Free planting kits for Londoners

Hubbub joins forces with the Mayor of London, Starbucks, B&Q and IKEA Greenwich to give out 10,000 free planting kits on 14th September 

Environmental charity Hubbub and the Mayor of London have launched #GiveItAGrow, a new campaign to help make London greener and create a culture of growing in the city

On 14th September, the #GiveItAGrow initiative will give away 10,000 free planting kits to help residents make their homes greener and provide simple growing tips and inspiration.

The initiative is part of the Mayor of London’s ongoing commitment to making London a greener and wilder National Park City and follows on from the National Park City Festival (20th – 28th July), which invited Londoners to explore the capital’s amazing outdoors, with over 300 free events across the city.

The aim is for the kits to spark a joy for growing in Londoners that will inspire them to improve gardens and green balconies and windowsills to help wildlife like pollinating bees and butterflies.

The kits have been designed to work in any space, however small, including window boxes and balconies and to be easy for planting-novices to grow successfully.

The kits will be available from selected Starbucks stores, selected B&Q stores in London and IKEA Greenwich on Saturday 14th September, on a first come, first serve basis.

Each #GiveItAGrow kit will contain:

• Wildlife-friendly crocus bulbs

• Mix of native wildflower seeds

• Parsley and basil seeds

• Growing matter (compressed organic coir brick)

• Simple growing tips printed on paper made from recycled coffee cups

Used coffee grounds will also be available from the Starbucks stores – more than a quarter (26%) of Londoners fertilise their soil with used coffee grounds.

Londoners can visit www.giveitagrow.info to find their nearest collection point and find simple tips on growing from expert gardeners Kate Bradbury and Jack Wallington.

The initiative is expected to strike a chord with Londoners as three quarters (74%) think more green spaces would make the city a nicer place to live.60% want to learn more about growing at home and about which plants are suitable for their space. As well as brightening up living areas, Londoners also feel that growing plants at home is a way we can all help protect the environment (68%) and a further three quarters (74%) think creating green spaces is important as it helps support London’s bees and butterflies.

As well as the free kits #GiveItAGrow is offering Londoners via the website:

• Tips and ideas for growing at home including videos and advice on growing easy edible plants and attracting wildlife to your garden from expert gardeners Jack Wallington and Kate Bradbury.

• Tips on how to save money and reduce waste by creating homemade plant pots from things you have at home.

• Ideas about how to spread the joy of growing in your community by giving a plant or hosting a plant swap.

• Accessible information on the benefits of green urban areas.

For more information visit: https://www.giveitagrow.info

About the Author

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Steve Ott

Steve Ott is editor of Kitchen Garden magazine and started his career as a professional grower, producing everything from cut flowers to vegetables. He has been growing fruit and veg all his life and spends most of his spare time in his garden in the East Midlands. He loves to experiment with crops and varieties he has never grown before and when he isn’t gardening is to be found out in the countryside bird watching and walking his dog Ted.

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