How can gardens bring neighbours and communities together?

dogwooddays

Hi, we've just had fun transforming our shared side garden with our neighbours and it made me think about how gardens, however small, can bring people together. I'd love to hear whether other people have found that gardens, especially front gardens, create a sense of community. Thanks. 

More photos of my garden including the 'After' photos can be found at

https://dogwooddays.net/2016/07/30/side-gardens-and-shared-spaces/

Ceres

That's so sweet. The new garden looks lovely.

dogwooddays

Thanks. It was fun :-) 

dogwooddays

Thanks Philippa. As it's a very narrow strip we couldn't easily divide it, even if we wanted to, so it was fun to plan and plant it together and tie the two main front gardens together too. :-) 

Ladybird4

Lovely idea but what happens if one of you moves?

dogwooddays

Thanks. Guess it would depend on what the new owners wanted. The border was already planted up with overgrown hollies, conifers and potentilla as one 'garden' when we both moved in, so I imagine, unless the new owners hated the shared garden, it would stay. Quite a lot of the houses round here have shared side borders, mostly planted with hedges. The strip is too narrow really to accommodate 2 separate borders. :-) 

Lou12

My neighbours have plenty to say about how I should plant up my new front garden so it's a lively topic.

We often get together to talk garden and it only ends in fisticuffs when one of them suggest hydrangeas - I hate them

I'm planting a white garden, they all think it should be very colourful but they'll see. It will look nice when it's done.

I'd say about 6 front gardens in the close are lovely and the rest are mostly neglected rental houses so us 6 tend to get together for a chat quite a lot.

dogwooddays

Lol ? Good that gardening is creating discussion, even if some of it is about hydrangeas! Hope the white garden goes well, it sounds lovely. I have a red and white border at the back and love the white cosmos, ammi majus, lychnis coronaria, Echinacea ' White Swan' and centranthus ruber 'Albus' at this time of year.

There's some photos of my red and white border here in my blog... 

https://dogwooddays.net/2016/05/20/my-hard-working-garden-an-ongoing-transformation-part-2/

Although some blue/purple lavender sneaked in when I wasn't looking ? 

Zoomer44

It's the back gardens which promote a sense of community spirit here, particularly in the summer. All seem to be used as an extra room. 

I've shared fruit and veg with neighbours. When I had a cat, I bought the neighbours children water pistols, the rule was if she went in their garden they would squirt her with water but she was allowed to walk on the fence. 

The cat soon learned not to leave my garden but would go to the gap in the fence when called by neighbours children to be stroked, the same gap which the children used to retrieve their balls if they landed in my garden.

The cat has since died but the children still ask if I have any strawberries or currants.. 

dogwooddays

Lovely! I love the way you trained the cat!! We've had gardens before where you could see your neighbours over the fence and that was lovely. In my current house you can't, so front garden life is where we met up and chat/swap stuff :-)