London's blooming: gardens flourish on the tube - photo essay

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/23/london-underground-in-bloom-tube-tfl-staff-gardens-photo-essay

London’s blooming: gardens flourish on the tube – photo essay

…

With plants grown in everything from used mayonnaise pots to old food delivery crates, makeshift station gardens are sprouting up around the capital, all managed by volunteer staff. Competition categories include the best indoor garden, best fruit and vegetables, best hanging baskets and best window baskets.

…

Only 45% of the London Underground is actually underground. At Morden tube station, staff are growing a variety of fruit and vegetables, including cherries, potatoes, hot peppers and plums on a disused platform. Staff can go there to relax and have some quiet time while on duty.

…

James Elliott, who works for TfL at Goodge Street station, started planting up a disused space hidden from the main platform in 2019. He brought in compost using a suitcase, found planters and boxes being given away on Freecycle, and worked on the garden before and after his shift.

Today the garden has dozens of plants, including geraniums, marigolds, wisteria, holly, nasturtiums and a wildflower box with cornflowers and poppies. Vegetables grown at the station are shared among staff, and this year’s harvest included tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot, lettuces, Swiss chard – and even apples.

Elliott waited until the gardens had been judged in early August before harvesting the vegetables. “Harvesting is my favourite thing; when you start growing vegetables, you realise how hard it is. You appreciate the time and expertise that has gone into delivering the food we eat,” he says.

…more…

[hermetic]

1. Lovely

I adore English gardens. Took me a while to figure out that when they say "pot plants" it means plants in pots. Not...you know.