006_works

This is final installment for my edible garden project and The Right to the City (That is in relation to the exhibition, with a little luck the garden will survive for many more weeks, months and even years).
So, I'll start off with the only part of the garden I didn't build entirely myself. Stage 3, the vertical garden. I managed to get two of my lovely volunteers to use coffee sacks as a soil storage medium. In this garden we planted: lemon thyme, basil, coriander and mint. The coriander didn't last long, i'm not entirely sure what ate it, now we're just left with stalks. (haha)

The vertical garden was definitely the crowd favourite.
I've included some of my sketches amongst the next few images as a comparison of concept and realisation.
This is shows the fourth and final stage of the garden, the 'eclectic' plot as i've been calling it as it was originally supposed to be composed of many pots donated by volunteers, staff etc.. In the end I used coffee sacks which I planted out with a range of plants, from herbs (of course!) to veggies and citrus trees. There are carrots and a few other veggies which won't have reached maturity by the end of the exhibition, which will hopefully give the garden a bit more longevity.

This is one of my favourite parts of the whole project, it anchors the garden to the site. Makes it as though the garden has a place in the courtyard rather than just being wheeled in place for the exhibition. This is my recycled downpipe and gutter setup. Clamps allowed for quick installation on the day, and and easy bump out in the future.

The final part of the project is the DIY hydroponic garden. This consists of milk crates (found in the street), old newspaper, milk bottles and egg cartons collected from work. A big thanks to JD for coming up with this scheme. It adds a nice rustic touch to the whole garden.

To finish off I included an original sketch of how I wanted to pallet garden to work as well as the final result. It was so exciting to see everyone's positive reactions to the garden on opening night. A couple of people said that the garden was their favourite part of the whole exhibition (the people didn't even know that I had played a role in it's creation).

I'll keep you posted on the life of the garden after the exhibition ends.
If the garden is actually going to have some significance and be more than just a token effort that's when I'll find out. This is not the end...