Our Garden

Our garden

The brownfield garden

Anyone’s garden

the corner of a parking lot
the lot – a gravel space where a building once stood
a brownfield
a wasteland
a land with a use
a parking lot
but in the corner
a mosaic of plants and hard surfaces
this is our brownfield garden
anyone’s garden

unofficial of course
the land belongs to someone…
in the past
before it was what it is now
before that
it was a bleach works
bleach leached into the ground – that happens
so the land is contaminated
our garden is toxic
do the plants care?
will they grow there?
of course they will
but what will grow?
where will it come from?
and what will that bring
to our anyone’s garden?

..the status and fortune of weeds are influenced by personal tastes and prejudices, family tradition, passing moods… (Mabey 2010)

our gardening principles are:
plant nothing
weed nothing
prune nothing
no digging no harvest
no killing
absolutely no nurturing
don’t water
don’t feed
sit in deckchairs
drink coffee
watch
listen
sniff
draw
explore
wander & wonder
reflect
talk a lot –
to anyone