Everything’s coming up roses in our fantastic Back to Front community garden on Fewston Bridge in Leeds. OK, well, maybe not roses – more like loads of vegetables, herbs and the odd sunflower here and there.
The bridge is a piece of land that has been reclaimed over the last few months. Bit by painstaking bit, we’ve worked alongside Hyde Park Source, Cross Green Community Group and a whole host of volunteers to clear an overgrown patch of wasteland, finding gorgeous old cobbles underneath the weeds and rubble. This makes the perfect foundation for our raised beds, blending past and present together beautifully.
Back to Front is all about helping people to grow edible produce (even those gorgeous sunny sunflowers = seeds!) and we’ve been busy adding signs so that everyone knows what’s growing and when to pick it. So far we’ve harvested new potatoes – ‘Full of flavour, like they used to be when I was a kid,’ was one response. We’ve also had strawberries, rocket, spinach and lots of herbs. Spaghetti bolognese never tasted so good…
There’s a timetable of planting, growing and picking spreading right across the summer months. We’re also working hard to clear the rest of the cobbles and build more raised beds to extend the garden so the whole community can join in.
If you’d like to volunteer or have a media query, contact Jayne, the project manager, at info@backtofront.org.uk