This week we were in Canterbury creating a marvellous garden for a family.
You can see Colin, our series producer, in the foreground here looking into his monitor, while Simon and Matt record Frances rushing to see what her delivery is. You can also see all of our white vans clogging the street, and the telehandler peaking over the top as we got everything in place.
This shot is bloomin’ typical. The producer and camera man in their fancy chairs for a break while Jackie, Frances and me get a pile of timber!
Next you can see the arrival of Stormbringer, otherwise known as our sound man, Lloyd – so named because whenever he arrives it always starts to rain. As you can see he is testing his powers here as he pulls in.
We had help from a group of volunteer fireman who travel the world, assisting people in need everywhere. One of them brought an old French fire helmet, which Katie was more than pleased to model for us.
I told Frances that Katie was modelling the helmet for us and before you know it…
… Frances was in the helmet, and she decided she should commandeer the whole fire engine too.
The firemen were a great help, and they really got stuck into the back garden and gave us a lot of support.
These are two very talented chippies, Sean and Scott. There was a lot of decking and building to do on this shoot, and these fantastic lads did a truly incredible job. They were also happy to take on whatever projects we threw at them at the last second, which was so helpful.
Here you can see Matt from Frosts on the left and Darren our shooting and directing cameraman on the right, looking on at the maelstrom of activity that is all happening at once. It is chaotic, but that’s the magic of TV makeovers, and especially ones on the scale of Love Your Garden.
A little selfie I took with Frances and an expert in metalwork and fencing that assisted us on this shoot. Frances is doing some superb stencilling there, but I’m not sure what that broom is doing on the hedge…
This posey gent is Guy. He coordinates a lot of the deliveries coming in and out. However, he also makes a superb stand in to help with reflective light for some shots, which he loves to shine right in my eyes, I might add.
Here is Katie working on transforming this filing cabinet into a planter. I’ll admit, I was sceptical of the idea at first, but when she was finished they looked fantastic. This is the kind of high-level creative work that we get to see, taking unexpected things on the spur of the moment and making something beautiful.
This was me doing a sneaky selfie round the back, because the directors give me a right earful if they catch me taking pictures instead of working in the garden!
Here’s a typical Love Your Garden shot. People going about their normal lives in the neighbourhood while we wander round the streets carrying massive plants and pulling silly poses. This time it’s Guy with a giant bamboo.
As predicted, Lloyd has arrived, and so has the rain. Here he is, trying to look innocent, but we’re not impressed. This is when we have to start popping up gazebos all over the place to protect paving and paintwork.
We all have our times rolling up our sleeves and trousers and getting into the water – I did for this episode, and here’s Frances doing her bit too.
Here’s a group of likely lads: Strong Man Sam on the left, Sean in the middle and Kevin on the right – all just posing to try to get into the blog. Kevin is always there, glory hunting, but now he’s stealing in his mates too.
As we put on the finishing touches, everybody is going around taking photos of the final product. It was such an incredible garden, with so much detail and beauty. It was an absolute pleasure.
Katie having one last selfie with the boys. You can see Sean with his natural smile at the front, and then there’s Kevin, not so natural at the back…
This was one of our most adventurous gardens yet, and I think it really worked. All credit to the team – it was back-breaking work, but I think the results showed it.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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