Our annual resident gardening competition
Ready Steady Grow is Sanctuary Supported Living's gardening competition, open to all residents. In 2026, residents took part in the Growing Together Garden Challenge, competing for special spot prizes while transforming shared outdoor spaces.
The competition encourages residents to get outside, enjoy gardening and work together to create welcoming environments. As well as brightening up outdoor areas, it helps support health and wellbeing, build connections with others and create a sense of pride in the places people live.
And the winners are...
All entries have now been received for this year's Ready Steady Grow competition, and voting for the Growing Together Garden Challenge. Thank you to everyone who entered and took the time to vote.
Growing Together Garden Challenge
Winner
Tilmore Gardens
Runner-up
Dunboyne Court
Spot Prize Winners
The following spot prize winners were selected by our independent judging panel.
Champion Crops
Outstanding home-grown fruit and vegetables
Brighton and Hove Foyer
Reuse and Renew
Creative use of recycled or repurposed materials
London Road
Wildlife Welcome
Supporting and attracting wildlife
Baskeyfield House
Tallest Sunflower
Tallest sunflower grown this year
Poplar House
View entries
Bal Edmund
Homelessness service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Tallest Sunflower and Champion Crops
A discarded washing machine drum was given a new purpose as a sunflower planter. Seeds were grown and planted in May, producing three large sunflowers that quickly became a favourite with local bees. One sunflower, however, far exceeded expectations, continuing to grow until it reached more than 10 feet tall before eventually flowering. This simple recycling project created a striking feature and supported local wildlife.
Baynard House
Homelessness service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Tallest Sunflower, Wildlife Welcome and Renew & Reuse
Residents transformed their outdoor space using donated and recycled materials, creating handmade planters from old decking boards and repurposing metal gates to support climbing beans. They introduced a herb garden for the first time, growing a variety of herbs despite challenging weather conditions, while also cultivating vegetables, fruit and colourful flowers. New pathways and wildlife-friendly planting have helped enhance biodiversity, creating a vibrant and productive garden that residents can continue to develop in the years ahead.
Baskeyfield House
Retirement community
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome and Renew & Reuse
Residents transformed their communal garden into a thriving, inclusive space, growing vegetables including potatoes, tomatoes, onions and chilli peppers to share with one another. Working alongside local college students, they planted flowers and shrubs and improved accessibility so wheelchair users could take part. The garden now attracts a variety of wildlife, including bees, butterflies and bats. Residents continue to harvest crops, collect seeds and maintain the space, ensuring it flourishes for years to come.
Brighton and Hove Foyer
Young People’s service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome, Renew & Reuse and Champion Crops
Residents created a thriving garden using natural, chemical-free growing methods and recycled materials, including reused pallet planters and hanging baskets. They produced an impressive harvest of fruit, vegetables and herbs, from tomatoes and sweetcorn to strawberries and blackcurrants. With such a bumper crop, residents took part in pickling and canning sessions to preserve the produce, which was sold at fundraising events to support future activities. The project also encouraged sustainable gardening and creative reuse of materials throughout the growing season.
Church Road
Homelessness service
Growing Together Garden Challenge
Despite challenging weather conditions, residents remained committed to improving their outdoor space, replanting and refreshing bedding areas and borders throughout the season. They introduced new roses and colourful planted pots, created an attractive water feature, and carried out a general garden tidy-up to enhance the environment for everyone to enjoy. Their hard work and determination have helped create a welcoming, well-maintained garden that residents can take pride in and continue to enjoy together.
Coverdale
Mental health service
Growing Together Garden Challenge
Residents and staff worked together to transform and develop their outdoor space following the scheme's reopening last year. Residents played an active role in planting flowers and creating colourful displays, helping to make the garden more welcoming and enjoyable for everyone. The project encouraged teamwork, participation and a sense of ownership, with residents taking great pride in their achievements as they continue to improve and enhance the garden for the future.
Dobson's House
Retirement community
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Renew & Reuse
Residents worked together to transform underused outdoor areas into attractive, welcoming spaces that support wellbeing and local wildlife. Existing planters, pots and garden features were refreshed and repainted, while new flowers, pollinator-friendly plants, solar lights and decorative features were added. The projects created vibrant spaces for residents to relax, socialise and enjoy nature, while encouraging teamwork, community pride and a stronger connection to the outdoors.
Dunboyne Court
Retirement community
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Champion Crops and Wildlife Welcome
Residents transformed their garden into a thriving, accessible and wildlife-friendly space. They expanded outdoor seating areas, refreshed furniture, created a pond with a waterfall, and added bird boxes, bird baths, and bug hotels to encourage nature. Residents also grew pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs, and a pear tree, providing fresh produce for the restaurant. Their hard work has created a beautiful community garden that supports wellbeing, attracts wildlife, and brings enjoyment to residents, families and visitors alike.
Halton Road
Disability service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome and Renew & Reuse
Residents showed great creativity and sustainability by transforming materials from a conservatory replacement project into a new greenhouse, reusing sections of the roof and wooden framework that would otherwise have been discarded. They further enhanced the garden with new plants, ornaments, lighting, a pond and a water feature, creating an attractive outdoor space that supports wellbeing, encourages residents to spend time outdoors and can be enjoyed throughout the year.
London Road
Young people service
Renew & Reuse
Residents transformed a tired, neglected boat into a beautiful garden feature. By lining the boat and converting it into a pond complete with a fountain, plants and fish, they created a vibrant focal point that has brought new life, colour and interest to their outdoor space.
Moreton Court
Retirement community
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome
Residents worked alongside staff to enhance their outdoor space by introducing a water butt and planting a variety of flowers and young shrubs that will continue to flourish in the coming years. Their efforts have created an attractive and welcoming environment while supporting local wildlife. Residents have enjoyed seeing increased numbers of birds, bumblebees, squirrels and hedgehogs visiting the gardens, demonstrating the positive impact the project has had on local biodiversity.
Oak Lodge and Laurea House
Disability service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome
Residents developed a wildlife-friendly area alongside new potting sheds, creating a space where they can grow their own vegetables for future gardening projects. The garden has been carefully designed to support local biodiversity and regularly attracts bees, butterflies and other insects, as well as hedgehogs, muntjac deer and a family of squirrels. The project has enhanced the outdoor environment, providing a colourful and welcoming space that can be enjoyed by both residents and wildlife throughout the year.
Poplar House
Retirement community
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Tallest Sunflower and Champion Crops
Residents successfully grew a wide range of herbs, fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, peppers and carrots, alongside colourful flowers and towering sunflowers. Despite challenging dry weather conditions, they worked hard to maintain the garden and achieved an impressive harvest. The produce was shared among residents and supplied to the on-site restaurant, allowing everyone to enjoy the results of their efforts and celebrate the success of the project together.
Rush House and Irene Jacoby House
Homelessness service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome, Renew & Reuse and Champion Crops
Residents worked hard to revitalise their outdoor space, planting vibrant summer bedding in borders, pots and hanging baskets to create a colourful and welcoming environment. They also successfully grew vegetables including tomatoes, courgettes and peppers from seed. A significant amount of time was dedicated to replanting and tidying borders, giving the garden a complete refresh. Their efforts have transformed the area into an attractive, well-maintained space that residents can enjoy throughout the year.
Tilmore Gardens
Disability service
Growing Together Garden Challenge, Wildlife Welcome, Renew & Reuse and Champion Crops
Residents embraced creativity and sustainability by giving new life to old materials, transforming tyres into a decorative wishing well, refreshing concrete garden ornaments and repurposing chairs with colourful floral displays. They also grew their own fruit and vegetables, including strawberries that were used to make homemade jam. Wildlife-friendly flowers were planted throughout the garden, helping to create a vibrant outdoor space that attracts pollinators and can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.