Food for thought?
This amazing edible garden brimming with fruit and vegetables caught the judges attention at The Chelsea Flower Show and shows just how home grown produce can be produced in the smallest of urban spaces.
Apart from providing home grown food and reducing our air miles , there are a host of other benefits from this planting style:
*reducing pollution and rainwater run-off
*insulating buildings and providing habitat for wildlife
* offset the impact of paving over front gardens
* increasing vegetation in otherwise concrete-filled spaces
* reducing the risk of localised flooding.
Research by the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge has found that “a layer of vegetation can reduce heat loss from buildings, cutting the wind chill factor by 75% and heating demand by 25%.”
London and other UK cities need to explore this idea as a serious option for the future?
Inspired ? Check out these web-sites on creating your own vertical garden:
http://www.vertigarden.co.uk/?gclid=CPSd9qL-gKkCFUIMfAodXi7RwQ
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/plant_recipes/vertical_garden.shtml
Wed, May 25, 2011
Climate Change, Grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society, Vegetables