Bright and early, on the Friday morning of the famous Chelsea Flower Show, two hundred young people were invited to the show’s ‘Young Persons Breakfast’, which was sponsored by The Newt, a quite amazing estate and garden, situated in the depths of Somerset.
As chair of the Royal Parks Guild I was asked to host six places at the event and was pleased to welcome a group of apprentices from the Royal Parks. Setting out in small groups, we were taken onto four of the show gardens to meet the designers and others involved in their design and creation. We visited several striking exhibits, including the ‘Mind Garden’ supported by the charity Mind and the St Mungo’s ‘Putting Down Roots’ garden.
On the latter we were introduced to the designer of the garden, Andy Sturgeon, who explained that the underlying theme was “a place where people could connect, be themselves and open up”. After the show, the garden is being rebuilt at Mind, in Furness, where it will become a permanent garden, contributing to the wellbeing of the many who visit it over the coming years.
After a fascinating and enlightening tour, which included a whiz around the Great Pavilion, we returned to our starting point to be welcomed by Sue Biggs, Director General of the RHS and a delicious buffet breakfast. There were many professionals on hand to give guidance and advice, which proved a great opportunity to make new contacts and learn more about this fantastic profession we are all part of.
At the close of the breakfast event delegates were free to head out into the showground and explore the show for themselves. Perhaps, revisiting displays already seen, searching out favourite plants and those gardens and plants yet to be discovered, before finally heading home, full of ideas and excited by the possibilities that working in horticulture presents.
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