Gardeners' World Live 2011 (part three)

This was a stunning display of floristry, vegetable growing and artistry by the National Farmers' Union, Waitrose and UK Horticulture where the colours seamlessly blended into the next.  All the flowers, fruit and vegetables were produced by British Growers.

 A close up view of part of the white display.

 White gradually merging with yellow.

 Fruit and vegetables were also included, arranged in beautiful patterns to complement the flowers.

The red area, which included tomatoes, peppers and lettuces.  This whole display made a huge impact and won a very well-deserved gold medal.

And finally, another garden design, but this one has plants made from paper.  It looked very convincing from a distance, and it was only as you got closer to it that the truth dawned.  It was a great example of the versatility of paper and was by Suzie McLoughlin, the paper artist whose work we saw at the hub at Sleaford in the Spring. 
All in all, this was a great day out!

Gardeners' World Live 2011 (part two)

Inside the Floral Marquee was a mass of colour.  The diascias above were a beautiful shape and a good example of what can be achieved when you know what you are doing!

 The pelagoniums (or geraniums as they are commonly called) were really bright and vivid.  I bought a small plant of one of the cerise pink ones at the centre right (Penny Dixon) as I couldn't resist the colour.

The rocket-like spires of lupins were amazing and elegant and the colours were blended together with an expert eye.

 Of course, I had to include clematis as it is one of my favourite plants.  The above display won a gold medal and it was well deserved.  If only my clematis looked as good as these.

And finally for this post, more elegant spires of colour, this time, delphiniums.  I do admire these in other people's gardens, but have had no luck with them in my own due to slugs and snails.  As they take a good deal of time and effort to look this good, I'm probably better to continue admiring them from afar.

Gardeners' World Live 2011 (part one)

 I had a lovely time at Gardeners' World Live at the NEC, Birmingham on Saturday, with my sister, my sister-in-law and a friend I used to work with at school.  We are all keen gardeners and all had a wonderful time, looking at the displays, show gardens and all the retail therapy opportunities.  The garden above was a riot of colour, called "Remember the Dream" and designed by Yvonne Matthews for Macmillan Cancer Support.  The vibrant colours really appealed to me, even though I wouldn't necessarily include all of them in my own garden.  I would probably have painted the obelisks a paler shade or left them natural, but giving them such a bright colour made them prominent.

More beautiful colours.

 This display made me smile - beds and borders indeed!

"The Bodgery" was a wonderfully evocative garden, showing the English woodland and the planting therein.  It was designed by Chris Myers and inspired when he met a Bodger in his local wood.  A Bodger was someone who used a pole lathe (seen here on the left) to create wooden pieces which were then turned into elements for use by the local chairmakers.  The Bodger didn't make a finished chair himself, so gradually, any unfinished job became known as a 'bodged job'.  Unfortunately, this term nowadays means an unfinished job which has been done in a slapdash or wrong way, so is not very complimentary.

 For such a small garden, this really had an air of tranquility and peacefulness, in the middle of a very busy show.

This was more of a concept garden, not really designed to sit in, more to look at.  It was called "Simple Elements" and included Fire, Earth, Air and Water (suggested by the mirrors, grasses and blue mulch).  I wanted to sit on the cube seats as they looked so inviting, but sadly, all we could do was look.
The next installment will follow tomorrow - amazing colours and textures.