So a new era begins for me today...a brand new job! I've been a gardener most of my adult life, but if you had the ability to go back and tell me when I started out as an apprentice that I would get this job, I would definitely have you sectioned...so what job is it...well I am the new Show Manager of the Chelsea Flower show...wow!
Horticulture has always been more than a job for me, I am
absolutely besotted by plants, how they grow, where they grow and all the
natural world that relies on the life plants bring! I can rank some of my
life's happiest times when I’m staring at trees, mowing lawns,
seeing one of my orchids flower or being swallowed up by rainforest! Indeed for
me there is nothing more beautiful than the landscape that all that botanical
wonder produces.
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So what of this new job? As I struggled to get into my chosen career I remember watching the Chelsea Flower Show on TV with wonder, all those plants, all those gardens, all those gardeners! It was an inspiration to keep applying, to keep hoping that one day I could stand among them and be counted equally, talk to them about the plants I know and love and to be able to share my passion for all things horticulture.
I even made the pilgrimage to London from Devon more than once or
twice to see the show in person. Yes it's busy and yes the gardens are beyond
anything us mere mortals could hope of obtaining (or even wish to obtain), but
the mix of garden designers, garden builders, plantsmen, nurserymen, the odd
celebrity and of course Alan, made for a heady mix of wide-eyed excitement and
inspiration.
And my excitement for the show reached an all-time high when I
got to help build one the exhibits in the Great Pavilion. For two years I've
mossed, planted, arranged orchids for the OSGB stand, and at this year's show
we were awarded a Gold medal, I proudly have the award card on my desk (This is
one of five ambitions I have in horticulture - a future blog post). This taste
of the show from the other side of the fence, only whetted my appetite.
In essence this leads to today, the start of a brand new
adventure - the feeling of excitement from knowing what I will be helping to
lead and the nervous energy from knowing what it is I will be helping to lead.
I'm under no illusions as to the challenge I am about to undertake, it won't
always be easy - nothing this big, this famous, this respected ever is. I'm not
the only stakeholder in this great show, in fact I am one of a thousand cogs,
but knowing that I am surrounded by all those horticulturists that inspired me
as an apprentice is all the drive I require to keep turning.
So as I start forward, I also go back - back to where it all
started - back to my passion for plants, what they are and what they do. Part
of me hopes that whatever I do in my time as the Show Manager of arguably the
finest flower show on earth - I can inspire someone, anyone to love plants as
much as I do.
I look forward to sharing this adventure with you through these posts, they won't all be about Chelsea, in fact most of them won't be about Chelsea - most of what I write will be related to horticultural, maybe an odd bit of art and music thrown into the mix, some controversial comment maybe, something to get you thinking or inspired - but most of all it will allow me the chance to express myself and share with you all my passion for PLANTS.
-Saul-
