3 days to go, setting up with only a splash of rain
Each summer the eyes of the gardening world turn to Chelsea, its show gardens and inventive displays from everyone who’s anyone in the gardening world. As I don’t have any aspirations in the garden design department, preferring to stick to what I’m good at which is hand crafting bespoke sundials for other people’s well designed gardens, I thought I’d get help with my stand this year. The stand is a bigger than I’ve had before, so needed a little more attention. I thought it would be good to give exposure to a great cause, so invited my local gardening charity, Growing Spaces to work with me on the stand.
Growing Space an award winning mental health charity based at Tredegar House in
Newport, South Wales. They do great work, giving training and support to people recovering from mental ill health, in a sheltered work environment. Growing Spaces offers opportunities through volunteering, to anyone who’s suffered mental health problems in the past and want to get back into work or education, learn new skills and feel confident in society again. Growing Spaces were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2009.
I hope Chelsea will be a brilliant opportunity for Growing Spaces to highlight the skills of the volunteers the charity supports every day. Together we want to create a greater understanding of the work they do and the importance of gardening for our health and well-being It would be great if we managed to win another award this year, not just for me but for the charity too.
