Herb-Wellbeing ‘dry’ Garden

Creating a dedicated Herb ‘Dry’ Garden/Well being area within the garden with three goals in mind:
1. A place for both members of the garden and visitors to be able to sit down and relax. We recognise the very positive impact on mental and physical wellbeing that the whole community garden can have and would like the herb garden to be the mental wellbeing focal point. The rest of the garden is a busy and industrious place and we feel it is also important to provide a ‘sanctuary space’ at the heart of our garden too.

2. A place to explore the sensory benefits of herbs. We hope to create an exchange of ideas around all aspects of herbs: health, diet/cooking, biodiversity and gardening (see Jekka’s Herbs for inspiration)

3. Adapting what we plant to suit our changing climate - many herbs are drought tolerant. LCKG’s rainwater harvesting project is ongoing, but we are located in the driest region of the UK and must be mindful of the types of plants we grow and how best to support a healthy soil and biodiversity..

We have built an attractive, sensory area with sections of timber raised beds, at different heights, to allow everyone to access and experience the textures, tastes, and aromas of the herbs. We would like to buy benches to allow members to sit and enjoy the herb garden and the whole community garden space. We also need fencing to protect from rabbits as our current ‘old tennis nets’ set up is OK but not pretty or perfect. We also need to create a brick water trough/dipping pond to help capture rainwater and provide any easy place to dip a watering can.
(Approx costs to finish £2K)