Community gardeners will sit alongside horticultural heroes such as Alan Titchmarsh, Carol Klein and Roy Lancaster in the UK’s annals of history as the Royal Horticultural Society introduces a new RHS People Award category.

Considered a who’s who of gardening for over a century, the new Community Award category will sit alongside five others, including The Victoria Medal of Honour and Associate of Honour, and celebrate the difference gardening can make to communities and individual’s lives. 

The introduction of the new award reflects the importance that the RHS places on community gardening and its growing influence in delivering health and wellbeing and environmental benefits.

Announcing the new award at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, Tim Upson, Director of Horticulture, Education and Communities at the RHS, said: “Increasingly, the UK’s thousands of community gardening heroes have the power to bring about real change in their local areas; inspiring action in confronting very real challenges. This has never been more true than in the last 18 months, particularly when it comes to tackling loneliness and fostering a sense of togetherness. Gardening has long been a force for good and it’s time we recognised this important contribution as the benefits become ever clearer.”

The Award is open to anyone in the UK who has made an outstanding contribution to a community gardening programme over a period of time including community gardens, orchards, urban and rural programmes that bring value to the wider community that they are based in. Nominations are open to the public until the autumn via the RHS website before being assessed by the RHS Awards Committee.

RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival puts community gardening centre stage and this year features a brand new allotment feature focusing on the community aspect of growing fruit and vegetable as well as bug hotels designed and built by local school gardening groups. For more information on how you can get involved in gardening in your community visit www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening.