In this weeks Real Gardens episode 12, Carol Klein is in Devon at Adrian and Debbie's garden.
Debbie and Adrian Taylor sloped garden in Devon has amazing views of Dartmoor from their decked terrace.
The busy police officers and parents to baby Emily moved to the bungalow 3 years ago.
Debbie & Adrian's garden has come on a long way since Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 6, Episode 8 and Episode 10.
New flower beds, new orchard, stream cleared and banks replanted, new hanging baskets and a patio with a WOW factor. And lastly the Buddleia collections has gone from the back garden!
The busy police officers and parents to baby Emily moved to the bungalow 3 years ago.
Debbie & Adrian's garden has come on a long way since Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 6, Episode 8 and Episode 10.
New flower beds, new orchard, stream cleared and banks replanted, new hanging baskets and a patio with a WOW factor. And lastly the Buddleia collections has gone from the back garden!
This episode is Carol Klein last visit and they want to tackle the front garden ready for the party they have planned to show off the garden.
Carol thinks the problem is the flower bed.
A quick fix is needed and Adrian has some rustic edging slabs they can use.
Unfortunately he has also used the bed as a holding bed and it is full of the Buddleia he has kept!
There are also some conifers and these are not appropriate for the front bed either.
They decide to clear the whole bed and start again. Adrian wants to keep 1 of his Buddleia to rehome again but Carol advises cutting it back hard as its the wrong time of year to move a deciduous shrub.
They decide to repot the conifers and they leave a big rootball.
The bed slopes down towards the house so it need raising. Adrian has some featherboard to build a retaining wall. They build it with the boards overlapping so the rain runs off.
They reduce the width of the bed and add the stone edging to the tiered bed.
Debbie & Adrian disappear to get ready, Carol places some plants in pots as a temporary measure to brighten up the new area as they have run out of time.
Just in time as the first guests arrive. Due to the rain the garden tours are off but the guests still get a look at the transformed garden from the deck.
There are also some conifers and these are not appropriate for the front bed either.
They decide to clear the whole bed and start again. Adrian wants to keep 1 of his Buddleia to rehome again but Carol advises cutting it back hard as its the wrong time of year to move a deciduous shrub.
They decide to repot the conifers and they leave a big rootball.
The bed slopes down towards the house so it need raising. Adrian has some featherboard to build a retaining wall. They build it with the boards overlapping so the rain runs off.
They reduce the width of the bed and add the stone edging to the tiered bed.
Debbie & Adrian disappear to get ready, Carol places some plants in pots as a temporary measure to brighten up the new area as they have run out of time.
Just in time as the first guests arrive. Due to the rain the garden tours are off but the guests still get a look at the transformed garden from the deck.
Just time for a glass of wine and a goodbye to Devon for Carol.
Monty Don is in Guernsey, at Liz & Rod's Garden with a lake view
Liz Collenette has a 2 acre garden with stunning views of Vale Pond in Guernsey and it has been Liz & Rod home for the last 30 years.
In Episode 10 a raised bed was built to view from the new terrace and planted up and the orchard apples got a thinning.
In this episode Monty Don returns to see the garden in full midsummer flourish. From the soft fruits to cabbages all is growing wonderfully in the mild climate.
Monty is in awe of the borders, especially the Oriental Poppy Papaver Orientale except for an out of place pink one. So they cut off a flower to take round the garden to see where it will fit in better.
They come across an out of place red poppy and decide to swap them over. First they cut off all the flowers before digging them up. They water them in very well.
Next job is to disguise Liz's ugly outdoor toilet. She decides it needs a Clematis growing over it.
Luckily on the other side of the pond is the National Collection of Clematis all growing in huge greenhouses. The Guernsey Clematis Nurseries Ltd exports millions of plants ever year.
They meet Raymond Evanson who is in charge of the nursery who recommends Clematis Montana 'Elizabeth' which has a vanilla scent.
He shows them a stunning double headed Clematis 'Arctic Queen' and recommends a hard pruning after the first spring after planting down to 12 inches to keep them bushy.
With both plants bought, it is now time to plant them around the toilet. Liz has a large pot to plant them in and for the support some chicken wire which is fixed to the wall with hooks.
They add Liz homemade compost to the pot and Monty plants it. In a hot summer, Monty recommends adding tiles to cover the top of the pot and to remember to prune it back hard.
Monty will return to see it in flower.
Ann-Marie Powell is in Stockport at Mike & Alison's, boggy back garden.
Mike Woodall & Alison Buckley are doing up both their Stockport house and garden ready to live in once they are married.
We visited their garden in Episode 1, Episode 3, Episode 5, Episode 7 and Episode 8.
We have seen trees felled, their boggy wilderness transformed with a bog garden boardwalk leading to a decking seating area with a viewing window.
Raised vegetable bed filled with produce. The front garden planted with annual bedding plants and a trip to RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
They have had success with their vegetables but the bog plants have fell foul of the slugs!
Ann-Marie Powell returns for her last visit to the young husband and wife to be.
This time it is the top of the garden that needs Ann-Marie help but they have started work already and put in a slate stone path.
They have a helpers today, Rob who did the path and is coming later to sort out the lawn.
Ann-Marie wants to use the left over hazel rods to make an archway by the vegetable beds to make an entrance to the boardwalk.
She sticks them into the vegetable beds but Alison wants a gap left to still be able to get to the vegetables.
They come round to the idea as they can grow beans up the arch.
They weave poles horizontally for stability and tie them together in clumps at the top with twine.
Next job for Ann-Marie and Alison is to make a bench out of some logs. They use 2 logs for each leg that they have taken off the edge to square them up at the top and bottom for stability.
They add scaffold planks for the top and more logs for armrests. They then screw it all together and they countersink them
They use an extra long drill bit to get a huge bolt through the logs to fix them all together.
Alison brings out a statue she calls 'shy girl' that Mike bought her to add to the bed behind the seat.
Alison plants some Shuttlecock Ferns Matteuccia Struthiopteris and Dryopteris Erythrosora in the bed.
Alison adds some colourful pots of annuals around the bench.
Rob turns up with some top soil for the lawn to patch it up. The lawn is now ready for new turf.
They all sit in the sun to admire their hard work and Ann-Marie says her goodbyes.
Monty on Bi-annuals
To prepare for next year now is the time to plant, ready for them flowering next year.
Create a seed bed in a sunny protected area, usually amongst vegetables.
Make a drill with your finger and place the seeds in the weeded and prepared bed of fine soil.
Sow them closely as you can transplant them to 12 inches apart rows when they get bigger.
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