Pocket Park receives a prestigious award with the RHS, South and South East in Bloom

The Pocket Park for the first time in its 25 year history, it is now looking like a flourishing community garden with a much needed investments of plants to support the vegetable garden encouraging greater biodiversity and the theme "Habitats for All". The team run various community activities and workshops including during the school holiday.

Over the summer feeding over 200 local children all free. It really is a labour of love, supported by local organisations and the community to which they are very grateful.

This year, thank to a few grants including Sussex Community Foundation helped the Pocket Park for a community street art mural working with Stella Dore Gallery which was a major success involving the local children and schools providing them with a unique opportunity to learn street art.

The RHS Feedback comments gives high praise to the Pocket Park Team: "Where to start! This is the third year the judge has visited this entry and each year has been more amazing than the year before. This year was no exception.

The growing of plants in straw bales is being trialled this year with potatoes and lettuce and other assorted plants for food with great success. The configuration of the straw bales allows a person in a wheelchair to access these raised beds.

Other new initiatives are the setting up of a dye garden, a mushroom farm area, a tiered cake bed planted up with edible flowers and a new cut flower bed, now that the knotweed has been eradicated with council support. Last year’s donated pizza oven has now been installed and recently children had free pizzas with fresh vegetables and salads from the garden.

Local residents, their children, children with disabilities and with learning difficulties continue to flock to the garden for educational and therapeutic benefits, along with refugees and their children. The garden is also a very important social hub for residents to come and talk with others to help, especially during the current cost of living crisis.

Other projects have been completed in the last year are the graffiti wall where children were able to determine what they wanted and trained graffiti artists translated the children’s ideas to onto a wall at the back of the garden. In another area young children painted their own favourite bug onto a low wall of one of the large circular planters to great effect. This really is an engaging garden where it’s hands on for all and everyone.

Suz Horgan who heads up the team has now linked up with Feargus at Great Dixter and has won a scholarship to attend courses at the famous garden. She is also organising trips to the Garden this summer, one trip for adults and another for children. Suz is also becoming more well-known and respected for her work in Hastings and beyond. She is now giving talks about sustainability, most recently to an audience at the De La Warr Pavilion.

Very little to suggest for development other than to continue on with the great work being achieved. The judge is in no doubt that Suz and her team will develop new projects and new initiatives as the years progress. Inclusivity is a major factor here and will no doubt continue"

If you would like further information contact Suz at [email protected] or find us on Facebook or Instagram..