Dunckley is hoping to exhibit a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010.
The teenager, who received a silver medal for his A Desert's Delight garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in July, is planning a garden that incorporates al fresco dining and an outdoor kitchen.
He told HW: "I'm struggling because I'm looking for sponsorship. I really want to exhibit a show garden at Chelsea because it is the best flower show in the world."
Dunckley has also exhibited at the RHS London Plant & Design Show, and twice at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show.
He is looking for around £100,000 for a 22m x 10m garden, ideally from a firm in the food industry to reflect his ideas for a design.
The ambitious youngster — who will begin studying for A-levels in design technology, photography and IT next month — also runs his own nursery business producing around 10,000 plants a year.
Contact Jack Dunckley at jackdunckley@aol.com.
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All Comments
We garden designers are all looking for sponsorship for flower shows - not just for Chelsea either. Perhaps you could list our our names...
It is staggering reading this 'news' item !
I agree with Gaynor and would like to request that crowe garden design \(www.crowegardendesign.com) is offered a similar form of formal publicity at the earliest opportunity.
Not impressed with this editorial decision.
There are a large number of garden designers looking for sponsorship for shows, but the interest in Jack Dunckley, which sets him apart, is the fact he is only 16.
At a time when many teenagers are collecting A-level and GCSE results, Dunckley has a passion and ambition unusual for someone his age.
My point is this - a designer (irrespective of age) has been given prominent space on a well respected website appealing for sponsorship of 100k. I certainly understand, and am well aware of, the interest in young gardeners and designers. I voluntarily run a children's garden club and wholeheartedly support and encourage them.
The statement I made, however, is true - that there is a distinct lack of big company sponsorship available, especially for shows other than Chelsea. I exhibited a show garden aimed at children in Cardiff this year for the first time (silver medal awarded), and finance was not easy to come by. Had it not been for my own investment, collecting plants and scouring for recycled materials months in advance, generously being given a small monetary donation and a number of small businesses rallying around with props and services - I probably would have had to withdraw. I managed on a total budget of 3k. I have the same budget for 2010.
The hard but depressing truth here is that HW, along with many other outlets, has to fill both its paper and virtual pages with something resembling 'news'. Just look at their story (based on B&Q's recycled press release) about how we'll all soon have pigsties in our back gardens. It made a HW online headline. But where was the incisive journalism questioning the practicalities, economics and ethics of keeping pigs in back gardens? Where were the comments from any body representing local authorities, animal welfare organisations, and the like?
Jack Dunckley might be savvy enough to work the meeja machine, but you do wonder if he actually needs to.
The fact is John that our readers are interested in trends in the garden centre industry.
This is snap news-what a website is for. The magazine analyses news further.
If that's the case Matthew, I look forward to reading soon, on the pages of HW, a more searching and in-depth analysis of the implications of the message in the B&Q 'pigsty' press release. Like pigs, bless them, it has a nasty pong about it - and surely one worth following up.
This thread has gone 'off topic'. I am not challenging what HW regards a 'newsworthy' item - anything that makes the news, is the news. I have worked within the media (I don't like that word, 'meeja') business environment for over 27 years, and I know how it works...anyway, I made the point I wanted to...leave the pigs out of it.
This goes to show how reliant HW are still on their magazine - I wonder what the ABC figure will be this year?
The reason they [HW] cannot write in-depth on their site is because they cannot find the advertisers to pay their magazine rates - all the time the void between the revenue models is bound to be getting larger.
HW are likely to be following a similar strategy to newspapers where they take any old news item and create a web page just to attract visitors - It's a poor strategy to follow.
It is imperative that editorial standards are maintained because, at some stage, there will have to be a permanent switch from magazine to digital - it is not a concious decision that a reader makes, no-one will wake up one morning and say 'I don't want to read a magazine any more'. It will be more a of a slow realisation that news is demanded as it happens.
We can all get news instantly now. Whether that's by mobile or computer so why wait a whole week to get a story that websites have covered six or seven days previously.
As far as Jack Dunckley is concerned - fair play to him for sending in his PR to HW and getting some column inches - Adrian, it is no different to Landscape Juice featuring your Sandringham success.
Which aptly brings me back to my original post, Phillip.
'As far as Jack Dunckley is concerned - fair play to him for sending in his PR to HW and getting some column inches -'
...maybe the rest of us known/unknown designers should have asked for the same column inches...and age I might add, Magda, has nothing to do with it - it's about ability...and incidentally, all gardeners already have the passion regardless of age...signing off this one guys.
If anyone has any personal or professional landscape, design or general horticulture news they wish to publicise then send it to me at Landscape Juice (email: philipvoice@gmail.com and I will be delighted to add it as a feature.
Landscape Juice is very much a community publication. I originally set it up in a bid to break down the ownership of our industry. Just a tiny few were taking so much from the industry and not giving enough back. I have a wish to help and assist everyone (especially those getting a raw deal).
To give you an example of how badly HW are getting wrong. I recently wrote an open letter to BALI, APL and SGD demanding that they open up to all of the landscaping businesses. The letter caused some consternation but nevertheless hit the mark.
The letter marked an important point in horticulture and landscaping yet HW refused to run it as a news item. However, they did run this a week earlier 'Dobbies and Barton Grange in toilet turmoil'.