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I want to do a garden at Gardeners' World Live...

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Saturday, 19th June 2010

  Not a big one, that would be just crazy. I'm not entirely sure where to begin. Anyone done one, anyone got any tips?
  
  What is the cost likely to be? We'll be able to grow some plants ourself, but not all. We're going to avoid too much hard landscaping so all the work can be done by us (we're a group of volunteers).
  
  Does it seem like a good idea? I'm good at coming up with crazy plans.

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by girlgardener (U14297749) on Sunday, 20th June 2010

  To start with you should look on the RHS website - exhibiting at shows. It costs nothing to exhibit at any of the shows - in fact some of the garden categories get a grant from the RHS - at Hampton Court the Conceptual, sustainable and themed (Shakespearian this yr) gardens are all eligable for a grant of up to £5000.
  You need to submit a brief and plans to the RHS. The brief is the MOST important piece as it is what you will be judged against. So, for example, if you say that you will have flowering cherry trees in your garden and then they aren't, you will be karked down. You need to set yourself parameters as you have almost no limitations on the design you do.
  If you can get a sponsor, then that is great - but it can be difficult to get backing. So you can approach individual companies for either small donations - in exchange for mentioning in the leaflets you give out at the show (which tell people about your garden) or you could approach companies for their products and ask if they will donate them. For example, if you were going to have a water feature, you could ask the manufacturer of water pumps to supply one for free anbd you will mention them in your leaflet. A garden can be done for free but it is difficult. Growing your own plants substantially reduces costs, however you may need to buy more in - or be prepared to have to buy some in if yours aren't good enough.Employing a good landscaper to do the hard landscaping is worth it's weight in gold, but if you have people to do it, then that will save you money. Plants need to be perfect - picking over - removing dead or dicoloured leaves and faded flowers is essential.
  It is hard work and a lot of planning, but very rewarding.
  Good luck!

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Monday, 21st June 2010

  Thank you for all the information.
  
  One thing we're considering is trying to get a grant to fund it; we are a group of volunteers age under 25 and currently there is quite a lot of funding for volunteers under 25, so we might be able to find something.
  
  Have you done a show garden yourself?

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by girlgardener (U14297749) on Tuesday, 22nd June 2010

  I wrote my final year dissertation on how to create a gold medal winning garden at Chelsea when I studied the Kew Diploma. I have helped build 2 exhibits for City of Durban in the great pavillion and I am one of the horticultural researchers for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on their Hampton and Chelsea coverage.
  If you can get a grant, that's great. Private funding is more difficult. Budget wise, gardens have been done at Hampton for virtually nothing - growing your own plants and getting companies to donate items/construction materials. On the whole, if you are looking at getting in a contractor and buying plants, a budget of £25-35k for a small garden and £75/100k upwards for a show garden.
  The RHS are helpful if you want more info, so it's worth getting in touch with them. They may be able to help you with funding questions.
  Good Luck!

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Tuesday, 22nd June 2010

  Thanks for all the advice, I'll email the RHS. I imagine if we can't get a grant we'll struggle to get funding. It's not the kind of project usually funded by grants but I know of at least one garden that has been done this way so it's possible at least!

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Thursday, 24th June 2010

  I've returned again, I'm terrible at posting on this forum, I always forget about it until just before midnight and it closes on me.
  
  I'm not sure we'll be able to get a very big grant, but maybe £2,500. I'm trying to figure out if we could manage something with that. We'll be able to grow quite a lot of plants and we weren't planning on having a huge amount of hard landscaping , etc, and the volunteers we have should be able to do everything so we might be okay.
  
  and at Gardeners' World Live the small gardens can be any size I think, so we might be able to do an extra small garden!
  
  I hope if you ever do a Chelsea garden now you'll get a gold after all that! Is it something you're hoping to do one year?

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by Gaynor Witchard (U11583299) on Saturday, 26th June 2010

  Hi Kathy
  
  I've built two RHS show gardens at Cardiff - the first I was awarded a silver medal and the second a silver-gilt and best in show 2010. The first garden cost £2500 and this year's cost around £4000. The major cost is landscaping and plants (obviously) but I didn't use any landscaping at all when I first started. I just laid out a ground tarpauline and covered it with wood chips from a local tree surgeon for no cost.
  
  My advice is to keep the design simple but balanced; use basic materials which can be'tarted up' - the right colour preservative/paint etc. can work wonders on bog standard fencing and structures; attention to detail is paramount; plants need to be as near perfect as possible (I don't ever show anything that is out of season); don't be over ambitious first time around.
  
  The design brief is extremely important as has already been said - keep it vague e.g. only specify plants you KNOW you can get. This year I specified 'white spring flowers' which covered any white flower in season. This was quite acceptable to the judges.
  
  It's a fantastic experience - and once you've done it you'll want to do it again! I wish you well.
  
  Gaynor Witchard
  
  

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Saturday, 26th June 2010

  Thanks for the advice and congratulations on the medals! I'm going to go on the RHS website to have a look for a pic of your garden.
  
  I didn't know you didn't have to specify the plant names! That's a good tip and might come in handy.

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Monday, 26th July 2010

  I'm on the shortlist for a grant for the garden, really hoping I get it.

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Wednesday, 4th August 2010

  That's the link if anyone fancies voting to help us get it -
  
  Ta!

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• Message 11

  , in reply to message 10.

  Posted by Miss-polly (U14402803) on Thursday, 5th August 2010

  I've voted for you. Good luck.

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• Message 12

  , in reply to message 11.

  Posted by poshHebeJeebie (U9319867) on Thursday, 5th August 2010

  Hi Kathy: I took a look at the other entries, and I thought yours was excellent.
  
  Brilliant idea. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. You got my vote!
  
  PHJ

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• Message 13

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Thursday, 5th August 2010

  thank you, we really appreciate all the votes. we'll let everyone know next week if we get it.
  
  I think we're the only gardening project to get on the shortlist. I looked through the full list of all the entries they received too and there were hardly any that were garden,nature, etc, related, was a bit surprised there weren't more.

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• Message 14

  , in reply to message 13.

  Posted by Amazing (U7102651) on Thursday, 5th August 2010

  When does voting close? Can I vote again and again?

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• Message 15

  , in reply to message 14.

  Posted by Kathy (U898169) on Friday, 6th August 2010

  Voting closes Wednesday at 3pm.
  
  You can only vote once (well, once per computer, or it might let you vote more than once if you're on a different browser). but in theory only once!
  
  Kew Gardens recommended our project which was pretty cool!

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