Sparsholt College continue their RHS Chelsea Flower Show medal winning run with the news this morning that they have won a Silver medal at this year’s show. Mighty Greens, designed and built by a team of eight horticulture students, showcases a range of edible plants used in salad mixtures, together with the development of watercress, Nasturtium officinale, from traditional Victorian street snack to the cutting edge work of the University of Southampton in cancer prevention.
Lecturer Chris Bird, who has led the College to seven Gold medals, three Silver-gilt medals, six Silver medals and three Bronze said: “It is always a true honour to exhibit at RHS Chelsea and for our horticulture students there can be no greater start to their professional careers than a Silver medal from the world’s most famous flower show. We had an important story to tell with our Mighty Greens garden and we hope to inspire visitors to explore at home how they can introduce more edible plants to their gardens. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Steve’s Leaves, featuring their herbs and salads throughout the garden and the University of Southampton’s ground-breaking research work on the cancer-fighting properties of watercress which added an exciting dimension to the garden”.
Sparsholt College also partnered up with Luke Matthews, award-winning Executive Head Chef from Chewton Glen for this year’s show. For the exclusive press day, Luke reinvented a watercress classic which he distributed amongst the VIPs celebrities. Luke’s watercress soup proved popular and was seen being enjoyed by celebrities including chef Ainsley Harriott, British comedian Bill Bailey and more on the day.
Visitors to the show will also be able to play their part in the ground-breaking work of the University of Southampton who has developed unique and novel varieties of watercress with improved flavour and better health giving properties. One of the University’s new varieties of watercress is making its debut at RHS Chelsea and visitors will have the opportunity to officially name this new watercress.
Find out more about our RHS Chelsea garden by visiting our special Chelsea page at and for details on our full range of Horticulture courses please click here!
Want to know more? Learn about the RHS Chelsea team’s recent visit to Chewton Glen and find out about this year’s RHS Chelsea ‘Mighty Greens’ Garden concept…