You may have seen the work of Su Blackwell as it's been featured in a few newspapers recently. Its beautiful and I love the underlying rule that what comes off the page has to have been there to start with, no paper is added. What drew me to this piece was that I have just finished making a scale model of our submission for Chelsea 2010 and had to make two trees. I used straws, and they were pathetic. However I had seen my model as something to help me work with and resolve the design and it has evolved a bit during and since I made it. I like the idea of it being almost a piece of sculpture, but I won't be remaking mine and I will just look in awe at how good a paper tree can look.

The submission for Chelsea went off today. Comprising 5 sheets of drawings outlining what the design is about and 4 sets of forms. The RHS are very methodical and all design work has to have an accompanying brief, costing information, statement of ecological consideration and of course a general application form.

To try and demystify the process of show gardens and dissolve the impression that they seemingly appear every May on a field in Chelsea, I will describe the process of putting a show garden together.

Of the forms mentioned, the trickiest (for me at least) is the one that asks for the brief behind the submitted garden. What this means is that in the absence of a "real" client, you are required to pretend that the garden has been designed for someone/ some organisation and therefore write down what is in it and why. You might think that a blank canvas is a godsend however in practice what it does is give you an unlimited amount of rope to hang yourself, or at least your design with. The design submitted is judged not only on its aesthetic value but on what is described in the brief. These forms are dusted off next May, when the garden is judged and a critical team appraise the built garden against what you said you would do and what you thought it might look like. There is scope for modification between now and next year but not to much. Changing materials, minor plants is fine, so long as you keep the RHS team informed. Last year when I had to substitute a tree for a shrub, for budget reasons, it was considered to change to the horticultural merit of the garden and meant several emails and calls to reach a compromise. One form asks for the garden to be costed, difficult at this stage as most of the design of water features etc is still a little vague. So "ball-park" figures are given. The design has already had the input of contractors and labour and general building materials have been estimated. The contractor is provisionally booked for the Show. All this is before the RHS actually announce the designs that have been accepted. There is a lot of commitment and effort and in a few months, we might be told that it has all been in vain. For those of you that like to measure things, I have just past the 100hrs mark for time put into this design.

Listening to visitors to Chelsea and other shows, there is a perception that "this year plant schemes should be white and green" or that one plant is in fashion because its seen on several garden ,so more than two occurrences = a trend. Firstly there is no collusion between designers and so any plants that are seen are the individual decisions of those designers. As you now know, those decisions , for me at least and I know that several of the large gardens have also been designed, have already been made. I know what my plant list is (it will appear on the website when I am back from holiday). Coincidence and probability will ensure that some of my decisions are the same as somebody else's, but my decisions are not quite as straightforward as what is best for the garden. Plants for shows, and in particular for the Show Gardens at Chelsea are supplied by a rather small group of very professional and expert nurseries and growers. Having received plant list they will advise on what they can obtain and nurture for the show. If lots of gardens want aquiligeas, they may obtain a limited selection in great quantities and then play with batches of them , holding some back, leaving some outside, hothousing others to ensure enough are in bloom for the show. Despite a specific request we may all only get Ruby Port for instance, which is what seems to have happened this year. It wasn't a trend just market forces. As designers we also tend to bias our selections to plants that we think will be reliably in bloom for the show, which again limits palates. despite what others are doing, my palate for 2010 is moving towards mauves and whites with some deep blues. I wanted a "warm garden for a warming climate" however, having just been prevented from leaving the office due to torrential hail (in July!!) I am doubting if such a scheme is ever going to see the weather to realise its potential.