A nursery near Melksham has enjoyed more success at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show as it picked up a silver medal for its foxglove display.
Terry Baker, who runs the Botanic Nursery in Atworth, said the prestigious London event run by the Royal Horticultural Society was the best yet with a higher standard of plants on show and an improved layout.
Mr Baker, 53, and wife Mary, 49 have been to the show and won medals for 20 years since setting up their business in 1984.
This year the nursery entered its foxgloves in the Floral Marquee category and won a silver medal. He said: “It took about 20 hours to set up the small garden filled with foxgloves at the show, which was about ten square metres.
“It was full of foxgloves from 5ft high plants to little tiny ones. They came from all over Europe.”
Mr and Mrs Baker didn’t feel nerves as much as some contestants might have due to their years of winning at the show.
Mr Baker said: “I think this year, as the country as been in such an economic slump, people have focused more on the actual flowers than on elaborate expensive displays. The plants themselves really came to the forefront this time.”
Although Mr Baker said this year’s silver medal was an honour, he said the family has many other prizes and medals at home from other big shows, including Gardeners’ World Live.
They will be competing there again with their foxgloves when it is held in Birmingham next month.
Mr Baker’s son, Tom, 27, who has just finished a microbiology degree at Bath University helped his parents with the preparation at Chelsea and will be working helping out with their website over the summer.
The couple’s other children, Victoria, 28, who lives in London, Katherine, 19, who works in the garage industry and Jonathon, 17, who has just started a course in public services at Trowbridge College, are not involved in the business.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here