Friday, April 21, 2006




SHACKLEWELL STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Following the recent agreement from the council, we have made a lively start to setting up a community garden at the former One O'clock Club in Shacklewell Street (E2). Work began last Saturday (13/5/06), with a clearing-up day that resulted in over 60 bags of garden and other rubbish being collected.

Big thank you to all who helped clearing up the community garden.

In addition to the tidying up, passers-by were asked to comment on what they would like so see happening in the garden space.

We believe that this area will really benefit from having this community garden. Whether you are young or old the chance to grow flowers, vegetables or fruit can be really exciting. This could be a really important resource in an area that is very densely populated and where very few people have gardens of their own.

To find out more about the community garden or to join the North Brick Lane Residents' Association call 0777 573 3236.

Read more about the proposal below.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this needs to be circulated among residents who DONT have access to the web.. they're likely to be the ones with the expertise we need! ( ie old allotmenteers, or raised in rural Sylhet.. with good knowledge of plants, and how to grow them.. )

see you on 13th, or maybe at the 4th May voting sites, where I'll help out with petitions for greenspaces in Bethnal Green
Ruth

Anonymous said...

It's a very small area so I would make a bed all the way from the gate along the length of the fence; this should be about two foot wide. Then plant a variety of evergreen shrubs along the bed to give a variety of leaf colour and flowering throughout the year and in particular to screen the garden from the street. This is the most important first step. Because it is a small area and already has a couple of trees growing, there is no need for any more planting. The main area should be a well cared-for lawn (grass) where people can gather and sit and converse, not play ball games. Yes certainly there should be seating. A good suggestion would be a round wooden tree seat. This would look beautiful and would economise on space. The seat would be built around the bowl of the central tree. Maybe a small flower-bed for colour.

Gardens need maintenance (weeding, pruning, mowing, digging, bedding etc.) It is important to keep it low maintenance so therefore shrubs are a good idea. You can plant things like geraniums in between for extra colour. A decision has to be made on the fence. At present it looks like a rotten lion's cage in a zoo. The shrubbery could resolve that. Alternatively a nice brick wall built instead of fence.

Seating : a wooden bench seat is most important. If you visit Greys Inn you will see a circular bench built around the base of a tree...I think it is an excellent idea for beauty and space saving. The trees there of course should remain.