Small progress

The Easter holidays have arrived, the children require attention and my mind is distracted! Two days in I have a meeting with all the team, including Chris, about progress on the garden. I bring everything as well as a list of questions. It seems we are now down to the finer details of the build logistics and whether I have enough of the right plants growing on, so once home I order some more. A useful tip I have been given is one third 'performance plants' to two thirds 'working plants'.  

I am now regularly checking on the growing 'green wall' progress which is actually growing a little too well and rooting into the ground where it sits. So I give it all a 'hair cut' (quite therapeutic really!) and attach dark sheeting to the wall to protect these shade loving plants from the strong sun that we have been experiencing. 

I am a little concerned about the health of the digitalis (which is a key plant in my scheme for Chelsea) that I have growing on. So they are resourced and in the mean time I have another batch of 40 potted up in a local nursery. I find some large native ferns and more young Betula Nigra potentially to create a grouping in the forground of my Chelsea design, to give the centre a more enclosed woodland feeling.


The woods at home is now in full flow. The blue bells are starting to colour up and yellow  Lesser celandines (Ranunculus ficaria) open on sunny days in the damper areas. The white flowered Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) are so beautiful and delicate ,and seem to enjoy growing in similar conditions to Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella); such a small delicate flower and simple leaf. I am just as excited this year to see how the wood flora is changing as I normally am about my own garden! The big change is that I did'nt have a dog this time last year, but her energy has forced me out and I now can't wait to get walking to see whats growing in my local countryside, (most of the time anyway!) 

The Woods Awakens

Molly (my juvenile Labrador) and I take our usual circular walk most mornings. It is fascinating to see the small changes that are starting to happen each day as the temperature warms and light levels increase. One of the first wood land plants to push through is what I know as 'Lords and Ladies' (Arum maculatum). Such a luscious green leaf - some are quite spotted and attractive. Another plant to spring up is 'Dogs Mercury'. The Deschampsia is starting to show green amongst its dry brown wispy leaves, but the Dryopteris ferns are staying tightly curled up knuckles. The bluebell leaves are pushing up in sunny areas of wood, and buds on trees swell. Elder leaves, Hazel and Hawthorn are the earliest tree leaves to appear.

I manage to visit David Hockney's current exhibition, 'A Bigger Picture', at the R.A. His 'paintings' are mostly of trees in his native Yorkshire landscape. They are painted in incredibly confident bright colours, a lot are very graphic and on a huge prolific scale. I am particularly drawn to the series that show an symbolic amputated tree stump, which he calls 'Totems',  surrounded by younger trees. Here he is examining the cycle of nature. I love the ipad series that show a woods changing through the months. The colours are more subtle here and the detailed mark making is gorgeous! All very inspiring - I will have to get painting again......or maybe ipadding!

Living Wall, Sculpture and the Brief

I spent a busy few days planting up 1100 octagonal sections of 'Bod pave' having stapled capillary matting to the reverse side to help retain the soil and moisture. To do this I used 9cm plants and divided each one into 3 so that these shallow fast rooting plants can rapidly spread a mat of green to create the desired green wall effect. My local garden centre have very kindly offered me space in their large 'growing on 'green houses which is heated and checked on daily so that is a huge help. When transported to Chelsea they will be mounted onto the curved wall vertically. 

The sculpture progressed at a pace the over the last week; the blacksmith welded clever joints that slot the five sections together and hold them at the correct angle of curvature. Then we hired a platform so that we could work out and mark on the angles that all the metal thorns need to be welded on, to attach the Perspex 'leaves'. As all the protective backs are still on the Perspex it is hard to see the finished effect but I am pleased it has worked out as planned. We make some small adjustments to angles and take it down to store it until the show.

I also spend another day re writing the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Brief. A lot has changed since the first draft was written last September, when the design was not as thoroughly worked through as it is now. So I spend some time carefully thinking through the changes and how to word them to answer the six questions on the brief. I try to keep it simple and clear, and avoid prescribing feelings!

Visiting the show ground site is a strange experience as what I have come to think of as a large busy site is in fact a lot smaller when seen as a playing field! It is hard to imagine just how full and active this site is in less than two months time.

Living wall - Bod Pave

On the lower part of the curved wall I am hoping to create a living wall, reminiscent of moss covered tree roots. This green wall will use shallow rooting plants and grow below the 'tree trunk' hard landscaping. Chris suggests that I try a ground reinforcing product, such as Bod Pave. This works within my budget and I have it cut by a local aluminium factory into a jigsaw of different height pieces, with the same 300mm width to fit neatly under two Panache tiles of 150mm. The reverse side is scored to accommodate the curve (see below).

I have considerable trouble finding plugs of Soleirolla soleiolli, as it is not that popular amongst some gardeners due to it's spreading habit. However I think it is a charming plant and perfectly suited to my needs and eventually track down 9cm pots that I split and pot up into 1200 little planting pockets. Quite a task! My local garden centre, Toad Hall, are happy for me to use their large heated green house to grow on the living wall. I will need to have it delivered during the build, as it forms a structural part of the wall.

RHS seminar

Wild style planting at Chelsea Flower show 2011.

Designers and contractors who are showing gardens at any of this years RHS shows were invited to a seminar in London. Various speakers present the day and give information on topics ranging from construction, health and safety (which I am now very aware of having just read through and filled in all the Chelsea information!), tree protection, judging, press and pr and sponsorship. I found Sadie Stowell's talk about her show garden building experiences at Hampton Court fascinating - particularly how she involves her family in the whole preparation experience.

It was also very helpful to meet Alex Denman, RHS Chelsea Show Manager, to discuss my gardens location, build dates etc. I met several other 'Fresh Garden' designers exhibiting at Chelsea for the first time, all feeling a little nervous but excited!

Back home, the woods are starting to show signs of awakening from there long winter slumber. Fresh green shoots are appearing, bluebells leaves are swelling and the birds were tweeting en mass, possibly migrant flocks having a rest in the tree tops. Wood peckers are also very busy - occasionally I spot the little black and white bird and am amazed it can make so much noise!  This photo shows the native Lonicera twisting itself into a heart as it searches for a way to climb towards the light.

Ribbon Sculpture

Since my last post about the sculpture (where I described  ideas) its practical development has come on a long way.  I am now working with a local Cobalt Blacksmith on the metal construction. This process began by working out the diameter of the sculpture in relation to the height in order to work out the angle of curve upwards. The main steel structure is manufactured by a tube bending company using a bending machine that is normally used for making spiral staircases.







The tubular steels then arrives at the blacksmiths in 5 sections that he will weld together at the planned curve. We need the curve to reach 1.5m at 180 degrees so that it does not hit the curved wall as it ascends to 2m. It should reach 3m at 360 degrees and 4m at around the 360 + 120 degrees - to be precise! Saying all that it will probably sag slightly under its own weight once all the lengths and leaves are attached. I am expecting it to move a bit like a spring - although hopefully not too much!

I return to my plans for the garden to work out the size and spread possible for the 'foot' that will hold the ribbon sculpture in place, taking into account the wall and path footings and the tree root balls.

This sculpture is my representation of energy and vitality and is to be sited at the centre of the garden next to a tree stump. The idea is that a large tree has fallen and giving light and opportunity for saplings and other plants to spring to life.

The colours of the sculpture move from purple, through deep pinks and red to orange and yellow as it winds it's way around a young tree and upwards. These colours are joyful, life affirming and positive, reinforcing the energetic forms of the wall and path, and atmosphere I am hoping to create.





These sections are made out of perspex (from my templates) which has been donated by Perspex UK and cut by Zone Creations. I have chosen to use their frosted range as its opaque qualities will capture the light. When looking at their web sites I am amazed by the vast range of applications for Perspex.

Contractor

A number of factors have to be considered when choosing a contractor. The obvious one is cost, as working within my budget is vital, but equally important is to feel completely confident in there capabilities. Being able to develop a rapport, so that decisions can be discussed easily, is also vital.

I found myself in the fortunate position of having four different contractor firms wishing to quote for the work. In the end I choose to work with Mick Carter who is London based and has experience of working with previous Scholars. We have now met and discussed the build in detail and made decisions together.

I sent through alterations to the seat design as well as considering how to achieve the tapered width of the curved wall. Mick has checked through and added to the Health and Safety, Risk Assessment information and Method statements that I put together for the RHS. We are currently discussing the build timetable.

These recent photos show the stunning snowy wood land near my home. The range of  trunk colours are what I am hoping to replicate using the vertical hard landscaping product on the curved wall.  I wont be using snow through!