Students win top awards at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

Five groups of Landscape Architecture students from University of Gloucestershire have won prestigious prizes, including two gold medals, at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show 2023 Tatton Park.

The student groups of Dan March, Hallie Abbott Trangmar and Adam Rowley, and Una Nolan, Annie Watson and Caitlin Lewis, were each awarded a RHS Gold medal – the highest accolade sought by garden designers – in the Long Border category.

Dan, Hallie and Adam’s ‘A Pocket of Peace’ (main image) won a RHS Gold medal, the Rose Bowl Award and named Best Long Border, with the description of the border reading: ‘Modern tech inhibits our interaction with nature, portrayed in this border with its large wooden screens, representing the dominance of technology. Planting is serene, with shrubs, bamboo and perennials such as Senecio candidans and Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ chosen for their contrasting foliage shapes and textures.’

The description of Una, Annie and Caitlin’s (pictured above) RHS Gold-medal winning ‘The Garden of Vivacity’ reads: ‘Meandering through the border, a dynamic ribbon-like instalment of steel posts creates a sculptural statement. This structure provides a backdrop to the vibrant hot tones of the planting palette, ensuring a strong contrast.’

Three groups of students also from the Landscape Architecture programme won RHS Silver-Gilt medals – between Gold and Silver – in the Long Border category: Shereen Din, Imogen Reeves, Sarah Marsh (Staying in Touch with the Garden); Mia Thompstone, Joe Parker, Henry Monnington (Coastal Whisper); David Cockburn, James Hill (Forager’s Haven).

The RHS – the UK’s leading gardening charity – says Long Borders are designed to provide an exciting opportunity for designers, gardeners and horticultural students to showcase their creativity and inspire visitors.

The main sponsor of the borders was Wyevale Nurseries, which gifted 95% of the plants as well as transporting all the plants up to Tatton Park in Cheshire free of charge. The show runs until Sunday.

Bill Burford, Academic Subject Lead for Architecture, Construction and Environment, said: “The RHS and Wyevale Nurseries were full of admiration for our students and the course.

“I spoke to the RHS show organisers and they encouraged us to enter student groups into all the other RHS show next year.  

“Course leader Jamie Liversedge also deserves immense credit for encouraging these students to participate, as well as his hard work and support for them through the build.”

Professor Angus Pryor said: “Many congratulations to all our student groups on their success at the RHS Flower Show 2023 Tatton Park.

“Winning a RHS medal is a superb achievement that demonstrates their imagination, visualisation and technical skills, and they all should feel immensely proud of themselves.

“The show is also a great opportunity for our students to enhance their learning, put ideas into practice and showcase their work to the wider world – a huge ‘well done’ to everyone who has been involved.”

Students on the Landscape Architecture degree programme at the University have worked on a range of other key sites as part of the course, including Pittville Park in Cheltenham and Kings Square in Gloucester, to help develop their design creativity and professional practice skills within real-life scenarios.

Main image: left to right, Adam Rowley, Hallie Abbott Trangmar and Dan March at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2023; other images, top to bottom: Una Nolan, Annie Watson and Caitlin Lewis; left to right, Shereen Din and Sarah Marsh; left to right, Henry Monnington, Mia Thompstone and Joe Parker; left to right, James Hill and David Cockburn.