A day out at Gardeners' World Live

Summer is whizzing by so quickly...and I've already missed certain gardening events that I really would have liked to go to. I wasn't able to go to the Chelsea Flower Show this year, and I had withdrawal symptoms, especially after having such a wonderful time  there last year ( see what I got up to last year  here http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/day-at-chelsea-flower-show-part-2.html  and here http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/day-out-at-chelsea-chelsea-flower-show.html)

I've not even been to visit any Open gardens either, so I've been in dire need of some botanical inspiration , I had a definite desire to see other people's creativity brought to life, and I rather fancied doing a little shopping.

So, would this fit the bill?

Well yes it did.....there were a number of show gardens which were competing to be as innovative as they could be using a set list of materials. "Metamorphosis " was the theme, which was interpreted in interesting ways.

There were also some funky gardens

But as time was running short, I made a beeline for the RHS Floral Marquee where I could admire the rows of beautiful plants and flowers from around a hundred nurseries...

It was very muggy in the marquee...I began to flag, and decided I needed some fresh air....but then I saw the David Austin  roses display stand. It called me like a siren and I came closer, the most delicious fragrance wafted along in the still air. Gertrude Jekyll is my favourite rose....yet I still don't have one in my garden. This must be remedied!

Mind you I was so taken with this eglantine rose too...so prettily perfect too with such a delicate scent...I've decided that I must make the trip upto David Austin in Shropshire to see more.

There was lots to admire at Gardeners' World Live outside, but going indoors into the main halls didn't fill me with the same enthusiasm ...overall, there seemed a lack of vitality and pazazz, a cohesiveness and staff on a number of stands looked, quite frankly, bored.

What did interest me was the bonsai exhibition

Precision and perfection everywhere....

 

Not that you'll ever see me carefully shaping something like this. Firstly, putting a pair of scissors or secateurs in my hands is a high risk strategy...and secondly  I simply don't have the patience....although I did appreciate what I saw so much.

My first visit to Gardeners' World Live was all too brief....but will I go next year? Yes I will..... I met some lovely people, especially the persuasive lot on the RHS stand touting for new blood! As for the shopping, I've got a fair few ideas, but in the end I didn't buy anything on the day - unlike others on the bus back to the car park, who were poking other passengers with their purchases and plants. Thank goodness I didn't buy my Gertude Jekyll rose...that could have been interesting....

Today's track is my favourite piece of choral music "Oh Spotless Rose". Every time I hear it, I'm lost in the beauty of the composition and the incredible sounds that voices can make. This version is by the King's College Choir in Cambridge. It's for my friends Shannon Hurst lane, Denise Dube and Susan Lanier Graham from across the pond.....on a cold February afternoon  I took them to Evensong at Kings College, something they said they would never forget.

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A day out at the Chelsea Chelsea Flower Show Part 1

There's nothing quite like it is there? Plants, people and passion. What an invigorating, inspirational and beautiful combination.

Chelsea has it all....and as soon as I get in through the entrance my eyes are flashing right and left. This time, instead of meandering through the myriad of of stalls and show gardens willynilly, I am a woman on a mission.

I'm off to see a garden very close close to my heart....it's a garden which has triumphed over adversity, a charity garden and one which was created by friends of mine.

Dave Andrews is an old mate ...he presents the longest local radio gardening programme in the country (over forty years).Of course he hasn't been presenting it all of that time, but he's created a really good panel of experts over the years.

Dave is also involved with Rainbows, a hospice for children and young people  in Loughborough.And this year he's brought the two together to create a garden for Chelsea.Very quickly.

And when I say quickly, I mean it. Dave and his team didn't know whether they would be exhibiting until March. Yes, March! So it's been all hands to the pumps for him,  Chris Gutteridge and Ady Dayman.

The brief was to create a tranquil garden for reflection on our daily challenges or to remember a child in happier times.

The designer is Chris Gutteridge of Second Nature Gardens...he's based in leicester and a regular member of the BBC Radio Leicester Down to Earth panel. (he's also the son of a friend of mine, Alex)

And this what he and his team created....

A small garden but one which contains four amelanchier lamarckii trees for height, and a sunken bed of such pretty sweet woodruff divided by stepping stones.

Can you see the acrylic screens- well, they allow light through to create shadows and silhouettes. and there's an interactive element too. A hidden webcam can identify someone's gender and approximate age as they approach the entrance.....and appropriate images are then projected on to the screens.

I love the planting too....

Another integral part of the team  both in this garden , and as a gardening expert on local radio and television is the wonderfully irrepressible Ady Dayman. He and his family have grown all the plants in the garden

And here's Dave Andrews - who had the vision -.and I, in the garden just before nipping off for a well needed glass of Pimms ...well two actually....it was hot.

I think what they have all achieved in such a short space of time is remarkable. A garden that 's really fit for purpose , one which will bring enjoymnet for a long too, as the garden in its entirety will be taken back upto Rainbows hospice next week and installed in the hospice grounds for both children and their families to enjoy.

A wonderful visit to a tranquil garden......and it's not just me who loves it - so did the judges. So much so, they awarded the garden a silver medal!

Here's one final photo......

Obviously there was so much more to take in at Chelsea....coming up in the next post, more personal highlights from Chelsea...but in the meantime today's track is Over the Rainbow -impeccable jazz from Ben Webster....