Hillier Nurseries Win record 62nd Consecutive Chelsea Gold

They have done it again! Hillier have been awarded their 62nd consecutive Chelsea Gold Medal for their stunning 2007 garden, 'Planting with Trees'.

Andrew McIndoe, who designed Hillier's Gold-medal winning garden, is also Deputy M.D. of Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres, and admitted that the team had faced huge challenges this year: "April was such a hot, dry month, that hundreds of plants started to come into flower 3 weeks earlier than usual. Our cold store was packed full of plants to try and slow them down."

The focus on Planting with Trees was a real departure for Hillier this year. As Andrew explained: "Chelsea is so dominated by the smaller new plants, that it was great to get thousands of visitors and millions of BBC viewers to look up and appreciate the sheer beauty of trees and their versatility in all sizes and styles of garden."

The exhibit used 3000 trees and plants, 16 tons of cement and ballast and 700 concrete blocks. It took a year to prepare and ten days to build but the effort has all been well worth it as the 2007 exhibit is truly outstanding creating a beautiful, peaceful, verdant oasis in the middle of the Great Pavilion.

The aim of this year's exhibit is to encourage people to look at trees as very much part of the planting within the garden. Andrew told Reckless: "Trees have a profound effect on the garden environment because not only do they provide a landing post for birds and insects and keep wildlife routes open, they also influence the garden environment by casting dappled shade which many plants enjoy."

He further explained that a tree should never be seen as a disadvantage in the garden, it should be seen as very much an essential part of the design and structure.

Ricky Dorby of Hillier (pictured above with medal) has had the responsibility of preparing plants for Chelsea for the past 42 years and will no doubt be supervising the return of certain of the specimen trees to the nursery for a much needed rest and recuperation while the rest of the gold-winning Chelsea stock will be sent to Hillier’s Sunningdale garden centre for a Chelsea sale bonanza on the Sunday after the show.