Would you win best in show?

In May 2012 and for the 2nd year running Cleve West was celebrating winning best in show at the RHS Chelsea flower show for his garden celebrating the 250th anniversary of Brewin Dolphin. As I watched the video of his thank you speech I was brought to tears. I wondered why that might be and concluded it was a mixture of all the things that led to his win and wrote this blog.

Today, as its announced that Trailfinders Australian Garden sponsored by Trailfinders, Fleming’s Nurseries, Victorian State Government and Phillip Johnson Landscapes has won best in show 2013, I'm sure the following are as true for Phil Johnson who designed this year's winning garden as it was for Cleve West last year.

• His passion for what he does
• The team work that was needed
• The design, planning & creativity
• The attention to detail
• Plant selection
• Plant quality
• Plant care - just to get them flowering this week
• Planting
• Maintenance - even for the week I assume there's still much to do
• Meticulous Management - as #likeminds & @lesanto have just tweeted about

and yes perhaps the tears were also due to:

• his delight in winning
• the obvious delight of friends in his win
• and the fact I love cottage style gardens (more pictures can be found here).

The project success had much to do with all the things I've listed - failure on any one of these and he might have failed. As head gardener and designer for the project Cleve (and Phil) was responsible for ensuring it all worked perfectly.

For what ever you're head gardener of could you say the same? Would your effort on tending to those in your team enable them to win you a best in class? Do you have the passion? How much planning have you done? Are you attending to every detail? Are your giving it and them the care they need? and would you delight in their success? Are you withering or flourishing?

What seeds do you need to sow now to reap a good harvest later in the year?

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Sowing the seeds for you to be best in class in your purchasing garden