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  • 5/17/2025
Super Garden S16E04

#Super Garden
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Fun
Transcript
00:01Jorge, Eileen, Debbie, Chris, Rosie are all competing to create the Supergarden.
00:14Simner, Wayne's better.
00:16The winning designer will have their garden recreated at Ireland's premier garden show, Bored Be a Bloom,
00:23joining the ranks of Ireland's top garden designers.
00:30This is actually really fun.
00:32Scrum, scrum, scrum.
00:33I was having nightmares about grass.
00:37Overseeing the competition, judges.
00:40Brian Burke representing Woody's and former Supergarden winner.
00:45Monica Alvarez representing Dulux Exteriors.
00:50Karl Marx representing Bored Beer.
00:55I'm busy, make it quick.
00:56Five designers, only one can go to bloom.
01:05Baker Hall in Navon, built by Glen Vey Homes, is the location for this year's Supergarden.
01:11The designers will be creating gardens for homeowners who have recently purchased these new homes
01:16with the support of Meath County Council and the Land Development Agency through the Affordable Housing Scheme.
01:23Each designer has a budget of ā‚¬15,000 to complete their design.
01:27Working alongside each other in the estate, they have just three weeks to build their gardens.
01:34The competition is on.
01:36This week's designer is Chris Walsh from Blessington, County Wicklow.
01:40It's taken aback and honour kind of to be selected to be one of the designers of this year's Supergarden.
01:45Chris' background is in ecology.
01:48I studied wildlife biology in I, Teacher Lee.
01:50It was an intensive course and involved a lot of fieldwork.
01:53When he finished his studies, Chris began working as a consultant.
01:57I was working for an ecological consultancy in Surrey.
02:00He could be surveying for bats, fish life, habitats, birds, you name it.
02:05But as time moved on, Chris got into landscaping.
02:08When I left consultancy, I went working with a landscape company in South Dublin.
02:13At the same time, I was studying diploma in garden design.
02:16Chris then decided to set up his own landscaping business.
02:20I wanted to marry my love of ecology and gardening.
02:23Chris doesn't see having his own business as an advantage in the competition.
02:27I might have an advantage in that I know the kind of procedures in constructing a garden,
02:31but their designs could be way better than mine.
02:35Taking measurements and just roughly sketching out the garden here.
02:38Weaknesses, yeah, probably in the design aspect of things.
02:41That's what I'm looking to improve as well by doing this show.
02:45Chris will be taking on the challenge for married Brazilian couple, Marcelo and Alini.
02:50We went for dinner in Dan Liri and he asked me which was my favourite vegetable.
02:57No, why are you asking me?
02:59And he said, my surname is Broccoli.
03:01And I said, ah, so funny, I like broccoli.
03:03And one day my surname will be Broccoli.
03:06First day she just asked if I want to marry her.
03:11And then, I'm a Broccoli.
03:14Chris meets Mr. and Mrs. Broccoli.
03:16My background, I'm a chef.
03:18Okay.
03:18Wow.
03:20And I work for the bank.
03:22So, I work from home sometimes.
03:24So, it would be very nice also to sit outside, have some sunlight.
03:29Brilliant.
03:29Yeah.
03:30And they know what they want.
03:32A space where we can enjoy with family, friends outside.
03:35Okay.
03:36On the corners, maybe just a flower bed, but we need something with low maintenance.
03:42Yeah, they're a young couple, they're busy.
03:43But I'm sure we can make something work well for them now, so.
03:48Chris measures up and takes the opportunity to have a sneaky peek at the competition next door.
03:53I believe one of the gardens next door is my competition.
03:57So, I'm going to have a quick look.
04:01Similar.
04:02Mine's better.
04:03And Chris hopes it will be better with his culinary canopy design.
04:07As you enter the garden from the back door, there will be a stepping stone pathway, which will be softened by creeping time in between the stones.
04:16This will provide a lovely scent as you move through the garden.
04:19The stepping stones will lead you to an entertainment space paved in Newgrange flags.
04:24A statement piece will be a Douglas fir pergola, which will be covered with star jasmine.
04:29A dining area and, most importantly, a barbecue for Marcelo to cook has made it into the plan.
04:36The back wall will be framed by six bleach trees, which will provide year-round evergreen colour in the garden.
04:42Planting is key in this garden, with Chris providing two large flower beds filled with pollinator-friendly plants such as lavender and salvias,
04:51with a Corten steel water bowl to attract wildlife into the garden.
04:55On his first day, Chris will be working alone.
05:00Today I'm hoping to remove all of this pretty much green lawn.
05:05I could do with some help, but it's okay.
05:07Next week I'll have plenty of bodies on board, so I'm happy enough just to do the first day today, Friday,
05:13and then be back Monday ready to rock with another body on board.
05:17It's all go on day one as his deliveries arrive.
05:21So yeah, there'll be four bags of 804 Hardcore for the size of the patio I need.
05:27There will be a little bit extra sand, but it's no harm to have a little bit extra.
05:30The pebble one tonne will cover all the pathways.
05:40Trying to take kind of the top four inches or so just to get all the roots of the existing weeds and grass out.
05:46Chris is happy with his progress at the end of day one.
05:51Have it all scraped, piled up and ready to move.
05:55And just one more task to complete.
05:58Looks a little bit like one of Marcelo's tomahawk steaks, but I couldn't be fully sure.
06:02After his weekend off, Chris arrives ready to start the week with friend Peter.
06:15It's going straight out, yeah.
06:16They start to mark out the design using rope and a laser level.
06:19That's 100 mil below the pathway.
06:23It's important for his design that all the levels are completely accurate.
06:27So I'm just going to excavate this a little bit more and ready for the hardcore stone there to go in then as a sub base.
06:32More help arrives, this time to plaster the back wall.
06:36The block is porous, so if we painted it, you'll see all the join lines of the cement.
06:40It won't look as nice and the paint will just keep absorbing into the block.
06:43So it's a lot more coats required and more maintenance long term as well for the wall if it wasn't plastered.
06:48We're near enough, probably 15 down.
06:51Chris really wants to make sure the levels in this garden are accurate.
06:55Biggest worry, getting the levels right.
06:58One mil.
06:59And then of one small area, I still kind of really need to kind of figure out.
07:04The path is always getting covered in nice decorative pebble.
07:08Probably going to use a cobble, but I kind of have to figure that out.
07:11Another big worry, I suppose, would be the paving.
07:14It's concrete, it's porous.
07:15So I need to be really, really careful that when I get it down, I get it sealed and get it covered.
07:20So that none of this soil gets on it and stains the paving.
07:25Break times are very important in this garden.
07:28In college, they used to call me Milky T-boy.
07:31Have the apple tart here ready to go.
07:35Our pizza.
07:36Yesterday's dinner.
07:38It's this morning's break.
07:39Mmm, lovely.
07:41Oh, no.
07:43Oh, no.
07:48They're dropping me pizza.
07:49That's what I get for laughing.
07:56Chris is ready to start paving, and he will be relying on his trusty cement mixer.
08:01There used to be two lads just turned this by hand, and then we put an engine on it over time.
08:05I know.
08:06It's probably 20 years old, the mixer would say.
08:09It works.
08:10And that's all that matters, really.
08:14Huh?
08:15Mixer's so bad.
08:16Mixer's a bit slow.
08:19Is that mixer all right there, Dad?
08:21Well, it mixes nice and slow and steady, isn't it?
08:24That's it.
08:25That's the trick.
08:28But as the pavers get down to business, the slow mixer slows them down.
08:32That's going to break our heart.
08:34It's seen better days.
08:36So the old one is relegated as a flower pot now, I think.
08:40This is Victor, the mixer now.
08:43Shiny and new, huh?
08:44With the pavers back on track, Chris starts painting the fences.
08:49It's anthracite grey, is the colour.
08:51Chris isn't happy with how long it's taking him to paint using just a brush.
08:56I have a paint sprayer there, and I'm so tempted to use it.
08:59But I'm reluctant to do it because you can see a gap through here to the next door neighbours.
09:03So this is Rosie's garden.
09:04So if I spray this, I'm worried that it might drift over into their garden.
09:07Which, so I'm not going to create a problem for her, you know, so.
09:12It doesn't take long for Chris to have a change of heart.
09:15Well, you see, it's a lot quicker, like.
09:20Chris goes next door to check on competitor Rosie's side of the fence.
09:24Oh, it looks okay.
09:27It's actually working out perfectly, yeah.
09:29We're looking good, Rosie.
09:30Oh, great.
09:31Even when it was windy.
09:32Basically, you could probably do a panel in two or three minutes.
09:37With the patio finished, the stepping stones can now be laid.
09:40So they're going to, next hour, we're going to finish the stepping stones,
09:43and then we're going to start the curbing in the long way to delineate the flower beds.
09:47And then that's the paving finished.
09:50Chris gets it finished just in time for a visit from judge Brian Burke.
09:55How are you, Chris?
09:56How are you, Brian?
09:57How are you getting on?
09:58Pleased to meet you. How are you?
09:59The linchpin of the whole design is I come through the double door at the back of the house,
10:04I come out and I sit and I relax in this covered space.
10:07Yeah.
10:07The planting areas are big areas.
10:09Like, how do I, I'm just concerned about how I'm going to engage with them,
10:12how I'm going to relate to the rest of the garden.
10:14There's no means of coming through this bed, you know?
10:17Yeah.
10:17There's no way that I can actually kind of interact with it, for want of a better word.
10:22Wow.
10:22The sole engagement in the garden is based around the paved area.
10:27I'm working on an idea with kind of herbs, potentially suspended out of the pergola here.
10:32Marcelo's obviously a chef, so if you can incorporate some herbs that, you know,
10:35they can actually touch them and feel them.
10:37Kind of a tactile experience.
10:39Yeah.
10:40Like, there will be some interaction on the stepping stones here.
10:43Like, it's going to be creeping times in the gaps.
10:45Yeah.
10:45And actually, you're going to kind of step in bits and pieces.
10:47You're going to get a smell of time as you walk in and out, so.
10:49Can we move back to the back door?
10:51I want to talk to you about something.
10:54Okay, so clearly the builder has left this.
10:56Okay?
10:57Yeah.
10:57A little step at the back door.
10:59When I come through this door, it's a little, it's a clunky.
11:04Okay, so I'm coming down, I'm onto this stepping stone.
11:07That's a bit cumbersome.
11:09It wouldn't be so bad if this was a proper landing.
11:12Eh, well, potentially I could have left the stepping stone out.
11:16And I still can.
11:17And just starting the stepping stones from here would give a better landing area, potentially.
11:22Generally, I'm impressed by what I see.
11:24But it's lacking that something extra that's going to push it into the next bracket.
11:28You're hanging your hat completely on the covered pergola at the moment.
11:31I think you need to kind of spread it out a bit.
11:34It's food for thought.
11:35There's lots to think about here, so.
11:39Chris is in danger of falling into that bracket that we've seen time and time again on Supergarden.
11:45Competent landscaping does not a great garden make.
11:49The main feature is the pergola.
11:51So I'm going to have to come up with a wow factor, I think, to kind of get that to the next level.
11:56The plants are really going to make this as well.
11:57He needs to do something more.
12:00And at the moment, I don't know.
12:01He's kind of scratching his head there now as to how he might do that.
12:04Coming up, that should be in here.
12:06That's meant to be over.
12:07Hopefully not being too bossy, I hope.
12:10Welcome back to Supergarden.
12:38Before the break, Brian was worried that Chris wouldn't have a wow factor in his garden.
12:43You're hanging your hat completely on the covered pergola at the moment.
12:47I think you need to kind of spread it out a bit.
12:49As the pergola goes up, Chris still thinks he has the wow factor.
12:58Every piece is unique.
12:59The grain is lovely in this Douglas where it's really nice.
13:01And the colour.
13:02So we'll just get an oil just to preserve it.
13:05Chris's dad, Joe, arrives to help with the pergola.
13:08This is my last job before retirement.
13:10Hopefully we're going to bloom at the garden.
13:12So it might be the second last job.
13:14I should be in the zoo.
13:15That's the only part of Phoenix Park I should be.
13:21Steel feet have been added to the pergola.
13:23So the wood is not set in concrete, which will also give it a floating effect.
13:27Give a bit of character to the whole garden.
13:29It is a unique piece.
13:31And hopefully the wow factor.
13:34Chris has come up with a clever idea using a wire system to train his climbers onto the back wall.
13:39The other day we drilled all our holes to create the grid system.
13:42We're feeding through the wire now, myself and Peter.
13:46The wire system is needed, actually.
13:47Jasmine is not a self-clinging climber.
13:50The plant is going to grow on here for decades.
13:52So it's a long-term system.
13:54Each of our designers has been given ā‚¬5,000 to spend on plants from Irish nurseries.
14:01What the designers plant will play a big part in how they do in the competition.
14:05The idea of my planting is obviously to encourage biodiversity into the garden.
14:10I have a lot of hard landscaping in there.
14:11So really what I want to achieve with it then is to kind of soften all the hard lines down.
14:15It's going to have lots of colour and structure.
14:17Then I have lots of kind of scented plants and pollinator-friendly.
14:20Probably be using about 14 different species of plants.
14:23So I'll keep the species down, but then I'll repeat the plants in groupings around the garden.
14:27One of the plants I've selected from my garden is lavender monstead.
14:31Really highly standard.
14:32Lots of colour, flowers for a long time.
14:34And it's an absolute magnet for pollinators as well.
14:40It's planting day in Navon.
14:42Judge Carol Marks is on hand.
14:44Her job is to make sure the planting is done correctly.
14:47And today she's here to support Chris and guide his helpers.
14:51I was so surprised when I walked in to see all of the plants more or less in place.
14:56I think he's very well prepared to take advantage of all the help he's going to get today.
15:01Chris has been working in direct competition with his fellow designers.
15:04Good morning, everybody.
15:05But today he must get their help to plant his garden.
15:09We have the plants laid out.
15:10I suppose if we split up into two pairs it might be the best.
15:12So one pair we can start at the bottom here.
15:15And then this side we can plant from this corner up to the last post of the burgola.
15:21The designers get straight to it.
15:25But Carol wants Chris to get the big ticket items out of the way
15:29and dig the holes for the jasmine trees so they can be planted.
15:32I'll actually start digging those holes now and then when the girls get to me
15:35then they'll be planted and the smaller plants can go around.
15:39Perfect. That's great.
15:39But Chris can't focus on the task at hand.
15:43You're going all right, Debbie?
15:44Yeah.
15:44Looks good.
15:45As you say, it's going to be an oasis.
15:48Exactly, yeah.
15:50Chris is using a lot of lavender in his garden,
15:52which is good for attracting pollinators.
15:54And Carol has a tip for how best to look after them.
15:57The trick with lavender is to prune them at the right time,
16:00which is after flowering.
16:01Yeah.
16:01If you leave them too long, you'll get a lot of woody growth at the bottom
16:05and it's harder to keep them looking good.
16:08Harder to keep them in the dome.
16:09Meanwhile, Rosie has been dreaming of Chris.
16:12I had a really funny dream the other night
16:14that my pond was going a bit wrong
16:16because you kept chucking tropical fish over the wall.
16:19That wasn't a dream.
16:21With a background in ecology, Chris really knows his plants.
16:24So the pitosporum is a great plant.
16:25It's going to be evergreen.
16:27It's going to soften these two edges, so we've one at each end.
16:29Alliums here as well, which are really good for pollinators.
16:32And they just give like a nice kind of character to it.
16:34Geranium, the purple one just beside,
16:36Jorge here is kind of a spreading kind of ground cover.
16:38It's going to be a little bit flowy along the edge.
16:40Cesare is a nice kind of grass,
16:42just gives a bit of movement in the flower beds.
16:44It looks like a daisy.
16:45It's called a black-eyed Susan with yellow petals
16:47and a really dark kind of browny black centre.
16:49This lovely Cleome, so it's about to flower.
16:52So this is the Calaminta.
16:53It's a pin cushion.
16:54And this last one then is a Millennia.
16:56I actually need to dig the holes.
16:58Continue the holes for the star jasmine
17:00that I've left about 20 minutes ago.
17:02And if I don't speed up, Jorge's going to have to dig them.
17:06Usually when I'm planting now,
17:07I'm not telling you how to do it,
17:08but every two plants,
17:10I can really stand up and look at it again.
17:12Chris is very particular about the planting in his garden,
17:15and he certainly isn't afraid to tell his competitors.
17:18I think we're going a bit wrong there, Eileen.
17:20Oh?
17:20So there should be one here.
17:21Yeah.
17:22There should be one here,
17:22and there should be one there.
17:23I might actually just...
17:24The hole here is just off.
17:26There's a geranium should be in...
17:27That should be in here.
17:28Because there's two lavenders that go...
17:30Yeah, so if we have...
17:31And then...
17:31The grass is actually probably here.
17:33Right.
17:34And that geranium needs to come forward.
17:35So that hole is actually in the wrong place.
17:37Just keeping on top of the organisation.
17:39Do you want the bigger spade?
17:40No.
17:40Hopefully you're not being too bossy, I hope.
17:43But it needs to be over here.
17:45Do you know what I mean?
17:46Right over.
17:46Because that grass is actually...
17:48That's meant to be over.
17:49Okay.
17:50Sorry, I'm being very picky on this now.
17:52And then we need to kind of move that one out.
17:54Sorry, but this is for this lavender.
17:56Is that okay?
17:57Yeah.
17:57Sorry, I'm being picky.
17:58No, no, no, you're not.
17:59You're absolutely right.
18:00This is your garden.
18:02Meanwhile, Chris brings a different energy
18:04to the other side of the garden.
18:06Now, so yous are doing...
18:07Yourself and Debbie, Jorge,
18:08are doing really good work.
18:08If yous are happy, I'm very happy anyway once.
18:11Good, good.
18:11If you need me...
18:12If you need anything, help or anything,
18:14just let me know.
18:15I'll go dig holes then for these chasms.
18:17I'm going to go dig a hole.
18:19Now, I'm going to go dig these holes.
18:26Finally, after all my talking,
18:28I have dug a hole.
18:29Chris is entrusting Rosie
18:31to plant the creeping thyme
18:32between the stepping stones.
18:34Yeah, it's delicious smelling thyme.
18:38See the way you put pressure on it,
18:39like your foot,
18:40essentially out of your foot now,
18:41it's too low.
18:41It's because you're squashing
18:42the soil underneath.
18:43But if you stand on it,
18:45that's not going to happen.
18:46We need to just compact that soil in.
18:47He's really bossy, isn't he?
18:49Yeah, I'll squash it.
18:49That's a good idea.
18:50I'll give it a punch.
18:51This is very therapeutic.
18:53With temperatures rising
18:55in this garden,
18:56it's important to make sure
18:57the plants are well watered.
18:59Breaking the rule
18:59I don't water in the middle of the day,
19:01but I'm watering around the base,
19:03down towards the base of the plant.
19:04When the sun is so bright,
19:06the water droplets act
19:08like a magnifying glass
19:09and they can scorch the leaves.
19:12His fellow competitors
19:14have given Chris
19:15all the help they can
19:16as planting day comes to an end
19:18and they head back
19:19to their own gardens.
19:21It's certainly highlighted
19:22that the competition
19:23is well and truly on.
19:25I mean, he's put so much work into it
19:26and you can really see
19:28his plant knowledge coming out.
19:33With plants in,
19:34Chris has one last push
19:36to get the garden finished.
19:38This pressure's really on me now.
19:39It's starting to tell, I'd say.
19:41He adds a floating shelf
19:42to the pergola,
19:43which he hopes will give
19:44even more of a wow factor.
19:47So this kind of sprung to mind
19:48when I seen it in the shed at home.
19:49It's been there for a couple of years
19:51and I thought,
19:52well, that's pretty unique.
19:54So we just have it tightened there
19:56and it's level.
19:57With the wire system in
19:58on the back wall,
19:59he wants to make sure
20:00it's completely covered
20:02by green foliage.
20:03We're training the star jasmine
20:05onto the wall.
20:06Chris has help
20:07from his girlfriend,
20:08Verena,
20:08to add some finishing touches
20:10as she fills the water bowl
20:12and Chris levels it off.
20:13I'm really proud of Chris.
20:14I mean, he's so passionate
20:15about nature, plants, gardening,
20:17and I think this just goes to show.
20:20A thank you meal
20:21from the homeowners.
20:22So happy.
20:23You're welcome.
20:24Grass goes down
20:25and even more finishing touches
20:27are added.
20:28Chris has finished the garden.
20:31Three weeks ago,
20:33this was the space
20:34Chris was given
20:34to turn into his
20:36culinary canopy design.
20:38This is Chris Walsh's
20:39entry to Supergarden.
20:41Carol, Monica,
21:11and Brian
21:12inspect Chris's garden
21:13before meeting him
21:14face to face.
21:20Landscape business owner
21:21Chris Walsh
21:22designed an entertaining space
21:23for the homeowners to enjoy.
21:25What will the judges think?
21:27Time to find out.
21:28How are you, Chris?
21:29Good.
21:30How are you, Brian?
21:32I'm not convinced
21:33that the pergola
21:34is the wow factor.
21:35Did you bring a wow factor?
21:37Personally, you know,
21:38I feel the wow factors
21:39really came into its own
21:41with the planting.
21:42I don't think that planting
21:43can be considered
21:44the wow factor.
21:45Yes, I don't negate
21:46that your planting
21:47is actually very pretty,
21:48but planting is the dress
21:50of a naked garden.
21:51Then there's a couple
21:51of additions.
21:52So I have a floating
21:53timber shelf
21:54here behind me.
21:56That has its own story.
21:57It was actually hit by lightning
21:58in a convent in Wexford.
22:00It was a 220-year-old tree
22:01and the family actually
22:02cut it down
22:02and planked it up themselves.
22:04So that obviously
22:05has a functional element
22:06that ties in with the barbecue.
22:08It gives an extra
22:08kind of cooking space.
22:10And then I've
22:11a couple of unique features.
22:12So another one
22:12is a granite boulder
22:13at the water feature.
22:14It'll allow, hopefully,
22:16frogs and other animals
22:18to come in,
22:18use the water feature
22:19and then be able
22:19to leave it again.
22:20I do take your point
22:22about the floating table
22:24as a wow factor.
22:26Great.
22:27I have to say
22:29your combination of plants
22:30is really, really good.
22:32As Monica says,
22:33it is the dressing
22:34of the garden.
22:35But I love
22:36the colour combinations.
22:38I like the fact
22:38that your homeowners
22:40want a low-maintenance garden
22:43and in general,
22:44most of these plants
22:45will only need
22:46to be touched
22:47once a year.
22:48Yeah.
22:49The water feature.
22:50I mean,
22:50that's a water bowl.
22:52It's a steel bowl.
22:52It's a pre-packaged item.
22:54It doesn't really scream
22:56someone with
22:57an ecological background
22:58to me, you know?
22:59I actually have
23:00to disagree with you,
23:01Brian,
23:02because, you know,
23:03we're trying to encourage
23:04people to bring water
23:05into their gardens
23:06no matter what size,
23:08even it's small, little.
23:09Can I just say, Monica,
23:10like, this idea
23:11has been well showcased.
23:12Sure, yeah.
23:13I mean, we're all
23:13very well familiar
23:14with this type of idea.
23:16I think for someone
23:17with Chris's background,
23:18I think there was
23:19an opportunity
23:19to do something
23:20a little bit more.
23:22You know,
23:22a naturalistic pond,
23:23personally, I don't know,
23:24because it's quite
23:24contemporary in design,
23:25whether it would fit,
23:27as well as the
23:28contemporary water bowl.
23:29I don't see any conflict there.
23:33So, Chris, tell us,
23:34why should you win
23:35Supergarden?
23:36Like, I feel
23:36we've brought
23:38a stunning garden here.
23:38The homeowners
23:39are absolutely
23:39blown away by it.
23:40Personally,
23:41I think it's top-notch.
23:43That's why I feel
23:44like you should win
23:44Supergarden.
23:45I think it did bring
23:48the wow factor for me.
23:50Hold on.
23:51The wow factor?
23:52The beach shelf?
23:53Yes.
23:53OK, it's a wow factor,
23:55but is it the wow factor?
23:57I'm not sure.
23:58Well, I'm not sure.
23:59There's a story behind it,
24:00and I like stories.
24:02I think I'm going to bloom.
24:04I hope I'm going to bloom.
24:05Will Chris's
24:07culinary canopy design
24:09take him to bloom,
24:10or will it be
24:11Debbie Brophy's
24:12Be Happy Wildlife design,
24:14Eileen Sung's
24:15New Beginnings design,
24:17Jorge Aragon's
24:18Fallschiff Fiesta design,
24:20or will it be
24:21next week's designer
24:22here?