Visiting Chelsea Flower Show 2022, which returned to its usual May slot, I was delighted to discover that sustainability and well-being were at the heart of many of the show gardens and other exhibits at this iconic celebration of horticulture.
The show buzzed, literally, as gardens filled with bees, hoverflies and other wild insects attracted by the rich biodiversity of many of the gardens. Natural landscapes, recycled and upcycled materials, wildflower lawns and native planting schemes offered inspiration to the thousands of visitors for a more planet friendly way of gardening. There were no manicured lawns, no fake plastic grass and the dazzling floral art constructed without the use of wasteful floral foam.
This year as part of Project Giving Back, 12 of the show gardens are being rebuilt elsewhere, or auctioned off to be reused.
CELEBRATING SOIL
The New Blue Peter Garden Discover Soil will be relocated at RHS Bridgewater, Salford this summer, to become a permanent feature for all to explore (and it will of course feature on the children's TV programme). Designed by Juliet Sargeant with children very much in mind, the garden encourages us all to discover wonderful soil. There are some inviting child-sized spaces to explore, including a subterranean digging space. Significantly, children from Salford created the art on the fencing using paints made from different soils.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
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This story is from the September 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
SEPTEMBER SPECIALS
This month, with sweetcorn, figs and blackberries on the menu, Anna Cairns Pettigrew is not only serving up something sweet and something savoury, but all things scrumptious
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES
September - is it late summer or the start of autumn? David Patch ponders the question and says whatever the season, it's time to harvest autumn raspberries
SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN
Covering the soil with a green manure in winter offers many benefits and this is a good time to sow hardy types, says KG editor Steve Ott
A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS
KG's Martin Fish takes time out from his own plot to visit a walled garden in Lincolnshire which has been home to the same family for more than 400 years
RESTORING THE BALANCE
The phrase regenerative gardening is often heard in gardening circles, but what is it? Can it help you to grow better veg? Ecologist Becky Searle thinks so, and tells us why
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his expertise on using compost made from green bin collections with handy tips on getting the right consistency and quality
Celebrating Organic September!
In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive
SEEING RED
Do your tomatoes have a habit of remaining stubbornly green? Or perhaps you're lucky to enjoy lots of lovely fruits - just all at once. Either way, Benedict Vanheems is here with some top tips to ripen and process the nation's favourite summer staple
NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!
Rob Smith is talking broccoli this month with a review of the different types available and suggestions for some exciting new varieties to try
A NEW kitchen garden
Martin Fish is getting down to plenty of picking and planting on the garden veg plot, while Jill is rustling up something pepper-licking good!
