Nick Bailey, a well-known face on Gardeners’ World and one of the UK’s most respected horticulturalists, has made a generous and somewhat rare gesture: donating his entire RHS award-winning show garden—valued at £20,000—to the University of Leicester. In doing so, he’s not only gifted the university a lush collection of plants, textures, and structure, but helped fast-track the transformation of its Botanic Garden into a more immersive and diverse space.
As reported by the university, Bailey’s donation includes more than 1,500 mature plants from his “Plant-based” garden, originally designed for BBC Gardeners’ World Live. Rather than letting the plants go to waste after the event, he decided to give them a new life where they could be enjoyed long-term by students, staff, and the wider Leicester community.
Planting a new chapter
This large-scale replanting effort—dubbed “The Big Plant”—saw around 20 university staff and students volunteering their time to turn bare borders into vibrant, full gardens over just three days. The donation fits in neatly with the university’s “Citizens of Change” initiative, which encourages students and staff to contribute meaningfully to the local community.
Speaking about the project, Bailey said: “The replanting of 1,500 plants from my BBC Gardeners’ World garden into the university’s botanic garden represents both a significant contribution to the sustainability agenda and an opportunity to bring this space alive in a very short period of time.” He added, “I hope this is the first of many initiatives to raise awareness of the botanic garden and all that it has to offer towards Leicester’s communities and culture.”
Bailey is no stranger to thoughtful garden design. He’s previously served as head gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden and received numerous accolades for his use of structure, texture and botanical storytelling. His “Plant-based” garden broke away from the usual reliance on flowers, focusing instead on foliage and sculptural elements—a theme that translates well into the academic and research-driven environment at Leicester’s Botanic Garden.
Designed for learning, built for wellbeing
The donated plants aren’t just eye-catching—they’re ecologically valuable, long-lasting, and chosen with biodiversity in mind. As Bailey noted in a BBC interview, the garden “was designed with sustainability at its core” and prioritised low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly plants suited to the British climate.
Professor David Wright, who helped organise the planting, highlighted the value of the experience beyond just digging and soil. “Spending time in this outdoor space helps people to enjoy the benefits to mental health and wellbeing,” he said. “There’s a huge sense of achievement once it’s complete, and the results speak for themselves.”
University Vice-Chancellor Professor Nishan Canagarajah also joined in on the planting days, praising the garden as “another huge attraction to this wonderful community garden.” The enthusiasm from senior leadership underscores the university’s commitment to blending environmental action with social engagement.
The Friends of the Garden group, long-time supporters of the university’s green spaces, played a big part in preparing the soil and transporting the plants. Their involvement ensured everything ran smoothly and allowed the replanting to happen on a tight schedule.
Building something lasting
This isn’t just a nice gesture—it’s a substantial and thoughtful investment. RHS show gardens typically use plants at their absolute prime, making them ideal candidates for reuse in long-term settings. By donating his entire scheme rather than repurposing bits and pieces, Bailey has given the university a rare opportunity to add mature planting instantly.
This means students in biology, landscape architecture, environmental science, and beyond can now learn from a living, breathing design crafted by one of the UK’s leading horticulturalists. They’ll get to see how a space matures over time, how plant combinations work together seasonally, and how gardens can be structured for both aesthetics and sustainability.
As Director of the Botanic Garden, a position Bailey took on last year, he’s already working on expanding public access and making the garden a more central part of Leicester’s cultural and academic life. This donation marks the beginning of what he hopes will be a series of steps to put the garden “on the map” both locally and nationally.
In addition to its academic uses, the garden is also intended as a wellbeing space—somewhere anyone can visit to unwind, explore, or simply enjoy nature. And that’s not a small thing. As interest in green spaces and nature-based mental health support continues to grow, having a vibrant and dynamic garden at the heart of the university could prove invaluable.
A living legacy
While show gardens often disappear within days of a festival ending, Bailey’s has found a permanent home. And that makes a quiet but powerful statement: that gardens can be more than fleeting design pieces. They can teach, restore, connect and endure.
For Bailey, this is about more than gardening—it’s about community. “It’s very rare that a garden of this calibre can be used like this,” he told the BBC, “and it’s my hope that it becomes a place of joy and curiosity for years to come.” And judging by the response so far—from volunteers, university leaders, and the local community—it’s well on its way.