RHS Young Designer of the Year

Thank god it's official! Finally I can talk about that which has permeated my life completely! I am one of the Finalists for the young designer competition, have won a £12000 grant and building a show garden at Tatton Park! I've been under a media embargo since February, but finally that is over and I can talk about it...
The last two weeks have been a roller-coaster of incredible events, starting with the media launch and public announcement of the three finalist for the RHS Young Designer of the Year award. This consisted of a meeting with representatives of the media and Laurent Perrier MD ( who support the competition) and an exclusive behind the scenes tour of Chelsea as a construction site with Tom Stuart Smith no less!
The following week I was back at Chelsea, by which time it was open the the public. Here I was interviewed by Alan Titchmarch inside Andy Sturgeons garden which won best in show! If I had an opportunity to see into the future 3 years ago, I would have been in utter disbelief! This turn of events is beyond my wildest dreams..
I now have one month left before I move up to Tatton Park for 3 - 4 weeks to build my show garden. I hope the months of preparation and planning pay off and I end up producing a beautiful show garden worthy of a gold medal.

Top UK garden designers taking them selves a bit to seriously.. And tomorrow it's my turn with an exclusive guided tour with Tom Stuart-Smith and meeting the media!

This viddy is worth a watch, full of the best advice for life

I like some of the fundamentals of this video: a couple meeting like two ships passing in the night. Though a little cringe worthy at times I find this video emulates the power of the energy, magic and attraction you occasionally experience in life..

Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

April Flowers of note

Brunnera (Silver Wings, Betty Bowling, Jack Frost etc) ; Lunaria annua; Euphorbia polychroma ('Purpura', 'Humpty Dumpty' etc) ; Lamium orvala; Dicentra 'Burning Hearts'; Epimedium niveum etc; Seslaria caerulea, Tiarella cordifolia (excluded favourites are Aqualegia canadensis, Polymonium 'Lambroke Mauve'; Carex elata aurea; Primula veris; Phlox 'Blue Perfume'; Melica altissima alba; Athamantha turbith; Anthriscus 'Ravenswings'; Pimpinella rosea and many more)

Luciano Giubbilei for Laurent-Perrier at the Chelsea Flower Show

Last night I met Luciano Giubbilei. And it was an extraordinary evening. To me Luciano has always been the mythical figure, the designer one only glimpses in magazines and publications. I loved his Chelsea garden last year, wished I could sit in it and speak to him. Never in my life did I think I would be squeezed into a car with him, dashing through poring rain to the train station and chatting about random things joking and laughing. What struck me at his talk for the OCGD was how very natural and easy he was. His naturally ebullient Italian nature really came through and he was able to explain clearly his designs and philosophies.

His gardens are striped down to the bare minimal, creating a stage set for light and shadow to play and shimmer through leaves and gorgeous art work. Anish Kapoor features a lot in his gardens which shows what sort of budget he get to play with.. He also made me think about what sort of designer I was and what I have set out to achieve and why. I was struck the force with which he felt time slipping away and how important it was to dedicate precious time to real friends, people you love and cherish, and only do the best jobs. He echoes my belief that you meet people at the right time and the right place for a reason, and often you know someone is special and plays a part in your life before you've even spoken. He navigates through life with the same sort of sensitive intuition. Finally, it is rare to meet someone who understands you when you explain your building a show garden. It is such humongous time consuming emotional roller-coaster, finding time for friends and 'life'  is difficult. You find your self cleansing you life of all the superfluous, the pointless, turning down the bad jobs and bad friends. We have exchanged a couple of emails (in Italian!) on this subject and I am grateful for the advice he has bestowed. I can sum up the whole experience in three phrases. Tempus Fugit. Chiaroscuro. Do every thing to the best of your ability. Grazie Luciano!