Monty faces some of the most unexpected ideas - a Norwegian garden complete with waterfalls and other big plans to be fashioned out of a tiny back yard in Dorset, and nothing less than a Japanese tea garden to be created out of an overgrown patch of ground in Bromley. There's plenty of mud, sweat and tears, and at times the ideas seem little more than pipe dreams. Can they make it in the end? And what is Monty's final verdict?
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00:00Do you have a small garden but a big idea?
00:05Do you know what you'd like it to look like
00:07but no idea, really, of where to begin?
00:10Well, you're not alone.
00:12Over the last year, I've been working with people
00:14right across the country,
00:16helping them to make their garden dreams become reality.
00:20Monty Don has listened to their hopes and plans.
00:24It's an absolutely crazy idea and I love it.
00:28He's given advice.
00:30Don't be frightened to push plants into crevices.
00:33And he's rolled up his sleeves.
00:35Let's not talk about it, let's just do it.
00:37Talk about a lean, mean gardening machine.
00:40Things haven't always gone to plan.
00:43I thought we were going to make four, I expect.
00:45I'm a bit worried that we might have killed it.
00:48But it's been worth it.
00:50What a beautiful garden.
00:52So happy.
00:54Thank you, Monty.
00:56I do believe that however small your garden is,
01:00everybody can cultivate a big dream.
01:10This time, Monty works with two couples
01:13who dream of bringing far-off places into their back gardens.
01:17They test Monty to the limit.
01:20I can't even get my fork in.
01:22To your right. Are you sure?
01:24From creating a mountain and a stream...
01:27Cold! It's cold, it's cold.
01:30..to bringing the Far East to the South East.
01:33That's where it wants to be, it wants to be out like that.
01:36And they find the elements bring them to their knees.
01:40There are times like this and you think,
01:42this was such a silly idea.
01:44They will move heaven... Step away from the Buddha.
01:47..and earth to turn their small spaces into big dreams.
01:52Well done. Thank you.
01:57Our first dreamers come from the village of Marnal in Dorset.
02:01Helen met Tim seven years ago when he moved to the area.
02:05We met socially and then Tim and I started walking the dogs.
02:10Becoming more familiar with the highways and byways of Dorset,
02:13as well as Helen's dogs, was not the only thing on Tim's mind.
02:17That's when you can say, yes, I did ask her out and away.
02:21It was definitely love me, love my dog, though,
02:23because the dog I had at the time, Tim said to me,
02:26and how long do they live for?
02:28And I thought, watch it, mate.
02:30If you've got any ideas, the dog's staying, you're not.
02:33But Helen agreed to leave the dogs at home,
02:36get herself a passport for the first time
02:38and go on the honeymoon of a lifetime.
02:42My overall impression of Norway was of greenery, ferns, grasses,
02:48rocks and boulders and the movement of water going over the stones.
02:52And that's really what I want to try and get into this garden,
02:55my Norwegian garden.
03:00Our second dreamers live in the London suburbs of Bromley.
03:04Joan and David have been here for nine years,
03:07but gifts like tonnes of paving and purchases of lots of plants
03:12have so far led to a garden looking like a dumping ground.
03:17I work for a big international marketing company.
03:20For me, to come into my own space
03:23and have somewhere to chill and relax is key.
03:27Joan has a busy working life as a graphic designer
03:30and has decided to turn her garden into a haven of peace and tranquillity.
03:37The Japanese-themed garden came about really because my eye was drawn in
03:42and I found it very peaceful and tranquil,
03:45so I think that kind of guided me down that line.
03:51Joan isn't the only one looking for peace and quiet.
03:54Her husband David has his own plans.
03:57I had a shed out there for a long while,
03:59but I haven't been able to get into it
04:02because of all the extra stuff that goes in there.
04:09It would just be nice to have a bit of room in there
04:12to store some of my stuff,
04:14maybe have a little TV.
04:16There's a bit of a chill-out place to go and keep out of the way sometimes.
04:23LAUGHTER
04:38It's late autumn, and in Dorset,
04:40Helen is anticipating a visit from Britain's top gardener.
04:44So a last-minute tidy-up and a bit of weeding is in order.
04:48I'm looking forward to Monty coming.
04:50I'm a little bit anxious about what he's going to say about my garden.
04:53I think possibly most gardeners are a little bit precious about their baby.
04:58Helen knows that she has some unusual plans, wild dreams even,
05:02given the tiny space.
05:04She's worried she won't sell them easily to Monty.
05:10So...
05:11Here we are. This is the plot.
05:13So just this area here,
05:15Yes, it is rather small.
05:17And what do you want to do with it?
05:19We want to recreate something of what we saw
05:23when we were on honeymoon in Norway.
05:25We just saw the nice gardens they've got there,
05:27and so we just thought, well,
05:29why not have a garden here from Norway and bring it home?
05:32Not technically, of course, but...
05:34A Norwegian garden is pretty unusual.
05:38Yes.
05:39I mean, in fact, I've been to a Norwegian garden
05:42and it's pretty unusual.
05:44Yes.
05:45I mean, in fact, I'll be honest, it's the first people I've ever met
05:48who said, I want a Norwegian garden.
05:50What did you see when you were on honeymoon in Norway?
05:53We were inspired by a walk we took.
05:56We were in Gaul and we walked down one day
05:58from the big white church on the mountainside
06:01and we got these glimpses of little glades almost amongst the trees
06:06with streams and rocks and little waterfalls all running through.
06:12So what we want to do really here
06:15is to have water running over rocks and then into a pool
06:19and then a stream and bridge and build an arbour.
06:22Hang on, bridge?
06:24Well, over the stream I'm hoping to have a bridge
06:27because I've got the water running away from the stream
06:30and we've got to wait across it to get to the arbour that Tim is going...
06:34Tim is going to build on the back of the workshop.
06:37OK.
06:39Um, fine.
06:41I have big ideas.
06:43You certainly do.
06:47After they've rebuilt their garage
06:49and a remaining budget of £1,500 to £2,000 for the 4x5m plot,
06:54Helen and Tim's dream is to have water
06:57falling over boulders leading into a pond,
07:00which will then flow from the pond to a bridge
07:03and in turn that will lead to an arbour.
07:05If that wasn't enough, they also want a bog garden and some decking.
07:11Monty is stunned by the scale of the dream,
07:13but slowly he begins to warm to the Norwegian theme.
07:17You need a touch of the sinister to make it work.
07:21You do something that is radical
07:24and has a sort of Grimm's Fairy Tale element to it, you know,
07:29and it becomes a sort of gothic, rich idea rather than a twee...
07:35Don't want to do twee. Do not want to do twee.
07:38Whenever there was a chance or an opportunity
07:42to use dwarf conifers, it's here.
07:45Now, dwarf conifers, I don't know how you feel about them
07:48or what you know about them, but for most of my adult life
07:52have been about as unfashionable and untrendy as it's possible to be.
07:59Helen and Tim need to simplify their plans dramatically.
08:03I would drop the arbour and the decking
08:06because it's becoming too cluttered.
08:09And the stream must either be linked to the rest of the garden
08:12or screened off.
08:14And I do think they should go all out for the dwarf conifers.
08:20Today has been a real eye-opener.
08:22It certainly made me think about the garden in a different way.
08:25Well, this is a truly tiny space and a whopping great idea.
08:30It's going to be holding on to what was our idea,
08:32but I think incorporating some of the really good input
08:35that they've given us today.
08:37Watch this space and see what we can come up with.
08:42Over in Bromley, it's Joan and David's turn to prepare for Monty's visit.
08:46The big tidy-up is under way to turn a dump into a blank canvas.
08:52So far, the extent of Joan's gardening has been about buying plants.
08:57Keeping them alive has been quite another story.
09:00These can go down the dump, David. They're dead.
09:04No, they're rubbish.
09:06Apart from the long commute, the long hours,
09:09we both have a responsibility to my dad, who's 91, disabled,
09:14and we spend the evenings with him really making sure he's had a hot meal.
09:20Now Joan and David want to make time to create their dream garden...
09:25..with Monty's expert help.
09:28Now, tell me, what's the idea?
09:32Well, we'd like to clear a lot of this and have a Japanese-style theme.
09:37I see three separate sections in the garden.
09:41One area near the house for dining,
09:44the middle section probably more of a seating area for entertaining,
09:49and then the third area much more kind of exclusive, if you like.
09:54OK. That's the usage. Yes.
09:57But describe to me how you think they'll look.
10:00Well, I think I'd have planting coming right the way across the garden
10:04to make the sections.
10:06Well, is it going to be flowers or hedge or trees or shrubs?
10:11I mean, do you see it as spiky, soft?
10:13It's kind of like bamboos and grasses and sort of the movement
10:18and the noise is really kind of peaceful.
10:21Why Japanese?
10:23I suppose I'm just really drawn to the tranquillity
10:26and all the different colours going on.
10:29And what will be on the ground?
10:31Well, we've got rather a lot of paving stones.
10:34It's funny, I had noticed that.
10:36I couldn't help but see that most of your garden
10:40is taken up with piles of paving stones.
10:42That's true.
10:45Because David and Joan have been given 22 tonnes of stone,
10:49they want to use it in their Japanese tea garden,
10:52dividing their 20-by-7-metre plot into three sections.
10:57The first area will be a dining space, framed by planted screens,
11:02and Joan would also like vertical wooden moving screens
11:06for extra privacy.
11:08The second area has more seating for entertaining guests
11:11with an ornamental Acer as the centrepiece.
11:13And the third area is designed to be more tranquil,
11:17and secluded, and their budget is £8,000 to £10,000.
11:23Were you thinking of a building at all?
11:25Toying with the idea.
11:27Are you?
11:28He doesn't know yet.
11:30That's the first I've heard of this.
11:32Looks like the designer is keeping a few surprises up her sleeve.
11:36Well, now we've broached the subject, let's go on with it.
11:40What sort of building?
11:42Almost like a pagoda kind of building.
11:45Almost like a pagoda kind of thing.
11:47I mean, you said you wanted a tea garden.
11:50Would you consider a tea house?
11:52Might be nice.
11:54It'd be in keeping, wouldn't it? Yes, it would.
11:57We've got the shed down that end, though, so...
12:00Well, you've got a shed, you've got a tea house,
12:02yeah, there you are, isn't it?
12:04Moving swiftly on from the shed,
12:06Joan addresses another common feature of a Japanese garden.
12:09I mean, we hadn't considered a water feature,
12:12but maybe that's something that we could re-look at.
12:14Why didn't you consider a water feature?
12:16Probably because of the expense.
12:19It's your garden. I know.
12:21I mean, what is the point in having a dream of what you'd like to do
12:26if you then nip that dream in the bud
12:28and squash it before it's even begun?
12:31I think that Joan and David should go all out on the Japanese theme
12:35and include a tea house.
12:37It should be free-flowing
12:39rather than created in symmetrical blocks,
12:42so they do need to rethink that aspect of the design.
12:47By all means, use plants to divide the space,
12:50but I would lose the moving screens.
12:52Although it would be worth considering a fence
12:55to protect the plants from wind.
12:58And to complete the Japanese effect,
13:00it really must include a water feature.
13:03I notice that you're not contributing to this,
13:06so you're just going with it.
13:08This is all Joan's.
13:10That is, except for the shed.
13:12But more of that later.
13:14I'd like a garden that is very nice to look at
13:19and maintenance-free.
13:23I've got news for you.
13:27That garden only exists in a pie in the sky.
13:33Well, we are talking about dream gardens here.
13:36I like the idea of a Japanese garden.
13:39I think it will be stylish and also Joan will get that meditative garden
13:42that's so important to her.
13:44I feel very energised by it.
13:47Monty brought clarity to my plans
13:49because there was confusion about whether to keep it really structured
13:53or go the more traditional Japanese route.
13:56But they do need to do something about those slabs.
13:59I mean, 22 tonnes of stone blocking the garden.
14:03It's crazy.
14:05I'm looking forward to coming back to learn more about plants themselves.
14:09Helping out with the planting will be great.
14:12Learning from an expert. Excellent.
14:15I don't know what will happen with the shed at the end.
14:17Will it be a pagoda?
14:19Will it be a tea room?
14:21Or will David's shed just get a new roof?
14:30A few weeks later,
14:32as Joan and David see what goes into a Japanese garden,
14:35Monty has sent them to Tatton Park in Cheshire.
14:39It's one of the most famous examples of its kind,
14:42a tea garden inspired by the owner's visit
14:45to an Anglo-Japanese exhibition in London in 1910.
14:49The head gardener, Simon Tetlow,
14:51sets our dreamers off on their journey of discovery.
14:55This idea that you want to take tea in a nice, quiet and restful place,
15:01that's essentially what this garden is.
15:03It's kind of looking at linking long views up in a very small space.
15:08What's behind that tree, you know?
15:10It could be the road to a mountaintop.
15:12It could be the road to a wellhead or back to the town.
15:17It's kind of hiding things. It's revealment and concealment.
15:20This is exactly what you can do in a relatively small space.
15:24And some good news for David.
15:26It is about a very simple arrangement of plants.
15:29There's nothing very complicated about the planting,
15:32you'll be pleased to hear.
15:34It's a very, very limited kind of palette of plants
15:37used in a Japanese garden.
15:39It's just kind of learning a very few simple things
15:42on how to shape them and position them.
15:45What are the kind of things that you'd like to take away with you?
15:48What are the kind of elements of it?
15:50I love the water. I think this is fabulous.
15:52And the bridge, it's exquisite.
15:54The lanterns, everything, it's just absolutely beautiful.
15:57So if I could wrap it all up and take it with me, that'd be super.
16:05A tea garden, perhaps its most important thing is the water.
16:09The idea that you were to draw pure water for the tea ceremony.
16:13It's that retreat to the mountains.
16:16You're disappearing off into the woods
16:18for meditation or a spiritual experience.
16:23The shady, dewy path through the trees.
16:28And in case Joan was thinking she could get away
16:31with a Japanese tea garden without that water feature...
16:34Being in the space that we are now, it's more about the sound of water
16:38than it is about the actual water itself.
16:41And if it is the tea ceremony, it's that thought that
16:44somewhere behind the bushes there is a well with spring water coming in
16:48that we can make a pure cup of green tea from.
16:51It's that illusion that it may be there.
16:53Ever the practical one, David brings them down to earth.
16:57What was maybe putting us off was the actual construction and maintenance.
17:04Do you need a main water supply?
17:08Yeah, yeah.
17:09I'm in the building business, but I'm not a plumber.
17:13Fair do, no.
17:15It's as much illusion as it is reality, you know what I mean?
17:19It doesn't have to be there as a big pool.
17:21It could be something that's just moving water from one place to another
17:25and a simple pump will do that for you.
17:30Joan is blown away by it all.
17:33I feel very inspired. It's been a great trip.
17:36Talking to Simon has put a lot of things in, a bit more clarity.
17:40Really loving the idea of the water feature.
17:43Yeah, that's good.
17:44A bit more research, I guess.
17:46David is realising just how much work is involved.
17:51You could do a roof like that, couldn't you?
17:54Or we'd buy one.
17:58I'm certainly going to go back home, look at our plans again.
18:01I've really got a flavour now of the winding paths and everything.
18:05Before, I was trying to be much too structured.
18:08I think this is much more free-flowing, if you like,
18:10and that's the look I want to achieve now.
18:14With Joan's plans crystallising in her head,
18:17it will now be up to David to get on with some of the hard graft.
18:30In Dorset, Helen and Tim are starting on their big project
18:33to turn their small patch of lawn into their Norwegian dream garden.
18:38But they are having to contend with one of the wettest winters on record.
18:44The flooding was in the Somerset levels,
18:47which are about 20 miles north of us.
18:50The water levels has made it very difficult this winter
18:53to do any gardening.
18:55Helen was so determined to get going on the garden,
18:58she decided to rebuild the workshop in January,
19:01during the worst of the wet weather.
19:03You've got terribly tired, desperately tired trying to do it.
19:07Back and forth, back and forth.
19:09Well, Dad mixing the concrete, I mean, they've got a cement mixer,
19:12but they had to mix everything by hand.
19:14We reckon he shoveled something in the region of 2,000 shovels
19:17of sand and cement.
19:19And Tim's dad, Terry, a bricklayer, is back for more.
19:26It was a long punch, and if it wasn't my boy,
19:29I wouldn't have done half that.
19:32Along with Terry, Helen has pulled in the help of friends and a neighbour
19:36to get fences painted, the turf up and the stream design laid out.
19:41Yeah, watch out, head gardener's on site.
19:47I'll just give you that, Steve.
19:50Tim, whose day job is being a plumber, gets to work with his father,
19:54and together they find a way to get the water feature installed.
20:02This is a good way of plumbing, this is.
20:05Oh, we got it. Roger's got it.
20:09Ta-da!
20:11Well, that's that bit done.
20:13Next, Monty suggested Helen should mark out exactly
20:16where the new stream should go, using a garden hose.
20:19Don't worry, we'll whiz it out roughly then.
20:21The head gardener knows exactly what she wants.
20:24I could hear Helen coming out and sound like a foreman coming on site,
20:27directing the labourers at work.
20:29Right a bit or right a bit, Sue?
20:33Getting her plans to match the space isn't so easy.
20:36No, I know, it's just getting the curve in at about 18 inches.
20:41Right, well, that looks a lot smaller than I was anticipating.
20:46Working in this small space means the boulders that are part
20:49of the overall plan are now getting in the way.
20:52An ancient solution is the only way to go.
20:56Are you sure this is how they did Stonehenge?
20:59I wasn't there. I'm not actually that old.
21:06Think I'll be quicker than that? No, stop pushing.
21:09What direction are we going?
21:11We just need to get it out of the way at the moment.
21:14That's it, now leave it like that.
21:16That's a good idea. And walk away majestically.
21:21We can drop it back on then later when you want to put it
21:24in a place where Madame's made up her mind where it's going.
21:28I knew this bit was going to be the interesting bit.
21:31It's whether we can all stay friends.
21:33Whoever said creating a dream garden was easy?
21:38I don't think they'll talk to us if we've got this wrong, so...
21:42The head gardener keeps her team on the job.
21:45Finally, she has the space to go on
21:47designing her Norwegian-style stream.
21:51Over in Bromley, pressure is mounting to get the hard landscaping
21:55done before Monty returns to give them a hand with the planting.
21:59And with wet weather delaying progress,
22:01Joan and David need all the help they can get.
22:04Five months on, the burning question is,
22:07how much of that paving do they really, really need?
22:12So far, it's two tonnes down, only 20 tonnes to go.
22:17We still might have a bit left over.
22:21I'm sure someone else might want it.
22:25David is smiling, not least because he's come up with a cunning plan
22:29to save his shed.
22:31Why not build a new summer house? Or is it a tea house?
22:35Joan's happy to go along with this idea.
22:39The boys are starting the tea house,
22:41so they've been studying the plans this morning
22:44and I think it's a bit of the blind leading the blind,
22:47but we'll see how it goes.
22:50So I reckon the walls go straight onto here.
22:54The paving has made a good floor for the new structure.
22:57Now all they have to do is figure out
22:59how 1,000 pieces of wood fit together.
23:03It is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle,
23:05but I think once we get the base set up properly
23:10and then the rest of it should all fall into place, really.
23:16Joan looks on encouragingly.
23:18Do you know what you're doing now?
23:22David just has to keep remembering
23:24that this is how he's having his dream shed
23:26and let Joan pursue her fantasies.
23:28We're going to have a bridge, not an arched bridge,
23:32but a sort of a zigzag bridge
23:34that you quite often see in Japanese gardens.
23:36We're going to have a waiting area,
23:38which is traditional before you go to the tea house.
23:42And after sort of speaking to Monty
23:45and also after the visit to Tatton Park,
23:48we realised that we absolutely must have a water feature.
23:57Like that.
23:58Now I'm down this side, mate.
24:00Yeah.
24:01That'll look straight.
24:03I think I kind of underestimated the budget.
24:06I hope it doesn't go into five figures, but you never know,
24:10especially when I go shopping.
24:12To achieve the traditional Japanese look,
24:15Joan will have a good excuse to go on a spending spree.
24:18There are lots of new things
24:20that she can legitimately add to her shopping list,
24:23including lanterns and other statuary.
24:26And there's the all-important plants, including aces,
24:30which produce the most stunning colours, especially in autumn.
24:36Joan heads for a specialist garden nursery
24:39for that greatly anticipated shopping spree.
24:42I've come to buy a lantern, some plants,
24:45and I want to do a small water feature.
24:48It's £135.
24:50The snow lantern, £315.
24:53Joan picks out trees and shrubs, which she has seen in Tatton.
24:57She's in her element. Money, no object.
25:00Ace, sir.
25:02I'll maintain.
25:03Three, two, five.
25:05Zero. Beautiful.
25:08So far, so good.
25:10But it's what happens to the plants next that may not come quite so easily.
25:15It's spring, and time for Helen and Tim to work out
25:19exactly what plants will give their garden the Norwegian look.
25:23Monty has sent them off to Longstock Water Garden,
25:26near their home in Dorset.
25:31It was all dug by hand in the 1940s,
25:34and it's the first time they've ever done it.
25:37It's the first time they've ever done it.
25:40It's the first time they've ever done it.
25:43It was all dug by hand in the 1940s.
25:46The main features are islands and bridges,
25:49and it has lots of interesting planting around the edges of the water.
25:54It's a rich and stunning mix of flowers, trees and shrubs.
25:59The grounds manager, Rob Ballard, gives them some interesting tips.
26:03Certainly from our water garden's point of view,
26:06we try and grow things over the edges of the ponds
26:09to soften the feel of them.
26:12You can immediately see the wonderful effect
26:14of the plants being reflected in the water.
26:17Wherever possible, we try and plant in big, bold groups
26:21because you have this giant mirror.
26:23Yes. And it would be silly not to use it.
26:27Over there we have the Iris pseudocorus,
26:30which is actually planted in a planting pocket
26:33on the edge of the lake, and as you can see,
26:35they're quite happy there and they give really good reflections.
26:38Yes.
26:42Looking at the tricks used to make the most of this garden
26:45has given Helen new ideas.
26:50As we've walked around, we've really appreciated
26:53the power of reflections and colour, the colour into the water.
27:00If you look at the acid yellow with the dark green behind...
27:04Yeah, it really shows it fell.
27:06..which is what happened for us with the conifers.
27:12And there's nothing like some instant gardening.
27:15Helen and Tim head straight for the nursery
27:18to compliment their design.
27:20Where do we start?
27:22Right. Here are the astilbes.
27:25Oh, look, there's a ballpark garden.
27:28And you've got those... Yes. Yes, OK.
27:30That'll make quite a good clump, and then we'll have blue and yellow.
27:33So would you put yellow and purple together?
27:35No, I'll have yellow to one side and purple,
27:37so they're big, big clumps of each.
27:39I saw one of these the other day.
27:41It's a really variety.
27:42The trip has left Tim's head spinning,
27:45but he and Helen manage quite quickly
27:47to run up a trolley full of plant purchases.
27:50Meanwhile, it's time for Monty's next visit to Bromley.
27:53I came away from here last time with some real worries
27:57because although I knew that Joan and David
28:00had lots of enthusiasm, a bit of money and a good eye,
28:03I didn't feel that they really understood
28:06what they wanted from a Japanese garden.
28:11Hello. How are you?
28:13Very, very nice to be back. Nice to see you again.
28:15You've clearly been busy. Yes, very busy.
28:17And you've clearly been buying plants.
28:19Yes, I've been shopping.
28:21With a vengeance. Good for you.
28:24That's the way to go.
28:26Remind me what the original plans were,
28:28because it looks slightly different to as I imagined it would.
28:31I have a memory of three sections and sliding panels.
28:34I had some wild and wacky ideas at the beginning.
28:37I think I wanted this idea that it could be
28:40sort of multifunctional, really,
28:43but not practical in the slightest, so...
28:47No.
28:49Joan's first plan was to pave over the whole garden with stone
28:53and divide it into three sections.
28:55It was very ambitious, with moving wooden screens,
28:59but it just didn't feel like a Japanese tea garden.
29:04I haven't been here for, what, six months? Mm-hm.
29:06So what I'd love you to do is to walk me through...
29:09OK.
29:11This was going to be a seating area, wasn't it?
29:13Yeah. Completely changed that.
29:15And it was going to be a plain path running down the side, which was...
29:19So all this will be planted? Yes.
29:22Beautiful.
29:24I'm pleased to see that Joan has freed up the design
29:27and let it evolve asymmetrically,
29:30and has been shopping for plants.
29:32But I think they won't get the protection they need without a fence.
29:39So Monty gets to work, and he begins with a bamboo screen
29:43that will at least give a little protection from the wind.
29:47It will also give Joan the privacy she is after.
29:52OK, we've got some Phyllostachys nigra here.
29:55Phyllostachys is a Chinese bamboo
29:58that makes beautiful, tall, quite dramatic plants.
30:03They can spread, but people worry much too much about bamboo spreading.
30:07There are certain types that are very invasive.
30:10Sassus, Playobastis.
30:12Getting it out of the pot can be fun and games.
30:18You see, look, it's completely spread out.
30:20We're going to have to cut that out.
30:22Joan admitted to Monty that she bought these online.
30:25This was definitely not one of her best buys.
30:28Take a look at that thing. Really woody.
30:31You should always be able to take the plant out of the pot
30:34and inspect the roots.
30:35And if you can't, or they won't let you, don't buy it.
30:39Those roots are never going to grow out in a good fashion.
30:44And what we can do, and it wouldn't hurt to,
30:48is just take that off.
30:49You see, look, that's where it wants to be.
30:51It wants to be out like that.
30:54And we're going to plant it a little bit deeper,
30:57which will lose you some height, but roots will grow from the combs.
31:01So you're going to strengthen it and also stop it rocking so much.
31:05The happy shopper may have made a mistake.
31:09But she fares better with her next more extravagant purchase.
31:13She's bought not one, but nine Japanese maples, or acers.
31:18If you haven't worked out exactly where you want things to plant,
31:21a good idea is to get all your plants and start placing them
31:25right at the stepping stone.
31:27Do you mean over here?
31:29Um... Here?
31:30No, the other side of the path, towards... Yeah.
31:33Here? About... To your right.
31:36Here?
31:37No, that's not going to work, is it?
31:39I was going to say, are you sure?
31:41I was thinking a bit closer in, but it's not going to work there anyway.
31:45All that shopping, that was easy next to this.
31:49My instinct would be to put it there.
31:52That's what I thought.
31:56You can't see the big rock, then?
31:58Well, you can from here.
32:07Um, no, I prefer that.
32:09Right, go on, David, you take some grief now.
32:12I've suffered.
32:14This has to be decision time for Joan.
32:16I haven't got all day.
32:19Can you swivel it round, please?
32:21The other way... Other way round?
32:23That's it, so it faces the...
32:25That's lovely, look at that.
32:28Not many people plant, what, one, two, three, four,
32:32five, six, seven, eight, nine...
32:35..Acer palmatums...
32:38..in one go.
32:40For most people, it would be the biggest event in their gardening year
32:44and they've won.
32:46Joan!
32:48Next, a vital lesson for Joan
32:50about something she hasn't managed to do so far.
32:53How to keep these expensive plants alive.
32:57You need to keep them watered, so if it gets too dry.
33:00The crucial thing is to try and keep them out of wind.
33:03A harsh, warm wind, harsh, cold wind will do them no good at all.
33:07But other than that, they're easy plants to grow.
33:09If they're happy, they're happy.
33:11Wind is the enemy. Yeah.
33:14There's yet one more extravagant, Japanesey purchase
33:18that Monty helps them with.
33:21I see you've bought yourself an example of cloud pruning.
33:25Yes.
33:26This is, again, typical Japanese,
33:29where everything is controlled but nature is revered.
33:33So you have this funny relationship
33:35between man absolutely controlling literally every last leaf
33:40but trying to make it look natural.
33:42So the very idea of cloud pruning,
33:44you know, how do you prune to the clouds, the clouds shift?
33:47So there's no set shape and it's called niwaki.
33:50Niwaki.
33:51The time to prune this is...
33:55..sort of middle of May to beginning of June.
33:58So it's growing strongly, lots of new growth
34:01and then you cut into that and shape it
34:03and then again probably in September. OK.
34:08Oh, nice. How's that? Perfect.
34:12Very, very Japanesey feel evolving.
34:15Getting there.
34:16When I come back, I want it all finished.
34:20And I want to sit in your nice garden
34:22and I want to have a cup of green tea
34:24and maybe something a little bit more celebratory.
34:27Sake and sushi, maybe. Sake and sushi.
34:29I'll tell you what, I'll hold you to that.
34:31That is an absolute promise. I love it.
34:34It's nice to be proved wrong sometimes
34:37because last time I was here,
34:39I suspected this would be a bit of a mishmash.
34:41I think the lessons of Tatton Park have come home.
34:44They know what they want to do,
34:46but they're expressing it in their own way.
34:48Still quite a bit to go. Yeah.
34:51Yeah, a fair amount, really.
34:53The only thing perhaps I would worry about
34:56is that Joan has bought a mass of plants
34:59without really thinking where they're going to go.
35:02I'm not going to rush anything. I think we'll take our time.
35:05Getting the planting right will make or break this garden.
35:12In Dorset, spring is well under way,
35:15and so is Helen's dream garden.
35:17She's been working flat out to get the landscaping done
35:20ahead of Monty's visit in just a few days' time.
35:24She has dug the entire pond, bog and stream by hand and by herself.
35:30I don't know how many tonnes of soil I've moved,
35:32but it's been very hard work.
35:34And then laying stuff over it and not really being able to see the pattern,
35:38and then the rocks have gone in and you can see the form a bit better.
35:41Helen is nothing if not a perfectionist,
35:43but she is desperate to be ready for Monty.
35:46When the plants are going, it's going to be a huge difference.
35:49I'm really looking forward to it.
35:57This garden is one that intrigues me
35:59because I really don't know what to expect.
36:02I left last time pretty uncertain
36:04that they knew what they were trying to achieve,
36:07and I certainly wasn't absolutely sure,
36:09but there seemed to be a germ of something genuinely interesting in there.
36:13The hard work has clearly taken its toll on Helen.
36:16If he's not impressed with that, I shall sit down and bawl my eyes out.
36:20DOG BARKS
36:22Tim, do you want to lead on?
36:24We'll take you round and you can see what we've been up to.
36:29I don't know if you'll be insulted or pleased,
36:32but I genuinely had not expected this.
36:37And I'm very impressed. Very impressed.
36:40So where are we now?
36:42Obviously you've rebuilt that.
36:44Yes.
36:45You've brought all this stone in.
36:47I hadn't really taken on board the extent to which the water
36:51was going to work through here, which is fantastic.
36:54Good.
36:55And you have built that wall up there,
36:57which I was worried about the division with the rest of the garden.
37:00We totally took that on board.
37:02We mulled over everything you said to us
37:04and put a mountainside stream on a flat plot.
37:08It looks as though Helen has gone quite a long way
37:11to creating a natural mountainous landscape.
37:14And now the important thing is to make sure that the planting
37:17fits in with this and maintains that naturalistic look.
37:21Top of Monty's plant list for this new project
37:24were those dwarf conifers, and Helen certainly pushed the boat out.
37:28You've got a lot of dwarf conifers.
37:31I have that one.
37:33And another.
37:36And another.
37:38You've got larger arms than I have.
37:40Let's just get going along here for a bit.
37:43Next, Monty uses the large selection of plants
37:46to begin to populate the space.
37:49If you want to create a landscape rather than a rock garden...
37:53Yes.
37:54..then you've got to think, how do landscapes work?
37:57Where are the tallest trees? Tallest trees will be lower down.
38:00Yes.
38:02The whole point about doing this, we can move them round endlessly.
38:05But Helen decides to put a very tall plant
38:07in amongst the carefully choreographed small ones.
38:10Sneak it in whilst he's not looking.
38:15Well, that's interesting.
38:18This one might be too big.
38:20What's he said too big? What's too big?
38:22That.
38:23Babies. It was going to go in that corner.
38:26No, I think it'll be better. Good.
38:32I think it's beginning to fall into shape.
38:35It is. It is.
38:37Next, a top planting tip for Helen.
38:40They need to be planted surprisingly deeply, these.
38:43You've got to remember that they are trees
38:45and they will behave like trees, so they don't want to get waterlogged.
38:49No.
38:50You see, that looks much better, much better instantly.
38:53I can see what you mean.
38:55The density of planting really helps to give that feel of...
38:58Well, it gives you the feel of your Norwegian forest
39:02as opposed to a rock garden.
39:04Now, advice on the bog garden.
39:07The thing to understand about bog,
39:09bog is simply ground that never dries up.
39:12Yes.
39:13There's no more or less to it than that.
39:15Right.
39:16Helen has created a careful lining which would be watertight,
39:19but Monty introduces some offcuts, which he scores.
39:22That's going to make a huge difference.
39:24Right.
39:25That's going to transform it as a bog.
39:27Now, already, the water is going to go under there
39:30and going to drain away, but most of it is going to be held.
39:34And so what you see is you've got this fundamentally holding water
39:37but not nearly good enough for a pond.
39:39If it was a pond, it would leak. Yes.
39:41But because it's going to be full of soil,
39:43the soil will act like a sponge.
39:45We want wet soil, not a puddle. Yes.
39:47OK, so we just make some holes, like that,
39:51and like that, and like that, and like that.
39:5820 wheelbarrows of topsoil later, some compost,
40:02and Monty is ready for the fun part.
40:06So, plants.
40:08A perfect bog plant, hostas.
40:11I have some.
40:13Well prepared as ever, Helen has not one,
40:15but five different varieties of hostas ready to go.
40:19There's a rule with hostas.
40:21The sunnier they are, the more moisture they need.
40:24So the shadier they are, the less moisture they need.
40:27But they thrive in sort of half-shade, half-sun moisture.
40:32Right.
40:34And lots of other plants bought at Longstock too.
40:37Let's get the gyms, let's get the primners, let's get them in.
40:41I wonder how many more she's brought.
40:45Right, how are you feeling about this?
40:47Well, looking pretty good.
40:49Well, obviously we've got your hostas,
40:51which are essentially foliage plants, but have flowers.
40:55Yes.
40:56And quite dramatic, beautiful flowers at that.
40:58They're herbaceous perennials, so they will totally disappear until March.
41:02Yes.
41:03Your primners are going to come and then go.
41:05Yes.
41:06Even Tim is getting into the swing of the planting now.
41:12Every time you water it,
41:14what should happen is that you'll reach saturation point.
41:18And, of course, the reason you mulch,
41:21even though it's a bog garden,
41:23it's always the same three reasons.
41:25It is, one, to suppress weeds, because you're blocking them with light.
41:29Two, to stop evaporation, which keeps water in. Yes.
41:33And, three, if it's organic material, it will work in
41:37and both feed the soil, depending on what you use,
41:39and, really importantly, improve soil structure. Yes.
41:43That should be the garden finished.
41:46From a hull to this.
41:48Monty leaves our dream gardeners satisfied.
41:52Now, I've got a confession to make.
41:56Of all the gardens that I've been visiting,
41:59this is the one that I had least expectations of.
42:03I really couldn't see how they could make anything out of their proposals.
42:09We've looked at the landscaping for so long
42:11and been planning it and working on it for so long.
42:14That's how it seems to actually have some... Life into it.
42:17..have some plants in it, yes. It was amazing.
42:20I think what they've done has shown real vision, bags of energy.
42:25Helen, after all, has dug that all out herself by hand.
42:28They've got on with it, they've expanded on their original ideas
42:32and yet they've been true to what they've wanted.
42:35The thing I've learnt today from Monty,
42:37it has given me more confidence in planting
42:40and playing around with ideas, looking at plants in relation to one another,
42:44so probably make me bolder into trying other things for the rest of the garden.
42:48It looks good already, but in five weeks' time,
42:51when I come back to see the final thing,
42:54I expect to see it looking spectacular.
42:58After that exhilarating day with Monty, Helen felt she was on track
43:02and all that time she had battled with the elements
43:05to prepare her dream garden had been worth it.
43:11Two weeks later, however, and everything has gone pear-shaped.
43:15The rain is back and progress is really slow.
43:20It's like January all over again.
43:23There are times like this and you think...
43:27..this was such a silly idea!
43:30It hasn't actually filled my wellies yet, so that's quite good.
43:35It's going to bring me. Just a minute. Yes.
43:38You nearly got me.
43:40This is only light shower, but we had heavy rain overnight,
43:43I could hear it, and it just makes it so difficult to work.
43:46It's not just the elements conspiring against her.
43:49Tim's working solidly for the next six weeks,
43:52so today is our last day.
43:54We've got to do all the construction today because it's the last day
43:57I've got him here to help me.
43:59You all right? Because that's a slippy board.
44:01The first job is to disguise their reservoir pump
44:04by creating a log pile.
44:06It's precarious work, not helped by all the mud from the constant rain.
44:11Oh, it's going to pull me in.
44:13Next, Helen wants to copy the waterside planting at Longstock,
44:16so there's nothing for it but a dip in her new stream.
44:20Cold! It's cold, it's cold.
44:23It's cold.
44:26It's very heavy now.
44:28There's a whole area still to go
44:30and muddy patches of earth where plants should be.
44:35We're just going to move the plants, Tim,
44:37and then I think we can get the patio up.
44:40Finally, Helen and Tim are now back on track,
44:43and Helen even has a confession to make about the bog garden.
44:47When Monty was here, I forgot to give him the grasses
44:50that I'd planned for the bog garden,
44:52so we've put a lot more bog-loving grasses in there,
44:55so it looks more like a woodland glade now with some flowers.
44:59I have to admit, I pulled everything out and started again.
45:03I don't know what Monty's going to say about that!
45:07Summer is finally here, and in Bromley,
45:10Joan is adding her own extra flourishes to the new garden.
45:15Look at that, little bird feeders, so these can hang up.
45:23Oh, dear.
45:25I'm going to have a look at that.
45:27I'm going to have a look at that.
45:29I'm going to have a look at that.
45:31I'm going to have a look at that.
45:34Oh, dear.
45:36Do you like them? What? Look.
45:39Yeah, lovely.
45:41Yeah, it does seem a bit of a long road.
45:44At some points, I didn't think we were ever going to make it.
45:47They're still nervous about one thing.
45:49Time to show Monty, yeah. Yeah.
45:52I think the critical thing for Joan and David
45:55is whether they've managed to pull together
45:57all the disparate elements of this garden,
45:59whether Joan has managed to resist plonking in plants
46:02just because she's bought them,
46:04and whether David has transformed the summer house into a tea house,
46:10and the whole thing comes together
46:12in the Japanese dream that they originally conceived.
46:16Last autumn, Joan and David's outdoor space
46:19barely resembled a garden,
46:21with overgrown grass covered in rotten apples,
46:25paving stones piled high and no fence.
46:28It looked like a forgotten building site.
46:33It's been many months of hard work.
46:35Time for Monty to give his verdict.
46:39Well, well, well.
46:41Wow.
46:43What a change.
46:45That's a transformation. That's a real transformation.
46:52There is a spacious patio with seating and dining table.
46:56This leads out into the Japanese tea garden.
47:00The unsightly paving stones
47:02have been elegantly refashioned into a zigzag path,
47:06and the Japanese theme has been extended everywhere.
47:12The lily of the valley bush
47:14complements the many varieties of aces on display.
47:22Lush green hostas are surrounded by pebbles, lanterns and rocks.
47:30The water feature and waiting area
47:32complete the traditional Japanese tea garden,
47:35en route to Joan's tea house.
47:40This is a big area now, isn't it?
47:42I don't remember this being so big.
47:44And then you're looking out on a very complete scene.
47:50Having spent around £15,000, that's nearly double the budget,
47:54Monty has to ask the all-important question.
47:58Are you very happy? Very happy, yeah.
48:01When was the moment when you knew it was going to come good?
48:04About ten o'clock last night.
48:09So it's been a last-minute thing? Yes.
48:13The trellis looks great.
48:15And the fact that it's on both sides bounces up.
48:18It makes the space what I think every garden has to be.
48:22It feels private and personal.
48:25And I like the way that you look through the planting
48:28and you want to see what's around the corner.
48:30You can't see everything. That's really nice.
48:33I can hear water. Yes, our little water feature.
48:36Ah, yes, you've rigged up your water feature. Yes.
48:39It's great.
48:41And I love the ferns around the back there as well.
48:43The ferns are beautiful. They work well.
48:45It's fresh, isn't it? Yeah.
48:46And the water just makes it feel fresher.
48:48Really, really nice.
48:50Monty can't resist giving Joan and David a last bit of friendly advice.
48:55Plants mainly need the water at their roots,
49:00which then goes off to the leaves.
49:02A little bit of moisture around leaves is not a bad idea,
49:05but it's a very inefficient way, because at this time of year,
49:09most of the water that goes on the foliage will evaporate.
49:12I see.
49:13Far better to direct the water absolutely at the roots
49:17and water enough so that you see the water puddling around it.
49:21Right. And do that once a week is plenty.
49:25Zigzag twisting path.
49:27And is this representing a dry river?
49:29A dry river running through here, yes, and down the side of the tea house.
49:34Joan has even indulged her love of shopping inside the tea house.
49:41It's very nice. It's got a good feel in it.
49:45On the garden.
49:48And I bet you look back with pride, do you?
49:51Yeah, I've got a smile on my face when I look at it.
49:53I just think, yeah, I'm really, really pleased.
49:56David, I know that you went along with this...
50:00Yeah. ..to please Joan.
50:02Yes, but I'm really pleased with the outcome.
50:07Joan could see a vision.
50:11I couldn't see a finish.
50:14No. And now I'm really pleased.
50:18But there was one more question Monty has been dying to ask.
50:21Did you ever get your shed done?
50:24It's still a work in progress, but it's started.
50:28Oh, let's go and have a look. Let's have a look.
50:33Might add a little sign.
50:35OK.
50:37Oh, yeah, that's... Oh, look at that.
50:40Look at that.
50:42I tell you what, what else could you need?
50:44So you've got your armchair, you've got your telly.
50:48Brilliant.
50:51And as promised, a Japanese-style celebration.
50:55Well, well done.
50:57Cheers. So happy gardening.
50:59Thank you.
51:02I think this garden is a really good example
51:05of how collaboration can produce something
51:07that is greater than the sum of its parts.
51:09Because neither David nor Joan would or could have done this garden
51:13without the others' help.
51:15David, who trusted Joan's vision and faithfully executed it,
51:19and Joan, who trusted David to do the difficult things,
51:22to make it happen.
51:24Everybody's worked really, really hard on it,
51:26but, you know, I think you've done a fabulous job.
51:30Joan's never had a garden before.
51:34She wanted her dream garden.
51:37And now I can see why.
51:40Because I think it looks beautiful.
51:45And best of all, they have each got their quiet retreat.
51:50David will be in his annex.
51:54I've got to get a lock on the indoor...
51:56But I can lock you in there too. Think about that.
52:00So, for now at least, the doors stay open.
52:08In Dorset, Helen and Tim now face the daunting prospect
52:11of showing Monty their ambitious garden.
52:14Will it live up to the dream they presented to him?
52:18It's a bit intimidating having someone visit your garden
52:21that really knows what they're talking about.
52:24I think I know what I'm talking about,
52:26but I probably don't half the time.
52:29So I think that's why I'm a little bit anxious
52:32about him seeing the garden,
52:34as to whether I have got it right,
52:36whether I've done something really stupid.
52:40On my last visit here, I was really impressed
52:43by the energy and effort that Tim and Helen
52:46have put into making their garden.
52:48But for all the hard work,
52:50energy and effort don't finish a garden.
52:54It's what it looks like, regardless of how much work you put in,
52:58that really matters.
53:00Last autumn, Helen and Tim's garden was an unloved patch of grass
53:04with a border, running up to an old garage and workshop.
53:07It was neither used nor appreciated,
53:10and every day they would look out at this dull space
53:13from their living room windows.
53:15Hello. Hello.
53:17How are you? Nice to see you.
53:19And you. And you.
53:21Well, it's finished. It is finished.
53:23It's finished and utterly transformed.
53:29Using plenty of dwarf conifers
53:31to give the effect of a forest sitting against a rocky bank,
53:35they have created the Norwegian mountain landscape in miniature.
53:42Large boulders form a waterfall leading into a beautifully clear pond.
53:49Iris and marsh marigold softens the edges.
53:53The flowering hostas mingle with grasses.
53:58And there is already a water lily.
54:03A picturesque and natural-looking stream gently flows to the bridge.
54:12The bog garden is full to bursting
54:14with hostas, geums and astilbes.
54:17And the whole scene has been enhanced
54:19with small but bright flashes of colour in the gravel bed.
54:26I'm sort of digesting the changes
54:28because it's got a really established feel to it.
54:32I did not see this coming.
54:34Did you not? Oh, right.
54:36When I first came here.
54:38I wasn't quite sure how the idea of Norwegian gardens
54:42was going to translate.
54:43It's probably a bit misleading to call it a Norwegian garden
54:46because people assume it's going to look like the gardens of Norway.
54:50But what we've tried to reproduce here
54:52is what we saw in the countryside that we so enjoyed.
54:56Monty's professional eye soon spots something's changed.
55:00I can see you've actually done some replanting and rejigging, haven't you?
55:04I have. The bog garden, I have, I have to say, rearranged.
55:08And why was that?
55:11It just, it was lovely as it was,
55:13but we actually wanted it to look more like a woodland glade.
55:16Right. That's probably a good reason.
55:18So I'm afraid we took everything out and I added in some more grasses.
55:22Right. So you've got your boggy woodland glade.
55:25I have my boggy woodland glade, yes.
55:27So that was a total rethink.
55:29But Helen can point to advice she has followed.
55:32One of the things when you first came here
55:34One of the things when you first talked about the design,
55:37which I was worried about, was delineating the edge.
55:40So you're glad that you built a wall?
55:42You said we needed to have a boundary
55:44and it would make the space seem bigger.
55:46It has, of course, given us the added advantage
55:49we've been able to get some height because we didn't build up against it.
55:53So it's become a very useful boundary.
55:57Helen ditched the arbour, as Monty suggested,
56:01but she did build a stone seat to give another view of her garden.
56:05It's looking great now
56:07and you've got plenty of flowers coming through from the water lily.
56:11I'm very impressed you've got that flowering straight away
56:14and the yellow loose strife
56:17and those pretty, pretty foxgloves in the background.
56:21But this is essentially a green garden with touches of colour, isn't it?
56:25Yes. I didn't want vast patches of green
56:29I didn't want vast patches of colour.
56:31It is supposed to be a wooden glade.
56:34But there is great scope for bulbs.
56:36You could have quite delicate bulbs coming through here.
56:39Helen and Tim have already spent nearly £3,000,
56:42almost double their estimate.
56:44Still, Monty is impressed.
56:46You've dramatically changed your garden.
56:49You've created something that is meaningful to the two of you.
56:53Yes. We have a long-term Norwegian holiday here.
56:58And after all the months of hard work,
57:01it's now time to relax and celebrate.
57:04Norwegian style, of course.
57:12That is an extraordinary, magnificent cake,
57:16although is it a cake or biscuits?
57:18Well, it's the traditional Norwegian wedding cake.
57:21I think it's pronounced Kranzer Kappa.
57:24Well, cheers.
57:26Here's to a very, very successful garden.
57:29Thank you very much, Monty.
57:37Well, they've come through triumphantly.
57:39They've made a garden that works really well for them
57:43and is superbly finished and completed.
57:46He was pleased, so I'm pleased.
57:48It is just amazing.
57:50Suddenly this whole new vista is out there,
57:53instead of that boring lawn in the back of a very grotty old garage.
57:57It is amazing to wake up and see that each morning.
58:01I think of all the gardens I've seen, this one exemplifies the fact
58:05that no matter how small your back garden might be
58:09and how big the dream you might have,
58:12if you've got the energy and the determination,
58:16you can make it happen.
58:18You can make it come true.
58:48© transcript Emily Beynon