Thirteen people will be able to own a piece of RHS Chelsea Flower Show history and at the same time raise valuable funds for a good cause, thanks to Hillier Nurseries and its charity partner Wessex Cancer Trust.
The online auction, which will run from 6th – 16th October, is the culmination of a very successful ‘Memory Tree’ project displayed at RHS Chelsea this year by Hillier. The family-owned company has exhibited at the world-famous flower show for almost a century and has won a record-breaking 72 consecutive gold medals.
With so many amazing memories connected to the show, the Memory Tree was created so that this year’s visitors could share their treasured garden memories too.
Visitors to the show signed tags to hang from the tree, a Davidia involucrata – more commonly known as a Pocket Handkerchief tree – and wrote down their most treasured garden memory in a special book. It was a great success and by the close of Chelsea, over 500 tags were fluttering from the branches, which was quite a spectacular sight.
Alan Titchmarsh, a long-running supporter of Wessex Cancer Trust, was the first of a plethora of famous faces to take part. Dame Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Piers Morgan, Jo Whiley, Nigel Slater, the One Show’s Matt Baker and Alex Jones, Carol Klein, Anton du Beke, Ainsley Harriott, Nigel Havers and Cerys Matthews also signed tags.
Wessex Cancer Trust is now auctioning the commemorative tags signed by the celebrities. Each one is beautifully displayed in a frame, complete with certificate and a copy of the person’s memory.
The auction is now live here – happy bidding!
Alongside the auction, Hillier has also launched a digital copy of the Memory Book called ‘Your Garden Memories’. The interactive book replicates the memories that were shared at Chelsea alongside photos of this year’s award-winning garden and commentary from members of the Hillier family. The book can be viewed at here.
paskettpr 