A community garden in Kingshurst has been launched to help residents feel more involved in their local area.
The garden project has been set up by Solihull College & University Centre and funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority to deliver programmes in specific areas of high deprivation to help residents with confidence and work-ready skills.
Community Adult Education lecturer, Kellie Homer, runs the project. She comments: “This is having a real impact on the students, many of whom have never been interested in gardening before. It’s about more than gardening, its created opportunities to meet local neighbours and contribute to community life. It showcases how gardening can bring people together.”
The sessions run once a week but many of the group also gather at weekends to make the most of their time planting and sowing seeds.
Kellie says this is testament to how important the garden has become to people: “Residents are now turning up on Saturdays too – not because they must, but because they genuinely want to be there. They come to help with sowing, share a cup of tea, and spend time together. That kind of community spirit can’t be manufactured. It grows naturally when people feel connected to something meaningful. For many residents in Kingshurst, life can often feel quiet or lonely. The garden club changes that. There’s always conversation, laughter, and a kettle boiling somewhere in the background, it’s a great advocate of how gardening can help mental well-being.”
Many of the people attending have faced significant mental health challenges and periods of isolation. What started as a simple gardening club has quietly become a safe space where people feel valued, welcomed, and understood.
Local resident, Soo Blackwell, has just started: “I have only been coming to gardening club a few weeks, but I really enjoyed it. I have been made to feel very welcome. I love being outside and have enjoyed helping out and I have loved making the hanging baskets.
Local resident, Ronald Seabright, says it’s giving him a new lease of life: “I’m really enjoying Tuesday afternoons at the garden club, it helps so much. I have ASD and it helps me to get out of the house for a couple of hours and do a bit of gardening activities, also meeting others and having a chat about garden and life in general.”
The group will be attending Gardener’s World Live next month to gather inspiration, with plans to showcase their work next year.
After the success of Kingshurst there are now gardening projects at Auckland Hall and the Fordbridge Centre.
