I was just coming out of a very tough and low time in my life and didn’t know anyone in the area.

I had walked past the community garden many times on my travels but like with most things at the time didn’t have any interest in it.

However, I slowly began to enjoy a few simple things and knew of the coffee stall situated in the middle of the garden, so one day I stopped by to get a drink.

I can’t remember the day now, but sitting here today I can tell you about how that day paved the way, unknowingly at the time, to finding a place I can say I am part of.

The coffee stall in the community garden began to be a place to get out of the house in the fresh air and enjoy chatting with the owner and some of the residents, I really enjoyed it in the mornings we would often talk about this and that.

Then I got inspired by photography on my new phone and really liked taking pics of the flowers in the garden and also the coffee stall. The owner saw I was interested in design from the pictures I had shown them, so introduced me to someone who helped with the community garden.

I had an idea to jazz up a sign and they liked the idea so I set about creating it. In a few weeks it was soon being used.

That introduction has led me to meet more residents in the area from the community garden, often meeting at the garden whilst we go about our day-to-day activities and chatting about what’s been happening.

Since then, the community garden has become a place I visit most days when I’m around (it’s so beautiful at sunrise), enjoy the beautiful and peaceful surroundings and flowers, relax over a coffee and catch up, and get involved with a variety of different activities.

I am grateful for the community garden and the people I have come to know through it. We are lucky to have this space and look forward to spending more time there and seeing how it blooms over the next seasons.