Landscape Man s01e03 (2009)

moving-gardens.com
moving-gardens.com
  • 3 months ago
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Matthew Wilson visits Suffolk to follow another couple who are taking on an ambitious gardening project. Clive and Debbie Morris have aspirations of creating the best garden in the county, and as well as bringing in a leading designer, they want to incorporate an award-winning design from the Chelsea Flower Show into their 25-acre estate
Transcript
00:00We live among some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world,
00:06so it's no wonder we obsess about making our own back gardens as beautiful as we can.
00:11But for some, mown lawns and flowerbeds just aren't enough.
00:17Some want to plant woodlands, dig lakes and carve out canyons.
00:25When man takes on nature on this scale, it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding journeys of a lifetime.
00:33And for 15 years, I've been helping people create such visions.
00:38This year, I'm working with six couples, all with hugely ambitious outdoor plans.
00:45But it's never easy tackling Mother Nature.
00:48She has a mind of her own, and pulling this off won't be easy.
00:55Forget gardening as you know it, and prepare to see landscaping on an epic scale.
01:19Property developers Clive and Debbie Morris dream of creating a grand country estate for their family.
01:26They recently bought this Victorian rectory in Suffolk, and they have expensive plans for its grounds.
01:32When you've got 25 acres of beautiful land like this, you know, you have a lot of options.
01:37Everywhere we go, we take inspiration from things, we have ideas.
01:41Inspired by nearby Ickworth House and its formal landscaped gardens, Clive and Debbie are aiming high, and they have exacting standards.
01:51I'd put my hands up and say I am a control freak.
01:54I'm a control freak because what I've got hasn't been given to me.
02:01On my first visit to Ruffin's house, the long driveway takes me through a parkland that feels bare and forgotten.
02:09This rather grand entrance is misleading, really, because I expected to see the big stately home, you know, the stone porticoed massive presence at the top of the drive.
02:21And actually it's a nice house, it's a very nice house, but quite modest in scale, really, which makes me wonder what their plans are for the landscape.
02:32Despite some hints from the past, Ruffin's house is a blank canvas, but not for long.
02:38I'd never thought I would actually get into this garden type thing, and I've really been bitten by the bug.
02:46Why? What's got you going?
02:48Well, because projects normally which we've done in the past has literally been, you know, let's turn the project, let's do the minimal, make it to the garden as possible, and let's sell it and move on.
03:01But when we took this project on, the whole feeling that we got from the house, I think you'll agree, it had been unloved.
03:09And we wanted to put something back here, and so we're putting a lot of the traditional trees back in and that type of thing.
03:16And because I'm really not into beds with, you know, little flowers in, I'm more, give me a big, massive statement type person, I've really sort of got into the trees.
03:31Clive and Debbie's house sits in 25 acres of parkland.
03:37Their first grand statement is planned at the side of the house, where an avenue of hornbeam trees will be planted to make a hedge that seems to float in the sky.
03:48So you're, it's really, you're applying the estate, sort of Victorian estate mentality to your garden, is that right?
03:57Well, to a mini estate. It's not a huge estate. This is what we would call a mini estate.
04:03So to continue the estate theme, Clive and Debbie plan to use old tree stumps from the wood to make a stumpery, which were all the rage in the Victorian era.
04:13Old tree stumps are turned on their side, and their roots planted with ferns to make an enchanted grotto.
04:20How did you come to this stumpery idea? Because that's not something, that's not a typical thing that you would expect people to aspire to.
04:27Well, you say that, but a few people have suggested it.
04:30These are ones that you've taken out from here, are they?
04:32Yeah.
04:33They're monsters.
04:34We had quite a lot of diseased beech here, and we came up with this idea of, you know, reusing these great things in some sort of art form, and it was stumpery.
04:47But this isn't just about quirky features. Clive and Debbie have hired a designer to transform the look of this entire estate, adding stone terraces, formal lawns and rose gardens.
04:59Whilst planting over 400 trees, this is truly pricey landscaping.
05:05When we bought this place, it was almost like a heart on a life support machine. You know, there was no heartbeat there, there was no soul there.
05:16And what I'd like to see in five years' time is, you know, all of this done and being used, and you've got that sense of a real vibrant heart beating.
05:30It's pretty clear to me that you're both perfectionists.
05:34So, you know, how do you make sure that the people who are going to be helping you on this, you know, get that done to your standards?
05:41We've got some really good professional people in, and the budget is just short of a quarter of a million pound.
05:48Right.
05:49But if it's not done as it's meant to be done, it's a simple case. They have to pull it out and pull it down and do it all over again, because we're not going to settle for anything other than total perfection on this.
06:04This is not a development where we're looking to turn it and make money on it. You know, this is our family home. We want this to be a piece of me and Debra.
06:17Clive and Debbie have a lot of heart and high expectations. I'm interested to meet the designer who's prepared to take this on.
06:25How does this rank in terms of importance as a project to you?
06:30I mean, I'd say this is probably pretty well the most important project I've done to date from a career point of view.
06:37And what's your overall vision for the garden?
06:40I think what they had in mind was a real country estate type thing.
06:44Yeah.
06:45And which, you know, I can do that, of course, but I like things, I like to be a bit more creative than that, but a bit more sort of, you know, like working things like land art and things like that.
06:56Yes.
06:57Tom has found one place to get in some of his land art, behind the new dining room.
07:02Here, he's planning a garden with a pond and sculptures, which will start life at the Chelsea Flower Show, no less.
07:09What Tom has said is that what he would like to do here is he would like to incorporate his 2009 Chelsea garden in the back here.
07:21Right.
07:22And to actually, you know, bring a formal garden in and to move it in to fit in with his garden.
07:27I mean, the only stipulation which we've got with Tom is that, you know, I don't mind it coming here, but it has to be a gold winning garden, not silver gilt.
07:37There's no doubt that Clive and Debbie want to splash out on this garden.
07:41They are big personalities.
07:43They've got big ideas, a big budget and a huge space to play with.
07:48I hope their designer can measure up to their expectations.
08:02Clive and Debbie Morris have hired award winning designer Tom Hoblin to transform their 25 acres into an impressive country estate.
08:13To kick off the work, over 400 trees are to be planted around the estate.
08:21Today, lime trees are being planted next to the driveway.
08:25So what I wanted to do is just get one tree in to see how it's all going to work.
08:30This is the first of the new big limes.
08:33With each new tree costing £300, plus a further £100 to plant, Deb's keeping a watchful eye on proceedings.
08:41Not the ugly side, we want the pretty side showing, please.
08:44The position of all the trees is something which Debbie is keen to get just right.
08:50What we've got here is a giant redwood.
08:52We've planted three together.
08:54There was a garden designer called Capability Brown, he used to plant them in clumps of three.
08:59It's a very Victorian idea.
09:01We've got one here, this is what they're eventually going to grow up to be in many, many moons.
09:07They really are a Victorian statement tree of a large stately home.
09:11As I make my way up the drive for a second time, I can see Debbie's plan for majestic tree planting is starting to pay off.
09:31As I make my way up the drive for a second time, I can see Debbie's plan for majestic tree planting is starting to pay off.
09:38Big trees.
09:40Very posh, actually.
09:45They've put a sort of, what looks like a metal framework around the base of the tree to keep it all nice and sharp.
09:52Very neat, very fancy.
09:54But the trees on the driveway are only the beginning.
09:58Today work starts on planting the avenue of hornbeam trees, which we'll project out from the side of the house.
10:05The branches of the trees will be trained to grow around a framework to give the appearance of a floating hedge in a process known as bleaching.
10:13We've been here for about an hour trying to fiddle about to get it absolutely dead centre with the drawing room window.
10:20Of course in those days they didn't make their houses square, there's no right angles on this house or anything.
10:26So in the end we ended up just eyeballing it until it looked right.
10:32As the first of the frames is finished, it becomes clear just how big this structure is going to be.
10:38And this is only the first of twelve.
10:44The first hornbeam tree is planted and its branches are fixed or bleached into place.
10:49But I'm worried about the positioning of the framework.
10:53There doesn't seem to be any setting out.
10:57It all seems quite freeform.
11:01And the problem at the moment is, if it's not quite right, then what could be a few inches out over there could end up leading your eye off in completely the wrong direction.
11:23And sure enough, when the pathway is built down the centre of the avenue, Clive and Debbie notice a problem.
11:33Now the pathway's been put in, it makes it all the more obvious that the lines are actually out.
11:40This path is absolutely perfect.
11:43As you can see, it goes straight down, right in between the two oak trees.
11:48And as you can see, when you look up there, the bleached hornbeams do not.
11:53So that's why they've got to come out.
11:56What they've managed to do thus far is they've pulled the framework out and they've re-put the framework where the tree should be going.
12:03So you've got a framework here. Really, that tree should be there.
12:07But you can see quite clearly that they were actually putting wrong.
12:12Clive has demanded the contractors pull out and replant every single hornbeam.
12:17People put their hands up and admit to their mistakes and they're having to put it right.
12:23Thankfully not at my expense, but it would have been nice to get it right the first time.
12:30In his quest for perfection, Clive is splashing out on steel edging for the central pathway.
12:36This is 6mm steel. It's a lot thicker than your ordinary edging.
12:40And these pins here go into the grain of metre, so they hold it nice and rigid.
12:45And then what Lee will do is he will haunch up to the back of this edging with concrete.
12:51So you actually just see the top half of the steel edging.
12:54When it comes to Clive's garden, only the best will do.
12:58The thinner stuff will just all fall apart and it will just bend all over the place.
13:03So that's why we've gone with this particular construction.
13:08It's two, three times the price, but it's worth paying that because the job's done once and that's it. End of story.
13:16In fact, the steel edging won't just be used here.
13:20It will also be used to mark out all the edges around the house, including the driveway and the front lawn.
13:30A week later, all 600 metres of steel edging have been laid.
13:35And at last, the Hornbeam Avenue has been rebuilt.
13:38There's a good view from Clive and Debbie's bedroom.
13:41The bed will actually look out towards that because we're going to have it moved.
13:45And I think what a fantastic thing to wake up to in the morning.
13:49Open the curtains and there you have that.
13:52Your grand vista.
13:53It's a grand vista, isn't it?
13:56As some trees are going in, others are coming down.
14:05But it's not all bad news.
14:07The roots have a new purpose in the stumpery.
14:12At nearby Ickworth House, the roots of upturned stumps are planted with ferns.
14:17But Clive and Debbie have so many, they want something bigger and have asked Tom to adapt his designs.
14:24I would really like to get this stumpery sort of subterranean.
14:27So we have a sort of, the entrance would logically be on this side and we would go down underneath.
14:33If we're going to go underground, we want to make sure it's safe for the children, don't we?
14:37Not necessarily for Deb, but for the children.
14:42As plans for the stumpery grow, so does Clive and Debbie's stone terrace.
14:46At a thousand square feet, it's only now deemed big enough for entertaining guests.
14:53We don't have an outdoor eating area or social area that we can use.
14:58So no, it's very important.
15:00Beyond the terrace, the steel-edged rose beds will lead to Tom's Chelsea Flower Show garden.
15:06Today, he's presenting his designs to Clive and Debbie,
15:10who are planning for it to be relocated in May and are desperate for it to win gold.
15:15They're kind of immediate concern, well, how is it going to fit into the garden?
15:18So I've got to kind of try and prove to them that it will fit into the garden.
15:21So I really want them to sign it off and agree this design so we can get on with the build.
15:25But things don't get off to a great start.
15:28That's not f***ing decking, Tom.
15:30No, no, no.
15:32It's not wood decking, is it?
15:34But can you at least look at the stuff at Chelsea first?
15:37Because this is made out of the same wood as these wave sculptures.
15:40Decking to me is a bit of decking in the back garden,
15:45with a little water feature and a kettle barbecue in the corner.
15:49I quite like the idea of having...
15:50Do you know what, I don't even know whether I can give the decking a fair hearing, to be honest.
15:54We just need to look at it and not totally disregard it.
15:58Well, it's free. You can burn it if you don't like it.
16:01Free or not?
16:02Well, as I said, it will be slightly raised, won't it?
16:05Yeah, well...
16:06Oh, so rats can get under it?
16:08Oh, for goodness...
16:10Eventually, the plans are approved,
16:13but modern decking still doesn't tie into Clive's plan for a country estate.
16:18I've not seen the wood, so I've not seen a sample of the wood.
16:22Look at it from a practical point of view.
16:24The room which is going out onto that is a dining room,
16:28where people will have functions and everything else.
16:32Young ladies and people are going to come there,
16:35nicely dressed, high-heeled shoes, da-da-da-da.
16:38They come out of a dining room with their drink in their hand,
16:41onto decking, stiletto goes, disaster.
16:45Not very functional, I don't think.
16:47It could be put together in such a way that you don't have that whole stiletto problem,
16:50which I understand exactly what you're saying.
16:52If they do do the decking and they get it f****** wrong,
16:55then I'm going to be f****** furious.
17:01To avoid any other surprises,
17:03today Clive has joined Tom while shopping for oak trees to be used in the show garden.
17:10We need to choose ones that have a nice leader and everything,
17:13in case you can still see that.
17:15I'll tell you what, these are going to look fabulous at Chevington.
17:19We'll just get them straight to Chevington, Tom.
17:21Forget the Chelsea garden.
17:23I like this one here, Matthias.
17:25Definitely yes, is it?
17:27It almost doesn't matter if they're not in leaf, they're still beautiful.
17:30Or how about this one here?
17:33It's a 19 grand, that tree.
17:35That's unbelievable, isn't it?
17:37It's just unbelievable.
17:39But Tom's looking for smaller trees, which cost around £2,000 each.
17:45So that's £5,000 and we'll confirm as soon as we can on that.
17:54The prospect of becoming a landscaper with his own award-winning garden
17:58is beginning to appeal to Clive.
18:01I could have an award-winning garden from Chelsea in my back garden.
18:07That has just dawned on me, both me and Deb, and it's really exciting.
18:13On the way home, Tom's offered a larger plot at Chelsea.
18:17Well, that's great, that's great.
18:19So we're right next door to the sponsors.
18:21Alex, that's wonderful, I'm really pleased.
18:23It's exciting, yeah, yeah. Thanks, Alex, bye.
18:26Well, that's great.
18:28What's that then, Tom?
18:29They've offered us, because someone's pulled out of Chelsea,
18:32they've offered us a bigger plot.
18:36Well, that's good news then, Tom.
18:38Yeah.
18:43Tom must now work out if it's possible to design a bigger plot
18:48with his existing budget.
18:52Tom's original garden was 12 by 10 metres,
18:56but now it's almost double at 12 by 18 metres.
19:01So, potentially, what could be a real jewel in your garden
19:05might happen in a very different way?
19:07It might happen in a very different way.
19:09Tom says a 12.15 to a 12.18 or a 12.20 is a whole different ballgame
19:15because he uses words like, you know,
19:17I don't want to overly stretch the garden,
19:20and if I overly stretch it, I'm going to lose the design.
19:24Tom's been offered a bigger plot at Chelsea Flower Show,
19:27all of which is going to be designed in a different way.
19:31Tom's been offered a bigger plot at Chelsea Flower Show,
19:34almost double the size of the original,
19:37which in some ways is great,
19:39but Chelsea Flower Show gardens do not come cheap.
19:43That means he's going to have to get the money from somewhere,
19:45and I suspect he's going to need to go cap in hand to Clive and Debbie
19:49and try and prise some more money out of them.
19:54And right on cue, Tom's been on the phone.
19:57He's finished his new design and has asked us to go to his office.
20:03Obviously he's designing the garden for Chelsea,
20:06but he must have in the back of his mind
20:09that it's going to have an eventual home in your garden.
20:12One of the things he's already put forward to Chelsea
20:15is that this is going to be a sustainable garden
20:17inasmuch as it's going to be replanted at our home,
20:19so that should really have been part of the design right from the beginning.
20:28At Tom's office, his new larger design seems to go down well,
20:33even the decking.
20:35I can't think of anything that I would prefer to be able to look out on,
20:40and for me that would be absolutely fantastic.
20:43But now on to the real issue.
20:45To make this work, Tom must ask Clive and Debbie for more money.
20:49I'm about 18 over, £18,000 over,
20:54in order to make it 18 metres long,
20:57and so I'm looking for as much as possible of that as I can get
21:01to make it happen.
21:03So let me get this straight, Tom.
21:05Your budget's £90,000, and what do you need to actually finish it?
21:1018.
21:12Whilst Clive and Debbie are excused to make up their minds,
21:15I can't help but think we're getting into murky waters.
21:18Gosh.
21:21I'm just wondering why on earth you'd want to do this,
21:24because it just seems to me an extraordinary amount of pressure.
21:27I wake up every morning thinking, why am I doing this?
21:30I'm surprised you ever get to sleep to wake up.
21:35Outside, Clive and Deb aren't quite on the same page.
21:39What we're prepared to do, Tom, is to give you £25,000.
21:42I think that's ridiculous.
21:44He's looking for £18,000, right?
21:46That's what he's looking for.
21:48Yes, to get £108,000.
21:50Let's say, look, we'll make it £110,000, you know.
21:53No, £125,000's really nice.
21:55Are you sure you're not getting carried away with this?
21:57No. Are you sure? Positive.
21:59I want you just to take 30 seconds just to think.
22:01Just out of interest, what happens if Clive and Debbie come in in a minute
22:05and say, actually, we've thought about it, Tom,
22:08and much as we like you, we haven't got the spare?
22:11Well, I guess what I'll do is I'll phone up the RHS and go back.
22:14I'll say, no, sorry, you know how I wanted a bigger plot?
22:17I'll stick to the 10 by 12, thanks,
22:19and just force them to give me back my plot I wanted originally.
22:22So, I mean...
22:25OK.
22:27What we're prepared to do is, on top of your £90,000,
22:31we're prepared to give you another £20,000,
22:34which is slightly more than you need.
22:36Thank you. That is so...
22:39You're a good man.
22:41That really is...
22:43Let's go. I've got some Saint Amelia on it.
22:47No, no, no.
22:50And hopefully it will give you a fighting chance
22:53against all the big boys to get gold.
22:56Don't know if that's another...
23:01Or not get a bronze.
23:05I think it's one of those amazing moments
23:07where Clive and Debbie have shown their true colours, really,
23:11and at the moment when they're most needed,
23:14they've come to the rescue.
23:16Which is fantastic, but on the other side,
23:18you think he's got even more work now to do,
23:22and he'll finish the garden at Chelsea
23:24and just at the point where he's thinking,
23:26oh, great, I've done that, it's like,
23:28oh, no, that's right, I've got to take the whole thing down
23:31and rebuild it up the road in Clive and Debbie's garden.
23:34So I feel for him,
23:36but he's showing remarkable grace under pressure at the moment.
23:45MUSIC PLAYS
23:51Clive and Debbie Morris hope to create the best garden in Suffolk.
23:58Plans include formal features such as an avenue of hornbeams,
24:02stone terraces, a rose garden and steel-edged formal lawns.
24:10But the area behind the dining room
24:12has been reserved for something more modern,
24:14their designers' 2009 Chelsea Flower Show garden.
24:18Clive and Debbie have chipped in £20,000 towards Tom's garden
24:22and will have it relocated from London in May.
24:26Three or four weeks' time, and then, yeah, four weeks' time, I think,
24:30and it's going to be on a lorry coming back here,
24:33so, you know, it better be ready to go,
24:36otherwise we're going to be in a bit of trouble.
24:42In the grounds of London's Royal Hospital in Chelsea,
24:45preparations for Britain's biggest flower show are well underway.
24:50Tom and his team have been frantically preparing his 12-by-18-metre plot.
24:56We're in week three of a three-week build.
24:59We've got seven days to get this garden finished now, left.
25:03With so much work to do here,
25:05Clive and Debbie's garden seems less of a concern.
25:09Who knows what's going on at Clive and Debbie's?
25:11They're having a clue.
25:23With Tom in London, Clive's appointed himself in charge of all landscaping,
25:28and nothing will stop his quest for perfection.
25:32With over 400 planted, Gardener Joe has a lot of trees to check.
25:38Have we noticed whether any of the rabbits are having a bit of a go at them?
25:41They had done early in the season, but nothing since.
25:44They were attacking the root balls, but...
25:46Right, OK.
25:47There's a lot more grass for them to be eating.
25:49They seem to be leaving them alone.
25:51At the front of the house, not content with the look of the front lawn,
25:54he's asked the contractors to re-level it for a second time.
25:58How's it going, Jason? Yeah, going good.
26:00Yeah? Going good, yeah. It's coming off a treat.
26:02Basically, now, we've got all the soil on here that we need on here.
26:05So it's just literally getting the stones right,
26:07getting it levelled off and getting it ready for the seeding.
26:11Yep.
26:12I'm really pleased with this, and I think it's going to look stunning.
26:16Clive's clearly developed a knack for landscaping.
26:20In five years' time, you know, this will just be absolutely fantastic.
26:25But I think you've got to have a standard and say,
26:28I just want it done right and in the way that I want it done.
26:33Such is Clive's mission for perfection, to my astonishment,
26:37he's demanded that the Hornbeam Avenue be replanted yet again.
26:42So, Clive, this is Hornbeam Avenue version three, isn't it?
26:46First time, it wasn't straight.
26:49That's right, yeah.
26:51So the frame was taken down, and it was dug up and moved.
26:54And then the second time...
26:56The second time, because the trees had already been bleached,
27:00when they went to replant them, they put them in to a level
27:05not accordance to the crane of the tree, but to the bleaching.
27:09Oh, to get the bleaching right.
27:11Yeah.
27:12So they were planting them at all sorts of different depths
27:14to get that first row of branches at the right height.
27:16Absolutely.
27:17So back they all had to come, because I wanted the lot eight
27:20to enable us to plant them correctly, all at the same level,
27:24which has now been done.
27:26The trees are a lot healthier.
27:28Yeah, they look good. They do look good.
27:30Yeah, they're all in leaf.
27:32So you're making all these decisions?
27:34You're kind of project managing this at the moment, are you?
27:37Yeah, I mean, Tom is at the moment totally engrossed in the Chelsea project.
27:44And, you know, I dealt with the contractors and the suppliers myself.
27:50Today, Clive has asked me to take a look at the stumpery.
27:59MUSIC PLAYS
28:05Earlier in the year, Joe shifted 12 giant stumps
28:09and turned them on their sides to create a tunnel.
28:13He spent all summer chipping away the old clay mud and exposing the roots.
28:19I must admit, I'm not quite sure what to expect.
28:23I tell you what this is, it's monumental.
28:26I'm over six feet tall and that must be...
28:29Well, it's a metre higher than you, isn't it?
28:31Yeah, going on for ten feet.
28:33I'm hoping that I'm going to get it a little bit more,
28:35and we get some planting in here,
28:37and I'm hoping that it's all going to sort of take shape.
28:40So there's a batch of ferns on standby for me and Joe to plant.
28:45So how's the whole stumpery experience been, Joe?
28:48It's been a little bit of a challenge, to be honest with you.
28:51The thing that I've noticed is that it started off being quite small
28:56and it's kind of morphed into this massive, great big thing.
29:02An eyesore.
29:03An eyesore, you said it.
29:05Yeah.
29:06Do you think it's an eyesore?
29:08I think once the wildflower mix on the outside of it comes up,
29:11I think it will tone it down quite a lot.
29:13But at the moment, obviously, with the bare soil, it definitely stands out.
29:17And what's left to do to finish it off?
29:19Just continue with the cleaning up of the stumps and then the final planting up.
29:23I don't know, all this money's been spent in here
29:25and you've got a crappy old squeaky wheelbarrow.
29:29If enough ferns are planted,
29:31we could transform the inside of the stumpery into a magical grotto.
29:35You're going to have some plants that are just going to be singles
29:40or are seeding around.
29:42Something like this, I think it can be planted quite generously to start with.
29:46You can use quite big numbers.
29:51This is where the whole barrow disappears instantly
29:55until you suddenly realise that the hole is much, much deeper.
30:00After a couple of hours, we've planted barrowloads of ferns,
30:04but they've only filled up a small corner.
30:07Do you know what?
30:08Now they're going to have to use even more plants to get it to settle.
30:12They're going to have to plant thousands of ferns into this
30:15because this is the mother, son and sister-in-law of all stumperies.
30:20It's huge!
30:22But let's face it, nothing about this garden is small.
30:26The stone terrace and rose garden seem to be growing by the second.
30:31This is going to be a fabulous gin and tonic area.
30:33This is going to be a gin palace.
30:36You don't realise actually how big the terrace area is
30:39until you stick that on there
30:41and you think, Christ, that used to dominate the old area we used to have
30:46and now it's a needle in a haystack.
30:51Clive's bought 1,000 square metres of reclaimed Yorkstone from London
30:56and had it brought here to make a perfect match for the house.
31:02Beyond the terrace,
31:03Joe has been busy planting the first batch of flowers in the rose garden.
31:07As always, Clive's taking a keen interest.
31:12Come through the terrace, fabulous furniture,
31:15then you come into this lovely rose walk
31:18with all these beautiful flowers and all the gardens on there
31:21and it just naturally takes you right into this area around the back there
31:26which is going to be just so special.
31:28I mean, it really is going to be special.
31:31Clive is really taking matters into his own hands now.
31:35There's no doubt.
31:36He is determined to have the best garden in Suffolk.
31:40I just hope that Tom's Chelsea garden makes the grade.
31:49And the day is finally here when Tom will find out if it has.
31:57Well, it's press day at Chelsea Flower Show
31:59and this is the day when the world's press and media arrive en masse
32:03and take great interest in all the gardens.
32:06But far more scarily for Tom is Clive and Debbie turning up any minute
32:13and it's their first chance to see the garden
32:15which they've invested a lot of money into.
32:19£20,000 to be exact.
32:21But it's money well spent
32:23as Tom's garden has to compete with 12 others in the show garden category.
32:29Tom's show garden is a modern mix of wildflowers,
32:32blackwater pond and two-inch thick redwood decking
32:35also used to make wave-shaped land art.
32:38It's a far cry from Clive and Debbie's Victorian aspirations.
32:44Are you looking forward to seeing the decking?
32:46I am looking forward to seeing the decking.
32:48We've heard good reports, actually.
32:50As we turn the corner, Clive and Debbie get a first glimpse
32:53of the modern addition to their estate.
32:55Look at that.
32:56It's your garden.
32:57That is absolutely...
32:58It's quite mad, let's see.
33:00Oh, look at the trees.
33:01Your garden here.
33:02Look at the trees.
33:04That is absolutely fabulous.
33:07Tom, how are you?
33:09Hello.
33:10Tom.
33:12Come into my garden.
33:13It is wonderful.
33:14This is fantastic.
33:16Oh, well, I think we might have to have it black.
33:18Look at it.
33:19This is absolutely fantastic.
33:20Just pure champagne.
33:22I will have pure champagne, please.
33:24I love the oaks.
33:26Absolutely, yeah.
33:27Oh, couldn't be.
33:28It fits so well in that space that we've got at home.
33:31Can you visualise it?
33:32Yeah, I can.
33:33Because, you know, if you take the buildings,
33:36the dining room's going to be over there,
33:38this is going to be out here, so it fits fantastically well.
33:41And those big trees, of course.
33:43Yeah, I'm really pleased with it, really.
33:45So what about the redwood decking?
33:47Decking was a worry,
33:49and it's been a worry, if I was to be honest, up until today.
33:52But, you know, I looked at it today,
33:54and the whole thing would just fit so well on the garden.
33:58It's going to be a great fit.
34:01Tomorrow, the judges will award each garden with a medal.
34:08And that's it.
34:09This morning, Clive and Debbie are waiting in a nearby hotel for news.
34:14Down the middle, please.
34:17The judges will now award medals.
34:19The highest is gold, followed by silver gilt.
34:22Then comes silver, followed by the lowest, bronze.
34:28The judges have just put their medal certificate in the pouch by Tom's garden.
34:37It's silver, and Tom is not happy.
34:42Well, it's a bit harsh, I think, but anyway.
34:53Put the kettle on.
34:57Well, I was kind of hoping we'd get a silver gilt, really, because...
35:04I don't know.
35:07Well, I think we deserved a silver gilt, really,
35:09but anyway, that's just the way it is.
35:21I think a lot of these...
35:23Oh, it's Tom.
35:25Hello, Tom.
35:26Hi, Clive.
35:28We've got a silver, and I'm very disappointed.
35:32We've got a silver, and I'm very disappointed.
35:37What did he get?
35:41See you later. Bye.
35:45Absolutely gutted.
35:46Was he?
35:47Yeah.
35:48Right, we'd better get checked out, then.
35:50OK.
35:52Despite this disappointing news,
35:54Tom must now dust himself off and get the garden back to Clive and Debbie's.
36:02MUSIC PLAYS
36:12Back in Suffolk, Gardener Joe and the contractors
36:15have been laying out the foundations for the Chelsea Garden pond.
36:19But here it seems to be a lot bigger than it was at Chelsea.
36:23Blimey! Yeah, I'd say.
36:25The pond is about...
36:27The Chelsea Garden.
36:29The Chelsea Garden, yeah.
36:31All of the components of Tom's garden have been delivered in bits
36:35and are waiting to be rebuilt.
36:38But how does Clive feel about having a silver medal garden?
36:42Well, a silver medal was a disappointment to us all.
36:45After looking at all the gardens,
36:47I honestly do feel that Tom's garden was worth a silver gilt.
36:52But there's no time to wallow.
36:54Relocating a show garden is a big job,
36:56and after licking his wounds, Tom's back to oversee the jigsaw puzzle.
37:00Chelsea's a stage set. It's not a real garden.
37:03This is a real garden, so there's going to be changes that have got to be made.
37:06There are probably some plants that won't work here,
37:08and it's just...
37:10You know, you worry for Chelsea,
37:12and now I've got just as much worry about trying to rebuild the garden here.
37:17He has good reason to worry.
37:19Already one of the 2,000-pound oaks has been damaged in transit,
37:22and Clive wants it replaced.
37:25I've paid for the other tree to settle.
37:27I don't want any arguments. I just want it done.
37:29I want the garden put in place.
37:32I just want them happy. I don't care.
37:34I'll pay for it. Just get it done.
37:37The damaged tree has been replanted on the edge of the estate.
37:40Thankfully, Tom hasn't taken it too much to heart.
37:43He's had a few frank phone calls and discussions with me,
37:47and as I say, I've probably known Clive for, well, over a year now,
37:52and so I've got used to that,
37:54whereas before I'd be sort of practically in tears at home.
37:57I'd sort of, you know, take it on the chin and,
38:00OK, Clive, how are we going to resolve this?
38:03As the last of the decking is put in,
38:05Clive's keen for an inspection to make sure it's all going according to plan.
38:11Clive.
38:12Was it that wide at Chelsea? It wasn't that wide, was it?
38:15Yeah, it just looks bigger, I guess cos I had the planting in.
38:18Now, have you seen that I've deliberately,
38:20so you don't curse Lee for putting it in,
38:22I've deliberately made that sumac tree lean this way.
38:26Right.
38:27Cos that's what I wanted at the show.
38:29It's like all the things I didn't like about it at the show
38:31I can sort of rectify here now.
38:37The Chelsea garden may be finished,
38:39but for Clive, the rest of the estate isn't the best garden in Suffolk just yet.
38:45So he's splashed out on some extras.
38:49He's drafted in a skilled metalworks engineer
38:52to build estate fencing which will curve its way around the lawns.
38:57I mean, this has just been sprayed on just to show you
38:59what we're doing with the rest of the rails across the way there.
39:02I've just put a bit of paint on so you can see what they're going to look like.
39:04That's the finish you're going to get on the estate rail over there.
39:07Brilliant. I'm really pleased, Ray. It's absolutely fantastic.
39:11With 150 metres of steel fencing being used,
39:15the cost stands at just under £10,000.
39:20And to finish off the Rose Garden,
39:22today sees the delivery of a pergola,
39:24which has been laser cut in the factory to echo the shape of the back door.
39:29So are all these concreted in there?
39:32They will be.
39:35Everything about this garden is big.
39:38The stumpery is massive. The pergola is imposing.
39:42The Hornbeam Avenue is large.
39:44The trees that are going in are huge.
39:47I just hope it's all going to live up to Clive's expectations.
39:58Clive and Debbie Morris' grounds
40:00have undergone a quarter of a million pound transformation.
40:04I've been itching to get back here, itching to get back here,
40:07because this was such a blank canvas when I first came here.
40:11Everything to play for.
40:13And Clive and Debbie had massive aspirations for it.
40:19I can't wait to see if they've done it.
40:27And as I approach the house, I'm not disappointed.
40:32Look at your posh lawn.
40:34It's lovely, isn't it? It's fantastic, isn't it?
40:36Well, actually, the whole of this area, the driveway, the edging,
40:39it all looks very crisp and very smart.
40:41Yeah, it does.
40:42And you look at this and it does have the feel of a stately home.
40:46It's got that sort of feel about it.
40:50Last year, the sitting room looked out onto an empty vista.
40:57But now the eye is led through an avenue of hornbeams,
41:01the biggest statement of formal grandeur in this garden.
41:10It's got a very strong architectural sense,
41:13although it is, you know, when the posts come down, it's just trees.
41:18Yeah.
41:19But it has got an architectural quality about it.
41:22In three years, the framework will go,
41:25leaving behind a hedge that seems to float in the sky.
41:29The back of the house was once a bland space,
41:32lacking in both character and purpose.
41:36But now the nod to Victoriana continues,
41:39with an expansive terrace and adjoining rose garden,
41:42planted with a beautiful array of flowers.
41:53Wow, there's a splash of colour.
41:55Pretty, isn't it? Great. That's really lovely.
41:58I love the connection between the arches and the...
42:01The door. ..the curve of the door. It's great.
42:04Yeah.
42:05Yeah, a lot of people thought that probably the terrace was too big,
42:09but we had a vision of what we wanted to achieve here,
42:12and we wanted the big table with lots of chairs,
42:15and then obviously we wanted a space to actually sit the barbecue,
42:19so I think it works really well.
42:22Behind the dining room was nothing more than a darkened wasteland.
42:27Today, its Chelsea garden is no longer a pristine showpiece.
42:32It now has a more natural feel,
42:34and gives this part of the estate a sense of tranquillity
42:38and a hint of modernity.
42:43It's amazing, actually. It looks as if it's...
42:46Well, it looks as if it's always been here.
42:48What this is going to look like in a year, 18 months,
42:52two years' time is what concerns me a little bit.
42:56Chelsea gardens are, as you say,
42:58they're only designed for a certain period of time,
43:00and it's always going to be a little bit of a stretch
43:04taking a Chelsea garden and then rebuilding it for real.
43:08But I think that's really pleasing, looking across there.
43:12Clive and Debbie's colossal Victorian stumpery sits near the woodland,
43:17and it's the perfect enchanted furniture.
43:20The moment you get some greenery in here,
43:22it starts to have that slightly cave-like feel,
43:26which is what it needs, of course.
43:28And I love these beams.
43:29I mean, they're kind of like the linchpins
43:31holding the whole thing together, aren't they?
43:33Well, the girls love it as well.
43:34They run along these, which is probably a little bit dangerous,
43:37but, no, they're really enjoying the space, aren't they?
43:39It feels quite magical,
43:40and I think it's got the potential to be really magical.
43:46This landscape may be extraordinary,
43:48this landscape may be expensive,
43:50but there's no doubt the whole thing has been driven
43:53not just by money, but by passion.
43:57Looking around, I mean, I'm really impressed, actually.
44:01And I remember you saying, right at the start of this,
44:05you felt as if the place had a dead heart,
44:08or the heart was on a life-support system or something.
44:11Yeah, yeah.
44:12The heart of this house now is pumping strong,
44:16and I get great vibes from it.
44:19The house is coming alive again.
44:21I think, yeah, when you see the girls out playing,
44:24I think it's just wonderful.
44:26It really works as a family home.
44:28But the nice thing about doing a garden,
44:30which is totally different from renovating a house,
44:32is once you've finished a house, you watch it deteriorate.
44:35And with a garden, you finish a garden and you watch it grow.
44:39And I know the pleasure we get next year
44:41will be even greater than the pleasure we've had this year.
44:44How do you feel about the Chelsea garden experience?
44:47The jewellery's still out on the Chelsea garden, to be honest.
44:50For me...
44:51It doesn't have that wow factor, does it?
44:53It doesn't have that wow factor.
44:55And we uplifted the garden and brought it back here,
44:58and it then had to compete with all the other things that we've done.
45:03It actually ain't competing at the moment.
45:06Right.
45:07You know? This is outshining it, in my eyes, anyway.
45:13You know, quite a lot.
45:15So, do you have the best garden in Suffolk?
45:19No.
45:20I don't think we're far off, actually.
45:22I don't think we're far off.
45:24I don't think you can ever get to perfection.
45:26I think aiming for perfection is a good thing.
45:31But, as I say, I don't think you can ever get to perfection.
45:35Sitting here now, enjoying the splendour of the garden,
45:40have you enjoyed this process?
45:42Yeah.
45:43You.
45:44No, I have. I've really enjoyed it. I think we both have.
45:46Would you do it again, though?
45:47I would, yeah.
45:48Would you?
45:49I'd do this again, yeah. Definitely.
45:51Well, I don't know if I would.
45:52No, you see. No, I would.
45:54But I could with your support.
45:56Oh, that's beautiful, Clive. That's beautiful.
45:59I feel like I should leave you alone now.
46:11I've loved getting to know Clive and Debbie
46:14because what they've done over the course of the year
46:18is go from being wide-eyed innocents
46:24in the process of making a landscape
46:27to actually being really involved, totally involved,
46:31and not just involved in a superficial way
46:33but actually doing it, you know, running the job.
46:36And I would never have thought that that would be the case at the start
46:39when, in a way, it kind of felt as if it wasn't really their garden
46:44and it was all happening to them
46:46rather than them actually making it happen.
46:49And actually, I really think they've loved that process
46:53and I think secretly they're two converted landscapers
46:59whereas before they weren't.
47:02Next time, a young family try to tame a wild clifftop landscape in Guernsey.
47:07I'm happy. I'm happy.
47:09I am concerned that we might destroy the very thing we're trying to create.
47:13Are you not happy?
47:15A bit frustrated.
47:17I'd like to be able to say I'm really proud to live there.
47:23For more information on the show,
47:25please visit channel4.com slash 4homes.
47:32And the Landscape Man is uprooting to a new time and day, Sunday night at 7,
47:37and achieve your dream garden with his book, Making a Garden.
47:40For more information, go to channel4.com slash 4homes.
47:44Well, next, as the nation decides, we vote for something completely different,
47:49Channel 4's alternative election night.