A PROJECT WITH GROW WILD, ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS KEW
Wen has been working alongside communities at Limborough Community Food Hub for a few years now, running cooking and gardening workshops.
The hub and garden space became neglected during Covid-19 lockdowns so we set about revitalising part of the garden into a wildlife haven with funding from Grow Wild, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew.
During the Summer and Autumn of 2023 we cleared the back of the garden and ran planting sessions to establish wildflowers, fruit bushes and hedgerows. Alongside this we ran workshops with local residents on the importance of UK native plants and pollinators. It’s a work in progress, so still more to do!
WHAT WE DID
- Employed a freelance gardener from another local growing project called MAD LEAP CIC to design and work on the area
- Dug over the whole back area of the garden
- Took up lots of plastic netting covering the old wildflower meadow
- Cleaned and weeded the bench covered in tiles handmade by children from Stebon Primary School
- Replanted UK native wildflowers in the area
- Saved any bulbs we dug up to be replanted
- Planted more UK native flowering plants in the ornamental beds
- Worked with corporate groups from Bupa, Schroders and Alexander McQueen, who donated over 48 hours of their time
- Ordered berry bushes to diversify the food crops we grow in the garden
- Used leaves to mulch the area and protect the soil over the winter




WHAT’S NEXT
- We relied on a lot of people power from corporate groups, who are interested in coming back to volunteer again. This will be important for maintaining the space and knowing we have groups to rely on for bigger jobs!
- We hope there will be more interest in enjoying the bench and exploring the back of the garden, especially when all the plants are in and more mature in spring and summer.
- By restoring colour and variety in the planting in the garden, we will encourage more wildlife and biodiversity. It will revive that area of the garden and hopefully bring more joy and beauty to the local community who can use it.
- Katalin from MAD LEAP CIC has made lists of all the plants and we would like to make a map of the whole garden and what is planted at the moment.
- We want to produce a child-friendly handbook about the plants in the area to be given to the local children so they can hopefully gain more interest in visiting the garden and seeing it as a natural haven within their local area.
- We will be able to run workshops in the future around cooking with the berries and preserving things.
Limborough Community Food Hub is located on a housing estate in Poplar, East London and is owned by Poplar HARCA housing association. It includes an ornamental Chelsea Flower Show garden, designed by Chris Beardsley, a small fruit tree orchard and raised beds for communal growing. It also comprises a community training kitchen, a food pantry and a workshop space. This unique site provides a year round programme of cooking and growing workshops.
MEET THE LIMBOROUGH HUB TEAM

Rebecca has a Fine Arts background and has worked in Production and Education. She loves living in Tower Hamlets and enjoying all the pockets of green amongst the city.


Shaheda trained as an Early Years Teacher, then later as a community gardener at a local city urban farm. Happiest when working with nature, growing food, centered around well-being and positive living.
ZULFA LATIF, LIMBOROUGH OUTREACH & COMMS OFFICER
Zulfa lives in Tower Hamlets and as well as working at Limborough Community Hub, she works for Stitches in Time, a local arts and education charity. She is very creative and loves sewing and crafting. Zulfa is passionate about building women’s confidence, while helping them to learn new skills.
