These are blog posts that Luciano Giubbilei has made.
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I was born and grew up in Siena where my family still live. I came to England 15 years ago to study garden design and I have been designing gardens for the last 12 years. Last year I was offered the opportunity by Champagne Laurent-Perrier to design their garden for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2009.
It seems rather strange to be only writing about the garden now, as I designed it and presented it to Laurent-Perrier on 4th July 2008! From that day onwards, I’ve been focusing on preparing and researching all the elements, such as the trees and plants, the stone materials, the water feature, the sculpture, and all the other component parts that compose the garden.
My design for the garden was inspired by the champagne’s own elegant, handcrafted style. I have tried to explore in the garden how linear design, using simple and symmetrical lines, creates order within nature, which in turn gives clarity of mind and a state of calm.
I’ve been working on this garden in very much the same way that we run projects for our clients, but obviously it will have a completely different level of exposure. I’m starting to get glimpses of this already as we get close to the show with the events being organised by Laurent-Perrier, the RHS and the BBC. I am very excited obviously, but most importantly I am aware of the amazing opportunity given to me to show everyone how one of my gardens comes together.
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I think we are pretty much in control of everything and I am travelling to Verona in Italy next week to check on the production of the stone. I’m using an unfilled Travertine which is a calcareous stone, and for those who are not familiar with this type of stone, it’s a stone with a beautiful character especially when used in it’s natural unfilled form. So I’m pretty excited to see what the people in Verona have prepared for me to see.
Also, the Carpinus Boxhead trees have been delivered to Crocus in Surrey from Germany, and the hedging plants are due to arrive within the next two weeks, so there are more things to go and see and check on, which brings me back to the fact that this garden is happening for real!
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This week I paid a visit to Crocus, with Catherine MacDonald - my project manager for the Chelsea garden, to inpsect the Carpinus Boxhead trees and hedging plants, and to take a look at the growth of the perennials plants I’ve selected. The trees were set out in a lines reminiscent of their arrangement in my design and I was very excited to stand alongside them – it gave me a sense of how the garden will feel. The hedging plants had only just been delivered and so were standing in a bay waiting to be spaced out but they look very healthy and will look even better once they have their new spring growth.
The perennials were in the polytunnels and I was amazed at how much they had grown. The grasses in particular looked really green and lush already and the fennel looked really fluffy. Crocus will soon be moving some of the plants into the shade tunnels to slow their growth and ensure the plants are perfect for Chelsea Show time. As we left the polytunnels Mark Straver, of Crocus, was quick to shut the door behind us to ensure no rabbits had the opportunity to have any midnight snacks!
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Next week I will be travelling back to Verona. The Travertine blocks, for the water features, have been cut and I will be choosing their best face into which the bronze outlets will be cut. Also the brown sandstone pieces for the interior of the water features are currently in production so I will get my first look at these. Water feature specialist, Andrew Ewing, who is producing the water features, will be travelling with me and Catherine so we can check on the stone together.
We are making it a day trip only and Andrew as said that as compensate for the very early start I will have to buy him a good Italian lunch!
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I visited Verona with Andrew Ewing & Catherine on Friday. We arrived at the stone supplier's yard and there was two large solid travertine blocks - waiting for us, what a sight. The natural pits and holes in the surface were amazing and the blocks were like art features themselves. We chose the front faces for the outlets to be cut into. Once inside the workshop we saw all the travertine setts precisely cut and then carefully packed in crates ready to be shipped to the UK
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Last week we had a meeting at Crocus with Mark Fane and with the rest of the Crocus construction team including Graham Hoyle who will be building the Laurent-Perrier Garden. Its getting to close to Chelsea now and the meeting went over a lot of the more intricate details such as the travertine clad feature wall onto which the Nigel Hall corten steel sculpture is to be fixed. This has been surprisingly challenging as I want the water of the reflecting pool beside it to disappear beneath the wall and therefore a cantilever is required. Also the travertine cladding pieces are not that small!
Whilst at Crocus we went out in the nursery to look at the trees and hedges as well as the perennial plants. Graham set up an example of the tiered hedges so I could look at the different heights - they are going to brilliant and a testament to all the hard work that has gone into the Laurent-Perrier Garden.
This week I've also been filming with the BBC, both at the Tate modern and at Ham House - I chose these places as they are inspiring in different ways but you'll have to watch the preview show to find out why!"
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Well we have finally started work on the garden. The boundary hedge is in, the Carpinus Boxhead trees were delivered over the weekend and are being positioned today. The stone for the water features has arrived and work on the feature wall has started. Suddenly everything is happening!
It's amazing that it's all coming together - I am at the show ground every day now as so many things need my attention. We needed to find more Buxus for the hedging, so I had to send Catherine to Germany to find some, as I couldn't go myself - I needed to be here. Building this garden is like expecting a baby; exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time!
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Tuesday was a very important day this week, as we had a crane in the afteroon to put in the two tonne Travetine blocks for the water features. They also craned in the five brown sandstone blocks. It took a bit of manoevering to get them into position! Also, the stone specialists were on site assisting with the cladding of the Travertine feature wall which is now completed, so it was a busy day!
The avenue of trees has been adjusted to create a good view through to the sculpture, which will be installed tomorrow. It's not been great weather this morning, so we are waiting for the tiered hedges to dry out before we clip them. This afternoon, Catherine and I went to Crocus to make the final selection of the perennial plants we wil be using, also to plan the deliveries for next week.
Not having done a garden for Chelsea before, I admit I didn't realise the intensity of the build-up and the commitment that would be needed. I have been on site every day since Wednesday 28th April. Catherine and I were at the show ground last weekend and we will be there this weekend as well. We are trying not to get under the feet of the construction team, but we have to be there as there are many important decisions that need to be made, to get the details and the lines and heights of the planting spot on.
Not long to go now!
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The Andrew Ewing water features have now all been installed and he's just tweaking the water flow and the finish for the stone blocks. The sculpture by Nigel Hall is in place and is fantastic! The corten steel finish works so well with the colour of the Travertine, in the sunlight it casts a precise shadow on the wall and looks great.
We've already started the perennial planting. It's been difficult to decide which plants should make the final selection, as Crocus have provided such amazing plants to choose from. I've been experimenting with Catherine and Jane from my team, as well as Speronella, Vicky and Megan who have worked on Chelsea gardens in the past and have come to help me.
It's my intention to finish the planting by the end of today, so we've got the last few days to make any changes and to allow the plants to settle before judging on Sunday/Monday.
The travertine paving has all been laid and it's beautiful. During the design stage, I changed the paving layout quite a bit because I was trying to achieve a composed but more unusual arrangement - so I'm very pleased that all that consideration has paid off. Catherine has been applying the colour enhancer to the stone, and Jane has been on her hands and knees pushing sand into the joints between the sets!
We are racing to the finish line!
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