Saturday 26th July blossomed with the opening of Birmingham’s newest green space: the Digbeth Community Garden, a new oasis of green space at the heart of the city. With everyone either unwinding under the shade of the gazebo, or relaxing in the dappled sunlight, Birmingham City Centre felt light-years away.
Many had come to join in with the celebrations, while others expressed what a pleasant surprise it was to stumble upon the green space! Everyone got into the festive spirit, with some brilliant face painting and live music. It was also an opportunity to get your hands dirty with practical demonstrations such as pebble mosaics and seed bomb making – an excellent way to promote wild flower growth in disused areas.
The Garden was formally opened by Nechells Councillor Yvonne Mosquito and Chair of Digbeth Residents Association John Gordon, who donated a wonderful fig tree to mark the event.
The garden opening coincided with the Warehouse Cafe’s Birthday Party to celebrate one year since its re-opening. With delicious food and more live music upstairs, guests took their time to wander between both events, appreciating both the sunshine and shade.
Yvonne Mosquito, Councillor for Nechells said:
“The garden is a lovely and unique little oasis of calm and tranquillity within an urban area, accommodating nature as well as human occupation.
“As the local councillor I would highly recommend it to anyone going into Digbeth who wants to chill out and think about life.”
John Gordon, chair of Digbeth Residents Association, said:
“We’re really pleased to have such an amazing green space in the heart of Digbeth, and are very happy to be working with Birmingham Friends of the Earth in making this a fantastic space for all the community.”
The garden, which is located behind Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s building, was originally a warehouse before being demolished in the 1980s. The group first turned it into a green space in the 1990s and, after months of Saturdays dedicated to the garden’s transformation, the fantastic community garden can now be enjoyed by all in the local community.
It was great to see all the hard work that had gone into the garden come together at what was a fantastic day for us and the local community. We’re looking forward to having lots more of these events in the garden in the future.
To make that future possible, there is still a lot of work to do. The Digbeth Community Garden group is starting to be formed to move the garden forward and there are multiple work days and events being planned. Everyone is welcome to join in, including if you have your own idea on how you would like to use the space. Please do contact us at digbethcommunitygarden@gmail.com and use the same email if you would like to subscribe to our e-newsletter which will let you know the sites program and dates of workdays and events.
Jacob Williams
