Comments on Wisteria and Cow Parsley: The Malvern Spring Show 2010 Show Gardens Part II:...

Thanks for the tour, RO - I watched the TV coverag...

2010-05-14T21:49:54.604+01:00

Thanks for the tour, RO - I watched the TV coverage yesterday (on video) and it's interesting to see some more of the gardens, and to see them from a different perspective. I liked the Quaker and Woodland Edge gardens best on GW and I think I still do, though Juggling the Balance looks great in your photos too. I agree with you about all the multi-coloured drapery, and about the habit reconstruction - I too have what I suspect is an old-fashioned belief that a garden should be more about planting than than it is about artwork or habitat. Great to have some feedback from one of the designers about that though - and it's always interesting to see different people's ideas: life would be very dull if we all liked the same things!

Hi Raynor, I am really pleased to hear that you m...

2010-05-12T22:00:06.688+01:00

Hi Raynor,

I am really pleased to hear that you managed to have a good show dispite the horrid weather. I cannot believe it is supposed to be May, I do hope it gets a bit warmer in time for Chelsea.

This dictionary definition of a garden is where I get confused, as I had understood it literally to mean that a garden should be in some way cultivated and the description of your project led me to believe you had tried to create a reconstruction of a derelict piece of industrial waste land and not an area that was being tended by man in any way, which suggested it was a habitat reconstruction rather than a garden to me.

Whether I liked it or not is irrelevant, as you have had a successful show and it is an impressive creation, I can appreciate that. I shall look out for your future designs with great interest,

Kindest regards,

RO xx

As one of the students who worked on the Otley Col...

2010-05-12T21:07:01.352+01:00

As one of the students who worked on the Otley College / UCS (University Campus Suffolk) Garden I completely understand your point of view, however, I have to say that the proper definition of a 'garden' ranges from a piece of ground on which flowers etc are cultivated to - a fertile region (Chambers Dictionary, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh, 2003 p.608)

I think it fair to say that what we portrayed was 'Natures Garden'. You have taken some wonderful photographs of many of the gardens and the shame of it is that you did not show the beautiful planting around the pond at the far end of our garden which was planted as nature intended. The entrance to the industrial site was an ugly entrance by design.
Having said all that, this was my first RHS Show and I was lucky to be part of a great team. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure but not the freezing cold nights camping out! Everyone working on the other gardens was incredibly friendly and watching all the gardens come to life was a sheer joy. I feel very lucky to have been part of it all. If you get the chance - I thoroughly recommend it!

Best regards
Raynor Croll
raynor.croll@gmail.com

Anyone able to identify that very fine-leaf small ...

2010-05-12T03:14:04.979+01:00

Anyone able to identify that very fine-leaf small tree in the Juggling The Balance garden?

Great photos. I agreed with whoever made the comment about the unsuitable patio seating in the aged garden. It was the first thing that struck me when I saw it ha ha. Am I petty?

Impossible to take it all in ... After seeing your...

2010-05-12T02:54:01.267+01:00

Impossible to take it all in ... After seeing your lovely post, I can certainly see 'centering down' in The Quaker Meeting Place Garden. Thank you for sharing.

I must agree... I liked very few gardens on this p...

2010-05-12T01:56:50.918+01:00

I must agree... I liked very few gardens on this post, though I did very much like the garden from the last post. Maybe because I am such a natural garden lover, a huge fan of Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury, that the "habitat reconstructions" and overly thematic gardens just don't do it for me. I used to subscribe to Garden Design magazine, but gave it up when it seemed more about modern furniture and paving than plants! I prefer the little old Country Gardens Mag. sometimes overly cutsie, but mostly sweet and about plants... I;d have loved to have seen more of those kinds of heartfelt gardens at a show like this!

Hmm. So what makes something a garden? I guess for...

2010-05-12T00:23:14.907+01:00

Hmm. So what makes something a garden? I guess for me it has to have living plants of some kind, and a collaboration between a gardener, who plants to plants or somehow puts a design in motion, and those plants (which never do exactly what you envisioned when you designed).

I was particularly happy to see your photos of the woodland edge garden. My next project is a garden built around some existing trees at the edge of the woods, and I can definitely get some inspiration from this garden. Thanks. -Jean

Glad to read a good balanced account of the garden...

2010-05-11T22:46:12.372+01:00

Glad to read a good balanced account of the gardens on display,. I too just didn't 'get it' a lot of the time and thought them very disappointing at times xx

The Youth Of Old Age Garden was well designed, but...

2010-05-11T22:43:08.946+01:00

The Youth Of Old Age Garden was well designed, but I am sure the choice of Garden Furniture was not suitable? Perhaps wicker garden chairs with nice plump cushions would have been more appropriate. The Quaker Garden was very aesthetic, lovely graceful planting and inviting one to enter.

Fairfields

I agree with lots of your comments there, RO. I ha...

2010-05-11T21:27:11.840+01:00

I agree with lots of your comments there, RO. I had to resist the urge to pick up the litter in the Otley College garden. At least I assume that the litter was planted there deliberately - now I'm not so sure, it was quite windy.

I, too, am looking forward to 'Atom'.

Another excellent account, thank you. I think we&...

2010-05-11T21:17:12.850+01:00

Another excellent account, thank you. I think we'd have been muttering in agreement if we had toured the show together!