Plant sales of Begonia ‘Sweet Spice Bounty’ have been donated to the David Colegrave Foundation (DCF) to support students studying horticulture in the UK.
Begonia ‘Sweet SpiceTM’
Plant breeder, Kerley & Co, set out to donate 50% of the royalties received from wholesale distributor, BallColegrave, to DCF for two years.
This year £660 was gratefully received by DCF which will go towards its Student Scholarships.
Specialising in breeding patio plants grown from cuttings, Kerley & Co is a growing family business based near Cambridge. Begonia ‘Sweet Spice’ Bounty is a new variety of vegetatively-propagated Begonia bred by Tim Kerley, a partner in the business and also the first recipient of DCF’s Markham-Colegrave Scholarship.
Ball Colegrave (formerly Colegrave Seeds), is the UK’s leading wholesale distributor of seed and plants to commercial growers and local authorities and was founded in 1962 by the late David Colegrave and his wife Nancy.
Tim Kerley comments: “We are delighted to work with Ball Colegrave to make a donation to DCF.It’s rewarding to know that every plant grown and sold in the UK of Begonia ‘Sweet Spice’ Bounty will benefit someone studying horticulture.”
Stuart Lowen from Ball Colegrave adds:“We too are delighted to be working closely with Kerley & Co and raising funds for the DCF. It would be nice to think that monies raised from the sale of this plant variety would go on to support the development of more experts like Tim into our industry.”
DCF’s Scholarship Season is open now until 31 January 2021 with five types of scholarship available:
- The Ball Colegrave Sponsored Travel Scholarship awards up to £1,500 to fund travel to the UK and Europe in order to develop knowledge and experience in bedding plant production and marketing.
- The British Protected Ornamentals Association – Peter Seabrook Bursary awards £1,000 to support the study of commercial horticulture.
- The Horticultural Research Scholarship awards £2,500 to support applied research within the horticulture industry.
- The John Gibson Environmental Scholarship awards £1,500 to support environmental solutions and sustainable applications as applied to commercial horticulture.
- The Student Scholarship awards £1,000 to support studies in horticulture.
Applicants can apply online at www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk
For more information
The David Colegrave Foundation
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