Chelsea Flower Show 2008
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The 'Heritage Garden' was a floral display depicting life in old Caymanian times and replicates the original Heritage Garden which is distinctive for its pretty white sand garden.
The garden featured a typical Caymanian Catboat which is strongly linked to the development of the islands. These small boats ventured offshore to hunt turtles as well as being used as the Islands’ waterborne pickup trucks, coasting within yards of ironshore, reef and shoal beach.
A key plant in the garden included the Silver Thatch Palm which is the national tree of the Cayman Islands and provided early settlers with the craft of rope making and thatching.
From the Caymanian Compass (27 May 2008):
The Heritage Garden, created by the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in association with Newington Nurseries, was awarded a silver medal by the judges and proved to be one of the show’s major attractions for both media and visitors, said a press release from DoT.
Don McDougall, the DoT’s regional manager, Europe, thanked everyone who had helped pull the entire project together in less than five months.
The Independent newspaper selected the Heritage Garden as one of just six in their feature entitled ‘Pick of the Bunch’. The Telegraph newspaper, with a circulation of over one million, chose the Cayman Islands’ garden as one of just three featured in their Chelsea Flower Show’s special supplement on small gardens.
From Cayman Islands Net News Online (30 May 2008):
“It really only remains for me to thank wholeheartedly everyone who made this Show happen. Andrew Guthrie and his team from the Botanic Park of course, along with Stephen Hendry of Newington Nurseries in the UK who helped him to create such a stunning exhibit; the Cayman Catboat Association; the Tourism Attraction Board; Department of Environment; IRG Knight Frank, Camana Bay and Maples & Calder for their generosity in sponsoring our garden; British Airways for assistance with transportation, and finally all the volunteers and employees of the Department of Tourism for their tireless work and enthusiasm, in sometimes very difficult circumstances, in pulling the entire project together in less than five months,” Mr McDougall said.
Newington Nurseries, a haven for plant lovers, on the A329, Newington, nr. Stadhampton, Oxon