Sunnyside Community Gardens
Sunnyside Community Gardens
Sunnyside Rural Trust have been commissioned by Dacorum Borough Council and The Crown Estate to create a range of community gardens, which will provide a source of pride and beauty in local areas in Hemel Hempstead. Below are the community gardens we have created so far.
Contact craig@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk
Butterfly Garden – completed June 2024
In Warners End, we designed a pollinator-friendly garden with plants that attract specific native butterflies. The garden is visible from Long Chaulden Road! This is a lovely space to relax with the family, have a picnic and do some butterfly spotting!
Planet Garden – completed December 2023
Located off Redbourn Road by Yew tree wood, we picked the theme of planets and space from the names of roads in this ares. (Saturn Drive, Jupiter Drive Martian Avenue etc.) We have created a wonderful amenity space for local residents to enjoy and to promote biodiversity in the patch of open space.
The Crown Garden – completed May 2025
The Railway garden design draws inspiration from the adjacent Nickey train line, now converted into a walking and cycle track, great for dog walkers! There are six segments in three corresponding garden schemes referencing the history and story of the Nickey line. Those are the stories of the passengers that used the service, the goods and industry that relied on it, and its eventual abandonment and reclamation of nature before being converted to a path. The majority of the plants are perennial and drought-tolerant, so that the garden is both sustainable and self-sufficient without an over-reliance on watering and labour.
The Windmill Garden – completed June 2025
The Broadfield site was home to a working windmill in the 19th Century. It still lives on in the logo of Broadfield Academy and the name sof roads and buildings around it. When not in flower, the children can make origami windmills to adorn the planters.
The Shield – completed April 2024
To honour and mark 50 years of Dacorum as a borough council, we have designed and planted out a large 10m by 10m flag. Instead of the usual quilted flower design using bedding plants, we have hedged and filled with peat-free grown, pollinator-friendly plants that are naturally drought-tolerant. The lettering is wrought iron.
The Barge – completed March 2024
Just a two-minute walk from Hemel Food Garden, along the Grand Union Canal, there was an open space in need of some attention. A planter, designed to resemble a narrow boat, is now visible from the towpath and to those cruising down the canal. Seating, crafted from various water vessels, adds a charming feature to our beautiful canal. This initiative aligns with Sunnyside’s ongoing efforts to clean up this section of the canal, making it both accessible and safe.
The Heights – completed March 2025
To soften the hard concrete space at this shopping parade, we’ve installed eight raised wooden beds, each representing one of the planets in the solar system. These beds vary in size to mimic the relative scale of each planet, starting with a display of daffodils under the oak trees that represents the sun. As you continue along the shop walkways, you’ll encounter four smaller planters symbolising Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Passing through an archway, you’ll find the remaining beds representing Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, brightening the area outside the remaining shops and community centre. All planters are filled with peat-free, well-draining soil and are adorned with soft grasses that sway in the breeze, along with colourful perennials that attract bees to encourage biodiversity. To complete the planting plan, we’ve underplanted with allium bulbs to add color and height in the spring, creating a floating planet look.
