BBC TV gardening presenter, Frances Tophill, has presented awards to design teams and horticulture students behind some show-stopping gardens and displays at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair at Beaulieu.
The Spring Fair’s first ever inter-horticultural college competition was won by students from Kingston Maurward College in Dorset. The college team won Best College Garden and a Platinum Award for A Wardian Garden, a design inspired by the college’s Victorian heritage. Colleges were tasked with designing budget-friendly gardens with a Victorian Garden theme. All the college teams were mentored by award-winning garden designer, Cherry Carmen.
Show Assessor Richard Barnard said: “It’s great to have the colleges here at the Spring Fair. The quality of work is excellent and these brilliant students are the future of horticulture.
“From under the garden’s charismatic structure, there is an exuberance of detailed horticultural gems, from a terrarium to recently propagated plants in the semi-shade. Typically, the Victorian era saw those dedicated to discovering a new chapter of plants and the story has been ably reproduced by an enthusiastic group of students. We were impressed by the quality of large outdoor plant specimens which were easily matched by the tiny attention to detail of recycled and upcycled plant containers, hiding under shelves.”
Alison Firth, a Level 3 Horticulture student at Kingston Maurward College, is the designer of the garden. She said: “This garden has brought students together from across the college’s horticultural courses. They’ve done the research, sourced materials and built the garden, all with the support of our tutors. It’s just incredible to have won.”
Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, said: “Whilst Beaulieu is best known as the home of the National Motor Museum, I am always keen that visitors enjoy everything the attraction has to offer, including the gardens. It follows that I am more than delighted to be hosting the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair at Beaulieu, an event which is growing by the year, as every good plant should!”
