A place to grow…
The Secret Garden is a stunning Victorian walled garden nestled between St Clements Church, Bethany Junior School and St Clements and St Johns Infant School in Boscombe. It’s said to be Boscombe’s worst kept secret.
The space is an educational and demonstration garden, with plenty to see and learn about.
It is a place of productivity and tranquillity used for a wide range of activities. We host year-round volunteer sessions, weekend growing skills workshops, a weekly outdoor playgroup, monthly community meals, open days, seed swaps, school sessions, corporate team days, external events and community groups.
Our little garden has an off-grid Shack, with compost toilet, chickens, a wildlife pond, forest garden, and loads of fruit and vegetables growing.
The Deck, our amazing off-grid outdoor classroom/kitchen space, was completed in 2022. It is used several times a week for volunteer tea breaks, skills workshops, talks, community meals and meetings.
Visit the Secret Garden
Please come and get involved and visit us. All are welcome and wheelchairs can access the site too.
Drop into the Secret Garden in St Clements Churchyard, Boscombe, between 9am and 1pm on a Monday or Friday
If you are using a Sat Nav, use postcode BH1 4DJ. Walk towards the church along the path leading from Knole Road and our wooden entrance gate is on your right next to a green noticeboard. There is some on-street parking available on Knole Road but no parking on site.
The Nursery Garden
The Nursery Garden is our even more secret garden in the heart of the community, tucked away behind some houses. It is fully enclosed, and provides a lot of practical functions for our projects.
In April 2022 our volunteers put up a polytunnel for propagating plug plants. When big enough they are planted out in the Churchill Gardens Growzone, or in local back gardens by our Grounded Growers team.
It is also home to two educational bee hives used for bee experiences for local children, our microgreens growing project, and a storage space for compost produced by our Rocket Composter.
The garden is shaded by a large sycamore tree, making it unsuitable for growing annual vegetables, but we have experimented with growing mushrooms here. We encourage the edges of this garden to go wild to support our local ecosystem.
Bring and Share Community Meals
One of our favourite things to do is eat together. We host monthly gatherings throughout the year to share food and time, inspire, connect and enjoy the Secret Garden space. Sometimes these are bring and share meals, sometimes there is food provided for people to enjoy. Since the completion of The Deck in 2022, we have been able to use this fantastic outdoor kitchen space in all weathers and seasons, complete with a pizza oven and BBQ area.
Our monthly meals are open to all so feel free to bring along a friend or the family. Children of all ages are very welcome.
- We usually gather on the second Sunday of the month and sit down to eat at 12.30pm
- If you can come earlier to help set up, it is much appreciated.
- If you can, please bring a dish to share – savoury, sweet, hot, cold, salad, cakes, bread, dips, anything!
- Please note we are a non-alcohol, non-smoking, no-dogs site