Trustee chair Jeff Colegrave said his father David Colegrave founded Colegrave Seeds in 1961 and it became the UK's leading wholesale seeds and plants distributor. David died aged 66 in 1992 and soon after the charity was set up in his name to further training and education for horticulturists.
Ball Horticultural Company joined forces with Colegrave in 2001. In 2022, after Peter Seabrook died the charity was remaned the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation. After 30 years, the charity has given around £500,000 to 250 students in scholarship money.
Originally set up in 1993 as the David Colegrave Foundation, in that first season 11 applications were received, and five scholarships awarded in the spring of 1994. Today under the name of the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation, in recognition of the enormous input Peter Seabrook had to the work of the registered charity, there will be approaching 100 applications and up to 20 scholarship winners. The Foundation has also become more involved in promoting horticulture as a professional career as well as encompassing a wider range of courses available to the students of today.
TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh said he first met Peter Seabrook in the 1970s but it was not until 1983 when they presented Chelsea TV coverage together that he found how "generous of spirit" he was and how "encyclopedic" his knowledge was. Titchmarsh admitted Seabrook could be controversial and even that he had some "dreadful prejudices". But he added he was a good egg who was always eager to help young people into horticulture, as well as those in the garden media and trade in general.
Neil and Nicci Gow organised the garden party and speakers included Seabrook's son Roger Seabrook and David Colegrave's son Jeff Colegrave, as well as the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. Sponsors thanked included Ball, Blue Diamond, Smart, Westland, RHS, Majestic Trees, Crispa Trust, BOA, Sparsholt, Pershore, Lackham, Cirencester, CAFRE, Eden Project and Writtle.
The 100 attendees included:
- Victoria Adams: Scholarship Winner
- Matt Appleby: Hort Week
- Steve Barrow: BGC
- Andrew Bennett: ProVeg Seeds
- Chris Bird: Sparsholt College
- Chris Bisson: Eden Project
- Will Blake: GCA
- Andy Boyton: Springfield Garden Festival
- Hannah Branch: Scholarship Winner
- Geoff Caesar: Allensmore Nurseries
- Kevin Campbell: Allensmore Nurseries
- Isabelle Cantillon: Scholarship Winner
- Robyn Caple: Scholarship Winner
- Val Christman
- Molli Christman: Scholarship Winner
- Tim Clapp: B&Q
- Ian Clark: Taylors Bulbs
- Jeff Colegrave: The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation
- Alice Cook: Scholarship Winner
- Daniela Corizza: Blue Diamond
- James Crawford: CAFRE
- Simon Crawford: Burpee
- Mark Diggines: Pershore College
- Alan Down: HTA President
- Felicity Down: HTA
- Howard Drury
- Andrea Drury
- Nick Dunn: Frank P Matthews
- Adam Dunnett: Hillier Nurseries
- Ross Dyke: Scholarship Winner
- Wayne Eady: Volmary
- Jason Eagles: Ball Horticulture
- Melanie Eales
- Kate Ebbens: GIMA President
- Katie Eckley: Old Railway Line Garden Centre
- Arthur Edwards: The Sun
- Josh Egan-Wyer: Pershore College
- Martin Emmett: Binsted Nursery
- Victoria Flanders: Lackham College
- Neil Fishlock: Syngenta
- Chris Francis: Hillier Nurseries
- John Gibson: Trustee
- Marjorie Glasgow: Lord-Lieutenant Oxfordshire
- Jane Golding
- Neil Gow: Trustee
- Nicola Gow: CSF
- Neil Grant: Ferndale Garden Centre
- Abi Green: Scholarship Winner
- Wayne Grills: BALI
- Paul Hansord
- Bruce Harnett: Kernock Park Plants
- Alyson Haywood: GCA
- Ian Hazon: Coolings
- Mollie Higginson: New Leaf Plants
- David Higginson: New Leaf Plants
- Nicole Higginson: New Leaf Plants
- Greg Hill: Hills Plants
- Robert Hillier: Hillier Nurseries
- Madeleine Holmes-Skelton: Scholarship Winner
- Jack Hone: Scholarship Winner
- Fay Hunter: Scholarship Winner
- Gerald Ingram: Planters GC
- Christine Ingram: Planters GC
- Paul Jackson: MNP Suntory
- Joanne Jackson: MNP Suntory
- Jake Jackson: Scholarship Winner alumni
- Louise Jackson: BBC GWL
- Derek Jarman: BPOA
- Rich Jarman: Podcast
- Andy Jeanes: Guernsey Clematis
- Tim Johns: Sakata
- Andy Johnson: Wyevale Nurseries
- Dan Jones: Scholarship Winner
- Jasmine Kavanagh: MNP Suntory
- Tim Kerley: Kerley & Co
- Piers Lavan: Cirencester College
- Mick Lavelle: Writtle College
- Jane Lawler: HTA
- Lucy Lewis: Sparsholt College
- Stuart Lowen: Ball Horticulture
- Lilidh Matthews: Scholarship Winner
- Lorna Mayberry: NFU
- Caithriona McCrudden: CAFRE
- Steve McCurdy: Majestic Trees
- Val McKay
- Tom Moore: CSF
- Paris Natar: Smart Garden Products
- Minda Natar: Smart Garden Products
- Arta Mei: Smart Garden Products
- Richard Newton: Woodlodge
- Keith Nicholson: Westland Horticulture
- Mike Norris: Newey & Co
- Vicky Nuttall: GIMA
- James Oakey: Hayloft Plants
- Jacob Payne: Scholarship Winner
- Trevor Pfeiffer
- Melanie Pharaoh: Scholarship Winner
- Paul Pleydell: Pleydell Smithyman
- Julie Pleydell: Pleydell Smithyman
- Helen Potts: Worshipful Company of Gardeners
- Richard Priestley: Bridge Farm Group
- Chris Ramsden: Hozelock
- Roger Seabrook: The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation
- Sandy Shepherd: Ball Horticulture
- Graham Spencer: Plants for Europe
- Neville Stein: Trustee
- Amy Stubbs: British Garden Centres
- Holly Sturgess: Scholarship Winner
- Phil Swainston: Perennial
- Bob Sweet: BBC GWL
- Alan Titchmarsh
- Nigel Wait: Colegrave Seabrook Foundation
- Tamsin Westhorpe
- Alice Willans: Scholarship Winner
- Sally Witheford: Scholarship Winner
