Blue Daisy Blog

The floating paradise garden of London – yes you read correctly. It seems that Joanna Lumley has been working tirelessly for over 15 years to make this concept a reality. She has recently helped launch a trust to oversee the UK's first garden bridge. Aimed at welcoming tourists and cheering commuters on their daily travels, this will be the first pedestrian bridge of its kind. It could well be our version of the New York Highline (pictured here) – a mile long park built on the lines of a former train line.

The project has recently entered its first official planning stage – public consultation, Joanna says the bridge is to "be seen as a gift to the people of London from themselves for generations to come". As such, there is a definite flavour of not wanting corporate sponsorship; all parties involved so far believe that big organisations will offer donations with strings attached. Some large organisations have already offered to plough in millions of pounds into the project and they have been rejected. Fundraising for this project will be a huge ask, by all accounts a very worthwhile scheme and an opportunity for the UK to flex its horticultural muscles once again.

If you want read the full article click here.

Had a lovely day at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show at the weekend.  It was my first time there and first impressions were good.  Thankfully they stayed good too.  If you've never been the site itself is impressive... (well, if it was good enough for Henry VIII...) and as you approach the flower show you are allowed glimpses of Hampton Court Palace and some of its gardens - it definitely looks worth a visit in its own right. 

The show ground feels immense - we were there all day and we still felt that we hadn't covered everything but by the time of our departure our senses were well and truly saturated.  Around every corner there was something to grab our attention and to say that we all regressed to 'kids in a candy store' mode it will probably give you an idea of our response!  Here are some of our favourite bits... (click on the thumbnail images for a larger view!)

If we just take a look at two main themes namely attitude and consumer trends we can look at how they could influence garden design for next year.

We all know that there are noticeable differences in attitudes through the generations and this does definitely seep into the garden too.  Typically the younger house owner will see their gardens as an extra room, somewhere to entertain, as a workspace, or even somewhere to play the Wii!

Often the younger house owner will opt for a garden with less plants, more functional space and typically with a more contemporary feel.  The older generation generally see their garden as a place to actually garden, to tend their plants and as a place to relax.

I write a regular article in a local magazine (YourCall) each month and the last one was  'Garden Design Trends 2010'.  Last week I received a phone call from our local BBC radio station who said they'd seen the article and invited me in to their studio to talk about it!

Naturally, I did have a panic, although quite flattered they liked what I'd written I did ask if it was live radio - to which the reply was 'Yes'!  I agreed after having a think, I was very nervous and I'd never been in a studio let alone been interviewd on live radio before!  So, I went over to the studios at the weekend and was greeted by the lady that had originally called, she quickly put my mind at ease and ran through the order of the slot with me.  I was taken into the studio and met Trish (in between songs) who was very friendly and was easy to talk to...thankfully!  Before I knew it I was sitting in front of a microphone and heard myself being introduced....exactly how many butterflies there were in my stomach I'll never know!