Sparsholt College, Hampshire, has teamed up with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation to create Sparsholt’s 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden entitled ‘Plants, Routes & Branches’.
The garden has been designed by Sparsholt’s multiple medal winning team including Chris Bird and Lucy Lewis in celebration of Sparsholt College’s upcoming 125th Anniversary of Horticultural training in Hampshire. The exhibit will explore the history of plant introductions from Hampshire whilst celebrating the impact of influential horticulturists and the role the college has played in horticultural education.
Lucy Lewis, Horticulture Lecturer at Sparsholt College, said: “Plants, Routes and Branches is about what exciting careers paths there are for people who choose a life in Horticulture.
Our aim for the garden is to inspire young people or career changers to look at a career in Horticulture and all the potential interesting places they could go. The theme fits so well with the work of the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation do with students, they just seemed the most natural partners for us in the project.”
Most importantly, the garden will look to the future generations of horticulturists, exploring the numerous and exciting career routes they may follow. This includes continual developments of new plants with the aim to signpost potential career routes and opportunities provided by the Horticultural industry for both new learners and those looking to branch out their careers.
The design consists of four areas all essential in supporting students of horticulture to become dedicated industry professionals:
- The Plant Breeding / Laboratory Area including a Choisya timeline.
- A Nursery/ Growing Area, home to, nursery beds, informational boards and five RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2024 entries including:
- Chaenomeles ‘Lemon Sorbet’
- Mahonia ‘Meteor’
- Philadelphus Petite Perfume ‘White Pearls’
- The Classroom Area, set up with desks and bookcases
- A Workshop/Breakroom Area complete with seating, lockers filled with overalls and muddy boots.
All four areas surround a central ‘Demo Shed’ with a corrugated panel roof made of recycled plastic, one of many sustainable features.
Students and staff from Sparsholt College were joined by members of the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation team to celebrate the launch of the garden with a morning unveiling the design. They were joined by Sparsholt College Alumni and Industry Professionals and the media. Visitors gathered at the college’s Hampshire Rural Business Centre to meet the enthusiastic student team, sharing their experiences, give support and to wish them the best of luck for the project.
The Sparsholt Chelsea Garden Team of 2024. Students with Lucy Lewis, Chris Bird and Nicci and Neil Gow from the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation.
Quin Walling, Horticulture student said: “The launch has been an interesting networking event; we’ve got to meet lots of plant breeders and past students and it’s been really enjoyable to meet possible future employers. I can’t wait to see how the garden all comes together and the finished project at the end of it.”
The college’s team are encouraging those with a link to horticulture at Sparsholt college to share their stories, experience and images with them for the project. Please send them to Hortstories@sparsholt.ac.uk
