Co Down gardener wins gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show

Aaron Jamison, 24, worked as part of a team to build the gold-medal winning ‘Seedlip Garden’, by designer Dr Catherine McDonald.

The Crossgar man had been invited to join the team, having already worked with Dr McDonald at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2016 on a garden for the ‘Hartley Botanic’ glassware and greenhouse company.

The team’s efforts in 2016 earned a silver gilt award from the Royal Horticultural Society, but the immaculate work behind the ‘Seedlip’ garden met the gold standard.

Mr Jamison said he was “delighted” his work was given the “highest accolade”.

“Anybody that is in the landscaping world aspires to win,” he said.

“To win a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show is the highest accolade you can really get, so I am absolutely delighted. Obviously it isn’t just me, it is an entire team, so to be involved in that is just fantastic.”

The Co Down man, who works with a company called ‘Lawn and Border’, explained that he got involved in the Chelsea Flower Show after impressing people in the industry during his time competing in ‘World Skills’ events while still in training.

“I was at CAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise) and a few of us had competed in a few of the ‘world skills’ competitions over the years, and I have built up a few contacts through that,” he said.

“One of the contacts had asked me in 2016 to build for the Chelsea Flower Show for a company called Hartley Botanic, who were a sponsor for one of the displays. We came away from that with a silver gilt medal. The designer’s name was Catherine McDonald.

“This year I was asked to go back and work for the same designer.

“We won a gold RHS medal this year. There were three guys who did the hard landscaping and then three girls who did the soft landscaping, the planting.”

It was far from an easy time, however, as Aaron explained.

“From May 4 onward, we had been doing 14 and 15 hour days pretty much every day until Sunday past. You know before you start that it’s going to be a long haul.”

It was worth it in the end for the Co Down man, however, when the garden was awarded gold.

“I am absolutely delighted and it makes all the hard work worth it. You can’t ask for more.”