Millions of wildflower seeds will be sown over the weekend, 14th and 15th April, to celebrate the work of community gardeners and mark the launch of RHS Britain in Bloom 2012, supported by Anglian Home Improvements.
Britain in Bloom is the UK's largest environmental campaign of its kind, bringing communities together to clean up and green up where they live through gardening. Each year over 200,000 volunteers devote 4.4 million hours to projects that benefit the wider community. Trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs are planted in their millions, miles of graffiti is removed and tonnes of rubbish is cleared, while over 30,000 acres of public space is cared for, all through Britain in Bloom.
This year's launch activity will see the equivalent of 50 acres of wildflowers sown over 48 hours, during the weekend leading into National Gardening Week (16 -22 April)*. Seed packets have been given to Britain in Bloom volunteers, schools registered to the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and gardening clubs affiliated to RHS. Comprising of a mixture of cornflower annuals, the country will be dotted with red, white and blue, plus a splash of yellow, as corn poppy, corn marigold, corn chamomile, corncockle and cornflower seeds are distributed across the land.
Stephanie Eynon, RHS Communities Manager, explained, "We wanted to do something to celebrate the constant and often underappreciated work of community gardeners across the country, the start of our Britain in Bloom year, and pay homage to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, hence the majority of the flowers are the red, white and blue.
"Britain in Bloom is well known for its hanging baskets and floral displays, but much of the work is about safeguarding our environment and local wildlife. We hope Wild about Wildflowers will raise awareness of the lesser known side of Britain in Bloom while also working to stem the decline of our wildflower populations and the pollinating insects they support."
Martin Troughton of Anglian Home Improvements, said, "Having supported RHS Britain in Bloom for the past twelve months we've been able to see firsthand how fantastic these community gardening groups are at transforming spaces into areas of natural beauty. Their dedication, tenacity and skills are second to none and they deserve to be celebrated."
For more information on RHS Britain in Bloom, RHS Campaign for School Gardening and information on your local gardening club, plus details on how to join your nearest community gardening group, visit www.rhs.org.uk/communities
* National Gardening Week runs from the 16 - 22 April 2012. See www.rhs.org.uk/nationalgardeningweek for more information
Visit the 4scapes shop for a variety of wildflower seed mixes
