I have been so busy I haven't even been able to post here at all. But I felt the need to make time to tell you all about an awesome opportunity myself and nine other Writtle students where given.
In November last year, Writtle was given a place in the Ideal Home Show Young Gardeners of the Year competition along with five other colleges from the UK. We started consolidating out initial ideas on Pintrest. With help from one of our tutors we had a concept design which we could send to the David Domoney and his team.
In January, at college, building started on the shell of the garden, the frame, the plating containers and floor where all finished by the middle of march. A week later it was dismantled and put onto too two 7.5 ton trucks and transported to London. On the following Saturday a team of 4 students and 2 teachers (me, sadly not included) put it all back together again. The rest of us joined them on Sunday, where we could start doing proper building, the MDF for the roof went on and the chipboard for the floor was installed. So many things where happening I couldn't possibly list them all here.
On the evening of this Thursday (17th March) it was finished, when the last bit of filler was but between to slabs on one of the planting containers. As a class we were very proud of what we had achieved. But we could see the surrounding colleges had given us some stiff competition.
On the Friday (18th March) The gardens where looked at by a group of judges, Including Alan Titchmarsh and David Domoney themselves. Results time came, It was announced that Writtle's 'Basement Garden' had won a Silver Medal, which as for someone who has never held a drill or a hand saw before (same goes for the majority of the class) that, for me at least, was a beautiful moment.
I did plan to start this thread when we started the project, Posting regularly so you could see its construction. I couldnt do that simply because I didn't have time.
Attached are some Photos of the build and the finished Product.
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Photos:
1 - The frame is completed at college
2 - The planting containers and cladding, birch logs and lights, walls, roof and floor are built and installed. Again at college.
3 - Alan Titchmarsh sat on our handmade bench. Here the garden is at the show.
4 - Mid construction also at the show before opening to the public
5 - The completed garden. The whole idea is that the garden is looked down on, so the path to your house is level with the top of the wall. We put meadow matting, Prunus trees and Verbena bonariensis on the roof
