The Final The Great Chelsea Garden Challenge

The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show

is the most prestigious

flower show on the planet.

Chelsea is the best place in the world.

It's that one time and that one place where everything coincides -

the best plants, the best designers, the best landscapers,

the best materials.

Everything is there just for that one very special week in May

that is the Chelsea Flower Show.

Every year, the best designers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds

creating gardens in the hope of gaining global recognition.

CHEERING

Now, for the first time, the RHS

is offering one talented amateur designer the chance to launch

a brand-new career by building a garden on Main Avenue.

Hundreds applied for the biggest prize in gardening,

and six passionate designers were chosen.

Now they will have to prove they can cut it with the best of the best.

Once you get through those Chelsea gates,

you're in with the big boys, and there isn't any space for mistakes.

They'll be advised by Joe Swift,

one of the country's leading designers.

That is...is bad.

They're going to mark you down for that.

They'll have to master different garden styles as they design...

I just need to get it smaller, that's the main thing.

..construct...

Got to be so careful in case it snaps.

..and plant...

They're just monsters, but they're going in!

..to impress Chelsea Flower Show judge James Alexander-Sinclair

and gold medal-winning designer Ann-Marie Powell.

Every time I try and think about it, my mind just starts racing.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Chelsea is only a short step away now.

Welcome to Wisley. It's the final.

And what a fitting place to find out who's going to be our winner -

the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Over the last three rounds of this competition,

Rob, Paul and Sean have all proved they have the design skill,

plant knowledge and creativity to earn a place in the final.

Sean won the first round for his stunning cottage garden.

Paul triumphed in the second for the simple elegance

of his formal garden,

and again in the third round for his atmospheric conceptual garden.

And Rob has impressed with his ambition and theatre,

coming a close second on two occasions.

Now they have five days to create a show garden that will win them

a place at Chelsea, alongside the best garden designers in the world -

and the chance of a new career.

There's a huge amount of pressure on.

My future is all about garden design

and I really want to win this competition.

Oh, I'm pleased with that.

'I really want this.

'And I'm trying not to think too much about being at Chelsea.

'If it doesn't happen, you have to prepare yourself for that.'

I'm a little bit nervous.

I'll feel happier once the spade's in the ground

and I've started this final garden.

-Rob.

-There we go.

-Ah!

'The gardens we've done before, the kind of main aim has been

'to get through to the next round.

'Chelsea was there, but it seemed a long way off.'

This week, it's about going home

or going to Chelsea.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

You've got to impress them, but I want to show them how passionate

I am about plants, how much this means to me.

'I've got to put everything into it and ensure there are no mistakes.'

Get started.

In this final round, the designers face their biggest

and hardest challenge yet.

To prepare them for Chelsea,

they don't have to follow a specific garden style.

That might sound easy, but it means

they don't have the safety net of guidelines to help them.

They have to decide on their own garden style and theme.

And, for the first time, they also have to include a wall.

The game plan this week is just

to stick to the time schedule as best I can.

The plots are bigger, as is their budget.

But that means more space to fill,

more plants and more details to get right

if they want to win the life-changing prize.

There's a lot of concrete in this garden.

So I want to try and get as much of it in today

so that we can set it and even start building on it.

More than ever before,

they'll need the help and advice of Joe Swift.

And it gives it integral strength.

With the ultimate prize in gardening at stake, James Alexander-Sinclair

and Ann-Marie Powell will judge each garden to Chelsea Flower Show

standards for design, atmosphere, horticulture and brief.

This is it, there can be no compromises.

Although we have seen flashes of excellence

from all of our designers,

be it Sean's planting, or Paul's design, or Rob's sense of ambition,

one of them is going to Chelsea, and the whole thing has to come together

in one perfect package -

not forgetting the details, darling.

I've been seriously impressed by the progress of each

and every garden designer throughout this competition.

But now I want to see flawless gardens, great theatre,

beautiful planting, and good, strong garden design.

I want to be rendered speechless by these gardens,

which is actually something that doesn't happen very often.

I said to Gill, "Let's have this wall completed by today."

-Eight hours.

-But you've just said the first foundation is the most

difficult, so now it's only going to take us a couple of hours

to get it up to a metre, isn't it?

Well, yes, maybe.

THEY LAUGH

Sean's final garden is called

The Emperor Hadrian Meets Miss Jekyll

and is inspired by the history of his Northumbrian homeland.

This is Hadrian's Wall, and I was completely captivated by this

as a child. I came here on my first school trip.

Everything about it just captivated me.

The texture of the stones, the shape of it,

the whole kind of structure. And I just thought,

"Wow, if I could just replicate that, even just a small section

"of it going across my design, how fantastic would that look?"

He's also taken inspiration from Gertrude Jekyll,

one of the most influential garden designers of the late 19th

and 20th centuries.

She is best known for her painterly approach to planting

and her quintessential classic English gardens,

including the garden at Lindisfarne Castle.

This is another inspirational place.

I come here three or four times a year with my wife.

I kept thinking, "If I'm lucky enough to get to the final,

"then this would definitely have to be on the design,"

from a colour point of view, from a structure point of view

and just that whole historical perspective.

Central to Sean's design is his homage to Emperor Hadrian -

a dry-stone wall which will divide his garden into a Jekyll-inspired

formal garden on the left-hand side

and a wild Northumbrian landscape on the other.

The idea of Gertrude Jekyll,

who designed the garden at Lindisfarne Castle...

-Is that right?

-Yes.

..meeting the Emperor Hadrian.

Complete fantasy.

Don't even try and match up the timescale.

What I'm concerned about, James - I'm sure you are too -

is we've got two very distinct gardens.

You said very informal here, formal here.

So how are we going to transition

when we've got a wall right down the middle?

I'm going to carry the plants through

so there's going to be a repetition of the planting.

-So the planting will carry the theme through.

-OK.

-Quite an ambitions brief, again.

-But I have simplified it.

I cut a lot out.

I cut a lot out.

Well, that is really good to hear

cos you do tend to sometimes put a bit too much narrative into a garden

and it is difficult to get that interpretation that doesn't

leave us, frankly, muddled.

I mean, this IS the final, do you think it has got enough

grunt in it to really kind of outshine everybody else

on this site? You've got two very strong competitors.

I'm hoping that this garden will have real atmosphere.

And I hope, as you step into it, it will feel magical.

And I'm hoping to be able to transport both of you

to Northumberland and maybe that snapshot in time.

-Have you ever built a dry-stone wall before?

-Yes, and it was a disaster.

But I was only 15.

I was only 15.

And it was only single file and it didn't have any soil in it,

so every time the wind blew, I'm not surprised it blew over.

-OK.

-It's very brave of you to admit that, actually, isn't it?

-I admire you.

-SHE LAUGHS

Paul is going all out to impress the judges by building his wall

2.5 metres high.

But before he can build up, he has to dig down.

What we are trying to do here is put every effort into getting

the foundations dug for this wall

because it will take several hours for the foundations to go off...

..and we need to start building the wall on it.

So we don't want a Leaning Tower of Pisa.

..While we still have a bridge.

Paul is getting used to hard labour.

He's running an equally ambitious build in the garden

of his London home, that he shares with partner, John.

Having never had a garden ever, literally, this is the first time

I've ever owned a house and had a garden. I've put my passion

into wanting to produce something which is a little bit of Provence.

This isn't just the work of contractors,

this is my own hands. I'm doing this. It's...

I can't really put into words how exciting

and how fulfilling it is to actually do this, but it's off the scale.

It is the biggest and most exciting thing that I've ever done

and it gives me a huge amount of satisfaction to be able to do it

for both myself and for John.

Clearly Chelsea is the creme de la creme of garden design globally.

To get actually into Chelsea, just that opportunity alone,

it would be amazing.

I might be able to give up work, hopefully, if Paul gets through.

With two golds for his previous designs under his belt,

Paul's ambitious final garden is called Three In A Row

and reflects his urban lifestyle.

It will have three cypress trees,

three vertical beams

and three windows in the wall

that encloses a deck

and seating area,

creating a tranquil hideaway from

the hustle and bustle of city life.

An awful lot of hard landscaping

to do in just a very small time slot.

Does that concern you? Cos it concerns me at the moment.

I just feel, you know, that with this, it is the final.

I've got to... I've pushed the boat out and I am not just pushing it,

-I'm shoving it out.

-Yeah.

And I really feel that this needs that to take me

across the line and into Chelsea.

I admire that. I think that is fantastic.

You are really pushing yourself.

You've always been strong on your designs,

the sort of graphic things, the two dimensional,

the plans have always been strong.

But what we'd like is we'd like... We'd like a bit more...

How do you put it?

Well, joie de vivre, I think.

What I am concerned about - and I am sure you are as well -

is that it's almost like a clinical observation of things.

And I'd like to see a little bit more soul, I think.

You've got lots of hard lines.

I want you to kind of really put a bit of yourself into it.

Hopefully, the planting will do that.

I'm going to have a fernery

within the framed section of the garden at the end of the path.

And then lots of grasses and flowers, lots of soft planting.

We need to make sure that there's you in it, really you.

It is a very well-designed garden, but, please, breathe a bit of...

personality.

-And details.

-Details, darling.

Bigger gardens mean keeping to a schedule is crucial, a fact

that Rob is acutely aware of after building his conceptual garden.

-Is there anyone you are worried about?

-Rob.

Really, particularly worried about him.

He's been scrabbling around all day.

I mean, he has had difficulties

and problems that he is trying to overcome, but he is panicking.

My plan, this week, I've looked at my schedule and I've given

myself kind of loads more time than I thought it would take.

I've got lots of details put in this garden,

so I want to spend that last day,

you know, faffing around,

putting all the stuff in that is going to make that real impact.

Rob's passion for plants even extends to his work.

He is a plant research scientist.

He is hoping that his knowledge of botany will give him

a unique edge to his final garden design.

Plants for me aren't just about kind of looking pretty.

I've always had this kind of fascination with how plants

have evolved and adapted to different environments and some of

their compounds and chemicals that they contain and how we use them.

They offer us a lot of different things like food, energy,

medicines. How they can help society, basically.

I'm using the science lab as

a bit of inspiration for the garden that I'm creating.

So some of the kind of visual elements, the shelving,

the bottles and things,

I'm trying to think of ways of incorporating that into the garden

so I can kind of take some of this atmosphere

and put it into the garden that I'm creating.

I'm up against some really strong competition.

There are some really good planting skills, some really good design

skills, so I want to give an extra wow factor to my garden this week.

So I've tried to think what

can I bring that nobody else is going to bring,

and I've used a plant called arabidopsis that none of the other

designers will have. It's not the kind of plant you can

just pick up in a garden centre or buy from a catalogue.

I've got a few little special plants to add to the garden.

I really want that to give the judges that kind of sense of wonder

and spark of imagination that is going to get me through to Chelsea.

Rob is using off-the-shelf materials to create a garden

that celebrates his love of plant science.

Wooden fence panels and shelving will create a science lab at one end

while a large wooden circle will bring theatre to

a contemplation area, mimicking the view through a microscope.

So, it is called Look Closer, which is all about some of the ways

that we might use plant science in the future.

So there are some bananas and there are some ferns.

Bananas are basically clones of one another,

so they don't reproduce sexually. So they are at risk of extinction.

So it is thinking about how we might use other techniques to breed

new bananas in the future.

And we could learn a lot from ferns for that.

So, ferns - recently discovered that they weren't supposed to thrive

in shady areas. They were actually supposed to be, you know,

just outside in the sunshine.

But through a little trick of nature by a bacteria or virus that

went in, and took a little bit of DNA from a plant called

-a hornwort that could survive in the shade.

-It's a water plant.

So something like that might help us save the banana in the future.

This is fantastic that we are hearing so much about your plants.

We've actually been quite disappointed we haven't seen enough

botany coming through over the last three weeks.

"OK, Rob is the botanist, where is the botany?"

-So this week, we are going to see it, are we?

-Absolutely.

I've listened to your comments and thought,

"I haven't shown you this, this side of me."

-And this is what I'm really passionate about.

-All of that...

and loads of theatre!

-Please.

-I'll try my best.

We want to see you really excel, Rob, we really do.

Yeah, I mean, this final week, final garden, and I really want them

to see how passionate I am about this and how much I want this.

-Hi, Paul.

-Hello.

How are you building this wall?

Um, so...

-So basically, all out of block.

-You've got a double block here.

You've got a double block on this side

and then a single block running along the back.

That really worries me cos you're going up 2.5 metres

with a single block wall.

It's not good practice. At home, this wouldn't work, this garden.

-You wouldn't be able to leave it up permanently.

-Yeah.

-But because it is a temporary garden...

-Yeah.

-OK?

You're going to have to put a pier all the way down there,

-so the foundation needs to be double the width.

-Right.

And make sure it is tied in on that corner really well,

and that'll give it the strength it needs. OK?

That's what to do. We definitely don't want this wall

falling on the judges.

-No.

-That wouldn't go down well.

-Brilliant.

-All right, thanks, Joe.

-Cheers, Paul.

My timeframe is all based around the design and not adding in...

I was thinking he was going to say, "You've got to put two layers in,"

which A - I don't have the materials,

B - even if... I don't have the budget to buy the materials,

and C - I don't have the time...

to either buy them or build them.

-So, yeah, I was worried.

-HE CHUCKLES

Keep coming, keep standing back.

You've got two completely different walls there already.

I mean, that one is looking really good.

And that one, frankly,

is looking like a currant bun with far too many currants in it.

-Yeah, I built that.

-You build that one?

-Yeah, it's terrible.

So your contractor is better at dry-stone walling than you?

The contractor is spot-on, but I feel guilty because this guy is...

Why are you feeling guilty?

I'm thinking I should be building this as well.

-If he's a contractor and he's doing a good job...

-Yeah.

-You just direct.

Do you not like that stone on the end? That's beautiful.

All the stone is beautiful, it's how you put it together.

-All right.

-All right?

So, this is it, the final, the biggie.

First impressions, Ann-Marie, starting with Sean.

One of the things that I'm concerned about is

we have got these two different garden styles, and that

wall down the middle just might split the garden into two halves.

So that transitioning, which he has already been thinking about,

has got to be absolutely perfect.

Otherwise, you know, he might fail.

Paul, he has got two golds in a row, this man.

He obviously knows what he is doing.

He has set himself a pretty heavy target there.

The wall is sort of, you know, 2.5 metres high,

to be built halfway around this.

And there is decking and there is paving.

How long has he got to do this garden?

-Five days. Is that long enough?

-Now, Rob has never won gold.

-He's come very close. Has he got what it takes to win this final?

-Yes.

He has got a really strong brief. It is very personal to him.

He is using all of his botany skills.

Which is the thing that we've been asking him to do -

"Show us your botany, show us yourself" -

and we haven't had it. We have lots of theatre and not enough Rob.

This time, he is going to go the other way.

I wouldn't want to be in your shoes -

you've got to choose between one of these three.

We've got three very distinctly different gardens.

It is going to be difficult to choose.

You know, let's not forget that these garden designers,

they are competing for a show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Cor! These gardens should be

absolutely phenomenal, shouldn't they?

All three of them are in with a chance. All of them want it.

-All they have to do now is get it right.

-You make it sound so easy.

-THEY LAUGH

-It ain't.

It's early morning of day two

and the designers have come to buy their plants from one

of the main nurseries that supply the Chelsea Flower Show.

Getting the right plants will be essential to fulfil their brief

and bring their gardens to life.

The Gertrude Jekyll garden at Lindisfarne was a real

pop of colour within that walled area.

And I think that the colour palette that I've chosen, I'm trying

to replicate that, not slavishly but to try to get that feel.

But that's quite brave for me because I usually use a very

muted kind of colour palette, so for me, that bright orange is kind of...

I'm thinking, "Is that going to work?"

Yes, this lamb's ear. Saw this at Lindisfarne Castle,

and it's a typical Gertrude Jekyll plant,

so this is a key plant, really.

And I brought my photograph just to remind me

of how that looked in the border.

-Rob.

-Hello.

-Rob.

-So, plant-wise...

-Yep. I've got some more money to spend.

That was kind of the plan this time.

-Give yourself options?

-Yes.

You've got to find stuff that also goes with your theme.

-I've got a list.

-You've got a list?

-I've got a list.

Medicinal plants and energy plants and plants for food,

all things that have kind of been studied for one reason or another.

And make sure they look good together. It is not like...

You know, you're creating a garden here out of those parts,

-so you've set yourself a difficult brief.

-Yeah.

It is a difficult brief, but I like a challenge,

and this one I feel comfortable with.

-OK. I'll leave you to it.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

Rob has always been confident around plants.

He learned his love of gardening from his grandfather,

who visited the Chelsea Flower Show in the '60s.

Aged 86, he is still gardening.

I've been running around the lot with wheelbarrows, trying to lift

these heavy things about and stuff like that.

Maybe I got that off you.

It does you the world of good. It keeps you fit.

-ROB LAUGHS

-It definitely does.

-Yeah, yeah.

I've built three gardens so far.

I've got one more to go. So it is a big, big deal for me.

I've got to get through.

I am so, so proud of you for doing this.

I hope that you win it.

And I hope that I have the pleasure of coming to Chelsea to see you.

-Well, you're definitely going to be coming along if I win.

-Yeah?

That would be great, wouldn't it?

I can't quite believe it, to be honest.

I'd love to go there once more.

Yeah, it'd be amazing.

-Paul.

-Hello.

-How's it going?

-Uh, yeah, having a bit of a flap.

-A bit of a flap?

-A bit of a flap.

-Is that going to help?

-Well, basically, I've got to lose...

-I have overspent. Well, not overspent, I've just...

-Overspent.

Overspent.

Just being ambitious in other departments, if you like.

-You spent a lot on your hard landscaping, haven't you?

-Yeah.

So the plants that I have left, I've spent £2,500 on.

Plus, I've spent £600 on some trees. So I am now feeling the pain.

So I have got to remove 66%,

which is around three quarters of all of my plants.

-So...

-Hang on, 66% is two thirds, so 75%...

-75%.

I know my percentages.

It is between the two. What I am doing now is I'm setting out...

I need to cover nine square metres in grass planting.

So you're going for a sort of a stipa look with all the perennials

coming through again?

Because out there, there's different sizes of Verbena bonariensis.

There are the ones that you've got, bigger ones, even bigger ones,

some that have gone over.

And it might be worth having a zoom around and trying to get your head

around what you are going to use as well, and buy some cheaper ones.

-Cheers.

-See you.

Normally on budget and on schedule,

this time Paul is paying the price for his overly-ambitious design.

No such problems for Rob, who has found plants to meet his brief.

Ferns have a bit of a special place in the science world.

I haven't used them before because I've been

sort of looking for flowers and that kind of impact.

And this is a weird little plant

called Gaura lindheimeri.

It is able to pass on information about its environment

to its offspring. It kind of has a genetic memory.

They are studying those. They call it epigenetic changes,

which basically means its offspring have a better

chance of surviving in a range of environments.

So where some plants might not be able to survive

if it was hotter or colder, they can do that.

Paul is having to have a radical rethink of his planting plan

so it fits in with his budget.

I'm just thinking of my colours in the garden,

cos I've got black beams and olive wall. And this colour...

I prefer... Yeah, it is a lot more sophisticated looking.

That is a bit sort of cottage garden.

This is a bit more urban, city garden.

So, the grass garden.

It has changed.

The cupressus...

You know, the tall pencil pines.

I've ditched those.

And with the money, I've been able to buy 90 other plants.

So instead of the cupressus, I'm using these,

so it gives a bit of height.

And I'll just do them in three clumps in amongst these grasses,

which kind of represent the three verticals.

So it is not quite the same,

but it does mean that I don't end up with a completely bare garden.

HE CHUCKLES

Their plants selected, the designers return to Wisley

and their hard landscaping.

With just a day and a half until planting day,

good time management is essential.

We've started to get the paving stuff down

-but the wall hasn't started yet.

-HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Are you all right doing that for a sec while I go and grab some stuff

-to build?

-Of course. Yep, no worries.

So, yeah, want to get kind of the paving first to get all

the levels right on there. And then we'll start

the wall construction, hopefully, tomorrow.

Get some height into the garden as well.

I need to start this wall.

I wanted to have this wall finished by today and it is just...

You know, to get it up to this height all the way around,

it is really not going to be possible.

-Can we start building this wall now?

-Yeah.

-We've really got...

We've really fallen behind today. But, you know... Hey-ho.

Let's get it built. Right, ready with that muck?

Both Rob and Paul are feeling the pressure of their biggest

and most ambitious design so far.

But with his wall complete, Sean has got time to bring in some furniture.

The bench is a little bit big.

That could have been done with... maybe a little bit shorter.

But I'm hoping that once the plants are in and I get it clothed,

it will feel more part of the design.

At the minute, it's like when you first put furniture

in a newly-decorated room,

it doesn't really fit until I get all of the clutter in.

It'll be fine. It has to be.

Calm and on schedule, yoga-loving Sean lives with his wife,

Eileen, and has been dreaming of Chelsea all his life.

He wanted to be a gardener when he was 17,

so it has, like...it's come full circle.

He is going to get to do what he wants, even if he doesn't win.

But if he does, that's fantastic.

-Chelsea will be great.

-It would be fantastic.

You would be there if I was to be lucky enough to get to that point.

-Of course I would.

-And it is your 50th that week, so what a way...

Right, I'm going to stab him now.

What a way to celebrate your 50th!

To have a garden in your honour at Chelsea. Not many ladies get that

-for a 50th birthday present, do they?

-I don't believe you!

Not only does Paul have a large wall to build,

he's also got to lay paving slabs for his path.

-I see what you mean, it is touching in here.

-Yeah, yeah.

But it is square on there.

And each element brings its own complications.

It looks all right to me. I should use...

With this paving, it has 16 slabs.

They are all a perfect rectangle

and they need to be perfectly laid.

There is a slight discrepancy with that edge, but I'm going to

be able to hide that underneath the decking, which will go over the top.

I get annoyed when it is not bang on.

And, um...

that is not bang on.

So, good progress today, you think?

I think it has been a great day for some but not so much for others.

I mean, Sean seems to be steaming ahead.

He is building something he is really comfortable with.

I think he is right on track.

However, I'm not sure that the same can be said for Paul and Rob.

I think you are right. I think that Paul

has set himself an enormous task.

And Paul has never laid paving before in his life.

He is laying really sort of razor-cut, really tight paving,

where the joints matter.

His design is very slick and he relies very heavily on the hard

landscaping, and that hard landscaping has got to be spot-on.

I am going to finish today with a sense of achievement.

I've laid my first ever paving.

And if I close one eye and look up my crack,

I can see a perfectly straight line.

And Rob has gone for a more economic range, shall we say, which is

going to give a different finish, isn't it?

Rob, you know, his paving is a little bit rougher.

He can get away with a few more sort of dodgy edges.

But he too is struggling. Everything is on the ground.

We haven't seen anything come upwards yet.

Seeing Sean's wall go up so quickly, panic set in.

My wall's not even started, so, yeah,

you look at other gardens, you think, "I've got to do a lot

"more, I've got to catch up, I've got to be as quick as them."

So, yeah, it is a big challenge.

There is no let-up.

Each designer is desperate to win because there's nothing

as prestigious as designing a garden at Chelsea.

With show gardens costing up to a quarter of £1 million,

only a select few get to exhibit their skill here.

To join their ranks is to enter the Premier League

and the chance to win lucrative commissions.

But it comes at a cost.

Whoever wins this is going to be more stressed

and harder worked than they have ever been in their lives.

They are going to be working seven days a week.

They are going to be working up to 20 hours a day

towards the end of it,

existing off stress and anxiety.

But if you are going to come to the playground, be prepared to play.

The pressure at Chelsea is intense. It is a short period of time.

Something always goes wrong.

Something doesn't arrive,

something breaks, somebody is ill.

You know, Chelsea wouldn't be Chelsea if there wasn't a problem.

But, you know, everything has a solution.

It is in there, you just have got to think through it.

To create a garden worthy of Chelsea,

the designers must show they have strong design skills, brilliant

plant knowledge and that they can make a garden with great atmosphere.

Day three, and only two days left before the winner is chosen.

-Paul.

-Morning, Joe.

How is the wall going?

Um, well, we are quite behind on schedule.

Cos what is the finish going to be on this wall?

The finish is going to be a render.

You've got to build the wall, what, get two coats of render on there?

-One.

-Contractor going, "One. One."

-So a single skin.

-A single skin.

What is happening here, in this window?

-There are four concrete lintels...

-Yep.

..that are going upright with a 200-mil gap.

-How are they being fixed?

-They are being concreted in.

-Into the ground?

-Into the wall.

-They're just going to sit on a bed of concrete?

-Yeah.

What, those six-foot lintels are just going to sit...?

-Well...

-They can't.

-Yeah.

"Mr Contractor.

"Mr Contractor, how do you feel about just placing lintels vertically,

"sitting them on a bed of cement?"

It is an issue and it is not safe, really.

I mean, I would've steel rod them.

You need steel rods going into the foundation.

You've got to fix them. You can't just concrete them on a bed.

I mean, if you come along and kick that, it comes out,

goes underneath, the whole thing is going to come down on top of it.

Well, there is a concrete lintel going over the top.

I know, but that is just more weight on the top.

And you've got no proper fixing on the bottom.

Do you know how heavy those things are? Did you carry them in place?

-Yeah.

-They are seriously heavy.

This is going to take you forever

and you're running out of time for it already.

You're going to have to rethink this, big time, maybe make your three

pillars out of timber or something, because honestly,

they are so heavy, those, you can't just sit them on top of a wall

-and hope they're going to stay there.

-Hmm.

-Do you think?

-I'm not an engineer or a builder.

No, but you are a designer,

and a designer has to be able to design stuff that can be built.

Hmm.

Even if you just create a window there, it'll give the effect.

-Yeah.

-You know?

-At least it'll be finished.

-All right.

-Yeah?

-OK.

-OK.

-Cheers, Paul.

-See you.

Already behind schedule,

another change to his plans is the last thing Paul needs.

HE SIGHS

Deep breath. Yeah, annoyed.

I'm annoyed because it is really affecting my design.

And for me, that was one of the key elements.

So, yeah, I'm feeling a little bit gutted... Emotional at the moment.

Yeah.

I'm just going to carry on.

Yeah.

-Rob.

-Good morning.

So this is your sort of corner here with your fence panels coming in?

-Yeah.

-You have got your shelving stuff here?

-Yeah, I've got it.

So it is kind of ladder shelving

that goes up the side of the wall like that.

There is three and then a bigger one that goes next to it as well.

My concern is that it is a little bit off-the-peggy.

It feels like these sort of things are just a bit of flat-pack

-and put on.

-OK.

-And I am wondering whether you could make

a bigger shelving unit that is more integrated to the space,

a sort of outdoor lab-type thing.

-And this is really where the character is coming in.

-Sure. OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, I like it.

-Good.

-All right, thank you.

Rob has no more work to fit into his already-busy schedule.

But it is this level of design detail that they'll be judged on.

Concrete lintels out, Paul is in danger of failing to complete

his brief and now needs to rethink the design at the end of his garden.

At the same time, he needs to start work on his wooden pergola.

This means so much to me, this really does.

It is not a game for a laugh, you know,

this is where I want my future to be.

And, you know, it's not just about the goal of getting to Chelsea

and then, like, going back to doing what I used to do.

This is about getting to Chelsea cos it will launch me

into my career as a garden designer.

With time on his hands,

Sean has begun to overcomplicate his design, a mistake

he has made in the past in both his formal and conceptual gardens.

You know, you see these sort of medical X-rays.

It is a step too far, quite honestly.

I mean, I think that is something he has had in all his gardens.

And we told him about it before.

You said, "Just stand back, just pare something back.

"The best ideas are the simplest ideas. You've put too much in."

This wasn't on the plan.

I just love the piece of wood. I'm really pleased with that there.

I love the moss on it. I love the texture of the wood.

I love that it gives a feel of kind of permanence to the whole plot.

We have completed hard landscape.

We have paths, we have walls.

We have...THAT.

I don't know. I wasn't expecting a stained-glass window,

particularly in a Jekyll garden.

My concern is that I know he is good on the detail,

but is he going to overdo it?

That creative process for me is about changing as I go along,

and I know that is a risk, but I will be putting the things in and

then maybe taking them out until I get the look that I am looking for.

Rob has come a close second in two previous rounds

but knows it is only this round that counts.

We've been building these gardens, and each week, it's just been like

focusing on getting through. And this week it isn't about

getting through to the next round, this is it.

This is our final chance to impress them.

So I am throwing everything I have at this, everything I have.

All this just seems to be coming together, doesn't it?

Yeah. I really think it is really strong for Rob not to be panicking.

It is good. I mean, I think this is...

The materials are materials that people will understand.

You know, they can relate to this.

Yeah. I am still not quite reading this layout.

I can't quite understand...

We've got planting here and we've got chill out there.

I can sort of see where he is going, but that is

because I am much cleverer and a better designer than you.

I'm...I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

Ha!

With the confidence that has seen him win gold twice before,

Paul has solved his design problem.

He'll replace the concrete lintels with a wooden rectangular frame.

Do you know? I can almost feel

-vicariously Paul's relief.

-THEY LAUGH

He has been working hard, hasn't he? Flat out.

He has had a really, really busy day.

-He is going to sleep very well tonight.

-Hm!

Today has been a real emotionally challenging day.

I really actually felt that I'm not going to get this garden complete.

And then I really appreciate how much I want this.

You know, I know I keep on saying I really want this,

but the emotions inside start boiling over

and, you know, I'm getting goose bumps

just talking about it, this is how much I want Chelsea.

It means everything to me.

I like the fact that it is slightly Japanese in feel.

It is very crisp, isn't it?

And contemporary. I just hope that he does put

a little bit of soul in it.

The soul comes when the plants arrive.

All in all, though, a pretty good day three, I'd say, for all of them.

-Morning, all.

-Morning.

-Morning.

A day and a half left on your gardens.

Now, you should be planting today.

Today is the day for getting those plants in. And remember...

Don't shake your head, Paul, today is planting day.

Remember, a Chelsea garden is all about the plants.

Yeah? Don't leave them too late.

REVERSING ALARM BEEPS

I woke up this morning and thought, "Planting day!"

Only Sean is on schedule.

Rob and Paul still have to finish off their hard landscaping.

Same old story with this one, unfortunately.

Time is just like that big and the amount of work is that big.

I plan to not mess around.

Went out the window yesterday.

That was messing around time.

I know Chelsea will be the same for the winner.

You've got to kind of rush against the clock there,

so I guess it is all good training.

It's just... When it is your final garden,

you just really want it to be perfect.

And perfection takes time.

Sean is making great progress, but overnight

he has been thinking about what else he can add to his garden.

-Sean.

-Hello.

-Hi. So you've got some little log stacks starting.

What is going on here?

Well, the log piles are suggestive of a woodland kind of floor.

I have got some pine cones to kind of use as a little bit of dressing.

One of my concerns is that you've got this lovely gate post,

you've got, you know, this, which is a sculptural piece.

-It's a sculptural piece, that.

-OK, and then you've got your logs.

-Yes.

-And then you've got your stained-glass.

-Yes.

And you've got your branch. And you've got...

Don't overegg it.

I've got box-loads of stuff I'm not going to put in.

-Have you got box-loads of more stuff?

-Oh, yeah.

-Just leave it in the box.

Leave the boxy stuff in the box.

Two hours in and Paul finally begins his planting.

I am sort of planting early,

so I'm not really where I am comfortable with.

I am not at the planting stage where I feel I should be,

but just kind of concerned that I'm really running out of time.

Rob has started too.

I kind of wanted to get half the garden done by now...

for my schedule.

But I just keep looking at everybody else's

and seeing how many plants they've got in

and just panicking.

So, um... Yeah.

It is like speed planting at the moment.

To win this competition,

the designers will need to show excellent horticultural knowledge,

something Sean is overlooking by planting lamb's ear -

a sun-loving, silver-leafed plant -

in the shady woodland area of his garden.

-Hi, Sean.

-Hello.

-How is it going?

-It is going well.

I am really happy with the textures and the colours.

Not adding too many layers.

-Spaced the plants more so they can breathe.

-Good.

-This area here, this is the wild Northumbrian moors, isn't it?

-Yes.

It looks a bit tame.

I didn't say anything.

I have one message for you before we leave you to get on with it.

And that is - details, my darling.

Not only hard landscaping details but horticultural details.

Thank you.

At this point in the game, really, to start thinking about

whether I've got it right horticulturally or not...

But, yeah... But I think the planting looks really great together.

I'm going to put some final touches in here to kind of bring it alive,

and make it feel a bit more wild and gone over

for the Northumbrian side.

So, yeah, I'm happy with the planting.

Someone who should know all about the horticulture is botanist Rob.

It is crucial that his plant choices impress the judges

and reflect his scientific knowledge.

-Hello, Rob.

-Hello there. How are you?

-We are OK. It is planting day.

-Yes. Not many plants.

And we were expecting some interesting stuff from you.

-Weren't we?

-Absolutely. We love seeing them

cos these plants are one of your garden's defining moments.

Absolutely, yeah. OK, I'll start with the almond tree.

I've got some almonds, actually, that have fallen off of it.

So, scientists at Birmingham University

have been studying almonds.

They think that people that eat almonds have a lower risk

of heart attack. So they're looking at the compounds inside the almonds

to see if they can find a new treatment or some way of using

that plant quality to help people.

-Have you got other medical plants or...?

-Some, yes.

So, this one here is liriope,

which is used in Chinese medicine at the moment.

A lot of things used in Chinese medicine and herbal remedies haven't

been tested by science, so they're used through their traditional uses.

So scientists are trying to look at the genetics of it to see if

there are any compounds that can be used as medicine.

I am pleased as you've also chosen them because they're beautiful.

Exactly, that was one of the reasons. I wanted plants that do look pretty,

but the look closer is they're not just beautiful,

they provide us with all sorts of things.

-We're learning stuff.

-We are, it's interesting. Thank you, Rob.

Thank you.

-Hello, Paul.

-Hello.

Are you enjoying planting day?

SIGHS: Yes...

That's the most exhausted "yes" I've ever heard.

I am so exhausted, I've even tied a bit of tape on my trousers

to hold them up.

You've been working really hard.

I think the most important thing for you now is not to hold

back at all and just get on, get them all in the ground.

-There's a lot.

-Time is ticking away.

-There is loads to get in the ground.

OK, we'll let you get on with it. Just think - horticulture.

Yes.

So, what a day. The gardens have really come on.

Yesterday, Sean had some plants in, it was looking like a proper garden,

the other two were lagging miles behind.

But, well, the way I see it is the other two have really caught up.

Yeah. I mean, Paul has worked like billyo.

I don't think I've ever seen anybody sweat so much.

But he hasn't panicked.

And for an amateur garden designer, it is

-a very accomplished piece of work.

-Now, Sean...

We all know Sean can create a fantastic garden.

We've seen it before.

However, there are some issues, I think.

I'm sure James has noticed some of the details.

There are very definitely a few horticultural errors

that we don't want to see.

Planting constitutes a huge amount of the points available.

And if he gets the planting wrong, then he is in trouble.

And there are some plant

associations that you wouldn't see anywhere at all.

There are things that like sun next to things that like shade.

He is basically using his artist eye to put all the things together.

He has slightly lost the ball when it comes to horticulture.

Rob, his garden is looking really good, I think.

It is definitely his best garden to date.

And he is pulling out all the stops.

And he is bringing a new element of education to the space as well.

So it is just neck and neck at the moment, isn't it?

I think it is looking very tight. That is always the best competition.

It is going to go right up to the line,

and that is where the fun is.

-PAUL:

-Good luck.

-See you at the fishing post.

-ROB LAUGHS

It is the final day.

The designers have just three hours to perfect their gardens

and secure their place at Chelsea.

Despite all the advice,

Sean just can't resist putting in even more dressing details.

The guy who has the allotment next door to me

is an absolute artisan.

And I asked him to make me some little mushrooms

in keeping with the Arts and Crafts feel of this garden.

Having overcome all the problems with his build,

Paul is at last on the home stretch.

I feel absolutely exhausted.

But, um, it is all within reach now.

I've got another 12 plants left and I've finally got the knack.

So, hopefully, these last 12 plants are going to go in quite easily,

because the first 100 didn't.

But true to form, Rob is still running around.

Yeah, time is up against us. An hour and a half left, lots to do.

Got to build a science lab. I'm sure it'll take more than half an hour

to build a science lab! But we'll see what I can do.

With just a few hours to go, it is all about the details.

Any little mistakes could cost them dearly.

So these are the little touches where I am needing to step away

and not do too much.

But I'll walk away because I'll just keep fiddling with it.

One hour

between you and Chelsea.

OK, designers, that's it!

Time is up. Please leave your gardens to the judges.

Rob, please leave your garden, come on.

Rob!

Your wall looks fantastic.

-I love that.

-Well done.

-ALL LAUGH

-Well done.

It's over.

Four weeks ago, the designers started this competition.

And now, after five days of backbreaking work,

they can do no more.

It all comes down to this -

their final garden.

I finished my garden and I am absolutely delighted with it.

I am chuffed with it.

And I just feel really proud that I've completed that in a week.

Oh! I feel...relieved.

And I feel really pleased. I think the garden looks fantastic.

It's exactly to the T that I wanted.

There's a couple of little discrepancies in there,

but I'm just going to not say anything about them.

Absolutely exhausted!

Um...

I just looked at it for the first time, standing back, for ages.

We've been running around and you're looking at all the little details.

And taking that step back and seeing it is great.

It is the garden that was in my head. It's there.

If they don't like it, they don't like it,

but I've done everything I can.

Sean created a garden inspired by Gertrude Jekyll and Hadrian's Wall.

To represent the wild area, he has used teasel heads

and a mixture of plants including Euphorbia robbiae,

hellebores, carex and ferns.

And for the Miss Jekyll-inspired side, he has used rudbeckia,

lamb's ears,

kniphofia and Rosa mutabilis.

But has he overloaded his garden with too many details

and muddled his message?

So, James, time to judge Sean's final garden.

It's...atmospheric, isn't it?

You sort of walk into it...

And the idea being that this is wild and crazy

and then this is Hadrian's Wall.

And then we wander into the quiet

sophistication of a Gertrude Jekyll garden.

Yeah, the attention to detail is just superb, isn't it?

Have you seen those little mushrooms over there?

Yeah, I rather wish I wasn't seeing little mushrooms over there

because I think that it is a step too far.

Hm... I'm not sure, actually.

I think you might be right because this is the wild area,

outside Hadrian's Wall.

Is it a little bit too manicured, I think?

I was expecting, you know, undergrowth, places where the

wild Northman would hide to sort of attack the Romans on the wall.

So I was looking for a bit of savagery on this side.

And it all just seems a little bit neat.

You know, I would like to see the whole area slightly undulating

as well. So it had a little bit of a wild sense of the landscape too,

I think.

I just feels a little bit micromanaged.

What about the horticulture?

Are you pleased with the horticulture?

There were quite a few horticulture mistakes in there.

-Yeah.

-Do you think they'll clock any?

I think they'll clock it all, yes.

I mean, they're tiptop at what they do.

Sean's strengths have always been his planting.

And actually, the plants themselves are put together very beautifully,

if with a little horticultural error here and there.

So, this path is just beautiful, I think,

with the little details with the moss in it and the stones.

His construction is actually rather good, I think.

It was very well done.

I know that you were worried about the point just here,

where one was going to go into the other.

Yeah, I'd like to have seen a few more bricks just shattering

out into the pebbles there, actually.

It's a little bit stop-start, isn't it?

The wall has held up rather well, hasn't it?

I think it's a fine wall.

I would've liked it a little bit more tumbled down.

But that's not what he wants, so that's fine.

Stepping AWAY from the wilds and into Gertrude Jekyll's garden.

Oh, my... Look!

There are Gertrude Jekyll's boots.

Ooh.

-Yeah.

-Not sure what the bullets are for there, really.

What are the bullets all about, Sean?

The bullets. The bullets are...

Yeah, I wasn't going to explain that to the judges

because it's another...

Gertrude Jekyll would have stood at

the wall at the Lindisfarne Castle and fired her gun up at

Lindisfarne, because she used to do that to scatter valerian seed,

-cos she wanted to claw the wall of the castle.

-Do they know that?

No, because...

Well, they're going to see these bullets and just think,

"Hang on a moment, we've got Gertrude Jekyll going on here,

"we've got Hadrian's Wall going on and there's a load of bullets here."

Bullet shells.

I have to say, you just chucked them in last minute, do you think you...

You know, you said you weren't going to get the stuff out of the boxes,

and you got the stuff out of the boxes.

I left two thirds of it in the box.

It's the same thing that we've had with Sean all along,

is he cannot leave well alone.

However, again, we'll talk about his plants in this area.

-Yeah.

-I think that is actually rather charming.

There's a rose that you're in love with, isn't there?

It's absolutely my favourite rose, actually.

It's Rose mutabilis - flowers all summer

and it will scramble through all the borders. It's fantastic.

And what's quite nice...

And sort of, again, his sort of artistic painterly eye

is to have the courage to put that pink next door to the bright,

bright yellow of the rudbeckia, which many people would sort

of shy away from, wouldn't they?

Yeah. I'm going to have a little sit down and enjoy this.

So we have wild and we have tame.

As a design, does it work?

I think it works rather well.

I love this.

I do feel like Jekyll might just sit here, next to me.

Rob has designed a garden that celebrates his passion for botany.

He has used plants that have a scientific story to tell -

ferns, banana plants and liriope.

He's met his brief, but does his garden have theatre

and work as a design?

So Rob wants us to look closer at his garden.

It's a sort of botanical garden. It's probably...

In fact, I can say this categorically.

It's probably the best one that he's done in this competition, isn't it?

I'm most proud of this one, but I do feel, with the other two guys having

had golds, I feel like I've been playing catch-up, really chasing behind them

all the time, and it's not a nice position to be in.

You kind of want to be in the lead.

How does the story read to you?

I love it.

I mean, this is Rob being a botanist.

I mean, just look at this.

We've got his white coat, we've got his test tube,

we've even got his microscope.

It just feels like Rob has just

nipped out for a cup of tea, actually.

Is it set dressing or is it science?

It's science and set dressing, actually, which is

absolutely fine in an educational space, I'd suggest.

So, the set dressing is part of his theatre,

-which I think he has sort of let drop a little bit.

-Hm.

-Hasn't he?

-I do agree with that.

I mean, I don't know if it is because he is teaching

something, so he is kind of concentrating on that, but

he is not having an awful lot of fun with the actual design of his space.

Actually, it is quite a difficult place to sort of move around

in that if you are coming from the laboratory to get it

over to the chill-out area...

And then the actual proportions, which, again, is something

that we've spoken to him about before,

is getting the proportions of the garden right so it flows,

and I'm not convinced that he has.

I like this sunken area here.

I think that is rather clever in the fact that you can move out

into the planting and be within it as well.

I think that is a really lovely little detail there.

I think it's nice. And his bananas are really lovely specimens.

-Aren't they?

-Those are really good.

-They are superb.

-I'm having a great time here.

-You're looking at things.

-I'm really enjoying it.

-This is...

The willow and the bamboo together...

..is not good horticulture.

-James is very animated.

-Yes, I don't like his pointing.

It always worries me.

However, I think we can forgive it

because it is basically part of his message.

I assume he's going to harvest this and turn it into something.

Do you know,

I am looking at horticulture here in a whole new way.

I mean, I really could spend an awful lot of time in here

with my magnifying glass.

Well, that's absolutely fine.

There will be time for that later. Come on, we've got judging to do.

Paul designed a city garden with an emphasis on hard landscaping

and crisp lines, using top-quality materials.

He had to pare down his already-simple planting plan

and used miscanthus, pennisetum, stipa and sedum.

Beset with problems during his build and with his budget,

has Paul managed to give his garden the soul

and personality the judges wanted to see?

Paul's final show garden for us.

It is sort of what we expect from him, isn't it?

Sort of really good, tight design,

which has been his strength all the way through.

Do you think you took on a bit too much?

Um, now that it is finished, no.

At the time, most definitely.

The quality of the materials is shining through.

I can smell the oil off this deck.

And it feels very sizable, this deck area.

I have to say, I sat there earlier for five minutes,

and this is the garden I am most proud of.

What happens if you sit? It is obviously designed to be sat in.

You are looking across the planting there.

I love the planting, by the way.

I have to say, that grass that is going through there,

the pennisetum, it is really buzzy, isn't it?

Lively.

However, again...

I'm sorry to be the however man, but I'm going to be.

The planting, even though

we think it is lovely and it has got good flow to it, it is just quite...

Yeah, you know... What have we got?

We've got three sorts of grass and a sedum.

I would've liked to have seen a little bit more variety put in.

Maybe a bit more colour, maybe a bit more up and down,

maybe a bit more zing to it.

The thing about it is that it is very, very simple.

This is not breaking ground.

This is not hollering at us and saying, "Hey, come and look at me,

"I'm trying to do something new and exciting for the final."

We've seen this. We've seen this, you know, tens of times.

That doesn't make it bad, but it doesn't make it original either.

Lots of people are going to love this garden.

I mean, this is just the sort of garden that people can

imagine having themselves outside their back door.

-Especially in towns.

-It is sort of well-thought-through and slick.

We've got judging to do.

Each garden will now be marked

according to Chelsea Flower Show criteria.

It is potentially a life-changing announcement

and decision for the person who wins. It is a win-win for me.

I'll just be looking at my family and just feeling proud to be there,

and that they are here in this situation, enjoying it with me.

I've worked so hard over the last couple of years.

And to have got to this stage now in the competition -

this is the final, we've finished the build -

and there is only one exit for me, and that is via Chelsea.

The thought of getting through to Chelsea, I mean, it would be

incredible. I can't really believe I've made it through to the final.

Week after week, I've seen other people winning golds and thought,

"I'm going home."

And I haven't, I'm still here.

Sean, Rob, Paul,

we are so proud of you.

You should be really pleased too

because you have created three wonderful gardens here at Wisely.

Now, I'd like to introduce the director general

of the Royal Horticultural Society, who run the Chelsea Flower Show,

Sue Biggs, who will be presenting the award.

Now, as you all know,

only one of you will be designing a garden for Chelsea 2015.

And the designer who is going to Chelsea is...

..Sean.

Really?

-Well done.

-Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

We chose Sean because of his artistic spirit

and because of his masterful way with both plants and details.

He sinks his heart and soul into each and every one of his gardens

and, my goodness, it shows.

Thank you.

'I am absolutely elated and I am very proud of myself.

'Just to feel that the judges have singled me out,'

yeah, it is a lovely feeling and I feel very honoured.

Oh, right now, feeling disappointed but relieved as well.

You know, it has just been such a hard slog.

And, you know, Sean is such a nice person and his designs

are just exquisite, so, you know,

it couldn't go to a better person, really.

He totally deserves it.

I'm feeling pretty good, actually.

I mean, if you're going to lose to anyone, Sean was the one to beat.

I mean, he really paints pictures with his garden.

Everything he does, I just think,

"I wish I knew where that came from.

"I wish I knew how he did it."

I don't think you can teach that kind of talent.

I think it is just natural, raw talent that he has got,

and good on him.

As a child, always keen on nature and gardening.

I never would've dreamt that I would have been at Chelsea, you know,

in my 50s. So that, yeah... That makes it just...

It is unbelievable that I am going to Chelsea.

As a garden designer!

That side of the rope, not this side of the rope.