Park of the week

152. The Phoenix Garden

The Phoenix Garden is behind the Phoenix Theatre, between Soho and Covent Garden. It was established in 1984 by local people as a community garden and is the last of the Covent Garden Community Gardens. There were originally seven gardens, created by the local community on vacant lots in the nineteen seventies and eighties, including a Japanese Garden, a Water Garden and a Chess Garden. The last of these closed for development in the nineteen eighties. The Phoenix Garden was set up on a car park site, which had itself been established on a World War II bombsite. Before this the Garden was the site of houses and a pub. 

In 2016, the building of a new community centre left a construction site to re-landscape, all to be done by one gardener and a group of weekend volunteers.  They were keen to use the rubble and earth onsite, because of the cost of waste removal and the wish to operate in a sustainable way. Volunteers put over 25 tons of rubble through a mini crusher and this material was used to construct raised beds and new, wheelchair and pram friendly paths. The Garden continues to be run by a committee of volunteers made up of local residents and workers. 

The Garden has won first prize for Best Environmental Garden in the Camden in Bloom competition six times, from 2004 to 2010. It also holds regular social events, including an annual Agricultural Show and volunteering workdays. 

It has a bedrock of thin, rubbly soil and, being in central London, is affected by the urban heat island effect, which means that it’s warmer than the surrounding rural areas. As a result, half-hardy plants such as the Giant Viper’s Bugloss can grow there – although I don’t remember seeing it. The garden is also a hotspot for both bird and pondlife. Quirky ornaments and signs, winding paths and peaceful corners with benches to sit and appreciate some peace and quiet, make it a welcome escape.

I overheard the guide of a walking tour of the garden say that the garden is featured in the 2019 film Last Christmas. I can’t confirm this, however, as you would have to force my eyelids open and clamp my head in place before I’d watch the film. Think “A Clockwork Orange”, one that, despite being underage, I did manage to see in the brief time it ran before being withdrawn.

Judith Field

The Phoenix Garden, 21 Stacey St, London WC2H 8DG