PA 232/08
Ian Cooke, The University of Nottingham’s long-standing Grounds Manager, may have retired recently, but horticultural awards reflecting the excellence and vision of his work continue to come flooding in.
Ian’s green fingers have been involved in Nottingham being crowned the ultimate champion of the national Britain in Bloom Awards.
At an awards ceremony last night the judges said they were impressed with the ‘exceptional range’ of species of plants used within the public realm and at the University.
Click here for full story
Ian has already helped to scoop three awards for the University and the wider City of Nottingham, starting with Nottingham’s recent crowning as Champion of Champions of East Midlands in Bloom.
The judges were bowled over by the quality of display achieved at Nottingham, especially the University gardens and the Castle Grounds — where Ian also designed the bedding displays in his capacity as Chair of the Nottingham in Bloom Design Group.
In their glowing citation, the judges said: “Here, the use of colour, form, texture, quality of plant material and maintenance reached a state of ‘high art’. This breathtaking beauty narrowly clinched for Nottingham the first ever award of EMIB Champions of Champions.”
The University was also singled out for a separate award in its own right, the GreenSpace East Midlands Award for Horticultural Excellence in Parks.
The judges said: “The publicly-accessible University of Nottingham park presented extremely high horticultural standards throughout. In particular, however, the Highfields Walled Garden is quite outstanding. A quiet oasis in the very heart of the University, the garden is beautifully designed and maintained. Planted with a very wide range of exotic plants such as Bamboos and Banana, the displays are enhanced with many tender and foliage plants.”
Skilful use of colour, form and texture combined with quality plants and high standards of maintenance produce a breathtaking impact. Ian Cooke, the very recently retired Grounds Manager for the University, has excelled in producing these fabulous displays."
And at the finals of Britain in Bloom on Wednesday night, Ian Cooke accepted another separate award on behalf of the University in the school/college category of Britain’s Best Flower Bed Competition.
These latest awards mean there is very little room in the trophy case of the University’s Grounds staff — they join six Civic Trust Green Flags, the Britain in Bloom Public Park Award 2005, Nottingham in Bloom and East Midlands in Bloom awards for horticultural excellence, Civic Trust and British Association of Landscape Industry awards for the Millennium Garden on University Park and 16 other prizes since 1994.
Ian will be back on University Park on Friday September 26 to meet up with his successor, Desmond O’Grady and to show the awards off to other grounds staff who have played an important part in the successes.
Ian said: “It’s very exciting that, in all that the East Midlands in Bloom judges will have seen, they picked out the University Park for a special award. Much of the credit must go to the grounds staff for their dedicated and skilled work in achieving such a standard.
'I am thrilled to be handing the grounds over to another enthusiastic horticulturalist. Gardens inevitably reflect the interests and styles of those that care for them and I have had much pleasure expressing my flamboyant style in parts of the grounds. I look forward with interest to see what new innovations Desmond will initiate.”
New Grounds Manager Desmond O’Grady has a strong horticultural pedigree — he started his career with a commercial landscape contractor before moving on to work for Cambridge University Botanic Garden and Cambridge University Colleges, latterly for Sparsholt College Hampshire. He has also taught RHS examination courses and still acts as a correspondence course tutor.
Desmond said: “I have a keen interest in designing quality environmental space for people to enjoy, the progressive approach evident in the University grounds attracted me to the post.
“Ian has managed the grounds in a pro-active way, creating a stunning landscape with smaller compartments each with its own concept and quality, in common with Ian I believe the grounds to be a resource to the academics and wider community of Nottingham and I hope to continue successfully with this theme.
“I am looking forward to working closely with the staff team at the University and groups who enjoy the grounds.”
The full story on Ian Cooke’s retirement and plans for the future can be found on the News and Media section of the University’s website at http://communications.nottingham.ac.uk/News/Article/Top_RHS_award_as_visionary_horticulturalist_retires_from_University.html
— Ends —
Notes to editors
: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 70 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings.
It provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's "only truly global university", it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy).
Its students are much in demand from 'blue-chip' employers. Winners of Students in Free Enterprise for four years in succession, and current holder of UK Graduate of the Year, they are accomplished artists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators and fundraisers. Nottingham graduates consistently excel in business, the media, the arts and sport. Undergraduate and postgraduate degree completion rates are amongst the highest in the United Kingdom.
Journalists and photographers who would like to attend Friday’s photocall can contact Lindsay Brooke, Media Relations Manager in the Communications Office at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 951 5751, lindsay.brooke@nottingham.ac.uk to register their interest and receive more detailed directions to the Walled Garden on University Park.