Stunning Winter Garden Makeover | Great Home Ideas

An outdoor room isn't just for summer. We'll get you set for winter too. I've come to Australia's largest seedling nursery and I can't wait to show you around. We are transforming this sun-drenched room into an oasis. It's going to be a hub for creativity and also somewhere to escape the chaos of the rest of the house. With the days getting shorter and the temperatures dropping, not to mention this stuff, we are definitely in winter. But that doesn't mean you need to hibernate. With a little help from the special effects department, I'm going to transform this space into a garden that can be used all year round. So let me get this right. We're doing a shoot about winter and we've managed to pick the one day of the year and it's not raining. That's a skill, Adam. I've done a good job, yeah. Thanks for that, lads. No, that worked well. So, Charlie, I'm looking at this backyard. It's actually a great size. The buffalo is thriving. What seems to be the problem? I'll give it an air rate as well. It's this area that I want to focus on. Yeah. It's just not great, is it? I can see they're having a crack. They've got the umbrella, table, chairs, but I think it needs a lift. Paving gone, maybe a fire pit. It is winter after all. Some seating around there and I'm thinking maybe some lovely big arches with some lighting from yourself. Oh, that sounds fantastic. And you know I'll do anything for a fire pit. Yeah, I know you would. Would you help lift some paving for a fire pit? As long as I get a toasted marshmallow. Okay, deal. Let's get this off and get going. Oh, dear. This is a very broken chair. Would have been better if I was jumping in it when we're moving it. Still going to struggle to lift the pavers with that, mate. That's because I'm not lifting the pavers, Adam. You are. I'm going to be giving you the space needed to create beautiful space. I feel like I've just been set up. Yeah, well, I'm going to be pruning these trees back and now is the perfect time to do it. They've just finished flowering so they're not wasting any energy on blooms and they'll put all their new energy into regrowth. But the action happens under here. Whenever you're reducing or lifting a canopy, it's really easy to take off too much and then your tree starts to look a little bit bald. So a good tip is to grab the branch you're thinking of removing and give it a bit of a shake. You can then see the canopy move and you'll know exactly how much you're taking off. Well, Charlie, it is definitely true what they say. It looks bigger once it's trimmed. This space is huge. It does look bigger when it's trimmed, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah, look, this is a good spot for sitting and having a fire pit but I still want some plants around the edge. So I'm going to do a garden bed around the edge. Beautiful. And then start digging the hole for the fire pit. But if you could get on to... Doing some carpentry work? ...doing what you do best, that would be great. No more heavy lifting for me? No more heavy lifting. I'll see how much more I could use these before I start digging, though. To make these arbors, I'm going to be putting two 90 by 90 tree-to-pine H4 posts into the ground and then joining them together with a timber frame, which is what I've cut up here. It's 90 by 45 tree-to-pine and basically I'm making a simple ladder frame. The frame that we've just made is a pretty big span. It's just over four metres. So we don't have to just rely on the nails. I'm now going to be pre-drilling a hole and putting in these bugle screws. To make sure our arbor doesn't sag, I'm just going to be adding in some timber angle braces. Now, you want to make sure before you do that that you check the frame. It's nice and square. Then you can just get your timber, hold it up in between the studs and mark it from behind, like I've done with this piece here. And then I'm using a circular saw to cut it out. With our pavers all lifted up, I'm just recycling some of the bricks that were on site to give us a bit of an edge. Now, this edge is going to hold in our compacted road base and crushed granite. Now, crushed granite is the perfect material for the flooring with our FIPER area because it allows water through, gives you that rustic feel and it's got a lovely crunch when you walk on it. To edge our garden bed, we're just using Corten steel. That's going to stop any grass going into the garden bed and blend in. You won't even see it. What's going on here, Charlie? What do you think? I'm building a FIPE pit. Oh, that's right. Yes, I've been too busy building this frame, the arbor frame, and the post fairies have these posts in, so hopefully everything should just slip into place. Let's see. Let's see how good these post fairies are. They're not bad. That's okay, I can see that. With the arbor frame in place, I'm now just checking the post, making sure that everything's plumb, it's spot on, which means now I can concrete it in place. We're progressing pretty well, Adam. I tell you what, Charlie, this is all coming together, isn't it? Next step, we need to get this road base out and compacted. Can I do the compacting? Because I like being quiet. You're more than welcome to be the number one whacker. Yes. Yeah, well, I think Adam's going to be at this for a while, so I suggest you come back to have a look at the finished product. Help. Charlie and I have been busy creating this garden you can use all year round. Yeah, I can really imagine the family coming out here and using the space. And I have to say, Ads, these are looking pretty nice. Well done. They are beautiful, aren't they? But they do need finishing, so you do that and I'll do that. Only if I get a marshmallow toaster. It's on the way. To finish these arbors, we're just cladding them with some spotted gum decking boards. We're keeping the overhang 30mm all the way around. Once I've got that right, I'm just clamping the board in place. Then I'll use a fixing gun to temporarily hold it. And to finish it off, we're just adding these coach screws. We've painted them black. We're going to be placing them in the centre of each board, spaced out at 457. The centre of this design, and of course the reason why the family are going to come out, is the fire pit in the middle. Now, I've got this one from Bunnings. It's just off the shelf, and it actually comes with legs. But to elevate it, I'm going to sink it in the ground. Now, when you're locating a fire pit, the one thing you've got to remember is you don't want any trees above you, because you'll just burn the canopy. To finish off our fire pit area, I'm using this lovely sandstone paving, and that's going to bleed out into crushed granite. Charlie's asked for these arbors to be illuminated. To do that, I've just got some strip lighting that has a strip on the back, and it's adhesive. So basically, I'll just peel it off, I'm going to stick it to both sides, and then repeat the process on the other arbor. It's big. Yeah, exactly right, it is big. But I don't want people to be scared of putting big things in the garden, right? Because it's going to make that whole area feel much more intimate. Yeah, okay. And this blueberry ash gets these really nice little berries on it all through winter. Yeah, beautiful. And it's got this upright growth habit, so it's not going to interfere with the flames. Charlie, it's starting to look like a jungle. It is, isn't it? What do we have here? Good. Well, you know this is a winter garden, so we can't really rely on flowers to give us a show. Although, this Waverly Salvia is coming to the end. So, I'm going for texture and shape. We've got Pitospora Miss Muffet, we've got Raphaelepsis Oriental Pearl, some Philodendron Xanadu. I can see you glazing over. But you'll like this one. We've got a nice Black Mondo. Now, that's pretty striking. That's going to give us nice interest right around the front of the garden beds. You know, when you're compacting a base like this, it's always good to do it in thin layers and compact it a few times, rather than like one big fat pan. A whole 50 mil at once, yeah, definitely. 50 mil at once, and we kind of got about 75 mil. So, you can do this twice if you like. Yeah, beautiful. All right, well, you keep bringing it in, I'll rake it out. How good are the heaters, Ad? So, if you don't have the fire going, you can still be warm. I'm loving it. Just being surrounded by them, Charlie, actually I'm feeling a lot warmer. Are you? Yeah, because I'm freezing. I'm really cold. But what do you reckon? I need to get that lit pretty soon. I really do. Have you got the marshmallows? Yeah, they're coming. Good work on the fire, Adam. Mate, it is smoking in here. It's so hot. It's amazing. Lived up to my promise. There you go. What's this? That is the recipe for the best marshmallows you'll ever have from TV's favourite chef. Oh, Karen, what do you mean, recipe bar, mate? How long's that going to take? Mate, you're good with your hands. All I wanted was a marshmallow and a toast, yeah? And look, Charlie, that's ridiculous. I just wanted a marshmallow. Now, spring might be the most exciting season for gardeners, but let me tell you, winter is no slouch either. When you know what's available, you can really introduce some spectacular colour into your garden and into pots on a balcony. Now, to find out what's around, I've come to Australia's largest seedling nursery. I can't wait to show you around and introduce you to some of my winter winners. And these would have to be my absolute favourites. I've grown them since I was a kid. Beautiful pansies. I love these block colours. When you get one colour, look at that yellow. It's just incredible. Now, down the back, have a look at these because these are a little bit more like the old violas. These are spreading, so carpet, they'll even hang out of a basket or in a trough. These tend to be at the budget price, so you've got a lot of plant for your buck, which is really good. I've got some fantastic other plants to show you. Just hang around. Now, you might have heard about bedding begonias, varieties like Thousand Wonders, maybe My Fair Lady. They've been around for years. They've stood the test of time for sure. But, you know, they've started to build a reputation as being a nanoplant. Well, let me tell you, not these fellows here. This is Dragon Wing Red, a spectacular plant. They'll take the coal, they'll take the heat and everything in between. In fact, these flowers will last for months and months. It's about time that home gardeners certainly started growing this fantastic plant as a bedding plant, in a pot, a hanging basket, anywhere at all. Dragon Wing Red. My rating? Ten out of ten. I want to show you something absolutely brand new. They're just completing their trials on this new begonia and it's based on the old tuberous begonia. These are smaller but many more flowers. In fact, hundreds of flowers. They're calling them the Urban Series. So why are they so good? In the garden, they're fantastic. In a hanging basket, they're even better. In fact, the flowers will hang down a metre or so from the pot. Just a beautiful hanging basket of colour. And look at the colours. The colours tend to be a little bit softer, more gentle. I love this apricot one here. Some are doubles, some are singles. You're going to absolutely love these. Keep an eye out for them. They're being released in October this year. They're going to be absolute winter winners. The Oasis Nursery have been creating these huge vertical garden walls for years. You might see them in parks and gardens and public spaces around. But the great thing is, these are now available for home gardeners. And a lot of people with small courtyards, limited spaces, they're just perfect. Now, they don't need to be flowers. There's lots of foliage. There's parsley here, lime green and the purple of the alternanthra. Look at this hewgrey. Isn't it fantastic? I just love this lime green leaf. With the red veins. And on and on it goes. Now, a little bit of a tip. For home gardeners, and I love vertical gardens, make sure that the little bags or the pots or the troughs they're growing in is big enough to hold sufficient moisture, especially during summer when it's hot and dry. But the more variety of colour, texture and flowers, the more interesting your vertical garden is going to be. Lifetime, these have been called busy-lizzies, balsam, impatience and they all grew beautifully in the shade. But people want to grow them in the sun and they just flop. So they came out with a whole new strain called sun-patience. And yes, they grow beautifully in the sun and in the shade. They're so vibrant. They're really strong, rich tropical colours. So if you've got a shady spot or a full sun spot, they will just look fantastic. Now, if the flowers start to fade a little or disappear, give them a light trim, not too hard. Feed them up with fertiliser and they'll be back in growth and flower in no time. OK, my rating? I'd like to give them 11, but certainly it's another 10 out of 10. The great thing about this time of the year is you've got a fantastic array of colour to choose from. So if you're going to put a pot together, a little display or a hanging basket, well, we really are spoiled for choice. This is a little Viola called China Blue. I rather like it combined with this little Begonia there. So what I'm going to do is to put the Begonia in the centre and it'll just fill out and push the little Viola round to the edge so that it'll spill over. When you get your punnet of seedling, sometimes they'll be in an individual cell or they'll be, what is there, two, four, six in the little punnet there. And just gradually pull them apart. Look at the roots. They're just beautiful. They've grown so well. Now, you can either group them together in a little two or just gently pull them apart again. Your flowers and veggies all the same way and then just pop them into your pot. Look at that. A great little bit of colour. If that is your entire garden, it's going to bring you a lot of joy right through months and months ahead. But if it's just one of a dozen pots, how good is that? You know, annual colour, flowers, it's just a beautiful way. And I think I've shown you some of the very best that can brighten your winter. Yep, my winter winners. I reckon Crookwell is about one of the prettiest country towns that you can visit. It's in the Tablelands of New South Wales, about a two and a half hour drive from Sydney. And the reason that I brought you here is that sometimes you discover something that's been so thoughtfully made with such an amazing attention to detail, it makes you want to cosy up in front of a warm fire on a cold winter's day. I feel like I have walked into a hug. But this is a family business that makes Australian-made wool socks that continues a 300-year tradition. Here they are, Lucy and Andrew, Linda. I wasn't a slip of the tongue when I said a 300-year tradition. I mean, that's quite a family history, isn't it? It is, absolutely, yeah. We discovered it goes back to around 1730s in Germany. So, yeah, every generation has had sock knitters, and quite a few, actually. So what generation does that make you? Some number 10. That's extraordinary. So what are some of the hot ticket items in here that people come back for time and time again? Oh, look, there's so many favourites, and it really depends on what you're after. I'm going to start with one of my faves. These are our Max socks. The local tradies back then in the 80s used to call these concrete socks because they could just stand on the concrete all day long, and they wouldn't get sore feet, and they'd stay warm and springy. And these ones just last and last. So, yeah, they're one of my faves, and they're nice and comfy and squishy, great under hiking boots and work boots, that sort of thing. Oh, look, our Tablelands local merino ones, they're great. All local growers grow this fibre, so, yeah, it's really nice to put the local fibre into our products and be able to sell it here in Crookville. People like the paddock-to-plate. Yeah. We're sort of getting to this paddock-to-foot thing. Yeah. So bit by bit. But people, you know, they want to follow it. Yeah. And see end results and go, I'm part of it. Random question, I've actually never thought about how a sock is made. He's a guy. Funnily enough, a lot of other people haven't either, and they find the shop and they go, oh, yeah, that's cool, there's a lot of socks. Yeah. But when we can open the door and go, hey, how about we actually show you how to make a sock, the experience changes dramatically. Sounds like an invitation. Yeah. Wow, this is like stepping back in time. Yeah. It's like a Willy Wonka factory, but there's no chocolates, there's just socks. Basically, you're looking at this monster that knits out a sock in four and a half minutes. Wow. It has a pattern. Basically, you tell it what you want it to do. With our chains, we can say how long to size the feet or the legs. Then we choose our materials, our yarns, and then with 84 needles, we knit a sock tube. Wow. And then what we decide to actually put into the knitting, the materials, the walls, cottons, will then determine what the sock will be. So they come out as one great big long sock. Yeah. How do you make a heel? Because that's all done in one. It is. So basically, the knitting cylinder will make us a tube, but then we get to this tricky little spot where we need to get the heel shape and the angle. So we actually get half of the needles to knit more. Wow. And the other half are not allowed to do any knitting. So then, of course, we have to separate them all, and this is still all a manual task at the moment. So that's what we're looking for. The closer we get to 90 degrees, the better it will stay in the boot. It won't be eaten by your shoe. Yep. We'll now finish off. We'll cut and sew. Finish off that sock. That is outstanding. Ready to roll. I notice you've got no plastic labelling out there, which is very, very cool. Yeah. Sustainability is always a really big key focus for us. So, yeah, it was a nice one to do the labels and feel good about not having any plastic rubbish to throw away. Absolutely. Yeah. Brilliant. And you hand dye some socks still? Yes. So, yeah, the hand dyeing all happens in here. We've got a couple of people who are very talented at making beautiful rainbow socks by hand. Go and check it out. Yeah, love to. Okay. All right, Jo, come and have a look at this. We have Teagan and Sophie here. Hello. So we're dyeing some socks. Oh! Got the great colours. Absolutely fantastic. I think probably a lot of people don't realise there's actually plastics that go into a lot of socks, isn't there? Yes. Or plastic materials. Yeah. Yes. And even we are the same. Some of your socks are still using your synthetics and nylons. You want these socks to last, to be durable and to wash. Yeah. So now we look at, well, how do we replicate that to just use natural fibres? So once we're done with our socks, we've got holes in them and we want to throw them away, is it a landfill or can we compost them and turn them back to dirt? I've heard people who have had your pairs of socks for over a decade. Yeah, so that's something we're really proud to hear whenever we do hear that people have had a pair for that long. It might sound like a silly idea for a business model because, yeah, we're quite happy if customers don't have to come back for a decade or so. There is a brilliance in that, though, because they do come back and they buy it for family and they buy it for friends and they get themselves an extra pair because they know they're investing in quality in something that's Australian. Yeah, yeah. And look, if they tell their friends, we're all right with that. I think you might be telling a couple of friends today just quietly. Thanks. I think pretty much everyone has a room in their home that becomes the dumping ground for all those bits and pieces that actually belong somewhere else. And that is exactly what has happened in this room here. Yes, thanks, Juliette. All the kids' toys have spilled out of their rooms and into here, so basically this room's become a bit of everything. And I think we can both relate to that with little boys at home, can't we? We can. Mess everywhere all the time. But how do you find a theme for your room when you're redecorating? Well, I like to use the things that you love as inspiration. The homeowner here loves to get creative and draw these beautiful botanical illustrations. She also loves to paint landscapes, so I thought this would be the perfect sunroom for her creative activities as well as for relaxing. Yes, I love a sunroom. I'm just enjoying the sunlight in this room just right now. It's just beautiful, isn't it? It's so lovely. I just want to fill this whole room with greenery. Well, I love that. Yes, shall we clean this stuff up? Yes, come on. Paint, water and carpets just don't mix, so we're ripping up the carpet and putting in some vinyl. That is the floor down. This is loosely cushioned vinyl and it couldn't be simpler. It doesn't require any glue underneath and it comes in lots of different sizes, so it's perfect for any room size. And I love this pattern, it's beautiful. Yeah, it creates some impact in here, doesn't it? Yeah. Alright, we are creating a hanging ladder shelf to go in that big, beautiful window and put plants on. Really simple to make and the best part is it's movable, so we can reposition it. And we're starting with some pre-primed pieces of pine that conveniently have been cut to size already. Alright, bag's the nail gun. Let's do this. Okay, you're on. We're creating a series of rectangular shelves and because they'll be tiered, you'll notice that they're increasing in size. We're also adding a little timber trim and the idea is that that will support the see-through shelves. And we're using Perspex for the shelves so that we don't block any of that beautiful light from the window and so that we maintain that greenhouse feel. Now, this comes in large sheets, which you can get cut to whatever size you like. For the sides, we're just using two pieces of timber in a triangle to hold it all together. To hang this on the wall, we're using a split batten system, which will make it really easy to put up and then bring down again. So that just goes on there like that. We just need to glue it and screw it in place. And then all we need to do is fill the hole, give it a sand, paint it. We're almost done and no-one's lost a finger, so I'm happy. Yeah, we've done well. No nail gun scars. We've gone with quite a retro plant palette. There might be some plants here that conjure up some lovely memories for you. For example, this beautiful hoya. I always remember my grandma growing hoyas and these days there's such an exciting range of leaf colours and textures. So check out this little speckled leaf variety here. And mother-in-law's tongue. I definitely remember that from my childhood. And that is as tough as old roots. My kind of houseplant. You can't kill it. I'm also loving that we're including some things like chain of hearts, which will cascade down the shelves, and of course, ferns, which were so big in the 70s and are back in a big way. They are, and houseplants in general are really big in interiors at the moment because they're such a great styling tool. Yes, and they transform the whole look of the space like this. They do. This is a fantastic way to create some extra workspace. It's budget-friendly and it's perfect for a variety of things, like if you're doing art or crafts or even for the kids' homework. Anywhere where you need to really spread out. Yes, so we're using this timber panel, which you can buy off the shelf at your local hardware store. So you can use them in kitchens, bathrooms, or in our case, a sunroom. And we're going to start by giving it a good coat with a hard-wearing varnish. I'm going to use the new bench top on the old table that was in the room before. And I'm going to paint black all around the edge of the old table top, which will give us a beautiful shadow line. This is going to be the artist's corner, and we have an unused window here. So I got the team to put together a shelving unit, which will go over the top and keep art supplies perfectly within arm's reach. We also have an easel, and coming up later... Yes, we're going to show you how to create a living work of art that will just bring something unique to this room. We are transforming this sun-drenched room into an oasis. It's going to be a hub for creativity and also somewhere to escape the chaos of the rest of the house. Yes, I'm loving the sun on my back here. So gorgeous, isn't it? Now, in interior design, we are seeing a lot of big, bold plants with big, bold pots. The thing that's really tricky is it's quite hard to find big indoor pots. So we're using these gorgeous big outdoor pots, which of course means they've got a drainage hole at the bottom. When you're doing this, make sure you use a black saucer, something like this, that you can place at the bottom before you plonk your plant in there. That way water won't spill out onto your surfaces. The mistake that a lot of people make in the wintertime is that they overwater their indoor plants and kill them with love. So it's worth noting that most houseplants actually like to dry out between watering. So I always do the finger test. You just poke your finger into the soil. If it's dry, down to your second knuckle, then it's time to get out the watering can. You might also notice that indoor plants can often become lighter when they need water, and that's quite simply because the potting mix has dried out. Now, one of the other challenges the plants face in the winter indoors is that we often have these extremes in temperature. So we've got our heaters running, but we might also have drafts of really cold air coming through doors or windows. So if you want to keep them happy, keep them away from your heating vents and away from those cold drafts. We're creating some picture frames with a botanical twist, and best of all, all you need are some old frames, some little glass jars or vials, and some cuttings from your favourite plants. We are using new frames here, but you could very easily use some old frames that you have lying around. And we're going to paint the frame white so that it ties in with the room, but also so that when we put the plant in the middle, it really pops. Yeah, it's going to look gorgeous. And I'm going to paint the little back of the frame and the mat with a bit of clear varnish because we're going to put water in these vials, and we don't want it all to swell and get ruined. Perfect. You want the vial to sit roughly in the centre of the frame, but with room for the plant on top. So what we're going to do is drill some holes in the back of that frame that are roughly the size of the neck of the bottle. That way we can feed some floral wire through the back, tie it off to hold that vial in place. Okay, now let's get these frames back together. We can put some water in the vial and decorate it with our indoor plant. This is the beautiful polka dot begonia. It's going to add a really fun, unique look to our picture frame. Absolutely love these. It's like show and tell. It is. If you walked into a room and saw these as artwork, I think that is so cool because it's so unusual. And you can see how you get very different looks with very different plants. Exactly. When you're selecting furniture for your home, it's a really nice idea to choose pieces that make a statement, like this chair. It has a really lovely shape, and also the warm timber ties in with the timber on the other side of the room in the desk. And isn't this a great idea for a table centrepiece? We've got this beautiful collection of bottles and vases. So what we've done is we've used cuttings and indoor plants growing in nothing but water. How unique is that? So gorgeous. I love that you can see the roots there. And the way we've clustered all these vases here and made them work together, because we've stuck to just three colours. There's the soft green, there's the clear glass, and then there's a deeper green. And in terms of the sizes and shapes, well, we've used a variety of heights which work really nicely together, and they all balance each other out. Plant-wise, the star of the show has to be these Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchids. It grows really well in filtered light indoors, it brings an elegant touch to the table, and those flowers last for ages. Yeah, and I love that there's the smaller ones and then the larger ones too. And I think this is such a great example of how injecting plants into indoor spaces can just make such a difference. You're so right. It feels so lush in here, it's so inviting, and really the perfect space to find inspiration. Do you remember what it used to look like? Oh, that carpet, those toys. Very different. Yes, it's such a huge transformation. It really is now just a gorgeous creative space. I'm here to meet a very special friend. She looks after my inner self, so to speak, and you'd know her well. She has a bit of a problem with the latest member of her family. And what better place to meet than a lovely park like this? I see her now. Well, well, well. What a chance! How long has it been? Great to see you. Oh, dear. Who is this? Yeah. Is that the normal sort of greeting? This is the greeting she gives everybody, because she's so loving. But this is Stevie, my new pup. Wow. She's nine months old. Does this happen at home as well? Yes, it does. It doesn't matter who comes in and if they're a friend of ours. She wants to jump up. If it's not a friend, she'll bark. If it's a friend, she'll jump up. Hey! All right, which way is home? Which way? Come on. Are we catching a tram or are we walking? Oh, I was hoping to show you a bit of frisbee action, actually. Frisbee action? That sounds interesting. We can walk home. Let's go. We can walk home. Good girl. Good walking. So you're still renovating, young lady? Well, we've still got a bit of work to do. I've got to say COVID slowed us down a bit. Clear the way, Macduff. Welcome. Thank you. Good to be here. We've seen how Stevie greeted me in the park. And yes, it did hurt for a moment. I'm interested to see if that's the case at home too. Let's take scenario number two, all right? Scenario number two is what happens when someone comes to your front door? What happens there? She'll race. If I go to answer the door, someone either has to restrain her or she'll race up. And if I've welcomed that person in, she'll jump on as well. Jump up. And what a pat. And give you a bit of a lick as well. When my daughter Stella comes home, she often likes to wear white. And she's just so upset with Stevie because she'll paw her and then mark her. And so she's not the one. But we're not doing our part. Like, definitely not. Why do you think she does it? She wants to say hello. It's a greeting. It's her greeting. I'm guessing. Yes. And you are absolutely correct. You're not guessing. You're spot on right. It's a way of greeting. It's an exuberant dog going, I want to get close to your face. And the way to do that is to jump here. Because I'm right up against your face when I do that. It's been a long time since I've been to see you. The last time I came here, there was a wonderful Hungarian Vizsla. Rudy. I'm going to make you cry. I know, aren't I? Yeah. Tell me. What happened? Rudy passed or died quite suddenly last Easter. So it's been a year. And it was pretty hard. And then we were, what, six months, seven months without a dog around the house. And I just really miss that presence and that companionship. And it was me that missed it the most. Really? Not the rest. They all did, but I was the one suffering. So how's she settled in? Well, she's definitely, she's the third child. She really is. Yeah, she is. If we're out gardening, she'll be out gardening with us. If I'm inside cooking, she'll be right there at my feet, even if I've fed her, because she likes the smell of everything going on in the house. I actually feel for the pooches in this household because there's so much nice food being cooked all the time. Before she has a chance to jump up, what do you say to her? No. Sit. I'll sit. So you give her a positive command that she can obey. Yes. Okay. So our problem is... Essentially what she gets, I suppose you're right. Yeah. Dr Harry's right. Isn't it nice when someone agrees with me for a change? The guests can be terrible. And you've got to tell them, don't talk to the dog. High-pitched voice. Yeah, worse. Excites the dog. Yes, and then saying, oh, hello, hello. Yeah, and they're the worst in the world. We need to sort of put them in a straitjacket when they come in the door. Stevie! Oh, yes. And when unexpected visitors like Michael show up, we get to see Stevie in full flight. Literally. Just relax. Handles all over the dog. Just relax. See, and it's a full bat is the normal. Look what he's doing with his hands. Oh, yes, even, you know. Yes. There's a lot of love. Yeah, there's a lot of love. It's the big D word, isn't it? Disaster. I think I have to give Michael in particular, and Karen, a few tips on just how to handle Stevie. You see these? Yep. These are not dog toys. Okay. And you are turning those into dog toys. I want them out of the way. Yep. So they'll be out of the way in two places. Pockets. In your pockets. Yep. It's fine. Right, good. Or they can be right up here, right out of the way, but she jumps up very high. She does. So you need to get them right up out of the way. She goes to jump up again, turn around. Nope. Not bad. She listened. No, the word is no. No. No, Stevie. Ask her to sit, give her a positive command. Stevie, sit. Tell her she's good. Good girl. You've come to help me with Stevie, and now I would like to cook lunch for you. May I? Yes. Stevie's going to be a great dog. Yeah, thank you. She will never be another Rudy. We know that, right? And I wouldn't want her to be another Rudy. Just put the effort in. Now. Because if you do it when they're young, it's simple. If you wait till they're much older, it becomes so much harder. I should come back in six months and see how we're going. Six months? Is that all I get? Yeah, no, six months. No, I'm going to give you six months. Six months. She should be word perfect at the end of six months. Come on. Which way is the kitchen? This way. Come on in. Thanks. You can do some stirring.