Greenwood Community Projects
Donating plants to meaningful community schemes
Our Greenwood Community scheme involves donations of plants to a number of community projects, helping to transform green spaces and enhance biodiversity. With our aim to reach 24 projects by the end of 2023, we have been very busy over the past couple of months with our plant contributions to schools, colleges, and community organisations. A few of our recent projects include Yapton Eco Group, Chichester SEND Foundation, Tangmere Primary Academy, and Angmering School Lavinia Norfolk Centre.
Yapton Eco Group
Earlier in the year, Yapton Eco Group got in touch with us to ask if we would support their efforts in improving green spaces within the village of Yapton. The main village noticeboard and new children’s playground were the main areas of focus, where two new flower beds have been created. As part of our donation, we included plants such as Euonymus japonicus ‘Bravo’ (spindle ‘Bravo), Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ (St John’s wort ‘Hidcote’), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), and Hebe ‘Midsummer Beauty’.
Euonymus japonicus ‘Bravo’ is an evergreen shrub with variegated green and creamy yellow, lustrous foliage and masses of small, green flowers in summer. Sometimes, pink autumn fruits will follow. Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ is great for the middle of a border, with its lance-shaped evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage, and cup-shaped, golden yellow flowers in summer. Highly aromatic when brushed against, Rosmarinus officinalis has narrow green leaves with white undersides which are widely used for culinary purposes, alongside pretty light blue to white flowers in late spring. Lastly, Hebe ‘Midsummer Beauty’ is a rounded, medium sized shrub with long, narrow foliage which emerge with a purple tinge. It provides a beautiful pop of colour in summer, with its racemes of small, lilac flowers which fade to white over time. Our plant donations have truly helped to brighten up the green spaces of Yapton village and we hope they can be appreciated all year round.
Flowerbed near the new children’s playground
Donation of plants to Yapton Eco Group
Kevin Merritt with the students at Fresh Acres nursery
The students enjoyed learning about our plants
Chichester SEND Foundation
We recently donated an array of plants to Chichester SEND (Special Education Needs & Disabilities) Foundation—a college that offers support for adults with learning or physical disabilities, helping them to acquire skills and training so they can work and live independently. This foundation is very close to our hearts, as the daughter of Anna Tatarczak, a member of our G Team, attends the college.
As part of the donation, Kevin Merritt, Greenwood Choice Manager, gave the students a tour of Fresh Acres nursery that they thoroughly enjoyed. The students then spent time researching the plants we donated, finding out their mature size and ideal planting conditions to help them thrive in their gardens.
We welcomed Chichester SEND Foundation for a tour of our nursery
Tangmere Primary Academy
Another recent donation was made to Tangmere Primary Academy, situated in Tangmere, West Sussex. The Academy aims to provide every child with the primary experience that best prepares them for their futures. They were keen to provide a sensory garden for the schoolchildren, so we donated plants with brightly coloured and highly scented flowers; soft and aromatic foliage; and grasses which add movement and sound. As part of our donation, we included sensory plants such as Coreopsis lanceolata ‘Sterntaler’ (lanceleaf tickseed ‘Sterntaler’), Salvia greggii (autumn sage), Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears), Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feathergrass), and Thymus citriodorus (lemon thyme).
Fantastic for pollinators, Coreopsis lanceolata ‘Sterntaler’ is a clump-forming, herbaceous perennial with lance-shaped green foliage and a profusion of vibrant yellow flowers with a bronze spot at the base of each petal. Salvia greggii is a bushy evergreen shrub that grows up to around 50cm in height, with aromatic green foliage and two-lipped flowers in a range of colours, including pink, red, violet, or yellow. These are highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. To provide interesting texture, we included Stachys byzantina—a drought tolerant perennial with hairy, velvety, silver-green foliage and spikes of purple-pink summer flowers. Stipa tenuissima is a deciduous grass with a neat tuft of wispy, upright leaves and arching panicles of feathery, silver-green flowers in summer. This ornamental grass creates gentle movement and is ideal for a sensory garden. Prized for its lemon scent, Thymus citriodorus is a compact, aromatic evergreen shrub with small, diamond-shaped, variegated leaves and clusters of lavender-pink flowers throughout summer. The schoolchildren thoroughly enjoyed exploring their new sensory garden and learning how to care for the plants.
Our sensory plant donation to Tangmere Primary Academy
The schoolchildren caring for the plants
Angmering School Lavinia Norfolk Centre
A further plant donation was made to Lavinia Norfolk Centre—a Specialist Support Facility for students with a physical or sensory impairment within Angmering School. This facility enables each student to be happy, reach their full potential, and to be as independent as possible to play a full role in society throughout adulthood.
We donated a range of plants for their green spaces, including species with a mixture of colours, scents, and textures; the aim was to create a sensory garden, particularly for students with limited sight. The students at Lavinia Norfolk Centre are highly involved in the two garden areas; they actively help with the planting and maintenance of the gardens. These are lovely areas for the students to be able to socialise and enjoy their lunch, surrounded by the plants which they have helped to care for.
The students help with the planting and maintenance of the gardens
Helping the community is a priority for us. If you’d like to find out more about our community initiatives and projects we’ve previously made donations to, check out our Greenwood Community page.