1200 | Desperate Landscapes

Season 12, Episode 1

America's Most Desperate Landscape 2014

Jason Cameron and his crew comb through application after application to find the ugliest front yard in America. Their search takes them to Helotes, Texas where Jason and Connie Vela are living in a mess. Their home used to house Connie's father's construction business and the yard shows it. There is junk left behind and there is even a prototype building that has a strong resemblance to a female body part. It's one of the most unusual projects we've ever tackled. Jason Cameron takes his Desperate Landscape crew to Texas for the massive two day project that includes tearing out part of the driveway, ripping off an unusual and dangerous overhang at the front door and camouflaging the femininely-shaped building. Once the clearing is finished, Jason and his team build a beautiful fireplace and pizza oven, lay a stone walkway and build a beautiful new portico. The finishing touch for this new yard is a huge fountain surrounded by yellow roses. When the work is finished, the Velas' complaining neighbors return to celebrate another Desperate Landscapes success.

Season 12, Episode 2

Rescue Me From My Desperate Landscape

Jason Cameron receives a 911 call from Casey Ballman, a firefighter, and Megan Ballman, an ER nurse whose Desperate Landscape is an emergency situation. The landscape is hidden by overgrown trees that threaten the house. The chainsaws come out and the changes start. With the trees gone, Jason can start on other projects. He removes a chunk of concrete so he can create a bigger stoop. He digs a huge trench to help with drainage in the front yard. Jason also builds a huge entertainment pavilion with a sailcloth roof. Plus, he's bringing in all kinds of plants that will thrive in the yard including a big new tree that won't threaten the structure of the house. At the end of the day, the neighbors, including Casey's boss and his mom, come back to see if the rescue mission was a success.

Season 12, Episode 3

Adding Pride to the Neighborhood With a Huge New Pergola

Kevin and Annamarie Cronin have moved into Annamarie's childhood home. While they worked hard to make the inside their own, the outside is a mess. Neighbors hate the barren landscape, the yellow front door, and they wonder what's up with all the gnomes. Jason Cameron is called in to bring peace back to this well-manicured neighborhood. He paints the house to tone down the yellow door that the Cronins love. He adds deer tolerant plants to the landscape, and Jason builds a huge pergola to help the home fit with all the others in the neighborhood that boast nice porches. With a beautiful new seating area and plenty of plants, the Cronins put their gnomes in the landscape and put the neighbors' complaints to a rest.

Season 12, Episode 4

Lessons on Growing Plants Not Muscles

Joe and Amy Vance are in law enforcement by day and in their spare time, they are bodybuilders. They boast that they are great at growing muscles and not-so-great at growing plants. They've called muscleman Jason Cameron for some help to restore Amy's grandparents' home to its former glory. Jason busts up part of the massive driveway to create a new paver patio with a circular patio kit. The patio gets some screening from a curved cedar fence and some plantings. In between their hard work in the landscape, Jason and the homeowners flex their muscles and show off their hard work in the gym, and at the end of the day, they're ready to show off the landscape to the neighbors.

Season 12, Episode 5

Bringing Beauty Back to a Historic Home

Jes Mayer and her two sons saved up for months to buy an old home in Cincinnati. The house has a huge yard for Jes's sons to play in, but with a big yard came more work than Jes could handle. Jason's plan to breathe new life into this old beauty is to create a beautiful landscape. The plan calls for tons of crushed stone to create a Victorian circle driveway as well as a new patio. Stone stairs will be added leading to an arbor to the left of the front door, and the home's old front door gets a facelift to create a landscape that fits with the house and the whole neighborhood.

Season 12, Episode 6

Beautiful Xeriscaping in New Mexico

Taylor and Jordan Henry have worked hard to make their home beautiful on the inside, but their front yard is a mess of weeds, railroad ties and a hideous box hiding a water softener. They have a gorgeous view of the Sandia Mountains from their front yard and they want to bring that mountain vibe to their front yard. They also want the yard to be water friendly. Jason's plan calls for adding water-friendly plants and trees to the landscape that will thrive under the low-water conditions in Albuquerque. He's also designed a natural looking stone patio plus he's asked local artisans to create a beautiful stained glass window and a tree of life sculpture for the yard. If that weren't enough, they install a beautiful tile walkway leading to the front door. The work is enough to blow away the neighbors.

Season 12, Episode 7

Banishing Desperation With Fire, Water and a Bit of New Mexican Sun

Jason Cameron heads to Albuquerque to help Wendy and Adam Livermore. The homeowners are renovating a foreclosure, and these Wisconsin transplants know nothing about landscaping in New Mexico. Jason's plan to help banish their desperation includes building a new deck featuring the Zia sun, an important part of the culture in New Mexico. A beautiful wooden loggia with a sailcloth cover will add shade to the yard. A fire feature will keep the homeowners warm at night and a water feature will add a relaxing touch. The front yard will also include a living wall and plenty of plants that thrive in the Albuquerque sun. Is all this enough to stop the neighbors' complaints? Jason thinks the answer will be a resounding yes.

Season 12, Episode 8

Building a Family-Friendly Front Yard With Space for Kids and Parents in Albuquerque

Willy and Jennie Jacobson have been the subject of some serious criticism in their Albuquerque neighborhood, and they are calling on Jason Cameron for help. The couple have asked Jason to turn their prickly, rocky and ugly landscape into a beautiful play space for their young sons. Jason brings in heavy equipment to move some huge boulders to create a a play space with seating. Plus, he brings out the big guns to move a heavy ipe deck into the yard. Jason also taps into Willy's artistic side to have him paint a mural to fit into the landscape. The end result is a fun, family-friendly space that the neighbors love.

Season 12, Episode 9

Fighting Mother Nature to Create an Asian-Inspired Landscape

Rain and Seattle go together, but in the suburb of Kirkland, Mother Nature is doing her best to stop Jason Cameron and his crew from fixing a Desperate Landscape. The front yard once looked like a mini-golf course, but the homeowners stripped it clean and now it's just a barren landscape with a rickety balcony, ripped awnings and broken concrete pieces. Jason has a plan to turn the ugly front yard into an Asian-inspired landscape to match the design style inside the home. He rebuilds the deck with beautiful Brazilian teak wood that features a unique Asian design to keep the bad spirits away. Despite the mud and muck, Jason creates a beautiful walkway with a ringed-entrance to the yard. He also adds a natural stone fountain and beautiful bamboo. The big question though is whether the neighbors will be happy with the dramatic changes?

Season 12, Episode 10

Sloshing Through a Transformation to Find the End of the Rainbow

Jason Cameron trudges through a rainy day to transform the Seattle yard of Selome and Abiy. They would love to host their huge Ethiopian, but their home is being renovated inside and the front yard is a mess. The work starts by ripping off the old concrete steps leading to the porch and adding new wooden steps and beefed up posts and railings to match the home. Beautiful volcanic rock is brought in to create natural steps leading into the yard. A big gazebo to host family gatherings, complete with a massive steel roof, is added. At then end of the day, Selome and Abiy celebrate the results with their extended family, and Mother Nature celebrates with a beautiful double rainbow.

Season 12, Episode 11

Wishing for a New Front Yard for a Firefighter's Family

Jeff Cole is a firefighter who works hard to help put out wildfires in California. It's a shame that Jeff and his wife Ashley have a fire hazard of their own in their front yard. To top it off, the front yard features an ugly old wishing well that everyone's been wishing would go away. Jeff brings a huge team of firefighters to help clear the debris that make the front yard dangerous, and Jason brings chainsaws to cut down some cypresses that are home to pests. He builds a custom concrete seating area and adds a fire pit to create an entertainment area for the homeowners. He also brings in artificial turf to help the Coles stay sensitive to California's water issues and to give their son Jameson and place to play. At the end of the day, the neighbors return to find out if their wishes have come true and the desperate and fire hazard have been cleared.

Season 12, Episode 12

Bringing an Ocean Vibe to an Oceanside Desperate Landscape

Samantha and Vince love their home in Oceanside, California. They love being close to the beach and spend as much free time there as their jobs allow but they don't have a lot of time to spare. They have been rehabbing the inside of their home and Vince is a Marine Reservist and Samantha works as an animal trainer at Sea World. The first order of business is to get rid of a fence that's falling apart and to clear some ugly trees and debris. Jason's plan calls for building a new fence with a modern style to help keep their dog corralled. They build some custom surfboard lights and add a new paver patio and redwood fireplace for Sam and Vince to relax with friends.

Season 12, Episode 13

Adding Aloha Spirit to a California Desperate Landscape

A California dad misses his Hawaiian roots and is longing for a lush landscape. Jason Cameron and his crew give Vanessa and Cody Jacinto what they wish for with tropical plants, a new driveway with a stained border and a custom paver walkway stamped with sea turtles. Plus, Jason has a surprise for the homeowners and the neighbors. He's included some fake plants in the yard, but can anyone pick them out?

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