Diary days with Sarah Raven

Gosh, December arrives tomorrow which can mean only one thing. I need to get my skates on when it comes to Christmas. I've actually started buying presents, which is early for me, and even Christmas cards and stamps have been are bought and are in a drawer ready to write.

But there's more. I really am being even more organised, thanks to a mystery parcel which arrived last week from sarahraven.com 

Sarah Raven grow, cook, eat diary 2022

 I was thrilled to see it contained a diary and a calendar for 2022, which I've already put to use. 

I always had a work diary of course, but would wait until what I call the fag end days of the year between Christmas and New Year to buy a personal one. I won't be doing that this year though! Not with this little beauty...

I've been a fan of Sarah Raven for years...she is a botanist, garden expert, cook, and writer who from sowing and growing her own food for years, has developed a lifestyle business selling seeds, bulbs and, homewares that you just have to buy. Sarah also runs cookery and gardening courses.

Back to the glossy diary, which is A5 in size. Perfect for me, easy and light enough to carry in a handbag.  Anything smaller is far too fiddly and piddly -  I need space for important dates and notes, so like the fact there is a generous two-page spread for each week of the year. 

At the beginning of each month in the diary, there are beautiful shots of flowers and plants by photographer Jonathan Buckley, who is a long-time collaborator with Sarah Raven. 

Also, there is a list of jobs to do in the garden at the beginning of each month as well as a seasonal recipe to try. I won't be waiting until August to make the delicious-sounding blackcurrant and almond cake featured though....luckily I've still got a few pounds of blackcurrants in my freezer, so will make that fairly soon.

Another feature of the diary I like is the sowing and planting guide for each month, whether you're growing flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs, or bulbs, and the best techniques to do so. There's even a flexible ruler to help with sowing and planting too. So handy for measuring the right depths and spacings to plant seeds, bulbs etc.

I know more and more people rely on their electronic diaries, but they are not for me. I prefer the sense of order and calm as I write in a paper diary., there's more of a connection between my thoughts and what is on the paper.

Sarah Raven's garden and cookery year calendar 2022

I adore this cover of Sarah Raven's wall calendar for 2022. If ever there was a photograph to fill you with hope and motivation for the coming year, this is it.

Last year I didn't buy a wall calendar...well, with so many lockdowns, we weren't going out much, and there weren't as many parties, outings or dates to remember. 

Now though, I will be more organised as the calendar is up on the kitchen noticeboard. 

I'm not one to wish my life away, but it's nice to think of a new year, a fresh start, more flowers and fruit and vegetables to grow, new recipes to try and holidays to plan isn't it? 

Before I get too carried away, there's Christmas to concentrate on though, and I can't think of a nicer present to give to receive than a good, practical paper diary or an attractive wall planner for anyone who wants to be more organised next year.

The diary costs £12.95 and the calendar costs £9.99 - I was sent these for review.

Press Day at RHS Chelsea 2017

Every time I've been to Chelsea, it has always been hot. Driving through the countryside on Monday  to an early train, I could feel the promise of a scorcher. I was right.

They say the sun shines on the righteous, and it was true. The garden designers and plant growers and  The Royal Horticultural Society were all blessed with a beautiful day which enhanced their beautiful creations and created an almost holiday vibe to what is the greatest Flower Show in the world.

But it wasn't a day off by any means. I was with my friends Dave Andrews, garden designers Chris Gutteridge and Karen Gimson, to provide live content for four radio programmes on-air, and pre-record an hour long programme for Sunday...the longest running gardening programme on local radio in the country.

Our first port of call was the Linklaters Garden for Maggies which was designed by Darren Hawkes. This was attracting a lot of attention, being a sunken garden and also a secret garden., surrounded by a ten foot high hedge. Once inside, you view the garden from above, a contemplative garden, a sanctuary..designed for cancer patients, but being Press day it was rather busy.

Main Street here at the Chelsea Flower Show in some ways reminds me of the Champs Elysee in Paris. Stylish, expensive, the place to be and the place to be seen, this is where the main show gardens are and where the celebrities can be seen posing for countless photographs.

 You couldn't miss The Silk Road Garden, Chengdu, China which was created by architect Laurie Chetwood and garden designer Patrick Collins. Big, bold and vibrant, it celebrated the culture, history and plants of the area.

I was really taken with the viburne pragense bruns though...to see so many on one stand was glorious, and I did like the epimediums......Wudang Star, Fire Dragon and Mandarin Star, just as exotic as their names.

Oh, and there were a couple of animatronic pandas too!

Further up Main Street was James Basson's design for the M&G Garden. Now this was awarded Best in Show, which has really ruffled the foliage of many visitors.
 Malta, a limestone quarry, and grasses. Mmn, I usually like his designs, but this one didn't get me oohing with delight. There again, I don't like grasses.  I never have, never will....I'm just the same with Abba songs. I've loathed them a passion since "Waterloo", and I wince when I see their songs on a programme's playlist, and I have to say "Here's Abba and ....."

So leaving the ( at least for me)  horticultural equivalent of Abba, Karen and Chris were in raptures ...they were really appreciating the terrace, the woodland, the delicious planting of the Morgan Stanley garden. I coveted the oak and limestone pavilion, and then as I interviewed and shared a glass of prosecco with Dewi, a delightful Chelsea pensioner, I was entranced by the playing of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Certainly  the Welcome to Yorkshire garden fulfilled its brief, featuring a beach, a cliff, a shoreline and an abbey ruin. Tracey Foster has designed one of the biggest gardens, with over 3,000 plants and tonnes and tonnes of sandstone and chalkstone. I liked this.

And do you know, I rather liked the 500 years of Covent Garden designed by Lee Bestall. I loved the arches, the apple trees, the delicate palette of planting to reflect apple blossom, all reflecting  such an iconic place and how it developed.

So, those were the show gardens that caught my eye. There's fewer of them than usual, but there were more artisan and fresh gardens which are always a source of pleasure. They're far more accessible than the Show gardens, with more affordable ideas and inspirations, so I din't feel short changed at all.

Now, you may call me biased because I work for the BBC, - you'd be wrong, but I really appreciated the Radio 2 Feelgood gardens featuring the five senses. For me, the two that worked the best were the Anneka Rice Colour Cutting garden and the Chris Evans Taste garden.

 

 

 First of all , the cutting garden. This was an absolute delight, a feast for the eyes with the wonderful colour combinations. Gold, pinks, magentas, all packed so cleverly and artistically into the space. So many plants in nine square beds...loved, loved , loved....

 

This is a collaboration between Sarah Raven and Tricia Guild, two women who have done so much to bring colour and joy into our homes and gardens.

It was also so good to see vegetables take pride of place in The Chris Evans Taste Garden. Mary Berry knows all about the best and freshest ingredients for her recipes, and these were really celebrated here.

The glossy red stems of the chard and the sheer crispness of the lollo rosso made me want to hop over the piece of string and go and pick, pick, pick to my hearts content.

There were so many other gardens I only caught glimpses of, we were running to such a tight schedule. One of the last ones we recorded was a thought-provoking one which I'm so pleased won gold.

Mind Trap, sponsored by idverde is the creation  of Ian Price. It's the first time he has exhibited at Chelsea, and I suspect it won't be the last.

From the outside, you can see what it's like to be trapped in the centre of the garden, the four metal walls almost closing in. Ian has been living with depression for the last fifteen years, and this garden is a manifestation of his feelings when the black dog looms.  Yet there's hope too, with much more vivid coloured planting outside the walls showing that there is hope, and colour can come back into your life.

Ian is such a good interviewee...not slick and glib, but honest, personal and sincere. His garden spoke to so many people including the judges. I look forward to seeing more of his designs.

So, with so many gardens to see at Chelsea, this is merely a personal memoir of some of them.



 Next time here on the blog...the Floral Pavilion, with planting perfection!