THANK YOU, AND GOOD NIGHT...

Still smiling...

Soft flowing lines of desert sand dunes

Mediterranean-look plants on the Sand side of the garden

Jagged edges of cracked and melting ice

Cool, silvery colours on the Ice side

After the blood, sweat, and tears (all of them literally), as you can see from the photo above, I was still smiling at the end of it all. And for that I have to thank you, all the people that told me during the week of Chelsea how much you loved the garden. It really did make it all worthwhile.

Unfortunately the judges didn’t really agree, but they did award us a bronze medal which is a good result for my first garden at Chelsea (especially since my garden was being compared with Show Gardens with five times my budget). The RHS only choose the best designs out of all the applications, so it’s amazing (but gratifying) that they let me build the garden at all!

I’ve learned so much through this process, and I’ve met some wonderful people. Not only famous people like Prince Philip, HRH Duke of Edinburgh, and TV celebrities like Rachel de Thame, but the wonderful group of guys who pull together each year, and support each other through building Chelsea and making it the best Flower Show on Earth.

The idea behind the ‘Hasmead Sand and Ice Garden’ was to raise the issue of climate change. I wanted to demonstrate that drought tolerant plants can be used to create very different looks. As well as the traditional warm Mediterranean gravel garden on the Sand side of the garden, I used white and silvery colours and spiky textures on the Ice side to create a cool and contemporary space.

Please find below a list of the plants that I used. They are suitable for a sunny, well-drained garden, sheltered from strong winds. The plants have a water-efficient character, ideal for areas which have periodic water shortages.

Acanthus spinosus (Bear's Breeches)
Achillea 'Moonshine' (Yarrow)
Agave Americana variegata (Century plant)
Armeria maritima 'Splendens' (Thrift)
Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' (Mountian wormwood)
Artemisia schmidtiana 'Nana' (Satiny Wormwood)
Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear' (Silver spear)
Eragrostis curvula (African love grass)
Euphorbia cyparissias Fens Ruby (Cypress spurge)
Euphorbia myrsinites (Myrtle spurge)
Festuca glauca 'Blauglut' (Blue fescue)
Festuca glauca 'Golden Toupée' (Chartreuse Fescue)
Foeniculum vulgare 'Rubrum' (Bronze Fennel)
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (Day lily)
Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' (Day lily)
Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Sunset' (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans (New Zealand iris)
Libertia peregrinans 'Gold Leaf' (New Zealand iris)
Nepeta faassenii Six Hills Giant (Catmint)
Nerium oleander (Rose bay)
Olea europaea var. 'Frangivento' (Olive)
Phormium 'Alison Blackman' (New Zealand flax)
Phormium tenax Purpureum (New Zealand flax)
Pittosporum Tobira variegatum (Japanese pittosporum)
Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' (Purple sage)
Salvia x sylvestris 'Schneehugel' (Snow hill wood sage)
Scleranthus uniflorus (Scleranthus)
Sedum telephium subsp. ruprechtii (Stonecrop)
Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet' (Lambs ears)
Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass)
Stipa gigantea (Golden oats)
Yucca gloriosa (Spanish dagger)

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

We're half way though the build at the Chelsea Flower Show, and it's going remarkably well. There have, of course, been set-backs, but nothing that has had a major impact on the project plan.

First, the ABS system on my lovely Smart car failed, so I can't drive it until I can get it to the garage for a service. Since I'm surviving on 4 or 5 hours sleep at the moment I guess that won't be until after the show now.

The day my wonderful Acacia trees were due to be delivered, I got an email from the supplier to say that they had just been delivered from Italy and were not of Chelsea quality. Apparently they didn't like being dug up from the field and had protested by dropping half their leaves. Which is all well and good, these things happen, but to wait until the day they should have been delivered to tell me was unforgivable. I had two days to source mature, potentially gold-medal winning trees. Luckily, Premier Trees came to the rescue with some beautiful Ginkgo biloba trees.

The next morning I ran a bath and the pump for my shower blew up. The flat was filled with smoke, the smoke alarm was blaring, and there was water everywhere. It was quite scary, and of course impossible to get a plumber around at 5am, so I was bailing out for 3 hours until my mum came to rescue me. I had to leave her holding the fort so I could get up to site.

We got on to the Chelsea site on 5 May and the garden must be complete by 20th. After setting out, the wall we had constructed in Milton Keynes was craned in, and the work on the curving stone paths began (see picture above). It's great after working on the project for so long to see it finally coming to life. The water wall and pond are being worked on at the moment, and the trees have been planted. It's all a bit hectic in a very small space. The weather's not been on our side either. The constant rain showers has meant that the render and paint took much longer to dry than planned.

My plants began to arrive yesterday, and 4 of us began the unenviable task of 'cleaning' the grasses, which means painstakingly pulling or cutting off any brown or damaged leaves. We'll have to continue that today, and I will start the setting out. As with many Chelsea exhibitors this year, we've had real problems with our flowering perennials. The hottest April on record seems to have affected the rooting of young plants and they simply refuse to flower. I have lots of lovely grasses and Libertia though, so the garden will still look great.

I'm beginning to think we might have created something beyond my expectations. Fingers crossed!...

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Don't push yet!

26 days to go and the stress has really started to kick in. Now when I ask project team members to update me on their progress some of them are getting really defensive. It’s like they’ve suddenly realised that we do have an immovable deadline (Chelsea judging day) and that if they don’t deliver according to plan then the garden will not be finished in time – duh!

Still, 26 days is almost a month, so nothing is impossible. The wall structure is finished and I will get a chance to see it on Friday. It’s really exiting! Creating this garden is a bit like having a baby (not that I’d know, but come with me on this one…). The conception was intense and exhilarating, followed by a quiet period and then the work just piled on. I’m getting to the point now when I really just want to get it over with, regardless of how painful the event may be. And I’m already saying never again (although I’ve done the next design just in case). I’m sure that after a rest I’ll be raring to go again.

I’m really looking forward to the build-up. That’s probably the best bit. We start on site on 5 May and the whole garden must be finished by 20th. Not long now!...

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Roller coaster to Chelsea ... don't look now!

This trip to Chelsea is a true roller coater. Let's just hope I'm not due for a fall! After the worst and darkest period where I thought there was no way we'd be ready in time, I've just had the best couple of days of the project. It's all very slowly coming together. I'm on a real high.

The weather has been fabulous, which is motivating in itself because I love the sun. But it also means that my plants have really shot up. It's important that they're a good size by the show in May to receive the best marks. Plus the plants and grasses that should be in flower on judging day were looking like there was no way they would be advanced enough, but now it's looking like a good possibility. Let's just hope this good weather continues. This has happened before though - an early warm spring and then SNAP! - we're back in deep winter with deep frosts and all the little buds that have come out early are caught by the frost and shrivel and maybe die. My plants for the Chelsea garden are in greenhouses, so they won't get frosted, but any prolonged cold spell will slow their development.

The creation of my water-wall is coming on in leaps and bounds. The skeleton is being fabricated in steel as we speak by Terry and the lovely guys up at P Bird & Sons (Milton Keynes) Ltd. Plus, Steve Usher from the Irrigation Systems Company is going to create fabulous water effects to represent melting glaciers and water runoff. Everyone's more focused now that time is pressing and I'm really beginning to think that we can work together to craft a garden that will be as different as it is beautiful.

It is definitely a SHOW garden! But that's what garden shows are all about isn't it? Visitors to the show can get ideas about planting associations that they can use at home, but the structure of the garden is a statement that wouldn't necessarily transfer to the garden of a semi in Bromley. I just hope everyone enjoys it for what it is. I'm certainly enjoying creating it (this week!).

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Friday 13th and the garden’s not rosy

Well I don’t know about unlucky, but I’ve heard it all now … in order to cut the cost of a garden I have designed for a private client, he asked me to take all the plants out! Apparently he thinks he’ll kill them all anyway, so it would be a waste of money. I considered offering him astro-turf for the whole garden, but I managed to hold my tongue. [In fact a little bird told me that someone once bought a house with a Christopher Bradley-Hole garden and promptly astro-turfed the lot. Christopher has 5 gold medals at Chelsea and his gardens are a delight]. I guess because I love plants so much I can’t understand someone wanting a garden without them. My ‘solution’ was to make the lawn larger and use Hypericum calycinum (St John’s Wort) where I really had to put plants. You’d have to work very hard to kill that. I guess it's very daunting for someone who knows nothing about plants. I grew up with them, so I find it hard to think of them as being scary at all. To me plants are living, loving, breathing pieces of nature that will reward any little care and love that they receive.

Anyway, on to Chelsea (just had to get that off my chest, you know how it is). This week I made models of the ice/water wall to prove to myself that it’s really going to work the way I expected. I wanted to get some extra marks for difficulty and originality when I designed the garden, but I think I over-did it a bit. I’ve designed a huge wall covered with pieces of different coloured Perspex (kindly donated by Lucite) which will have water trickling over it to represent cracked and melted ice, like in the photo above. Fortunately my models proved it will work as expected, and construction has started. I’m sleeping much better now! 38 days to go (Blimey! Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?!)…

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Coming soon to a TV near you!

I’m going to be on telly! I’m so excited I can’t tell you.

I went up to Wisley early this morning to meet the lovely BBC researcher Amanda and chat with her about the Chelsea garden. I had to sit in the garden, freezing to death, and describe my inspiration for the garden and the design and planting. I was awful! I was trying to think of interesting things to say, while trying not to think of the camera, and the big white reflective thing, and the aeroplane noises… I’m sure I’m going to come across as a complete buffoon. And a buffoon with a horrid South London accent too!

Well at least I had the foresight to have my hair done yesterday, so it was a relatively good hair day. And I think what I said was alright; although it was difficult to describe a garden which hasn’t been built or planted yet. Especially since, no matter how many planting plans I do, I invariably change where I put things when it comes to planting things on site. And I didn’t smile enough. My Mum’s always telling me I don’t smile enough.

But apart from that I think it went OK! Well, you’ll just have to watch the BBC coverage to find out. They have programmes at lunchtime and in the evening every day while the Chelsea Flower Show is open (21-26 May).

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Fun in the sun

I’m really getting around at the moment. . . (so to speak…).

I’m still looking for a few special plants for the Chelsea garden. Plus I’ve been asked by a large Landscaper in London to do some planting plans for him and I haven’t used his preferred supplier before. I would never specify plants from a nursery I hadn’t seen, and wasn’t confident in their hygiene and the quality of their plants.

So I started at 5.30am in Beckenham this morning and drove to my weekly project meeting with Hasmead plc in Milton Keynes. Then I popped across to Bedford to see the plants which are being expertly cared for by Adrian in the greenhouses at Premier Trees. This was followed by a long drive down to Chichester Trees and Shrubs, a wholesale nursery which is based in 3 different nurseries between Beaulieu and Lymington in the New Forest. I could hardly walk when I got there, but the trip was worth it, because they had lots of plants that would look great in that client’s garden, and a few that will look good in May for Chelsea.

And the weather was fabulous; it’s never so bad going on long journeys when the sun is out is it? I just love the sun.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

CO2 calculations

Wow! I have been having great fun working here with James Lascelles today, calculating the carbon footprint of the garden. There is so much to remember; its really interesting. We've included travel, deliveries, fabrication, energy, and waste. It's all really detailed, so watch out for those cheap imitations(!) Once I've finished, I'll be able to calculate how many tonnes of CO2 will be generated in the manufacture and creation of the garden from raw material supply to delivery and build at the Chelsea Flower Show. I can then calculate how many trees we will need to plant to help offset the CO2 emissions, so I can achieve a carbon-neutral position.

I think its really important for gardeners and garden designers to consider the implications of the choices they make on the environment. For example, I was going to use granite from China, but I amended the design to use sandstone from the UK. I was also going to have lots of plants shipped over from New Zealand, but instead we sourced the same or equivalent plants from the UK, with a few from Europe. One plant could not be sourced elsewhere, and a small amount of it will be shipped from New Zealand, but this was a conscious and informed decision.

I have learned an awful lot through this process, and I hope to write an article for my fellow Garden Designers explaining the process, (when I get a minute!!)

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Smart grasses in the fog

More travelling today I'm afraid. But this time I was in my little Smart car, so I was much more environmentally friendly than my Ryan Air flights to Pisa on Monday.

My Smart's CO2 emissions are 116 - 127 g/km, and fuel consumption is 43 - 69 mpg depending on whether you're doing urban driving or not. I'm told that's pretty good. Well, every little helps.

So anyway, I drove down to Knoll Gardens in Wimborne, between Ringwood & Poole, this morning to check some plants before I ordered them for my Chelsea Garden. It was very cold and foggy when I arrived, and the dew on the grasses was so beautiful. The quality of the plants I had reserved was excellent, so I snapped them up and even ordered some extra grasses that I had not seen before. They are all drought-tolerant to suit the theme of the garden, and I'd like to try to impress the judges with some unusual plants. Neil Lucas, the owner, showed me around and we discussed care instructions of the plants I was buying, so that we can get the plants into the best condition for the Show in May. Neil is a passionate plantsman and has five consecutive Gold medals at Chelsea for his grasses. Knoll is well known for supplying fabulous grasses and some perennials. Check them out at www.knollgardens.co.uk.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Mimosa in Tuscany in springtime

I popped over to Pisa for the day today looking at trees...as you do! I had the most fabulous time in Tuscany at the tree and shrub nursery which is going to supply some special Acacia dealbata trees for my garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Acacias are also commonly known as Mimosa. It was 20 degrees, we had pasta and a glass of Chianti for lunch, and then strolled around in the sunshine looking at the trees and plants, with the Tuscan hills in the back-ground. Divine.

And I know what you're thinking; that this will add greatly to the carbon footprint of the garden. You're right of course, but the quality of the trees are so important to the judging at the Chelsea Flower Show, that I'm afraid I was unwilling to take any risks. I did get photos sent from the alternative suppliers so that I only visited the best option.

I haven't had time to work on the carbon calculations for the garden yet; it's been frantic here. But a good friend of mine is coming to help me out for a couple of days next week so hopefully we'll be able to get some good work done on it. I'm keen that the garden should be carbon neutral if possible. I thought it was funny how Gordon Brown has this week committed the future Chancellors of the Exchequer to carbon calculations for the whole economy. I'm finding it hard for a small garden 10m x 8m!

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Judging a Chelsea Garden

I've been asked to tell you a little about the judging process at Chelsea.

When designers apply to do a garden at Chelsea, they submit what's called a 'Client's Brief'. The assessors and judges look at whether this Brief has been delivered, and of course to what standard, before deciding whether a garden should win a medal. This is why the public are sometimes surprised by a lower medal than expected; they don't see the Brief and cannot therefore judge whether it has been met. A beautiful garden that does not meet the Brief cannot be awarded a gold medal.

The day before judging 3 assessors visit the gardens to see if the intention of the Brief has been met, and to look at the overall impression, design, construction, and planting. They make a recommendation to the judges on the following day and it is debated and a vote taken. The photo above shows a 'huddle' of judges on Andy Sturgeon's garden in 2005. There is then a moderation meeting, and the exhibitors are informed of the results the next day.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

The design

So here it is! This is the 'Hasmead Sand and Ice Garden' designed by me to be built at the Chelsea Flower Show in May.

The garden addresses concerns about global warming, melting glaciers, and expanding deserts. The soft flowing lines of the desert contrast with the jagged edges of melting ice.

A focal point in the garden is a large water wall constructed of different coloured pieces of Perspex, which represents cracked and melting ice.

On the other side of the garden, the silhouette of the rear boundary and the wall down the centre of the garden echo the outline of rolling sand dunes, and during the day its shadow moves around the garden, advancing across the ice on the other side.

A series of curved walls and paths sweep around the garden. The hand crafted pieces of stone vary from ‘soft sand’ shapes on one side of the garden to ‘sharp ice’ on the other side. These walls were inspired by the walls of Nijo Castle which was constructed in Kyoto, Japan from 1601.

After 5 years of negotiation, the Kyoto protocol was finally ratified in 2005. The countries that have signed the agreement have committed to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions which may contribute to Climate Change.


You can also see the garden on the RHS website - http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2007/exhibitors/showgardens/hasmead.asp

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

The Chelsea Flower Show

It occurs to me that some of you may never have heard of the Chelsea Flower Show, or have not had a chance to visit. So I thought I’d tell you a little about it.

Considered by many to be the world’s greatest flower show, the Chelsea Flower Show is the highlight of the British gardening year, and is an important event in the London social season. The show has expanded since its’ first year in 1913 and now includes gardens, floral exhibits, trade stands, and much more. The Royal Family has become increasingly enthusiastic about the show, and HRH the Prince of Wales even designed ‘The Healing Garden’ in 2002 in conjunction with Jinny Blom for Laurent-Perrier and Harpers & Queen.

157,000 paying visitors visit the show over 5 days Tuesday - Saturday, and the Press, the Royal Family, and many well-known celebrities visit on the Monday. The BBC have programmes every day and evening during the show, and there is extensive coverage in the media, newspapers and magazines around the world.

The show is held in the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, UK, sandwiched between the Chelsea Embankment and Chelsea Bridge Road. There is a massive pavilion in the centre of the show ground which houses the floral displays, nurseries stands & gardens, and some of the small gardens. Around the outside, and in Ranlagh Gardens on the North East of the site, there are more small show gardens, the large show gardens, trade stands, floristry and floral arrangement marquees, and food courts and hospitality suites.

It’s hard to describe the atmosphere at the show. Until recently it could be a bit of a scrum. The photo above shows the crush of people around the Courtyard gardens in 2004. The Royal Horticultural Society extended the event from four to five days in 2005 to include the Saturday, with no increase in the overall number of tickets sold. This has eased the situation considerably. The people that visit the show in person vary from keen down-to-earth gardeners who are looking for new plants and ideas, to the Chelsea set and celebrities who come to be ‘seen’ themselves. It’s a magical mix, which I don’t think could be recreated anywhere else. Why not come and see the show this year, or if you can’t make it, do check out the BBC coverage. The garden I have designed is called the ‘Hasmead Sand & Ice Garden’, and we'll be on Royal Hospital Way.

The Chelsea Flower Show takes place from 22-26 May 2007.
All tickets must be booked in advance of the Show.
Ticket booking line 0870 906 3781.
Or you can buy online at the RHS website - http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/tickets.asp

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Keep it moving... !

I feel like one of those entertainers who keep lots of plates spinning on poles! Most of the time I just love the adrenaline, but sometimes it can be a little over-whelming. I normally prioritise my work by deciding what is both urgent and important, and doing those tasks first. But at the moment all my work is urgent and important! It is varied though, which is great. I start the planting on my Stoke Newington garden tomorrow. It will be nice to get out of the office… so long as it doesn’t rain and hale like today that is!

Now I wouldn’t want you to think that I’m complaining about being busy; I wouldn’t have it any other way. But my business is in that awkward stage where there’s too much work for one person, but not enough income to employ someone to help. It’s a tricky time for all new businesses.

The lovely students at the Inchbald School of Design have volunteered to help out at the Chelsea Flower Show. They will be handing out leaflets and plant lists when the show is open, so come and see us all if you have tickets to the show. My garden will be on Royal Hospital Way. It’s called The Hasmead Sand and Ice Garden. See you there!

The Chelsea Flower Show takes place from 22-26 May 2007.
All tickets must be booked in advance of the Show. Ticket booking line 0870 906 3781.
Or you can but online at the RHS website - http://www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/tickets.asp

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Acacia me up

I’ve been asked to tell you a little more about the plants I plan to use on the ‘Hasmead Sand & Ice Garden’ at the Chelsea Flower Show in May. (Note: I say ‘plan to use’, because as you can imagine getting a wide variety of plants in pristine condition and in flower if appropriate for the same week is a logistical nightmare. Adrian Shippey at Premier Trees, a subsidiary of Hasmead plc, my sponsor, has this unenviable task).

The theme behind the garden is climatic change, illustrated by looking at ice and desert, so some of the plants have the look of alpine plants, and some look more like desert plants (regardless of origin). The garden is not a representation of all of the climate classifications between Alpine and Desert - that would be quite hard in a garden 10 metres by 8 !! And all of the plants have a water-efficient character; ideal for areas which have periodic water shortages, and are suited to an open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The plants and flowers range from icy colours such as white/silver to yellows for the advancing desert on the other side. Lilac and purple Salvias and Sedums will provide a contrast and lift the scheme. Architectural plants, such as Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’ and Stipa gigantea will add height, structure, and movement. And Acacia Dealbata trees (Mimosa, or Silver Wattle) along the rear boundary will add a balance to the planting, and help to screen the pavilion beyond. The Acacias will not be in flower in May, but their spectacular leaves will be on display (see photo above).

The Acacia trees also act as a reminder of the European Union’s ACACIA project, which concluded that we must adapt to climate change, whatever we do about emissions. ACACIA stands, rather unbelievably, for “A Concerted Action towards a Comprehensive Impacts and Adaptations assessment”. Yes well … they are also beautiful, evergreen, and drought tolerant trees…

The Royal Horticultural Society has released a list of plants which they believe will thrive in the changing climate conditions, including Acacia: http://www.rhs.org.uk/learning/research/climate_change/plants.asp

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Plant power

85 days to Chelsea… and counting!! Wow, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun! I’m just so busy with my ‘real’ work that it’s hard to allocate time to my Chelsea project at the moment. One should never look a gift horse in the mouth, I know, and I love my work with individual clients, and I enjoy it too. One of my gardens has just been finished in Stoke Newington, and I’m going to help with the planting at the end of this week. This is my favourite stage of a project, when the design on paper comes to life in front of your eyes. You really can’t beat that feeling. I guess it's like a painter standing back for a look at a masterpiece they have created just after they have made the final paint-stroke.

I visited Howards Nursery in Norfolk last week. They are a fabulous wholesale nursery that is providing most of the perennial plants for my Chelsea garden. For those of you who aren’t gardeners, a Perennial is a plant that dies down to an over-wintering rootstock each autumn and grows up again the following spring, (although some are evergreen). I use a lot of evergreen plants and shrubs in my designs because one of the first things that most clients request is a ‘low-maintenance’ garden, with ‘all-year-round interest’. Evergreens provide the structure of the garden and then I ‘colour-in’ with plants that flower at different times of the year. Hopefully my clients will always have something beautiful to look out onto.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Plant a tree for the planet

I am not an expert on Global Warming, nor am I a politician. But I am a Human Being who is concerned that we should do whatever possible to preserve the planet for future generations.

Sir Nicholas Stern’s review in 2006 concluded that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%.

And droughts may create tens or even hundreds of millions of “climate refugees”, for example around the shrinking Lake Chad in Dafur & Niger.

Melting glaciers could cause water shortages in areas that are dependant on the runoff. 40% of all the people in the world get their drinking water from rivers and springs fed more than half by melt-water from glaciers.

And there may be an increased flood risk in some areas. Global warming increases evaporation off the oceans which results in heavier rainfall and storms.

The Arctic ice cap is melting. This may impact the warm Gulf Stream surface current which gives the UK our relatively warm climate. The melting ice shelves in the Antarctic and Greenland will increase sea level creating up to 100 million refugees.

Al Gore understands how vulnerable the globe is. In his film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ he says “What we take for granted might not be here for our children”. What a shame he never made it to President. The current administration has abdicated their responsibilities and with Australia is one of only 2 countries not to have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Now I hope that the recent heat-waves and devastating hurricanes & tornados in the US will have focused political minds.

We can deal with the impact of global warming by introducing water-wise gardening (see my post on 21 February). And we can all do a little bit to reduce Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere by turning off electronic devices when they’re not in use, and maybe by planting a tree. The total area of gardens in the UK is around 400,000 hectares. That’s space for a lot of trees…

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Climatic inspiration

It seems that the weather in the UK is changing, and extreme weather patterns seem to be on the increase. The garden I've designed for the Chelsea Flower Show this year is called the 'Hasmead Sand & Ice' garden. I designed it during the early days of the hose-pipe ban around Chelsea & many parts of southern England in 2006. The theme looks at how plants need to adapt to climatic change and how they can be used in gardens which can cope with global warming.

Whatever the reasons for Climatic Change, we do need to adapt to it. My garden highlights two of the extremes that result from Climatic change: shrinking ice caps and expanding deserts. In the design you will see how I've contrasted the soft flowing lines of the desert details with the jagged edges of ice.

Two of my favourite gardens are the Dry Garden at RHS Hyde Hall (see picture above), and Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden – here plants are used that have adapted to survive in areas of low rainfall. If you haven't been, I would highly recommend it. They are relatively close together too, so if you're driving you would be able to make a day of it. These gardens are an inspiration to gardeners and designers alike to work with nature, rather than against her.

All gardeners can introduce water-wise gardening. For example:
(a) Using drought tolerant plants,
(b) Applying a mulch to lock in soil moisture, and suppress weeds,
(c) Planting in the autumn when less watering is required,
(d) Installing a water butt, and

(e) Using grey water – for example from the bath.

For further information on water-wise gardening, please see the RHS website:

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/waterconference/index.asp

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Happy New Pig...

So, it's out with the year of the Dog and in with the Golden Pig, which is supposed to be very lucky... and I have a wonderful feeling that this is going to be my year at last. I'm also sure that my ex-colleagues in my old office life would say golden pigs would fly before they could see me running my own successful garden design business.

So, how did I get here? Well, after 16 years in the City as an accountant and project manager (yawn), I decided I should get out while I was still young and sane enough to learn a few new tricks. I tried to think 'outside-the-box' (an awful consultant-speak word, but you know what I mean) as to what I wanted out of a job. I had always been interested in design, be it interior or in the garden, and I wanted to use this artistic and creative side in my work. I also wanted the ability to work for myself, to meet people in the course of my work, and not to be stuck behind a desk all the time. Garden design seemed to tick all the boxes, so I took the massive leap and decided to re-train. I sold my house and car, left the City, and enrolled on a horticultural diploma. This was followed by a full-time diploma in Garden Design at the Inchbald School of Design for which I won the Course Director's prize.

Then after 2 years study, I managed to get a job working with Christopher Bradley-Hole, five-times gold medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show. It was a fantastic opportunity to see how the whole creative process can work from the drawing board to the final details in a real garden. I have admired Christopher's clean and contemporary designs for years, and I was very keen to work with him. He is a master of creating spaces that are well-proportioned and comfortable to be in, and the quality of the detailing is second to none (I should know, I had to draw and re-draw many CAD drawings during my time there!).

Since the last Chinese new year I've been striving to set up my own business. It's been a struggle, and I had to make some very hard decisions, but it's all now starting to pay off. I have had a garden design accepted by the Royal Horticultural Society for this year's Chelsea Flower Show, and there is increasing awareness of my design work around London and the South East. This year, customers seem to be flocking to my door for design services, so much so I'm having to use all my project management skills to juggle my 'real' work with the Chelsea project. So I hope that this year the golden pig will bring me luck, and I can again bring home the bacon.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

How do you pay for a garden at Chelsea?

Answer - BE LUCKY!!

Applications for the Chelsea Flower Show in May 2007 were due in to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) by July 2006. I had designed my garden and started my search for a sponsor well before this. I wrote to and called literally hundreds of Chief Execs and Marketing Directors, but the scatter-gun approach doesn't work. I'm a tough old bird though, so every time a rejection letter came through the letterbox I would pick myself up, shake myself off, and try to think of another way to persuade someone to give me an awfully large amount of money (a legal way that is...)

[FYI - the large show gardens along Main Avenue at the Chelsea Flower Show range from £100,000 to £250,000 and up.] I had postcard-sized drawings of the garden in my handbag and would regularly proposition strangers - "Don't suppose you fancy sponsoring a garden at Chelsea?" I even bought a load of lottery tickets to see if I could win the money! (I didn't); although I did win enough to pay myself for a month - all the work so far had been unpaid, so someone up there was looking after me.

I decided to enter a garden anyway in the hope that I could find a sponsor later. (After Diarmuid Gavin's problems finding sponsorship in 2004, the RHS want to see a signed letter of sponsorship before they will confirm a slot). So I applied for a large show garden10m x 23m without a sponsor. Being a new designer to Chelsea it was too much of a risk for the RHS to give me a large plot without proof of sponsorship, but I was very flattered that they asked me to design a smaller garden 8m x 10m.They could have just told me to get on my bike, but they must have seen some sort of potential in my initial design, and I'm very grateful that they took a chance on me.

Around the same time I did a deal with my PR consultant, Rosie Harkness, whereby I designed her garden for her, in return for PR work for my new business. By co-incidence, Rosie also does PR for Hasmead plc, a Landscaping company, and parent company to Premier Trees. Jon Todd, the MD, had offered to supply the trees for Rosie's garden, so we travelled up to Milton Keynes to meet Jon and choose the trees. "Don't suppose you fancy sponsoring a garden at Chelsea?"..."Maybe"...

The rest, as they say, is history.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Smart driving through the Congestion Zone?

Residents from Beckenham to Tunbridge Wells may have seen me pootling about between client visits in my little Smart car. It's perfect for town and relatively environmentally friendly. Not too friendly when a big juggernaut decides to switch lanes on the motorway without seeing me however... If I didn't have fast reactions I'm sure I would be toast! It does fly though; not off the line from nought, but once it gets going it's very fast. It's speed-limited to 85 mph to keep the tyres on the road it's so light.

The sponsor for my Chelsea garden this year is Hasmead plc, a large landscaping company who are working on the Heathrow terminal 5 project. Their headquarters are in Milton Keynes, so I quite often need to drive through London and up the M1 to see them. I travel up before the congestion charge kicks in, but on the way home it's still in force. I was just checking the freeway route from south to north London, ready for the extension of the zone to the West. Now, call me old fashioned, but if Ken thinks that all the traffic going that direction is all going to fit in a timely manner over the Vauxhall Bridge and around Victoria Station he's more of an optimist than me. I'll try it once, but I suspect I'll end up doing what most business travellers will do - use my usual route and charge the cost of the congestion charge on to my customer. Is that really going to save the planet?

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.
www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html

Dirty day in Huddersfield

They say that divorce, moving house, and bereavement are the most stressful things that can happen in one's life, but 'they' have never designed a Show Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. I have been working on this project for over a year, but with less than 100 days to go the reality of what I have taken on is beginning to dawn... better late than never!

I'm sitting on a delayed GNER train (dead person on the line) with my shoes caked in mud. I've been to the Johnson Wellfield quarry in Huddersfield today with Andy Loudon, award-winning dry-stone waller, to see the stone for my garden. One of the consequences of being a garden designer is getting over-excited about stone and paving. Everywhere I go I'm scanning to see if there are any ideas I can use in my gardens. Friends will be at best perplexed and at worst incredulous as we are walking to the pub or a restaurant and I start gushing over a beautiful stone wall or an exquisite piece of detailing (or slagging off an example of poor workmanship). So today, when I had a whole quarry (not to mention the stone used to build Huddersfield railway station) to amaze at, I was in my element. It was also fascinating to see a working quarry, including the most enormous diamond cutting machines, and a huge 3 metre circular saw - visions of James Bond in Octopussy crossed my mind...

All of the staff at the quarry were friendly and falling over themselves to be helpful. Is this an example of Yorkshire hospitality I wonder, or is it a Landscaping thing? I haven't been to Huddersfield before. Coming from London as I do, it's always nice to travel outside the Capital and experience the generosity and hospitality shown to visitors elsewhere in Britain.

I used to work in Investment Banking in the City, and I'm still blown away by how kind and helpful people in the Landscaping business generally are. The nice thing about the Chelsea Flower Show is that, in theory, everyone could get a gold medal or everyone could get none. So, while a friendly rivalry exists, because we're not in direct competition with each other, there is none of the bitter back-biting that I left the City to escape. I have planted two gardens at Chelsea over the last two years, and I've really got the bug. This was probably partly due to the gardens winning gold medals (the Savills garden last year and Andy Sturgeon's Merrill Lynch garden the year before that), but more than that it's the buzz, the adrenaline, and the camaraderie that draws you back to the Chelsea Flower Show year after year.

Linda Bush is a garden designer based in Kent.

www.lindabush.co.uk/chelsea.html