Ayr Flower Show

I thought i'd better write this blog before it bcomes a distant memory as time has a habit of marching on. We created a courtyard garden in 3 and a half days and as always there is never enough time which in the end we ran out of. Awarded silver gilt and lost points on technicalities - Not enough of the fence panels, which were provided by the organisers, covered. Planting left to last and literally thrown in - not that the judges or the public seemed to notice - but the judges did comment on the plant pots showing and ofcourse there was the occasional label left on. Our title 'sett in stone' was ok but theme 'back to the future' threw them a bit - had to explain that we had gone back i.e recylced glass, reclaimed stone to create a sustainable garden for the future. Maybe just a tad obscure!!The garden was created using caithness stone in the paved area along with reclaimed granite setts and recycled glass. The walling was drystane using Denfind stone - stone from spoilheaps of a disused quarry. Grampian marble and slices of granite setts formed the centre of the courtyard. Planting was a mixture of shrubs, conifers, perennials, ferns and grasses. This was about the only thing that changed quite dramatically from the original plan which was 'prairie style' but the weather was hopeless as far as that was concerned with things coming on too early. Features included water feature, beehive composter and mirrored gate. The mirrored acrylic gate was an attention grabber.Overall the show was a lot of hard work and money although we did get some contribution of materials and plants but everybody wants to do it again next year and positive feedback certainly works wonders for the esteem of your workforce.

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