Luke and Cody blitz the first battle of the gardens, springing to the top of the semi–final scoreboard.
Continuing to wow the judges with their creativity and impressive DIY skills, Luke and Cody’s winning formula worked a treat in the gardens earning them a combined judges’ score of 17 out of 20.
The twins transformed Team SA’s front garden with a brand new fence, terrace, driveway, carport and cubby house whilst repointing the bricks at the front of the heritage listed Californian bungalow. Their respect for the house rules and clever design ideas impressed both judges. “Guys, you had me at the front fence,” judge Wendy Moore said. “It was great to see you had repointed the brick work, not an easy job,” judge Joe Snell added. “The carport was a great effort and your terrace was a great spot to sit and survey the whole front yard.”
Fil and Joe came in a close second with 16 points from the judges. Tackling a House Rules first by sharing Claire and Hagan’s backyard with Team SA, they incorporated a caravan cubby house, sandpit area, outdoor shower, fireplace and lounge all within the petite confines of the left hand side of Team VIC’s garden. “I love the fact that it is really substantial but within this tiny space it doesn’t dominate,” Wendy said, referring to Fil and Joe’s fireplace.
Third place was awarded to Claire and Hagan for their work in Team SA’s backyard. Creating a Tuscan inspired alfresco dining area complete with herb gardens and a pizza oven; the parents of two even purchased three chickens for an original spin on the living pantry house rule. “What a clever answer to the house rule to give Brooke the cook a living pantry,” said Joe. “And don’t worry, I mean the eggs not the chickens.”
Despite having creative ideas, Team’s SA layout issues and poor time management left them on the bottom of the scoreboard for their work in the right hand side of Claire and Hagan’s backyard. With a score of 13 points from the judges for their pop up kitchen, dining area and play space, the pair’s only saving grace came from Brooke’s decision to save and incorporate the birch tree within their zone. “Treating that beautiful birch tree as a prized asset was a great first step and building a deck to accommodate it made it feel all the more special,” said Joe. However, Wendy did not hold back in her criticism of the couple’s decision to place their play area in the driveway. “Why you want young children to be encouraged to play in the driveway is just beyond me,” Wendy said. “It is wrong on so many levels.”
It was a wonderful homecoming for Teams VIC and SA as their houses are now completely transformed both inside and out. Hagan was tickled pink with his new backyard, in particular his personalised pop up kitchen, aptly named Coco Bango’s. “The kitchen is unbelievable,” Hagan exclaimed. And nothing could dim the million-watt smile from Hagan’s face as he joked the caravan cubby house for the kids could double up as a dog bed for Cleo.
Brooke and Michelle were equally grateful for their transformed garden and were impressed that they were now proud parents of three chickens as part of their living pantry house rule. “We are going to get fresh eggs every day,” Brooke exclaimed.
The final leaderboard after the judges’ scores combined was:
