0:00:03 > 0:00:06The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show is the most
0:00:06 > 0:00:09prestigious flower show on the planet.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Chelsea is the best place in the world. It's that one time
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and 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 > 0:00:33creating gardens in the hope of gaining global recognition.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Now, for the first time,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39the RHS is offering one talented amateur designer
0:00:39 > 0:00:42the chance to launch a brand-new career by building a garden
0:00:42 > 0:00:43on 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 > 0:00:53Now, they will have to prove they can cut it
0:00:53 > 0:00:55with the best of the best.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56Once you get through those Chelsea gates,
0:00:56 > 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 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 > 0:01:17- ..construct...- You've got to be so careful in case it snaps.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18..and plant...
0:01:18 > 0:01:19They're just monsters,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21but they're going in!
0:01:21 > 0:01:25..to impress Chelsea Flower Show judge James Alexander-Sinclair
0:01:25 > 0:01:30and 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 > 0:01:35It's a once-in-a-lifetime challenge.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Chelsea is only a short step away now.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Welcome to the Painswick Rococo Garden,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53a unique place that takes us back in time
0:01:53 > 0:01:57to a flamboyant and sensuous period of English garden design,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00where gardens were made like theatrical sets.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03The perfect place for our four remaining designers
0:02:03 > 0:02:06to create conceptual gardens.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Over the next four days, they will dig, build and plant
0:02:10 > 0:02:15to the best of their ability, to try and secure a place in the final.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19- THEY TALK AMONG THEMSELVES Oh, look at the sheep.- Yeah.- Bah!
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Conceptual gardens this week are going to be exciting
0:02:21 > 0:02:24but challenging. We have to tell a really strong
0:02:24 > 0:02:27story, I think. There's a theme that you need to kind of portray
0:02:27 > 0:02:28with your planting.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Of all the genres, this is the one I'm really looking forward to
0:02:31 > 0:02:33because it gives me a chance to kind of show my...
0:02:33 > 0:02:34showcase, my creativity
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and I want the whole piece to just look like a piece of art.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40I'm feeling a little bit nervous this week.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42The pressure's on, this is the semifinal.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45We have this garden to build and then...and then that's it.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48I'm really surprised to be the only girl left in this
0:02:48 > 0:02:51but it makes me determined
0:02:51 > 0:02:52to get one over on the lads.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54One way or another,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56I have got to put one of them out of the competition.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59This week's challenge is the hardest yet.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Sometimes dubbed The Thinking Man's Horticulture,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05a conceptual garden is a work of art.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Something thought-provoking.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11A successful design has a clear, strong idea to underpin it.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Anything from a political statement...
0:03:14 > 0:03:16to something more personal.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19In recent years, thanks to RHS flower shows
0:03:19 > 0:03:21at Hampton Court and Chelsea,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23conceptualism has grown in popularity
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and is now well and truly mainstream.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30It's a genre of garden design that judges Ann-Marie and James
0:03:30 > 0:03:33are particularly excited about.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Conceptual gardens are one of my favourite categories
0:03:36 > 0:03:37of garden design.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40This week, I want to see our garden designers' imaginations'
0:03:40 > 0:03:41really run wild.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43But just because they're conceptual gardens,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46that is no reason to throw away the rule book.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48They still have to stick within the parameters
0:03:48 > 0:03:52and I want to see a good story, great design and, of course,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55it's all about the details...darlings.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58They've spent the last week planning their gardens,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02which have to fit within a 16 to 20 square metre plot.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Although what shape they are will depend on their design.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Oh, my God, look at the length of yours, it's like a runway.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11And they each have a £1,500 budget.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13How they spend it is up to them.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Oh, there was one on here.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17She said she wants to knobble the boys...and so she's going to...
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Sabotage, I think is the word I used, sabotage the boys.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's quite tough. It's quite tough.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- Is it?- Yeah.- Don't say that.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27They're allowed help with their hard landscaping
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and Joe Swift is on hand to advise.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Hi, Gillian.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32- Can I have a look at your plan? - Of course you can.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Each garden has to be themed around a personal memory
0:04:37 > 0:04:40and will be judged on four RHS Chelsea criteria.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Theatre, design and horticulture.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45But most importantly in this challenge,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47how well they meet their own brief.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54We need to leave enough to have a planting area around it.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Six.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- WHISPERING:- One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Ex-army officer Gillian's passion for gardening
0:05:01 > 0:05:04has been fed by her extensive travels.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Her concept design is based on one of those trips.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09So what's the idea behind it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11So the idea is, the idea of thirst, which is probably
0:05:11 > 0:05:14the strongest thirst I've ever had was when I was in Namibia.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15- You spent some time in the desert? - Yeah.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I was only there on holiday but I did an awful lot of walking
0:05:18 > 0:05:21both on the Skeleton Coast and in the Namib Desert.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22So how's that going to work here?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25So the idea being is I go out lots of sand at the front,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27like a dry riverbed.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29And then there's a big thicket in front of you,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32which is what you get at the end... These massive thickets.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Called Thirst, Gillian's unusually shaped garden
0:05:35 > 0:05:37uses forced perspective
0:05:37 > 0:05:40to draw the visitor through a desert type environment,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45which ends at a secret oasis, concealing a tap that doesn't work.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47So what sort of plants are you using?
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Are you using Namibian plants?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I'm not using Namibian plants, no.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I've got bamboos and grasses with some phormiums and some yucca.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I'll have a platform...
0:05:55 > 0:05:58so a person can have access into it.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00And as you get in there, you'll see brilliant, there's a tap
0:06:00 > 0:06:02and there's a mug. Quench your thirst,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05apart from the fact that the hose will not be connected to anything
0:06:05 > 0:06:07- so there is no water.- Argh.- Argh.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- Hence your thirst.- Yeah.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11So we're expected to come into this garden and feel thirsty
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and feel parched and feel desperate for a drink?
0:06:15 > 0:06:16That's what I hope to be able to evoke,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19that feeling of...of a desert landscape.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I don't know whether it's worth digging from here and going there
0:06:22 > 0:06:24cos then we've got a level surface to walk on...I think.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I think we're probably best to start, like...
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and work our way towards that corner.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Last week's gold medal winner, Paul,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34bravely hung up his city suit to follow his dream...
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and has been studying to become a garden designer.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39With the city now behind me
0:06:39 > 0:06:41and I've made the leap into garden design,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45it's fantastic to know that every day, when I'm getting up,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47I'm doing something that I'm passionate about
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and I'm not doing it just because it's a job.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Winning the chance to design at Chelsea
0:06:52 > 0:06:56would not only mean the world to him but could launch his career.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Show us what's happening in this garden.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01It's based on my experience when I lived in Australia
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- and I experienced the Black Christmas of 2000 and 2001.- Yes.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08When there was enormous bushfires around Sydney.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11And, erm...and then I went and visited some of the areas
0:07:11 > 0:07:14that had been devastated by these fires
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and I wanted to be able to reproduce that in my concept.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Paul's ambitious design is called Burnt Out.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24He's divided his plot into three
0:07:24 > 0:07:26snapshots of the Australian outback
0:07:26 > 0:07:29as it recovers over time following a bushfire.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- This is one.- Pre-? - This is pre-.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- That is during?- This is during.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35It will have smoke for the judging...
0:07:35 > 0:07:39- Ooh, smoke we like.- It will actually be burning.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41- You're setting it on fire?- Yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- Fantastic.- I'm not setting it on fire to...
0:07:43 > 0:07:46but I will be using fire...to actually create it
0:07:46 > 0:07:47and there will be burning.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- And then this section is the...is afterwards so it's all lush.- OK.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55- So, erm...- I have one other thing which is this is...
0:07:55 > 0:07:57- three gardens.- Yes.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59- Still got four days.- Yes.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00You've got quite a lot of work to do.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I've got a hell of a lot of work to do.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04You need to keep an eye on the details, darling.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Yes, yes.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08So important. We are now round three,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11we want to see everything looking meticulous.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Sean is an occupational therapist
0:08:13 > 0:08:17but he's passionate about changing careers to garden design.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Every week he has been bursting with ideas
0:08:20 > 0:08:22and even won judges' gold in week one.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- Congratulations.- Congratulations.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27He should be in his element with this challenge.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29I'm really looking forward to this garden,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32I think it's really exciting cos I think this is going to give me
0:08:32 > 0:08:35my opportunity to kind of be as creative as I can be.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Sean's garden design is inspired by a childhood memory
0:08:39 > 0:08:42of his first foray into photography.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Called Lost Images,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47his design leads the viewer on a journey of how he experimented
0:08:47 > 0:08:48with his first camera.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53So this garden's probably the most personal garden I've made so far.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- I was given a little box camera by my mother.- Yeah.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And I used that camera to capture images of my first garden.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Industrial landscapes around me in Northumberland.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05And my parents. And then none of the film came out.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Oh, so you failed?
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- Yes.- So is this your chance to put that right?
0:09:08 > 0:09:11That's... Yeah, I'm stepping back to put that right...
0:09:11 > 0:09:15So this, these...this collection of...
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Objects.- ..water tanks, I would say, isn't it?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20So this is the industrial landscape coming through?
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Yes, the use of metal and I'm going to use some scaffolding poles
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and some rusted wire, netting and stuff so that's kind of
0:09:26 > 0:09:28give it that industrial feeling and the planting
0:09:28 > 0:09:29is all going to be black and white.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Oh, that's hard.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- Yes.- That's very hard.- Hmm.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Are you worried about that?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Maybe the planting won't be black and white.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40That's the idea, I'm just going to use that eye
0:09:40 > 0:09:43when I get to the nursery and mix and match...
0:09:43 > 0:09:45like being...again, like being in a sweet shop.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- You're digging yourself a big hole here.- Yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Last week we did say about not putting too many things...
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I mean, we're really clear on that, you know, sometimes a garden...
0:09:54 > 0:09:56- You don't want to clutter it up... - Yeah.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59What is it adding, what is it adding, what is it adding?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I mean, a strong narrative is what we're looking for, isn't it?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03And we don't want too many muddling messages.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06There's only two messages in this and this is about photography
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- and about memories.- Hmm, I'm very excited by this. Are you, James?
0:10:10 > 0:10:12I am excited but I am a little bit worried about your planting
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but we will see what happens.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Raising the stakes this week is botanist Rob.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22With conceptuals it's easy to just get carried away
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and to kind of create these big images in your head.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27But you still need to make sure that the horticulture's there,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30that the plants are right, that the details are there,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33so I'm going to try and make sure that there's nothing that's out of place
0:10:33 > 0:10:34in my garden this week.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Passionate about plants and the natural world,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40he also has a rather unusual hobby.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43About three years ago, when I started,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45I had lots of decisions to make about big changes.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47So I was in London and wanted to move to the countryside.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I was looking for a new job and there was all this stuff going on
0:10:50 > 0:10:52that I was kind of afraid of and I was thinking,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54how am I going to be able to do this?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- And I was also afraid of heights. - HE LAUGHS
0:10:56 > 0:10:58And one day, stupidly probably,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I just decided that if I could get up somewhere really high
0:11:01 > 0:11:02and conquer one of those fears,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04everything else might seem a bit easier.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06And I heard about these trapeze lessons. I came along,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I saw how high up I had to climb. I was petrified.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12But, you know, after sort of climbing a few times
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and getting used to it, you realise that it's nothing to be afraid of
0:11:15 > 0:11:18and it's actually quite a lot of fun.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20It looks a little bit like a cross between a runway and a rugby pitch
0:11:20 > 0:11:23at the moment but I promise that's not the...finished result.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- Tell us about your concept then. - Yeah, so I'm building a trapeze.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31There's going to be two ladders coming out of the towers at the end.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35And then here there are two trapeze swings, which will be sort of
0:11:35 > 0:11:36stuck halfway in midair.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Inspired by the memory of his first flight on a trapeze,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Rob's garden is called Just Let Go.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46His elongated design aims to use height
0:11:46 > 0:11:48and clever planting,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50to convey the fear of falling and
0:11:50 > 0:11:52how it's possible to overcome it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Hm, there's two things that I'm slightly concerned about.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57The first one is I'm nervous that the...
0:11:57 > 0:12:02the concept isn't going to be strong enough to make us feel the fear.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Cos we might look at it and just think, "Oh, that looks fun."
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I will, I'll be dying to get up there.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10So will I feel fear or will I feel great excitement and joy?
0:12:10 > 0:12:13I mean, it's a clear memory in my head of that moment of fear.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I'm hoping the height from some of the structures will add to that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18You'll have to look up and will give you a sense that
0:12:18 > 0:12:21this is a scary moment and the spikes underneath will hopefully...
0:12:21 > 0:12:22That's the thing, isn't it?
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It's whether the planting works, actually.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26I hope so. I hope so.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28'The judges have already picked up on some of the things
0:12:28 > 0:12:30'that I'm nervous about, so, you know,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33'getting this planting combination right, the spiky.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I really need to focus on that as well and make sure that they don't
0:12:35 > 0:12:37just think it's fun and a barrel of laughs
0:12:37 > 0:12:40cos this is about letting go of fear and taking on challenges. So...
0:12:40 > 0:12:42hopefully they'll see that.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Here to here.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Each designer's very different approach is starting to show.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51While Gillian's positioning her pallets...
0:12:51 > 0:12:53It's quite neat now, isn't it?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55cos you've got one lot that way and you've got one that way,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57so it actually sort of works.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Sean's digging himself a big hole.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03I'm trying to escape, I think. I'm digging down to Australia.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05By lunchtime you probably won't be able to see me
0:13:05 > 0:13:08cos I'm just going to be sat here completely secluded
0:13:08 > 0:13:10in another world.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And although Rob's setting his sights high,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16he's already been lumbered with extra work.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21So, I ordered these ladders online and it said white ladders.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23When they arrived...
0:13:23 > 0:13:25- they weren't white. - HE LAUGHS
0:13:25 > 0:13:27So I'm pleased with the result, it's just taken a bit of extra time
0:13:27 > 0:13:30out of my day...when we're already quite busy.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Paul's ambitious design requires him to shift nearly two tonnes
0:13:34 > 0:13:37of topsoil, from one side of his plot...
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Whooo!
0:13:42 > 0:13:43..to the other.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Well, we've seen more and more of these conceptual gardens
0:13:47 > 0:13:48at flower shows recently.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Hampton Court has a whole category dedicated to them.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Yeah, I mean, Hampton Court was very exciting
0:13:53 > 0:13:56when the whole conceptual gardens category was introduced.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58And I remember judging it in the first couple of years
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and it was a difficult thing to work out how to judge
0:14:01 > 0:14:02but always very exciting ideas.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- Of course, you did one at Chelsea, didn't you, Ann-Marie?- Yeah, I did.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07I did one for the British Heart Foundation,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09which really celebrated the strength of the human heart.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13So there's these great red arches that just swooped around the garden
0:14:13 > 0:14:16through water and then came back again to the beginnings.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I loved it. I'd love to do another one like that.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Yeah, and it was on Main Avenue. It was a big garden on Main Avenue.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24But there's also the fresh gardens, smaller gardens at Chelsea
0:14:24 > 0:14:26and they're conceptual, too.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28And some of those are quite amazing, I mean, they're interactive.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32People are using their mobile phones and actually making them react.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36And what's wonderful is that we are encouraging ideas like that
0:14:36 > 0:14:38and more exciting, more edgy ideas are coming into it.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39And they're being welcomed.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Tony Smith also did that brilliant one at Chelsea, as well,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44which was the orchid lover's garden.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47That was absolutely amazing. You had that kind of
0:14:47 > 0:14:50enclosed room with all the orchids in the kitchen, didn't you?
0:14:50 > 0:14:52And you just looked into the space and the orchids were just
0:14:52 > 0:14:54so beautiful but out of reach.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56It was extraordinary.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59There are also some that just didn't work at all, aren't there?
0:14:59 > 0:15:00The thing about a conceptual garden
0:15:00 > 0:15:03is that as soon as you lose track of the idea,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05the whole garden loses its entire meaning.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Staying true to your original concept is a challenge
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and Gillian is discovering what looks good on paper doesn't
0:15:14 > 0:15:16always work in reality.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I'm just slightly worried that a lot of your site now is taken up
0:15:19 > 0:15:24with these palettes and to really create a thicket around it, you've
0:15:24 > 0:15:27got little triangles of planting and you haven't got much space.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29You've got to get a whole desert in here.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33You could either reduce this somehow. It just feels very big.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Or you make the garden, I don't know if it's in the rules,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40but you bring the garden back by another meter.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Anyway, do what you've got to do.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44That's all I'll say.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46And she's not the only one to have hit a snag.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48So we're just putting the ladders in.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50We're behind schedule. I wanted to get them in tonight
0:15:50 > 0:15:55So the sun's going in and we're frantically packing
0:15:55 > 0:15:57cement around the base of the ladder.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It's quick-drying cement so it'll only take about ten minutes to dry,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02so I'm going to have to stand here holding it level
0:16:02 > 0:16:05until we've got some kind of dry base
0:16:05 > 0:16:08and then we're going to pack it with stones and we've got some soil
0:16:08 > 0:16:09and stuff to put in as well,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12so, hopefully, fingers crossed, it'll hold.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19After Joe's advice, Gillian is sizing up her options.
0:16:19 > 0:16:2116.8 square metres.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22I'm putting an allowance of 20 metres.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25So I'm trying to work out if I've got enough square meterage
0:16:25 > 0:16:28left in my plot allowance to bring my plot back a bit.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34So I've got 3.2 square metres left. OK.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35I can go back 64 centimetres.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37It doesn't sound a lot but, actually,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39that's two feet further back.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40You can see the desert area then.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43So I'm just going to strip the turf and start again.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Go, turn it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Right, nearing the end of the first day,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53whose idea are you most excited about?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I think probably it's Sean's, actually.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Because I'm not quite sure what it is
0:16:58 > 0:17:01or what's going to happen and there's a lot of stuff going on
0:17:01 > 0:17:05and hopefully something wonderful will come out of that.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Oh, brilliant, man. I can sleep now.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Lots of hard landscaping done.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12Deep hole dug.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The metal-lined container has taken a lot longer than I thought
0:17:15 > 0:17:19to construct and I'm really trying to get the finish right.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24It's going to be quite powerful, very atmospheric, but quite dour.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Yeah, this sort of monochromatic black-and-white planting scheme
0:17:27 > 0:17:29is something that people have attempted in the past.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31I've never, ever seen anybody pull it off
0:17:31 > 0:17:33so it's going to be interesting to see whether he can.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I don't mind a bit of dour, to be quite honest.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37He failed at his photography,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40he's got these early childhood memories, it reminds him
0:17:40 > 0:17:43of his mother and his family, so you don't have to be
0:17:43 > 0:17:46feeling like, "Wow, that's amazing, it's so beautiful."
0:17:46 > 0:17:47It can take you to a black,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51dark place and make you think about things for yourself as well.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52That's what conceptual gardens are,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54to stimulate that thought, aren't they?
0:17:54 > 0:17:58And he's been very impressive in the last two rounds of this,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Sean, and I would have thought
0:18:00 > 0:18:01conceptual could be his bag as well.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Gillian, I totally get her concept.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07It's very simple, it seems to be very straightforward.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08She's got passion
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and that it is such a strong thing about conceptual gardens.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15You have to feel passionate about your concept and your idea.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19But all of that passion needs to be teamed with good design skills
0:18:19 > 0:18:21and that's where we have a slight problem.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Paul. Paul's vision, Australia.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30- In effect, it's three gardens in one, isn't it?- It's ambitious, yeah.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33The judges, they're a bit concerned or they're a bit unsure
0:18:33 > 0:18:35whether it will work. I have pushed the boundaries.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39I have been more ambitious, but I don't think I've been overambitious.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43What I am concerned about with Paul is what exactly is the concept?
0:18:43 > 0:18:44It's a memory.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48A memory of his time in Sydney when the fire actually happened.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50But what is the concept of that memory?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Is it just a memory, is it, "I had a lovely time in Sydney
0:18:52 > 0:18:54"and there was a fire"? Or is it deeper than that?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57I think it's both. And I don't think there's any problem with that.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59I mean, yeah, he's looking at his memory.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01We wanted a memory in it and it's a concept of the natural
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and celebrating just the whole power of nature.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Fine.- It's all on theme, isn't it?
0:19:06 > 0:19:08He's not suddenly just thrown in a curveball.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11There isn't, and I would quite like to see a curveball.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13He wants to have smoke in there, he's going to burn
0:19:13 > 0:19:17some of his plants, he's going to try and get some wilted material.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19What can excite you, man?
0:19:19 > 0:19:21I just think it might be a sort of tourist board idea.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- A tourist board idea?! - Yeah!- Have you gone nuts?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- "Come to Australia, it rejuvenates." - I'm very excited about it.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29You've gone mad.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32I think he's set himself up for a lot of work in a short
0:19:32 > 0:19:34space of time to do three gardens.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38He set himself up, he's got to deliver, hasn't he?
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I think it is exciting.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Rob is getting creative.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45It's all about his trapeze, his memory of trapeze
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and that moment of letting go.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Rob will, this week, I think, live or die by his planting.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56The idea of a trapeze letting go, that moment,
0:19:56 > 0:19:57is it a conceptual garden?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00It's a memory, but is it a conceptual garden?
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It's actually about overcoming fear,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04it's not really about the trapeze and letting go necessarily.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06It's an exciting space.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- But it's about fear, not a trapeze. - Yeah, it is.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11And that's where we're getting the narrative from the start.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- We're getting it. - I'm just being a bit stupid here.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Because it's quite difficult, conceptual gardens, you know.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It's about a trapeze, it's about plants.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21No, sorry, it's about fear, it's about a memory.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25You end up going all over the place. That's what I like about Gillian's.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27It's about a tap, it's about thirst. I get it.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- Yeah.- But you can start going off all over the place.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32That's because, basically, Ann-Marie and I are much more
0:20:32 > 0:20:34- highbrow than you are.- Is that what it is?
0:20:34 > 0:20:36- I think that's what the problem is. - I was wondering.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39I was sort of sensing something, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52The designers have come to one of the UK's largest nurseries.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Spiky, that's what I wanted.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55Yeah.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Each armed with a planting wish list.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Eucalyptus are quite key.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03I certainly wanted them to be at least three metres
0:21:03 > 0:21:05but with a bit of crown.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07But they can only make their final choices
0:21:07 > 0:21:09when they see what's available.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12'Trying to find a palette of black and white.'
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Have you got anything else white with perfume?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I've been told by the judges that it's quite a challenging look
0:21:18 > 0:21:19to get right.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Each planting scheme varies enormously.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Gillian's plants need to represent a dry landscape.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30That looks like desert, desert colours. That's good.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34While Rob is looking for plants to convey emotions.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I want to get two kinds of planting.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I want one that's kind of spiky and fear.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41So something like this yellow versions of red-hot pokers.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43They've got that spiky feel to them
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and the name as well is quite scary and then underneath that,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48I've got these sort of grasses so I'm looking for something really
0:21:48 > 0:21:52soft and light that shows you kind of a pathway through the fear.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I've got this big grand structure in the garden,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58but I want that to stay high. I want you to have to look up at it and it
0:21:58 > 0:22:01to be a kind of a feeling of vertigo almost when you see the structure.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04So I don't want planting that is as tall as it.
0:22:04 > 0:22:05I don't want big trees in the garden.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07These grasses are a good height
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and I've got some phormiums as well, that are kind of big, spiky plants.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14So, it's a physocarpus.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16As the judges suspected,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Sean is struggling to find plants in his colour scheme.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22I wanted black bamboo.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Not wonderful colour but...
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I'm not sure whether a true black plant actually exists
0:22:27 > 0:22:31so I'm really just trying to focus on shades of purple through
0:22:31 > 0:22:35to grey and then some white within that just to lift the whole design.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39But I don't want them. And I don't want them. No.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43But colour isn't the only thing Sean needs to keep an eye on,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45as the judges pointed out last week.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48I think that some of the planting does feel a little stuffed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51There are too many plans squeezed into too small a space.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I'm just kind of bombarded with all of this culture and things
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and I think, where can I fit that into a garden?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59They're quite... They're really bushy, aren't they?
0:22:59 > 0:23:01- So they're going to cover a lot of...- Area.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Yes. I'll have to be focused because I get carried away.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07And have impulse buys.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09But it's hard to curb his enthusiasm
0:23:09 > 0:23:12when you're like a kid in a sweet shop.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- Wow, that's one hell of a plant, isn't it?- Yes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18I'll have, probably, ten of those.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Yes, I'll take maybe five of these.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22That's ten.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Planting for conceptual gardens, it's different, isn't it?
0:23:35 > 0:23:36We're not looking for prettiness,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39we're not necessarily looking for lovely flower combinations.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43It's more the power of the plants and the story that they can tell,
0:23:43 > 0:23:44is that right?
0:23:44 > 0:23:47It doesn't necessarily have to be unattractive in a conceptual garden.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50It can still have colour and flower, provided that, as you say,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- it's telling a story. - Yeah, that's the thing.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54I mean, it really has to support a narrative and it's not
0:23:54 > 0:23:58necessarily the same as a floating beautiful herbaceous border.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01In a conceptual garden, you could have masses of plants.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03You could just have one or none!
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Exactly, is it the way that the plants are used differently?
0:24:06 > 0:24:07Are they used more graphically somehow?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Are you looking for different textures?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12It's very difficult to say what we are expecting
0:24:12 > 0:24:15because it's a conceptual garden and everyone should be individual
0:24:15 > 0:24:16and a different idea. You can't say,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18"You should plant this in a conceptual garden."
0:24:18 > 0:24:19It doesn't work.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22But they don't necessarily have to be the main event, do they?
0:24:22 > 0:24:24No, but at the same time, they can be.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27You'll notice here that there is a theme coming through in that
0:24:27 > 0:24:30a conceptual garden can be whatever you want it to be.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35While their hands aren't tied horticulturally,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39which plants are available and at their best means compromise,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43which is tough, especially on a budget.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Hello, Gillian. Looking a bit worried.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47I am looking a bit worried, actually, yeah.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51- I'm trying to create that thicket... - That thicket theme.- Yeah, exactly.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53You know, things like this, I'm just concerned,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56when you take all the dead and bent ones off, will there be enough left?
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- You haven't got a lot on there. - Do you...- It's not quite got the...
0:24:59 > 0:25:00- It hasn't got the volume.- The volume.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03- I was expecting something a bit, you know, a bit chunkier...- Yeah.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06- ..round the middle.- Have you got any money left over to spend?
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- Um, I know I've got 50 quid. - Is there something else you can use?
0:25:08 > 0:25:10That's why I was looking worried.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12There was... I saw some nice cordylines over there.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15- Oh, did you?- Yeah, cordylines, quite tall, spiky.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16I'll go and have a look, thanks very much.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19- Give you a bit of height.- Yep. - Bit of spikiness.- Bit spiky!
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Thank you.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I thought Rob was looking for spikiness,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24but now Gillian wants spikiness.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Ah, way over budget.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Ooh.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33Hmm.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Right, sticking with the phormiums.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42The key to plant buying is not to lose sight of your ultimate concept.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Black, white, silver.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48We have the Australian Dicksonia antarctica.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Not the tree fern example that I was hoping to have with a 30cm trunk,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55but we've still got height with the foliage,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58so I can probably work with that.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Um, and then the callistemon.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03They're a bit like the Australian bottle brush,
0:26:03 > 0:26:09which I couldn't get, so it's more about representing plants and theme.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12And unwilling to concede defeat to the phormiums,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Gillian's changing tactics.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Ooh! Nearly lost the lot.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Gillian, you found some stuff.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22- I found some stuff, Joe, yes.- Yeah.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24- I think this is much better. - You kept on theme.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I've kept on theme, which is why I've taken out...
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- You've take the purple phormiums out?- Yes, yeah.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Replacing it with this.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And these, cos I think it has a better feel of that whole
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- thickety thing going on. - Thickety thing.- Yeah.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- Discipline - good.- Thank you.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Plant buying over, it's back to Painswick.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48There's only a few hours left of the second day.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51The boys need to finish their hard landscaping.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Trying to get a lot done in a very short amount of time.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57We hit a few problems yesterday, so I haven't got my raised beds done yet.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Got a lot of painting to do.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Just putting the last bit of concrete in here and
0:27:01 > 0:27:03we've finally got that level. A little bit nervous now.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Not much time.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07While Gillian, who in previous weeks has been pushed for time,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10is already busy planting her bamboo.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12I need to get them all out
0:27:12 > 0:27:14and then I'll have to see whether I need to cut them,
0:27:14 > 0:27:15slice them, divide them.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18So it's a bit of a bamboo jigsaw puzzle this afternoon.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23And one of Paul's original plans has gone up in smoke.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25But he's had a flash of inspiration.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I was going to actually set the garden on fire
0:27:28 > 0:27:30and it was going to be a real carrier moment.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32HE LAUGHS
0:27:32 > 0:27:34The whole lot.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36But health and safety said that I couldn't do that,
0:27:36 > 0:27:43so I'm now mixing up this very messy mix of barbecue charcoal and water.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45And I'm now just painting it on.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49And as it dries, it then gets a kind of charred look,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51cos effectively that is burnt wood.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55It's really important to get the details right.
0:27:55 > 0:27:56They're expecting a lot.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58We've got to make sure everything looks perfect,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and it's going to take a lot of time.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06My main concern tomorrow is that I've bought this fantastic colour palette
0:28:06 > 0:28:09at the nursery, and I'm raring to go with that,
0:28:09 > 0:28:11but I'm just thinking - will it all pull together?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I've got to make sure that the tap is clear, that they've got a good
0:28:16 > 0:28:19line of sight from one position, and that's going to take time.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20I'm glad I've made a start today
0:28:20 > 0:28:23rather than try and do it all tomorrow.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26My biggest competition really is Rob's garden.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29It's about pushing the boundaries and doing something very different
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and I think Rob's done that.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Loved Rob's last garden, so I think Rob is a contender,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36but I think he's going to have to have some pretty wow planting
0:28:36 > 0:28:38to kind of match up with that huge structure.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41So, yeah, I'm watching that very carefully.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46OK, designers, that's it, tools down.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47End of the day.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51You've got a day and half left. You've got no help, OK?
0:28:51 > 0:28:53You're all on your own.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56So get some rest, you're going to need it.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00It's been a long day, but with the biggest
0:29:00 > 0:29:04prize in gardening at stake, they're going to have to keep digging deep.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Tomorrow is planting day.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19It's day three, and with the plants arriving,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22it's given the designers a spring in their step.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Yeah, by the trapeze basically. HE LAUGHS
0:29:26 > 0:29:28This is the most exciting part of the day for me
0:29:28 > 0:29:31just getting all your plants and placing them
0:29:31 > 0:29:32and seeing how they all look.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34- Crocosmias.- Oh, the crocosmias.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Sean may have ordered too many.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39I have tried to let the plants breathe a little bit more this time
0:29:39 > 0:29:42but I was really trying to cancel some of the plants this morning
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and thinking, "Wow, can I just stop them coming from the nursery?"
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Whilst Sean thins out his choices, Gillian might not have enough.
0:29:49 > 0:29:50I'm battling these bamboos.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55I'm already shattered. I'm just trying to split one
0:29:55 > 0:29:57because I need them a bit thin around the back.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02They make you realise why people are concerned about planting them
0:30:02 > 0:30:04in their garden because of how strong their roots and root system is,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and... There we go. ..it shows you how strong they are.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10If you're not careful and you get ones that travel,
0:30:10 > 0:30:11you're in trouble with them.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14Getting the right plants to really sell a concept
0:30:14 > 0:30:16is not always easy.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Sometimes you have to have a few tricks up your sleeve.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Are you creeping up on me?
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- Yeah, I am. How's it going?- Yeah.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29- Yeah, good.- Have you been spraying that?- Yeah, to try and give the...
0:30:30 > 0:30:34..appearance of it being a bit more dry, I sprayed some gold paint on.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Talking about a sun-kissed Australian summer, aren't we, here?
0:30:38 > 0:30:42We are. And to add to the, I guess to the theatre,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45I got some hay and I'm going to scatter it around
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and in amongst the plants so it looks like lots of bits
0:30:48 > 0:30:49that have just, over time, broken off
0:30:49 > 0:30:51so that the ground looks much more flammable.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54I'm also going to chuck in some glass bottles
0:30:54 > 0:30:57because the sun shining through glass can cause the fires.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01So I'm going to just place a few of those around to add to the whole
0:31:01 > 0:31:03reason why it might catch on fire.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06As Rob sets out his plants,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Joe's noticed a major flaw in his design.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15This...this bit here, your eyelevel, is the most important thing.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17- At the moment, I can see right through.- I know.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20And you've got to create that attention here.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Maybe playing around with the soil level and undulating it with,
0:31:23 > 0:31:25- you know, within the space as well. - Absolutely.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28The only thing with the soil level is I haven't bought anything
0:31:28 > 0:31:29to keep the soil in the garden.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- To retain it?- Yeah, and I'm just worried it's going to seep back over.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Yeah, but it's a conceptual garden.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38So, the retaining idea is good horticulture but, you know,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40if you could just mound some up there,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43I mean, it might just break up the sort of flatness of it.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47- Just a couple of thoughts. - Thank you very much.- Nice one, Rob.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49- Cheers.- See you.
0:31:53 > 0:31:54- What's that about?- It's echinacea.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- I think it's called Green Jewel. - Green?
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Did you not say black and white, Sean?
0:31:59 > 0:32:02- Yes, and...- You've got green.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Yeah, but I went straight back to the brief and I said predominately
0:32:05 > 0:32:07black and white, so there will be a bit of green in there.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09That's the key, isn't it? It's got to be in your brief.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11You've got to be specific that the judges know
0:32:11 > 0:32:14or they're going to be marking you on black-and-white plants,
0:32:14 > 0:32:16- not your green ones. OK?- Yeah.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21As planting continues, the hard landscaping is coming alive
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and each theme is slowly coming together.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Paul and Sean are adding bursts of colour.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Oh, that's nice. That's going to look lovely, those colours.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Got the yellow crocosmia.
0:32:34 > 0:32:35They're a lovely shape.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Think this one's called whirlwind and it's just...
0:32:38 > 0:32:39Yeah, it's beautiful.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43And despite Joe's earlier advice of raising the bed levels,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Rob thinks he's found his own solution to the problem of height.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48I've seen some dead branches and things,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50so I'm going to go on a bit of a rummage later and create some
0:32:50 > 0:32:53height with some spiky branches, which will give a sense of fear.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56If I can find the right shapes that kind of look angry and scary,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I might get that sense with the fear.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Of all four designs, Gillian's planting is the least complex.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06She was criticised in week one for her lack of finesse
0:33:06 > 0:33:07and poor presentation.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11The planting, there are a lot of mistakes and problems.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12It's a jumble.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13This garden is basically a mess.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17If she wants to wow the judges this time,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21her attention to detail must be spot-on.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24- Hello, Gillian.- Hello. Morning, Joe. - I've never been to Namibia.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25Is it like this?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29It is a representation OF, not inspired BY Namibia.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32From a memory OF Namibia, not Namibia.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33Just a yes or no would have done.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36SHE LAUGHS I'm just trying to emphasise a point.
0:33:36 > 0:33:37OK. It's looking good, I think.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40See, I've got to go back through and take off the brown leaves
0:33:40 > 0:33:42and all that sort of stuff, cos I think...
0:33:42 > 0:33:44That's the bit I'm still debating about.
0:33:44 > 0:33:45In nature you would have dead leaves...
0:33:45 > 0:33:47- Yeah, that's it.- ..on the bamboo.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49If you clean them up too much, in my thinking,
0:33:49 > 0:33:52then they might look a little bit too sort of "showy".
0:33:52 > 0:33:54I'm definitely not cleaning up the stems in terms of cutting back
0:33:54 > 0:33:56any brown bits or anything like that.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58They're going to be as thick as they can to the bottom.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02And my other question is your terracotta pots.
0:34:02 > 0:34:03It's good for them.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06It's that scenario about horticulture and that they've got good drainage
0:34:06 > 0:34:08so you can lift them out in the winter in the pots.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12- But I take your point.- Gillian, this is a conceptual garden, OK?
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- This is not Gardeners' World.- Yes.
0:34:14 > 0:34:15OK? This is...
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It's not about, "Oh, well, in the middle of a Namibian desert,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21"Joe Swift is going to come along and lift the agaves out the pot
0:34:21 > 0:34:23- "and overwinter them in the greenhouse."- OK.
0:34:23 > 0:34:24You've got to forget that.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27This is all about the look, the theatre, the message!
0:34:27 > 0:34:30In that case, you will not see the pots.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Good, that's what I want to hear.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43Um, I've fallen quite a bit behind in terms of what I wanted to get done.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46I wanted to push myself, and I have, and I'm pleased that I did that,
0:34:46 > 0:34:47but at the same time,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49I might have bitten off a bit more than I can chew.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55The last two times, my finish really wasn't as good as I wanted it,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58but I'm feeling quite in control for the first time on planting day,
0:34:58 > 0:34:59so it's quite good for me.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Your eucalyptus.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03- Thank you.- There you go.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Oh, fantastic.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Let me see if they fit in my hole.
0:35:07 > 0:35:13I did set myself a target to finish planting by 4pm.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15That was obviously very ambitious.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19I think, yet again, Sean is doing well.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24He has a way of finishing off his gardens that makes them look super.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29I don't know who is going to win it. Every garden is really unique.
0:35:29 > 0:35:30I just hope I don't go.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34So, end of day three, is there anyone you are worried about?
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Rob, really particularly worried about him.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38He's been scrabbling around all day.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41He's had difficulties and problems that he's trying to overcome,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44but he's panicking. It's almost part of his concept.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47I mean, he is feeling the fear, so might be a good thing.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50We've still got three hours to go tomorrow, which is good,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52but I've got an awful lot to do.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55But, you know, we've seen Rob in this position before in previous
0:35:55 > 0:35:57weeks and he's sort of pulled it out of the bag.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59In fact, both of his gardens before,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02the last day, it all came together and he got through.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And he didn't just get through, he did incredibly well.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07Gillian, she seems in control.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09It's looking a bit like a Namibian desert.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11She does seem very comfortable.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14I'm a bit worried about her planting, to be honest, to be fair.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16But she's still got three hours. She's not far off and
0:36:16 > 0:36:20she could turn it all around, and I'm excited to see what she creates.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23In theory, I haven't left myself too much to do tomorrow,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26so I should be able to finish and then polish, that's the plan.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30The concept is a very strong one, a very simple one, a thirst.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Does this make me feel like I need to get to that tap to get
0:36:33 > 0:36:35some water that doesn't exist?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38I can't see her tap. I need to see that tap.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Now, Sean's garden, he always seems in control of everything
0:36:43 > 0:36:45and his first two gardens were quite amazing.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48You know, visually they were very, very strong, very graphic.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52Do you think this garden is going to live up to his own standards?
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Oh, I have no doubt at all we're going to see absolutely
0:36:55 > 0:36:56something special from him.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I'm feeling reasonably confident that I'm going to be able to put
0:36:59 > 0:37:01all of the fine details in that I still have to do,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03make the sculpture, do all the little tweaks
0:37:03 > 0:37:08that I need to do to make sure that it's worthy of a place in the final.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11The black-and-white theme, neither of you have picked up on that.
0:37:11 > 0:37:12I think it has gone out of the window,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14just that black is not black.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16It's gone to really deep plum tones,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18it's gone to very deep reds, maroons.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21But the concept is still the same, it's just the execution of it
0:37:21 > 0:37:24that he's changing, so he's playing around with it.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Now, what about Paul?
0:37:25 > 0:37:27You know, Paul has been spraying plants,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30he's been painting plants, he is picking up on details.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32He is tending to absolutely everything.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34He is thinking like a Chelsea designer.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36You make it sound like he's got it in the bag.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38No, I don't think he has quite got it in the bag.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41I mean, all of these finishing details, it's whether he gets them
0:37:41 > 0:37:44right, and he hasn't been good at them so far, has he?
0:37:44 > 0:37:47So it's whether that all comes together in the end.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48Otherwise he will lose points.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52Big day, but I've done what I can. Um, I...
0:37:52 > 0:37:54I can't start again.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57So, I've just got to go with what I've produced.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Any of those four might not make it to the final?
0:37:59 > 0:38:02There is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06OK, designers, that's it for the day.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Put your tools down, leave your gardens.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13You have just three hours tomorrow to secure your place in the final.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25It's day four and the designers only have a few hours left
0:38:25 > 0:38:27before judging.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32Left to do today is details, darling. Detail.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Really tiny little details can make all the difference and I would
0:38:36 > 0:38:39want it to be the highest possible quality that I could produce.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43But not Rob, he's still got a lot of hard graft.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47I've got a tonne of gravel to bring in.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49An actual tonne of gravel to bring in.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53What I'm really most worried about is we're in garden three now
0:38:53 > 0:38:54and they've said all along,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56"This is about details, details, details,"
0:38:56 > 0:38:58and I could spend three hours finessing
0:38:58 > 0:39:00and I haven't got that time now.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Last week I was far too conservative.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05This isn't so conservative but it will either work or it won't.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Who knows? But if it works, then I could be in the final.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13And Sean is now adding in X-ray images of his own chest.
0:39:14 > 0:39:15I feel calm on the outside
0:39:15 > 0:39:18but inside my head, it's kind of making lists about the things
0:39:18 > 0:39:20that I still have to do, tiny little things
0:39:20 > 0:39:23that you may not even notice but I notice.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Flattening it down a bit cos it's meant to look a bit withered.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32OK, designers, you've got just one hour left.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33This is serious business, yeah?
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Some of you have got to really get a move on, yeah?
0:39:37 > 0:39:40You kind of feel like you've got five hours of work left to do and
0:39:40 > 0:39:43you've got to condense it and still get the detail bang on,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46so, yeah, there's barely any time to stop.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47I'm dying for a cup of tea but no time.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54I'm not going to be able to do some of the stuff Joe recommended,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I've still got so much to do.
0:39:56 > 0:39:57I'm trying to prioritise what's left,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59but I just haven't got enough time.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02So, keep going.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Ahead of the boys, Gillian is almost done.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11I'm just trying to squash down the sand and the pebbles
0:40:11 > 0:40:12as if a river had run through it.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14And it wouldn't leave a bubbly finish,
0:40:14 > 0:40:18it would leave a very smooth finish with the pebbles embedded in it.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20And I think it's beginning to work.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22OK, designers, you've got just ten minutes.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26That's ten real minutes, not ten conceptual minutes.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29OK? Nice and tidy, remember.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39These last-minute details could make all the difference
0:40:39 > 0:40:43between a place in the final or the end of their Chelsea dream.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57OK, designers, that's it. Your time is up.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Please, leave your gardens to the judges.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07Four days of gruelling work are finally over.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10I started off with a tough, hard landscape
0:41:10 > 0:41:13and thereby really taking on a bit much trying to dig that hole.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I think that I've really just given it everything I have this week.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Absolutely exhausted, I have worked really hard and I've got
0:41:19 > 0:41:24mixed emotions because I know now the next step is for somebody to go.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26I had a moment just at the end there when I looked at my design
0:41:26 > 0:41:30and thought, "Oh, my gosh, the design that I actually put on paper
0:41:30 > 0:41:33"and what I produced, they sort of match up."
0:41:33 > 0:41:35I've done the best I can
0:41:35 > 0:41:37and I feel as though I've really accomplished something.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I'm just glad I've finished. It was proper hard work.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43There was one point this morning where I just didn't think
0:41:43 > 0:41:44I was going to get the gravel down,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47so you'd see loads of mud underneath, and I think it would have been
0:41:47 > 0:41:50instant disqualification, but at least the gravel's there.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52And I never want to see another bag of gravel again.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57It's time for judging.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Each garden will be assessed on four basic criteria -
0:42:01 > 0:42:02theatre...
0:42:03 > 0:42:04..design...
0:42:05 > 0:42:07..horticulture...
0:42:08 > 0:42:12..and how successfully each garden fulfils its brief.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22Rob's towering creation is called Just Let Go.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26A pair of pure white ladders reaching to the sky
0:42:26 > 0:42:30climax at a flying trapeze suspended in time,
0:42:30 > 0:42:35hovering over a garden of spiky plants that represent danger.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Rob's using cardoon, morina and kniphofia.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43While soft panicum grasses weave a path through phormiums
0:42:43 > 0:42:46and their thorny neighbours, symbolising that there's
0:42:46 > 0:42:50always a way through if you just let go of your fear.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57So, James, do you think that Rob has achieved theatre?
0:42:57 > 0:43:00I think that Rob's garden is all about theatre.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Because it's a trapeze, it's about fear, you've got to see yourself
0:43:03 > 0:43:05and have the space to be able to go from one thing to another.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07But he might have put some big climbers
0:43:07 > 0:43:09going up the trapeze poles or something
0:43:09 > 0:43:12to just kind of integrate those gardens a bit better.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15There is this big, big empty space in-between the two.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17What do you think are the negative points they'll pick up on?
0:43:17 > 0:43:19I already know the kind of eyelevel planting.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21There was a plan for that originally, but as I say,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23I didn't leave enough time to correct it
0:43:23 > 0:43:26when the planting didn't quite work out how I wanted it to.
0:43:26 > 0:43:27So I tried to fix that.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29I've tried to draw their eye back down again to the garden
0:43:29 > 0:43:31with the sticks that I've put in.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I mean, he's definitely been feeling the fear with this, hasn't he?
0:43:34 > 0:43:37These stick things were nowhere anywhere within the brief,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- were they?- And the whole idea of fear, I see no fear here.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43All I see is I see some quite soft and fluffy stuff down here,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46I see some sticks and then...and a trapeze on some scaffolding.
0:43:46 > 0:43:47Where is the fear?
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Yeah, he promised us spiky, scary plants, didn't he?
0:43:50 > 0:43:53And quite honestly, I'd be quite happy to fall on all of that.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56The gravel's the scariest thing in the planting, isn't it?
0:43:56 > 0:43:57And he can see he's put these stick things,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00- cos that's what they are, I'm not frightened.- I'm not.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03I mean, there's some nice plants in here. There's some nice kniphofias
0:44:03 > 0:44:05and the morina is quite an unusual plant.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07- You don't often see that one there, that pink one.- Yeah.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10If you look at the hard landscape and the construction values,
0:44:10 > 0:44:11that's all there, that's good.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13It's his set dressing,
0:44:13 > 0:44:15it's his softening details, they just don't work.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Construction details, yes.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19The way that he's indented his timbers,
0:44:19 > 0:44:21very nice bit of detail there.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26I just think that Rob is much better than this garden.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28It's sort of slightly inaccessible, isn't it?
0:44:28 > 0:44:29It's just a little bit away...
0:44:29 > 0:44:31What he's basically got, he's got two gardens -
0:44:31 > 0:44:32one on the top, one on the bottom.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35The one at the top is very theatrical, if a little dull,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38the one on the bottom is very flowery, if a little muddled.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Gillian's desert-inspired garden is called Thirst.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47From an arid start,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50a dry river bed leads through succulent yucca and agave,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53suggesting water just out of reach,
0:44:53 > 0:44:57eventually culminating in a lush oasis of bamboo
0:44:57 > 0:45:00where the visitor is tempted to drink from a tap...
0:45:00 > 0:45:01that doesn't work.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07So, Gillian's garden. Can you feel the thirst?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Not enough, I don't think, is my honest opinion.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15When she explained it to us, "The desert and then the oasis
0:45:15 > 0:45:19"and then you just get through there and then there's the dry tap..."
0:45:20 > 0:45:23And I'm sort of slightly disappointed.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25I know. Is the desert deserty enough?
0:45:25 > 0:45:29Is this, you know, is it really an oasis enough?
0:45:29 > 0:45:32It's just not enough for me at the moment, at all.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34A bucket of sand does not a desert make
0:45:34 > 0:45:36- is basically what the problem is.- No.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39And there's the dry river bed with the rocks.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42What about the plants? The plants, I have a real problem with these plants
0:45:42 > 0:45:43in that they're the right plants
0:45:43 > 0:45:47and they're the sort of thing, an indication of what you might find.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48I want to hoick that agave up a bit.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Well, exactly. It's detail, darling. Detail.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53Look at that, there's sand on top of the agave.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55And don't we want to clutch some of these sempervivum together
0:45:55 > 0:45:57so you've got kind of drifts rather than
0:45:57 > 0:46:01one, two, three, four, five, six, very, very kind of orderly?
0:46:01 > 0:46:04- I'm going to go in because I feel that...- Yeah, you go in.
0:46:04 > 0:46:05I'm going to see if I can see it.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07He's sitting down, which is what I wanted him to do.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09It's quite calm in there.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11You are surrounded by the bamboo
0:46:11 > 0:46:14and it changes the atmosphere once you sit down.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18Do you feel like you are actually in an oasis?
0:46:18 > 0:46:20Yes, I do, actually, to a certain extent.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22It's a nice place to sit.
0:46:22 > 0:46:28Um, we're surrounded by green, but I tell you what it's like is that...
0:46:28 > 0:46:29Ooh.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32..instead of being like, you know, a refuge in the desert,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36it's really like sitting on a suburban patio surrounded by bamboo.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39- You created a garden of two halves.- Yeah.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Do you think that's going to be a problem?
0:46:41 > 0:46:44I know that's the intention, but it's quite a small space.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47It is and it's like everything else, it's a risk.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50We've got this path that leads to the oasis,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53but you can't get in there, so you have to get in from the side,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56so the design is a little bit awkward.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Then you've got these very disparate gardens, I think.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02She's trying to...to just sort of filter the planting.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04There's a bit of grass in there and then a bit of grass here,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06so it sort of comes around to here.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08But it all runs out too fast.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10- It's an awkward transition. - How's it going to go?
0:47:10 > 0:47:12- Would have liked the rocks to have been bigger.- Me too.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14And I'd like to see more detail.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I mean, there's really huge expanses of space, which
0:47:16 > 0:47:20I know you find in the desert, but it just doesn't convince me.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24I don't feel thirsty. I feel thirsty for more detail.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32Paul has designed a three-in-one garden called Burnt Out.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36It's a journey of nature as it regenerates following a fire.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38His planting and details in each
0:47:38 > 0:47:40section reflect the same space
0:47:40 > 0:47:42at different times.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Using carex grasses and callistemon
0:47:44 > 0:47:48to represent the parched pre-fire outback,
0:47:48 > 0:47:52he uses creative techniques to replicate its smouldering remains
0:47:52 > 0:47:56through to a blaze of colourful new growth with kniphofia,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58crocosmia and rudbeckia.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04This is Paul's most ambitious garden to date, but has he pulled it off?
0:48:04 > 0:48:06So, Australia?
0:48:06 > 0:48:07The outback.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10We start off with an outback that is dry.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14It's had a hot summer and it's just ready for a spark.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16- CRICKETS CHIRP - You can hear crickets.
0:48:17 > 0:48:18It's fantastic.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23- Ah, the sound effects.- The crickets.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26- You can hear it from here. - Yeah, it's good.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28It's very atmospheric. So this is this moment,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and then the sun is going to hit one of those bottles
0:48:31 > 0:48:33and the whole thing is going to burst into flames.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Oh, my goodness, now I feel sad.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39I really do!
0:48:39 > 0:48:43I wanted it to be smoking a bit more so that they can appreciate,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45you know, what I was trying to achieve.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48- There's still a bit of smoke going on there.- There's still a bit, yeah.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51The attention to detail here is phenomenal, actually.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53- It's really, really good detail. - Look at that.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55This is a man who's been listening.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57And then we come into regeneration.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00- Oh, wow.- All the way through here.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04I love it. And you're looking back along the storyline as well.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Is this a concept or is it just a story?
0:49:05 > 0:49:09I think it's a concept about the power of nature.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12You know, that it's able to regenerate itself
0:49:12 > 0:49:13- no matter what.- Yes.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15It's hope. It makes me feel hopeful.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18So you think this is the best garden he's done?
0:49:18 > 0:49:21- Oh, without question. - Except.- Except what?
0:49:21 > 0:49:25The idea being that that is a stylised snatch of outback
0:49:25 > 0:49:29over there, through fire and then it turns into a, you know,
0:49:29 > 0:49:31this could be a suburb of Melbourne.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35It's lost that bit of wild Australia as soon as you get to this point
0:49:35 > 0:49:37that it sums up so beautifully over there.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41It's conceptual, not literal, James, is actually the thing.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Precisely, and this is a literal interpretation.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45No, hang on, listen to me now, we've got
0:49:45 > 0:49:48all of these stakes in the centre, these charred trees which is
0:49:48 > 0:49:51kind of just going through every single one of the spaces.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54You've got your eucalyptus, you've got your mimosa there,
0:49:54 > 0:49:56there, there.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00It's a wonderful space. All the attention to detail is there.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03I'm not disputing that. I agree with you, I think that this is fantastic.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06And I think that this is amazing.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09But then, "Oh, hello, do come in and have a cup of tea."
0:50:09 > 0:50:12- Oh, I would love tea.- But that's not what it's supposed to be.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14- It's supposed to be... - It's about the power of nature.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16You don't want the two gardens to be the same.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19I know, but the power of nature regenerates on its own.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22It doesn't regenerate with somebody leaning around in a nice hat with a trowel.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24It's quite a heated debate down there, whatever it is.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27You've... I think you might have divided opinion there.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30I mean, as judges, they have to be unanimous ultimately,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32but it's obviously something.
0:50:32 > 0:50:33The finish is where he weakness is.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36I'm not disputing that it's a really, really lovely idea and
0:50:36 > 0:50:39it's beautifully done and everything is fantastic,
0:50:39 > 0:50:40but that is the weak bit.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44It loses just the edge off its concept.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47And if you look at that and edit out the purple cirsium, for example,
0:50:47 > 0:50:51or maybe a little bit of that crocosmia,
0:50:51 > 0:50:52then it will be fine.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55But I think that what's happened is that he's panicked slightly
0:50:55 > 0:50:56and he's over gardened it.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03Sean has created a garden called Lost Images,
0:51:03 > 0:51:08which represents his early memories of experimenting with photography.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12To symbolise those black-and-white photos, he's used a limited
0:51:12 > 0:51:15colour palette, the dark foliage from dahlias,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18heuchera and lobelia contrast
0:51:18 > 0:51:20against the white flowers of cimicifuga
0:51:20 > 0:51:22and Japanese anemones.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27Hanging on industrial-looking screens,
0:51:27 > 0:51:31X-rays of Sean's chest represent his internal search
0:51:31 > 0:51:32to capture images lost.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40- I get a very strong feeling of memory from this garden, don't you?- Yeah.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43I mean, I think that Sean is really very good at getting
0:51:43 > 0:51:45the personal kind of atmosphere of a space.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48And I think that's really important in a conceptual garden that
0:51:48 > 0:51:50you really get the essence of the person who's made it,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53and I'm feeling him here all over it, I have to say.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55When he first talked about planting to us, he said,
0:51:55 > 0:51:56"Yes, I'll do it all monochromatic,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58"it'll be black and white,"
0:51:58 > 0:52:00and both of us looked at each other and went,
0:52:00 > 0:52:01- "No, you're not, mate."- Yes.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03He has compromised in the way we thought he would
0:52:03 > 0:52:06and you've got this sort of purple and white that comes together.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08But that said, his plant combinations
0:52:08 > 0:52:10and the way that he's put the colours together
0:52:10 > 0:52:11- are actually quite good.- Yes.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13You've got music as well.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Yes, I've got music, which is very personal.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18It's kind of about how you feel when you lose both of your parents,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22which, you know, we all have to face eventually.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26But... And that feeling that you have when you look at old photographs.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30JAMES: At the beginning, your first impression of it is that
0:52:30 > 0:52:33- this is a theatre set, this is a set, isn't it?- Yes.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35It's something you can walk around and you can feel
0:52:35 > 0:52:37and you can absorb and you can understand it.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39For sure. I mean, we've got the music,
0:52:39 > 0:52:40we've got, actually, that box camera
0:52:40 > 0:52:44that he actually, you know, was experimenting with as a boy.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46When you're down in that space,
0:52:46 > 0:52:48you actually feel like you're kind of in a little hideout just
0:52:48 > 0:52:51kind of really thinking about how he's going to take the camera,
0:52:51 > 0:52:53- he's thinking about his family. - Absolutely.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Also, industrial landscapes he wanted to represent here,
0:52:56 > 0:52:58so it's not a warm place necessarily,
0:52:58 > 0:53:00he's bringing it back to being a boy,
0:53:00 > 0:53:03you know, and his memory is feeding his imagination.
0:53:03 > 0:53:04Look at that quotation,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06which I think is a perfect quote
0:53:06 > 0:53:08for the space, I really do. Very strong.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12So, as a design, this area here works very well.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15The back area I don't think is quite so good because I think it's
0:53:15 > 0:53:18rather weak and I don't think it has that much connection to the front.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21- We've got a huge amount of space here.- Look at this,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24- great big empty...nothing here.- Yes.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Do you think he's actually delivered on his brief?
0:53:27 > 0:53:29I think that the problem with his brief is that his brief is
0:53:29 > 0:53:32rather confused and there's just lots of it.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35I mean, is it about memory, is it about photography, is it about...?
0:53:35 > 0:53:37You know, you see these medical X-rays.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39It's a step too far, quite honestly. Not required.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42I would have preferred to see the landscapes that he didn't
0:53:42 > 0:53:44- capture on his first attempt.- Hmm.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46I mean, I think that's something that he's had through
0:53:46 > 0:53:48all his gardens and we've told him about it.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51You said, "Just stand back, just pare something back.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54"The best ideas are the simplest ideas. You've put too much in."
0:53:56 > 0:53:58Scrutiny of the gardens complete,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02the judges now have to decide who is winning gold and whose
0:54:02 > 0:54:07dream of designing at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is finally over.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10Somebody is going today and it's going to be very upsetting,
0:54:10 > 0:54:11of course it's going to be.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14And if it's me, I'm going to be very sad about it. I don't want to go.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16I'd love to create the next garden, of course.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19If I didn't end up going to the final after three gardens,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23then I would be really disappointed because this garden is finished.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24I'm saying bye to it,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27so my mind is already starting to think about the next garden,
0:54:27 > 0:54:28the final show garden.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31I just love it, I really love it.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34And I'm really proud of the fact that I've actually achieved three
0:54:34 > 0:54:36gardens in one.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38I really like that and I think it's quite unique.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43I don't think I've created a garden that I could have created.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45I was up last night thinking about it,
0:54:45 > 0:54:46trying to think, "Can I pull it together?
0:54:46 > 0:54:49"Can I make this garden work how I wanted it to work?"
0:54:49 > 0:54:51And we had three hours left today
0:54:51 > 0:54:54and I kind of knew last night that I didn't have enough time.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Designers, it's been a great four days.
0:55:04 > 0:55:10We've seen scaffold poles, lots of sand, smoke, fire and X-rays.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14Now, a conceptual garden is never easy but you've all worked so hard.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22The judges gold for conceptual gardens goes to...
0:55:28 > 0:55:30..Paul.
0:55:30 > 0:55:31- (Yes.)- Congratulations.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35- Well done.- Thank you. - Congratulations.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Packed full of theatre, the judges thought Paul's detail
0:55:38 > 0:55:41and planting created a wonderful atmosphere.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44And they were taken on a clear journey of regeneration.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47They thought he delivered an exceptionally strong
0:55:47 > 0:55:49and ambitious conceptual garden.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51Whoo-hoo!
0:55:51 > 0:55:54'How exciting to be through to the final
0:55:54 > 0:55:56'and to be through with the gold.'
0:55:56 > 0:56:00I mean, oh, this is, you know, two golds out of three.
0:56:00 > 0:56:01Well done.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04Got the final to go and then the winner goes to Chelsea,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06and I really hope that's me.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10You know. Oh, I can't wait, really excited.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13But the judges thought there were two weak gardens here.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16And those gardens...
0:56:16 > 0:56:17were Rob's...
0:56:19 > 0:56:20..and Gillian's.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25But the person who is not going to go to Chelsea...
0:56:29 > 0:56:31..I'm very sad to say...
0:56:32 > 0:56:34..is Gillian.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37That's OK.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Although the judges thought Gillian had a strong concept,
0:56:41 > 0:56:45her attention to detail and finesse were lacking.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47They thought her desert wasn't convincing enough
0:56:47 > 0:56:49and entering the oasis from the side
0:56:49 > 0:56:51and not from the front meant that
0:56:51 > 0:56:54her design wasn't coherent.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57But ultimately, they weren't left feeling thirsty.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I'm so sad to see Gilly go. She's kind of been the mum.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06She's been such a love. She's just... She's a smashing person.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10She's such a trooper and she's just a bubbly kind of uplifting
0:57:10 > 0:57:12sort of person and, yeah, I'll miss her.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16So sad to leave.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19I've made some really great friends during the competition.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23I think it's been a really good-humoured group of people.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25I think that's what's been great. I've learnt...
0:57:25 > 0:57:27I learnt an awful lot.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30I've made definitely the right career choice in terms of changing
0:57:30 > 0:57:32and leaving my old life behind.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35I'm over 50, you can make that career choice and change.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40So, from that perspective, it's like a big tick box affirmation that I've
0:57:40 > 0:57:43made the right decision and you cannot get better than that.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45THEY LAUGH AND CHATTER
0:57:45 > 0:57:49That was by the skin of my teeth, like, seriously.
0:57:49 > 0:57:53I, honestly...I thought that was it today. I...
0:57:53 > 0:57:56LAUGHING: I'm in the final, I can't quite believe it.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00Um, yeah, just unbelievable.
0:58:00 > 0:58:01Unbelievable.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11Next time, it's the final.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14The pressure piles up.
0:58:14 > 0:58:15I'm just panicking.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18As do all the finishing details.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20- Have you got box loads of more stuff?- Oh, yeah.
0:58:20 > 0:58:21Just leave it in the box.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24While, for one designer, it's back to the drawing board.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27- I'm not an engineer or a builder. - No, but you're a designer,
0:58:27 > 0:58:31and a designer has to be able to design stuff that can be built.
0:58:31 > 0:58:33Yeah, I'm feeling a little bit emotional at the moment.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35And the winner is crowned.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38The designer who is going to Chelsea is...