BALI’s Young Landscape Contractors celebrate medal wins

The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) has announced that all three Young Landscape Contractors and their Young Planting Designer partners have achieved medal standard gardens at this year’s RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, including a Bronze, Silver and Gold for their show garden entries for this year’s RHS Young Landscape Contractor competition 2017, which BALI has proudly sponsored for a second year running.

From the three pairs of finalists, the overall Young Landscape Contractor winner for 2017 was Elliott Hood, who was joined by his partner and Young Planting Designer winner Ben Poulter, who were both crowned in front of BBC cameras at a sun soaked awards ceremony from the showground on late Tuesday afternoon.

Both Elliott and Ben join last year’s winners Ewan Sewell and Katie Maude as Young Landscape Contractor and Planting Designer overall winners respectively.

BALI’s Chief Executive Wayne Grills, said: “Following a magnificent inaugural event for the competition in 2016, this year’s finalists have proven once again that Young Landscape Contractor and Young Planting Designer professionals have truly got what it takes to compete in the big leagues, winning medals at one of the RHS’s flagship shows. BALI is immensely proud of what they have achieved as partners and as a team and we congratulate them all.”

This year’s gardens, centred on a design created by 2016 Young Designer winner Caitlin McLaughlin, once again celebrates the theme of coastal and urban, with the highest levels of quality, technical skill and professional implementation firmly on display, ready to delight and inspire thousands of visitors throughout the week.

‘Chaos to Coastline’ (pictured), a Gold winning garden built by Young Landscape Contractor Elliot Hood, who partnered up with Young Planting Designer Ben Poulter, impressed judges by providing a functional social space, whilst an innovative water feature, multiple levels and sharp lines contrasted magnificently with a free-flowing planting scheme.

Young Landscape Contractor Karl Crowe and partner Giulio Passarelli’s ‘Let ‘em Grow Urban Retreat’ garden provides a very different take on the brief, bringing together minimalistic intervention and plant management to reinforce the message that any neglected urban site can be improved by adding rich vegetation to any space, including between pavers and cracks in the wall. The Bronze winning garden is both captivating and technically brilliant in serving up a veritable feast of ideas of how an urban retreat for people and wildlife can be created.

The last of the three show gardens was built by Young Landscape Contractor Josh McDonnell alongside Anna Rhodes who excelled in her role as Josh’s Young Planting Designer partner. Together they created the beautifully idyllic ‘Arrange: Rearrange Countryside Retreat’ show garden that also pleased judges with its explorative understanding of harvesting plants that celebrates the cycle of growing, cutting, displaying and reproduction.

BALI’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Darren Taylor, commented: “Unbelievable! For the finalists to have only met for the first time several weeks ago and to have built medal standard show gardens in just two weeks is astounding. 2016 provided the perfect start for this competition but the class of 2017 have proven that once again young professionals can deliver under pressure, to budget and to a fixed brief, whilst still challenging some of the fundamentals by creating several alterations to the initial concept that have truly benefited the gardens’ final design.”

Medals were also awarded to BALI Registered Contractor Ground Control’s ‘Studio Unwired’ Young Designer Garden, which picked up a Gold medal and was supported with high quality paving materials by BALI Registered Affiliate CED Natural Stone. BALI Registered Affiliate Gabriel Ash’s ‘Gabriel Ash Greenhouse Garden’ picked up a Silver and BALI Training Provider member Reaseheath College’s ‘University Centre Reaseheath: From a Different Angle’ show garden was also awarded a Silver. BALI Registered Contractor Dreamscape Gardens, whose ambitious multi-level ‘Live Garden’ was commended for their attempt at designing and building a garden on such a large scale, was awarded a Bronze.

BALI Registered Contractor Hulton’s Landscapes, who won Best in Show last year, worked with Planit-IE, Reaseheath and show sponsors Bruntwood to create their special show feature garden, The Bruntwood Experience.

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is open to visitors from Wednesday 19 July through to Sunday 23 July and BALI is exhibiting all week on Stand 411c, right next to the RHS Young Landscape Contractor and Young Planting Designer competition area and the official RHS Hub.

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