THE POWERS BEHIND THE FLOWERS
Four women explain how they have grown their careers in horticulture
‘We’re championing the healing properties of nature’ Helena Pettit is director of gardens and shows at the Royal Horticultural Society, which runs the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
As a child, I barely spent any time inside – my brother and I were always outside. I remember germinating seeds on wet kitchen roll, thinking it was magic. From the age of 14, I even used to garden for neighbours. There was a part of me that always knew I’d want my career to involve the outdoors. After A-levels, I went into marketing, travelling and planning events. I also took environmental decision making with The Open University as I was interested in sustainability and the environment even then. I worked my way up in different firms, before joining the Grandstand Group in 2005, eventually becoming group managing director. In my 10 years there, we were entrenched in organising large events and managing a venue. So when the RHS job came up in 2018, it felt perfect, combining the events industry with my passion for nature.
I love working with our partners, nurseries, designers and stakeholders to create shows such as the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, RHS Flower Show Tatton Park and RHS Malvern Spring Festival. It’s such a special feeling to see the enjoyment on visitors’ faces.
Last year, due to the pandemic, we had a virtual Chelsea Flower Show, which was put together in just six weeks. We worked with our partner, the BBC, to air archive footage from previous shows, and created a series of video tours around celebrity gardens, including Monty Don’s. In some ways, it was harder work than being at regular Chelsea but we were thrilled to have a huge response, with 2.1m visitors to our site from 134 countries. When you think that we have about 165,000 visitors at the physical show, that’s a staggering level of engagement and something we will keep in mind when it comes to planning events in future.
The pandemic has been hugely challenging. Income was significantly down in 2020, as we had to cancel all our shows and put all our education, community and outreach programmes on hold. We were lucky, though, that the government recognised that outdoor spaces were important for people’s health and wellbeing. It meant our gardens and garden centres could remain open after the first lockdown. In August 2020, my role expanded to include these gardens, which means I’m also now director of RHS Wisley, Hyde Hall, Harlow Carr and Rosemoor. In May, we’re opening our fifth garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
This year, the shows will take place, although Chelsea will be in autumn rather than spring for the first time in 108 years. It will be at The Royal Hospital in Chelsea, as always, from 21 to 26 September. We’re spreading the show over an extra day, as we will have to reduce the number of visitors at any one time.
When I’m not working, I love being in my garden. I’ve filled it with plants – it’s vibrant and serene and calms me.
I think people understand now more than ever that getting outside is important for mental health. The pandemic has made a lot of us realise that there are some things we have previously taken for granted. Gardening is one of those things, and I am so glad to be working for an organisation that is championing the healing properties of nature.
For information and tickets, visit rhs.org.uk
I always knew I’d want my career to involve the outdoors