insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Page 12

NEWS

MEDALS GALORE FOR KENT HORTICULTURE

L-R: Iris, 'Hever Castle' donated by Sue Marshall; The Kent Hardy Plant Society's Exhibition, Over the Garden Gate; William Dyson

Kent growers and designers
delighted the judges at this year's
RHS Chelsea Flower Show,
bringing home an impressive haul
of medals.
Kent-based designer Jo Thompson
created the show garden for main
sponsor M&G, and was awarded
a coveted silver gilt medal. The
garden on Main Avenue was
inspired in part by Vita Sackville
West’s writing room at Sissinghurst.
The pastoral retreat featured an oak
two-storey building, a natural
swimming pond and a wooden jetty

which zig zagged through a
beautiful mixed planting of roses,
foxgloves, verbascum and dark
plum-colour Acer palmatum. Jo
said: "It was such an honour to be
asked by M&G to create this
quintessentially British retreat; I’ve
let rip with the planting!"

Floristry pupils at Hadlow College were awarded gold for their version of
the Mad Hatter's Tea Party created using nothing but freshly cut flowers.
Hadlow was also crowned College of the Year.
Sue Marshall from Marden took gold for her irises grown on behalf of the
French plant breeder, Cayeux. Sue also donated a new iris called 'Hever
Castle’ to the Kent branch of the Hardy Plant Society, whose exhibit Over
the Garden Gate was awarded a silver gilt.

A riot of scent and colour from
across the world delighted in the
Great Pavilion, which is the size of
two football pitches. Paul Harris, a
hosta specialist from Brookfield
Plants in Ashford, scored a hat trick
with his third gold medal in a row.

Kent plant specialists also included William Dyson from Great Comp Garden
in Sevenoaks. William’s salvias were awarded a silver gilt. William Dyson
told insideKENT: “I’m delighted with the award; it’s been fantastic to be
back at RHS Chelsea after a break of 11 years.” The curator at Great Comp
Garden also launched a new plant Salvia, Love & Wishes, which came third
overall in Chelsea’s Plant of The Year Competition 2015.

KENT LIFE HERITAGE FARM PARK APPOINTS NEW GENERAL MANAGER
A former Aylesford Secondary School pupil is
returning to Maidstone borough to take the helm
of one of Kent’s most popular attractions.
Dan Gooch, 32, has been appointed as general
manager of Kent Life Heritage Farm Park in
Sandling. Prior to joining the award-winning
attraction, Dan worked for Medway Council as
a countryside officer, managing Capstone Farm
Country Park and Riverside Country Park as well
as 48 other countryside sites across Medway.
His role included helping to create, implement
and deliver more than 50 events a year, as well
as project managing improvements to the sites
and operational management. Before that, Dan
spent almost seven years as head ranger at the
Green Flag award-winning Leybourne Lakes
Country Park.
Emily Hirons, deputy head of operations at
Continuum, the leading visitor attractions group
that operates Kent Life, said: “Dan demonstrated
during his interview process a real passion for
Kent Life and the local area. His experience in
countryside management, plus his knowledge
of the attraction from being a Kent Life member,
will prove to be the perfect mix to enable him to
drive Kent Life forward to even greater success.”
Dan, who lives in Walderslade, is no stranger to
Kent Life. As one of the attraction’s thousands
of members, he has been a