Growing Stories - Hope Community Garden

Each month we take a trip to one of the network’s amazing growing projects to find out a bit more about the plot, the people, the harvests and the hopes. This time we are catching up with the gardeners at Hope Community Garden in Toxteth and chat with founder Jen about the importance of resourcefulness, harnessing people’s creativity and losing your tools!

“You can create a community garden from next to nothing if you are patient.”

What is your growing project called? And where can we find you?

Hope Community Garden, St Margaret of Antioch Church, Princes Road, L8 1TG

Tell us a bit about your project… what do you grow, how many people are involved, who uses your produce?

We grow food and flowers and have a developing herb garden. We’ve not had much budget over the past few years so we build things like cold frames and mini-greenhouses from found materials like pallets and even an upside down bedframe.

The garden is led by myself, Jen, and we have a partnership with The Mersey Forest who deliver a 12-week Natural Health (#Nature4Health) programme which supports people in their health and wellbeing.

The numbers of the group, and people who attend, changes over time but generally we have around 6-8 people on a weekly basis. The produce we grow is put on a sharing table which anyone can take from. 

How long has your project been running?

For three years since September 2019

“We encourage people who come along to bring their creative ideas, this builds confidence and creates a sense of community ownership. ”

What activities do your volunteers and workers take part in? ie gardening, cooking, woodworking, etc

Gardening and woodworking

What would be your 3 top tips for starting a food growing project?

• There’s no one size fits all, adapt to your context and setup your project with sustainability in mind. Not just financial sustainability, but how can the garden be maintained over time.

• Start small and build with your community. We encourage people who come along to bring their creative ideas, this builds confidence and creates a sense of community ownership.

• If you have a lot of funding to get started, that’s great, but you can also create a community garden from next to nothing if you are patient and open to building beds and frames using donated and free materials such as pallets.

What is your favourite food to grow?

It’s so satisfying watching beetroot and squash growing. Tomatoes are one of my favourites to grow from seed. I also love digging up potatoes like buried treasure.

And what garden tool could you not live without?

I cannot live without my pruning snips although I do lose them far too often in the garden (you’ll regularly hear me saying ‘anyone seen me pruning snips? If you come along). I use them to help harvest veg and for deadheading flowers.

What is the most exciting thing about community food growing?

Food growing not only teaches you how to live a little more sustainably, but it also connects you to nature and the seasons unlike any other activity. It is a powerful connecting force, bringing people together who may not have met each other otherwise.

Tell us what’s next for your project? What are your plans and dreams for the future?

The garden will develop however the community decides. I think we are only just getting started. The pandemic slowed things down for us, this will be our first full year in the garden. Practically speaking, I think next on the list is getting a greenhouse built. We don’t have any grand plans.

Where can we find out more about your project? Website? Socials?

We are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, our handle is @HopeComGardenL8.