New Forest garden scoops top BBC award
28 April 2023
Furzey Gardens in Minstead has been awarded ‘Best Beautiful Border 2023’ at the BBC Gardener’s World Spring Fair in Beaulieu.
The small show garden produced by the Furzey team received a Platinum Medal as well as being named Best Beautiful Border at the three day event, which runs until 30 April.
The garden features plants grown exclusively at Furzey Gardens and was constructed by people with learning disabilities and the gardening team.
Woodland planting and the Elm wood chair with thatching
Entitled ‘Not all those who wander are lost’, the garden was inspired by the poem ‘The Riddle of Strider’ by J.R Tolkien:
‘All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.’
The garden’s theme reflects its role as a place of support, training and tranquility for people with learning disabilities for over 30 years. As part of local charity Minstead Trust, the garden supports dozens of people every week to learn horticultural skills, improve their wellbeing and work towards employment.
The award-winning show garden design includes plants that thrive at Furzey including Rhododendron montroseanum, shuttlecock ferns, hosta and Candelabra primulas.
Cleverly intertwined with the planting and at the end of a stepping stone path, a grand chair carved from the trunk of an old Elm tree stands quietly in one corner covered by a canopy of thatch. The chair was carved with a chainsaw by Maxie Lane in the 1970s, out of the same Elm tree that the Giant’s Table at Furzey Gardens was made from.
Henry, who is supported at Furzey Gardens said ‘I helped with the build on Tuesday and I think that the garden looks very nice. I am so proud that we won.’
Pete White, Furzey Gardens Head Gardener, said: ‘This is the end point of a long journey that started months ago. We are so grateful to the whole team who have worked together, people we support, the volunteers and everyone who helped to get everything to site in the pouring rain on Monday.
‘Assembly has been relatively straightforward, we had all the plants and we knew the look we wanted and by the time we were finishing I knew we had something special. I am really pleased that we have achieved this, it means a lot to Furzey Gardens.’
Andrew Bentley, Estates Manager Furzey Gardens, said: ‘Everyone involved has done such a good job to achieve this result. From the gardeners and nursery staff, to volunteers and of course the people with learning disabilities that we support. We are incredibly proud that we have won this award that the whole team can share.’
The garden really shows Furzey Gardens and Minstead Trust at its best, not only from the beautiful plants, but it is a real example of what can be achieved when everyone works together as a team, no matter what their contribution.
Furzey Gardens is currently at its spring flowering peak and is open every day. Book tickets at www.furzey-gardens.org