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Beautiful gardens are one of Britain's most glorious sights, | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
but if your green space is more mess than majestic, making it over can be | 0:00:04 | 0:00:08 | |
a daunting prospect, especially if you're short on time and money. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:13 | |
-Well, the Instant Gardener is here. -Da-da! | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
Danny Clarke is an expert at transforming gardens. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:22 | |
And these will really bring the smile to my face. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
Each time, our gardening guru will be showing you how to create | 0:00:24 | 0:00:28 | |
-gorgeous garden makeovers. -Doesn't that look great? | 0:00:28 | 0:00:32 | |
Each transformation will be packed with brilliant ideas to help | 0:00:32 | 0:00:36 | |
you get to grips with your own outdoor space. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
Just continually deadhead | 0:00:39 | 0:00:41 | |
and you will keep getting that plant to flower. | 0:00:41 | 0:00:44 | |
-He'll be turning garden junk... -Oh, look at that! | 0:00:44 | 0:00:48 | |
..into garden jewels... | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
It's going to be used as a planter | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
and I think this is going to look absolutely terrific. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:56 | |
..and showing you how to spend a small budget wisely... | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
-That's why Danny makes me bring a list! -OK. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
..be it on shrubs or salvage. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
Would you like that in your garden? | 0:01:05 | 0:01:07 | |
And because Danny is the Instant Gardener, | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
-everything you see will happen in a single day. -Oh, thank you so much. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:15 | |
-Oh, wow! -That's unbelievable! | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
Today, we're in Southampton - | 0:01:29 | 0:01:31 | |
a city on the south coast of Hampshire. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
This historic port town is still a thriving industrial hub, | 0:01:34 | 0:01:38 | |
and while its sunny climate | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
and coastal charm are a gift to gardeners, Southampton, | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
like any large city, | 0:01:43 | 0:01:44 | |
has its urban pockets where green space seems very hard to find. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:49 | |
A stone's throw from the sprawling tower blocks of Southampton | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
is this - an urban oasis, an acre of farmland - loved | 0:01:53 | 0:01:57 | |
and cared for by the local community. | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
But they need a little bit of instant help. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:03 | |
-Richard! -Hello. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:04 | |
-Good to see you. -Pleasure. Thank you. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
You have literally got your hands full. Who have we got here? | 0:02:06 | 0:02:09 | |
Yes, we've got Lily and Beatrice and Chloe and Clementine - | 0:02:09 | 0:02:12 | |
our Golden Guernsey goats. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:14 | |
Lovely as they are, they're not going to be very useful for us | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
-today, are they? -No. No, I can't imagine they will. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
Let's go and meet some of your volunteers, | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
who are on hand to help at the garden. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:22 | |
Let's do. Let's do. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:23 | |
The Oasis Down to Earth Farm is a charity-run urban farm in the middle | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
of an area with one of the highest rates of deprivation in the country. | 0:02:33 | 0:02:38 | |
Run by staff like Richard plus an army of volunteers, | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
it offers a rare taste of the outdoors to adults with learning | 0:02:42 | 0:02:45 | |
disabilities, local school groups - in fact, anyone who needs it. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:50 | |
The farm is a lifeline to its users who can interact with | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
the animals and grow crops. | 0:02:56 | 0:02:57 | |
But what it doesn't have is a garden area for socialising in. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
With every penny stretched to the max and every volunteer working | 0:03:03 | 0:03:06 | |
to their limits, their garden dream is always just out of reach. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:11 | |
Step forward the Instant Gardener. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
No, no, not him - that's a sheep. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:18 | |
This, however, is Danny, and he's on his way down to the south coast | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
to get a better idea of the challenge that awaits. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
So I'm coming down to the farm today to have a little sneaky peek | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
because it's very important for me to have a look | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
and get the lie of the land before we start to change it. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
Every garden is different | 0:03:39 | 0:03:40 | |
so every garden needs its own application, and this is | 0:03:40 | 0:03:45 | |
an example of something that's very different to what we've done before. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:49 | |
I can see lots of raised beds here and it appears to me that they're | 0:03:49 | 0:03:53 | |
really heavy into recycling. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
Beyond that fence over there, I can see pallets, | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
I can see a silver birch that's been logged up over there. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
Almost certainly, we can re-use them. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:02 | |
So I don't want to bring anything new into here | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
cos it's going to jar with the surroundings. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:07 | |
Now, over here is the piece of land that I think | 0:04:12 | 0:04:14 | |
we're going to transform. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:15 | |
It obviously wants something that's secluded, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
an area that's not overlooked. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
For a social area, this is going to be absolutely fine. | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
I mean, it's very rough. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:27 | |
If you look down here, you can see how rough the land is. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
I mean, the grass is very sparse. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:32 | |
There's not a lot here and it does look pretty unkempt, | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
very untidy, but it still has huge potential. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
I think we can make this look pretty smart. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
This is about people wanting to get involved with nature, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:47 | |
so really, I'm thinking about enhancing what's naturally here. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:52 | |
So let's see if we can come up with a design that suits | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
this environment. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:58 | |
There's a design taking shape in Danny's mind, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
and today, he's back to put it into action. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
But first, he's going to meet the team who will be helping him. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
-Hello, Helen. -Hello, Danny. -How are you? -Hello, Richard. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:16 | |
-Nice to meet you. How's it going? -Danny, Richard, Mary, Nigel. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
-Nice to meet you. -Hello, Nigel. -Hello, Danny. You all right? -You OK? | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
-Yeah. -Good. -Richard, just talk us through what this place is. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
Oasis Down to Earth Farm is a community farm, | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
in the biggest sense. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:29 | |
We work with people with learning disabilities during the week, | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
we run educational sessions, both regular and special needs, | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
and we are open to the public on the weekends to come | 0:05:35 | 0:05:38 | |
and visit the animals, the garden. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:40 | |
We run groups of people living with dementia. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
Yeah, many, many things happen at the farm. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
-So very much a community facility? -Absolutely, absolutely. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:48 | |
We have five...six members of staff who work at the farm | 0:05:48 | 0:05:52 | |
and we have a core of approximately 40-45 volunteers who help us out. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
Two of which we have here. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
Mary and Nigel, you both volunteer at the farm. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
-Mary, what makes you want to come down here? -I love coming out here. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
It's in the city but it's green, and so... There's something about | 0:06:03 | 0:06:07 | |
being around greenness - it just helps your spirit, I think. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
-It helps mine, definitely. -It is brilliant. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
I mean, I wandered past a couple of tower blocks then wandered in | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
-and saw Snowball, your cow. -Yes, I know. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:17 | |
So it's a farm in the middle of the city, which is | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
bizarre to a country girl like me. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
Nigel, what about yourself - how much time do you spend down here? | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
I come in, basically, for one day a week. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:26 | |
I'm retired and I was looking for opportunities. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:31 | |
I live in Southampton. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:32 | |
I've lived there for 20 years and didn't know it was here. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:34 | |
-It's incredible. -There is so much going on here. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
There's kind of pockets of activity everywhere | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
but what do you think you're lacking? | 0:06:39 | 0:06:41 | |
We have a large area here at the garden which is unlandscaped. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:44 | |
I am looking to create something that can be combined with | 0:06:44 | 0:06:48 | |
a social space where people can sit and relax, | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
but also, potentially, I'd like a fire pit with a shelter over it. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
So, if I can get this straight in my mind, | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
you're after a communal space, | 0:06:57 | 0:06:59 | |
somewhere where you can socialise, somewhere that's sheltered? | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
Yep, somewhere that's sheltered, preferably where we can all | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
sit round the fire and do a bit of cooking. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:09 | |
-That sounds like my kind of place. -You're not going to leave, are you? -I'm not going to leave. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
You can come and join me after we've built it, no problem. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:15 | |
Well, I'm not going to take Richard away | 0:07:15 | 0:07:17 | |
because I feel like he's better off by your side, helping you out. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
Keep him on track, you know. Make sure you get what you want, Richard. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
Nigel and Mary, we'll disappear | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
and get some inspiration from a nearby garden. Anything you need? | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
Yes, if you could just go and get something for me. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
-I'll give you the renowned book. -OK. Grasses and... -Some latifoliums. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:36 | |
-Some latifoliums? -Yes, please. -OK, excellent. -Good. -See you in a bit. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
-See you soon. -See you later. -Take care. -See you later, guys. Bye, bye. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
While Mary and Nigel slip away with me to look for inspiration, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
Danny needs to get moving. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:48 | |
He has nine hours to turn this bare patch of land into a beautiful | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
garden. What's the plan, Dan? | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
This is a community farm but it's got no communal garden, | 0:07:55 | 0:07:59 | |
and that's what we're going to provide. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
What we want to do is make this area sheltered cos it's so exposed. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
So we want to make it a little cosy haven | 0:08:04 | 0:08:06 | |
and what we're going to do is create concentric circles, | 0:08:06 | 0:08:10 | |
so you're looking down and you've got two concentric circles. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:14 | |
So the way I'm going to create shelter is by using | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
a combination of fencing | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
and hedges in a circular form with an invisible entrance. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:24 | |
And in the centre, we're going to have a fire pit. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
So that is going to be the centrepiece of the plan. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:30 | |
And then we're going to enclose that fire pit with gravel. | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
And then, on the outer circle, we're just going to bark it. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
And on the bark, we're going to have seating. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
On one side of the circle, I'm going to create a mound. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:44 | |
And on the mound, we're going to house grasses and we're going to | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
have some silver birch, multi-stem silver birch - | 0:08:47 | 0:08:49 | |
one of my favourite trees. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:51 | |
It's going to look absolutely fantastic. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
The grasses, as well as providing movement on the mound, | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
the roots are going to hold the mound together. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
And that's what I'm trying to create here - something that looks | 0:08:59 | 0:09:01 | |
really natural, and grasses are a great way to do that. | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
And in addition to that, I'm going to do something extra funky - | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
I'm going to put a shade sail up, so if it rains, | 0:09:08 | 0:09:11 | |
they've got somewhere to shelter. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:13 | |
So it's not just going to be shelter from the wind | 0:09:13 | 0:09:16 | |
but also shelter from the rain. And do you know what? | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
I think we'll get moving because there's rain coming in very, | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
very soon. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:23 | |
In just one day, Danny plans to create an enclosed circular | 0:09:23 | 0:09:27 | |
seating area with a fire pit as the centrepiece, | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
banked on one side with birch and grasses | 0:09:30 | 0:09:32 | |
and covered with a shade sail for protection from the elements - | 0:09:32 | 0:09:38 | |
something he could do with today because here comes that rain. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
But a drop of water won't stop Danny or his helpers today - | 0:09:42 | 0:09:45 | |
right-hand man AJ and farm volunteer Amanda. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
The first job is to create the outer fence from the farm's own | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
salvaged materials. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:53 | |
-So now, what we need to do is source these pallets. -Yes. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
Let's go and have a look round the farm. | 0:09:57 | 0:09:59 | |
-Let's go on a little treasure hunt. -We're going on a pallet hunt! | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
For Danny's circular fence, the team have found just the thing. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
I tell you what, if we can get enough of these, it's perfect. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
Yep, and we've probably got one of our farm volunteers, | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
-which will help, to pallet-break them. -Brilliant. -Brilliant. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
-We've got a good team here. -I'm starting to like this! | 0:10:20 | 0:10:22 | |
Now, the idea is that we're using pallets because there's going to be | 0:10:27 | 0:10:31 | |
gaps between the slats and they're going to act to diffuse the wind. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
We don't want to have a solid block there | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
because the wind will hit it head-on and it will weaken the structure | 0:10:38 | 0:10:43 | |
and it could fall over and hurt somebody. So these are a great idea. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
Great find, team. Now to arrange them as per Danny's design. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:53 | |
If we get the pallets in position, | 0:10:53 | 0:10:54 | |
we can get a couple of conifers in and we can play around with it. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:57 | |
The conifers are just there. Get three conifers, then. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
It's always a great idea to lay your garden out before you're actually | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
putting the stuff in so you can visualise how it's going to look. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
Each upright pallet will be separated by a couple of conifers to | 0:11:10 | 0:11:14 | |
create the outer boundary, leaving a gap for the hidden entrance. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:19 | |
It's very important that we have enough gap here for wheelchair | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
access. So we've calculated this, Amanda, what, roughly... | 0:11:22 | 0:11:27 | |
About 1.20m, then anybody self-propelling can easily | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
-get through without scraping knuckles. -OK, which is good. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
With the trees in place, | 0:11:34 | 0:11:35 | |
the fabulous farm volunteers are sprucing up those pallets. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:39 | |
Just taking some of the pallets apart to actually re-use the planks. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:44 | |
So I believe AJ wanted more planks on his original pallet. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:49 | |
They're just beefing up the slats as they're quite sporadic, | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
so just to make it look more like a pallet. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
What we're going to do now is just clear the debris from these | 0:11:58 | 0:12:01 | |
inner circles cos we want to make this as flat as possible, | 0:12:01 | 0:12:05 | |
as debris-free as possible. We just rake this through. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
It sounds easy but there's quite a lot of rubble under there, and with | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
the rain still bucketing down, the team have brought in a bit of cover. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:17 | |
I'm not sure it's going to make much difference. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
The trick to this - it's a very, very special technique, | 0:12:20 | 0:12:24 | |
and it's called brute force. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
While Danny and the team are scratching | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
the surface of his design, my plan for the day is well underway. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
OK, Mary, Nigel, we are off | 0:12:36 | 0:12:38 | |
to a garden that will hopefully give you a bit of inspiration, | 0:12:38 | 0:12:42 | |
maybe have a few ideas that you might want to | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
pinch for your garden going forward. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:47 | |
Today, our inspirational visit is to Knoll Gardens in the neighbouring | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
county of Dorset - a wonderland of grasses, shrubs and trees. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:57 | |
-Have a look at this. -That's fantastic. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
-Huge eucalyptus. -That's fantastic, isn't it? -It's amazing. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:05 | |
-You just want to climb up it, don't you? -Don't let me stop you there. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:09 | |
You go for a climb, if you want. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:11 | |
Now, that has clearly fallen over by accident, | 0:13:11 | 0:13:13 | |
-but it looks impressive like that, doesn't it? -Amazing, yeah. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
-It's like something out of Jurassic Park! -Yeah. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
-It's a piece of art, isn't it? -It is like a piece of art, yeah. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:23 | |
Much like Danny's design, Knoll Gardens aims to work | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
with its surroundings to create a natural style of planting. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:30 | |
That is definitely far from formal. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
Do you think you could have something like that down at your garden? | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
Well, I think Richard will probably make something out of it. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
I know this was an accident but it's obviously quite carefully managed now, isn't it? | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
Quite a lucky accident. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:44 | |
Much of the garden's naturalistic look is down to | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
the huge range of grasses. Even early in the year, | 0:13:47 | 0:13:50 | |
they're beginning to show off a wide variety of colour. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
Look at these! Grass, grass everywhere. | 0:13:53 | 0:13:57 | |
It's a huge plot, too - about four acres - | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
so there's plenty for us to explore. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
They're a bit different, aren't they? | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
They're beautiful - really sort of lovely colour. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
Back at the farm, the garden plot - or should I say "pond"? - | 0:14:11 | 0:14:15 | |
is being cleared and to help the job go faster, | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
Richard has got out the farm's rotivator, | 0:14:18 | 0:14:20 | |
a machine for preparing the ground. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
Are you an alien? Because you're very good at crop circles. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:27 | |
With the levelling finally in hand, AJ can start | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
turning the pallets into windbreaks. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
My job today is to make these windbreaker pallet fence things | 0:14:35 | 0:14:40 | |
that Danny wants. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:41 | |
Three steps. One - build the pallet fences, | 0:14:41 | 0:14:44 | |
two - dig the holes, | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
three - cement them so they don't go anywhere. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:50 | |
The first task is to make legs for each panel. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:53 | |
With the gap between the front and the back of these pallets, | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
I'm slipping these posts through. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
Now I've just got to measure the two foot that's got to go | 0:15:00 | 0:15:02 | |
into the ground. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:03 | |
So, then, make a good fixing between some of these slats | 0:15:05 | 0:15:09 | |
and then through the side. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:10 | |
There we go. First one all built. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
Now to dig the holes to fit the legs into. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
Next, a hole needs to be dug for each post. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:29 | |
I'm going to get this beast started up which is a petrol hole digger. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:34 | |
Now, this is a skilled job and not to be attempted | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
unless you have plenty of experience. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:39 | |
You can always dig the holes by hand and indeed, sometimes you have to. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:43 | |
Unfortunately with these, they can catch stones or whatever which then | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
stops it from working and so we then pull out and use by hand. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
It's a bit of mix and match of manpower and machine power. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:55 | |
Let's go for it. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:56 | |
I'm going to go down two foot into these holes to make it a good decent | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
depth so we can get a lot of the posts in the ground, which will only | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
make whatever is connected to it above | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
a lot more stronger and firmer. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:15 | |
Da-da! Thank you. Thank you, sir. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:25 | |
Danny? How is that looking? | 0:16:25 | 0:16:28 | |
You know what? I think that looks really cool. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
Now there's just one more step to take. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:36 | |
The last thing to do on this section here is to get | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
the cement into the holes with some water for it to go off | 0:16:40 | 0:16:44 | |
and then these should stand up by themselves. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
This quick-drying cement is specially designed to set superfast. | 0:16:48 | 0:16:52 | |
All you do is pour the dry cement into the hole and add water. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:56 | |
And there we go. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:57 | |
That quick-drying cement should go off in about 20 minutes. | 0:16:57 | 0:17:00 | |
Even in the pouring rain, the design is starting to come together, | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
thanks to all that hard graft, and the volunteers | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
and I are just as drenched at the inspirational Knoll Gardens. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:18 | |
Time to take a bit of cover and meet the man behind the magic. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:22 | |
Neil, come on over. Come and join us in this lovely marquee. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:28 | |
Tell us about Knoll Gardens. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:29 | |
Basically, we've been here for 22 years but it was originally, | 0:17:29 | 0:17:34 | |
the bottom half of the garden was actually a carrot field. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
That is how sandy the soil is. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
And then it became a botanic garden in the late '70s which is | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
why we've got so many of these fantastic trees that we see today. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:46 | |
The garden is a labour of love for Neil, who has developed it | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
into a natural but impressive shore garden with year-round interest. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:54 | |
We love the garden. It is quite a relaxed feel. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:57 | |
We've always loved the natural environment | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
and I think trying to have a style of gardening that actually | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
honours that, I think, is what I've been trying to achieve. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
We call it naturalistic as opposed to formal. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:10 | |
I like the fact that it looks so natural | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
and it looks like you've allowed nature to dominate, | 0:18:12 | 0:18:16 | |
as it were, nature to take over and it doesn't look forced. | 0:18:16 | 0:18:21 | |
Not everybody has four acres in two decades. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
How do people emulate this kind of garden? | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
Some of it is actually quite easy | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
because it's the style of plants, not being too fussy, | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
using plants that don't need staking, deadheading, spraying. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:35 | |
Planting the area up in one go, | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
so it's a border that is done completely and mulching. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
It sounds so simple but the less we have to interfere | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
with the area, with the garden, the more the wildlife can take over, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:49 | |
so it's actually very simple steps. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
Well, contrary to popular belief, these gardens don't | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
happen by accident so we'll let you get back to work, Neil. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:56 | |
-We'll have a bit of a wander round. Shall we go that way? -Yep. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:00 | |
You might not have four acres to play with, | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
but any garden can have a gorgeous, natural look. | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
Plant grasses in a sunny area. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
Plants like these thrive in sunshine and aren't always big fans | 0:19:09 | 0:19:13 | |
of claggy, damp soil. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:15 | |
Limit the range of plants you use. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:17 | |
Rather than 12 totally different species, go for four kinds | 0:19:17 | 0:19:21 | |
but get three of each. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:22 | |
In a large area, be even more generous for giant sized impact. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:28 | |
And give those green fingers a rest. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:30 | |
A naturalistic garden shouldn't be too tidy. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:33 | |
You just need to chop grasses back to the ground at the end | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
of winter ready to reveal new shoots and start growing all over again. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
Back on the farm, the outline of the garden is coming together | 0:19:44 | 0:19:47 | |
but it's gone midday. Danny needs to start piling on the pressure. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:51 | |
Now we're forming a mound just here. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:56 | |
This is going to be a fairly simple structure. | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
It's going to kind of add a little bit of shelter for what is going | 0:19:59 | 0:20:02 | |
on inside there, inside the circle, but also it's going to be a great | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
way to show off the grasses that we're going to use in the design. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
If I'd just used compost, it's not going to hold. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:13 | |
So I'm going to mix this with some of the turfs | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
and some topsoil that's on the other side of the farm. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
And Danny's got plenty of help to transport the soil into position. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:25 | |
This looks impressive, doesn't it? There must be a local display team. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
I think they call themselves the Red Barrows. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
Very good, Danny! | 0:20:31 | 0:20:32 | |
Do you want to bring it through? | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
-That's it. -OK. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:36 | |
The mound's building nicely. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
And despite the weather, morale is high. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
It's a bit damp, isn't it? | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
It does help having a good team behind us, though. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
Danny said, keep it coming. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:50 | |
You guys are brilliant. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:52 | |
I'm very encouraged by the design, but I do know what the time is. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:59 | |
We're only just getting the fencing in | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
and we've still got to plant the trees, these trees, | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
and the hedge. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:06 | |
We've got to put the log edging down, plant up this bank, | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
we've got to put a membrane down and we've got to add the bark to it. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:14 | |
And we've got to put some shingle down for the fire pit. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
Not to mention the shade sail, Danny, | 0:21:17 | 0:21:19 | |
which could have saved you a soaking. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:22 | |
Better plough on with the next task - edging that circle. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:31 | |
I'm using this log-roll edging here to contain the bark chippings | 0:21:31 | 0:21:35 | |
within this area. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:37 | |
There's a bit of snobbery attached to log-roll edging, I think. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:42 | |
A lot of people refuse to use it | 0:21:42 | 0:21:43 | |
because it's kind of regarded as old-fashioned. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
But I'm using it in this environment because it works. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:49 | |
It works with this rustic feel. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:52 | |
Once you've rolled it out, | 0:21:53 | 0:21:54 | |
you just attach the next roll to this end | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
and then twist this wire round the wire | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
that's in the one you're going to attach it to. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
So it's very simple to use. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
Once I've gone all the way round and I'm happy with the way it looks, | 0:22:04 | 0:22:07 | |
I'll put three or four stakes in | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
along the entire length of this roll, then I'll screw | 0:22:09 | 0:22:12 | |
the log-roll edging to the stakes | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
and that will keep them nice and firm. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:16 | |
While Danny is creating the farm's garden, | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
I'm finding out how the farm has helped nurture those who work on it. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:29 | |
I think we could have a few minutes in the dry, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
because it's pretty damp out there. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 | |
-Mind you, you must be used to that by now, Mary. -Yes, I am. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:36 | |
I don't mind being outside in the rain cos I love the farm, | 0:22:36 | 0:22:40 | |
I love the fresh air, I love the fact that it's a little gem. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
What kind of an area is the farm and garden in? | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
Some people say the area is a little bit of a deprived area, | 0:22:46 | 0:22:50 | |
but that's good because people who don't get to see | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
farm animals and greenery | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
can just have that little experience right on their doorstep. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:59 | |
The kids get a lot out of it, definitely. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:00 | |
That's one of the best things. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:02 | |
If you're here in the daytime and hear the kids coming, | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
-it's brilliant. -Yeah, running around. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:06 | |
It's a fantastic atmosphere there. We get a big diversity of people. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:10 | |
We get older people with learning disabilities, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:12 | |
but also we've had little children who've come there. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
We've had a deaf child who wouldn't speak, was terribly shy, | 0:23:15 | 0:23:19 | |
and when he saw the garden, he was, "Mum, look at this! | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
"Mummy, look at that!" And he was chatting away to us as well. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:24 | |
That makes it all worthwhile. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
Because it's the community farm, it's very satisfying to work there. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:30 | |
-And I get a lot out of it. -What about you, Mary? | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
What do you get out of it? | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
It's completely changed me from sort of getting up late, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:37 | |
what am I going to do with the day? | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
And now I get up, I look forward to going to the farm, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
I've got things to do there. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
I can achieve something. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:45 | |
I did work for 17 years, then I had a bit of a breakdown | 0:23:45 | 0:23:49 | |
from stress and anxiety and then I found the farm, | 0:23:49 | 0:23:54 | |
it's given me a purpose, | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
it's got me back into work and it's given me confidence. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
It's just stolen my heart. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
What do you think this new, improved area would bring to the garden? | 0:24:02 | 0:24:06 | |
Primarily it's going to be a social space. | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
I think we lack that at the moment | 0:24:09 | 0:24:11 | |
because I think the social places tend to be indoors. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
So this will be an outdoor social focus-y place. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:18 | |
But it will be brilliant in the summer. | 0:24:18 | 0:24:20 | |
In the summer evenings it will just be brilliant. | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
Today is going to make a huge impact. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:25 | |
We'd better get those plants that Danny needs | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
-or we'll never get that garden finished. -Yeah. | 0:24:27 | 0:24:29 | |
Yeah, come on, crack on, right, lead the way. This way. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:32 | |
On the farm, Danny's design is looking promising. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
But with only three hours remaining | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
and the rain coming down even harder, | 0:24:38 | 0:24:41 | |
there's a long way to go. | 0:24:41 | 0:24:42 | |
Oh! It's great to be out of the elements. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:45 | |
It's absolutely tipping down outside. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
And I'm sheltering with these two beauties - | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
this Betula jacquemontii | 0:24:50 | 0:24:52 | |
and this Thuja "Emerald". | 0:24:52 | 0:24:54 | |
Conifers are much maligned and they really shouldn't be. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
There's one particular conifer that's given the others a bad name, | 0:24:58 | 0:25:02 | |
and we all know which one that is. That's the Leylandii cypress. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:05 | |
But this is an absolute beauty. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:07 | |
And you know I can tell the difference between this | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
and the Leylandii cypress - it's its gorgeous smell. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
It smells of pineapple. | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
The beauty about this particular specimen | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
is that you can cut into the old wood. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
You can trim up your hedge and it will still look great. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:23 | |
It's not going to go brown. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:24 | |
Now, the reason I've chosen this in this particular design | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
is because I wanted something that is fast-growing. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
But I didn't want something that's difficult to handle. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:34 | |
And this really does fit the bill. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
So, the other tree I've got is this lovely silver birch - | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
Betula jacquemontii. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:40 | |
It's absolutely gorgeous. | 0:25:40 | 0:25:42 | |
And this is the multi-stemmed version of it, which basically is | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
that the stems are growing from just down below. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:48 | |
It actually acts as a windbreak, | 0:25:48 | 0:25:51 | |
so we'll filter the wind through before the wind hits the enclosure. | 0:25:51 | 0:25:55 | |
And also, it offers dappled shade. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:57 | |
So when the leaves are in, you haven't got | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
that thick block of shade. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:01 | |
It will filter the sun through. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:03 | |
I love the silvery bark. It's absolutely gorgeous. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:07 | |
And, you know, it will discolour over time, but all you need to do | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
is to rub it with some soapy water and it will be gleaming white again. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:16 | |
This is an absolutely show stopper of a tree. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:18 | |
And you know what? I think it should take a bow. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
Before the trees take centre stage in the garden, | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
Danny still has to dress the mound of soil. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
And the rain just isn't letting up. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:33 | |
I love this weather. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:34 | |
-All right, Amanda? -Yeah, fine. -How's the weather treating you? | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
-It's been kinder, hasn't it? -How long have you been working here for? | 0:26:39 | 0:26:43 | |
I started volunteering 16 years ago now. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
16 years ago? | 0:26:46 | 0:26:48 | |
-So you've been here a long time. -Definitely, yes. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:51 | |
And what does this place mean to you? | 0:26:51 | 0:26:53 | |
It's just a great sense of community. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
We've got a pupil referral unit literally next door to us. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
Some of those youngsters are struggling a bit | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
-in mainstream school. -Yeah. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
But they come over here and interact with the animals, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:04 | |
do a bit of hard work and they love it. | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
So it's a real boost to their self-esteem. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:09 | |
-And it must be a boost for you as well. -Oh, definitely, yeah. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
-You're giving a lot of yourself to this project. -Yes. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
For me, it's a family concern as well, | 0:27:16 | 0:27:18 | |
cos my children were basically toddlers | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
when I started as a volunteer and both of them have grown up helping. | 0:27:21 | 0:27:26 | |
It's been really good for us cos I was a single parent | 0:27:26 | 0:27:29 | |
when my two were really small. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:31 | |
So that made me come out with the children | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
-to do something which is worthwhile. -Yeah. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
-Really important. -So it's quite varied then? | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
-Today you're doing this. -Yes, this is great fun. -This is good fun. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
-In the sunshine. -In the sunshine. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:44 | |
-Never a dull moment. -Never a dull moment, but definitely a dull day. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:48 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:27:48 | 0:27:50 | |
-We can brighten it up, though, can't we? -OK. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
At least it's stopped raining on Nigel, Mary and I. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:56 | |
It's time to get stuck into our shopping list. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
Danny's golden rule of plant shopping is to set out with | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
a clear idea of what you want to help you avoid impulse buying, | 0:28:02 | 0:28:06 | |
which can lead to bad choices | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
and a garden that looks a bit of a hotchpotch. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:11 | |
Today's order is for some grasses, including 10 latifoliums. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:16 | |
-You see, I like these. -They're nice, yes. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:19 | |
They look hardy and quite easy to look after, | 0:28:19 | 0:28:22 | |
like you wouldn't have to do too much. | 0:28:22 | 0:28:24 | |
Mary, you know the kind of plant I like. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:26 | |
Knoll Gardens has its own nursery, specialising in ornamental grasses, | 0:28:26 | 0:28:31 | |
so I'm in the right place to pick some brains. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:34 | |
Ladies, sorry to interrupt. You look very busy. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:39 | |
But I'm overwhelmed by all the grasses here. | 0:28:39 | 0:28:41 | |
How many types of grasses do you have? | 0:28:41 | 0:28:43 | |
Oh, absolutely hundreds, I wouldn't like to count. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
-Too many to count. -Yes, too many to count. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 | |
So, what is so good about grasses? | 0:28:49 | 0:28:51 | |
Why do people love grasses in their gardens? | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
Because they prolong the season in the garden. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:57 | |
Even the deciduous ones that go straw coloured through the winter, | 0:28:57 | 0:29:02 | |
they still retain their shape and their form | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
and they look absolutely stunning when the frost is on them. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:09 | |
How easy are grasses to look after? | 0:29:09 | 0:29:10 | |
They're very easy. The deciduous ones, | 0:29:10 | 0:29:13 | |
you just ground-level from around mid-March, up they pop again. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
Depending on what grass it is, | 0:29:16 | 0:29:18 | |
they'll grow very quickly in the right situation. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:22 | |
They're not no-maintenance, but they're very low-maintenance. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:26 | |
-All right, I'm going to go in search of some grasses. -Brilliant. | 0:29:26 | 0:29:30 | |
-Liz, can I borrow you for some assistance? -Mm-hm. -Come on then. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:32 | |
We'll let you crack on. Thank you. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:35 | |
-She's busy, isn't she? -She is very busy. -This way? -Yeah. | 0:29:35 | 0:29:38 | |
With only two hours to go, the circle is still carpeted in mud. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:44 | |
This one could go down to the wire. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:46 | |
But Danny is carrying on as best he can | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
and the next job is to cover all that mud | 0:29:48 | 0:29:51 | |
by laying the bark chips and gravel. | 0:29:51 | 0:29:53 | |
We've got another edging material here. And this is made of aluminium. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:58 | |
We're trying to make a circle out of it. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
And this is normally used in contemporary gardens. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:04 | |
I'm just using this to separate the bark from the gravel. | 0:30:04 | 0:30:08 | |
-WHISTLES -Jump through, hop! | 0:30:08 | 0:30:10 | |
-Go on, go on. -Really? | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
I don't know if I can jump that high. | 0:30:13 | 0:30:15 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:30:15 | 0:30:17 | |
Have you got the pegs? | 0:30:17 | 0:30:19 | |
-Let's go centre to the big one. -OK. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:23 | |
Which will be about there, won't it? | 0:30:23 | 0:30:25 | |
Now, I'm just going to put some membrane down. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
Here it is, all nice and neatly rolled up. | 0:30:33 | 0:30:35 | |
And the reason I'm putting this down | 0:30:36 | 0:30:38 | |
is to stop any weeds coming through the bark. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:41 | |
And what's good about this also, because it's got | 0:30:41 | 0:30:43 | |
lots of little perforations, it's kind of a bit like a teabag, really. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:48 | |
It still allows the water, the rainwater, to filter through. | 0:30:48 | 0:30:52 | |
Because we don't want the bark swimming around on some... | 0:30:52 | 0:30:56 | |
watery...mess. | 0:30:56 | 0:30:59 | |
When the chips are down, there's only one thing to do - | 0:31:01 | 0:31:04 | |
get the chips down. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:06 | |
The always frugal farm has managed to wangle these woodchips | 0:31:06 | 0:31:09 | |
from a local tree surgeon for free. | 0:31:09 | 0:31:12 | |
You can buy 100 litres of bark for less than a tenner though. | 0:31:12 | 0:31:15 | |
The bark does migrate over a period of time. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:18 | |
You know, the wind will blow bits away, | 0:31:18 | 0:31:21 | |
so just keep an eye on it and make sure it's topped up. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
Although the gravel is now going down, | 0:31:24 | 0:31:26 | |
the garden still needs its planting. | 0:31:26 | 0:31:29 | |
To help this, I've got to get Danny's grasses in the bag. | 0:31:37 | 0:31:40 | |
So while Nigel is on a mission for one of Danny's favourites, | 0:31:40 | 0:31:43 | |
the latifoliums, Mary and I are getting expert advice | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
to help us pick out a couple more, and fast. | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
Mary. Meet Liz. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:54 | |
-Hi, Mary. -Liz is going to guide us through... | 0:31:54 | 0:31:57 | |
-Hi, Liz, nice to meet you. -And you. -..some grasses. | 0:31:57 | 0:31:59 | |
I believe these are a good one. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
They are very good for your situation. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
They like dry shade, | 0:32:04 | 0:32:05 | |
they're a lovely spring flower, lovely white flowers. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:09 | |
Heads that sit up to about 60 centimetres in height. | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
So they would be good in that sort of socialising area. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:14 | |
-And easy to look after? -Very easy, yes. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:16 | |
They're evergreen, you just tidy them through | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
mid-March, April time. And then off they pop again. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:21 | |
You might want to give them a little haircut, but not much, | 0:32:21 | 0:32:24 | |
but it's as simple as that. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:26 | |
-Sound doable? -Perfect. -Is there anything else you can recommend? | 0:32:26 | 0:32:29 | |
Because we need to get two or three. | 0:32:29 | 0:32:31 | |
-Nigel is off looking for another one. -Another nice one | 0:32:31 | 0:32:34 | |
is the Carex "Evergold", which is here. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:37 | |
It's got a lovely bit of colour to it. | 0:32:37 | 0:32:39 | |
Again, it's evergreen. | 0:32:39 | 0:32:41 | |
-Gets to about 40 centimetres in the right conditions. -Right, OK. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
And again, you just tidy that through, mid-March onwards, | 0:32:45 | 0:32:49 | |
and then off it will go again. You see the new shoots coming through. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:51 | |
And they're lovely. Add a nice bit of colour. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:54 | |
Yes, that offers something different, doesn't it? | 0:32:54 | 0:32:56 | |
That grows upright, this spreads out sideways. | 0:32:56 | 0:32:58 | |
-Different bit of colour. -Yeah. | 0:32:58 | 0:33:00 | |
-OK, let's take a few of these and a few of these. -Great. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
-Do you want to grab some of those, Mary? -Yes, will do. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:05 | |
-Liz, thank you so much. -OK, no problem. Thank you. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:07 | |
-We'll load ourselves up with these. -OK? | 0:33:07 | 0:33:09 | |
-And head on. Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:10 | |
-I've got mine. -Good find! Good work. What are they called again? | 0:33:12 | 0:33:16 | |
Brill! They look good, and that's all that matters, right? | 0:33:18 | 0:33:21 | |
Yeah, fabulous. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:22 | |
With some carex, luzula and Danny's longed-for latifoliums on board, | 0:33:22 | 0:33:27 | |
it's time for me to get back to the farm. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:30 | |
After nearly nine hours of work, the rain has finally stopped, | 0:33:34 | 0:33:37 | |
and a minor miracle has happened. | 0:33:37 | 0:33:39 | |
Danny! | 0:33:39 | 0:33:41 | |
AJ! | 0:33:41 | 0:33:42 | |
I am genuinely in awe. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:45 | |
Hello, Helen, how are you? | 0:33:45 | 0:33:47 | |
-It's been a terrible day... -Yes, it has. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:49 | |
-That is an understatement. -..weather-wise. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:52 | |
I thought we were going to get back here and it would be a mud bath. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:56 | |
I genuinely can't believe what you've done. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:58 | |
We're not complete, it's not finished, as you can see. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
Cos the weather did hold us back quite a lot | 0:34:01 | 0:34:03 | |
and it was a complete nightmare, really. | 0:34:03 | 0:34:05 | |
OK, not the result you wanted, but an amazing effort, | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
-given the conditions. -Yes. -And it will get finished. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:13 | |
-Hm. -So don't cry too much. -We'll try not to. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:16 | |
The trees might still need to be planted | 0:34:17 | 0:34:19 | |
and the shade sail might be nowhere to be seen, | 0:34:19 | 0:34:22 | |
but we do have just enough time | 0:34:22 | 0:34:23 | |
to get my purchases planted before sundown. | 0:34:23 | 0:34:26 | |
Grasses, grasses. Get your grasses. | 0:34:26 | 0:34:29 | |
Helen's brought back some lovely grasses. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:32 | |
-I love those ones. -They're brilliant, aren't they? | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
Just look at the way it's brightening up the bed. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
It does look fantastic. Especially against the compost. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:41 | |
What's great about grasses is that they'll grow in most soils. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
-Quite often, the poorer the better. -Oh, OK. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:47 | |
So they're as tough as old boots. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:49 | |
-In this situation, they require very little maintenance. -OK. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:53 | |
-Do you like these? -Yeah, I do like them. They're nice. | 0:34:53 | 0:34:57 | |
And they grow very tall, which is good, which will give us a screen. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:01 | |
All sides of the circle are now enclosed | 0:35:02 | 0:35:05 | |
and the fire pit is in place. | 0:35:05 | 0:35:07 | |
But the shade sail and tree-planting will just have to wait. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:10 | |
Do you like? Or do you like? | 0:35:10 | 0:35:12 | |
-We like. -Beautiful. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:14 | |
Guys, I feel like you're a bit flat and a little bit sodden. | 0:35:14 | 0:35:18 | |
But do you know what? You shouldn't be, because this looks amazing. | 0:35:18 | 0:35:21 | |
It's a massive transformation, you're so close to the end, | 0:35:21 | 0:35:24 | |
it's practically finished. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:26 | |
You can't do anything about the rain, you can only do so much. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:28 | |
It's been pretty tough today, | 0:35:28 | 0:35:30 | |
but really we've got to be positive about this | 0:35:30 | 0:35:32 | |
because this bit of land here looked like that bit of land this morning. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:36 | |
And I think we have made an improvement. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:39 | |
I know these guys well, I know they'll get it finished. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:42 | |
-And to be honest, you'll probably get it finished in about an hour, won't you? -Yes. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:46 | |
-Yeah, when the sun shines. -Sorry, a dry hour. -Yeah. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:50 | |
So, this garden wasn't quite as instant as usual, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
but a few weeks later, Danny and AJ are back to finish | 0:36:02 | 0:36:05 | |
this almost completed garden. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
The weather is ten times better than last time. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
It's much better, isn't it? | 0:36:10 | 0:36:11 | |
And to make things even easier today, | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
the farm's fantastic volunteers | 0:36:13 | 0:36:15 | |
have already dug in the trees around the border. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:18 | |
It looks great, doesn't it? I really like it. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:20 | |
Everything's really settled in nicely. | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
But Danny still needs to get that all-important shade sail up. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:27 | |
-That's it. -That's nice and taut. -That's perfect, isn't it? | 0:36:27 | 0:36:31 | |
Yeah, if we go that height there, then the two posts there, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
we can go higher and get that sort of nice sort of angled canopy. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:38 | |
Right, I'll get these screwed in, get these hooked on | 0:36:38 | 0:36:42 | |
and then we can then come back to it with the posts | 0:36:42 | 0:36:45 | |
-and just manipulate it that way. -Yes. | 0:36:45 | 0:36:48 | |
Right, I'm going to drill a hole here, | 0:36:53 | 0:36:55 | |
just a pilot hole with a smaller drill bit, smaller than that, | 0:36:55 | 0:36:59 | |
and then the eyelet will go in, we'll twist it in, screw it in, | 0:36:59 | 0:37:02 | |
and then, once that's in, we'll clip on the clip, | 0:37:02 | 0:37:05 | |
the other side is the shade sail | 0:37:05 | 0:37:08 | |
and then we'll then move on to the post. | 0:37:08 | 0:37:10 | |
While AJ works on the sail, Danny's checking up on | 0:37:13 | 0:37:16 | |
the conifers that have been planted in his absence. | 0:37:16 | 0:37:19 | |
The one thing I've noticed is that... | 0:37:21 | 0:37:23 | |
these have been put in the holes - | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
which is absolutely fine, the depth of these holes is fine - | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
but I would have made these holes slightly bigger. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:31 | |
And what I would have done is mix some compost in with the soil, | 0:37:31 | 0:37:35 | |
then I would have backfilled with that. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:37 | |
What you're in effect doing is, | 0:37:37 | 0:37:38 | |
before the roots get to the poor soil here, | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
what they're going to do | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
is find their way through the nice soil. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
And the root system is going to be stronger | 0:37:46 | 0:37:49 | |
before it hits the soil that's not so good. | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
That sounds like a good excuse | 0:37:53 | 0:37:55 | |
to use some of the farm's lovely natural produce. | 0:37:55 | 0:37:57 | |
-Hi, Richard, all right? -Hi, Danny, how's it going? | 0:37:57 | 0:38:00 | |
-Not too bad. -Good, good. -Lovely sunny day. | 0:38:00 | 0:38:02 | |
-Yeah, much better than it was. -For a change. -Absolutely. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
I see you've got some lovely compost for me. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:07 | |
I've got some home-made stuff from the farm, yes. | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
Home-grown here at the farm from everything we've got here, | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
-so it is good stuff. -It's absolutely gorgeous. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
What I want to do is make this a square hole | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
and make the hole bigger, | 0:38:20 | 0:38:22 | |
and with the soil that comes out, mix it in with that lovely compost. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:26 | |
-That way, we give this tree the best possible start in life. -Lovely. | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
What's the theory with the square hole versus the round hole? | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
Basically, we don't want the roots going round and round on them. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:35 | |
So, we want the roots to go out and hit the sides. | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
And Danny's got one more little tip for growing strapping shrubs. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:45 | |
What I'm doing here is spreading some mycorrhizal fungi. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:48 | |
I'm not going to mix it into the soil | 0:38:48 | 0:38:50 | |
because I want this stuff to make direct contact | 0:38:50 | 0:38:53 | |
with the root system on the tree. | 0:38:53 | 0:38:55 | |
Now, it forms its own root system, which attaches itself to the tree. | 0:38:55 | 0:39:00 | |
So, what it's doing is making a secondary root system for this tree | 0:39:00 | 0:39:03 | |
which will help this tree establish and help it suck up more water. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:07 | |
While Danny works his way around the rest of the trees, | 0:39:10 | 0:39:13 | |
AJ needs some holes for his poles. | 0:39:13 | 0:39:15 | |
What we're going to do with these posts here is - | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
which we always seem to do with the post - | 0:39:20 | 0:39:22 | |
is to have them at a slight angle. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
If they're angled away from where the pressure is | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
from it being pulled, it just gives it that little bit of leeway | 0:39:27 | 0:39:31 | |
cos if they were absolutely perfectly sort of straight, | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
and then you did get a big gust of wind, it'll just pull it, | 0:39:34 | 0:39:38 | |
where, if you're at an angle like this, you've got more strength | 0:39:38 | 0:39:42 | |
with it in the ground and it'll just sort of not fall over, basically. | 0:39:42 | 0:39:46 | |
Right, I've dug the hole now, clipped it on there, | 0:39:53 | 0:39:56 | |
now I'm just going to put the post in and connect the sail | 0:39:56 | 0:39:59 | |
just to get the angle of the post before we start cementing it in. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:02 | |
I'm happy with that. Nice angle there and it's nice and taut. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:06 | |
There's enough excess on the chain to slacken it off if they want to. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:11 | |
And the sail should look good. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:13 | |
So, it's quick-drying cement, | 0:40:16 | 0:40:18 | |
so, in theory, Luke's only got to stand here for 20 minutes. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:21 | |
Now, with the final touches in place, a little later than billed, | 0:40:26 | 0:40:29 | |
Danny can finally hand over the finished garden to the farm. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:34 | |
After all that work, we got it done in a couple of hours. | 0:40:34 | 0:40:37 | |
-Yeah. -And it's looking great. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:38 | |
-Now for the big test. Shall I go and find them? -Yeah. | 0:40:38 | 0:40:42 | |
-And see if they like it? -Definitely. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:43 | |
But I think you may have to hold this pole. | 0:40:43 | 0:40:46 | |
-Yeah, I know you're fatiguing now. -I am fatiguing, yeah. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:49 | |
See you in 15 minutes. | 0:40:49 | 0:40:50 | |
Before Danny started, this patch of the farm was | 0:40:54 | 0:40:57 | |
a bare and barren wasteland, with no place to sit and socialise. | 0:40:57 | 0:41:01 | |
Now, Danny has utterly transformed it | 0:41:04 | 0:41:07 | |
into a serene and sheltered space, | 0:41:07 | 0:41:09 | |
where this hard-working community can take some well-earned time out. | 0:41:09 | 0:41:13 | |
By making the most of the recycled materials, | 0:41:13 | 0:41:16 | |
he's created an eye-catching design with a sociable layout... | 0:41:16 | 0:41:20 | |
..enhanced by some stunning trees and sturdy hedging | 0:41:21 | 0:41:24 | |
to offer protection from the elements. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
All capped off by a colourful shade sail. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
Its rustic materials match perfectly with the farm's laid-back vibe. | 0:41:34 | 0:41:38 | |
And those gorgeous grasses bring the bank alive with graceful movement. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:44 | |
What's more, it was all done on a shoestring. And in almost one day. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:51 | |
Top job, Danny. Now it's time to see what everyone thinks. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:56 | |
Oh, check out the sun sail! Very nice. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:03 | |
A fire on the go, beautiful, very nice. | 0:42:04 | 0:42:07 | |
Looks fantastic. Very open, very airy. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:10 | |
I'm looking forward to bringing people down here. | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
Just basically scrubland, that's all it was, | 0:42:13 | 0:42:15 | |
-so it's a complete transformation. -Love the sun shade. -Good. | 0:42:15 | 0:42:19 | |
-Do you think it works well with this environment? -It does, yes. | 0:42:19 | 0:42:23 | |
It really offsets the green, I really like it, yes. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:25 | |
You can easily move around, which is what we needed. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
It's away from the hustle and bustle of the main farm, | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
so potentially you can do all the hard work down there, | 0:42:31 | 0:42:34 | |
then just come down here for a bit of a chill-out and relax. | 0:42:34 | 0:42:38 | |
It just shows what you can do. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:39 | |
All that hard work, that terrible weather you had to put up with, | 0:42:39 | 0:42:43 | |
-and it's beautiful, it's peaceful. -We've got all the grasses you chose. | 0:42:43 | 0:42:46 | |
All the grasses we chose, yeah. Good choice there, guys. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
Very good choice, I'm impressed with that. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:51 | |
It's going to mean an awful lot to the users of the farm. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:54 | |
The kids I can bring down here for the holiday activities, | 0:42:54 | 0:42:56 | |
the fire-lighting, people with learning disabilities can come here, | 0:42:56 | 0:43:00 | |
if they feel anxious, they've got a nice place to relax and be calm in. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:03 | |
Yeah. And I suppose what's great for this is | 0:43:03 | 0:43:05 | |
it makes a good focal point as well, doesn't it? | 0:43:05 | 0:43:07 | |
-We might even have our next staff meeting down here. -LAUGHTER | 0:43:07 | 0:43:11 | |
It's not just for you, you know. | 0:43:11 | 0:43:14 | |
If we can bring some of the people down here... | 0:43:14 | 0:43:16 | |
-You most certainly can. -OK, no problem. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:18 | |
Hello, welcome, everyone. | 0:43:21 | 0:43:23 | |
James, if we get bored of woodwork, | 0:43:23 | 0:43:25 | |
we can come down here and have a fire, mate. | 0:43:25 | 0:43:27 | |
No problem. | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
Yeah. | 0:43:29 | 0:43:30 | |
What do you like most about this space? | 0:43:32 | 0:43:33 | |
-Pretty. -It's pretty? | 0:43:33 | 0:43:35 | |
Do you think you'll be use it a lot? | 0:43:35 | 0:43:38 | |
Yeah. | 0:43:38 | 0:43:39 | |
Well, it's your space, come and enjoy it. | 0:43:39 | 0:43:42 | |
THEY ALL CHATTER | 0:43:47 | 0:43:51 | |
That reaction speaks volumes, and I know, with that design, | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
I have really hit the spot. | 0:43:57 | 0:44:00 | |
And I am so pleased. | 0:44:00 | 0:44:02 | |
Congratulations, Danny, this design is a definite hit. | 0:44:02 | 0:44:06 | |
Join us next time for another Instant Garden. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:09 |