Green fingers crossed for college horticulture students

Horticulture students at Derby College Group are putting the finishing touches to their show garden entry for this year’s Gardeners World Live show.

As part of their study programme, the mature students, who attend the college’s Broomfield Hall site, in Morley, have created different elements of the garden, which will be displayed at the show at Birmingham’s NEC later this week.

The garden has been designed by one of the student cohort, Rachel Pratt, and is supported by the Lilian Prime MS Centre in Derby.

Called ‘The Metamorphosis Garden’, it is designed to mark change – reflecting different themes including changes within humans, technology and in nature, as well as the transition of the Derby MS Society to the Lilian Prime MS Centre, which provide support to people affected by MS and other neurological conditions.

The design is inspired by the quote ‘if nothing every changed, there’d be no butterflies’ and the fact that the butterfly is the international symbol of MS.

Horticulture lecturer Mike Baldwin, who devised the college course, said: “Rachel has created an amazing garden design full of highly imaginative planting, structural and technological features which I am sure will amaze both the show judges and visitors alike.

“Everyone has worked incredibly hard to create the different features of the garden and we have spent many hours constructing this at the NEC ahead of the show.”

Peter Milner, chair of trustees at the Lilian Prime MS Centre, said: “We have worked with the horticultural team at Broomfield Hall for several years to provide the brief and inspiration for their show gardens at Gardeners World Live and have been delighted with the trophy tally that their designs have achieved.

“This time we challenged the students to produce a garden design that recognised and addressed the wide range of difficulties that people affected by Multiple Sclerosis might experience during their life, which is a condition that varies both in its complexity and unpredictability.

“We all agreed that Rachel’s Metamorphosis Garden truly spelt out the change we have made at our centre and the changes in the condition itself.

“We eagerly await the feedback from the show judges and hope that the garden inspires visitors to learn more about this condition which affects so many people’s lives in our local communities.”

To watch a video of the students making the elements of the garden, please click here.