Day 2 is over and the garden is nearly completed and looks great.
Today has been a glorious day with sunny weather all day, it really makes you feel happy to work outside with the sun on your back. As we had accomplished such a lot yesterday we could take the pace of work down a notch, and take it easy. The sculptures and raised beds all had a good coating of linseed oil which made the colours of the willow really pop. The shed had another lick of paint to cover any scuff marks and areas that were a little patchy.
The electrians arrived too today and installed a plug into the shed so I can now make a cuppa, update my blog and check emails from the comfort of my little shed office.
After lunch all the plants were carefully transferred from their crates into the raised beds and the transformation was amazing, getting the greenery and the little splashes of color has emphasised the sculptures so much. I am really pleased with the planting list that my gardener Oli has put together, it combines meadow plants with traditional country cottage planting, mixing plants such as Ragged Robin with Foxgloves. The colour of the flowers are a mix of purple and pink tones which highlight the reddish tones in the bark of the willow.
There was, I am sad to say, one down point to the day. As the ethos behind my plot is sustainability it was decided early on that the floor of the plot would be left natural and utilise the grass that already exists. But then one of the exhibitors pointed out that I would be marked down for not using my own floor covering. What a flap that sent me into! Do I quickly order some turf? buy some wood-chips? buy gravel? What do I do?
After a lot of talking with my Dad and my helper Lorraine it was decided to do what makes me happy, so I phoned the organisors for some advice. The girls from the RHS were very understanding and helpful and helped me to reach a decision which allowed me to be happy with my stand, and put me at ease. I have decided that I want people to see my work in as natural a setting as possible and if that means being marked down by the judges for not using a floor covering then I will have to accept that. After all I have to be happy with what I am showing to the public, and if I don’t feel confident in what I am doing then how can I confidently talk to people about my work.
All in all today has been a great day, the plot looks good, I feel tired, sore and grubby but most of all I am happy.