Guerilla gardeners on the lookout for new recruits

With summer on its way, the Wanstead Community Gardeners are looking for more volunteers to help transform its neglected public green spaces.

Retired teacher Marian Temple started the community gardening project in 2003, after she got Redbridge Council’s permission to spruce up Corner House Garden in High Street.

She said: “When I took over, the garden was covered in rubbish and looked really quite horrible.

“I thought to myself, rather than just leaving it as it is and having people not even noticing it, why not give them something that delights them as they walk passed?”

With the help of Wanstead Society and a group of around 12 volunteers, lifelong Wanstead resident Ms Temple has transformed more than 10 “sad patches of public soil” from Wanstead station down to Snaresbrook.

“It was such a brilliant feeling when the project really started to build momentum and people got involved.

“Now places like the Corner House Garden are so iconic people come from outside Wanstead just to see it.

“Our gardens are very different to council-maintained ones, they are really loved and when they’re looked after by local people, they really feel like our own.”

Ms Temple said her inspiration for the community gardening group came from her late mother, Hilda.

She said: “My mother was a natural gardener, so she was a big part of the reason I was keen to take on the project.

“The flowers we use have mostly come from seeds in my garden, so they’re really old-fashioned ones that you don’t always see anymore.

“Elderly people in the area always walk passed and say ‘I haven’t seen that flower since I was at school’, so it makes it really special.”

She went on: “It really is a lot of fun, and when you get involved in a community project like this you get to know your neighbours.

“There are no age or ability limits, so everyone is welcome.”

For more information on how to get involved, email wanstead.community.gardeners@gmail.com.