Welcome to Elephant and Castle's pocket park. Our corner of Elliott's Row has been tended by volunteers since 2013 as a cheerful floral refuge for children and adults just one minute away from the infamous Elephant and Castle ring road. It is managed by volunteers of the Hayles Tenants and Residents Association and Mobile Gardeners.
The park was once a building, then a bomb site, a dumping ground, an estate playground and suffered from neglect before becoming a guerrilla garden in 2012 and by June 2013 an approval from Southwark Council for volunteers to tend the space.
Since 2012 we have revitalised the planting with a colourful mix of traditional border species including fragrant roses, honeysuckle, hollyhocks, smoke bush and forget-me-nots. We also commissioned a mural for the lower part of the adjacent wall, painted by Marc Craig. See how the garden has been transformed in our Facebook photo album. The park has received funding from Elefest, Kew's Grow Wild and from Southwark Council. You can read more about Elliott's Row Pocket Park on the Mobile Gardeners website here.
Many people from the Elephant and Castle and beyond have been involved in the transformation and tending of the space, and today local residents Daniel and Nelle take care of day to day gardening.
A note on the felling of trees: sadly in 2018 the final four beautiful mature Robinia trees were felled by Southwark Council who were concerned about the trunk rot in the trees - one tree had already fallen down in a storm during 2017. The council will invest in new tree planting in winter 2018 with species selected in partnership with local volunteers.
The pocket park welcome's people with time, ideas and funding to make it even more welcoming.
Get in touch by e-mailing richard@mobilegardeners.org who will put you in contact with the current volunteers leading its care.
