‘What a waste of money!’ Your Garden Made Perfect viewers are left unimpressed by couple’s £36,000 ‘Mediterranean’ makeover that saw £6,000 spent on GRAVEL
- Viewers were not impressed with final results of garden makeover on BBC2’s Your Garden Made Perfect
- Jake and Tracy, from Littlehampton in West Sussex, wanted a new garden that was low maintenance
- But final result, designed by Tom Wassey and made of planters, cost £36,000 and failed to impressed viewers
Your Garden Made Perfect viewers were left unimpressed by the result of a £36,000 makeover on last night’s episode.
Jake and Tracy, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, said they rarely used the garden at the back of the bungalow where they live with daughter Poppy.
Tracy, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, wanted a garden that was more accessible so that she could make the most of the space while Jake wanted to retain the ‘simplicity’ of the existing design, which featured a small lawn and decking at the back of the house.
After considering two designs, the couple plumped for a Mediterranean-inspired offering from garden designer Tom Wassey.
BEFORE: The garden was a decent size, but wasn’t really utilised by any of the family member and looked a bit drab. Its steep edges also meant that Tracy, who uses a wheelchair, couldn’t access it
AFTER: The final project result on Your Garden Made Perfect failed to impress viewers after designer Tom Wassey created a concrete place using planters and gravel (pictured) for Jake and Tracy, from Little Hampton, in West Sussex
BEFORE: The garden was a ‘standard’ garden but seemed a bit ‘characterless’ and was not practical for Tracey
AFTER: Tom kept the family’s garden furniture but reduced the size of the terrace by the house and created limits with planters
Impressed: Tracy and Jake said they loved their ‘pretty,’ ‘low maintenance’ garden, made of planters, gravel. Tom used Mediterranean plants that didn’t need a lot of attention to survive
Tom removed the lawn and lowered the garden’s grounds to create two terraces linked by a ramp for Tracy. He used planters rather than grass and flowers to give the garden a more Mediterranean feel.
However the garden didn’t come cheap and cost a staggering £36,000, with £6,000 going on the gravel alone.
Viewers were not impressed, with one going so far as to say it looks like a ‘pile of junk’.
One tweeted: ‘Another over-budget garden that fails to live up to the original design. What happened to the hideaway space for the daughter.’
Another posted: ‘Another disaster for Tom. What a mess and too industrial. I feel sorry for the clients having to put on a brave face for the camera as they realise that’s £36k down the drain.’
A third added: ‘Omg £36,000. Did you see they couldn’t even afford new seats (covered old ones) or a dining cover area, what is the money going on, not watching naymore, a waste of money for the emperor’s new clothes.’
Before: The house’s terrace was much bigger, eating away a lot of space, and the shed at the end was not really used. Tracy could only access the concrete area by the shef
After: The new garden consisted of two terraces accessible to Tracy by a steel scented ramp, and a path made of smooth stone all around the planters
A sitting area with benches and a table was propped on a concrete platform in one on the corners of the new Mediterranean garden
Tom propped the garden with a scented ramp for Tracy made of steel which connects the two areas of the garden so she can go wherever she pleases
Thankfully for Tom, Jake and Tracy were delighted with their new, £36,000 garden.
Before the transformation, they weren’t using much of their garden, which was of a decent size, but didn’t work for any of the family member.
It wasn’t accessible to Tracey, and Jake was not interested in spending hours on end looking after it.
Meanwhile, Poppy didn’t have a designated plot in the garden which she could make her own.
The couple wanted the garden to be both easily accessible and low maintenance. Initially they had decided on using grass in the garden, but later moved on to gravel, which upped their price and tipped it over budget.
But the couple said they were delighted with the end results, praising the openness of the garden and how pretty it all looked.
A look at the artsy swing in the new garden surrounded by the planters and trees, which Jake should have no trouble keeping up with
The family noted that the planters managed to look ‘abundant’ and ‘natural’ in spite of being made of concrete and surrounded by gravel
‘It’s completely different. When you look out the window now, you go “oh look at it, it’s so pretty”,’ Tracy said.
The stay-at-home mum added she felt: ‘Like a kid in a candy shop’ and loved to spend extended periods of time in the garden.
‘It’s just such an escape,’ she added.
‘One thing I think a garden should really do is pull you into it,’ Tom said of his design, adding he had tried to created as much areas to discover as possible in the garden, using the planters.
He added that he had picked plants that required very little attention while still remaining healthy-looking and stylish.
Tom also installed a steel swing in the garden for the couple’s daughter Poppy, and Jake and Tracey revealed their child loved to go in the garden by herself before school, which never happened before.
Viewers were not impressed with Tom’s results and said £36,000 on a garden was a waste of money
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