Date: 20 May 2008 - 24 May 2008
Learn about The Children's Society Garden
Jungle. Prairie. Enchanted fairy woodland. To a child, a garden can be all of these places. It doesn’t have to be a big garden, just somewhere safe, somewhere to talk to friends, somewhere to play, somewhere to get lost in imagination.
At The Children's Society we believe that every child deserves a good childhood. And we know that a garden can play an important part in achieving this.
Our garden at the Chelsea Flower Show explores how an urban front garden might look in the future and how it can contribute to a good childhood by being a place where children can play; where they can learn and where families can spend time together.
In front of a contemporary house façade, where the inhabitants clearly use bicycles as a principle method of transport (secure, vertical bicycle storage is incorporated under the cantilevered porch), water harvesting facilities, waste and recycling storage are discreetly tucked away.
The garden uses vertical features, making the most of its small plot. Water gently flows down a basalt wall, flanked by living walls; dry plants at the top, wet thriving plants at the bottom. Two large Saphora japonica trees meet in the centre of the garden, giving dappled shade under umbrella-pruned canopies.
A low fence and a variety of long grasses enclose the garden, while self seeding species and plants that attract butterflies and bees surround a shallow pool in the centre. Gravels allow rainwater to return to the earth. The design gives practical solutions to the environmental concerns of city families.
Our garden raises awareness of The Children’s Society’s vision for creating a better childhood for all children in the UK.
Mark Gregory 