Rosy Hardy Has 24 Gold Medals At RHS Chelsea: This Is Her Advice For New Gardeners

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Rosy is the Owner of Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, a much-celebrated nursery that has won a staggering twenty-four(!) Gold Medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and two Tudor Roses at Hampton Court.

She was also made an Honorary Vice President of the RHS in 2020 in recognition of her contribution and dedication to horticulture.

I spoke with Rosy about her career, her most memorable moments and what’s next for Hardy’s nursery.

Imagery in this article is provided with permission by Rosy Hardy.

Can You Explain How You First Got Into Gardening?

“I’ve always liked the outdoors,” says Rosy. “Whenever I was out anywhere I’d always look at the wildflowers, the trees and the hedgerows and was really interested in them, so that got me into liking plants.

“When I was in school, I was going to go into agriculture but was told it wasn’t possible because I didn’t come from that background. I was pushed towards horticulture instead.

“I loved biology, so horticulture was a sensible root to go down. I took an O-Level in Horticulture and I did my RHS general exam at the same time that I took this – it went from there.”

From That, What Led You To A Career In Horticulture?

“I had two options. I was looking at estate management and that wasn’t going to work, so I looked at horticulture and whether I wanted to work in parks, botanical gardens or commercial horticulture.

“I liked the idea of the latter and actually specialised in vegetable growing once I left college. It isn’t that much of a change from what I do now because whatever you grow, you have to know about soil and what the specific plant needs.

“I worked in vegetable farms for a while during and after college. After qualifying, I was just doing quality control, which wasn’t for me, so I began working at a farm shop and ended up doing what I do now.”

Can You Tell Me About Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants & What You Do There?

“We began by doing car boot sales where we sold plants across the weekend at various fairs,” she shares.

“In the week, we did some contracted landscaping and in the evenings, we would do the growing. We started off growing all types of plants, but it was herbaceous plants that people seemed to want the most.

“We then started doing flower shows and stopped doing the car boot fairs, which is how we got properly started.

“We began in the back garden and then moved a couple of times before ending up where we are now. We’ve been here for 28 years now. It has changed over time, but that’s just normal for anything over that amount of time!”

What Moments Stand Out To You From Your Career?

“I’ve been lucky with the career I’ve had,” Rosy muses. “We’ve got 24 gold medals from Chelsea and 2 Tudor Rose awards from Hampton Court.

“Also, becoming an Honorary Vice President of the RHS was amazing as it showed that people appreciate what we’ve done over the years.

“Horticulture has given me a chance to go abroad too. I’ve been to Australia twice and done displays and talks over there. I’ve recently been to Kenya to do some judging over there, which was lovely.”

What’s Next For You?

“At the moment we are just carrying on with what we are doing at the nursery. We will be doing the RHS Malvern Autumn Show, which is always fun.

“We finish doing talks here in October, so over winter we do a lot of preparations for the next year.”

What Advice Would You Give To Aspiring Gardeners?

“You’ve got to enjoy and embrace it,” she shares.

“Any garden can be daunting to start with, but the key things are always look at your soil, understand your site and enjoy the process of creating something which is yours.

“Don’t make a garden that is too difficult to maintain, otherwise you won’t ever get time to sit down and appreciate it!”