Medal of Honour for Oldmeldrum's renowned horticulturist
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The most prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) accolade, the Victoria Medal of Honour has been awarded to three distinguished British horticulturists Jim Gardiner, Christopher Bailes and local resident Jim McColl.
The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society.
The award was established in 1897 "in perpetual remembrance of Her Majesty's glorious reign, and to enable the Council to confer honour on British horticulturists."
The Society's rules state that only sixty-three horticulturists can hold the VMH at any given time, in commemoration of the sixty-three years of Queen Victoria's reign.
Therefore, the honour is not awarded every year, but may be made to multiple recipients in other years.
Twelve RHS accolades were awarded to those who have demonstrated horticultural excellence, personal endeavour and industry passion throughout their careers.
Recipient Jim McColl is one of TV’s most celebrated gardeners owing to his involvement with BBC Scotland’s much-loved gardening programme The Beechgrove Garden since its inception in 1978.
He has previously been awarded the Scottish Horticultural Medal (1982), an MBE (1996), and the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal (1999) and is well known to Advertiser readers through involvement with Inverurie Rotary Club.
On the award Jim said he was absolutely "gobsmacked" to learn he was being awarded the medal.
“The first I knew of it was when I got a postcard in February from the RHS president Sir Nicholas Bacon in his own handwriting telling me I was being given the society’s top award for British horticulturists.
The second recipient was Jim Gardiner, RHS Vice President, formerly RHS Director of Horticulture and Curator of RHS Garden Wisley who has devoted his career to promoting the horticultural industry as well as the Society.
In addition to serving on two RHS Committees, Jim has also written a wealth of horticulture books.
The third recipient was President of the Alpine Garden Society and former Curator of RHS Garden Rosemoor, Christopher Bailes who has brought passion and expertise to numerous horticultural organisations and now shares his extensive plant knowledge with the wider community.
He is an RHS judge and sits on the RHS Bursaries Committee.
