Outgoing High Sheriff chooses Phoenix as name for Derbyshire company’s new garden planter

The former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Theresa Peltier, visited outdoor furniture company TDP Ltd in Wirksworth to help pick the winning entry for its competition to name the latest product in its range: a raised bed for growing vegetables.

The company’s competition to name the raised bed saw more than 80 entries and after much deliberation Theresa picked the name ‘Phoenix’.

The inspiring name had been suggested by a customer based in Essex who said it would be appropriate because, “the Phoenix is an immortal bird that cyclically regenerates, rising from the ashes of its predecessor – thus there is a link to TDP using recycled materials and the raised bed generating new life through plants”.

TDP has won a coveted Kings Award for Sustainability for its range of environmental practices. The company makes a range of outdoor furniture made entirely from recycled plastic, and has so far saved the equivalent of around 2.9billion plastic bottles from going into landfill, and ultimately, the world’s waterways and oceans.

Theresa, who has now handed over the role of High Sheriff to the current incumbent, Ian Morgan, said it had been a pleasure to pick the winning name out of a range of carefully considered competition entries.

She said: “I was honoured to be asked to choose a winning name for TDP’s new raised bed. It’s such a brilliant company that is manufacturing sustainably here in the heart of Derbyshire. I enjoyed looking round the factory where the furniture is made and meeting TDP’s hard-working employees.

“There were some great entries to the name competition and it was hard to pick a winner. People had put a great deal of thought into what TDP’s new raised bed should be called. But I felt that ‘Phoenix’ was such a perfect name, given the idea of this mythical bird’s regeneration. Not only is this just what TDP is doing in making furniture from recycled plastic, but it is also what we are doing when we grow vegetables.”

Theresa presented TDP managing director Rob Barlow with a special High Sheriff’s certificate recognising its services to the community. The company, meanwhile, gave Theresa its own special gift: a bench to be donated to a charity of her choice.

She said: “I couldn’t be more delighted with the gift of a bench for a charity of my choosing. I’ll give some careful thought about which charity I donate it to. Thank you so much to TDP for their generosity.”

Rob Barlow said: “We were very happy with the number of people who took part our competition to name our new raised bed. All of our furniture has been carefully named and we’re delighted to welcome the ‘Phoenix’ to our range. It’s a very appropriate name and we hope customers will appreciate its significance. Everyone who orders a ‘Phoenix’ will see that we’ve put a special carving of this mythical bird on the side of the product.

“Thank you very much to Theresa for helping us pick our competition winner! It was great to welcome her to the business and show her what we do.”

TDP Ltd has added the raised bed to its list of products with the aim of helping the public grow their own in time for the start of the vegetable planting season this month.

The winner of the competition has been sent their very own complementary raised bed as a thank you for providing the name ‘Phoenix’.

The new TDP raised bed measures a metre squared and is completely frost and rot resistant. It is made from recycled plastic that is the equivalent of 4,343 plastic bottles, which equates to the emissions created by driving 645 miles in the average car.