Your garden made perfect

[MichaelAndEagle]

Don't think anyone else has started a thread.
I didn't realise it was starting again but its on tonight BBC 2.
I'm watching on catch up now. Anyone else?

@Kizty

Thoughts on this week? The end result isn’t quite as good as the vr but I suppose the plants need to mature. I think it is better than some weeks. And I do think they chose the best design

The designer did mention that the plants were young and the look would change in time. We deffo need a revisited in summer a year or two down the line for these gardens.

I thought the two designs so similar this week that the moving the gym was easily the deciding factor. And I liked that the couple knew where they went over budget and that it was a choice.

I liked the garden in last night's episode. Both designs were lovely.
Glad the new designer was chosen because it will help him in his new business.
I thought sipping gin / Prosecco was discussed rather a lot by the teacher homeowner, not the best example to her pupils

How do they manage without the garden shed ?

They had a "cupboard" instead of a shed at the side of one of the lower tiers. I suppose if they don't have a lawn, they don't need to store a lawnmower!

I wonder if the budget is just for the landscaping and plants, or if it includes all the outdoor furniture too?

I like Angela. Oliver was having none of her chat though!

I preferred Helen's - I think she's the best designer, followed by Tom. But I can see why Oliver's suited them and rotating the gym was a good move. Was it just me, or did some of those plants look a bit sorry for for themselves? Like they were about to die?!

I'm going to watch and report back

Yes it was a bit cringey watching Oliver not talking on Angela’s chat at all !

I didn't understand why they needed a fire pit terrace and a sitting out terrace. Would have preferred to see those two terraces made into one bigger terrace with some grass! It looked all concrete slabs and shockingly poor half dead plants.

Also thought the big apex roof shed down at the front was awful. Camera kept cutting it out... think they knew it was bad.

The presenter wears the most hideous clothes! Just why?!

The money spent on these gardens is crazy! Last night's was £26k!!!

A year after revisit on some of the previous episodes would be awesome to see how they have worked out
The one in St Albans springs to mind

I thought Helen's design was much better , more practical and better planting ideas. The sole selling point of Olly's was moving the shed but surely they could have used that idea with Helen's design. Thought Olly's design had far too much hard landscaping and very poor quality planting , I realize it will fill out in due course and most gardening programmes over plant but those plants looked sad and cheap.

I like it when they take elements of both designers and apply them both Constance.

Anyone watching tonight? I missed the first 5-10mins, I don't quite have a feel for their garden (or budget?) - it looks large!

This Horsham (?) hotel (?) looks interesting with the natural swimming pool.

I'm not sure about the red grass in Manoj's design. It looks interesting but maybe not good for allergies? I think it would irritate my skin brushing through it. I know there are mown paths but it would naturally encroach. I like the raised bank around the loveseat. Not sure it'll be used much but I don't know what you'd do with that space.

Let's see what Helen's got up her sleeve...

Love Helen's! The tunnels and embankments look interesting 🙂

@GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat

I like it when they take elements of both designers and apply them both Constance.

Anyone watching tonight? I missed the first 5-10mins, I don't quite have a feel for their garden (or budget?) - it looks large!

This Horsham (?) hotel (?) looks interesting with the natural swimming pool.

I'm not sure about the red grass in Manoj's design. It looks interesting but maybe not good for allergies? I think it would irritate my skin brushing through it. I know there are mown paths but it would naturally encroach. I like the raised bank around the loveseat. Not sure it'll be used much but I don't know what you'd do with that space.

Let's see what Helen's got up her sleeve...

South lodge near Horsham. Looks lovely but ££££

I can imagine!

I think I preferred Helen's design. It seemed to pack more in in an interesting way? I never quite like Manoj's designs as much.

Wow 60k budget! I know it's a large space and hard landscaping, labour and planting cost money!

Much preferred Helen’s. She had colour, texture and loads of planting. I don’t think that couple wanted a ‘garden’ more a massive outside entertaining area

Not really keen on the finished garden. The patio feels quite soulless with that big empty space.

I know the components were expensive (all that paving and decking, lighting, outdoor kitchen) but it lacked something for me.

On a positive note it looked fairly low maintenance (though they'd no doubt have a gardener anyway) and probably suited their autistic son. The large patio could be quite good for wheeled toys while the parents relax and supervise.

The embankment around the loveseat looked underwhelming (looked higher in the plan) and the arch was a bit cheap looking compared to the other garden elements. I'm not convinced they'd really use the loveseat or that area. Maybe the kids would get something out of it with willow tunnels, teepees etc. How do you mow an embankment?! I wish they'd incorporated Helen's tunnels 😁
I wasn't a fan of the clumps of grass - hopefully they look better once they grow in.

£75k, phew.

I liked the transformation of the Bristol garden. I think over time I'd try and increase the patio area (shame they didn't add just one more row of pavers by the house to make it a functional size), change the wooden slabs in the lawn for actual stepping stones (they'll get very slippy/slimy in rainy Bristol and eventually disintegrate at which point you won't be able to lift them to mow) and top up that awful grey gravel with a nicer, paler one. It looked like road surfacing!

Re. Bristol garden I thought the patio by the house looked a little too rustic verging on muddy/grubby. Not sure if a good pressure wash would sort it out but kudos for recycling materials. I don't know if sandstone could be painted? It didn't look like particularly nice sandstone.

@Howeverdoyouneedme

Much preferred Helen’s. She had colour, texture and loads of planting. I don’t think that couple wanted a ‘garden’ more a massive outside entertaining area

I think the trouble with loads of plants is that they need maintenance, and I'm not sure that couple have the time or inclination for that.

I know it probably wouldn't have suited their very rich people aesthetic but with a garden that size, and that sort of budget, I'd have gone for a much bigger kid friendly area. A big sandpit for diggers.
A kids veggie patch. Stepping stones. Maybe put the trampoline in ground to make it safer.

I did really like the concrete bar, that looked so solid and practical.

And I really liked the Bristol garden(other than the bar which was fine and suited them). They had a normal budget and made a nice garden. Okay the seats looked uncomfortable but they can buy something better in time.

Did anyone watch tonight's?

I wasn't keen on the first design (the one they didn't use) as it looked like a nightmare to manage. Also very shady with all the additional trees - if I lived in Manchester I'd like to enjoy the occasional sunny day
Deciduous trees and tall bushy shrubs are all well and good but they require annual maintenance and fallen leaves everywhere can be a pita.

I liked Tom's design although I find his designs quite repetitive. I see the giant boulders around the water feature made a reappearance (axed this time for cost reasons!)
I liked the floating jetty but disliked the precipitous drop from the dining deck. It could've done with being a tad bigger as the furniture only just fitted.

I didn't think it looked like £25k considering they recycled materials and the shed cost £250 but then again digging, levelling, and building things at different levels (deck, jetty, pond) probably added up not to mention the cost of plants.

I liked the bike shed garden but worried the shed itself wasn't very secure. Thought the designer's original idea of keeping it open at one side with individual bike locks was ridiculous. Wouldn't last a minute round here in a front garden, out of view or not!

I wasn't sure where the £2k+ went tbh unless it was the cost of the shed itself which looked like it was clad in pallets.

I thought the main garden result was a little underwhelming. I am never a big fan of ponds in gardens as they look like such high maintenance. Also agree the eating area being raised up like that was a little odd.

The smaller garden was ok, but I felt the garden on the shed roof would require a fair bit of work to look nice and maybe a normal bike storage shed would have been better?

I thought both options were too similar. I would not have gone for a pond if I was planning on having kids though.

Yes if they have kids then the garden will be a bit of a nightmare for them

I’ve been watching the last few episodes this morning

Does anyone know where they got those terrazzo-style recycled pavers in the Manchester vegan garden? They were quite a feature in the virtual design and they were there in the final design, I love how they look, but can’t find anything similar searching online.