If you are going to Hampton court, be warned, it is really muddy. Unless they can get hold of tons and tons of bark to put down I fear it will be a mud bath. All the garden builders are really struggling to get their plots looking good, but the wet weather is really making them work hard, so don't judge the gardens too harshly.
I was lucky because the Daily Mail garden is under cover. The Oast house garden really looks a treat. Check out the paths, fences, gates, stone walls etc.
The Oast was to high for the marquee so the ground level had to be lowered so I had to regrade the slopes with a jcb to make it look more natural and the digger came in very handy for the very big shrubs and trees.
A big team put the garden together in less than a week, with the help of your very own Tin Shed. Lets hope it gets a gold medal.
Photo Fun. Post a picture of yourself by the white picket cottage fence built by yours truly.
Another word of warning. Around the cricket pitch there is another white picket fence.
DON'T LEAN ON IT!
Thanks for that. We're going tomorrow! What are the car parks like? We normally use the meadow in front of the Palace. Or would we be better off getting trying to get there by public transport? (Trouble is, from our part of London, that's nearly two hours!)
Look forward to seeing your handiwork!
Car parks should be alright as most of the contractors vehicles were using the metaled roads to get in or out. I only used the stud gate entrance and that was alright 2 days ago.
Ta!
Sounds like a fun day! Any other idiots going?
Breaking news. We got a gold medal.
Wow! Well done! Congratulations. Can you post some pics for those of us that are too far away to come and see?
It should be on the telly this thursday and friday. I was too busy to take photos, but I expect some of the visitors from this forum will oblige.
Nice one, ACE....Everyone looking forward to those pic's. Well done.
Congratulations, Ace. All that hard work paid off at last. :)
Ace What wonderful news!! Many congratulations, well done.
Lorna
Congratulations again. Going on Saturday so will take some photos. Can confirm the Ace is a wonder with a drill and a spade. Only time I saw him without one or other in his hand was at tea break!!!
Quote from: ACE on July 02, 2007, 22:00:05
Breaking news. We got a gold medal.
Congratulations :)
congrats Ace!!
Great news, I still think you were short changed ar GWL though... ;D
fantastic news - congratulations. Can't wait to see it.
Wooohoooo Ace, well done. I was planning to come down but changed my week off last week due to the weather and what I'm hoping to do with the rest of my time off.
Will look out for you on the telly.
I did see you at Gardener's World, but you were too scary ;) to interrupt & say hello.
Many congratulations Ace :D. Can't get to the show, but looking forward to seeing it on TV later this week.
Cheers,
Rob ;)
Quote from: froglets on July 03, 2007, 09:13:47
I did see you at Gardener's World, but you were too scary ;) to interrupt & say hello.
I was reared in captivity, so I am quite tame.
I have one at home like that but I can't be sure of how he'll behave when I have to let him out on his own in crowds.
I thought it best to err on the side of caution & keep all my fingers.
Wonderful news about your gold medal Ace, well done! :D
yeahhh!!! at last, really, really pleased for you...just don't forget us all when you're famous ;D
congratulations!!!!!!!!
will be looking out for you on the telly ;D
I must put the record straight, First of all thank you for your kind remarks and congratulations.
The Hampton garden is not our own design, although we do have a big input into it. I build and make sure the hard landscaping is up to the standard that is needed to win medals and I put the same dedication into my work as I would if we were building under our own name. We are asked by Hardys Cottage Garden Plants every year to work on the Daily mail garden as they know we can meet the exacting standards that are needed to win an RHS medal.
The medal properly belongs to Hardys, but I still feel I am entitled to your congratulations in being part of a gold medal winning team.
As most off you who have seen our own gardens will know, we prefer the cottage garden style of planting and we have a great design that we will submit to Chelsea when we can get a sponsor, so if you have recently won the lottery a small donation of about £45,000 would be gratefully received ;)
You should be able to see the garden on the telly, but you will not see me, I am back home looking after my plants and I always stay well away from cameras.
Saw your handiwork yesterday, Ace. Much admired! And if you hadn't let on about your problems with the oast house, we really wouldn't have noticed; it looks as if the slight dip in the path was in the original design all along! (And we are used to doing stage sets, so we tend to notice things like that!) And the planting was beautifully done. Can see why it got a gold.
But wellies - or stout walking boots - are essential. We actually had a charmed day. Each time it rained we just happened to be in a marquee, and we arrived home shortly before the freak storm at tea-time! But parts of the showground were already beginning to resemble Glastonbury (albeit with a slightly more elderly clientele), so I dread to think what it will be like by the weekend. And we geriatrics took our walking sticks with us. Highly recommended for keeping your balance while stepping through the muddier bits & leaning on when tired.