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Our gold-winning Beautiful Border exhibition was showcased at BBC Gardeners' World Live in June in Birmingham. The exhibit featured 25-30 innovative small-space solutions, offering creative exploration and inspiration for transforming any garden. The theme, 'Share My Space', encouraged participants to explore a diverse range of ideas – whether crafting a quiet oasis, a space for cherished moments, or a nostalgic journey down memory lane.

The exhibits were designed, planned, and built by horticultural groups, students, and aspiring gardeners. Each creation demonstrated that, regardless of garden size, it can bring people together, encourage learning, and cultivate a shared green oasis in any environment.

BBC Radio West Midlands featured our border during an interview, which you can listen to through the link below.

BBC Radio West Midlands Thrive Interview

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors, dedicated staff, and hardworking volunteers whose support and efforts made this event such a success.

Beafitful Border Colour Design
Thrive's Beautiful Border design

Our interpretation of this theme focuses on creating a border that welcomes wildlife and embraces nature. It features a sensory pebbled path, flowing curves around planted pockets with tactile foliage and fragrant blooms. Beneficial planting encourages a variety of visitors, with some featured stepping stones, guiding explorers through drifts of scented blooms and soft leaves. It serves as a place to rest, reflect, and observe nature. Natural and repurposed materials, such as reclaimed wood and woven twigs, are used to create features and structures for higher planted areas and small spaces for creatures to shelter.

By integrating elements of sensory stimulation, relaxation, and mindfulness into our design, we aim to create a therapeutic haven that fosters mental wellbeing and emotional healing. The design was created in collaboration with Thrive's women-only Mental Health Growing Out group and client gardeners, aiming to encourage wildlife into gardens and promote a deeper connection with nature.

  • Cosmos
  • Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’
  • Dahlia – various
  • Eryngium planum ‘Big Blue’
  • Ferns –
  • Dryopteris ‘Brilliance’
  • Lepidota crispa ‘Christina’
  • Polystichum ‘Herrenhausen’
  • Polystichum ‘Tsus-simense’
  • Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’
  • Geum ‘Queen of Orange’
  • Knautia Mars Midget’
  • Lavendula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’
  • Polemonium ‘Kaleidoscope’
  • Nepeta faassenii ‘Purssian Blue’
  • Nicotiana alta ‘Lime Green’
  • Nigella damascene ‘Miss Jekyll Alba’
  • Salix
  • Sagina – lime moss
  • Salvia ‘ Caradonna’
  • Salvia ‘Hot lips’
  • Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Blue’
  • Stachys byzantine
  • Range of succulents and sedums
  • Tropaeelum
  • Thymus vulgaris
  • Verbena ‘Bampton
  • Verbenna rigida

The list can be downloaded here.

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