A place to grow, contribute and belong.
Ability Grows is a community plant shop and inclusive horticultural project in Greenfield, near Holywell. We bring people together through growing, practical activity and work that contributes to everyday community life.
Growing something worthwhile, together.
Ability Grows began with a simple idea: people should have opportunities to do useful, meaningful work, share their strengths and see the results of their contribution.
The shop took shape with practical help from people involved in The Clocktower Bazaar, where furniture and other items were upcycled and repurposed. Helping prepare the space was part of the project itself: working together to create a shop that people could use and enjoy.
Today, the Greenfield shop is a base for plant care, propagation, retail, creative activity, digital work and community projects. Plants need attention, displays need preparing and customers need help. Each offers a different way to learn, contribute and take pride in a job.
Ability Grows is the outreach horticultural project of The Clocktower CIC. Our work connects everyday practical activity with opportunities to build skills, confidence and a sense of belonging.
Practical activities with a real purpose.
Our work brings together a real plant shop, hands-on growing, creative making, events and community projects. People can also contribute through photography, posters, video and website content.
A real shop with real customers.
Visitors come to buy plants, browse seasonal stock and ask questions.
Everyday tasks in the shop give people a practical way to learn and contribute.
People taking part can help with stock, plant care, pricing, presentation and customer-facing activity.
Growing skills together.
From sowing seeds and taking cuttings to caring for plants, there is something useful to do at every stage.
People taking part help with potting, watering, propagation and displays. These everyday tasks offer opportunities to practise practical skills, work alongside others and see the results of their care.
With the right support and time to learn at their own pace, people can build confidence and take pride in what they have grown.
Creative making, including decorating wooden planters, adds another way to learn and contribute indoors.
Events, shared experiences and days out.
Our events bring together practical responsibility, meeting people and a great day out.
Service users take active roles in helping organise our involvement, getting plants and materials ready, setting up and running the stall, with support where needed.
There are different ways to contribute, from arranging displays and welcoming visitors to helping the day run smoothly. People can take on roles that suit their strengths.
Events also offer the chance to socialise: spending time with friends, meeting new people, exploring the event and enjoying a day out together.
Taking what we grow into the community.
Community projects give people the chance to contribute beyond the shop.
That can include planting, watering, maintenance, propagation and working alongside volunteers and partner organisations.
A useful role, with room to learn.
People bring different abilities, interests and experience. The right activity depends on the person, the setting and what needs to be done.
Meaningful contribution
Tasks have a real purpose: a plant cared for, stock prepared, a customer welcomed or a shared space improved. People can see how their work contributes to the shop and wider community.
Time and support to learn
Practical tasks offer chances to try things, practise and build familiarity. Working alongside others, with support where needed, gives people room to develop at their own pace.
Choice and individual strengths
Growing, retail, making, digital activity and events offer different ways to take part. Someone who enjoys photographs or displays can contribute just as someone who enjoys potting and propagation can.
Care for people and resources
Kindness, respect and working together matter in everyday activity. Propagating plants, reusing materials and upcycling useful items also help us make good use of what we have.
Small steps. Useful skills. Shared achievements.
Progress can mean trying a new task, completing part of a job with less help, sharing a skill or feeling more comfortable taking part. It looks different for each person.
Skills in practice
Caring for a cutting, preparing a display, helping with stock or creating a poster gives learning a practical setting. There is something to work towards and a result to look back on.
Confidence and connection
Working alongside others, meeting customers and taking part in an event offer opportunities to practise communication, spend time together and take pride in a shared contribution.
A visible community contribution
Our shop, public planting and community activities put people’s work into everyday local life. A planter cared for or a stall prepared is something other people can see, use and enjoy.
The photographs and activity examples on this page show the practical work behind Ability Grows. Our stories and project updates share more of what people are doing together.
The people behind the project.
Steve Clynes
Project lead
Steve leads project development and coordination, working with colleagues, volunteers and local partners to connect the plant shop, practical activities and community projects.
A shared effort
Ability Grows is shaped by the people taking part, staff who support activities and volunteers who share their time and skills. Each contribution helps keep the shop and wider projects moving.
Explore volunteeringWorking with our community
Our work reaches beyond the shop through public planting, local events and partnerships. In Holywell, people have helped plant, water and maintain town-centre planters. At Holy Trinity Greenfield, we are working with the church on the developing community garden and wider community-hub project.
We welcome conversations with local groups, schools, community organisations and potential partners about practical work that benefits people and shared spaces.
Meet our community projectsWhere we are heading
We want to build on the growing, creative and community opportunities that bring people together. The Holy Trinity vision includes a community garden and a wider hub with a café and welcoming shared spaces. It is being developed in stages, with the plans, funding and permissions needed for each part.
Follow the project updates to see the existing work, proposals and next steps, or talk to us about practical help, useful materials or a partnership.
Follow the Holy Trinity projectCome and be part of it.
Visit the plant shop, explore a volunteering role or talk to us about working together on a community project.