The Phoenix Garden sits in an area of central London known as St Giles. It's at the end of Phoenix Street and behind the Phoenix Theatre, hence its name. It is free to enter and is open seven days a week, from dawn till dusk. It is right near busy Charing Cross Road, its nearest Tube station is Tottenham Court Road and, when you're in here it's hard to believe that you're just seconds away from the busy heart of London.
Here is the entrance, and this community garden was established in 1984, and is a registered charity, funded through donations and grants.
I always wanted one of these as a kid! Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the swing doesn't swing that far back, as its movement is marred by the fence...
The plants are for sale, and here's the price list...
Herbs and what looks like a mini-Christmas tree...
There were once seven community gardens in the West End of London...
...Now there is only this one...
Some of the plants are clearly labelled, so you can find out what you're looking at...
This is a little nook, and the garden was established on land that had been in use as a car park...
The car park itself stood on the site of a World War II bombing...
This larger nook is by the community building...
The site was once the place of many homes and even a pub...
A cute seating area, and the garden was designed with one eye on sustainability...
Before 2016 re-landscaping, the garden had been used as a fly-tipping site...
The pretty pond, and the garden apparently houses the West End's only frog population...
I had a good gawp, but the frogs were not comin' out to play on this rather cold day!
Archway to the end of the garden, and compacted rubble and earth had to be removed before re-landscaping could begin...
A little path to another nook, and many on-site materials were re-used. Rubble was passed through a mini-crusher by volunteers, as building waste removal is incredibly costly...
I love the mural on the building over the road, overlooking the garden...💗
This bench dictates: "I like worms and woodlice."
The crushed rubble was used to construct raised flower beds, and wheelchair/ pram friendly paths...
I like the way that the odds-and-sods contaminating the garden have been repurposed...
This pink wheelbarrow- a donation from cosmetics firm Benefit, no doubt- adds a spash of colour amongst the greenery...
Brickwork path...
The far end of the garden, and a 20 year lease on the land was signed in 2015 (following nine years of negotiations); so the garden's safe from being sold off to developers- for now.
The garden was able to be re-designed, with the new community building replacing a mice-infested concrete shed, after receiving a £300,000 grant.
"1000,000 greenfly = 1 blue tit."
This quirky reference serves as a reminder that blue tits keep the greenfly population down, negating the need for chemical fertilisers.
Finches have also been spotted in the garden- maybe they like to come and play in this hanging contraption here?😊
It was a very chilly day when I visited, although there were a couple of other people in the garden as well. To use a cliché, this garden is a real oasis of charm, and a hidden gem and then some! If I worked in the area I would take advantage of it by visiting whenever I could.
I know the name of the garden reflects the area in which it sits, but its name is apt- it really is like the mythical tale of the phoenix rising from the ashes- or in this case, the rubble!
Here's my final view down the length of the garden.
The Phoenix Garden, I will return!
Until then,
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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