We had a great time at our front garden raised beds on Armitage way, topping up the beds with soil and planting spinach seedlings! The space looks so great even that early in the season 🙂
Category Archives: Small Spaces
New space at Armitage Way
We created a new space at Armitage Way with a lot of herbs, strawberries and winter plants. Come and see these wonderful raised beds!
Red currants harvest at Hanover Court Shade Space
We came at this Space to discover that the red currants were ready to be harvested. We had a few ones but the bush is still full…please help yourself!
Next fruit harvest coming soon
The plants in this very shady space are growing very well and we will have some fruits soon…!
Herbs in Norfolk Street
Lemon thyme and rosemary in the planters on Norfolk Street:
Small Spaces update images
This is a summary of the final photos for all our small spaces. For details of the transformation of each space see the “Small Spaces” page.
A shaded haven
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- This was the original state of the space. The electrical box was obsolete.
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- The box and platform was removed and some edging and compost were added by staff at the building.
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- Our team initially planted blackcurrant bushes, a rhubarb plant, strawberries and marigolds in the first year.
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- The following spring, the blackcurrant bushes and strawberries were ready for another year.
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- We filled in the strawberries and added two more shade-lovers to fill in the spaces left by the marigolds (as they were annuals), wild garlic and some chives.
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- Chives and Wild Garlic
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- The blackcurrant bushes doing quite well in this seemingly impossible space.
This space was transformed from a lifeless platform for a non-functioning electrical box to a shade-drenched haven for a few select plants. This was a difficult space that we took on as a bit of a challenge, but nature prevailed and the blackcurrant bushes are thriving. The strawberries, chives and wild garlic are also doing surprisingly well in this little area. The residents have since put up a lattice on the wall with the intention of adding in some of their own climbing plants.
Lavender
A little extra space in this raised bed at Wycliffe Court had just enough room for a couple of lavender plants. Lavender is very low maintenance and the flowers are edible or can be used for their scent.
How to mind a gap
A tiny space outside St. Regis where a gap had formed in the existing landscaping. Since we enjoy harvesting and drying our own rosemary, we planted an extra two bushes outside the front doors of the building, filling in a space that needed a new plant. When we dug down into the space we found several bricks. There’s never any guarantee that your space will be in pristine condition! The rosemary has now quadrupled in size and is enjoying its new home along with irises that were removed from another space we reclaimed and some nasturtiums.
Transforming planters
These four planters on Norfolk Street had been neglected for some time, so we asked the shopkeepers nearby if they wouldn’t mind if we cleaned them up and put in a few herbs. They were more than happy with that, so we took out a big bag of rubbish, weeds and cigarette butts and planted some chives, mint and parsley. Sadly these plants struggled in the difficult space, but our efforts did encourage the renewed care of these planters and the following year we found them planted with bright flowers. The begonia flowers in the middle are even edible!