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Can you help Chelsea bid?
Rosa Steppanova


THE SHETLAND Croft House Garden in aid of Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association at Chelsea is set to become a reality, and the countdown to the show has begun.

There are just 107 days left to source all the materials needed, and to grow every plant until it reaches its state of perfection for 18th of May, the day the Chelsea judges arrive with their notepads and pens.

The driving force behind the project is Martin Anderson MBE, founder member of MNDA and a trustee for 20 years.

The garden has been designed by Sue Hayward who specialises in landscape and heritage design.

Precision work is called for, as the individual plots at the world-famous flower show only measure 5m long by 4m wide.

The façade of a typical Shetland croft house, a small yard for vegetables, shrubs and flowers, a fence, a table holding alpines, and a piece of wild Shetland complete with a small burn have to be fitted into this very limited space.

The first Shetland plants are now on their way to Nottingham University where they'll be grown on under ideal climatic conditions, either gently forced in heated glasshouses or slowed down artificially to bring them into flower at exactly the right time.

Most plants have been sourced by now but three are still on the wanted list. The MNDA team is looking for "Peruvian lily" (Alstromeria aurea), "Australian daisy" (Senecio smithii), also known as Magellan ragwort, and yellow turk's cap lily (Lilium pyrenaicum).

If you have a good clump or a mature specimen of these plants, here's a chance to feature it centre stage at the Chelsea Flower Show in May. It is important that the Australian daisy is free from rust disease, which shows up as a bright orange deposit on the back of the leaves after midsummer.

Before the planting of a show garden can even be thought about, the hard landscaping must be completed. There's still one vital component missing: The crofthouse façade. Martin and his team are looking for a section of wall that contains the opening for a door, and for one window. The idea is to catalogue every single stone prior to dismantling, ship it all south, and reassemble it at Chelsea.

If you have a building that fits the bill, you could make it famous. It's name, location, and brief history will feature in the show's brochure, together with your name, and if you want, your building will be restored to you, stone by stone, after the event.

And now for the final, and rather unusual, item on the Chelsea Wanted List. If you know of an abandoned crow's nest, preferably one that contains some coloured rope or twine, and a few bones, it could make a rather interesting addition to the Croft House Garden's elder tree.

All donations of plants or other materials will be acknowledged, and free tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show are available for all donors. The show is open to the public from Tuesday, 20th to Saturday 24th of May.

*If you can help with any of the wanted items please email The Shetland Times at editorial@shetland-times.co.uk or contact Martin Anderson on 07988 786288, Sue Hayward on 07966 521376, or Rosa Steppanova on (01595) 810454.