RHS Chelsea 2012 'Rooftop Workplace of Tomorrow' - The Build (Days 1 to 5)

Well this time around I was hoping to write a Blog update each day of the build, I think I may have been slightly optimistic… already the time is just flying by and I’ve simply been too busy!

Where to start? Well, Thursday the 3rd of May was the first day we were able to start building on site, and what a bitterly cold start it was! The Aussies just along from us were saying they usually do their work in shorts! We set up a temporary office under cover, but had to blag a trestle table and some chairs; unfortunately this didn't keep the wind out, which was meddling somewhat with our paper plans which we were trying to run through.

As I am sat writing this balanced on some stacked up wood, the sun has at last made an appearance, I can actually feel its warmth on my back, hope it's here to stay! (Sadly it lasted about 30 minutes…!) Oh well, we thought we’d make the best of it and Friday, Saturday and Sunday we got the garden marked out, the back wall was built from concrete blocks and the deck frame was laid.

Today was D-Day as our Estonian contractors turned up this morning with our 'cube' building. I was so glad to see them (or more like glad to see the cube if I'm honest!). The only problem now is the glass doors are stacked so close to the road that every time an arctic lorry goes past my stomach lurches with worry. I'm sure these drivers know what they are doing, but I can’t help but worry - we would have no chance of replacing the glass in time.

Mark and Mike (Giles landscapes) are doing a great job with our back wall, they've almost got the full 3m high of breeze blocks, now just waiting for the scaffolding to arrive, so they've made a start on the limestone blocks which just look so gorgeous, especially with a little splash of sun on them!

All is going to plan so far, and even better I’ve just heard from Dave @ Kelways (one of our key plant suppliers) to say that despite the weather the plants have grown on well since I last saw them 10 days ago!

I have to make a big decision on my birch tomorrow as Matthias (of Deepdale Trees) is not sure it's going to leaf up enough in time for Chelsea, so he's sending me a photo tomorrow so I can decide if we need to switch - I'm definitely going to enlist Alex Denman (Show Manager) and her experience at Chelsea to help me make a decision.

We’ve got a busy day ahead tomorrow. The electrician will be doing first fix, the decking & edging is all due to arrive, plus our gorgeous custom tree planters, can hardly wait!

Please can someone please sort the weather out?!

info@aralia.org.uk
01279 721461 / 07970 906233
Studio 2, New House Farm, Lower Sheering Road, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, CM21 9LE