Andy McIndoe
Andy is the managing director of Hillier Nurseries which last year won their 64th gold medal at Chelsea.
RHS How long have you been going to Chelsea?
Andy McIndoe I first went when I was 15. I bought a case of African violets from Tony Clements, a Desfontainea spinosa and some Iceland poppy seeds. I yearned for more orchids but couldn’t afford them. I have been going to Chelsea with Hillier for 30 years and have been co-ordinating and designing the exhibit for 20 years.
RHS Chelsea in five words:
AM Plants, people, passions and Pimms!
RHS What do you enjoy most about Chelsea?
AM The buzz, the adrenalin, the team and the achievement of creating a garden from what appears to be chaos. When the show is open I love meeting gardeners and talking plants.
Meeting the Queen for the first time takes some beating...
RHS Best Chelsea experience?
That’s a hard one. Meeting the Queen for the first time takes some beating. Probably my most emotional moment was saying goodbye to one of our overseas students after staging. He said that working on the team had been the best experience of his life – just like being part of a family. I think that’s what we all feel, but find it hard to say it.
RHS What kind of garden do you have at home?
AM It's two acres, informal and on a hillside, naturalistic in design. We have a meadow, informal beds of shrubs, trees and perennials, formal area, water and a few veg. It's too big to keep on top of – but my wife and I just about keep our heads above the brambles.
RHS What’s your favourite plant or planting combination?
AM That changes with the season. I love Physocarpus Diable’d’Or planted with the Orange rose ‘Summer Song’. I am also wild about Sambucus ‘Black Lace’ with Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’, perhaps with a few red astrantias thrown in for good measure. At Chelsea I find Rhododendron ‘Horizon Monarch’ hard to resist with Prunus maackii ‘Amber’ – as you can see I am indecisive!
RHS What’s your favourite style of garden design?
AM Informal and expressive. Exuberant and overflowing. I hate over controlled gardens unless they are period formal.
RHS Your top tip for surviving Chelsea?
AM A sense of humour and plenty of wine in the evenings. Party hard if you get the chance – it’s good for the stamina!
RHS What’s the main trend for 2010?
AM Don’t know. We are embarking on an Adventure in Gardening – throwing caution to the wind, getting creative and reminding everyone it's all about plants.
RHS What do you do once Chelsea is over?
AM Go home and labour in my own garden ready to welcome garden groups that visit us from the first week in June. And try to convince my wife that it will all be alright on the night even if it looks a wilderness now.