Episode 3 The Instant Gardener

Beautiful gardens are one of Britain's most glorious sights,

but if your green space is more mess than majestic,

making it over can be a daunting prospect,

especially if you're short on time and money.

Well, the Instant Gardener is here.

Ta-da!

Danny Clarke is an expert at transforming gardens.

These are really bringing a smile to my face.

Each time, our gardening guru will be showing YOU

how to create gorgeous garden makeovers.

Doesn't that look great?

Each transformation will be packed with brilliant ideas

to help you get to grips with your own outdoor space.

Just continually deadhead

and you will keep getting that plant to flower.

He'll be turning garden junk...

Oh, look at that.

..into garden jewels...

It's going to be used as a planter,

and I think this is going to look absolutely terrific.

..and showing you how to spend a small budget wisely.

That's why Danny makes me bring a list.

OK.

'Be it on shrubs or salvage...'

Would you like that in your garden?

'And because Danny is the Instant Gardener,

'everything you see will happen in a single day.'

Oh, my...

Oh, wow!

That's unbelievable.

Today we're in Sunderland, built on the mouth of the River Wear.

With its proud history as the shipbuilding capital

of the North East,

these days, it's a thoroughly modern metropolis.

But pockets of Victorian terraces

are still scattered throughout the city,

just as they were in its industrial heyday.

Quiet rows of houses like this often have very similar

outdoor spaces, so they're yards more than gardens.

They're places where families can hang out the washing,

catch up with the neighbours,

and living on this street is a lady whose family would love

to surprise her with a gorgeous garden makeover.

She's got no idea that we're here.

-Ah, you must be Syeda.

-Yeah, hiya.

-So this is your mum's house.

-Yeah, this is my mum's house.

-Is she in?

-No, she's not, she's not.

-Let's have a look at that garden, then.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

Syeda's mum, Khadija, is a devoted mother to nine children

and 12 grandchildren.

She loves the outdoors, but suffers from arthritis,

diabetes and a heart condition,

which means she's often confined to her home.

Khadija can no longer take long walks

to enjoy the local green spaces,

so she only has her dismal and bare back yard

in which to host her frequent family get-togethers.

Transforming it into a flourishing garden is out of Khadija's reach...

so it's down to the Instant Gardener to make it happen.

A few days ago, Danny headed to Sunderland

to have a good look round the garden he's going to be tackling.

This is interesting. Well, not interesting, really.

It's pretty boring. It's a place to house the bins.

Concrete floor.

Having said that, it's a walled garden.

That's the way I would treat it.

Now, it's quite a strange shape.

There's a very narrow piece here,

so, cos there's a view from that window,

it would be nice to make something of this wall, I think.

So what we're doing, by accentuating the view,

we can make that room appear bigger,

and then we've got a nice generous gate at the back here.

That's good. I think access is very important to any property.

Nothing of any real horticultural interest here,

so really it would be nice to get some plants into this space

and to sort of zap it up and make it look more interesting and exciting.

Looking around generally, this, for me,

is a bit of a no-no, this surface.

I mean, it's very boring, very bland,

so that can be quite challenging -

just to find a way of making this work as a garden, you know,

I'm really going to have to get my thinking cap on with this one.

But all in all, you know what, this has got huge potential.

I think, you know, we can do something with this.

A few days later, after he's had time to come up with a plan,

Danny's back in Sunderland.

It's time for this bare back yard to get its big revamp.

But first I want him to meet Syeda.

-Mr Clarke.

-Hello, Helen, how are you? Are you all right?

Yeah, I'm good, thanks.

-Syeda, Danny. Danny, Syeda.

-Hiya.

-Good to meet you.

Talk us through this yard, then. How does the family use this space?

Well, we don't use it much, to be honest,

because you can see it's not much of a garden.

So, basically, if my niece and nephews come round,

they do just play around.

My mum, she puts her washing out

and some days, obviously when the sun is coming out,

she just gets a chair outside and just tries to chillax with my dad.

And your mum's had some health issues, hasn't she?

Yes. She's got high blood pressure and arthritis,

so with arthritis she does find it quite difficult walking around,

going upstairs, going a bit far from the house, even for a walk.

Obviously, if the garden is done,

at least we know that she's in the garden,

even if she's going for a little bit of a walk or even relaxing.

So, with the arthritis in mind,

I guess having a space that she can come out and potter and enjoy...?

Yeah, if she's in the property, she's in the house...

-Good for her, good for you.

-Yeah, good for us as well.

We know where she is.

Is that something for you to bear in mind, Danny,

in terms of what you're going to put in here?

Yeah, definitely, because we want to make this space inviting for her.

-Something that's comfortable...

-Yeah.

..I assume. At the moment, it's pretty bland, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's quite bland.

-But having said that, it has got a lot of potential.

So, you know, it's definitely something here we can work with.

-You're doing this as a surprise for your mum.

-Yes.

-You nominated her without her knowing.

-Yeah.

Why do you want to do it for your mum?

It's basically just to give something back to her, really.

All these years, she's done so much for us

and she's always put everyone else first, not her.

This is something she really deserves, I think.

-No pressure.

-Well, she hasn't seen it yet, has she?

No, she hasn't seen it, no.

Yesterday she came out here,

so she was just walking around and I was thinking to myself,

"Yeah, you're just walking around here now,

"but tomorrow is going to be totally different."

It's going to be a complete surprise for her.

-A complete surprise for her.

-Good.

-We're going to get out of your hair. We will help you.

-Yeah?

-What do you need?

-We do need some help, so if I can give you this...

-There's a list in here.

-Okey doke.

-So I can give that to you.

HE LAUGHS

-You're hanging on to it there!

-Wrestle it from me.

-OK. Topiary.

-If you can bring that back for me, that would be great.

OK. I know your plans.

-If there's anything else you need, give me a bell.

-Will do.

If there's anything I see, I'll give you a bell.

-You give me a bell.

-Run it by me first, Helen.

I will, I will, I will! But in the meantime, topiary.

Not that I don't trust you, but run it by me first.

-I'll make sure she does.

-He doesn't trust me!

Right, come on, Syeda. Good luck.

-See you soon.

-Good luck.

-Take care.

-Have fun.

-Bye.

While Syeda joins me for a spot of research and retail,

Danny has just one day to turn this poky patio

into an inspiring paradise. So how's he going to do it?

This garden needs oomph and it needs a transformation,

and the way I'm going to do that is to create lots of lovely colour.

What I thought I'd do is use artificial turf.

I'm going to use red and green,

the colours of the lovely Bangladesh flag.

And there's going to be a gap between the grass and the wall

and we're going to put a lovely aggregate in there.

It's going to look absolutely fab.

This part of the patio is messy.

I really don't like what's going on here.

You know, what do you do with your bins?

We want to take our eye off of all this,

so my solution is to foreshorten the garden with trellising.

Stagger them and create an invisible opening.

We're going to have this trellising on hinges,

so, if a car needs to come through here,

we can open the garden right up again.

Now, we're going to paint the walls and keep them fairly plain for now,

so we're going to paint them white.

So this block of wall is going to be white,

all the way down to the trellising,

and, in this area over here,

we're going to paint this wall white and this one white.

On this wall here,

I'm going to have three circles in red and green.

Of course, no garden is complete without plants,

so the way I'm going to introduce the plants

is to put them in troughs against the trellising here.

I love topiary.

I think is absolutely wonderful.

And I'm going to put one in a pot there

and one in a pot over there,

and I'm also going to put some palms in here.

Now, these palms are going to be a true nod to Bangladesh.

I think it's going to look absolutely fabulous

and it's going to give this garden some cohesion.

Danny is going to use colour and plants

to turn this dark and dank yard into a useful and inviting outdoor space

that the whole family can use to spend time together.

This space is really dull,

but we're going to make it bright and beautiful

for a really wonderful mum.

It's a huge task to take on in just one day,

but Danny won't be alone.

Handyman AJ

and helpers Luke and Amyrose are chipping in to make it happen.

And so, too, is Khadija's husband Khalid, and their son, Achmed.

Right, the first thing we need to do is clear everything out of here.

-Yes.

-And we need to paint these walls.

-Right.

-AJ is going to do the troughs for us.

That's nice. Nice to know that he does some jobs!

THEY LAUGH

We're going to get on just famously, we are!

So, while AJ sets himself up in the alley behind the house,

Danny gets the garden cleared and covered up, ready for painting.

So what we're using is masonry paint.

Yes. This is the external paint.

Yes, external masonry paint, which is ideal for a job like this.

Yes, it is ideal for the rain-proofing,

-when we've seen the water and rain going on.

-Exactly. Exactly.

Right, it's going to go to... You see that top bit there?

-Go up to the mark.

-That's the maximum that we need to go to.

Just start you off and see how it looks.

Oh, that looks quite good.

Yeah, that's nice.

Painting boundaries a light colour, be they fences or walls,

reflects more light into dark spaces.

It also has the optical effect of pushing the boundaries back,

making your garden seem bigger.

Best of all, it's a cheap and a quick way

of making a major transformation.

Meanwhile, AJ is starting work on two mobile planters,

designed to go in front of Danny's staggered trellis panels.

So, the first step is the base.

Here, I've got some marine ply.

This is hard-wearing and it's moisture resistant,

so that is ideal for the bottom of a plant pot.

Now to step two - building the sides.

This is the 6 x 2 wood

that I'm going to be using, layering it up slightly.

Now, some people could build these

with them being flush at the end there, like that,

and obviously following the line, the edge all the way round.

I'm going to make it look a little bit more pretty for Danny

and I'm going to bring this out

about 4.5cm.

Right, then. Off to cut it.

With the side panels of the trough cut to size,

AJ can now begin fixing them to the marine-ply base.

As you can see round here,

these two are butting out,

which will make it look pretty.

Right, then, going to start screwing

from underneath the base to the first layer.

Right then, we've got the bottom of the sides on, screwed to the base.

Now I've got these posts, which I'm going to put in all four corners.

Just going to screw in there

which will then allow me to make it easier to screw the second,

the third and fourth level of all the sides.

Excellent job, AJ.

And I like those overlapping edges you've done - great effect.

Right, there we go. All the sides done, finished.

Just another one to do.

Meanwhile, I've planned a trip for Syeda

to a spectacular garden in Sunderland

to give her ideas about what can be achieved within a limited space.

We are heading to a garden

that contains plants from all over the world,

so we're getting a horticultural tour of the world,

but it's only ten minutes from your house.

-Yeah.

-So no need for passports.

No.

Sunderland's Winter Garden is a tropical paradise

with a planet's worth of plants all packed inside a glasshouse.

Welcome to the Winter Gardens.

-What do you think of this place?

-Yeah, it's fabulous.

-Does it remind you of anywhere?

-Bangladesh.

It does, very much.

Your family is from Bangladesh, your husband is from Bangladesh.

You've spent a lot of time there.

So what is it that takes you to your second home?

It is all the greens and all the grasses.

Everything. The trees.

It reminds you of the village back home, and I think it's the smell.

-Oriental smell, I think.

-Yeah, you can definitely...

There's a distinct smell, isn't there?

-And that warmth.

-Yeah.

-I like that.

And by heading upstairs,

we can look down and see everything from tree canopy level.

Look at the leaves of that banana tree. They are ginormous.

Some people use those leaves in Bangladesh to have their food.

-What, to eat off?

-Yeah...

-Instead of plates?

Instead of plates.

I know this doesn't look anything like your back yard.

However, there are a couple of comparisons.

-It's enclosed, albeit by glass.

-Mm-hm.

And, relatively speaking, they have packed a lot of those plants...

-Yeah.

-..into a small area.

Can you imagine introducing quite a few things to your garden?

Yeah, we could actually...

throughout the year, like, keep on bringing other plants in, and...

It's all to do with maintaining, isn't it?

I know you said this place is kind of transporting you to Bangladesh.

-Yeah.

-Do you think your mum would like to be reminded of Bangladesh?

Yeah. She loves Bangladesh. She travels there every year.

OK, so a few ideas of things that you could have in your back garden

-to give you a taste of Bangladesh.

-Yeah.

Things aren't quite so exotic back at Khadija's garden,

and it looks like Danny's about to lose two of his helpers.

-Danny, I have to go to mosque today...

-Oh, yes.

..because Friday is our holiday.

OK.

And between 12.30pm and 2 o'clock are our holy times.

-Yeah.

-I should be in the mosque.

Is that why your family come here?

Yes, every Friday after salat in mosque,

they'll come back to my home.

-Yeah.

-And especially my grandchildren.

They will be very happy. They'll spend weekend with us,

my wife and myself in this garden, so I hope they enjoy it.

-They will. So it's a good reason for us to do this, isn't it?

-Yes.

Because they've got a place for not just your wife to enjoy,

but it's a place for your whole family to enjoy...

-Definitely the whole family to enjoy.

-..which is good.

And I hope, in the garden, we'll do the outside cooking.

Some kebabs and tandoori dishes.

Oh, lovely. You're making my mouth water.

I'll make myself, yes.

-OK, then. Well, you'd better get going.

-Thank you.

And we'll catch up with you later.

-OK, thank you very much.

-All right. See you soon, bye.

Unfortunately for Danny,

Khalid didn't have time to get his job finished before he left.

To be honest, it's not quite as thorough as I would like it.

I mean, you can see these patches here.

What I'd be inclined to do...

I'm going to go over it as much as I can, but we are short on time.

Really it's just a question

of just taking a bit more care over each bit,

so I'm putting more of a generous amount on the roller.

I put a bit of pressure, I can actually go into those cracks.

To be honest with you, I quite enjoy doing this on my own.

I know we're up against it with time,

but I'm confident this garden will be done,

and really I want to get this job looking absolutely perfect,

or as perfect as I possibly can.

Well, the walls are almost finished,

but how are those planters coming along, AJ?

The next step is drainage.

I'm going to drill some holes here to let the water go through,

so it doesn't get waterlogged.

Done. Whilst I've got these upside down,

I'm going to put the casters on.

Obviously, you don't need casters on necessarily,

unless you want them to be wheeled around,

but as Danny wants these to be mobile, it's the ideal thing.

Now it's just a matter of sealing the inside of the trough

with a plastic liner.

Nothing worse than wet soil on wood,

because, eventually, the wood sucks the water out the soil

and goes rotten.

There we go. All done.

Nicely lined. Ready for the compost to go in.

But there's no rest for the wicked! On to the next job, AJ.

Right, AJ, this is the part where you attach the trellising

-to the wall on the hinges, yeah?

-Correct.

-OK.

-We're going to have this wood here

that I'm going to bolt to the wall, basically, to make a batten there.

Obviously, it'll be easier to screw straight in

and then I can get the hinges on.

So, the bins are there, so it's not going to swing this way.

Swinging that way. We'll have to raise it just a little bit more,

-so it doesn't catch.

-Doesn't catch your turf, yeah.

-Looks like a good plan.

-Yeah. Let's crack on with it.

-Let's get going.

-OK.

-OK, cheers.

Back inside the wonderful Winter Gardens,

Syeda and I are keen to learn more about its origins.

So we're meeting Education Officer Jenni Lambeth.

Jenni, what are you doing?

Well, I'm looking for Bob.

He's our big coy carp fish, but I can't seem to find him.

I think he's hiding under the leaves.

-This is Syeda.

-Hi.

-Jenni, Syeda.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Jenni, so...tell us about the Winter Gardens. This place is beautiful.

The idea of it came from the Victorian times,

so a pleasure garden under glass,

and that created the environment

where plants from tropical countries could be grown.

So a lot of Victorian explorers brought them back

and put them in these glasshouses.

So having this kind of space gives you an opportunity

-to have something very exotic and from a far-flung land...

-Absolutely.

-..right here in Sunderland.

-Indeed. It is.

It's like our little piece of rainforest here in Sunderland.

So what kinds of things have you got in here?

How many different plants have you got, for instance?

So there's about 300 different species of plants.

Some of them are desert plants, some Mediterranean plants

but the rainforest species are things

like the banana plants that we have.

We've got traveller's trees from Madagascar,

Bismarckia palms.

We got some fruits,

so we got things that would come from perhaps tropical countries

that you might imagine, like pineapples and things like that.

It's possible to get a tropical feel in your own garden,

despite the UK's less than tropical weather.

These stunning plants can be a fabulous addition,

as long as you take the right steps to choose and care for them.

Exotic plants can be pricey,

so you definitely don't want to damage or kill them.

Always ask at the garden centre or specialist nursery

when choosing them, or search the internet for advice.

Hardy exotics are tropical-looking plants

that CAN cope with the British weather.

These include Trachycarpus fortunei -

a stunning palm tree with fan-shaped leaves,

and tree ferns, with their huge arcing fronds.

More sensitive plants may need bringing indoors for the winter,

or wrapping up warmly if they need to stay outside.

These include banana palms.

Generally the further north your garden is,

the more you'll need to do to protect plants in winter.

And back at Khadija's garden, Danny wants to add something big,

green and glossy to bring a touch of the tropics to her back yard.

We've got some beautiful palms here -

Phoenix canariensis or Canary Island date palms.

The reason I've chosen these great architectural plants

is because it's going to bring a touch of the tropics.

And Danny has got some impressive zinc containers to plant them in.

They're nice and tall

and they're going to make these palms look even more striking.

All I'm going to do is gently take this out the pot like this

and any multipurpose compost will do.

It doesn't have to be anything special.

Gently firm the compost in.

I often just use my knuckles.

And the beauty about these is that they don't need to be watered that

often, so, from that point of view, they are pretty low-maintenance.

But how do you protect them

from a bitterly cold north-east winter, Danny?

This Phoenix palm, it is semi-hardy, but as an insurance,

I would protect it wherever you are in the country,

because, if you have a severe winter, you could lose it.

You don't want water getting in the crown of this and freezing,

because it will kill it. The crown is where all the young growth is,

so what I'm going to do is wrap this up.

Give it a big hug, gently tie it...

..and now it's ready for the fleece.

This is horticultural fleece which is finely woven fabric

which basically allows the plant to breathe.

It also acts as insulation.

You can get this from any garden centre.

I know of people who will use bubble wrap.

That's a big mistake, cos a plant will sweat.

So the process is very simple.

All I'm going to do is do this with a bit of tender loving care.

Just wrap it around till it's nice and cosy.

Tie it off with some string.

Very gently, not too tight.

One wrapped Phoenix canariensis -

as snug as a bug in a rug.

With less than four hours to go before Khadija's surprise visit,

her back garden is still looking somewhat dull.

But the walls are all painted now,

and AJ has finished the two plant troughs.

However, the trellis still hasn't gone up and Danny has yet

to lay the flooring, but at least Khalid is back from the mosque.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-All right?

-Hello, how are you?

-Fine, thank you. That is a nice box. Who made it?

-Who made it?

-How did you make that?

-Over to the man.

-Just...

Beautiful. Good job you did.

-Thank you very much.

-Going to plant them up with the lovely plants.

-Oh, that's nice.

-And they're going to go against these trellises.

Nice, thank you very much indeed.

Pleasure, but we have got a job to do now.

-What? What kind of job?

-You look...

Nothing is impossible.

You look concerned. When we say, "There's a job to do,"

you suddenly looked very concerned.

No, no, no, I like to do some jobs, but what I can manage to do.

Yeah, sure. Well, what we're going to do is roll out the red carpet.

-For my wife?

-For your wife, yes.

It's not really a carpet.

It's more like artificial grass.

-Right.

-OK? But it's coloured red. And it's different, isn't it?

It's different - of course, it's different, yes.

Right, we'll better get moving. Come on, then.

Artificial turf comes in rolls much like carpet,

but it comes with a hard-wearing and water-permeable plastic backing.

This makes it ideal for laying over a concrete base like this one,

allowing rainwater to soak through and drain away.

Nice.

Once it's cut out and you're happy with its position,

all that's left is to fix it in place with a suitable adhesive.

Artificial turf can also be laid on soil.

A layer of compacted sand should be spread first,

and then covered with horticultural membrane to prevent weeds.

I'm really happy with the way things are turning out at the moment.

I think that red and that green looks absolutely smashing.

Great combination.

And I think, when the plants are in and we've got the trellis up,

it's going to bring it all together.

Is it something you would've thought of?

I never ever think... you can make my garden like this.

So, all we need to do really is just glue it down,

-so it's a very quick installation.

-Easy.

Yeah, fairly straightforward.

It's just like laying carpet.

My wife, when she comes, she maybe think she's in the wrong house.

Oh, will she?!

-She deserves this.

-And to me,

she sounds like a lady who deserves the red carpet.

Oh, of course, yes.

'Back at the Winter Gardens, I'm finding out a bit more from Syeda

'about why she thinks her mum is such a special lady.'

Talk me through why you decided to nominate your mum for this.

It is cos she's done so much for us, the whole family,

and I feel like she deserves it, cos she will really appreciate

how the garden will look at the end of the day.

-Tell me a little bit about your mum.

-Nine children in total.

-Yep. How many grandchildren?

-Erm, 12.

-12?

-Yes.

-So she's quite a busy lady.

She's a busy lady.

She's so caring and she's so... giving and thinking about others

as much as possible.

How is her health?

Her health at the moment isn't that good.

She's got arthritis as well, so we take her out,

go shopping or a walk, something like that.

So, now that everybody has moved out to their own homes,

how important is it to her to get everyone together

-and have a family gathering?

-It's really important for my mum.

As siblings, we're quite strong,

quite close to each other and with our parents as well,

so it's all about family.

So does she go into the back yard at the minute?

She wouldn't go there often.

It's more of bringing the washing out

and staying there when the sun's out, but once the garden is done,

I think she will appreciate the fact that she can sit there,

chillax and read a book, have tea and coffee and, when the grandkids

are here, she can enjoy it with them in a bit of sunshine.

So this isn't just a garden for your mum and dad, this is for...

It's for family. They would love it, because they don't know yet

that the garden is having a makeover.

So the grandchildren and your mum don't know.

They'll have a shock. They'll be surprised.

How do you think she'll react?

She'll obviously have the joy and tears. I know she would love it,

appreciate it, because she's not a very fussy person -

"Oh, I don't like this, I don't want that,"

but she appreciates whatever she gets,

what anyone gives her, so that's OK.

So we'd better get back there. We're never going to get it finished

-if we don't get that topiary that Danny needs. Let's go.

-OK.

There's clearly a lot resting on this garden,

and Danny has only three hours to finish it,

but he's making good progress,

and now he wants to add some extra touches.

The Instant Gardener's philosophy is to recycle things

in his designs wherever possible,

and he knows just what to do with these old vinyl chairs

that Khalid had been planning to throw away.

He's going to give them a face-lift

with this special vinyl spray-on colour.

How we're going to upcycle these is by changing the colour of them,

cos we want this to blend in with what's going on in your garden.

What we'll do is we'll just spray them lightly.

-It's not like paint, OK.

-Mm-hm.

What it does is... the vinyl will absorb it.

It's really a stainer, rather than a paint.

It needs to be flexible, cos you're going to sit on it.

Paint will crack and this won't.

-OK?

-Good, good.

A change of colour to match your over-all design

is a cheap way to give old household items a new lease of life.

Don't spray too close to what you're painting,

and gently move from side to side, to get an even coverage.

Two or three coats will be needed to get a thorough and even finish.

That is OK, isn't it?

'Now we've left the Winter Gardens,

'Syeda and I are heading off for a bit of shopping.'

Are you nervous about what they might be doing?

Kind of. I'm actually quite excited, because of the waiting

and I can't see what they're doing.

'Don't worry, Syeda, I have complete faith

'in Danny's powers of transformation,

'even though the list he's given us only has one requirement - topiary.

'Let's see what the garden centre has to offer.'

-Right, Syeda, we are here on a laser-guided topiary mission.

-OK.

Danny wants us to get some plants

-that are going to make a big impact in your mum's garden.

-Mm-hm.

'The Instant Gardener's golden rule is always stick to your list.

'But as we soon find out, the price of topiary can vary wildly.'

-They look fabulous.

-Yeah.

They look expensive, don't they?

-Mm-hm. They do.

-Because they are.

They look good, though. It would make an impact...

on the budget!

'Generally, the bigger the topiary, the more expensive it is.

'But anything that's been pre-trained

'into an interesting shape can command a premium too.

'Fortunately, garden centre owner Gerard Humble is on hand

'to give us some top topiary tips.'

Gerard.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you. This is Syeda.

-Pleased to meet you, Syeda.

-Nice to meet you.

-So we are here for some topiary.

-OK.

-Take me to your topiary, please.

-I will take you to the topiary.

-So what exactly is topiary?

Predominantly, evergreen plants which people train to a shape,

so things like box hedging, that's used for topiary or yew trees,

hollies can be used, bay trees, that type of thing, you know,

little lavenders, people work that in a topiary fashion.

Normally, there would be a round ball or a cube or a cone.

It's that sort of structural shaped plant.

So topiary is more the art of the training.

-It is.

-But when you say topiary,

-you tend to think of the big structural plants that you see in stately homes.

-You do.

Do they always have to be big plants?

No, they don't. You can prune them to any size and grow them in

containers. In any garden, really.

-Have you got anything that will work in a small garden?

-Uh-huh.

-That's good for us.

Good news for us. Right, let's find some, then.

While we head off to seek out the perfect topiary

to make the best impact in Khadija's back yard,

Danny has got just two hours left to turn it into a garden.

He would like to add flower-beds,

but, because the yard is concrete,

he's going to get the same effect by

using potted plants

sitting on gravel.

But first, AJ needs to screw wooden baton edging into the concrete

to hold the gravel in place.

Right, AJ has finished this border now.

We're getting there.

And at last Danny can bring his phoenix palms into the garden,

to stand proud on the gravel border.

Next on the to-do list is to fill AJ's mobile raised planters.

These planters are absolutely gorgeous.

They've been built by AJ

and he's done such a wonderful job

and they are on casters, so they can be moved.

They're going to be semi-attached to these trellis boards,

so the trellis boards can actually open,

so, if Khalid needs to get a car

or anything big in here, he's able to do that.

So the great thing about having nice deep planters

is that you can plant almost anything in there,

because there's lots of room.

You're not going to have roots, so it's not going to get pot bound,

which is absolutely great.

They're going to be able to flourish.

The downside is that they need lots of compost.

But before he can finish filling them,

I need to speak to him urgently.

Syeda and I have gone a bit snow-blind

from the huge choice of topiary and are keen for a bit more guidance.

There are lots of different options, so what is it you exactly need or

would prefer?

Well, we're talking about round circles as a theme in this garden.

So, I'm thinking of box balls, maybe.

-How many?

-Two will be fine.

They need to be about, I would say, 50cm in diameter.

All right. Well, good luck.

-OK, then, Helen.

-Bye.

Cheers, bye.

Exactly what I'm looking for.

Great. Box balls?

-Yes.

-So tell me about these, then.

How much looking after do they need?

Well, if you didn't clip them,

they would naturally grow about six inches a year.

What you want to do, to keep them that shape,

is to trim them regularly.

Little and often, if you like.

So don't let them grow any more than say an inch a year.

If you didn't trim it,

it would end up taking on its own form of a big bush.

This is an untrained version of that.

It is, it is. But that,

the round one, will probably be about six years old.

That's about two years old.

How long will they last?

Indefinitely, really. The ones in stately homes can be hundreds of years old.

So, yeah, as long as you keep them trimmed and fed and watered,

it should be fine.

-Does that sound doable, Syeda?

-Yes, sounds doable.

Little and often. Don't let it grow six inches and then cut it back by five.

Let it grow couple of inches and cut it back by an inch each time.

Is it difficult to keep a sphere?

Is there a trick to getting that shape?

No, it's just training it into shape, really.

If you are useless with a pair of scissors, like me,

it probably is hard to keep a shape.

If you've got a pretty good eye, it's easy.

There's no pruning...

-It's maintaining the shape, isn't it?

-It's just the shape.

Just use a pair of scissors or a pair of shears.

-Yeah.

-What do you think your mum will make of something like this?

Yeah, she'd love it, because it's quite easy just to maintain the shape every time.

Right, so can I take two of these?

-You certainly can.

-Thank you very much for your help, Gerard.

-Right.

They are heavy.

While I take the topiary back to Danny,

Syeda is going arrange a surprise visit for Khadija

in less than an hour's time.

Luckily, the garden is starting to fall into place.

The re-purposed chairs are almost ready,

although another coat will be needed to finish the job.

And Danny thinks yet more colour is needed in the garden too.

My original plan was to paint some circles in the green and a red.

Red, yeah.

However, I'm a bit nervous about painting circles by hand,

so I've come up with an alternative idea.

We've got some offcuts we can use,

but I need a circle that I can draw around.

Maybe a dustbin lid or something like that.

Mm. Let me think what I can do.

If you've got something maybe about this big.

-I can go and have a look.

-That would be great.

If you can go and have a look and see what you can find.

Brilliant, thank you.

Hello, that is OK?

Khalid has found a couple of metal trays indoors

for Danny to use as circular templates.

He and Khalid can now cut out circles

of the red and green artificial turf

from offcuts that would otherwise have ended up in the local tip.

I think that is pretty cool, don't you?

Khalid, I think, because green is the dominant colour in the flag,

we'll have two of those.

-Two of those and one of red.

-That's a good idea, good idea.

And if I could get someone to come and help you,

-because I've got to go and do something else.

-Yes, that is two-man job.

Two-man job, I think it is.

While Khalid cuts out the other two circles,

Danny is ready to plant up the mobile troughs.

Oh, we've got a lovely array of plants here.

I mean, these are really bringing a smile to my face.

I'm so excited.

We've got some lovely geraniums. These are pelargoniums.

Absolutely beautiful.

And we've got these lovely red-flowered anemones.

And these wonderful

climbing hydrangeas. One of the few climbers that are great for shade

and they will flower April, May time.

They are semi evergreen, so, if you have a fairly mild winter,

they will hang on to their leaves.

I think it's now time I got these into the planter.

When it comes to these beauties, these climbing hydrangeas,

they do take a little while to establish, so after planting them,

probably a couple of years before you get the first flower.

And all you need to do is keep them groomed, keep them under control.

A tomato feed will be absolutely fine,

or, if you've got a wood burner,

just sprinkle some wood ash around it during the spring.

Now that the circles are ready,

Danny and Khalid just need to arrange them

and finally glue them to the wall.

-A pizza?

-Yes, 16-inch pizza.

-16-inch pizza.

In fact, you've made me feel very hungry now, Khalid. Thanks for that.

Danny!

-Hello.

-Hello, Helen.

Let me take that from you.

-There's a box.

-These are gorgeous. I love these.

You have been busy.

We have been busy. What do you think?

I love it. It's a complete transformation.

I love it all. Can I help?

-Come on.

-You can help me with these box balls.

We can put them in the pots.

-Are they going in these?

-They are going in these.

This is something she's really going to enjoy,

-because her arthritis means she can't do a lot of gardening.

-Right.

But this is only a little bit of gardening, isn't it?

It's only a little bit of gardening, yes.

Other than the trimming and maintaining the shape,

-how easy are these to look after?

-Very easy to look after.

What you will do is make sure you keep them well watered.

-OK.

-If they are not watered on a regular basis and fed,

they will be under stress and more open to diseases

such as box blight, for example.

How big of a deal is box blight in this country at the minute?

It's a big deal at the moment.

Their spores are carried on the wind and, if you get it in your garden,

the chances are, if you've got any other box around,

it's going to be affected.

What are the signs?

Dieback. Parts of it will die.

-And if they do die, what do you do? Chuck it out?

-Preferably burn it.

-Wow, it's that bad!

-Yeah, you want...

You don't want the spores affecting anything else.

OK. So, in something like this, sad, but not a massive deal.

If you think of those big stately homes with huge amounts of box,

-you get box blight in there, you are in big trouble.

-You are, yeah.

It could affect every plant that you've got on your estate.

-So how do you get rid of it?

-You can't get rid of it.

Once you've got it, it's there.

There is no known cure.

If you are not sure, get a horticultural expert to check.

-OK.

-And they will diagnose it for you.

Or take a piece into a nursery in a bag.

You don't want to spread the spores.

I know it's very tactile, but give me my box back.

All right. You can have it then.

You can't help but touch it, can you?

-I know, it's lovely.

-Absolutely gorgeous.

I do love them. It is a perfect circle. Just look at it.

There are only 20 minutes left to get everything finished,

so this is my chance to get my hands dirty

and help Danny finish his planting.

I'm copying the planting that you've done over there with these geraniums

-before you yell at me.

-Have you ever known me to yell at you?

No, no, no(!)

I wouldn't do that.

If their leaves do go a bit brown,

is it easy to rescue them with the right fertiliser and feed?

Very easy to rescue them.

And I'll tell you the other thing to do

is to replace the compost on a regular basis.

-OK.

-Plants need one of two things -

they need food or they need water, just like us humans.

With all the show-stopping plants in place, we just need one final push

to get this garden ready for Khadija.

I come back here and you're just sitting down.

They are soaking wet, they are.

LAUGHTER

Every time.

At the start of the day,

Khadija's back yard was a drab and dreary blot on the landscape.

But in just a few hours

Danny has created a bright and beautiful garden

for Khadija and her large family to enjoy and relax in.

Where once there was a grim, grey, concrete floor,

now there's a swathe of colour,

provided by the dazzling red-and-green artificial turf

and the white gravel edging.

Danny's got rid of the claustrophobic feel

of the dark brick walls by painting them white.

And he's livened them up with red-and-green circles

made from the off-cuts of the flooring.

He's also recycled some unwanted chairs

with bright-red vinyl paint.

One of the biggest eyesores in the garden was the ugly rubbish bins,

but these are now re-located to the end of the yard

and hidden by cleverly hinged trellis panels.

And in what used to be a horticultural disaster zone,

there are now two large, mobile troughs filled with dazzling plants,

as well as architectural topiary,

and date palms in pots around the edges.

Without spending a fortune, this is a spectacular transformation,

and one that will be a complete surprise for Khadija,

who has no idea that her daughter Syeda has arranged it.

It's the moment of truth.

How will Khadija react when she sees it for the first time?

Right, ladies, step this way into your new garden.

Wow! Whoohoo!

Khadija has not seen this garden for a couple of days.

It's lovely.

Step forward for us.

Have a look around.

Wow! It's totally different.

Totally different.

Oh, my God.

What do you think, Syeda?

-You can see the reaction.

-It's a good reaction.

-Yeah.

Ah, see, I'm getting the kisses, Danny.

It was Danny that did all the work.

-This is Danny.

-Hello, good to meet you.

-Thank you.

-That's OK.

She's really happy.

SHE SPEAKS BANGLADESHI

Are you glad you nominated us?

Yeah, I'm really happy. I can't believe it.

It's such a transformation.

I can't believe you could do so much in such a small place.

This is going to be easy to manage, Danny.

-Very easy to manage.

-Very easy to manage, yeah.

-Keep everything watered, really.

And you know what you can for this, just bring your hoover out

-and hoover it.

-Oh, I could hoover it?

-Yeah.

-Oh, right.

You like entertaining and getting together as a family and having social gatherings.

-Are you confident you can do that now?

-Yeah, very confident.

It's really child friendly as well.

So you've got a nice little seating area for breakfast and

-the grandchildren have promised they're going to make you lots of nice meals out there.

-Have they?

As you said, this is child friendly.

I know there are lots of grandchildren back there.

They're waiting, don't know what is happening.

Like coiled springs.

OK, this is the test, Khadija.

Are you happy?

-What do you think?

-What do you think?

Are you shocked?

Is it a bit different?

Go and explore.

They are very excited to come here.

Are you going to make Granny breakfast out here?

-I will.

-She could sit out here, couldn't she?

And read a book and you could bring her a nice cup of tea or some fruit.

Only for her?

-Only for Granny, yeah.

-And Grandad.

And Grandad. Do you like it?

-Hello.

-She's shocked.

You know what they say? Happy wife, happy life.

Yes, happy. Thank you very much.

-It's a pleasure.

-Thank you very much for having us.

Thanks from my families, from my children, my wife,

my grandchildren.

Everybody, I give you big thanks.

-Thank you very much.

-Syeda said, "And me, I nominated you."

-I did all the...

-Yes, Syeda, well done.

-Enjoy your new space, guys.

-Thank you very much.

Well, this is a family that loves to get together.

They love to socialise, they love to entertain

and they love to celebrate being one big happy family.

And they definitely are that today.

Danny has triumphed.

He's turned a boring back yard into an exciting garden in just one day.

Join us again soon for another transformation

by the Instant Gardener.

Say thank you.

ALL: Thank you.