FROGARDEN

Wednesday, November 18, 2015 AREK ŁUC AWARDED AT THE PRESTIGIOUS GARDENING COMPETITION IN HAMPTON COURT Recently, I read an interview on Pola's blog, which electrified me - it's a conversation with a Pole who was awarded a silver medal in 2013 at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show gardening competition! This is the second most prestigious event after the Chelsea Flower Show. Until now, there have been no Poles among the winners of such prestigious gardening competitions. Therefore, although the event is two years ago, I decided to write about it. And Pola's interview is up-to-date! Perhaps some of my readers are familiar with this case, but I don't think many know about it, I didn't. And I am convinced that every Polish gardening lover should know the details of this event - because there is something to be happy about! I was surprised and proud reading Pola's conversation with Arek Łuc. How did it happen that a Polish musician, a metal lover, "stormed into the world of garden design" and became a famous garden designer? What was his path to success in this industry? If you want to know the answers to your questions and see what his projects look like - check out Pola's blog, it's a really interesting story. I will only say briefly that his garden design has been qualified to participate in the category: conceptual garden. However, he ran out of funds for implementation. As a result - the designer received money for this purpose from the famous Metallica team! And the garden, "I disappear" (the title of the song Metallica), was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at the Hampton Court exhibition. Then there were further successes - for example, another garden at a competition in Malmö was awarded a gold medal. In short - what is this garden? The authors of conceptual projects put emphasis on making the garden not only beautiful, but also showing an idea through their realizations, provoking people to think. Probably we all know the problems of gardeners who fight to maintain their gardens against the intentions of developers and the increase in fees for the use of plots. Arek Łuc, moved by the struggles of ordinary people with financial tycoons, and inspired by a piece by Metallica, created a garden dedicated to this. In this way, he wanted to draw attention to the problem of disappearing allotment gardens and its consequences. I think this fits in with the current struggle for the recovery of urban space by residents, these matters are close to many of us. Isn't it interesting how, for example, by using a specific plant to express a thought, tell a story ...? I will also quote what Arek Łuc says about his plans: "I want to establish the Foundation for Rescuing Dying Gardens. You could say that all the earth is a decaying garden. It is about saving old gardens, but also about promoting new ones, promoting greenery. I would love to instill a horticultural culture in Poland. I have a dream about a Polish weekend of open gardens similar to the Chelsea Fringe. I would like to start with this, for now in my area in Lubuskie. " Isn't that great? Let's keep our fingers crossed for further success! In conclusion (because I do not have my own photos related to the hero of the article) I will show one of the gardens awarded in 2014 at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. Precisely in the category: conceptual garden. It is "Greed - Dichotomy Garden" that received gold-plated silver. (Can be translated as greed, lust) I think that the opposition between the two worlds has been presented in an interesting way, and the window in the wall that divides them perversely suggests that the title greed can work both ways.