The RHS kindly afforded us opportunity to host the young of arboriculture at the Young Horticulturist Breakfast. Blessed with support from M&G Investments the RHS host a breakfast event where young people from all sectors of horticulture come together to hear from inspirational speakers.
As well as the ever genial, energetic and frank Adam Frost we heard the experiences, good and bad, of finding and establishing a career in horticulture from Andrew Fisher Tomlin the pre-eminent garden designer, Olivia of Growing Underground and Sheila Das, Garden Manager at RHS Wisley.
As always it is a busy event and I don't get chance to talk with everyone with an interest in arboriculture. This year I did speak with several people wishing to start or grow their career in arboriculture and hopefully they can pursue their dream - they learnt from the presenters to knock on doors and let employers know of their 'transferable skills'.
Of the Show there were of course many fine gardens sporting some equally fine trees. Stunning ready-made hedges and dwarf trees caught my eye this year but my favourite garden, for is shear fastidious attention to detail was Gosho No Niwa No Wall, No War by Kazuyuki Ishihara - an absolutely stunning portrayal of nature with its maples, bonsai, mosses and water; all to be enjoyed from a contemporary pavilion. www.rhs.org.uk
I think it stood out for me as I recall building a similar (and, yes, gold medal winning) garden for the late Maureen Busby - a wonderful person and very skilled designer of Japanese-style gardens.
At this year's breakfast we bid farewell to Sarah Cathcart, Head of Education and Learning at the RHS; she moves to a new role in education at Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia. Sarah is one of those quiet people that make a big difference, not just in education but also in uniting the sector to come together for the better of us all. Amongst many other things Sarah has ensured arboriculture has a table at breakfast. Good luck Sarah.