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RHS Chelsea 2016 - don't forget your oranges

So, for Chelsea Flower Show 2015 I pinpointed a warming of the colour palette with pinks, only to find most people commenting on the arrival of orange. Let's see what I can get wrong this year.

Actually, I stand by my opinion. There wasn't that much orange - not as much as this year, for sure. Though, this time it's dressing gardens in a whole range of tones from fruity bright to pastel soft and wandering into a sort of umber, with a backing chorus of furnishings and hard landscape.

Let's mix it up a bit and start with Artisan Gardens.

The Meningitis Now Futures Garden

This has plenty of orange because it's the brand colour of the charity. Designer John Everiss created the Evader's Garden last year, which told a strong, emotional story but relied heavily on the sculpture to create the garden. It was something he took to heart. As he took me through the planting this year, he said, "It's easy to fall into the trap where design overcomes planting, and we have to remember this is a flower show."

Orange is the signature colour of charity Meningitis Now.

The colour itself is part of the story. On the right, by the wall, it appears once. "An orange fleck," said John. "It represents the lightest touch, the point of contact with the charity, where they first offer support." Move over to the left-hand side and increasing orange represents an increasing level of contact, until - in a leap over the wall - there's loads of warm colour to contrast with the blues and purples left behind. This is where help is fully offered and "where you are enveloped in the charity".

The garden won Silver Gilt.

John Everiss has in no way lost his ability to narrate. By the time he'd explained the various figures, all created by Graham Chapelhow from 3D scans of children who have experienced meningitis and its grim consequences, I was totally in love with this garden.

Five-year-old Liam approaches the wall, not yet knowing he has meningitis (Liam himself has had meningitis a number of times), Gareth curls against the wall, unable to squeeze through (he died of the disease at sixteen). Lauren is struggling through the wall, reaching for help (Lauren herself recently set a new British Para-Cycling record) from Louise, who has reached the other side and survived meningitis (Louise is a member of the Irish Para-dressage team) and double-amputee Jake stands firm, staring into the future.

Gareth Rowlands, who died of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in 2003, imagined struggling against the barrier of the disease. On this side of the garden, the planting is blues and pinks.

If this were a garden in the real world, the walls would probably be around the edge, which would make a delightful design.

"People will stand and chat when you want a photo," I grumbled to someone who turned out to be from the Papworth Trust. "That's Joanna Trollope," she said, slightly shocked, "sponsor of the charity." John Everiss is on the left.

The AkzoNobel Honeysuckle Blue(s) Garden

Over in the Fresh Gardens (and surely the conceptual nature of the one above could have made it a shoo-in for this category, too), The Honeysuckle Blue(s) Garden was filled with plants originally used for dying. Calendula featured prominently.

The AkzoNobel Honeysuckle Blue(s) Garden was created by visual artist Claudy Jongstra in collaration with garden designer Stefan Jaspers. Won Silver-Gilt.

 The woad looked great against the dyed backdrop:

Woad creates a zing against the dyed backdrop.

What most preoccupied me at the time, though, was the impression that something large and furry had died in the middle of it:

The blue hanging on the back wall of the Honeysuckle Blue(s) Garden was created using natural dyes.

Sir Simon Moulton Urban Garden

Orange appeared in a rather different guise in Sir Simon Moulton Urban Garden, designed by Lee Bestall. The overwhelming injection of the colour came from the giant screen behind the plot and I don't think it did them any favours. Rather, it created a rather garish feel that wasn't their fault and overwhelmed the highlight dots of orange employed in the planting.

That orange was the ID colour for the Fresh Gardens and colour of choice for the text on all the information boards in that section. May I strongly suggest it's ditched next year? The boards - orange on grey - were an absolute pain to read.

Sir Simon Milton Urban Connections Garden. Won Silver.

External influence aside, this garden had another artificial source of orange in the bark of the silver birches.

Sir Simon Milton Urban Connections Garden, designed by Lee Bestall.

The idea is that the trees act as beacons to guide people to the oak seating, but actually it adds a bit of balance to all those purples. The colour is created by painting the bark with sunblock - which is used in Arizona to protect trees from the relentless rays which can crack bark and also to act as a mite repellant - into which has been mixed paprika extract.  "Yes," said Lee, "it will wash off."

The Modern Slavery Garden

And on the edge of Fresh Gardens (by the distant outpost of a tea tent which catches you just as you wonder if you'll survive further trekking) was The Modern Slavery Garden by Juliet Sargeant, there for the first time and winning Gold. She went for a mix of hot colours which combined in a fiery glow against the blacks of the Sintered Stone coping and edging, the charcoal mulch and the dark-leaved planting.

Modern Slavery Garden by Juliet Sargeant, used strong colours to counter the black.

I loved this garden - really strong colours and lines where the design wasn't overwhelmed by the message but underpinned it very well.

Flowers in the Modern Slavery Garden included Lupin 'Beefeater', Rosa 'Modern Slavery', Peony 'Coral Sunset', Euphorbia 'Fireglow' and Digitalis 'Suttons Apricot'. Overall a strong, powerful feel.

And the lupins looked good too:

I'm guessing not everyone would have liked the pinky apricot colours included.

The Garden of Mindful Living...

This Show Garden didn't employ flowers but, nevertheless, created an overall orange-y feel with seating, photo and corten steel.

Vestra Wealth's The Garden of Mindful Living, designed by Paul Martin. Won Gold.

The Telegraph Garden...

...displayed various hues.

Planting in the Telegraph Garden, designed by Andy Sturgeon. Won Gold.

Watahan East and West Garden...

... had this slightly strange mix of pinky-brown with orange.

The Watahan East and West Garden, designed by Yano TEA and Chimori Shibayana was awarded Silver.

Harrods British Eccentrics Garden...

...by Diarmuid Gavin, threw everything into the mix - I presume that represented eccentricity. Though, in view of some of the combinations above, I think the boat had sailed on that one.

Harrods British Eccentrics Garden won Silver-Gilt for Diarmuid Gavin.

Antithesis of Sarcophagi 

Finally, enough! As a complete contrast, here's one that didn't have any colour, let alone orange. 

The Marble and Granite Centre - Antithesis of Sarcophagi won Gold.

In fact, what the heck, maybe it did. Maybe inside that cube it was bursting with orange. Who knows? And, to be frank, who cares?

The only thing I like about this is the way the portico of the Chelsea Hospital building behind has blended with it in the photo to look as if they're joined, and that's serendipity.  This inside-out 'cleverness' has been done to death. Could we stop now, please?

Still, I've just noticed the man in the safety jacket...

Yup, orange.

 For more on Chelsea:

Who will win People's Choice, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016

The Personal Connection with Nature's Rhythms about The Papworth Trust garden (with video) (on Wireonwire.com)

Who will win People's Choice, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016?

So, 7.30 tonight and The People's Choice at Chelsea Flower Show will be announced. Who do you favour? Compared to last year, it seems less easy to pick obvious candidates. However, I'll go out on a limb here and say that I think Jo Thompson's Chelsea Barracks Garden is a good bet.

Jo Thompson's Qatari Diar Chelsea Barracks Garden. Won Gold. Copyright RHS. Credit: RHS/Neil Hepworth 

Lots of people don't like this, including garden critic Tim Richardson, who wrote in The Telegraph in his predictions for Best in Show (which he got spot on with tipping Andy Sturgeon's Telegraph Garden) that it was bewildering with a "curiously empty look", given the "bare island of lawn" in the middle.

When I bumped into him in front of this very garden, he wasn't showing any sign of changing his mind, and muttered darkly about "generic planting". But both of these are what I think might appeal. The lawn makes it feel familiar as a domestic garden and the planting was rich, frothy and full of colour.

Richly coloured planting by Jo Thompson.

There's also that lovely curve to the path - which I'd hazard is generally appealing. It wasn't without its build difficulties. The absolute precision of matching the curves of the specially imported basaltite paving with the steel edging was complicated by the large size of the pieces involved and dangers of flexing. But all that was overcome in a really gorgeous path, etched to represent ripples of the River Westbourne which runs beneath the original site of Chelsea Barracks.

The wall at the back is covered by a curtain of water.

When I passed on Monday, extra colour had been injected for a moment in front of that wall of water:

Designer Jo Thompson with a military band in The Chelsea Barracks Garden

It's possible that James Basson might snaffle the award this year. I suspect he came near the top of the list last year with his evocation of Provence, and this year's is every bit as evocative.

James Basson's L'Occitane Garden. Won Gold.

Diarmuid Gavin's English Eccentrics Garden also has crowd-pleasing ebullient planting.

Diarmuid Gavin's Harrods British Eccentrics Garden won Silver Gilt.

The overall impression is warmth and charm, but I think the gismos might be a step too far, and there's something a little too ersatz about the tower.

The British Eccentrics Garden by Diarmuid Gavin. Copyright RHS. Credit RHS/Sarah Cuttle.

Cleve West's M&G garden has the same sort of country appeal of L'Occitane Garden, but contrasted with modern sawn paving, balancing a full, busy naturalistic half...

Cleve West's M&G Garden. Won Gold.

...with a still, minimalist area that encouraged contemplation. That certainly seemed to be the effect on Dan Pearson who looked somewhat removed from the frenzy of Press Day:

Dan Pearson contemplates Cleve West's M&G Garden.

The more I looked at this, the more I enjoyed it. It was all the more fascinating for the fact that the huge beige-coloured boulders and the pale sawn paving were actually the same Forest of Dean sandstone. But from the outside it was difficult to really appreciate the water feature so I'm not sure this will win enough hearts. 

The M&G Garden is an evocation of Exmoor, where designer Cleve West spent his boyhood.

 

Finally, I have rather a soft spot for the Support, The Husqvarna Garden.

Support, The Husqvarna Garden, designed by Charlie Albone. Won Silver Gilt.

 

It hasn't caused much of a stir. Tim Richardson described it as the "standard Chelsea...formula" because it's mixing a formal structure and flouncy planting, but I liked it for the feeling that it would be an enjoyable garden to own. Seating at one end...

Setts created a more rustic feel in the seating area in contrast with the cantilevered shade.

 ...with a lovely view of the mixed tightly clipped and relaxed topiary (I'm a sucker for topiary), a lawn (ditto), and some unusual planting that made one stop and look closer.

Unusual planting added interesting texture to Charlie Albone's Support, The Husqvarna Garden.

This is, indeed, the one I would like to get the People's Choice award at Chelsea this year. On the whole, though, I suspect Jo Thompson has a better chance.

For a whizz round other gardens:

RHS Chelsea 2016 - don't forget your oranges

The Personal Connection with Nature's Rhythms  about the Papworth Trust Together We Can garden (on WireonWire.com)

 

Plant of the Month round-up May 2016

A return to POTM Round-up this month for the Hardy Plant Society, who recommend Primula sieboldii 'Winter Dreams'.

My ideas of primulas tend to start and stop with primroses, although they've been rather grudgingly joined by more garishly coloured primulas, which arrived as gifts and have been planted out in my "spring" section. I've grown used to red appearing in the area, but am still not entirely comfortable with it. 

Not the Hardy Plant Society selection, but the red primulas which have insinuated themselves into my Spring Corner.

The Hardy Plant Society's Primula sieboldii, especially with the version with "snowflake" flowers, looks very tempting. Incidentally, did you know the HPS offer free advice? The email address is on their website.

A totally new arrival to the Plant of the Month Round-up is St Andrews Botanic Gardens, with Pandorea pandorana, which I could happily grow in the conservatory I haven't got, merely because it's common called the Wonga Vine. Presumably, it makes a great companion to the Money Tree. The Wonga Vine is a woody climber that's useful as a houseplant because of its long flowering season.

Incidentally, St Andrews University are hoping their website will make the gardens better known (must admit, I'd never heard of them) and, if they happen to read this, I'd suggest the website pages contain better links back to the home page. If you're heading that way this summer, though, it would be worth checking out their programme of outdoor (in Scotland?!!?) concerts and film screenings. I rather covet their study day in September on built additions to the garden.

The Flower Council of Holland are pushing Woodland Sage (Salvia nemorosa)this month. Good for pollinators, with purple plumes, if you cut it back immediately after flowering, there's a good chance you'll get a second flush.

Woodland Sage grows well in pots too.

A newly discovered source of Plant of the Month is Plant Advice who offer a monthly podcast with gardening tips and advice. Started in 2005 by George Munford, a horticulturalist, and Richard Farrar, an electronics engineer and featuring Sue Mack, it's gentle fare, with a good amount of info about the plants featured. This month's is a shrub rose, Rosa Xanthina 'Canary Bird'. It can be used as a hedge or trained, has an AGM, is very hardy, grows up to 2.5m, with a 3m spread, and is one of the earliest roses to flower in the year with single yellow flowers that, in the photo on the website, remind me more of Potentilla. Deadhead for a second flush in late summer.

I can't really do POTM without mentioning the RHS gardens. Harlow Carr recommends Pulsatilla vulgaris, the Pasque Flower, with purple flowers and interesting seedheads. At the other end of the country, Rosemoor suggests Cytisus, or Broom. We had a large bush for ages and, to be honest, I got fed up with it as it wasn't hugely interesting and I wasn't enamoured of the pea-like yellow blooms. However, Rosemoor are featuring Cytisus x boskoopii 'Hollandia' with cream and dark pink flowers and it's always good to find something that will tolerate a difficult position with poor, dry soil. Planting companions are also suggested.

Wisley features Magnolia 'Daybreak'. It's the stellata magnolias that usually make me covetous, rather than those with large tulip blooms like this one, but this one has remained shrubby and small over 15 years and is highly fragrant, so it's worth thinking about for a smaller space. They suggest growing it with camassias, but regular readers will know what I think of them after my experience last year.

Hyde Hall is concentrating on Allium Christophii this month, which ties in nicely with the salvia above, as Salvia nemorosa 'Lubecca' is a suggested planting companion.

My absolute favourite this month, though, has to be Woodgate Nursery, near Aylsham, who have this month elected, as their Plant of the Month for May 2016...Horse Chestnut. (I'm sorry I missed their offering of Ground Elder last month, as that would have had more gasp factor). Never mind pushing the surplus, each POTM is a personal commentary on a plant that means something to owner Peter Purdy. This month he fears the impact of disease in chestnuts. If ever I'm passing, I'd like to drop by because I like the approach.

Woodgate Nursery have a free garden show on 18-19th June, which includes show gardens. That sounds like a jolly jaunt.

 

The Lonely Bouquet makes my day

It didn't feel quite right, but I did it anyway. My reasoning?

• The label told me to take it.
• It was very exposed on top of the pillar box.
• The sun was beating down and if no one took it soon it would wilt and no one would enjoy it.

And what was it? This...

And even an old cynic like me has gone all soft over it. A quick search of the NAFAS website reveals that the day I picked it up was National Flower Arranging Day; members of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (and others) left posies and bouquets in prominent places, with the invitation to take home and enjoy. It's been happening for a few years now. Obviously it's a marketing move - the label includes the invite to flower-lovers to join the local club. But what the heck - it still made me feel good.

It did make me wonder, though. Why did I hesitate?

• Well, I have a garden, with flowers (though few make it into the house).
• Didn't someone else 'deserve' it more?
• I already know about the group and am not likely to join in the near future.
• Was I being watched...?

Actually I wasn't. The woman leaning against the nearby wall, apparently looking at her phone and whom I initially assumed to be undercover surveillance (do I sound paranoid?), turned out to be my lovely neighbour who really was looking at her phone while she waited for the bakery to produce its oh-so-desirable brownies. That was the clincher. No one looked poised to post a video of me on Facebook.

But how would you have felt? There's something very odd about taking something for nothing. Collecting something from someone on Freecycle without giving anything in return makes me feel very strange. It feels all the odder when there's no one there to accept something from, as with the posy. Is it upbringing, having it drummed into us as children that we shouldn't touch, that it's not ours? Or is there something hard-wired into us that feels better for a mutual exchange?

I favour the latter. I once knew healers who were adamant that some sort of exchange should take place when a service was offered because 1) people didn't value what was given for free; and 2) it created an inequality in energy between the two parties, which I would translate as a lack of acknowledgement or appreciation which never makes anyone feel good. 

So, you'll have spotted that I managed to swallow my inhibitions...

The Lonely Bouquet on the mantelpiece.

...and it was partly because the flowers were wilting in the sun, but also because of the accompanying request. The label invites comments and pictures on the NAFAS Facebook page. Once this is posted I'll be off to do as asked as my way of saying thank you. There's also the Lonely Bouquet website where you can leave details of any bouquets left/seen/picked up and they try to match donor with recipient, and you can always search for #nafasthelonelybouquet on Twitter.

All rather heart-warming.

And yes, a great publicity stunt.