Don’t be a wallflower, all are welcome at city garden show
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Show Cardiff opens today. Here, the society’s youngest show manager, Rose Gore Browne, 25, shares her 2017 vision for the three-day annual highlight in Wales’ gardening calendar...
HOW did your interest in gardening begin? I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors, growing up on a farm in the New Forest with two passionate gardeners for parents. My mum actually made a career from gardening, as well as loving to get involved in her free time, and Dad worked for the Woodland Trust, so you could say it was my destiny! Myself, my brother and my sister all have floral names – Rose, Heather and (Sweet) William!
Did you always know you wanted to get into this type of career?
I actually studied business at university to keep my qualifications quite general. At that point I wasn’t sure what I wanted to pursue in the long term. I wanted to make sure I kept all options available to me.
So how did your career in horticulture begin?
I randomly saw a Facebook post which took me to Grow London – a very contemporary and creative show that allowed me to work closely with children and young people to get them interested in gardening and the outdoors. It was great being involved with Grow and I gained an awful lot of experience. Through Grow I met a lot of people within the RHS, and picked up many of the skills I needed to make the move last November once my time with Grow ended.
What can we expect from this year’s RHS Flower Show Cardiff?
Cardiff really is such a lovely show, and what I always try to reiterate is that with Cardiff we’re not attempting to “be Chelsea” – we’re trying to do something different here by creating a more relaxed and welcoming environment; a show in which you can leisurely make your way around in a day and enjoy its beautiful Bute Park setting.
Part of my role is to build on what I learned at Grow and bring more novice gardeners and younger people in to see what we’re all about.
It can be hard for people not to be intimidated when they see such accomplished, veteran gardeners doing what they do best, but we want to break down those barriers.
We’ve kept the vibe as relaxed as possible while maintaining our high standards and quality of work. We want the show to be accessible to gardeners of all levels, and to encourage everyone to give it a go themselves. What are you looking forward to about the Cardiff Show? I’m really excited about the workshops and all the interactive activities – it’s the best way to spread the word about gardening! It’s also wonderful to see people getting involved and enjoying themselves. We’re really appealing to the younger generations with this approach, and hope that both the youngsters and adults are equally happy to get their hands dirty. Is there anything new for 2017? We have a floral Ferris wheel! This year visitors will be able to get a whole new perspective on the colourful displays below by taking to the skies above Bute Park. What are your thoughts on Cardiff as a city? It’s a lovely city, and a wonderful place to hold a flower show, relaxed, friendly and a great place to make a weekend of it. You’re certainly not short on delightful daffodils either!
Holding the show within the grounds of a castle really adds to this year’s theme of Welsh Myths and Legends – it really evokes an atmosphere of historical mystery.
I arrived on site this week and am so excited to see how the showground is developing each day. The Show Gardens and Features are all coming along really well, it’s amazing how quickly they are built, can’t wait to see them all finished! It’s a real hive of activity on site with everyone pulling together to create another fantastic show.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for some glorious sunny spring weather!
The RHS Cardiff Flower Show will be in the city’s Bute Park until Sunday. It is open between 10am and 5.30pm today and tomorrow, and open between 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday, with the plant sell-off at 4pm. For further information, see www.rhs.org.uk