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Branch Out x Project Giving Back | Gardens for Good Causes Day

Join us for the first Gardens for Good Causes Day at the Garden Museum! Take part in free activities and workshops led by garden designers and charities sponsored by Project Giving Back at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

This day of free activities is presented in partnership with Project Giving Back as part of our free Branch Out programme.

Drop-in sessions include: learn how to create habitats for insects in your garden with the Royal Entomological Society, a painting workshop with Horatio’s Garden, plant up your own clay bowls like those in the Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens, and hear garden designer Charlie Hawkes talk about The National Brain Appeal’s Rare Space Garden.

Programme

Plant your own Natural Affinity clay bowl
10am – 11.30am

In this session, participants will learn about the story of the clay bowls featured in the Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens and given your own bowls to plant up and take home.

Samaritans active listening session
11am – 1pm

Reflecting on the Samaritans’ Listening Garden, trained Samaritans volunteers will help you improve your listening skills in this short session.

Botanical painting with Horatio’s Garden
12pm – 1.30pm

A relaxed painting workshop with artists Katy Mcintyre–Brown and Russell Coles, who hold regular painting workshops in Horatio’s Gardens for patients and their loved ones.

Creating habitats for insects in your garden
2pm – 3.30pm

Look at the insects you might find in your garden and learn how to create habitats for them that will have a positive impact on wildlife in your garden.

See the full programme:

Gardens for Good Causes Day Programme

The Project Giving Back: Garden for Good Causes display is open 18 September – 2 October 2023.

Session speakers

  • Camellia Taylor

    Camellia Taylor

    Camellia runs a Kent-based garden design business, The Garden Taylor, which offers bespoke garden and landscaping services and prior to her career as a garden and landscape designer, she studied for a Psychology degree and subsequently studied developmental speech and language therapy at University College London. Camellia also worked in the NHS and specialist schools, working with young people on the autism spectrum and those with complex needs.

    Camellia designed the Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

    @thegardentaylor

  • Claire Palastanga

    Claire Palastanga

    Claire is a potter and sculptor living in Lamberhurst, Kent. She has her own range of beautifully glazed, stoneware cups and mugs. Her sculptural body of work explores the journey and process of making, celebrating the raw beauty of the clay, feminine vessels with a messy yet refined elegance, often made out of porcelain combined with gold leaf to highlight fingerprints and flaws. Claire created the original bowls for the Natual Affinity Garden for Aspens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023.

    @clairepalastanga

  • Darren Hawkes

    Darren Hawkes

    Garden Designer for the the Samaritans' Listening Garden. Darren Hawkes Landscapes is a multi award winning design studio working on domestic gardens, public realm spaces and country estates. We are a small team dedicated to creating spaces that have a sensitivity to their history, architecture and place.

  • Katy Mcintrye-Brown

    Katy Mcintrye-Brown

    Leading botanical artist and textile designer Katy Mcintyre-Brown has worked with Horatio’s Garden charity for many years. A former artist in residence at Horatio’s Garden South West, Katy runs weekly sessions with patients. She has also created designs for some of the products in the Horatio’s Garden Shop. Katy joined the charity at its show garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show to
    paint the garden during an evening event.

  • Russell Coles

    Russell Coles

    Russell Coles is painter who gained a degree in Art from the University of Wales Institute. After a break from painting, he rediscovered his passion for art following a spinal injury. Russell found that painting helped him to cope with his injury. He now runs weekly painting workshops in Horatio’s Garden London & South East, creating a peaceful and inspiring environment where everyone is encouraged to take part.

  • Charlie Hawkes

    Charlie Hawkes

    Charlie Hawkes is a landscape designer based in the UK. He set up his own practice in 2020 after working in Tom Stuart-Smith’s design studio for three years and recently created a garden at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Winning a gold medal and Best Sanctuary Garden. His garden at Chelsea 2022 also won gold as well as Best All About Plants Garden.