On Sunday 23rd I was on Rhubarb radio at MAGPI BROWN’S TREASURE NEST to further talk about the garden project. Selections of my music compositions as well as Felix Jackson’s were played highlighting the avant gardeners soundtracks. As this garden exploration continues art minds think alike working in collaboration transforming walls and spaces into decorative environments. As mentioned the philosophy for this space had been split up into three areas first one being House and home, the second Global spirit and the third Conscience Number 9. Through this space the aim is to explore our outdoor environments coming away from home comforts reaching out to community spaces and working together in teams. A more in-depth description will be explained thoroughly at Gardens weekend form the 5th-6th so head down for a discussion.
With the garden space looking almost complete my father came to join and participate with the project. There had been a few obstacles in the way as a hand injury accrued after crashing off my bike whilst making a sudden turn... (How silly of me) so work had to be delegated and instructed.
Project is now is progress!
With new volunteers, Sally Sherlock, Faye Binnell, Tim Skinner has agreed to participate and help out.
Faye Binnell is currently studying at B.C.U, Visual arts and Tim Skinner freelance artist specializing in abstract lettering painting. Tim has an interior modern geometrical style working solo on commission freelance work who has been involved in graffiti art since the early 80's.
Creative designs amongst us are being discussed and a wall art feature is being painted which eventually will compliment the garden space when finished.
Plants and various materials are yet to be brought, however we have acquired some recycled items which we plan to utilize within the garden space.
The publicity and advertisements are being planned out.
Stay tuned as there will be more updates.
The final show will be commencing on the 5th and 6th of September.
Away from the Garden Project the Avant gardeners have stumbled upon a plot of land filled with some very interesting found objects. a garden measuring 30 ft long filled with pots, buckets, pipes, door frames, wood and a tent material. A homemade green house has been built. Four bedding areas exist in the garden growing very little vegetables but over grown weeds and maintenance has been neglected. There's a Japanese wine berry bush and a water feature that is yet to be built. Working together myself and Tessa Burwood plan to focused on the garden. We began work at the end garden gathering tools that where fit to use. We cleared debris raking old leaves into green waste bags picking up rubbish and placing into black bags. Large sticks and stones where gathered in a pile and before sunset a fire was made while we gathered round and ate. Tessa Burwood and brother Dan have lived in their home for some time and have implemented there garden space by finding abandoned items left in the street. There are so many little clusters of things that just need moving. Over the next two months we plan to focus on these clusters and straighten out the garden making it recycle friendly and presentable. We hope you enjoy this upbeat sound track.
With funding nearly secured the project garden space hit upon several problems earlier on in the month. Firstly the actual space that we had spent so much time clearing was earmarked for the council to use for their ‘silver guilt medal’ award winning design in the urban garden category at the Chelsea flower show. They will be showcasing this garden at the gardeners weekend show in September. The group involved in our design were all very disappointed, however after talks with the park staff and college tutors we have now managed to secure another area we can develop. This caused a few problems with the designs as the new area is totally
different. As well as this one student has now decided he no longer wants to be part of the project and another is away on holiday and cannot be contacted to sign forms that the Princes Trust need to release the funds to the project. So, it has all been rather stressful and the future of the project is now in question. We have written an email to the awards manager to explain the situation and are hoping that the enthusiasm and dedication of the other members of the group will shine through and that the Princes Trust will still fund us. During this time we have also been discussing how the art that we are interested in showcasing and our other ideas can be best promoted and shown to members of the public. Talks have begun with local galleries and we are looking into other gallery spaces. A huge part of the design project is arts based with a portfolio of works collated over a period of nearly 12 months now. We are trying to use this body of work to complement the garden design in the park. Leon will contact the arts council and also ‘Edgbaston one’ to see how best to do this. So, we are waiting to hear back from the Princes Trust and
will post an update as soon as possible.
The Original space was split into three sections with the themes. 1.House Home Garden 2.Global Spirit 3.Concious Number 9
With a new and smaller area it became difficult to include these subjects into our new space.
My garden space is now becoming my little nest, with collected wood that I have gathered from fallen trees and collected stones to build around my fire pit. I have gathered wood and stacked against my fence to cover gaping gaps and to stop outsiders from peering in. I have managed to collect various small shrubs and flowers which I have been busy planting in the beds near the fence. My aim is that this will create a cluttered and visually intriguing feel to the garden space. After having nothing at all in the garden I am now filling it with an abundance of new plant life. With ferns sprouting in plant pots I am able to move them around the garden. I have removed three slabs to make room for more plants and continue to create additional features using reclaimed and recycled items- chairs that someone had thrown out into the street, a metal bed base and an old metal tool box. Convolvulus is pruned regularly as it is fast growing and would overtake the whole garden. Although most people would remove it entirely I like its foliage and the screen cover it gives so I am happy to take the time to prune it and keep it under control. I like the idea of dens and nests- a camouflaged shelter enclosed by foliage. In both gardens I am hoping to achieve this effect in both gardens and it will be interesting to see how the different resources in each space will affect the end result.
As the sun shines and the plants flourish we have been busy in our gardens, working both independently and together maintaining our garden spaces. Summer is a time for entertaining outdoors, inviting friends round to share summer evenings together, sitting round the bonfire and enjoying each others company. A time to have bbq's and enjoy the outdoor environment. This has been our motivation for recent work in the gardens.
As well as the clean up of the garden spaces we are now trying to be more productive and grow our own fruit and vegetables. The shelf storage area has been utilized to store seedlings that are hardy enough to be outdoors. As well as being very practical the shelving with all its new plants has now become an interesting feature itself, and also stores bbq equipment, recycle boxes, gardening gloves and bin bags. This makes a good link between the house and the garden. A new vegetable plot has been dug and lawn had to be removed and patio slabs lifted. Unusually the veg plot is at the front of the garden near to the house instead of the more traditional 'at the bottom of the garden' location. Again this brings the production of food closer to the home, making the veg plot more accessible and easier to maintain. This area of the garden has become an extension of the kitchen with herbs growing just outside the back door, the BBQ near to the storage area and soon there will vegetables just outside the door ready to dig up and cook.
In the rest of the garden we have done general weeding and clearing and moved some plants around, changing certain areas. The stick feature has taken on a life of its own, leaves have begun to sprout from the once bare branches and grass is growing upwards making the feature feel more like a wall separating the rest of the garden from what lies beyond. Beyond the stick feature we have planted plants along the fence adding colour and softening the boundary line. The fire is now a dominant part of this area and an interesting focal point, made from house bricks and curving round to protect the fire from the wind. Wood ready to be burnt on the fire is stored in this area. Bark from a fallen tree is kept in a terracotta pot and that too makes an interesting feature. The major change to this area is that it is now becoming more 'cave' like. This is what we had hoped to achieve and now that the ivy is growing abundantly the results are very pleasing. Ivy has been trained up sticks that have been pushed into the ground and is now being trained to grow over the top of this area. With regular maintenance this will form a roof like structure over the area making it feel more cosy and private.
The edges of the lawn have been cut to define them and change the shape of the lawn slightly. This is in keeping with the new plant growth and newly created veg plot. New plants (Oxalis triangularis) .have been planted in the flower beds giving new interest and different coloured foliage.
