Gardeners World live Flower Show: adventures in Birmingham

Yesterday I was at the at Gardeners World Live at the NEC in Birmingham. In essence this is like a huge flower show but has the advantage of having them tv gardener folks from off telly being around. More importantly it is also a great opportunity to buy plants.

Loaded up and ready to go!

Having plated the majority of stuff that I had in pots, I could justify busying as many new plants as I wanted, and even bought one of them weely plant carrier things, which I have resisted for years, but was actually very helpful for carrying heavy purchases and tripping up older people.


I felt the show better than last year, as the show gardens were of a higher quality. Still not as good as you would expect at Chelsea of Hampton Court, but better than they were. The floral marquee was of course my favourite as it was crammed with nurseries, all with good displays and loads of plants to choose from.


The plant avenues in the main arena were also great to buy stuff from, but they were really just nurseries piling things high to sell cheap, but very helpful for getting some filler plants like Musa ensete to pad out the holes.

Bit in the main arena where the regular sellers were, it was all getting a bit bandito in search of sales...

TV folk were all around creating a bit of a scrum when they were filming (see above). I saw Alan Titmarsh, James Sinclair, Jo Swift Rachel de Thame, and Carol Klein....sadly I didnt get a chance to say hi, however I did hang out with some of the tv crew who came down in October who were having long and busy days.


It was good to hear them talk, Mr Titmarsh was particulalry engaging although he was a little taken aback when a lady from the audience asked 'Alan, can you tell me when I should prune my bush'

Everyone needs a bit of odd conceptualism...I rather liked this (perhaps it bows to my royal ambitions) but thought it would look good as part of landscaping a roundabout

Need I say more?

This plants name is 'Silybum' I had to take a picture to show that Helen wasnt making it up

interesting arid garden...I liked the wood sticking up at the back

windy walls



I liked this for the tanks used as mini ponds



Again nice use of verticle wood

Generally Im not a fan of the fuchia, apart from a brief obsession in my teens. I do howver like this Thalia type and bought a few as I think they can add to the tropical look

There was a Datura/Brugmansia stand however I must say I wasnt a fan of the doubles, they just look a bit blousy. I like their wild tropical jungleness...these seem a bit park displan

Giant restio

I wish I could grow ferns better (one day perhaps I will if I get an automatic watering system) this one was from Hawaii and very Jurassic Park

Pretty un named thing

This is to remind me that the one I bought last year will look better than it does at the moment!

Plantbase is one of my new favourite nurseries as he just had odd wild looking jungly things....

I bought one of these which should be a wild monster, although it will be cut down by frost,  along with a 'dead mans fingers' plant

I also bought a Eucalyptus which I plan on keeping pollarded for good young growth which is different from the adult foliage

Desert to Jungle also had a good stand with all the tropical favourites, I bought a Schleffera from them

The fabulous Tewksbury open gardens, and a peek at Hornimans

With the last bed weeded and the vast majority of plants in I felt I needed a break from gardening and headed over to Forest Hill to visit the newly re-opened gardens of the Hornimans museum, and the Tewksbury Lodge group of 6 gardens that open for the NGS.

Firstly stop chuckling about the name (Charles this means you). Seemingly every day on the bus home from school when we passed the museum the girls from the local girls school would start sniggering about it 'ooooh its the horny-man' this would stop momentarily when the bus passed central Forest Hill, but then resume at the top of the hill on passing the Horniman bar.

For those that dont know, Hornimans is a fabulous museum, full of the kind of ethnographic art that makes my jungle drum go boom boom boom. The gardens have just had a big refurbishment and they now have a central area that is dedicated to growing different types of plants including edibles, dye plants, medicinal etc. I was pleased to see that there were still lots of banana trees (they used to have a fabulous mature stand of about 20? M basjoo's) however I think I will come back at the end of summer when things are a bit more established.

Above is their renovated bandstand with a great view across the Central London, and below is the rather sparse dye garden

But on to the gardens....to put it simply they were fabulous and one of the best NGS experiences Ive had. I think it was because they were well organised, with a central patch in the middle of the area where they did the tickets and plant sales and gave you a map. There were also 6 of them, each of them sizable enough to be a good visit, but variety is the spice of life.

They were also in an interesting area, as they were at the top of a hill with commanding views of London, but lots of slopes to contend with.

Finally the planting was of high quality, the gardens were all different and there were lots of ideas to take away

Apologies that Ive completely forgotten which house was which, but some highlights...

I love chickens, and this is one mother of a coop

Geranium maderense....so so pretty and seeing it grown well makes me realise how badly I treat my own as it is never this good. The lady who grew the best ones said she cut them down to the ground after flowering which seemed to make them grow better and better cope with the winter. a must have plant as the leaves look tropical, and the flowers are robust with glandular stalks...very exotic

I need a new greenhouse, 8x6 is not big enough

Forests of bell flower...would look good in a jungle/woodland setting if they grew through something like a bed of ferns

This lady liked her topiary....elsewhere there were lots of box chickens...

see the view.....

pretty flower innit....

Here all the bamboo supports were painted red which I thought very interesting. Quite if I had the patience to do it is another matter!

This house had an amazing summerhouse with a proper old style chaise longue in it....I waitied for a while for them to move so I could take up residency but these squatters were more determined than the St Pauls Campers....

great terracing

So lots of different gardens, great cake and different inspirations which combined with getting most of my plants in the ground means I have lots of leeway to buy lots of stuff at Gardeners World Live in Birmingham on Wednesday. hurrah!

Its all exciting seeing all these NGS gardens, and all of a sudden my own opening in September seems to be drawing closer (it is 12 weeks to go ug!). Certainly I hear excited murmerings from Lincolnshire and people are asking about it more. It is however strange to be visiting gardens that are open, and at their peak now, which mine is rather a lot of mud and seedlings which I hope will be a little more jungly in a few weeks with the rain. Please grow!

Go go go: planting for 2012

After a mammoth effort of weeding, turning the soil, pulling out Forget me knots and waving flags at the Queen on Tower Bridge I think I have broken the spine of new planting. I love this time of the year and being creative with planting as it feels good to suddenly realise where plants are going to, and go from having lots of forlorn pot bound plants to having a fresh looking garden littered with empty plant pots!

Every garden should have lots of bunting on standby for a special occasion!

The Jubilee has been fabulous, and we were lucky enough to have tickets to be on Tower Bridge and also had a party on the Monday for strange people in red white and blue to wander the garden, thankfully making the right noises about the garden. We have even renamed the new summerhouse as the Jubilee pavilion and completed a new stretch of the path which is now the Jubilee walkway.

The Jubilee woodland walkway! now all we need is her Maj to come and open it

We were also lucky to have a dinner with Philip and Nick who had the most lovely established small garden (they should certainly open for NGS). Part of going round was to help chop up one of their established bamboo’s....I thought this would be easy but when I saw it they had a 20ft? Bamboo growing in a dustbin which was immense. Much brute force, and pretending to be big and strong followed to free it and then saw it in half and then quarters....all before the appetisers! Our hosts were very generous and we left full with a dustbin and a half of bamboo. This has been reutilised to help frame the ceremonial route to Ganesh which I’m rather pleased at

ok, this isnt a great picture but being there in the flesh you begin to feel a bit more ceremonial...not quite Bali, but not really Camberwell

I have had a few surprises this week as well as most of my Datura inoxia seem to have survived, most Eucomis and even some Dahlias I thought were lost have emerged, rather slug eaten, from the depths.

In terms of some big numbers and key bits of my planting for 2012 that has gone in so far:

18 Dahlias: perfect for late summer and NGS and I already have about 12 dotted, but now have a new bed devoted to Dahlias, mainly reds but also some electric pink and yellow cactus blooms

25 Ricinus: although it seems a lot I could have done with 35, I am trying to be selective but Ricinis will form a backbone planting for the garden and are key for the jungly look

16 Tithhonia: again I need lots more, and am glad I had a back up pot of seeds!

25 Kangaroo apple:  I’ve another 20 or so to go in; as again this is a backbone plant....I find them really helpful fillers as they are so easy from seed, quick growing, big and exotic

18 nasturtiums: I regretted not planting more last year as they are great understory plants...I grow the big brutish climbing/trailing ones that are more foliage that flower as they cover the ground underneath the ‘upper story’

12 Cannas: I’ve only ever grown a few Cannas, but been unlucky with buying plants which had the virus. In particular I have 6 Canna musifolia and C. Russian Red which I’m looking forward to growing as they will hopefully get huge and give that big leafed feel

7 Bananas: 4 big Musa Sikkimensis and I Basjoo, 1 Ensete marelii (although I think I will buy some more!)

Okra: something new for me, and recommended by Ms Klein. Should be interesting

Shoo fly plant (Nicandra physalodes) again a new one to me, but hopefully a good filler

And also lots of: Mirabilis longiflora, Ipomea, lots of Verbena bonarensis (Mum saw and wanted a big area of it), Leonotis leonurus. There is of course still loads to go in including some Datura metel, and about 30 pumpkins which I have no space for at all, but that is the fun of gardening

So hurrah to lots of planting, now is the exciting bit seeing it grow!

new dry garden in foreground (this is infront of the shed) and Dahlia bed with abused bananas in the background

I felt like I should get a gold star for putting in the sticks....I always leave it too late, but seeing a bag of 15 sticks for 99p in the 99p shop I couldnt resist and am ready for floppage... 

Pots at the side of the terrace...this year it is mainly foliage with Musas and a tall canna

Dahlia merkii...the first one to come out this year!

First Opium poppy...Ive felt bad pulling loads out as they self seeded everywhere but cant stop progress...

I really like the vibrant red salvia as the red cuts through the green and grabs your eye. Its set of nicely agains a delicate Miscanthus gracilis

and 2 water lilys are out! hurrah!

An Archbishop, a swarm, a new visitor centre, good and bad NGS

A busy few weeks..... I would like to say it is because I have been tied up in the social whirl of Chelsea, but no (although a fair amount has been enjoying the coverage and bloggers). I have had in-laws visiting, 2 sheds to assemble, a shed base that has taken up far too much time, the other bee hive swarming,  and moaning about how hot it is (well I am British)

The NGS season is now firmly underway and last weekend I was lucky to remember than Lambeth Palace had its annual opening. I was really excited to go as it is one of those places which everyone knows about, but people rarely visit mainly as it’s not really open! It has been there, and the garden has been continuously cultivated since the 12^th Century, with buildings dating from the 1400’s although the main building is 1800’s.

Lovely garden, but they have terrible trouble with the neighbours...

It is the second largest private garden in London (after Buckingham Palace) and covers about 13 acres including a large lawn, pond, bee hives, Lime and hornbeam walks, meadows, fountains and the biggest tea and cake area I have seen at an NGS event.

It is certainly worth a visit, if only for a nosy round, however I was deeply disappointed that the archbish wasn’t taking money on the door, or serving the cake.

Sheds and summerhouses (or the visitor centre as Laurence/Richards now calls it) has been the main focus of labour and time. We bought a 10x10 summerhouse (for gin drinking) along with a 6x8 shed (for storage and to be the bee-club house). The shed went up easily (well this is mainly as Stevens Dad came and did it) however who would believe a base would be so complicated!

Bases are so much more complicated than you think....good job we got the hired help in

For the last few months the shed base has been the focus of my rubble clearing as I excavated a hole, reused the soil and dumped in the rubble thus avoiding getting more skips. I thought that at the end it would compact into a nice flat levelness, but it was more rocky than one of Liz Taylors marriages.  The traditionalists said I should concrete it, but with a quote of £500 this was a little excessive and I settled with compacting the rubble, then a membrane, then compacted soil then carpet then ‘Eco base’ which was recycled plastic and a bit more eco than concrete.

So it has all gone up, all be it with some scratching of heads, then more scratching of heads, and we do still have some spare bits/finishing touches to do (we had to stop as otherwise we would have needed the divorce lawyers.

Finished!

Planting has rather suffered, and I’m weeks behind where I usually am at this time of the year, however the rain and cold spell was lousy. Even when I was there to plant, by plans were scuppered with the second bee hive swarmed.  This one was a lot more accessible and we managed to catch it...It was quite exciting cutting a branch which had a football of 20,000? bees on the end of it and literally shaking it into a box.

you can just make out the bees, an immense crowd of them hanging like a giant bunch of grapes....

This weekend will be the big plant out, and I’m taking pleasure at the moment pacing the garden and plonking pots around . I’m aiming for 80% in the ground so have quite a challenge, but this is essential as I’m gong to BBC Gardeners World Live in Birmingham in a few weeks and to justify buying new plants I need to have planted all the old ones first!

We have also been to visit a great small NGS garden in Peckham, which has got me thinking about others I have seen which have been a bit mixed. I’m a big fan of small gardens, and feel that having more open through NGS is good as it helps show others what can be achieved in a small space.

We saw a lovely small garden on Holly Grove in Peckham.... It had a clean design with gabions filled with rock demarking well planted thick deep beds.... Although narrow beds are a knee jerk reaction for small spaces, having a deep bed avoids it looking like you have a row of plants in a line, and can be more effective and screen you well. There was also a great rectangular pond, good levels and entertaining space...oh and lovely cake.

Im always a sucker for a well designed pond with a nice showing of Dutchmans breeches

Gabions with a nice high bed backing onto what is the arch/platform of Peckham Rye station!

Sadly it made me think of other small gardens which were disappointing....one I think we were in for about 30 seconds before leaving. Oh and you should have seen the look on Stevens face when he saw that they had shop bough muffins...tea and cake is at least as important as the planting for many people. To give the benefit of the doubt maybe there had been a run on their home made fare and they had resorted to their emergency stock. Whilst Steven balked at the cake I was a little grumpy about the planting.....whilst they were all nice gardens, and hats off to people for opening them, I would have expected something that was immaculate (there were lots of weeds in one). I also think that there has to be something special about an NGS garden whether it is interesting design, horticultural excellence or interesting plantsIn my experience it is certainly the image of NGS that the public and gardening fraternity have.

Paying to see a garden open for the NGS that turns out to be disapointing or have nothing particularly interesting or inspiring to see would certainly put me off from going to another and would not give the impression of an organisation which has rigorous assessments in order to be listed. Something for NGS to think about I would suggest. What do you think readers?

Anyway, lots to do....good luck to everyone who is still planting all their stuff out!

i love an allium, however I always forget where they are and put a spade through them...these are the survivors

Arisaema griffithii...