Blue Diamond Garden Centres has an exciting new initiative for 2024. Thde group wants to help bring the great outdoors to the heart of communities across the UK by offering funding to support local groups to create new community gardens or give a makeover to existing community gardens. 

Blue Diamond share the same beliefs as Octavia Hill, the inspiration behind their multi-award winning, 2024 RHS Chelsea Main Avenue Show Garden that ‘the healthy gift of air and the joy of plants and flowers’ are vital in everyone’s life. With this in mind, they aim to inspire others to create biodiverse, outdoor spaces that enables nature and wildlife to thrive and which provides a place for people to connect with the beauty of our natural world.

Around 1 in 3 people in the UK today do not have access to nature-rich outdoor spaces near their homes, and in some deprived areas, there is no access to green spaces at all. 

To help overcome this, Blue Diamond are offering a total of £10,000 worth of the retail value of plants and garden care products, to be split equally across five community gardens, along with six hours of expert help and advice, to get the projects off to a flying start.

Blue Diamond will support the gardens over a year with the aim that these gardens will help to give the ‘healthy gift of air and the joy of plants and flowers’ to the communities surrounding them.

Get involved!

To be in with a chance of winning, you will need to demonstrate that; -

Your community garden project will increase the biodiversity in your neighbourhood, improve resident well-being and provide an immersive space where people from the local community can reconnect with nature.

Then to apply, please complete the application form on Blue Diamond’s website by the deadline of midnight on the 30th June 2024. https://www.bluediamond.gg/community-garden-application-form

Once all applicants have been thoroughly considered, based their merit and ensuring that they satisfy the criteria listed above, Blue Diamond will announce the winners on the 12^th July 2024 on Blue Diamond’s website and across all Blue Diamond’s social media channels.

Terms and conditions

1. Entrants must complete the online application form by midnight on the 30^th June 2024. The online application form can be found here https://www.bluediamond.gg/community-garden-application-form

2. Winners will be chosen based on merit and at Blue Diamond’s discretion but must satisfy the following criteria namely that; - the community garden project must demonstrate that it will increase the biodiversity in its respective neighbourhood, that it will improve resident well-being, and provide an immersive space where people from the local community can reconnect with nature.

3. 5 winning community garden projects will be chosen by a nominated representative of Blue Diamond on 12^th July 2024.

4. A nominated representative from each of the 5 winning gardens, as identified on the application form, will be notified by email sent from a representative of Blue Diamond and/or by telephone call on the 12^th July 2024.

5. Thereafter, a credit account to the value of £2000 will then be set up at the Blue Diamond Garden Centre nearest to each of the respective 5 winners of the community garden competition. This can be used to purchase plants and garden care products at their retail value.

6. A nominated and authorised person(s) from each of the respective community gardens is to be appointed and can have access to this credit account.

7. This credit account will remain valid for 12 months from the date it is set up or until such time that the credit has been depleted.

8. Each of the winning community gardens will be offered 6 x 1hr slots with an appropriate member of Blue Diamond staff who can offer advice on plants, planting and plant care products. These appointments are to be set up at mutually convenient times.

9. Each of the winners of the community garden projects are to agree to Blue Diamond following the progress of the community garden project from the date the winners are announced on the 12^th July  2024 and thereafter until the 12^thJuly 2025 inclusive, and to Blue Diamond publishing the progress of the community garden projects on Blue Diamond’s website and across all their social media platforms.