TRANSFORM YOUR SPACE
A garden for all
An ‘unwelcoming’ patch of land with an ‘unwieldy’ gate has been transformed
into an impressive community garden. Do you have a similar idea?
F
riars Gardens, a small,
triangular green near central
Acton, won £45,000 in Ealing
Council’s Transform Your
Space scheme in 2016. It has since
undergone a complete makeover
thanks to a team of residents and it
was officially opened on 2 September.
If you feel inspired, you will be
able to submit your own community
projects to Transform Your Space soon.
“Friars Gardens was so
unwelcoming,” said Juliet McDonald,
co-founder and secretary of Friends
of Friars Gardens (FOFGA). “The only
entrance was an unwieldy maintenance
gate. And, without any paths to walk on,
the ground was a quagmire of mud.”
The original proposal for Transform
Your Space funding included a flower
garden, a mini-wildflower meadow, paths,
new entrance gates, refurbished benches
and a children’s adventure trail with
wooden rope bridges, logs and stepping
stones. The design was further developed
with the help of council officers.
And, working hard through the
seasons, including in snow and blazing
sunshine, FOFGA members planted 10
new species of tree and a number of fruit
bushes. Three mini-wildflower meadows
have added colour to the north, west
and southern sides of the park.
Kim Rugg, co-founder and chair of
FOFGA, said: “The adventure trail
for kids is cleverly integrated into
the planting and the design
works on so many different
levels. It is a tranquil space,
where you can sit on a rock
amongst flowers, but at the
same time it is also suitable for children
to scramble over.”
Local charity ArtBox, which is based at
Hanwell Zoo, is making signs and an iron-
work entrance arch for the main gate.
Councillor Mik Sabiers, the council’s
cabinet member for environment
and highways, said: “This project
encapsulates what Transform Your Space
is all about – maximising the potential
of an underused or unappreciated
piece of land, through a combination of
community partnerships, residents’ hard
work and council funding and support.”
Read and see more at
ealingnewsextra.co.uk/
features/friars-gardens
MORE INFO
n Friends
of Friars
Gardens: Email
[email protected]
n Transform Your Space: Visit
dosomethinggood.org.uk
around ealing October 2018
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