RHS on the hunt for new Young School Gardener of the Year

The RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2013 is underway and the society is on the lookout for the best young gardeners around the country.

Lucas Hatch RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2012

Lucas Hatch with his runner bean crops

Last year, Suffolk schoolboy Lucas Hatch was crowned the winner (see our blog post here for the full story), having wowed the judges with his “flair, enthusiasm and knowledge of gardening.”

The top prize included a day spent with Colin Crosbie, curator at RHS Wisley, a personalised trowel and a certificate. Plus, his school received “£500 worth of gardening vouchers and his family won tickets to RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2013.” (Source RHS website).

And it sounds as though Lucas has had a busy year in the gardening limelight, with TV appearances and newspaper and radio interviews – but still enjoys gardening as much as ever.

To enter into the 2013 competition, pupils will need to be nominated – the RHS has a website dedicated to the contest with all the information you need to get started.

We’d like to wish all young gardeners the very best of luck in this year’s competition!

Thompson & Morgan gives RHS Young School Gardener the gardening bug

Lucas Hatch RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2012

Lucas Hatch with his runner bean crops

11-year old Lucas Hatch from Woodbridge in Suffolk first got into gardening 4 years ago after writing to Thompson & Morgan asking for a donation of seeds for his primary school.

This year he won the RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2012 after wowing the judges with his “flair, enthusiasm and knowledge of gardening.”

Lucas was one of four entrants given a digital camera to make a short film showing why he’s such a good gardener. Having watched the film ourselves, we too were impressed with his dedication, sensible approach to gardening and care for the environment and community.

He gardens every day, come rain or shine, helps his elderly neighbours with their weeding and shares gardening tips with his grandparents. He also set up a ‘composting campaign’ at his school to encourage his schoolmates to compost their waste, rather than throw it in the bin.

In the school garden itself he helped to build a willow arch for October-sown sweet peas and made his own compost tamper from a piece of plywood and an old kitchen cupboard handle.

And, as the youngest member of Thompson & Morgan’s trial panel, he’ll be testing plants in his own garden and sending us feedback and pictures to show how they fare in a normal garden setting. This is the best way of testing plants to make sure that only the best are offered in our catalogues and online.

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