Great Find: Diarmuid Gavin - Landscape Genuis
A Garden Gavin won a gold medal for at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2011
Being up in Nature for this Thanksgiving, I figured I would find something that really hits home. Back in the early 2000’s I feel in love with a TV show from Britain called “Home Front” which was a home improvement show based in the UK. The hosts of the show were Diarmuid Gavin and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Bowen was the master inside of the house and Gavin was the master of the grounds. Bowen was certainly my cup of tea for the interiors but he was a hoot to watch on the tele. Gavin on the other hand was easy on the eyes and really transformed some real shit holes into something you would have never imagined.
After “Home Front” Gavin created his own separate show called “Home Front in the Garden” where he really pulled out all the stops for the show. Taking someones empty or sad looking garden and turning it into a whole new world or living space. Things to note, these homes had abnormally large gardens and the owners or the show had a ridiculous budget. You can find snippets on youtube of the episodes but Diarmuid himself is now posting videos of projects on his own Youtube channel. I’ve provided a link below.
From french country side homes transplanted to the UK or Jerry Hall’s garden in Ireland, transformed with a hillside mirrored after her Hall laying down in a bed! Yes, that’s a little much but come on, it’s a pretty awesome concept. Gavin has published a few books about his works, of coarse I own them all. He’s also gone on to do small TV projects here and there but nothing major like “Home Front in the Garden”. Someday, I would love to hire him to do a re-landscape of our next house. Someday we will have a new home that gives us one or two more bedrooms. For now we are loving out little cookie cutter ranch home.