Town Hall Flagpole Garden Gets A Fresh Look

Abundance , the Friends of Turnham Green and volunteers re-plant the area

Abundance London along with the Friends of Turnham Green, Fusion Lifestyle, and local volunteers have re-planted the small corner 'flagpole' garden next to the Town Hall on the corner of Heathfield Terrace and Sutton Court Road.

Pic shows Jutta Wagner, in the newly planted garden

Abundance and the Friends were invited by Fusion Lifestyle to create an appropriate and environmentally friendly garden on this prominent site. They had a difficult job to do to remove a concrete cap left on the previous garden but on Monday a team of volunteers including Cllr Todd planted up the new bed.

The brief for designer Jutta Wagner, who used to be one of the founding volunteers at the Kitchen Garden in Chiswick House, was to create a traditional knot garden with a modern twist. She presented several designs and, after lots of feedback from locals, a swirly design was chosen. Being slightly worried about the possibility of box blight which is affecting many of England's finest knot gardens, she created the main loops in a small purple-flowered hebe and ilex crenata, a kind of holly, which performs a similar function to box. The loops were then filled with lavenders, santolinas, geraniums, heucherellas, saturejas and liriopes to create a colourful and low-maintenance but bee-friendly garden that will pay homage to the listed Town Hall and do justice to this important site beneath the Union Jack and next to the golden postbox.

The Friends of Turnham Green are responsible for many improvements in the area, including the rockery and the wildflower fields. Two years ago they successfully collaborated with Abundance London to create a herbal knot garden between the Town Hall and Christchurch. Abundance London works with local schools and volunteers, creating Edible High Roads and installations such as last year's Chelsea Fringe garden at the library ; they have recently guerilla gardened many of the flower beds along the High Road, filling them with bulbs, bee-friendly and edible plants which should be coming up soon. Fusion Lifestyle are responsible for the Town Hall and sports centres, and are relaunching the Town Hall as a wonderful venue for weddings and other festivities.

The garden had previously been an artificial lawn

There has been lots of good feedback and positive comments from passers-by.

March 3, 2015