Lynne Allbutt

Diamond Design for RHS Chelsea Flower Show

David Domoney's £20 million garden, Ace of Diamonds,  includes a diamond shaped patio seating area which is reached by a curved path of gold, each paving stone resembling the links in a pendant chain. The whole space is backlit by walls cut from a rock face of Amethyst and Quartz to add a shining luminosity and rainbow effects as light is refracted through.  The jewels are supplied by Bond Street jeweller Leviev and even
he plant list reads like a treasure trove: Hosta ‘Diamond Tiara’, Narcissus ‘Diamond Ring’, Potentilla ‘Gold Finger’, Euonymus ‘Emerald’ and Azalea ‘Snow Pearl’. Also included are plants that have inspired jewellery through the ages, such as thistles (circium) found in Celtic jewellery and plants such as Alchemilla mollis, (ladies mantle) whose leaves hold water droplets that sparkle like tiny diamonds.  “It’s all about ‘Bling’,” enthuses David, “if you were to view it from the sky it would look like a stunning, jewel encrusted necklace.”

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 22.05.10

Gem of a Garden at Chelsea Flower Show

Celebrity TV gardener,  David Domoney unveils his £20 million Show garden, the Ace of Diamonds, at Chelsea Flower Show next week.  In his usual passionate and vibrant manner, he described the design concept.  “Last year I created the Ace of Spades garden which included black decking, mulches and a motorbike; it was quite a masculine space. This year I wanted to throw all of those materials in the skip and create a complete contrast;  more Hollywood, glitzy, glamorous, and feminine.   The garden is sponsored by BMI Diamond Club and we are literally incorporating 20 million pounds worth of gem stones in the design.  Chiltern Marble are supplying wall panels of solid quartz and amethyst at £3,000 a square metre.  There will never be a garden worth more money  displayed at Chelsea,” he adds proudly.
ITV’s This Mornings resident gardening expert confesses that exhibiting at Chelsea is just a small part of a very busy season.  “I am also creating a ‘World Cup Garden’ at the BBC Gardeners World Live in June and the ‘Catwalk in Bloom Garden’ for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in July.  It sounds glamorous but it simply means lots of hours driving and organising,” he shrugs.  “Most designers are heartbroken when their garden is broken down after a Show but it’s just a great release for me as I can concentrate on the next.”
Renowned for his TV garden makeovers, David is currently the only designer creating new gardens for ITV’s 60 Minute Makeovers.  “I create smoke and mirror gardens for TV;” he confesses,  “I think real gardens should reflect their owners.  If you love gnomes, have gnomes.  A garden should make you feel like you are at home with friends.  My own garden is eclectic, every shrub or plant has a history and tells a story.”
The dynamic designer started his horticultural career as a ‘plant hunter’ and buyer for Garden Centres.  “It was fast paced, entertaining and I travelled the World,” he recalls, “one day I would be buying glazed pots from the Dragon Kilns in Vietnam, the next I’d be choosing bulbs from the fields in Holland and maybe the next, buying garden furniture from Italy.  I bought goods for 280 Superstores for over ten years before deciding to become a born again Horticulturist.” 
Despite his garden globe-trotting, one of David’s favourite landscapes is closer to home. “The Welsh countryside is breathtaking ,” he enthuses, “Show Gardens and makeover gardens are all very small; I feel tall and in control in those but I find the Welsh mountains and rock faces humbling; there I am just a very small part of a stunning natural landscape.”
To see some of David’s quick fix garden makeovers pop into www.domoney.tv and to see his ‘gem’ of a Show Garden tune into coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show all this week.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 22nd May 2010

Helen helps Hay Fever Sufferers

  Allergy therapist and reflexologist Helen Sheppard left a career in communication for one in complimentary therapy over ten years ago. During that time she has noticed a marked increase in environmental allergies and food intolerances. “Hay fever, also known a seasonal allergic rhinitis, is an allergy to pollen which affects 1 in 5 adults in the UK and appears to be becoming more prevalent in children.” She explains, “People often associate it literally with hay and grasses and think it’s a summertime problem but tree pollen in spring can also trigger hay fever. An allergy can be defined as an abnormal response by the body’s immune system to anything that can be touched, eaten, drunk, breathed in or injected. I treat a lot of people who have food intolerances or are basically allergic to a type of food they are eating as well as allergies caused by pollutants. Funnily enough, someone suffering from hay fever or asthma will usually have food allergies too.” The clued up complimentary therapist continues, “Whereas symptoms of hay fever are easily recognised as sneezing, a blocked or runny nose and itchy eyes, many symptoms of food allergies or intolerances are normally put down to lifestyle issues such as stress. They can include lethargy, insomnia, anxiety, digestion problems, disruptive behaviour like ADHD and even dyslexia.” Helen explains, “case studies have shown that removing cow’s milk and cheese from a child’s diet actually allowed the brain to more easily identify the difference between letters like b and d, p and q which are commonly confused by dyslexics.” “Clients are tested for allergies by a method known as Touch for Health where certain muscles are tested for weakness which may indicate sensitivity or intolerance to certain foods and/or environmental pollutants.” “Once the Client has been tested, hay fever and other allergies can be treated by desensitising the body to the offending food or pollutant by administering certain homeopathic drops. The patient is later retested, by which time it is hoped that reduced sensitivity will have allowed the patient’s immune system to strengthen and fight for itself naturally.” Pollen allergies are not just experienced by gardeners or people in the countryside. Tree lined avenues and Parks will contribute to high pollen counts in Cities and symptoms are often made worse by diesel fumes and smoke.” “And when you think how far the ash from the Icelandic volcano has travelled you can see how easily pollen is carried over a huge area too.” For more information contact Helen on 01874 665461or email helensheppard9@googlemail.com

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 24th April 10 

How Craig Rowe's Garden Grows

QVC’s popular presenter Craig Rowe hasn’t let his childhood memories spoil his love of gardening.  “I remember helping my Dad do the weeding and cut the grass and as it was so long ago, he just had one of those push mowers that left the grass on the ground.  I had to pick it all up and put it into black bags; I can remember being covered in grass, getting hay fever and my eyes would be streaming,” he recalls humorously, “ but instead of putting me off gardening, an outdoor space has always been really important to me wherever I’ve lived.  I’ve only ever muddled along in my various gardens but since working at QVC I have been inspired by some of the gardening products and have got more into growing things.  I am just about to change my own garden,” he confides, “I am a lazy gardener and not keen on maintaining things.  About 6 years ago the garden was all overgrown and a friend helped me clear it out and dig it over and we planted things and had lovely Grecian pots.  It looked amazing for about 2 weeks and then I realised I would have to maintain it, so a couple of years ago we re-did it, putting down an L-shaped decked area and some gravel which was a bit easier.  I always forget about the garden completely in winter and at this time of year think, ‘Oh no, I’d better do something outside’.  This time I am going to deck it all so I can use it for sunbathing and entertaining and then will just have pots for plants and veg which should be really easy to look after.   I have already got a Monkey Puzzle tree in a pot; I call it Mazie because they are amazing trees.”
 “I grew tomatoes and strawberries last year but the tomatoes died and the birds nicked the strawberries before I could pick them but this year I’m more determined and I’ll be putting my strawberries closer to the house to beat the birds.” he laughs.  “I’ve got a great apple tree at the bottom of the garden which will stay, as I have a lovely crop of apples each year and I’d like a fragrant climber like a jasmine, growing over the fence.  I haven’t got a lot of time to maintain it all and even watering can be a chore sometimes,” he confesses a little nervously “but I do love a nice garden; I enjoy sitting outdoors and appreciating my very own little bit of the Planet.” 
You can follow Craig’s gardening project and other endeavours by visiting  www.qvcuk.com and clicking on Presenter’s Blogs

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column for Western Mail (Media Wales) 17th April 2010

Lynne's Labyrinths

John Flavell, my dowsing mentor,  and I got together this week to create a Labyrinth at a well known Holistic Retreat Centre.  As well as encouraging positive energy into an area, Labyrinths are great for meditation and it is thought that if you focus on a specific problem as you enter the Labyrinth then you will naturally meditate on creating the solution as you focus on following the cleverly designed meandering path to the centre.  Unlike a maze, a Labyrinth consists of one continuous path that will eventually lead you to the centre and back out again with no frustrating dead ends.   We marked ours out with a white-liner (thank you to Crickhowell Rugby Club for the loan) and then mowed the pathway itself for maximum definition.   With considerate mowing it’ll last as long as it is wanted and looks fantastic in its natural parkland setting.   Labyrinths can also be of a more permanent nature by using different materials and methods of construction (as this pictured stone labyrinth shows) and are particularly effective at night when lit by little solar lights.
I later found out that 1st May was actually World Labyrinth Day, a day that brings people from all over the planet together in celebration of the labyrinth as a symbol, a tool, a passion or a practice; just good timing or engineered by greater energies than we will know? You decide.
For more details and great photos of Labyrinths, pop into www.labyrinthsociety.org

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene colunm for the Western mail (Media Wales) 01.05.10

Brown may still be Green

  Don’t worry, that title has nothing to do with Politics, I know my boundaries! 
A lot of shrubs, particularly evergreens suffered badly last winter as it was so cold for so long and Nature’s antifreeze didn’t stop the leaves from freezing and cells being ruptured.  Brown, limp foliage indicated that there had been many recent fatalities in the gardening World but as time goes on and the days warm up, things are not as bad as they first seem.  A lot of shrubs that looked like they were on Death Row actually have new growth coming from the base or near the base and I’m sure they’ll pull through.  We have already given several Hebe’s a rewarding reprieve and a very sad-looking, mature Ceanothus is also making a good recovery.  Deciduous shrubs are also later leafing up this year so be patient with those too and don’t dig anything up unless you are absolutely sure its dead.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 01.05.10

From Field to Fork with Bryn Williams

As Head chef and sole proprietor of Odette’s Restaurant at Primrose Hill in London, Bryn Williams has designed his restaurant garden to provide a tranquil space for diners to relax before they eat.  “People want to forget about the stresses of their day and they see a garden as a little piece of paradise.” Bryn explains.  “Odette’s garden is full of lemon thyme, bay trees, lavender and other herbs.  Clients sit out there with a drink for half an hour and they relax before having a nice lunch or dinner and then they go back out into the big bad World feeling much stronger.” 
“I helped my grandparents cut the grass when I was young but only did it for the money,” he laughs, “ I wish I’d learnt more about gardening then as I could be saving money now by being able to do more of the planting myself.”
“60% of all the herbs we use in the kitchen come from our garden;  so if you are having a Mojito in the summer, the mint will be ours,” he adds proudly.    “The lavender goes really well braised lamb; it can be a bit too floral so we dry it first to concentrate the flavour.    Food is all about flavour.  People put other things first; price, presentation, convenience but they should forget those things and just think about the flavour.  If the flavour is good then the quality will be good.  We use some organic ingredients but only if they taste good not because they’re organic.  Smell your fruit and veg before you buy it, if a strawberry doesn’t smell like a strawberry it won’t taste like one.”
When Denbigh born Bryn won the BBC’s Great British Menu in 2006, he had, famously, used all Welsh ingredients.   “Across the board from dairy to fish, Wales has the finest ingredients Europe has to offer.  Our farmers are unsung heroes and deserve more recognition and support,” he states loyally.  “The fact that there is no motorway from north to south Wales may be a pain but it means there is no pollution and the ground is the most nutritious agricultural land in Europe.  The brilliant thing about Food Festivals across Wales, like the one at the National Botanic Garden this weekend, is that they show people what great food Wales has to offer; people are usually quite surprised.”
“Another great Welsh ingredient is wild garlic as its ready to harvest 2 weeks earlier in Wales than anywhere else in the UK.  I’ll be getting my Dad to pick some and send it up for the restaurant.” he adds proudly.
If you want to experience Bryn’s culinary delights there is still time to book a table at the Gala Dinner on Sunday night as part of the West Wales Food Festival at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.  Call 01558 667130 or visit www.westwalesfoodfestival.com for details of the weekend. Or if you're planning a trip to London, pop into www.odettesprimrosehill.co.uk

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column in the Western Mail (Media Wales) 1.5.10