Garden Rescue episode 26 2024
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00The Garden Rescue Team are on a mission.
00:04What's not to like?
00:05To make garden dreams come true.
00:08Oh my God!
00:09Charlie Dimmock.
00:10Plants there, plants there, plants there, plants everywhere!
00:13Lee Burkill.
00:14Take me to my people, boys!
00:17Flo Hedlum.
00:18I've gone for the big bad boy.
00:20And Chris Hall.
00:21A couple of inches made all the difference.
00:23Tell me about it.
00:25Are here to answer your gardening emergencies.
00:28It's just a wild jungle.
00:30Okay, that's a challenge.
00:32Each week, two of our designers will go head to head.
00:35Now I really hope you like this garden.
00:37The design we have gone for is...
00:40Drum roll please.
00:43Lee!
00:44Yes!
00:45Flo!
00:46Flo!
00:47And whichever designer loses...
00:49It's all about my water feature.
00:51My water feature.
00:53Helps the winner build the garden.
00:56Turning garden dreams...
00:58Please, open your eyes.
00:59Into reality.
01:01Oh, wow!
01:03That is absolutely stunning!
01:10Today, the team are taking on tough terrain in the Welsh capital.
01:15Hi, I'm Ryan.
01:17I'm Eve.
01:18And this is our garden in Cardiff.
01:21We have been together for 11 years.
01:2411? 10?
01:25I was going to say...
01:26No, it's 11.
01:2710 and a half.
01:31We moved in a few months ago.
01:33We've been doing a lot of work inside to get the house ready.
01:36But the garden is just a bog and a write-off.
01:38We can't really use it.
01:42It's essentially a patio, some mud, a brick wall and a fence.
01:47With no privacy.
01:49With no privacy and no joy.
01:54Built on a brownfield site in one of the wettest cities in the UK,
01:58Ryan and Eve's garden is more swampy than swanky.
02:04This is our patio.
02:06We're just looking out onto a mud bath.
02:08It's quite a small space as well.
02:10It doesn't really get a lot of sun.
02:12When it rains, and it does rain a lot,
02:14this is just a bog.
02:16You definitely need to get your wellies on
02:18if you needed to come out here at all.
02:21And it is absolutely full of weeds.
02:23I did try to rake it once, but it was virtually impossible
02:26because there's just so many rocks.
02:28And the space is just unusable, really, isn't it?
02:31Yeah, it's just not somewhere we can enjoy,
02:33so it'd be great to have somewhere that is utilising the full space.
02:40Having a garden to escape to is especially important for this couple.
02:46We both actually work for the same company,
02:48and we work from home together.
02:50Yeah.
02:51And we just don't really have a space
02:53that we can get outside and escape to.
02:56It'd be great to be able to come out here
02:58and utilise the space, but the minute,
03:00it's more inviting to stay inside,
03:02even when the weather's nice.
03:04I would really like to be able to have space
03:06to reflect on my day, or maybe do a bit of meditation,
03:09because I got into that during the pandemic,
03:12and I haven't got anywhere to do that at the moment.
03:16If that's not enough,
03:18the garden is also overlooked on two sides
03:21and is next to a busy road.
03:24It would be really nice to have a little bit of added privacy,
03:28and I think we'd really like to have some water,
03:31so maybe a water feature of some sort.
03:35This is the house we plan to stay at for a long time,
03:38so it seems the perfect opportunity to get the garden done
03:41so we can enjoy it for years and years down the line.
03:45Please, Garden Rescue, we need your help.
03:53Competing to transform Ryan and Eve's garden
03:56are Charlie and Lee,
03:58pitting Charlie's decades of experience...
04:01Very open, lots of red brick, lots of fence,
04:05blank canvas, lots of thinking to do.
04:08..against Lee's flair for off-the-wall designs.
04:12Tell you what, I'll bring you everything except for the weather.
04:21My biggest concern with this, Charlie,
04:23is when I look at the soil a bit closely,
04:25I can see it's claggy, it's heavy, there's footprints.
04:28Yeah, that soil's going to need some work on it.
04:31I want a space where they can entertain their family and friends
04:34and make the most of the occasional sun that we have here.
04:37OK. But shall we see what else they want?
04:39Right. Come on.
04:42We're both really into travelling,
04:44so I think we'd really like a garden
04:47that captures that spirit of the kind of journey you go on.
04:52A few years ago, we had our honeymoon in San Francisco
04:54and we absolutely loved the gardens.
04:56We loved the colours, the styles, the structures
04:59and that Californian vibe in particular.
05:01We were really inspired by the Palace of Fine Arts.
05:04We really loved it there.
05:06We also visited Balboa Park in San Diego
05:10and we fell in love with that.
05:12Amazing big green leaves,
05:14pops of colour, your pinks, your oranges.
05:17And that's the kind of vibe we want to capture for our garden.
05:23Wow. So, California in Cardiff.
05:26Yeah, I think they're California dreaming.
05:28And look at this. There's another dream.
05:30That's Balboa Park. I know. It's lovely, isn't it?
05:32It's beautiful.
05:34But then I look at this garden and I think,
05:36that soil is not going to lend itself to verdant planting just yet.
05:39No, and especially Californian plants
05:42because Californian soil's not well known for being wet and claggy.
05:47Yeah. What's the budget?
05:49Well, the budget's quite healthy. It's £6,000.
05:52OK, but that could get eaten up very quickly with a few palms in there.
05:56Yeah, cos they are expensive, they're slow-growing,
05:59but we need them really for that height and the impact.
06:02Impact. Challenge, but it could be a lovely space for them.
06:05I think we can turn the heat up with this one.
06:10Inspired by Ryan and Eve's brief, our designers get straight to work.
06:15The couple then has to choose one of their designs
06:18and whichever designer loses must help the other one build it.
06:22Charlie, Lee and their trusty team of landscapers provide the labour for free,
06:27leaving the full £6,000 budget for materials.
06:32Back in Cardiff, Ryan and Eve have received the designers' pitches.
06:38Ryan, Eve, you wanted a garden that reflects California,
06:43where you went on your lovely honeymoon.
06:46You work from home and you want the garden to be a place that you can escape to,
06:52entertain, relax and maybe even meditate.
06:58How Californian.
07:00I've given you lots of different zones.
07:02So the first one, outside your patio doors,
07:06is this walkway that leads you out into the garden.
07:10So it's almost like you're walking down the dunes to the beach.
07:15I really love what Charlie's done here.
07:17First thing you see, it feels like you're walking onto the beach.
07:20Yeah, she's really captured that and really captured the Californian element.
07:24Ryan and Eve, this is my California Dreaming Garden
07:27that's going to help invoke those memories of when you visited San Diego and San Francisco.
07:32The first thing I've done in this garden is to split it into two distinct zones.
07:37The first part is when you leave the house,
07:39and I've extended this patio area and given you this gorgeous grey paver
07:44that's going to wrap around the garden, allowing access to the garage
07:47and also a really generous seating area
07:50when you and your family and friends want to leave the house
07:53and start a barbecue, cook or serve drinks.
07:57That's really good. That's exactly what we want.
07:59Yeah.
08:00As we walk through in this distressed boardwalk,
08:03you're then flanked by all of this gorgeous yet hardy tropical planting
08:08that are going to really make you feel like you're in this densely planted tropical landscape.
08:13You get the sun, but it's still quite secluded,
08:16You get the sun, but it's still quite secluded,
08:19which is what we were really looking for, wasn't it?
08:21Yeah, definitely.
08:22You've got this wow factor of big, bold foliage,
08:27mini pergolas that are statement planting
08:32that are going to add height to the garden
08:35without shading the evening sunlight which comes down this way.
08:40The fact that she's thought about not making it too tall for shading
08:44but obviously tall enough to be a statement.
08:46Yeah.
08:47It's really, really cool.
08:51Both designs have captured the couple's love of travelling and the Californian vibe,
08:56but how else will Charlie turn up the heat?
09:00So this area here is the entertainment area.
09:03We've got festoon lighting that's draped between these upright posts.
09:08I know you want lots of strong colours,
09:11so we've got plants that have got these tall spires of flowers and big foliage.
09:17So when you're in the kitchen, you look through a haze of purples, reds and yellow oranges.
09:24The colours look amazing.
09:28Charlie's lush, flower-filled relaxation zone has definitely got the couple's attention,
09:33but not to be outdone, Lee has a few tricks of his own.
09:37This octagon is going to be your secondary seating area.
09:40I've paired it back to make it mirror the house and also the other structures.
09:44Now, I've made it a really generous width,
09:47meaning that you can fit six to eight people in there on chairs in the evening or the daytime.
09:53That's amazing. That is really cool.
09:55It's really cool that you've captured the shape of the buildings in the Palace of Fine Arts.
10:01Lee's pergola certainly has the wow factor,
10:05but Charlie has the perfect response, something special just for Eve.
10:11Now, this area here is your secret garden,
10:14a nice, calm space where you can meditate and sit and relax and just look at the water feature.
10:21No maintenance to it, it's just a shallow pool with a bubble of water
10:25and this bespoke rock with this stack of rocks on top.
10:32Now, the planting round here, I wanted to have lots of quite scented plants
10:36because when you're sitting and you want to be calm and tranquil,
10:40the nice scent and the water will lift that scent and make it nice and strong.
10:45Yeah, I could definitely see myself sitting there with a coffee or meditating on my lunch break.
10:53And Lee hasn't forgotten the importance of water in the garden either.
10:57As we leave the pergola through this side, you'll notice this big T-shaped boardwalk.
11:02This circular pool is going to have one single jet of foaming water
11:06and it'll just provide that sound to help dry up the neighbours to take you away to California.
11:13This skinny part of the boardwalk, Eve, is going to be the perfect place to grab a cushion and meditate in the morning.
11:19You're going to feel really hidden and like you sat under a canopy of ginormous gunnery leaves.
11:25I love the meditation corner. I think it's fantastic.
11:29That's my design. You've got lots of different Californian feels.
11:34Parkland, meditation, hippy dippy, fun, entertainment, even seaside.
11:42So why don't you grab your passports and let's go on a holiday.
11:47Each design offers a very different take on the brief.
11:51Now it's up to Ryan and Eve.
11:55Lee's design, I really love this structure because it really reminds me of the Palace of Fine Arts,
12:00especially with the water feature of the little fountain.
12:04So Charlie's design, I love it. I mean, it's got colour, it's got different structures,
12:10The mini pergolas give you that element of privacy, so it's almost like a separate space.
12:16Yeah, they're both really good, so this is a really difficult choice.
12:19It's so difficult. I could see myself having a really nice time in both gardens.
12:27Only one designer can win, so who's it going to be?
12:32Right, we've heard back from Ryan and Eve.
12:35Hi Charlie, hi Lee. Thank you so much for your wonderful garden designs.
12:41You've made the decision really, really tough for us.
12:46Lee, we loved your design, we loved the openness of the entertainment space,
12:50and we loved the pergola design.
12:52Charlie, we loved your use of the water feature,
12:55and we loved the fact that it's a little bit more open.
12:58Charlie, we loved your design, we loved the openness of the entertainment space,
13:01and we loved the pergola design.
13:03Charlie, we loved your use of bright colours.
13:06It really reminded us of that trip we took through California.
13:09We've made our decision, so we're going to go with...
13:15Lee!
13:16Yay! Well done, well done.
13:19I'm so pleased because it was such a structured garden.
13:22I really kind of got stuck into it.
13:24Lee, thank you so much. You really wowed us with your design.
13:28It's exactly what we were looking for.
13:30We really can't wait to see it in real life.
13:39It's the day of the build in not-so-sunny Cardiff.
13:45And project manager Ben wastes no time in outlining the landscaping team's first challenge.
13:52Here we go. Lee's design.
13:54So, you are standing on the existing paving.
13:58Now, we're going to be taking that up, and these slabs are going to be recycled.
14:03A neighbour would love to use them to extend their patio.
14:06The new patio that we're putting in, there's going to be a boardwalk coming this way.
14:11At the end of the boardwalk, we've got a beautiful...
14:14I'm studying it now.
14:17Optagon Pavilion.
14:19So, challenges we're going to have.
14:21We don't know what's in the ground until we put a spade in there.
14:24It could be rocky, clay, anything.
14:27On the design here, straight from the paving, we have the first archway.
14:32Lee and Jamie, you're going to be starting to put the framework together.
14:36It's essential that you get that absolutely bang on.
14:40That will determine the optagon going in there.
14:43We've got loads of work here. Let's crack on with it.
14:50First job, carefully removing the existing paving to gift to the neighbour.
14:57And as these houses have not long been built, they're coming off beautifully.
15:04A delivery of wood means one thing.
15:07Boardwalk.
15:08The construction of the sub-base for the boardwalk can commence.
15:13And as the paving to extend the current patio is a three-man job,
15:19Lee is left in charge of piecing together the framework.
15:28Johnny and Jamie have done the dig out here
15:30and they've had a little look at the base that was under there.
15:33So, the MOT that's there is perfect for us.
15:36We're going to compact the whole area and make sure our fall is correct.
15:41So, the slabs are coming away from the house.
15:44All of this will get done and then we can start laying.
15:51The fall is the gentle slope in a paved area
15:54that allows surface water to drain away more easily,
15:57which is especially important in places with high rainfall such as Cardiff.
16:04At the back of the garden, Lee is preparing the boardwalk decking,
16:07cutting each of the 70 pieces needed to size.
16:12Look at all this!
16:14Yeah, it's been a task.
16:15Wow.
16:16As soon as this goes in, we then know how the octagon can all go in.
16:21Yeah.
16:22Fantastic, Lee. Fantastic. Great job.
16:32But it's not all plain sailing.
16:38Ben!
16:39Yeah, mate?
16:40Come here a minute.
16:42Oh, dear.
16:43What do you think of this soil?
16:44Stony. It's not the best, is it?
16:46It's a typical Brainfield new-build site, isn't it?
16:49All the rubbish has come in, so...
16:52It's a full bed as well.
16:53It is a full bed. Loads of plants, big trees.
16:56So, I think we're going to have to see what the ninja says.
16:58All right.
16:59Yeah.
17:04Work on prepping the beds may have ground to a halt,
17:07but the guys have to power through with the posts.
17:12Ground is lovely.
17:16Lee would like an archway as the entrance along the boardwalk.
17:20So, this one has to be done before we put the slab in.
17:26As soon as this is put into place,
17:28we're going to firm it all up by concreting posts into the ground.
17:32John has done a fantastic job.
17:35He's now started on the path
17:37that's going to lead you to the side door of the garage.
17:40It's got a few cuts to do there, but it's looking amazing.
17:44Just behind me, we have Lee.
17:46He's starting to put the first boardwalk together.
17:53But we're just waiting for Lee and Charlie,
17:55and I think they're on their way.
18:02And right on cue.
18:04Weather changes every 12 seconds.
18:10OK, we've got the paving down. Yeah.
18:12And lovely boardwalk.
18:13Boardwalk, that's sort of a little California,
18:16but I'm still not getting fully California.
18:19Yeah, we do have a fair way to go,
18:21but hopefully if we get the weather, we'll be there in no time today.
18:24So, do you want to have a look at what you'll be up to today?
18:26So, this is my interpretation of that, you know,
18:29really famous building that I want to bring to this garden.
18:31That's almost 15 metres high. It's not going to be that big, is it?
18:34You just need to scale it down a bit.
18:36So, what am I up to, then?
18:38Right, well, you see this lovely bubbling lagoon in the centre?
18:41Oh, OK, so I'm in the deep, dark lagoon.
18:43You're in the humid section of the garden.
18:45OK, great. And my hair will be all curly, then.
18:48And whereabouts is that happening?
18:50Somewhere over there. Right, somewhere over there.
18:53Find your way amongst all of this California.
18:55I'll go and explore, and I sort of almost feel Californian.
18:58Don't steal me design.
19:14Now, the pavers I've chosen for this garden
19:16are these beautiful, light grey, almost blue-coloured pavers,
19:20and they're going to reflect the sky
19:22and make Ryan and Eve feel like they're in California.
19:24Now, they work from home a lot,
19:26so this whole design has been laid out
19:28so that they get great views, not just from within the garden,
19:31but also from the home office.
19:33So, when they look out, they're going to be taken back
19:35to that beautiful holiday in San Francisco.
19:37As you move further around, we've got the first of these structures,
19:41and it's this arch.
19:42This is going to be sort of the gateway to the garden.
19:45This lovely oak boardwalk is coming along.
19:48These have been all fixed into place,
19:50and they look really kind of rustic, yet modern at the same time.
19:53And this is going to form the journey through the garden.
19:55Still got loads of plants that need to go in, though,
19:57to really bring this to life.
19:59We've not really got too far.
20:01I'm at Palace of Fine Arts.
20:03By the time we've got this finished,
20:04this is going to be a really gorgeous seating area.
20:06But it needs the lid putting on the arch
20:08and then all the supports going round,
20:10so quite a lot of work still yet to happen
20:12in this part of the garden.
20:14Over here is a really interesting part of the garden.
20:17Now, it's just a pile of rubble at the moment,
20:19but this is going to become a meditation zone for Eve.
20:22I've got a really interesting plant selection to go in here
20:25because it's quite boggy, so I'm going to work with that.
20:27But at the moment, it's just a pile of spoil.
20:31In Lee's design, the new pergola has eight sides,
20:35which means eight posts need to go in.
20:38But the ground is so unrelenting,
20:41Jamie's only managed to dig a hole for the first one.
20:45This ground is really hard work,
20:47but once we've got the postcrete in there,
20:50these posts will be really firm.
20:52It's going to be a long day of this, Jamie.
20:54It will, yeah.
20:59We'll get this one in first,
21:01then that will give us our datum to work off all the others.
21:05The original Palace of Fine Arts Greco-Roman design
21:09spans 120,000 square feet.
21:12And though Lee's design is far more compact,
21:15to achieve the same look,
21:17the angles have to be spot on.
21:20The angles that we need are 135 degrees between each flat side,
21:25done eight times to make the octagon.
21:28Comfortable with that? Yeah, no problem.
21:31I think we'll keep stopping and checking just to make sure.
21:40Dangerous, I'm dangerous.
21:47Now we've got Jamie and Lee putting the posts in,
21:49and this is really important.
21:51If they get it wrong, it's going to start to skewiff
21:53and all of a sudden the garden's going to start tilting and wobbling.
21:57That was a bit heavier, that one was!
22:00Where are we going? Up against that.
22:05The beauty of the octagon is you've got these frames on each side,
22:08so each time you move around,
22:10if a nosy neighbour's looking at you, you can just pivot your chair.
22:13I can see smoke coming out of these ears there,
22:17because they've all got to be exactly right,
22:19because if one's off... It's going to be a bit...
22:22Bye!
22:24I'll get a spade and give you a hand, shall I?
22:27One critical view from the new pergola
22:29will be of Charlie's calming water feature.
22:33That way? That way's up.
22:35There? We reckon about here?
22:37Right, it's really key for this water feature
22:40to be in exactly the right place.
22:43He wants it to be seen from every angle of the garden.
22:46So this is going to be a straightforward, simple water feature
22:49so there's no hard work involved, no plants to split up,
22:53because it's going to be surrounded by all these lush, gorgeous plants.
22:58But digging a hole for the new water feature,
23:01or anything else for that matter,
23:03is proving to be an impossible task.
23:07Look at this soil.
23:08Yeah, I have been trying not to look at the soil.
23:11It is typical new build.
23:13Yep.
23:14Rock solid, heavy clay, loads of rubble in it.
23:17Which, as we know, tropical plants are not going to love this soil.
23:21No.
23:22So I think we might need to take some evasive action to sort this out.
23:25What, just do a different garden?
23:27Well, we can either shut our eyes and forget about it for now,
23:30or I can see if I can get us some extra help
23:33to turn this over and loosen it up a bit.
23:36Yeah, that would be great.
23:39Oh!
23:40Without Lee's solution, not a single plant can go in the garden.
23:44Oh, I get the spike.
23:46Get here, get here!
23:48I'm ready.
23:50Watch your faces.
23:51Uh-oh!
23:53Spiky yucca.
23:55So, for the time being, they all have to be stored down the side alley.
24:00Look at these.
24:01I know.
24:02Wow, you've got a fantastic collection of plants.
24:05I know.
24:06Very verdant.
24:07Yeah, a big juicy selection of architectural stuff
24:10and then a few pops of orange and yellow.
24:12We've got a lot of plants to get in the ground.
24:17Poker? I believe.
24:37I need to make sure that these plants are well watered
24:41before they go into the ground.
24:43Now, sometimes, with watering with a hose,
24:46the biggest problem is if the plant is dry already,
24:50the water doesn't actually get into the root ball
24:53and it just sort of goes round the edge.
24:56So the best way to water a dry plant
24:59is to actually soak it for about 20 minutes in some water.
25:04So these bananas are absolutely bone dry.
25:08So I'm going to just stand them in the bucket
25:13and, as you can see, they're floating because they're that dry.
25:16So a good 20 minutes for them to soak that up.
25:21I will leave that soaking there and carry on watering the rest.
25:28Progress may have slowed down in the rest of the garden,
25:31but in one corner there's good news.
25:36Final post going in.
25:38Not the last post.
25:40The last post of the Fine Arts Pavilion.
25:42It's looking great.
25:44I can now see the structure now
25:46and it does frame every view, doesn't it?
25:49It wasn't by accident. No.
25:54And now there's even better news for the rest of the garden.
25:59The digger's about to go into the garden
26:01and Andy hasn't got to dig the water feature out by hand now.
26:05It's all going in the right direction.
26:11Clearing out ready for the digger.
26:18Getting the digger here is one thing.
26:23But getting it in the garden is a whole new challenge.
26:28There's just an inch either side.
26:31Now, I know Andy's good on the digger,
26:34but I think this might tax him a little.
26:38Here we go.
26:41I think this might take a few attempts, don't you? Yeah.
26:47It fits, it fits, but it's got to go like that now.
26:52Yeah, he's smooth after that.
26:55Do you hear that crunch?
26:59They may have had to sacrifice some wood,
27:02but the digger will make light work of turning the soil,
27:05saving the team crucial time, not to mention their backs.
27:10Well, it's in. And he's off.
27:13Yeah, look at him.
27:15Yeah, look at him.
27:25Once the new beds are dug,
27:27Andy moves straight on to the hole for the water feature.
27:32So it's roughly there.
27:40Can you see the ring? Yeah.
27:42Going down 40 centimetres.
27:46Little bit of sand on the bottom to help level the reservoir.
27:53It's always a good idea to dig the hole
27:56a little bigger than the reservoir,
27:58then you've got a little bit of movement.
28:02Right, so next thing is, I'm going to just backfill with this sand,
28:06level out the soil, test the pump,
28:09and then place the plants, and it'll be looking gorgeous.
28:15As the groundwork speeds up, there's a sense of relief in the air.
28:23Is that you? No, it's not me.
28:25It's Charlie. It's Charlie.
28:28Is that you? No, it's not me.
28:30It's Charlie. It's me. It's not me.
28:33It's the organic matter.
28:35You are terrible. I thought someone died over there.
28:39It may be smelly, but the compost, all 20 bags worth,
28:43will be just what the garden needs
28:45to give Lee's new plants the best possible start.
28:49It makes a huge difference.
28:51It adds micronutrients,
28:53but it also makes the soil much more manageable,
28:57so it's easier to dig over,
28:59holds on to nutrients, holds on to moisture in the summer,
29:03but also it helps it drain in the winter.
29:06Now, as this is a new build, and the soil's quite poor,
29:10Ryan and Eve are going to have to do this every spring and autumn.
29:14Top dress the flowerbeds with organic matter,
29:17whether it's their own garden compost that they've made
29:20or they go and buy Soil Improver,
29:22and that will slowly make the soil way better and easier to work.
29:27It's a case of perseverance.
29:32The next stage for the water feature
29:34is to give it the grand look Lee's after.
29:39Next step is pump testing time, so I'm going to drop the pump in,
29:44and this is where you get to fiddle with it.
29:48What do you think, Lee?
29:50We could go a bit higher. We can go higher?
29:52You know, like a big fountain, a big entrance.
29:55Oh, look at that. Look at that.
29:57That's that same palace of fine arts to me.
30:00Now, if you could get the ping-pong ball
30:02and just, like, balance it on the top.
30:05OK.
30:08The last piece of the landscaping puzzle is the boardwalk.
30:12At £1,000, it's a sizeable chunk of the budget,
30:16but will be a sleek and elegant way for Ryan and Eve
30:19to enjoy their new garden.
30:22To get that feel like we're in California,
30:25I've chosen this premium oak.
30:28Now, it is a premium wood, but we do have a nice, healthy budget.
30:32So this is around £60 a length to create this boardwalk.
30:36However, if you're on a tighter budget,
30:38you could just use standard softwood decking board.
30:41Now, you often think of decking boards as patios,
30:44building big decks, but I'm using this material in a different way.
30:48I'm using it for the path network
30:50to bring, like, a transition around the garden for Ryan and Eve.
30:53So don't just look at decking as patios.
30:55You can use them for all sorts of other reasons.
30:59MUSIC PLAYS
31:11Now, this back part of the garden is really coming together.
31:14We've got this gorgeous buff gravel
31:16that's going to help transition between the boardwalk.
31:18Lee has nearly finished the final details that mirror up with that arch,
31:22and it's starting to feel like we're in the Palace of Fine Arts.
31:25I can't wait to get some plants in,
31:27to soften up all of this hard landscaping,
31:29and the garden should be nearly complete.
31:45There are some really interesting architectural specimens,
31:48like this yucca.
31:49Now, they're not gorgeous, but they're a bit savage when you're holding them.
31:53Definitely well-watered. They're much heavier now.
31:56My bananas are good.
31:58Californian botanical gardens are known for their lush tropical plants,
32:03and to make the most of the budget,
32:05Lee's selection includes many younger specimens
32:08that in time will totally envelop the space,
32:11like here, in the bed nearest the house.
32:16So there is a method to the madness of placing these plants.
32:19As we start near the house, we've got these really glossy,
32:22almost like ribbed-leaf plants that are going to provide a bit of bulk.
32:26The evergreen heavyweight contenders.
32:28And as we move round, we're going to move into the banana-y kind of zone
32:32with the big leaves,
32:33before getting into more spiky and more tropical-looking plants.
32:37As we move to the middle,
32:38Charlie's going to have a real lovely selection of the yellows and oranges.
32:42That's going to be a bit fiery around the water feature.
32:46And I've got the hemericalis.
32:49Oh, and the arum lilies.
32:53So they're going there, so that's the yellow.
32:56The thing is, is arranging the plants,
32:59I've got to remember that there's various different heights,
33:02so you need to see through them to see the water feature,
33:05but then at the same time, I want to slightly screen the water feature.
33:10So lots of mixing it up.
33:13There we go.
33:21Now, in amongst the yellows and oranges,
33:24Lee wanted a pop of white.
33:28And, wow, you can't get much whiter than that, can you?
33:31Common name, arum lily or calla lily.
33:35It's not actually a lily at all. It's not in the lily family.
33:39It's in the arum family.
33:41So the plant Odessia aethiopica comes from South Africa
33:46and aethiopica means Africa.
33:49It's the only hardy arum or calla lily that will grow in the UK,
33:56but it sometimes, if you're in a really cold area,
33:59needs some protection come the wintertime
34:02because it dies right back down.
34:04So if you're in a very cold area,
34:07you can't dress it when it's died down with some bark chippings
34:10about an inch or two deep and that will protect the crown.
34:13It likes a soil that's damp and rich.
34:17It starts flowering early summer, carries on into the summer
34:22and you often get a second bloom of flowers late autumn, if you're lucky.
34:29I think they're gorgeous. Just so beautiful.
34:34On the other side of the garden, it's time for the big guns.
34:40Pass it through and then we'll plop it.
34:47You got it? I've got it, yep, thank you.
34:50Right, tree fern, all the way from New Zealand.
34:54I've spent an awful lot on this tree because it brings a lot of value.
34:58It's a great talking point.
35:00It's got this lovely trunk, which is actually its root system.
35:03You water it via the trunk, not the base.
35:06There are also these huge fern-like, frond-like leaves
35:09that marry up with the ferns and some of the other shapes.
35:12That's deep enough.
35:14You don't bury them very deep.
35:16Once it gets established, it'll be fine,
35:18but it needs a bit of TLC at the moment.
35:20Luckily, it's against a wall which will trap heat
35:23and this will rock it up and every year get an inch or two bigger and bigger
35:27and it takes over the pavilion of fine arts.
35:30There we go.
35:32In the centre of the garden, the lagoon and lawn are nearly complete.
35:37Right, plant's in place, looks OK.
35:41I'm going to get some of them in, then test the pump again
35:45and see how it looks.
35:48One area of the garden that needs a particular type of planting
35:52is the far corner, but rather than fight against the conditions,
35:56Lee's working with them.
35:58Here's a plant that I am super excited to be planting in this garden.
36:02It's a gunneret manicata, otherwise known as giant's rhubarb,
36:05and believe it or not, this is only a juvenile.
36:08It's going to get huge.
36:10It's going to completely eclipse this space in the next five to six years.
36:14These leaves are going to get to about six foot in diameter,
36:17making it the perfect plant for a bog garden
36:20because it loves the side of riverbanks.
36:22It will take a year for most of the planting
36:25to really start filling out the space,
36:27but the result will be a tropical feast for the eyes.
36:32All we need is Lee to come out with a little cocktail for us
36:37and we can sit and enjoy the sunshine.
36:42At one point, it looked like the unbreakable soil in this garden
36:46would be the team's undoing.
36:48This is looking a bit different, isn't it?
36:50Since the plants have gone in, it has absolutely changed it,
36:53I have to say.
36:55But thanks to blood, sweat, tears and a digger,
36:59they've turned it around.
37:03What a difference to this morning, eh?
37:05Don't... I mean, I have to say, this morning I thought,
37:08he's got no hope.
37:10We're not going to get to California today.
37:12It was a slow train, but we did pick up pace towards the afternoon.
37:16I mean, you couldn't really call this a garden before, could you?
37:19It wasn't. It was... There wasn't even turf down.
37:22Exactly, and I'm so glad we managed to get that favour with the digger,
37:25because if not, it would have looked very different.
37:28Everyone's worked so hard, given that there was nothing here,
37:31like you say, and to be honest, I just love the journey through the garden.
37:34There's so many nice little vignettes and the water feature
37:37that you were loving, Lee.
37:39Yeah, the sound is gorgeous.
37:41I think they are going to be absolutely bowled over.
37:45Yeah, fingers crossed.
37:47I might also do that American thing.
37:49Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
37:51Shall we go and sing? Yeah!
37:57When the team arrived,
37:59Ryan and Eve's garden was an unusable, boggy patch of land.
38:04The small patio barely fit their two chairs.
38:08The overlooked plot offered no privacy.
38:12And the view from the house, where the couple work, was flat and featureless,
38:17with the only soundtrack, a noisy road next door.
38:21But, working with a £6,000 budget,
38:24their muddy nightmare has been transformed...
38:30..into a Californian dream.
38:34The timber arch acts as a doorway into the new tropical garden.
38:40With a rustic boardwalk that takes you past the relaxing water feature,
38:45planted with hot pops of yellows and oranges that they both love,
38:51towards a dramatic focal point,
38:54the Palace of Fine Arts-inspired pergola,
38:57where they can comfortably host friends and family
39:00whilst being reminded of their honeymoon in California.
39:05The boardwalk then leads to a tranquil hideaway,
39:08a place where they can sit, meditate and escape the working-from-home life.
39:15And back towards the house, the extended, sleek grey paving
39:19offers more space for them to soak up their new garden.
39:24But what will Ryan and Eve make of Lee's West Coast creation?
39:28Right, watch your step. There you go.
39:32Here we go.
39:34So, Ryan and Eve, you wanted a garden that would remind you
39:37of that fantastic holiday spent in California,
39:39and in particular, San Francisco.
39:42You wanted a space where you could entertain your family and friends
39:45and also make the most of the infamous Cardiff sun.
39:50So, whenever you're ready, open your eyes.
39:53Oh, my God!
39:55Wow!
39:59Oh, my word!
40:01So much better than I was expecting!
40:04I'll take that.
40:07Oh, that's so good.
40:08Oh, I love it!
40:09It's amazing.
40:11Oh, I'm literally shaking.
40:13I can safely say Eve loves it.
40:16Wow!
40:18So, we're here on your brand new patio
40:20with this lovely light grey blue paver
40:23that's going to bring the sky down to the ground here.
40:26Can you see yourselves sat here?
40:28Yeah, definitely.
40:30Like, I'm thinking about sitting here tonight already.
40:34I mean, this is just the start of the journey.
40:36Yeah.
40:37So, follow me.
40:38So, here we are, walking down the oak boardwalk
40:40that will turn grey in time and look really weathered and old.
40:44It's great.
40:45And then Charlie's worked really hard on the central water feature,
40:48which is bubbling away, surrounded by yellows, oranges,
40:51and hot-coloured plants.
40:53Yeah, I love the yellow.
40:55It's lovely just to hear the running water.
40:57Really relaxing.
40:58So relaxing, yeah.
40:59I actually can't hear the road anymore
41:01because I can hear the motorway in the background
41:03and I actually can't hear it. Can you hear it?
41:05Oh, well, that's good news.
41:06Yeah.
41:07You can't listen to the motorway, can you?
41:09The sound fills the garden.
41:12And you can't hear the motorway.
41:14I hadn't noticed that.
41:17As we move further down the boardwalk,
41:19we're going to enter, in my interpretation,
41:21the Palace of Fine Arts.
41:23Wow.
41:24I think you're speechless.
41:25I am, yeah. I'm blown away. It's so different.
41:27It's so nice to have an area at the back of the garden
41:30and look out.
41:31Yeah.
41:32Sun coming down.
41:33Yeah, yeah.
41:34You'd think, ooh, should we put a roof on it?
41:37No.
41:38You're surrounded with plants
41:40and I can see Eve and Ryan sitting there at night.
41:44And we're down in Wales and we can look up at the stars.
41:48So we've got some bananas in here.
41:50Wow.
41:51We've got a tree fern and sorbets.
41:52And over time, they're just going to get bigger and bigger.
41:54Yeah.
41:55And you'll end up sort of enveloped in tropical planting.
41:57It just feels like you're on holiday, doesn't it?
41:59Yes.
42:00Yeah.
42:01I love that, the fact that you feel like you're on holiday.
42:03Yeah.
42:04Here in Cardiff.
42:05I love the planting.
42:07It's sort of tropical, easy to look after, lots of textures.
42:13I know, Eve, that you wanted somewhere
42:15where you could meditate and relax.
42:16Yes.
42:17So at the bottom of this boardwalk here,
42:19we've got a little nook that you can hide away in.
42:22I can just see myself sitting here, yoga mat, blanket, coffee.
42:27Yeah.
42:29Yeah.
42:30Oh, I love it.
42:31And it's so tucked away.
42:32And I know this plant doesn't walk quite much now,
42:34but this is going to get to sort of eight feet.
42:36I love it.
42:37Oh, thank you so much.
42:38That's great.
42:39Oh, you're more than welcome.
42:43Wow.
42:44The design, it really fits the brief.
42:47And I think it's absolutely perfect for Eve and Ryan.
42:52They are on holiday in their own back garden.
42:56Yeah, it's really transformed the entire garden.
42:58Look at that.
42:59The sun's just in time for an evening tipple
43:02in the Palace of Fine Arts.
43:04Yes.
43:05Yes.
43:06I can't wait.
43:07We need to invite them over now.
43:08Definitely.
43:26Bye.
43:27Bye.
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