Hannah gets on her bike to gain inspiration (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Hannah gets on her bike to gain inspiration

5:37pm Thursday 21st April 2011 in Business

AWARD-winning Worcestershire garden designer Hannah Genders is getting on her bike to scour the local countryside for materials she can use in her show garden at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show.

Mrs Genders, from Rous Lench, near Evesham, is celebrating the colour and diversity of the area in which she lives and works by creating a garden in which everything has been found a short bike ride away.

My Very Local Veg Garden includes many local species of heritage fruit varieties and is full of ideas for growing vegetables in small spaces.

The winner of two awards for her garden at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas in Staffordshire, she will be creating a show garden that is eco-friendly, with recycled paths of slabs, terracotta tiles and granite setts from a reclamation yard west of Worcester.

All the wood is from the woodland near her home, and the plants have been sourced from local nurseries using peat-free compost. The gravel is from the nearest quarry, in the Forest of Dean.

“The central patio area is inspired by my mother who died unexpectedly last summer,” she explained.

“She was a keen gardener and cook, and she loved to sit outside and eat with family and friends. This garden is my tribute to her.”

Mrs Genders’ garden is one of 30 on display at the Spring Gardening Show at the Three Counties showground from May 12-15.

Other gardens include a Tudor-style parterre, a shepherd’s garden and a suburban paradise inspired by Chinese and Japanese art.