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Behind the scenes diary for The Victorian Aviary Garden at Chelsea Flower Show and The Girlguiding UK Centenary Garden at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2010
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A rather belated 'thank you' to all who voted the Girlguiding UK Centenary Garden at Hampton Court Show the People's Choice Award Best Show Garden! I'm still walking on roses and beaming with joy, one month on
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Opening week at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and visitors are loving the garden! It's great to hear the positive response and see the garden come alive with people walking through it. Guiding volunteers are on hand to give more information to visitors and to answer questions - and we've had quite a range asked
The grounds around the magnificent Crystal Palace Exhibition Centre in South London was where the guiding movement began in September 1909. In their Centenary year, it only seemed right to have something relating to this great occasion in the show garden celebrating 100 years of guiding at Hampton Court. On Monday, Rob Moorhouse a clever blacksmith based in the Lake District, turned up with a Crystal Palace inspired archway strapped onto his trailer and hey presto, one archway is now standing rather grandly in position at the entrance to the garden
Saturday morning: destination Girlguiding UK Central Head Quarters, Buckingham Palace Road, London.
Emerging from the depths of the comfortable cocoon that is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in the aftermath of doing my first show garden there, the call of my next garden at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show awaited me with welcoming arms on my return home 12 days ago and has kept me pretty busy since. I have a confession to make: whilst I was aware over the past few months that there was something big going on with football, I hadn't realised it was actually starting to happen so soon. The countless free inserts and CDs about football players and team form with any sort of newspaper worth it's salt over the last week should have alerted to me that something big was happening. Just exactly how big this event is became obvious last week
Chelsea finished yesterday to a chorus of wind and rain, somewhat different to the searingly scorching temperatures early in the week. I packed my belongings and walked for the last time around The Victorian Aviary Garden, saying goodbye to the plants and features that were my 'home' for several days. The complete garden will be re-located at one of the sponsor's (South Lakes Hotels) venues, Newby Bridge Hotel near the shores of Lake Windermere. How lovely to think this garden will live on and be appreciated and enjoyed by many more people in the years to come: I'm looking forward to see the garden change with the seasons, too
One more day of the Chelsea Flower Show left and plants in The Victorian Aviary Garden are holding up well for the crowds. Extreme heat last weekend meant we had to put up some shade netting and gazebos over the two front borders otherwise paeonies, irises and tulips would have been scorched to cinders before judging
'The coldest May night for 15 years' set my heart, and no doubt many other designers' hearts, racing. No matter what anyone says, not having the plants you have spent months selecting for a show garden to be ready and at the peak of perfection is a real downer. The cool weather (actually, I remember winter and spring were always like this when I was growing up) have led to the joy of sleepness nights and palpitations at the most unexpected moments (had one this morning when I realised I hadn't covered up my potatoes on the veg plot at home...). I visited Rosy at Hardy's Cottage Garden plants In Hampshire on Tuesday afternoon: brilliant doesn't even come close to describing their care and love of my charges. Everything is looking perfect and the cooler weather seems to have benefited my plant choices, keeping them back in a state of suspended animation. Next week the temperatures rise just in time for planting up to get all those fat, juicy buds to open. I can't believe I've only had to substitute one plant line Read More...
Friday 7th at last saw our first day on site to build The Victoran Aviary Garden at Chelsea. Some of the larger gardens had already started two days before us and walls were being finished off there and trees being put into place. Site preparation is all important and levels together with soil moving took up most of the morning and afternoon on our garden. Our own trees had to come two days earlier than planned, arriving on Friday, and Mark Gregory from the Children's Society Garden very kindly helped with the unloading of these as our loadall wasn't on site yet. There was much discussion afterwards on the technicalities of the machine - boys and their toys