Earthly
Garden Designs | |||||
RHS
Chelsea Flower Show 2008
Saturday
24th May. The MND Shetland Croft House Garden won the 'BBC's
RHS People's Award for Best Small Show Garden'
- as voted for by the public. The award was presented to Martin and Sue by Alan
Titchmarch who made a lovely speech to the watching crowd.
Tuesday
21st May. We were visited by Shetland sculptress Ruth Fisher (below) who had
supplied the stone for the croft and made the driftwood fence & gate and the
alpine table.
Tuesday
20th May. IT'S A GOLD!!
Monday
19th May. Press day, Judging day, 2 Royal visits, a live broadcast from BBC's
East Midlands Today, a host of 'celebrities' and a Shetland pony makes an appearance.
Sunday 18th May. A short film of Sue's trip to Shetland and an interview by Alan Titchmarch with Sue & Martin was shown on BBC1's Chelsea preview show.
Friday 16th May. BBC East Midlands Today show a short feature about the garden in their evening bulletin. Click here to see it. They will be broadcasting live from the garden at Chelsea on Monday at 6.30pm. 16th May. Martin tried to sell the stone facade and walls of the croft after the show on ebay. Sadly no offers. Martin has funded most of the project from his own pocket. Where are all the wealthy, altruistic philanthropists when you need them? 15th
May. The burn and the paving stones are now in place, the poans are on the
roof, and the knocking stane is in position. All of the plants have now arrived
and are being prepared ready for planting tomorrow (Friday). The team are tired
but still on schedule. Saturday is the day when everything should come together
(touch wood!). 14th May. Paul Wright and Caroline Thomas arrive with the first van full of plants. Then they have to drive back to the NTU at Southwell Nottingham to fetch a second van load. 12th
May. Alan Smiles of Shetland Stonecraft has completed the croft facade and
walls using the Shetland stone. The next stage is the burn and the planting with
Caroline Thomas & Paul Wright from the NTU who arrive on Wednesday.
10th May. The BBC's website has a page featuring the MND Shetland Croft House Garden. Click here. 8th
May. It is hoped that Her Majesty the Queen and Her Royal Highness
the Princess Royal will both visit the garden on Monday the 19th of May.
8th May. Dominic Heale and Sara Blizzard from BBC's East Midlands Today will broadcast live from the MNDA Shetland Croft House Garden at the Chelsea Garden Show for the 6.30 evening show on Monday 19th May. 8th
May. The Shetland Croft House Garden will feature in the BBC's Chelsea preview
show on Sunday 18th May on BBC1 at 5.05pm. 8th May. BBC East Midlands News will show a feature on the garden on Sunday 18th May. 8th May. Sue and Martin have arrived at Chelsea ready to begin the build. The container with the stone should arrive at the site tomorrow (Friday the 9th). 6th May. The lorry with the croft and fence has arrived at Aberdeen via the ferry from Shetland. 4th
May. 5 days to go to the build!
3rd
May. Shetland Mouse-ear Press Release. CERASTIUM NIGRESCENS Shetland
Mouse-ear. Never been seen before at Chelsea, this plant will be part of our plant display at this years show. Discovered in 1837 by the local botanist Thomas Edmondston this plant only grows on about 2 square kilometers on Unst, the most northerly island in Shetland. It does not grow anywhere else in the world. The plant flowers on the Keen of Hamar National Nature Reserve, Unst and in another area very close by. It is the largest example of serpentine debris in Britain. The surface conformation keeps the peak of the hill devoid of pasture and the area resembles what much of Britain must have looked like as the last Ice Age retreated. The large white flowers can be seen between May and August. Edmondston published 'A Flora of Shetland' when he was 20 in 1845. He was accidentally shot in the following year on a scientific expedition to South America. 21st-23rd
April.
Sue Hayward, together with the BBC's film producer Michael Kerr, cameraman Nigel
and soundman Steve visited Shetland to film some of the people from the Islands
that are helping with the project.
19th April. Some photos (below) have arrived of Shetland sculptress Ruth Fisher and the gate, fence and alpine table that she has made for the show for us from driftwood that has been washed up on the beaches of Shetland.
3rd
April. A
DVD is to be made of the project entitled "The Shetland Croft Moves to
London". 19th March. Article appears in the Nottingham Evening Post under the title 'FLOWERS ARRIVE FOR SHOW GARDEN'.
13th March. The MNDA Shetland croft house garden appears on the RHS Chelsea flower show 2008 highlights webpage. 12th March. The BBC are going to organise a trip back to Shetland to film some more footage with Sue Hayward and to meet some of the people who have helped with the project. 7th March. BBC East Midlands come to Nottingham Trent University to film the students potting on some of the plants donated by the Shetland Amenity Trust. A re-creation of a burn was mocked up by Mark Oxenbury and Paul Wright with the aid of the students in order to visualise how it will look for the show. 4th February. First delivery of plants donated by Shetlanders, co-ordinated and sent by Hamish Balfour of Shetland Transport. Plants delivered to Nottingham Trent University to be cultivated on by horticultural students under the guidance of Caroline Thomas. 2nd February. Article appears in the Shetland News by Gavin Morgan under the title 'Shetland croft moves to Chelsea'. 1st
February. Article by Rosa Steppanova appears in the Shetland Today
under the title 'Can
you help Chelsea bid?'. Shetland horticulturalist and writer Rosa Steppanova
appealed via her column for plants and materials for the show garden.
28th
January. Martin and Sue put an appeal out on Jane Montcrief's show on BBC
Radio Shetland for the facade of a croft to be used in the show garden. That
evening they had a contact that would possibly lead to their croft - a result!
Shetlander Ruth Fisher had kindly donated the facade of a croft. (Ruth would become
a key person and agreed to build the driftwood fence and gate along with the alpine
table.) 26th-29th January. Martin & Sue visit Shetland to research the flora (not much about in January) and find a croft facade for the show garden. BBC East Midlands lend them a video recorder to get some footage of the trip. This hopefully should be broadcast in the run up to the show culminating in a feature on show day. 25th January. Article by Andrew Miller appears in the Newark Advertiser under the title 'Chelsea stage for garden'. 22nd January. Article appears in the Nottingham Evening Post under the title 'UNI GARDEN WILL GO TO CHELSEA'. 14th January. Article appears on the Nottingham Trent University website under the title 'Shetland-inspired garden heading for Chelsea'. Saturday January 12th. Article appears on P20 in the Nottingham Evening Post under the title 'Notts man on a croft odyssey for Chelsea'. Friday 11th January. Article appears on P21 in the Shetland Times under the title 'Martin's croft garden sways show judges'. Early January 2008. Dave Rogers from Nottingham Trent University's press office informs the local media about the garden. Late December 2007. The project gets underway in earnest. There are plants to be sourced, people to help build, and, importantly a facade of a Shetland croft has to be acquired! 18th December. Martin receives confirmation of acceptance of the site from the RHS. The hard work starts now! Late November 2007. The Motor Neurone Disease Association Shetland Croft House Garden is provisionally chosen by the RHS to be one of 10 gardens in the courthouse garden section of the Chelsea flower show 2008 from over 1400 applicants. 28th November. Martin Anderson receives his MBE from Her Majesty the Queen for services to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. 23rd November. Article appears on P27 in the Shetland Times by Roseanne Watt under the title 'Croft hopes for 'Chelsea' treatment'. 8th October 2007. Application forms returned, including the draft client's brief. Fingers crossed! September 2007. Filling in of copious amounts of RHS application forms.
July 2007 Martin Anderson contacts the Nottingham Trent University horticultural department at Brackenhurst campus, Southwell and is put in touch with garden designer Sue Hayward - a former student at Trent and now a part-time lecturer there. Sue is commissioned to design a garden with the intention of trying to get into the 2008 Chelsea flower show. The Nottingham Trent University students are then to be involved in the propagation of the plants. June 2007 During a walking trip to Shetland Martin Anderson hits upon the idea of a Shetland croft themed garden for his Chelsea project which he hopes will raise awareness of the MNDA. May 2007 Martin Anderson, a founder member of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), visits the RHS Flower show at Chelsea. He is particularly taken by the Best in Show and Gold medal winning garden, called 'The Old Gate' by Adam Woolcott, he decided he'd 'give it a go' himself despite having no horticultural experience. The Earthly Garden Designs Team
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Saturday
17th May. More tweaking and finishing off to be done. Paul and Caroline work
until late and then have to go back to the NTU at Brackenhurst.
19th
March. Martin Anderson and Sue Hayward pay a visit the 
29th
January. The festival of 'Up Helly Aa' comes to Lerwick once a year. 
August
2007 Martin Anderson and Sue Hayward get together to form a plan for the project.
Sue draws up a design for a Shetland croft house garden based upon Martins original
idea.
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