This show is telling us how to turn our maybe-one-day Pinterest boards titled ‘Garden’ into a full-blown reality, fit with lighting, rattan sofas and ponds made from whisky barrels. Those are going to be some seriously sozzled fish.
Luckily for us, the show is focusing on amateurs who have yet to get green fingered, meaning the series is full of easy to do inspiration for us at home. But for those among us who regularly give into our guilty pleasure of Sunday nights watching Gardeners’ World, this may all be a bit too idiot friendly. Talking of friendly, the hosts are a lovely bunch – we’ve got Poppy Okotcha, a model turned eco gardener, Joel Bird, who never takes off his trusty hat and always has his trusty tools at hand, and craftsman Bruce Kenneth, who makes furniture that’s a bit jazzier than your average IKEA buy.
For gardening TV, you can’t go wrong with a bit of Gardeners’ World
Together, they’re great fun, and they do a grand job of explaining the basics and encouraging confidence in the people they meet, making gardening a manageable and unintimidating hobby. And even with their simple tips, they really are able to revolutionise our outdoor spaces – in episode one, we meet a family in Harrow whose garden is an unloved, overgrown mess, but with our trusty team on the job, by the end of the episode they’ve got a pergola, a pond and some gorgeously crafted furniture thanks to ol’ Bruce. And to mix up the format a bit, they’ve wangled some celebs together, and each episode we pop into one of their back yards for a poke around.
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This definitely falls under ‘easy watching’, and isn’t exactly thrill-seeking TV. But it is informative and great fun, and will slot nicely into your mid-week telly roster, perfect for a cosy evening of R&R, with an outdoorsy twist.
The Telegraph’s Anita Singh has plenty of time for this show, giving it four stars and calling it a “refreshing addition to the genre…perfectly timed as the weather perks up and we can plan for a summer in the garden.” She praises, too, the choice in presenters, saying “Okotcha in particular has a lovely, soothing way of making gardening sound accessible and undaunting.”
First shown May 2021.
