Locally-raised Chelsea gold winner links with refugee charity
A GARDEN designer raised in Guernsey will once again present a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show after winning a gold last year.
Jane Porter was born in Scotland, but spent her childhood in Guernsey.
After her success at the last Chelsea show, Ms Porter is teaming up with refugee charity, Choose Love, to create a garden inspired by refugee migration routes across Europe, and the concept of 'desire lines' which are paths created where no formal route exists.
Aiming to reflect the relationship between movement and permanence, the design will be presented in the All About Plants category.
‘I was absolutely blown away when I won gold last time and it’s really nice to know I’ve been recognised again. There’s nothing better,’ said Ms Porter.
Future plans for the award-winning gardener include building a team for her business, collaborating with established designers and creating media assets such as a podcast to educate others on the world of gardening,
‘I could talk about plants all day,’ said Ms Porter.
She is also hoping to design a piece on the island of Herm to encapsulate her love for the island and the emotional ties she has with it.
Throughout her childhood Ms Porter would visit the island with her family frequently and when her mum died, her ashes were spread on Herm.
Ms Porter attended The Ladies’ College, before going on to gain a degree in art from Byam Shaw School of Art and a masters in film at the University of the West of England.
Her love for gardening blossomed eight years ago after she moved house and was in awe of the garden.
‘When I got the new house I just caught a bug,’ said Ms Porter.
Since then she has been able to sharpen her skill-set through various courses and qualifications in the world of gardening.
‘I did a short course in horticulture just as a hobby but then I did RHS Level 2, and ended up retraining, which led me to have a complete career change,’ she said.
‘I studied for my planting design diploma at London College of Garden Design, which is based at Kew Gardens, which has to be one of the most inspiring places for anyone interested in plants.’
