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Press release
TWO GREAT BRITS UNITE FOR CHELSEA
10 April 2007
NS&I teams up with British growers for Chelsea Flower Show 2007
A visually stunning display of the very best in fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and plants produced by professional growers from across the UK is set to be one of the star attractions among the floral exhibitors in the Great Pavilion at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show (22 – 26 May 2007).
‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ is a partnership between National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and British growers, represented by the National Farmers’ Union, and will showcase the diverse, professional and dynamic horticultural industry in the UK in tandem with the security and straightforwardness of one of the country’s largest financial providers.
The display, constructed from materials sourced entirely from British suppliers and featuring British produce, is sponsored by NS&I, which has been providing financial services in Britain since 1861.
The display design
‘NS&I: Growing Britain’, designed by Penny Riley, will display fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and plants supplied by British growers in 25 galvanised steel cubes and towers ranging from 30 centimetres to 2.5 metres in height, representing growth, modernism and security. The materials used in the construction of ‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ can be found in the latest high-technology glasshouses and reflect the use of practical components in a creative environment.
The flooring among the steel towers will be blue-black natural slate paving from Bradstone of Derbyshire, forming the base of the 10 metre by 10 metre exhibit area.
The towers forming the display will be up-lit by spotlights, while a channel of water in the central feature of the display will also be illuminated.
Produce on display
‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ will showcase more than 60 different types of fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs and plants, including several diverse varieties of mushroom, different brightly coloured peppers, an array of tomatoes, several kinds of potato, aubergines, strawberries, lilies and fuchsias, all produced by professional growers in the UK.
Uniquely, all the produce on display – including exotic-sounding Enoki mushrooms, Flavorino vine tomatoes and tomatillos – is grown commercially for sale in supermarkets, farm shops, markets and grocers across the UK.
Two great Brits
This is the third year running that NS&I has been involved with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. John Prout, NS&I sales director, said: “There’s a perfect natural synergy between NS&I and British growers and we’re enormously proud to be associated with all that is great about British horticulture.
“NS&I is one of the mainstays of British financial services, providing savings and investments to British people since 1861, while British growers have been supplying first class produce for hundreds of years. We’ve both been modernising and developing and becoming more efficient in order to keep up with the competition. The striking, modern look of ‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ reflects the way in which NS&I and British growers have been developing rapidly in recent years.”
Richard Hirst, grower and Chairman of the NFU Board for Horticulture, said: “The great thing about ‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ is it features the very same produce, plants and flowers that British growers send to shops, markets and supermarkets across the country every day. So, in effect, visitors to the show can easily take any part of the display home with them – all they have to do is buy British when they shop.”
Penny Riley, designer of ‘NS&I: Growing Britain’, added: “I am very excited about the Chelsea Flower Show this year. Our exhibit, with its bold design, is going to look really quite spectacular and will be a major feature of the Great Pavilion for 2007. With the support of NS&I, British growers will have their produce on display in an impressive exhibit.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About NS&I
NS&I is one of the UK’s largest financial providers with 27 million customers and £78 billion invested. It is best known for Premium Bonds which, this year, celebrate the 50th anniversary since the first draw in June 1957, but also offers Savings Certificates, Direct ISA, Guaranteed Equity Bonds and Children’s Bonus Bonds in its range. All products offer 100% security, because they are backed by HM Treasury. This is the third consecutive year NS&I has sponsored a garden or exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. NS&I is also sole sponsor of The Classical BRIT Awards 2007, to be held at the Royal Albert Hall on 3 May and BBC Proms in the Park, held at five sites across Britain on 8 September.
About British growers
All the growers whose produce features on the display are members of the NFU. British growers, supported by the NFU, have been showcasing the very best of British produce at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show since the 1940s. The NFU promotes successful and socially responsible agriculture and horticulture. They strive to make sure British produce is at the top of the shopping list for British consumers.
About Penny Riley
Penny has designed and organised ‘NS&I: Growing Britain’ and has been creating exhibits for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the past 27 years. She works as part of a team of florists, growers and friends to create stunning displays packed full of fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, plants and herbs all grown in the UK. She grew up on the Mills nursery, which supplies bedding and pot plants. Penny is a florist by training.
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