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Published on: 11/21/2007
Last Visited: 11/21/2007
Alex Baulkwill - RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008Imagine being responsible for managing the world's greatest flower show!Well that's the task facing Alex Baulkwill, aged just 33, who as Show Manager for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (sponsored by Marshalls) has the daunting task of making sure that Chelsea 2008 is brimming with the finest examples of horticultural excellence in the world.
Visitors to Chelsea are often not aware of the role played by the Show Manager, but Alex is likely to become a familiar face to viewers of a new BBC series, A Passion for Plants, which features the work of the RHS.
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Alex and her team needed to ensure that all 600 reached the highest standards to create a show as special as Chelsea and to satisfy the expectations of some 157,000 visitors.
RHS Chelsea 2007 - Andy Sturgeon's garden designed for 'Cancer Research UK'RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2007 - Andy Sturgeon's garden for 'Cancer Research UK'
The normal planning cycle for the show lasts 15 months but Alex only joined the RHS flower show team the previous Christmas (2006) so she only had a third of the time to get to grips with the 2007 show and now she is going to do it all over again for 2008.
"Putting on the show last year was one of the biggest challenges that I've faced in my caree to date," explains Alex."But, the feeling of walking round the showground on the first morning of the show and realising that we had done it was indescribable."
Alex admits that gardening is addictive: "I remember my Dad pushing me to his allotment in his wheelbarrow when I was about four, and since then I have been hooked.
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"I'm sure we will face lots of challenges along the way, but it's a great journey," says Alex.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show will run from 20th to 24th May 2008 - RHS Members Days 20th to 21st May - 22nd - 24th May RHS members and non-members.The BBC series runs from Friday 19th October for eight weeks.
We wish Alex and her team well for the 2008 show.