After months of anticipation we’ve finally started building our  Artisan Garden for the NSPCC at the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This year’s garden, which is sponsored and supported by the lovely people at Sheila’s Wheels Insurance, will be our fifth garden and promises to be our best ever. The garden is a nostalgic thought-provoking garden, designed to get people to reflect on the preciousness and potential of childhood and to encourage them to think about what will they leave? as a legacy.

 The NSPCC is the only charity focused on ending child cruelty across the UK, driven by the simple belief that no child should suffer. The NSPCC’s life-changing work is funded almost exclusively by the kindness of the public – around one in every six pounds donated to the NSPCC comes from gifts in wills. Hopefully, if we can encourage people to reflect on their own childhood happy memories in this garden then we can get them to think about  helping  the NSPCC continue their amazing work with their own gift in their  will.

 We have 10 days to build our garden and after 3 days we are thrilled with our progress. We are on schedule to finish on Sunday 19th May. It’s quite humbling on day one when we arrive on site to see our plot marked out for us on a piece of bare grass, knowing that ten days later our garden will be judged by the RHS and more importantly by the gardening public.  Thankfully, everything has been planned out and we have a detailed build schedule, detailing exactly what we are going to be doing on what day and what we hope to achieve at the end of each day. We are just hoping for better weather than we have had over the last few weeks. So far the weather has been OK, but it is turning a bit more cooler and showery, typical Chelsea build up weather.

 We did feel a bit anxious on our first day when we turned up on site to be confronted with a blank space, our plot looked so space. Now that plants are going in, the garden is developing nicely.

Central to the garden is our beautiful rustic tree house, which is being built by forestry craftsman, Phil Game and Cormac Conway and his team from Conway Landscapes here in Bishop’s Stortford. Mark Sessions from Stortford based company ‘Aquatic Fanatics’ is constructing the water feature. Already the garden has a wonderful nostalgic feel and is getting a lot of attention.

The general weather conditions have been against us in the run up to Chelsea. The spring has been one of the latest that we can remember and consequently plants are 2-3 weeks behind where they should be. Everybody is in the same boat and as you walk around the show, there is very little flower colour to be seen at the moment. All in all a very worrying build-up and we’ll be taking it right up to the wire.

 It’s nice to meet up with old friends and familiar faces and fellow designers. Usually though, there’s no time for chat as everyone is focused on building their own garden’s. It’s only towards the end of the build, when some of the pressure is off, that people start to relax and talk to each other and everyone becomes more sociable.

 Our judgement day is Tuesday 21st May when we find out what medal we have been awarded and that’s also the day that the Show opens to the public. For us that’s our favourite part of the Show talking to keen gardeners and sharing our passion for plants. Fingers crossed!

 If you happen to have tickets for Chelsea this year do come and see us  and say hello, we’d be very pleased to see you:

 To find out more about the work of the NSPCC check out www.nspcc.org.uk . For regular photo updates on the garden go to our website and click on the twitter and facebook icons.

  ‘What will we leave? The NSPCC Garden of Magical Childhood  

 Artisan Garden Plot SEW5

‘What will we leave? The NSPCC Garden of Magical Childhood’ , Artisan Garden Plot SEW5

Well, its nearly here. This friday (10th May 2013) is the day we start building our Artisan Garden at the Gardening Oscars. Yes, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has arrived!

Our plants at the nursery are coming along in leaps and bounds, and all have thumping great flower buds so they should look amazing when the Show opens to the public on tuesday 21st May 2013.

It’s

It’s all systems go as we round up everything we need for the Show. Together with our contractor, Conway Landscapes, we’ll be heading down to Chelsea at 5.30am everyday so we can make a 7am start at the Show, and miss all that  hideous London traffic.

In our own category of garden, the Artisan Gardens, we are one of eight exhibits and have 10 days to complete our garden. Everything is meticulously organised with a detailed work schedule . We have set ourselves targets to reach everyday so that everthing goes smoothly and we complete the garden in time. Although the weather seems to becoming a bit more unsettled, we are hoping that it stays dry to keep our spirits up. Wet weather can also seriously slow you down and make everything really messy and depressing.

We’ll update you as the build progresses with regular photos on our twitter and facebook accounts. Just click on the relevant icon on the left of the screen.

Fingers crossed for a stress-free build.

Two weeks to go until we start building ‘What will we leave? The NSPCC Garden of Magical Childhood’ , our nostalgic legacy garden asking people to reflect on the preciousness of childhood and to consider supporting the NSPCC  through leaving gifts in wills.

 7.30am, Friday 10^th May is our build start and we’re raring to go. This week we are busy with last minute organisation and planning, checking plant deliveries, booking forklifts and final meetings with our contractor, Cormac (Conway Landscapes). Actually, when I say having a meeting with our contractor, I mean having a  Chelsea chat over a curry, a much more civilised and productive business meeting.

 The warmer weather has been fabulous for our plants, the dandelions seem to be doubling in size overnight and we are having to pinch out the flower buds to slow them down. We are doing the same with our lady’s smock (Cardamine pratensis). Some plants such as the meadow buttercups, oxe-eye daisies and field poppies we are still keeping in the green house to speed them into flower. Fingers crossed they should all make it.

We are particularly pleased with our lawn daisies, which are coming on in leaps and bounds. Delivered as small plug plants from a specialist wildflower nursery in March, they’re already flowering their socks off. At this rate there’ll be more than enough to make daisy chains.

Our award winning stinging nettle is making its fifth appearance at Chelsea, a plant we have used in all of our Chelsea gardens. That must be a record, I’ll have to verify  it with the RHS!

 We are using the nettle in tandem with a dock (Sheeps sorrel – Rumex acetosella) as we all remember rubbing a dock leaf on a nettle sting to take away the pain. In a way it’s an analogy of life with organisations like the NSPCC, representing  dock leaves,  helping to take away the sting  from child cruelty and exploitation.

Just one more thing. Here’s a sneak preview of our teddy bear for the garden, as yet unnamed, a vintage 1930′s Chad valley bear, adorable!

After all the planning we’re almost there.

For more information on the garden and on leaving gifts in wills, go to www.nspcc.org.uk/chelsea

‘What will we leave? The NSPCC Garden of Magical Childhood    RHS Chelsea 2013

It’s been a busy week as we continue to work on the garden ready for Chelsea, and now that spring has suddenly appeared, our plants are exploding into growth, more of that later. 

At the moment we are deciding on how the pebbles will look in our water feature; ‘The Wishing Pond’. ‘The Wishing Pond’ is an important part of the garden and will act as a focal point below the tree house. It is quite shallow and will be lined with painted pebbles of various sizes that will be visible through the water. Some of the pebbles will have messages or wishes painted on them from NSPCC supporters, all answering the question, ‘what will we leave?’

 This idea of legacy is central to the theme of the garden which will hopefully stimulate people to reflect on how precious childhoods are and how important it is to help the NSPCC to protect both children and childhoods in the future. Leaving gifts in wills is a great way of doing it.

On a personal level we want to leave innocence, safety, security, ambition, and a feeling of significance but we are really looking forward to finding out what NSPCC supporters want to leave when we hear back from them in the next couple of weeks. That’s the great thing about this garden, getting real people involved!

 Now, back to the plants.  The weather has finally changed and we can breathe a sigh of relief now that things are actually starting to grow. We must admit that we were starting to feel a little bit worried with the late spring but now that temperatures are on the rise, all those worries are out the window. This time of year plants grow like stink, you just need to look at the hedgerows to see as the hawthorn and cow parsley start to romp away. 

To find out more about leaving gifts in wills go to www.whatwillweleave.org.uk and to find out about the work of the NSPCC go to www.nspcc.org.uk

The NSPCC What will we leave? Garden of Magical Childhood   – Artisan Garden (SEW5)

Snow in April with only 50 growing days to go until Chelsea opens! Should we be worried? Well maybe, and maybe not.

 The good old British weather has always been a bit of worry for Chelsea Exhibitors as it can affect no only what is in flower, but also what is in leaf. Many a last minute substitution has been made because a feature plant is still in tight bud or the leaves just haven’t unfurled. We had our own mini panic last year with a beech tree we had to change because the leaves weren’t fully out.  Generally, you do have to bare this in mind and choose plants that are reliably in leaf or flower for late May, but you can’t plan for everything. For example, foxgloves, a Chelsea favourite, are normally flowering their socks off for the Show but last year there were hardly any anywhere, the flowers just didn’t make it in time. This can be a bit of pain, especially if the plant is vital to your garden design and you have mentioned it in your ‘Brief’ and specified it in your ‘Planting Plan’. In most cases the judges are understanding and you don’t get marked down even if you have to change something, as long as you let them know.

 Having said that plants can grow remarkably quickly in April and with a forecasted change in the weather for next week, most plants will soon catch up, even after this late start. The majority of our plants for this years Chelsea are already under cover and are being grown by specialist nurseries so they should be OK. We are also growing quite a few native British wildflowers ourselves and they are used to the vagaries of the British weather. There’s nothing quite as robust as a wildflower!

Dandlelion - Never has a plant been so loved and hated at the same time

Even with this late spring some of our plants are already starting to put on new growth. We are particularly pleased with the field poppies (Papaver rhoeas) and lady’s smock (Cardamine pratensis) which are stonking little plants.

We’ve also now re-potted all of the oxe-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), meadow buttercups (Ranunculs acris), ragged robins (Lychnis flos-cuculi) and red campions (Silene dioica) and have recently had a delivery of another 100 lawn daisies (Bellis perennis) and dandlelions (Taraxacum officinale) which will be potted on at the weekend.

Plants aside, all the other garden features are coming along nicely. Our contractor, Cormac Conway (from Conway Landscapes) is working on the tree house design, and preliminary sketches look fabulous. We’ve also received some of the posters and artwork from NSPCC young people which we’ll put up inside the tree house and they look absolutely amazing.  We’ve already got a great vintage child’s tea set for our teddy bear’s picnic and are just deciding on the right shade of gingham for our picnic blanket.

 One thing we are particularly proud of is a vintage ‘Blue Peter badge’ from the 1970’s, guaranteed to spark those nostalgic childhood memories!

 Can’t wait to get started, roll on May.

Gardeners are ever the optimists and after this current cold snap you can’t blame us for hoping for some decent Easter weather so that we can get out into our gardens. Don’t despair, the clocks go forward on Easter Sunday, blue skies are starting to reappear and believe it or not it is getting warmer, albeit slowly. Now is the time to start thinking about gardening.

With this in mind join us on Easter Monday on BBC Three Counties Radio on Sophie Sulehria’s Show from 12am-1pm for topical gardening advice.   Listen live or catch up on iplayer .

95.5FM  | 103.8FM  | 104.5FM

You can also tune in to Ideal World TV on Easter Day from 11am-1pm where Adam will be bringing you some great gardening offers on Ideal Gardening. 

Sky 644 |  Freeview 22  |   Virgin 747 | Freesat 812

Have a fabulous Easter!

NSPCC What Will We Leave? Garden of Magical Childhood ARTISAN GARDEN SEW5

Winter seems to be slowly making way for spring but it’s not going out without a fight. This week’s weather has been dreadful, subzero temperatures, biting easterly winds and yet more snow on the way. I’m sure last spring was earlier!

 Looking outside at the moment it’s hardly good growing weather but come April when the soil warms up and the sun comes out you won’t believe how quickly plants grow. We do like to take an active role in growing our plants for Chelsea and some we will grow on from plugs or small seedlings at home in our own gardens. Some of our wildflowers have already arrived from a specialist wildflower nursery and we intend to nurture them carefully so that they look spectacular for judging day and more importantly for the many thousands of visitors that will visit the garden during Show week. Although the compost is frozen at the moment, the plants are still in a dormant state and not unduly bothered. Give them a couple of weeks and they will explode into growth. 

From this to this in 8 weeks! (weather permitting)

We’ll soon start potting them on into larger pots to encourage growth and tidy up any damaged or discoloured leaves. Over the years we’ve learnt that you don’t need to feed wildflowers that much as many of them prefer low levels of nutrients and often flower much better on poor soils but they do need to be well watered. Some plants such as sheep sorrel or dock are heavy drinkers and need watering twice a day, sometimes more.

We will also constantly deadhead our wildflowers or pinch out the growing points to ensure that they are at their best for Chelsea. We don’t want any of our flowers to peak too soon. To a large extent this all depends on the season; if we have an early warm spring some plants such as bluebells, probably won’t make it for Chelsea but if we have a cold late one they might.  In the past we have kept some in cold storage to cheat nature to ensure that the flowers hang on a bit longer.

 All our other perennials and shrubs have been selected, ordered and are tucked up safely in their own greenhouses ready to be delivered direct to the Show. During the next couple of months we’ll make regular visits to the nurseries to check on their progress.

 This week we have also been looking at the sort of pebbles that we want to use for our ‘Wishing Pond’. The ‘Wishing Pond’ is a little water feature in the centre of the garden that will have messages and wishes written on the pebbles from NSPCC friends and supporters. The messages could be one word or more and will describe what people want to leave for future childhoods; a legacy of security and protection.

 Overall, we are still on schedule, but a bit more sun would be nice.

Further information on the work of the NSPCC and on leaving gifts in wills go to www.whatwillweleave.org.uk

NSPCC What Will We Leave? Garden of Magical Childhood  ARTISAN GARDEN (SEW5)

HERE we are in the middle of February and last Sunday marked 100 days until the start of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show 2013. The countdown has started.

Although we have created several gardens at Chelsea now, we still admit to feeling a slight sense of anxiety, especially when you look out the window to see grey skies, leafless trees and a complete lack of colour in the garden.  You just have to convince yourself that nature will win through and come April trees and plants will burst into life again. 

Last week we made a visit to London to the Chelsea showground to take a look at the spot where we will be building our garden. This is always advisable so that there’re any unwelcome surprises when you get there on the first day of the build. The Artisan Garden exhibits, of which we are one, are located in Ranelagh Gardens and our plot is right next door to where we built a garden last year so fortunately we know it really well. The plot is reasonably flat and is surrounded by trees which means that our garden can borrow from the landscape around it and look even more magical. Looking at the area now, empty and quiet, you can’t believe that in just 100 days there could be more than150,000 people visiting the garden.

 We’ve also been busy tree hunting at our favourite tree nursery in Bedfordshire. The garden will feature a large tree in the centre, around which we are going to build our tree house, so selecting the right specimen is really important. After spending hours at the nursery in sub zero temperatures and looking at what seemed like hundreds of trees we think that we have found the one that we are going to use. Originally, we were thinking of using a type of cherry tree but if we have a cold spring and if the tree flowers too much there might not be enough energy for the leaves to ‘come out’ enough in time for Chelsea so instead we are thinking of changing it to a horse chestnut, another childhood favourite and ideal for a tree house! That’s the tricky thing about designing a garden for Chelsea; you are just designing a ‘stage set’ for 5 days in May.

Our wildflowers have been ordered and we are going to take delivery early so we can grow them on ourselves to ensure they are at their peak for Chelsea.

We are going to use a few toys as part of our child’s picnic scene in the garden and locating them has been particularly fun. It’s been a real antidote to the mountain of forms and admin that a project like this generates, which isn’t so much fun! We have fallen in love with ‘Angus’ the teddy bear, who will take pride of place in this garden of magical memories!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates.

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For further information on the work of the NSPCC and on leaving gifts in wills go to www.whatwillweleave.org.uk

NSPCC What Will We Leave? Garden of Magical Childhood  ARTISAN GARDEN (SEW5)

WELL here we are at the start of a brand new year and we’ll delighted to be creating a garden for the NSPCC at the most prestigious flower show in the world, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. We are particularly excited to be a part of it this year as 2013 marks the centenary of the Chelsea Flower Show.

The garden is inspired by the magic of childhood and of happy nostalgic memories of growing up. It depicts a traditional child’s tea party taking place under a tree house surrounded by vibrant natural planting. There are vintage toys, conkers on strings, crystal dragon flies and fairy tale toadstools which all add to the magical and nostalgic feel of the garden.

There is a small pool in the centre of the garden; ‘The Wishing Pond’ which is shallow, safe and lined with pebbles. The pebbles have messages written on them from NSPCC young people and their supporters.

Although, not specifically a child’s garden, it is more a garden of childhood, a nostalgic place of happy memories and adventures. We want the garden to encourage people to reflect on childhood, its preciousness, children’s vulnerability and how we should provide a safe and happy environment for children today and tomorrow. And part of this is to urge people to think about how they can help the NSPCC achieve this through leaving gifts in wills. Hence the message ‘What will we leave?’

Preparation is well under way. Plant numbers have being finalised and ordered and nursery visits are starting to be made. A lot of the plants that we are going to use are wild flowers and we like to receive them early, as plug plants and grow them on ourselves so that we can monitor their growth to ensure they are at their best for the Show. We are planning to use colourful plants like fox gloves, oxe-eye daisies, honesty, buttercups and campions to engage and stimulate.

The main feature plant is the tree that will grow through the tree house. We had hoped to use a cherry tree but if we have a cold spring the leaves may not be fully out in time for the Show so we may have to change it . We are currently in talks with a specialist tree nursery in Bedfordshire to find the perfect specimen, but we haven’t found it yet. We’ll keep looking.

To mark the Chelsea Centenary, and for this year only, the RHS have relaxed their regulations to allow garden gnomes to be used for the first time at Chelsea. Normally, their use is strictly prohibited.  We are going to take advantage of this to include a vintage gnome to add a bit of magic and humour. Luckily we’ve already found him and called him Robert!

There’s a lot more preparation to do and a lot more hard work ahead but it should be a lot of fun and we’re really looking forward to it.

Will keep you posted with regular updates.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates.

Twitter @WoolcottSmith

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For further information on the work of the NSPCC and on leaving gifts in wills go to www.whatwillweleave.org.uk

Tune into BBC Radio Kent’s ‘Sunday Gardening Programme’ this Sunday 23rd December to hear Jon chatting to presenter Andy Garland about our entry for next year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The Show starts at 8am and Jon should be on around 9.15am.

The garden, ‘The NSPCC What will we leave? Garden of Magical Childhood’, will be  a celebration of nostalgic childhood memories & adventures featuring a tree house, vintage toys and  wishing pond, with planting as wild and vibrant as a child’s imagination. Through highlighting magical, nostalgic childhood memories we hope to urge people to leave gifts in wills to help the NSPCC protect ther magic of childhood for the future.

www.whatwillweleave.org.uk