News: Bestall to represent Yorkshire at Chelsea Flower Show

Award-winning local gardening expert, Lee Bestall has been chosen by Welcome to Yorkshire and will showcase his talents, and the best the county has to offer, at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show this year.

A membership organisation, Welcome to Yorkshire is the official destination management agency for Yorkshire, boosting tourism in the county through marketing campaigns and involvement in high profile events such as the opening stages of the Tour de France.

Announcing plans to promote Yorkshire in 2015 at a recent industry event in Scarborough, Welcome to Yorkshire announced that its garden design for RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been accepted. Run by the Royal Horticultural Society charity, the annual Chelsea Flower Show is Britain's most prestigious flower show and is held in the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital. It showcases nursery exhibits and model gardens and includes exhibits from foreign countries as well as from Britain.

Designed by Lee Bestall, Yorkshire's garden will feature a microbrewery theme and will highlight not only the great gardens in the county but also the impressive range of micro breweries when it goes on display in May.

Enterprising Lee, who grew up in Aston in Rotherham and studied at Sheffield Hallam University, was working in recruitment when he earned the chance to turn his love of gardening into a career with invaluable training from gardening expert, Diarmuid Gavin as part of a BBC series.

The local businesses, Inspired Garden Design and Bestall & Co, based at Renishaw, have gone from strength to strength with Lee receiving industry awards including a silver medal at Tatton Park Flower Show 2005, a bronze medal at Gardeners' World Live 2006 and Grand Designs Garden Designer of The Year Award 2012.

Lee described being selected by Welcome to Yorkshire as a "fantastic opportunity for us to represent Yorkshire at Chelsea."

Called "Brewer's Yard," 2015's garden is described as providing an illustration of the historical fusion between a recently refurbished old Yorkshire brewing shed and fundamentals of a modern micro-brewery. The garden interprets and aims to share the story of the elements of the micro-brewing process, then and now. A modern water feature inspired by brewing uses a combination of traditional materials and techniques with stylised design. Modern and antique brewing equipment accessories feature throughout the garden.

Sponsored by Wold Top Brewery, an award-winning micro brewery in Driffield, Brewer's Yard, will be the sixth time Welcome To Yorkshire has been on show at Chelsea.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "We've talked for several years about Yorkshire's potential as a county and as a destination – and now our collective ambitions and dreams are becoming a reality. There must be millions of people around the world who now know of Yorkshire, who didn't a couple of years ago – we're firmly front of mind. Our ground-breaking work builds on that and together we will cement Yorkshire's place on the world stage as a visitor destination."

Inspired Garden Design website
Bestall & Co website
Welcome To Yorkshire website

Images: Welcome To Yorkshire

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News: The gardener's apprentice

Gardening expert, Lee Bestall has taken on an apprentice as his award winning Inspired Garden Design business continues to grow.

Enterprising Lee, who grew up in Aston, Rotherham and studied at Sheffield Hallam University, was working in recruitment when he earned the chance to turn his love of gardening into a career with invaluable training from gardening expert, Diarmuid Gavin as part of a BBC series.

The local business has gone from strength to strength with Lee receiving industry awards including a silver medal at Tatton Park Flower Show 2005 and a bronze medal at Gardeners' World Live 2006.

Last year he was named as the winner of Grand Designs Garden Designer of The Year Award for his creation, "Cloud Nine" and was back at the event this year taking part in the "Ask An Expert" section.

Chloe Trueman, 18, from Dinnington, Rotherham recently joined the company and is currently undertaking a Business Administration apprenticeship with The Source Academy.

Chloe said: "Working with Lee and the team is amazing, the team work on projects located all over the world, our most recent project is Toronto. I am responsible for social media, marketing and dealing with incoming enquiries, which is my favourite part.

"We have some great clients and enjoy playing a key role in making sure they get their dream garden which is really exciting. I have a number of important tasks which I need to complete as part of my role; one is to make sure we have a paperless office by Christmas. But, my most important task is to make sure Lee is where he needs to be!"

Lee Bestall, creative director at Inspired Garden Design, added: "Recruiting an apprentice was completely new to me and I'd been considering this route for a number of months.

"My workload was increasing and as a small business owner, I was carrying out a lot of duties myself, which wasn't cost effective. In the end I bit the bullet and recruited Chloe who immediately made an impact straight away and made letting go very easy. She is so efficient in the way she works and has very quickly organised the entire office to make us more efficient. She has great telephone manner and our clients look forward to speaking with her.

"Chloe has made me realise the immense potential of young people and I couldn't have wished for a better member of staff."

Chloe has big plans for the future and is looking forward to completing her Business Administration Apprenticeship and enrolling onto a Management Apprenticeship in the future.

Lee added: "For years I have been used to creating environments to grow plants and now thanks to Chloe I'm creating an environment to grow the future of my business."

Inspired Garden Design website
The Source website

Images: The Source

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News: Inspired Lee recognised for grand design

Rotherham gardening expert, Lee Bestall has been named as the winner of Grand Designs Garden Designer of The Year Award 2012 for his creation, "Cloud Nine."

The inaugural competition was held at the recent Grand Designs Live event in Birmingham and saw the concepts of three chosen finalists brought to life in display gardens over the three days.

Each garden was inspired by the Grand Designs ethos which includes contemporary style, inspiration, and ethical and environmental responsibility.

Lee's garden design was an impressive, contemporary and low maintenance rooftop garden for relaxing after work. It incorporated modern gadgets which complimented those in the adjoining penthouse. The garden was designed for a single, young professional and is seen as a place to relax and unwind after work whilst taking in views over the city skyline.

The garden featured a hot tub, sheltered by the partially open Cedar wood structure with the lighting, music, and even the shower, all controlled via an iPad.

Enterprising Lee, who grew up in Aston and studied at Sheffield Hallam University, was working in recruitment when he earned the chance to turn his love of gardening into a career with invaluable training from gardening expert, Diarmuid Gavin as part of a BBC series.

The local business, Inspired Garden Design has gone from strength to strength with Lee receiving industry awards including a silver medal at Tatton Park Flower Show 2005 and a bronze medal at Gardeners' World Live 2006.

Lee hopes that the latest award will boost his business. He said: "I still can't believe I won the Grand Designs garden designer of the year award.

"I plan to further develop my portfolio of corporate and private gardens, as well as working on community projects.

"I really enjoy developing productive working relationships with new clients and delivering gardens which not only exceed people's expectations, but change the way they live their outdoor lives."

Inspired Garden Designs website

Images: Inspired Garden Designs

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