Colchester’s newest community green space, The Meanwhile Garden, officially opened on Saturday 20th July.
The planting has transformed an unused brownfield site into a public pocket park for the residents of Colchester to use and enjoy. Planting began in December 2023, with a few additions added in June 2024, and has been planted on top of unused rubble from another part of the site. It has been deliberately designed for both ornamental and spontaneous wild plants- a unique combination providing a rich offering for insects.
The rubble that was used to build it contains many boulders on show that were previously part of the old bus station. Recycling these waste materials as a planting medium prevents them from becoming landfill waste.
The ornamental plants in the garden, grown and planted by the Beth Chatto team, have been specifically chosen to thrive with little maintenance and no extra watering.
Find the full plant list HERE
The site is owned by Essex County Council and the license to put in the garden has been acquired by Beth Chatto’s on the understanding that it be returned to ECC should they have another use for it, hence the term ‘meanwhile’.
The site, beside Firstsite art gallery, has been abandoned and unused since 2012. The idea of planting this site was originally suggested by then Councillor Pam Cox in 2023-now Colchester’s MP. No public funding was available, so a collaboration with businesses and community groups seemed a way forward.
The Beth Chatto team, along with the Education Trust, took up the challenge, employing Darryl Moore who specialises in urban garden design, to assist with the design element and co-ordinating the project delivery.
Julia Boulton, CEO at Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens, and Beth’s granddaughter, says:
'Beth Chatto was a pioneer in sustainable planting, and using her extensive knowledge of plants and the conditions that they naturally grow in, I knew that we could select plants adapted to thrive in the given conditions and use those which wouldn’t require ongoing feeding, watering and weeding.
Colchester is our local city, and Beth herself went to Colchester High School for Girls. I feel that it's vital for us to show that sites like this, with little to no public funds, can be transformed into marvellously valuable spaces for both biodiversity and the community.
It’s a very different look to that of Beth’s actual garden which is intricately planted and maintained by a highly experienced team of gardeners. It’s also very different to a public park with lawns, traditional borders and planting. We hope that the people of Colchester will come to love this new space and appreciate it for its differences.'
The garden will be maintained by a volunteer team under the advice of horticulturists based at Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens.
Darryl Moore, Special Projects Consultant at Beth Chatto’s and landscape designer, says:
'This project is unique in its combination of existing wild plants that were already on site and planted ornamental species, creating a novel urban ecosystem that is designed to face the challenges of climate change. It is an example of how sustainable community gardens can be created from underutilised plots of land to bring people and plants together as well as benefitting a wide range of biodiversity.
'Plants were not watered when planted and have had no additional watering since, relying simply on rain. The low nutrient substrate means that growth will initially be a bit slow, with the plants' energy going into the establishment of roots rather than growing above ground biomass, but this enures that the plants will be more robust and healthier in the long term.'
The Meanwhile Garden has been built with help from local partners including Horizon Construction, Firstsite, The Minories, Colchester BID, and Latimer Developments.
Michele King from Latimer Developments says:
'The Meanwhile Garden has been a wonderful opportunity for members of the local community to come together, in the same way they are doing in shaping the vision for the proposed Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community – an entirely self-sufficient new community, providing 7,500 new homes, schools, a country park, new healthcare, retail, leisure and job benefitting new residents and existing communities alike.
Local young people who have been at the heart of contributing ideas for the garden community, were able to prototype their ideas for community cohesion and regenerative design by designing unique furniture for the Meanwhile Garden that was made by a local fabricator. Latimer who are leading on the new garden community were really proud to be able to instigate and support this valued addition to the garden.'
Is there CCTV to deter vandals?
Well done Beth Chatto team , thank you warmly.