Garden designers prepare for RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

Our horticultural students are busy preparing for RHS Flower Show Tatton Park (July 22 – 26). Instead of designing and building their customary show garden, undergraduates studying for their Foundation Degree in Garden and Landscape Design will exhibit an eye catching show feature depicting the elements within the structure of a leaf.

Nigel Barber and Matthew Kent prepare planting for RHS Tatton

Nigel Barber and Matthew Kent prepare planting for RHS Tatton

Supporting the RHS in its efforts to inspire the younger generation into careers involving horticultural science and viable food production, the show feature will link with an educational marquee where visitors can learn more.

A giant aphid sculpture, 1.8 metres high, will provide the focus of the show feature. It will be surrounded by a leaf section showing cells, systems and pathways. The students have been busy collecting thousands of plastic and glass bottles which they will convert into walls and sculptures. The planting scheme will demonstrate examples of edible and medicinal plants and will be recreated after the show at Reaseheath’s £8.5 million National Centre for Food Futures and the Environment, which is due to open next Autumn.

Undergraduate Matthew Kent, who has led the design and build of the show feature along with fellow students Nigel Barber, Sam Lawton and Andrew Degg, said: “We wanted to step outside the box with something which is young and interesting. We’re looking forward to seeing the reaction of visitors when they view the garden.”

 

Reaseheath will also be one of the partners on the ‘Cheshire Gardens of Distinction’ exhibit. Students will also contest the WorldSkillsUK semi-finals and the floristry competition at RHS Tatton.