Growing the plants
The garden will incorporate 10,000 plants, one-third of which will be grown from seed (generously provided by Suttons of Paignton) and bulbs, some from seedlings and some from plugs. All of them have been nurtured by prisoners and the homeless.
The planting started in December 2008 and since then Eden have been overseeing the sowing of seeds and planting of bulbs in homeless hostels across the UK in preparation for the showpiece garden.
The garden will enter its final phase on 28 April when it is transported from the growing centres and homeless hostels around the country to its site in Chelsea on 28th April. Construction of the garden will then be completed in situ in time for the Show on 15 May 2009.
Follow the story on video of the Key garden from initial planning all the way to the Chelsea Flower Show itself.
Garden design
The Key Garden is designed by Eden’s award-winning designer Paul Stone, He is working on the design with the group Architecture sans Frontières and with creative input from previous homeless service users.
Plan of the Key garden design
The centrepiece of the garden is a huge green wall of plants, measuring 65 feet by seven feet, and incorporating 4,000 young and tender plants. The vertical wall is a view of the future of urban gardens where there’ll be less space and a greater emphasis on the environment combined with the trend of self sufficiency and ‘growing your own’.
The garden is an innovative combination of both decorative ornamental plants and productive plants which not only look good, but also provide food – a lush alternative to breeze blocks, fencing or a traditional hedge.
Reinforcing the message about unlocking potential, the garden also incorporates a path made up of thousands of old keys, donated by Timpson branches across the country.
