Growing the Future

The Growing the Future project at the National Botanic Garden of Wales is working  to champion Welsh horticulture, plants for pollinators, the protection of wildlife and the virtues of growing plants for food, fun, health and well-being.

Whether you are a seasoned gardener, a fledgling grower or a budding beekeeper – we want to help provide training, information and support to you.

We are working in partnership with: the National Botanic Garden of Wales; the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth; Insole Court, Llandaff; Treborth Botanic Garden, Bangor University; the Woodland Skills Centre, Denbighshire and Clydach Community Garden, Swansea.

The Vision

There are three strands to the project, each with messages and experiences that will hopefully make a lasting impact across the whole of Wales.

Gardens for Health and Well-being

This is such a great message to shout from the rooftops and treetops: be happy, stay healthy, get gardening!  Gardens also play an important role in the health of our wider environment, such as by providing wildlife habitats and alleviating pollution.

Celebrating Welsh Horticulture

From specialist nurseries producing unique plants and flowers, to commercial growers providing the finest fruit and vegetables.  We will showcase the diversity and quality of Welsh horticultural produce through our exciting range of events.

Horticulture for the Future

A bright future for gardens, wildlife and the planet can be encouraged by developing networks between horticulture and science and the Botanic Garden is ideally placed to connect these two disciplines.  We will be developing an ‘assurance scheme’ backed up by evidence from our pollinator research so that a wide variety of Wales-grown and sustainably-produced plants can become official ‘Plants for Pollinators’.

Follow us

Follow the Growing the Future project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.  To keep up-to-date on the latest news, courses and events by the project, sign-up to receive our weekly e-newsletter.  To get in touch with the project, please email gtf@gardenofwales.org.uk.

This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.