Gardens without borders: Talks at Gardening Scotland and the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show

It has been our great pleasure this month to give two talks at gardening shows in the UK.

Gardening Scotland: 1 June

We were delighted when Scotland’s Rural University College student John Thoumire contacted us about his ‘College Street’ garden, inspired by the Lemon Tree Trust show garden at RHS Chelsea 2018.

John’s garden, ‘Bayet’ means ‘home’ in Arabic. The garden aims to raise awareness of the importance of gardens and gardening to people fleeing war and violence, helping them to overcome trauma and move on with their lives. A Silver Gilt medal was awarded.

We helped to sponsor Bayet and during Gardening Scotland, we gave an illustrated talk and hosted a Q&A session with John. We explored John’s background and journey from war correspondent to gardener and how gardens create community.

RHS Chatsworth Flower Show: 5 June

We joined Chatsworth House head cut flower grower Becky Crowley to offer a new perspective on cut flowers at the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show. In our talk, ‘Gardens Without Borders’, we explored how the cutting garden at Chatsworth is linked to the flora of Kurdistan and the gardens that people are building there in refugee camps. Becky gave behind-the-scenes views of the cutting garden and we showed how flowers are as important to survivors of war in Kurdistan as they are to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Find out more about our work and how gardening helps survivors of war

• How growing produce in refugee camps provides sustenance and additional health benefits
• Empowering women affected by war through the simple act of gardening
• 9 ways to support the Lemon Tree Trust