A growing community for good

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View of a variety of growing boxes throughout an allotment — Skool Beanz Allotment in Somerset (NGS)

Community gardens are nothing new – think of the ranks of allotments that have patchworked the outskirts of towns and cities for decades – but creating green spaces designed specifically to provide social cohesion and a boost to wellbeing is a growing trend. From the greening of back yards behind advice centres and homeless shelters, to vegetable gardens designed to help fathers bond with their children, there is a green revolution taking place. And it’s something that, as part of its Gardens and Health programme, the National Garden Scheme has been championing for over ten years.

Best known for opening exclusive, private gardens to raise money for nursing and health charities, community gardens have become an increasingly significant part of the National Garden Scheme’s portfolio of gardens and an established section of the charity’s annual distribution of funds.

“All over the country community gardens are demonstrating the ability to bring people together and introduce them to the joys of gardening and spending time in a garden,” says National Garden Scheme CEO, George Plumptre. “They make a particularly strong contribution in towns and cities where many people do not have their own garden and where access to green space can be limited. They have also demonstrated that they are a rich catalyst for diversity, engaging individuals and groups from the broad range of ethnic and religious backgrounds that make up the population of contemporary Britain, enabling them to showcase their own gardening practices as well as benefitting from access to a garden space.”

Small group of people sitting in the sun at a small table amongst allotments — The Paddock Allotments & Leisure Gardens in London (Benjamin Mole)

The National Garden Scheme has always had a broad portfolio of garden types but this diversification into community-based gardens has been accelerated by the changing interest in gardens and green spaces largely driven by the pandemic. With the enforced lockdowns highlighting the critical importance of access to green spaces for everyone’s health and wellbeing and the growing awareness of the issue of isolation, the role of community gardens has come to the fore.

“We are proud not only to have them open for us but to be funding hundreds of community garden projects too,” adds George Plumptre.

This funding is via the National Garden Scheme’s Community Gardens Grant programme. Set up in 2011, over the last eleven years it has donated £400,000 to over 200 community projects and, in 2022 alone funded 76 projects. Open for applications each autumn, the winning recipients of the 2023 grants will be announced during Community Gardens Week this April.

Danny Clarke – aka The Black Gardener – co-director of CIC Grow 2 Know, a charity committed to bringing horticulture to young people and disadvantaged communities, and National Garden Scheme Ambassador says: “It’s great to see National Garden Scheme funding going to the heart of so many community projects. Projects that help invigorate the people they support and introduce new audiences to the huge benefits that gardens and gardening brings to their health and wellbeing, and to the environment around them.”

Group of smiling volunteers of all ages in front of a shed in their community garden — The volunteers who designed and manage The Wonky Garden in Cheshire (NGS)

From social welfare and gardening projects that help the isolated, the disabled and the disenfranchised to support for community orchards, food banks and social prescribing projects at GP surgeries, the funding provides a much-needed boost to those working on community garden projects throughout England and Wales.

The Wonky Garden in Widnes, Cheshire is one of the community gardens that not only received a grant from the National Garden Scheme but in 2023 will open its gates to visitors too.

As co-founder Angela Hayler explains: “The garden is designed and managed by a wonderful group of volunteers. We support many community groups and individuals of all ages and abilities including schools, colleges and work experience. Our focus is on supporting physical and mental health, isolation and loneliness.”

For those who use the services provided by community gardens, the results can be literary life changing. One new mum, who has benefited from an allotment project set up in Slough to help with perinatal anxiety and low mood, and supported by the National Garden Scheme, says: “I was isolated and depressed but as the seeds I planted grew my depression and isolation lessened. Going to the allotment turned everything around for me; mentally, emotionally, physically and socially. The allotment group changed my life.”

And, in County Durham funding for a community garden in a former coal mine and lumber yard has helped provide a safe outdoor space for local people and families to meet, relax and interact.

An older woman holding a big bunch of freshly cut flowers — A floral harvest from Rhubarb Farm in Nottinghamshire

Setting up your own Community Garden

If you’re thinking about setting up a community garden there’s a lot to consider, but help is available from a number of sources including the RHS website. Its advice includes:

Identifying a location for the garden.
Organising public liability insurance.
Engaging as many people as you can.
Considering a timescale for the garden to be completed and agreeing a simple plan.
Setting yourself a budget and thinking about ways to fundraise.
Setting up a volunteer-led community organising group to manage the project.
Finding local gardeners, landscapers or builders who might be interested in lending a hand.
Completing a risk assessment before any work starts.
Visiting other community groups or sites that have done similar projects to gain ideas.

Fundraising and applying for grants is an important part of making sure that your project is sustainable. As well as applying to the National Garden Scheme the RHS also provides links to funders on their website (details below).

Useful links

The National Garden Scheme’s 2023 Community Gardens Award application process will begin in October with full details available on the National Garden Scheme website at: https://ngs-wp.tclhosting.co.uk/who-we-are/community-gardens-award/
Other sources of funding can be found on the RHS website at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/resources/fundraising