A Chelsea Show Garden - planting week
Post categories: RHS Chelsea Flower Show
| 07:00 UK time, Friday, 20 May 2011
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We are racing towards the finish line. It is the last few days of the build process and we are in the thick of planting-up the garden. Trolleys of perennials surround me; at first glance it would appear that I have drastically over-ordered. I am desperate to get them planted as many of the other show gardens appear much more advanced than ours. But I have a terrible habit of finding 'much more important things' to do rather than getting stuck in, as I know this is the element that can make or break the garden.
In the past, I have been known to rush and maybe over-stuff the garden a little, but this year I am keen to conduct this duty in a calm and controlled manner. I am feeling psyched. I have worked out a plan of action in my head and I am ready to begin in earnest.
A full sized crane hoists a Scots pine into position (Photo: Jon Enoch)
The garden has really started to take shape in the last few days, but exactly a week ago today, disaster struck. The beautiful, 7 metre tall Scots pines that I had chosen in Germany all those months ago arrived on site. A full sized crane was needed to hoist them into position, but despite following the proper tree lifting procedure, somehow the last tree was damaged and left with a gaping bark wound. Mad panic followed. The tree had to be sent back to the nursery and I had to find another one at short notice. Luckily, the nursery came to the rescue and I learnt that whilst I was tagging my three Scots pines in Germany, the nursery man had been running behind me tagging extra 'just in case' plants for exactly this kind of situation. Inevitably, this accident happened on Friday 13th, but we mustn't dwell.
However, morale was lifted when the tree ferns arrived well furnished with fronds having benefitted from the unseasonably warm spring. Many of the trunks are curved creating a visually pleasing naturalistic effect. The planting plan that I had agonised over for many weeks, soon went out of the window as I decided to plant many more tree ferns than intended.
To give the garden that typically Cornish feel, I have been planting rhododendrons around the Scots pines. I set a willing volunteer the task of dead heading them all so that they don't look like a giant grotesque snowball. Many of the plants, even though beautiful, need a lot of primping before they get planted. We have spent days, going through each cane of bamboo, snipping off last year's leaves whilst trying to retain some foliage. Perfection is key.
So, with another very long day ahead of me and no doubt another sleepless night worrying about the details, it is hard to imagine that in just three days time, we will have plumped and preened for the very last time and I will be swapping my high viz vest for my smart suit in the hope that The Queen might just be tempted to venture onto my garden.
's debut at Chelsea in 2008 resulted in a gold medal, followed by a Silver medal in 2009 and silver Gilt in 2010. Follow the ups and downs of the creation of his most ambitious Chelsea Show Garden to date on this blog in the coming weeks.
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