Garden's year of blooming success celebrated

Frances Halstead's dedication was celebrated at the BBC Radio Gloucestershire Make A Difference Awards earlier this month

A celebration has been held to mark a year of success at a popular community garden.

St Paul's Community Hub Garden in Cheltenham has become "a focal point" for local residents over the last year, thanks to the dedication of residents and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT).

The garden was funded by Gloucestershire County Council's Build Back Better initiative, and everything in it was planned and planted by residents.

Frances Halstead from GWT said the garden "makes such a difference".

'Pride in their area'

The garden has received support from GWT’s “Nextdoor Nature” project, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Ms Halstead, a project officer, won a BBC Radio Gloucestershire Make A Difference Award earlier this month in recognition of her transformation of green spaces in deprived areas around Gloucestershire.

"One lady walking by, she said to me, 'I love the smiling faces of the flowers, this makes such a difference to my life'," Ms Halstead said.

"And it has, it's really changed people's ideas of the area.

"They've now got self-esteem, they now appreciate the area, they've got pride in their area and that's what it's all about."

People of all ages get involved in the community garden

A twice-monthly gardening club is held to encourage people of all ages to get involved in gardening.

Ali English of Cheltenham Borough Homes, part of Cheltenham Borough Council, said the community's dedication to the garden has been "really brilliant", with the gardeners tasting the fruits of their labour.

"The upshot of that is they're now cooking recipes with the food they're growing," Ms English said.

"The kids and families got really excited last week because we harvested our own homegrown potatoes and then we made veggie kebabs using those potatoes, so it's been really brilliant."

Ms English said it's been "a real joy" to see families learn how to grow their own produce

The celebration event saw children from the after-school gardening club make scrapbooks of their achievements over the year, and the chance to plant herb seeds and take them home.

The Mayor of Cheltenham also unveiled a vibrant garden mosaic art piece, created by families during the summer school holidays.