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Adam, designer of the World Garden,
talks of his involvement with the creation of the World Garden and
discusses the true story behind its beginnings...
"Adam, how did you get to be
involved with the World Garden?"
Tom came to see me one afternoon
at our studio in Eynsford. I was actually looking for a way of meeting
him rather than the other way around as I'd heard about an amazing
idea he had to create a World Garden with plants from around the
world and knew about his incredible story of being held captive in the
jungle. Instead he turned up one afternoon and once he'd explained his
idea for a World Map of plants I was hooked. I knew it could be done
if we ensured the practical side of things was taken care of.
"Was it a challenge working
with Tom Hart Dyke?"
You know Tom! He's very
enthusiastic and I think his energy for the project has really driven
it forward. I sometimes had to steer him away from gimmicks but on the
whole I think we succeeded in getting the idea off the ground.
"You say gimmicks but what
about Ayers Rock?"
That wasn't designed by me! That
was a friend of Tom's who installed it after the first phase of the
garden was finished. Can't say I like it - the whole garden is made up
of natural rock - Ayers Rock isn't, it just doesn't work as a feature.
OK, it's dreadful, but Tom likes it and it's his garden.
"You're one of the original
cast of the first BBC series, "Save Lullingstone Castle" - did you do
just that?"
(Smiles) Yeah, it's something
different to put on the CV isn't it? Saving a historic castle from
bankruptcy isn't your everyday project. It wasn't single handed but
I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to getting the job done so I knew I
had to do some serious problem solving.
" We watched the first series
- do you mean problems like the consultants?"
Admittedly we didn't see eye to
eye. From the start I wasn't convinced either of the "very expensive
consultants" (Guy Hart Dyke's words) really understood the project as
well as myself or the original contractor with whom I was working.
They just didn't seem to get it.
"What was it like being in
front of a television camera for the first series?"
It was quite fun, really. Rather
a novel experience for someone who's never done it before.
"Was it a true reflection of
what really happened in the making of the garden?"
Is it ever?!! You have to smile
when they call it 'reality television'. Reality doesn't always get a
look in.
"Moving on, you mentioned
"the original contractor". Didn't he build the garden?"
No, he didn't. He was a superb,
local, professional contractor who spent many painstaking months with
me working out quantities and schematics. In the end they didn't use
him. He was critical to the garden being built to the high standard I
expected.
"Why didn't he build the
garden?"
One of the consultants arranged
a very small sponsorship deal. Our original contractor wasn't part of
that deal so our chap didn't get the contract. Instead, at the
eleventh hour they called in a plant hire firm who hadn't been
involved with the project from the start. They were part of the deal
so they got the contract despite the fact that they hadn't built
anything like the project before.
"You don't sound impressed?"
No, not really. The garden would
have looked very different to what it does today if our preferred
contractor had been allowed to follow through all his earlier work.
There are in effect two World Gardens - the one which Tom is dumping
loads of car tyres and junk into and the one which we had originally
planned to build. I guess that's the problem with seeing a dream in
your head. It doesn't always materialise.
"Surely there wasn't the
money to do it your way?"
The cost difference was
negligible
compared to the effect that would have been created. There's also the
possibility that we could also have raised funds from a sponsorship
deal we were in the process of setting up ourselves. One which the consultants decided to take
over and in the end never materialised.
"You mean the family never
had to take out the loan in the first place?..."
We'll never know, but it's quite
possible that the loan didn't have to be anywhere near as big. They
now have a huge debt to pay off which possibly could have been
avoided.
"Are you disappointed at the
way the garden has turned out?"
You've got to be philosophical.
It's all a learning curve. It's taught me a lot about dealing with
people who claim to understand landscaping issues and don't. The World
Garden is unique. It had to be completed properly in order for people
to keep returning to visit it and keep the castle in profit. I just
hope that what they've ended up with does just that.
"Any final thoughts?"
Yeah, I'm hoping somebody
convinces Tom to get rid of Ayers Rock! (laughs).... When you look
down on the garden from overhead you see my basic layout for the
continents but not the true 3D map as we were planning it. In my head
I still see the World Garden as it should have been. Guess that'll be
a project for another day....
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