15 Comments

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation!!! I am still stuck on the 3,000 plants!!!!

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Can you believe it?! It’s a mind-blowing amount!

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Yes, lots of work. Would love you to o a Japanese/ zen garden some time.

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That would be beautiful

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I’ll wait for it.

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So much work goes into this! I hope you have fun today <3

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Thank you!

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Great explanation. I've struggled over many years to fully understand judging and why my favourite garden hasn't won a gold medal. I finally got my head around it by thinking of it as like an examination. In particular an English language exam where as well as writing a beautiful story you also need to make sure of correct spelling and grammar. It's the spelling and grammar that is most likely to trip us up. I also compare the role of the judges "examiners" to people who are tasked with minute scrutiny of the written story. They're the ones who will spot grammar and spelling. The visitors to the show (like me) are the equivalent of people who just hear the story being read out without the benefit (or distraction) of seeing the errors. We all think: "What a beautiful story! It must deserve a gold medal!" - "How can those judges possibly have given it any other score?" The judges have been fair, but we the visitors don't look at the story (show garden) in the same way.

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And it’ll be the same every year..

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It is also a good analogy for writers and teachers. I make more mistakes than I should. Punctuation in English, really trips me up, especially when I come back from Portugal or finish a Mandarin class. Constance battle - practice, practice.

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How very true

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My husband I are reeling from 3000 plants to go in!

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It’s crazy isn’t it?

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I loved this garden!

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Ah I’m so glad Christine! X

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