News
HRH visits Ryton to celebrate 50 years of Garden Organic
25th July 2008
The Prince of Wales, visited Garden Organic Ryton to help the organisation celebrate its Golden Jubilee Garden Festival, Coventry, Warwickshire.
His Royal Highness has been Patron of Garden Organic, the UK’s leading organic growing charity which researches and promotes organic gardening, farming and food, for 20 of the 50 years it has been in existence.
At Garden Organic Ryton, over 30 individual gardens set in ten acres of landscaped grounds demonstrate all aspects of organic growing.
The Rose Garden, which originally opened in the mid 1980s, has been revamped and renamed the Lillian Goldman Rose Garden.
Touring the picturesque site, The Prince opened the new rose garden and presented prizes to the winners of the Young People’s Produce Show, which is aimed at highlighting how easy and rewarding organic growing is for young people.
The Prince made a speech to mark the occasion and talked about the benefits of growing your own vegetables.
“We have to do all we can to reconnect people to the land so that they understand how their food is grown and puts them back in touch with Nature: to learn about the seasons, about the weather and to experience the joys of planting a seed and then being able to harvest food to eat.
“And at a time when food sovereignty is becoming an increasing issue and with high fuel prices, there could not be a better time to encourage people to grow their own food wherever possible.
“And it doesn’t need an acre of garden, because a window-box is a very good start!”
The Prince also met supporters of sustainable growing practices at the garden festival.
Sebastian Parsons of Elysia Skincare, which sponsors Garden Organic's biodynamic garden, said The Prince, as an organic farmer and gardener himself seemed "very well aware" of sustainable growing.
Meanwhile, Bob Sherman, Garden Organic's director of charitable delivery, said he and The Prince discussed the intricacies of repotting roses. "It's a plant that he loves very much, so we had a bit of a technical discussion about how we repot them," he said.
Garden Organic Ryton comprises 30 individual gardens, lying across 10 acres of landscaped grounds, which demonstrate various aspects of organic growing.
Click here to read The Prince's speech.
Click here to find out more about The Prince's Patronages.