Green-fingered students are celebrating after being given top marks for their gardening efforts.
The students and members of staff from Stafford College were Highly Commended with top marks at the Spring Gardening Show in Malvern.
Their garden, entitled Reclaimed from Nature, was based around the idea of plants taking over a ruined cottage and abandoned garden.
Students from different sections of the college took part in the project, which involved them building the garden on site just days before the show.
Students from brickwork, carpentry and plumbing courses built the ruins of a cottage and then students from the countryside management courses took over with their natural planting scheme.
Students from across the college also donated plants, materials and other items that could be recycled and used in the project.
The result was the creation of a garden that looked as though it had been left to nature for decades. It included landscaping interspersed with wildflowers, boggy spaces and a water area fringed by native plants and mosses. There was also a ‘lost garden’ space with strawberries, herbs, old roses and trees.
Lisa Reading, manager within the Faculty of Technology and garden designer for the competition, said: “We were very proud of our entry. A large number of students and staff from a range of different courses had put a huge amount of work into the project.
“It was a brilliant example of teamwork and a great learning experience for everyone involved. We honestly didn’t expect to come away champions, though, especially at our first attempt.
“The competition was very stiff and we were overjoyed to hear the results of the judging. It’s a fantastic tribute to the college and a massive encouragement to everyone who built the garden, on successive days of pouring rain.”