A Bridgnorth novice gardener is looking forward to a blooming career after winning her class at this year’s BBC Gardener’s World live event at the NEC.
Linda Lumm who lives on the Stourbridge Road, found she had a flair for garden design after enrolling on a taster course at Wolverhampton College this year.
Now Linda looks set to make designing gardens her full-time career after winning the Birmingham borders section of the prestigious event, beating top class exhibitors in her first competition.
Linda said: “I’ve always loved gardening and our garden is full of ideas I’ve tried out, and I thought while my two children were little I’d do a 12-week short course. I entered the Gardener’s World, never expecting to be shortlisted, let alone win. I’m absolutely over the moon. Now I think once both the little ones are in school it is something I could make a career out of.”
Linda joined forces with husband Andrew, a builder, to create her design which was called “Recession”. The border portrays an abandoned building site, with a half-built garden wall surrounded by scattered bricks.
“Andrew built the wall and left it to look half-finished. We brought cement mixers in, hard hats, bags of cement – in fact we were the only ones setting up without any flowers at first!
“I named the border around the current money issues affecting the country. The border is designed to look as if there was no money left to finish the building job. Therefore all the equipment has been abandoned and nature has taken hold.”
Wild flowers such as foxgloves, dead nettle, red valerian, ferns and grasses are growing out of the cement mixer, wheel barrow and other building artefacts in her award-winning border.
Linda said all her designs are intended to have a message, and she concentrates on this first rather than the plants and flowers.
“I suppose it is a bit deep and meaningful. Getting a message across is what motivates me.”
Gardeners World Live runs at the NEC until Sunday, June 14.
