The 2017 Young Horticulturist of the Year is Scotland’s Lachlan Rae.
May 12th 2017
This year’s competition came to an exciting end on the 6th May at University Centre Shrewsbury where the final eight competitors fought for the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world with a £2,500 bursary. Read the rest of this entry
SUMMER EVENTS IN THE CITY
May 10th 2017
Mary Cole-Adams presents a round-up of summer events...
The Broadgate Estate's Urban Eden Season which began on the 10th April runs until the 10th June 2017. It mixes three pop up gardens with dining areas / food markets and interactive health and wellbeing – boosting events. Read the rest of this entry
The Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch
April 17th 2017
The 10th Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch, held at Guildhall on the 6th April, was the Gardeners’ Company’s third year in creating a horticultural centre-piece based on a First World War theme. This year it was Passchendaele. Read the rest of this entry
The Prince of Wales Trophy
April 17th 2017
Awarded annually since 1999 under the patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales, Liveryman, The Prince of Wales Perpetual Challenge Trophy is given to the horticultural student who, in the eyes of the judges, demonstrates a valid commitment to sustainable (which could include organic) horticultural practices. Read the rest of this entry
Future Gardeners achieve gold
April 9th 2017
The first group on the Gardeners' Company Future Gardeners project have now completed their Gold Course and were presented by the Master with certificates to mark their achievement at a special ceremony on the 5th April at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington. Read the rest of this entry
The Lord Mayor gives free organ recital
March 30th 2017
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Doctor Andrew Parmley, will play the organ on 31st March at St Stephen Walbrook in the fourth of a new series of Free Music Recitals. Read the rest of this entry
Perennial appoints new chief executive
March 28th 2017
Peter Newman, currently Chief Executive of children’s charity Dreams Come True, joins Perennial as Chief Executive in May this year following the retirement of Richard Capewell.
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RHS Director General awarded CBE
March 28th 2017
RHS Director General Sue Biggs, who was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours, has received her award at Buckingham Palace. The award, presented by HRH The Prince of Wales, was made in recognition of her services to the environment and horticulture. Read the rest of this entry
Gardeners showcase horticulture careers
March 13th 2017
Livery Schools Link are holding a Livery Careers Showcase on Monday 20th March (3.30-5.30pm) and the Gardeners’ Company will be one of 30 Liveries with stalls showing what career opportunities are available in their particular Crafts. Read the rest of this entry
Stephen Hawking given City's highest honour
March 9th 2017
Professor Stephen Hawking has been given Honorary Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his outstanding contribution to theoretical physics and cosmology. Read the rest of this entry
St Paul's appoints a female chorister
March 9th 2017
St Paul’s Cathedral has appointed a female chorister - a Vicar Choral, the name for an adult member of the choir - for the first time in its 1,000-year history.
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Digging up London's history
March 9th 2017
Excavations for London’s Crossrail Project have unearthed huge numbers of objects spanning 8,000 years of human history since digging began in 2009. Many are on display at a major exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands (E14 4AL until 3rd September). Read the rest of this entry
Eminent gardener remembered
February 23rd 2017
Reflections on the life of eminent American Gardener Lanning Roper is the title of a service on Monday 27th March (1.10 to 1.50pm) at St Stephen Walbrook - part of the church's monthly Discovery and Explore series.
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Pancake races in Guildhall Yard
February 23rd 2017
The Annual Shrove Tuesday Inter-Livery Pancake Races take place in Guildhall Yard on Tuesday 28th February. This is always an enjoyable spectator event with Livery Masters in full gown (and heat proof gloves to protect delicate hands for H&S reasons!) competing for annually awarded trophies. Read the rest of this entry
Accordion recital at St Stephen Walbrook
February 23rd 2017
Consummate musician Michael Broadway, a past master of the Glaziers’ Company, gives a Piano Accordion performance at St Stephen Walbrook at 5.30pm on Friday 24th February. Most Gardeners will be familiar with this fine Wren church which is the venue for our Christmas Carol concerts. If you miss this, look for the series of free music recitals on the last Fridays of the month entitled The Lord Mayor’s St Stephen’s Serenades - details can be found on the St Stephen Walbrook website. Read the rest of this entry
The Lord Mayor's Appeal
February 17th 2017
Lord Mayor Alderman Andrew Parmley, believed to be the first organist Lord Mayor, will be playing the solo part in the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony in one of a series of fund-raising events in aid of the current Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
Under the banner ‘Educate Support Inspire’ he is supporting three charities: the LSO Discovery programme, St Paul’s Cathedral Music Outreach and Music in Hospitals. Read the rest of this entry
MANSION HOUSE BANQUET
February 17th 2017
On the 8th February the Mansion House rang to the sound of a steel band and a choir of Past Masters as the Gardeners celebrated their annual banquet. The young musicians were the steel band of the Sir John Cass School. They played a spirited piece with great aplomb and professionalism and were received with enthusiastic applause. Then came the surprise of the evening – a setting of Kipling’s ‘The Glory of the Garden’ composed by the Lord Mayor himself, and led by a ‘choir’ (using the term in its loosest sense) of Past Masters, and the Master.
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Guildhall Library events
February 17th 2017
Current free exhibitions at the Guildhalll Library include Marie Duval: Laughter in the First Age of Leisure which closes on 17th March and Londinium AD 43 which is on until 31st March. Read the rest of this entry
Spring Highlights
January 31st 2017
This year's Spring Court Dinner will be held at the Grocers' Hall on the 4th April (attendance Liverymen and their guests only). The Grocers are one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies and are second in precedence to the Mercers (the order of precedence was established by the Court of Aldermen in the 16th Century on the basis of the companies' political or economic power). They have been on their site in Princes Street since 1426 although the present hall, their fifth, was opened in 1970 following a disastrous fire which destroyed their Victorian premises in 1965. Read the rest of this entry
The Gardeners’ Carol Service
December 15th 2016
The Company’s much-loved Carol Service was held as usual at St. Stephen Walbrook with our Honourable Chaplain the Venerable Peter Delaney MBE leading the service. The traditional singing competition took place during ‘We Three Kings’ although we didn’t find out who won – it was probably that part of the congregation where the Master was sitting! Read the rest of this entry
Future Gardeners get off to a flying start
December 8th 2016
The first group on the Gardeners’ Company Future Gardeners project completed the Silver Course with flying colours in December of last year and were presented by the Master with certificates to mark their achievement at a special ceremony at Glaziers’ Hall.
Eight people from a mixture of backgrounds finished the course which is intended to be both an introduction to horticulture and preparation for entering the workplace. They were required to attend for two days a week for six weeks. Read the rest of this entry
No shortage of warmth at Autumn Court Dinner
November 8th 2016
It was a cold and blustery night outside when we met in November at Carpenters’ Hall for the Autumn Court Dinner but there was no shortage of warmth from Liverymen and their guests in the hall. The Company’s silver was on display, setting off the fantastic autumn floral displays from Liveryman Stephen Crisp and his team of helpers.
The evening began with a thoughtful prayer from PM Tom Gough, prompting us to think of recently departed PMs Ramsay Shewell-Cooper and Janet Owen and their families. Read the rest of this entry
Big is the buzzword when it comes to helping bees
October 28th 2016
As the winter dark gathers, the Company’s annual RHS lecture provides a welcome opportunity to lift the spirits by thinking of next year’s gardening. And never more so than this year when the subject was the most typical sound of the summer garden – bees. Read the rest of this entry
Flowers in the City Summer competition 2016
October 11th 2016
The Lady Mayoress, Liveryman Lady Juliet Mountevans, presented trophies to winners of the 2016 Summer Flowers in the City Competition at a special ceremony in October at the Mansion House.
The Master thanked her and the Lord Mayor for the support they give to the Campaign and said: “It is more important than ever that people who live and work in a pressured and often stressful space are able to experience the calming and uplifting presence of flowers and greenery. Read the rest of this entry
Day visit to Alswick Hall and Hopleys Garden Centre
September 22nd 2016
A strong contingent of the Company, led by the Master and Mistress Gardener, met on a bright early autumn day to walk in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth I at Alswick Hall.
We were warmly welcomed by Anne Johnson who, with Mike Johnson, owns this hall and gardens and surrounding farmland just north of Buntingford in Hertfordshire. After a very convivial coffee in their new extension (which blended perfectly with the traditional building), we were treated to a tour of quite exquisite gardens brimming with interesting plants which had been planted with much thought and good design. Read the rest of this entry
It's never too late to apologise
July 27th 2016
In the year 1345, several members of the medieval fraternity of Gardeners who were selling their produce within the environs of St Paul’s Cathedral were expelled from the area for causing an affray. The seriousness of the event was such that it is believed to have contributed to the delay in the Gardeners being granted their first Charter of Letters Patent until 1605. A second revised Charter was drawn up in 1616. Read the rest of this entry
Installing the very model of a modern master
July 6th 2016
The installation of Paul Rochford as the Worshipful Company of Gardeners' new Master was very much a family affair, with his father, his mother-in-law, his two sisters, three sisters-in-law, two brothers-in-law, two sons-in-law, four daughters and American niece, Rebecca Stark, the latter having flown in from Dallas, America, all present at the celebrations at Clothworkers' Hall on Wednesday 6th July 2016. Read the rest of this entry