Forest Garden (5D04/E05) will launch a new ‘Accessible Gardening’ range at Glee tomorrow.

Forest say the offering, developed in an exclusive partnership with the Thrive charity, marks an exciting new chapter in the company’s product portfolio. 
Thrive helps people living with a disability or mental ill health to transform their lives through gardening and horticultural therapy.

With mass market appeal but designed with less able gardeners in mind, the Accessible Gardening range includes raised beds and. The compact nature of some designs also makes the range an ideal option where space is at a premium, making it easy for even more people to grow their own plants and vegetables.

Vicky Nuttall, head of marketing at Forest Garden, said: “The range has been specifically created to promote gardening for less able gardeners, from wheelchair users to those who have trouble bending, or simply need to sit down when working in the garden.  We understand that gardening shouldn’t be a chore but something to be enjoyed, and we hope that this new range alleviates some of the stress that can be experienced when accessibility becomes a problem.”

 She believes the range offers a unique opportunity for retailers to maximise sales within their key demographic.  “We know that this audience loves to garden, but it is only now that a garden timber product range has been adapted and directly targeted with them in mind,” she said. “To support retailers to push this message in-store we have also created a range of co-branded point-of-sale and merchandising displays that will help consumers to make informed decisions about the products that will make gardening more comfortable and enjoyable than ever before.”

Each of the products in Forest Garden’s Accessible Gardening range has also been road tested by members of Thrive at the charity’s gardens in Reading.  The testers praised them for their practicality and affordability for a wide range of gardeners, including the elderly, wheelchair users and those with limited mobility.   

The Accessible Gardening range will include existing products such as the Kitchen Garden Trough, Caledonian Raised Beds, Bamburgh Planter range and the Cascade Planter.  New products for 2013 will also include a new range of Table and Trough Planters, as well as a selection of Mini Garden Troughs.  A 2.5% donation from the sale of every Accessible Gardening product will also be donated to Thrive.