Press releases

TV gardener going back to school at Hampton Court

March 27 2007

TV gardener and designer Chris Beardshaw is going back to school at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July) with a show garden designed to enrich learning experiences for children of all ages.

RHS Gold Medal-winner Chris will be hoping for a gold star and to go one better than his RHS Silver-Gilt winning garden at the Hampton Court show in 2004. This year’s ‘The Growing Schools Garden - learning outside the classroom’, designed for Learning Through Landscapes and sponsored by the DfES, represents a stylised modern school environment for children and young people of mixed abilities and demonstrates a range of opportunities such as fostering creativity, learning about growing food, improving health and well-being outdoors, enhancing play and social development and creating a sense of culture, heritage and belonging through choice of plants and features.

A number of local schools have been commissioned to create some of the artworks and features for Chris’s show garden. A proportion of the plant material, including a mix of native and exotic annuals and biennials, trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants are also being grown by the participating schools. The planting reflects the variety of uses in the botanical world, including culinary plants, medicinal plants, and plants used in manufacture and industry, alongside plants to encourage wildlife, sensory plants and plants to reflect personal, local and international heritage.

Mandy Almond, Show Manager for the RHS, said, “Chris Beardshaw is a real favourite at the RHS flower shows and we are looking forward to seeing his design realised at the show. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show hosts exhibitors from across the UK, and the world, but remains rich in local design talent and expertise so I am delighted that local schools are also involved in this garden and will help add a young person’s touch to Chris’s garden design!”

Elsewhere in the show, two local schools, Alton Infant School and Sheddington Primary School, will be creating small gardens. Alton pupils have designed ‘Learning to look after our world’, a microcosm of their own school grounds which demonstrates conservation, recycling, organic gardening and wildlife habitats. ‘The Willow Pattern Plot’, by pupils at Sheddington Primary School, celebrates the school’s twentieth ‘China’ anniversary using the Chinese love story ‘Willow Pattern’ as the inspiration point.

For tickets to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (3-8 July), call the ticket hotline on 0870 906 3791 (public line) or 0870 906 3790 (RHS members). Tickets range from £12.50 to £29 with children aged 5-15 years £5 and under-5’s going free. For further show information and online booking visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt

Notes to Editors

For more information or images contact Kerry Law in the RHS Press Office on 020 7821 3044 or email kerrylaw@rhs.org.uk

RHS Learning
RHS Learning supports a host of innovative opportunities for people of all ages to experience the social and health benefits of gardening. As the UK’s leading gardening charity the RHS has an active schools programme that currently helps over 5,000 schools (over 400,000 children). The RHS launched the Campaign for School Gardening in February to help every school in the UK to 'get gardening'. This has started with a survey and competition to find out how schools across the country are using growing and the barriers to gardening in school. Complete the survey and enter the competition at www.rhs.org.uk/schoolgarden. The RHS Campaign and competition is backed by Blue Peter Gardener Chris Collins who will visit one of the winning schools.

‘Must see’ at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2007

Conceptual Gardens
Back after its debut in 2006, tomorrow’s big names in garden design will be creating innovative and challenging gardens with ‘wow’ factor in their first appearance at an RHS flower show.

Festival of Roses
This marquee holds Britain’s largest annual gathering of roses in full bloom from the UK’s best rose growers. Around a dozen new roses will be launched at the show and visitors can be some of the first to see the Rose of the Year 2008.

Water Gardens
A unique feature of the show, these tranquil water gardens reflect the show’s location beside the River Thames. The water garden exhibitors will also be selling aquatic plants.

Inspiring Spaces
These plots offer creative container planting solutions to problem areas in the garden such as an awkward corner or small front garden.

Daily Mail Pavilion
Visitors will be able to meander through a wonderful landscape, drawing in inspiration and delight from a fabulous themed rural scene, featuring a replica of the home to be won from this year's Daily Mail ‘Dream Cottage’ Competition.

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show tickets
3-4 July are reserved for RHS members and their guests, all welcome 5-8 July. Tickets range from £13-£30 with children aged 5-15 £5 (except Tues 3) and under 5s free throughout the show. Full-day or afternoon only tickets are available. Car-parking available, or take the greener option and arrive by train, bus or ferry. Visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt for full transport options and further visitor details.

www.rhs.org.uk/pressoffice

The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening. RHS work includes providing expert advice and information, advancing horticulture, training the next generation of gardeners, helping school children learn about plants, and conducting research into plants, pests and environmental issues affecting gardeners.

An interest in gardening is all you need to enjoy being a member of the RHS. For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk or call 0845 130 4646.

Founded in 1804, the Royal Horticultural Society is Britain's largest gardening charity and is committed to being the leading organisation demonstrating excellence in horticulture and promoting gardening. Renowned for its outstanding gardens and inspirational flower shows, the RHS is a key source of advice and information for all gardeners. It encourages gardening through its publications, trials, lectures, education programmes and scientific research and is home to the Lindley Library, which contains the most comprehensive collection of horticultural books in the world.

Membership of the Royal Horticultural Society offers many exclusive benefits including a monthly copy of The Garden magazine; free entrance to RHS Gardens Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire; free access to a further 88 beautiful gardens across Britain and 20 gardens in Belgium and France; access to seeds collected at RHS gardens; free gardening advice and privileged tickets to 18 RHS flower shows, including the Chelsea Flower Show, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park.

For further enquiries about membership of the RHS contact: Membership Department, Royal Horticultural Society, PO Box 313, London SW1P 2PE; 0845 130 4646 Monday - Friday 9.30am - 5pm or via the RHS website

For more information e-mail the Press Office or visit the online Press Office