Get Started gardens are aimed at anyone needing extra encouragement to begin their gardening journey, and to inspire people of all ages to get planting, whatever their physical or mental ability, budget or space, with an emphasis on showcasing reliable, affordable and easy to look after planting.
The four selected concepts have been created by garden designers from different career backgrounds or who are new to horticulture and exhibiting at an RHS show for the first time, working collaboratively with communities and charities who want to introduce accessible gardening for educational purposes or to enhance personal wellbeing.
Self-taught gardener Sue Kent recently retired as a massage therapist to concentrate on gardening projects and presenting on BBC Gardeners’ World. Born with an upper limb difference, Kent’s concept
#knollingwithdaisies is a low maintenance garden using re-purposed materials and native planting, specifically designed for people with limited physical dexterity and strength, or for those with busy lives who want to garden but don’t have a lot of free time. The project is in partnership with Norman Industries who advocate the importance of giving disabled people work opportunities by providing training and supported work experience. The garden will be re-located to a permanent home at Scolton Manor country park in West Wales.
Sue Kent said: “As a life-long gardener with a disability, I’ve been used to adapting how I can physically work in the garden and use various techniques such as using my feet. Designing this garden is a challenge but knowing the end result is going to help other disabled people to learn more about gardening, and potentially get them into work is really rewarding.”
The Wooden Spoon Trust fund life-changing projects that support children and young people with disabilities or living in disadvantage through projects such as sensory rooms, playground activities and specialist equipment. Their garden design by Toni Bowater and Lucy Welsh deconstructs the conventional principles of a garden and re-imagines it to encourage those who might be afraid of gardening to have fun by interacting with elements such as a bird perch and windmills. After the show, the garden is being adapted for inclusion in a sensory garden at a special needs school in Kent.
As more employees work from home, gardens have become a valuable haven for physical and mental wellbeing during a busy day. Inspired Earth Design’s
Lunch Break Garden, is a cleverly simple kit garden approach to planting, with only eight varieties of herbaceous perennial making the often overwhelming choice of what to plant more achievable. Created by
Inspired Earth Design partners Emily Grayshaw, Imogen Perreau and Jude Yeo, this garden draws on their experiences of working from home prior and during the pandemic and recognising the therapeutic benefits that gardening offers.
Hamzah-Adam Desai’s
Turfed Out garden is a model for new-build homeowners that offers a solution to create a more environmentally friendly space. Doing away with a turf lawn and replacing with a majority of plants that are drought-tolerant and pollen rich long-flowering plants for biodiversity, means the garden will need minimal watering and maintenance for complete beginners.
Rebecca Welti, RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival Manager added:
“For many people, gardening can present obstacles that can deter them from trying it out, whether that’s because of their mobility, a busy work or home life, finances or access to outdoor space. The ideas being presented by the Get Started gardens are breaking down barriers by using innovative and resourceful gardening ideas that can be used as practical tools to enrich lives.”
Additional new features for Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2022 include the
River Cottage Market Garden designed by their Head Gardener
Adam Crofts; the
RHS Forest Bathing Garden by
Dave Green designed for the practice of settling the mind and meditating within a natural setting; a special
RHS Rose Tea Garden by Pollyanna Wilkinson will celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the
RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero is presented to
Sarah Eberle, acknowledging her professional contribution through a career spanning over 40 years.
Festival favourites including the RHS Allotment, Floral Marquee, Plant Village and Festival of Roses will be back, alongside expert advice sessions and gardener’s talks.
For further information on the gardens and exhibitors or to buy tickets visit
www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt
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