The Chelsea Diaries: Taking Shape

Now the snow has disappeared we have been able to complete the marking out of the garden on the ground at the nurseries. Everyone who has seen it so far has had the same reaction “It looks huge!” It reminds me that whenever a garden is created from a plan it appears to undergo change at each stage. It is important however as a designer to hold you nerve and stick to the original plan, restricting any changes to mere tweaks in the development. At this point, with over 12 weeks to go to start of build on site it is a treat to be able to’ walk the space’ and experience a real sense of what we are creating.

Over the next couple of months I shall be setting out some of the elements and the third dimension will begin to emerge. There are two significant parts however that will have to wait until we are at Chelsea – the thatched roof of the building, for obvious reasons and the pool of water which for the moment is marked out as a blue dotted line on the ground.

The pool will have a natural appearance and therefore be very simple but it is surprising how much effort goes into making something appear very simple.  The plane trees at Chelsea have a nasty habit of dropping huge clouds of pollen during show week and in addition to giving hay fever sufferers like me a hard time, it may also causes problems to water features in gardens along the Main Avenue. At best it is rather messy and at worst can clog up a pond, pool or trough.

I am planning to continually skim the surface and filter the water to overcome this hindrance while all the time give the appearance that it is a pool that has appeared naturally. Nick has made up a drain which doubles as a gully to set in at the base of the sandstone wall.

Water features have always been a popular element in gardens of all sizes. Most are contrived man-made affairs unless you are lucky enough to have a tame stream running through your garden. Whether trendy or traditional the most important consideration is that it should be an ‘honest water feature’. So-called natural waterfalls that appear from a rock at the top of a mound of soil are rarely convincing.

Small bodies of water require circulation and the presence of oxygenating plants to keep the water fresh however modern filtration methods have made it possible to have success with the smallest of ponds. With a larger surface area and greater depth, pools are more likely to require less management. Though it should be remembered that for safety, with small children around, water should be fenced securely.

I am mindful that planting in and around the water in the M&G Garden could take up a disproportionate amount of time during the crucial week of planting. So I must exercise some time management when it comes to completing this part of the garden but I am really looking forward to it.

For more information about the sponsors of the garden visit www.mandgchelsea.co.uk