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  • 6/11/2025
Garden Rescue 2025 episode 11
Transcript
00:00The garden rescue team are on a mission to make garden dreams come true.
00:10Charlie Dimock, Lee Burkill, Flo Headlum and Chris Hull are here to answer your
00:27gardening emergencies. It feels disorganized, a bit chaotic. It's a bit of a shocker.
00:32Each week two of our designers will go head to head. Pick me and let's do this.
00:37The garden we're going to go with is... John Rye!
00:42What? Lee. Oh yes!
00:46And whichever designer loses. The race is on. Go!
00:49Helps the winner build the garden. Good idea. Did you get that on camera? Lee said good idea Charlie.
00:56Amazing. Turning garden dreams. Open your eyes.
00:59That's so overwhelmed. Into reality. That is amazing.
01:14Today the team tackle a garden in Manchester. Let's have a look at these photos.
01:18Because Elizabeth and James are looking for inspiration.
01:22We went to Devon and we packed our surfboards on top of the tiny IQ.
01:28It's still going strong isn't it?
01:30So we met actually on the first day of uni. We went to the University of Birmingham together
01:34and we studied civil engineering and we sat next to each other in the first lecture together.
01:40And I think that was around 10 years ago now.
01:43Yeah. So we've been sort of gone travelling around the world, gone to uni together.
01:48We've started our careers together. Yeah.
01:51Bought a house together. Let's go surfing!
01:54Outdoorsy Elizabeth, originally from London and James from Bristol, moved to Manchester three years ago.
02:00In our spare time we like to do hikes in the Peak District. It's just on our doorstep.
02:04And if we want something a bit further afield, the Lake District is also gorgeous. We really like going
02:08to the beach and surfing with friends and family. And then this is us.
02:13The last time we went, isn't it? Yeah. A few months ago that one.
02:16Yeah. We do love Manchester, but yeah, it's something nice about being by the beach.
02:21The couple have worked hard to make themselves a home in Manchester.
02:25We had to redo everything. So we took out the structural wall, put in new steels.
02:30Every wall in this house has been stripped of the wallpaper, including the ceilings.
02:36But one part of the house they haven't renovated is their 90 square metre garden.
02:42So over here is where the garage slash shed used to be.
02:48So now that we've taken away the garage, we've been left with essentially uneven, barren ground.
02:54There was also a greenhouse that was right next to the garage. It was so overgrown with ivy,
02:59you couldn't physically open the greenhouse doors. And behind that, we had a landfill site that we
03:05delightfully discovered after we've removed the greenhouse and the shed. There was a skips worth
03:10of random stuff, petrol, tyres, anything you can think of was back there. So that wasn't the best
03:16surprise that we had. So it's been a huge job to clear things out of the way.
03:20As we venture back to the depths of the garden, there's loads of stuff on the floor here. There's
03:30some glass, there's rubbish. It's just such a big job to get rid of it all. It is a very mature garden.
03:37And we see often, like we can even see today, there's lots of bees buzzing about in the plants.
03:42We see birds pottering about, squirrels. We've even had some foxes passing through in the past. But even for
03:48them, a lot of the stuff that's on the floor now isn't safe.
03:53On this side, there's so much ivy that's very much untamed. And then you've got all of the weeds
03:59and undergrowth there. There's like a dead tree stump in the garden, which would be so nice to
04:05get rid of. It's actually growing into the garage and causing a bit of structural issues. And it's a
04:11bit of an eyesore. So we can't wait to see rid of that as well. I don't think either of us are
04:16particularly green fingers. So it's easier for us to sort of place things in our house. But
04:21outside is quite a different ball game, I suppose. We've put in so much work into doing the rest of
04:26the house. And looking out just makes you go, oh. Happy to help, Charlie and Lee are ready to design
04:37James and Elizabeth's new plot. Right, here we have James and Elizabeth in Manchester.
04:43Right. Check this out. Oh, full of greenery, ivy, wonky donkey grass. You've got a nice view from the
04:50house. But then they're just looking out over this kind of scrubland. I wonder what they want,
04:55though. Yeah, should we find out? Probably not scrubland. We want to bring the beach to
05:01Manchester. We love surfing and being near the sea and just being in nature. So if we could have
05:06that in our garden, that would be perfect for us. A beach in Manchester. That's going to be difficult.
05:14The garden needs to be more surf atmosphere than surf shack and sand. It's a nice sheltered area where we
05:20can gather around with our friends and family, maybe around a fire pit, as a big improvement to
05:25where our garage used to be. So basically not Manchester then. No. Far, far away near the coast.
05:30Yeah. Beth loves to read, so maybe a quiet, calming nook in the corner to do this would be brilliant.
05:35Oh, you're known for those little hideaway nooks, little hidey hole. We've noticed lots of wildlife
05:40in our overgrown garden. We'd love to have something that keeps them here and makes them enjoy it.
05:45Right, so we don't want to strip out too much because of all the wildlife. Right.
05:49So what's the budget? Well, the budget for this one is Β£6,000. Β£6,000. Well, that's not bad.
05:57But it's a big garden. A lot to do.
06:03Lee and Charlie must create a design that fits James and Elizabeth's Β£6,000 budget. James and
06:10Elizabeth must pick their favourite, which the losing designer will help build. The designers and top
06:16team of landscapers provide the labour for free, leaving the entire budget to spend on materials and plants.
06:28Back in Manchester, the designers' pitches are in. Let's go for it.
06:33James and Elizabeth, this is my surf-inspired sunset hideaway for you. It wouldn't be much of a surf-style
06:41garden if we didn't have a really wonderful beachy area. So what I've done is take half of the garden
06:48after the patio and create this really relaxed, almost like evening beach scene.
06:53That's so clever what you've done there. I really like that. I've given you this rustic surf-shack
06:59seating area at harbour where you can hide away from neighbours, the sun or the rain and fit loads of
07:05family members here. It does take me to the beach, that. It wouldn't really be a beach-themed garden
07:10without some water, which is why I've given you this really tall stone monolith that's going to gush with
07:17water and trickle down into this boulder pebble pool. Now that is really cool. So you come out the patio
07:23doors to your existing patio and then we've got these two perglars. Now when I say perglars they're
07:30sort of arches come pergola but very modern. So they actually frame the view one straight down the garden
07:40to the chillax zone and then this other pergola into the the party zone as such. A lovely big patio
07:49surrounded by planting. It feels really open but also quite, quite zoned. Yeah. Now Elizabeth I know you
07:57wanted a nook where you could hide away and get back to basics with nature. So what I've done in the back
08:02part of the garden is keep all of your existing plants and trees but simply add to them and I've done
08:08that we're giving you a new curved lawn here and this perfect little seating area. But by using
08:13these big bleached out pieces of driftwood we're going to give that illusion that you're near the sea
08:18but in nature. I love how it's sort of the curve going around all of the trees that's so... It looks
08:24like such a relaxing area doesn't it? Going to be these stepping stones that lead you down through the
08:30meadow. Very simple pond and then I've got this deck area that's going to be set about a foot above the
08:37pond and hang over so you can lay down on it and look into the pond. You can sit on the edge and
08:45dangle your feet. We're going to plant this area up with wildlife plants so we're going to have meadow
08:52turf so it's going to be full of oxide daisies and campions. It's going to have a little solar pump in
09:00there so that you've got the sound of the water bubbling, you'll get the reflections so it'll just
09:06be a really nice area just to chill. I love the water feature as well that we've got something there that
09:12has that element. Charlie and Lee's designs are very different but both deliver when it comes to social
09:20and chill out spaces. But James and Elizabeth also wanted to create a haven for wildlife. As we move
09:27through this part of the garden I want to make use of all of that wildlife and existing planting that you
09:32have. Underneath this whole section I'm going to fill this part of the garden with low fuss woodland
09:37planting. Evergreen lozular grasses, we're going to have galliums, we're going to have maybe some wood
09:42primrose, all sorts of things that will just do their own thing without loads of intervention. Oh that
09:48sounds so gorgeous. And the bottom of the garden is surrounded with shrubs and trees. I'm thinking
09:57something native, things like field maple, hawthorn, a silver birch which is going to be great for the
10:05wildlife, for the birds. So you get the flowers in the spring, you get the berries in the autumn and you
10:11get autumn colour. Yes and it'll be really nice. So at any time of the year this area of the garden
10:18is going to be very interesting but also fantastic for the wildlife. I'm glad we're not losing any of
10:24the wildlife. It could be sort of a haven for all the birds. Charlie's thinking of the birds as well,
10:28which is nice. So this is my design. It's very simple, straightforward, easy to maintain, practical for
10:36you guys. So you can chill out there along with all the wildlife. I'm glad that she's considered that
10:42we're not going to be particularly good at taking care of the plants but hopefully they'll survive.
10:50So if you want to grab a drink at the sunsets then pick my sunset hideaway. Oh I'm just so pleased that
10:55they both look so good. The only problem is now we're going to have to choose. Do you think we
10:59could try and do both? Maybe. James and Elizabeth must decide the design they desire the most.
11:11Right so back here in Charlie's design is pretty much where the pond is at this point and the decking
11:16is kind of, she said a foot above where the pond is so we can almost stretch our legs out and dangle
11:21our feet into the pond or just sort of have them there. And even from this position that we are now
11:26it's just going to look stunning with the planting growing around it. So for Lee's design this is
11:33pretty much where the nook is. Yeah this is going to, this will completely transform won't it because
11:37it's like the circular hangout area with the driftwood all around it rather than overgrown mess
11:44that it is at the moment. I don't think that's actually made the decision any easier
11:47going around it because I can really imagine us enjoying both of these spaces.
11:50Here we go. We've heard back from James and Elizabeth about which one of our beachy designs
12:00they want. Okay. Hi Lee and Charlie, thank you so much for our designs they were both
12:06so amazing. Lee we loved the water feature at the beginning of the garden. That's my department. The patio
12:13area and then the little nook that you made at the back of the garden just for me it was so thoughtful.
12:20And Charlie your design was fantastic as well we really loved the two pagodas and how they
12:24framed the view out of our kitchen and from the bi-fold doors. Oh they're framing. We lost a lot of
12:31sleep over it and to be honest if we could have both we would love to have both but we couldn't and
12:36we had to choose someone so we chose. Charlie. Charlie. Oh. Well you could knock me down with a favour.
12:49I can't believe that with your lovely shed. Well you never know how much beach someone wants. I know
12:54because I didn't really have much beach. Project manager Ben and an expert team of landscapers have
13:08just two days to bring coastal vibes to Manchester. Big big job. You've just walked in to the bomb site.
13:17You can see we have a lot to do here. Behind Torrey was a greenhouse. Pretty much most of it's still on
13:25the floor by the looks of it. In fragments yeah. We've got to get the digger in and strip this all out.
13:31We have to make it look like this. Candy needs to get his digger in and get digging. You've got a lot
13:35to do Andy. Yeah. We'll get going on that digger. The rest of us a cup of tea. Cup of tea. Let's get it done.
13:39Yeah. Get that digger in Andy. I'm a little short. First Andy's on the digger and the team are clearing
13:50barrows worth of rubble and soil.
14:03You can see straight away the skip is filling up really quickly. I don't think we've even
14:08scratched the surface so we're going to look into getting another skip because we've got to get a
14:13lot out before we bring all the new stuff in. That's still got a bit of life in it. Merry Christmas.
14:19Oh look at that. From old Christmas trees to buried bricks there's lots to lose to make way for a level
14:26lawn and patio area. I think we've found the old greenhouse base. Lots of bricks and glass is a common sign.
14:38After three hours of clearing Andy's digger can refocus to create a 400 millimetre deep hole at the
14:46back of the garden for Charlie's wildlife pond. This pond's getting bigger and bigger.
14:53It's not big enough then you know. Yeah mate that's more than big enough. Yeah he's got dolphins and
14:58everything in this side of this. Charlie's plan is to create a retreat with a platform that partly
15:05sits over the pond that Lee the carpenter will build. I bet it won't make a frame then. Big frame.
15:14So I've just had a change of mind about this. There's got to be a long thin oval deck. What I'll do
15:21I'll make this centrepiece first and I'll create these two A-frames. Because it's a long thin oval it'll
15:28still keep that that surfboard style look to it. While Lee builds the frame for the beachy inspired
15:38platform Andy and Ben are ready to lay tiles close to the garden's entrance. I'm going to work our way
15:44all the way along to create the rectangle patio area. The patio area will gradually connect to the
15:54wildlife area at the back of the garden with pond and the platform at its heart. So we're going to
16:00try and position this. I've just got Jamie digging some of that soil back there. Then we'll slide it up
16:07into position. Then we can work out where the legs are going. Andy's got a digger. I've got a digger.
16:13It's brilliant mine as well. You have to feed it. That's the trouble. Lee and Jamie must make sure it's
16:19secure at the back so it can cantilever and safely hang over the edge of the pond.
16:25Obviously because of the cantilever over here we need to make sure we've got some really good anchors in
16:29this back. So some really good. Once confident on its position Lee creates a top for the platform
16:35shaping plants for the desired surfy look. Everything's going great with the decking.
16:41Scaffboards are fastened down now. It's all nice and level. More than that really pleased with it. I
16:47just hope Charlie loves it. With the platform and patio in place, pond dug and garden cleared at the
16:54end of day one the team have made great progress. They're ready for Charlie and Lee's arrival in the
17:00morning. This could be Manchester's first inland beach. Yeah. Where is everything? There was more here
17:10when I last saw it. I'm just so stunned. I mean I'm loving the deck as well. That's surfboard yeah.
17:16Riding the wave. Riding the wave. See what you're doing now. I mean we need a lot of plants don't we for this space.
17:22Yeah but what I'd love you to do for James and Elizabeth is I want to give them a bit of a grown-up
17:29garden because I think this is sort of their first proper garden. If I'm pretending to be a grown-up
17:33today, what are you doing? Well I'm giving you two-thirds of the garden and I'm just doing the
17:38wildlife area at the bottom. That sounds equitable. No lots and lots to do.
17:44Right watch the holes. That's pergola holes there. So what I wanted to create for Elizabeth and James
17:51is a view from out of their patio doors. So that is a key view down the garden but it's almost like
17:58I'm giving them three gardens. So this area is going to be a sort of grown-up area lawn with a
18:03flower board around it. Pergola which frames the view down the garden. A nice big border of shrubs and
18:11perennials to give lots of colour around the lawn and the patio area and then we're going to have
18:17stepping stones that lead to the deck and I really want this area to be sort of full of wildlife,
18:25very natural and sort of rural type feel to it. So we're going to have some native trees,
18:31a lovely pond and then we're going to put some beautiful boards at the back here so they can sit
18:38down on the deck and lean against it. Charlie's asked the landscaping team to hold on to any
18:45natural materials to further encourage wildlife at the back of the garden.
18:52Now this tree stump was dug up when they were digging out the pond and it's great for wildlife
18:57because you've got sort of old rotting bits of wood which the wildlife like beetles and earwigs and all
19:05sorts of things so they'll take this wood the rotting wood and use it to hibernate and nest.
19:10Also the other thing is is there's lots of little nooks and crannies so you'll find that bees and
19:16little sort of native wasps will create little homes for themselves and for me I think that looks like
19:23a bit of art. It's beautiful, it's something gorgeous and it doesn't go into landfill so it's
19:30helping wildlife it's not going into landfill and it looks amazing.
19:38Lee's already discovered some important visitors.
19:42You know this is really exciting we've got a small nest of what looks like carder bees which are
19:48actually a species of bumblebee here in the UK. These bees have taken a load of moss and created this
19:55sort of ball nest of moss in this thicket of ivy and shrubs and you can see them all busy working
20:00away because now is the time that they need to fly out get loads of nectar and pollen for all the
20:06different cells where the eggs have been laid within that nest and then hopefully if they get enough
20:10nectar they'll be able to lay lava that will then turn into queens. I also know that Charlie's got some
20:16really beautiful wainy boards here that are going to help protect the deck but they're also going to
20:21protect these bees. It's going to be great isn't it? It's a nice torch isn't it? Everyone's got their own space.
20:28At what will be a front lawn area Lee the landscaper is building a pergola that'll frame the view of the wildlife.
20:36So what height are you actually going to make that then? I'm thinking 2.4. That's tall. Come down a little bit.
20:432.2. 2.2. 2.2. Yeah that's the top of the pergola. Right so that's updated then Jamie. Everything's been worked to that.
20:50Okay. And we'll do the same with the one up onto the patio as well. Yeah. So that frames that view as
20:56well for you. Right. We've been told. That's it. Andy is laying stepping stones that will connect to the wildlife area.
21:05So Andy when you get these next two slabs down. Two? Yeah two. Two. Two. Yeah. All right.
21:11So one there one there because we're going from formal to wild and woolly. So you want them all more
21:16higgledy piggledy. Yeah. Higgledy piggledy. Okay. And then you can higgledy piggledy onto the digger.
21:22Onto the digger and then once I've dug that out move the rubbish and then once I've done that.
21:26Oh your job's so bad isn't it?
21:36With stepping stones laid, Charlie's adding a layer of sand to the bottom of the pond
21:42that's covered with fleece before a pond lining is lay on top.
21:47Fleece is down. Now the next thing is the liner. We're using a PVC liner.
21:51So it's a bit cheaper. So this one's four and a half meters by four. Which way you go? What's
21:57going on here? What are we? That's that way. Is that my end? Yeah.
22:04These normally unfold very easily. So this liner four and a half meters by four was 40 pounds. So
22:11not bad. There you go. Right on there and I'll slide in. Now PVC liners when it's cold they tend to be
22:17very stiff and really difficult to fold and get looking neat. So if it's a cold day put them in
22:23the house to warm them up and they become much more supple and you get a neater finish. How are you on your
22:29side mate? Yeah pretty good. Yours don't look too bad actually. Once there's some water in there. Yeah
22:37that's good. I think that's good. Right four hours later the pond should be full.
22:51With the first pergola in progress
22:56Lee and Lee are building the second to frame the patio.
23:00What's really lovely about this part of the process is these frames are really starting
23:08to bring the garden to life.
23:17Charlie plans to fill the space with colourful coastal inspired plants and grasses.
23:25Look at that. Have you got enough? So I wanted to give James and Elizabeth a little bit of
23:36everything. Some perennials, some easy going shrubs and then down by the pond I'm making sort of a
23:43little glade for them. Oh very nice. I mean I love the fact you've got a bit of variegation, dark purples,
23:48light purples, yellows, whites. And then you know the meadow turf area around the pond where I want to
23:54sort of zhuzh it up a bit by by putting a few perennials in to make it a bit more glamorous.
23:59So I'm going to add some lucansum. Bulletproof. Bulletproof and you can make a really big daisy chain with them.
24:09And then I've got the trees at the back yeah. So I've got some natives, birch, field maple, hawthorn.
24:14And yeah so that's strange that all these seem to be for my native area.
24:23I want to get some more height. Yes it would be lovely when I've got this birch which is one of
24:29the upright ones. The back is it? Yeah sort of over there. Try not to. The only problem is they're
24:35going to fall over. Do we think there? Or do we think, or do we think there? I think back where you
24:43were. Back where it was. That bit's so geometric. Yeah. Nice shape. Mind you there's a meadow to our
24:50friend here. Doesn't matter there's a bit of grass here. Charlie's now root tickling to encourage more growth.
24:59Ah. Now we're actually planting at a height of summer and I wouldn't normally say it's a great
25:06time to plant trees but you can establish them. You just need to be good at watering them. What I love
25:12about this is you've got the noise haven't you? The tree. Yeah. The noise of your pond. Very relaxing. Yes.
25:24It also has amazing berries.
25:29There it is now.
25:37We'll get some earth round it. Yeah and I've got some gorgeous ferns and I've got some moss.
25:42So you can. I want to plant them. Yeah he always wants to plant. I do. He loves ferns. He loves a bit of moss
25:49on a trunk. Yeah. I just like ferns because they're easy to plant.
25:53It's an angle duck quack quack duck. Who put that burglar there?
26:03To give James and Elizabeth support as they unwind at the wildlife area,
26:08Lee is creating a back for the platform from waney edged boards.
26:11And we can maybe get some plants behind so they'll poke through.
26:19Very good. I shall continue. Oh. A wildlife area and pond made Elizabeth and James enthusiastic for Charlie's design.
26:25To completely transform our garden from what it is now, which is pretty much a dump into a nice relaxing space space for us to enjoy in two days.
26:33It doesn't feel possible to me. So, wow. Yeah, it'd be lovely.
26:53Are you happy with this one, Charlie? I think it's absolutely amazing. And what I really love is that contrast between the gnarly sort of bark and the swirls, but then the very smooth sawn bit as well.
27:14It's like the gnarliness of me. And then once we've got... We've got these, haven't we, to go here?
27:20Yeah, like that. Look at that. Oh. Drop that round again. Are you actually going to plant those?
27:27No. No? Oh, OK. No.
27:31Andy's happy to lend a hand, placing ferns to create some contrast across the large tree stump.
27:40That looks gorgeous. That's nice there, isn't it? It is absolutely stunning. And where are you putting the other one?
27:47I was thinking around... At the back there, yeah. Maybe that's too close there. So I might get...
27:52There, yeah. At the back. And then meadow turf. Yeah. Over the liner. Yeah. And then soil.
27:59Do you want, er...
28:03Hosta? Do you want a hosta? Yeah. A hosta, say, Boldiana.
28:06But let's have a look first. Yeah, let's place in there. Have a look.
28:09Er, get it in, get it... Yeah. There. There. There. Yeah. Yeah.
28:24It's a little bit different, isn't it? It is. Do you know what that reminds me of?
28:27What? One of those beauty pageant floats. Oh, it does, doesn't it?
28:31I'll have to get you a little crown. We can plonk you on there later on.
28:35It's suddenly coming together, isn't it? Mm.
28:39I want this to be full on colour all round the patio. This, a little bit more calm, serene,
28:47because this is like the, you know, the chill-out zone. You know, after... Wild and free.
28:52Wild and free, like when you've been surfing.
28:54With patio, pond and pergolas coming along nicely, Charlie and the team can concentrate on the planting.
29:04Er, now, those are definitely mine. Some light room. I mean, they're shocking pink, aren't they?
29:10They are strong pink, towel pink colour, isn't it, at the beach. Look at that little rose, so cute.
29:16Down, down, that way down. This way down. And then go, go in, go in, go in. And in the water.
29:27That's it. That's the badger. That's lovely.
29:33Erm, so that's it for soil. Now, I've created a little bog garden here, so we're using this tree trunk,
29:41and then I've hung it over the pond liner, so this soil here will always be nice and damp,
29:48which these plants love. So I've got hostas and ferns, but I'm also planting this lythrum,
29:55lythrum salicaria. Now, this is a cultivar of purple loosestrife. This one's called Robert,
30:01and it's got these quite intense pink spikes of flowers. The wildlife absolutely love it.
30:09So it just adds a bit of pop of colour to the water feature.
30:15Here we go. Coming together.
30:27Charlie is keen to bring a bit of TLC to some of the already established plants in James and Elizabeth's garden.
30:34So Elizabeth and James originally wanted to get rid of all this ivy,
30:38but Charlie's actually dug her heels in a little bit and kept it, and I think it's a really good choice.
30:42And that's because this ivy not only offers a habitat for things you see in the day,
30:46but also nocturnal animals such as bats. And would you believe it, little pipistrels will use ivy
30:52when it's up on walls and buildings to dart in and out of at dusk to catch flies. So it really is a
30:58fantastic plant and if you can keep it, you're doing the world a great favour.
31:06The landscapers have been busy laying fresh lawn close to the house and meadow turf to frame the
31:12wildlife area and pond. Now there's two key groups of plants that you really need in a pond to keep
31:20it clear and balanced. First one oxygenating weed. It's not a thing of beauty, but it does an amazing
31:27job of keeping the pond clear and balanced. You're aiming for about half the base to be covered with
31:34oxygenator. So during the summer time you're going to thin it through every so often and hornwort's
31:39great because it's a nice straightforward easy one to plant because it sinks in the winter and it floats
31:45in the summer so it hasn't actually got any roots. So it's just a case of chucking it in.
32:00Because we've got the ivy over there which is really vigorous, Charlie's picked another vigorous
32:05climber, this, which is the common hop, Cumulus lupinus. And it's a fantastic plant if you're in a
32:11bit of a rush to cover an area with beautiful climbing foliage. Now this will adhere itself to
32:18this wooden post without any real help. It's got these little tendrils that kind of sucker onto things.
32:22Now it will grow to about six metres in the next four years but you can be brutal with it when you
32:27prune it. It has that scent of beer and then also apples and yeast so that when it's in full flower
32:34and once this is smothered, Elizabeth and James are going to get that sniff like they've just walked
32:38around the back of a pub maybe somewhere and it'll probably make them use that patio even more and
32:43invite the friends around for drinks. So if you're in a rush and you need something to scramble up
32:48somewhere with little attention then you'd be hard pressed to find a better climber than a hop.
32:57Now the other key plant for a pond is a water lily or maybe two or three depending on which ones you buy.
33:04They are key to the pond because they give you surface coverage which cuts out the sunlight so
33:10it helps keep the pond clear. So I've got this one from my pond and it is a William Shaw so it's a shell
33:18pink colour and as you can see it's got the great big long leaves. Now what you do need to do with
33:26these is take off any of the dead flowers because you don't really want them rotting in the pond so it's
33:31just like dead heading them and then you're going to pot it up and garden soil's fine you don't have
33:36to use aquatic soil and put a big layer of gravel on the top to help the soil and what you don't want
33:42to do is cover the crown of the plant too much so as I said these water lily leaves will right themselves
34:05and grow to the right depth. Right, there we go.
34:17Now already in the garden there's all sorts of bees and bumbles along with the carder bees flying
34:34around and this plant is going to become one of their favourites it's a circium commonly known as
34:40the thistle but don't panic or scream too loudly because this thistle doesn't have any spikes and
34:46it's a really easy plant to grow in particular if you're a beginner gardener. Now the reason why I
34:52love circium and I use it in a lot of planting schemes is that it flowers really early. Now this
34:57one must have been forced because usually it's gone over by now because they flower in May and what's
35:03fantastic about them is that bees absolutely love them they're full of early nectar and pollen and
35:09they've got these ruby red almost like wine-like coloured flowers and I reckon those bees at the
35:15back of the garden will soon find this circium and be having a little snack on its beautiful flowers
35:21absolutely wonderful
35:22with plants in place and all the main structures too Charlie just has one finishing touch to add to
35:34the pond right we're just popping the pond pumping I just want the water just to ripple I don't want
35:40a big fountain or anything like that just a little bit of movement
35:44and it's agitating and it won't be upset in the water lily it's small but sweet and I love the
36:01sound it's very gentle it's actually quite relaxing the team have worked hard to create a garden inspired
36:11by the sea in just two days oh what a transformation I have to say the guys have done an amazing job
36:22by the time they cleared it out it was just a big blank space I know look at it now it's fantastic and
36:28I mean I'm loving this area I can see they're going to be partying there barbecues family big table and I
36:36think because this bit gets the views from the house this is like the nice clean area and then all of a
36:41sudden were transported into the edge of a woodland yeah should we go get them come on then
36:51Elizabeth and James's garden was once overgrown filled with the glass and rubble of greenhouses
36:58and garages that had once stood on its site but with a six thousand pound budget
37:04it's been transformed into a mature and defined space with plants and water to remind them of their
37:12favorite coastal retreat
37:18put you about there it's yeah no opening your eyes and I'll bring you right next to Elizabeth
37:25James reminds me what the garden was like before dump site wasteland to be honest yeah yeah and somehow
37:42wild and barren at the same time okay so I'm hoping we've changed that for you and given you a garden that
37:49a garden that you'll grow into enjoy gardening and above all else lots of wildlife and a place
37:56to relax and enjoy do you want to open your eyes
38:00oh my god is this our garden
38:10this looks amazing absolutely it's genuinely better than anything I could have ever thought it was going
38:17to be how have you done this in two days that is incredible this just looks amazing thank you so
38:23much slightly different oh it's like serene yeah I can't believe it it just looks amazing the pergolas
38:31do frame it so well like wow Charlie has pulled a blinder giving them this really wildlife friendly
38:39garden absolutely gorgeous where the remnants of a removed garage once lay
38:45a pergola acts as a gateway to a social space with a clean modern patio bordered by inspired planting
38:57go into your patio area
39:03all the plants are very straightforward and easy yeah I think it's amazing how it's just surrounded
39:08by plants everywhere we'll be sat there relaxing hanging out with friends and family but just
39:13surrounded by all this amazing colour because this was the old garage wasn't it yeah it's definitely
39:18changed quite a lot I love how many colours there are as well yeah yeah lots of vibrancy there and
39:26then when you get further down the garden it gets a little bit calmer so that's more of a chill out zone
39:31this is party zone yeah this is like oh so gorgeous all the different flowers it's like walking through
39:36a meadow it's it is exactly what we you know with looking at your design when we're looking at it all
39:41the different colours in the sense i'm just yeah it's better than the design i think it'd be it'd be
39:47hard to do that yeah i'm glad to hear that just absolutely love it and let's go down to the deck area the pond
39:57the back of the garden which once hid bricks glass and out of control shrubs
40:13is now a dedicated wildlife zone complete with pond surfboard shaped platform and planting ideal for damp
40:24areas so this will come up to sort of waist height so you'll be walking through sort of meadow plants
40:32as you walk down to a deck that is cantilevered over the pond
40:40what do you think to this wood the back to it oh it's beautiful i love it it's it's rustic but modern
40:46it's so nice they love those boards at the back and they are a little bit reminiscent of a surfboard
40:53still a bit beachy jalley so this will become up as a bit of a thicket so this will wrap around you
41:00and then you've got the pond it's amazing yeah i can see us lying back on a summer's day maybe slightly
41:06nicer weather than this what do you think about the tree stump oh you reused it yes oh my god
41:14it's an ideal home for insects to hibernate in frogs to crawl up and get under it looked really
41:22cool but yeah it's your tree stuff you've basically got three gardens in one oh i just love it even the
41:30view from here back to the house it just looks so nice we were stood here the other day just looking
41:35at our old garden and that now it's such a transformation thank you so much yeah this is
41:40just incredible i don't think we could have ever thought of doing something like this like this
41:44is never something we would have in our dreams wildest dreams even imagined so yeah thank you so
41:51much well it wasn't just me landscape as well and of course lee come on in lee so what do you think
41:58we love it it's absolutely amazing beyond anything we could imagine really like we were struggling to
42:03visualize it and now being here just doesn't feel real to be honest i think we struggled to visualize
42:09it we saw the before yeah we did have a couple of moments didn't we were like because it was quite
42:18quite a lot going on yeah i mean you've got some absolutely gorgeous plants as well that charlie's
42:22picked which i think will really get you out into the garden yeah i love how they're just dotted about
42:26everywhere as well everywhere you look there's this color and all these plants uh stunning thank
42:32you so much we can't thank you enough really appreciate it very welcome so do you think you'll
42:38be going surfing more or less oh i don't know actually it's going to be a struggle to leave this is
42:43going to be like our haven now isn't it this is so gorgeous it was so awful before we as i said
42:48we didn't know where to start with it because it was just a mess it's given us exactly what we
42:53wanted which was like that feeling of going away with with friends and family just relaxing it's the
42:59perfect social garden as they say i just can't believe this is your garden yeah i still can't
43:06it's still sinking in i think so grand's off grand's off she's too excited might be 92 but come on charlie
43:13come on down
43:34i know she's loving it
43:43i know
43:48you
43:48you
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43:52you
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43:56you
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