Super Gardens

This year's series is produced with the co-operation of our sponsors Woodies DIY and Bord na Mona Growise.

The series returns with mentor Mary Reynolds. Mary is one of Ireland's leading garden designers and will be on hand to offer our start-up designers advice and guidance as they create their Super Gardens.

This year, for the first time, viewers of Super Garden can visit all the gardens featured in the series. At the end of each show viewers will be invited to visit the Super Garden facebook page where details will be announced and a number of interested viewers will have the exclusive opportunity to visit that week's completed Super Garden for a guided tour given by designer.

On the show, we follow each designer from their initial concept and design, through the reality of the construction process to the completion of their Super Garden. With just weeks to design and build a show garden, and a budget of just ?5,500 it proves to be quite a challenge for these promising designers.

After only five short weeks from design to completion, work stops in the garden, and the Super Garden judging panel arrives. This year's panel comprises its chairman, Gary Graham (Manager of Bloom), Paddy Gleeson (Horticultural Consultant with Woodies DIY) and, representing Growise, Jane McCorkell (professional garden designer and 4 time Bloom Gold Medal winner).

The winner of Super Garden will be announced at the end of the sixth and final episode of the series, when all the designers and judges gather at the stunning location of Russborough House. The prize will be awarded to the designer voted Super Garden designer 2012, and with it the life-changing opportunity to re-create their design at the prestigious Bloom 2012 and the chance to pursue a career in professional garden design.

Each garden designer is working on a real garden - they are given a specific brief and budget and must design a garden to the homeowners' specifications. All five have been given similar size gardens to work with, but each with a very different brief:

A garden for relaxation and elegant living in Carlow. Designer Mary O'Neill-Moloney wants to create "A real garden for real living".

A family garden in which young children can experience the wonders of nature while their parents relax in a space themed around their favourite flower, the daisy. Designer Anne Byrne wants to provide all of this on a budget in Galway.

A garden which brings a sense of adventure, fun and sustainable living to a family in Meath. Jaccuzi? Check. Pizza oven? Check. Innovative vegetable patch? Check. Designer Andy Booth is pulling out all the stops to prove that sustainable living doesn't have to be dull.

A party garden with an Olympic twist in Dublin. The homeowner wants something contemporary, fun and quirky. Designer Benny Maguire is going all out to provide that party space, with a bang up to date sporting angle!

A very contemporary garden for a family with teenagers in Sligo. Designer Leonie Cornelius must provide a show stopping garden which caters for parent, young people... and rabbits.

Room To Improve

With mortgage approval's thin on the ground, Dermot Bannon's architectural designs and challenges have never been more difficult but exciting, giving plenty of reason to extend this successful six-part series to an hour long.

With six very different projects, budgets, requirements and personalities, will Dermot's new set of criteria allow for any Room to Improve these homes?

Tune in on Wednesday September 14th at 8pm on RTÉ One.

About the House

 

This year About the House is back on our screens with Duncan Stewart bringing the most up-to-date in environmental technologies and sustainable design.

Duncan will look at a number of innovative projects around the country including the renovation of Russborough House, Ireland's most beautiful stately home, as well as one of Ireland's very first retrofits to passive house standards in Wexford.

The rest of the series will feature a combination of smaller projects that show how innovative design can make a big difference to your quality of life and larger, more ambitious projects that take on the zero energy building challenge.

This Week in the garden

This week in the garden

More from Life & Style

  • 20 Yummy Eurovision party ideas

    IN Food

    20 Yummy Eurovision party ideas

  • Lisbon

    IN Travel

    Lisbon

  • How to dress for job interviews

    IN Fashion

    How to dress for job interviews

  • VW GTI

    IN Motors

    VW GTI


  • X
    Join

    Use your RTE ID to Join

    • Upload your style photos
    • Create and save recipes
    • Review and Comment
    • Have your say
    help Whats this?
    Don't have an RTE ID? register