Through their shared work, the designers aim to integrate edible landscapes into urban environments while placing skateboarding in the public realm. The planting combines native and exotic species, with culinary and medicinal herbs. Apple, plum and mulberry trees provide shelter and serve as educational tools for grafting techniques. The shrub and herb layers encompass a variety of fruits (including golden raspberries, honeyberries and alpine strawberries), edible flowers (including borage, calendula, viola) and foliage (including red vein sorrel, pineapple mint, ginger and wild garlic), encouraging awareness of and learning about safe foraging and self-seeding processes.
The garden features vertical hydroponic grow towers that efficiently recycle water, alongside mushroom logs that offer visitors insights into fungi-culture, creating an interactive educational experience. In terms of sustainability points, peat free compost will be used throughout the garden. Timber for boundary treatment will be FSC standard untreated UK larch and all plants except for trees will be sourced from UK.
The Planet Good Earth garden, sponsored by Project Giving Back and Planet Good Earth CIC, will be built by Stewart Landscape Construction.
After the show, the garden will be relocated to Hay Castle Trust in Hay-on-Wye’s vibrant, inclusive community. It will be supported by Black Mountains College, a new and imaginative education centre with a mission to promote ecological action and adaptation. The garden will form the core of a new community-focused educational space that will create fun and flexible healthy learning spaces for young people. The informal play spaces and sensory garden will be open outside school hours, becoming a place where the whole neighbourhood comes together.