2002 chelsea garden wild things5/1/2024 ![]() What I love about Mary is that she not only dared to be wild, she dared to be connected. Her success putBloom on the agenda and those of us who have come through from that, owe her a debt and depth of gratitude too. Mary kicked down the door at Cheslsa for Irish designers – the first Irish gold – and many have since followed and become household names. It’s called ‘Dare to be Wild’, directed by Vivienne de Courcy. ![]() It is great that through celluloid and probably one day Netflix, her inspiration continues to ripple. I love that there is a film about how Mary got her garden to Chelsea - because it was done with an indomitable spirt and an actual leap of faith. Seriously, they made a film about it, not a documentary - a film with actors - a bit Ea, Pray, Love meets Richard Curtis (as much as I lean towards New Man, I still like car chases), but if you don’t cry, cheer, laugh, cry and cheer again, then there’s a problem. If you don’t believe me, go see the film. You could leave the buttercups in the grass and feed the bees. It was our soul too.Īnd across the world, for all those amateur and professional gardeners that tune in and take interest in what happens at prestigious shows like Chelsea it was a Riverdance moment. You could express yourself in a garden – your ‘self’ – your ‘soul’. Now a garden could be more than a representation of status. That exquisite garden, with bee orchids and Celtic Mysticism was seismic. Literally a light was switched on in the minds of gardeners across Britain, rippling out to Ireland, Europe and across the globe. I know I am prone sometimes to Pentecostal turns of phrase but that’s no exaggeration. I heard a lot of ‘cease and desist’ and ‘keep taking the tablets’.īut then something wonderful happene - Mary Reynolds won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2002 and illuminated the world. I still don’t know if I found gardening or gardening found me, but I am grateful for its spiritual gifts as much as its health bearing properties - it truly is well being.Īnd in my being, I am someone who believes that my soul is my cultural heritage - I embrace my Irishness and draw inspiration from our mythology and history.īack in the nineties when I was trying to get wildflower meadows installed across Dublin and designing gardens with trefoil spirals and chevrons inspired by sacred geometry and the carvings at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth – all I met was resistance. ![]() If religion is working for you, then may your God go with you but when I turned my back on religion and stepped outside into nature, I found my faith.
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