'River of green' to herald the start of community gardening year
23 March 2010
From Sussex to Perthshire, the power of Britain in Bloom will be flooding the country with a ‘river of green’ this weekend, to mark the start of the RHS community gardening year.
Over 48 hours (27 and 28 March) around 60 Bloom groups, nearly 5,000 volunteers, will be rolling up their sleeves and turning the equivalent of 115 Hyde Parks into wildlife havens as they plant trees, shrubs and nectar-producing beauties, all in celebration of community gardening and the International Year of Biodiversity.
Launched in 1964, Britain in Bloom was originally conceived as a way of marketing the country through floral displays. Since the RHS took over the running of the campaign in 2002, it has worked to ensure the initiative extends past its image of hanging baskets, by insisting all entries support the environment and local community in even amounts.
With 66 communities in the 2010 Britain in Bloom Finals, ranging from small villages to large cities, each group will play a vital role in making local environments better places to live.
The ‘river of green’ will begin outside the Tower of London as 1,000 plants are planted on Wednesday, 24 March by the RHS, City of London in Bloom group, school children, volunteers and commuters. It will then wind its way up and across the country on the following weekend.
Find out more about RHS Britain in Bloom 2010