If the school entries to the RHS Malvern Spring Gardening Show are anything to go by, the UK of the future will see the majority of people growing fruit and veg rather than ornamental plants in their front garden.
Despite the theme for the 2013 gardens being books, all 16 of the participating schools feature edible plants within their design. Recycled materials and environmental concerns also recur throughout the literary-inspired gardens.
Commenting on the entries, Showground Communications Manager, Sharon Gilbert, said: “Whilst the show gardens designed by professional landscape architects make a statement, they tend to reflect the concerns of the individual.
"The pupils, on the other hand, are more focused on issues that affect everyone and how we can make the world a better place to live”.
Horticulture is to become a part of the national curriculum from September 2014, a step that is welcomed by the RHS.
Sarah Cathcart, RHS Head of Education and Learning, added: “We’ve been campaigning for this for nearly 10 years so we are thrilled the Government has recognised the need for children to be taught gardening at school. We now need to help teachers and school staff get the support they need to teach horticulture to children.”
The schools may be taking a more altruistic and alternative approach to planting than their adult counterparts, but their choice of books is very traditional:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Winnie The Pooh by AA Milne
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Wizard Of Oz by L Frank Baum
The Green Ship by Quentin Blake
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Chicken Gave It To Me by Anne Fine
The Hodgeheg by Dick King-Smith
Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Alice Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
Where’s Wally by Martin Handford
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Railway Children by E Nesbitt
The school gardens have been sponsored by Bam Construct Ltd and Blue Diamond have sponsored the plants, trees and shrubs used in the gardens.
They are being judged for certificates of commendation by a panel from the RHS and Three Counties Agricultural Society. In addition to this, Frank Hill from CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) is joining the panel to make cash awards to the top gardens.
