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Over the last few months the Art4Space Pocket Garden has really come into bloom! Thanks to our lovely
volunteers and Friday Garden Club we’ve got flowers, vegetables, a bug hotel and a two compost
heaps. It’s been really lovely working with people of all ages to nurture the space and make it
welcoming for everyone arriving.
One of my favourite plants in the garden is the nasturtium. Orange and green are two of my favourite colours, so it’s not a surprise! One of the best things about nasturtiums is their taste. I feel like their colour
and shape really reflect this; they’re super peppery and both the flowers and leaves are fresh in a
salad. I have this great tradition with friends where we’ll pick them and cheers them like teacups
before we eat them. The flowers are prolific and grow back really quickly after you pick them,
making them perfect for sustainable flower-arranging. Nasturtiums also thrive on neglect – they
love poor soil and are often self-seeding. This makes them a great option for those with less time
to maintain a garden.
The garden’s growth wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteers taking part in Garden
Club over the last few months. The aim of this series of workshops was to bring children and
older people together to share skillsets and enjoy supporting the garden together. During this time
we planted out seedlings, made bird feeders, bug hotels, compost, and even ceramic worms for
our garden mosaic. One of my favourite workshops was making a mini fairy garden, where we
filled trays with soil, moss, glass stones and glitter to make little worlds. At the end of the series we had a celebratory picnic. We ate nasturtium salad from the garden, alongside cake and biscuits with lemon and mint icing (from the garden too!)
The Art4Space garden sets the tone for the whole space; it’s one of the first things people see as
they enter. A healthy and vibrant garden relies on nurture and attention, reminding our community
that this mutual care is extended through to the happenings of the studio itself.
