The list

So,
I am now on count down.....

I have a list of jobs to do that I work through but then more appear on the bottom! The key jobs are sourcing more plants (Chris Marchant at Orchard Dene has been very supportive!), potting some on from tiny 9cm pots. as well as tweaking the brief to add details about plant changes and re use of materials and features after the show. I am really pleased to hear that the London Wildlife Trust are happy to receive my Sculpture and trees after the show at their Peckham Centre for Wild Life Gardening . This seems totally appropriate. My Chelsea gardens' design is about the energy of regeneration, whilst this wild life visitors centre has been created from an old council depot. I have also been contacted by an organisation called Groundwork who are able to reuse many materials from RHS Chelsea, so am pleased that a lot of the Bradstone hard landscaping will have a second life.
www.wildlondon.org.uk
www.groundwork.org.uk

I have been delivering extra plants to Crocus and re assessing my trees at Deepdale to make a final selection. I have also made small amendments to the Risk assessment, drawn up a timetable for the build and show to check that there are enough badges and wrist bands to go around. After some considerable effort the green wall delivery is now arranged. The Perspex leaves have been removed for safe transportation. The list goes on....

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!)