Comments on: How does a garden design win a Gold Medal and be judged Best in Show at Chelsea?

By: Sue Tallents

Sue Tallents — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:44:57 +0000

Not sure who left the above comment in my name, but for the record it wasnt me!
Sue Tallents

By: Sue Tallents

Sue Tallents — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:07:42 +0000

Ah gotta love Alan Titchmarsh (with or without wooly jumper). I didn’t make it to Chelsea this year, but it’s been such fun getting involved in the past. Excellent post by the way – for the record, I really don’t envy the job of judging at Chelsea, especially with so many people pushing the envelope in terms of the interface between pure design, and a garden in the true sense of the word.

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:04:43 +0000

In gymnastics (in which both technical and artistic achievement is important) the criteria of excellence is:

1) risk
2) virtuosity See [ http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:virtuosity&ei=JOYFTNzsDYPJcZXFhMAM&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CBQQkAE ]
3) originality

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:09:45 +0000

True. But they are other things as well.

By: Robert Webber

Robert Webber — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:32:21 +0000

Gardens are most surely poems!

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:34:47 +0000

I did a little research on juding literary prizes:
– The Whitbread has simple judging criteria: which of these books would you press on a friend and implore them to read?
– For the Man Booker an advisory committee is formed, which supports the inclusion of an author, two publishers, a literary agent, a bookseller, a librarian and a chairperson appointed and overseen by the umbrella group – and guardians/treasurers of the Booker’s legacy – the Booker Prize Foundation. Then the baton is passed to this advisory committee to determine a judging panel for the year ahead and to see them through the process of nominations and shortlisting. These judges are hand-picked from high profile and respected literary critics, writers, academics and notable public figures in the main, whose undertaking it is to sift through the nominees.
– There are no specific Pulitzer Prize criteria for judging each of the entries. The definitions of the categories are used to narrow down the submissions for each category, but the final judging is left up to the juries.
– For the Pandora Poetry Prize Judges will be looking for the poems in each grade category which best exemplify one or more of the following:
1. The poet knows and cares about the topic of the poem.
2. The poem evokes response in the reader, appealing to emotions and / or intellect.
3. The form and content of the poem complement one another.
4. The poet uses language in a fresh way, avoiding clichés and forces rhymes.
5. The poet pays attention to the sound of the words.
6. The poet uses language precisely and economically.
7. The poet maintains a consistent voice.

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:20:58 +0000

Though I agree, it would be difficult to include these in a list of criteria for the judges. I wonder if there are published criteria for literary competitions?

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:40:33 +0000

A few things I think all good designs possess are:

1) the Aaghh factor (perhaps this is like the X-factor)
2) the element of surprise (innovation rather than novelty)
3) the sense of obviousness (once you have seen it, seems so obvious and so right)

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:10:52 +0000

I wish the RHS were asking, and answering, the questions you have raised.
Here are a few answers from me (1) some creators are also brilliant critics (eg TS Eliot and Andrew Motion) but others are not (eg because they are not interested or because they are self-centered or because they lack generosity) (2) I don’t see much evidence of garden designers behaving like Turner Prize assessors and if they did then I think we would have to put up with it – as we do with legal opinions from the best QCs and Judges (3) I think the question ‘What is a good garden?’ is very important.

By: Adam Hodge

Adam Hodge — Thu, 27 May 2010 08:41:18 +0000

Are these comments, in essence, about the balance between two elements..craftsmanship and style. Great art, sculpture, food, gardens, films, books etc etc are from those who have been and are especially skilled at their craft. The commentators as to what is good, bad or indifferent are just that..commnentators. The creators surely are the most qualified to comment, more so than someone with the gift of good copy. Is the judgement of good design a mask for fashionable opinion? Should’nt the merit of a creation, be it film, a garden, a good meal, a picture or a commercial product i.e. a car be judged as much by its creation of revenue as by its form ? Is the critic really more competent to comment than the creator ?