Spreading the news

6th February 08

My friends and family were all thrilled to hear the news that my garden had been selected and they’ve all been really supportive. I’m not sure my husband is too thrilled at the prospect of being abandoned for the three weeks during the build up and the show though.

Sometimes I can get a bit wacky with my ideas. I think my daughter in particular was a little surprised that the judges saw where I was going with the sardine tin theme!

I do try to discuss all my new ideas with other people, just to check they make sense to someone other than me. For example, I remember ‘The Good Life’ from watching it on TV but wasn’t sure whether some younger people would have much of an understanding of it. I asked my tutor, who is quite young, what the title meant to her and despite the fact that she hasn’t ever really watched the show, she knew what it was about and understood how my design linked in with it.

I also get plenty of input from home, particularly from my daughter, who is very interested in architecture. We wile away many hours together at architecture and design shows, which are a great source of inspiration and ideas. I run all my ideas past her and as only daughters can . . . she always gives me an honest opinion!

The other students at my university have been great too. In fact it’s only due to other students that I knew about the challenge in the first place. I was meeting a group who are working on a garden sponsored by Bradstone for the Harrogate Flower Show to share my experience of designing and building a show garden at Tatton Park last year. Before I met up with the students I researched Bradstone and found the Design Challenge for BBC Gardeners’ World Live. I couldn’t resist and decided to give it a go. I suppose the rest is history!