Top awards for TASK at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2023
Landscaper Rupert Keys, (MD & Founder of TASK Training Academy) and his wife, garden designer Ruth Gwynn for the second year in a row scooped a Platinum Medal and Best Show Garden award, this year it was for The Newson Health Menopause Garden, which raised awareness of the menopause at BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC in June 2023.
Ruth designed the garden as a safe, tranquil and comfortable space for women to reflect on their health, and to discover the nutritional and physical power for plants for mental health and wellbeing. Interactive ‘symptom stations’ exploring different aspects of menopause and perimenopause are on show, with clinicians and experts on hand with information and advice about diet and nutrition, the wide-reaching benefits of gardening, exercise, mindfulness and mental wellbeing.
Acclaimed landscaper Rupert, who has over 30 years’ experience in the landscape industry, runs TASK Academy, based in Worcestershire. He and his team built the garden for Ruth, with help from TASK expert trainers and students who have attended training courses at the landscaping academy. Launched last year, TASK was set up to address the industry skills gap by providing practical landscaping courses, delivered by a carefully selected team of inspiring industry professionals.
Rupert Keys said: “We are honoured to have received a prestigious Platinum award and Best Show Garden at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do at TASK and an incredible amount of creativity and expertise has gone into the Menopause Garden. It’s been an amazing project to create as well as raise much needed awareness of women’s health and menopause alongside menopause specialist, Dr Louise Newson. This wonderful garden would not have been possible without my amazing wife, Ruth and the support of the fantastic talented team. We are absolutely delighted by everyone’s reaction to the garden.”
He continued, “Talking about menopause is so important and highlighting the symptoms has made me more aware of how hard it can be psychologically for women to manage the challenges of perimenopause and menopause. This is reflected through the garden design to enable women and men, to understand the issues and how wellbeing and garden spaces can help alleviate some of the symptoms.”
On receiving the award, Dr. Louise Newson said: “To have the opportunity to bring the Newson Health Menopause Garden to life and create a safe, educational space for women has been an amazing experience, let alone to win Best Show Garden, which is an absolute honour. We wanted to highlight the benefits gardening can have on our mental and physical health, especially around the menopause, and are delighted the garden has been recognised by the judges. I’m so excited about what this groundbreaking and empowering garden represents for women’s health, which has been so neglected and misunderstood for so long. Our ethos at Newson Health is to provide inclusive and accessible menopause support for everyone, and this garden is a tribute to the power of holistic medicine. We are ecstatic to have won this award.”
Photo Credits: Ollie Dixon and Stuart Purfield
