Merrist Wood College Students Take Top Honours at BBC Gardeners’ World Live Competition

Published on: 9 May, 2024
Updated on: 13 May, 2024

A team of Merrist Wood College’s horticultural and landscaping students have been awarded the top platinum prize as well as Best In Show accolade at BBC Gardeners’ World Live Spring Fair College Garden Competition.

This is the second year running the college team have entered the college gardens category, last year claiming gold.

The platinum-winning students and staff from Merrist Wood College, Worplesdon.

The students have spent the past couple of months designing and planning their show garden.

The theme this year was Gardening in a Challenging Climate, with the focus very much on sustainability.

Proudly showing their platinum award.

The students once again worked closely with mentor, award-winning garden designer, Cherry Carmen, to bring the vision of their climate change garden, Equilibrium, to life.

The aim of the show garden being to inspire people to cultivate more in their gardens, recognising the crucial role that each thriving plant plays in sustaining, not only us, but also the varied wildlife that inhabits our surroundings.

The cost-effective layout incorporated a green roof, recycled, up-cycled, and repurposed elements, as well as two distinct planted zones, one resilient to drought and the other to floods.

The following photos show their garden being built.

Most of the materials and plants used in the three-day build were sourced from the college campus, keeping the theme of sustainability in mind.

This year’s team was made up of six keen students representing Merrist Wood College and University Centre: Ben Hooper, 28; William Lawrence, 21; Kieran Saunders, 20; Ryan Conlan, 18; Charlie White, 18 and George Robinson who celebrated his 18th birthday during the event!

Charlie White said: “Watching my design come to life has been a great experience for everyone involved in the build.

“The team are proud of what we have achieved, and the interaction and feedback of visitors has been really positive and memorable for us all.

“The experience we have gained from the gold-winning garden last year has helped me and the team gain great experience and confidence to know we could achieve a platinum award this year.

“It’s been really rewarding to use this opportunity to use the skills we have gained from our college work and work experience in a pressurised environment to get our garden finished and ready in time for the judging.”

Jo Manser, director at Merrist Wood College and University Centre, said: “This outstanding example of creativity, skill and commitment shows how dedicated and talented our students are.