Cardiff's Foreshore

Sponsored by

Cardiff Harbour Authority, Pughs Garden Centre (Morganstown, Cardiff)

Designed by

Nicola Hutchinson (Cardiff County Council – Ranger Service)

Built by

Cardiff County Council – Ranger Service

Web

www.cardiff.gov.uk/parks

This garden has been created to convey an important message to visitors to RHS Cardiff about the forgotten coast. While gardens across the nation play a vital role in preserving precious biodiversity, Cardiff's Foreshore portrays a snap shot of the typical foreshore that is found in and around Cardiff. Already under pressure from various directions, this landscape is often overlooked and squeezed between the industrial heritage of the city. Litter, wreckage and urban detritus are also encroaching on this Forgotten Coast.

The garden highlights both the problems and the wealth of biodiversity of this compromised coastal habitat showing the hidden beauty and fragility of the foreshore and hinting at its complex relationship with the industrialised history of the waterfront and its natural resilience. It’s a strong message, “whatever you put into the sea gets washed back up eventually,” explains Nicola Hutchinson, the garden's designer. “Plastic gets broken down into smaller and smaller pieces and ends up in the food chain. This garden is about getting everyone to think about how they dispose of stuff.” Another increasing problem on the seashore is the removal of maritime plants. Most will not thrive away from their seaside habitat and are actually wild plants that should be left where they naturally grow.

This visual interactive garden and activities in the adjacent marquee also highlights the value of these habitats and encourages local people and visitors to explore, experience and understand their importance as recreational spaces, particularly in conjunction with the new all Wales Coastal Path that is being developed around the country.