Our other gardens
|
THE TIPSY GARDEN at the Grape and Grain pub
The Tipsy Garden began life as a derelict, concreted, rubbish-strewn corner of the Grape & Grain pub’s outside space. A chance conversation with the then landlady led to Crystal Palace Transition Town creating a growing space there. Within a year and a half (and a lot of hard work) it became a beautiful little garden - an oasis of calm much enjoyed by pub regulars. Growing there we have grapes, hops, cider apples and herbs. The new landlady has added to this, planting a plentiful supply of tomatoes and green beans – all used in the pub’s kitchen. THE PERMACULTURE GARDEN on Central Hill We were offered the chance to use a garden at the back of a Victorian house now converted to flats. The garden was shady, full of building rubble and hadn’t been used fully by the residents for a long time. We held a permaculture course on the site in the summer of 2012 and designed a permaculture garden to grow food sustainably and also create a pleasant green space for residents. We used the permaculture design process to design the space. One of the key features is a hugelkultur raised bed, which is formed by creating a mound of rotting wood, covering it in soil and planting into the top and sides. The shape allows more space for produce and also holds water more than a flat bed. As the wood beneath rots down plants are nourished by the rich compost. We also created a perennial bed and introduced plants such as myrtle, hops, vines and perennial vegetables. Fifteen of us completed the permaculture course and learned how to think about land and life from a permaculture perspective and this has influenced a lot of our projects since. THE MUSEUM GARDEN in Crystal Palace Park Our aim was to create a beautiful edible garden around Crystal Palace Museum that will also be wildlife friendly. We cleared the area of weeds and rubbish, then planted lavender, grape vines, raspberry canes, a dwarf fig tree, a dwarf cherry tree and some hops. The hops were planted as part of the Palace Pint project. We hope to use the raspberries, cherries and figs to make jams and preserves that can be sold to raise money for the museum. Volunteers will also be helping the museum with other tasks such as painting the railings, restoring the weigh-bridge and clearing the time-keepers hut. The Museum Garden is being developed in partnership with Crystal Palace Park Community Stakeholder Group and Capel Manor College, whose students learn horticultural skills by helping out in the garden. We are currently looking for someone to lead on this garden to organise weeding sessions, new projects and work with the Museum, if you are interested please contact: mehul.damani@hotmail.com |
The Permaculture Garden in winter ...
... and in spring. Note the hugel raised bed in the middle
Clearing the ground around the Museum
|
