From the drawing board

It was the last day of the Chelsea Flower Show on Saturday and another hot and tiring day, but somehow knowing that it was our last gave us an extra burst of energy and by the time the show finished at 5.30pm we really did feel quite sad to be dismantling the stand.  It was a really brilliant week and we got such amazing feedback about the design and the craftmanship of the products that English Garden Joinery were showcasing – we even had someone interested in buying the whole stand!

I think the most exciting thing for us was the Certificate of Merit that we were awarded by the RHS for the design and outstanding presentation of our stand.  This was our first time at Chelsea so to be awarded the highest accolade for a stand of its size is really amazing.  I think we were all so busy getting through the week that it was only yesterday that it really dawned on me just how well we’ve done!

We’re already excited about exhibiting again next year and as it will be the 100th anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show we’ll be creating something just that little bit more special. Rob Horton already has ideas for his next product launch!

The rocking sun lounger really did go down a storm and if you’d like to learn more about it, you may wish to take a look at my post today on the HeartHome Magazine blog.

Although the show is over, I still want to share my favourite gardens and thoughts about the show so I will be blogging about those later on this week.

It’s Press Day at Chelsea Flower Show today and it’s very exciting not only to be there before the show opens to the public, but also to be part of the show.  I spent a few hours yesterday with English Garden Joinery at the showground, putting the final touches to their show stand and I am delighted to be able to share the finished stand with you… Read more

It’s been a while since my front garden was finished and I know the rain has been really miserable over the past few weeks, but it has kept my new plants happy and they’re already putting on some growth. Read more

As you know, a few weeks ago, Rob Horton of English Garden Joinery asked me if I would like to design their RHS Chelsea Flower Show stand this year and it didn’t really take me very long to give them an answer…well, a couple of seconds maybe! Read more

If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you’ll know that I carried out the planting at my Sutton project a few weeks ago.  It was a long old day as I was on site at 7.30am and didn’t finish until gone 7pm by which time it was not only too dark to take pictures, but all I wanted to do was to get home and have a hot bath. Read more

Well it’s been a challenging month in the garden world with most of the water companies in the South East imposing hosepipe bans at the beginning of April but that’s another story for another time and, fortunately, because my Sutton client had a drip-feed irrigation system installed, we were still able to plant up the garden.  I didn’t finish the planting until 8.30pm so it was too dark to take photos, but I am going back later this week to take pictures and will of course share them with you then.  Ironically of course the irrigation system hasn’t really been needed yet! Read more

I hope you’ve enjoyed following the construction of my front garden – we planted yesterday and I can now share the pictures of the finished garden.  I keep forgetting it’s done actually so every time I walk outside the front door it makes me smile!  Gardens have the power to do that you see,they really do change the way you feel about your home. Read more

The Concept Design for my project in France is now finished and I thought you’d be interested in seeing it.  I spoke to my client last Friday to walk her round the design and I am very pleased to report that she loves it. Read more

March has been a very full month – the amazing warm and sunny weather seems to have ignited the garden world earlier than usual so I have been working hard to keep up with everything.  I love writing this monthly post because it makes me take stock and realise what I’ve achieved in the month – when you’re busy it’s often difficult to see what you’ve actually achieved! Read more

I hope you’ve been enjoying the last few blog posts about the construction of my front garden.  The hard landscaping was finished yesterday and it’s looking gorgeous now even without plants in the ground or paint on the rendered walls.  I wanted the share the last 2 days of construction with you because the transformation yesterday once the gravel went in was quite dramatic. Read more