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!
Plastic plants?! If the thought of fake foliage fills you with horror, you’re missing a trick. I went down to ITV studios to present a piece on artificial gardens for This Morning, to prove that fake plants can have a place in our gardens.
But first, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the legendary sofas where Eamonn and Ruth, and of course Phillip and Holly sit.
Five or so years ago, I presented on the show regularly for about three years. It’s so nice to be back in the studio with these guys.
I did my presentation on the balcony, which is just outside ITV studios on the South Bank. This is the view: you can see St Paul’s in the background. Always while I’m presenting, people are walking along the road and looking up at the back of my head!
The piece I did followed on from a newspaper article featuring somebody who performed a garden makeover using just artificial plants. I brought loads of fake plants and an artificial lawn down to the studios with me to make over the balcony in just one hour!
Here’s a shot just after we’ve put the lawn down, and the cameraman is taking some panning shots. It was a beautiful piece of lawn, supplied by the Neil Sweeting at the Artificial Lawn Company.
This is the premium range at £27.95 per square metre, but there are cheaper versions. It’s spectacular stuff and makes an instant difference to the balcony. It’s perfect for spaces with no soil, like balconies and roof gardens.
Here I’m sitting down after we’ve finished landscaping. It’s a great spot with the table and chairs surrounded by all those plants. It’s perfect if you’ve got a balcony and want to make it greener.
We put hedging around the outside, and all the artificial plants were supplied by Evergreen Direct. They sent a whole wagon full of plants from Yorkshire for me to organise and display. There were some stunning faux flowers, so thanks to Georgina for all her help!
And here is the finished garden! You really would not know those plants are artificial without really inspecting them.
Now you know my stance: I am a horticulturist and I would always choose and advocate real plants. But there are times when artificial plants are a good option:
1 When it is impossible to grow real plants. This can include a small balcony or roof garden that isn’t suitable for a lawn because it has no soil, or a huge hanging basket that is too difficult to water.
2 For people who are unable to garden, perhaps due to illness or disability. Better to have a lush green view than just grey concrete or bare brick!
3 For holiday homes when the owners are not around most of the time to care for a real garden.
It is amazing modern technologies companies can use. The plants are made from a mixture of silk and polyethylene, known as polysilk. The silk gives it softness and detail, while the polyethylene makes it strong and durable.
Here is the border. These are stunning plants, and there are so many options available! Fake oleanders with those white flowers and red geraniums. The artificial privet hedge and cordylines are great too. Plus you can see the ivy and blue pansies!
I also used artificial bamboos in the background. The actual wood is real bamboo, but the leaves are fake.
To show how convincing these artificial plants are, I put Eamonn and Ruth to the test, trying to decipher which of these plants is fake!
The phalaenopsis orchids were up first, and Eamonn managed to guess that the one with the most flowers was fake. It’s on the right hand side.
Next up were the two hanging baskets. I’m taking this photo fairly close up, but if they were hung high up you would never know! These are ideal for places where it would be too difficult to water them. It looks that good all year round, regardless of the weather and rainfall. The fake one is on the left.
Which of these Mother-in-law’s tongue plants is fake? Answer: they both are! Gotcha.
But did you know that the real plant is almost as tough as the fake ones? They last for years and can survive with little water and sunshine, so they’re a great real plant to have if you don’t have much time for gardening.