Property News: Lissenden Gardens residents growing their own eco-friendly food thanks to mini allotments

Published: 31 March 2011
by DAN CARRIER

MINI-allotments providing residents who live in flats with fresh food are being created on a housing estate.

The scheme aims not only to turn the balconies of Lissenden Gardens, in Parliament Hill, into an unlikely source of food, but improve the area’s biodiversity by providing a habitat for pollinating insects.

Organised by the Lissenden Gardens Tenants Association, tenants of the early Edwardian estate on Highgate Road have taken part in a series of workshops on how to grow your own. And now, as the spring sunshine begins to tease the flowers into bloom, the estate is reaping the benefits.

Organiser Pam Edwards said the plans to make the exterior of the flats greener followed a long-term project for the estate to play a part in beating global warming.

After considering how they could “green” their flats – improve boilers, insulation and windows, with the help of advice from experts – the association turned their attention to the communal outdoor areas and the balconies that each flat enjoys. The result is a new programme that has seen the balconies become mini-allotments.

Mrs Edwards said: “This is a very green estate. We have lots of balconies and mature trees. 

“We also have had a tradition of community gardening, and so this was a useful starting point for improving the estate.”

The range of food is diverse, and has provided a welcome addition to the menu for many.

Mrs Edwards said: “People are growing things like spinach, carrots, potatoes, runner beans, strawberries and lots of different herbs and salads.”

Tomatoes also benefit from the height of the flats – with the balconies going up five storeys, some of the more traditional blights that compromise tomato crops are simply not a problem, as they only attack the plants at ground level.

“It means they are pest free, and, as well as providing food, the balconies are beginning to look wonderful,” said Mrs Edwards.

Residents are now planning a summer harvest festival to celebrate the scheme. They also aim to make the most of the numerous veteran plane trees that are the area’s trademarks. Instead of the leaves that fall each autumn – they typically fill hundreds of black bags – the estate is putting together a plan to turn it all into leaf mulch for their new gardened areas. 

Mrs Edwards said: “This will not only reduce transport and landfill costs to have the leaves removed, but provide great mulch for the communal gardens and will help our gardens thrive.”

The urban gardeners have had to resolve problems such as the sun’s rays that the crops are exposed to. Because of the height of the blocks facing west, areas are plunged into shade. They also suffer from strong winds at times. 

And the gardeners are also taking their enthusiasm into communal areas. At the entrance to the estate on Highgate Road there are now a number of grass areas called the Highgate Enclosures. 

It has not always been the most appealing open space, suffering from fouling dogs, and a general lack of maintenance. But the association hope it will become a green oasis, providing the perfect environment for a host of insects that pollinate plants – insects currently under grave threat.

“We want to encourage bees, butterflies, moths,” said Mrs Edwards. “It has the potential to be a wonderful garden.”

Residents will be making “loggeries” – piles of rotting wood – for insects, and planting beds of wildflowers. Bird boxes are set to be put up, as are bat boxes to help encourage them to breed in the neighbourhood.