About the garden

RHS Malvern Spring Festival captivated visitors with an innovative feature garden titled ‘Grain to Garden’, a creative collaboration between Pershore-based TASK Training Academy, esteemed landscaper Rupert Keys, and renowned designer Cherry Carmen.

At the heart of the exhibit were three repurposed grain silos, each approximately 4 metres in diameter and 5 metres in height. These industrial structures were ingeniously transformed to offer distinct interactive experiences:

• One silo served as a bar, offering refreshments in a unique setting.
• Another featured a disco ball and dynamic lighting, creating a vibrant, energetic atmosphere.
• The third provided a tranquil chill-out space complete with a fire-pit, inviting visitors to relax and reflect.

Surrounding the silos, the garden was designed with a naturalistic aesthetic, featuring wildflowers, a serene pond, and meandering pathways. This harmonious blend of industrial elements and natural beauty created a space that was both engaging and restorative.

Rupert Keys, who also mentored new show garden designers at the festival, described the garden as “a fun and exciting space to walk through.”

About the designers

Cherry Carmen is an award-winning garden designer and horticultural consultant. In a short time, she has won accolades, recognition and widespread industry respect. 

She has won two medals at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Gold at the BBC Gardeners World 50th Anniversary Show and was invited to design the Association of Professional Landscapers’ feature garden in 2018. 

Cherry is known for her edgy designs and distinctive planting style. She’s often helped other designers plant their show gardens at the UK’s major flower shows.

With over 30 years’ experience in the landscape and construction industry, Rupert Keys is recognised as one of the leading lights in the UK’s landscape and training industry.

Having worked his way from the ground up, from a labouring gardener in Cheltenham Parks Department, to studying Horticulture at Pershore and for the last three decades running the highly successful business Keyscape Design & Construction, delivering gardens and landscape schemes nationwide, Rupert Keys knows the landscape industry inside and out.

During his career Rupert has used his expertise to build over 50 award-winning show gardens at some of the UK’s leading gardening events, including his first ever RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden in 1992, when he caught the bug!