Planting list for a tree pit in full sun

A successful tree pit balances the needs of pollinators with enough of a cared-for garden look to reduce trampling or littering. The pit is in Clerkenwell Green, London, part of the emerging Clerkenwell Pollinator Pathway, the workshop put on by Islington in Bloom and took place in the Museum of St John. The choices and reasoning behind my […]

3 dos and 3 don’ts while guerrilla gardening a tree pit

Trees are so important in our cities. They clean the air, provide a sanctuary for birds and wildlife. And make people feel good about themselves. So the wellbeing of the tree must be paramount however ambitious your plans might be for a guerrilla garden in a tree pit. You should do nothing that endangers the […]

How to restore a meadow, part two – clearing the débris

As the two volunteers and I jumped into the meadow for the first time that November day to start restoring the meadow in our local park, we were surprised by what we found. The park in which the meadow sits is extremely well used by people every day of the year. Yet, behind the flimsiest […]

How to restore a meadow, part one – introduction

It was not until November 2019 that we first jumped over the old, raggedy wire fence that marked the perimeter of what had once been a meadow in our local park. Six months later, as rain fell after a record-breaking dry April, cornflowers, poppies and yellow rattle are about to romp into growth surrounded by […]

What is the carbon footprint of your project?

I spent Saturday morning volunteering for the Camden Highline, a project inspired by New York’s High Line. That linear park stretches through the city’s lower West Side on former elevated train tracks. Camden’s will use the derelict railway lines running parallel to London’s Overground. The project will go to competition in April when designers will […]

Is it possible to create a wildlife corridor in the city ?

I’ve been out inspecting the tree pits this morning excited – beyond reason – by the potential of the coming months after all the work. I’m even planning what comes next.As we enter a new growing season, the guerrilla gardens now number 18 – from the original three – in a variety of differently-sized, -managed […]

3 questions to ask yourself before guerrilla gardening a tree pit

I was asked on Instagram by Liz Castro (@lizcastro9) “is there any hope for this spot?” accompanied by a photo of a tree pit in Barcelona. I have three questions for you, Liz, before you start work on the 3 STEPS TO CREATING A GUERRILLA GARDEN IN A TREE PIT. I’m also presuming that you […]

3 steps to create a guerrilla garden in a tree pit

You’re keen to turn the dustbowl around the tree outside your front door into a wildlife oasis. You’ve checked that you have the long-term commitment with 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE GUERRILLA GARDENING A TREE PIT and you also consider the wellbeing of the tree above the pit paramount so you will follow the […]

Do you have a plant on which you rely?

Mine is Persicaria amplexicaulis, a clump of which I was gifted over thirty years ago and from which every single plant I have since used is descended. It’s extremely tough, the only plant to grow in the dust below an elderly Cordyline australis we inherited and integrated into the design of our original London garden […]

What do you see if you looked back 30 years?

My sister recently found and sent me a photo of the first perennial border I planted in London – and, Cami, our long-departed family dog on a rare visit from the Lake District. It is for what was then her and my 25 metre-long garden in Hackney. It’s summer, 1989. The garden still retained the […]