What is at the roots of The Garden?

At the roots of The Garden are a set of principles. The Garden will grow strong on these (will the temptation to stop using gardening metaphors ever stop d'ya think?).

The first principle is that The Garden will be sustainable. This means not only will The Garden have a low impact on the environment and be able to sustain itself without drawing down from the grid, it will be able to sustain itself as an entitty. It will not be a cipher for energy/time/money. Rather, like a balanced eco system it will have the ingredients within itself to run itself, generating mixed sources of income so that when times are tough it has enough to keep ticking over.

The second principle is that The Garden will be a place for growth and a growing place - organic, ever changing, responsive to its environment and the changing needs of the community.

The third is that The Garden will demonstrate its principles by doing and living them. The building will be developed on green principles to inspire greener ways of living. The creative projects housed in The Garden will show what it is possible when a little bit of imagination is freed. And the journey (and the many leaps of faith needed) to create The Garden will be shared through this blog to inspire others to take a similar journey.

Who and what is inspiring The Garden, Brixton today?

The Garden, Brixton is just the seed of an idea.

I could easily list a hundred reasons why it will never flourish. The owners of the site don't play ball, the planners put a blanket ban on it, local residents don't want it (literally) in their back yards not to mention the small issue of raising three quarter of a million pounds.
 
So what will keep the idea alive. Regular watering and fertiliser of course!

Seeing and imaging what is possible is not always easy when the reality you are faced with is an overgrown plot, decorated with nothing more than an abandoned shoe and "Keep Out" and "Danger Absetos" signs.

So these are some places that are giving me an idea of what may be possible. All very different - all ideas donated by generous friends and family but all of them have at their heart the idea of communities coming and growing together in a beautiful space.

http://dalstongarden.site11.com/
http://www.bbbc.org.uk/
http://www.b-inspired.org.uk/index.html

Inspiring indeed.

The Garden starts here

Welcome to the very first shoots of The Garden Brixton.

The idea?

To grow a unique, green space in a busy urban environment. To grow something special for the community from some disused garages, abandoned for years.

This is The Garden now - could we make it into something really special?