The happy gardeners: Rebecca Twigg, sporting her mantra on waste on her pinnie, and Jane Coombes from The Secret Garden
© SIMON PARKER
© SIMON PARKER
The Secret Garden
“I love gardens with mystery and charm, a mix of formal and wild really grabs my attention”
How did it all begin? “I made a presentation about my idea for a wild community garden to Salisbury Area Board in March 2015, and got the thumbs up and the key for the gated church yard in April 2015,” says Rebecca Twigg, director at The Secret Garden.
what they do in life, and generally making great connections,” says Rebecca. “This creates a sense of real well being, and can even help someone who feels isolated into strong connected friendships and a new positive outlook. We had a community call-out to help us water the garden last year during the dry hot summer (we have no mains water in the church yard), and more than 100 people from around Salisbury turned up with buggies, buckets and bikes, rucksacks and camping canisters full of water, tiny tots with water in cups, and our older community members with all kinds of water carriers. Individuals and entire families all turned up to help water our thirsty plants!
How is the garden helping to protect our planet?
What kind of plants can people see? “Wild or historically
What about the human interaction stuff?
Anything family-friendly? There are regular free crafty activities for kids, while the Bee Trail is always available to follow around the city. You can get maps from Salisbury Library, Fiver Rivers Centre, Fisherton Mill Gallery. For more: www.kingdomofsticks.com
Mill Road, Salisbury
What is unique about this garden? Well, its location for starters: the community garden is set in the rambling and wild city church yard of St Clements, and boasts tombstones and other relics from when the church was on the site (it was taken down in 1852).
The garden promotes conservation of wild bee species, birds, beetles and other wild things while encouraging community action to protect them. It has also won awards for its Salisbury Bee Trail, which uses traditional artwork but also digital art (augmented reality) to teach people about wild pollinators as they follow the trail around Salisbury.
The folk at The Secret Garden are passionate about the benefits that can be gained when people come together at their green space. “We bring community together with a common focus on breaking down barriers, valuing everyone, no matter where they come from or
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traditional plants!” declares Rebecca, “We purposely allow/plant wild flowers and other plants to grow here in this rambling charming space, for two reasons: it fits well with the old church yard site, which could never carry off a formal look, and means we don’t have to dig too much – for obvious reasons we cannot do that – and also because it lays a foundation for our focus on ecology and wildlife.”