Author: David Domoney

Appearance at Bents garden centre with Jacuzzi

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Meeting the wonderful Bents staff

I was at Bents Garden and Home in Warrington, Cheshire on Saturday 26 April to talk to visitors about my unusual garden feeding techniques. The day was in association with Jacuzzi.

It was a pleasure to meet the staff and customers – everyone was lovely and made it a really nice day.

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The last of the stragglers head inside!

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Flower displays inside

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April 3, 2014
Young Gardeners of the Year: Winners and People’s Choice Award

The Young Gardeners of the Year competition is over for another year. And Ideal Home Show visitors voted us the ‘Most popular feature’ at the show, so a big thank you to everyone who voted!

Six of the UK’s top horticultural and design colleges competed to design the best show garden and wow the judges at the Ideal Home Show in Earl’s Court, London.

This year, the focus was on creating peaceful garden spaces for city dwellers using sustainable techniques and repurposed materials.

All six gardens were incredible, and the judges were impressed by the range of techniques and design ideas demonstrated by the students.

Read about the Prince of Wales’ visit to meet the students.

But it’s not just the judges’ verdict that counts! Visitors to the Ideal Home Show had the opportunity to vote for their favourite garden to win the prestigious People’s Choice Award.

And almost 22,000 people cast their vote over the show’s 17 day duration!

Finally, the results are in. The winner of the People’s Choice Award 2014 is Capel Manor College, with their garden ‘Cultivate Calm’. Congratulations!

A special mention also goes to Writtle College, who came in (very) close second. There were only a few votes difference!

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Capel Manor Cultivate Calm Garden

To recap, here are the final competition results:

Click on each college name to see their finished gardens!

Chichester College – overall winners of Young Gardeners of the Year 2014, plus a gold medal and the Best at Show award.

Capel Manor College – Gold Medal and People’s Choice Award

Writtle College – Gold Medal

Askham Bryan College – Silver Gilt Medal

Bridgwater College – Silver Gilt Medal

Shuttleworth College – Silver Medal[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
April 2, 2014
Young Horticulturist of the Year – Grand Final

I had an amazing day at the John Innes Centre in Norwich for the Grand Final of the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition. The leading lights of the young horticulture industry locked horns to fight it out and find the winner of this year’s title.

It was an absolute pleasure to be the Quiz Master and I found it just as exciting as the contestants did! The audience were fantastic and the room was electric throughout.

This year, the winner of the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2014 was Chris Parsons, with an incredible score of 72!

The final scores are as follows:

Chris Parsons – 72

Jess Evans – 56

Kristina Vandenberg – 55

Guy Jones – 43

Lawrence Wright – 41

Lachlan Rae – 32

Rosie Kippen – 22

Stephen Walsh – 15

Congratulations to Chris who put up a great fight to win the crown, and congratulations to all the contestants who were of an excellent high standard. If this is a test of the quality of the young talent coming up in the industry, it’s incredibly promising for the future of horticulture!

The Young Horticulturist of the Year is the Institute of Horticulture‘s prestigious annual competition, attracting some 1800 entries each time. The prize is the Percy Thrower Travel Bursary, worth £2000!

In the past, winners have used it to travel to Peru, China, Borneo and North America to study the different environments, crops, plants, wildlife and habitats. Plus many have gone on to prestigious careers in the industry.

To find out about the incredible opportunities in the horticultural industry, visit www.growcareers.info.
April 2, 2014