The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has received the good news from London this morning that the Kirstenbosch-South Africa exhibit has received another GOLD medal at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show.
Leon Kluge, SANBI’s new designer, is overjoyed: “It was an experience compared to none representing South Africa at the world’s most prestigious flower show, the Chelsea Flower Show. Winning an award is an added bonus. My team and I hope that we made South Africa proud and that we convinced many, many people here in Europe to visit our magnificent diverse country.”
SANBI Board Chairperson Nana Magomola and CEO Dr Moshibudi Rampedi, both at the Chelsea Flower Show this morning, praised the team for the superb work they have done in presenting South Africa’s unique biodiversity to the world.
“Once again SANBI – Kirstenbosch has done South Africa proud,” said Nana Magomola. Our 36th gold medal in 43 years of participating at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show! Greater thanks to our new designers, Leon Kluge and Chris Randlehoff, and our volunteers who worked hard to make the exhibit a success. From SANBI, Mpendulo Gabayi of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Ricardo Riddles of the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden , thank you for your contribution to this year’s exhibit. Well done, you stand on the shoulders of giants who came before you.”
Our team has presented many facets of the beauty and diversity of South Africa’s floral kingdom and cultures,” Dr Rampedi said.Leon Kluge took over the reins from multi-award winning designers Davidson and Raymond Hudson, who designed and created the Kirstenbosch-South Africa Chelsea Flower Show exhibit for 24 years.
The theme of this year’s Kirstenbosch–South Africa Chelsea Flower Show exhibit, and Kluge’s first design, is Iconic Landscapes. The exhibit takes the viewer on a journey around the sub-continent, where the designer has taken a rather light-hearted approach to the style in which the landscapes are presented, by using the very powerful and iconic forms of contemporary township art that depict cultural life in these landscapes.
