Channel 5's TV Gardener, David Domoney, has
joined forces with The Prince's Foundation for a second year to
officially launch the 2012 'Ideal Young Gardeners of the Year'
competition ahead of the Ideal Home Show's return to London's Earls
Court next March.
Following the success of last year's inaugural
competition, six UK colleges, including Shuttleworth
College will once again go head-to-head to create
inspirational and sustainable show gardens which will all be
exhibited in the forecourt of Earls Court during the 104th Ideal
Home Show, which runs from March 16th to April 1st 2011. Last
year's debut gardens, each designed by emerging young talent in the
industry, were visited by HRH The Prince of Wales at Earls Court.
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William Woodman, a student at
Shuttleworth College said:
“The experience of doing my own show garden at this level and on
this scale is fantastic - even if it isn't my design that is
chosen, the experience of building an actual show garden with the
team is just so exciting. I have never done anything like this
before.”
Once again the competition will aim to
highlight the very best examples of sustainable practice in British
garden design amongst student designers. Each college will be given
a 5.5m x 4m plot to both plan and design a unique and sustainable
garden based on the theme of 'land craft techniques in an urban
setting.' A panel of industry experts led by Domoney will
judge the entries and award the prize medals.
The Prince's Foundation has set clear
guidelines for the competition based on organic and sustainable
principles. In addition, each garden should inspire city
dwellers, showing just what can be achieved in the most impossible
of tight urban locations.
Hank Dittmar, Chief Executive of The
Prince's Foundation comments: “The importance of green
spaces both in urban living and sustainable lifestyle is often
overlooked and we are pleased to once again be launching this
competition, particularly ahead of the launch of our lands crafts
programme later this year. The Prince's Foundation considers
this to be a great start to the crafts programme - giving young
people at the start of their careers an opportunity to learn about
sustainable garden design and craftsmanship.”
David Domoney, organiser of the
competition says: “Last year over a quarter of a million
people at the Ideal Home Show got to appreciate the show gardens
designed by our young students and this kind of exposure, with
support from The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, can
prove a great fuel injection in those young people's career paths
and help them stand out from the competition when they come to
apply for work.”
Each college will be given 1 week to build and
plant their garden outside Earls Court ready for the Ideal Home
Show opening day on the 16th March 2012. During this
time they will be monitored and supported by Domoney in preparation
for the judging panel.
Every college that takes part will be in with
the chance of winning a show medal with two individual prestigious
awards, 'Best at Show' and 'The People's
Choice' also up for grabs. Over 275,000 people will
view their creations over the course of the 2012 London show
offering students fantastic exposure and a solid industry platform
to build upon.
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