Sunday 10 September 2023, 11am to 3pm.

We are delighted to announce the return of Apple Day at Streatham Common Community Garden. Join us for a day of pressing apples and pears at our free community event – all welcome!

Bring your windfall apples and pears for crushing – or just come to find out how it’s done and take part in the pressing. If you would like to take your juice home, please bring your own sterilised containers.

Take part in the ‘Longest Peel’ competition, apple tasting, apple bobbing, and other apple themed kid’s activities. A chill out zone is also available to those in need of a restful space.

Apple Day is a free event but any donations received goes back into the running of the community garden and we thank you for your support.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Read our Annual Report for Year Ending 7 October 2022

The Community Garden is looking for at least two Trustees to join our existing Board. This is a unique opportunity for a rewarding experience, helping to develop the garden while gaining skills, socialising, and getting exercise in our amazing outdoor setting.

To find out more about the role and how to express an interest please click here.

We look forward to hearing from you!

To mark a decade of SCCG, we invited the community for a day of activities, food and entertainment.

On Sunday 10^th October we were delighted to welcome people from across the community to our 10^th Anniversary event. We wanted to run the event as both a ‘thank you’ for volunteers and supporters who have contributed to our work over the years, and as a chance for residents to find out about the community garden, our history, and how they can get involved.
The free event included a range of activities – our Sunday Community Gardener, Jane Sowerby, coordinated a stall where people could make their own flower garland ‘crown’ – lots of our Little Growers (and a few ‘bigger growers’!) were proudly photographed wearing their bright and colourful head pieces.

SCCG Trustee, Kate Daly, ran an apple-tasting table, offering visitors the chance to try ten varieties of apple, including some that had originated in South London. We also invited younger guests to make their own bird feeders out of toilet roll tubes, peanut butter and bird seed.

Ruth Arnott, our Wednesday Community Gardener, fired up the pizza oven and all were invited to share a delicious range of freshly cooked pizzas alongside a buffet of salads, side dishes and cakes contributed to by many Trustees, volunteers and visitors.

Mulberry tree expert, Peter Coles, who runs Morus Londinium, gave a fascinating talk on the history of mulberry trees and his project to map them across the UK. Peter discussed our 250-year-old mulberry tree as part of his presentation – he commented on how healthy it looked compared to other similar-aged trees he has seen in London.

In addition, we ran a plant sale and a raffle, which together with generous donations from visitors, helped us cover costs of running the event.  The day was then rounded off with an excellent performance by the Brixton Tatterjacks. Returning to the garden for the first time since January 2020, the troop of Morris Dancers encouraged visitors to join them for a number of energetic dances – a great end to a very special celebration.

Here’s to the next ten years!  

A big thank you to our volunteers who have installed a small pond in the community garden as part of the renovation of the mulberry area. It was hard work, with lots of digging, and quite a few adjustments. But we are sure birds, insects and our resident frogs will soon explore the new water source.

Creating a pond is one of the most important things you can do to attract wildlife into your garden. Frogs and toads love to visit. You will see birds attracted by the water, the insects, and a chance to have a wash. If you’re fortunate you may also see a hedgehog having a drink.

Ponds do not have to be big. A small container can work well in a typical urban garden. There is lots of advice on the web about introducing a pond to your space. The Wildlife Trust’s pages give step by step a guidance and autumn is the perfect time to get started: How to build a pond | The Wildlife Trusts, so why not give it a go?

If do you install a pond into your growing space, we’d love to see it. Please take a photo and share on social media. Our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter links are on the top right of this webpage.

Would you like to create your own woodland area in your garden?

As many of you know, thanks to funding from National Lottery Awards for All, we are currently giving our mulberry tree and the surrounding area some tender loving care.  We will show how shady and woodland areas can be managed to grow a variety of plants as well as encouraging more wildlife.  These areas are great for encouraging visiting birds, bats, insects, mice, hedgehogs and, if you’ve a water source, dragon flies, frogs, and toads.

You do not need a large garden to create a woodland environment.  An area of the garden of even a few metres is enough to encourage a wide range of woodland visitors.  The Wildlife Trust has some really useful tips on creating a ‘Woodland Edge Garden’, including how to get started as well as choosing plants and flowers that will thrive in shady areas.  It is really easy to do, and the great news is that you don’t have to be too tidy!  Have fun and enjoy your woodland edge.

We are delighted to announce that National Lottery Awards for All is giving us funding to make the garden even more amazing.
Many of you love our ancient mulberry tree, which is thought to have been planted when the former ‘Rookery House’ and its gardens were established in the late 1700s. It sits in a small woodland area of the garden which needs some tender loving care. With the funding we will develop this mulberry glade area to:

• Showcase how shady and woodland areas can be managed to grow a variety of plants.
• Inform visitors on the history of the mulberry and about the wildlife that can be found in the area.
• Support existing wildlife and encourage a more diverse range of wildlife.
• Create a peaceful spot away from busy urban Streatham to sit and enjoy nature.

We know how much COVID-19 has impacted on so many people and we hope that this project will both inspire you and encourage you to become involved with the garden as the area is developed. Please look out for updates on our progress, how you can become involved, and how you can apply ideas on woodland planting to your own growing spaces.