RHS School Gardeners of the Year 2023
Judging panel
George Hassall
Young School Gardener of the Year 2014 and RHS Young Ambassador
About George
I’m George, I live in East Manchester, and I won the RHS Young School Gardener of the Year award back in 2014. A year later I became the first ever RHS Young Ambassador. I’ve got a real interest in wildlife gardening; I think it’s great that if we work hard in our gardens, we can have a massive impact on nature.
Q&A
Can you describe your connection to / love of gardening and growing?
Gardening provides me with an escape from the struggles and worries in life; that ability to ground yourself in the earth. I think nowadays we’ve got a lot of separation from where our food comes from, due to things like technology and social media. Gardening feels like a one-on-one connection with the earth itself.
Why do you think gardening and growing is so important for young people?
Gardening is so important to young people, because we are the ones who are going to inherit the earth we live in. You can learn so much from your own experiences in the garden. The more time you spend in the garden and connect with nature, it encourages a real desire to protect the planet.
When is your favourite time of year in the garden?
For me, my favourite time in the garden is probably around May or June, when the pond comes to life. You can sit in the sunshine, with damselflies and dragonflies whizzing round your head and just kneel on logs staring into the murky depths of the pond and watch back-swimmers dive through the oxygenators. It’s just bliss!
What’s your favourite fruit or vegetable to grow?
I really like raspberries, it’s another one of them crops where you can just spot a ripe one, pluck it off and it’s like an explosion of perfume in your mouth, especially when they’re still warm from the sunshine. Supermarket ones are just pants in comparison.
Your top tip for young gardeners?
Start small, and just grow things that you enjoy and that intrigue you, like carnivorous plants or bonsais or cacti or anything that’s weird and wonderful, ‘cos it’s exciting and fun! And it could spark an interest in you that you will carry for the rest of your life.
What would your dream gardening project be?
Definitely, a big whopping, Japanese rock garden, with loads of yew trees and Japanese maples, ponds and streams. Then landscaping it to look like a hillside, with moss. Just like a true, authentic Japanese garden full of peace and tranquillity.
Do you have one piece of advice regarding protecting our planet / the environment?
One thing that’s significant in our garden is adapting to climate change, so for example a water butt to collect rainwater to water your garden at a later stage if there’s a drought. But also mitigating the effects of climate change, that means using our gardens to try to minimise the impact we have. Leaving areas of the garden undisturbed is a great tip, as this is a good way to lock carbon in the soil to stop it from being in the atmosphere and of course this in turn creates habitats for wildlife, so it’s win win.
What does the RHS School Gardeners of the Year competition mean to you?
The competition on a personal level is where my gardening journey really began, hands down it changed my life. I’ve had some amazing opportunities, met some inspiring people, made friendships that will last forever and learnt so much. On a wider level, it’s a real door opener for young people, a way to get into the wonderful world of gardening just from entering this competition. Give it a try, you just never know!
Check out George's website.
George's entry video for School Gardeners of the Year 2014