Meet The Team
Through the collaboration with the National Trust, the Blue Diamond Team, Anna King, Kevin Fleming and Jim Teague were inspired by Octavia's work. They approached the Trust to join forces and create a garden at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Designed by Ann-Marie Powell Gardens with the Blue Diamond Team, the garden has a relaxed feel, natural planting style and a series of ‘outdoor sitting rooms’ connected by meandering pathways, echoing the ‘winding ways’ that Octavia often referred to. Collectively we hope to raise awareness of the life and work of Octavia, highlighting the importance of nature and of being outdoors.
Octavia believed that, "the healthy gift of air and the joy of plants and flowers" were vital in everyone's life and that, "the sight of sky and of thing growing seem human needs common to all".
Blue Diamond, along with the National Trust and Ann-Marie Powell, all believe in gardens for all; for people, nature and wildlife. Research shows that spending time outdoors, whether it be in public green spaces or your own garden, results in better physical, mental and social wellbeing.
Ann-Marie Powell
Gold-medal winning Garden Designer
Ann-Marie is a multi-award-winning garden designer, television presenter, journalist and author, who divides her time between designing innovative gardens for private clients, companies and charities, and enthusing people about gardening through her books, television appearances and articles in national newspapers and magazines.
Website: http://www.ann-mariepowell.com/
Anna King
Visual Merchandiser
Anna has worked for the Blue Diamond Group for over 10 years as a Visual Merchandiser, creating large visual displays to improve the customer journey! For the last 3 years Anna has been involved in show gardens and rose displays at RHS Hampton and RHS Tatton Flower Shows as Project Manager and Lead Designer, winning 4 silver gilt medals for the Group.
The shows have been a great opportunity and fantastic experience and Anna hopes to continue with her journey within garden design in the future!
Kevin Fleming
Plant Area Manager
Kevin has worked in the horticultural industry for 32 years. He started off working on the nursery at E.H Williams Burley dam GC in 1991, and has worked for Blue Diamond for 19 years. Kevin is very passionate about plants and a self-confessed plant nerd!
Kevin is a walking encyclopaedia! He has a very creative, artistic flair for merchandising and displaying plants and creating drama and theatre in Blue Diamond’s plant areas at Blue Diamond owned, Trentham and Bridgemere Garden Centres, offering expert advice to make every customer’s visit mind blowing!!!
Jim Teague
Head of Blue Diamond Production
With over 40 years’ experience in horticulture, Jim draws on his passion not only for plants but for plant production and retailing.
With a clear and fresh approach to many of the challenges facing plant retailers and growers, Jim has direct hands-on experience in award winning horticultural businesses.
Having been a grower, supplier and buyer across different sectors of the industry Jim has empathy with growers and suppliers and an unrivalled understanding of the plant supply chain.
He sees plant production, range selection and plant product development as just the start of an exciting journey which culminates customers engaging with their plant and gardens as they develop their gardening knowledge and expertise.
Blue Diamond, The National Trust and Ann-Marie Powell Gardens believe that gardens have the power to transform lives. This is reflected in the garden’s design as an urban community wildlife garden set on a brownfield site. The beautiful, plant-filled garden has been created with wellbeing, biodiversity, sustainability and accessibility firmly in mind.
The garden has a relaxed feel and natural planting style. It is laid out as a series of ‘outdoor sitting rooms’ – a core idea from Octavia Hill – where each individual garden compartment has its own atmosphere. Visitors are invited to feel they are part of nature, a fundamental need as important today as in Octavia's lifetime.
Dividing the space in this way echoes the ‘winding ways’ that Octavia often referred to, offering the opportunity to wander, both physically and emotionally.
The Landscaping Consultants
The Landscaping Consultants will be constructing the Octavia Hill Garden. Founded by owner and director Jake Catling, The Landscaping Consultants have large talent pool of skilled landscapers, and a proactive commitment to training, they have built a modern landscaping company which aims to create new, exciting opportunities for their workers and clients.
They are proud to be a BALI-registered landscaping company, and a multi-award-winning build contractor with a focus on eco build and encouraging youth engagement in the industry. With a strong familiarity with RHS shows, The Landscaping Consultants have a brilliant reputation for dedication, high quality work and client satisfaction.
We are very lucky to have a brilliant team of specialists working with us on our Chelsea show garden:
