Petrus celebrates double awards at Tatton Park

Date published: 27 July 2021

Rochdale-based homelessness charity Petrus Community is celebrating a double victory after winning two awards at this year’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show Tatton Park.

Their exhibition, a double back to back garden titled ‘Full Circle’, featured innovative ideas for dealing with excess water to highlight the impact of flooding.

Featuring repeated planting of bamboos along a back wall and a green roof on a seating gazebo to not only attract wildlife but help slow rain fall down, the garden was inspired by Rochdale being increasingly affected by flooding in the last few years.
 

Read more: Homeless to help tackle flooding and climate change with inspiring RHS Flower Show Tatton Park gardenPublished: 19 July 2021

Petrus was announced as the People’s Choice Award winner for the garden, which goes off a public vote.

Not only did the service users and volunteers garden win People’s Choice, but it was also a bronze medal winner overall.

This is the second time the group has been part of the show, after receiving a silver medal in 2019.
 

Read more: Petrus in paradise after award winning flower showPublished: 18 July 2019

Announcing their win on social media, Petrus Community wrote: “We're speechless and incredibly grateful to everyone who voted for and loved our service users and volunteers' garden. This means so much to them and our charity.”

They were also ‘absolutely overjoyed’ that Full Circle ‘is a bronze medal winner at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2021’.

Many of Petrus’ service users and volunteers have multiple and complex needs or have experienced homelessness and engage with the charity’s community allotment Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale (PIER), which supports individuals out of negative routines through improved social, mental and physical wellbeing.

With their garden, they hope to break negative stereotypes associated with homelessness, mental health and learning disabilities by showcasing how people with support needs have the same want to contribute to, feel a part of and make positive changes in their community around key issues that affect us all.

Amid climate change concerns and increased local flooding in Rochdale, Petrus service users, volunteers and staff designed the garden this year to reflect the need to go back to nature to find solutions.

The features included in Full Circle can be achieved in almost any garden to reduce water runoff and the Petrus team shared what the community and gardeners can do to help the situation and become more flood resilient at Tatton Park.

Designed by Rachael Bennion and Petrus Community, sponsors of the garden this year were M&Y Maintenance and Construction, Regenda Homes, and The Rotary Club of Rochdale.