Adam Frost

 And we’re off…
 
After all the months of planning, meetings, and battling the weather to make sure our plants are in their prime, it feels good to have put a spade in the ground at Chelsea.
 
It’s day one of the big build and it’s all finally beginning to feel real. There’s a buzz around the showground and, although last year’s event was great, I get a strong sense that 2011 is going to be a vintage Chelsea Flower Show.
 
As many of you will know, our inspiration for the Lands’ End Across the Pond garden is the work and philosophy of US architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I hope our garden does justice to his ability to blend architectural features with nature.
 
The plants are our biggest headache. As the media have already highlighted, the unseasonably warm spring has brought everything on early. I’m still not sure if our irises are going to make it, despite my wife Sulina’s best efforts. She spent hours meticulously wrapping them in tissue paper to stop them unfurling so we’ll only know when we ‘unpack’ them. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
 
On the upside, we’re really making progress with the build. Our landscaping partner Richard Penfold at New Ground poured the concrete supplied by London Concrete earlier this week and it’s been curing at his HQ in Reading. Once it’s on-site, it’s then over to the guys at London Polished Concrete to work their magic and buff it to a satin finish.
 
The trees and large shrubs are due to arrive shortly from Deepdale Trees, I can’t wait to see the zelkova, euonymus and amelanchier in place. Once they are in position, forming the backbone of our garden, we can add in the under-planting story to create the lush, tranquil space we originally conceived.
 
In other news, I’ve just found out that the President of Taliesin Preservation Inc will be flying over from Wisconsin to join us at the show. It will be an honour to share the excitement with someone who knows Frank Lloyd Wright’s work so intimately –Wright created Taliesin as his own summer home. Taliesin, which is just down the road from the Lands’ End US headquarters, celebrates its centennial this year so let’s hope that’s a good omen.
 
Oh and, having finally joined the 21st century, you can follow me on Twitter. Sign up to frost@work for regular updates on how the garden is progressing