This year’s stand is based on plant collecting; not the well known professional plant hunters such as Forrest, Wilson, the Lobb brothers etc, but focusing on the influence of the Cornish shipping agents and creator of gardens, Robert Fox.

Whilst working as shipping agent and consul in the port of Falmouth, he encouraged the ships’ captains to bring back plant material from their voyages.

This opportunity, combined with his Quaker beliefs in recreating a natural ‘garden’ helped to create the concept of what we think of as a Cornish woodland garden.

Our stand is loosely divided into 3 areas:-

1. alludes to the exploration and collection of plants
2. a ‘traditional’ Cornish woodland garden
3. shows a ‘summer’ garden – an eclectic mix of the rare, unusual and ordinary, in the style of Fox’s own garden

The water feature is a design based on the sound and movement of a wave. This echoes the theme of the stand; the idea that the sea is at the heart of the story – both in terms of sea voyages and climate.