Saturday 21 May 2011

What a wonderful place to be







Chelsea, the weekend before the Show opens is full of excitement. As well as the fabulous plants and gardens there are the remarkable people creating the show that over 200,000 people will visit next week and millions more will see on television and in magazines for months to come.

The job of those on site is to rise to the challenge of entertaining, inspiring and informing the public and they seem to relish it.

Once inside the Great Pavilion, the Monument is hard to see behind the impressive mature trees that Hillier is so well known for. The largest of these amazing trees in 2,000 litre containers. This year, Hillier Nurseries also have an exhibit outside to display Hillier trees and celebrate our being voted International Nursery of the Year in 2010.

On the exhibit Pip has been joined by husband Dave for the weekend. Together they are putting the finishing touches to the Core Values garden.

Fiona is stating on the hard work of barking up the exhibit. Tons of bark are used to cover pots. It makes the exhibit look more natural and just like mulching your garden at home, it will help retain water and keep roots cool if we have hot weather next week.

Lucy is pruning before staging. So much easier to tidy them up before they are stuck at the back of a border. Come judging, every plant is expected to look its best or we could so easily miss out on a coveted Gold Medal. Everyone has to be careful around the show. Can you imagine how terrible it would be to damage irreplaceable plants just before they are needed!

By the weekend there are over 20 people staging on the exhibit. Things are going well and some areas are starting to near completion. Time for a short break and recharge before the final push!





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