Guide Dogs garden wins Silver at this year’s Gardeners’ World Live Awards!
17 Jun 2010
Guide Dogs garden wins Silver at this year’s Gardeners’ World Live Awards!
16 June 2010 - The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s garden has been singled out as one of the best in show at this year’s Gardeners’ World Live exhibition, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham this week.
Judges from the Royal Horticultural Society awarded Guide Dogs a Silver medal for its garden, which was designed by Tracy Foster specifically to draw attention to the wide range of mobility issues which blind and partially sighted people face daily.
The feature that secured the award was the inclusion of a façade that replicated an urban street, which showed how thoughtful design can benefit blind and partially sighted people in our community.
Guide Dogs commissioned Tracy to design a garden that highlights the many outdoor hazards – both in a typical garden and on a typical street – that go unnoticed by sighted people but which can make mobility difficult or impossible for blind and partially sighted people. The garden extends Guide Dogs’ ongoing campaign to raise awareness of mobility obstacles that confront blind and partially sighted people.
The Guide Dogs’ garden shows how outdoor spaces can be designed to help rather than hinder mobility, as well as provide guide dog owners with a sensory experience. Guide dogs rely on specific features in the landscape to help them navigate their owners safely, such as kerbs, steps and tactile surfaces. Foster also extended this understanding to her garden design by incorporating tactile elements in her Guide Dogs design, including:
- furry ‘lambs ears’ and other tactile plants
- fragrant herbs like rosemary and lavender
- brightly coloured flowers including red columbines, star jasmine and irises
The Guide Dogs garden will be open for public viewing throughout Gardeners’ World Live, which runs until 20th June. Demonstration officer Andy Guiel and his guide dog Delphi will be demonstrating how the design assists guide dogs at hourly intervals throughout the show.
Dougal Philip, chair of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Shows Committee said: ‘We were very impressed by Tracey’s innovative design. Key to its success was the facade of the street feature; we have never seen such a cleverly designed and executed facade. Most importantly, this is a garden with a message - mobility is an issue for blind and partially sighted people, but clever and thoughtful garden design can create an environment that not only facilitates mobility, but that delights in the process.’
Tom Pey, Guide Dogs’ director of external affairs, added: ‘We are thrilled to have been officially recognised by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Show’s judging panel – it’s a genuine honour. The garden’s message – so cleverly illustrated by Tracy’s creation shows that design that considers the needs of all members of our community can be both aesthetically pleasing and practical.’
For further information or comment, contact the Guide Dogs communications team on 0207 618 9190 or at guidedogs@luther.co.uk
