Thank you .. ‘Dirt du Jour’

for the glowing review! "Go ask Alice ... where all the best vineyard gardens are. She's an erudite charmer; you'll have fun!"

England

Irish Sky Garden: Chelsea Flower Show

Irish Sky clipped yew and box Photo © Alice Joyce

Controversial… crowd-pleaser: Irish Sky Garden designed by Diarmuid Gavin. On Press Day Monday, the so-called flying machine, hanging eden, the ‘Wonkavator’ … dangled high above; a massive crane off to the side. The garden, which won ‘Gold,’ revealed an expansive, lush landscaped realm where reflecting pools of water played off the dense greenery of plantings that conjured up the emerald countryside of Ireland. Not to be mistaken, the site proclaimed itself in no uncertain terms as the largest gardenscape ever to emerge at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

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England

Chelsea 2011 The Telegraph Garden: Cleve West Design

Cleve West Design: The Telegraph Garden Photo © Alice Joyce

Cleve West’s elegant design for The Telegraph demonstrated a lyrical combination of gracefully harmonious plantings and a hardscape tableau that grabbed the attention of the botanically inclined and influential garden insiders. Featuring contemporary concrete sculptural elements created by Serge Bottagisio and Agnes Decoux, West’s garden reflected memories of ancient Roman ruins encountered at Ptolemais, Libya. The sunken design, set off by a bright burnt gold wall and water rill, results in an enchantingly serene space, inviting contemplation. Cleve West’s design garnered the Best Show Garden award at Chelsea 2011, making it 3 years in a row that The Daily Telegraph has won Gold.

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England

Chelsea Flower Show 2011: Kevock Garden Plants

Kevock Meconopsis punicea  Photo © Alice Joyce

Chelsea Flower Show 2011: Having returned late yesterday from traveling in England – a trip that revolved around attendance at the Chelsea Flower Show’s Press Day, I lead off my first report, not with a controversial show garden, but rather, by offering a rare example of a heart-stopping moment: Certain to shine brightly in the constellation of countless garden sojourns. Perhaps it goes without saying: Moments of pure magic are few and far between. Certainly I was totally unprepared for the experience, which took place while roaming The Great Pavilion, hallowed site of much oohing and aahing over horticultural displays put together with impressive finesse in tandem with a keen, even lustful appreciation for plants from every corner of the garden realm. And so, walking along past the Kevock Garden Plants display I stopped in my tracks at the sight of Meconopsis punicea, an alpine species grown in Scotland by Stella and David Rankin.

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