Flowers donated by Lidl have been planted in the winning garden of the Chelsea Flower Show

Flowers donated by a local Lidl store have been given new life in a Chelsea Flower Show garden.

The violas were donated to Nottingham-based social enterprise Pulp Friction and used for the Growing Skills Garden by budding designers Will Dutch and Tin-Tin Azure-Marxen. The flowers were picked by some volunteers from a local Lidl store in Arnold, a market town in Nottingham, as part of a regular surplus food collection.

Pulp Friction CIC works with people who have learning disabilities or autism to help develop their social independence. The All About Plants Garden celebrates the work Pulp Friction does to support the skill, determination and passion of their members and challenges perceptions of what they can achieve.

“We collect surplus food from various grocery stores to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Instead, we sort the food and use it in community meals or in our community cafe. One collection contained these lovely flowers, suggesting that they could no longer be sold in the shop and would otherwise have disappeared. Instead, we kept the flowers in our community garden in Bestwood, where they were cared for by our members (people with learning disabilities and autistics) and nursed back to full health,” a Pulp Friction spokesperson told House Beautiful.

Vibrant flowers took pride of place in the Growing Skills Garden for RHS Chelsea 2024, which was awarded a gilt silver medal by the judges and crowned People’s Choice winner in the smaller gardens category.

“I think this was the story of the week for many of our garden visitors,” Dawn, one of Pulp Friction’s directors, tells us. “It speaks volumes about how we at Pulp Friction CIC take lives and nurture them and find an environment where they can thrive – so powerful.”

At the center of the Growing Skills Garden is a large overhead circle constructed from recycled fire hoses, with edible plantings spread throughout. All hard landscaping materials have been recycled or reclaimed, a great example being the use of gabion baskets, which have been given a new lease of life and turned into a stunning garden feature.

For months, Pulp Friction members and volunteers collected garden debris ready to fill the gabions and, while at RHS Chelsea, collected discarded materials from other gardens during their construction to add to the baskets.

Some members of Pulp Friction were also involved in building the garden, demonstrating just what can be achieved and the power of inclusion through gardening.

With Chelsea Flower Show 2024 over, the garden breakdown has begun, with All About Plants gardens having just a few days to dismantle their garden displays. Sponsored by Project Giving Back, a grant scheme which allows UK charities to apply for a fully funded garden at RHS Chelsea, the garden will be moved to Stockhill Fire Station in Nottingham for the community to enjoy.

Watch House Beautiful on Tick and Instagram.

You might also like it