St George community garden to be exhibited at RHS Hampton Court

Residents of Kensington Road in St George are celebrating after their community gardening project was selected to feature in this year's RHS Hampton Court Palace flower show. Their proposal to regenerate the gardens of Bristol's St Mungo's hostel impressed RHS judges and development plans are now underway.

The RHS “It’s your Neighbourhood” campaign, is a nationwide grassroots gardening scheme, which aims to support residents to clean up and “green” their immediate local environment.

we want to find ways of integrating the residents at the hostel into our wider community and help them by providing an attractive garden setting

More than 1,600 groups already take part around the UK.

St George residents impressed RHS judges with their proposal to transform the gardens of St Mungo’s on Kensington road, a hostel for people with mental health issues or who have been previously homeless.

Chair of St George in Bloom, Grenville Johnson said:

“As a  community we want to find ways of integrating the residents at the hostel into our wider community and help them by providing an attractive garden setting at the front of their temporary home as well as providing a space where they can sit and relax and integrate with the wider community.”

RHS Shows Manager, Dave Green, said the panel were looking for an area that offered a rich setting to show different examples of regeneration in action that would be used and supported by a diverse range of community groups.
 
“The support of the community really stood out – The panel felt confident that any transformation would be well maintained by the community groups working together in the street.”

Nigel Dunnett, Professor of planting design and vegetation technology at the University of Sheffield, will now draw up plans for the garden and share them with the community for their feedback.

The finished garden will be exhibited at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show on 30 June to 5 July, 2015.

After the show the RHS will deliver parts of the garden back to St George, for residents to replant and install at St Mungo’s hostel.

Mr Johnson is keen for the wider Bristol community to visit the gardens as part of the Green Capital year.

“We hope to hold a Kensington Road open day when visitors can visit and see the street setting when the project is completed early this summer.”

For more information about St George in Bloom and he construction of the St Mungo’s garden, visit the Victorian House Garden website.