2011 Awards

The awards presentation took place at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in Fitzrovia in 2011. Gardeners, judges, sponsors and supporters saw actress Susan Hampshire present certificates and especially engraved garden trowels to the winners.

The top award went to the Meanwhile Wildlife Garden in Kensington and a Special Award was made to the Wayward Land Trust, creators of such successful pop-up green projects as the Union Street Urban Orchard in Southwark and Urban Physic Garden.

The Green Corners Awards ran for over a year with monthly winners going forwards to the grand final, judged by an expert jury chaired by the botanist David Bellamy. The judges included: Susan Hampshire; gardening journalists Matthew Appleby, Pattie Barron and Sir Roddy Llewellyn; Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board; Bob Crawley, editorial director of Archant London; Christopher Woodward, director of the Garden Museum and The Conservation Foundation's director David Shreeve.

 

The Winning Gardens 2011:

COMMUNITY GREEN CORNERS - supported by Archant London
Mayow Park Community Garden, Sydenham

Once a derelict Sydenham park keepers depot, Mayow Park is now a successful community garden. All kinds of flowers grow on the site, alongside culinary herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. With two new ponds, newts, frogs, toads, dragonflies and many different birds and insects can also now be found in the garden. 

 

 

NO MAN’S LAND
Johanna Primary School, Lambeth

Johanna Primary in Lower Marsh has transformed a piece of car park and an unused park corner into an edible feast. It’s a pleasure to pass it. They grow vegetables in raised beds, some very interesting pots and a great bit of topiary.

 

 

 

 

GREEN CORNERS FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING 

Meanwhile Wildlife Garden, Kensington

Tucked at the base of the high rise Trellick Towers and bordered by the Grand Union Canal, the Meanwhile Garden is a therapeutic and training garden managed by Kensington and Chelsea Mind. The garden provides a ‘natural health service’ for the community with this small space of wildlife which is healthy, accessible, recreational and educational. The main purpose of the garden is to provide therapeutic and vocational benefits for individuals who come here daily as part of their personal recovery. Saskie Laing, who nominated the garden, receives the award from Susan Hampshire.

 

 

 

 

 

PAVEMENT GREEN CORNERS – supported by the Guerrilla Gardeners’ Pimp Your Pavement. 279 Alexandra Park Road, Haringey

This is one of three small front gardens which open in the summer through the National Gardens Scheme. The tiny frontage is filled with an abundance and variety of shrubs, colourful and fragrant plants in pots and beds, as well as containers and upper windowsills. Wilf and Gail Downing, left,  have brightened the street scene by placing two large pots against the tree on the pavement spilling over with scented petunias.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEWS GREEN CORNERS – supported by Lurot Brand and presented by Oliver Lurot
Bingham Place, Marylebone

Bingham Place is a cul-de-sac in Marylebone whose residents are greening their areas and now what was once a very dull place has been transformed into a green oasis and a neighbourhood amenity. Passers-by stop and admire the plants and the street is now a community focus. Ruth Kamen, who nominated the mews on behalf of all the neighbours, receives the award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SACRED SPACES – supported by Natural England
Jamyang Buddhist Centre, Kennington

Once a Kennington courthouse, close to the Poor House where Charlie Chaplin’s mother lived, the Jamyang Buddhist Centre’s garden is now a place of peace and tranquillity. The courtyard was inaugurated by His Holiness The Dalai Lama in 1999 who planted a magnolia tree and since then a pergola and raised beds have been built and trellises fixed to the wall of the old fire station next door. Director Sally Barraud, left and Ros Williams, who cares for the garden, are presented with the Sacred Spaces award.

 

 

 

 

 

EDIBLE GREEN CORNERS– supported by Capital Growth
The Floating Allotment, Kingsland Basin, Hackney

A community of 14 Hackney boat dwellers has turned one of the old boats into a floating allotment on which herbs, perennials and annuals grow. The boat is a cornucopia of rosemary, basil, Thai sage, chives and mint, strawberries, artichokes, lettuces, tomatoes, squash, beetroot and much more. The produce is shared between the households involved and when there’s a particularly bumper crop, it’s left in a common area so people can help themselves. Here Valerie Easty, Tim Storey and Marnie Collins are congraulated by Susan Hampshire.

 

 

 

 

 

ON THE MOVE
Neighbours of Alexandra Park Road, Haringey

The four front gardens, which open under the National Gardens Scheme, all provide colour and interest for the community and are inspiring examples of how much can be achieved in a small space. There is a profusion of colour in pots and tall plants. One has a tropical theme, while another is a recreation of a country cottage garden. The beauty and atmosphere encourage respect and appreciation from passers-by – a case of Green Corners encouraging Green Thinking

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROOF TERRACES AND BALCONIES – supported by Capital Gardens
Balderton Flats, Westminster

Until Chris Barr and Susie Johns started to build a garden the roof of their block of flats was bare. They got rid of the rubbish and started planting. Now there’s a wonderful communal roof garden on top of Oxford Street, where the air quality is much improved and neighbours swop cuttings and herbs, practise Tai Chi and relax in this hidden haven or peace.

 

 

SCHOOL GREEN CORNERS
Bowes School, Southgate

Bowes School is directly situated on the North Circular Road - one of the schools we’ve been hearing about in the news this week. Everything ‘green’ here has been created and built with recycled materials. Ailsa Martin, right, accepts the award for the school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOUNG LONDONERS
St Joseph’s Junior School, Croydon

St Joseph’s was such an enthusiastic participant in Green Corners that we’re delighted they’ve won the Young Londoners category. With the help of Christine Whitmarsh, left, The children had a busy year of gardening and have created some great green spaces, including a pond which is very successfully attracting all kinds of wildlife from frogs and newts to dragonflies and even a pair of Mallard ducks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WATER WISE GREEN CORNERS – supported by Thames Water
Cherry Tree roundabout, Southgate

A site such as the Cherry Tree Roundabout which is exposed to wind, frost and drought is a challenge to design and plant but has been hugely successful. Grasses, euphorbia and alliums combine to make a delightful splash of sustainable colour in the Water Wise Green Corners category. Nominator Karen Gurrey collected the award on behalf of the roundabout's creator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL AWARD
Wayward Land Trust

The Wayward Land Trust’s Urban Street Orchard in Southwark was a fantastic project which was put forward for the No Man’s Land category last year. It could equally have been a contender in the Community category for involving over 100 local volunteers. In the event, the judges didn’t choose it as an overall winner as it was a temporary Green Corner. However, the work of the Wayward Land Trustis very much in tune with the Green Corners ethos and thoroughly deserving of a special Green Corners Award. Tom Kendal, second right, one of the creative forces behind the Trust, receives the special award.

 

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Pavement side patch or postage stamp size plot. Colourful roof terrace, balcony or simple window sill. Alleyway or serene sacred space away from the urban rush. Community area cared for by many or playground green corner for children’s flowers and vegs. Pretty mews transformed by green fingered neighbours or flashes of floral colour at bus stops and stations which brighten our journey round town.

Green Corners are for anyone to create and everyone to enjoy.

GREEN CORNERS CATEGORIES

COMMUNITY GREEN CORNERS - urban green spaces cared for and shared by people living nearby (supported and judged by Archant London)
EDIBLE GREEN CORNERS - where herbs, fruit and vegetables thrive (supported and judged by Capital Growth’s campaign for 2012 new growing spaces)                       
GREEN CORNERS FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
ON THE MOVE – green corners on boats or at stations and bus stops or seen from bikes, buses, cars, trains, tubes, taxis
MEWS GREEN CORNERS - made colourful by green fingered neighbours (sponsored and judged by Lurot Brand)
NO MAN'S LAND – unloved and uncared for strips of land, alleyways or cut throughs.
PAVEMENT GREEN CORNERS - pavement patches and tree wells (in association with Guerrilla Gardening’s Pimp Your Pavement)
ROOF TERRACES, BALCONIES AND WINDOW SILLS - with bird and insect loving plants (sponsored and judged by Capital Gardens)
SACRED SPACES - peaceful places for quiet reflection (sponsored and judged by Natural England)
SCHOOL GREEN CORNERS - where pupils and teachers get together to turn grey spaces green (supported by Tools Shed)
WATER-WISE GREEN CORNERS - planted to flourish whatever the weather (sponsored and judged by Thames Water)
YOUNG LONDONERS – green corners created by young people under 25

London's Green Corners Awards 2010 were supported by The Tanner Trust.