When Brenda Poller's garden was overhauled, the TV cameras were there to record every move. MAXINE GORDON reports.

IT'S the phonecall most of us can only dream about: a TV producer wondering if you would like a garden makeover - totally free. York complementary health therapist Brenda Poller didn't need to be asked twice when Paula Marshall, a producer with Tyne Tees, rang to invite her to take part in garden makeover series The Whole Nine Yards.

"Tyne Tees had rung my tutor at York College, Sue Hine, who put them in touch with me," explains Brenda, who has completed several courses in complementary therapies at the Tadcaster Road college.

The producers wanted to do a garden makeover on the theme of spirituality and Sue thought Brenda would fit the bill.

"I'm a very spiritual person," says Brenda, who is qualified to practise reflexology, massage, Indian head massage and reiki. Ideally, she wanted a garden which was calming and relaxing; a place where she could unwind and meditate.

And the garden - or rather small L-shaped courtyard - of her home in Moss Street, off Blossom Street, was in need of some tender loving care.

Brenda knew it's concrete grey floor and whitewashed walls were bland, cold and dreary - but she didn't know where to begin in transforming it into the garden of her dreams.

And so it was with welcoming arms that she greeted gardening whiz and TV presenter Simon Cross and his crew, who were bursting with ideas for her yard.

The first thing to be addressed was colour.

"We chose a cornflower blue. Some people think blue is a cold colour, but it doesn't have to be. This one is soothing and calm, and gives it a Mediterranean theme," says Brenda.

Everything had to be natural too, and Brenda had to get rid of her plastic pots to make way for terracotta ones - all 60 of them. And what's more, they're all filled with the same plant - lavender

"You'd never dream of going out and buying so many pieces of lavender," says Brenda. "When they brought them in, I couldn't believe it. I thought: 'What are we going to do with all of these?' The first job was to pot them all."

The effect is dramatic and enhances the calming look and feel of the garden - and the smell is unbeatable.

For added interest, Brenda has some clematis, honeysuckle, winter-flowering jasmine and Russian vine as climbers.

A striking feature of the garden is the large willow screens which have been mounted on two walls and will act as trellis for the climbing plants.

And in one corner, pride of place, is a large wooden seat, made from reclaimed timber on an Eastern design, which Brenda has christened her "throne", and where she will sit and mediate and generally appreciate her new-look yard.

To break up the monotony of a plain concrete area, paving blocks of varying shapes and sizes have been laid alongside beds of cobbles. The effect is dramatic and eye-catching, and helps lead the visitor around the garden.

The makeover took three days and Brenda revealed that everybody had to muck in, including the camera man and sound engineer.

She enlisted the help of a group of friends and says the whole experience was great fun.

"They were a nice crowd, and everyone was very considerate about my house and property," says Brenda.

Appearing in front of the camera, though, took some getting used to, she admits. "It was strange at first as the camera felt like it was too close, right up at my face. But in the end, everyone seemed delighted with the results.

"I don't think we had to film anything more than twice...they even called me 'Brenda Two Takes'."

The budget for the makeover was £1,000. Brenda's main contribution to the overhaul was the installation of some French doors from her living room into the garden - which she had wanted to do for a while and which the TV budget would not stretch too.

"It's great as it has taken the room out and brought the yard in. It's made the place so much lighter and it's such good Feng Shui," she adds.

Not surprisingly, Brenda is overjoyed with the end result.

"I think it's fantastic. I'm so thrilled with it. I just have to walk out into it every day - even in the rain."

- The Whole Nine Yards will be broadcast next spring.

- Brenda Poller practises at Montage hair and beauty salon, 68 The Mount, York, contact 01904 659797, and at The Bay Clinic Helmsley, on Wednesday afternoon, contact 01439 771111.

Updated: 09:16 Saturday, October 06, 2001