SEVEN budding young gardeners studying horticulture at Pershore College are bidding to show their green-fingered talent at the national exhibition in London next month.

The group is hoping to strike gold at the Ideal Young Gardeners of the Year 2017 competition taking place at the Ideal Home Show, Olympia.

Six colleges from across the country have been invited to create a show garden in this annual contest organised by TV gardener and event organiser David Domoney in association with the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community.

This is the third consecutive year that Pershore College has taken part and on each of the previous two occasions came away with a gold medal. Gold, silver gilt, silver or bronze medals are awarded to each entry by the judges and the overall winner receives the Best in Show award.

The competition is in its seventh year and each year focuses on a different theme. This year the teams have a remit to create a front garden – within a 5.5m x 4m plot – to inspire city dwellers and showing all that can be achieved in urban locations.

It should also create a sense of tranquillity and sustainability for the home owner, should act as an escape from the pressures of inner city life and bring a touch of nature to the heart of the metropolis.

Simon Sadinsky, The Prince’s Foundation’s Young Heritage Apprenticeship Coordinator, said: “This year, we want to see designs that will inspire homeowners to bring back colour and life to the street, and that really sell the benefits of nurturing this space.

“In the past decade alone, 4.5 million more front gardens have been concreted over. We know this has severe environmental impacts, from flash flooding to declining wildlife. As a nod to this, we’ve asked competitors to incorporate harmony and sustainability into their design.

“We’re also looking for gardens that demonstrate a smart use of space – a way of showing homeowners you can still have storage space for household items, like the wheelie bins each garden will be tasked with housing.”

The teams are currently designing their entries and they will have five days before the show opens to create a real garden in the centre of the arena. The Ideal Home Show runs from Friday March 24 until Sunday April 9.

David Domoney said: “To date we have given more than 500 garden landscaping and design students the opportunity to build show gardens at a national event before they even leave the college gates.

“It’s always a great privilege to see Great British talent come together to compete for the title of Young Gardeners of the Year, and with this year’s focus on front gardens, I can’t wait to see them come to life.”

A spokesman for the Warwickshire College Group, which includes Pershore College, said: “It is a great opportunity for the students and a really amazing experience. The gardens are in the centre of the show and all the visitors get to see them. It is a very popular part of the show.”

She added that the second year horticultural students also have a chance to meet and talk to the judges. “It is a big project for them,” she said.

The Pershore College team consists of Raz Di Marco, James Burrage, Matthew McCallum, Harry Williams, Ashley Biggam, Harriet Andrews, Ethan Donegan, Archie Newey, Joshua Stacey, Oliver Hickey and Thomas Aldersey.