‘I see people gardening to deal with things like alcoholism and social isolation’

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Brenda Elm, head gardener at Rainbow Community Garden

Chewing the Fat, out to lunch with Phil Ascough

This week’s guest: Brenda Elm from Rainbow Community Garden

They grow carrots and courgettes, gooseberries and grapes, potatoes and peas in north Hull’s hideaway community garden.

It’s a haven for busy, buzzing bees, creepy, crawling caterpillars and cheerful, chattering children.

Dig a bit deeper and you’ll find signs of social isolation, recovery from alcoholism, menopausal misery and general mental health issues.

Head gardener Brenda Elm remembers the scenario all too well: “I worked as a civil servant in the dole office and I know how important gardening is to some people because I know how important it was to me.

“It was not wanting to go out, not being good at being with people, not wanting to interact with people. I still don’t know what brought it on.”

What makes it go is gardening, or even just sitting in a place of solitude, right in the middle of a housing estate, yet off the beaten track, behind other people’s back fences.

“I’m employed as a head gardener but I do a bit of everything,” said Brenda.

“We spend a lot of time talking to people. Many of them like to offload about things that are happening in their lives. Some people just want to chat and sit in a nice space.

GREEN FINGERS: Rainbow regular Marie Carlson, right, with daughter Zara and guest author Chrissie Lewis

“I have had my own allotments for more than 30 years and I use them for the same reason. I go to the allotment and just get into doing something and the stresses and strains go out of my head.”

It’s well over a hundred years since Sir James Reckitt made gardening an essential part of his family firm’s health and wellbeing programme across the city in east Hull.

An ornamental trowel in the Reckitt archive commemorates the laying of the first brick at Garden Village by Sir James in 1907. The completed estate stretched across 130 acres with about 600 homes housing just over 3,000 people, with a horticultural society which gave prizes every year for the best garden.

After contributing £150,000 of his own money – the equivalent of just over £10m today – Sir James is reputed to have said: “We don’t live in squalor so we should not expect our employees to do so. The objects of this Garden Village are to provide a house and a good garden.”

Brenda was an enthusiastic amateur when she arrived at Rainbow Community Garden as a volunteer in 2002 but her gardening skills blossomed after completing a diploma in horticulture at Bishop Burton College. Her motivation comes from seeing the difference the garden makes to people of all ages.

“The people who come here range from children to those in their late 60s and early 70s,” she said.

“We do an after-school club and a women’s group. We run work experience for 14 and 15-year-olds and we do social prescribing. I see people gardening to deal with things like recovering from alcoholism, social isolation. Some people are lonely and they just want someone to talk to.

“We welcome people from anywhere in Hull and we get a lot of contact from people who see us on Facebook.”

TEAM EFFORT: From left, assistant gardener Emma Jenkins, founder Jeannie Fewster, head gardener Brenda Elm and freelance evaluator Christie Parkin

It’s a team effort with assistant gardener Emma Jenkins and freelance evaluator Christie Parkin both playing a major part and the garden’s founder Jeannie Fewster never far away.

“I worked for the Housing Action Trust and when I came to see the people in the bungalows I saw the land behind them – we didn’t know it was there,” recalled Jeannie who, as Jeannie Webster, planted the seeds for the project more than 25 years ago.

“It was overgrown and people had put rubbish everywhere. You couldn’t get into it. I suggested turning it into a garden and someone said I must be joking, but everybody got involved and I was a volunteer. I used to spend all my time here.”

Returning for the recent end-of-summer celebration day, Jeannie told how she set about finding a solicitor, agreeing a lease and establishing a charity. Then recruiting Brenda and Emma, who drove things forward after Jeannie finally hung up her gardening gloves.

She said: “It was all about teaching children about nature, getting involved in growing things, learning about plants and insects and helping mental health for adults. A lot of people thought it wouldn’t last. It’s all down to the dedication of the volunteers and I have even seen people who came here years ago coming back with their grandchildren. It’s gone through the generations and I love it.”

The garden is known as sanctuary of greenery and tranquillity which turned upside down when it burst into flames in the early hours of June 14 this year.

Brenda took up the story: “Nobody was here at the time but we heard from neighbours that it was horrific. The people in the bungalows were lucky because the fire brought the fence down but thankfully it didn’t reach their homes.

“Three conifers the height of the bungalows went up like an inferno. There was a bit of charring on their sheds but the fire brigade got here very quickly and ran a hose through one of the properties to get it under control.

PERFORMER: Singer Ruth Getz, who entertained visitors at the end-of-summer celebration

“It started in a large wooden shed which we used for everything, the office, storage, shelter when it was raining. We moved the office into the greenhouse while we sort something more suitable.

“We were told the cause was probably a faulty heater. We had to close for a couple of weeks because it was a real mess but we managed. The support was fantastic and we had a lot of help. The residents were brilliant.”

The fire wrecked any chance the garden had of following up on its gold medal from last year’s Yorkshire in Bloom competition but the response reminded all involved why they do what they do.

By pulling together they were still able to deliver their summer schedule of family fun days with activities extending beyond gardening and nature to yoga, theatre, crafts and literacy.

Author Chrissie Lewis ended the summer programme by returning to inspire children with her Barbara the Circus Bee book, which she wrote in 2019 as part of a commission by Back to Ours to mark the garden’s 21st anniversary.

“I spent some time talking to people about why they come here and I tried to incorporate that into the book,” said Chrissie.

“We wrote it together and the kids got really involved and we ran some activities off the back of it with seed bombs and bug houses and colouring. Before then I didn’t know the garden existed. It’s really tucked away and then you find it’s a bustling hive of industry, growing and harvesting, and it’s a nice community, which is incredibly important.

“One lady this morning said she used to come here as a kid and now she brings her own kids. In an age when there are screens everywhere, it’s nice to just go and sit, surround yourself by greenery and grow things and see insects and wildlife. We are not meant to be surrounded by technology all the time.”

HAVEN: The entrance to the Rainbow Community Garden

Marie Carlson, who lives nearby, told how the garden has almost become a second home for her family. Isabel, who is nearly 16, started going when she was just three.  12-year-old Amy was taken along in her pram. Five-year-old Zara is a regular now and joined Chrissie’s reading group.

Marie said: “One of my friends told me about the garden because her mum used to come here. It’s just a really nice and friendly place and the kids absolutely love it.

“I went through a really bad patch with my mental health and I didn’t even tell people about it, but just having a reason to go out of the door makes a massive difference. You can just come here and forget everything. A lot of the people here are very similar and it’s nice to have that community and have people to talk to.

“I’m not a gardener. I’m horrendous but my kids have learned to grow things. They’ve grown all sorts here, and at home there are strawberries, raspberries, courgettes, carrots, potatoes.

“It helps with cooking at home and it keeps costs down a bit. It also gives the kids something to do instead of staring at a screen all day – I like to get them outside and covered in mud! You don’t need to be a gardener to come here. I’m not a gardener – I don’t even know the difference between a flower and a weed but the kids can show me!”

Diversity is a priority with an accessible compost loo and raised beds which are at a helpful height for wheelchair-users. The gardeners received support from Men in Sheds – notably after the fire – and they are always looking to work with other community organisations including the Refugee Council, St Michael’s Church, Rooted in Hull, Friends of the Earth and Hull and East Riding Time Bank.

Brenda said: “We also get on well with the neighbours, giving them our spare produce, doing litter picks to keep the street clean and clearing the snow in the winter. We are part of the community and part of the neighbourhood.”

The garden is always looking for volunteers and trustees and Brenda’s plans to retire in less than 12 months will also bring the appointment of a new head gardener, but help will be at hand.

“I will retire in September next year but I don’t think I will be a stranger to the place,” she said.

“I’m not one for sitting about. I would quite happily spend my life gardening.”