A group of Bridgwater & Taunton College RHS Horticulture adult learners have been working hard since January to design and create a pop-up garden at the Royal Bath & West Show this week, where they have been awarded a gold medal certificate!

With the design brief being ‘Sensory Stages’, students partnered with local charity Heads Up to build their wonderful 5,4,3,2,1 Garden, which invites visitors to reflect on their five senses whilst being surrounded by nature to tackle moments of stress and anxiety.

This area of wellbeing and mental health grounding features elements to stimulate all five senses and urges visitors to shift any thoughts of worry and stress and engage with their sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. The garden is well-equipped for this exercise, filled with many different features in order to think about: five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can smell, two things you can hear, (and our favourite) one thing you can taste.

Despite some challenging weather conditions, the team started their garden build on Tuesday and completed it by Wednesday late afternoon with an excellent response from the judges. For many of the student group, this is the first time they have ever designed and created a shared garden.

Emma Butler, Course Leader, said,

I am very proud of these students and how they have collaborated as a team to come up with a very pleasing garden design and bought it to fruition. The Royal Bath & West Show garden competition is a wonderful opportunity for them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

The 5,4,3,2,1 Garden is open to visit at the Royal Bath & West Show from 30 May-1 June 2024. The garden will then be replanted where you will be able to find it at the front of Heads Up, in Wells, so you don’t have to miss out!

To find out more about Heads Up you can visit www.headsupsomerset.org.uk

Find out about the range of Gardening and Horticulture courses on offer at BTC, including RHS-accredited courses, here.