JohnGreen-fingered residents have come together to help plant a new herb garden at the busy Compton Centre in Harehills.
The new herb garden is joint effort between Harehills Action Team and Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and is a tangible outcome of hosting the recent Harehills Climate Action Assembly at the centre.
The RHS are currently creating a Healing Garden at nearby St James’s Hospital and part of their work involves working with the local community.
The RHS have responded to feedback from growing groups last year that growing from seed was tricky, and Alex and Alison from RHS Communities team have been working with Leeds City Council’s Arium nursery to produce herb plug plants to enable groups to have more success.
At the Harehills Climate Action Assembly the communities team gave out herbs for people to grow at home in a garden, back yard, balcony or a windowsill.
A variety of herbs – including coriander, fennel, mint, sage and rosemary – were distributed for their culinary use and these can also be used to make skin balms, hair oils and throat gargles.
The team then worked with local residents to create a communal herb garden at the Compton Centre to enable the people of Harehills to have free access to herbs.
Alison Varley, from RHS, said: “It would be fantastic to start a gardening club here at The Compton where local people could use the herbs, tend the garden and gain the wellbeing benefits that gardening brings.”
The new community herb garden is similar to the one at Oakwood Clock. Herbs are tough and hardy and easy to grow, and add amazing aroma. One of the women in the group of planters said they loved smelling the leaves on their fingers.
Simple tips on how to set a herb garden up where you live can be found on the RHS website.
You can contact the RHS here.
Harehills Climate Action Assembly looked at climate action and care of the environment from the perspective of a global majority and under-resourced communities, such as Harehills.
