Your Garden Made Perfect

[covetingthepreciousthings]

Anyone watch this tonight?

Just catching up now, it's the same show as "Your Home Made Perfect" but you guessed it.. a garden makeover this time!

It will be on iplayer to catch up on!

I am still thinking far too much about the 66k makeunder. I’d love to know how much of the budget went to the designer.

@GuyFawkesDay

But that's exactly what they put in this week? Lots of native and pollinator friendly planting. Water and other things were added for nature.

Agree if its mostly perennials then it may be a bit bare in winter but that's ok if it's got the trees too (like the hazels down the end of the garden)

I do agree I think the other design would have suited them better longer term maybe, but their money their choice, surely?

But hazels are deciduous too and being very “branchy” you get a very bitty feel. They going to coppice them in a few years then? Loads of things like clematis, woody herbs, hebes etc keep looking good all year round.

Watched it again tonight with DH and it was worse. The black fencing was left up - it looks like it’s the neighbours side but it’s all broken. At least cover that. The log “furniture” looked shit. It was literally just tiny wonky logs around the fire pit. Any secondary forest school can do better than that.

The landscaping company that constructed Tom Massey's garden is a highly respected, award winning outfit, so definitely no rogue traders involved!
I think part of the problem was the material selected for the paths and the muddy looking water made it look really drab, alongside planting that wasn't established and miserable weather for filming. That said, I would have gone for the second design by Helen Elks-Smith, but I think he definitely met the clients' brief with regard to encouraging wildlife.

I would love to see these gardens revisited - unlike house renovations, gardens need time to develop and grow. Garden designers generally do go back and adjust planting or adapt materials for clients, months or even years after the design and build have been completed. Maybe the BBC can commission a follow up series: Your Somewhat Improved Garden Made A Bit Better?

The log furniture I agree was awful.

I want Nigel Dunnett to do my mythical 2 acre patch when I win the lottery 🤣

Omg just came on here after watching it to see what everyone thought. I too was gutted they picked the first design. The second one would have looked lovely even in the winter because of the seating and gorgeous water by the patio doors. It was so much more practical and usable and suited their lifestyle better. I felt for her as she clearly wanted that and somehow got railroaded.

Absolutely horrified that cost £66k, with no proper pathways or seating .

I watched the first episode last night, having missed it when it was on, the Monkey Puzzle one. The whole format is most confusing, jumping about from design to design, VR to the real garden to stately home type places, slotting in the small garden in the middle. I was really quite upset to see the beautiful Monkey Puzzle tree come down, even though I was expecting it having read this thread.

Seen 3 episodes - we play ‘How much will they go over budget’
To be honest I thought they’d be under budget in the last garden, yet they overspent - incredible really.

Agree with pp that this is about showcasing design.

Disappointed they don’t have a price breakdown, just roughly how much on plants, material and labour. I’d assumed the designers are ‘free’ , for the publicity? Or paid separately by the production company?

Liked both of Helen’s designs so far, thought hers was the better of the two in Ep 3. Paying £60,000 then deferring the decision to the (grown up) children is pathetic IMO.

There must have been a logistical problem in that £60k garden, material shortage? Lockdown caused the build to rushed?

Half the show, I’m interested in trying to read the body language of the couples!

@tootyfruitypickle

Omg just came on here after watching it to see what everyone thought. I too was gutted they picked the first design. The second one would have looked lovely even in the winter because of the seating and gorgeous water by the patio doors. It was so much more practical and usable and suited their lifestyle better. I felt for her as she clearly wanted that and somehow got railroaded.

Absolutely horrified that cost £66k, with no proper pathways or seating .

Yes, I was horrified it cost so much and it looks hideous. When I first saw it, I thought they hadn't done it yet. It just looks a huge mess. What a massive waste of money.

It would be great to see any of these garden make over shows revisited in a year or two to see how they have worked out both in their design and planting

Absolutely horrified that cost £66k, with no proper pathways or seating

I'm glad it wasn't just me that was bothered by the lack of seating. Judging by how the garden was before the makeover the couple are sitters rather than gardeners and the garden they chose didn't really have anywhere comfy to sit.

They all looked a bit uncomfortable around that rather odd fire.

So I told myself I wasn't going to watch anymore after the first two because I didn't get on with the format, and the budgets seemed ridiculous... however after keeping up with this thread I couldn't not watch the latest instalment with the £60k budget!

Now, after I watched it, I did feel completely in awe of "that" costing £66k, and I won't even mention the muddy pond..

However I have since read Instagram posts about it (TomMasseyuk) and actually I think it's probably not that bad, so it was filmed freshly planted in October as the BBC wanted to get it on air ASAP, so obviously it's not going to look in full bloom etc & you'd need fake grass etc to get that..

Interestingly a few comments are from people in the industry who have said it's refreshing to see a garden build that has shown the actual real costs of a build like that and for it to be shown freshly planted.

Tom Massey has also said that he will stay in touch with the family and hopes that the BBC will do a revisit show but if not he will visit and post pictures in spring / summer for contrast.

One thing that I loved about it was the original fireplace! Although agree, I wouldn't want to balance on a tree stump.

I also liked the other family and glad they finally had an outdoor space after so long - I think a poster up thread was disappointed about their not being any veg or fruit being grown - but I'm sure there was herbs and what looked like strawberries in the metal pots on the wall.
Tbh, they might have also consulted the family and they said they don't want to have the hassle of real grass / lots of soil. Not sure where they'd have stored a lawn mower, so usually I'd be against Astro turf, but it probably worked in that space. I liked the small pot pond though.

www.yeovalley.co.uk/the-organic-garden/

For anyone interested the 'show' garden they are in on the show is the Yeo Valley Organic Garden! Looks lovely.

Agree about the small garden, it's hard actually growing stuff in such a small space when everything has to be brought through the house (compost, plants, garden waste etc), you need tools and somewhere to store them, have to water from the kitchen tap. It also looked fairly shady and its not worth the cost of buying a lawnmower or giving up the space to store it for such a small plot.

Compost comes in bags! You could easily grow some veg in pots - you don’t need lots of tools, just a trowel.

I know it does but you've still got to store it somewhere, carry it all through the house. It's entirely conceivable that they might not want to do that other than for a few small containers.

@Sittinbythetree

Compost comes in bags! You could easily grow some veg in pots - you don’t need lots of tools, just a trowel.

You can, of course, but maybe the family didn't want to. They did look to have herbs growing. If you're not a gardener at all suddenly having pots of vegetables etc growing can be really overwhelming despite it possibly seeming like the easiest thing in the world to some who are gardeners.

I say this as a complete non gardener, who even managed to kill herbs.. I've just about managed to grow wildflowers in pots, but my courgette and pumpkins all went rotten

Thank you @covetingthepreciousthings, I’ve had a look at Tom Massey’s Instagram. I still think the second design would have been much nicer though.

Out of interest does anyone know where the “HQ” is filmed?

I’m clearly in the minority here but I really loved the 66k garden. Surprised to see all the ridicule here. It was rustic and wild yet whimsical. Very organic and soothing to look at. Just because it isn’t lush at point if bursting at the seams, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have bare beauty. January is my favourite month because I love the sripped down beauty of nature then.
I’d love to see it again once it has matured a year or two.

Landscaping is skilled work but so many expect garden makeovers done by 5k tops. As the owner of the St Albans house said, if you want something done the certain way you have to pay for it.

I LOVED the garden they went to in London that was like a tropical oasis with all the large greenery and ferns, did anyone else? I thought the mirrors were very effective, although perhaps some was a bit overgrown as it looked a bit of a struggle to go down the paths.

It made my back garden look very bland, I'm very fortunate (even more so in lockdown times) to have a large garden, but it is so so bland, it's just large grass area and a few conifers / trees.

Out of interest does anyone know where the “HQ” is filmed?

Would that not be the Yeo Valley farm too maybe?

You are right @covetingthepreciousthings, I thought the organic garden was elsewhere to the HQ, like the Japanese garden in episode 1.

Talk about more money than sense, for £60-64 K I'd expect my 'picture window' to look out onto Kew Gardens, not some crazy scruffy looking paths and a weird 2D chimney.

This is a very irritating programme! I’ve yet to see a garden I like. I keep watching to get inspiration. My husband created a pretty garden a few years ago and then lost the gardening bug (he has these fads).
The designs for low budgets always look low budget, I’m asking for miracles perhaps.
The chopping down of the monkey puzzle tree made me sad.
The garden opposite the field looked like you’d see it from Space when it was lit up.

Someone should make a new programme.
"Grass, a Path and a Patio"
The wildcard could be where they place the flower border and what they put in it. Bonus for a unobtrusive washing line. Budget strictly below 5k.
Guarantee everyone would be just as happy with that

I think artificial grass made sense.
The 66k garden was so disappointing. I thought they’d go for the woman’s design. It didn’t look like an after picture from a 66k makeover but more of a before. Maybe I’m just very unsophisticated.