Four Seasons to feature on ITV "Britain's Best Back Gardens"

Hello Tony and Marie ...
.... nice to hear from you.
My current blog features all this week's garden television programmes, but at the time of writing, I hadn't realised your lovely garden is included.

Well done ! :o)

Thanks, Terratoonie

We have been incredibly busy for the last five years. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to keep up with lots of things, such as GOY.

We retired in October 2009 and don't know where the time has gone! We haven't been away for three years, or even out of Walsall for several months!!

Our first grandchild was born 15 months ago and we look after her for a minimum of 2 days a week, and sometime 6 (and nights)!

We were only going to open our garden last year for a weekend in May, but gave in to public pressure and opened again in late October. This year we're planning to open in May and October and will try to have a quiet summer (some hope!)

Best wishes to you, and all GOY members. Thanks for all your hard work.

Marie and Tony

Wow.. you've been busy ! Congrats on the granddaughter ... a budding gardener for sure !

There is that well known saying from retired people ... 'we don't know how we ever had time to go out to work' ...

Looking forward to your TV programme ...
including Alan and the rain ! Lol.

Looking forward to watching the program tonight :o)

Absolutely loved it Fourseasons! And your top garden is a truly worthy winner!!

I've a feeling that Grenville's garden was also on the list so congrats to him too!

Tony and Marie, Many congratulations .... I have just finished watching the program with my wife. Your garden is wonderful. To get first slot as well ! You both must be very proud.

Well done Marie and Tony on your number one slot ... despite the thunder storms !

... and nice to see other familiar faces ... Grenville, Jen etc.

Thanks, everyone! It was rather surreal to get the top slot! All 10 were fabulous! It was so much less traumatic and quick compared to other TV programmes we've been on.

Well done its nice to hear you are still around. I am sorry to say I have just seen this so missed it, Hopefully it will be repeated

This is the link that has been posted - we are in the last few minutes of the programme:
https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/britain-s-best-gardens

Really enjoyed the programme and what a truly worthy winner,fabulous !!!!!!

It was lovely to see more of your glen last night...even more stunning than I thought. Well done u.

well deserved if I may make so bold. It is a stunning garden. well done.

Thanks everyone! We're still in shock! We had no idea of our final placing until the broadcast.

Alan Titchmarsh was great! He is so knowledgeable and puts people at ease. He doesn't patronise and is always quick to joke, even at himself!

In all, a thoroughly positive experience and it was all done and dusted for us within about eight months. Unlike the BBC2 Gardeners World special feature about our Four Seasons garden. This was filmed in eight sessions between April and December 2008, but wasn't broadcast until Valentine's Day 2010, and had been postponed four times! It was finally televised at 11.30am on a Sunday morning, which happened to be our first open day of the year so we couldn't watch it 'live'! The voiceover was by Toby Buckland and we believe we were caught up in the backlash against Gardeners World that was going on at that time.

For this series: Britain's Best Back Gardens, we submitted our application online and a few days later checked if it had been received - it hadn't! Their inbox was full, so we could have fallen at the first hurdle. The initial filming was done June, when one of the producers came to do a reccy and said that Alan Titchmarsh said he wanted us included.

The team of nine came in early July. They had filmed another Walsall garden in the morning (amazing that two out of the final thirty gardens selected were from Walsall!) During the morning filming the sun shone and the afternoon storm was not predicted.

The vehicles arrived just before 1pm. My husband went to greet Alan, who said he would stay in the car until the few drops of rain stopped - he didn't want to get his shirt wet! However, within a few minutes it was obvious that the rain wouldn't go away quickly. The rain and thunder and lightning came in biblical proportions! Umbrellas were abandoned due to health and safety.

Alan said he was pleased that our garden didn't rely on perennials and said he worried about some special plants in his own garden in Hampshire being damaged if they were receiving the same amount of weather onslaught.

The team left at about 6.30pm - very wet and bedraggled, with a lot of failed equipment due to the rain!

The series was due to be televised in the autumn but Alan was so delighted and excited about it that he persuaded the powers that be at the ITV to find some slots during January.

We have been overwhelmed and humbled by the number of people who have been in contact with us. From their kind comments they seem as excited and delighted with our garden's achievements as we are!

Hi again Marie and Tony ..
Very interesting to read the 'behind the scenes' info. about your garden entry application and filming. Yes ... you might have missed out .. just because of an email not arriving !
Good that Alan encouraged ITV to arrange broadcast slots in early 2015. Yesterday I watched the repeat and taped it onto video :o)

Dear Mary and Tony are you! Very glad to meet you, I am a Chinese Chan, your four season garden is very popular in China, and China has just started in gardening, would like to have your advice, we are diligent gardener, China will host the awards, giving gardeners pay recognition. Hoping to be recognized by your blessings and thank you!