|
April 2006
Monday 3rd
Amanda and I have spent the day in the tunnel going through all the plants and potting up the last of the few species that we need, such as ground ivy, which I have left late as I want them to flower late. Potting them up at this time will set them back a bit.
Tuesday 4th
Amanda and I go down to Hampshire to select the last of the water plants we need from Graham Burgess, an old friend who has the most incredible selection of water plants which he grows in disused water cress beds behind his house. It's an amazing set up, paddling through these wonderful stone lined beds built in the last century - a perfect habitat for growing water plants.
Wednesday 5th
My yellow Labrador, Thea, who goes everywhere with me, is suddenly very lame. Having seen the vet, it looks as if she may have to have major surgery, not something I really wanted at this point in time.
Thursday 6th
I spend most of the day with the accountant, year end accounts, VAT and Chelsea accounts, all of these things take time. Unfortunately, there's just not enough of it at the moment and Thea has had to go for an x-ray.
Friday 7th
I spend the morning with Valerie from the BBC recording the piece which will go with the film of the garden. This is the film which goes out on BBC Digital, allowing the designer to show people around the garden. I have to go and pick up a van as tomorrow I need to take some plants over to Heather. The 'green lady' armature is being delivered to Heather's, where she will be assembled by sculptors Sue and Peter Hill, with a little help from some friends and 15 square metres of turf.
Saturday 8th
Having loaded all the plants into the van, I set off for Heather's. Fortunately it's not too far, just over an hour in the van. I arrive just as Sue and Peter are patting on the framework of the sculpture. They had driven up from the Eden Project in Cornwall late the night before and were just unloading the sculpture onto Heather's lawn. The day is spent patting mud onto the sculpture, preparatory to covering her body in turf, which will be her 'clothing', with help from Heather.
Tuesday 11th
An early morning meeting with Steve to do the diary for March. A little late, but finding the time at the moment is the problem. In the afternoon, I have an interview with Radio Cambridgeshire and betwixt and between, Amanda and I work in the tunnel.
Wednesday 12th
We spend the day in the tunnel. Amanda and I are becoming rather like royalty. We cannot take our holidays at the same time as one of us has to plant sit! Our plants are as time consuming and worrying as babies!
Thursday 13th
My husband Paul and I are spending Easter with Phil at his home in Sweden. I find at the moment that if I don't actually go away, I don't stop working and stress levels are running high. The results of Thea's x-rays mean that she has to have her knee completely rebuilt. Her cruciate ligaments have been severely damaged and on our return from Sweden she has to go to one of the specialist veterinary practices for major surgery. She will not be able to climb a stair or go for a walk for 12 weeks after this is done. I am told she will be fine and will make a full recovery.
Tuesday 18th
I take Thea into the veterinary centre, near Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. I won't see her again until Friday. I spend the afternoon at Sandy checking over the hedgeboxes and water plants, which are doing exceptionally well.
Wednesday 19th
I spend the morning with Amanda going over plants but at 11 o clock we have a meeting with Bonnie and Nicky going over all the arrangements they have made for the PR during the show.
Thursday 20th
The dog appears to be making a full recovery, which is a load off my mind. However, Amanda and I both have to go to the chiropractor, as we both have sciatica at the moment. Heather has also been regularly attending a chiropractor - creaking joints and strained muscles are definitely an occupational hazard for gardeners! We certainly can't afford for it to get any worse before the show. We spend the afternoon on gentle tasks – the delivery itinerary for the plants, which is extremely complex this year, as the way our stand is sited on Main Avenue leaves us with little or no storage space for plants. Nightmare!!
Friday 21st
We have our last 4head meeting, at Gosmore Place. This is a full meeting of all of the team. Everyone from Mick, who is responsible for the web cams, Steve, the web site, Russ, the birdsong, and Kevin, from Squires, joins us for a last minute brainstorming before the show. Everyone seems quite confident that come the hour, things should slot into place. It will be alright on the night! When the meeting has finished, I go into Hitchin to pick up Thea from the vets. She is overjoyed to see me. The prognosis is good, it seems that she should make a complete recovery and be back to her usual bouncy self in about three months time. I suspect she is not going to take kindly to being on a lead for twelve weeks.
We go back to Longstanton where I notice that some of our Foxgloves have got brown appearing on their leaves. I call out Colin to come and have a look at them. He thinks they may have some sort of mildew and we decide to spray them and keep all the tunnel doors open all the time.
Monday 24th
At 8 o clock this morning I had to be at Sandy to take delivery of the water plants from Graham. They are going to take a bit of cleaning up but will look wonderfully natural when we plant them around the pool. I spend the afternoon in the tunnel re-spacing the Foxgloves. Some of them are starting to look really sick, despite our efforts.
Tuesday 25th
I spent most of the afternoon with Amanda working on the plants and in the evening writing a piece for the BBC, who have asked us to select six plants which we feel are key to the garden and are good for wildlife. It's a difficult selection to make but I choose Oak, Hawthorn, Bluebell, Cowslip, Common Valerian and Cow Parsley.
Wednesday 26th
I go over to Sandy with Amanda and Jane Sommerfield, who has helped us plant at Chelsea since 2003. Jane's son Kristian comes along to help us clean up all the water plants at Sandy. It's a long day but we complete the task, all four of us ending up completely covered in mud.
Thursday 27th
I am seriously worried about our Foxgloves. I have called Colin over to have a look at them again, but they are really going incredibly brown. I just don't understand why they are going into such a decline. Just 10 days ago the crop was perfect and throwing up green shoots; today I doubt if any of them will make the show.
Friday 28th
Another jolly day. The foxgloves continue to sicken and Amanda and I have to pay another visit to the chiropractors. I have to say that my sciatica is significantly better.
Sunday 30th
Despite all of our best efforts, three quarters of our Foxglove crop are so sick that we have spent the day taking them out of the tunnel and putting them on the compost heap. I think that this is one of the most heartbreaking tasks I have ever had to perform. Plants which were so beautiful just two weeks ago are now just dead brown leaves. Although some may live, they certainly are not Chelsea Flower Show material. The plants that I have had outside are much better, but of course it's been such a cold spring that these are nowhere near flowering and I am reluctant to put them into the tunnel where the others have died. What a quandary. We have just four days left to find 200 white foxgloves which are about to flower, before I go down to London. I am tempted to use this diary to put out a horticultural 'Mayday' (coincidentally on May Day!), as a distress alert, to ask if any readers know of any suitable white foxgloves which I can acquire, at zero notice. I suppose it can't do any harm, so here's my e-mail address: marney.hall@btinternet.com.
Not the best start to my last week before we go to London, but at least the rest of the plants are looking good. Watch this space .... the action is about to go into overdrive!!
|
