Creating a grey to green garden at Tatton Park Flower Show
This year at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, schools were invited to create grey to green inspired gardens and containers. Their plots displayed the changes they would like to make on their own grey spaces, showcasing the potential improvement they could make for wildlife.
In this article we follow St Peter's CE Primary School on their journey turning an unused sandpit and old pallets into a pocket-sized biodiversity haven.
Getting started
St Peter's started by looking to nature for inspiration. They were particularly inspired by wildflowers and decided to focus on creating a mini wildflower meadow. Grasslands are among the most biodiverse habitats in the UK, supporting a diverse range of plants and invertebrates, including bees and butterflies. Not to mention that the colourful nature of wildflowers has a positive impact on young people’s mental wellbeing and their connection to nature. Use our grasslands resources to transform your grounds for people and wildlife.
They looked around their school site to see what materials they already had that they could reuse in their design and found an old sandpit and some pallets. Saved from going in the skip, they used these materials to build a container for their garden.
Overcoming obstacles
Initially the school was growing flowers for their plot in trays in their greenhouse but during a big storm the greenhouse blew over and damaged the flower trays. Instead of starting over they scooped up what they could and transferred the seeds straight into their garden container. Luckily they grew!
'Our grey to green Tatton Park plot has inspired us to implement wildflowers around our school grounds to attract pollinators'
Top tips for other schools
- Start small and focus on one area
- Don't try do do everything!
- Plant straight into where you want your plants to grow
- Have fun and enjoy the process
I loved looking after the flowers and watering them everyday. Seeing what we had grown at the flower show was great!
Read more about the school plots at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.
Inspired to turn your space from grey to green? Register for the Nature Park and use our resources to support you on your journey.