Does the BBC's Great Chelsea Garden Challenge denigrate garden design?

Sean Murray won the Great Chelsea Garden Challenge.

Did you watch the Great Chelsea Garden Challenge? Do you think it worked well? Tuning in to catch the second half of each episode, I thought it was great fun.

Not everyone agrees, though. There have been rumblings in Garden Design world, as reported by the Mail Online a couple of days ago. It denigrates garden design, is the general grumble. Janine Pattison, award-winning designer and well known on the seminar circuit, said it trivialised garden design, gave the impression that anyone could do it and implied that it disrespected the years of study and hard work put in by professionals.

Personally I couldn't agree less, any more than I'd say the amateur Masterchef series, The Great British Sewing Bee or The Great British Bake Off take away from professional achievements. They show how difficult these things are to do to a prize-winning standard and give an appreciation of the thought and effort that goes into doing them well.

I sniff professional insecurity in the criticism. It's a common reaction - by all professions - to claim all knowledge and ability for themselves. Which is silly, as you only have to go around local art festivals (and watch TV) to know that there are innumerable very talented amateurs in many different areas of art and design.

Still, not all the Garden Design world is acting so defensively. Andrew Fisher Tomlin, Director of London College of Garden Design and RHS Judge, has said, “The new series is a great way of highlighting careers in garden design and can only lead to encouraging new people to come into the profession." He's rather pleased, of course, because competitor Paul Harris is one of his graduates.

I suspect that much of the grumbling has been activated at the thought that a space on the Main Avenue at Chelsea will be taken up by the winner's garden. Certainly, designer Roseanne Rosewarne is quoted as saying that reserving such a site for the winner is hard on the professional designers.

Fisher Tomlin added, “There have been some negative comments from parts of the profession, but most have come from designers who have never taken up the challenge of exhibiting a show garden. Generally, we have found overwhelming support for the RHS in highlighting garden design as a career and for taking a contemporary approach to getting people to train to be a garden designer.”

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sean has produced. He's completely self-taught but obviously talented. A self-taught flower arranger, he recently passed his NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) demonstrators test.  His garden will be on the spot where Alan Titchmarsh had his last year (not a huge space) and, because he's briefed by the RHS and it is, therefore, an RHS garden, no, it won't be part of the official judging process.

That's a shame. It wouldn't have been ethical to pass judgement on their own garden, and perhaps that's just as well for an amateur's blood pressure. But you can't help thinking that it would always have been considered too dangerous or too tactless to include it.

For related thoughts on professional v. amateur designers: Tim Richardson's discussion on Thinkingardens

Comments

[Chris Myers]

The programme & it's end result, a garden on main avenue, can only have generated extra interest in the Chelsea Flower Show.
I imagine that visitors will want to see Sean's garden & will not turn their nose up at it, as if it shouldn't be there.
Good on the RHS & BBC for collaborating a TV show that highlights the splendour of Chelsea & in turn gives an amateur enthusiast the chance to turn their passion into a career.
There are a number of designers on the Chelsea fringe, regulars at Hampton, Tatton, BBC GWL & Malvern who will be envious of Sean's achievement. I know, I'm one of them. After 10 years of exhibiting & 9 RHS medals later I still haven't made the break into Chelsea. There does feel to be an element of 'right place, right time' associated with gaining a Chelsea garden & more importantly a sponsor. Perhaps there is scope for a TV show that gives the professional designers out there who consistently produce good show gardens the chance to breakthrough into Chelsea. We've seen it before with Masterchef the professionals.
Anyway that's for the producers to decide.

[Caro]

I haven't seen the programme yet, Helen, but will watch on catch up over the weekend. I think it would be good if three amateurs were allowed to have a little show garden space and they could then be judged in a separate category. Do you remember the Fresh Talent obelisks of a couple of years ago? Some of my fellow students entered ('Bird Columny') and were thrilled to be awarded Gold for their first 'show garden'. I will be definitely be looking forward to seeing the winning GCGC show on Monday!

[Anne Wareham]

I personally wish that garden designers and 'amateurs' could cross their boundaries more often and more freely. And here is perhaps the opposite perspective: http://thinkingardens.co.uk/articles/can-professional-designers-really-hope-to-emulate-those-for-whom-a-garden-is-a-lifes-work/

Xxxx

[Helen]

Thank you, Anne. I'll put the link in the article. This has reminded me that Tim Richardson's articles used to be the best thing in the SGD's magazine.