Olympic gardens contract handed out

Garden and greenhouse enthusiasts may be interested to know that the contract for building the 2012 Olympic Park in London has been handed to a Scandinavian firm.

Skanska will be responsible for building the southern section of the park, including the installation of the new gardens and riverside planting, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) revealed.

The gardening organisation recently ran a competition among users of its website to design the RHS Olympic Park and the winners designs will be turned into reality by Skanska.

The contest was won by Hannah Clegg and Rachel Read, who are now working with garden designer Sarah Price to finalise their designs ahead of their implementation.

Ms Price is also responsible for designing the London 2012 Garden – a half-mile-long stretch of greenery that is set to be the centrepiece of the project.

Garden centres and nurseries from all over the UK are supplying plants and trees for the gardens, with Salix River and Wetland Services growing 300,000 wetland plants, which will eventually be moved to the north of the park.

The RHS recently posted advice on its website telling gardeners how to avoid damage to their plants caused by heavy snow.