Design an ‘Edible Flower Bed’ Competition 2012-13
Have your garden design made into a Leeds City Centre flowerbed!
Win gardening vouchers worth up to £250 for your school or organisation.
Pupils, schools classes and whole schools are invited to create designs for four flowerbeds for Leeds City Centre. The beds are at the front of the Civic Hall and will be part of a series of competition beds. The other beds in the area will be designed by children as part of the annual ‘In Bloom’ schools competition.
Each of the four winners will:
Have their design planted in the City Centre
Have a sign with the name of the winning individual/organisation on the bed
Win Redhall Nursery vouchers worth up to £250 for their organisation (if relevant)
Win individual prizes and a certificate
Be invited to the annual In Bloom awards ceremony where their prizes will be presented by the Lord Mayor of Leeds
Have their photograph taken in front of their flowerbed by a professional photographer.
Aims of competition:
a. To educate and enthuse children about growing their own food
b. To inspire families to grow food locally.
c. To offer local school pupils a chance to design one of the city’s most high profile flower beds.
d. To encourage local children to get involved with the preservation of the city’s green spaces and floral displays.
Competition criteria
The goal for the designer is to design a flower bed based around edible plants that also looks good and complements its surroundings (the Civic Hall and Millenium Square). The aim is for the beds to look attractive and inspire people to grow their own food. The entries will be judged on the attractiveness and practicality of the design. It is recommended that designs are kept simple as this tends to work better with plants. No structures are permitted, just plants.
What to plant
As guidance for children who wish to enter, we have put together the following list of edible plants for them to choose from when designing their bed. This is to ensure that the plants they choose are appropriate for the conditions outside the Civic Hall where it tends to be fairly dry and hot in the summer months.
Green lettuce
Red lettuce
Mixed lettuce
Rocket
English sage
English thyme
Fennel
Sweet corn
Mint
Nasturtium
Tomato
Petunia
Peppers
Cabbage
Sweet Peas
Peas
Sun Flowers
Red Currant
White Currant
Blackberry
Raspberry
It is recommended that you use the internet to research these plants and find out what they look like. As you can see, some of the plants listed are not necessarily those you would immediately recognise as being food plants, but they are edible and can be used to make the bed look more attractive which is important in such a high profile location.
Flowerbed design: top tips from the professionals
Keep it simple
Create bold, chunky patterns
Think about balancing out the plainer looking plants with more colourful ones.
Consider the height of each type of plant when designing, some grow tall, some will stay low to the ground, how will they look together?
Don’t forget the background (large areas of empty soil won’t look so good)
Have fun!
Rules of competition
1) The design must include only the plants listed above.
2) The design must be for one flower bed as detailed below:
Details of the competition beds:
The bed will be one of those next to the Civic Hall, Portland Crescent side.
The beds are rectangular in shape and 6m x 4m in size
The beds east facing and have sun until 1pm-ish
3) It is recommended that design sketches be sent in on the A3 entry sheet provided with this guidance and it is essential that designs are clear and easy to read and understand.
4) The competition will be judged by Horticultural experts from Leeds City Council Parks and Countryside Service in February 2013. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence concerning the outcome of the competition will be entered into.
5) Any design which does not comply with the rules will be disqualified.
6) Leeds City Council reserves the right to display or reproduce any of the winning designs without seeking the individual’s permission.
7) The Parks and Countryside service reserves the right to decide on the final details of the design including plant varieties to be used.
How to enter
1. Design the flowerbed as detailed above
2. Create an image of the flowerbed on the entry form provided or in some other easy to read format, ensuring that measurements and types of plants are clear for the reader and easy to follow. Send this in with the following information:
Title of the design (if relevant)
Child’s full name
Contact teacher, parent or carer’s name
Group or School name, class name, address, email and telephone number
3. All entries should be sent to:
Lynne Rogers at parks@leeds.gov.uk or at:
Farnley Hall
Farnley Park
Hall Lane
Leeds
LS12 5HA
Deadline
The deadline for entry is 15 February 2013.
Entry Form
Download the required entry form from: https://webmail.leeds.gov.uk/owa/attachment.ashx?attach=1&id=RgAAAADMSsupiALUS6GzRk1u2MCDBwAmRePOtFQfR6WBsumieDoMAD4M1lbrAABGvyDjYXhnT6ga%2bnnxgj5pAHXLuxaHAAAJ&attid0=EABIY%2fUuNb%2baSJuXycOkmaaC&attcnt=1
Further information or comments:
If you require any more information, please contact Lynne Rogers, Parks and Countryside Allotment Inspector on 0113
3957400 or parks@leeds.gov.uk
GOOD LUCK!
