To the drawing board…

All designers work differently, but I think I am pretty safe in saying that most of us start our creative visions with a scrap of paper and whatever pen we can find. After some frantic pen ramblings, we sit back and cast our eyes over the scribbles and usually, ideas, themes and concepts can be found amongst the wandering ink.

But this design was to be different. The design team was to create the garden, not just the usual singular designer. And with three very different designers – all with very particular ways of working, styles and interpretations of the brief, each of our pen ramblings and resulting concepts had the potential to be completely different.

Yet on the flipside we all have very particular strengths and expertise. We all believe in our design principles and what we stand for. Two heads are better than one, and three is, well, more productive.

But could we combine all of our individual ramblings and concepts into one cohesive design worthy of the 25th anniversary celebrations?

Sandwiches and celebrations…

I seem to remember that the day was cold and grey, and the wind was rattling across the showground at the rate of knots. Not a particularly inspiring sort of day to get the creative juices flowing – the thought of warmth, colour and spring so far out of sight it almost seemed as though it would never exist. But, in a cosy corner of the showground, we all bundled into a meeting room to talk about the possibilities.

The full line up was a true motley crew – Alex Bell from Alex Bell Garden Design, Jim Steed from Outdoor Living Space, Martin Clark from Clark’s Trees, Chris Greenwood of Poultry Park and myself from Claire Potter Design, along with the Three Counties Agricultural Society client panel, represented by Nina Acton and Doreen Smillie.

And so, over a few delicious plates of sandwiches and cakes, we talked about the dreams and aspirations for the garden, the past 25 years of the Spring Gardening Show, the ‘wish list’ of what could be included, and what we could all bring to the collective of the design team.

A couple of hours later and full of ideas, we wound our way home, anxious to get back to our respective studios to start scribbling…

A few words on show gardens…

Even thought they spring up like a mushroom in autumn, only to flourish and disappear in a few days, show gardens are very long winded creatures. Months (and sometimes years) of work are poured lovingly into a show garden project, which to the viewer is completely invisible – but this is exactly what makes a successful show garden truly magical.

And this is why designers (and indeed the clients) subject themselves to the stress and deadlines - the chance to create a miniature wonderland to enthral visitors, break boundaries and stretch what you think is possible.

So with this in mind, we all sat around sometime in autumn 2009 to discuss the beginnings of what would become the biggest show garden ever seen in the UK to date…