Forest Garden, in the heart of Leytonstone, is designed with HOS Landscapes to enhance biodiversity and provide a natural habitat for bees, bugs and butterflies as well as an enjoyable feature for residents.
The garden is visually appealing and intentionally low-maintenance. It replaces large areas of impermeable tarmac with recycled building aggregate, sand, gravel and timber, allowing rainwater to percolate into the ground rather than run off into drains. The water-retentive planting and ‘rain gardens’ are designed to ensure rainfall is recycled to water the planting, while reducing the burden on drainage infrastructure. A number of new trees have been introduced, along with uniquely designed insect habitats. In the centre of the garden sits a rammed earth wall, a nod to the old milestone which originally gave Leytonstone its name. The sedimentary layers of the low wall hint at the proximity of the buried Philley Brook watercourse nearby.
Now complete, the project has been adopted by a community of green-fingered local residents, who will tend the garden over the coming years. The project provides an opportunity for neighbours to congregate and share in a new green space. The project won the inaugural People’s Choice award at the Waltham Forest Design Awards 2021.
Type
Location
GIA
Value
Status
Sustainability
Awards
Placemaking
Waltham Forest
c100sqm
£13m
Built
Negative CO2 Emissions
Winner of the ‘Public Choice
Award’ – Waltham Forest Design
Awards
Client
Main Contractor
Landscape Architect
Community engagement consultant
Horticulturist Consultancy
London Borough of Waltham Forest
HOS Landscapes
HOS & HUT
Moira Lascelles
John Little
