Children urged to get dug in at RHS garden

IT’S a command to delight most children and horrify most parents – but Get Your Hands Dirty is the call to children visiting this weekend’s Royal Horticultural Society flower show.

Young budding gardeners are being asked to get involved in the annual Cardiff show, not least in the Get Your Hands Dirty community garden.

The attraction, which includes a herb bar, play area, child-sized tools, areas for sowing and potting up, and a wildlife corner, is the brainchild of designer Gaynor Witchard.

The three-day show which starts tomorrow in the parklands of Cardiff Castle, is the first outdoor RHS show of the season and will feature spring blooms from nurseries across the UK. It is the first time Gaynor has designed a garden for the prestigious RHS.

She became a professional gardener two years ago and set up and leads a children’s community garden in the grounds of Christ Church, Radyr.

She said: “The purpose of the garden is for children to have fun connecting to their surroundings, and learn that vegetables, fruit and flowers don’t just come in plastic wrapping from the supermarket. I’m aiming to show the community that you don’t have to have a fortune to turn an unused plot of land into a flower, fruit and vegetable haven.

“I truly feel very lucky indeed to have friends, family and companies all supporting me and willing me to do well at the show – I just hope I can come up with the goods.”

Nigel Howells, executive member for sport, leisure and culture said: “The RHS Show Cardiff provides a great platform for Welsh horticultural talent to showcase their skills to the RHS and to the many visitors to the show. I’m sure Gaynor’s Get Your Hands Dirty will prove popular and inspirational to children of all ages.”

Gaynor has received support from Barclays Commercial Bank and Solus Garden and Leisure Ltd which is supplying the miniature gardening tools. Gaynor is chronicling her RHS adventure on www.gardenersclick.com and www.gaynorwitchardgardens.co.uk

The RHS Show Cardiff features a range of other show gardens, an interactive allotment with a presenter giving on-site practical tips, the ever-popular schools’ wheelbarrow competition featuring creative and colourful designs from more than 60 local schools, and numerous plants and accessories for sale, including Duffydil bulbs, a variety of daffodil named after the Welsh singing sensation.