Train to the past, Hampton Court Palace

 

 A  short ride southwest of London  on the train dropped me off close to Hampton Court Palace,where I walked into a place steeped in history since 1484.

 

Marveling at all the architectural details and courtyards on the way, one couldn't help but imagine roaming the grounds during the height of its heyday.  The palace itself was elevated to the beauty that it became in the "recent" year of 1514.

 

Passing through the palace I am finally greeted by the real reason I  came here, the gardens, which spread out before me, created over 60 acres. The Great Fountain Garden provided a wonderful view lined with clipped Taxus baccata out towards the home park, which is comprised of just another measly 750 acres.

 Taxus baccata,  which could have been very imposing and dominating on the landscape, have been clipped into some very friendly shapes, softening the horizon lines with their gumdrop shapes.  The bedding was a mix of annuals, and tubers, that helped add some burst of color amidst a vast open  green sea of turf.

 The Privy Garden, situated on the side of the palace, was created on a design from 1702. It's symmetrical pattern  includes herbaceous plants, clipped shrubs, gravel and sculptures. 

 

It is a space to wander through and view from above to fully appreciate the patterns in the layout of the garden design. Water, acting as reflecting pools,  gives the eyes a chance to rest while we take in the all of the shapes that encompass this garden.

 

It seemed to me that there was a fair amount of space between the plants, and  wishing to see it planted more lushly, I found out that this is how it was planted when the garden was created. It is important to remain true to details in  a historic garden, as this is how it was done during those days.

She poses among shapes and backdrops, while color dances in front of her.

 On one side of the Privy Garden is a Beech Tunnel, a living corridor that plays with dark and  light.

Seen from a distance, with the aloe mimicking the sheared shrubs, you can appreciate the patterns played out in the Privy garden.

Just for the love of chimneys (38?!)...  a view towards the Orangery.

The Pond Gardens are awash in color,  due to successful  intricate planting schemes

An Orangery never fails to impress, since we don't normally see these types of building created anymore.  These architectural gems were commonly used to house tender collections of plants and trees in the colder parts of the year, while in the warmer months these were put outside to benefit from the heat and rays of the sun.

The long border, which ran across the the width of the grounds, was a feat in itself due to it's length, depth, and plant palette.

 

It  was clearly able to hold its own, creating a flowering tapestry  that anchored  the impressive size of the palace to its vast grounds.

 She was a place of beauty.

Addicted and any way I can get it, pulling it together...

     When I don't have much of a garden, I find other ways to feed my addiction of having beautiful plants around me. Usually that consists of having houseplants or by way of making arrangements.  Stuffing the window box on my London terrace was one way to guarantee blooms or foliage to cut and bring inside.  It is my duty to keep fresh greens on the table at all times, regardless of the time of year.

    Another option was going to the Columbia Road Flower Market in East London. By getting there late one day, I found out certain stalls drastically mark down their prices, trying to get rid of their merchandise rather than having to pack it up again. For just 5 pounds I walked away with 12 individual bouquets one day, that I later used to mix and create my own arrangements. Orange roses, white carnations and cream Gerber daisies. ( I didn't even like some of these flowers! Carnations ?! Never, but I realized they last so long as a cut flower and now I respect them in a new found way..)

  

While doing work in other gardens I will salvage things that are heading for the compost pile and use them at home. Lichen covered Azalea branches, some moss from my terrace, and a single Galanthus nivalis bulb in bloom, just a little bit of woodland inside.

Fatsia japonica is another plant that I never really cared for, looking messy and out of place in the garden, but when I saw the fruits I felt the need to do something with them.  Muscari armeniacum (from the window box), Tiarella 'Crow'  (from the window box) and Fatsia japonica.

 

Even single arrangements grouped together of Euonymus fortunei 'Blondy' and Helleborus blooms works for me.

 

Another addiction is ceramics and vases, which I find anywhere, but that's another story..  When I found this one, reminiscent of a loaf of bread, in a Paris flea market, I knew this was my keepsake memory to stuff into my suitcase and take home. Thank goodness it didn't break. 

  

 For lunch with friends I filled it with a plethora of Viola blooms from the window box. They added a nice scent once brought inside and now reminded me of a 50's swimming cap.

And here was a favorite I called " The Canary and the Lion"

The yellow pom-pom like blooms and foliage of the tree Acacia dealbata and the foliage of Begonia rex, which I had as a houseplant.  Don't underestimate those houseplants, make them work for their money!

 An arrangement that I look forward to doing again is Dahlia 'Chat Noir' (picked up the tubers from the Columbia Road Flower Market and grown on my terrace in the window box), and mixed them with dark blue glaucous grapes (supermarket!), which sit on one very large leaf of Begonia rex. These arrangements give me such pleasure, acting as living sculptures that give off a certain sense of mood.

Viennese cafe? Apple strudel anyone?

Mexican mood? Dahlia 'Helga' and a tiny burro? Homage to Frida Kahlo? Maybe?!

Doing flowers used to intimidate me because I felt they never looked "right" and now I don't care, and that is when I started really enjoying it and it became fun.

Whether it's a color story, texture, mood, scent, it doesn't matter,  it gives great pleasure from the start

until

the end.
To the those affected by Sandy in the U.S.,  you are in my thoughts.......xoxoxo

De Wiersse revisited

  

After months of constant going, a re-charge was needed, a getaway to a place that I hold near and dear to my heart.  I hopped a plane to Holland and caught a train to Vorden.  After all the intensity of my last job, it was time that I finally returned to a place that taught me so much about gardening and life.  When I came up the drive butterflies danced in my stomach, it felt so good to be back, even if

 for a few days.

 

The most beautiful and fragrant sweet peas waited for me in my room, a wonderful sight to see.

 I  slept well,

 

I enjoyed the view, 

and I explored all the details that were missed so much. We caught up, we laughed, we ate and we smiled and we would do it all again the next day.  In the evenings we watched shooting stars from the roof, counting over 15 one night. Magical? Of course, but that is DeWiersse ...

 

Time was well spent in the kitchen garden, harvesting, sketching, and getting to know it again, reminiscing about old times. I felt inspired again just as I did before. My color pencils danced out of my bag and onto the pages of my sketch book.

Alcea rosea

 Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird'

 

And I made arrangements.  A bouquet of beautiful bone-white lilies in a gold and white pitcher couldn't have been more simple or smile inducing.

 

Or an energetic display of affection between Tagetes and Violas, squeezed together in a bamboo inspired vase.

 

It was an orgy of flowers with color, scent and texture for days. It was just what I needed.

Thank you De Wiersse for continuing to inspire and push me forward, you will always remain a source of happiness for me,  even after returning back to London.

One Horticulturalist Needed......

In February there was an ad that was seen in a horticultural website that was looking for a horticulturalist to be involved in a project for a period of a few months. The job piqued my interest and even though the description was very, very vague, I applied.  To my surprise, I was called for an interview and was told to meet at a warehouse in North London.  The interview was with a company called Filmscapes,  who makes gardens for film, television, and advertisements.
  I was still not told what the project was exactly for, it was all so secretive, but I was very excited and was hired at the end of the interview.

   

       This  project it turned out, was that I was working with them on creating the opening scene for  the Opening Ceremony for the  London 2012 Olympics.  It was a thought that I couldn't process. If you have no idea what this map is, don't worry, it took me a while to figure it out too, but I was in disbelief still.

    Even though my position was as horticulturalist, I helped and worked on anything that needed to be done. We worked in this warehouse in Northeast London mapping out what we needed to do. It started with astroturf and plenty of it.  The opening scene was called 'Green and Pleasant Land' and it involved a mix of real and faux plants.   We took the astroturf and measured and cut out the shapes for the scene, which was then given treatments.

 

 We then proceeded to make it look real by shearing it, painting it, and 

even  adding small plastic plants to look like weeds for height and interest.

    Spending hours each day in a warehouse cutting astroturf and consuming cup after cup of tea, and chocolate, can make you a bit crazy. That is when  'Turfie' , our mascot, was born.

    But while we were furiously finishing all the turf that was needed (over the course of 3 months), the stage was being built inside the stadium. Once that was complete, and our turf was finished, we  moved on site, inside the Olympic Stadium.My eyes were huge with excitement at the size of it all,

 

The base for the mountain, or the Tor, was just getting finished a day after we moved on site.

    Once done, the huge faux Oak tree was hoisted above the Tor and we set to work attaching our meadow turf which was to cover the whole of it. Capillary matting was put down first to add a layer that would hold moisture for the roots, followed by chicken wire, and then squares of meadow turf.

  

All those yellow high-vis are the team turfing up the Tor, which gives you an idea of the immense scale of the structure.

 

     Once completed,  the newly turfed Tor gave life to our surroundings, becoming the dominant feature in the stadium. This put many smiles on the faces of the people working there.

       The real mixed hedgerows, which would be used on the stage as props were then unloaded, making my heart beat faster and my grin grow wider.  My role as horticulturalist was now coming into play and that made my work even more exciting. First the Tor and now over 100 hedgerows.

    There were also live turf too that was going to be used on the stage for the performance.  These were all for an area we called 'Essex' which was going to have real sheep were grazing on it during the Opening Ceremony. 

\

       Each piece was  on  a growing mat with handles to make removal easier for the cast during the change from one scene to the next.  Add that to more live pieces of material for me to care for.

 There were a mix of real and faux plant material used throughout, as seen here with fellow colleagues mixing artificial poppies into the real dried wheat used to create a field.

    One of the workers on the roof supplied this aerial shot of our work from above, an incredible sight to see for all the hard work we were doing. This now made the map (first image) I first came across pale in comparison to the stage being dressed like this.

     Each day at work consisted of watering, watering, and making sure that everything was staying alive and healthy.  Each day consisted of carting heavy hose wheels back and forth to water, truly doing laps all over the stadium.  The view from the top of the Tor was incredible where one could survey all the action taking place all around. The action was happening on the Tor too though,

with the meadow coming into effect after a few weeks of care,

and being witness to seeing such vibrant flowers carpet the turf, like the yellow blooms of Lotus corniculatus.

                     At the end of another 11 hour day, I was able to see the Tor lit up at night.

       The work didn't stop there though. A wildflower meadow mix was installed all around the stage, which was to grow on a slant of 45 degrees, again on a layer of capillary matting, on wood. 

 

This wrapped all the way around the stage itself. Each day this was watered, sometimes twice a day, and over time it went from spindly looking, 

to a thicker,

and more lush planting.

         There were Layia platyglossa, Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), Papaver commutatum, Escholzia californica, and Sweet Alyssum, among others.

Every few days  the wildflower verge

was changing it's colors.

     A few days before August 27th, we installed the 'Athletes Area' which was real turf that ran the whole length around the stage.

     Capillary matting helps once again with helping to hold water, but this area did dry out quickly and required constant attention.

     Once it was all laid out, it looked beautiful. The stadium was beginning to soften due to all of the plant vegetation inside.

There was an area outside of the stadium too, that had some pieces that were to be kept in top condition. Due to the many rehearsals, some of the plant material started to break down and deteriorate from being handled many times.  So outside of the stadium there was a 'nursery' for the showstoppers come the night of the Opening Ceremony. This was a wonderful mix of wildflower meadow mixes and turf.  Watering was definitely a full time job. 

All

the

pretties..

       This whole area was on plastic sheeting, directly on pavement, and it seemed like the week before the big night, England decided to have a heat wave. Why? Why? WHY?!!! lol

In total one day, I watered, for about 14  hours. My hard work, (and prune-like fingers!), was documented luckily by some newspapers and news channels that were filming the excitement happening in the Olympic park.

      We worked 18 hours the night before trying to do as much work as possible, but it was worth it when Paul McCartney is practicing in front of you. I remember singing to 'Hey Jude' while watering at around midnight, not too bad of a memory. Coming in the next day was rough but you are running on adrenaline by that point and how do you stop the Opening Ceremony?! You don't, and that kept you running too.... The covering of the molten troughs with real turf here.

      And then it started, once you saw the cloud walkers, we knew there was no turning back, there was no stopping the Opening Ceremony.  It has began!

     The people just filled up the stadium,  around 80,000 total, and the set looked so real with all the characters and props on it.

The flock of sheep coming to the stage to graze on our meadow.....

The ladies with the geese...... (and the hedgerows!!!)

It all came together!!

           It was an unforgettable experience because I also had the chance to be in it. I didn't really know what to do, so I walked around and I sat in the apple orchard, which was full of fake apples.  I snuck a real apple on stage with me which I pulled out of my pocket, which I then proceeded to eat.  As I sat there, I just remember taking it all in, the energy, the people,  and it was just incredible, and I sat there and thought,'I am sitting on the stage at the Olympic Opening Ceremony,  we did an outstanding job, all plants were kept alive and I am eating an apple in front of the Queen.......... This is pretty damn cool." lol

 Looking back I was able to quickly spot myself in the first few minutes on screen.  I decided to stand and watch the cricket game since it was the easiest place to hide. I was wearing the dark outfit standing next to the fence in the upper right.

Green and Pleasant it was......

Until the Brunel's (standing on the Tor!!).....

came and changed things (good bye set!)

into the Industrial Revolution.....(but look at those flowers!!!!lol)

It was an emotional night that I will never forget.  I was touched that England would let a recent New York transplant be so involved with their London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Thank you!!

To see so many flags of the world on the Tor, which I had such a bond with, was one of  happiest moments of the evening.

         I still get emotional when I think about it, since it was the most intense project I have ever had in my life. It took me so long to write about it because it was so personal, it demanded so much, and it was so passionate, it was such a build up for months and then just as quickly it was over..... just like that, almost a dream. I will never ever forget the joy this experience gave me, and the pride and  confidence in myself as a person and gardener.  It will always be a place in my mind that burns so bright,

and I always have my memories that I will take with me........