Filthy Garden SOS, White City, London – After moving in with his grandmother, Ryan wanted some help to tame the wild garden outside. The idea is for the garden to become a useable space for both of them. The garden can also help Olwyn with her health and wellbeing and help to renew his grandmother’s passion for gardening.
At the outset…..
The garden is a “jungle”, overgrown and shutting out the light to the house. For more than 70 years Olwyn has loved nature and the garden. She was taught by her own Mum to grow fruit and veg. But, the garden had become overwhelming and after several attempts to tackle it on his own Ryan called in the “Filthy Garden SOS” team.
Olwyn had “shut herself in” with the loss of her own mother and as the children moved away. Initially, the team began by clearing the front garden just to provide enough room for a skip to take away the rubbish from the back garden. Then the idea was to cut everything back – the privet was huge – to get new light flowing into the garden. This would mean they are not just limited to shade-tolerant plants. But the challenge is to try to keep the intimate nature of the garden and the calming effect of the shade whilst providing enough light to encourage new plants. “A new garden into a wild setting”.
The plan was to work with the existing garden to reflect the time that Olwyn spent in the Far East. With new Japanese Maples and a studio space to provide extra room for entertaining the family. The front garden gets all the sun so this was the place for the herbs and vegetables.
The great thing about “FGSOS” is that not only does it tackle gardens in decline but it also works to give the garden owners the skills to keep the garden ship-shape once the team has gone. This is why we got involved. With the supply of Jubilee Turf we were able to help Ryan and Olwyn get their garden back under control and to support Olwyn’s care.
https://www.channel5.com/show/filthy-garden-sos/season-1/episode-4
