Friday, February 13, 2009

Pink and whit orchids




Roraima mountain

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It's always interesting to earwig on conversations at a flower show, you can't really help it when there are so many visitors, and everyone's got their own ideas as to what makes a great show garden or exhibit. One comment I hear time and time again is how inspiring the gardens are and how they're going to try to copy 'that' colour scheme or 'this' style of planting. The thing that I'm going to take away and copy from this years show is not plants but paths. thyme_path.jpgThe back to back gardens are very good for hard landscaping ideas and I spotted a brick edged path in-filled with pebbles stuck into concrete, much like a mosaic. Or, there's a stone path with grass instead of mortar and something more contemporary, a metal grid suspended over a bog garden - almost like a bridge. However, the one that I'm going to copy at home is the path in 'The Garden for Bees'. It's a gravel path planted with an informal drift of thyme, which smells as good as it looks. The good news for me is that I've already got a gravel path, all I have to do is add the 'thyme' and once the flower show is over, I'll have the 'time' to do it.
Manzanita flower

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Daisy

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Pyracantha berries in Ben Lomond, CA USA

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Pork plants altura mn




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Asim Shah posted a photo:

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On the left side of the picture an expired lotus blossom - on the right side a lotus bud about to open. View the following photos to see the full life cycle of a lotus flower.
In album Lotus flower photo - Lotus blossom images - Lotus pond photos

Asim Shah posted a photo:

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Rachel De Thame picks her favourite part of the show. "One of the highlights of Tatton for me are the bedding displays. The RHS/ Ball Colegrave National Flowerbed Competition is great and the displays are done better here than anywhere else. It's done much bolder, brighter and better up north and the bedding schemes certainly show that." hare_200x200.jpg "The exhibitiors work very hard on their flowerbeds and often put a lot of humour and skill into them. I particularly like the bed that's like a ploughed field complete with its own hare. There are some great designs with really interesting stories behind them."

The poppy bloomed, but it was so heavy it broke the stem ... I had to prop it up to take photos :(

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  Bee's on Manzanita


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Orange lillies

pollen-flowers posted a photo

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Roraima mountain

The poppy bloomed, but it was so heavy it broke the stem ... I had to prop it up to take photos :(
We got a silver-gilt medal which we are very pleased with, we're really pleased because it's our first Tatton. The judges did say that they'd like us to do a larger stand and that our plants would really suit a larger exhibit. One of the reasons why we create a display of this size is because it fills one lorry! We never know how the plants will go down when we come to a new show and especially one in a different climatic area, but so far so good. Next week we're going to the Taunton flower show where we're exhibiting our own plants and planting a garden, then Rob and I are off for three days to an undisclosed, secret location to reflect on the last few months and plan for the year ahead.
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Black friday madison square garden ny




I'm not sure if it's to keep 'us' in...or 'them' out but on Tuesday, the BBC local radio team were surrounded by a seven foot high fence. However, I'm relieved to report that we were left with a narrow escape route. alison_and_bob.jpgWe started broadcasting on Wednesday with reporters and presenters from BBC Radio Stoke, Coventry and Warwickshire and Manchester. Luckily they managed to find us. You can see the aerials on the top of the 'OB' van, you can't really miss them, they're 20 foot tall - radio_vans.jpgyou just can't work out how to get in to them. We also did '2-ways' for BBC Radio Wiltshire, Oxford, Lancashire, Hereford and Worcester, Sheffield, Tees, Gloucestershire and Jersey. What's an 'OB' or a '2-way'? Like many organisations the BBC is full of jargon and acronyms...I'll share the secrets with you another time.

Flower With White Color, Around...


Robert Nyman
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Blue

Rachel De Thame picks her favourite part of the show. "One of the highlights of Tatton for me are the bedding displays. The RHS/ Ball Colegrave National Flowerbed Competition is great and the displays are done better here than anywhere else. It's done much bolder, brighter and better up north and the bedding schemes certainly show that." hare_200x200.jpg "The exhibitiors work very hard on their flowerbeds and often put a lot of humour and skill into them. I particularly like the bed that's like a ploughed field complete with its own hare. There are some great designs with really interesting stories behind them."
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What is sunflower bread





Crocus - the first flowers of spring 2008

Asim Shah posted a photo:

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Orange lillies


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Robert Nyman
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Show gardens at flower shows are always very subjective, the judges are looking for one thing, the gardening press another, and very often the public are just looking for something they can recreate in their own garden. All too often they don't agree on which should be the winner. beardshaw_300x150.jpg At Tatton Chris Beardshaw's garden, 'Cheshire's Year of Gardens 08', pleased all three and it's easy to see why it was awarded the Best in Show title. Recreating a classic english country house garden with bold herbaceous borders on both sides was a sure fire winner. I loved the predominantly pastel planting and highlights of gold added by the Catalpa at the end. I'm told there are subtle elements from at least 12 Cheshire gardens incorporated into the design, including the famous double borders at Arley Hall. If you're visiting the show and you know your Cheshire gardens see if you can spot them. east_west_300x150.jpg According to my colleague Louise I have 'Boy tastes'when it comes to gardens and some of the other designs i liked typified this. The 'East Meets West' garden (Gold) was created by combining the traditional elements of a relaxing Japanese Zen garden with a contemporary seating area and blocky water feature. adlington_300x150.jpg Angular water features were in evidence in several other gardens i liked, including the 'Adlington Relax and Reflect Garden'(Silver-Gilt), with white walls, red containers and interesting grassy planing scheme and 'Always There' (Silver-Gilt) a garden created to promote the work of the Samaritans. This was just my cup of tea, with green the predominant colour and plants chosen to complement perfectly the stonework and rusted steel used within the design. samaritan_300x150.jpg The judges awarded just two gold medals and four silver gilt at Tatton this year and I'd completely agree with their decision. A number of gardens featured heavy stonework waterfalls including 'Go with the Flow' (Silver), My Little Piece of the Lakes (Bronze) and Natural Distinction (Silver-gilt) and I think all of them could have done with a bit more planting to soften the hard landscaping. brett_300x150.jpg Elsewhere 'Real Life by Brett' (Silver-gilt) brought the traditional northern back garden into the 21st century and was definitely drawing interest from the crowds. 'Hot Dry Days' (Bronze) took a more Mediterranean approach and showed how we can adapt our gardens to the changing climate. Who knows, if the weather continues to be as hot and sunny here as it has been this week maybe bananas will soon catch on in Manchester?
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