The Road to Adventure

Well, its nearly the end of January - where did that one go? It disappeared under a snow drift, and with it all my good intentions of being ahead of the Chelsea game. That's not strictly true - I have managed to progress the plan and get most of the main building materials lined up. I know Ricky is on the case with plants - at some point I need to get together with him to explain the themes of the exhibit a little further - as ever they have moved on as plans progress!
Anyway - this year's theme: Adventures in Gardening. Where did that one come from? Well during a talk at our Sunningdale garden centre Gary, our manager said that I had made gardening sound like an adventure, - I loved the idea so the Chelsea theme was born. That's often how it happens - on the spur of the moment.
This year I am teaming up with The Scotts Miracle-Gro company. Both of us want a different angle and way of relaying our message to gardeners. An integral part of the exhibit will be the Secret Garden, or "Diary Room" as it has become known. Here gardeners will be able to give their gardening tips to help other gardeners or ask questions of the experts. These pearls of wisdom will be captured on short videos which will form a library of real gardening advice from real gardeners. Visitors will be able to watch the action in the Diary Room through a window in the garden pavilion at the front of the exhibit, or watch it on a TV screen - clever eh? Just got to make it happen.

Anyway the rest of the exhibit is a road to adventure across White Water, through Indian Intrigue,past Moroccan Magic to Venetian Adventure coming to rest amidst Sylvan Spirit. Its really all about putting plants together in an adventurous way in inspiring settings. The objective being to encourage the gardener to jump in and have a go without worrying about what's right or wrong.
As for accessories - I've got a lovely big Indian goddess, an incredible slate sculpture by Tom Stogden, a fantastic Scandinavian outdoor room by Hillhout, and Divine paving by Organic Stone. Went to visit them on Monday - full of enthusiasm and ideas as ever - Paving based on Golden Section - Sacred Geometry- magic beneath your feet! Tim Redwood thinking about Moroccan architecture and need to speak to Mehrdad about Venetian Glass - have masks for the ball already!

Today's effort - started to wory about forklifts, black polythene and so on and bought a cane Peacock chair on the internet for £10 - The Diary Room is starting to get very interesting and imaginations in the office are going wild. Chelsea is underway.
Next the focus moves to Trade Open Days on the nursery - designed to inspire our customers and let them know what we are up tothis year The theme - You've guessed it - Adventures in Gardening - Let the journey begin!