Now YOU grow for it
Today I’m relaunching my community Cultivation Street gardening campaign with the support of the Daily Express
CULTIVATION Street is Britain’s largest national community gardening contest. Now in its amazing ninth year, the campaign highlights the inspiring efforts of school and community gardens across the nation – bringing together volunteer groups in villages, towns and cities to share their love for gardening and its many benefits.
This year I’ve teamed up with the Daily Express and our main sponsor, Miracle Gro®, to call on YOU to share the very best projects from around the UK and how they inspire green-fingered groups – with £8,000 worth of prizes up for grabs across five brilliant categories.
Year after year, the entries are truly inspiring. During lockdown, many Britons used their gardens for their daily exercise and much-needed fresh air.
They helped keep us motivated, with many gardeners sharing fresh flowers with care homes and others growing produce to help create food packages for vulnerable members of their communities.
We enjoyed a record number of entries in 2020 – many groups entered for the first time with projects which were started during the first lockdown in March.
Eden G community garden, in Edenthorpe, Doncaster, transformed a derelict area of their housing estate into a haven in just five months.
Many of the 30-strong volunteers, who made the shortlist last year, found themselves furloughed and were happy to use their new-found spare time to assist with the incredible project.
Just two months in, the garden had a woodland play area, mud kitchen and a ground-level tree house for children to
enjoy. They also created a sensory zone and wildlife garden for educational purposes, planting buddleia bushes, wildflowers and shrubs to attract birds and pollinators, along with five raised beds.
Across the board, entrants came with a huge variety of stories and backgrounds.
After such an unprecedented year, it was inspiring to see so many people all over the country using their gardens to help others.
Community Garden of the year winner, Tinsley Allotment in Sheffield, helped members of their community who felt isolated and lonely.
The garden has become a hub for locals struggling financially to access fresh fruit and vegetables.The space is also used for social meetings as well as education, with a cosy fire pit and curved benches, as well as a covered area where groups can gather.
Others like Include Me 2 – Allotment Angels, in Glasgow, winners of last year’s Gardens For Better Health category, grow more than 40 types of fruit and veg.They have built their garden to cater for those with mental and physical disabilities.
Their garden is fully wheelchair accessible, and mostly created using recycled materials.
THERE isn’t a strict list of requirements to enter, it simply must be a school or community garden.We look at each garden’s story to see how they are helping their community grow.
Cultivation Street offers free support for new and established community and school gardens, via social media channels and its website.There’s advice on children’s gardening and gardening for better health.
It also offers continuous gardening tips and advice blogs with ideas on growing, sowing and planting, PR and fundraising advice and children’s educational and recreational activities.
There are also step-by-step guides on how to improve and nurture gardens, monthly newsletters, competitions, a designated contact to guide community and school gardens and features in national newspapers and magazines.
The online postcode finder on our website shows more than 300 registered garden centres where you can find your local Cultivation Street Garden Centre Ambassador who is on hand to help with planting suggestions, advice and inspiration. Good luck!