Tide turned on conventional gardening

Three Black Country women have come up with a way of bringing the beach into their back gardens.

Chris Brookes, Dami Crossley and Jan Claridge are mature students at The Cedars Horticultural Centre, given the daunting task of creating a show garden for the prestigious Gardeners World Live at Birmingham's NEC.

Their inspiration comes from the sea - and proof that people in the landlocked West Midlands can use their imagination to give them a taste of the coast in their own back garden.

"Our garden demonstrates that you can sit in a deckchair, surrounded by tropical plants and enjoying an ice-cream without having to battle with the traffic," said Chris, of Drivefields in Lower Penn, who has three children and three grand-children.

"In our garden we are going to be re-creating the sea with a wave of blue flowers, and the sand with a scattering of yellow ones.

"But if someone is wanting to really enjoy the seaside in their back garden they just have to use their imagination."

Props such as sand pits and paddling pools can help to keep children occupied and the trio say that using shells, donning a sun hat and pegging up a wind-breaker add to the effect.

"We even have two plastic seagulls in our garden that we have nicknamed Gordon and Graham," said mother-of-two Dami, from Tor Lodge Drive in Tettenhall Wood. "The three of us have only been at the Cedars for eight months and are doing a level two certificate in horticulture.

"We are all retired but aspiring garden designers so it was incredible when we found out we were going to be at the NEC."

As well as their A Day At The Seaside exhibit other students at the college who are taking part have come up with themes ranging from a cottage garden and a building site to Spaghetti Junction and a credit crunch-themed creation.

Jan from Chelford Crescent in Kingswinford said: "We are working in a space three by one-and-half meters so it is compact."

* Gardeners World Live runs at Birmingham NEC from June 10-14. Run in conjuntion with the Royal Horticultural Society, it will feature show gardens, talks and celebrity appearances. For further details visit the wegbsite www.bbcgar denersworldlive.com