Gold medal for garden inspired by plant hunter (From Worcester News)

Gold medal for garden inspired by plant hunter

10:30pm Wednesday 8th July 2009 in

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PERSHORE College has won a prestigious gold medal at one of the country’s top flower shows.

The college took the Best Exhibit in the Plant Heritage Marquee award at the RHS Hampton Court show.

It is the sixth medal for the college this summer, following its success at the Malvern Spring Show, where it won three medals, as well as Gardeners World Live and the Chelsea Flower Show.

The winning garden was a re-creation the nursery of 19th century horticultural firm James Veitch & Sons.

The idea came about when conservation group Plant Heritage asked the college to be involved in its celebration of the bicentenary of plant hunter William Lobb, who went on many expeditions to north and south America to collect plants and seeds for Veitch’s nursery.

These exotic species were then grown for sale to the novelty-loving Victorian public. They in-cluded many plants, shrubs and trees that are now well-known, such as berberis and the monkey puzzle tree.

The garden display shows the techniques used by the Victorians to propagate these plants, revealing that while the equipment may have changed, the propagating techniques are the same now as they were then.

It also features a stove house, or heated glasshouse, bench, with orchids and Chilean exotics which Lobb introduced, a potting bench with monkey puzzle cones and seeds being sown, cuttings in wooden 'flats' or trays, and a despatch area with plants ready for sale and despatch in clay pots and rootballs in sacking.

In front, a brick path with wrought iron drains leads between two raised beds of nursery stock – young plants, liners and trays of seedlings. The nursery worker has left his hoe – and weeds – at the front of the stock bed. There are pots of cuttings covered by glass bell cloches and a lantern cloche.

The garden was devised by the college’s head of horticulture Tony Davies and developed by lecturer and designer Steve Boxall before being built by Mr Boxall and Phil Oakley, another college tutor.

Garden design tutor Janet Prescott sourced the plants and period details such as clay pots, tools, and authentic potting mixes – woodash, sand, soil and leafmould.