Aspiring young Horticulturists from SMB College Group’s Brooksby Campus recently came to the rescue of ITV's ‘Love Your Garden’ team to help them renovate a garden in Leicestershire.
On Tuesday 28th September, the team at SMB College Group got a call from the ‘Love Your Garden’ set asking if some keen students could help with a garden renovation nearby. The college jumped at this excellent opportunity for its students, and a 
group of excited students and staff quickly made their way to the location. The first day required some first-year Level 3 Horticulture students to transport seven tonnes of topsoil into the garden to fill up some raised beds and craft an undulating soil scape ready for planting.
On the second day, it was the turn of the second-year Level 3 students, who helped plant a wide variety of plants in the garden.
The students also had the opportunity to meet the man himself, Alan Titchmarsh, on both days, in addition to working alongside show favourite, Francis Tophill.
Lil Hammond, Horticulture Lecturer at SMB College Group’s Brooksby Campus, said ‘Alan Titchmarsh was thrilled to meet the next generation of horticulturalists. He affectionately said ‘Would you hurry up - the industry are waiting for you!’, reminisced about his days at horticultural college, and told the students about how the industry is a family as well as a career. All the Love your Garden team were keen to hear about the students’ career plans, and were on-hand throughout to offer advice and encouragement. It was fantastic for the students to have the opportunity to be involved with such an exciting design project and we all left feeling very inspired… and tired!’
Joanne Wilkes, Glasshouse and Horticultural Coordinator at SMB College Group, added ‘Everyone enjoyed their time on set, worked hard to achieve the goals that had been set, and learned a lot about working on the site of a large-scale design project. The students were able to see how such a project takes shape and the work required to achieve the final design.
To top it off, we were all able to meet and work with the lovely Alan Titchmarsh! Everyone is excited to see the finished show, which will air in the spring.’
SMB College Group has a rich history as a provider of land-based education and training, offering a variety of qualifications in Horticulture, Countryside and Environmental Management, Agriculture, Floristry and Land-based Engineering. Students benefit from learning at the magnificent 850-acre Brooksby Campus, which features 12 acres of gardens, purpose-built workshops and state-of-the-art glasshouse facilities.
You can catch the current series of Love Your Garden on Tuesdays at 8pm on ITV, or on catch-up on ITV Hub. The episode of the show featuring SMB College Group is due to air in Spring 2022.
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