‘PROTECT OUR PLAYGROUND’ ALLOTMENT LAUNCHES AT RHS HAMPTON COURT PALACE

The eco-friendly edible garden is a collaboration between its creator Shannon Keary, aka Diary of a Lady Gardener, and local environmental charity Plastic Free North Devon. 

The ‘Protect Our Playground’ name is taken from one of our popular campaigns here at Plastic Free North Devon, and reflects our shared desire to protect and improve our environment through community led action. Shannon has been working on the show allotment for months at her plot in Braunton, North Devon and is keen to share her beautiful creation, along with her journey and learnings, with visitors at the famous RHS show.

On the allotment, everything is edible, homegrown, reused or repurposed, with no nasty chemical extras, and centres primarily around captivating grown ups’ imaginations. By weaving in ideas on how we can protect our planet from plastic waste in a creative and thought-provoking manner, the hope is to inspire people to look at everyday items a little differently. Through this, we can reconnect with the soil beneath us, the food we eat, and the impact we have.

Everything in Shannon’s Protect Our Playground allotment is edible and organically grown.

The power of community has been key in bringing Shannon’s dream allotment to life, with friends, neighbours, and followers of her popular Instagram account donating unused, but still useful, items from single-use plastic bottles used to make her cold frame to the hand-painted salvaged wood used to form the pathways. She also found people stepping up to help her in other ways, such as her neighbour Debbie checking the greenhouse, watering and feeding every few days and her mum helping her pot on 350 violas at 9pm!

Where she wasn’t able to source from home or her local community, Shannon turned to local marketplaces and recycling centres, again diverting from waste streams and feeding back into her local economy.

Shannon Keary, the face behind Diary of a Lady Gardener, sums up her journey from her home in North Devon, to Hampton Court Palace in London:

“The process of planning, growing and prepping for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2022 has been such an incredible experience. From a spark of an idea to a pencil drawing and into reality with real life plants, it has been magical to be able to collaborate with so many people in the North Devon community, as well as across the gardening space to bring this to life.

The past six months have been a whirlwind, and it will all be worth it to see my dream come true and to celebrate the allotment with the Plastic Free North Devon team, my friends and family once the show opens. I'm incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to bring this dream to life and despite the stress, I definitely think it's safe to say I'd love to do another show garden in the future!"

Shannon sharing her allotment coming to life with Claire and Anne-Marie from the Plastic Free North Devon team.

And Claire Moodie, Plastic Free North Devon CEO, expands on why Shannon’s approach matters in a wider environmental context:

“How we grow our food is so important, and helping people to reconnect with that process is an important part of connecting people to nature, understanding where our food comes from, and empowering them to do that on a small scale whilst cutting down on waste and dangerous chemicals. The key focus of Shannon’s allotment has been on edibles, reflecting the global need for us to start bringing our food production closer to home again - reducing the carbon footprint of what we eat and improving the resilience and sustainability of our food system. As a charity, we work to promote a shop local ethos, particularly when it comes to food - supporting the local economy and reducing the need for excess transport and packaging.

It’s also been an opportunity to introduce people to edibles they may not be aware of, such as nasturtiums and violas - edible flowers make a great addition to summer salads and cakes. Shannon’s creativity has really shone through in this project, and we hope it will inspire others to follow suit. ”

You can follow Shannon and her sustainable gardening journey on her website www.diaryofaladygardener.co.uk .