That's it! Four ultimate gardens have been completed with the viewers and the judges decision unanimous.
The winner of Ultimate Garden 2004 was the native garden of Heidi and Eric. With its organic nature it will become a paradise for the future.
Heidi and Eric are over the moon with winning the title and happily drove away in their new Holden Crewman on the day. And on the back was a new Masport lawn mower, wood chipper, $1,000 of Living Earth product, a Jon Lambert water feature, Nilex and Gardena product, plus $15,000 in Mitre 10 and Palmers Gardenworld vouchers and Makita power tools - over $66,000 in prizes.
Don't worry the other contestants didn't leave empty handed. All the teams got to take their gardens home, with the production organising free delivery.
Thanks for watching Ultimate Garden and we wish you well for the summer season.
Happy gardening!
About the show:
They might look young, but don't be deceived. The
presenters of new local series Ultimate Garden have a wealth of
gardening experience behind them.
The show pits four couples against a stopwatch, as they set out over ten weeks to create their own vision of the perfect garden. Leading them through the challenges are a team whose gardening experience spans six nations, multiple medals and many wheelbarrows of work in the field: landscape designers Xanthe White, Jon Lambert and Hamish Moorhead.
"I'm really blown away to be able to do a show with these guys, because they're both top-end landscapers," says Xanthe, host of the new series. "That's what really sets Ultimate Garden apart - were not game show hosts, or in it to be big superstars. We're in it because we're excited about gardens, and passionate about design."
Xanthe began her own landscape garden company in Auckland in 1997, and this year was commissioned to design 38 gardens for an apartment complex in Japan. She is joined on the show by laidback landscaper/designer Jon Lambert, a multiple award-winner for his cutting edge, sometimes controversial entries at Aucklands Ellerslie Flower Show. Rounding out the trio is judge Hamish Moorhead, whose work has taken him everywhere from Tuscan villas to rooftop apartments in New York.
"We all started young, but weve each been in gardening for around a decade now," says Xanthe of the team. "With this show were aiming to get over the idea that gardening is something you only get around to later in life. We want to make people realise that it's a really creative, exciting field."
The four teams, chosen for their gardening abilities from across the lower North Island, include firefighters, artists and a single parent of three. The teams' allotted sections of land have been set up like the arms of a compass, all connecting to one central house.
In each episode, the four couples will be given one weekend and a set budget to create a new area of garden from scratch. By the end of the series, they will each have built an entire garden from the ground up.
Designer Jon Lambert will be helping out each team and offering his thoughts on designs, while Xanthe weighs in with advice and support. But unlike some gardening shows, there will be no miracle team waiting in the wings to do all the work. Instead, Ultimate Garden will demonstrate how many gardens are built in real life - bit by bit, using a small team who work on through fair weather and foul.
"We're not here to communicate something that people can't achieve themselves," says Xanthe. "We want people to be able to look at this and learn - and also to understand that the time and energy you put into something can make your garden amazing."
At the end of each project, judge Hamish Moorhead will arrive to determine whose work wins that weeks prize. A combination of audience and judges' vote will decide the final winner of the Ultimate Garden challenge. The winners will take home a Holden Crewman Ute, a Makita tool kit, and $15,000 worth of Mitre 10 and Palmers Gardenworld vouchers.
Jennifer Aniston, Shriley MacLaine:
