If you've looked at the news this week, you can't fail to have noticed that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – the most famous flower show in the UK – is underway in London.
Each year, almost 160,000 people visit from across the world, and so far this year, the show has welcomed such VVIPs as The Queen, The Duke and Duchess of Cammbridge, Judi Dench, Twiggy, Rosamund Pike and more... It's a pretty spectacular event, all things considered.
Held in Chelsea annually, the 5-day event features a number of show gardens, designed by the very best in the horticultural business. Four grades of awards are up for grabs – gold, silver-gilt, silver and bronze – and they are presented in a number of categories, including Flora (garden and floral exhibits) and Hogg (exhibits of trees).
This year, only ONE gold medal for a Show Garden was won by a female garden designer. And that talented lady is Jo Thompson, for her Chelsea Barracks Garden.
Here, she talks to Grazia about why women make great planters, what can be done to ensure female designers at Chelsea remain on the up, and what one wears to flower show...
Why did you decide to become a garden designer?
I have always been interested in architecture and the arrangement of space. I really came into this job through a project that I commissioned in my mid-20s. I had a flat roof in London at the time and I wanted to do something with it, so I asked a designer to come and look at it. It was working with the designer on this project and the challenge of creating something in the space that I really enjoyed. I realised that I loved the challenge, that this was an amazing chance to intervene to design something that is not stagnant and to change a space for the better.
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Jo Thompson in her award-winning garden (c) Rachel Warne
This was the first time that I saw that being a garden designer could exist as a career option. I went to a girls’ grammar school and we were taught that you had to do one of the professions: teaching, medicine, law. Horticulture was considered something you did if you were not very clever. Which is exactly the opposite! Designing gardens is a science, it takes real skill and a clever eye to make things work in a garden.
Why are there less female garden designers than men at Chelsea, and what can be done to change this?
This year we had many more female designers with gardens at Chelsea which was fantastic, but there are definitely still not as many women as there could be. There were no women on this year’s judging panel. It is a real challenge to try and get more women judges, as there is a smaller pool to draw from.
I think though that sponsors are now more aware that women are just as capable as men of creating a brilliant garden at Chelsea and more sponsors are approaching women - just as Qatari Diar did with me when they asked me to design the Chelsea Barracks Garden.
What qualifications are required for a career in horticulture?
To be a garden designer, you don’t officially need formal qualifications, however it does really help. I would recommend going to one of the technical colleagues such as the London College of Garden Design. It also helps with the other elements of the work, like understanding the business side of setting up your own garden design studio.
What was the inspiration behind your Gold medal-winning Chelsea Barracks Garden?
I took inspiration from the plans for the Chelsea Barracks site, which neighbours the Royal Hospital where the Chelsea Flower Show takes place each year. At Chelsea Barracks they are creating a new neighbourhood for London which will be centred on garden squares, and I wanted to create a real communal garden that could be enjoyed by the public, hence the elliptical lawn on the garden.
Also on the Chelsea Barracks site stands the Garrison Chapel, which has a historic rose petal window. I love working with roses so I thought it was only right that they feature prominently in the planting, and the garden is really a re-imaging of a traditional rose garden for the 21st century.
Through the centre of the garden runs a tidal rill, which was inspired by the lost river Westbourne which not only runs through the Chelsea Barracks site, but also runs underneath the show ground of RHS Chelsea Flower Show itself.
You used an all-female planting team – was that intentional?
It was not intentional at all, but it has just grown over the years and continued. I think women have a sensitive touch when it comes to planting, they understand textures and how things will work in their surroundings. It is impossible to plant a show garden by yourself and the women who are on my team can almost read my mind and anticipate where things should go.
Two of my team have given up a month of their lives and flown from New Zealand and Japan respectively to come and work with me on the garden. There are no egos on the team, we are all working towards one goal - getting the garden finished for the judges and making it perfect!
What are the best/worst parts of your job?
The best part of my job is transforming difficult spaces into something new. Spaces that might have defeated clients, but where I am able to help change them, give them life and create something beautiful.
The worst has to be the weather when it holds up construction. You can plan for everything but when bad weather comes it can create delays and it is pretty miserable.
Clothes-wise, what’s best to wear gardening and what do you wear to Chelsea?
If I am out working I often have lots of layers on, ready for the all temperatures. I always wear my Dubarry boots which I love, they are great for working on site and are so comfortable.
For the Chelsea Flower Show you have to be ready and primed in case you have to go on camera, so I always try and wear a statement dress that looks bright against the garden. I love brands like Paul Smith, McQueen and always have my trusty LK Bennett wedges.
(Top Image: Jo Thompson's Chelsea Barracks Garden (c) Rachel Warne)