‘Big Dreams, Small Spaces’ Is Like A British ‘Queer Eye,’ But With Plants

Big Dreams, Small Spaces is the best new show on Netflix I bet you’re not watching. The reality show follows landscaping guru Monty Don as he hopscotches across the British countryside helping amateur gardeners turn crummy outdoor spaces into verdant paradises. If that sounds sleepy or boring, let me assure you that it’s not. It’s actually a sweet gem of a home and garden show that will give you the same kind of inspirational “feels” as Netflix’s hit Queer Eye. (Yes, I cried watching a British gardening show. Don’t tell anyone.)

Big Dreams, Small Spaces is a BBC Two lifestyle show that’s kind of like Property Brothers meets The Great British Baking Show, but with plants. We follow two households in different parts of Great Britain attempting to makeover their “garden.” (Note: in England, “garden” can mean both a yard and a garden, and in this show, it kind of doubles as both.) Usually these makeovers call for far more than a good rake and flashy fire pit. These guys have dreams, as the title of the show suggests, and these dreams are hampered by their small spaces.

Big Dreams, Small Spaces is hosted by Monty Don, whom you will quickly realize is a big deal in his native Britain. Over there, he is a famed horticulturist and TV host in the mold of a green thumbed Martha Stewart. So when he stops by to judge — and I mean judge — everyone’s garden plans, tensions are high. However, Don has an easy, encouraging manner, and when push comes to shove, he really just wants to get people excited about taking risks with their garden design. In many ways, he’s not the star of the show at all: the amateur gardeners we meet are.

I was not prepared to be emotionally compromised by a cozy British garden show, but by the second episode, I was verklempt. You see, that’s the episode where the action is split between an immigrant woman trying to build a working community garden in her front yard and a family gleefully designing a “sensory garden” for their toddler with Down syndrome.

On one side of the story, you have this ultra-kindhearted woman who is willing to work tremendously hard with the goal of uniting a fairly closed off community. She has to put up signs to encourage people to help themselves to her salad greens and tomatoes. Her dream is to feed people and to foster a real sense of neighborhood in the heart of a skeptical city. What’s really magical is that her kindness inspires other people to be good.

On the other side, you have a young couple who want to give their adorable little boy an place where he can play and feel like “a king.” They design the entire garden to be a wonderland for the child, complete with edible flowers and soft petals and stimulating scents. Not to spoil it, but to see the kid stomping around the finished product with utter abandon was absolutely joyous.

So although, it may sound nuts, I can’t help but compare Big Dreams, Small Spaces to that other Netflix reality show that’s making everyone cry cathartic tears: Queer Eye. No, Monty Don isn’t as cheeky as the Fab Five, but both shows follow ordinary people as they confront their dreams and their demons. There’s an earnestness, but more importantly, an indefatigable spirit on display. And in the end, the idea is that when we transform what’s around us, we can find the strength to fix what may ail us on the inside.

Stream Big Dreams, Small Spaces on Netflix