Grow your own specialist and broadcaster, Pippa Greenwood, has teamed up with Stewart to embark on an ambitious tour to eight locations around the country promoting the values of growing your own.
There has been a massive rise in the popularity of grow your own horticulture lately, with the National Trust reporting the huge potential in the UK with around 600 acres of unused
windowsills which could be used to grow fruit and vegetables under glass by those who do not have space for a greenhouse.
With money getting tighter, an increasing number of people are saving cash and staying healthy by using their gardens, greenhouses and even their windowsills to cultivate food.
But help is now at hand from Pippa Greenwood who will be demonstrating on the tour how easy it is to grow your own. She will explain and demonstrate growing seeds and propagation. She will also show how to pot a plant easily using different sized pots as well as giving a master class on making small and versatile growing beds from large pots, troughs and hanging baskets.
The tour will begin on March 1st at Stewarts in Christchurch, Dorset and then to mark gardening’s own version of Comic Relief, Garden Re-Leaf Day on March 13th, Pippa will be bound for Cadbury Garden & Leisure Centre in Congresbury, North Somerset.
Garden Re-Leaf Day is part of a nationwide programme of fund-raising events aimed at gardeners of all levels of expertise. All proceeds will be donated to Greenfingers, the garden industry charity which creates gardens at children’s hospices.
The tour comes on the back of a recent three-year partnership deal signed last year between Stewart and Pippa Greenwood who will be working together to help consumers improve their understanding of growing fruit and vegetables at home and support retailers in this increasingly popular market sector.
The BBC Gardeners’ Question Time panellist and BBC Gardeners’ World columnist said she was very excited to be working with Stewart, taking part in a very hands-on tour where there will be eight comprehensive information sheets available to visitors explaining everything from propagation to when to use a cloche.
These, along with a ‘grow your own calendar’, will be available in garden centres and DIY stores across the country, located next to Stewart products labelled with Pippa’s ‘grow your own’ branding.
“I’m looking forward to chatting about grow your own with people, and using some of Stewart’s wonderful products. Stewart’s product range demonstrates a real and long-term commitment to the grow your own movement – something that everyone knows I am passionate about.
“I believe that, together, we can help gardeners everywhere get the most from their grow your own efforts.”
Pippa will have her own blog on the Stewart website at: www.stewart-garden.com/pippa and she will be selling a wide range of Stewart products with the ‘grow your own’ branding on her own website at www.pippagreenwood.com
Tour details:
March 1st: Stewarts, Lyndhurst Road, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 4SA.
March 13th: Cadbury Garden & Leisure Centre, Smallway, Congresbury, North Somerset BS49 5AA.
March 24th: Scotsdale Nursery & Garden Centre, Cambridge Road, Great Shelford, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB22 5JT.
March 28th: Barton Grange Garden Centre, Garstang Road, Brock Preston, Lancashire PR3 0BT.
March 29th: Gordale Nurseries Ltd, Chester High Road, Burton, South Wirral, Cheshire CH64 8TF.
April 5th: Webbs, Wychbold, Droitwich, Worcestershire WR9 0DG.
April 13th: Exeter Food Festival, Northernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX4 3QE
May 13th: Garden Pride Garden Centre, Common Lane, Ditchling, West Sussex, BN6 8TP.
More information
Stewart Garden – Garden equipment company.
pippagreenwood.com – Growing your own made easy. Advice, blog and a range of gardening related products.
Garden Re-Leaf – Raising money for Greenfingers, the garden industry charity that creates magical gardens for children’s hospices.