Whether you are new to plants or an experienced grower, everyone is welcome to take part in RHS Grow With It, no matter your gardening experience. You may work as part of a school or group, or just want to use RHS Grow With It as a starting point for building new connections.

RHS Grow With It will help you to learn the basics of growing and develop new gardening skills and knowledge. From connecting with your community, engaging pupils with gardening activities relating to the curriculum to discovering new activities and inspiration for your community group. Find practical growing guidance, tips on how to engage with your community or explore the latest in horticultural science on our website.

Welcome to RHS Grow With It! You’re now part of a network of community growers across the UK who will be documenting and sharing their journeys across the year. You should receive a welcome email soon with details of your next steps – make sure to check your spam folder if you can’t see it. This is the start of a series of emails packed with personalised advice, as well as seasonal activities and inspirational content. 

RHS Grow With It will kick off in spring 2024 with the RHS Big Seed Sow. We’ll be inviting you to get together in your communities to sow your seeds and begin your growing journey. You’ll receive more information on the RHS Big Seed Sow via email once you’ve signed up.

Don’t worry if you can’t sow your seeds during this week. There are still lots of other ways you can get involved with activities and events – and you can get sowing when you’re ready.

As well as your physical welcome pack and online guidance and resources, by participating in RHS Grow With It, you will also receive monthly emails to keep you on track with seasonal activity ideas, growing support and reminders to participate in our citizen science enquiry.

Participating groups and schools will also be invited to several exclusive webinars and Q&A sessions to help you build your skills and confidence and address any issues you may face throughout your growing journey.

In the meantime, if you have a question not answered by these FAQs, please get in touch.

Whether you’re covering plants as part of the curriculum, holding a gardening club or simply encouraging young people to get outdoors, there are plenty of ways to get involved at school. We recommend you first sign up for the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. It’s free to join and will provide you with extra help and resources to engage your pupils.

A great way to get children and young people engaged in RHS Grow With It is by involving them in the planning process. Find out how they would like to participate and investigate. Depending on the age group, they might like to take ownership of the data collection and submission. There is room to make this project your own, so let them explore and find what interests them.

If you’re already confident growers you can use RHS Grow With It to understand the best practice for your environment. You and the growers in your local area will probably already know what works for you. Share your growing practice using the RHS Grow With It map to help shape regionalised advice for your area. You can also see how your gardening neighbours are getting on.

RHS Grow With It is also a great opportunity to share your skills and knowledge with new growers. Take the chance to connect with other groups and organisations in your community, or host an open garden drop-in. It’s an easy way to showcase your work, raise awareness and even find a few new volunteers along the way.

Citizen science is a collection of data, entered by people in their communities, to build a picture of how something is working in real life.

Grow the plants provided to you from seed and check-in once a month to let us know how you’re getting on. At the end of the year, your data will be part of a nationwide set, showing how watering practices and climate has affected community gardening across the UK. You’ll also be able to submit photographs and experiences to the map, to share what activities you’re up to with your group or school.

Our interactive map is built using ArcGIS technology, which will allow you to input your location and the information you want to share with us – and watch it appear on a digital map! All you need is a smartphone, tablet or computer with internet connection.

As well as contributing your findings and experiences, you can explore the map to discover what other community growers are doing across the UK.