David Domoney is a Television Presenter and Horticulturalist. David is a presenter on the popular primetime ITV show Love Your Garden.
So what did you think to last night’s Love Your Garden show? (If you missed it, get on ITVPlayer now!)
Here’s what the garden looked like when we got there!
And here’s the finished article!
Those beds were stunning. I was busy… inspecting them. It may look like I was up to no good, but ignore that photo.
Oi, get back to work you lot!
You’ve seen the show, now check out what happens behind the scenes!
(Missed it? Watch it on ITVPlayer now!)
I’m on my up to Wisbech in the car and I’m not sure which road to take. Then I see this sign, and I know I’m definitely going in the right direction.
Here is a picture of the hard landscapers on site. This is before the rest of the crew arrive, and we are getting the area ready. The problem is that there were a couple of horrendous thunderstorms earlier on in the week that seriously hampered clearance of the garden.
I’m looking at this realising that we are dramatically behind schedule. Just after this photo was taken, we discovered a load of underground drains that put us even further back. It was really stressful and very hard work.
Here we can see Natalie, one of our directors, using a cheeky finger to rewrite the sign longmarsh ltd to titchmarsh ltd. In the end she wiped it off – she didn’t want to get caught doing it. Too late!
With a camera that big, you can’t even see Katie’s head! Every time there’s a camera left out, she grabs it. I think deep down, she wants to be a camera operator. She would do a brilliant job, but she needs to build up her muscles first to lift cameras that size!
Here is a very sad picture. At the beginning of the series, Kevin had brought one of these expandable gazebos in his car boot. On the first episode when it rained, he said ‘don’t worry, I’ve got a gazebo in my car.’
He used it for every single episode, but on the last shoot there was a gust of wind – and it was wrecked! I’m sure he got his money’s worth out of it. Whether he gets the money back from production is another matter.
This is our immensely enthusiastic series producer Phil, getting stuck in. We had to tell him that you don’t in fact prune a fence panel. Stick to the hedge, Phil. But it’s all part of his training and I’m sure he will pick it up bit by bit.
I love this shot. While we were in the garden, we heard an ice cream van coming around the corner, so we commandeered it and used it for a set. Here is a great photo of myself, Katie and Frances queueing up for a sweet treat – make mine a 99!
This is the lollipop I ended up with. I chose it because I felt it looked a little bit like Alan Titchmarsh! It was half expecting it to tell us to get a move on. However, I was concerned that the nose looked like less like ice cream and more like a stray pea from the freezer. But we had a bit of fun with it and it went down a treat.
This is a lovely shot. In the foreground we have Shaun, who is one of the carpenters, and Thea who is managing all the product for this episode. To her left is Martyn, the lead carpenter. In the background is a couple of cheeky faces – Andy, Alan’s driver and researcher Helen.
Natalie, one of our directors, is an excellent cake maker. She made us this amazing creation with the four presenters on top. We were absolutely blown away by it – she did a brilliant job and it looked marvellous. And it tasted marvellous too.
In the evening we went to do a quiz. As you can see, Alan and Frances are really getting stuck in. Alan is a walking encyclopaedia – I’m telling you he knows everything! The moment the question was asked, he started scribbling answers down. You can see Kevin in the background there trying to sneakily listen in on some answers for his team.
Here you have Shaun and Martyn the carpenters. They have been wearing Frosts Landscapes uniforms, but just like Superman, they expose themselves as being from Mills Carpentry, Building and Maintenance! These two are a great team and have done a phenomenal amount of hard work in every episode.
This is a shot of me with the bowling guys at the Essex County Bowling Club. During the programme I had to bowl one ball on camera. I’d never done it before, and I couldn’t believe it – straight over by the jack! They reckon I didn’t do too bad a job. I’ve got to say, I think I’ll be taking it up in the near future. Thanks for the warm welcome at the club, guys.
Here I am with our director Alice, who had just bowled her own ball. It was miles out, and nearly knocked the ankles off a pensioner over the other side of the green! I was extremely embarrassed to be seen with her.
Here’s Katie having to get a load of paint off her coat. She got too close to that fence panel! As you can see, Amy the makeup artist is giving her a hand to clean herself up.
Here are all the Frosts Landscapes guys. Starting from the far left and going clockwise you have Matt, Martyn, Sam, Kevin, Dan, Jon and Shaun. They grafted phenomenally during the series, and they have a great sense of humour. They are really positive, professional people and it’s been a pleasure to work with them.
This is it – the group shot! We’re out the front of the garden, and some people have just got an ice cream. It was marvellous fun, and great to see everybody together. I think it really sums up the spirit of the whole show.
Would you believe it – the family also made a cake with us four presenters on it! We were overjoyed, having two great cakes on the same day. It’s another great triumph of cake design, so thank you very much. I love the bark chipping, and I’m even at the bottom laying down chocolate decking.
This is me doing the voiceover for this episode in the studio in London. Through the glass you can see our director Phil, and more importantly in the back is the main dubbing mixer, head of sound Kate. It’s always a pleasure working with the team at Director’s Cut that assist with the production of the whole series of Love Your Garden.
Here are more unsung heroes – these are the editors. These guys and girls are the people that put the programme together. They distill hundreds of hours of filming down into eight one-hour episodes. They have a great sense of humour. Here is Giles, Chris, Ann, Dave and Chris. It’s always a pleasure working with you, and I look forward to our next filming project.
This is the final shot that I think sums up everything about the last episode. All of us were completely tuckered out. Here is Sam, Lying on his back, head in his hand, so relieved that it’s all over. Yes Sam, you can finally go home!
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It was another great Love Your Garden episode for series 4 – here’s what we learned from the show this week. Plus find out how to create that formal look at home!
Hands up who thought formal gardens were just for stately homes? I hope we showed you otherwise! The formal style is just as effective in everyday gardens, and it is great for people who want things clean and simple.
Use symmetry and sharp lines, and keep the shapes simple and well-defined. The result is plenty of open space, making the garden feel calm and balanced. It’s modern and yet timeless too.
Use strong focal points to pull the eye through the garden, and keep the colour scheme simple. Make triangles – three is a visually pleasing number because it’s strong and even.
We created a green and white garden, in the style of Sissinghurst. The white flowers included star jasmine, white lavender, White Cloud climbing rose, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, Agapanthus africanus ‘Albus’ and Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’.
Then we used green foliage like Cupressus totem and Buxus sempervirens alongside green and white foliage like Hosta patriot and Euonymus harlequin.
Many gardens have a slight incline that is best broken up by steps. But if you want to install some new steps, make sure you do the maths.
First, measure the incline. Hold a piece of string horizontally from the top of the slope to measure its height and length. Then divide this figure evenly to decide the number of steps and their size. The minimum tread (length of the step surface) is 250mm, and the minimum rise between steps is 150mm.
There’s nothing worse than a garden that looks great in summer and bare the rest of the time. Permanent plant structures give the garden height and shape, even in the depths of winter. Trees are ideal for this, as are conifers and hedges like laurel.
You can also take a tip from Alan and use topiary structures. Box is easier to shape than people think! Use one in a pot, so you can put it up on a table and turn it round to check it looks even. You can buy metal cages that help you define the shape, or use Alan’s string guide trick. Prune in early summer and again in autumn to keep it looking neat.
Edging is the easiest way to give your garden a professional finish. If your lawn edge is curved, used a plastic strip. It’s easy and inexpensive, and it stops grass growing into your border. Dig a trench slightly deeper than the edging, push it into the soil and backfill the trench.
If you want something broader, use edging tiles. They are very shallow bricks, meaning you don’t have to dig too deep to get them in. Aim to get them flush with the lawn, so it’s easy to mow over. And remember to point them properly or the grass will grow between them and make it look unkempt!
Build a cohesive border by using repetition. Borrow forms from other parts of the garden. If you have lots of circles, use plants with spherical forms like alliums and hydrangeas.
Now repeat the colours. Different shades of the same colour is more effective that lots of different colours. And don’t just think in terms of flowers – there’s a huge range of colourful foliage out there.
You can also repeat plants too. Using the same varieties again further up the border, or in the border opposite, will bring the planting scheme together.
Finally, don’t forget about seasonality. You need to have a mix of plants that flower at different times. If the entire border flowers in June, it will look bare in September. Mix in evergreens and long-flowering varieties to make sure it always looks good.
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