Students bring home bronze from their Chelsea debut

Three students on University College Falmouth’s BA(Hons) degree in Garden Design won a bronze medal for their garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. It was a dream come true for Aline Dejaegher, Debra Craig and Karen Narramore – all of whom are third-year students on the innovative course that runs in partnership with Duchy College at Rosewarne.

The Chelsea Flower Show, one of the most prestigious events in the gardening calendar, attracts over 150,000 visitors each year, as well as television viewers from around the world. This event has provided these students with an enviable, professional gardening debut before the best, the brightest and some of the most distinguished names in the contemporary UK gardening scene.

Their vision for Porthgwyr (Green Harbour) – a garden that combines a Cornish arts café with gallery space, and contemporary style with sustainability, caught the eye and the imagination of international media at yesterday’s press day. The garden was singled out in the BBC’s coverage of the event, including memorable visits by Alan Titchmarsh and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen - two of the presenters of the BBC’s Chelsea Flower Show Programme. The garden has been extensively covered by radio and television from around the world, including Japanese and Australian television production teams.

"Absolutely ecstatic", "speechless" and "couldn't be more thrilled", were the reactions of the three students to the bronze medal and the coverage their garden has received.

Their seaside gallery space is defined by its strong, sensuous curves – a simple representation of the Cornish coastline – providing a ‘safe harbour’ for the artwork that has been created by students from University College Falmouth’s BA(Hons) degrees in Contemporary Crafts, Fine Art, 3D Design and Textile Design. Ben Barrell’s curved ‘Crescent Bench’ cantilevers over a pool of water. The shape, colour and texture of the planting was designed to create an atmosphere of seclusion, privacy and quiet. A light, airy canopy reflects the openness of the gallery space whilst vibrant green and glossy silver foliage reflect available sunlight.

“We wanted to create a garden that captured the spirit of Cornwall, that made people stop and stare, and that promoted sustainability so we have utilised environmentally sustainable materials, wherever possible,” adds Debra. “Locally-grown sweet chestnut decking from Tregothnan Estate has been lined with setts created from recycled glass by UCF BA(Hons) Contemporary Crafts students, Tammy Falls and Louise Batchelor, to mimic light on water; and the walls are coated in a natural lime wash of saffron provided by the Cornish Lime Company.”

The students and their course leaders all gave heartfelt thanks to the many Cornish businesses whose contributions made this debut at Chelsea possible. Hardy Exotics, Trevena Cross, Duchy Nurseries and Bond Landscaping were some of the companies praised for their support.

"I am absolutely delighted with this result after all the hard work, thought and effort that went into producing our garden at Chelsea. The students have enjoyed a fantastic roller-coaster ride. I think they should be very proud of their achievements, as are we," says BA(Hons) Garden Design Course Leader, Richard Sneesby, who is himself a Chelsea medal-winner.

Porthgwyr may be the fulfilment of one ambition, but what is certain is that this talented trio is set to go far.