The Chelsea Diaries: Sandstone Blog

I have probably already gone on record as saying that I like to use local materials so the stone for the ruined wall coming from a ruined Sussex barn is just what I wanted. The difficult part has been finding a stone mullion window in a similar sandstone colour. Now, at last it has been delivered and covered in moss and green slime just exactly as I had hoped. The only problem is that it is awfully heavy. ‘No problem’ says Nick my contractor ‘we ‘ll soon set that up and it will look great’ Now that is the kind of ‘can do’ approach that we all need for this project.

The interesting and challenging aspect of this wall and window is that it will be in view from both sides so we cannot fudge it with breeze blocks on the back and a single skin of sandstone, it will have to be the proper job. The back of the garden will not end with the wall, as we shall be planting a two metre wide block of holly, laurel and ferns among the ruin.

The RHS have strict guidelines about digging close to permanent trees on the site – regulations agreed by the Royal Hospital that ensures the plane trees are undisturbed. It is surprising that after a century of shows on this site that there are any surface roots to these enormous trees but I suppose these days the excavation can be even more radical than in the past so rules such as this are very important to their preservation.

Under the heading Environmental Responsibility the RHS Chelsea Show Manual states that we are not allowed to excavate at all within a specified root protection area and the depth that we can go beyond that increases as we move away from the tree. We must also keep heavy materials away from the root protection zone so no dumping of pallets of sandstone at the base of the tree.

Of course the plane trees reward us for all this care and attention lavished on them by dumping clouds of pollen dust on us most years during show. Though that probably is a sign that we are having good weather.

Also delivered this week were the lumps of sandstone rock. Why not have them delivered to The Chelsea Flower Show directly in May rather than haul them here first I hear you question? Well it is a typical example of me ensuring that we have everything organised and prepared well ahead. I can think about how the configuration will work and hopefully grow yet more mosses and slime on them – they already have a good covering. It also means that they will probably travel on the same vehicle with other items so only one lorry into London with stone from Kent and Sussex rather than 3 or 4.

Only about one third of these rocks will be out of the ground, a bit like an iceberg, the bulk will be under the surface. This is how the best, most naturalistic rock gardens are constructed although in this case I am building more of an outcrop. If you look at some of the old photographs of Chelsea during the 20’s and 30’s rock gardens were very popular. The best of them had this naturalistic appearance and the worst look more like plum puddings with small rocks sitting on the surface.

These particular lumps of rock have come from a very old quarry near East Grinstead called Philpots Quarry which has been in existence well before the Chelsea Flower Show was established and although I do not have firm evidence I expect the show has had many a ton of stone from this location over the century.

The famous alpine nurseries Ingwersens at Birch Farm Nursery was located close to Philpots Quarryand only closed a few years ago. Ingwersens were an exhibiting at Chelsea from the very beginning and would have used exactly the same sandstone rock.

Next week I am off to Yorkshire at last to source the paving. It is a pity that the local stone is too soft for my purpose as a paving material but as with everything about this garden it must be practical.

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