Chatsworth flower show honour Ripley landscaping firm

Landscape gardener Mark Brown who is doing some work for the RHS at their Chatsworth Show.

MB Landscaping and Paving have been asked by gardening guru Mark Smith to create a Derbyshire-themed garden for BBC Radio Derby.

Its owner, Mark Brown, who lives in Belper, says it is a great honour for everybody involved.

He said: “It’s a seriously big event so it will be really good for us.

“It came about after BBC Radio Derby asked their resident plant expert Mark Smith to create a garden for them.

“We have worked with him quite extensively over the years so when he was asked to do it, he recommended us for the landscaping work.”

Mark said the radio station put out a listener appeal for what should go in the garden two weeks ago.

In the end, they decided the garden would be a bird’s eye view of Derbyshire itself, featuring the River Derwent, the historic mills of Belper and Cromford and, of course, the beautiful Peak District.

“It is a really interesting garden,” says Mark.

“We will be going to Chatsworth on May 24 to start building it - and we’ve been invited to the press day as well.”

After 13 years in business, Mark’s firm relocated to bigger premises in Ripley.

And since the move, Mark says his business has continued to go from ‘strength to strength’.

“We currently have eight members of staff - all of whom will have a hand in producing the garden,” said Mark.

Mark and his team will actually build the ‘hard side’ of the garden, while Mark Smith - who is the manager at Markeaton Garden Centre in Derby - will look after the plants.

The flower show - which will run from Wednesday June 7 to Sunday June 10 - will be the first RHS show Chatsworth has hosted.

An expected 75,000 people will flock to Derbyshire’s most stunning stately home to see dozens of show and free-form gardens - and thousands of exhibitors.

The overall theme for this year’s show is ‘design revolutionaries’ and the event will also feature a number of specially designed bridges spanning the nearby River Derwent.

To find out more about MB Landscaping and Paving, visit www.mblandscaping.co.uk.

To find out more about the inaugural RHS Chatsworth Flower Show or to buy tickets, visit www.rhs.org.uk/chatsworth.