Creative ways to make your garden a beautiful, biodiverse and sustainable space at the 2022 show
The nation’s 30 million gardeners play a role in tackling the UK’s climate and biodiversity crises and the RHS wants to arm everyone with planet-friendly gardening ideas so, collectively, we can create real positive change for the environment, wildlife and ourselves. That’s why 2022’s RHS Tatton Park went green with the show’s gardens and exhibitors celebrating sustainability and the environment.
Kerb-appeal and wildlife boosting ideas
The RHS Tatton Park Greener Front Gardens were full of inventive ideas to turn small or uninspiring outdoor spaces into uplifting and sustainable plots.
Paradise Retained showed how space for a car can be a space for wildlife too, while
Could Car Less offered innovative ways to store bikes and boost urban biodiversity.
The Cotton Traders Greener Future Garden reimagined a city centre space with planting that offers year-round interest and which attracts wildlife – while still incorporating practical storage and seating in a colourful setting.
RHS research has shown filling a bare front garden with a handful of plants has the same stress-reducing impact as attending eight mindfulness sessions – and it’s this concept that was brought to life in
Journey Home, a Greener Front Garden designed by Rachael Bennion in partnership with service users and volunteers at the homelessness charity Petrus Community.
Beautiful greener borders
Stocked up with inspiration for your front garden, green ideas could be gathered for your borders too. The cleverly designed and accessible Greener Borders were created by garden designers and community groups – all were filled with ideas for sustainable gardening.
Alternatives to the traditional grass lawn were celebrated with the Grown That Way: Green For Me Border by Kenny Raybould.
You could see how to grow your own tea, and reduce the food miles associated with your cuppa, with Fruitea by MUD staff members and volunteers.
Gardening influencer, the Cloud Gardener Jason Williams, showed how beautiful edible borders can be created in urban settings in The Petit Nuage Garden, while other borders showcased rain garden ideas and biodiverse habitats:
- Foraging in the Garden by The Widnes and District Horticultural Society showcased how great a border can look using sustainable gardening practices.
- Family Action: Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Jewel Garden by The ESCAPE Project featured a mix of ornamental and edible plants attractive to pollinators.
- We Can Do It! by Elswick in Bloom, was a colourful border that’s easy to replicate at home and a joy for the senses.
- The Healing Garden by Camellia Hayes showed how you can create a space with benefits for the environment and your wellbeing.
- W – E Border by Queenie Chan showed a blend of Western- and Eastern-inspired planting.
- A Haven for Nature by Hilary Pinnock and Liz Scott demonstrated different biodiverse habitats and planting areas in a small space.
Inspiration from the local landscape
Following a competition calling for listeners of Local BBC Radio to send in their ideas for a show garden design, the RHS and BBC Local Radio Planet-Friendly Garden brought to life designs by three amateur gardeners recreating their own personal vision of what the North West means to them –
a lockside garden in Chester,
the Wirral coastline and
a local park in Lancashire all provided inspiration for easy to achieve planet-friendly gardens at home with a rain garden, upcycled materials, wildlife-friendly features and meadow-style planting.
The
RHS and BBC North West Community Urban Garden took the city centre landscape as its backdrop for making functional and accessible green spaces. Designed by Bea Tann, the garden showed how a car-focused street design can be reimagined to bring biodiversity into cities.
Tackle the commute
Tatton Garden,
Why Commute?, by designer Pip Probert looked at how we can remove our often carbon-fuelled commute and replace it with a beautiful work-from-home and garden space.
Looking to inspire visitors with a garden office in a suburban setting, the result is ideal for business and pleasure.
Also looking to promote a carbon-negative commute was the Working From Home garden in the Young Designer category.
Other gardens created by the next generation of horticultural talent included Come Lime With Me, reflecting on rising sea levels, and designs focusing on the power of plants for relaxation, recovery and stress-relief.
Top tips from the experts
Experts shared their knowledge on the value of preparing and nurturing the ground you’re planting with the Earth’s Riches exhibit. Soil health is vitally important when tackling climate change – and for gardeners it can mean stronger, more productive plants that are better equipped to withstand pests and diseases.
The Homestead area of the show offered more green gardening talks, covering topics including wildflower sowing and wildlife-friendly planting.
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