Brookenby's ​Lincolnshire Pond Plants celebrate Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal

​Lincolnshire Pond Plants Ltd began in the kitchen of Kayleigh and David Reynolds eight years ago, after Kayleigh had had enough of their home being overrun with plants.

"I basically said, enough is enough!" she laughed, “Our kitchen was looking like a greenhouse so I kicked everything into the back garden, where it grew and grew and we moved to our base in Brookenby in 2017, renting a building.”

Now, Lincolnshire Pond Plants is run by Kayleigh, David, and David’s mum Dawn Fisher and owns 15 acres of land selling a huge range of aquatic plants for ponds, ships around 2,000 orders a day, and hires 32 staff.

Dawn became keen to attend shows to showcase their talents and expertise, and began at Harrogate Flower Show before the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) invited the company to attend their shows.

They had their first shot at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show last week, and the team were delighted to be awarded a Gold Medal for their display.

Kayleigh said: “Dawn has done so well, and the whole team have been amazing in how much they’ve done to support us in our success.”

Kayleigh said that during the Covid-19 lockdown, many had struggled with their mental health being stuck inside, and that one of their most popular products had been their ‘Patio Pond Set’ which is a half-barrel sized water feature that comes with everything you need for your own miniature pond, which will fit in most conservatories or patios.

Kayleigh said their display was inspired by their drive to show people how much scope there is for a pond in most gardens – and how it doesn’t have to be an expensive, labour-intensive, or require a huge garden.

"We wanted to show people that a pond isn’t just a hole in the garden with a few pond lilies and that it doesn’t take a lot of work or expense,” she said, “We have more than 350 different pond plants and we try to showcase as many of them as possible.

"What we want to do is provide our customers who are looking to be educated on what plants are good for frogs or pollinators.

"We also wanted to demonstrate that you can replicate our display without having to dig a hole in your garden,” she added, “You can create a water feature on your patio with some repurposed timber, and it doesn’t have to be expensive either – it’s achievable for everyone.”

Kayleigh added that the whole team were so proud of their achievements at the Chelsea Flower Show:

"We never thought that from starting off in our garden, we’d be here today with 32 staff and winning awards at the Chelsea Flower Show,” she said, “Representing Lincolnshire at the show has been a dream come true.”