Andy Sturgeon
Encyclopedia
Andy Sturgeon is an English
garden designer
, who won the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show
best in show award.
The son of a bank manager, Sturgeon was raised in Claygate
, Surrey
, and educated at Kingston Grammar School
.
A year after leaving school, persuaded by his brother Neil who was a landscape gardener, Sturgeon decided to become a gardener. Initially working as a jobbing landscape gardener, he decided that he wanted to "design the garden rather than just mixing the cement." He trained at the Welsh College of Horticulture, graduating in 1987, and after working at the Royal Horticultural Society
's Wisley Garden, set up his own business. He sold this in 1994, and went travelling on world tour, collecting plants in Madagascar
and working as an engineer on the Tsing Ma
suspension bridge
in Hong Kong
.
Returning to the UK in 1997, Sturgeon set up his new garden design business. He has since won five gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show, with a run of four from 2005 to 2008 when he was sponsored by Cancer Research UK
. After taking 2009 off, he returned with a gold medal and best in show award in 2010, with a garden for the Daily Telegraph.
Sturgeon currently writes a gardening column for the Daily Telegraph, and presents on various gardening matters for the BBC
. In recent years he has co-presented with Nicki Chapman
the BBC's lunchtime coverage of Chelsea. Sturgeon has written gardening columns for the various publications, including the Daily Mail
, Daily Express
and Sunday Times.
Sturgeon and his partner Sarah Didinal met at his sister Lisa's house in Thailand
in 1996. The couple had three children, all boys, and lived in Brighton
, East Sussex
. Sarah Didinal died a week after the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show, from heart arrhythmia that had been caused by a cold and sore throat that had moved to her heart.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
garden designer
Garden designer
The term garden designer can refer either to an amateur or a professional who designs the plan and features of gardens. Amateurs design their gardens for their own properties. Professionals, with experienced skills, design gardens that benefit clients...
, who won the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the Great Spring Show, is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London...
best in show award.
The son of a bank manager, Sturgeon was raised in Claygate
Claygate
Claygate is a village in the English county of Surrey, approximately south west of London and within the Metropolitan Green Belt.It is primarily a residential area but with offices, farms and two shopping areas with a supermarket, five pubs and numerous restaurants...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and educated at Kingston Grammar School
Kingston Grammar School
Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century. It is a registered charity under English law....
.
A year after leaving school, persuaded by his brother Neil who was a landscape gardener, Sturgeon decided to become a gardener. Initially working as a jobbing landscape gardener, he decided that he wanted to "design the garden rather than just mixing the cement." He trained at the Welsh College of Horticulture, graduating in 1987, and after working at the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
's Wisley Garden, set up his own business. He sold this in 1994, and went travelling on world tour, collecting plants in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and working as an engineer on the Tsing Ma
Tsing Ma Bridge
The Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan . It has two decks and carries both road and rail...
suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Returning to the UK in 1997, Sturgeon set up his new garden design business. He has since won five gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show, with a run of four from 2005 to 2008 when he was sponsored by Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...
. After taking 2009 off, he returned with a gold medal and best in show award in 2010, with a garden for the Daily Telegraph.
Sturgeon currently writes a gardening column for the Daily Telegraph, and presents on various gardening matters for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. In recent years he has co-presented with Nicki Chapman
Nicki Chapman
Nicki Chapman is an English television presenter who also works in the British pop music industry. She was also a judge on the ITV reality shows Popstars, with Nigel Lythgoe and Paul Adam, and Pop Idol, along with Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and Neil Fox...
the BBC's lunchtime coverage of Chelsea. Sturgeon has written gardening columns for the various publications, including the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Sunday Times.
Sturgeon and his partner Sarah Didinal met at his sister Lisa's house in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 1996. The couple had three children, all boys, and lived in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. Sarah Didinal died a week after the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show, from heart arrhythmia that had been caused by a cold and sore throat that had moved to her heart.