Plant The Town Green

No garden? No problem. Plant in a street tree bed instead to help brighten up your neighbourhood

AS A CHILD, John Welsh loved helping out in his parents’ garden and, after finishing his studies, his first job was in a plant nursery. “But then I got pulled into a corporate career for 30 years,” he sighs.

That began to change in 2016, when John’s mother moved in with him and his husband. “She was shocked by the level of litter and dog foul in the street and suggested we plant some of the leftover plants from her old garden into the shabby tree beds outside.” Sure enough, the plants flourished, and the mess around them subsided. “It was a revelation: I could actually change something, rather than just sitting at home like a pompous old fart, whinging or shouting at the council.”

By the following year, John had created biodiverse gardens in six tree beds along the street, using only plants from saved seeds, cuttings or division.