Primary school children enjoy a morning of gardening at Riverside Gardens

Homeowners at our Riverside Gardens community in Knaresborough welcomed a group of local primary school children for a morning of gardening, conversation and sharing experiences.

Fourteen Year 3 pupils from Aspin Park Academy joined some of our homeowners, members of the Riverside Gardens team and professional gardeners Toby and Tina from Knaresborough Garden Centre for a morning of planting and learning together.

Knaresborough Garden Centre kindly donated vegetables, sweet peas and other plants for the session, and together the children and homeowners got to work planting the raised beds ready for summer.

Sharing a love of gardening

Wendy, a homeowner at Riverside Gardens, said: “It was lovely to spend time with the children and see how excited they were to learn about gardening. They asked lots of questions and really got involved in the planting.

“I’ve always enjoyed gardening, so it was wonderful to share that interest with the younger generation. One of the things I like about Riverside Gardens is that we can still enjoy gardening without the hard work of maintaining a large garden ourselves.

“The children brought so much enthusiasm with them, and it was a pleasure to spend the morning together. I hope they enjoy coming back in the future to see how everything has grown.”

Our landscaped gardens at Riverside Gardens are professionally maintained, so homeowners can enjoy them without worrying about jobs such as mowing lawns or weeding flowerbeds. For those who still enjoy getting their hands in the soil, there are also raised beds where they can grow flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Gillian Ward-Brown, General Manager at Riverside Gardens, said: “Activities like this are a wonderful way to bring people together and build connections across generations. The children brought so much enthusiasm and energy, and it was lovely to see them chatting with homeowners and learning from Toby and Tina.

“We’re passionate about creating opportunities for those sorts of connections. Many of our homeowners have a wealth of gardening knowledge and experience to share, and these visits are a wonderful way to inspire a love of gardening and nature in younger generations.”

Learning together

Clare Ramsbottom, Year 3 teacher at Aspin Park Academy, said the visit was a wonderful opportunity for the children to spend time with homeowners and learn from their experience and knowledge.

“The children loved getting involved in the planting and asking questions about the flowers and vegetables. Activities like this encourage curiosity, confidence and a love of the natural world.”

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