By the end of the tuition, the novices will be expected to design and build a garden to exhibit at the prestigious RHS Tatton Show. It's a daunting task - but will the students be up to it? They'll certainly be giving 110 per cent. For what makes this a human interest story as much as a horticultural one is how each of the eight green-fingered tyros are determined to create a new career for themselves as a budding garden guru.

Among their ranks are an IT consultant, a grandmother, a freelance photographer and an ex-air traffic controller, and what they have in common is a passion for plants and a burning desire to forge a new future. First, though, they'll have to convince Diarmuid of their potential for growth, and it's a severe learning curve.

As you can imagine, his teaching is unconventional as he whisks them off to Italy, Spain and even a desolate beach in Ireland, but there's method in his madness. He's sowing the seeds of creativity and planting ideas to inspire innovation...