Forum

Replies

• 

  Kerrie John-The garden design Co July 19, 2009 at 5:14pm

  For Hampton Court speak to Steve Cope at the RHS, he will send you all the info, forms etc.. and let you know who to speak to regarding Chelsea.
• 

  The Perfumed Garden July 20, 2009 at 8:52am

  Hi Rich
  Steve Cope or Mandy Almond for Hampton and Alex Baulkwill for Chelsea. stevecope@rhs.org.uk, mandyalmond@rhs.org.uk and alexbaulkwill@rhs.ork.uk. They can give you advice on applications and send out relevant forms.
  I'm very happy to pass on any info I can as an exhibitor so if you want to know more, please contact me. All I would say is it will be one of the most tiring things you will do but one of the most rewarding. It sounds as if you have crossed the hurdle that most people struggle with and that is finding a sponsor. Well done and go for it - you have nothing to lose and all to gain. Jill
• 

  Shelley Barnes July 20, 2009 at 11:12am

  Do it!!
  I did Hampton Court (the same year as Kerrie) and it was such a great experience. We ended up funding and building the garden ourselves when our sponsor backed out early on, but as we chose to do a small garden it was quite achievable! We chose Hampton Court, as logistically it was easier for us to get to every day, and it's really a great show. We had a good, simple design, and we chose colourful perennial plants so we had no problem selling everything at the end (they were fighting over the plants on the sell off!!). We made sure we stuck to the brief all the way through (its a big part of the judging), and if we had any alterations we emailed the RHS team and let them know (they were probably sick of our emails- but the show organisers are really helpful!!)
  (just as an example- we had everything flowering for the show- and because we said in the brief it was purely a summer garden- they couldn't criticise us for not having seasonal interest if you get my drift- so think about how you word your brief at the start carefully.)
  you can find out at the end what you are marked down on- we were marked down because a few of the herbaceous plants weren't as big as they should have been. (we got a silver-gilt BTW!)
  just another tip- we asked our old college lecturer for some advice and he said don't make things over complicated- try to keep the construction simple- we built all our walls from timber and made them look like proper rendered walls!!- quick to put up and quick to pull down at the end!!
  Well i'm no-where near an expert but just wanted to share my experience of our first small show garden- it was great fun- I'd really recommend it! sure you'll get lots more advice here- and if you want any more help please feel free to ask!
• 

  Graeme @ BGS July 21, 2009 at 4:48pm

  Steve,
  
  It is my understanding that the plants should be peat free except orchids but don't quote me on that.
• 

  The Perfumed Garden July 21, 2009 at 5:37pm

  I believe the RHS are trying to go that way but I think they will find it difficult to get everyone to comply. Speak to Mandy or Steve at the RHS - email addresses as Jillspost above.
• 

  Shelley Barnes July 22, 2009 at 9:37am

  Hi Steve- i seem to remember it was part of the rules to use peat-free compost, even when i did the garden a few years back. but like TPG says i'm not sure everyone does and i don't think the RHS checked.
  (i could be wrong- my memories not great, and it was a couple of years ago, but i do remember checking with the nurseries i was using)
  (including you guys who supplied alot of my lovely plants of course!!)
• 

  Richard@www.seasons-garden.co.uk July 22, 2009 at 6:25pm

  Many thanks!
  
  The Perfumed Garden said:

  Hi Rich
  Steve Cope or Mandy Almond for Hampton and Alex Baulkwill for Chelsea. stevecope@rhs.org.uk, mandyalmond@rhs.org.uk and alexbaulkwill@rhs.ork.uk. They can give you advice on applications and send out relevant forms.
  I'm very happy to pass on any info I can as an exhibitor so if you want to know more, please contact me. All I would say is it will be one of the most tiring things you will do but one of the most rewarding. It sounds as if you have crossed the hurdle that most people struggle with and that is finding a sponsor. Well done and go for it - you have nothing to lose and all to gain. Jill
• 

  Nick Steele July 22, 2009 at 6:26pm

  I think the government target was that growing media should be 84% non-peat by 2010 - but there is no chance that the industry will get anywhere near this, so the target is going to get revised !
  
  Back on topic - I think the closing date for Chelsea 2010 entries is Aug 18th - so don't hang about!
• 

  Richard@www.seasons-garden.co.uk July 22, 2009 at 6:27pm

  Thanks for this - very interesting.
  No doubt I'll be in touch again once I'm a step nearer.
  Krgds
  Rich
  
  Shelley said:

  Do it!!
  I did Hampton Court (the same year as Kerrie) and it was such a great experience. We ended up funding and building the garden ourselves when our sponsor backed out early on, but as we chose to do a small garden it was quite achievable! We chose Hampton Court, as logistically it was easier for us to get to every day, and it's really a great show. We had a good, simple design, and we chose colourful perennial plants so we had no problem selling everything at the end (they were fighting over the plants on the sell off!!). We made sure we stuck to the brief all the way through (its a big part of the judging), and if we had any alterations we emailed the RHS team and let them know (they were probably sick of our emails- but the show organisers are really helpful!!)
  (just as an example- we had everything flowering for the show- and because we said in the brief it was purely a summer garden- they couldn't criticise us for not having seasonal interest if you get my drift- so think about how you word your brief at the start carefully.)
  you can find out at the end what you are marked down on- we were marked down because a few of the herbaceous plants weren't as big as they should have been. (we got a silver-gilt BTW!)
  just another tip- we asked our old college lecturer for some advice and he said don't make things over complicated- try to keep the construction simple- we built all our walls from timber and made them look like proper rendered walls!!- quick to put up and quick to pull down at the end!!
  Well i'm no-where near an expert but just wanted to share my experience of our first small show garden- it was great fun- I'd really recommend it! sure you'll get lots more advice here- and if you want any more help please feel free to ask!
• 

  Richard Clegg July 25, 2009 at 1:37pm

  Well good luck to you. Plop a bit of dry stone in there. I worked on Julian Dowle's Gold winning yorkshire garden in 2003. Great fun.