THE NEXT generation of green-fingered gardeners have been getting advice from the experts ahead of the 2018 RHS Malvern Spring Festival.
Chris Collins, head of organic horticulture at Garden Organic and former BBC Blue Peter presenter, has been inspiring Worcestershire’s young gardeners in time for May’s four-day spectacular which starts on Thursday, May 10.
The popular gardening enthusiast was at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern taking pupils through a series of workshops to help them grow big ideas for their own unique school garden displays.
He was joined by experts from the Royal Horticultural Society, BAM Construction and Warwickshire College as they guided youngsters on plants, designing and landscaping.
The School Gardens Challenge theme for 2018 is ‘Great Britain’ and pupils are working towards telling the story of an amazing person, group, event or invention that has helped make modern Britain what it is today.
The challenge is open to a single class or whole school and includes primary, middle and secondary schools as well as the home educated and last year Bromsgrove School took on the task.
Forest School leader Sam Dakin said: “This project was the most amazing process from working with the pupils, to formulating a design, to planting, to making the structures and interacting with the public.
“The satisfaction of what we achieved has been overwhelming and the experience will remain with me for a long time.”
Building of the school gardens begins in April and takes approximately three weeks to complete.
A panel of RHS experts will judge the gardens on Wednesday, May 9, the day before RHS Malvern Spring Festival opens to the public.
For more information on how to get involved and to reserve a growing space for your school email [email protected].
