Higrow's Press Release
Imagine a garden so compact, so versatile and so accessible that you could grow almost anything.
Think what it would be like to cook and eat the freshest salads and vegetables grown, country- style, right outside your own back door-even though you live in a modern city centre apartment.
And wouldn't it be wonderful if schoolchildren across the country-whether in a rural location or in the heart of the inner city-could experience the satisfaction of creating mouth-watering meals using ingredients they'd grown themselves?
Yorkshire-based furniture-maker Robin Rose certainly thought so when he sowed the seed of an extraordinary idea which is about to take the world of modern gardening into an exciting new dimension.
Robin, who runs his fledgling company HiGrow Yorkshire LTD.
With his wife and business partner Margaret, has designed a multi-purpose growing "station" which can supplement an existing garden or serve as a mini-garden for those with extremely limited outdoor space.
Built on the principle of a raised bed, the mini-gardens are an ideal height for children and people using wheelchairs and are compact enough to position on a small balcony, a courtyard, on a patio or in a back yard-bringing the garden, literally to your door.
A removable PVC cover instantly turns the station into a propagator or cold frame and the design allows for easy staking for tall-growing plants.
Each station lends itself to intensive, low maintenance growing, without the hard physical labour and time involved in larger areas.
"It's controllable, small scale organic gardening with big returns", said Robin, who has spent three years researching and developing the space saving unit which makes gardening, quite literally, accessible to all. "I am a keen gardener myself and I know how time consuming and physically demanding it can be. I like growing things in containers because it"s so easy, but they are never quite big enough. So I thought, why not create something which is somewhere in between? A raised bed on legs."
It is such a simple concept yet it creates an opportunity for absolutely anyone- whatever their age, ability , income or location - to enjoy the pleasure and rewards of growing things for themselves, without the hard work.
"A lot of people would like to grow vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, but haven't got the space or perhaps the mobility to do it", said Robin. "This is the perfect solution. It's low maintenance and versatile, it can be used by the very young or the very old, city or country dwellers, no-time for gardening parents or people who physically can't cope with the demands of looking after a conventional plot of land".
Robin believes the growing stations will be particularly beneficial to schools where outdoor space is often at a premium, or where the time and mess involved in looking after a vegetable plot is prohibitive.
"Healthy eating and knowing where your food comes from is high on everyone's agenda", said Robin. "These units will make it easy for school children to grow and eat their own vegetables in a way which cuts out the need to dig, hoe and weed in all weathers, but still produces a bumper crop. They can be placed in any location in the schoolgrounds and painted and personalised in any colour or patternthe children choose."
Robin has also devised a versatile grow bag with detachable, collapsable canes which is specifically shaped to maximise growing potential. Small enough to fit into a 35cm space, the colourfully designed bags are deceptively spacious and can produce a healthy crop of beans, tomatoes or a stunning climbing plant.
Unlike most grow bags, which tend to be unsightly, Robin's light-weight design is available in natural grass and pebble finishes as well as "Georgie Giraffe" for younger growers. The "Sticklebag" comes complete with three collapsible bamboo canes and a cane safety topper / connector. It also comes with or without a compressed, fertilized growing compost which makes up to 30 litres to fill the bag.
Robin has focused on a design which is practical, lightweight to carry home, and conveniently incorporates all of the components required for growing - just add plants!
"Our designs are modern and extremely practical, said Robin. It doesn't matter where you live, what age you are or how little spare time you have, our Sticklebag and HiGrow Station make growing for all a possibility.
