Debbie devised and produced two gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show 2009/2010 on behalf of the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint.
The gardens were aimed at raising the profile of the charity to a new audience – the millions of visitors who attend this show each year.
In 2010 the garden promoted the notion of acquiring health through the food that we eat – an important message that the charity promotes to the young people in its care. David Arkin once again created a garden using a living wall of healthy foods, linked to a smaller round garden filled with edible crops. The legendary garden designer Beth Chatto was found during the show quietly eating her sandwich and told Debbie that the garden was a haven of peace. Jamie Oliver and Bill Oddie also stopped by to support the young people of Centrepoint.
In 2009 the garden featured salad crops and herbs planted by the young people who lived with the charity as part of a gardening initiative that Debbie helped to establish with Capel Manor. The garden designer David Arkin based his design on the walled garden at Scotney Castle in Kent, where groups of young people spent time living and working with the trained gardeners, learning new skills and helping to renovate this Victorian vegetable garden. Stephen Fry found time to come and support the young people when he visited the show.
Centrepoint works to support young people who are on a downward spiral, to give them a chance to turn their lives around and build a more fulfilling future.
