Brecon-based composter Vital Earth has won a silver award in this year's Chic Garden category for its garden, which uses its 'a;phrodisiac for plants'.
 The award-winning Blades Garden promotes compost produced by Vital Earth |
The Blades Garden, designed by Welsh architect Barry Mayled, has been grown using Vitalizer – a peat-free plant food which contains material derived from the breakdown of household and green waste.
Last year, Vital Earth's Sir Steve Redgrave Compass Garden – named after the athlete – won a coveted Gold medal and the Best in Class Award using the compost.
John Wakefield of Vital Earth said: “Everyone is very pleased with the garden and it's getting a good response. We can't really do any better than last year, but to win again would be fantastic.”
The annual horticultural show at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, attracts around 160,000 people each year. After last year's success, Vital Earth has branded its mixture of soil, compost and Vitalizer used at the show as 'The Chelsea Mix' and is now selling it to the public as a John Innes-type product.
 Kim Wilde demonstrates home composting in the WRAP garden |
WRAP
Elsewhere in the show, which opens its doors to the public today, former pop star Kim Wilde was on hand to open a Recycled Garden run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme. Government-funded market development company WRAP is taking its garden on a tour of the summer's flower shows to show off compost as well as recycled garden products to the public.
The garden includes a water feature made using recycled glass, seats made from recycled plastic drainage pipes and recycled wood chip mulches as well as peat-free compost.
Ms Wilde explained: “Recycling isn’t only about what we throw away. What we buy is equally as important. A range of good quality peat-free and reduced peat multi-purpose composts is now widely available, many of which contain recycled materials.”
Subscribe for free