Plants were donated by the Royal Horticultural Society
A ‘climate resilient’ community garden has been opened at Lea Bridge Library in Leyton.
Together with long-term collaborator Tom Massey, architecture firm Studio Weave designed a new forest garden which is a self-sustaining, layered ecosystem of edible, medicinal, and nitrogen-rich planting chosen to provide a diverse range of habitats for insects, sustenance for birds, and flowering species for pollinators.
A sweeping path of pale self-binding gravel winds through four multi-use zones, which Studio Weave says is designed to flexibly accommodate activities such as local markets, concerts, and events. The gardens also include a new timber playground sited opposite a raised seating area and performance space, consisting of variously sized cylindrical sawn timber logs.
Local residents played a core role in the project’s delivery, and were invited to join the design team in planting a variety of climate-resilient species in the newly defined planting beds.
Plants were donated by the Royal Horticultural Society and nursery Hortus Loci from Tom Massey’s RHS Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Festival, and installed with the assistance of Meristem Design who provided tools and expertise to assist volunteers from the local community.
Meanwhile, Lea Bridge Library is currently hosting a free summer festival featuring a pavilion designed by young people.
The People’s Pavilion Festival, which started on 29th July and is running until 11th August, includes an eclectic line up of experimental poetry, virtual reality and artificial intelligence workshops, films on gentrification and displacement and a DJ set.
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