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A second Gold medal has been won by Adcote School at the Shrewsbury Flower Show, hot on the heels of their RHS silver gilt medal at Malvern. Adcote gardeners have previously won a gold medal at the Shewsbury Flower Show with their first garden in 2006.
This year the garden was based on " Darwin 's Garden" showing plants from an English Country Garden to represent his Shrewsbury home and extending to plants from South America , South Africa and Australasia .
A team of ten students and staff, led by Adcote teacher Louise Hudson, have spent many hours planning and creating the garden for the Flower Show.
The garden was designed to celebrate Charles Darwin's birth 200 years ago and the publication of his famous book 'On the Origin of Species' 150 years ago.
Charles Darwin was born and educated in Shrewsbury before spending 5 years aboard the surveying vessel HMS Beagle . During this time he visited many countries, mainly in the Southern hemisphere, studying and bringing back many samples from the animal and plant kingdoms he observed.
The garden reflects some of the aspects of Darwin 's life. On one side and around the seating area there is planting typical of a contemporary English country garden - a possible 'evolution' of the garden in which Darwin grew up at The Mount in Shrewsbury, his childhood home. There are shrubs and herbaceous perennial in pastel hues.
The 'boat' table and shade sail pay tribute to Darwin's nautical journey whilst the planting beyond reflects some of the plants Darwin would have come across on his journey and which are now found commonly in British gardens. Within this area we can see many different ways that plants have adapted to evolve in their particular environments.
On the 'boat' itself there is an area of study. On his return, Charles Darwin became passionately involved in the study of many plants but particularly insectivorous plants and orchids. He proved the carnivorous nature of plants such as the Sundew. Darwin even wrote to one friend that he cared "more for Sundews than the origin of all species of life on earth. Sundews are more sensitive to taste and touch than any animal species I have studied." |
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