Check out events up and down the country, celebrating RHS National Gardening Week, to get everyone gardening.
Britain in Bloom - 14-15 April
Local groups across Britain in RHS Britain in Bloom are inviting everyone to volunteer to help transform their community and celebrate the 2012 launch of the nationwide campaign.
Gardening SOS - 16 April
The RHS advisory service will provide a free Gardening SOS service. For just one day anyone in the UK can ask the experts for help with thorny gardening problems - a service usually only open to RHS members.
Gardens of the Nation - 17 April
Help make history on Gardens of the Nation day when the RHS will be asking everyone in the UK to send pictures of their garden for the RHS Lindley Library archives to create a historical record of gardens today.
Careers in Horticulture - 18 April
Alan Titchmarsh will be at the forefront of the ‘Horticulture, A Career To Be Proud Of’ day. Talks and workshops by inspirational people who work across the gardening world will take place at the RHS London HQ and all four RHS Gardens in Surrey, North Yorkshire, Essex and Devon.
Gardening for the Environment - 19 April
Become a greener gardener. The RHS will provide advice and top tips to help the nation to be greener in the garden. Helping people to compost is one of the initiatives we will be driving forward.
Get Kids Growing - 20 April
Getting kids gardening is the aim. The RHS will launch a new Campaign for School Gardening initiative at its first major gardening show of the year, RHS Show Cardiff (20-22 April).
Activities for all - 21-22 April
Fun and interactive activities for gardeners of all ages and levels of experience will be on offer at the four RHS Gardens. There will even be a chance to get growing with RHS gardeners and committee members.
RHS Garden Harlow Carr events (35kB pdf)
RHS Garden Hyde Hall events (33kB pdf)
RHS Garden Rosemoor events (33kB pdf)
RHS Garden Wisley events (34kB pdf)
Sue Biggs, RHS Director General, says, “It is fantastic that this inaugural gardening week combines with the Britain in Bloom launch and the year of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to get the nation growing and looking beautiful in such a special year.”
“We’ve had a fantastic response so far from hundreds of people, communities, schools, councils and businesses. We want thousands and thousands of people to get onboard and start planning now to get the best out of National Gardening Week to get the nation growing.”
We're hoping lots of you will want to find out more about National Gardening Week and to join in the fun. Do share your ideas with us to help make the week a success and get more people gardening.
We will be updating this website with more information as plans and support for the week develop.
Let's get Britain gardening for 2012
Over National Gardening Week, the RHS aims to share its wealth of knowledge with every gardener across the nation. Anyone will be able to use its border-boosting service for advice to brighten and enhance borders, speak to the Compost Clinic for solutions to compost problems, and get in touch to find the perfect climbers and shrubs for walls or fences. There will be a daily Facebook question time where any problem will be answered by the RHS science and garden teams.
The charity will also be organising a career day at all four of its gardens and holding masterclasses, including a workshop on seed raising. The week will coincide with the launch of the nationwide RHS Britain in Bloom campaign, when millions of people get together to improve community spaces.
Speaking about the RHS launch of National Gardening Week, RHS Director General Sue Biggs, says: 'National Gardening Week will open the doors to gardening and inspire everyone to give it a go.
'We want National Gardening Week to engage fantastic partners to make it a success, so please sign up and join in. We’ll be approaching our own plant committee members and gardening societies to get involved, too.
'I’m delighted that the Horticultural Trades Association has already agreed to support the initiative and we’re looking forward to working with them to make it a great week for gardeners.
'Gardening is life enhancing, it’s vital for the environment, creates beautiful spaces and best of all is great fun – I hope the week encourages even more people to benefit from this wonderful pastime.
'We’ve got more plans for the week in the pipeline and are looking forward to speaking to more partners.'
RHS Vice President, Alan Titchmarsh, who supports the campaign, adds: 'This week is about highlighting the importance of gardeners and gardening. It’s also a chance to get the nation to consider just what part growing things can play in society.'
Read more from supporters of National Gardening Week