This week Blue Diamond, the UK’s number one Garden Centre Group, are attending the BBC Gardeners World Live Show at the NEC in Birmingham (13-16 June inclusive), where they are sponsoring the new Urban Garden Area of the Show. They will showcase a Feature Garden and have a retail area as well as hosting 4 daily talks.
Visitors to the show, will be able to wander through part of an imagined, urban terraced house and out into a typical sized urban garden.
The perfect plant “capsule wardrobe”
The Blue Diamond exhibit, stands E428 and E408, will showcase the perfect plant “capsule wardrobe”, in effect 25 plants that are especially suited to planting in an urban environment but of course, are equally suited to any garden or outdoor space wherever they are situated in the UK.
These plants are the perfect ‘timeless staples’ for your garden and which can be ‘mixed and matched’ with seasonal plants throughout the year.
These plants include those that are pollinator friendly, climate resilient, low maintenance, and those that are ideal for growing up walls/structures.
Then simply “mix and match’ with seasonal plants throughout the year, especially those that are suited to pots and containers, to enable you to alter the look and feel of your garden with very little effort.
Visitors to the show will be able to buy these plants, understand the benefits each plant offers and get ideas to make the most of their outdoor space.
The importance of urban gardening
It is estimated that by 2033 the UK population will rise, from around 67.8 million, to around 71.6 million. Currently, only 6% of parks and green spaces are legally protected and 38% of people in England don't have access to a nature-rich green space within a 15-minute walk of their home, with deprived neighbourhoods having the least access.
Blue Diamond Garden Centres want to highlight this issue and try and encourage more people to garden in urban areas. For instance, by planting:
- Roof top gardens
- Balcony gardens
- Vertical or wall gardens
- Street trees
- Wildflower verges
- Small pocket parks in between buildings
- Urban gardens
- By getting involved in a local community garden project
By ‘greening’ more urban areas this can help to clean the air, reduce the risk of flooding, provide vital food for pollinators and help keep cities cool.
The Advantages of Urban Gardening
An urban garden can be an oasis of greenery – a hidden haven for people and wildlife. As well as being a place where you can de-stress and enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds of nature, even a small garden can provide food, shelter, safety, and nesting sites for a wide range of urban wildlife: from hedgehogs to bees.
If you're lucky to have a town or city garden, the buildings around you will create a micro-climate, allowing you to grow more exotic plants than people in the countryside. The buildings also help to contain the scent of fragrant plants and shield butterflies from wind gusts, making it easier for them to feed.
Blue Diamond’s “plant capsule wardrobe” should make it easier for anyone to create their perfect garden.
bluediamond.gg
