Gardening Scotland 2014

[Stan da Prato]

We intend to use materials from the 2013 stand again  this year. Billy Carruthers has provided space for a storage  hut at Binny Plants. Today some of us moved stuff from Graham's garage to the new store. Photos show the materials  in their new home, Rob Graham  pretending to be  Oor Wullie  on a bucket and Billy relaxing  with four legged friends Bart and Barrah after unloading the  van.

[Maggi Young]

Gardening Scotland  - this major event takes place at Ingliston, near Edinburgh 30th May -1st June 2014

The SRGC display will be dedicated to the late Graham Wenham, who was such a hard-working member of the team.

Elsewhere in the forum there was discussion recently about a sad lack of availability in recent years of Primula reidii  var. williamsii - Jim Jermyn, SRGC member and manager of GS has been tweeting that he think the plant, just coming into flower now and a favourite of his wife Alison, may well be for sale again this year at Gardening Scotland.


Primula reidii  var. williamsii

Jim has previously said that  he thinks Primulas may well feature strongly at GS this year



Jim has also tweeted about his recent visit to the garden of  the former Fife SRGC Group Convenor Jim Thomson and his wife, Mildred - a fine example of a garden in Scotland!!

[Maggi Young]

More from Jim Jermyn's tweets :
"Often the first Meconopsis to flower, true M. grandis.  The Mec Group will be offering seed to sell at Gardening Scotland "



 Gavin McNaughton of Macplants  tweets that "This is Meconopsis 'Strathspey', first to flower with us - a selected grandis form"

[mark smyth]

More from Jim Jermyn's tweets :
"Often the first Meconopsis to flower, true M. grandis.  The Mec Group will be offering seed to sell at Gardening Scotland "

fab flowers

[Stan da Prato]

Rob Graham  and I started checking  through the stand materials at Binny Plants today where they have been stored. We will have another session next Wednesday to put it altogether then pack it for transport to the show later this month.

[robg]

Rob Graham  and I started checking  through the stand materials at Binny Plants today where they have been stored. We will have another session next Wednesday to put it altogether then pack it for transport to the show later this month.

What Stan didn't say was that we had to abandon the operation because we had 10 boxes for the base and there should have been 12 to make up the 3.6m square, and we had no idea which box went where and why there were two missing. 


Not that auspicious a start, but one of Stan's pictures from last summer has enabled us to work it out.  Thank goodness for the digital camera.

Rob

[Liz Mills]

Every year, the Gardening Scotland display sets us new challenges - just when we think we've got ourselves organised.  But I know Stan and Rob will solve the problem of the missing boxes.  They've got a great team to help them build the stand while I'm traipsing around New York and I'll be fascinated to see the completed display when I get back.  Good luck, you guys and dolls.

Not so sure that Jim's prediction of lots of Primula will hold good.  The season is so early and the lovely Primula chunglenta that Stuart Pawley gave us last year are already in flower - as are pulvurulenta, chungensis, sieboldii and japonica.  But maybe we'll be able to show P secundiflora, sikkimensis and auriantiaca instead.  We'll just have to wait and see what the weather over the next 2 weeks has in store.

[Stan da Prato]

Box situation  completely under control. Today we put them in order  and sat the base for the rock ridge on top then put stonework in place. Other stones  are not fixed so will be added during the build. The stand will again will be on two levels. At the show hall  six more stone panels  will go in to cover  the drop from the upper level. We have planned to make the floor level part  up to 18 inches wider   if enough plants come in. We plan to erect the stand in the show hall on Sunday 25 May

[Maggi Young]

Being built at Chelsea - but soon to reappear in part at Gardening Scotland;
"These are snaps taken by Keith Jackson of the joint Fife and South-west of England's display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Britain  in Bloom - a version  of the
stand will then come to Gardening Scotland " - so says Stan who has passed me the photos.

"The wow factor complete with parsley the lion and Bayleaf the Gardener"

[Maggi Young]

Such fun! The BBC TV programme on Chelsea this evening just featured the garden shown above - we got a better look at Parsley the lion on TV and the vegetables look just fabulous.

[Stan da Prato]

Keith tells  me a fox has already been  through their wild garden section.

[Maggi Young]

Being built at Chelsea - but soon to reappear in part at Gardening Scotland;
"These are snaps taken by Keith Jackson of the joint Fife and South-west of England's display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Britain  in Bloom - a version  of the
stand will then come to Gardening Scotland " - so says Stan who has passed me the photos.

"The wow factor complete with Parsley the lion and Bayleaf the Gardener"

And  how successful this display has  been at Chelsea  :  The Diamond Jubilee Award for the best display in the Great Pavilion (which was introduced in celebration of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012) was awarded to South West in Bloom for their display celebrating 50 years of RHS Britain in Bloom.

Mention was made in the BBC TV programme last night of the contribution by the Scottish children to the display   

[Stan da Prato]

Today Rob Graham and I took the stand sections into the show hall and started to erect the basic structure. We were the fist exhibitors  on site. It was good to be under cover as a monsoon raged outside. We were able  start work  as soon as the joiners had finished  bracing  our stand -  number 36. Only some of the rockwork  is fixed. More rock is  added as compost  goes in. Tomorrow we widen the floor area, the main change from 2013, and it is then ready to stat planting

[Maggi Young]

Promising start, Rob and Stan - I suppose this is the time when you hope the organisers have not got the stand numbers mixed up.........

What a shame that this hall does not have the white translucent roof of the  Chelsea  grand pavilion - it just looks so very dark by comparison.

[Stan da Prato]

Stand number 36 for  anyone coming in  with plants or to help ..............if the lightning  currently   flashing strikes  it might just develop a more open roof......