London: Tea Time in Wonderland

London may not look so but is an extraordinary green city. Your first thought goes to the 5 royal parks, of course, but what about all those privates squares, those you can only admire from behind the fence?

Then there are other kinds of oasis -  lovely community gardens, although hidden from sight very often do welcome visitors too. Think of the Phoenix Garden!

Another one is Roots and Shoots. Just send them an email precising which day you’d like to come by -  they’re ever so welcoming. They also do have 4 open days a year like the Open Garden Square week-end.

28 years ago, this was a derelict place.  Of the previous factory, just a few walls in ruins and pieces of concrete. The only clue of nature was a lilac bush. This acre of land becomes a community garden in 1982 and also serves as a vocational training centre for young people.

What a paradise now! The staff prefers to leave it as natural looking as possible with a wild flower meadow in the middle but also adding little houses for bees to settle. Walk through the narrow paths to discover the two ponds (I had never seen so many frogs at the same time!), let the kids wander to the dragon den, read the Blake quotes here and there… You really feel in the countryside. You wouldn’t even be surprised to see a couple of rabbits or even a fox appearing.

The staff is great, always happy to tell you about that wonderful walnut tree or the formidable biodiversity the garden shelters: 30 species of bees, and 50 of butterflies! Look in the appletrees too: I countes more than a hundred ladybirds there… On the day I visited, they had a family of grey tits in a bird house with a camera on top: you could watch the parents’ constant ballet to feed them insects and the 6 babybirds waiting with their beak wide open…

A truly magical place, just 15mn walk from Waterloo (you can also pause @ the fascinating Imperial War Museum on the way)

Roots and Shoots
Walnut Tree Walk, off Kennington Rd
London SE11 6DN

Free

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