July 2018

RHS Tatton

With huge thanks to Well North for our tickets and Ykids for lending us their minibus, we organised a great day out to the RHS Tatton Flower Show for a group of ten volunteers from SAFE, Ykids, the Gateway Collective and St Leonard’s YCC.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day and picked up lots of ideas that can be replicated in our community gardens in Bootle. Here are just some of the things our gardeners told us that they liked

• The recycling theme – you can use anything to grow in – cans, bottles, tyres, plastic milk bottle planters.
• The milk carton and juice carton bird feeders.
• The variety of designs and the new ideas.
• Loads of colour!
• Planting in weird things.

The group were so inspired by the rudbekia (tall, yellow daisy-like flowers) flowerbeds design which you could walk into that they want to grow enough flowers to create their own. An ambitious project, but one which they are happy to attempt.

The visit to Tatton was a real treat for everyone. The three gardeners from St Leonard’s were so inspired on the day, took lots of photographs and as a result, have built a bug house of their own.

They have also delivered their own art sessions as they were so inspired by the colour and impact of painted pebbles. They continue with the arts and craft sessions so that they can involve all their friends in the garden, even if they have no interest in gardening.

All in all, the Tatton visit came at the perfect time after an initial season of learning. It enabled the St Leonard’s volunteers to connect what they knew with what they could aspire to achieve. They didn’t stop saying ‘thank you’ for weeks. It also gave them the desire to go and visit other gardens in the borough now that they have made new friends on the trip.