Potting on...

Spring has most certainly arrived (despite it feeling arctic) and the plants are looking great. The past few weeks have been taken up with 'potting on' - carefully planting the growing seedlings into larger pots. It's a time consuming but theraputic job - and each time I take a plant out of a pot that I have grown from seed and see it's delicate lacework of roots running around the pot perimiter I feel like I've done a good job. I know plants are supposed to grow and want to grow but still, I'm always surprised I haven't killed them!

So far, my polytunnel has provided the young plants with protection from the last frosts and (fingers crossed) any pests and diseases...

I've taken to buying and sowing more and more as the show deadline approaches, maybe the nervous energy is kicking in already.

Building a Show Garden

It was great news to find out that I was one of three winners of NS&I's Growing Garden's Today competition to build a show garden at BBC Gardener's World Live 2010. It's an exciting prospect but also a daunting one as the amount of work involved becomes apparent.

This is the first show garden I have designed and I hope that this blog will give an insight into what is involved in putting together this exhibit; from sourcing materials, plants and craftsmen to managing the team of people that I will need to help me realise the potential of this scheme.

The brief was to create a modern, sustainable 'Grow Your Own' garden, which resulted in my 'Salad Bar' garden. My main concern is that I am attempting to grow pretty much all the plants in the garden - many of them from seed - a task that is totally new to me. The only way I am going to make this work is by learning as much as I can - talking to everyone who will spare their time and knowledge. Thanks in advance to all those who hear me say - "I've just got one quick question..."