Bangor’s Expertise helps win Gold at Chelsea
Natalie Chivers at work at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.Bangor University's Botanic Garden Curator, Natalie Chivers spent the whole of last week up to her elbows in soil as she was part of the planting-scheme design team for the Montessori St Nicholas Garden at the Chelsea Flower show. Natalie spent the week planting all the carefully selected blooms for this Garden which has won the coveted Chelsea Gold award.
The garden featured an edible living wall, dipping ponds and a cut flower garden where kids could cut flowers and make “potions”. Natalie is the Curator of Bangor University’s Botanic Garden, Treborth Botanic Garden in Bangor and has been working at the Chelsea Flower Show since 2014 when she was part of Adam Frost’s Last Ever Show Garden on Main Avenue. This sparked her passion for garden design and landscaping. Natalie is now part of a highly experienced planting design team, who are commissioned every year to produce amazing plant schemes for Chelsea Flower Show Gardens.
Natalie said:
“There’s no feeling like it makes all the hard work and long hours totally worth it. Working at RHS Shows is so inspiring and it’s wonderful to be able to bring all this inspiration home to Treborth. This year’s garden was particularly poignant as over the last year Treborth and our partner organisation Wild Elements have been working very closely with local schools. We are now even more driven to get local school children excited about gardens growing things and being outside.”
A detail of some of the planting at the Montessori St Nicholas Garden at the Chelsea Flower showIf you would like to meet her Natalie and her team will be attending the Festival of Discovery, Mona Show Ground on the 30th, 31st May and 1st June.
Natalie teaches Bangor University students on plant diversity and conservation modules that form part of the many degrees taught by the School of Natural Sciences.
Publication date: 24 May 2019