Overview

Harrowden supplied Premium Turf to Channel 5's Filthy Garden SOS programme at a residence in White City, London.

After moving in with his grandmother Olwyn, Ryan wanted some help to tame the wild garden outside and turn it into a useable space for them both. The garden could also help Olwyn with her health and wellbeing, and help to renew her passion for gardening.

Project detail

The garden was extremely overgrown and shut out light to the house. For over 70 years Olwyn has loved nature and the garden, growing fruit and veg, but it had become overwhelming and, after several attempts to tackle it on his own ,Ryan called in the Filthy Garden SOS team.

Initially, the team began by clearing the front garden to provide just enough room for a skip to take away the rubbish from the back garden. The idea was then to cut everything back – the privet was huge – to get new light flowing into the garden, meaning they were not just limited to shade-tolerant plants. But the challenge was 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.

Outcome

FGSOS not only tackles gardens in decline, but also works to give owners the skills to keep the garden ship-shape once the team has gone, which is why Harrowden got involved. With the supply of Premium Turf, the company was able to help Ryan and Olwyn get their garden back under control and to support Olwyn’s care.