Sarratt Community Garden

About Sarratt Community Garden

This garden burst into life in 2019, benefitting from the goldmine of volunteers who were not working during the COVID period. It grew out of a deep passion for sustainable horticulture, given the extraordinary effect that food production has on our soils, climate, and our very selves. Flo’s degree is in environmental science, and she has grown her own produce for over 20 years, developing a deep understanding of the soil, composting, natural pest control, and the seasons, as well as an appreciation of the wider context of climate change and soil degradation.
The garden is only the size of a long, thin domestic garden, but is bursting at the seams with all sorts of edible plants, as well as beautiful flowers for cutting which generate much needed income. The whole team are volunteers, and project just about manages to sustain itself via the sale of its produce. A group from local charity, Mission EmployAble, joins the team once a week to learn horticultural and employability skills – they are treasured members of the garden community, bringing smiles and enthusiasm even when faced with tough jobs!
There is a strong connection with Sarratt Primary school – children from the lower years come each term to do quizzes, plant seeds and bulbs, and try new foods. For a generation where the connection with food growing is increasingly broken, this is vitally important.
In terms of visitor expectations, the garden has fairly narrow paths made of woodchip, and the produce will show signs of being harvested, as it is a working market garden! In Spring the main crops are salads and rhubarb, with some hardy annuals, and later in the year, we focus on tender annuals such as tomatoes, aubergines, and beans, and a huge variety of dahlias and grasses.