UK Skills at RHS Chelsea - Blog
William Gadd (Landscape Gardener) UK Skills Garden - Growing World Class Talent
WorldSkills, UK Alumni Member RHS Sliver Flora Medal Winner
Intro
William was selected by UK Skills to be part of Team UK to compete at the WorldSkills Competition when it was held in Calgary, Canada in 2009. He competed in landscape gardening at the event and his dedication and hard work against the world’s best talent was recognised with a prestigious Medallion For Excellence award. William now works with his brother James running their business, Gadd Brothers Trees and Landscapes, which specialises in bespoke garden design and construction and all aspects of arboriculture. He is a member of the WorldSkills, UK Alumni.
For up to date information on the visit the RHS Chelsea Flower Show website, watch coverage on BBC TV, and Radio.
Saturday 29th May
What a great day! Not only was our garden featured on TV on the RHS Chelsea Flower Show programmes on BBC One and BBC Two yesterday but we also bumped into WorldSkills, UK Alumni member Joe Massie, who has also been working at Chelsea (separately from us) creating his own floristry exhibition.
When we caught up with Joe he had literally just been crowned RHS Young Florist of the Year, winning a Gold Medal and Best in Show Award for his work. Joe was buzzing with excitement as you can imagine! Such a great achievement for him – well done!
I also saw florist Lauren Curry (Squad UK, WorldSkills Calgary 2009) who was exhibiting in the same floristry award category too. Lauren also won a medal – a Silver-Gilt Grenfell Award no less. So it has been medals all round for all of us involved at Chelsea. Let’s hope we can now build on this success and show the rest of the world just how much skill and talent the UK has to offer when WorldSkills London 2011 next year.
Thanks once again to everyone that has worked tirelessly to make the UK Skills, Growing World Class Talent garden happen. Without your help and commitment it simply would not have happened. Maybe we’ll see you all at the Show again next year... who knows, we may even land ourselves a gold medal next time round?
Friday 28th May
Who would have thought that only two weeks ago we started with a square of mud?
I can’t believe the Show is already drawing to a close. This week seems to have flown by!
My time spent working at Chelsea has brought back so many memories of my experiences at WorldSkills Calgary 2009. That same combination of excitement, anxiety and anticipation. It's a mixed bag of emotions but I wouldn’t have missed out on this opportunity for anything.
It has been amazing to work with some of my fellow ex WorldSkills competitors, creating our garden, (Growing World Class Talent), from scratch. Who would have thought that only two weeks ago we started with a square of mud?
The feedback from visitors that have seen our finished garden has been enthusiastic, very complimentary. It’s just a shame that tomorrow we will have to dismantle it! I want to thank RHS Chelsea Flower Show for inviting UK Skills to create a garden. After what we have achieved here, I think we have been able to demonstrate the importance of vocational education and skills in today’s tough economic times.
People are keen to hear more about what UK Skills does. It has also given them a taste of what they can expect from WorldSkills London 2011, which is very positive.
Thursday 27th May
Today I got the chance to wander round the Show and I was struck by the range of gardens that have been constructed. Everything from the Trailfinders Australian Garden which includes a stunning lap pool and a spa through to the Rhubarb Crumble & Custard Garden in which a mouthwatering bowl of Yorkshire Rhubarb takes pride of place centre stage.
Whatever the design of the garden, one thing is clear there are a large number of passionate gardeners in the UK. All of whom are working tirelessly to show how rewording a career in the sector can be.
If you want to find out more about working as a landscape gardener please visit www.bali.co.uk (the British Association of Landscape Industries)
Finally for those of you who missed the UK Skills garden on the BBC last night, you can watch the programme again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/b007lyhs.
Wednesday 26th May – Please vote for our garden in the BBC’s People Choice Award
After the UK Skills garden success yesterday when we were awarded a Silver Flora Medal we are now chasing another accolade!
The BBC has launched its ‘People’s Choice Award 2010’ to find the nation’s favourite garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The prestigious Award is the only one decided by public vote and not the RHS judging panel.
The winners of the People's Choice award will be announced at Chelsea on Saturday 29 May, and will feature in the final BBC TV programme of the show that evening, as well as on the RHS website.
How can you vote?
- Click here and click the button ‘Start voting’
- The first page is to vote for a Show garden – you may have a charity that you already support that you may like to vote for. You have to make a selection and click vote in order to move onto our category
- This takes you to the page for Small Gardens – our garden ‘Growing World Class Talent’ is 11th in the list.
- Make your selection and click vote
- You then have to enter your email address and click submit
The deadline for all votes is 5pm on Friday 28 May.
Please, please, please vote for the UK Skills garden!
Tuesday 25th May - Results Day at RHS Chelsea
We all gathered nervously at our garden today as we waited for the judges’ announcement. After the buzz and excitement of press day yesterday, where we were able to mingle with celebrities from stage and screen, we were brought back to reality as we waited to see if all the hard work we had put in was enough!
When they announced the UK Skills garden had been awarded a Silver Flora Medal I couldn’t believe it!
To have been honoured with this award is truly amazing. We all worked really hard to create the garden and are all really proud of what we have managed to achieve.
People often tell me that it is a rare thing to be able to say that you love your job, but I really do. Winning the silver medal award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is right up there with my experience at the WorldSkills competition in Calgary in 2009, as an achievement that I will always remember.
If you are visiting the RHS Chelsea Flower Show please so come and visit our garden at RW43.
Monday 24th May
Today most of the build team are eagerly gathered at the UK Skills garden awaiting news from the judges. Our garden is to be judged in the Urban Garden category and we are competing against 11 other builds. Walking around I can hand on heart say that the competition is really tough and will be really hard to beat.
It is such a relief to have finished the garden and now we can really see how all of our hard work has paid off. Working 13 hour days is tiring but when you hear people comment on the quality of the craftsmanship that has gone into constructing this garden it makes it all worthwhile.
It’s also surprising how many skills have been used to construct the garden, every discipline from landscape gardening through to cabinet making. What’s more all the skills used are also present at the biennial WorldSkills Competition, the world’s largest international skills competition for young people, which is being held at ExCeL London from 5th-8th October 2011. WorldSkils London 2011 website.
Friday 21 May 2010 - Four days to go
It is only four days until the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens its doors. We still have some way to go until we finish the garden but I know we will get there. We have to!
When I was asked to be part of the UK Skills Chelsea gardening team I was over the moon. It’s such a honour to be able to compete at Chelsea. It really is every gardener’s dream and to achieve it at my age is amazing. I’m lucky because I’ve had lots of competition practice over the years thanks to my involvement in WorldSkills, so I’m used to building gardens under pressure. It’s still nerve racking though!
Over the next few days I will share my experiences of being at Chelsea and hopefully there will be news of a medal. And if you are at the Show do come and visit us at RWH 43.
