Alan Titchmarsh has helped transform countless gardens over his lengthy career on shows such as Ground Force and ITV's Love Your Garden, but one recent episode sparked some backlash. A few years ago, Rob and Margaret Isdale, who have fostered over 150 children, got the surprise of their lives when their daughter Fiona arranged for Alan and his team to make a huge change to their outdoor space.

Having undergone a quadruple heart bypass, Rob was spending more time in the garden during his recovery and wanted to improve it. He revealed: "I had been in hospital and had quadruple heart bypass and when I came out of hospital my daughter drove me home and we were standing in the back garden, and I said as a joke to my daughter, 'It would be good if Alan Titchmarsh could come and do my garden'.

"And then unbeknownst to me, she put the application in and so that's how it started," he told us. As part of the 2019 transformation, Alan and his team worked hard to turn the outdoor space into one inspired by the book, The Secret Garden.

Though Rob admits the makeover was "nothing that [he] expected," he and Margaret loved the "traditional" outcome.

"They did a sort of mock monastery wall and things and made it look a bit Elizabethan, even up to the shed," he shared of the design.

"Even when it's a bit untidy like it is at the moment, it looks the part because of the design of it."

However, as the episode aired recently, some viewers claimed it had been ruined. On the platform X, one person said Alan and the team had spoiled the "lovely garden" with "bricks and concrete".

Another commented: "It's too crowded and busy for me but as long as they like it."

Addressing the backlash, Rob said he and Margaret are "more than happy" with the result.

"I think I saw some things [online], there's a bit of fake news, we were supposed to be disappointed, and it quite saddens me that because it couldn't be further from the truth," he added.

"They did a brilliant job, Alan Titchmarsh was great. He came and interviewed us part way through while we were out in the caravan site [as the transformation took place]. Yeah, no complaints at all."

Rob went on to say that while they still admire their garden, he's made a few small changes in recent years.

"The shed, that's now my art studio, I took up painting so I sit in there and do my painting," he revealed.
"It is the same, the only thing we took down was a tree that was in front of our kitchen window that was blocking out the view a bit and the light."

Speaking about the transformation during the episode, Alan revealed he had turned their shed into a mock Tudor-inspired design while adding several crumbling "columns" of brick, which he described as "ancient looking follies".

Reflecting on Rob and Margaret’s hard and inspirational work as foster parents, he told the camera: "I want this new garden to make them feel as cared for as the children who come to their home."

During the big reveal, Alan informed a tearful Rob and Margaret that he had discovered "ruins of an old abbey" in the garden, which Margaret called "brilliant." Rob added: "I knew it would be special but that's extra special. Thank you so much."

Love Your Garden broadcasts today at 6.30am, followed by Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh at 7.30am and again on Sunday at 9.30am on ITV and ITVX.