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29 Feb 2012
The gardens will be designed by landscape designer and broadcaster Chris Beardshaw
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has partnered with national charity Groundwork to celebrate both charities’ work to get local communities gardening and involve more people in transforming neighbourhoods. In a unique effort to mobilise people from all walks of life to get involved in making their streets, parks and neighbourhoods greener places to live, the RHS and Groundwork have devised a series of show gardens, designed by landscape designer and broadcaster Chris Beardshaw. The gardens, sponsored by Marks & Spencer, are themed under the title Urban Oasis and will showcase some of the most challenging urban environments where gardening, community work and good quality landscape design have brought people together and yielded powerful social benefits. The Urban Oasis gardens mark the first time the RHS has worked with a partner to bring an exhibit to every RHS show this season, starting with Cardiff,* a fitting tribute to celebrate Groundwork’s 30th birthday. The Urban Oasis message is to challenge people to think about how they can get involved in either preserving their cherished green space or get stuck in and create their own Urban Oasis for the wider community benefit wherever they live. Chris Beardshaw said: “The green space around us - where we live and work - has a fundamental effect on our emotions and behaviour. It is well documented that in areas where these spaces are neglected and poorly designed we see strong evidence of social unrest and it is easy to see why when you stand in these spaces yourself. “Whatever the green need there is a solution and contrary to popular belief it doesn’t have to mean high cost - The Urban Oasis Gardens showcase design solutions which can make such a difference in people's lives.” Sue Biggs, Director General at the RHS, added: “We are delighted to be teaming-up with Groundwork to champion the benefits of gardening in urban communities. A recent RHS report shows how important community gardening is to society and how the regeneration of urban areas is transforming lives and livelihoods all over the country. We need to shout about this, and what better platform to do it from, than our magnificent flower shows.” Groundwork chief executive, Sir Tony Hawkhead, said: “We’re very excited to be working in partnership with the RHS on the Urban Oasis show gardens during our 30th anniversary year. “The benefits of urban green spaces go far beyond those that you can actually see. They become a powerful catalyst for change - bringing people together to roll up their sleeves, get involved and take action to create clean and green places that act as community hubs and training centres, help to moderate the local climate and boost the local economy.” Richard Gillies, Director of Plan A at Marks & Spencer, said: “This is an exciting partnership and a fitting way to mark Groundwork’s 30th year. We’ve worked with the charity for four years now and its employees and volunteers are often the unsung heroes of local communities. The work they do really does transform urban green spaces. We’ll be encouraging as many of our customers and employees as possible to get down to the RHS shows and see the gardens.” The RHS organises Britain’s biggest community horticulture movement through its Britain in Bloom and It’s Your Neighbourhood campaigns, which bring together 200,000 volunteers to make places greener and transform every aspect of community life for the better. Groundwork has three decades of experience of working directly with disadvantaged communities to clean up and green up where they live. The charity works with community groups, housing associations and local authorities to improve green spaces for people to use.
