If the first rule of Gardening Club is always mention Gardening Club, then the second rule must be to recruit some gardeners. Last autumn the Young Vic did just that; whipped into shape by our resident gardener Andy from the Front of House team, a group of us set about turning the flat section of the roof into a thriving and diverse roof garden, with wild flowers, fruit, herbs and a vegetable patch.
The roof garden is a long term investment. We understand that we won’t be able to provide all staff with their 5-a-day in year one. What we do hope however is to encourage a thriving ecosystem of bees, butterflies and birds, helping to pollinate and sustain the garden for the years ahead.
The garden will also help towards our commitment to ensuring that the Young Vic is as sustainable as possible, in line with our partnership with Julie’s Bicycle and the other London Theatre Consortium theatres, helping to do our bit to improve air quality and eco-diversity in our own small patch of south London. Read on to find out more on which bit of the garden does what and our plans for the future.
Our herb garden is home to the usual suspects Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, and others. We’re constructing a second raised bed for growing veg and flowers, cottage garden style.
On the terrace we have climbing plants Clematis, Passion flower and Jasmine, plus hanging baskets of strawberries and Nasturtium, tomatoes and Marigolds.
We've dedicated part of the roof area to a wild flower meadow, where a mixture of British wild flower seeds are just starting to come up. Last year we signed up to receive seeds from a campaign run by Kew Gardens and they've been planted here.
As well and the plants, we’re going to build an insect hotel. To help attract pollinating insects to the area, we need to provide at least 4 star accommodation. If we get it right, we’ll see lots of butterflies
bees going there this summer.
Words by Gardening Club members Daniel and Sophie.
To read more about the Young Vic's sustainability commitment, click here.
