Love Your Garden Featuring Our Gabions – Episode 7, 2021
We were delighted for the opportunity to collaborate with ITV and supply our gabion baskets to their show ‘Love Your Garden’. In episode 7 of series 10, Alan Titchmarsh and his wonderful team chose to transform the garden of James and his family, and delivered wonderful results as usual.
The dream of the family was a Mediterranean style garden which allows the parents to relax and soak up the summer sun, while also being accessible to their daughter who needs constant care due to a rare genetic disease called Ret syndrome. James is an Afghanistan veteran who suffers from PTSD, but despite this he is still tirelessly working towards putting a smile on others’ faces at his job at a nursing home. It is safe to say that this family is well-deserving of having Alan and his team create the garden of their dreams for them.
Retaining walls
The aim of the team was to build a beautiful garden with plenty of pots and plants, while making the most use out of the given space by splitting it up into separate areas. Since the ground of the garden was uneven, the first issue the team had to tackle was creating levels within it. In order to separate the levels, they placed retaining walls between them, creating an organized, stylish look. Our gabion cages gave a unique touch to this, as they have been used to create these retaining walls, greatly reducing the time and effort needed to complete this project.
The team presented gabions as great looking and cost-effective alternatives to stone walls, and they did a great work showing off how aesthetic these can look as part of the Mediterranean garden. Gabions were also a recurring motive within different areas of the garden, adding a sense of uniformity to the picture in whole.
Summer kitchen area
The shed built for James cleverly blended into its surroundings thanks to the shelves and worktop revealing its secondary use – a summer kitchen. The worktop was made out of gabions, which were filled with pebbles similarly to the retaining walls. The colorful tiles on top of this gave it a unique finish, furthering the Mediterranean vibe of the garden. The outdoor kitchen area was completed with a variety of potted herbs to be used while cooking, being practical and matching the overall look of the garden.
Water feature
The garden was further fitted with a relaxing sundowner area to give the family the opportunity to enjoy the summer days from the comfort of their own home, as well as an evening chill zone for the adults to enjoy once they put their daughter to bed. The aim was to create a garden which takes the family on a Mediterranean holiday every time they spend time in it – and safe to say, Alan and his team did an outstanding job in achieving this. Their last addition to the garden was once again made by using gabions – a water feature. This astonishing detail was a creative use of gabion cages, with a pipe going through them and pumping water outside. The water feature was complemented with iris bamboos planted inside the gabions, giving the impression that they are growing out of the pebbles. Although this first may seem like an unlikely combination, the results speak for themselves.
Finished look
Overall, the garden was beautifully completed, exceeding the expectations of James and his family. They received their own version of Mediterranean paradise, right on their doorstep – a beautiful combination of gabions filled with elegant gray pebbles and plenty of green trees and plants to surround these. The furniture and equipment blended in well with these features, creating a perfectly harmonic vibe for the family to enjoy.
We were excited when we got contacted by ITV with the opportunity to supply our gabion cages to the show. James and his family seem like wonderful and hard working people and we are happy that we could play a part in surprising them with this beautiful garden. Alan Titchmarsh and his team did an amazing job as always, and it was a pleasure to collaborate with them in this project. – Wire Fence Team
2023 Feature – Bicester
Love Your Garden contacted us for the second time, this time for a project in Bicester, where our gabion cages played a central role in creating a stunning seating area. The garden design featured an Asian-inspired theme, and our gabions were a perfect fit for blending rustic, natural materials with modern garden elements.
For this project, the gabion seating was designed to enhance the outdoor kitchen area, making it a practical yet beautiful addition to the space. The cages, filled with carefully selected stones, added texture and character to the garden while providing a comfortable and durable seating solution that seamlessly integrated with the overall design.
This project once again highlights the versatility of gabions—not just as structural elements, but as aesthetic enhancements that elevate the entire garden experience.