TheOrator.Press Associate Reporter At RHS Hampton Court Flower Festival This Year Is Florist Pauline Dean. She Spoke To Garden Designers Toni Bowater & Lucy Welsh Who Were Delighted With Their Win, Along With Landscape Design Company Lifestyle Gardens.
Hampton Court Garden Festival Is The Largest And Most Regal Garden Festival In Great Britain. This Year It Runs From Monday July 4th To Saturday July 9th 2023. As The RHS Makes Efforts To Become More Diverse It Feels Inclusive And Welcoming And A Joyous Place To Be For Everybody That’s Interested In Gardening, Flowers, Plants, Enjoying The Outdoors And Beautiful Gardens And A Great Day Out. There Are Food Stalls, Refreshments, Garden Ornaments, Decorations, People off The Telly, Live Music And Even ‘Flowers After Hours’ Where Those So Inclined Can Stay And Have A Good Time Soaking Up The Atmosphere. Visitors Can Take In And Leave Out As Much As They Like.
But However Much You Want To Get Involved It’s A Great Day Out. And For Those In And Around The London Area Just A Simple Train Ride Away For A Special Day. Set In The Grounds of The Famous Tudor Castle Inhabited By King Henry VIII And Running Alongside The River Thames It’s A Day Out You Won’t Forget. And It’s Inclusive. We Especially Liked The African & Caribbean Flowers, Garden Ornaments And Sculptures. And Seeing Different Couples, Families And Friends From Various Backgrounds Enjoying Festival In A Friendly Atmosphere
Owner Gavin & Colleague Triston From @lifestyle_gardens Were Simply A Joy To Meet. Gavin Is Friendly, Funny, And Forever Building Brilliant Gardens. And Triston Is His Charming And Dedicated Righthand Man. Together They Make A Great Team And It Was Just A Pleasure To Be Around Them. One Couldn’t Help But Be Happy For Them When On Hearing That They’d Won The RHS Hampton Court Best Construction Award For A Get Started Garden.
The Wooden Spoon Charity @charityspoon Is A Grant Making Organisation Which Helps Various Groups Looking After Children And Youngsters Dealing With Disabilities, Disadvantage And Disenfranchisement. Princess Anne The Princess Royal @anneprincessroyal Is Their Patron And They Receive Support From Many Rugby Personalities Including Former England Women’s Rugby Team Player, Turned Commentator @maggiealphonsi. Their Moto Is Transforming Children’s Lives Through The Power of Rugby’.
In Rugby Parlance The Wooden Spoon Is Traditionally Awarded In Good Sporting Humour To The Team That Finishes Last In The Annual Six Nations Rugby Championships Since Joining The Competition In 2000 Italy Have Been Awarded The Most Wooden Spoons of The Six Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France And Italy). Exactly How & Why Rugby & This Particular Kitchen Utensil Have Became Affiliated Remains Yet To Be Definitively Explained By The Appropriate Rugby Powers That Be, But The Wooden Spoon Trust Has Been Awarding Grants And Doing Good Work Under That Name Since 1983. And The Garden Will Be Dedicated To A School Associated With Its Work Once The RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival Finished.
An ‘A Team’ In Landscaping
https://woodenspoon.org.uk/about-us
https://woodenspoon.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant
Centre (Down To Earth) Gavin Elison With Tristan (Right) And The Rest of The Team That Worked On The Winning Wooden Spoon ‘Get Started’ Garden (Construction Category)
Broomhill Bank School
Crowning Glory For The Wooden Spoon Garden At The Hampton Court Garden Festival 2022
Neurodiversity & The Vision For The Garden
As A Florist And A Garden Lover Pauline Was On A Mission With TheOrator.Press (TO.P) @theOrator.Press.On.Insta To explore, meet people, view the Vast Array of flowers and fauna and Get The Word On The Street. On Our Adventures We Happened Upon this gem of a garden. A Small Crowd Seemed To Have Stopped And Gathered. Intrigued We Wanted To Know why, So We Stopped For A While.
Pauline Decided To Venture Off Into Small Sections of The Garden And Surrounding Area And Focus. She Says:
“My immediate attention was drawn to the delicacy of the Astrantia Major, before moving onto the dark tubular flowers of Penstemon and finally the block of plum from the Cercis Canadensis tree. I was simply attracted to its beautiful foliage as well as the grand stance it held, Positioned to show off its beauty, with maximum effect.”
“I loved that the colour was interwoven throughout the garden with each plant, shrub and flower having their Own individual space to show off their garden appeal. The different shades and hues of plum were quite delightfully, all vying for attention.”
“I took some time to look at the wooden structures. A post with a red apple placed inside a circular hole and another with wooden spoons extending sideways holding with what appeared to be bird seed. Wooden spoons creating a fence? Sponsored by The Wooden Spoon Trust, The Children’s Charity of Rugby, The Link Was Creatively Made Clear For All To See, Even If The Connection Was Not Cottoned On To Immediately. Intrigued I Just Had To Know More.”
“Fortunately The Designers Were Very Hands On And Right At Hand. One of Them, Toni Bowater @toni.bowater.garden.design Happily Explained The Thinking Behind The Wooden Fencing And Floral Design of The Garden.”
Florist Pauline Dean @floralbal_artistry @flobalfloralevents With Garden Designers Lucy Welsh @lucy_inthegarden And Toni Bowater @toni.bowater.garden.design And Landscaper Gavin Elison @lifestyle_gardens. (TO.P) TheOrator.Press Editor Michelle Rose Walker In The Award-Winning Wooden Spoon Garden
Toni’s team was a trio of Toni Herself @toni.bowater.garden.design, Fellow designer Lucy Welsh @lucy_inthegarden and the Aforementioned ever so buoyant, landscape gardener, Gavin Elison @lifestyle_gardens.
The vision for the garden was the creation of a space for autistic children who attend Broomhill Bank School, in Swanley, Kent And The ultimate goal was to Facilitate a sensory experience Within a Dedicated safe Space of exploration, play and discovery. For Instance The garden Naturally lower itself into a little retreat Via a winding, sturdy wooden staircase. Its circular shape Is based on an idea of venturing into the woods, Then Having an open log fire and children sitting comfortably in a circle around it. And On Sitting There In That Space It Really Is quickly Comfortable, Sociable And A Natural Joy To Be Outside In Such A Space, Somehow Feel Protected, Even though Others Can Still See In.
Not Only Is It Neurodiverse Friendly, It Is Also Environmentally Friendly. The concrete free structures with low environmental impact and the omission of manmade materials, reflects A Commitment To Using As little carbon as possible.
I asked her how valuable this would be to The students. “Very, very valuable” She Said as she ventured to point out The Difference Between Old Methods And New, as Reflected In the Wood. Old ground screws Could be reused on a different project, the mortise and tenon joints, an older traditional method of connecting pieces of wood together, had been used and the makers mark had been left on the posts, allowing the students to understand which post lined up with the relevant joint. This Is Particularly relevant to those undertaking a DT (Design Technology) Course where they could understand more directly both traditional and contemporary methods of construction, By Comparing the traditional methods used of old.
Broomhill Bank was also excited about using the wooden steps to Fashion chairs for the Children after the event.
Back to those wonderful plants! Tactile grasses and pimpinella major, were included to bring more interest and different textures into the garden, strategically placing them to show off their various heights and Contrasting colours.
Speaking to Toni, there was an immediate connection. Not only did we have a love of flowers and plants but We realised that our experience of working with autistic children and young people was a shared one. This made the interview more meaningful as we could relate the build of the garden to the students who would be using it.
Just walking down the steps into the enclosure surrounded by all of its elements I could see how well it would work. The calmness was Self-Evident. Even with the background noise, people interrupting the interview to ask questions, judges coming back to speak to the trio, examine the garden as well as the numerous photographs being taken , I truly found myself becoming immersed within the surroundings.
Empathy, Insight & Positive Pathways
The garden in situ at RHS Hampton Court, cannot be entirely replicated At the school, But Substantial replanting Will Ensure That The Children Can Still Enjoy The Sensory Pleasureof The Plants And About Them, gardening and maintenance. The additionalPlayful ideas of holes in poles, bird seed in spoons and the little stationary hedgehogs were Also Fun And Educational.
Autistic children Can Often primarily display none or very little of The Usual Metrics of Standard Behavioural Development. And Often Sensitivity to external stimuli is also a feature of autism. The development stages of Non Autistic children are usually clearly defined Such That parents, guardians and school Can Expect to See the use of motor skills and language Skills As Standard communication skills, Together With understanding figurative expressions, showing empathy, and Connecting with others, Allowing Them To Gradually Develop Closer Friendships And Bonds As The Progress To Adulthood.
A Main Feature of Autism Is Often impaired reciprocal social interaction. but working with autistic children, allows a touch of empathy and insight into how we can work To creating positive pathways and life experiences for those That Live With It.
So Does The Design And Build of The Wooden Spoon Garden Help With That? Well The Judges Thought So Hence They Awarded It the RHS Silver-Gilt Medal.
Will it work at Broomhill Bank School? That Will Be A Very Practical Lesson Indeed And Only Time Will Tell. But Suffice To Say We Are Currently Confident of Great School Reports.
(Below: The RHS Award Presenter (In Cool White Dress) Presents The Team With Their Award. And Adorned With Some Fabulous Frairs Rose TheOrator.Press Editor Tries Out The Award-Winning Woodenspoon Garden For A Little While. It’s Definitely A Winner!).
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