Sometimes, inspiration can lie in the most unlikely places. About 200yds from the Bankside office area we occupy I discovered a ‘secret’ garden that feels like it’s a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the the South Bank.  Tucked behind some railway arches and behind an overgrown car park, the pop-up Union Street Urban Orchard is a magical space full of fruit trees and flowers and even garden sheds full of seeds to plant and share.

There’s an upturned skip that become a table tennis table (Ping Pong is having something of a moment in London right now…)

…and  even somewhere to make tea or coffee with an honest box to pay up. Love that!

Sadly, this will all close on the 19^th September (that’s the thing about pop-ups) so I’m on the hunt for another secret space for lunchtime musings and inspiration. I may just have found it…

…at the All Hallows church garden round the corner next to the deconsecrated church.

There’s even a campaign to keep the garden going, so I’ve already joined up. Long live urban gardens! Carmel – acting editor

For more great images of urban gardens, check out House To Home.co.uk

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