Horticultural students at RHS Rosemoor have created a sustainable show garden using recycled and homegrown plants for this year’s Flower ShowThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Designers prepare to start building their show garden, left to right: Maddie Sullivan, Tim Smith, Sam Greely, Claudia Powell, George Hancock and Sam Southgate.
Visitors to this year’s RHS Rosemoor Flower Show will be able to explore a garden with a difference – one designed entirely by the venue’s own horticultural students.
For the first time, learners at the Devon garden have joined forces to create a collaborative show garden, using cuttings, seeds and plant divisions from across Rosemoor to keep the project’s carbon footprint low. The display will be unveiled during the event from Friday, August 15 to Sunday, August 17.
The team’s centrepiece is the vast stump of an ancient oak felled by Storm Darragh last year. Around it, they are building an immersive space in the Stream Field, aiming to demonstrate how sustainability and creativity can thrive together.
George Hancock, halfway through a Level 3 Horticultural Apprenticeship, said his training kept inspiring him in new ways. “My obsession is wildlife, and how gardens can nourish our native ecology,” he said. “A garden shouldn’t just grow – it should rustle, croak, buzz and sing.”
Claudia Powell, a Level 3 Horticulture Supervisor student with a background in art history, said her work with Rosemoor’s Education team had sparked an interest in social and therapeutic horticulture.
Maddie Sullivan, who completed a Level 2 Apprenticeship while working for Fareham Borough Council, is now on a one-year placement with the Edibles team, growing oyster mushrooms on waste coffee grounds. She hopes to combine her passion for foraging and edible plants by supplying a kitchen garden restaurant.
Alongside the student showcase, the Flower Show will feature talks from Carol Klein, Jekka McVicar and Joe Bagley, as well as plant sales, demonstrations, family activities and live music.
Rosemoor has also announced a new partnership with Exeter College, offering two hospitality placements starting in September.
The show is open to all, but advance booking is required, with normal garden admission applying. RHS members go free. Tickets can be booked at www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor/rhs-garden-rosemoor-flower-show.
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