Hammersmith Community Gardens Association has been busy potting and planting the greenery donated by Westfield London
The Hammersmith Community Garden Association is in the green after Westfield London donated hundreds of plants to its cause.
The vibrant community gardens project benefitted after the White City shopping centre carried out its seasonal changeover of plants. Westfield donated the greenery, which included stunning grasses, foliage, flowers and herbaceous perennials that will bloom for years.
Following the donation, community gardens volunteers have been busy potting and planting the greenery at Loris Garden in Hammersmith, and Godolphin Garden in Shepherds Bush.
Katie Shaw, operations manager at HCGA, said: “These plants will make a huge difference as they are really good quality, come out year after year and are attractive to bees and butterflies.
“The impact is fantastic and it is win-win for us and for Westfield as it’s incredibly valuable to the community.” She added the plants would be used across a total of up to 20 sites across Hammersmith & Fulham.
The donation comes as Westfield London celebrated 10 years since it opened in White City.
The HCGA is financially supported by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
In the green
Westfield London donated more than 500 plants in total, including dahlias, rudbeckias, pennisetum grasses, spectacularly spiky Ophiopogon negra, as well as heuchera and verbena plants.
The company’s landscaping contractor, Urban Planters, delivered the greenery ready for a team of volunteers to re-plant into the nursery pots ready for use in sites around the community.
Although Westfield had not donated plants to HCGA before, it became aware of the work of the local environmental charity earlier this year though its community funding programme.
Through that programme, HCGA applied for funds through the Westfield London Community Grant initiative to engage people with long term physical or mental health problems.
Emma Hindes, Westfield London General Manager, said: “We were delighted to support Hammersmith Community Gardens Association’s gardening volunteering programme by donating over 500 plants from around the shopping centre. Westfield’s landscaping team, Urban Planters, gave guidance to HCGA volunteers on how best to re-use the plants and we are pleased that residents are now able to enjoy them elsewhere in the community.”
Find out more about the HCGA’s upcoming events – including Christmas wreathmaking at the Ravenscourt Park glasshouses.
H&F Council recently granted long-term control of the glasshouses to the HCGA to help support the charity. Their community horticulture work was recently hailed as ‘outstanding’ at the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ awards.
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