Growing Sudley CIC have transformed the walled garden since 2017, from a little known corner of a public park, to a much loved and much used resource for community health, wellbeing and play through nature. With a mission to increase and encourage urban connection to nature, we work with all ages of the wider community and target most of our funded work towards people with Special Educational Needs, Disabilities, Long Term Health Conditions and Adverse Experiences.

The photographs above show the transformation of the garden, from early pilot projects to test out what people wanted the garden to be, through a slow and organic permaculture design process that led to the creation of a ‘Therapeutic Garden’. The garden has been developed since its earliest inception in a collaborative, open process with fellow community members.

The walled garden is a hidden gem within the historic Sudley Estate, itself a hidden gem and public park. The Estate comprises gardens and land, including the walled garden which was once a cutting-edge space to show off and enjoy the tropical and ornamental acquisitions of the Holt family. You can find out more about the Holts and the history of the estate in our National Lottery Heritage Fund pages here.

Having fallen into disrepair, the old glasshouses were demolished in the 80s, the beds grew over, and the listed walls began to crumble. Under the eternal march of brambles and ivy, the garden became overgrown and neglected. Following a callout from the Friends of Sudley Estate to ‘bring the walled garden back to life for the benefit of the community’, Growing Sudley has been breathing new life into the garden, with the help and support of local people of all ages.

Following a number of years of wide ranging consultations, locally and across the city, about the walled garden by members of the Friends group under the name ‘Growing Sudley’, local Toxteth/Greenbank mother Lucy Dossor and Penny Lane architect and local mother Su Stringfellow, answered the callout and got involved. They began to consider how the space could/should be used, and using content from the original Using content from the original surveys and questionnaires, they began to connect with others, build a community and pilot ideas. Lucy ultimately decided to quit her job and commit to developing the walled garden through her own personal and professional training and practice in permaculture and social and therapeutic horticulture. The slow, organic development of the garden was the direct result of permaculture and regenerative process, and was shaped by her role as mum to 3 children, one of who has Down’s Syndrome and was born with a congential heart condition. “I was working in film and TV, and suddenly I spent about 4 years not working and in the hospital/consultant/services/SEND bubble. I had an allotment, which was a life saver for me and my family, and I knew I wanted to do something more tangible within my community, and preferably with hands in the soil. My involvement in this project was the direct result of this evolution towards the land and the grounding, healing effect it has on us.”

After building a small team of fellow volunteers and practitioners, ideas were tested out and a community started to build around the garden. Early 2017 saw a National Lottery Awards For All project called Growing A Therapeutic Garden. We began Therapeutic Gardening sessions for adults with brain injuries and conditions, stroke survivors and young adults with learning disabilities, and began holding volunteer sessions, forest school holiday clubs and events and activities. We built up activities slowly, adding new sessions each year, and constantly evolving ideas in response to people’s feedback. In December 2017 the Community Interest Company was established as a seperate entity, a large membership CIC which has over 200 community members.

We used permaculture throughout, as an approach to survey, observe, analyse and observe again. This environmental and people-powered process led eventually to a design for a therapeutic garden for health, wellbeing and play through nature, plants and herbs. Howard Miller Design worked with us and Architects Harrison Stringfellow over many workshops, design sessions and consultations with partners such as Merseycare Dementia Patient Forum, the Brain Charity and Stroke Association, as well as our many participants and volunteers, to design a space that would be as flexible, accessible and natural as possible.

In late 2021, thanks to a grant from Veolia Environmental Turst, the garden was zoned into 3 main areas: the woodland area, with coppiced hazels and fire circle, and accessible boardwalk so everyone can get into the woods; the garden area, with woven willow raised beds for therapeutic horticulture and growing herbs, fruit and veg, and flowers; and the meadow, surrounded by wildflowers and hero plants (sometimes referred to as weeds) and providing a space for qigong and yoga, as well as picnics and community events. The design enables the many different uses that have developed in the garden, and allows the space to be expand and contract flexibly to suit different needs. An edible and medicinal foraging hedge forms a boundary and windbreak and allows people walking on both sides to stop and pick. Landscaping and paths form natural shapes that define the zones of the garden, and make it more accessible to wheelchairs, scooters and people with mobility issues.

The garden has been made as accessible as possible during this development with boardwalks and hard standing, however if we can find suitable funds we would like to create a fully accessible entrance from the car park and give the listed heritage walls some attention, and instal signage to complete the space.

Since the redevelopment, the garden has come into its own, with successive perennial plantings, including an extensive physic garden of medicinal herbs. We’ve been working with local medical herbalists since 2019, running workshops, courses and activities around health, wellbeing and nourishment through herbs for people of all ages. Tapping back into ancient knowledge we’ve lost, of how to use the garden and hedgerow to optimise health, offset the damage of modern lifestyles and empower ourselves through a respectful and symbiotic connection to nature’s healing plants.

If you would like to volunteer to maintain and care for the garden, please contact us or drop into our weekly volunteer session 2-4pm every Wednesday.