Manor Park

A blooming neighbourhood

Take a gentle stroll around the
Community Garden and nearby streets of
Durham Road Conservation Area to discover how local residents are bringing nature back to their neighbourhood.

Wildlife Corridors

  • There are over 30 flowerbeds in the Durham Road Conservation Zone and back in 2013 they were either partly empty or filled with weeds, so the community mobilised and applied for a Let’s Get the Party Started grant and were awarded £500 towards shrubs and bulbs.

  • This was the beginning of the journey that helped to soften the outline of the area and created positive focal points amongst neighbours. As more species were added we not only made the area more attractive and colourful but created beautiful wildlife corridors filled with pollinator friendly plants.

  • Initially we opted to plant 200 bare rooted Rosa Rugosa as they are extremely hardy and inexpensive. We also bought Spring bulbs. Bulbs are great! They are cheap, easy to plant and lifts everyone’s spirit when they appear year after year.

Cuttings and seeds donations soon increased the variety of plants in the flower beds. It cannot be emphasised enough that this was done on a shoe string budget with lots of good will and elbow grease.

During lockdown it became evident how important our green spaces are for our health and wellbeing and a go-fund-me page was set up which raised £800. This made a huge difference to the borders as we could introduce a greater variety of plants. Please look at the @loveE12flowers Instagram page to find out more about the varieties.

It is important to remember that flower-borders are never stagnant but change throughout the seasons. Over the years some plants will mature and others die. Some will go to seed and others will die back to reappear next spring. As they transform over the year and they don’t always look pristine but that is only natural.

Sustainable design

  • The sustainable urban drainage and pedestrianised frontage to the Manor Park Community Garden incorporates attractive and well-considered planting that can withstand heatwaves and heavy rainfall.

  • The redesign aims to create a public realm that is safe for pedestrians and cyclists as well as act as a traffic filter, encouraging healthier lifestyles.

    The design also allows rainwater to be directed away from the pavements and towards the in-ground flowerbeds.

  • The project was completed in Autumn 2022 and the flowerbed that runs along the community garden was specifically incorporated into the design to curb the practice of pavement parking along the fence.

Before & After!

Follow the path

Find out more

If you find this inspiring and want more information please email lovee12flowers@icloud.com

Caring for our local flower-planters galvanised a group of local residents to improve the public realm even further and was the forerunner to re-opening the Manor Park Community Garden to the public in 2021 with the assistance of a Community Assembly Grant.