Out and About :The Long Table: Great Food, Lovely Company and Glasshouse Envy
The Long Table: wonderful food, new connections and serious glasshouse envy
Some invitations are rather easy to say yes to. An afternoon of outdoor living inspiration, food cooked over fire and a table full of people who love gardens, design and bringing people together? Count me in!
On 15 September, I was delighted to join The Long Table at The Glasshouse Collective in Chobham, Surrey, as a guest of BBQ magazine. Hosted in partnership with Garden House Design, the event brought together people from across the worlds of design, landscaping, hospitality and outdoor living for a very special lunch.
And yes, I came home with a fairly serious case of glasshouse envy.
A place to spark ideas
The Glasshouse Collective is the vision of Mark Gregory, Managing Director of Landform Consultants. It brings specialists from the landscaping and outdoor design community together in a setting where designers, landscapers, landscape architects and clients can explore products and see how they work together. With Alan Williams as Creative Director, it also provides space for workshops, seminars and conversations across the industry.
For me, the beauty of somewhere like this is being able to experience the whole space. You can see how planting, materials, lighting and furniture relate to one another, rather than trying to imagine everything from separate pictures and formulate your shopping list or wish list in my case!!
The Collective showcases everything from outdoor kitchens and garden rooms to paving, water features, lighting and accessories, with opportunities to see and feel materials up close. If you design outdoor spaces, specify products or are planning a garden project of your own, there is plenty here to get your ideas flowing. Visits are by appointment, so arrange one before heading over.
Chelsea conversations, without the high vis
It was particularly lovely to spend some proper time with Mark and the team. Usually, I see them flying past me at Chelsea Flower Show in high vis jackets, with somewhere to be and approximately a hundred things to do!
Having the chance to sit, talk and enjoy their company away from that whirlwind was a real pleasure.
Garden House Design will also be familiar to many Chelsea visitors through their wonderful show displays. Their work with canopies, outdoor kitchens and garden design makes them a natural partner for conversations about enjoying our gardens for longer something that I am passionate about with my work with The Grow Up.
A lunch worth lingering over
Our chef for the day was Jean Delport, Executive Chef at the Michelin starred Interlude restaurant at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens in West Sussex. Interlude’s seasonal approach includes ingredients foraged from the estate, which feels wonderfully in tune with my love of connecting the garden and the table. So much inspiration, everything looked so beautiful and was bursting with flavor.
The food was incredible, and it was lovely to catch up with the BBQ magazine team who had brought us together.
The Long Table celebrates year round outdoor living and dining, and the day offered plenty to think about. Shelter, lighting, somewhere comfortable to sit and a place to cook can all help us make more use of our outdoor spaces. For me, the best designs give people a reason to gather and stay a little longer.
Bringing the inspiration home
I went straight home and started styling my polytunnel.!!!! Clearly, an inspirational lunch is a dangerous thing for someone who already has a never ending garden list!
A cleared table, a few lovely pots, seasonal foliage and a more inviting place to sit can make a familiar space feel special again.The inspiration to make magical space, extra rooms from all areas of our outdoor spaces was infectious.
That is what I hope the photographs here will offer: a little inspiration to look at your own outdoor space with fresh eyes and then you know where to head when you want to take action with your own designs.
The magic around the table
What stayed with me most was the company. There is something wonderful about bringing together people who share a passion, are generous with their ideas and want to find ways to collaborate.
It reminded me of what I love about our community garden. The setting may be different, but that feeling of connection is very familiar. Give people a welcoming place to gather and the conversations begin.
A very special place, a very special lunch and some wonderful connections. Thank you to BBQ magazine, Garden House Design and The Glasshouse Collective for including me.
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