Digging Deep

18/10/2006, BBC 2 8:30pm
1.8 million, 8.1% audience share

Guardian Features Pages, Sam Wollaston:
In television's quest to find new ways of dealing with subjects that have been done to death, someone has come up with Digging Deep (BBC2). Amanda and Andre aren't simple gardeners, oh no, they're horticultural therapists. They'll turn up with an inexhaustible supply of the word "darling" and rolls of material that they'll drape around your back yard, testing it for mood and colour. If you've recently suffered some sort of trauma, they'll create you a healing garden. If you need stimulation, they'll make you something to get you going. They'd probably make Isabelle a new face garden if she wanted one. It doesn't matter what state of mind you're in, Amanda and Andre know how to create a garden to meet your emotional needs. They're actually more like doctors than gardeners.

BBC Press Release:
Digging Deep
Garden designers Andre Smith and Amanda Brooks offer a unique service. They make gardens for the soul – horticultural therapists, if you will. Their stunning garden designs aim to have a transformative effect upon the owner, improving their emotional well-being.

Each episode focuses on the hidden psychological reasons behind the neglected hedges and entangled borders of a garden which is then transformed into the owner's personal Eden.

Having worked together for eight years, Andre and Amanda have very clear ideas about their designs and aim to produce a beautiful, flourishing garden that reflects the character and needs of its owner. Their philosophy is to get the owner involved, reacquainting them with nature and the sensual pleasure of gardening.