‘Rebel gardener’ bags another big win
The South African team which won gold at the famous Chelsea Flower Show this week was led by a Hoërskool Nelspruit alumnus.
MBOMBELA – Leon Kluge’s (38), the “rebel gardener”, career is blossoming.
The former Hoërskool Nelspruit pupil is no stranger to international awards, nor gold medals at this particularly renowned show. He was a part of the teams which won three gold medals at the show between 2010 and 2013.
This year was the first time he led the team, something he will be doing for the next five years.
There was also an issue with the plants’ inspection process in the UK.
“We had already unpacked them when they let us know there had been an error on the system, and we had to return them all to repeat the process. We lost a few plants as a result.”
As he told the South African Landscapers Institute at the show, “We have a wonderful team. We turned the concept on its head. We added more cultural aspects to our landscapes. We are a happy bunch and I wanted to display that too.”
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Lowvelder has reported on this talented landscape architect’s work and achievements numerous times.
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Some of his notable achievements include breathtaking displays at the Cape Town Flower Show and Singapore Garden Festival.
In 2013 he also took top honours with a gold in the home-garden category at the Gardening World Cup in Nagasaki, Japan.
Representing Africa he also won the prestigious best on show award.
Leon Kluge with the corpse flower which bloomed at Afri Orchids earlier this year.
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Kluge also won gold for the best outdoor lighting display at that year’s Singapore Garden Festival.
It comes as no surprise that he is considered as one of the world’s best.
