A PHOTOGRAPHIC record of the transformation of a Hampshire village garden is the subject of the latest exhibition at The First Gallery in Bitterne.

Enthusiasts Derrick Knight and Jackie Stockley moved to this overgrown third of an acre plot in Downton, a hamlet near New Milton, two years ago.

When they began, it was not only completely wild, but full of the most unlikely things - an old bath, concrete slabs, iron wheels and makeshift fences of flat-pack furniture panels.

In a labour of love, they have laid out from it a colourful and intriguing paradise of paths, plant beds and arbours, incorporating many of the more unusual, but struggling, plants and trees they inherited with the house purchase.

In her home London suburb, Jackie won seven consecutive Front Garden, Merton in Bloom first prizes, retiring unbeaten. Derrick, a photographer, blogger, ex-head of Westminster Social Services, and formerly Mordred, the cryptic-crossword setter, has logged the progress of the garden's astonishing transformation in a finely-observed sequence.

Some two dozen colour photos show Knight’s consummate eye for an arresting image from not always promising material. Having documented the garden’s progress on his daily blog Ramblings, he has compiled two large albums of extracts for exhibition visitors to browse through.

These are accompanied by themed pictures and sculpture from other artists, including Eric Meadus, known locally for his depictions of Swaythling, but whose flowerpieces and landscapes are far more rarely seen.

The First Gallery, in Burnham Chase, is open on weekends and by prior arrangement. See The Making of Downton Garden until April 17.