Your Garden Made Perfect (TV)

Your Garden Made Perfect (TV)

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LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

196 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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(mods I know this should strictly not be in here but I thought it would appeal to the H,G&DIY crowd more)

Is anyone watching this on BBC2?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ry6w

It's really very good but deserves some discussion-especially tonights!

EastLondonGunner

94 posts

90 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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Series linked but not watched yet....

Nano2nd

3,426 posts

256 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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i felt in both instances the chosen virtual design looked great, however the final delivered versions were somewhat lacking! less so in the Ealing garden... but the big one, £66k for that... wow! the epic pond ended up looking more like a puddle IMO.

Bobtherallyfan

1,267 posts

78 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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Would agree that tonight’s results were somewhat underwhelming. The fact that the annoying owner kept saying how much she loved plants and wildlife despite having done nothing to the garden for 20 years amused me.

LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

196 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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WTF was with the paths tonight?! It was just compacted sub base!

I’ve no doubt that his planting design will look great into spring and summer and will be utterly beautiful in a couple of years but even up to the she’d end-just more sub base?!

There was no mention of laying gravel on top, or was the idea just to let nature take its course and leave it like that?

£66k to walk about on what lies beneath my patio-I still don’t get it?

sherman

13,213 posts

215 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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LaurasOtherHalf said:
WTF was with the paths tonight?! It was just compacted sub base!

I’ve no doubt that his planting design will look great into spring and summer and will be utterly beautiful in a couple of years but even up to the she’d end-just more sub base?!

There was no mention of laying gravel on top, or was the idea just to let nature take its course and leave it like that?

£66k to walk about on what lies beneath my patio-I still don’t get it?
It really did look like the budget had ran out for paths. Even if it was a more yellow bound gravel the paths would have looked a lot better.

I also did wonder how problematic the path/ponds layout was going to be with the guys bikes and stuff in those sheds up the back of the garden.


LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

196 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
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sherman said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
WTF was with the paths tonight?! It was just compacted sub base!

I’ve no doubt that his planting design will look great into spring and summer and will be utterly beautiful in a couple of years but even up to the she’d end-just more sub base?!

There was no mention of laying gravel on top, or was the idea just to let nature take its course and leave it like that?

£66k to walk about on what lies beneath my patio-I still don’t get it?
It really did look like the budget had ran out for paths. Even if it was a more yellow bound gravel the paths would have looked a lot better.

I also did wonder how problematic the path/ponds layout was going to be with the guys bikes and stuff in those sheds up the back of the garden.
We wondered the same but it looked like the simplified the pond a lot.

The original design didn’t look safe, never mind as they got older.

I also wondered at the water feature safetywise for any spearing grandchildren. Obviously a close family with the offspring and partners living there but you’d not be wanting toddlers in that garden.

LeadFarmer

7,411 posts

131 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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Why do the gardens on these types of programmes always look awful?
Always butting turf up to timber sleepers which most lawnmowers won't cut up to.
Tiny areas of turf making it impractical to get the mower out for.

sherman

13,213 posts

215 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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LaurasOtherHalf said:
We wondered the same but it looked like the simplified the pond a lot.

The original design didn’t look safe, never mind as they got older.

I also wondered at the water feature safetywise for any spearing grandchildren. Obviously a close family with the offspring and partners living there but you’d not be wanting toddlers in that garden.
It did look sketchy to me too. The pond did end up alot smaller.

The fire pit they bought for near the shed looked like it was able to burn a whole tree worth of logs at a time too.

I did prefer the other design.


Ian Geary

4,483 posts

192 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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I enjoyed this too, and have the season on record.

We have a corridor garden so was particularly interested. Both designs were good (and have aspects we want to nick), but my wife and I both agreed the streams and lake aspects of the £66k (!) garden had been dumbed down.

Wasn't there meant to be a wooden bridge and stepping stones through the water?

And the unbound pathway is just going to get dirt walked into the house/sheds.


Maybe it's me, but the financial advisor with a newish beemer on the drive and can drop £66k on a garden: would they fit the demographic for ph entry I wonder? They may be lurking in the pedal power forum.


And the Islington courtyard garden....£8k? Did they haggle upwards?

It was over £1k on the yellow balau (?) wood, which I'm sure will last well but Christ it seems steep for a few square meters. The barbeque was probably another £1k.
But I'm nitpicking - it was a lovely garden that will be great for their kids,and add way more than £8k.

Saw a silver Merc parked outside the front...might not be theirs of course - I would have expected a high end SUV (leased).


Nano2nd

3,426 posts

256 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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Ian Geary said:
(leased).
confused

JackReacher

2,126 posts

215 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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I wasn't that keen on the £60k garden, but the small Ealing one looked good.

However, my favourite was the jungle style South London one they visited, lovely.

marksx

5,052 posts

190 months

Friday 19th February 2021
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The one they visited looked a bit too cramped to me. They kept talking about how it created a sense of space while having to duck around a bloody big bush to avoid getting poked in the eye. Exactly the same but a little more spaced out would do me just nicely though.

The £66k garden was rubbish! Maybe it needs time to grow.

The small garden looked good but they must have money to burn to spend £8k on that.

sutoka

4,642 posts

108 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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Watched the first episode and that was enough. They had three young children and a decent sized L shaped lawn. They had a monkey puzzle tree but got rid because the father wanted a Red Acer. If I'd been a kid and my parents had taken away most of my playing surface for a vanity project to impress the neighbours over the fence I'd have massively peeved.

Having worked with a lot of designers. Most garden designers are away with the fairies. They don't live in the real world, they take a clients budget and pay little attention not what the client wants and go off on one.

Haven't watch last nights episode but from the photos in the media it looked like a junior scrambler track.

Edited by sutoka on Saturday 20th February 01:59

marksx

5,052 posts

190 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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sutoka said:
Watched the first episode and that was enough. They had three young children and a decent sized L shaped lawn. They had a monkey puzzle tree but got rid because the father wanted a Red Acer. If I'd been a kid and my parents had taken away most of my playing surface for a vanity project to impress the neighbours over the fence I'd have massively peeved.

Having worked with a lot of designers. Most garden designers are away with the fairies. They don't live in the real world, they take a clients budget and pay little attention not what the client wants and go off on one.

Haven't watch last nights episode but from the photos in the media it looked like a junior scrambler track.

Edited by sutoka on Saturday 20th February 01:59
As a kid I think I'd also be peeved to lost the monkey puzzle tree.

Hell as an adult I wouldn't give one up!

rustyuk

4,578 posts

211 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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marksx said:
As a kid I think I'd also be peeved to lost the monkey puzzle tree.

Hell as an adult I wouldn't give one up!
Our neighbour has one and it's absolutely massive and cost them a small fortune last year to get it trimmed.

LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

196 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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To be fair on that one, the monkey puzzle was in a ridiculously stupid place in the garden. I thought their finished item was a real success.


abzmike

8,344 posts

106 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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This programme is useful if nothing else to show my wife how much sorting out a garden costs. OK, these are at the extreme end, but landscaping, decking, paths and plants don’t come cheap, even before getting someone else to do it.

Monkeylegend

26,335 posts

231 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
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Who actually wants a perfect garden? Gardens are to be "lived in and enjoyed by grandchildren" not for country magazines.

I prefer mine to be a bit more natural.

Edited by Monkeylegend on Saturday 20th February 10:10

LaurasOtherHalf

Original Poster:

21,429 posts

196 months

Saturday 20th February 2021
quotequote all
abzmike said:
This programme is useful if nothing else to show my wife how much sorting out a garden costs. OK, these are at the extreme end, but landscaping, decking, paths and plants don’t come cheap, even before getting someone else to do it.
That's what we discussed in each episode, the one I built the other year has cost us just over £23k so far with me doing most of the work and getting fellow tradesmen in to give me a hand. Don't get me wrong, that includes building a new balcony and all the furniture, sound systems etc but it's still not finished!

If i was pricing it for a customer it would be over £40k I reckon.

Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Saturday 20th February 09:46