Day 12

Done!

What a busy day, lots of little loose ends to tie up and cleanup. We’ve managed to stay pretty organized, but our mess pile outside the hedge is ever increasing. The biggest task of the day was edging—no simple task. Wood planks were delivered to our plot by Gigi and we proceeded to saw them in half length-wise. To anchor the edging we also had to make the wooded stakes to screw into. While laying the edging, we discovered that we had prematurely cut short some of the turf quilt squares—ugh! This meant either patching in scrap pieces to extend the squares (not easy), or cut new pieces from our leftovers (which were few and far between). At this point our bodies ached and our backs and knees felt broken, BUT the adrenaline of needing to finish on time kept us going. After installing all of the edging we then added mulch (made of coconut fibers) under the hedge.  

Next major task, quality control. Natalie and Katie made sure the turf on the sides of the berms was securely fastened and that there were no screws poking through the back side. I was in charge of the ground plane. My obsession for perfectly taped squares got the better of me and I ended up ripping out and re-taping several squares, to ensure they were fully secure. After re-taping I started adding 3-1/2” screws into the corners of each square to make sure they wouldn’t pop up. Such rigidity, I feel sorry for whoever has to deconstruct this thing! In the end the squares were very well tacked down. In addition to the screws, in areas of potentially high foot-traffic, I also added lawn stakes along select seams. My hand wore out quacking during that process, but luckily Rod stepped in to help me pound the remaninging ones down.

The last, and most exciting task, was to remove the covering from the gazing globe. WOW—what a fun treat to see how beautifully shiny it was, and without a single scratch. The reflections were just as I imagined—a beautiful mixture of greens from the turf and blues from the sky.

By 4:30 PM we were magically in good shape! Gerard came around for a “final inspection” and that was it—DONE! Gigi came by to lend us the power blower and we made sure all debris was cleared. Once cleared it was photo shoot time!

Truly unbelievable that the design came out exactly as I imagined it. Standing in the garden almost felt like standing right in the SkechUP model. Most delightful was how well the garden photographed. The contrasting colors were studding and most dramatic in overcast skies. I hope the festival visitors are able to get some good pictures, especially of their reflections in the gazing globe.

After we finished ooing and aweing over our beloved Plot 22 we decided to take a final tour of all the different plots and see how they’ve progressed of the past two weeks. We were so busy we hardly paid attention to our neighbors!

In the end a huge sigh of relief and an overwhelming sense of joy. What an amazing experience! This project would never have been possible without the team’s hard work and dedication. We finished on time, without any major trauma or drama to report. Though we are TOTALLY exhausted and extremely sore, we are all in high spirits and thankful to go home tomorrow!

Truly a dream come true. Thank you Rod, Tom, Katie and Natalie! Go team Green! 

Day 11

The little berm is done, yippee!

Day 10

Exhausted!
Mid-morning Gerard stopped by with the garden director, Chantal, and he suggested we add wood edging around the perimeter, next to the base of the hedges. This was not something we had intended to do, but it will look nice once complete, and it will keep gravel and debris from rolling onto the quilt. This design change meant that I had to extend the quilt outwards on two of the sides, making it snug up to the hedge line. Tom shifted gears to help Rod and Katie with the ramp, so Natalie and I spent the afternoon on the ground. We had to replace several of the perimeter squares, which meant adding more scree and ripping up some of the squares that were set yesterday. The berm crew worked hard to add the ramp and the sides. The ramp has been turfed and the sides are ready to be turfed first thing tomorrow. We got a lot accomplished today, go team! Only two more days to go...

Day 9

As expected, it rained over night and into the morning. Not expected, sun at 11:00am and a beautiful afternoon to follow. During breakfast we all decided that we could use a few hours of down time since we were at a good point in construction and at a standstill with wet turf. After 8 days of continuous work a little R&R was much needed! We caught up on emails, did a load of laundry, and a bit of shopping in the Chateau gift shop. By 11 the sun was out and things were starting to dry out. Luckily the turf squares we covered in plastic last night were dry, so Tom and I resumed our production on the turf quilt. Katie and Natalie resumed cutting side slope pieces and Rod finished grading the edges of the plot. We are now laying squares around the backside of the big berm. We lost our original gird lines so we spent some time reestablishing them in order to keep the quilt square.

After lunch, more of the same. With nice weather it's full speed ahead. We are getting close to completing the  berm and the quilt. We are still waiting on a lumber delivery so that we can finish the small berm tomorrow. Gerard told us it will arrive by 10:00am--let's hope.

One of my favorite things about being here, and working outside, are all the amazing sounds. During any given day we hear sawing, digging, drilling, French banter, frogs, an array of songbirds, planes and helicopters from the nearby airfield, and of course GiGi's many tractors.

Day 8

We arrived on site at 8:00am to find the turf covered in frost. It was about 34 degrees--burrrr! It rained overnight and everything was soggy and wet. We manged to find odd jobs around the plot until the sun poked out of the clouds around 9:30. Once the air began to warm up the turf started drying out. Natalie and Katie resumed their daily duties as turf cutting experts, while Tom and I continued laying out the turf quilt. Gigi delivered anothe load of scree and we collectively spread it around te sides and backs of the berms. Rod and Natalie devised an entry threshold strategy for the turf quilt and before we knew it, it was lunch time and we were starving.

After lunch we worked doubly fast knowing rain was in the forecast for tomorrow. Tom and I seamed all the turf pieces in "the infield," and Rod, Natalie and Katie finished wrapping turf around the bench. Both tasks were tricky and tiresome. We worked till 7:30 (2 hours past "closing time") before calling it quits. We piled out our cut turf  pieces together and coverd them in plastic. Hopefully they won't be too soggy tomorrow morning. If it is raining we won't be able to finish the turf quilt around the edges, but we are in pretty good shape.

Progress update: central turf quilt completed, and bench back and seat finished!

(Frozen turf)

(Yippee, the bench looks just like the SketchUp model!)

Day 7

It rained overnight so the turf was soggy and stiff upon our arrival. I worked on laying out the grid while Natalie and Katie continued their pursuits in cutting pieces for the berm side slopes. Meanwhile Rod and Tom completed framing the small berm, then switched gears to help lay the turf. Once all the pieces were in place, ensuring a minimal gap between them, we started to seam them together using turf seaming tape. As with laying carpet or tile, it is very difficult to keep everything straight and square. The tape method went pretty well. Once everything is laid and taped we will go back through and use turf stakes or 3 1/2" screws to tack down all the corners. 

On the weekend we are supposed to stop working at 5:00pm, however with rain on the way we decided to clean up a bit early and head to the chateau for a tour. We've been here a week and have been eagerly waiting for a moment to see the inside. During our walk over to the entrance the rain and wind hit. Taking refuge inside, we had about 45min. to explore before it closed for the day. The chateau dates back to the mid 1400's and has quite a history. Its had many different owners, all of which added their own flair to the architecture and decor of the place. It has a central courtyard that over looks the Loire river and valley--breathtaking views.

Day 6

We are now at the halfway point of our stay here at Chaumont Sur Loire. We slept in this morning and arrived to the plot around 8:30. Unfortunately the rain also decided to arrive at 8:30. The cold, wet air significantly impacts our turf cutting production. The material gets stiff and our chalk lines dissapear. We decided to take cover inside the large berm for about a half hour and wait for the rain to pass. Once the  rain began to let up we proceeded to finalize framing the little berm. We experienced moments of sun and rain off and on all morning. 

Around 11:30 Nataile, Katie and I headed down the hill to the village to scrounge up some lunch supplies. We found a bakery and purchased quiche, a baguette, and crossiants for tomorrow breakfast. Further down the street we found a butcher and were able to buy some hard sausage. Up the hill we went with supplies in hand. Luckily we finished making "the break room" yesterday (the bench) and we were able to eat during a moment of sun.

After lunch we secured the ramps of the large berm and officially applied the turf. We also worked on finalizing the grid for the turf quilt on the ground plane. Yesterday we did a mockup and today we had to get more serious with proper dimensions. Tomorrow we may start officially seaming together the turf quilt. Today we also cut turf for the first side slope. During our mockup we discovered that it will work best to fully wrap the front side slopes in turf before permanently securing the pieces to the framing. Lots of little tricky things to think about and account for. Every piece of the garden has now been started, it's now a matter of finishing up loose ends, and hoping for clear skies.

Progress update: ground plane grid re-established and first test of turf covering on side slopes.

Day 5

The gazing globe has arrived! After an hour spent on the phone with FedEx, I was assured it would arrive Monday. A few hours later GiGi pulls up to the plot with the fork lift and a crate that appears to be a meter wide. Sure enough, the globe. What a welcome site! This last piece completes the ordering of materials and now we have everything we need.

Bench framing continued today. We did a few mockups to test the seat height and width and in doing so realized that the bench faces directly towards the Chateau! I couldn't have planned this if I tried. Though there is a beautiful view now,  unfortunately come summer it will surely dissapear behind the adjacent tree. 

We experienced our first rain today. The temps were variable and we kept layering  and  un-layering our jackets all afternoon. Construction on the small berm began today as well. We roughed in the side slopes and cut the ramp surfaces. Though seemingly simple, the angles on the small berm were causing us fits. Good thing our team has patients of steel!

We worked until 6:00pm and then decided to take a tour of the festival site to see other gardens. There are approximately 5 other teams here right now (from France, Russia, England, and Italy), most of which have been on site for roughly 10 days. There is such a range in designs and materials used, from recycled coffee cans to welded steel canopies. Some plots clearly have a lot of sponsorship--material costs alone surely exceed the $15,000 budget. It's very exciting to be participating in this truly remarkable event!

Meals are not served here over the weekend so we ventured off site and down the hill to the local village. With three choices for food, we settled on a cafe that served Kabobs. A nice way to end and amazing week. The climb back up to the chateau left us nearly breathless, but we were anxious to get to bed and call it a day.

Other plots that have been completed and/or that are still under construction:

(The plot 22 crew heading back to the rooms)