When I first agreed to enter the Garden Shows,  my intent was to do a roof top garden as green as it could be.  I wanted to tie in all the cool green building products I could think of.  But most of all I wanted to design a garden that was functional AND beautiful.  I wanted some interior space to show the seemless transition of inside to out.  I want a comfortable lounging area and a dining table large enough for a family.  I knew I wanted an easy path thousands of people to walk through the garden.  I hate going to garden shows that have no access into the gardens.  I can’t imagine not exploring the layers and secrets planted within a garden. 

The truth is I desigend my dream garden.  If I had the money,  I would build this garden on the in the middle of Manhattan,  design my clients gardens from my penthouse office,  drink wine with friends nightly on the cement sofa and have Sunday brunch for girl friends only.  The shape and size was dictated by the Garden shows first and the concept of a skyscraper second.  I want a standard rectangle but given the fact that I had enter the shows so late in the came there were no rectangles left.  All this to say the positioning of the penthouse was dictated by the shape of the space.  The rest of the layout was like a puzzle so I actually made little pieces that represented the cement sofa,  the log dining table and a few stools and chairs.  I wanted a large carpet of the green grid in front of the penhouse so I marked that off limits right away.  It took a bit of finagling to fit the large peices of funiture but I was determined to use large pieces as I believe smaller spaces will feel larger with larger furniture and trees.  I spent the first two weeks  of the design process without a plant or container in sight.

I thought it would be possible to write daily or at least often about the progress of this project.  But, alas, I was wrong. I thought the 200 one day make overs I did on Discovery with Surprise By Design would have prepared me for the intense build for this show but it didn’t.  I’m not sure if it is the competiion of a show that drives us all,  or the fact that it is on of those few times designers have no client, no compromise other than money and time  I just was not able to write about the process during the process.

So now I will take my time and explain the process.  Starting with the end…I wanted a beautiful space, sustainable and green as it could be and still a little edgy.  the results tonight, the process tomorrow.

Still can’t write…no time to talk but I promise I will soon.  Just reporting WE WON!  Talk to you all soon.

Mark Campbell must be one heck of a good guy.  For 15 hours, two days straight now,  15 friends and family members of this landscape contractor, super dad, generous friend and all round talented guy have volunteered to work, work and work more.  For what?  for Mark of Garden of Eden Landscapes.  They all say he would do anything for anyone and I am the happy recipient of this weeks “anyone”.  Wait til you see what Mark has done to my garden.  As he put it yesterday,  he’s pimping the garden!

So what does it take to create a full scale, rooftop green roof in 3 days….a large crew of experts…Truck drivers, a pit crew, carpenters, welders, roofers, and much much more.

My garden is on the road again and I am thrilled.  Some thought I should never have come to Seattle and believe me at times I couldn’t agree more.  But as I picked up my New York Times this morning and read a lead story about the closing of major Garden Shows across the country, I couldn’t help but think how lucky I am to have experienced this and how sad for our country if this great tradition goes the way of the local newspaper.  I think the article missed the point as it quoted person after person stating that baby boomers was getting older and the younger homeowner think gardening is a dirty word as the reason for the closing.  I’ve heard that,  but I definitely didn’t experience it in Seattle or in Philadelphia this week as I visited that garden show.  I saw plenty of strollers and young hipster with their lucky bamboo wrapped in brown paper tucked under their arm, wandering through the show gardens looking for inspiration.

I do think garden creators could hip it up a notch, embrace the new sustainable and outdoor living desire,  but I don’t think garden design is done.  Far from it.  The green movement sweeping the country has left ‘30 somethings’ needing inspiration and info on how to live with nature and not destroy it.  Now, more than ever we need Garden Shows to teach, inspire and lead the way away from the green grass putting lawn and into the drought tolerant, sedum strewn yards of our future.  Every fifth person waiting in line to see my garden in Seattle asked for the plant list and instruction on how they could grow and maintain their own green wall or green roof.  That is progress, and very hopeful for a true gardening revolution in the future.  

Perhaps the days of forcing flowers into early bloom, wasting lots of energy on the way, and growing precious, difficult tender nutrient feeding “show” flowers, has had it’s day,  but that need not mean all gardening is old fashion.  It’s a new day, a new time and if my sustainable rooftop garden and all it’s awards is any indication…the garden show judges and the people who attend seem to really appreciate the new direction.

Let’s support the Garden Shows….come see us in San Francisco March 18-22.  And may someone please step forward and buy the show so it is not it’s last year.  Or let’s write to Congress and have them bail it out….I can’t think of a better “green jobs” or “green educational” program.