Pupils’ garden is a show-stopper

Oldham's Tatton Park RHS Show entry

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

CHILDREN across Oldham are celebrating after a garden they helped to create scooped a bronze medal at the prestigious Tatton Park flower show.

The “Cultivating Young Minds” garden is one of around 20 show gardens on display at the flower spectacular, and pupils from throughout the borough will be paying a visit to see the finished result.

Youngsters from New Bridge Learning Centre, Kaskenmoor, New Bridge, Lyndhurst, Limehurst, Limeside, St Margaret’s and Holy Family schools, designed the garden under the guidance of professional landscape designer Philip Hinchliffe.

And it fell to the Delph designer, who runs Just Living Gardens, from Borough Mill, Nield Street, Oldham, to put it together at the show with an army of volunteers.

Under-16s are not allowed on the showground during construction of the gardens, and Philip drafted in the help of his solicitor father Roger, his colleague Mike Pitt, and anyone else who offered to lend a hand to meet the deadline.

But disaster struck as they got stuck in to creating the garden when Philip suffered a back injury.

He had hoped for a higher than bronze award, and explained: “I was in so much pain I couldn’t finish the garden to the standard expected within the deadline.”

Nevertheless, he told the Chronicle: “I am very pleased with the award. I wanted to do as well as I could for the children.”

Eighty 11 and 12-year-old pupils from the eight schools involved were due to go to the show today, to perform a specially choreographed 12 minute dance in front of the garden.

Chris Layton, assistant head at Kaskenmoor and drama teacher, helped the youngsters to cultivate their act. She said it was a first for the flower show to have music and dancing in one of its gardens.

Philip won a silver medal at the 2006 Tatton Flower Show with his “Ocular Garden.” Last year, he teamed up with Oldham Council’s parks department to win a silver-gilt medal with the “East Meets West” garden.

After the show the garden will be rebuilt on a permanent site at New Bridge Learning Centre.