We had so much fun working with local school children last year, we couldn’t wait to get young people back to Festival Place.

Following the success of our Giving Garden project, we have been inspired to create a series of beautiful barrel gardens to brighten up the Upper Level of Festival Place for the summer.

This spring we have once again worked with Insta favourite, Leigh Johnstone - @beardygardener, and six local schools to create, decorate and plant the six beautiful bloomin’ barrel gardens. The project included a free in-school workshop where children worked with artists to decorate their oil barrels and picked up some gardening knowledge as they designed a planting plan with help from the Beardy Gardener, making sure each of their gardens told their own story.

The primary schools also attended a specially-written theatre show at The Forge in The Anvil followed by a workshop in which they planted their chosen plants and flowers into their themed barrel

Gardens for a Changing Climate Fairfields Primary School

The changing climate means that gardens have to change too. This barrel garden includes plants that are adapted well to different environmental conditions, such as plants to aid cooling and pollution, as well as noise filtering plants and ones that can cope with wet soils.

  • Boston Fern
  • Hosta ‘Lime Fizz’
  • Zantedeschia ‘Captain Violetta’
  • Geranium ‘Rozanne'

Friendship Garden Park View Primary

This barrel garden follows a bright and vibrant yellow and orange colour scheme to signify friendship. The chosen plants symbolise aspects of friendship such as loyalty, honesty, kindness, love, compassion and respect.

  • Sunflower ‘sunsation’ (or similar dwarf sunflower)
  • Orange Gerbera
  • Calibrachoa ‘tangerine punch’/‘can can orange’
  • Pansy ‘Citrus Mix’

Clean Air & Healthy Houseplant Garden Cliddesden Primary

This barrel garden includes plants that purify the air as well as plants that have other significant health benefits. Even if you don’t have a garden of your own, everyone can grow plants like this at home and enjoy the benefits of a bit of greenery.

  • Boston Fern
  • Epipremnum pinnatum Albo
  • Parlour Palm
  • Snake Plant

Edible Flowers, Medicinal & Herbal Garden Marnel Junior

Plants are all around us and they have a multitude of uses from feeding us to healing us. This barrel garden includes a vibrant mixture of edible flowers, culinary herbs and medicinal plants.

  • Trailing Rosemary
  • Lemon Thyme
  • Chamomile
  • Lavender ‘Munstead'

Healthy Plates Winklebury Junior

Growing your own food is a wonderful way to learn about plants and get healthy, and you don’t need a huge garden - a barrel will do! This barrel garden includes a range of tasty and colourful ‘above ground’ edibles. The philosophy behind this one is ‘Eat the Rainbow’.

  • Tumbling Tom ‘Yellow’
  • Strawberry ‘Albion’
  • Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’
  • Lettuce ‘Salad Bowl Green’ (or similar)

Cultural Gardens of the World, Japanese Zen Garden - St Bede’s Catholic Primary

Being in nature is very calming for many people and a stroll around a garden can be a good antidote to busy, modern lives. The japanese Zen garden is the ultimate calm gardenThis barrel garden includes typical Japanese/zen style plants, raked stones and moss which imitate the essence of nature and aid meditation.

  • Acer Shaina (or similar)
  • Fern Araiostegia parvipinnata (or similar)
  • Moss (Koke or Irish Moss)

As well as our beautiful bloomin’ gardens, we have worked closely with artWell Basingstoke to produce an amazing sculpture and series of canvases. These are displayed in the exhibition space located opposite Starbucks, which also turns into a craft space for ‘Wildlife Wednesday’ Craft Workshops on 24th July and 7th, 14th and 21st August.
Everyone is welcome. Come on down!

artWell Basingstoke is a community orientated, not-for-profit organisation that uses a diverse range of creative activity to inspire positive use of the imagination, promote mental health through better understanding, positive conversations and inclusion across the community.

Inspired by the sounds and colours found in our gardens, the works displayed in the exhibition space embrace the ideas, thoughts and responses from people attending the artWell groups. People who, for a variety or reasons, experience challenges that impact on their mental wellbeing. Each work is collaborative, each colour, shape and choice of materials was created as a group, making these works truly collaborative and community-focused artworks.

Find out More

Our fun gardening duo will lead eco-craft workshops whilst educating all on the importance of looking after our planet and being sustainable in our everyday lives. With their green glossary of gardening tips, tricks and facts, they will invite shoppers to make a pledge for the planet to stick to over the summer!

Join us for:
Floral Headdresses - 24th July
Wooden Bookmarks - 7th August
Origami Crafts - 14th August
Plant Pot Decorating - 21st August

The final element of our Bloomin’ Barrels project includes a selection of beautiful blue Forget-Me-Nots, contributions to the project from local St Michael's Hospice.

Gardens are often places that provide a haven of peace and tranquillity where loved ones can be remembered. These Forget-Me-Nots were part of their recent memory garden campaign and were so lovely we just had to include them!

Click below to visit their web page for more information about their amazing work in our community and learn how you can support them.

Find out More

THE CENTRE

INFORMATION

GET OFFERS AND UPDATES

Home Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

© Festival Place 2024