Wednesday 28 May 2008

Ideas I Am Totally Going to Steal from Chelsea

Another Chelsea post I'm afraid. But in my defence this is going to serve as a depository for all my ideas. I did try notebooks but I end up losing them. So, ideas I'm taking away from Chelsea include:
  • Grass roofs. I saw them on bins and on a funky chicken house and run. Actually I'm nicking the idea for the chicken run too. Including the vibrant paint. Well, maybe not that exact colour.
  • Next is the living wall in the Children's Society Garden. That is so clever, the only trouble is I'm not sure where I'd put it. I will obviously have to think about that one a bit more.
  • The use of willow hurdles to edge beds. Actually, the use of raised beds in gardens for plants and flowers, not just veg, instead of slug-friendly beds at slug height.
  • The tiny palm trees, succulent planted hillside, the hillside itself complete with a concrete pipe to crawl through all from the Marshall's children's garden.
  • Sunken trampolines. I know, this is cheating somewhat as there were no actual sunken trampolines anywhere but I went to a talk by Bunny Guinness and she extolled their vitues. If it's good enough for Bunny.....
  • A tipee that swings from a tree and can take up to 22 stone in weight and can be used as a swing, hidey hole or a mini trampoline. I saw these on sale and want one. Maybe by the time the children have left home I will have saved enough (they cost £299!) and by that time I could have it all to myself...
  • The willow heart on the gate in the Solstice Garden.
  • The watering rota board in the edible playground garden. Also the standard bay tree in the herb garden circle and the beautiful raised beds. Well, they were beautiful to me.
  • The Good Gifts garden was a beach scene with a clever (too clever for me really) water feature that emulated the tide washing into a little inlet. It was so relaxing to listen to but involved pumps and buckets and so one for Hubby methinks.
  • Tibetan cherries. I loved these and am now thinking about how I can have them in my front garden, which totally needs redesigning before the beautiful tulip bulbs I ordered arrive in October.
I think that's enough to be getting on with for now.

10 comments:

  1. What lovely details you have picked out from your Chelsea visit.
    Regards
    Karen

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  2. Did you see the amazing Chicken Houses, castles, thatch cottages etc on a stand outside the Floral Pavilion? Talk about Des Res for avians, but the prices!! £1500 plus!

    The purple coup caught my eye too, and I spotted it on the Hiller stand on Tuesday. The ladies informed me it could be purchased from any of the Hillier Nursery garden centres that had animal centres too.

    Lovely selection of steals, there was so much to chose from.

    Best Wishes,

    Zoë

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  3. How synchronistic! I'm reading Bunnie's new book which I intend to review soon! AND, that swing thing is in that book so I went to bed last night thinking how I have to have one! Lovely lovely post. Thank you for sharing and do it again soon!

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  4. Zoe I did but I thought (as well as the price) that it might be a bit much for our three birds to live in a house grander than ours! At least the purple house is achievable!

    Kathryn, was this the book about how gardens can look after you? The talk I went to was about this. I'd be interested to know what you think of it.

    Bunny's admittedly huge garden obviously keeps her fit, she was enviably slim!

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  5. It sounds like you got some great ideas from Chelsea. I LOVE that chicken coop--perhaps not in that exact color but is sure is cheery and bright.

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  6. Those are fantastic ideas. I love the rota and the grass covered chicken run.

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  7. I like the raised beds idea. I have seen willow edging on beds to hold plants back from the grass but not as raised bed. There was a sunken trampoline at the Malvern show this year was I thought was brill.

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  8. A garden blog is such a great place to store your future ideas. I love all of these. We'd like to build a playhouse or treefort of some sort for our children and have discussed how neat it would be to have a "living roof" on there.

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  9. We LOVE the tunnel from the Marshall's garden.

    Does anyone know where we could get either a concrete or plastic tunnel that we could bury?

    I reckon it would need to be 600mm diameter and perhaps 1m long.

    I have tried all of the garden centres and even commercial pipe suppliers, but to no avail.

    Cheerio

    Gavin and Emily (Newcastle)

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