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This week’s episode saw the Love Your Garden team in the Essex commuter town of Basildon to surprise Pat, a retired nurse, who has dedicated her life to helping children overcome the devastating impact of disfiguring burn injuries.  

In 1995 Pat founded the UK first ever burns children fund which in turn inspired the development of a network of burns charities springing up around the country, helping thousands of children have fun and make friends in a safe haven.             

During the episode we heard from some of the people who benefited from Pay’s help whilst growing up, all relaying just how life-changing Pat’s support was.

As a thank you to this extraordinary women, who has helped so many, her friends and family asked Alan and his team to take a look at her ‘uninspiring concrete’ garden.

“What would be her dream garden?” Alan asked. One with lots of greenery, a place to grow flowers and vegetables with her grandaughter, a nice seating area and entertaining space for family, friends and for when the children from the charity came over.

Pat was swiftly sent away so that Alan and his team could get to work.

To help make the most of every inch of space, the team set about zoning the garden into 3 distinct areas – an effective technique for making the most of smaller gardens:

  • Zone 1 – Lower level – To be re-landscaped to create a grand and attractive entrance with a beautiful house for Pat’s bunnies
  • Zone 2 – Middle level – An alfresco dining area with raised beds and a water feature
  • Zone 3 – Upper level – A grow your own area besides a new summerhouse and pergola

They had their work cut out for them!

During the episode Alan visited a nearby garden with many of the qualities Alan and the team were looking to recreate in Pat’s garden.

It was a cleverly zoned garden, with some bold features to help create drama. High spec hard landscaping dominated the space, with big grey paving slabs, and a couple of eye-catching water features. The garden benefited from a minimal colour palette, creating a contemporary and stylish design. Modern grey stone cladding was used to cover an existing red brick wall, making it look new and even more stylish. Evergreen planting was used along the borders to help draw the eyes along the whole length of the garden, leading to a beautifully sleek and stylish dining area complete with a simple yet sophisticated outdoor dining set, seating up to 8 people. In one of the other zone’s was a comfy outdoor seating area, consisting of 2x 3-seater sofas and 2 arm chairs, all with outdoor scatter cushions, positioned around a high end and contemporary gas fire pit, inbuilt into a table. Outdoor luxury.

The garden had a luxurious design with high-end accessories and statement planting, helping it to really sparkle. It was the perfect garden for entertaining with a real hint of glamour and gave Alan plenty of ideas to use in Pat’s patch, including:

  • Installing herringbone glass tiles in a muted grey to form the backdrop of the newly installed, boldly designed water feature
  • Inserting semi-transparent screens throughout the garden to help divide the different sections, therefore creating zones
  • The use of bold, vertical planting coupled with hanging plants from the pergola, so to not use up crucial ground space but still help to inject some greenery
  • Applying a minimal and limited colour palette so that the planting didn’t look to fussy and close-up the space
  • Use of clever planting, such as grasses to add texture and statement trees suitable for small spaces such as acers.

The end result? A vibrant and practical garden fitting for Pat, capturing her distinct style and successfully extending her living space.

The team created a chic patio area where Pat can relax with her rabbits, surrounded by raised flower beds giving definition to the border. Elegant outdoor screens frame a new outdoor dining area, with seating for up to 5 people in gorgeous wicker chairs surrounding a wooden outdoor table. And towards the back of the garden is a modern summerhouse for Pat to use whatever the weather. A true haven.

Needless to say, Pat was ecstatic with the outcome and was gobsmacked and overwhelmed by the incredibly vibrant space created for her.

It was an inspiring garden for an inspiring women

If only we could fast forward to next Tuesday’s episode, where some products from Inside Out Living make their debut TV appearance. We can’t wait!


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