SCHOOLCHILDREN were delighted to get their hands dirty when they became gardeners for the day at the new Giving Garden at Festival Place.

The healing garden is being created at the Basingstoke shopping centre as part of its ongoing commitment to the local community and will be a space where people can connect with plants to support their mental health and wellbeing.

Pupils from Marnel Junior School and Fairfields Primary School were invited to join garden mastermind Leigh Johnstone – aka The Beardy Gardener – and mindful gardener Lucy Butler – as they began work transforming the unloved patch of ground outside Festival Place’s Church Street entrance.

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The children, who are all part of their schools’ Eco Committees, each planted geraniums from Hardy’s and Carex grass from Golden Valley Plants which donated the plants and drove from Hertfordshire to ensure safe delivery.

The youngsters also planted sunflower seeds in pots to take away with them.

Bella, aged 11, from Marnel School, said: “I was really excited to come here today and do some planting.

“It means that this area will attract people to come and sit down quietly and have their lunch.

“It would be really dull if there weren’t lovely flowers and nice smells to enjoy. It’s also really good for the environment as the flowers will attract wildlife.”

Marnel School deputy headteacher Lauren Herring said: “We were so pleased to be part of this project for the community.

“It’s great what Festival Place is doing. We talk a lot about mental health and wellbeing at school and for the children to be part of delivering this for the community is exciting.

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“We are about to create a garden at school so this has been fantastic practice for them.”

Leigh Johnstone said: “It was wonderful that the children came along and joined in with our planting day.

“It’s so important to engage the younger generation with nature, and the children enjoyed learning about the plants they were handling – the grasses will provide structure to the garden; it’s good to touch and sounds great when the wind blows through it.

"The geraniums will provide lots of lovely luscious green and blue frothiness around the edges of the garden and will look beautiful.

“They were a great help and I hope they return to school full of inspiration for their own gardens!”

Festival Place marketing manager Sian Fisher said: “We believe passionately in a strong, united community, and we hope our Giving Garden will be a place where people can come together to draw strength and healing from nature.

“It’s so exciting to see it taking shape and we are thrilled that local people are keen to be a part of the creative process.”