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| Credit crunch Chelsea prunes budget | Credit crunch Chelsea prunes budget |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| By Marie Jackson BBC News, Chelsea Flower Show | By Marie Jackson BBC News, Chelsea Flower Show |
| There was talk last year of one of Chelsea's show gardens costing £800,000 - think Fred the Shred's pension and add a little extra for a water feature. | There was talk last year of one of Chelsea's show gardens costing £800,000 - think Fred the Shred's pension and add a little extra for a water feature. |
| Nothing but the best, you might think, for this world-famous spectacle of nature at its most primped and preened, with an audience that includes the Queen, Rod Stewart, Stephen Fry and the world's press. | Nothing but the best, you might think, for this world-famous spectacle of nature at its most primped and preened, with an audience that includes the Queen, Rod Stewart, Stephen Fry and the world's press. |
| This year though, the annual flower show has a very different feel. | This year though, the annual flower show has a very different feel. |
| Talk is about how designers have managed to create beautiful, eye-catching gardens on a budget, using their imaginations instead of their cheque-books. | Talk is about how designers have managed to create beautiful, eye-catching gardens on a budget, using their imaginations instead of their cheque-books. |
| Like an accountant, a good designer should save you money, not end up making you spend more Sarah Eberle, garden designer | |
| For organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), there were some nerves early on that the event might take a knock from the recession. | For organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), there were some nerves early on that the event might take a knock from the recession. |
| Sales of tickets, priced at up to £43 for a day, were slow to get going, but all 157,000 are now sold out. | Sales of tickets, priced at up to £43 for a day, were slow to get going, but all 157,000 are now sold out. |
| Show manager Alex Baulkwill thinks people have become so fed up with the recession, they are looking for a way to escape "all that horrid stuff". | Show manager Alex Baulkwill thinks people have become so fed up with the recession, they are looking for a way to escape "all that horrid stuff". |
| More significantly, some sponsors had to pull out, meaning the number of show gardens is down to 13 from 22 last year. | More significantly, some sponsors had to pull out, meaning the number of show gardens is down to 13 from 22 last year. |
| Designer Sarah Eberle was among those to feel the hit. The former Chelsea gold medal winner had been set to create one of her showpieces - until her sponsors dropped out. | Designer Sarah Eberle was among those to feel the hit. The former Chelsea gold medal winner had been set to create one of her showpieces - until her sponsors dropped out. |
| Instead, the RHS asked her to take the credit crunch as inspiration for a very different type of garden. | Instead, the RHS asked her to take the credit crunch as inspiration for a very different type of garden. |
| Artists and bankers | |
| "I had thought about 'the repossessed garden' - rolled up and stuffed in a corner - but the topic's a little too close to the bone," she jokes. | "I had thought about 'the repossessed garden' - rolled up and stuffed in a corner - but the topic's a little too close to the bone," she jokes. |
| Instead, the result is three imagined front gardens, belonging to the overdrawn artist, the off-shore dweller and the banker who's hit hard times. | Instead, the result is three imagined front gardens, belonging to the overdrawn artist, the off-shore dweller and the banker who's hit hard times. |
| James May and Sarah Eberle talk us around thier creations. | |
| In the artist's space, a stand for an old Singer sewing machine takes the place of a garden table and a box of home-grown vegetables awaits a passing buyer. | In the artist's space, a stand for an old Singer sewing machine takes the place of a garden table and a box of home-grown vegetables awaits a passing buyer. |
| The off-shore garden might appeal to a certain Conservative MP - a tidal moat allows the owner to keep unwanted attention at bay. | The off-shore garden might appeal to a certain Conservative MP - a tidal moat allows the owner to keep unwanted attention at bay. |
| Meanwhile, the banker's front garden is a playground of sorts - sculpted wooden dice sit alongside an old boot and an iron, pieces from the Monopoly board game. | Meanwhile, the banker's front garden is a playground of sorts - sculpted wooden dice sit alongside an old boot and an iron, pieces from the Monopoly board game. |
| The bill for labour and materials came in at £15,000, a stark contrast to Sarah's usual £300,000 budget. | The bill for labour and materials came in at £15,000, a stark contrast to Sarah's usual £300,000 budget. |
| "You can't say I will solve it with money," says Sarah, who relied on her imagination to stay on budget. | "You can't say I will solve it with money," says Sarah, who relied on her imagination to stay on budget. |
| "Like an accountant, a good designer should save you money, not end up making you spend more," says Sarah. | "Like an accountant, a good designer should save you money, not end up making you spend more," says Sarah. |
| 'Swap shop' | 'Swap shop' |
| Peter Dowle, who built the gardens, said the budget had forced them to think laterally when it came to problem solving. | Peter Dowle, who built the gardens, said the budget had forced them to think laterally when it came to problem solving. |
| "It's amazing what you can pull together," he said. | "It's amazing what you can pull together," he said. |
| The pair say they have begged and borrowed, even lifting materials from their own gardens to feature in the displays. And they are not alone. | The pair say they have begged and borrowed, even lifting materials from their own gardens to feature in the displays. And they are not alone. |
| Show manager Alex Baulkwill says there has been such a demand among designers to work together and keep costs down that a swap shop was set up on the site where palettes of ballast were being exchanged for bags of topsoil. | Show manager Alex Baulkwill says there has been such a demand among designers to work together and keep costs down that a swap shop was set up on the site where palettes of ballast were being exchanged for bags of topsoil. |
| Deborah Jasper is optimistic sales will be strong | Deborah Jasper is optimistic sales will be strong |
| But not everyone's been forced to count the pennies. | But not everyone's been forced to count the pennies. |
| The recent trend to grow your own in these straitened times and spend more time at home has seen sales of plants, seeds, and tools flourish. | The recent trend to grow your own in these straitened times and spend more time at home has seen sales of plants, seeds, and tools flourish. |
| Fallen Fruits, a tools and wildlife products supplier based in Ludlow, has had a bumper year already. | Fallen Fruits, a tools and wildlife products supplier based in Ludlow, has had a bumper year already. |
| Deborah Jasper puts that down to people spending more time at home and enjoying their gardens. | Deborah Jasper puts that down to people spending more time at home and enjoying their gardens. |
| She is expecting their sixth year at the show to be no less profitable than previous years, thanks to foreign visitors taking advantage of the weak pound. | She is expecting their sixth year at the show to be no less profitable than previous years, thanks to foreign visitors taking advantage of the weak pound. |
| Even the higher-end market is optimistic. Elizabeth and Charles Durrant from family business Wilverley are hoping for a repeat of last year when they sold 30 swinging garden sofas. | Even the higher-end market is optimistic. Elizabeth and Charles Durrant from family business Wilverley are hoping for a repeat of last year when they sold 30 swinging garden sofas. |
| Their products are certainly well showcased in the unexpected early morning sunshine, and if the weather holds, so should their sales. | Their products are certainly well showcased in the unexpected early morning sunshine, and if the weather holds, so should their sales. |