Thrive, the national charity promoting gardening for health and wellbeing has scooped a Gold award for their Beautiful Border at BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC Birmingham, offering a place to pause, rest and reflect with nature.
Beautiful Borders are creative, miniature show gardens, designed to inspire show visitors with achievable ideas for small gardens and challenging spaces. The theme for this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live Beautiful Borders was ‘Share My Space’.
Thrive’s Border, Step into our Garden - Sharing our space with wildlife inspires people to welcome wildlife and experience nature’s positive mental health benefits, through small steps. Designed by Alexandra Bailey, Client and Garden Manager at Thrive Birmingham, in collaboration with the charity’s women only Mental Health Growing Out group and client gardeners, the Border immerses visitors in nature, supports pollinators and stimulates the senses.
A sensory pebbled path flows around native nectar rich planting beneficial for lifting spirits, evoking memories and relaxation through tactile drifts of scented blooms and soft leaves. Stone hues, silvers and blues contrast with pops of pinks, purples and oranges.
Natural and repurposed materials create features and structures for planted areas and interest, visitor seclusion and for creatures to shelter. All materials and plants will later be reused in Thrive’s local Birmingham gardens. The Border was generously supported by Flexible Business Solutions, LOFA (The Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association), SVMA (The Engineering and Building Services Consultancy), Pershore Nurseries and Earlswood Nurseries.
A panel of acclaimed multi award-winning garden and landscape designers assessed the show’s Beautiful Borders and commended the variety, creativity and quality on display. Announcing the awards, a BBC Gardeners’ World Live Border assessor said: “Very well done, the garden was a communal effort, and this is a fantastic result.”
Winner and Designer, Alexandra Bailey, Client and Garden Manager at Thrive, Birmingham said: “We are delighted to win a Gold medal for our Beautiful Border. Step into our Garden - Sharing our space with wildlife promotes nature’s positive mental health benefits which we believe everyone should have access to.
“We’ve taken small steps towards making our space welcoming to wildlife that can be recreated at home or within the community. We hope visitors feel inspired by our ideas and will go on to experience or deliver social and therapeutic horticulture in some way.
“Thank you to everyone that helped us to create our Beautiful Border. Your support, advice and hard work is really appreciated, and we can’t wait to share our story at BBC Gardeners’ World Live this week.”
Rachel Poletti-Gadd, Portfolio Director - Gardening Division at Immediate Live, organisers of BBC Gardeners’ World Live, said: “The Beautiful Borders are small but perfectly formed show gardens, packed with exciting design features and planting, and are a visitors’ favourite at all our events. Our congratulations to Thrive for their fantastic design which we know will inspire visitors.”
BBC Gardeners’ World Live takes place at the NEC Birmingham every June and attracts more than 100,000 visitors. Highlights include spectacular show gardens and floral displays, theatre and stages, a new plants gallery, workshops and demonstrations, tours, talks and advice by plant experts, plant and garden shopping, children’s activities, food, drink and live entertainment.
