his complicated layout
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and his unwieldy construction.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24I was very worried about the scale of them.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I think they are slightly too large still.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28There's no room for two people in there.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It's really, really too big, too close together.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33This time he's keeping it simple.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Form gardens are harder just because you've literally got no...
0:06:38 > 0:06:41You can't just cover up a mistake by putting in some extra grasses
0:06:41 > 0:06:42or changing plants around.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47I think this week is actually going to be a lot harder.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Paul has a straightforward layout with basic geometry
0:06:52 > 0:06:56and is planning a restricted palette of box and soft-flowing plants.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00He's hoping it will pull off his romantic theme of Yin and Yang.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02It's perfectly symmetrical.
0:07:02 > 0:07:09Yes, the idea is it's perfectly symmetrical but the content isn't.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Now, last time we were concerned, weren't we,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12about scale and proportion,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and I do think you have thought about that this time, have you?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Yes, most definitely, yeah.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20With this garden, there's far less structure.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Is there any structure, or is it all going to be at the same level?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25There are going to be two seats in the garden,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29designed for an indiv...for one person on each side.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Each seat will face towards the centre.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Can I just put one misgiving into this?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37If this is a garden about love and romance,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39there's nowhere for the two people to sit together
0:07:39 > 0:07:41once they have got together.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45So the seats are big enough for two, but they're designed for one.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48But you can get two onto it and snuggle up nice and tight.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Provided that your bottoms are not too big, we'll be fine.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Oh, no. Well, unless your bottom's wider than a metre,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55- then you'll be all right. - What do you mean?!
0:07:55 > 0:07:58That's wonderful. We will look forward to it. Thank you, Paul.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Each designer has been given a budget of £1,500
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and, to help them with their paths and structures,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09a professional landscaper.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14While Gillian cements in her brick edging,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Rob is setting out his paving slabs.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Might just need to take a little bit more sort of...
0:08:20 > 0:08:23That's fine. I can do that with a hand trowel actually.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Sean is working on his raised bed.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Last week, he won the judges' gold.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31This week, he's going for the double.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- More stuff for you. - Thank you, thank you.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39You do realise that I've done half the work on your garden,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43so if you get another gold, I want a share and I want half.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Can I make you a cup of tea?- No.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47- THEY LAUGH - I want half the gold.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Sean's an occupational therapist, but his passion for garden design...
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54..goes back to childhood.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57He's spent a lifetime teaching himself horticultural
0:08:57 > 0:09:00techniques and redesigning the gardens of everyone he knows.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04I really want to win this competition.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06I really want to have that garden built at Chelsea.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09It means an awful lot, and I'm going to give it my all.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Sean's design is packed with references from the Far East.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18The raised bed will be planted up with box and grasses
0:09:18 > 0:09:20to resemble a Chinese landscape.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- Chinese Eastern gardens can be very formal, I mean...- They are.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29It's a very, very formal tradition that you've got there.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Going to try to cloud prune the box
0:09:32 > 0:09:35into Japanese, Chinese type of mountains.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37- Which, Japanese or Chinese?- Chinese.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39- Definitely?- Definitely.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Because we can't start confusing our cultures here.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44But there's an element of Japanese in it because I'm going to do
0:09:44 > 0:09:46an ikebana Japanese flower arrangement
0:09:46 > 0:09:49from the materials in the garden, which will sit on the bench.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I am concerned about mixing Japanese and Chinese.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I think you have to decide which direction you're going
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- and stick with it.- Hmm.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04Oh, I just got a worm.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10These formal show gardens will be judged on four of the criteria
0:10:10 > 0:10:13used at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The wow factor, or theatre,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18how well they've delivered their formal brief,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21the quality of their designs...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- It's too big. - Yeah, these need cutting.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25..and horticultural knowledge.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30A basic mistake could end their dreams of Chelsea.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33As always, their mentor, Joe, is here to give advice
0:10:33 > 0:10:35and to help them improve.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Can you listen up, everybody?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41This is called a GGA.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44GGA is a general gravel announcement.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Paul, Gillian, Rob, Steph,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49why are you all putting in gravel now?
0:10:50 > 0:10:51You're only going to make a mess.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53As soon as you start digging over your soil,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55you've already got soil in your gravel.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58It should be the last thing that goes in.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Have you lot learnt nothing?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02It takes you, what, maybe ten minutes,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06half an hour to get the gravel actually onto the plot, OK?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Nice and clean, rake it over, walk off, job done.
0:11:09 > 0:11:10Simple as that.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Don't say I didn't warn you! Don't say.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17The youngest competitor,
0:11:17 > 0:11:2123-year-old supermarket worker Steph, is taking Joe's advice.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I worry about timing.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Yeah, there's just loads to do.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Last week, Steph struggled with her schedule.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Not long.- Right.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34I hate it, I'm not happy.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36You've got a couple of plants to go in here, right?
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Bosh them in. You really are into boshing stage.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40Yeah, I am.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42It's a lot of hard work designing the garden,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45but you've just got to keep thinking,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49"Oh, it's Chelsea at the end. I've got to push and keep going!"
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Steph has had a lifelong dream to work with plants.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55For the past three years, she's juggled her English degree
0:11:55 > 0:11:59studies with garden design exams and a job in a supermarket
0:11:59 > 0:12:01to fund her beloved allotment.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Steph has chosen a musical theme for her garden.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13The focal point is a bench.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Her angular beds will be filled with colourful shrubs
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and she'll gain height from a row of cherry trees.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It does have a kind of geometry to this garden,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- so that's where the formal comes in. - Yeah.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30But it's kind of informal-formal, isn't it?
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- Is that because... - I don't like formal, no.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- THEY LAUGH - I thought so.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37You're sneaking in a bit of cottage garden when we're not looking.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- No, no, I'm not.- You're trying to! - No, I'm using a lot of shrubs.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47The designers have been on the go for five hours.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Building a garden at Chelsea will require stamina and determination.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55This is fun, though, isn't it?
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Within the formal brief, the designers can do what they want,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02apart from one requirement -
0:13:02 > 0:13:05each garden must include a piece of topiary.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Topiary is the art of shaping evergreen shrubs,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20like box or yew, into intricate shapes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Its popularity dates back to Roman times.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33The designers can choose whatever shape they want,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36but they must be careful to maintain the balance
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and structure of their designs.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40They're huge!
0:13:40 > 0:13:45As topiary is somewhat niche, this is a first for all of them.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46Get creative.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48And just remember -
0:13:48 > 0:13:51- once you've cut it off, you can't put it back.- You can't put it back!
0:13:58 > 0:14:01But what I want to do is reduce the height down as much as I can.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07I'm attempting a swirl, but it's just so big.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10So the string is supposed to give me some kind of line to work to.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14And then I'm going to spray a shape and then cut the shape out
0:14:14 > 0:14:15and hopefully it'll look something
0:14:15 > 0:14:19like a Mr Whippy ice cream by the time I've finished.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Sean's topiary will take centre stage in his raised bed.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27One false move could cost him dear.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31- This is a...Oriental mountain. - That's the excuse.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34- Not Chinese, not Japanese - Oriental. - Oriental, you've gone Oriental.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35THEY LAUGH
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- Yeah, we're not having any... - He'll change to "Eastern" soon.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39- BOTH:- Yeah.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It is going to resemble an Oriental landscape.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Yeah. Hopefully.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Gillian is a former Army officer
0:14:52 > 0:14:56and has just retired after 27 years' government service.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01She's retraining to be a garden designer.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Mine's going in the centre of my bloody garden.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05But I've got my paving stones set now,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I can't dig a whole gap that will fit this in.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Despite being given the measurements beforehand,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15she's underestimated the size.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Gillian, how's it going?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Um, absolute rubbish.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- I just need to get it smaller, that's the main thing.- OK.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26On the basis of it won't fit and it's going to ruin any garden I'm doing.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31Gillian has designed a classic traditional courtyard garden.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Her topiary will sit in the centre of the strict geometry,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37surrounded by evergreen plants.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41There is no deliberation whether it's formal or not.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43But what do you think of her design?
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It's fine and it's straightforward and it's simple
0:15:45 > 0:15:46and it's symmetrical and it's right.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48But this one, more than any of the others,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52is the one that is teetering dangerously on the edge of boring.
0:15:52 > 0:15:53- That seems a bit strong.- I know.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55At the moment, I don't agree with you, James.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I feel really pleased and proud with Gillian
0:15:57 > 0:15:59because she's done her research, obviously,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01she's kind of not taking the risk,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03she learnt from the mistakes that she made last time.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05And she's doing something that's classic.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08SHE GASPS That's dangerous.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Mastering the art of topiary can take years of dedication.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Looks good from one angle but not from that angle.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23- We can see what you're trying to do. - Yes, we can.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26And we can see that perhaps you might need a little more practice
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- in doing what you're doing. - I think you might be right.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30It's like giving somebody a really...
0:16:30 > 0:16:32somebody you don't like a really bad haircut.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35You're already getting a really good shape, look.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37It goes all the way through, doesn't it?
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It goes all the way through, round and round. Look.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It's very good.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Designers, tools down, please.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Stand by your creations.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Paul's is a topiary column.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01It will be the only height in his Yin and Yang garden.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Steph has created a classic topiary spiral.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13So has Rob!
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Gillian has freestlyed with a Grecian vase shape.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25And Sean has used the Japanese method of cloud pruning
0:17:25 > 0:17:27to create his Oriental mountain.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31So, judges, do you have a favourite?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33I so enjoyed that!
0:17:33 > 0:17:34But, yeah, we do have a favourite.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36We really liked Gill's, didn't we?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- But Steph's is our favourite. - It is, definitely.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Steph just came out with her shears and went, BANG, straight into it.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46She knew what she was doing, and the execution of it is damn good.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Well done, Steph!
0:17:49 > 0:17:50Oh, I feel really great!
0:17:50 > 0:17:52It's given me a bit of confidence boost,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54so it's really nice to know that I did a good job.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Back at the plots, the designers must find the perfect spot
0:17:59 > 0:18:00for their topiary.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04One of them - Rob - is rethinking his layout.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08I'm trying to decide what to do. It's a lot bigger than I thought.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I must have got the dimensions wrong somewhere along the line.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12I was placing it here.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15I had the idea it would sort of come up to, you know, yay high.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18LAUGHING: But it's actually about this big.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21So, um, I've decided I'm going to hide it at the back.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I've got a line of cypress trees that run along the back of this
0:18:24 > 0:18:26seating area, and it will just be hidden.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27HE LAUGHS
0:18:27 > 0:18:30So, I'm hoping no-one will notice it and it'll all be fine.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32But we'll see tomorrow.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36Rob has themed his garden around his love of the theatre.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39His topiary will now sit behind a line of cypress trees which
0:18:39 > 0:18:42form the backdrop to a pergola seat.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43The dominant feature
0:18:43 > 0:18:45is his chequerboard paving.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47What about the chequerboard thing?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I can't bear it.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51No, tell us what you really think.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54It makes your eyes go a bit...funny and it's just, ooh.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57I want to play chess on it, I don't want to be looking at it.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Is it a bit of a cliche as far as a surface technique is concerned?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04What it does is it means that you don't have to use
0:19:04 > 0:19:06quite as many plants.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07I'd like it to be bolder
0:19:07 > 0:19:10and great big mouthfuls rather than little nibbles.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Rob is obsessed with gardening.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16He studied botany at university
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and volunteers in the gardens of a country estate.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Chelsea is the gardening World Cup.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25It is the best place to be for gardens,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and the thought of being able to get there and to put on a garden is...
0:19:28 > 0:19:30I get goose bumps just talking about it.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33And that could be taken away very, very soon.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39..wants to be put in there, really.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41It's been a punishing day,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45but after nine hours, the landscaping is all but complete.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Sean's raised bed is finished and full of soil.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Steph, Gillian and Paul have laid their path edging.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56And Rob's chequerboard paving is finally finished.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00They've had all the help they can.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03From now on, the designers will be their own.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18The designers have come to one of the UK's largest nurseries
0:20:18 > 0:20:20to choose the plants for their designs.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Chelsea Show Gardens use only the most stunning combinations.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Plants must be at their best.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30The judges will expect nothing less.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32I have died and gone to heaven...
0:20:33 > 0:20:35..cos this is just...
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Well, I want to run in there and do kind of jazz hands.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Choosing the right combination of plants is critical.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Yeah, I'll take those two. They look good.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- Let me just have a look around. - It will make or break their designs
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and can really add to the sense of theatre,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52a key criteria in the judging.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Not a lot there, is there, at the moment?
0:20:56 > 0:21:00For his romantic modern garden, Paul is using a restricted pallet
0:21:00 > 0:21:04of classic formal box with a contrasting flowing grass
0:21:04 > 0:21:06to add theatre.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07So these are stipa.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10They are Mexican feather grass.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16Whoops. And so I specifically wanted this variety because of the movement.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20It's a bit like, you know, when you see fields of barley,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23you know, in about June and you can almost see the wind
0:21:23 > 0:21:25moving across the fields in waves.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28This grass reminds me of that and I think it's just stunning.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Gillian is carefully trying to work out how many plants she needs.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42She's playing it safe with classic, formal varieties.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- Buxus, Buxus, Buxus. - Yes. Hello, Joe.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49- Hello, Gillian. You've got some nice plants.- Thank you.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51- Are you pleased?- Yeah, I am pleased, actually.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52Quality is fantastic.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Yeah, little hebes are gorgeous.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55They're my little edgers.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- How are you using these? - So, where I've got the path...- Yeah.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01..edged in the brick, it's the gravel then the brick edging.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05They'll be, like, next to it as an edging, so they'll go round.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06- What, in a line?- In...yeah.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10They should go all the way round and where the things are.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12They're quite neat. They look like a box hedging when they do,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14but of course they're a lot cheaper than box
0:22:14 > 0:22:16which is why I can buy so many... And you can...
0:22:16 > 0:22:18They're clippable as well,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20so you can make them neat and tidy, which is the plan.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Gillian, you're sounding like a proper garden designer.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It's a complete miracle. SHE LAUGHS
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Despite his Oriental ambitions, Sean has also gone for some
0:22:31 > 0:22:35typical European varieties mixed in with his Japanese ones.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Loving this Hakonechloa.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Hakonechloa is great. That's obviously going to work very nicely.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43And you can't really have a formal garden without box.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45I know, but that's too pointy, isn't it?
0:22:45 > 0:22:47But, all in all, I think it's quite a good start.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52But the youngest designer, Steph, is pushing her brief to the limits
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and has turned her back on hundreds of years of formal
0:22:54 > 0:22:58tradition by avoiding box and yew altogether.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02I prefer lots of colour.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I don't know whether it's as formal as everybody else's
0:23:04 > 0:23:06but it's my interpretation of formal.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Since she was knee-high, Steph has had a trowel in her hand.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16And on her 21st birthday, her childhood dream came true.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21She secured her very own garden in the form of an allotment.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23I think I've always been in the garden, really.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Er, my mum, she's always gardened
0:23:26 > 0:23:30and I just love that sense of wilderness and running free.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34I'm just happier with my plants and that's why I love it so much.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39I think gardening is sometimes seen as something that older people
0:23:39 > 0:23:41or older generations do,
0:23:41 > 0:23:42and I would like to change that.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46I would love to get to Chelsea.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The second round is tough because I've really got to step it up.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54I can't afford to do what I did the other week in the first round,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56so I've really got to get the planting spot on.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03So, here, I know you're concerned about Steph's plant selections,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- aren't you?- I have real problems with phormiums.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- Phormiums get this big.- Yeah.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Very kind of seaside and coastal in my opinion.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- And messy.- Or Mediterranean. And very untidy.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17In formal gardens, we don't want too much mess,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20and I'm not sure if that is actually the right plant.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23I think she really needs to kind of lift some of her selections
0:24:23 > 0:24:25and get rid of some of these plants, actually.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27What do you think about these purple prunus?
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Well, I think that they're too young, aren't they?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31I mean, they're very, very sort of slender stem.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33She doesn't need five.
0:24:33 > 0:24:34Yeah, if she puts in five,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37- then that will be a big, big, big mistake.- Yeah.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42It's day three, and back at Sudeley Castle,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45the designers' selections have arrived.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Their next major challenge is getting them in the ground.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56They're really heavy.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I have to drag them across the floor
0:24:59 > 0:25:02cos they're just...monsters.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04But they're going in!
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Steph may have reduced her prunus trees from five to three,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10but she still has hours of digging ahead.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15It's going to be another day of back-breaking work.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21I need a metal pole.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22Has anyone got a...
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Or an electric spade.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27They have nine hours today and three tomorrow
0:25:27 > 0:25:30to complete their gardens before judging.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32At this stage everyone goes, "Planting."
0:25:32 > 0:25:36And the mood changes of everybody into, "OK, now this is serious."
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Cos this is the finish side.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39And how it really looks.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Because the structures are one thing,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43but if the planting's not right, forget it.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Rob is having to remove one his chequerboard slabs
0:25:49 > 0:25:52to make way for his topiary.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Instead of it going in the space he'd left at the front,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58it's now going at the very back.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06He's spent 30 minutes digging a hole for it.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09And she's in!
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Um, she'll look... You know, a couple of cypress
0:26:12 > 0:26:14at the back and a few planting round at the bottom,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17we'll do our best to smarten her up, but thank God it's not Chelsea.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Gillian is also resigned to her topiary trauma.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26I still think it's quite brutally big.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Um, if I've got time, I'll try and tidy it up,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30but I'm not going to panic about it
0:26:30 > 0:26:32because I don't think I can ever make it look pretty.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34So... It's about time and how much time you've got.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I don't want to spend a disproportionate amount of time
0:26:37 > 0:26:39on that when this is, in my opinion, more important.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47As at Chelsea, show gardens must display excellent horticulture,
0:26:47 > 0:26:52which means the garden must function as it continues to grow.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Ultimate plant size must be wisely considered in their schemes.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Ooh! Nearly.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Formal gardens are all about precision and strong geometry.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04They are competing for the chance
0:27:04 > 0:27:06to make a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08The bar is set really high
0:27:08 > 0:27:12and even the smallest mistake may mean that they're going home.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Paul has placed nearly half his box.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23He's chosen a restricted palette of just five plants.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27My biggest concern about the garden is everything's quite low
0:27:27 > 0:27:31and so I'm getting a bit nervous that perhaps I should have
0:27:31 > 0:27:35put some more...some higher planting in. It's very...
0:27:35 > 0:27:36It's very low.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39But it's not structure that's concerning Joe,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41it's the finish of Paul's water feature.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43So you've got the box, OK.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47- Around here, yeah?- Yes, yes. - But I'm standing over here...
0:27:47 > 0:27:48Yeah.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50What am I going to see?
0:27:50 > 0:27:54- You'll see the outer rim.- I just don't like seeing plastic edges...
0:27:54 > 0:27:55- Right.- ..of water.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Yes.- So think about that, OK?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59So think about how you're going to hide it.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03- Yeah.- Might be a plant, might be something more malleable, but it...
0:28:03 > 0:28:04Potentially.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08- I'll leave you with that thought. - Yes.- OK.- Thank you.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17In his Eastern-themed garden, Sean is trying to stay Zen.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19He practises yoga,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22but will it be enough to combat the stress?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24So, are you feeling confident?
0:28:24 > 0:28:25I never feel confident.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I've always got this little known feeling inside.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29I'm rehearsing them saying,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31"And the person not going to Chelsea is..."
0:28:31 > 0:28:33So that's what's... Even though I'm loving this,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35that's what's going on in my mind.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37- Really?- Yeah.- That's a bit scary. - Yeah.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39"The person going to Chelsea is...
0:28:40 > 0:28:42"The person going to Chelsea is...
0:28:42 > 0:28:45"Joe Swift." Oh, I like that. That sounds good. Yeah.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47So, have you got yoga in your brief this time?
0:28:47 > 0:28:50I've got yoga and praying.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52- IMITATES GEORDIE ACCENT: - Praying for gold.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55- Praying for gold. - That's my terrible Geordie accent.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59And breathe in.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Close the lotus flower.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Oh, I feel better already.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Over in Steph's garden, things aren't quite so relaxed.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16There's just so much to do
0:29:16 > 0:29:19and I keep looking round and everybody's got so much more in
0:29:19 > 0:29:22than me, which is really worrying
0:29:22 > 0:29:25because I really, really want to get this one perfect.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Gillian has spent the morning laying out her hebes and box balls
0:29:30 > 0:29:32but she's barely started planting.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36I think I'm really slow.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Er, but I just have to get on with it.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40I'm trying to do it correctly and precisely,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42so I've got to take my time.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45If I rush it, I'm going to ruin all the lines that I want to do,
0:29:45 > 0:29:47so I've just got to be patient...
0:29:48 > 0:29:50..which is not my forte.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53So it's quite a challenge, really.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54Nice benches.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57- They're quite nice, aren't they? - Very on-theme. Where are they going?
0:29:57 > 0:29:59They're going outside the garden.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01- Eh?- They're going outside the garden.- They're going here?
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Yeah.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07At Chelsea, you can't start putting street furniture in
0:30:07 > 0:30:10so that the public can come and sit down outside the garden
0:30:10 > 0:30:12and look at your garden.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15- I know.- You have your plot, four metres by four metres.- I know.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17What, you want to just leave them there?
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Not quite like that, but, yeah, I'm going to do some, you know,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21borrowed landscape stuff, I thought.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23I know it won't work but I've got no choice.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Not that it won't work, you'll get marked down on that.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- Can't you put them in the garden somewhere?- I don't...
0:30:28 > 0:30:29No, they won't go in the garden.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Not without a dramatic change to the planting.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33- I know!- Why didn't you tell me a bit earlier?
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Then we could have worked out a way.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37It would have been great to have your bench...
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- Sitting there, I know. - ..and one on the other side.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Then the judges could come and sit down.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42Now all they'll do is they'll walk in...
0:30:42 > 0:30:46- I know.- ..and they'll walk out again, just like I am now.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48You've got to think about that one.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Thank you.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Gillian is no stranger to last-minute manoeuvres.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57She was one of the first women to pass out of Sandhurst.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02After serving four years as an Army officer,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05she joined the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08I've probably had a slightly unusual life.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10I was fortunate enough to work in Afghanistan,
0:31:10 > 0:31:14in Jamaica, Turkey and the Balkans as well.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Following 27 years' service, last year Gillian decided
0:31:18 > 0:31:21to open a new chapter in her life.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25She's taking a garden design course and wants to make it her new career.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30Gardens can make me feel very excited, very contemplative.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32It can me feel very euphoric.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Sometimes, when I'm standing in the stream with my waders
0:31:35 > 0:31:36at the bottom, clearing out my stream,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I just think I'm in the best place on earth.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44I find that gardening is a real antidote to a stressful life.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46But for me, they bring a whole variety of things,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50but mostly joy, happiness and contentment.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55While everyone else grabs a break,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Gillian is back on the front line fighting her way to Chelsea.
0:31:59 > 0:32:00She's taken Joe's advice
0:32:00 > 0:32:04and is digging out her edging ready for her benches.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06If I don't do this, there's no way I'll finish.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10So I work on the basis I've got a waterproof skin, so that's OK.
0:32:10 > 0:32:11I'm only getting wet.
0:32:11 > 0:32:17Erm, I'm going to do the changes that Joe sort of suggested.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20He didn't say I had to do it, it's at my choice completely.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22But now I've started, I'll have to finish.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25If it works...
0:32:26 > 0:32:29..it'll be good. And if it doesn't, well, I'll go out trying,
0:32:29 > 0:32:30that's all I can say.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51Some of these aren't very neat,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54but I can't think of any other way of doing it at the moment.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00While Gillian tries to catch up, Rob is halfway through his planting.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07- Rob, you seem to getting on rather well.- Hello. Yes.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09Erm, I've got a lot of plants just spaced out,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11- I've still got a lot to put in. - Now, have you got enough plants?
0:33:11 > 0:33:13Are you happy with your plants?
0:33:13 > 0:33:14Because on the cottage garden test,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- you actually overstuffed it, we thought.- Absolutely.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I have got gravel to play with this week,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21so I had a little tip from Sean's garden last week and saw how
0:33:21 > 0:33:24he'd used gravel to mulch around it and give some space to the plants.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27So I've taken that on board, I've left a bit of space between.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Once the gravel's down, it'll fill those bare spaces.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31There's enough plants to still give it that impact.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34It's a difficult skill planting properly in a show garden, isn't it?
0:33:34 > 0:33:37It is, but he's learning and he's looking at everybody else and what
0:33:37 > 0:33:39they're doing and picking things up, which is fabulous.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41- Just what we need.- Thank you. - Well done, Rob.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48All the designers will need to show improvement in their skills
0:33:48 > 0:33:54and knowledge if they're to win a garden on Main Avenue, Chelsea.
0:33:56 > 0:33:57So, how's it going, Steph?
0:33:57 > 0:34:02Um, it's going OK but I've still got a lot of planting to do and the lawn.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- You've still got tomorrow... - Yeah.- ..till midday.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06But I know we're always tight on time.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I know you're tight on time.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Your planting, how do you feel your planting's going?
0:34:10 > 0:34:15I love my planting. It's completely different to everybody else's.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Everybody else has done very formal,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21but I'm kind of taking the contemporary formal.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24- I've got a couple of concerns about your planting.- OK.
0:34:24 > 0:34:30- One is that these phormiums get big, as you know.- Mm-hm.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33And these pittosporums, some of them are big
0:34:33 > 0:34:35and you've got some small ones.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37You've got some small ones over there,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39how big are they going to get?
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Or will they get this big at least, if not bigger? They're getting...
0:34:43 > 0:34:45These pittosporums get three, four metres tall,
0:34:45 > 0:34:47they get about a metre and a half wide,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50and you're using them like bedding plants.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52- OK.- You're using them just for ornament...
0:34:52 > 0:34:53- Yeah.- ..to decorate with.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55You know, the judges are going to say,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57"Right, you've got pittosporums in there,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59"you've got phormiums in there, you've got trees in there."
0:34:59 > 0:35:02You've got to let that breathe a bit more and think about what plants
0:35:02 > 0:35:05- you're putting in and how they're going to grow.- OK.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Horticulturally, it's not sound.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11So, can take that one out, um, and that one out.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15- One of them, either the phormium... - Yeah.- ..or the pittosporum.- OK.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20OK? Just pare it back to simple formality, yeah,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22- and good horticulture.- OK.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27I think I have my moments of, "Oh, my God!"
0:35:27 > 0:35:29I'm sure I'll have a few more,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33but when I start seeing things get done, I'm a lot happier.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36When I have to change things and I'm thinking,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39"Oh, my God, I'm behind, I'm behind," that panics me.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47It's been another draining day.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Throughout, they've been under the watchful eye of the judges.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Seen a lot of plants go in today.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56They've only got a few hours left tomorrow,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59but they're looking like proper gardens now, aren't they?
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Yeah. It's always amazing what happens on day three.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Suddenly, things that were just muddy patches,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06you put some plants in it and they do begin to look like proper gardens.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Let's start with Rob.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10His planting has completely transformed his garden.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12It now does look like a formal garden, doesn't it?
0:36:12 > 0:36:16It does. I know we had a conversation right at the beginning where you
0:36:16 > 0:36:18were sort of going, "Urgh," at the whole thing
0:36:18 > 0:36:21because of these little tiny, tiny little planting areas.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23And they're still tiny, I'm still not happy about the scale of it,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26but it is definitely sort of better than we thought it was going to be.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Yeah, there's something of the harlequin there,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32I suppose, I'm still not quite sure.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Paul, how do you think it's coming on?
0:36:34 > 0:36:37I think it's the most sophisticated of all of the gardens here.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40The most sort of... It's simple, it's straightforward.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42The problem with simple and straightforward is that
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- every plant has to be perfect.- Yeah.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I'm really worried about lots of the planting in Steph's garden.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51I mean, it's almost like she's just using the plants
0:36:51 > 0:36:53as paints, quite literally.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55She's not quite thinking about the horticulture.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56But on a positive note,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00she has really knocked that garden out by herself today.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03And she has made changes to the garden as well.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06I'm not sure if she's there yet or if those changes are ongoing.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08But, you know, tomorrow will tell for sure. It has to.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Sean's, what do you think?
0:37:10 > 0:37:13I think there are elements of his garden that I really like.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16I really think the way that he's kind of clouded his mountains
0:37:16 > 0:37:18of boxes really rather beautiful.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21There's some things that I'm not quite so happy with.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23You've got gravel just going onto the turf around it
0:37:23 > 0:37:26and just a simple, crisp edge to it
0:37:26 > 0:37:29would be so in-keeping with his, you know, Eastern theme.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32We haven't got it at the moment, have we?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35He's skating very close to the edge of formal gardens.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Gillian's been going out hammer and tong.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39She's just tired, she's grafting.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41She's coming to the end of her tether.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43She needs a good night's sleep and ready for the morning.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55I am worried about finishing on time, of course,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58but I'm not going to panic.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Even though I'm pleased with how the garden looks
0:38:04 > 0:38:06and the way it's all come together,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08there's this little niggle in the back of my mind just saying,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10"And the person not going to Chelsea is...
0:38:10 > 0:38:12"Sean." That's how I feel.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19The competition's really fierce.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Everybody is amazingly talented, and I feel like I'm putting
0:38:22 > 0:38:25my all into this garden, but the confidence isn't there.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28I still... There is no way of knowing whether you're going to get through.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32And the thought of not being able to do this again is horrible.
0:38:32 > 0:38:33Really horrible.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38Tomorrow, the designers will have just three hours to
0:38:38 > 0:38:43perfect their gardens before judgment is delivered.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It's the final morning.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59Like all Chelsea designers, they're working to a strict deadline.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03OK, designers.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06You've got just three hours left till the judges arrive.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10These are formal gardens.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12They've got to be precise, they've got to be crisp,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14they've got to be perfect.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I think this is the hardest bit for me.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Unfortunately, I am a bit of a perfectionist.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Trying to get it to be exactly it is in my head
0:39:24 > 0:39:26and it's not always possible.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Sean has made a late decision to include an African crocosmia
0:39:30 > 0:39:33in his...Oriental landscape.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34You think you have it all mapped out on paper
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and you've thought about it for weeks.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40And then, in the final three hours, you're making adjustments
0:39:40 > 0:39:42that could be either stay or go.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Everyone is making finishing touches, except Gillian.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51She's still planting.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55For me, it's just a case of staying in, really. That's all that matters.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58Winning gold or not isn't the issue this week, it's just to stay in.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Oh, God.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07- That is a killer.- Yeah.
0:40:07 > 0:40:08Absolute killer.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11- Paul, can I have a quick word? - Yeah, sure.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Are you worried about your ponytail grasses going a bit limp?
0:40:14 > 0:40:17I haven't gone through yet to fluff.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19That's probably one of the last jobs I'm going to do.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- Fluff them up a bit?- Yeah,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23fluff them up a bit and hope that they dry out.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- I am worried if it remains really wet.- Or if it rains again.
0:40:26 > 0:40:27Yeah, exactly.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Or it rains when the judges are here.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Yeah, basically, if there's water, yeah, it will look like this.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37- But at Chelsea, you do see people with hairdryers on plants.- Ha!
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Yeah, you see them on the irises and their peonies
0:40:39 > 0:40:43- and their grasses, drying them out. - Really?- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Actually making it look perfect for the moment.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- Have you got one with you? - A hairdryer?- Yeah.- Yeah, right(!)
0:40:48 > 0:40:50PAUL LAUGHS
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Steph seems to be over yesterday's setback.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56She's rearranged some of her plants
0:40:56 > 0:40:59and is now concentrating on the finer details.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I want to do a lot more perfecting.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Like for example, my edging.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I should've painted it slightly lower.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09So I might have to do a few botch jobs.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11SHE LAUGHS
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- Right...- Oh. - Oh, no, don't say finished.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18No, not finished. One hour to go, though.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19You've got one hour.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24The judges expect impeccable presentation throughout -
0:41:24 > 0:41:27lustrous leaves and flawless flowers.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30There are always dead bits.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32No matter what you do, there are always dead bits.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34I just can't...
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I've gone round this about 50 times and every time I come back,
0:41:37 > 0:41:38there's another dead bit to take out.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42Judging day and wind - not a good mix.
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Five minutes.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Five final minutes.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51These final touches could make the difference between being
0:41:51 > 0:41:56a step closer to building a Chelsea garden or leaving the competition.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06OK, that's it, designers, time is up.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Tools down.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Leave your formal garden to the judges.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15- Well done.- Well done, too. - Good luck, everyone.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21They've done all they can.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25Now it is time for judging.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31I am finished. I feel, at the moment,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33absolutely exhausted, to be quite honest with you.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37It's...it's really hard work doing this, actually.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41I am happy with my design, but the standard is really high,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43so I don't know whether I'm...
0:42:43 > 0:42:45that confident I'll stay.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48But I'm hoping I might just edge in there.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51From a personal perspective of what I have managed to do,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54I am really pleased. But mine is quite green.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57I did that purposefully, but now seeing other people putting in,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59you know, these little hints of colour, I'm thinking...
0:42:59 > 0:43:02"Are they just going to think mine is boring?"
0:43:09 > 0:43:14Rob has created an outdoor theatre garden with checkerboard
0:43:14 > 0:43:16paving representing the stage.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22His pergola seat is framed by privet standards with
0:43:22 > 0:43:24a backdrop of cypress trees.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28Heuchera Fire Chief represents the curtains.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33And box balls symbolise the audience's heads.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36The judges hated his paving as it was going down,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39but will his planting win them round?
0:43:39 > 0:43:43So, Rob's outdoor theatre. I think it is lovely and formal.
0:43:43 > 0:43:44The paving slabs, personally,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48not my favourite kind of style of laying paving, but it works.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50And I really like the way he's spaced it.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52He's kind of relaxed a little bit since last time
0:43:52 > 0:43:53where he stuffed everything in.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57- So he is progressing.- It does fit the brief, but it doesn't...
0:43:57 > 0:43:59It is a very traditional sense of a formal garden.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02It has got the... I mean, it is just squares...and that.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05So I'm concerned that it's not got that extra thing,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08that everybody else has gone a bit more creative with the theme.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11If you are designing a garden with a central seating area,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13it has to be accessible.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17The only way to get to this garden is actually to jump...
0:44:17 > 0:44:19out and then pick your way through the planting.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22There needs to be a way in to show you how to get here.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26Yeah, I am not jumping around like that. I'd ruin my dress.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28And the whole garden is cut off at this point.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31It's as if it doesn't really exist. That whole corner doesn't exist.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33He's hidden his topiary in there cos he doesn't like it.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35- And it doesn't really sort of join together at all.- No.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38He's lost an awful lot of space with that.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40And I think that has really kind of
0:44:40 > 0:44:42undermined the whole design, to be honest.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44Your topiary is still sort of shoved around the back.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Yeah, exactly. I just didn't want it to stick out like a sore thumb.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Every time they were looking at something else,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52they'd be drawn to this ugly monster in the middle of the garden.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55I mean, horticulturally, I think he's done rather well.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57All the plants are kind of in keeping.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59They are growing exactly where they would grow.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Nothing is out of scale. I think he has done a good job.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04The title of this garden is the actual theatre. And where are we?
0:45:04 > 0:45:06It is a very theatrical thing, isn't it? I love it.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09The whole thing works - the pom-poms, everything.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Bring on the lights, bring on the dancing girls,
0:45:11 > 0:45:12let's see what happens.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20Despite her concerns, Steph managed to finish her garden on time.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24She wanted to push her formal brief giving it a modern twist
0:45:24 > 0:45:27from the layout through to the planting.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35She has chosen a subtle colour palette which includes phormiums,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37centranthus,
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Lophomyrtus Magic Dragon
0:45:40 > 0:45:41and pittosporum.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Steph was the judges' favourite when it came to her topiary shaping.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50But will it be enough to secure a place in the next round?
0:45:50 > 0:45:53I think it has got some really lovely points in it.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55I love the colours, linking through to some trees,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57through to the phormiums.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Obviously, you've got this very strong line with the path
0:46:00 > 0:46:02leading to this area here of seating.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04- But it feels very informal to me. - I think it is.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07I think that is what Steph's strength is, is informal planting,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and that is what she is sort of trying to do here.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13- I love it.- Do you? - I do, actually, yeah.- Well, great.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16I love the fact that I have done something completely
0:46:16 > 0:46:19different from...from last time.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Shall we have a sit? OK.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23- WOOD SNAPS - Whoa!
0:46:23 > 0:46:25That's not great, is it?
0:46:25 > 0:46:28- That wasn't a good start, was it? - Not fantastic construction.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32OK, positive things. She won the topiary really quite convincingly.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35And that piece of topiary sitting there is actually rather wonderful.
0:46:35 > 0:46:36No, I agree with you.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39I mean, she was really competent with that,
0:46:39 > 0:46:40and CONFIDENT, wasn't she?
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Yeah. But the horticulture is really quite ropey in places.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46There are some very sort of basic mistakes.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49There are plants in here that we know - and she should know -
0:46:49 > 0:46:53will outgrow their places very, very fast.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55You've got the phormiums which will get huge,
0:46:55 > 0:46:57they'll completely overtake that bed.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59We've got the little centranthus just poking through.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03It's just a little stretched, isn't it, that combination?
0:47:03 > 0:47:06So, what do you think they are picking up on now?
0:47:06 > 0:47:07I'm not sure.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11I pared it back a lot cos sometimes I have a lot of ideas and...
0:47:11 > 0:47:12I don't know.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I am a bit worried about this one.
0:47:16 > 0:47:17So you've got a music stand there
0:47:17 > 0:47:19and a little sort of music book here.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22So she has taken the story of the pianoforte, which is
0:47:22 > 0:47:24the title of her garden, the whole way through.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Yeah, it is just almost like the musician has just
0:47:27 > 0:47:30nipped off to find another piece of music, isn't it? It's true.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31It is very charming.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34It is a very charming garden, but it still comes back -
0:47:34 > 0:47:37is it a formal charming garden or just a charming garden?
0:47:38 > 0:47:42I don't want formal to be boring and just box, so for me,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44I wanted it to be more contemporary.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48And I don't know whether that's in my favour.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53Gillian's priority was to fulfil the formal brief,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57so she has kept it traditional with a classic courtyard garden.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Her planting is predominantly evergreen.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Hosta Patriot.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Matteuccia.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Fatsia japonica.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12Nepeta provides a splash of colour.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Gillian didn't want to take any risks this week,
0:48:16 > 0:48:19but has she played it too safe?
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Hello.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Well, there is no doubt we are in a very formal garden indeed.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29We are. She has absolutely, definitely hit that brief spot on.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31But when you are actually sitting in here,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33does the design work as a sort of garden?
0:48:33 > 0:48:37And I worry about, if you sit there...
0:48:37 > 0:48:39- And I am over here... - Yeah.- You sort of...
0:48:39 > 0:48:41It is not a sociable garden, is it?
0:48:41 > 0:48:44I suppose it doesn't have to be, actually, on the plus side.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46You could be wanting to be here very private.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48This is her topiary from the challenge.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51She had a problem - she wasn't quite sure what shape she was looking for
0:48:51 > 0:48:53when she started.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56- And, you know, it is actually fine. - I agree with you.
0:48:56 > 0:48:57It is perfectly fine.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01What I am not happy with is the nepeta here, shoved in the bottom.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04It's just... It's to add a little bit of colour.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07But I wish she'd have put that colour somewhere in the beds,
0:49:07 > 0:49:09- actually.- Yeah. There is a lot of horticulture
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- sort of basic errors in here.- Yes.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13We've got roses right at the front.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15- Rosa rugosa, which is going to get...- OK.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Just think yourself one year from now,
0:49:18 > 0:49:20will you be able to walk along this path?
0:49:20 > 0:49:23No, because that rose there will be right up here and out here
0:49:23 > 0:49:25and we will be getting prickles all over our front.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27You wouldn't be able to see any of that. It wouldn't be there.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29It'd be choked out completely.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31So, what do you think the judges are thinking right now?
0:49:31 > 0:49:35I'm aware there are open areas of soil. And I knew that.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38This is what I haven't really got - how much it you can plant together.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Getting the spacing right. We'll work on that.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43- That is the hard part. - If you get through this.- Oh, I know.
0:49:43 > 0:49:44If you get through, we can work on that.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Theatre, do you think it is a theatrical space?
0:49:47 > 0:49:49No, I mean, it isn't. You walk in here...
0:49:49 > 0:49:52This is the problem with having a very, very simple pattern,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56very simple formality. It means that it lacks a certain...
0:49:56 > 0:49:58It lacks oomph, it lacks excitement in the whole thing.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01I think that it goes back to what Gillian said right at the beginning.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05She said, "In this garden, I do not want to take too many risks."
0:50:05 > 0:50:06And it shows.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09I think I have played the right card this week
0:50:09 > 0:50:12by being very traditionally formal. I think I risked it last time.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15I think they wanted to see something different from me,
0:50:15 > 0:50:18from their criticism, so I tried to listen to that.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20And it really remains to be seen
0:50:20 > 0:50:22whether I've actually delivered any of it.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Sean has designed an oriental garden.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31He wanted to create an atmosphere of calm.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37The focus is his Eastern landscape -
0:50:37 > 0:50:40a verdant veil of evergreen shrubs and grasses.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44It includes Euphorbia martinii
0:50:44 > 0:50:47and hakonechloa.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49He has added a splash of colour
0:50:49 > 0:50:51with Crocosmia Emberglow.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56From day one, the judges were worried that the clash of cultural
0:50:56 > 0:51:00influences in Sean's design would undermine its formality.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04His idea is that you sit here
0:51:04 > 0:51:08and you look at the rolling mountains of the Orient.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10You've got some lovely details, haven't you?
0:51:10 > 0:51:11I mean, look at that gorgeous box there.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14- The mountains that he was trying to kind of echo.- But you can't see it.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16You can see it.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18You sit here and we are supposed to be looking at the mountains,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21but then he has planted this crocosmia in front of it.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25And the other main problem is that there are too many plants
0:51:25 > 0:51:26squeezed into too small a space.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29I can understand why he has included things.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32I mean, the hakonechloa, the grass there, it feels very oriental.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34But we don't need it. You don't need it.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38It would be lovely to have a bit more space to breathe, wouldn't it?
0:51:38 > 0:51:41There's a lot of themes running through your garden, aren't there?
0:51:41 > 0:51:43- Do feel there are perhaps one too many, maybe?- Yeah.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46I am just kind of bombarded with all this culture and things
0:51:46 > 0:51:48and I think, "Where can I fit that into a garden?"
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- I get a storm and I get hooked on it. - I know. Especially with a garden
0:51:51 > 0:51:53- like this, it is about refining it. - Yes.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54And no edge.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I was dying for there to be a crisp edge around this space,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59just to hold you within it.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01And that hasn't appeared either, has it?
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Is this a formal garden? Has he fulfilled his brief?
0:52:04 > 0:52:07Well, I think there are certain elements of the garden which
0:52:07 > 0:52:09feel very formal. You've got the strong lines here,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11you've got the geometry of the space,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15but it feels a bit like it doesn't kind of completely come together.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18We were slightly confused about whether he knew exactly what
0:52:18 > 0:52:22he was looking for with this sort of Sino-Japanese, Chinese-y thing
0:52:22 > 0:52:23going on, wasn't it?
0:52:23 > 0:52:26If the judges said that I hadn't fulfilled the brief
0:52:26 > 0:52:29and I was going home, I would be gutted, yeah.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31I have still got a lot going on in here that I want...
0:52:31 > 0:52:34You haven't seen the best of me yet, that's how I feel.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38Paul hopes the judges will appreciate
0:52:38 > 0:52:40the simplicity of his design.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46His is the only garden to include a water feature,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49and he selected a restricted palette of just five plants.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Hakonechloa.
0:52:54 > 0:52:55Stipa.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Verbena bonariensis.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58Echinacea.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00And box.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06Paul was aiming for elegance through simplicity.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08But is it a little too simple?
0:53:08 > 0:53:11So, Paul's Yin and Yang garden.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13The design is extraordinarily strong.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16Look at this perfect symmetry as far as the layout is concerned.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18It sort of covers everything.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21If you took this garden, went along that line, folded it
0:53:21 > 0:53:26in on itself, that piece of topiary would pop straight into that pond.
0:53:26 > 0:53:27Yeah. It's very clever.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30And the narrative of it as well, the sense of theatre,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33- the story behind it is sublime. - The lovers...
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- You're supposed to be there.- Yeah. - I'm down here.- Yeah.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39And we're alone and we're contemplating the garden.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41- And then... - We walk together, and there we are.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43We come together, and there we go.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Meeting as the garden meets, on its axis again. I love that.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48It's a nice bit of theatre.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51Are you really nervous about this or are you feeling quite confident
0:53:51 > 0:53:53at the moment or what?
0:53:53 > 0:53:55I'm feeling quietly confident.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58I mean, it is a nice garden.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00Coming onto the planting...
0:54:00 > 0:54:03It is a little bit lumpy around the edges,
0:54:03 > 0:54:04is basically what the problem is.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07We have got this gorgeous, crisp box here.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10- Yet the box here... - It's a bit shabby, isn't it?
0:54:10 > 0:54:13Yeah, and you can see there's some very obvious cuts.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16There's even some bits and pieces of, you know...
0:54:16 > 0:54:19- Yeah, that's not so good.- But I do think there's some clever tricks.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21I mean, I love this kind of very evocative,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23feminine grass just wafting around.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26It really kinds of softens up the formality of the whole design,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- doesn't it? - However, the other thing about it,
0:54:29 > 0:54:30because it is a show garden -
0:54:30 > 0:54:33details, darling, details - and there are a couple of little,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35tiny construction details that I'm not happy with.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38This is a lovely granite-set edge, but some pointing.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41If you try and point with gravel, which is basically pushing
0:54:41 > 0:54:44the gravel into the joints, it will never ever quite work.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49The judges now need to decide who should be given the gold
0:54:49 > 0:54:51and who should be sent home.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55It is very tense at the moment, the atmosphere.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57Amongst all of us, I think that...I think
0:54:57 > 0:54:59we've all worked very hard.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01Nobody wants to go home, obviously.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05I am not sure whether I'll stay or not.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08I think everybody is feeling the pressure
0:55:08 > 0:55:10and feeling that, at the moment,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12it's going to be a hard call this week.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17It is torture just, you know,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21all of this kind of waiting for the judges to make their decision.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35The prize of building a Chelsea garden on Main Avenue
0:55:35 > 0:55:37is at stake.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40They have been judged on how well they have fulfilled the brief...
0:55:41 > 0:55:43..horticultural knowledge...
0:55:48 > 0:55:50..the theatre they have created...
0:55:53 > 0:55:55..and their designs.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01It has been a difficult week.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03We have had a bit of rain.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05A lot of wind.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07And even a bit of sunshine too.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10But you created some wonderful gardens,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13and I am proud of all of you.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18The judges' gold this time
0:56:18 > 0:56:22goes to the garden that they thought
0:56:22 > 0:56:25had met the brief,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29had a wonderful sense of theatre
0:56:29 > 0:56:32and some really lovely planting, too.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36The judges' gold goes to...
0:56:39 > 0:56:40Paul.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45THEY CLAP
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Paul delivered on his formal brief,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55creating a garden with symmetry and crisp lines.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00The judges loved the romantic story and its deep sense of theatre.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04They were also impressed with his horticultural knowledge.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07I was really nervous, actually, about going.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10And I was thinking I was swaying more on that side than getting gold.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Gold! Love it.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16But as you all know, one of you will be going home today.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21And the judges thought...
0:57:23 > 0:57:25..that the two weakest gardens here...
0:57:28 > 0:57:30..were Steph's...
0:57:32 > 0:57:33..and Gillian's.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42The person that will not be going to Chelsea...
0:57:45 > 0:57:46..is Steph.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48Thank you.
0:57:48 > 0:57:49- Well done.- Well done.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54Steph's garden didn't fulfil the formal brief.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57It lacked symmetry and geometry.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00There were also major horticultural issues.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04In a few months' time, some of the plants would grow too big
0:58:04 > 0:58:06and ruin the scheme.
0:58:06 > 0:58:07I am disappointed,
0:58:07 > 0:58:11but I think it is because I didn't meet the brief of formal.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14I suppose I wanted a contemporary feel.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17And I am going to stick to my guns and stay with that.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20It is not going to stop me from getting to Chelsea so...
0:58:20 > 0:58:23I have got years ahead of me yet, so I will never stop.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27Next time, the competition heats up as the designers
0:58:27 > 0:58:28take on conceptual gardens.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31I was going to set the garden on fire.
0:58:31 > 0:58:33I am very excited about it, they've gone mad!
0:58:33 > 0:58:37One way or another, I have got to put one of them out of the competition.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40And one more Chelsea dream comes to an end.
0:58:40 > 0:58:45The person who is not going to go to Chelsea, I'm very sad to say...