Unexpected consequences of working land

There is something special about working land. If others see you they talk to you about it. Before you know it they are joining in, and a community is forming. David Hughes records this magical process for us as he set out to transform a patch of wasteland that is part of the former Industrial Mill complex where he lives.

Garden of Hope

My wife and I recently went on a journey from Hope in the Peak District passed through Sin in Switzerland on our way to Hell near Trondheim in Norway. Incidentally the town sign there is a shopping bag! There is a happy ending because I returned to the Hope Valley where I now live and garden.

Having always wanted to run a smallholding living in a flat in an old industrial mill complex was not perhaps the most obvious thing to do but God works in mysterious ways and we have ended up developing a small communal garden. The site is a magnificent one which is the envy of all our visitors. We are surrounded by the Peak District hills on the banks of the lovely River Derwent but rather separated both geographically and socially from our neighbours in the village.

We inherited some patches of ground from the developer, which were seen as a bit of a liability by most of the occupants. This included a half acre of sloping nettle and bramble covered land used as dumping ground by anyone not wanting a trip to the tip. It was regarded as an eyesore by the neighbours and a problem by the Mill residents. Even the local wildlife found more congenial places to live!
When the chairman of the residents Board suggested that it might be the answer to my prayer I felt I should be much more carful what I prayed for next time but my wife encouraged me to put my spade where my mouth was so I started to dig. It took me an afternoon to reach soil level in a 3 foot square but then I was hooked despite the pitying looks of passers by. Thankfully another resident also caught the vision and despite my initial reservations about sharing “my” patch Jill and her husband also got stuck in.

Soon – well, in about 3 months - we had the patch cleared and some beds dug and planted. Our reward was a useful harvest of potatoes, runner beans, lettuces, onions, broad beans and a lonely squash of some undefined but delicious sort donated by a neighbour and much more significantly a relationship with the neighbours and passers by.

I had initially seen the public footpath down the side of the patch as a liability. We would be watched by nosey walkers and plundered by bands of marauders. In truth it has probably been one of the most satisfying aspects of the project. Everyone who passes by stops to say encouraging things. We are given cups of tea, seeds and plants and even a picnic bench. Recently we had three neighbours digging one of the toughest patches of ground looking for a blocked drain. Of course advice, history and village gossip are a major part of our daily diet even on wet days.

Now we have another member of our team and loads of fruit trees and shrubs on order. We are just planning to develop the neighbouring woodland area into a woodland garden for all to enjoy. Next year we hope to sweep the board at the village garden show. Well at least we should win the prize for ugliest vegetable!

David Hughes
David is the Coordinator of Ecocongregation

Suggested Task: Are you working a patch of land? Have you noticed community life building as you do it?

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