National Gardening Week

How to get the joy out of gardens and gardening for ‘National Gardening Week’. 

National Gardening Week 2023 is held between the 1st and 7th of May and is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to raise awareness of gardening and horticulture, and to encourage more people to take part in the healthy and productive outdoor activity of gardening. The week raises awareness of the difference that gardens and gardening can make to the lives of everyone in the UK. 

During National Gardening Week we’d like to inspire more people, particularly the next generation of gardeners, to experience the joy of growing and creating beautiful green spaces. We have created a guide on how you can get the joy out of gardens and gardening this National Gardening Week. 

It’s time to plant up your containers and hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are an excellent way to add an extra dimension to your garden. They are suitable for even the smallest spaces. 

You can create your hanging baskets to be any colour, size and design to cater for your needs. Hanging baskets can even be used to grow your strawberry plants. 

At Meadow Croft, we have everything you need to create the most beautiful hanging baskets. All our basket plants are grown on our nurseries just yards down the road so truly are the best quality and already hardy to our climate. Here’s just a few of the varieties we have in stock - lobelia, verbena, petunias, nemesia, calibrachoa, bacopa & fuchsias. 

Over the course of the week, why not plant your hanging baskets up with a selection of these varieties. If you’d like some ideas or advice, Elaine our plants team supervisor shows you how to plant up your hanging baskets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6lPPMOG4Fc  

Share the excitement of growing your own! 

Growing your own is all about the joy of growing and cooking a delicious plate of food, all within your own home, garden, and allotments. It’s an activity that may take some time, but it’s certainly time well spent! 

It’s something that the children can also get involved with. Gardening is a healthy, fun activity. Children can learn new skills, have fun, play, and develop self-confidence by spending time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. Most children enjoy being outdoors and love digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things, and watching plants grow. Children may also be more willing to try new vegetables if they have grown their own, so it could also encourage a healthier lifestyle.

If you’re new to growing vegetables, salad leaves are a great place to start. Crunchy fresh leaves with a fantastic range of textures and flavours, and easy to grow! Beetroot is an easy to grow option too. The seeds don’t need much encouragement to germinate and they require little maintenance. Courgettes and cucumbers are also a great choice, especially with children! Carrots are a fantastic crop to raise from seed, and popular amongst the children. 

Don’t forget, if you don’t want to grow everything from seed, you can always visit us here at Meadow Croft and we have a wide selection of vegetable plants that you just simply need to plant in your garden, feed and watch grow!  

Create a wildlife home with the children

Building a bug hotel (also known as wildlife hotel) in your garden with the children can provide a safe hideaway for wildlife, make use of any garden waste, and offer the children plenty of learning opportunities. It is a great project for children to be involved in and learn more about their natural environment. 

A well built hotel can shelter anything from hedgehogs to toads, to solitary bees to bumblebees and ladybirds to woodlice. 

For more information on ‘How to build a bug hotel’, head over the RSPB’s website https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/garden-activities/build-a-bug-hotel/ 

Add a new shrub or perennial to your garden

Celebrate National Gardening Week by adding a new shrub or perennial to your garden. Come to the garden centre and check out our Meadow Croft Gardeners’ Choice. 

Our Gardeners’ choice allows our horticultural plants team to help and guide our customers on the best plants for that time of year, promote plants that are perfect for different areas of the garden, set seasonal offers as well as showcase plants that work well together. Whether you’re a first time gardener picking up the basics or an experienced gardener with green fingers, our gardeners’ choice can help and guide you on your plant choices. 

You might find our Gardeners’ Choice is perfect for your garden! 

Do those small jobs that make all the difference to the gardens appearance

National Gardening Week is all about the appreciation of gardening and the joy that you get from it. There is no better way to celebrate it by seeing the garden transform with simple little jobs like giving it a tidy up or pruning your shrubs. One of the most satisfying jobs is to fork the soil over and pull out any weeds – this really does make all the difference. 

Take a moment to nurture your houseplants 

Houseplants are good for your health, not just their visual beauty. Indoor gardening tasks such as repotting a houseplant, feeding or simple care of a houseplant can reduce your heart rate and stress levels. Working with plants is also known to be extremely therapeutic, and especially since the covid lockdowns, there has been a huge spike in houseplant sales.  

House plants can potentially make a significant contribution to reducing air pollution in homes and offices, according to new research led by the University of Birmingham and in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). During a series of experiments monitoring common houseplants exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a common pollutant – researchers calculated that in some conditions, the plants could be able to reduce NO2 by as much as 20 per cent. 

This is the reason to get yourself some houseplants and enjoy the extra dimension they give your home or office!

Take a walk through a garden or local green space

Did you know? The endorphins that are released whilst walking in a green space not only improve your mood but also lower our stress and anxiety levels. Being outside with nature will also promote mental well-being, boost immunity and can increase our ability to concentrate and think with greater clarity.

A few examples of a green space includes; parks, community gardens, woods or allotments. 

Meadow Croft is only a short 5 minute drive away from RHS Hyde Hall. Why not take a walk across their gorgeous gardens - take in the beauty of the rose garden and discover bold architectural plants in their signature dry garden.  There are plenty of cafés for you to get a snack and beverage or there is also plenty of space for you to set up your own picnic! It’s a lovely place to take in the surroundings and appreciate the RHS gardeners’ hard work. 

We are proud to support the National Garden Scheme. The National Garden Scheme gives readers unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens across the UK, and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions and refreshments. They don’t just open beautiful gardens for charity, they are passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of gardens too. They all support charities doing amazing work in gardens and health and grant bursaries to help community gardening projects. 

If you’d like to support and visit a NGS garden in Essex, pick up a 2022 brochure at Meadow Croft or browse through their online version here to find your local garden  

Just take in your surroundings

One of the simplest tasks that you can do to appreciate the joy of gardening, is to just take 15 minutes out, make a drink and sit in your very own garden and appreciate the beauty and calm of the garden. Maybe take time to plan your next garden tasks, watch the wildlife buzz and fly about the plant life and be thankful for our gardens and green spaces. 

Come in and celebrate National Gardening Week with us! We have plenty of high quality Meadow Croft grown plants, perennial plants, shrubs and trees as well as all the accessories, tools, pots and compost that you need. 

Fancy winning a gardening hamper worth £50!? 

Look out for our National Gardening Week competition on social media - All you have to do is capture your love for gardening in 1 photo. Simply comment on our post with your photo and explain why you love it so much. It could be a picture of you gardening, wildlife in your garden, your favourite outdoor space or community/public garden, something you've grown or simply anything that makes you love gardening so much. 

Competition closes on Sunday 7th May and the winner will be contacted via social media on Monday 8th May. Hamper must be collected from the garden centre. Other T&C’s apply.