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Show reveals how to turn your balcony into a garden
Ruth Bloomfield02.07.09
Visitors to Hampton Court Palace's spectacular gardens at this year's flower show are being encouraged to create displays in slightly more modest spaces.
Mayor Boris Johnson and his "food czar" Rosie Boycott have joined forces with the Royal Horticultural Society to produce six balcony-sized plots featuring recycled pots made of old coffee cups and plastic food containers to inspire Londoners to start growing produce in the smallest spaces.
Two of the balconies - which measure one metre by two - use hydroponic technology which allows food to be grown without soil. Another features medicinal herbs. As well as peas, lettuce and tomatoes, one of the balconies has raspberry bushes while another has a dwarf apple tree.
The budget for each of the balconies is £500. Inga Grimsley, director general of the society, said: "We are trying to encourage people to think outside the box and not assume you need huge amounts of space to grow food. We also wanted to show that it can be relatively cheap. You could easily start growing food in just a couple of tubs.
"Even if you just grow some lettuce on a balcony then it gives you access to fresh food right on your doorstep."
Ida Fabrizio, project officer for food sustainability charity Sustain, who organised the balcony project, said: "People's interest in food-growing is about more than the credit crunch. I think they want to reconnect with nature.
"Homegrown food tastes much nicer than bought food, and you get a great deal of satisfaction out of growing food from a seed."
Three small urban gardens will also demonstrate how food can be grown in small spaces. The Hampton Court Palace flower show runs from 7 to 12 July.
