The mission-driven charity Working for Gardeners has a 125-year tradition of nurturing gardening talent. At this pivotal point in its history, and about to embark on a new marketing push and website redesign, it approached The Co-Foundry to ensure its brand foundations would be fit for purpose.
From its roots with the Women’s Land Army to the present day, Working for Gardeners has helped generations of gardeners build meaningful futures in horticulture. It continues to break down barriers by offering flexible, paid training that works around people’s commitments and makes horticultural careers accessible to those yearning for a more meaningful path.
The charity’s trustees and senior leadership team were looking to achieve a wide range of goals including, building brand awareness and community, attracting more diverse audiences, increasing membership value and retention, growing event sales, and targeting corporate partnerships.
Working with The Co-Foundry ahead of embarking on any marketing activity presented an ideal opportunity for them to reposition themselves and create a new identity that would be compelling and resonant. Our role was to define and design a brand that the team and membership could be proud of – one that reflected its history as well as its value and capabilities.
We began with desk research. This included a peer and brand audit, as well as exploring the brand’s extensive historic archive which is held at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL). We created a member survey that yielded rich insight into people’s motivations and perceptions, interviewed head gardeners and garden owners, and ran a discovery workshop with regional managers and trustees.
As a result, the brand strategy not only clarified the organisation’s core story, but also identified marketing and fundraising opportunities. From there, we were able to develop a brand identity and tone of voice guidelines that were firmly rooted in practice, purpose and personality.
The new brand identity takes its cue from weaving together two of the main themes that emerged from our research: the immersive, hands-on nature of the training provided, often described as ‘hands in the soil’, alongside bringing the charity’s origin story to the fore.
The MERL archives proved a rich source of material for shaping the visual identity. Wartime posters informed our colour palette of earthy, muted tones, while the typography took inspiration from the letterforms of the original Women’s Land Army uniforms. These historical references ground the brand in its heritage, honour the legacy of the women who literally broke new ground in horticulture and offer a meaningful way of promoting pride in the organisation.
‘Hands in the soil’ was the creative hook. Where other providers offer theory-based learning in classrooms, Working for Gardeners understands that true expertise can only flourish in gardens, across seasons, through hands-on learning. Practical mentorship in exceptional gardens doesn’t just teach skills – it gives people the experience they need to build thriving careers doing what they love and becoming part of the living legacy of a place.
The resulting visual identity is welcoming and approachable, articulating the idea of nurture and the importance of practical skills. Randomly placed ink prints of leaves and ferns speak of texture and movement while sharp lines are replaced with rough, ragged edges. The earthy colour palette grounds the branding and pairs beautifully with the close-up photography that captures hands in action, always at ground level.
The rebrand has had a real impact – even at its first outing at Gardener’s World Live, people sought us out, and our members love the new look. The Co-Foundry were clear, collaborative, and professional throughout, helping us find a brand identity that truly reflects who we are.
Julia Thorne, Executive Officer, Working for Gardeners
Interviews and survey responses highlighted a clear challenge around naming. Even those familiar with the organisation struggled to recall what its name stood for. The use of two sets of initials – WFGA (Working for Gardeners Association) and WRAGS (Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme) – created confusion. While WRAGS enjoyed strong recognition and affection, many didn’t know what the acronym meant. In contrast, WFGA felt forgettable and unclear. Given the equity built around WRAGS, we retained it as the name of the training scheme. But, for the organisation as a whole, we introduced a subtle yet clarifying shift: dropping the initials and the word ‘association’ in favour of the far simpler and more memorable Working for Gardeners. A straightforward, descriptive name that makes the organisation’s purpose instantly understood.
We applied the new brand system across large-format banners, stationery and printed materials for its debut at the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show.
We defined comprehensive brand guidelines and over the coming months will work with Working for Gardeners’ chosen digital partner to bring the brand identity to life, online.
It’s safe to say we’re really delighted with the new branding and I think it will set us up to move into the future.
Sue Reed, Chair, Working for Gardeners
