Did you know that Wisley is known locally as " The Surrey Creche"
Some think it's gone waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too baby friendly. I'm not living near there now, but if you turn up at opening time, you can't move for yummy mummies/ grannies with buggies.
That's fascinating Hostafan. I've never heard that name before.. but I can imagine it's gone that direction. It was 2011 when I was zooming around there with my off-road pushchair and screaming baby.. and wasn't quite to that stage yet. I don't fall into the 'yummy-mummy' category, and my little one was only dressed in Boden if it came from a car-boot sale for less than 25P. BUT, all my NCT lady friends would have certainly fit that definition perfectly.. so perhaps guilty by association?
Some parents are just dreadful when it comes to attending their children. The amount of distressed children I've had to help down off some high structure at our local park is phenomenal. Mummy is too busy texting on her phone way off out of sight of her small child to realize the issue. Maybe they buy into the 'free-range' child philosophy?
Obelixx.. I quite liked the "urban chic thing".. more than the winner actually. I was a bit surprised. It was completely structurally unsound, but you wouldn't actually build that garden in four days - in real life. I liked the sort of Japanese inspired simplicity of it. And I really liked the planting. I don't think you need a zillion types of flowers and plants in a tiny space. Add a quiet water feature in there somewhere away from the seating, and I would have been happy to have that if I had an urban garden.
Have to confess, I enjoyed it. Mainly because it was about gardening, unlike Top Gear, The Island and Scrapheap Challenge. The nursery bit was like a kids in a sweet shop moment, and presents me with my own 'dissonance', but it was enjoyable in the way that watching someone else doing a supermarket trolley dash would be enjoyable. Like other people have said, Joe Swift came across as a lovely bloke - very helpful and human. The judges were interesting - I have always wanted to know what they are looking for at Chelsea, and now I think I have a better grasp. I don't think it's any worse or more indulgent than show gardens are anyway. I like the idea of an enthusiastic amateur exhibiting alongside the 'professionals' - a bit like if an amateur painter got to exhibit alongside Damian Hirst and Tracey Emin, and given a lot of us look at art and think it's all a bit pretentious and over-rated, it will ask some questions if Sean, the ordinary fella, comes up with something that more people actually like and can relate to.
So my moment of dissonance....... Well, I think if I were doing this Chelsea Challenge thing, I would want to use the plants I know well. No one nursery is going to have all the things - the varieties - I would want to use, so I don't like the idea that they go to some nursery, and just shove whatever varieties happen to be there, onto a trolley. If the programme had to make one improvement, it would be that the contestants could bring plants from home - things they had grown from seed, or cuttings, or if necessary, things they had dug up temporarily from their gardens. If it's all about the plants, it is a bit of a shame if they have to select from the limited palette of what happens to be in the nursery, lovely specimens as those plants may be.
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That's fascinating Hostafan. I've never heard that name before.. but I can imagine it's gone that direction. It was 2011 when I was zooming around there with my off-road pushchair and screaming baby.. and wasn't quite to that stage yet. I don't fall into the 'yummy-mummy' category, and my little one was only dressed in Boden if it came from a car-boot sale for less than 25P. BUT, all my NCT lady friends would have certainly fit that definition perfectly.. so perhaps guilty by association?
Some parents are just dreadful when it comes to attending their children. The amount of distressed children I've had to help down off some high structure at our local park is phenomenal. Mummy is too busy texting on her phone way off out of sight of her small child to realize the issue. Maybe they buy into the 'free-range' child philosophy?
Couldn't agree with you more RB. It's the lack of volume control as well....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Obelixx.. I quite liked the "urban chic thing".. more than the winner actually. I was a bit surprised. It was completely structurally unsound, but you wouldn't actually build that garden in four days - in real life. I liked the sort of Japanese inspired simplicity of it. And I really liked the planting. I don't think you need a zillion types of flowers and plants in a tiny space. Add a quiet water feature in there somewhere away from the seating, and I would have been happy to have that if I had an urban garden.
Aaaaagh!!!!!!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I was thinking Ann Marie and Bob Flowerdew might make a fun combination.
Bob would make a great judge at Chelsea:
"It's wonderful but not for me, thanks. I can't see the point. I can't smell it, I can't eat it.”
90% of Chelsea gardens would get a nice round score..
- zero!
Have to confess, I enjoyed it. Mainly because it was about gardening, unlike Top Gear, The Island and Scrapheap Challenge. The nursery bit was like a kids in a sweet shop moment, and presents me with my own 'dissonance', but it was enjoyable in the way that watching someone else doing a supermarket trolley dash would be enjoyable. Like other people have said, Joe Swift came across as a lovely bloke - very helpful and human. The judges were interesting - I have always wanted to know what they are looking for at Chelsea, and now I think I have a better grasp. I don't think it's any worse or more indulgent than show gardens are anyway. I like the idea of an enthusiastic amateur exhibiting alongside the 'professionals' - a bit like if an amateur painter got to exhibit alongside Damian Hirst and Tracey Emin, and given a lot of us look at art and think it's all a bit pretentious and over-rated, it will ask some questions if Sean, the ordinary fella, comes up with something that more people actually like and can relate to.
So my moment of dissonance....... Well, I think if I were doing this Chelsea Challenge thing, I would want to use the plants I know well. No one nursery is going to have all the things - the varieties - I would want to use, so I don't like the idea that they go to some nursery, and just shove whatever varieties happen to be there, onto a trolley. If the programme had to make one improvement, it would be that the contestants could bring plants from home - things they had grown from seed, or cuttings, or if necessary, things they had dug up temporarily from their gardens. If it's all about the plants, it is a bit of a shame if they have to select from the limited palette of what happens to be in the nursery, lovely specimens as those plants may be.