Invitation from show manager Lucinda Costello...
We are holding a seminar for new and potential garden exhibitors at RHS Flower Shows. Landscape Juice members are very welcome to attend and make the next step towards staging a show garden at an RHS show. Numbers are strictly limited so please email me to express interest BEFORE FRIDAY 4th NOVEMBER.
The seminar will include presentations by experienced designers, contractors, exhibitors and judges who will be drawing upon their experiences and knowledge gained over the years at RHS Shows. You will also have the chance to meet the Show Managers and ask plenty of questions!
The topics covered by the seminar will include:
Sponsorship advice
The application process
Designing and funding your garden
Sourcing plants and materials
On site: building the garden
Planting
The assessment, judging and feedback process
The seminar will be held on Monday 28 November 2011 at the NEC, Birmingham from 10.00am to 4.00pm and will be most relevant to the person designing and/or building the garden. Due to the restricted number of places we can initially only accept one application per proposed garden, but if you wish to nominate a second person, please do so and we will contact you if additional spaces become available.
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Interesting angle!
Just coming from the sourcing plants bit, our only interest, since 2004 we have supplied plants to Gold, Tudor Rose and Best in Show Gardens at Chelsea, Hampton Court, GWL & RHS Cardiff.
Is there an "approved" RHS list of plant suppliers, if so, guess that we should be on it?
No we don't have a list of approved plant suppliers. Designers usually source their own plants through their own contacts, thus ensuring a diverse range of plant material. We can always point a designer in the right direction if they're struggling to find a particular specimen but, to be honest, sourcing the components needed to create a successful garden is part of the skills they require to be successful in the industry.
Also, we can't endorse particular nurseries for several reasons:
Judging - if we recommend a nursery and the garden subsequently falls down on plant quality or range it would create a difficult situation. We cannot vouch for independent businesses and the quality of their stock.
Competition - the RHS champions horticulture as a whole, whether a small independent nursery or a large organisation. To compile a list of recommended nurseries would potentially dissuade designers from using those not on the list, e.g. a local supplier who may be perfectly worthy but not 'on the radar'.
Variety - we celebrate diversity and it's (almost!) always a pleasure to come across something, be it a plant, a structure or a material, that we haven't seen before. It keeps us, other designers and the public hooked. Detective work is part of the job when designing a show garden and going that extra mile, rather than referring to a 'safe list', makes a garden stand out from the crowd.
Nice try though! I imagine that if you've had such previous successes you need not worry - your reputation will precede you...
T & S Plants said: