Progress on the Hartley Botanic Show Garden – RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016
Things are underway at the Royal Hospital show ground for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As we’ve blogged before – we have three show garden projects there this year. The first garden progress report is about the Hartley Botanic Show Garden, designed by our in-house garden designer Catherine MacDonald.
The garden is being built by a team of The Landscape Academy trained men led by foreman Will Gadd and supported by Landform. The guys have been busy for nearly a week and things are now starting to take shape on the garden…
Work began with setting out on last Thursday 5th May. The day after was an epic dig out, laying of the pond liner and installation of reinforcement in time for a wet concrete pour to form the base of the water feature – and the foundation upon all garden structures would be built.
The Landscape Academy team, setting out, starting the blockwork and getting the concrete pour in.
On Saturday, the trees from Deepdale arrived and thanks to the RHS’s Darren Price, they found some space on the show ground in order to practice setting out the trees! That was really fantastic – as there isn’t much room to practice on the Main Avenue garden site. The Brickies, Paul & Paul, also started on Saturday – the tumbled brick garden wall rising up at quite a pace!
Trees arriving on site – and having the luxury to practice the spacing!
Sunday saw the work carry on in Catherine’s absence with the garden wall getting higher, the block-work edge to the pool taking shape and the hedges and trees, that were trialled away from the garden, being moved into position.
On Monday afternoon the fine brushed grey Yorkstone lintel, supplied by London Stone, was lifted into place to finish off the door aperture in the garden wall and towards the end of the day, before rain stopped play, Will laid the final block to finish the water feature wall.
Yesterday the rain meant that work on the brick wall was halted and outwardly progress slowed – however deliveries of more trees, the steel framework upon which the glasshouse will sit and the glass floor panels for the interior meant that the team are prepared for busy days ahead!
Placing trees on the garden by crane, and the progress of the brick wall.
Can’t wait to see how the garden develops over the course of the next week.
If you want to have regular news about our show garden builds – please check our Twitter feed and Facebook page for daily updates.