Come To Your Senses at Tatton

At this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park there is one garden that will heighten the senses beyond all other, as BBC Radio Manchester and Woodford Park Garden Centre ask you to ‘Come To Your Senses’.

The garden takes the form of five pods, with each bringing together a collection of plants that defines one of the senses: taste, touch, sight, sound and smell. But what makes it particularly special is that the listeners to BBC Radio Manchester and readers of www.bbc.co.uk/manchester are being given the chance to design one of the pods and to nominate where it should go after the show – a school, community centre or charity project in Greater Manchester or Cheshire.

Richard Fair from BBC Radio Manchester explains, “We wanted our garden at this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park to be something that the community could get involved in creating, and would go on to have a life in the community after the show.”

Budding designers have until 17th June to submit their entry, which will then be judged by the BBC, Woodford Park Garden Centre and the RHS. Horticulturalists from Woodford Park will be completely creating the sound pod, leaving you the opportunity to produce a design for either the taste, touch, sight or smell garden pod.

Annie Martin from Woodford Park Garden Centre says, “Although gardening is very stimulating to the senses it will be quite a challenge to create a garden pod dedicated to one sense, so we’ve put together a list of suggestions and plant ideas on the BBC website. It will then be up to our team of experts to bring to life the designs that the winning entries have created.”

Each of the garden pods is 1500mm x 1250mm and will be raised to allow wheelchair access and to make planting and maintenance easy for all age groups. From the end of June you will be able to get a sneak preview of the garden being created when you visit Woodford Park Garden Centre in Woodford, Cheshire. All entries to the competition will also be exhibited at the centre.

The competition is open until 17th June 2007 with more guidelines and details of where you should send your entry to available at www.bbc.co.uk/manchester or by tuning into BBC Radio Manchester, 95.1FM and DAB.

The completed ‘Come To Your Senses’ garden and vast array of inspiring Show gardens, Back to Back gardens and Flower Beds will be on display at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park. Floral marquees, an abundance of shopping and eating opportunities, as well as the advice that can be picked up from the growers and RHS Gardening Advice Desk will round off what is sure to be a spectacular show.

The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park takes place between 18 and 22 July, with 18 July reserved for RHS members.

To book tickets call 0870 842 2229 or visit www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows.