The big bang!

The show garden build begins tomorrow! I've set my alarm clock for 6.30am and am fluctuating between being extremely excited and nauseous with fear!

The plan is to be down at the nursery for 8am. I'm hoping I can be of some use to Colin and John and not get under their feet while they're rebuilding the garden. Anyway, I'll have the big tea flask ready and some chocolate muffins. LNRA committee member Louise is coming too. Perhaps we'll just stand back and watch the guys work! Just kidding. Hoping to get away at about 3pm for a wash and brush up, then on to the wedding,

I can't wait for Del and Ian's wedding. I'm going to let my hair down and try my best to have an 8-hour break from, and not mention, 'the garden'! Will do my best not to get a hangover though.

The planting plan is the hardest one I've ever done, and goes against what I usually try and design ie year round interest!. I've sort of narrowed it down, but I'm still not 100% sure of what exactly I'll have until we buy them on Monday. I'm determined to have some tulips, but most are over now. However Pheasant Acre, who grow tulips, are also showing and have said I may be able to have some of their excess plants. Fingers crossed!

I probably won't get chance to post again until Sunday. Wish us luck!

Just a quick update

I took a visit to the show ground yesterday and the site is fenced off, the marquees are up and plots marked out! It looks like we're going to have to move plots, as there is a large tree next to us and the branches over hang our boundary. The tree can't be crown lifted or pruned: it has a pendulum shape with drooping branches, and that's its beauty.

Colin, John and Will came up trumps with the streetlight, and they are dismantling the staging today.

I'm not visiting the site today - I'm out and about running errands. Will post later hopefully.

RHS Cardiff advert on Capital radio

Just heard the RHS Cardiff 2012 advert on Capital radio. My stomach turned over and now I feel sick!

RHS exhibitors must be masochists, because it's a sort of pleasurable pain...

Can 'RHS' and 'masochism' be mentioned in the same sentence?! Oops, I just did. Twice!

Mmm, perhaps I won't tweet this post...

Can you tell what it is yet?

I hope so, because it's more or less finished (though this wasn't actually discussed!). I assume it is, because it's being dismantled on Friday and loaded up ready to be shipped to the show site on Saturday, oooh, about 300m away! Once in situ, the hard landscaping, planting etc will be added.

I cycled down to the nursery again today after the Easter break (which was spent working my day job, which thankfully means I get this week off - thanks Linda!)

Colin and John were making our wooden noticeboard which looked good, topped off with some oak kindly found for us by the one of the council woodland team, Richard Cornock, who I'm hoping is going to engrave something suitable on it: 'Llandaff North Community Noticeboard' if it fits (and Colin remembers, because I didn't write it down!)



Still waiting for the streetlight to be acquired from the council highways dept. That sounds bad. We aren't stealing it - it's an old one they won't be using again.

Just an example of things left for me to do

• Sort out the show garden signage ie design, print and find an A3 laminator
• Email the leaflet information  to our sponsors Brett, ready to be printed
• Clean up/paint the lectern and leaflet holder
• Finish painting the mural
• Send out a press release
• Try and make sense of a planting plan!
• Pick up the plants

....and that's about a third of it!

Two of our LNRA committee, Del and Ian, are getting married on Saturday (and postponing their wedding so they can attend the show!), so I need to fit in a haircut and shopping trip for something to wear too.

Steps

Laying in bed last night I realised that after taking some measurements yesterday, the garden steps have different riser heights - something I think we would get marked down for (well I would if I were a judge!) I had to stop myself from phoning Colin before I went to work this morning, but pestered him later on! He pointed out that the ground level outside the garden will be dressed with decorative bark, so in effect both risers will be the same. Phew! I'm glad one of us knows what they are doing. That's why I'm so grateful to be working with Cardiff council staff who have exhibited before.

At least Colin and John will get a 'Steph free' break over Easter!

Today was my first day back in work for 6 weeks, which felt odd. I've volunteered to work this bank holiday weekend too- Friday, Saturday and Monday morning, so don't have that weekend feeling and will have to be organised.

Got home to various messages and emails. Unfortunately the children couldn't finish the mural in time before their holidays, but the basic design is drawn so we can just fill in what they haven't been able to do. The mural is still wet, so we'll be picking it up over the next week.

And good news- the show manager has OK'd our wooden noticeboard, which is a relief.

I've attempted to make a cup of tea four times in two hours and failed. Off to try again...

No photos today, so I thought I'd put these on of my niece helping sow sweet peas when she was two.

Plants

Another couple of days without posting, but things are back to normal thank goodness!

I had to put these photos of my little helper painting the second coat of primer on Sunday. I don't think mummy knows the top has been ruined yet. Luckily I took the shoes off!

Monday 2nd
I had a difficult conversation in the morning. All I can say is that timely, two way communication is essential and thankfully Colin and John were really helpful and took the pressure off.

After the school run, I delivered the mural boards and paint to the school courtesy of one of our committee, Margret Ford. Thanks Margret!

Later on I sent off the various forms and the revised client's brief to the RHS which was a relief.

Then picked up my niece from the child minder, which was 'game over' for doing any more work! (I bet any parents reading this are having a chuckle and thinking 'welcome to my world!')

Tuesday 3rd
My sister was due to arrive home from Spain at 1am, but the flight was delayed and I eventually got home at 5am! I discovered that I am now unable to do all-nighters, and was incapacitated for the rest of the day.

Wednesday 4th
I cycled down to the nursery in bad weather for the first time. Has winter returned?!

Then I drove to one of our sponsors, Pugh's garden centre, with council staff Alex, Ben and head of Bute Park nursery, Nigel, to choose some non-flowering plants. Forget having plants grown to order: too costly! I'll just have to buy what's available. We are planting the show garden to give a good display for the spring show. I'll have to leave it until later to purchase anything in flower - due to the weather variations nothing is guaranteed and we could have bought them today only for them to be over or not in bloom for the show, and can't take the risk with our money.

Luckily Nigel was with us and pulled a few strings to get us a good deal - some plants will be on hire, some we'll buy. I just wish he was with me every time I visited Pugh's! I have to email my plant list to the RHS and Pugh's ASAP. However, I physically still don't have any plants!

Back at the nursery, I missed Colin and John who were on lunch, but left Colin the dimensions for the community noticeboard they are kindly making us. We planned to have a metal noticeboard but they cost £3000(!) and we haven't been able to raise that money in time.Therefore we've gone for a temporary wooden one. I think it demonstrates that this garden project is very real. Money is not being thrown at the garden and it's being done on a relative shoestring. I've emailed the show manager, as any changes to the design have to be OK'd by the RHS.
We've applied for a grant though, and South Wales Police neighbourhood policing team are looking out for funding for us.

I phoned the school this afternoon and the children were painting the mural as we spoke! Picking it up tomorrow.

I've just come back from holding an RHS manual 'training' session for our LNRA volunteers who will be manning the show garden over the weekend: covering H&S, recycling requirements etc and the high standards expected from us as exhibitors.

I've also finished the copy for the show leaflet. About to carry on drawing up the final design.

Just realised I haven't eaten since lunch!

Child minding

Hello again!

I haven't posted for a few days...it's been manic!
On Friday morning I had a work meeting, then my sister went to Spain at short notice to offer a little TLC to my youngest sister, Jodi, after her caesarian, leaving me to look after my niece full time! Now I love my niece, and she is very well behaved and a pleasure to have around, but full time child minding for someone who is single with no kids is a real challenge, and I'm sooooo tired! And to be fair, another mum has had her for a sleepover and all day today too, so I can't really complain! 'Mum' is back on Tuesday morning (thank goodness)!

Anyway, back to the garden...

Friday 30th March
In the afternoon I went to the school to see their draft design and I was really pleased with it! Just a few tweaks to be made, and the children will be painting it up over the next week. I also collected a cheque from one of our sponsors Fortis Properties, a local Llandaff North estate agents who are very kindly sponsoring our seat. By the time I fed and watered the little one it was 9pm (bedtime is usually 7pm). Don't tell my sister!

Saturday 31st March
Woken up at 6.30am (!) and later went to collect the paint for our mural from another of our sponsors, Johnstone's Paints on Hadfield Rd. The mural will be representing the advertising hoarding that is on the 'real' garden site in Llandaff North.

In the afternoon, LNRA held a fundraising Easter wreath/cross making event at our local community centre, which was very successful, but again very tiring. I must say thank you to all who helped, especially LNRA committee member Louise who kept everyone fed and watered, and my niece who gave a running commentary during my demonstration!
Then I dropped off my niece for the sleepover, and went back to my sister's house to bed, but got side tracked by watching Avatar (I don't have a TV at home, so this is a novelty to me). Anyway, I regretted it this morning as the tiredness hasn't gone away.

Sunday 1st April
I've spent this morning priming the boards for the mural, ready for dropping off to the school tomorrow. About to give them a second coat, then back to pick up my niece.

Can you tell that the theme of the past few days has been 'I'm shattered', due to the child minding?!

Tomorrow will be equally as manic. The final brief/design/planting plan has to be submitted to the RHS by Tuesday, so in reality I have today and tomorrow to complete them. I guess I could ask for an extension, but I don't really want to ask: we all have emergencies and things to deal with, and I'm sure I'm no different to other designers. Will just have to try my best.

By the way, have I mentioned that I don't have any plants yet...?!