Manicured lawns, flashy flowers and trendy garden designs - every year we spend billions of dollars and untold hours in our quest to have the lushest yard on the block and turn the neighbours green with envy. Our never-ending hunger for the brightest blossom and the biggest tomato has created a massive, automated industry where plants are produced by the millions in factory-style grow operations. Gardening Confidential takes a behind-the-scenes look at how this most ancient of hobbies has turned into a high-tech obsession where you don't even have to get your hands dirty anymore.

Douglas Counter in front of his Etobicoke garden.

From formal to wild, from trendy to traditional, "garden" is in the eye of the beholder. One person's naturalized garden is another person's weedy mess. Gardening Confidential explores the laws of gardening and meets Douglas Counter in Etobicoke, Ontario, a man whose front yard got him in trouble with the law.

Gardening on Riker's Island.

You might not expect a garden at one of America's most notorious prisons but at New York's Rikers Island, James Jiler proves there's more to gardening than just showing off. He's using the deep joy of planting seeds and watching them grow to help break the cycle of crime and help keep people out of jail.

Mark Morrison shows off his unusual assortment of garden tools.

For centuries we've been tinkering with the tools of the trade for every conceivable task in the yard. From Victorian gadgets for getting rid of pests to hands-free robotic lawnmowers, we are always looking for ways to ease our work. Gardening Confidential uncovers some of the weirdest garden tools to come out of the shed and meets Mark Morrison, perhaps the world's most passionate collector, a man so obsessed with garden gadgets that he owns several thousand of them.

A trip to Mars will take years, so astronauts will need to grow food in space.

Stubborn gardeners the world over are undeterred by harsh environments. Gardening Confidential meets some of the most determined garden gurus who grow tropical plants in unlikely locations. For those who really don't like to get their hands dirty, we find out how to garden entirely in the virtual world. And Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk tells us why astronauts are especially keen gardeners, and why Earth may soon no longer be the only planet with gardens on it.

So grab your shovel and come dig up the dirt on Gardening Confidential.