How to set up a community garden

YOU may have noticed unused patches of land in an urban area, or simply want to brighten up an allotment or a school open space, or feel the need to integrate your community with some colourful pot plants to line your street.

“Community gardens massively aid mental wellbeing,” says Ann Holland, garden designer and Britain in Bloom community gardening competition judge.

“They give people a sense of purpose, they can see what they’ve done and they provide vital social interaction.”

She offers the following tips to start your own community garden...

1. GET A GROUP TOGETHER

“Engage with the community to find out if you can get a group together. or approach a local Britain in Bloom group if you have an idea. See if there’s any interest. You may do that through a coffee morning – I’ve had a local coffee shop sponsor me with coffee and cake, and people have just come for a natter to discuss possibilities.”

2. SET OUT YOUR MISSION

“Your vision is what you’d like to achieve. It might be growing vegetables or fruit to share in the community, or just to create a beautiful space to sit, reflect and relax, and meet with other people in the community.”

3. FIND SOME LAND

“If it’s a derelict piece of land, you would approach the local council to establish who owns it and see if you can do anything with that. Alternatively, you might want to approach a local school to see if it would be willing to do something in its grounds. Think of registering with Britain in Bloom, which may offer advice. And keep it simple. I’ve seen vegetables growing on a grass verge which has been left.”

4. APPOINT A COMMITTEE

“A community garden needs to have a central core of people to push it forward. So set up a committee.”

5. LOOK AT THE PRACTICALITIES OF THE PLOT

“Consider the aspect of land you’ve chosen. Does it have six to eight hours of sunshine? What’s the soil like? Is it wet? Could it get waterlogged in the winter? Do you have access to water and electricity and storage? Risk assess the land, to make sure it’s not too near to a road or anything like that.”

6. SORT OUT FINANCE

“You are very reliant on fundraising, but you can get local businesses involved. B&Q does a community scheme where you can apply for grants. Look at support from local landscapers and gardeners.

“You can apply for grants from the RHS if you’re a registered Britain in Bloom group. Or try bidding for funding from the Lottery. But you have to have a properly formulated plan to put forward.”

7. TAKE INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS

“I have seen some wonderful community gardens which literally consist of alleyways where residents have planted up pots, while the local cafe was using catering baked bean tins to make a green wall.

“Another was set up in hospice, which was wonderful, because it was dual purpose. It was not only for the community, but also for the hospice residents. You see them in hospitals as well.”

The National Garden Scheme

(NGS; ngs.org.uk) has a string of inspiring community gardens. Volunteers from The Wonky Garden in Widnes, for example, gave flowers grown in the garden to care homes, key workers, the bereaved, and people who were shielding during the pandemic. In addition to its donations to nursing and health charities, the NGS also grants awards to help community gardening projects.