Unveiling the 2024 Floriculture Pioneers: 22 outstanding individuals leaving their mark in the realm of gardening

Garden Pioneers Making a Difference

In the world of horticulture, a diverse group of individuals is making a significant impact, raising awareness about mental health, promoting sustainable practices, and fostering community growth.

Kate Bradbury, a wildlife gardening specialist and author, advocates for reducing pesticide use and is an advocate for creating gardens that support biodiversity. Her passion for wildlife is evident in her books about wildlife gardening.

Henry Agg, a well-known figure on Instagram, is a horticulturist and garden designer who has built his profile by sharing his love for gardening with a wide audience.

Thomas Kendall, associate director of Wayward, is at the forefront of greening derelict sites and 'meanwhile' spaces. Wayward is the Official Reuse Partner for the RHS, redistributing thousands of plants, trees, and materials each year to community groups, schools, and hospitals.

Maggie Haynes established Tuppenny Barn, a community food-growing project in Emsworth, Hampshire, in 2005. The charity, which operates on an eight-acre site near Hastings in East Sussex, provides services such as educational visits, orchards with bee hives, soft-fruit cages, vegetable beds, cut-flower beds, polytunnels, a pond with boardwalk, and a female veterans' group.

Mo Kebbay, head of diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing at the Royal Horticultural Society, holds an anthropology DPhil in urban gardening from St Catherine's College, Oxford. She is a patron of Froglife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and an RHS and Butterfly Conservation ambassador. Under her leadership, the RHS has introduced a financial wellbeing hub, launched a diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing steering group, developed networks for LGBT+, menopausal, and neurodivergent employees, and signed an industry charter to commit to opening up horticulture to under-represented groups.

Sarah Wilson is the CEO of Veterans' Growth, a charity that uses horticulture to help military veterans with mental health issues. The charity was established in 2019 by Sarah's partner, Jason Stevens, an army veteran who found gardening beneficial for his mental wellbeing.

Jim Marshall has been involved in the horticulture industry all his life, spending 25 years at the National Trust as gardens adviser. His passion for the industry is evident in his tireless efforts to rescue rare irises and his work as a mentor to horticultural apprentices.

Adam Stoter, assistant park manager for London's Royal Parks, encourages garden owners to share knowledge with their neighbours and mentors horticultural apprentices.

Dr Richard Claxton, a former GP, combined his medical knowledge with a passion for the health benefits of gardening and created the first NHS-financed therapy garden.

JC Niala is a campaigner for access to allotments, leading a project with Greenpeace that led to allotments making headlines across the UK after finding that 174,183 people were on a waiting list for a plot.

Lee, known as The Skinny Jean Gardener, is a children's gardening educator who founded School Gardening Success in 2021.

Miria Harris, a London-based garden designer, designed the Stroke Association's Garden for Recovery at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show and advocates for sustainable garden design.

Jimi Blake, the creator of Hunting Brook Gardens in Wicklow, Ireland, hosts weekly volunteering days for asylum seekers in his local area.

Alla Olkhovska, a seed producer and photographer living in Kharkiv, Ukraine, continues to cultivate her garden during the city's invasion.

Rosie Atkins is the chair of Project Giving Back, a charity that supports the creation of show gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

John Little is the owner of the Grass Roof Company and the brownfield-inspired Hilldrop garden in Essex.

Rowena Ganguli and Carina Millstone founded The Orchard Project, a charity that helps communities plant and restore orchards.

These individuals, and many others, are making a significant impact in the world of horticulture. Whether it's through raising funds for mental health charities, promoting sustainable practices, or fostering community growth, their work is making a real difference. If you're inspired, consider donating, volunteering your time, or getting in touch to discuss employment opportunities.