GOLD!!!!

How'd we do?

'Imagine' won GOLD

and...

Dirtscape Dreaming won the HMA award for 'BEST USE OF PLANTLIFE IN A DISPLAY'

Congratulations team!! We did it!!!! It's champagne time!

Update : We're off to Brekky!!

i have a 7 am date with the premier's breakfast which means....... we're getting a medal! i don't have any idea of what, but will post as soon as I know! Good grief! We may just have done it!

The finish line

The shed adorned with flowers

the Tunnel...

Famous people in the coastal garden

Paula losing it!

The fairy garden treasure ropes

It was looking like a disastrous day with fewer hands on deck and so much finishing to do. Any MIFGS veteran will agree that finishing takes a whole day once you think you've finished the garden. When I arrived this morning we still had 3 garden beds to complete due to another shortage of plants. The dromana toppings path hadn't been completed as we'd had to order more, and the flowers were only just beginning to go up in the shed. We were a day behind with just hours to go!

Anthony and I decided the only thing to do was just get on with it as quickly as we could. by 10am I was worried and started calling friends to come in and help. It seemed so unfair that all this organisation still came down to the wire like this. Mike from Swinburne then arrived on the site with the news that 16 students and Mim were on their way and would be with us in minutes. I've never been so pleased to see anyone in my life. In no time I had them pulling together in teams doing mulching and detailing, while the stronger guys started doing the rubbish cleanup. Everything needed to be moved off site now and quickly as the parks guys decided they wanted to mow! i wonder who put in the urgent grass lopping request and which team they were on.

Within an hour people seemed to emerge from everywhere armed with brooms and buckets, ready to line up for a job. It was like a band of fairies just lifting the load and sharing it. When Anthony and I stopped for lunch, we managed to find 2 pages of things left to do, with 3 hours to go. We set the deadline of 2pm for everyone to be off site so we could review, check and think straight. Sandra rounded up floristry help and the back wall began to heave with fresh flowers. The wine barrels took on a whole new look with gorgeous snaking centrepieces and cherry red perspex tops. The dromana toppings arrived and a frenzy of activity had it flying around into place.

In one of my garden bed checks, I found a big area of plants in a heap, leaving a hole in the planting. It was as if someone had fallen into the garden bed. Then I realised this bed was around an old elm tree, housing a possum family who now couldn't get up to their home without a major logistics exercise. Sometime tomorrow I'll have t give them a route up the tree or this will be an ongoing problem every morning...

So, Bill and Sue arrived from Austraflora and the Lovely Sue set about hanging teacups on the sales tanks and taking photos. Amidst the bedlam Johanna Griggs and the Better Homes and gardens team came through to do some filming in preparation for Friday's show. Jason from the show has been constructing his own garden this year but they still take a look at what's around. 2 pm arrived and i blew the whistle, getting everyone to leave us to gather ourselves for a final check. An enormous amount had been achieved, and while there were some things I'd have done again if I'd had time, I was pretty happy with how it was looking. We all did a final check and altered some things, tidied and swept, stuffed a few extra plants in and picked up a few leaves. At 5 to 3 the organisers came down the road calling for everyone to leave - judging had begun.

We made it. My team pulled it off, and we actually made it. PHEW! Now for a celebratory beer and to get cleaned up. It's been a hot dusty day with so much grime in layers that's it's hard to tell who is who. Phil's team patted us on the back as we did them - all a very fair contest for the top prize and now we wait to see who gets a breakfast invitation with the Premier tomorrow. i think it's Gold awards and special awards like Waterwise, Best in Show and so on that get to go to brekky, so it would mean we'd done very well if we go to brekky.

i head to a friend's beauty place for much needed attention and relaxation therapy. it's been well earned! Hard to believe this chapter is closing and I can think about something else for a while!

1 day to go

Utterly exhausted. So much to do. Many less people on the ground to help tomorrow and when every person is needed to put in 110% a little encouragement and practical help goes such a long way. It's deadlines like this where you really see what people are made of. I'm so proud of my team - the Arbour guys have been putting in hard physical 12 - 15 hour days for 11 days now, way over what they are paid for. The Swinburne guys have been right there every day with busloads of students, interested staff helpers and bucketloads of enthusiasm, all in the name of good relationships with industry. Kris, my wonderful assistant and star plantswoman has dropped everything to do long days just for the experience. We've all asked other small business people to give up their time and hence money to contribute on the chance that some publicity may come their way, and even better, some more work out of it. Gary from Bentsticks must have put hundreds of hours into the fairy grotto - a pure masterpiece that will draw every child into this garden. Gerry from FormBoss has given some 40 metres of steel edging, fabricated with brackets which takes time in the factory. It all represents time and money. Yarra Burn gave 15 wine barrels that could have been sold for cash that could be much needed in this economy. Mark from Transrock sent an enormous amount of rock for our walls for free without hesitation - very generous for such a small company. All small businesses who rely on relationships with people to grow.

It's an interesting observation that when the pressure is on, the small businesses keep on giving and never give up, yet the small thing from the much larger businesses that makes all the difference - encouragement and thanks, recognition for effort over and above what was agreed - is just so hard to come by.

Why is it that transactions between little businesses are so easy and uncomplicated do you think? Why do little businesses just keep on getting up after being kicked again and again, just to see an agreement through to the end?
Integrity. It's a belief that professional integrity is just so important. It may be less profitable than being a constant taker, but regrets are fewer for us when we need to call on friends. I wish us all luck for tomorrow, that we get it finished, that we know we've done our best and that we're proud of what we've done. Well done my team, I'm very proud to have you all as my friends.

2 days to go : can't remember how many days we've been at this now...

Exhaustion hit hard today and with all the construction guys having a much needed day off, it was hard not to panic when another truckload of plants were delivered this morning. The light at the end of the tunnel was snuffed out promptly as paths filled up with plants and bedlam ensued all over again. My goal today was to finish the planting in the calm of a construction free day, but after looking at the plants for an hour with no progress, I headed for strong coffee and then just waited for the delivery of the fairy grotto. It was great to see it in place and imagine the sheer delight the kids are going to have in this garden...

The florist girls, Sandra and Jude, arrived this morning but couldn't start the back wall of the shed yet. They need more holes made in the tin and it requires an angle grinder that i don't have a license to drive. Schedules were rearranged and a priority list done as yet more creative solutions came to the fore. I left mid afternoon with eyes firmly on my bed and my mind on a quick solution for a table in our heart garden. I don't even want to think about tomorrow and have no energy to download photos tonight.

I hope tomorrow goes to plan. I so hope tomorrow goes to plan...

4 days to go : BUILD DAY 8

While there's so much that's been achieved today it's selfishly the fabulous massage from Phil Johnson's on site masseur that has given me the most relief. I am so very grateful for his caring camaraderie on a day where my back just didn't want me out of bed.

We have no photos today - it was dark when I left today and I just plain forgot. The picture would be spectacular though, perhaps giving too much away at this late stage of the build. You really must come and see it for yourself because this truly talented, committed team has created something that may just change how you live your life. There really is something for everyone in this garden.

The stonewallers were on site today, creating the heart shaped drystone walls for the last time. All that practise enabled the best to come out today; the final piece of the puzzle. Absolutely beautiful work boys! The Arbour boys delivered a magnificent sales hut out of a 3 metre diameter rainwater tank today, the bench a work of art in itself and created with such care and artistry. Craig put together the first of the twig fences,while Dan slogged through the sand dune retaining wall finishing. Stewart had a lovely surprise with the red corrugated tin wall at the back of the shed - closer inspection will reveal all and delight! Once again the Swinburne team of lecturers gave it their all with their students and we worked like a well oiled team.

Now for sleep! Short but sweet!

5 days to go : BUILD DAY 7

Swinburne university students descended in hoards this morning, along with the teachers I have come to know well during the planning of this epic adventure. I'm totally impressed with all of them as they throw themselves into the spirit of creating the vision we've all embraced.

It's a challenge to keep out of each other's way so we're all grateful for the size of the site.

The BBQ draws a crowd

The Arbour boys had the roof finished this morning - beautifully trimmed in an arc at the front by Stewart with a very noisy grinder. The possums must be very tired by now I think. Today's teams included Sandra and Mim on the shed pergola. While Rohan was up at the nursery frantically collecting twigs that had been left behind on this morning's truck run, Mim and Sandra played around with twigs and dried leaves woven into the wire frame Anthony had created. After much discussion and considered review of the first panel, we decided to ditch the idea and let the beautiful shed just shine on its own. If anyone needs kindling I believe Rohan can help you out there! (sorry!)

Mim and Sandra working on the pergola

Meanwhile, the horticulture team worked on the kid's tunnel. Acacia 'Lime magik' is now tied together into a low, narrow tunnel that will absolutely delight any children who come to the show - that's if there's any room left around all of us looking for some light hearted fun.. The planting around the tunnel proved to be a difficult mix to get just right, but a few committed students and then just one, stuck with it till I finally declared it was done. We were creating a loose foliage picture and it's easy to create a mess of nothingness if the combination isn't quite right! Phew! onto the next area tomorrow..

The Arbour boys were working on the sand dune wall today, blending it into a run of sticks in the sand that will become our treasure posts. These are my way of honouring the collected fascinations of children and engaging them back into the garden. Shells, seed pods, cones and twigs have been collected and painted, then tied together in ropes by Anthony's wife Paula and a band of local children. They will adorn posts throughout the garden as treasures at a spot in time.

The coastal garden needed a seat, the subject of much discussion and brainstorming with Stewart over the last couple of months. I believe a really relaxed coastal garden has many elements that are created with found objects, quite different to what can be found in shops. i spotted a torturous log on the ground this morning that Stewart hadn't mentioned recently and thought it might be time to find out where he planned to use it. Turns out this was his treasure, one he hoped I hadn't noticed that could slink back into the Ute when it was all over.

Within half an hour it had potential as a rocking bench seat with an arm on one side. 4 long branches later and a few screws... All it needs now is some comfy pillows at the end! This man is an artist with a chainsaw! I love it!

The rocking bench gets a test drive

Our fabulous teams of students achieved so much today, so a very tired bunch of people went home feeling like we broke the back of it today. What a great feeling to have caught up! Tomorrow Ben's team of stone walling students will create the heart garden walls, a beautiful reflection of the lovely granite walls going up across from us on Phil Johnson's site. Australian gardens herald the entrance to the show gardens this year and it really is a stunning sight for sore eyes!

Today's team - what a bunch!

6 days to go: BUILD DAY 6

We're halfway there but if this was a mountain, we'd be keenly looking for the way down right now. There's some crumpled looking bodies arriving in the mornings, mine included, needing many shots of caffeine before any reasonable decisions are made. I think in athlete's terms this is hitting the wall. We're all using muscles over and over again that continue to be shocked from the day before's insults, yet we're starting to see it come alive and are immensely proud at the same time. It really is a marathon.

Gorgeous plants everywhere starting to come together

Our site is heaving from deliveries of plants, mulch, sand, rock, timber... it goes on and on. We try to locate each one in the place we will use it, but seem to be relocating things constantly anyway. Kris and I are racing to get plants in position so we can get more room for more of them in the holding area. It's amazing how many disappear into each little area. All credit to the guys at the nurseries growing these though - it's been spread across 3 but the absolute bulk of it has been grown at Humphris Nursery in Mooroolbark. Kris and I worked on a planting plan to approximate numbers with no real conviction that it would work out like that. We organised the deliveries to be placed on trolleys designated for each area, but have found that we are mixing it all up anyway. Some things are working as we imagined and others just aren't. Somehow though, the amazing dispatch and nursery teams at Humphris have positively jumped into action with every frantic call for something different to be delivered 2 hours ago. This isn't easy to achieve I know, it's not easy to rustle up trucks at a moment's notice when stores all over Australia need their deliveries as well. I hope when every member of the huge Humphris team visit their stand and see how exquisitely beautiful their plants look in this setting, they'll forget the agony of the last little while and just feel really proud of themselves. Kate has taken on an enormous job in the Humphris office, slipping in to manage the administration side of this whole display and the mountain of paperwork it creates. I remember my first year at the show and the wall of forms that looked like wallpaper with red deadlines all over them. A daunting start to every day until it was over. Without these magnificent plants we don't have a garden though, and because of them, we have something really special. thanks team Humphris!

The Arbour elf

Today's build started with rain and more rain, but luckily it cleared quickly and they guys could get on with putting up the beam that arrived today, then finish the roof of the shed. Stewart got to play with his blowtorch to age it quickly - having way too much fun with the fire extinguisher close by. We had his team of students with us this morning, and they were great helping me move the massive trees that arrived yesterday. The flooring is at a grinding halt while more fence palings were sourced, so we got them going on the framework for the sales tanks. Each cut down rainwater tank will be packed with either plants or flowers for sale, so we're building a false bottom for them to sit on.

Meanwhile, the Arbour team were up on the roof with Stewart finishing off the sheeting. It looks so amazing from the hill behind the heritage listed parterre garden - the photo shows the wave shape and the stunning colours of the tin. Later today they got going on the retaining wall for the sand dune - part of the coastal garden area. I'm looking forward to filling the sand dune up tomorrow and getting the horticulture student team working on the planting of it. It's going to look fantastic with the gorgeous yellow beached boat at the end. We're aiming to have the sand dune done and the family garden done tomorrow - a big day again, but we all need to tick some things off! The BBQ has arrived, I'll find a salad and get some music organised - morale is everything as people get tired and the best way to boost it is have some fun!

The shed from the back with parterre in front.

7 days to go ; BUILD DAY 5

Morale boosting egg and bacon rolls were a hit this morning as the fatigue of hard worked muscles hit home. On to the second day of difficult roofing tasks and slower than liked progress. Still, it's the way of the garden show and necessity forces re-thinking of the remaining structures that must still be built. Find an easier, quicker way and we all sleep better tonight. All deliveries of home cooked food gratefully accepted at stand A69 - fuel seems to work wonders! Anthony has come up with a quicker way to get through the retaining wall for the sand dune, so a hurried order is compiled for Mitre 10 and Rohan is diverted to pick it up.

John taking a break to call home... so much to do

We have the Swinburne building students led by John with us today. As they arrive it's great to see the eager anticipation of the whole stand in their eyes. They built the base of this shed and have great ownership in the construction. Today their task is to lay fence paling floorboards - none of them the same size. I'm amazed at the meticulous preparation and finish - it just looks fantastic! Attention to detail is giving us such great results with this pre loved material. By the time they head for home, we have 2/3 of the flooring down and a good part of the back wall is now clad with old corrugated iron in a beautiful patina of creme to red dripping over silver. We've got some keen ones wanting to head back on the weekend on their days off to help with the finishing off - that's great!

Beautiful patinas and textures under the bar

Anthony's Arbour team slug away diligently at the rotten roof all day, taking a break every now and then to carve up the edges of the ply path base and screw fixing plates in every corner. The ply is popping up from the moisture and is looking like sun dried fruit squares. We're struggling to control it into a flat surface to walk on!

Some green bits in the background and the path ply on its way

I've managed to get some planting done today with Kris. We have started on the kid's tunnel - made from a weeping acacia called "Lime Magik'. It looks great and it's hard to keep everyone out of it today while we create the arches. Gary from Bentsticks dropped in this morning too, checking out the backdrop for the fairy grotto and mapping out the base. We'll see him again on Monday to install it and expect the fairies to move in an hour later.

The end of the day sees Stewart hallucinating that one of our plant sales tanks is a spa and could even be comfortable. Good grief! Such a long way to go and so much perilous mental health parading in front of me...

8 days to go; BUILD DAY 4

The shed from the upper walk

There's lots of action around us today as most of the other landscape sites are started and deliveries arrive in earnest. There's plenty of interest and admiration for the shed and the boys are rightly proud of what they've achieved so far. We've got a problem to solve though, as we're 1 beam short for the end wall. It will finish off the end nicely and will be quicker than packing the gap between the tin roof and wall top with small pieces of timber. Sourcing proves difficult though as these massive 9 metre beams are cut on demand and we need it today. Many phones are running hot as contacts are massaged and pleading is done. Eventually Anthony strikes gold with a source nearby who will have one ready for us tomorrow. Fantastic!

Anthony looks intent on working it out

Today's tasks for the boys involve the shed roof. We're keen to get the tin on by tonight to give the students free reign to get the fence paling floorboards down tomorrow. Stewart has had some hardwood timber battens lying in a pile at home for years, so they've been prised out of his hoard to make an appearance on the roof. Stewart says he's been saving them for something just like this. I think he's been just saving them. They're the perfect colour though to complement his tractor distressed Oregon beams, so he's happy to let them go... for now. He's got space in the backyard for more stuff now and it's only a matter of time.

Stewart's precious roof battens... Make sure you see the roof from the upper walk - it's a wave!

Natural bracing and old methods of fixing..

Rohan has managed to get some of the plywood down that forms the base for all the paths, making it easier to clean up at the end. We've found a way to vastly reduce the amount of material we use for the paths by putting in a garden bed in front of the shed and having a ramp in only one place. It deals with the height issue off the ground and means we only have to build it up in one place. We've also decided to replace much of the granite toppings with a mulch path. Not as easy to negotiate with a pusher, but much easier to pull it up afterwards and it can be recycled. So the plywood goes down so we can drive a bobcat onto the site later and pick it all up easily. I think it might be going to the bushfire area which is great news.

The plants started arriving today by the trolley load - there's so much to do now it's a little overwhelming. We can barely find places to park all the trolleys and have to keep an eye on where they all go so the paths are kept clear to work on.

Gardens like this don't happen without the foresight of major sponsors, and this one is no different. Heading up our group, the ones who approached me some 12 months ago, are Humphris Nursery. This family wholesale business develops amazing plants for wholesale to nurseries under labels like Garden Assets and Coolabah. Austraflora are another sponsor who have developed the 'King in the Garden' range of plants for Melissa King, represented in our heart garden. In the shed and cafe you'll find magnificent cut flowers from Austem, all passionate companies embracing and celebrating the uniqueness of Australian Flora at MIFGS through this garden 'Imagine'. We're all grateful for the opportunity to be a part of their vision!

Tomorrow we'll start work on the kid's garden planting area. The fairy master, Gary, is coming in the morning to see the location he's got for the fairy grotto, so I want those plants in place early. so much to do, so many sore muscles, so little sleep...

BUILD DAY 3: 9 days to go

It's been a long hard day today for the team and slower progress than they anticipated. It's a difficult thing though, building a structure as complex as a huge shed with no centre poles and a curved front, using tree trunks as posts and no concrete to stabilise anything. On top of that, every part of the construction is being done with an eye on easy dismantling, as we only have 3 1/2 days to get out of the park when this is over.So, as a result, what appears a simple task one day may turn out to be a long and involved marathon the next day. We plan what we think might happen, but often it doesn't and rolling with a flexible attitude is crucial.


Today the boys thought they might get the roof pretty much finished. The beams were all up but one - some are 9 metres long and just so very heavy. It looks fantastic with the roof fanning out from a lower back roof height - like a giant fan shell broadcasting to the world. The tree trunk posts all have a bend in the same place, so it's like a wave in the front profile - just so full of character! The last wall is up with its huge window that will be filled with a fantastic floral window box from Sandra.

The team and I in front of the shed with its new beams.

I'm just relieved to see it coming together so beautifully like the picture in my head, but even better. That's due to Stewart grasping exactly what effect I was after and just adding to it with his technical skill. He's quite artistic too actually and can recreate an effect in a very creative way. When the Oregon beams first arrived at the Uni landscape yard, they looked brand spanking new and beautifully square. The first thing Stewart did was tie a chain around them and one by one, he dragged them around a paddock on the back of a tractor, inflicting dents, chips and a great colour. Somehow they seem to have seen a bit of fire damage too but I don't want to know too much about that. Now they look so old they are genuine looking reclaimed timber. I'm sure there was some 9 metre beams out there somewhere that already had this reclaimed attribute, but we couldn't find them. So he made them and they're fabulous. Now we need one more than planned, and that's going to cause a problem. I suspect tomorrow morning I'll be attached to the phone.

Tomorrow has to see the roofing battens finished and the roofing iron on, or we won't be ready for the students to do the floor on Tuesday. I just hope the rain stops at 7am tomorrow!

10 days to go : BUILD DAY 2

It was a beautiful sight this morning as I arrived laden with long bolts for the posts; the boys had the whole floor ply finished, the holes and sand bases finished ready for placing the bar, and the back wall frames were up. The first front post was going up and the scaffolds had arrived. Wow! It's an enormous amount of detailed work, framing up the boxes to hold up the posts. Remember, we haven't dug a hole, there's no concrete and these posts are 3.5 metres tall. It required some engineering to make sure nothing would fall down, but now it needs time to make every box to sit under floor level, solid enough to hold these posts firmly. The work on the shed will slow down now as all the prefabricated elements are in, and now we build everything from scratch.

The wall frames are up, ply is down and the first post is going in.

As the tree trunks I call our posts start slotting into their housings, we keep an eye on Phil's crane across the road and think it might be a safer bet than using the Manitou to place the bar. It's the next thing into the shed, but its location is too far in from the side of the floor for the load to be extended out safely. The manitou will tip over if it reaches that far with 2 Tonne on the end. I go and have a friendly chat to Phil, up to his eyeballs in boulders but still gracious enough to help us out. He comes over and helps us get organised to roll the crane onto the site over heavy plastic boards that protect the tree roots from compaction. Finally, we're ready to lift the slab of timber that is our bar.

The bar is lifted with Phil's crane, starting its journey into the shed.

Once the crane has it in the air, the boys fly into action to roll the legs, a couple of beefy tree trunks, onto the floor in the sand boxes that have been prepared. They aren't light and require some quick ramps to be arranged while everyone gets behind and pushes them up. Finally, they're in place in roughly the same position as they were in Benalla. The crane lowers the slab onto the legs and with a little adjustment, Stewart's spirit level announces no beer will be spilt. We've got it right...

The slab is picked up and teeters into the garden

The 'legs' are rolled into the sand boxes in the floor


Finally, the slab of red gum is lowered onto the legs.

The day is warming up with searing sun now making a spot in the shade difficult to find. We're all keen to get a roof on the shed so we can work in shade. The team keep going on the posts, and by the time I leave, most are in position and it's looking good. Stewart spent time finding just the right trunks with branching at the top to form natural bracing. It really is a masterpiece, this shed.

INTRODUCING THE TEAM:

Anthony, our foreman from Arbour Constructions


Stewart, Swinburne building teacher extraordinaire

Dan, future apprentice of the year

Craig, team leader (and new dad)

Tim, future apprentice of the year

Tomorrow, the roof beams go on and preparations will be made for battening out, ready for the tin on top. Lots to do..... A great team!

11 days to go, BUILD DAY 1

We're on site at last, more than a year after I was approached to design this garden and some 9 months after the first construction meetings at Swinburne Uni. It's a big moment for the whole team, relieved now that we can just get on with the show.



Protecting the lawn & marking out

Today the entire site was covered in fabric to protect the lawn from damage. Kris and I marked out the placement for the shed using all the measurements plotted on the computer. It's so important to get the shed in exactly the same position as we pegged it out in 6 months ago, as the floor panels have been made to fit the slope snugly. It all goes to plan and there's only 50mm of packing required in a few places. What a credit to the Swinburne team for getting that so precise by recreating the slope in their landscape yard.




The shed floor goes down and sales tanks arrive


Across the road from us another huge site is being mapped out by Phil Johnson and his team - another natural wonderland of Australian bush is being created over there, with massive rocks being craned in. We compete for crane space as our deliveries start rolling in. First, the rainwater tanks that form our plant sales area, along with the eucalyptus branches we'll make a pergola from. Then the bar arrives, our massive 2 tonne slab of red gum. It gets parked in the coastal garden ready to be moved in place with a Manitou - like a forklift.





The bar arrives on the crane truck

Meanwhile, the boys are working hard on the shed floor, getting the ply base down and the back posts up. Everyone is pretty happy with what's been achieved in one day and they head home ready for a big day tomorrow.

12 days to go

Our last day at Swinburne before we move to the Carlton Gardens was frenetic with activity, final decisions, packing up materials and a healthy dose of nervous anticipation. A trip through the landscape yard at the Wantirna site would leave most confused, but it all makes perfect sense to us.

The shed framework isn't finished, but the team have done as much as they can. I haven't seen Stewart's lovingly sourced tree trunk posts in place at the front of the shed, but will soon enough. I'm glad we could finally make use of all the timber lying around at the nursery and show it in its gnarled, lichen covered natural form. The timber in our stand shows a real journey when you think about it. We have trees in pots, like the exciting new dwarf Lemon Scented gum - Scentuous, we'll have branches of lemon scented gum hanging from the eucalyptus pergola, we have fallen eucalyptus trunks and limbs creating most of the structural elements of the garden and finally, the showpiece red gum bar stretching 5 metres long and almost 2 metres in diameter. The bar is a simple affair - a 2 tonne slab that is only half of the fallen red gum found on a property in Benalla. It was cut by a portable mill on site a few years ago, so is weathered well but now beautifully figured where bark once protected it. I think it's going to look like a good bed towards the end of next week.

The bar on a property in Benalla

Floral installations are important in our shed as native cut flowers take centre stage there. There has been many changes to the design over the last few months as positioning of different elements were finalised. Yesterday we were planning on cutting holes in the corrugated tin lining of the shed and having flowers spill out of the holes like nature has reclaimed this old barn, but today they will be hanging arrangements spilling out of palm husks. It'll save us some time on site, but also be a beautiful natural effect I think. Sandra is a creative master and loves to work on the edge I think. But then, often at these shows, the best ideas come towards the end of the build as improvisation kicks in and the artist emerges through the fatigue. The trick is to be open and run with it, having fun along the way

.

The new dwarf Lemon Scented Gum

Well, my jobs for today are long - chasing scaffolding for the shed roofing and pergola, working on the delivery schedules, finalising work plans and printing the layout plan in multiple layers as we'll mark it out on site tomorrow. We're fortunate to get an early start on site due to the cranes and heavy deliveries that would otherwise hold everyone else up on Monday. Our site is right next to the central fountain in the gardens so if we block the road, no-one will be able to get to the other sites.

The boys are loading the BBQ today with the shed packed in pieces. It will slink down into Melbourne before dawn tomorrow and the birth of our show garden begins. Here we go....

14 days to go...

The shed is up! We have wall framing and floor ply and everything! The size of the thing on the ground is just amazing and really illustrates how huge this garden is. The Arbour boys - Anthony, Craig, Tim & Dan - spent the day working like trojans with Stewart, getting the wall framing done and up with the back posts in place ready for the roof. It's not going anywhere and will be safer to stand in than the old exhibition building.

The shed floor, braced to strengthen the whole structure Arbour's Anthony & Tim

It was a positive hive of activity at Swinburne, with the shed going up at the rear of the landscape yard, a stone walling practise session going on in front, and wine barrels being doctored inside another shed. The wall is forming the left side of a heart shape , for the 'King in the Garden' area of the stand. This is a garden to showcase a range of native plants chosen by Melissa King from Gardening australia. Melissa is a gorgeous, warm hearted, very genuine garden lover and to hear her speak passionately about these plants makes it clear that she really believes in them. So I've taken the heart shape she uses to sign her i in Melissa, and repeated it all over her garden area. I think she's got a heart of gold and that's appropriate. It's so easily lost in business and I really value it.

The curly stone wall - 1st try Ben's stone walling class working it out

So, our wall is the left side of the heart, and a lovely curved seat forms the right side. The wall is to be made in drystone fashion, starting at 400mm high, descending to ground level with a bit of artistry at the end. We worked on the artistry this day at Swinburne and the results were great! No doubt about it though, practise makes a better wall and these students know it now.

Ben creating artistry for the end stone

The wine barrel tables for the cafe also got some work this week and we've worked out what height the grevilleas need to sit at inside them. Sandra, the floristry whizz, will create centrepieces around the tops of the tables with these amazing hugs gumnuts brought over from Adelaide. These are going to be something else! Thanks Yarra Burn!

19 days to go..

8,500 plants have been ordered today from the nursery. They'll be trucked in from various sites depending on how large they are. Huge 4 metre high trees have been grown for us on one site in 1 metre wide bags of soil. We'll need forklifts to shift them into place, so they will go onto the site in the first few days of the build. Kris has worked hard today on our CAD program to work out how many of each we need - it's a rough guide planting plan that will have plenty of artistic interpretation when we get on site. We need something to direct the horticulture students who are helping us though, and to enable the nursery to load the plants in trolleys specifically for the right area of the garden.

One of our advanced Eucalyptus in flower

I feel like we're rehearsing an opera of thousands to be played out on a postage stamp.

Transrock have delivered walling rock to Swinburne today - a beautiful new product called yellow mud stone will form a heart shaped garden bed and a lovely curvy wall in the contemporary garden where the new King in the Garden range of plants will be shown. The Swinburne stone walling students will practise the build of the wall over the next 10 days, sort the rock and pack it onto pallets that make sense to how they will construct it on site. The walls are one of the last things to go in because the students are only in this class once a week, so our construction order is being worked to include them in as much as possible. I'm sure Ben, their teacher, will guide the team like a well oiled machine on the day.

Transrock's yellow mud stone - soon to be drystone wall with attitude

I have a few things to organise tomorrow before spending the day at Swinburne with the entire team. Many of the retaining walls in eucalyptus branch and corrugated iron will be constructed next week, so a review of details is on the agenda. We have some new signage from the sponsors that must be included safely without digging a hole and because sub contractors are involved, we have to pin down the right day for them to come in.

Tomorrow the shed walls will go up, and I'll be able to stand in the structure for the first time. I'll be going over the details of the floral wall with Sandra, our Swinburne floristry teacher. Sandra's group of students will also be helping her construct a pergola across the front of the shed in dried gum nuts and the like - some 12 metres long. Floral exhibits are usually confined to the Exhibition building during the show, so this is something special that we'll have such a cutting edge display in an outdoor garden.

The Yarra Burn winery have supplied our fabulous full size (not full with wine sadly..) wine barrels that form the tables in our cafe. This idea was a family affair, hatched at Robe while catching up with my brother and father one weekend. There was a wine barrel table in the caravan park, and I was nutting out with them how to have a table with a standard grevillea growing up through the middle without it falling over. Dad remembered the wine barrels and so the glass of EB Red Pepper Shiraz was abandoned (criminal really) to go and check them out. The details were finessed somewhat in the course of the evening to hatch what is now a wonderfully quirky growing table that quite a few would like to see in their BBQ areas. Tomorrow I get to see one pretty much finished and that's going to be fun..

Plotting the growing table while the Shiraz breathes...

Have I mentioned the 2 tonne slab of red gum that's being craned in as our bar? Tomorrow perhaps..