Blue Daisy Blog

I entered a Garden Design Competition last month and last week have received the fantastic news that I have got through the first stage!

It is the Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship Programme sponsored by Bradstone and in conjunction with The Three Counties Show Ground.

To enter I had to design a small show garden for the 2011 Malvern Spring Gardening Show (May 12 -15 2011).

The brief was that it had to reflect the theme of the Atom which celebrates UNESCO's International Year of Chemistry which happens to be in 2011. So I busied myself and tried to come up with something a little different which was pretty hard as an atom is an atom and there are very few things you can do with it!

Now I have to complete another set of application forms for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) judging panel to decide whether my design is good enough to be constructed for the Malvern Spring Show.  If I am lucky enough to get through the second stage I will get a small bursary to help with the materials and plants but I will have to try and find a sponsor(s) to enable me to build the best show garden I can.

We visited two very different gardens recently on a college outing near to the village of Fladbury in Worcestershire.

The first garden was quite contemporary, we were met by the garden designer who chatted about her brief and then let us wander around.  It was in almost 4 sections or rooms, the first was mainly a lawn area we understand is used for entertaining, the second was a contemporary prairie type planted room with areas to sit and relax.  The third section was laid to lawn with a small water feature and the fourth section was a wildflower meadow which sadly, we had missed due to the time of year.  The second area was by far my favourite it had lots of tall grasses.

Well it is that time of year again - I started back to college two weeks ago (just one day a week) and already we have been given some assignments and dates for plant identification exams! As it is our second year there is no easing us in gently at all, we have been involved in advanced surveying skills which just builds on what we learnt last year, learning more and more plants - you can never learn enough, advanced graphic skills and we have been shown different software packages to help when designing.

It's all great, I really do enjoy it although it is fast moving and very varied plus it is lovely to see friends on the course too!

Earlier this month I visited Hidcote Manor Garden, a National Trust property based in Chipping Campden in Gloucester.  The gardens were designed by Major Lawrence Johnston, it has many 'garden rooms' each with their own theme which is quite typical of the Arts and Crafts style.

I am pleased to say that I have been accepted at a Student Member with The Society of Garden Designers!  It's great news for me, and of course Blue Daisy, but it means that I can attend events and trade shows supported by the Society along with opportunities to become involved in various initiatives.  There are competitions to enter, a monthly magazine with lots of inspirational photos and ideas, and it's a good networking source too.

The only down side is that I can't put their logo on my website, stationery or on designs that I have done which is a shame. They feel it may cause some confusion because I am a Student Member as opposed to a Registered Member.  Shame no one thought about having the word Student or Member under their logo so we can all benefit!  Anyway to become a Registered Member I'm going to have to jump through numerous hoops and there will be panels to impress so when I have completed my studies I will apply to become a fully fledged member and will, of course, keep you informed!