This new category provides a platform for career-changing designers, over the age of 31, making their RHS Shows debut
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park has long supported new and emerging designers in the Young Designer of the Year competition, but this year a new garden category is giving the opportiunity to the growing number of people who have come to the role after having a previous career. The Career Changers category has been created specifically for new designers, plantspeople and contractors aged 31 and over to help kick-start their careers in horticulture.
“As a career changer myself, I felt it was important to highlight the benefits of changing into the horticultural sector.”
– Lex Falleyn, RHS Tatton Park Show Manager
Three designers are bringing gardens to the Show, which will be assesssed by RHS judges and included in the People’s Choice vote.
Chris Reynolds’ The Safe Space Garden
Inspired by his experiences as a police officer and work in public services supporting victims of crime, Chris Reynolds’ The Safe Space Garden is designed as a nourishing and inclusive space to aid victims of crime in their recovery. The garden’s planting and use of water is designed to be immersive, rhythmic, and soothing, encouraging the user to engage with their senses and promote feelings of safety. Reynolds, who retrained in 2022, is working with Victim Support, a charity supporting people impacted by crime, to create his garden which will be relocated to one of their support centres after the show.
Nadine Mansfield’s The Better New Build Garden
After a 25-year career in marketing, Nadine Mansfield retrained in 2020 and now makes her RHS debut with The Better New Build Garden. Mansfield aims to inspire new build homeowners and property developers to make more of their outside spaces with a design that focuses on supporting wildlife. Her garden is packed with pollinator friendly planting, native hedges and trees for bird habitat, as well as reclaimed oak and gabion insect habitats to show how new build gardens, which are often left as bare soil or covered with artificial grass, can be turned into a wildlife paradise.
Jon Pilling’s The RHS If a Tree Falls Garden
Also focusing on planet-friendly gardening, Jon Pilling, previously a higher-level teaching assistant, explores sustainable gardening approaches in his The RHS If a Tree Falls Garden. The garden features reclaimed and recycled materials and explores how we can use what nature provides to minimise our impact on the environment.
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