Green fingered students set their sights on BBC Gardeners World

BIRMINGHAM — A team of Landscape Construction and Garden Design students from Oaklands College are pitching their gardening skills against some of the best in the country by making their debut at BBC Gardeners’ World Live.

Plants are well underway and plans in place for the group of three students led by staff and tutors to pack up their plant creations and beautiful frameworks and head to Birmingham NEC this month to create their very own entry into the shows ‘Beautiful Borders’ competition live on site.

The Beautiful Borders are defined small empty beds dedicated for budding garden designers, horticultural students and gardening clubs to show off their gardening skills, inspiration and creativity. This year’s theme for the Beautiful Borders is ‘50 years of Gardeners’ World’ as the show celebrates its milestone anniversary. The student’s design will then face the show’s judges the day before the show officially opens to the public on 15th June.

The Oaklands Team began planning their entry at the beginning of the year, sketching a design which incorporates a willow-woven frame as its centrepiece. The final design includes over 24 different species of plant that the team have been working tirelessly to sow, grow and nurture at their base at St Albans Campus to ensure they are at optimum flowering for the event. Specific plants have also been supplied by local garden centre Notcutts.

Judges will be assessing the design on overall impression, design, planting and construction. In addition for bidding for a Gold Silver or Bronze Award from the judges the team also have a chance of securing the title of BBC Gardeners World Best Beautiful Border and the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Best Interpretation of a Theme.

Landscape Construction Co-ordinator Tee Robertson said: “It’s a big step to head to BBC Gardeners’ World for the first time – it’s a key date in the calendar for anyone in the industry and it’s exciting that our students can now be a part of it.

“We’re told over 90,000 visitors are expected over the four days – of course we’re hoping to win big but what an incredible opportunity for our students to have their work seen by so many people. It’s been a long time coming but we can’t wait to get up to Birmingham in a few weeks’ time.”

The Beautiful Borders Competition takes place at NEC Birmingham from 15 – 18 June.