For his centenary special, David Attenborough stays close to home, revealing a magical world teeming with cuteness in British gardens. The programme uses super-high-resolution cameras and patient filming techniques usually deployed in the Amazon or Serengeti to capture the wild world under our noses.
The series begins on an island in a river in Oxfordshire, home to Sara and Henry, whose majestic mill house is surrounded by water and a fabulous garden. Two-thirds of the garden is left wild due to regular flooding, creating a haven for wildlife. The show tells thrilling stories of predation, survival, mating and nesting, familiar from Attenborough's African and Asian adventures.
Highlights include a kingfisher swooping for fish, a bank vole dodging a grass snake, and a mallard named Doris raising nine chicks while the otter lurks nearby. The otter, the most fearsome predator in this ecosystem, lives below the room where Sara and Henry watch television and threatens Doris and her young.
The filming captures intimate moments, such as mayflies dancing in summer light and the kingfisher's unique vision, demonstrated through a special effect. The owners appear as supporting characters, mowing lawns or reading the Financial Times, emphasising how close the wildlife is to modern life.
