Hackney-based mental health charity Core Arts are teaming up with designer Andy Smith-Williams to create one of 12 gardens for good causes funded by Project Giving Back.
The design will showcase innovative and creative ways to make front gardens environmentally sustainable as well as beneficial for health.
The garden will also promote Core Arts’ mission to support people experiencing mental health issues.
Andy said: ‘Having easy access to local parks, the Hackney Marshes and nature-filled walks during the Covid-19 lockdowns really helped me keep physically and mentally fit during that period.
‘I noticed how front gardens were being used more to meet and greet friends and neighbours, and became aware of the work of Core Arts, and Core Landscapes, in our community.
‘Creating community-facing front gardens, that are desirable places to be in, can be the catalyst for creating important connections.’
Nemone Mercer, of Core Landscapes - the horticultural arm of Core Arts - said: ‘It’s fantastic Core Arts is being represented at Chelsea this year.
‘It's a celebration of all the time, energy, and skill that Core students and volunteers have given to making the local neighbourhood in Hackney a nicer, greener place for everyone, and to inspire other people to do the same.
‘It’s a brilliant stage to show the impact plants and green spaces can have on our positive mental health, particularly when we garden together.’
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