George's wife creating garden tribute for the green-fingered Beatle
May 13, 2008; Hello magazine
Best known for his musical talents, late Beatle George Harrison also had a green-fingered side, saying he felt closer to God when he was in his garden. And now, six years after the musician passed away, his widow is planning a floral tribute to her husband at the annual garden festival he loved so much.
Olivia Harrison, 59, is to present a specially designed garden at the Chelsea Flower Show - Britain's biggest horticultural event - at which George was a regular, and could often be seen strolling around with camera and notebook in hand. Her creation will tell the story of his life, from his beginnings in Liverpool in 1943 to his post-Beatle years.
She says her own passion for gardening sprang from the music legend's love of horticulture, particularly the inner calm it gave him. "He never felt more at peace (than in the garden)," she tells The Radio Times. "Every time I go out there I think he'll just pop out from behind a shrub, like he used to."
Gardening fans and Beatle followers alike can check out Olivia's plot at the Chelsea Flower Show from May 20-24.

Chelsea Flower Show to feature garden for Beatle George Harrison
May 11, 2008; The Sunday Times
The Chelsea flower show is to feature a garden dedicated to George Harrison, the late Beatle. It is co-designed by his widow Olivia and depicts Harrison’s life in four stages – childhood, shown by a vegetable plot and a bike in rough grass; a Beatles and 1960s area; and representations of his older self and spiritual life.
The 1960s section of the garden will contain the names of his songs and a 6ft-wide glass sun, reminding visitors of Here Comes the Sun, which Harrison wrote for the Beatles album Abbey Road in 1969. The flowers – palmatum, anchusa and achillea – represent the psychedelic colors of the era.
The garden was co-designed with Yvonne Innes, who worked closely with Harrison before his death in 2001. She said: “I knew what an amazing landscape gardener George was. I also realized few people knew this side of him and decided to design a narrative garden of his life and passing over to the next life.”

'I'll see George on the other side'
May 12, 2008; ITN
George Harrison's widow Olivia has spoken of her hope that she will see the ex-Beatle again "on the other side".
Olivia, 59, has been creating a special garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in her late husband's memory. Harrison, who died almost six-and-a-half years ago, was a regular at the show, and would return home every year with a list of plants he wanted to buy. His family nicknamed him Capability George after the 18th Century English landscape designer Capability Brown. In an interview, Olivia says of the garden at the home they shared in Oxfordshire: "Every time I go out there, I always think he'll just pop out from behind a shrub, like he used to." She added: "Will I see George again? I take heart from something Michael Palin once said, which is that the idea of seeing George again, on the other side, makes the idea of death a whole lot more interesting." "All I know is that George dedicated a lot of his life to obtain a good ending, and I don't doubt he was successful. "The whole point of meditation is to have the experience you're going to have when you take leave of your body, so that when it actually happens, you're familiar with that transition and go, 'Oh yes, I know this place.' "So yes, I must say that I like the thought, indeed the possibility, that one day he and I might once more be floating down the stream of time." Olivia has created the garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, which opens next week, with designer Yvonne Innes, a three-times Chelsea gold-medal winner. The garden is called From Life to Life, after a line in the Beatles' song It's All Too Much, and sponsored by Harrison's Material World Charitable Foundation. Designers: George Harrison's widow Olivia, who was interviewed by Radio Times, with Yvonne Innes in the garden of the former Beatle's home

George Harrison tribute garden at Chelsea Flower Show
May 12, 2008; Evening Standard
George Harrison was a regular at Chelsea Flower Show, where he could be seen touring the gardens, notebook in hand. Now, six and a half years after his death from lung cancer, the former Beatle is to have a garden at the show in his memory. Designed by his widow Olivia, the plot will recall Harrison's life, from his birth in Liverpool in 1943 to his post-Beatle life in Henley, through the medium of plants and trees. In an interview with Radio Times, she tells how her husband's love of horticulture inspired her own passion for gardening. Speaking at Friar Park, the couple's Victorian neo-Gothic home, Mrs. Harrison said: "George showed me the creativity and fun that was involved. "One day, for example, we looked out of the window and decided everything in the garden was too green, so we went on a color binge, buying lots of brightly colored flowers. "In terms of landscape design, he liked the idea of Capability Brown, so we started calling him Capability George. "He thought that everyone, as a matter of course, should have themselves regularly overwhelmed by nature. He used to say that all unused buildings should be knocked down and gardens put in their place. "The way nature played tricks amused him, too. Once he planted lots of this pinky colored weed on one side of the lake only for it all to spring up on the other side. 'It's jumped,' he laughed. "Without a doubt, George never felt more at peace than when he was gardening. He loved the gardens here and always said you felt closest to God when you were in the garden. Some days when he was working in the recording studio, he'd look out of the window and say, with a shake of his head, 'We're not getting much gardening done today. ' Every time I go out there, I think he'll just pop out from behind a shrub, like he used to." The Chelsea garden, entitled, From Life To Life after a line in the Beatles' song It's All Too Much, has four distinct parts, each representing a phase in Harrison's life. It was designed in conjunction with family friend and garden designer Yvonne Innes, a Chelsea goldmedal winner and wife of musician Neil Innes. It is sponsored by Harrison's own Material World Charitable Foundation. His widow said: "Each year we used to go to Chelsea and George would take copious notes and come home with a list of plants he wanted to buy. "My hope is that this project will be a tribute to the horticultural side of his personality that relatively few people know about [and] ... help inspire other gardeners."

• The show is at Royal Hospital, Chelsea, from 20-24 May (8am-8pm).The Tuesday and Wednesday are for RHS members only.

Ringo checks out floral George Harrison tribute at Chelsea Flower Show

May 20, 2008; Hello magazine
The VIP preview of the Chelsea Flower Show this week brought green-fingered celebs out in their droves - all eager to check out the huge array of gardens on display at the UK's premiere horticultural event. And there was one extra special guest at this year's show - as former Beatle Ringo Starr turned out to admire a garden designed in memory of his late band mate George Harrison.
The floral tribute was designed by George's widow Olivia, and tells the story of his life - from his beginnings in Liverpool in 1943 to his post-Beatle years. "He never felt more at peace (than in the garden)," says 59-year-old Olivia, who was also joined by former Beatles manager Sir George Martin. And the music mogul was clearly impressed by what he saw, saying: "I think it's fantastic. It's completely George - it's wonderful!".
Also enjoying the pre-opening privilege were Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, both of whom were prepared for an impromptu downpour with their brollys. The Queen and Princess Anne were admiring the horticultural creations on display, too - as was Prince Albert of Monaco.
Mingling with the mix of royalty and celeb visitors was Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host and keen gardener Chris Tarrant. "It does inspire you to think 'I could do that'," said the green-fingered star - who had a fuschia named after him to mark his involvement in this year's show.
Chelsea Flower Show regulars Michael Caine and wife Shakira, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Alan Titchmarsh were also spotted admiring the floral displays.

George Harrison's Flower Power
May 19, 2008; Eonline.com
All you need may be love. But a green thumb wouldn't hurt, either.
George Harrison's widow, Olivia, with a little help from his old friend Ringo Starr, opened a special memorial garden in honor of the late Beatle in London Monday, during the city's world famous Chelsea Flower Show.
"I really cannot think of a more joyful thing to do for George, and I know he would approve," she said of the "Life to Life" garden, which is divided into three parts, each signifying a portion of the quiet Beatle's life.
Harrison was an avid gardener who even dedicated his autobiography, I Me Mine, "to all gardeners everywhere, " and the space is his widow's way of honoring the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who died of cancer in 2001.
Per Olivia, all her late husband's favorite bits of greenery were accounted for, interwoven with his song lyrics, a photo of the artist and a giant "Here Comes the Sun" emblem.
Here comes the tourist hot spot, more like.

Beatle wife and Queen at Chelsea Flower Show

May 20, 2008

The Queen met George Harrison's widow Olivia yesterday as she joined a host of royals at the Chelsea Flower Show. The monarch stopped to admire a garden designed in memory of the former Beatle. She spent several minutes chatting to Mrs. Harrison and designer Yvonne Innes at the garden - called From Life To Life, A Garden for George. Mrs. Harrison, who met the Queen for the first time, said: "It was nice of her to visit. I really feel honoured, truly honoured."  The Queen carried a bouquet of sweet peas and lily of the valley as she toured the garden ahead of today's official opening. The Duke of Edinburgh went on a separate tour. Other royals who visited were the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Anne, the Queen's cousin Princess Alexandra, Princess Michael and the Duke of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.