Willesden primary pupils showcase garden project at the RHS Hampton Flower Show

Convent of Jesus & Mary Infant School pupils with Michaela Strachan at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show (Image: Archant)

Five and six-year-olds from the Convent of Jesus & Mary Infant School in Park Avenue headed down to the RHS Hampton Flower Show on July 1.

The children won a competition by the Royal Horticultural Society which allowed them to build an installation for the show which they called 'A Home for Slugs, Snails and other Detritivores'.

Claudia Kerner, teacher in charge of school's garden, said: "We went with 10 children who responded very well to their own display and took an interest in what was around them. Some of these gardens are very beautiful. They commented on them; there was a lot of talking."

Their own display is representative of their own garden at school including plants that they already grow. Pupils are cultivating the garden, growing vegetables and using nature as a learning aid, such as using non-combustible plastics in a recent combustible project.

They also create 'hiding places' for bugs to shelter, such as logs, which inspired their RHS entry.

The display features a metal cage full of leaves the children raked up in the autumn. There are ferns and other green plants on one side and on the other "lots of flowers".

Ms Kerner said: "On one side is the habitat for the detritivores and the other lots of flowers and that shows that in spite all the slugs and snails you can do a good garden without having to kill any of them."

She added: "Slugs and snails are an important part of the eco-system but often gardeners hate them because they eat their precious plants. They make compost which is part of the nutrient cycle. Leaves fall on the ground, are eaten by Detritivores, such as worms and becomes soil which is taken up again by plants."

For frustrated gardeners she said there are many plants that are slug proof. She added: "If people move all the plant debris, all the dead leaves, what do the slugs eat if there's nothing there? Part of it is having a tidy garden."