The medals have been posted for the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show. There are lots of great gardens to share, but I am going to start with those that won best in show for their category.
The Aussie team behind the Trailfinders Australian Garden presented by Fleming’s has been awarded Best in Show. I can only imagine the hoopla that rose out of that lively team of builders.
This was Wes Fleming’s, head of Fleming’s Nurseries, ninth and final attempt at the show….and his team took the top honors for the first time. It is always so great to see someone go out on top.
The garden was designed by Phillip Johnson and it presents a sustainable habitat complete with monolithic stone gorge, running waterfalls, a studio structure and billabong.
I had to look up what a Billabong is (besides a surfer supply company). Here is what wikipedia says:
Billabong (pron.: bil-ə-bong) is a Wiradjuri word that is used for an isolated pond that is left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. Billabongs, reflecting the arid Australian climate in which these “dead rivers” are found, fill with water seasonally and are dry for a greater part of the year.
More Winners ahead….
I’m so sad to not be at the show myself, but Adam Woodruff is Studio ‘g’s man on the ground. He has taken pictures of the show for us all to enjoy. Thanks Adam!
Images are courtesy of Adam Woodruff. All rights are reserved.
Between the X-Hose and the Flexi Sprayer, hand watering might just have moved into the world of modern day convenience. If you have a big garden like I do, then you need lots of lengths of heavy hose that have surely taken out your back — or at least a plant of two as you have moved it around. Smaller gardens just don’t have the space for this necessary tool. Either way, hoses are a pain in the butt and one of my least favorite things about gardening. One that shrinks up like a shriveling leaf when I am not putting it use would put a big smile on my face. I need to try this out.
Also up for the best new product award at Chelsea is the Flexi- Sprayer. It is the all in one waterer that is meant to eliminate the need for other sprinklers This head is flexible so you can use it as a hand waterer or as a free standing sprinkler or you can even hang it from overhead. There are a variety of flow settings. Why have a bucket full of sprinklers when you can have just one…I hope it is made well though….am I alone in finding hand watering wands to be the most flimsy things ever?
There are 13 products on the short list for ‘best new product’ and they are all interesting. Since I have this tendency to disagree with RHS judges (and don’t know yet which will win), I will be sharing all the the nominees for best new garden product all week and at the end of the week will post a survey on Facebook so that we can choose our own favorite.
Check out the other contestants:
images hozelock, perennial shop.
Sneeboer makes tools that are on my personal short list of things worth spending a little more money for. They have developed a new tool that made the Best New Product Shortlist at Chelsea. It is designed specifically for women and it is meant to be used as you walk backwards (leaving you with a fine tilth and no foot prints and less risk of replanting weeds with your feet).
I am dubious on the claim that there is no backache and no need to bend — being 5’10 — this is rarely the height that these things are designed for. But I am sure if you are between 5’5 and 5’8 it will probably be great. And the handle shape is something I would like to give a try. I think it would be very comfortable and more ergonomic that just a straight handle.
There are 13 products on the short list for ‘best new product’ and they are all interesting. Since I have this tendency to disagree with RHS judges (and don’t know yet which will win), I will be sharing all the the nominees for best new garden product all week and at the end of the week will post a survey on Facebook so that we can choose our own favorite.
Check out the other contestants:
images sneeboer
A vote for Twool’s new line of garden twine may not be a vote for a product you are going to see on your local nursery shelves (unless you live in the UK) – but that is kind of the point. Twool twine is local to England is made of wool from sheep in Dartmoor. It is the gardening twine local alternative to imported jute or plastic options.
Using the wool from Whiteface Dartmoor Heritage Rare Breed sheep, the twine is helping to save the breed as well as employing the services of nine different local industries. It is a product that shows how locally made and locally manufactured products can help maintain local culture, jobs and lifestyle. (And not to be too biased….but that is something that certainly grabs my attention).
There are 13 products on the short list for ‘best new product’ and they are all interesting. Since I have this tendency to disagree with RHS judges (and don’t know yet which will win), I will be sharing all the the nominees for best new garden product all week and at the end of the week will post a survey on Facebook so that we can choose our own favorite.
Check out the other contestants:
Straysparks Hand Forged Decorative Trellis
More to come…
image Twool
Straysparks modular trellis system, which allows you to make your own trellis configuration, has been nominated for the best the new product award a Chelsea Flower Show. The individual pieces are handforged and can be built up to create any size or shape of trellis that you and your plants might require.
There are 13 products on the short list for ‘best new product’ and they are all interesting. Since I have this tendency to disagree with RHS judges (and don’t know yet which will win), I will be sharing all the the nominees for best new garden product all week and at the end of the week will post a survey on Facebook so that we can choose our own favorite. More to come…
image from straysparks
This is where my passion for gardens & design & creative living all run together. 
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