This year is the 100th since the Royal Horticultural Society first held its flower show on the site at The Royal Hospital, Chelsea and to help celebrate this feat, our Miracle-Gro’wers created four gardens to show how gardening and the plants we grow have changed over that century.
The hundreds of schoolchildren, from schools all over the country, received free seeds, young plants, Miracle-Gro composts and feeds to grow the plants for the gardens. They also received great advice from staff at Scotts Miracle-Gro as well as some of our partner garden centres.
The Chairman of the floral judging panel, Mr Redwood, told us that all the gardens easily achieved Silver-Gilt standard, and the 2013 Eco Garden was only one point short of an RHS Gold Medal. A brilliant achievement.
Gardening through time
The four gardens feature different varieties of plants that illustrate how plant breeders have gradually improved the beauty and impact of the plants we grow in our gardens. Different tools and products from the different ages are also on display.
The 1913 Domestic Garden features heritage varieties of flowers and vegetables grown at that time. These include varieties of sweet peas, potatoes, strawberries and roses.
The 1940s Wartime Garden has a Dig For Victory theme and mainly contains edible crops, including potatoes, broad beans, cabbages and strawberries, mixed in with just a few flowers.
The 1970s Flower Power Garden celebrates outdoor living, which started to become all the rage with the start of patio gardening. Hanging baskets and container gardening were must-haves during this era.
The 2013 Eco Garden shows how plant breeders have improved our garden plants even further, including creating disease- and pest-resistant varieties.
Find out more about the Miracle-Gro’wers Learning Journey initiative at www.lovethegarden.com/schools
