Lights! Camera! Landscape!

What's it like to have your yard torn up and replanted by strangers -- with a camera crew capturing every step?

Homeowners Joel McLay and Liz Picking found out when their compact Minneapolis back yard was chosen for a "Landscape Smart" TV makeover in the fall of 2006.

The project involved 12-hour days of trucks delivering landscape supplies, saws buzzing on the boulevard and a production crew in their yard by 7 a.m. McLay and Picking also had to pitch in, doing chores such as digging holes and spreading gravel.

When the episode finally airs this Sunday on HGTV, McLay and Picking will see four days of constant construction edited into a 30-minute, TV-worthy version, without the outtakes and the flubbed lines.

"I know I'll look like a dork," said McLay, "but we'd do it again."

Under the glare of the cameras, a handful of local landscape professionals turned a bare lot that had "gone to the dogs" into a French countryside cafe equipped with an outdoor kitchen.

The episode follows the "Landscape Smart" formula of working within a homeowner's budget and coming up with clever, time-saving and low-cost solutions.

Edelman Productions (which is based in San Francisco but has a Minneapolis office) filmed the popular show, which is in its 10th year.

"It's an idea show, not a hard-core how-to," said host Paul Ghiringhelli, who looks like actor Stephen Collins, but knows his way around a toolbox.

Homeowners: Liz Picking, who works in retail and restaurant leasing, is engaged to Joel McLay, a wine and spirits importer.

The crew: Paul Ghiringhelli, the talent; Nikki Frakes, producer; Ian Logan, cameraman; Bernie Beaudry, audio.

The pros: Lindsey Bittner, landscape designer with Indigo Designs, Plymouth; Dave Cripe, landscape contractor with Meadow Green Lawn and Landscape, Lakeville; Clark Allslaven, carpenter.

The small, treeless weed-laden back yard was little more than a playground for McLay and Picking's two yellow Labs. It had a weatherworn concrete-and-brick patio, but lacked shade or an inviting space to cook and entertain relatives and friends.

On a trip to southern Provence, the couple fell in love with the French countryside, food and wine. They wanted to re-create a French cafe -- complete with an outdoor kitchen for grilling (McLay's specialty) and a European-style cottage garden (for Picking to tend) -- in their own back yard.

"We'd like a little lavender and space for the dogs," she said. They also wanted their back yard to complement their classic 1903 home.

Landscape designer Lindsey Bittner took the couple's wish list and used these elements to create a "French Countryside Cafe," the theme of the episode:

Curvy design, which softens the rectangular yard and forms an intimate gathering space.

Patio party. Two adjoining circular cobblestone-style paver patios create a comfy space for cooking and dining.

Old-fashioned perennial garden of black-eyed Susans, Russian sage, yarrow, bee balm and phlox is outlined by a pea gravel pathway lined with reclaimed bricks from the old patio.

Shade and season-long color. Bittner chose a Purple Robe black locust tree, flowering shrubs, pyramidal arborvitae and dwarf blue leaf arctic willows.

Colorful pots of herbs, for cooking are scattered near the patio.

Outdoor kitchen. Carpenter Allslaven built an L-shaped kitchen from fiber cement board and a slate countertop that holds the Big Green Egg, a combination grill and smoker.

Old World ambience. French-style iron lanterns are suspended from recycled fir beams buried in the ground.

Dog-friendly. The Labs can romp in a mulch run screened off by arborvitae.

The show is staged, but not scripted. Most of the time the homeowners had to wing it.

"We coach them and tell them key points to hit on," said producer Frakes, who watches the filming on a portable monitor to ensure the cameraman is getting the right shots.

It didn't take long for the bubbly couple to become camera-confident and for McLay to sneak in one-liners.

"Look, a French countryside worm," said McLay as he dug a hole. "I'll call him Robert Plant."

Joking aside, McLay and Picking did their share of hard labor, such as laying pavers and hauling mulch. But after the takes of the homeowners doing the job, the pros often stepped in to finish it.

"We want the homeowners to be part of the action and have a sense of ownership," said Ghiringhelli. "But they can't put in every screw because of the time frame."

McLay and Picking contributed $15,000. HGTV provided the landscape designer, and some items, such as the Big Green Egg, were donated.

Typically there is a formal application process for homeowners to be considered for home improvement shows. Picking and McLay had already appeared on DIY's "Kitchen Renovations," so they were approached by Edelman producers to be on "Landscape Smart."

DIY and HGTV post information on casting calls for a variety of shows on their websites. Currently DIY's "Bathtastic!" is looking for Twin Cities homeowners who need a bathroom facelift. E-mail bathcasting @edelmanmn.com for information.

After one summer, the couple's faves are the outdoor kitchen and the moody garden lighting. In the 20 months since the show was filmed, they lost a couple of arborvitae. And, despite having an area designed for them, the dogs roam the yard, ignoring the mulch run.

McLay's one regret is he wished he had positioned the built-in grill a little farther from the house because of smoke.

"We're happy with the end product and felt it was a good value," he said. "And I learned how to run a Bobcat."

Lynn Underwood • 612-673-7619