07
Dec
Harrogate charity creates community garden at new Tesco superstore
This story is free to read. For access to all our content, please subscribe. We rely on subscriptions to keep providing news that matters. Click here to get started.
A Harrogate charity has created a community garden at the town’s new Tesco superstore.
Horticap, which provides disabled adults with training in horticulture, crafts and rural skills, was asked by the supermarket giant to create the outdoor area at the Skipton Road store, which opens next week.
Horticap’s operations manager, Phil Airey, told the Stray Ferret Tesco wanted a “quiet space in the busy car park for people to sit and be amongst the trees”.
The garden, which took more than three weeks to bring to life, includes grasses, ferns, and “shade-loving plants” under the trees.
Mr Airey also said there are cyclamens, violas and wall flowers for a “splash of colour".
He added:
It's got trees and shrubs to give all-year colour. We have soft fruiting plants to feed the wildlife.
Tesco wanted to work with a local charity to create a community garden. We were happy to help as it helps us to up our profile and raise vital funds.
The Horticap students hard at work.
The garden also features a seating area, which has been created in the shape of the letter ‘T’. It was crafted by Otley-based drystone walling firm Living Stone Walling.
Mr Airey said the site operated as a steam train depot until 1956, transporting coal around the region.
A steam train has been carved into the seating area as a nod to the site’s heritage, as well as a Yorkshire rose and Horticap’s name and logo.
Mr Airey added:
I urge the public to go and sit in our garden - but maybe wait for better weather. We will maintain it for at least five years, so our students can make sure it looks at it's very best.
The long-awaited Tesco store will officially open its doors next Tuesday (December 9).
The Ripon branch at the Marshall Way site formerly occupied by Booths began trading last month.
0