- The Home Channel - https://thehomechannel.co.za -

How to create a garden

Based in the historic gardens of Fota House in Cork, “How to Create a Garden” is a new series where in real time and working to a strict budget, two gardeners will create two new gardens from scratch.

With six programmes in the spring and six in the summer, the series will lead viewers step by step through the process of creating their own garden and show viewers everything from how to plant seeds to how to lay a patio.

Presented by experienced gardeners Peter Dowdall and Kitty Scully each of our projects will be broken down into simple steps, and handy-man Sean O’Neill will also be on-hand to advise viewers on how to approach some of the trickier aspects of creating your own garden.

Episode 1

Have you ever wanted a new garden? If so then this is the show for you.  On tonight’s show gardeners Kitty Scully and Peter Dowdall start to build their gardens from scratch in Fota house gardens.  Peter gets busy with his hard landscaping while kitty gets stuck into her raised beds and handy man Seán O’Neill will show you how to put up a rabbit proof fence.  Week by week, in real time, the gardens will come to life. And if you follow our step by step guide, by the summer you too will have created a brand new garden!

Episode 2

On tonight’s show gardeners Kitty Scully and Peter Dowdall continue working on their gardens in Fota house gardens, Cork.

Peter shows us how to lay a new lawn. Kitty gets potato conservationist Jim McNamara in to help build a lazy bed for her potatoes and Seán shows us how to build a gate out of an old wooden pallet.

Week by week, in real time, the gardens will come to life. And if you follow our step by step guide, by the summer you too will have created a brand new garden!

Episode 3

On tonight’s show gardeners Kitty Scully and Peter Dowdall take another step towards creating their gardens in the beautiful grounds of Fota House in east Cork.

Peter finds inspiration for his site from the adjacent Italian garden and plants some perennial plants and shrubs. Kitty plants an edible hedge of raspberries, redcurrants and blackberries and sows courgette seeds.

Seán shows us how to build a cold frame and erect a trellis.

Episode 4

Tonight gardeners Kitty and Peter continue their step by step guide to help you enjoy the Irish Summer in your very own new garden.

Kitty makes some homemade fertiliser has a new patio installed. She also plants her peas and beans.

Peter gets on with planting some early summer colour with bedding plants.

Plus Seán shows us how to build your own compost bin out of old recycled pallets.

Episode 5

This week Peter and the school children from a local Gaelscoil sow a wild flower meadow. Peter also plants hanging baskets and some lettuce seedlings in planter boxes.

Kitty upcycles her old wellies and containers and local school children donate a scarecrow to the garden. Kitty also gets a helping hand to plant her cabbages interspersed with salad crops from gardening guru Joy Larckom and gets the children to plant nasturtium seeds in one of the raised beds.

Episode 6

Kitty arrives at her garden to discover that slugs and rabbits have had a midnight feast at her expense. The gardeners however have some more welcome guests at their open day where people from around the country come to enjoy Peter and Kitty’s gardens. We will follow the gardens as they mature for another six programmes in the summer.

Episode 7

Kitty Scully and Peter Dowdall are back for a summer series of How To Create a Garden.  Earlier this year we followed both gardeners as they built two unique gardens from scratch on the grounds of Fota house in East Cork. Now that all the hard work is done Kitty and Peter will show us how to enjoy the fruits of our labour and will have plenty of handy tips for planting and maintaining your own garden at home. Also if you’re not sure about the best way to cook your courgettes there will be celebrity chefs on site to show you how. Plus handyman Sean O’Neill has lots of DIY projects lined up including how to build a BBQ.

Episode 8

This week on How to Create a Garden, Kitty deals with the dreaded potato blight. She mixes copper sulphate and washing soda to make Bordeaux mixture. Peter plants a summer beech hedge and some lettuce plants in a window box. Chef Paul Flynn comes to Fota to help Kitty cook a vegetarian meal on her home made barbeque while Peter cooks lamb chops on his gas barbeque. With water charges in mind, Sean shows how to install a rain water harvest system and we visit Kitty other place of work, the Nano Nagle centre in Mallow and she also makes a cloche in her garden.

Episode 9

This week on How to Create a Garden, Sean show us how to hide an ugly oil tank, Peter turns a patch of grass into a lawn and puts down some mulch made from recycled tyres while Kitty tells us how to get herbs for free. Aine Lawlor also comes along to plant up a bed of winter shrubs.

Episode 10

This week sees Peter building a rockery for his alpine plants, brings some autumn colour into his garden through the hanging baskets and Kitty tackles some weeds at the Nano Nagle centre in Mallow in Cork and feeds the pigs with the pulled weeds. Peter gets a tour of the arboretum in Fota with the OPW [Office of Public Works] Parks superintendent Cormac Foley. And Sean makes some window boxes and Kitty makes some parsley pesto.

Episode 11

In this week’s ‘How to Create a Garden’, Peter tidies up his strawberries and take runners for next year, Kitty harvests her potatoes and Evelyn Cusack creates quite a storm with blueberries. This week also sees the Open Day in the Garden where members of the public can come along and ask any questions they may have and Frank Bouchier from Seed Savers comes along to show Kitty how to save seeds.

Episode 12

Kitty harvests her onions and prepares the empty bed for the winter. Sean makes double height raised beds. Peter plants potatoes for Christmas and talks about the history of the fruit trees in Fota House with food historian Regina Sexton while Kitty entertains Fair City’s Tommy O’Neill who plays Detective Deegan. Final episode in the series.