Residential Community

With a strong sense of community, Coventry is blessed with local residents always keen to get involved with the campaign through various schemes such as open space development initiatives, group gardening, community groups and residents associations.

Households amongst communities of social housing in Coventry have taken part in turning their neighbourhoods into a green oasis of home grown plants and vegetables. The project named ‘Gardening in Paradise’ saw part of the community centre grounds turned into a training plot where experts will offer free advice and garden tutorials. Coventry City Council has worked hard with local people to help turn their gardens into well maintained, lush green spaces.

Thumbnail : The Girl Guides helped with the design and planting of the Trinity bed in their iconic trefoil design : Click image to enlarge

Together, over the past year CV One and the Landscape Group have worked in support of residents within Starley Road who are working hard to put together a community garden in their area. By giving away old city centre planter boxes which can be refurbished and used at low cost and removing large quantities of graffiti from the surrounding vicinity, staff have improved the overall look and feel of the area in support of the Starley Road project. Working hard to look after their environment, volunteers of the ‘Starley Community Gardens’ offer the chance to rent growing space to local residents, many of whom now grow asparagus, edible flowers, culinary herbs and plants from far away destinations such as the Ukraine and Kenya. They are also working along side Coventry City Council and CV One to discourage anti social behaviour in their area which has seen some damage to trees in the surrounding environment. Similarly, community volunteers within the Vicroft Court vicinity work with one another and The Landscape Group to clear the area of litter, maintain the grounds and herbaceous beds.

As part of this year's campaign, CV One and the Business Improvement District provided the chance for local residents to participate by sending in pictures of their own communal spaces/gardens. Published through ‘Feel Alive’ magazine, entries were submitted, showcasing some of Coventry’s best, well maintained garden spaces.

St John Baptist church in Coventry city centre provides a welcoming communal garden which contains a mixture of year round perennial bedding, hedgerows, shrubs and a variety of vibrant evergreen trees. Coventry carers association continue to plough time and effort into their well maintained allotment; filled with delicious, seasonal vegetables. Finally, Belgrade Plaza car park provides several colourful summer planter containers along with trailing hanging baskets to brighten the area.

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