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January 2006
Monday 2nd
Today I received all of the Chelsea manuals in the post. We have to fill in about 30 forms - a huge pile of paperwork which relates to everything from buying tickets to how many lorries we will need on site.
I spend the day going through all the paperwork and making up a brief itinerary for everything we will need to do to ensure that the run up to Chelsea goes smoothly. This year is more complex than most as I will be growing most of the plants for the garden. It is going to take a considerable amount of effort to ensure they are all in perfect condition by the 23rd of May.
Wednesday 4th
I have ordered a pallet of compost to be delivered to Longstanton where the plants are being grown, along with pots, trays and cells for pricking out seedlings.
Saturday 7th
I spend the morning with Steve, writing the garden diary for the website, up to the end of December. It is always amazing, when I look back over my notes, to realise just how much time is actually spent, between June to December, planning a garden which won't even be assembled until the following May.
Monday 9th
This week is going to be almost entirely devoted to the Chelsea plants. While Anne and Doreen are busy in the tunnel potting on some of the plants we bought in last Autumn, Amanda and I spend the day going through plant numbers and starting to search for just a few of the species we have missing.
Wednesday 11th
Our 4head monthly meeting is as usual an opportunity for the team to get together and go through every aspect of the planning, from PR to plant growing, IT and anything else that might relate to the garden. It is a very good system as it does flag up areas where there may be problems. Fortunately, this month, there doesn't seem to be any as everything is on schedule. The only problems that we may have this year are with setting up the webcams. Our site on Main Avenue doesn't allow us to use the same facilities that we have been used to on the Rock Bank. We are going to have to use battery storage to power the computers necessary to run the cameras during build up.
Monday 16th
We spend the day working on the Chelsea plants potting programme. This is coming on well. There are still one or two species we cannot find. I have tried to use all of my contacts but still am missing some of the grasses that I need for the garden. It seems strange when grasses are so popular that so few nurseries have anything in any number. I need 200 of 3 different species and most nurseries are telling me that we have between 10 and 30. I think it is going to be a long job finding them.
Wednesday 18th
I spend the day with Mark Davis at Thame, near Oxford. Mark runs Cuttlebrook Koi Farm and we have been friends for many years as we used to have gardens side-by-side at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and he helped construct a large water feature for Heather. Mark, who is a Gold Medal winning designer in his own right, has a number of artificial lakes which are used as part of the Koi breeding cycle. Over the years Mark has used the margins of these pools for planting all the material that he used in his own showgardens. For the pool in the 4head Garden of Dreams I need a considerable number of clumps of natural looking vegetation. Mark has come up trumps as he has offered me all the material we need for the garden. All I have to do is go and dig it up and put it into pots. I think another trip will be needed.
Thursday 19th
Another day spent working in the tunnel. Today we have been potting on the 200 foxgloves which were rapidly outgrowing their pots.
Monday 23rd
While the girls are busy potting on all the herbs we purchased from Jekka, I spend the day with Amanda working on the Chelsea budget and accounts. This is always an important part of the job of managing a Chelsea garden, as it is important to know exactly where you are financially within the budget.
Tuesday 24th
We decide to have a massive sort out in the nursery. Now that all the plants have been re-potted and cleaned we need to take stock of exactly what we have and how many more plants we need. The dry weather has been helpful as it makes it much easier to clean everything as we go along. The cold weather is not a problem to us as many of the woodland plants we are growing often flower a little too early for Chelsea - the second week in May rather than the third, so for many species a cold spring would suit us down to the ground. Species in need of a little heat have been put in our big polytunnel and those in need of more heat have been given to Heather who is cosseting them in her tropical greenhouse.
Thursday 26th
We have been sowing all of the seeds that we need for the garden. We need Oats, as an ornamental grass for the flowerbeds, and we have to sow all the trays we need of mixed grasses and herbs for our 'meadow' area.
Friday 27th
A trip to Wales is needed to see how David is getting on with the carving of a sleeping faun for the woodland. I know that David has started the carving in lime wood. Lime is a beautiful, close-grain wood, which is the colour of old ivory when dry. His carving looks beautiful and will be a valued edition to the woodland area where it is to be sited.
Saturday 28th
Paul and I spend the day digging up grass in the grounds of the hotel. The proprietors were delighted that I wanted to weed their flowerbeds which are infested with wood false brome, one of the grasses we have been missing. Not half as delighted as I am to find a grass which apparently nobody grows and which I very much wanted for the woodland area.
Tuesday 31st
We spend the day in the nursery potting on the large plants of woodrush which are rapidly outgrowing their pots. Great excitement in the nursery as Amanda's two Jack Russells discover a mouse nest in the middle of the pots. Even more exciting as one of them ('Hobbs'), in hot pursuit of his quarry, gets stuck under the potting shed and has to be dragged out.
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