Farnborough College of Technology (FCOT) Welcomes The King’s Foundation Curious Garden

Farnborough College of Technology (FCOT) is proud to announce that the RHS and The King’s FoundationCurious Garden has found its permanent home on campus, creating an inspiring outdoor learning environment that will benefit students across a range of curriculum areas for years to come. The garden was originally showcased as a Feature Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 and was designed to celebrate the rich diversity of plants and their impact on our lives, industries and communities.

Created through a partnership between The King’s Foundation and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the garden aims to spark curiosity about the natural world and inspire future careers connected to plants, the environment and traditional crafts. The garden also celebrates the creativity, skills and practical expertise developed through education and training.

The College is committed to ensuring that the Curious Garden becomes much more than a landscaped space. It will serve as a living classroom, giving students opportunities to apply their skills in authentic environments and connect their learning to real world industry practices. It will therefore support learning across curriculum areas including fashion, catering, floristry, art, and foundation learning programmes.

Catering learners will adopt a seed-to-plate approach by growing herbs and produce for use in dishes, while floristry students will have access to flowers grown on-site for practical projects and enterprise activities.

Assistant Principal, Gwen Grace, who led the garden’s relocation to FCOT, said: “The arrival of The King’s Foundation Curious Garden is a fantastic opportunity for our students. What excites us most is the way it connects education with practical experience.”

Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticulturist, said: “We are delighted to have brought this remarkable garden to its permanent home at Farnborough College of Technology. Our enormous thanks go to The Landscaping Consultants for their work in thoughtfully adapting the garden for its new setting, to The King’s Foundation for partnering with us at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and to Frances for creating such an imaginative and inspiring space. This project reflects what the RHS’s community outreach work is all about: bringing people together through gardening, developing skills and creating lasting positive impact.”

Frances Tophill, broadcaster, horticulturist and designer of the RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden, said: “It’s such a joy to see this garden at home in an educational setting, where it can spark curiosity and inspire young people for years to come. I love that the garden will be woven into college life, giving students opportunities to learn new skills through growing, crafting and connecting with nature.”

Principal CEO, Virginia Barrett (OBE), reflecting on this incredible inheritance said: “My hope is that for many years to come, thousands of students, staff and visitors, will use The Curious Garden, as a place to learn, meditate, explore, ask questions, perhaps discover an interest, a passion or even a career they had never previously considered. Because education and enrichment, at their very best, should do exactly what this garden was created to do, make us curious.”

The Principal CEO said she is grateful for the strong partnerships FCOT continues to build with leading organisations like the RHS. To become the permanent home of a garden first showcased at RHS Chelsea Flower Show demonstrates the value of these relationships and the opportunities they can create for the College’s students.