FREE DESIGN CONSULTATIONS {Chelsea Fringe}, RHS Chelsea Flower Show...and even more! :)

Hello and welcome back at Mercurelli's Garden Design Blog! :)

Phew what incredible two weeks! They have probably been the two fastest weeks of my life... and I can't believe they are almost over! :) Most of my energies were shared between the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (will tell you about it in a minute!) and the VERY busy studio of Stephen Anthony Ryan, involved in some very ambitious projects! ;) I also made space for a very pleasant evening at the Garden Museum for the 'Green Fuse: The Work of Dan Pearson' Private View, which was absolutely stunning and that really deserve a visit, if you get the chance to go!

{Green Fuse: Dan Pearson exhibition at the Garden Museum}

I keep wondering where all the energies which are necessary to embrace all of this come from and I keep finding the answer in the HUGE amount of LOVE I have for my profession! :) But I would also like to say THANK YOU to all who kept following me on Twitter and on Facebook, I really appreciated your support and I feel full of energy for the upcoming RHS Hampton Court Flower Show! GRAZIE MILLE!

{East Village Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2013}

As anticipated, during these past two weeks I had the pleasure and honour to work at the (Gold Medallist!) 'East Village' Garden by Marie-Louis Agius and Michael Balston, helping with the planting during the last building week and with the promotion of the garden during the show week {you can follow the construction here on their Pinterest Board}. These means I had the great opportunity to take some incredible pictures of the various show gardens before the official opening to the public ;)

Some of them are on my Facebook album already, but many more are to come with a small series on Chelsea, where I will share my favourites and some good idea to take home :) So make sure to follow me by email to receive all the upcoming posts on both RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows! :)

I also take the opportunity to invite you at the Idler Academy this coming Saturday: as part of the Chelsea Fringe , me and other KLC Alumni will offer FREE GARDEN DESIGN ADVICE SESSIONS for your garden! :) No need to book, just pop in with some pictures of your garden, grab a cut of tea...and let us make wonders! ;)

SEE YOU THERE! ;)

Updates, Chelsea Fringe, Chelsea & Hampton Court Flower Shows!

WELCOME BACK at Mercurelli's!!!! :D

After a busy and very productive silence (as you will see shortly!), I am back on the keyboard to share the joys, the challenges and the great events of a London-based Garden Designer's life!

But...what happened in these past 7 weeks? And why have I been so silent?

Who follows me on Twitter and Facebook might had some clues already ! ;)

{a 'clue' from one of my tweets}

Since my latest post, a lot of exciting events happened!

I started working for 'The Botanical Gardener'...

...going on site with Ben of Breathe Garden Design to better understand the role, the challenges and the 'tricks of the trade' of a Landscape Contractor...

{Ben and his team are really hardworkers!!!!}

...and I started working with Stephen Anthony Ryan!!!

{Stephen' A. Ryan's Logo}

Stephen is a succesful Garden Designer based in Beaconsfield that after completed  his studies at KLC School of Design, a course with John Brookes, and a work experience in the studio of Marcus Barnett, launched 'Stephen Anthony Ryan Classic and Modern Gardens', a very busy Garden Design Studio based in Buckinghamshire. He is also exhibiting at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2013 with his 'August 1963: I Have A Dream' Show Garden. No wonder that between his Design Work and the Show Garden he needed some extra help (alias ME!!!) :) :) :) :) :) It is a very exciting experience and I am willing to share with you as much as possible about his projects and the 'behind-the-scene' of the show garden, so keep following me! ;)

{August 1963: I Have A Dream'
RHS Hampton Court Show Garden 2013 by Stephen Anthony Ryan}

And if all of these wasn't exciting enough.....what would you say if I tell you that I keep working and volunteering for the great Garden Museum on monthly basis, that I am taking part in June to the Chelsea Fringe with a FREE DESIGN SESSION at the Idler Academy, and that in few hours I will start planting at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show?!?!?!?!?! :) :) :)

Where do I find the energies for all this?!?'. The answer is the greatest passion for my job which I deeply deeply love and in the lovely feedbacks from clients and readers like you, which help going on even in the busiest times! ;) 

Want to receive/read the latest updates about the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and my Design Work? If so, subscribe to the Blog Posts , or join me on Facebook and Twitter for the lastest news and pictures !!! :)

Wish you a great week, 

Baci/Bisous/Kisses, 

Noemi

'The Devil's Saddle' - an amazing spot of Sardinia!

Welcome back at Mercurelli's! :)

I hope you have kept yourself wrapped and warm during these last days!

Has the weather affected your gardening plans? Or has it give you extra time to re-think and plan your garden? New orders and purchases? I did not resist and I acquired three new amazing plants at the latest RHS Great London Show...

{one of the plants acquired during the latest RHS London Show...can you name it?}

but before tell you more about them, let me share with you where I spent part of the past week:

I was back in the amazing Sardinia and I treated myself with an excursion at 'La Sella del Diavolo - The Devil Saddle', one of my favourite destinations ovelooking the 'Golfo degli Angeli - Gulf of Algels' {we can easily guess why it is so called!}

  I was used to 'escape' in this little corner of Paradise since I was a student in Bioecology... and I still love to come here when looking for relax, inspiration... or simply an extra-supply of Sardinian sun to better cope with the British weather! :)

Click on the images to see them enlarged...and have a look at these amazing natural combinations!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek in one of the most Biodiverse spot of Cagliari, my birthtown.

If you enjoyed the pictures of this post, please feel free to share them on Pinterest and to leave a comment.

{one of the thousand Asphodelus microcarpus which populate La Sella Del Diavolo/ The Devil's Saddle}

Stay tuned! RHS Great London Show posts and a little surprise are coming! ;)

Bisous,

Noemi

Chanticleer Garden, Pennsylvania

I am away for another couple of days. Working and relaxing abroad before the Easter/April rush :P

In the meantime, let me bring you in the middle of a warm and colourful spring by suggesting the lovely Julie's serie on Chanticleer Garden.

Mother of three and talented gardener, Julie is sharing with us her visit to one of the most appreciated garden in USA. Have a look, I am sure you will love her enthusiasm and that you will find plenty of inspiration among her great pictures!

{photo source: (C) Chanticleer garden}

Have you ever had the pleasure to visit it? Or is there a special garden you would recommend us?
Let's share! ;)

Wish you all a very sparkling week,

Bisous/Kisses/Baci,

 

Noemi

The best flowers of our gardens: our mums!!!

'Mom day' is coming! 

Are you looking for a very special way to celebrate and thank her?
 Have a look here then!

Books of the month! :)

Welcome back! :)

Have you never realized how many little 'addictions' we have? That coffee in the morning, that growing numbers of seed packets in the tinbox...I am sure that everyone can name some! 

I never realized how much I was 'addicted' to books, until I started to keep track of them to avoid duplicates....I am arrived here in England with just few favourites {il manuale di giardinaggio di Gardenia and the RHS Encyclopedia of Plants&Flowers, just to name two!}....and few months later my books were enough to fill an intere bookcase!!! I have to say that here in London is very easy (and cheap!) to buy good Garden design/Gardening books, and this did not help my little addiction.

{image source}

Will not surprise you then to know that one of my 'New Year Resolutions' included being more sensible about book-purchases...and after an insuccesful attempt in January (I ended up with 12 more books!), I can happily say to have been more moderate in February, ending up with just two more books (EXACTLY JUST TWO!!!) 

Which are the two new precious pearls of my bookcase?

They are Cuttings - A year in the garden with Christopher Lloyd and Pruning (The Great Dixter Handbooks) 

The first one is just AMAZING!!! It is a collection of Christopher Loyd's articles from the Guardian and he is so brilliant that I often find myself laughing aloud. I'm munching the book slowly slowly, month by month to enjoy it better (exactly as 'In My Garden'), but sometimes it is just impossible to resist and to avoid peeking the successive article! I would recommend the book even to someone not into gardening as Christopher Lloyd's style is so enjoyable that I am sure it will conquer everyone!

The second one is a tiny handbook on pruning which can be easily read in a couple of hours and which intent is to offer an overal understanding of pruning, rather then a collection of 'do this, do that'. I found some good tips and a useful scheme on Clematis groups.

Both of them can be found at Great Dixter Shop, at the Garden Museum, on Amazon and in many good bookstores.

And you? What have you read this month? Have you got a similar addiction or a very good title to share with us? :) Let us know!

Baci, Kisses and Bisous, 

Noemi

Shows and Green Walls, another busy week in my Garden Designer life! ;)

Hello again :)
What exciting forthnight! I spent a week at Great Dixter and the following one across London events :)

As you may have read on Facebook, despite the very poor start in bed with the flu, I somehow  managed to attend the RHS London Plant & Design Show, where was fabulous to meet such passionate and knowledgeable exhibitors!

On Tuesday I had to skip the Tom Hart Dyke talk (a modern plants-hunter!) due to the flu, but on Wednesday I felt so brave to put my nose out and I attended a talk on wildlife from Juliet Sargeant MSGD :)

The week continued at the Garden Museum, where I had a peek at the 'Flowers, Love and Money' exhibition, and where I was pleasantly surprised by the 'Roses' installation of Rebecca Louise Law.

And the week could not end better then at Greenwich University, where guided by Benz Kotzen and Shelley Mosco (you certainly remember her Van Gogh Green Wall in Trafalgar Square), we built a experimental Green Wall in the campus{more pictures here}.

And the upcoming week? I will be at the Garden Museum for the Sarah Raven Lunchtime talk (I really can't wait!!!!), and I will attend another SGD Development day, which I am sure will be as much interesting as all the previous ones. And I will design, of course!!! :):):)

{Picture Source: The Telegraph}

As the working life is getting busier, is getting more difficoult to find time for blogging, but please fell free to join me on Facebook and Twitter, where I am still very chatty! ;)

What are your weekly-plans? Are you attending any interesting lecture or group meeting? Are you still sowing? :) I would love to hear from you! :)

Baci and Bisous,

Noemi