Student 'joke' blossoms into Chelsea Flower Show invite

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 10:14

A GROUP of students are to put on a display at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, after entering the competition as a joke.

It is thought that the students are the first in Scotland to have won the right to display their work at the annual show.

The gardening design students from the Scottish Agricultural College said they entered the competition as a joke but have now been told their application has been successful.

The group of 12 will now travel to Chelsea in May to create their "21st century croft", which is one of ten chosen for the courtyard category.

Their design features a modern take on a traditional croft, complete with a wind turbine and grass roof.

The students said no-one was as shocked as they were – with the exception, perhaps, of their lecturers – to discover they had made it into the world's most famous horticultural show.

Amber Goudy, 25, came up with the idea to enter the competition, but only as a joke.

The second-year student, from Liberton, said: "When the show was on last year, we were talking about how good it would be to go down.

"We thought it would be a good idea to attach ourselves to a designer who was exhibiting so we could make sure we got time to look closely at all the exhibits.

"Then I said we should just enter ourselves, clearly joking, but the idea stuck and a couple of weeks later I went back to everyone and said why don't we just go for it."

The group worked hard to come up with design ideas, but none of them was considered good enough to enter.

With the deadline for applications looming, Miss Goudy took matters into her own hands, and used the best bits from each design to come up with a new one.

She said: "Two weeks ago we got a letter from Chelsea saying we had been selected – to the shock of everyone, particularly the staff and lecturers at the college.

"We had told them we were entering and they told us to go for it, but in a very throwaway manner because they never expected we would get in.

"We've been told that we are the first students from Scotland to show at Chelsea so we're really chuffed.

"If we win, it will launch our careers as garden designers."

The students – who have yet to undertake their college module in show garden design – have now managed to incorporate their efforts into their course work.

With their exams due to take place during the show next May, the students will also have to negotiate with the college to sit them on a different date.

The work on the project is now in full swing and the students' next challenge is to raise the 10,000 needed to fund the project.

Paul Lyall, 38, from Restalrig, has been tasked with coming up with the cash.

He added: "When we first told the college about it, they weren't really expecting us to go anywhere with it and they were slow with their support, but now they are going to give us some financial support. However, we are currently looking to find sponsors."

After the Chelsea show, the green-fingered students are taking their design to Gardening Scotland.