Six students awarded Smart Garden Products Scholarships by the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation earlier this year have gained a unique insight into the breadth of the horticultural industry through a two-day development tour around Peterborough and Spalding.

Molly Cave (SRUC), Alex Chrzanowski-Hughes (Pershore College), Thomas Green (Suffolk New College), Sam Evans (Nottingham Trent University), Caroline Mantell (RHS Wisley) and Eleanor Rush (Plumpton College) were invited to join the tour as part of their scholarship award.

Led by Colegrave Seabrook Trustees Stuart Lowen and Neville Lowen, with Martin Ward, Director of GIMA, joining on the second day, the tour provided the students with the opportunity to visit a diverse range of horticultural businesses and meet people working across different areas of the industry.

The tour began at Baytree Garden Centre in Spalding, where founder Reinhard Biehler and his son-in-law Nigel Wallis shared the story behind the business and its development into one of the UK’s largest and most distinctive garden centres.

The students then visited Taylor’s Bulbs, where Ian Clark, National Accounts and Marketing Manager, introduced them to the commercial bulb industry. They were able to follow the journey of a bulb from harvesting through to packaging — an area of horticulture that none of the students had previously experienced.

The first day concluded with a visit to Springfield Festival Gardens, where Head Gardener Andy Boyton talked about managing a public garden, including the challenges of funding and vandalism and the rewards of working in such a special environment.

On the second day, the group visited Bridge Farm Nurseries, where CEO David Ball provided an insight into the history and development of the business. The students toured the enormous growing facilities and saw first-hand the scale, technology and automation involved in producing more than 70 million ornamental plants for retailers across the UK.

The final visit was to Smart Garden Products in Peterborough, where Directors Paris Natar and Jonathon Stobart, together with members of their team, explained the business behind one of the leading suppliers of garden ornaments and sundries to retailers across the UK and Europe.

The students learned about new product development, pricing, marketing and logistics before touring the company’s impressive warehouse and seeing orders being picked and dispatched.

The tour gave the students a valuable opportunity to see the many different roles and career paths within horticulture, while also providing opportunities to meet industry professionals and build their networks.

Reflecting on the experience, one scholarship winner said: “Visiting a range of successful horticultural businesses over the two days highlighted the diversity of the industry and demonstrated how each business contributes to the wider horticultural supply chain.”

Another student commented: “I had the best time and met some incredible people. I genuinely found each visit fascinating, I have learned so much and gained so many new ideas that I am excited to take forward in my career.”

The tour concluded with thanks to all the businesses and individuals who gave their time to support the students. Those scholarship winners who had been unable to attend the scholarship presentation at BBC Gardeners’ World Live were also presented with their scholarship certificates.

The Smart Garden Products Development Tour forms an important part of the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation’s commitment to supporting the next generation of horticultural talent, helping students to understand the breadth of the industry and the exciting career opportunities it offers. We are incredibly grateful to all the businesses involved who were so generous in sharing their time, industry experience and knowledge with the students. 

You can view a gallery of photos of tour here Smart Garden Products Development Tour – Photo Gallery - Colegrave Seabrook Foundation