RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Meet The Team 2023
CHRIS
Lecturer, Garden Designer
Chris Bird has a long history of designing gardens for RHS Chelsea and his track record includes nine Gold medals and six Best in Category awards. Chris’s 2021 entry, The Natural Kalendar, won a Silver-Gilt medal, this exciting accolade marked Sparsholt College’s fourth Silver-Gilt medal, adding to the impressive collection held by the College. As a Lecturer at Sparsholt College he works closely with Plant Heritage, the RHS and the National Trust. Chris has co-ordinated the college’s displays for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show since 1998.
ALICE
Student – Plant Team
“I’m really looking forward to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I’m on the plants team which I’m really happy about because propagation and plants is one of my favourite areas of Horticulture. Because our theme is Rustic Recipes Reimagined, a lot of the plants are edible – so far we’ve been pricking out a lot of vegetables which is going well, we’re a really good team.
I think it will be great putting it all together for RHS Chelsea and seeing it in that environment will be brilliant, there’s a lot of inspiration there!”
ELIZA
Student – Construction Team
“I’m on the construction team and have been working on the well which is one of the main focal points of our garden. It’s made from local flint. I’ve really enjoyed working on the garden as I’ve got to use different skills to put together the well and other aspects.
I’m looking forward to seeing the final result.”
MATT
Student – Plant Team
“My main role is to prepare plants for our exhibit – getting the seeds ready, planting them and pricking them all out. I’m really excited to be part of RHS Chelsea – it’s an opportunity that not many people have. I’m looking forward to looking around the other gardens as well as building ours.”
JAZ
Student – Graphics Team Leader
“My role is to look at the leaflet and graphics as well as the plant labelling. I’ve also done the main watercolour drawing of the garden, which I’m really proud of.
I’m really excited for RHS Chelsea – I’m especially interested in the conservation side and the ecological benefits that our garden is looking to bring, we have lots of native planting and hedging. I can’t wait to see the garden finished – I can picture it so well in my head and am really looking forward to actually seeing it and being in it.”
GEORGE
Student – Graphics Team
“Rustic Recipes Reimagined is all about rebuilding our connection with nature – our ancestors were very close to nature and we’re trying to be more like that in today’s society.
I’m very excited to be going to RHS Chelsea this year – it’s a wonderful experience to be part of and I’m sure it will be incredible meeting lots of different people, understanding how it all works and hopefully building up some more skills that will help me in my career in the future.”
CHARLOTTE
Student – Plant Team Leader
“As Plant Team Leader I’m responsible for selecting and sourcing plants and making sure they look beautiful by the time they get into our garden. We’re going back to our roots and looking at native plants and other plants which have edible, medicinal or herbal uses so I think it’s going to be really interesting.
It’s just such an incredible opportunity for young people to be able to get a chance to display at such a renowned show as RHS Chelsea; it’s really inspiring.”
JOSH
Student – Construction Team
“My job is being responsible for the beehive, which is one of the four main features of our garden. The others are the shed, the well and the arbour. I’ve made it using pieces of other beehives and it will be clad in Western red cedar with a felted roof and it will be put on a brickwork base.
I’m really excited about RHS Chelsea, I feel it will give me some great experience for my future work and will look great on my CV!”
ELLA
Student – Construction Team Leader
“My role entails construction, stock checks and some Health and Safety. We have lots of features in our garden such as a well, a beehive and a shed which are all made from different materials.
It’s a really big opportunity to be so young and get to visit RHS Chelsea for the first time, it’s very exciting.”
