Love Your Garden Series 12 Episode 7 Raunds

Alan Titchmarsh welcomes us to Love Your Garden and Series 12 episode 7

Alan says how he is lucky to meet all sorts of people and he finds people who devote their lives into helping others the most inspirational.

With his team they want to thank these people by giving them their dream garden.

Gardens rejuvenate you and offer tranquillity when you have had a hard day and they are bringing tired gardens back to life.

So this year Alan and his team David Domoney, Katie Rushworth, Frances Tophill and Danny Clarke are going to surprise some inspirational people and give them breath taking gardens to transform their lives.

They will also share the secrets of how they do this, giving us good ideas to transform the chosen garden as well as in our own gardens.

'Welcome to Love Your Garden'.

Alan Titchmarsh is in Raunds in Northamptonshire looking for the Fire Station and a young mother called Rebecca or Becs who is one of only a few Female Fire Fighters in the County.

Her Colleague Steph, Group Commander is in on the surprise as Alan makes his way to the office and surprises Becs.

Alan tells her his Dad was a part time Fireman and he spots a photo of an old Fire Engine and he has a photo of him and his Sister on the same sort at home.

Lauren Fitzgerald, Crew Supervisor says Becs is a single Mother and an idol for all she does and she does not stop and is an inspiration.

Alan asks Becs why Firefighting and she says after having twins she wanted a change of career and saw an advert outside a Fire Station and went for it.

She started as an On Call Fire Fighter and all her colleagues they work as a team and all have their own personal strengths to bring.

With all the training and the children she has not had much time for the garden.

Becs also competes for the Fire Service in Power Lifting competitions winning a Gold in the 2022 World Fire Fighters Games in Portugal.

Group Commander Steph says she has such high standards at work and her fitness needing great personal sacrifice.

Fiona Pearce, Communications Officer says having her garden done will show her how much she is loved.

The Garden

Alan meets the twins Annabel and Freddie back at the house and he asks Becs what she wants in the 10 x 8 metre garden.

She would like some space to do her fitness training in and she has a huge tyre she hits with a hammer that needs to stay.

She does enjoying growing things and last year grew a few vegetables, Alan says your job is stressful so somewhere to relax and reflect on her day.

Alan meets Reggie the cat and he also enjoys the garden.

Alan has a look round on his own and the garden is not that big and he needs to get a lot in for everyone.

There a small terrace patio an odd raised bed next to it, a lawn and a corner where there was something, now a place to dump things.

Becs has only lived in the house a year but it could be a much more usable space but like most family garden it has lots of toys and play equipment too.

Design Concepts

Alan is is in Buckinghamshire to visit a garden for family life which is also very magical.

The Garden used to be just grass but now they have divided it off into zones connected by paths and hidden by the planting so you can wander to each one.

One zone is just for play and includes grass and a goal. there also a veg patch both of which he needs to include.

In this garden they have made raised beds out of old sleepers and the next zone is a more formal area with shaped hedges.

There is an old Ferguson Tractor called Fergie for the Grandchildren to play on and it can still be fun without the plastic play stuff.

The planting is not pretty and it spills out over the gravel paths with geraniums, Campanula's and Cottage Garden plants giving it very filled garden with no room for weeds.

Alan starts his plan and he needs to get a Gym area, Play area and an entertainment area into a very small space.

It needs to be pretty as well as functional.

Alan is doing the end strip of the garden for the gym area and will include a shed for storage and some grass.

David will do the children's area as he has 3 children under 7 he can make a kind of tree house and lawned play area.

Katie has most of the garden and she needs to fit in raised vegetable beds, an eating area and then an area to relax in.

Soft planting will be used to link the areas.

Garden visit

Danny Clarke is visiting Easton Lodge in Dunmow which is designed by Harold Peto which over the last 50 years has been restored back to life.

He is meeting Sue a Landscape Gardener who is in charge of restoring the 15 acre garden which has a sunken Italian garden and walled kitchen garden.

It was designed with various rooms including a Lime Tree Walk, where Danny hugs a tree and they lead to the Treehouse which Danny cannot wait to go up in.

Up in the tree canopy it gives you a different perspective on the garden.

Their finally part of the tour is the walled kitchen garden that is a massive 1 acre in size they grow produce to sell.

They are planting sweet potatoes, Runner beans and alongside these some Marigolds to use as natural insect repellent.

A Work in Progress

The Contractors arrive to start clearing the garden along with his Love Your Garden Team of David Domoney and Katie Rushworth,

David starts with putting together the new shed he is going to use to store the gym equipment which is right at the end of the garden in Alan area.

He has chosen a 6 foot by 8 foot shed as it has to house the sports equipment plus the children's toys etc.

David discusses the Play area with Alan as he wants to enlarge it and Alan suggest adding a tree which David will put coming through the deck to mask some of it when you come in the garden.

David has a guitar he is using as a template on some marine ply wood that is suitable for outdoor use.

He draws around it then cuts it out.

Alan bring him a tree and it is the perfect height for going in the raised deck of the play area he is constructing next.

David is finally planting the Beech tree in the deck of the play area for Freddie and Annabel.

David is trying to find somewhere in the garden for his guitar silhouettes, Katie not got room and Alan says he will take 2 if he paints the orange guitars grey for the shed.

Alan helps David to position them correctly on the front of the shed and declares it 'cool'.

Katie is putting together some screens that are really easy to assemble as they have 2 posts and the screen slots in between them.

The posts are screwed into some concrete but they can be screwed to decking too.

They are using he same screens elsewhere in the garden too so it will all tie together.

Katie has some wooden planters and is painting them black and this makes the plants really stand out.

She is planting them with vegetables and she is starting with some Mange Tout that she training up a small obelisk.

She also planting a Cucumber which will need staking and training too and next to that she is adding some Tomatoes that come in all sorts of sizes and varieties.

She is using a Bush Tomato as there no nipping of the side shoots needed and they trail and tumble with no staking.

David come to have a look at the beds and he impressed especially with the Strawberries as children can help themselves to the fruit.

She asks him to make a window box for the shed for Strawberry Plants to go in so they can cultivate the runners to keep them in a supply of plants.

Next she planting some half grown Carrot plants, you do not thin these and just harvest them in a bunch of baby Carrots when ready.

This will also help stop Carrot fly who attack them when they have been thinned.

Katie with the help of Alan are planting up the eating area next to the vegetable garden and they start with a stunning Crab Apple Tree called 'Royalty' which has bright pink blossom.

Alan is planting up the Strawberry Nursery with Osteospermum and Carrots.

The furniture is put into place along with a Barbecue.

Alan newly put up shed is being put to good use as they all shelter in it from the heavy rain that is dampening the build and the ongoing forecast is not good!

He is starting work on the outdoor Gym area and starts with putting in some Crab Apple Blossom trees in front of the new trellis.

The root balls are quite compacted so it is worth taking time to tease the roots out so they spread out to stabilise it.

The trees have been trained to grow along the wall and there are a few stray branches to snip off, then they will be tied to the frame.

They are perfect for the small space as they are slow growing too.

The next tree he is planting is a Birch which is going in the middle of the garden to make a screen to divide the space and will also match David one in the play area.

Alan now working in the Gym area and he is adding top soil then a honeycomb membrane which they will fill with topsoil before adding the hardwearing turf on top to give a solid base in all weathers for her workouts.

He is now laying the turf and has some handy tips, to get perfect joins when they have been rolled up, lay the next turf over it and cut half way of join with a kitchen knife.

Then the new join will fit snuggly together with no curling edges.

Alan now planting a lush bed along the back end of the Gym where the trees are.

Always soak the plants root ball when planting them they can never be too wet.

He now starting on the dividing bed and the colour scheme is lush green, some bright white from Choisya, the Mexican Orange Blossom and this will fill out the bed.

He is planting a Clematis to go up the Trellis screen and they should be planted deeper than in the pot to shield the roots from the sun so they don't get wilt.

Alan has finished his gym area.

With a few finishing touches the garden is now complete.

What the Garden means for her

David goes to Becs Fire Station as he has heard she is in a band and they are having a rehearsal.