The entrance, which had a major overhaul earlier this year, won Best Business Entrance following a visit from the Project Dirt judges on 28 August who said it was “an inspired project” and “highly original”.
Cecil Sharp House wins Camden in Bloom award for best business entrance
We are even more pleased because it was achieved through the hard work of volunteers and on no budget thanks to our friends at London Permaculture.
Cecil Sharp House's Operations Director, Rosie Baker, said: “We are very pleased to be the winners of Camden in Bloom 2014 Best Business Entrance award.
“We owe enormous thanks to our friends at London Permaculture without whom this would not have happened. The Permaculture team of volunteers led a ‘Permablitz’ on the entrance garden to Cecil Sharp House in March 2014 and transformed it completely beyond our expectations into a beautiful space with an abundance of wildlife, fragrance and colour.
“They achieved all this with no budget but with hard work, dedication and generous donations of plants from the community. We are so grateful to all who contributed their time and plants and are thrilled to see this stunning entrance garden welcome our visitors to Cecil Sharp House.”
The Cecil Sharp House entrance is a low maintenance permaculture garden designed to be inkeeping with the folk ethos of Cecil Sharp House.
It includes a herb spiral, crescent-shaped compost raised bed, pond, gravel, with a slate pathway and the beds.
The garden showcases a variety of apple trees that are central to the English folk tradition and includes a Saint Cecilia species, which is Cecil Sharp’s birthday tree.
The majority of the remaining plants are edible and can be harvested by staff and by the volunteers who maintain the garden. They include trees such as hazelnuts, shrubs including blueberries and elderflowers, perennials, annuals, herbs, ground cover plants such as strawberries, sweet woodruff and pink purslane and climbers like nasturtiums.
It was created in March 2014 thanks to 20 people from permablitzlondon. A permablitz involves a group of people meeting up for the day to create or develop a household or community edible, wildlife-friendly garden, according to a permaculture design.
The new addition: a herb spiral at Cecil Sharp House
Team permablitz pose with their newly created herb spiral
The team getting their hands dirty
Have you noticed our redesigned entrance?
Tell us what you think via Twitter @cecilsharphouse or via our online form.
Judges comments:
- Excellent concept, showing much imagination and beautiful results.
- Obviously much effort went into the design and creation of the site, and it was a rare example of 'horticultural creativity' for such a small space. It is designed to be sustainable.
- A good example of what can be achieved with a small budget, which should encourage other groups to get going along similar lines.
- Eco-friendly in materials recycling, planting, and the methods used to maintain the site.
- Good involvement of a core group of volunteers and regular interchange of volunteers between this project and others. These network arrangements naturally lead to exchange of ideas and mutual support.
- Great educational value. To give just two examples:
1. 75% of the plants grown are edible as well as being attractive
2. The herb spiral is built with re-cycled bricks and displays some uncommon herbs as well as the usual ones
