Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.
Monday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.
If you haven't entered the third National Shed of the Year competition - and you'd like to do so - you've got just one week left. Closing date for entries is a minute before midnight on May 3.More details at Shedblog
As the buildup to the third National Shed Week begins with the coming of spring, here are the main dates to rememberMonday's posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.
There isn't an official prize for International Shed of the Year (although a category will be in place for it for the 2009 Shed Week celebrations) but because of the high quality of the entrants Uncle Wilco and Shedworking felt that it was only right to highlight our two favourites and ask the public which one they liked the best. So above is my choice, James Glave's Eco-Shed in Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada, the subject of his book due out in September, Almost Green. And below is Mikey B's tiki hut in Altadena, California. It's well worth clicking on the links since there is lots of building detail about each of them on the readersheds.co.uk site.
As National Shed Week approaches the finish line, we still have a couple of winners to announce. On Tuesday we'll be awarding International Shed of the Year and this weekend James Roberts comes away with first prize in the photo competition with this marvellous allotment shed shot. Here's what he says about it: "A high dynamic range picture of a local Ravenglass potting shed - why photograph a potting shed, why not, it was there and seemed like a good idea at the time."James' photo won 83% of the public vote. Congratulations!
If you needed any more persuading that shedlife is inspirational, then take a look at Shed of the Year runner-up Simon Kirby's video at Newbury Today. Not only does he show us around his marvellous shed, he also finishes off with a special Ode to A Shed and promises that he is working on a book of shed-inspired poetry.
Meanwhile John Davies aka Shedman has been busy in his specially-erected B&Q shed (pictured above) at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, performing and welcoming fellow shed enthusiasts. He has certainly not been idle as he has also written a special poem for National Shed Week:Encomium for Shed WeekKeep up to date with all the latest happenings at Shedblog, the official blog of National Shed Week 2008.
In Shedbury they’re celebrating the winners of Shedweek,
flags and bunting deck the streets and houses of Shedwick;
Sheddingham resounds to the cheers of sheddie folk
and Bedfordshire has change its name to extend the joke.
In allotments, along the tracks, the sheds of Britain amass
to join the chorus of salute to the winners of each class.
'All hail!' they cry, as thunderclouds deliver another load,
leaving the sheds slightly damp but not at all subdued.
And to you, Tim from Sudbury, the highest accolade:
The Rugby Pub of Suffolk, the finest ever made;
octagonal with roof lights, complete with double doors
three fridges and a hammock, Shed of the Year is yours.
Upsteps a larch-lapped champion to raise the cry again
across United Sheddom, from every shed and man:
'To you the victor’s laurels, to you the winner’s band!
The Rugby Pub of Suffolk is the best shed in the land!'
©Shedman 2008 All rights reserved
Construction work has got underway during National Shed Week on artist Nicky Coutts’ A Tower in the Minds of Others at Tatton Park as part of its Biennial celebrations. Taking shape near the Japanese Garden is a series of stacked English garden sheds, which collectively resemble a Japanese pagoda - the final structure will eventually be 6m high and will be officially launched on July 19. The Tower is one of six semi-permanent commissions created for Tatton Park Biennial during Cheshire’s Year of Gardens ’08. Plans and proposals for the Tower, below, courtesy Capstone Consulting Engineers Ltd.
Thanks to Nikki Spencer for the alert.
Shedworking's Literary Editor Sarah Salway has been out and about as usual during National Shed Week and called in on the fine people at Art & Artisan Bookshop (a marvellous place run by Judith Bowen and Rachel Hawes which also sells Persephone and Eland books so is doubly marvellous) in Bishops Castle, Shropshire. And look at their special display...
Your involvement in National Shed Week is not over yet! Uncle Wilco and myself have been judging the Shed Photo Competition as part of NSW and we can't agree on a winner so it's down to you to make your voices heard. The two finalists are pictured above (by James Roberts) and below (by Andrew Skegg) and to vote simply nip over to Shedblog and choose your favourite shot.
Today's poll - see top of the right hand column for details - is all about those little extras in shedworking. What would you like in your garden office? Something green, something revolving or something relaxing? You can vote for more than one...
Shedworking's official Garden Show Editor Emma Townshend has been scouting around this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, scheduled this year to coincide with National Shed Week, and has come back as always with some beauties. Above are examples from the Museum of Garden History's stand in the Plant Heritage Marquee, the one on the right a recreation of a 1970s shed complete with space hopper. Below, a fine example of an authentic Arctic shed or 'kota' by Garden Exteriors. Standing 3.7m tall, it is constructed with 45mm x 145mm double tongue and groove, half round profile, arctic pine from sustainable forests in northern Finland within the Arctic Circle.
You can, and should, read more at Emma's Baklava Shed Coalition blog which is almost certainly the jolliest gardening blog on the entire interweb.Our Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office
John from Secrets-of-shed-building.com has been getting in the swing of things for National Shed Week by designing a virtual shedlike atmosphere especially for the occasion. Simply click here and follow the instructions. Here's what he says: "To celebrate the arrival of this year's shed week, Secrets of Shed Building are giving away FREE SHEDS (well....virtual ones), for this week only, to any visitor who wants one! If you haven't come across 3dimensional pdf files before this is something new to discover. I have created a 3 dimensional model of a Gabled shed [pictured above]. When you open the document there is a toolbar above the image, use this to select the function - rotate, spin, pan or zoom hold down the mouse and move it over the shed. It may take a bit of experimentation to get a good view of the area you want."He's also offering a free subscription to his new monthly e-zine,'Shed Building Monthly', which comes with top tips and answers to readers' questions every month starting in September.
Our Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office
