This article is written purely from personal experience and observations, and is not intended to be the only method or route to finding a sponsor at a Garden Show. I hope that by explaining how I have succeeded over the years may help to inspire you as a Garden Designer to fulfil that dream of designing an award-winning Show Garden at one of the major Shows.
I constructed my first Show Garden at The South of England Show (primarily Agriculture) in 1982. It was self-funded except for some building materials donated by a local Merchant. It was designed by the brilliant Robin Williams (Robin Templar-Williams’ father) and won Second Best Newcomer at the Show – beaten by the Fire Brigade! Although it was a very pretty garden, with some great but simple ideas to enthuse the public, I did not gain a single enquiry from being there. Nothing. Zilch!
The reason being that nobody expecting to see gardens and floral arrangements at an Agricultural Show. The main attraction of the event was the race horse, Red Rum. He attracted thousands of accolades on the day, whilst my excellent effort received nothing in the way of a return on investment. The reason for recalling the story is to illustrate that simply being at a Show does not equate to any kind of recognition, and apart from some free materials, the whole project was an expensive waste of time.
However, I learned many lessons from that incident, including some great tips from Robin regarding visitor views and insights into the depths of the garden, always allowing the crowd the opportunity to see and appreciate the garden, whilst keeping at least one element just out of sight, to tease and interest the viewer, rather than spreading the whole picture out in one single canvas. As the viewer walked across the front of the plot, although it was only a small site, six metres wide x four metres deep, they could see into the garden, but never every aspect or feature, so as they passed, new interests were exposed.
This is a valuable tip for all Show Garden Designers
My next experience in building Show Gardens was the following year, when I was invited by a stalwart veteran of Chelsea, Peter Rogers of Peter Rogers & Associates, who operated from a small nursery and office in Oxted in Surrey. Peter had been commissioned by ECC Quarries (later to be known as Countryside Walling & Paving, which was taken over by Bradstone) to design and build a garden at Chelsea. Having agreed a price, I was to take charge of the whole project (I had been a landscape contractor since 1968, so had some fifteen years of experience to call on) and set about organising the many and diverse management issues surrounding the delivery of Show Gardens.
This is a long list of vital tasks, including organising plants, materials, transport, electricity, water, parking on site, insurances, labour, tools, equipment, Build-up and Breakdown passes, and an absolute host of other practical matters. Although Peter Rogers operated as working with ‘Associates’, he in fact, worked alone.
Peter approached me again in the early Spring of 1983 to ask if I would like to project manage and build a second garden at the same Chelsea Show. Naturally I agreed, and suddenly found myself in charge of The Sunday Express Garden, designed by Steve Prescott, a Landscape Architect who had won the opportunity in a competition to design a Family Garden. Steve had never been to Chelsea before as an exhibitor, and had no idea what to expect. He provided me with a plant schedule, which in the event turned out to be nothing more than a ‘wish list’ due to lateness in the year that he was presenting it. Trying to source plants, especially large herbaceous in March ready for May was too big a wish!
However, I tried and succeeded in finding many of his preferred plants, although when the time came to deliver them to the Show, he was non-plussed to find that Peter’s plants were more advanced and larger than his selection. Peter had been growing his on for months and years beforehand and obviously, the difference was substantial. When we finally completed both gardens, they were in decent shape, both winning Silver Gilt medals. Not bad for my first attempt at Chelsea, and for Steve, in his first (and last) Show Garden (as far as I am aware).
An important thing to mention here is that because Peter was on his own, with no staff, he asked me to include manning the stand (remaining on the garden) at all times during the Show opening times. As these were from 08.00 until 20.00, there was no way he could cope with talking with the tens of thousands of visitors on his own, and therefore I helped him with this vital aspect of the Show.
For this reason, I have always helped to’ Man The Stand’ during Shows, handing out my own leaflets as well as the Sponsor’s material. Whether as Designer or Landscaper, I have enjoyed the benefits of being on the garden, talking to the public about my work. I have never been relegated to being just the builder of the exhibit.
I am recalling all of these things by way of explaining my background and history in Show Gardens. Between 1983 and 2005, I built – project managed every aspect – thirty seven RHS Chelsea Show Gardens, winning every medal from Gold and Best in Show (with Peter Rogers and ECC Quarries/Countryside in 1986) through to Bronze. I never managed to get a ‘No Award’ which is probably remarkable given the short notice I was sometimes given to build.
In total, including Chelsea, Hampton Court, Gardeners World Live and Tatton Park, I was awarded sixty-one medals, thirty seven as Designer. My company, Town & Country Gardens was the Number One RHS Show Garden Builder between the mid-eighties and mid- nineties, building three gardens each Chelsea for six consecutive years. In 1997 I was the first and only person to have DESIGNED and built three Show Gardens at Chelsea in the same show. (I had already committed to Bradstone to build their Victorian, when the RHS came to me in a panic, as one of the large Main Avenue gardens had pulled out, ten days before the opening day. I ended up designing and building gardens for Barclays Bank and Focus Do It All as well as Bradstone, an exercise I am delighted to have achieved, but never, ever again! The mental effort was enormous, trying to co-ordinate and instruct the building of three separate and different gardens, simultaneously, at a few days’ notice, was quite an ordeal!)
It is fair to say that we were the Kings of Chelsea for that period, subsequently well and truly overtaken by my friend and colleague, Mark Gregory of Landform. I think his current tally, at the time of writing, was around the two hundred Show Garden mark, more than three times my efforts!
I certainly learned a great deal about how Shows work, how they are put together, the world of politics and internal dealings that take place within the system. I was invited to become a member of The Chelsea Show Panel that sets up the Show (Chelsea is the only Show that has a Committee or panel due to the amount and number of applicants, requiring experienced eyes to sort through the applications, deciding which are worthy of moving forward to finding space at the limited grounds) I was on that panel between the years of 1995 and 2005. In 1997, I became a Show Gardens Judge and Assessor, and with these roles came a lot of insight and knowledge behind the scenes. I left that position in 2005.
Turning now to the work of The Shows Garden Panel or committee. Chelsea normally receives around four times as many applicants for space as there are available sites. Therefore, the selection process can be quite brutal. Those applicants with mediocre plans, poor quality perspectives and presentations do not even make it into the Committee Room. They are jettisoned by the RHS Staff rather than waste the panels time looking at them.
If the Panel are looking for (say) forty gardens, a short list of (say) sixty are chosen to remain on the table. Of those remaining, each one is examined initially seeking three things. Sound Sponsorship. Good Design. Known Landscaper. In my experience, despite whatever may be said officially, that is the order of priority. Without a sound sponsor, unless a presentation is really outstanding, it will fail to make the Definite List of chosen applicants.
Good design and presentation are obviously very important, and it is advisable that the Designer presents properly drawn scaled plans and an attractive perspective showing the attributes of the garden design. Bear in mind that the selection panel are all highly experienced individuals, drawn from the world of Show Gardens, each with their own special interests and knowledge. Some are Designers, others Plantspeople, others are Landscapers. My personal input to the committee was Hard Landscaping and all other practical aspects of a scheme. ‘Can it be built?’ ‘Should it be built?’ (Some ideas are simply too dangerous to display to the public who will/may attempt to replicate them)
Sound Sponsors are extremely important to the RHS. If a project does not have secured funding, it has little chance of succeeding in being allocated space. The Show is 100% Commercial, and ‘No Shows’ cannot be tolerated. There is certainly no room for Wishful Thinkers!
The Known Landscaper element of the equation is the least important, because even if the Designer has not nominated a Landscaper, the RHS has a list of experienced contractors they can send to the Designer.
Against this background, the question posed by this article is how does a Garden Designer gain funding or Sponsorship to be able to submit an application with a good chance of being accepted into the Show. I have concentrated my comments so far on Chelsea, simply because that is the most difficult Show to enter, due to pressure of the number of applicants. The other Shows do not have this space problem in normal years.
I have managed to secure 100% funding from a number of high profile organisations including Alfred McAlpine Homes Ltd (Three Golds, one Best In Show and one Silver Gilt), Cellnet (the mobile phone company now known as 02) (Silver), Waterworks UK (Silver) Focus Do It All (two Bronzes), all at Chelsea, plus others at Hampton Court, GWL and Tatton Park including Focus Do It All, Waterworks UK, Devon International and GardeNstall Ltd.
I have received numerous Sponsorship ‘deals’ for materials from different suppliers. I have persuaded a number of sculpture artists to lend me all kinds of very expensive and exclusive works to put on display, some costing many thousands of pounds (make sure they are insured!). I have been lent several summerhouses and pergolas, special masonry features, glass objects, very expensive arches, metalwork, trellises and a host of other artifacts, and whilst these are very welcome, they do not pay any money towards the Show Garden.
Let me now examine how to persuade businesses – and it usually businesses – to provide you with sufficient funding to create a full Show Garden.
In order to obtain funding and Sponsorship, you must provide the Donor with something they want. They must be able to feel they are getting something of value for their money. Sponsors are rarely philanthropists!
I suggest that the first place to start is at the beginning. Do you really appreciate what is involved in designing and producing a Show Garden? Do you really understand the amount of time that you will have to commit to the venture? Can you afford to spend two months away from your design practice? You must be able to answer these questions as they may be put to you by a potential Sponsor.
If you decide that you really want the opportunity, decide on your target Show. Chelsea will provide you with the greatest kudos and shop window for innovative ideas. Be prepared to ensure those ideas are copyrighted as far as possible by every means you can. This includes watermarking any photographs you may have taken of your plans and drawings at the earliest possible stage to avoid plagiarism.
Have a particular plot in mind, both orientation and size. You will need to nominate both to the Shows Committee for Judging purposes. Even if you are not offered a site to match your chosen orientation, your original request will be taken into consideration during assessment in line with your technical brief (you have to describe the garden in detail to the Judges including soil conditions and site aspect/location, when they can decide on whether or not you are accurate in your decisions)
I suggest that you avoid strict lines or formal designs as these are difficult to re-dimension if you are allocated a site different from your imagined/chosen one. Better to have a design that is more fluid or able to be reconfigured than to restrict yourself with mathematics!
Decide on your chosen topic/subject/style of garden. At this stage, do not overthink your choice of Sponsor. Better to concentrate on designing something ATTRACTIVE, with good use of space and form. It is extremely useful to provide a coloured perspective drawing complete with at least one human figure shown to scale. So many applications fail when subjected to scrutiny and fitness for purpose. A garden designed for a dinner party that could scarcely hold a single occupant is not going to be accepted.
Having completed your design, chosen your Show venue and produced an attractive perspective (drawn by hand or computer) that will immediately create interest, start to seek a sponsor. I will give a couple of ideas and scenarios.
An Office Garden/Outdoor Office Garden
How do you find a Sponsor for an office garden? Look around your office. How many different suppliers and manufacturers can you see? Olivetti, Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, Snopake, Pritt, Staples, Canon, Apple……….
Find out the name of the Company Secretary of these firms and make contact, offering them the opportunity to Sponsor you at The Chelsea Flower Show for the following year (bear in mind that any finance budgets for this year will have been allocated). You may be surprised to find that they have been looking for a special event or venue to launch a new product or service and leap at the chance to become involved in such a high profile event (as happened to me with Cellnet. They wanted to find a vehicle on which to launch their new logo and were delighted to sponsor my garden)
Directly – if not beforehand – try to establish the amount of money that will be needed to build the garden. Talk with an experienced Show building landscaper (ask the APL for a list of such firms?) to get a good idea of a budget. Add at least 100% on for your time and unknown costs. Make sure that your contractor includes all of the project costs in their quote.
Show House Show Gardens
Although currently every house being constructed is sold before it is built, when the developers sense that there is a change in the air, and kerb appeal is required to differentiate their houses from their competitors, Show House gardens will be/are a massively important element of creating and closing sales for House Builders. Well designed Show Home Gardens are a special art in themselves, and any designer who approaches a Developer with the chance to be at the Premier Show in the World, displaying their Show Homes will gain an attentive audience.
Show Home gardens are a science of their own, where prospective buyers can sit quietly and hold private conversations away from the Sales staff, and any Designer who can show they understand the needs of prospective home buyers will be welcomed and stand a good chance of gaining Sponsorship, as well as plenty of on-going work designing Show Home gardens for their various sites, all as part of a package that you can present to them. They will not only be buying into a prospective opportunity to raise their profile as a developer, (perhaps adopting a Green theme), a venue and occasion to invite high profile Guests including manufacturers and suppliers to their building business, and plenty of ongoing publicity material for their Sales leaflets and photographs in their Show House offices where the buying public are interviewed by Sales Staff.
There are plenty of other potential Sponsorship opportunities to be found once you have something visual to ‘sell’. Whatever theme you decide, try to match your chosen Sponsor with your design. Although I have concentrated on Chelsea, bear in mind that the same space pressure is not on at Shows such as Hampton Court, where your choice of Sponsor may be wider, although the budgets available may not be so great.
Whatever you decide, I suggest you keep true to yourself, and your style of garden design, so that your chosen personal image is not compromised.
In Summary
Designing Show Gardens is the most rewarding and satisfying achievement a Garden Designer can do, and with careful planning, including making a realistic assessment of the impact the time spent away from your core business will make, using a nominated size and type of plot for your dream design, produce an attractive perspective and detailed scaled drawing of your creation. Remember, that the initial impact on the viewer is paramount. If you can grab the attention of the RHS Staff member who is flicking through many dozens of applications, you will stand a very good chance of being accepted in the first instance.
That same attention grabbing when discussing the matter with a potential sponsor is equally vital. It is sensible to try and make contact with both the RHS and potential Sponsors about the same time. There is no ‘Horse before the cart’ involved. Without getting past the RHS panel or the Sponsor at the same time (give or take a few weeks) you may lose the opportunity.
Be prepared to succeed! Have all of the answers ready to questions to all Parties involved.
Royal Horticulture Panel, potential Sponsor and Landscape Contractor. Get all of your ducks in a row ready to start swimming!