The Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship team has been created by the combined skills and resources of Chris Beardshaw Ltd, The Three Counties Agricultural Society and Bradstone (Aggregate Industries UK). It was the brainchild of Chris Beardshaw and launched at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show in 2007 to address the lack of emerging talent and skills within the horticultural sector.
Its objective is to facilitate the sharing of the collective knowledge, skills and wisdom of our industry’s heavyweights with upcoming designers - as well as funding opportunities for showcasing their talent.
It is delivered FREE through our part-time programme of mentoring, teaching and experiential learning brought to you by members of the Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship team and affiliated world class businesses and supporters – although this experience is something money cannot buy it is estimated to be worth over £25,000!
Paul Hervey-Brookes, 2009 CMBS scholar says:
‘’This scholarship year has been a very positive and challenging year for me. Working with Chris has been a once in a life time opportunity and it has provided a huge creative stimulus. It has been a fantastic and intense experience and I am very proud of the journey I have been part of.’’
To find out more about the CBMS scheme and to apply download the following PDF files:
Maria Luisa Medina is the third scholar to be chosen by the CBMS panel, following her application and first ever show garden at the Mavlern Spring Gardening Show entitled Water Pirouetting for a colourful audience. See our gallery for photos of the show and of Maria Luisa’s garden.
Maria now embarks on her 12 month journey with the CBMS team and will be designing and exhibiting a garden at the Malvern Autumn Show this coming September and finishes her year with the design and build of an urban show garden the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2011. Maria Luisa has never even visited Chelsea before so she has an exciting year ahead of her!
2009 Scholar – Paul Hervey-Brookes
As a celebration of the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) 2010, award winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw set the challenge 2009 scholar Paul Hervey-Brookes - to create a show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show which highlights how gardeners can create a desirable and stunning environment which works successfully for both people and wildlife. In response to this brief Paul’s show garden at Chelsea entitled The Bradstone Biodiverse Garden highlighted many of the key messages of the IYB by defining how a garden can provide a space for the gardener to relax and enjoy, whilst also providing a rich habitat and ecosystem for a variety of at risk garden insects and mammals.
Paul’s beautiful garden combined a variety of sustainable landscape materials and includes specially designed features such as a portico for birds to nest and log walls for insect habitats. The richly planted borders include a diverse range of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals which the team envisage will be buzzing with insects throughout the show.
Chris says “Paul has been an excellent scholar and we have thoroughly enjoyed working with him throughout 2009. We are extremely proud of what he has achieved during his scholarship year. As this is his first show garden at Chelsea, I have given him guidance throughout the development of his design, but this is very much his garden and it will mark the culmination of a tremendous year for him which we hope will be a springboard for his future design career. “
Through the kind support of the scholarship sponsor, Bradstone, Paul has received bursaries throughout the year to fund his Malvern Autumn Show garden, this Chelsea Flower Show garden and also to assist him with course fees for a Landscape Architecture degree course at University of Gloucester. Paul has also enjoyed a week with Hillier Nurseries where he met with Robert Hillier and many of his senior staff who gave him a fascinating insight to one of our most respected and reputable plant nurseries.
Chelsea Garden Wildlife Sightings
As part of the activities during Chelsea week we invited The London Wildlife Trust to conduct survey’s every day to see what impact the newly installed Bradstone Biodiverse Garden had on its environment and what wildlife were encouraged in. Here is a summary of their findings:
Thanks to our Scholarship Sponsor Bradstone, and also Three Counties and the RHS for supporting this initiative:
