RHS Garden Supported by Building Students Wins Best in Show

LEEDS, U.K. - Aug. 1, 2023 - PRLog -- The award-winning garden received the finishing touches of poignant wooden hearts decorated by Leeds College of Building Painting & Decorating apprentices.

Garden designer Carolyn Hardern and landscaper Jon Jarvis approached the College earlier in the year after the pair decided to submit a garden to the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. The garden's theme was wellbeing and mental health within the construction industry.

Nikki Davis, Principal & CEO of Leeds College of Building, explained:

"Carolyn first approached the College given our status as the only specialist general further education construction college in the UK. We were happy to lend a hand, given the importance of this topic. Data shows that an estimated 700 workers in construction sadly took their own lives during 2022, which is well above the average of any other sector in the UK and up significantly from the previous year."

Motivated by the shocking statistics, Painting & Decorating apprentices at Leeds College of Building agreed to spray paint 700 assorted wooden hearts the colour of hard hats. Students used specialist hardwearing car lacquer on the hearts, which were spraypainted in airconditioned bays at College.

The hearts, representing each life taken last year in the construction sector, were transported to the show by a group of staff and students. The colourful wooden decorations were displayed around the garden on the opening day of the Tatton Show.

Carolyn said:

"Yesterday, Jon and I were awarded an RHS Silver-Gilt Medal but then today the Director General of the RHS presented us with the Best Show Garden Award! The hearts are up and people have been queuing up to go through the garden all day."

Titled 'Constructing Minds', the 20m x 14m garden integrates trees, ferns, and wildflower areas to create a sense of enclosure and refuge. Materials found on construction sites, such as concrete and scaffold boards, were included in the build.

The wall to the left of the entrance into The Inner Sanctuary incorporates a metal panel perforated with 507 number holes representing the number of suicides in the UK construction industry in 2021; an average of two people die by suicide in construction each working day.

To find out more, visit the Constructing Minds Show Garden website (https://jonjosefjarvis.wixsite.com/constructing-minds).  Painting & Decorating apprenticeship information is on the Leeds College of Building website. (https://www.lcb.ac.uk/find-a-course/apprenticeship-traini...)