Nursery World - Enabling Environments: Gardening

A group of children in West London has gone from small beginnings at nursery to transforming front gardens on their road into fertile
food-growing sites. Artist-in-residence Rosie Potter explains.

Appropriately named, Recreation Road, in Southall, West London, is undergoing a transformation thanks to an inspiring creative gardening project. Involved are children and practitioners from Greenfields Children's Centre, together with members of the local community, supported by artists-in-residence - myself and Kirstie Reid of Wimbledon College, University of the Arts London.

The project Veg St UB2 (after the local postcode) began early in March 2014 with artists following the children's interest in planting and growing. The children began by creating their own small market garden at the nursery, enthusiastically growing, mostly from seed, a whole range of organic produce including herbs, beans, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, marrows, peppers and aubergines. The plot was so productive that children were keen to share their bounty and their excitement in growing vegetables with our neighbours on Recreation Road.

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