Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons - Gardens Internship Programme

I have now completed my first couple of weeks on my summer internship working in the vegetable garden at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. 

The first week I think it rained every single day!  Luckily it wasn't too wet so we just got on with it as there were plenty of things to do.  As soon as we arrive we have to pick the crops, herbs and edible flowers for the kitchen which has to be done by 10.00 so the chefs can get on and do what they do working their magic creating the amazing dishes from Le Manoir kitchen. 

My second week, it was so hot it was like working in Mexico!  Here I was planting out some celery plants which was photographed as part of the monthly coverage about Le Manoir vegetable garden in The English Garden magazine.

I love this photo which catches the beautiful bronze fennel next to the flowers of bergamot and running down the row between them some chicory forcing pots which look great sitting there!

And to the right, the view from the main courtyard entrance looking through a Yew archway towards the garden, the path edged with lavendar and the sections divided with perfectly round clipped balls of box.

Hampton Court Flower Show 2012

Its a bit late but things were so manic at the time I didn't get chance to update my blog before!

During June and July I helped garden designer Jayne Thomas build her Hampton Court Flower Show garden Celebration & Jubilation, one of the 'Summer Gardens'  at this years RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2012 . 

It was a great experience, hard work, but very interesting to learn the ropes of sourcing and selecting the plants and getting the garden from the plot of bare mud to the finished show garden.

The beginning, on Monday 18th June, we arrived to an oblong cut out of the turf marking the spot of our garden plot.  Sized to the finished garden plan, we set to marking out the centre and the key elements of the design, namely a central, circular area which will become a hard surface for a seat and surrounded by 'swathes of patriotic planting'.


The design taking shape - the circular shape and path in prepared with a bed of scalpings surrounded by a cemented edging of sandstone bricks.  And in the back ground, the gazebo to protect us from the rain, that never seemed to stop!





A view of the finished garden, finally in a rare moment of sun during the show!!

The reflecting water pools looked great surrounded by grasses and Iris.

In the centre of the garden a beautiful 'Jubilee' seat made by Gaze Burvill that attracted lots of enquiries.








The garden during the show, with the bunting flying and what seemed like millions of people all asking questions and interested in the garden.  We got lots of comments about how pretty the planting was in the garden which was great after all the hard work to build it, especially given the challenges of our English summer weather we had to contend with too!